First Aid/Crybaby

Chapter Thirty-three

Bells rung and chimed with each step Vallea made, dress gently brushing against her thighs as she walked down the cement entry that led to the vast and grassy arena; where hordes of people screamed and roared from their spots amongst the rows of stands and bleachers lining the inner arena walls. Their cries of excitement were deafening as she walked into the blinding sunlight, grey flats stepping onto the lush green grass with her head held high ignoring the feeling of horror that pulsed through her body and curdled her stomach. She pushed back all thoughts as she marched towards the cement platform in the middle of the arena that was made for the battle tournament that was about to commence in just a few minutes.

The lotting had already been drawn, pairing the students with their matches, and the first two who would be starting off the tournament were Izuku and Shinso. To say the battle would be interesting was an understatement but before the battle could officially start Vallea had to be introduced to the crowd that looked like crazed animals from her view point. She was not pleased when Midnight first told her that she would have to be introduced to not only the group within the stadium but also to cameras that were live streaming the whole thing. She just wanted to heal people not be paraded around and shown off like a doll, she didn't understand how any of this was important but arguing with Midnight wasn't something anyone could do. Only those truly desperate or looking for an early demise would do so, and she was neither. So the only thing she could hope for was to not pass out on live TV, and if she did well, that would be the end of her life. She would have to either run away to Chile and start a new life or jump off a bridge.

The crowd quieted with each well placed footstep as she grew closer to the platform until it was nearly silent as she climbed up the stairs carefully. Goosebumps rose from her flesh at the brisk breeze that nipped at her exposed skin as she made her way to the middle of the platform where she stopped, peach eyes drifting up towards the commentaries box where she knew Aizawa and Yamada were residing. Heart racing as she did her best not to look around at the thousands of eyes that were all pointed at her, tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth, suddenly growing dry as Yamada's booming voice reverberated through the huge stadium.

"YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHH! WHO'S READY TO START THE FIRST BATTLE?!" Cheers and yells of elation erupted from his question, nearly making the whitette wince at the sheer volume.

"ALRIGHTTTTTT! BUT BEFORE WE DO THAT, I HAVE THE HONOR OF INTRODUCING YOU ALL TO OUR LOVELY HEALER IN TRAINING VALLEA LETO, OR BETTER KNOWN AS THE ANGEL OF UA! SHE WILL BE OVER WATCHING THE BATTLES AND PERFORMING AS AN ON-SIGHT HEALER ALONG SIDE WITH RECOVERY GIRL, AT JUST THE YOUNG AGE OF FIFTEEN AS SHE NOT ONLY HAS SHE MANAGED TO WORK AS HEALER HERE IN UA BUT SHE HAS ALSO STOLEN THE HEARTS OF ALL SHE'S COME ACROSS WITH HER WICKED ABILITIES AND RAD PERSONALITY. SHE IS ONE MAJOR COOL CAT, SO GIVE HER ALL A WARM WELCOME!" Vallea hid her smile and bowed to the crowd as they clapped and applauded her. A cool cat? What was Yamada even talking about? Maybe he has been spending too much time with Aizawa, even if the compliment was a little strange it was still very sweet and helped her nerves settle just a tad. It did make her worry why he was laying it on so thick, did he eat her sweets again from the pantry or was he just feeling sweet today? She couldn't tell.

She straightened out and waved towards the hordes of people, gently smiling at them, trying to thank them without words. It was a funny thing how they were all cheering her on when they had no real idea who she was as a person, she could have been this terrible person in disguise but they wouldn't question it, not with the voice hero throwing out praises out left and right about who she supposedly was. How odd it was to applaud and revere someone just because they were a healer in training at UA. A sliver of darkness and inner doubt bubbled forth as she watched these throngs of people scream and clap for her, for someone they didn't even know. It all felt too fake for her, that these people were only seeing a mirage of who she truly was...and that upset her greatly for some reason. There was no real rationale to the feeling or at least not a conscious one she was aware of.