Break Through My Shell (Shouto Todoroki x Reader)

Chapter 21

As Bakugou's fight with Kirishima ended with the explosive ash-blond coming out victorious, next came Shouto and Iida's battle. If Shouto won, he would verse you in the finals.

Of course, you hadn't actually beaten Bakugou yet, but you believed he didn't stand a chance against you.

Soon enough, Iida's leg engines had been encased in a thick layer of ice by his opponent, and his body shoved roughly out of the boundaries since he was unable to react in time.

The chunks and pillars of thick ice were cleared off the arena's rocky floor, and out of the entrances on either side of the stadium came you and Bakugou.

"Oi, bitch!" he called out, his crimson eyes narrowed and his eyebrows tightly knit together. "Don't think you can fucking beat me this time!!!"

"I don't need to think it when I already know I'll win," you replied coldly, returning his glare with an icy stare of your own. "Especially since my power far surpasses yours."

"HAHHHH?!?"

Completely oblivious to the massive, aggressive aura Bakugou was emitting, Nemuri cheerily grinned as she shouted, "Ready? Start!!!"

Explosions burst from the ash-blond's hands as he shot towards you, his right hand reaching out to punch you. Enhancing the strength in your legs and arms, you sidestepped his first attack before sweeping your leg into his gut with all the power you could muster. He coughed as he staggered back, momentarily showing weakness until his head lowered and you heard a growl.

"Little bitch..."

The two of you exchanged multiple blows, however, barely any of Bakugou's attacks actually made contact with you. Most of your shots on him landed, with a few of them missing him by a few inches as you danced around, avoiding his explosions.

As he once again charged you, his eyes focused on your body, you lifted your hand up into a flicking position.

"I'm going to kick you out with my quirk so hard that you'll feel mortified for the rest of your life," you mumbled under your breath. Your tone of voice wasn't too loud, only audible to the raging porcupine in front of you.

"AS IF, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!" he roared, his eyes dragged downwards to your hand.

A moment later, you flicked your finger, unleashing a large burst of magic energy. Dust from the rocky floor whirled through the air, making it impossible to see before it slowly dissipated. However, as the air cleared, you found the ash-blond stabilizing himself right before the white line on the other side of the arena.

His head whipped up towards you as his legs carried him to you as fast as he could. Dodging your attacks of crackling energy, he propelled himself upwards, your head following him before he shot an explosion into the back of your small frame.

"...!" You stifled a groan as you stumbled forwards, the back of your gym uniform now smoking. You scowled as you yanked the top off your arms and threw it to the side. Underneath was a plain white tank top, albeit it probably wasn't a very good idea to wear it. It would most likely become riddled with clumps of dirt and dust by the end of the day.

As soon as the burnt fabric left your skin, you whipped towards Bakugou, your palms extended towards his muscled form.

"The fuck—" He was promptly cut off by a large beam of energy shooting towards him. Unable to dodge in time, it hit him square in the chest and sent him rocketing back as he spewed curses left and right.

"I thought you said you would beat me," you said quietly, watching as his body hit the wall hard and he fell to the floor.

"Bakugou is out of bounds! (Na—(Last Name) wins!!!"

You twisted around to face Nemuri.

"You were going to say (Name), weren't you," you accused, glaring at her.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, chuckling. "It's a habit." She stuck out her tongue as you sighed, dragging yourself off the field and yanking Bakugou by the shirt.

His head had been bashed into the stone walls and he had been knocked out. His features—which you had to unfortunately say were ruggedly handsome, even if he was scowling most of the time—were relaxed and peaceful. The furrow in his brow was gone as well as the glare.

"Here's Bakugou," you said as you pushed through the door to the infirmary. Recovery Girl sighed as she picked him up and carefully hurled his larger-than-her body onto the hospital bed next to Midoriya's.

"Will you be needing any painkillers before you go, dear?" You shook your head, lightly tapping your pants pocket.

"I already got some, but thanks. I'll be going now." You stepped out of the door, heading up to the seating area so you could take a break. Earlier, you faintly heard through the walls Present Mic saying there would be fifteen minutes until the finals.

You entered the stands, your eyes drifting around until they landed on Shouto.

He was slightly slouched in one of the yellow chairs, his heterochromatic orbs gazing off into the distance as the wind ruffled his hair. The dual-haired boy was seemingly unaffected by the loud ruckus that was going on with a few of your other classmates. The sharpness of his jawline, the soft look of his hair, it all just somehow seemed so perfect to you.

But why?

You weren't sure why these crazy thoughts were running through your head, especially since you had only known him for a short while, but...

There was something supposedly eye-catching about him, at least to you.

"(Last Name)!" You flinched as Uraraka called out your name, giggling at your reaction. "Congrats on winning your match! But why did you get startled?"

As you slowly shook your head, she glanced over at the direction that your body was facing and smirked as you paled ever so slightly.

"Do you, perhaps, have a crush on Todoro—"

You lunged at her, your hand slapping over her mouth before she could say more.

"I do not," you hissed. "I don't even know what those feel like either."

"Crushes?" By now, Ashido and Asui had joined in on the conversation.

"Ooh! It's when your heart super fast around this one person, and you get more flustered around them! You keep thinking about them a lot more and they're more important to you than others," Ashido said, her dark eyes staring at you knowingly. "If you have one, you should tell us so we can help you!"

"I honestly don't think I do... maybe? But I don't want to talk about it."

You abruptly stood up, explaining that you wanted to go downstairs and prep since you had a few minutes left until the start of your match with Shouto.

"Good luck!" the three of them called after you.