You had about an hour before the one on ones began.

At first, you joined everyone for lunch in the cafeteria, but the mood was too heavy. Ojiro kept giving you weird looks, and so was Uraraka. If she was upset, almost everyone felt it. Of course, she was sad - she didn't make it into the next round.

But, if you had to guess, you were a big cause of her distress.

Iida tried his best to keep everyone's heads on straight but dealing with a girl's emotions was a fruitless endeavor. She never voiced it, but it was possible Uraraka had a crush on Izuku. And you'd just kissed him in front of the whole world. Now everyone was ticked at you, even Shinso apparently.

You excused yourself from lunch and decided to go for a walk instead. Some meditating would do you good, you thought. Unfortunately, the arena was packed inside and out.

A few pro heroes even approached you and congratulated you. Most wanted to ask about your quirk. You did your best to answer honestly - as they could be potential employers one day.

The walk was useless, so you hid inside one of the corridors deep in the stadium. You just wanted to sit and think. You felt like you were drowning in guilt. What did you think was going to happen? That you could continue with your shenanigans and it wouldn't hurt anyone?

You were always going to hurt someone...

You heard footsteps from the other end of the hall. They'd find your spot on the floor, but you didn't care right now. You just pulled your knees in so that they had room to walk past you.

"What are you doing here?"

You looked up, leaning your head against the wall, "Oh, hey, Shinso..."

His frown deepened, "Come on. Don't tell me you lost your steam already."

"I'm not in the mood for encouragement," you said.

"No? In the mood for something else, then."

You closed your eyes, "Okay. What is it, Hitoshi? I get that we're competitors but you've been acting like... ugh. We agreed not to be pushovers but you are pushing me over right now - over a ledge called: 'We're Not Friends Anymore'."

Shinso grits his teeth. He took a few breaths before deciding to sit down as well. He sat across from you with his long legs brushing against yours. "I can't help it..."

"Can't help what?" you asked.

He looked like he was in pain. His eyes squinted at the floor and his jaw was so stiff you worried about his teeth, now, "I can't stand it. Watching you with that little idiot."

"Midoriya?"

"I don't care what his name is," he growled, "I thought I could handle it. It was so much easier when it was out of sight, out of mind, but seeing you kiss someone else is like a hot poker through to the chest."

"It didn't mean anything like that..."

"Maybe not to you."

"Stop," you practically begged.

"Maybe you didn't see his face? I did," he glowered, "I know a lovesick puppy when I see one."

You crossed your arms. You didn't want to look at him. His stupid, adorable face was making you angry at the moment.

"You hesitated," he hardly spoke louder than a whisper. That raspy voice that usually spread warmth through your body now made you want to run away, "Back there, you were going to choose him. Why?"

"He's a friend," you shrugged, "That's all. I was torn, and you weren't making it easy on me. In fact, you were being kind of an ass about it."

"Fine," he said, "I'm an ass." His expression turned a little scary again. He leaned forward and grabbed onto your ankles. You yelped as you were dragged towards him. He definitely got stronger - good for him. Dang it, I suck at being mad at him...

Once you were close enough, he pulled you into his lap. He trapped you between his knees and his chest, making escape quite difficult. Now you had to look at his stupid, adorable face...

"I'm used to being looked at as the bad guy. I just didn't think it would be by you."

You huffed, "I don't think you're a bad guy, but when you're behaving like one I'm going to tell you!"

He let out an unsteady breath. You were both in some staring contest, waiting for one of you to break. When it was clearly going to be you, you beat against his chest with your fists, "I'm just saying you don't have to put me in situations like that. Just talk to me next time."

"I'm sorry."

You looked up in surprise. He held onto your hands until they relaxed, "You know, guys like Bakugo are one thing. But Midoriya... he's as white-knight as they come. He's the perfect, socially accepted symbol of a hero. It's annoying. I can't... compete with that."

Your heart was breaking watching him unfold in front of you.

"It's obvious to see," he chuckled, humorlessly, "He's good for you. He can give you things that I probably never can."

"That's what you're upset about?" you sighed, "Why are you doubting me all of the sudden..."

"I'm not doubting you," he said, "I'm just doubting myself. It's stupid, I know. Just... let my ego be sore for a minute."

He pressed his forehead against yours while his eyes slowly shut. You hated today. The entire sports festival you worried about other people's image of you, but in the span of a few hours, you damaged the ties to your closest friends.

"I get it," you said, "I'm not confident about, well, anything. I feel like everyone hates me now."

"No one hates you," he muttered.

"Ask Ojiro next time you see him," you rolled your eyes, "Actually, you might want to avoid him too."

"His issue is with me. If he bugs you, I'll deal with it."

You groaned, "I could do with fewer confrontations today."

He smirked, his eyes lingered on your lips for a moment, "I should get going."

You nodded but were a little disappointed. He put all this effort into getting you over here and he was just going to leave. Tease.

He seemed to read your thoughts, "I would kiss you right now, but I need the energy to kill your boy-toy."

"Screw you, Hitoshi."

"Ah," he grinned, "There's the fire I've been looking for."

After that, you seriously debating not watching their battle. Hitoshi left to prepare, while you waited in the halls for a while longer.

After convincing yourself that you'd regret it if you didn't watch, you summoned the courage to join your fellow classmates in the stands. You had some of the closest seats in the house, which meant you weren't going to miss a bit of this torture.

