Freeze Frame

Chapter 66

Sorry for not updating yesterday/super early this morning, folks! I got extremely distracted writing some gay Iida stuff and lost track of time----

Third person pov

"Begin!" Midnight brought down her whip, but Iida didn't move. Hitoshi didn't either, standing stock still. Behind him, the ad for Cranberry Sprite still billowed lightly despite the lack of wind in the stadium. Nobody had seem Kaminari since his match. Many members of 1-A speculated that he'd left the premise completely in a panic. Mina and Sero had taken it upon themselves to hunt Hound Dog down in the crowd and personally explain the situation, and request that the counselor talk to the electric blonde.

Hound Dog hadn't had all that many sessions with Lillian, but she certainly didn't seem all that scary. He promised the pair of teens he'd see what was wrong with Kaminari. Him running from Lillian and a soda ad, blood on the girl or not, was a bit odd. The scream had also been genuine. Lillian hadn't had to use her quirk to get him out of bounds either. She'd simply used it to subdue his electricity, and that was it. 

"Hey, Iida, eatin' sugar?" Hitoshi asked. The engine-legged boy visibly hesitated, fighting posture slackening in the slightest. 

"He has no idea what's about to hit him." Lillian said, shoveling some popcorn out of Neito's bowl and into her mouth. The blonde did the same, nodding in agreement. Aizawa had left the announcer's booth and forced her to explain why she was covered in blood in between the first round of the finals and the second, as they did hold an intermission. Lillian hadn't given any details, nervously stating that she had donated the blood for a good cause. Aizawa could only groan and demand she get changed before she got sick from it. 

"Poor guy." Neito muttered, shaking his head. Lillian felt Yeet shift, still in his spot from earlier. At least it was keeping him warm.

Hitoshi continued when Iida didn't respond. "Tellin' lies?" The purple haired boy prodded. Iida seemed to flare up at that.

"Are you accusing me o-" Iida's face went blank, eyes going void. Everyone seemed to give a collective wince at that. If people hadn't gotten how Hitoshi's brainwashing worked, that was their own fault. He'd used it several times, and even Neito had given a demonstration using Kirishima as the subject. It's not like it was news or anything. Lillian sighed.

"Alright, walk out of bounds." Hitoshi made shooing motions with his hand, and Iida turned around and did as he was told. The stadium cheered for the purple-haired boy as Mic boisterously announced him to be the winner. Lillian felt herself smile, raising up her hand. Neito slapped his against it without having to look her way, shaking his head and humming to himself as Iida's brainwashing was dropped.

"Next up we've got the two power-houses of 1-A! That's right, everyone! It's Bakugo Katsuki versus Shoto Todorokiii!" Mic shrieked over the roaring cheers. Lillian and Neito turned as Hitoshi stepped back into the seating area, looking relieved. Neito stood up to give him a hug, grinning. Lillian tilted her head at the two boys. Hugs were wonderful and all, but they sure were doing it a lot. Then again, Neito was a pretty touchy-feely guy when he was feeling affectionate. She'd have to keep an eye on that.

"I knew you had it in you." Neito plopped back down, Hitoshi sitting next to him. Lillian leaned forward, holding out her fist. He grinned lazily as he bumped his against it. His victory had surely turned a lot of heads. Iida had been a driving force in his team making it through the cavalry portion of the festival. He'd presented a special move that helped them to get the bands they needed, and had a powerful conscience and quirk. Seeing him so easily turn around and walk off had to have been impressive. The heroes here were probably kicking themselves due to him not being on the roster of interns they could choose from.