Perfectly Imperfect (Shoto Todoroki x Reader)

part fourteen

"Begin!"

I took off running.

The doorway- a narrow, metal hallway leading outside- was obviously the first obstacle. I started in the front of the group, so it was easy for me to push my way out of the crowd.1

The tell-tale sound of ice crystals forming behind me warned me that Shoto was activating his quirk. Ah, well. I didn't want to use this yet, but I guess I have no choice.

I jumped, summoning my drop menu and selecting one of my newest support items. A pair of ice skates appeared in my hand, adhering magnetically to the bottom of my shoes- another support item.

Landing easily, I took off. Shoto, glancing back over his shoulder, locked eyes with me for a moment before watching those behind me. I didn't waste time looking back. Usually, there was some sort of indicator of someone approaching.

For example, Mineta shouting at Todoroki, before a loud THWACK implied that he had been knocked out of the air.

There were several large robots blocking the way. While surprising, it wouldn't be too hard to deal with. By now I had removed my ice skates and had returned to a sprint, only a few feet behind Todoroki. 

He stopped running, looking up at the robots in shock, giving me the opportunity to dash past him. President Mic's commentary was simply background noise as I charged ahead.

This would be difficult, normally, but I didn't have to fight the robots. I just had to get past them.

One of the large, metal hands came down, trying to stop me, while I reached my hand out. Another point about my quirk- the things I store in my inventory don't HAVE to appear in my hand when summoned. At the moment, I can place them up to four feet away.

An immense pain settled in my shoulders for only a moment before the robot was thrown from my inventory, stumbling and crashing into a few other machines. And, once again, the sound of ice informed me that Todoroki was pulling off another ice trick.

The sound of crashing metal filled my ears. He must have knocked them over. I smile. He really is amazing.

I tuned in to President Mic's commentary to see if he had anything helpful to say about the rest of the competition.

"WOWEE! These two are the ones to watch! It almost seems unfair! Your thoughts?"

"L/n is task-oriented," Aizawa's voice spoke. I wonder how he got roped into this. "She's clearly focused on the goal given to her: get to the end of the track, fast. Todoroki's attack, on the other hand, was both offensive and defensive. He's going for the goal, while trying to stop others from making it at all."

"No wonder they were let in on recommendations! They've never even fought those robots before, but they didn't stand a chance against their crazy skills!"

I laughed at that. Talk about high praise.

I neared the next obstacle.

Massive pits and platforms were connected by ropes. Some were elevated above the others, and some were lower, but most were just a straight shot across from one platform to another. When did they have time to build this?!

Whatever. Todoroki had caught up to me by now, easily sliding over the ropes and using his ice to keep balance. I huffed.

"There's no way you're getting away that easy!"

I summoned a dual zipline handlebar from Hammerspace and started zipping over the ropes. It was slow going- and by slow I mean not as fast as Shoto- but I made good time. I was at least halfway across when pounding footsteps told me that the rest of the students had arrived.