"FROM THE HERO COURSE," Present Mic's voice boomed, "IT'S IZUKU MIDORIYA!"

Izuku appeared on the field and made his way to the court. You could tell he was nervous, but when your entire class cheered for him he smiled.

"FROM GENERAL STUDIES, IT'S HITOSHI SHINSO!"

No matter what, you thought, someone from general studies made it all the way here. He needs to see how impressive that is...

"Ojiro, are you really not participating?" you heard Kirishima from the row behind you.

"It wouldn't feel right. Others were more deserving," he answered curtly, "Did you know about his quirk, (Y/N)?"

You saw that one coming, "He's my friend, so yes."

"And Izuku's not?"

"Of course, he is." Don't push it, Ojiro.

"Why didn't you warn him?" he asked, "Or me. Do we not matter now?"

He's just upset, you reminded yourself. Even Uraraka, who you thought hated you, was giving you apologetic eyes. Seems like everyone took notice of Ojiro's beef with you.

"Monkey-brains," Bakugo grumbled, "No one needs to tell you shit. If that purple freak got the better of you it was your own damn fault."

Katsuki?

"Uh," Kirishima laughed nervously, "You know he kinda has a point. Just ignore how harshly it was delivered..."

Thankfully, Ojiro's attitude seemed to fizzle after that. Uraraka moved from her seat to be next to you instead, "Hey, (Y/N)... I figured you might need some moral support for this match."

"Thanks," you smiled, "I'm really sorry you didn't make it. The cavalry battle was a mess."

"It's okay," she sighed, "I chose a team I wasn't familiar with just to challenge myself, but it wasn't very smart in the end."

You held your breath as Present Mic's voice flooded your ears again. He explained how the battles would go - you could either push someone out of bounds or one of you had be knocked out or tap out. You noticed Shinso had already started talking to Izuku, but it was difficult to hear anything. He was clever, if Izuku wasn't careful, this could be a short match...

"So, giving up is an option, huh?"

Shinso focused on the green-haired boy in front of him, "If you know what you want your future to hold, you can't worry about what other people think. Hm, that monkey was going on about his pride earlier..." his brow furrowed, "I just think he's an idiot for throwing away his chance like that."

Izuku heard enough. He'd been warned about Shinso and his quirk, but at that moment, he couldn't stay silent, "Don't talk about hi-!"

He stopped. His entire body refused to move - about the only thing he was still in control of was breathing. Shinso had a wicked smirk on his face, "It's done. I win."

Izuku began walking back the way he came. The audience and Present Mic were freaking out over the newest development. Now the world knew, Hitoshi Shinso could brainwash people.

"You were blessed to have such a heroic quirk, Midoriya," he dropped his grin and became serious, "I have my own reasons for wanting to be a hero..." Shinso glanced at a spot in the audience, "So, lose for me."

Izuku was so close to the edge now. His class shouted at him to snap out of it, but Shinso knew the only way Izuku could break free of him was for someone to physically touch him.

And then, something unexplainable happened.

Izuku's fingers were glowing one second, and the next, he was sent a few feet back from a power surge.

"No..." Shinso gasped, "How did you do that!"

It took a moment for Izuku to come to, but he quickly covered his mouth. He wouldn't fall for that again.

Shinso scoffed and came charging at him. Izuku was still so close to the line, all he had to do was force him out.

He caught Shinso's attack and his foot slid dangerously further back.

"I didn't know you had so much power," Shinso grunted, "I'm kind of jealous. What? Say something..."

Izuku prepared to use One For All's power. The green sparks covered his body. It wouldn't take much, Shinso didn't have the physical ability to counter him with.

Shinso was growing frustrated, "It'll be so easy for you to reach your goal..." he was getting nowhere so he switched strategies, "How was it, Midoriya? With (Y/N) I mean."

The two students brawled a bit, trying to overpower the other. Izuku still hadn't released his power. At the mention of your name, his glare deepened.

"Are you in love with her now? I wouldn't be surprised, you seem pretty gullible to me." Shinso's pupils dilated when he noticed Izuku preparing to speak.

Instead, Izuku grimaced. He grabbed Shinso by his arm and, with a little help from his quirk, threw him over his shoulder and out of the ring.

"IZUKU MIDORIYA IS THE WINNER!"

Shinso was on his back. The crowd's cheers felt like stones hitting his body. It was over. He lost.

He took a deep breath and got himself off the ground. To his surprise, Izuku was close by, acting like he wanted to help. His kindness irked Shinso, but he didn't show it.

"I know we're all here for the same thing," Izuku said, his voice faltered, "But... I am curious. Why do you want to be a hero?"

Shinso flinched. He titled his head to the side. His eyes finding the person in the stands waving at him. "You can't help what your heart longs for," he answered with a sad smile.

Izuku followed his gaze and blushed when he spotted (Y/N). His head whipped back to Shinso, who was sulking off the battlefield.

"Wait!" Izuku said.

Shinso stopped, "You know, normally people hesitate to talk to me," he turned around and his smirk was back, "Be careful, Izuku Midoriya. This isn't the end for me. I will be back, and I'll become greater than any of you."

Izuku nodded. He accepted his opponent's threats as a means to push himself on his journey to become a hero. Just some friendly competition - right?

Izuku glanced at his classmates again. His heart felt an unfamiliar sting. He was so excited to see All Might after his victory, but he had to wonder...

Were you happy or sad that he won?