Todoroki followed you into the reception room.
The two of you had put out the wildfires by containing the area in a dome of ice and melting it. The people below had gotten soggy, but it was at least better than getting fried like an egg.
You looked around.
In the middle of the reception room, there were several long dining tables. Already, other students were refreshing themselves with food and water. Single chairs hugged the walls.
Todoroki beelined for the left wall. "Let's sit over here."
You weren't a fan of crowded places either. "Okay."
Todoroki glanced back to make sure you were following before continuing on.
When you took a seat, you removed your helmet, leaned your head back, and activated the heat release mechanism in your armor. Your face disappeared in the oncoming steam.
Todoroki watched you.
To see you relaxed like this was incredibly rare. You had perfect posture and eyes that seemed perpetually awake.
At the moment, your hair was everywhere. Your shoulders sagged, your legs were spread apart, you leaned back into your seat with ease.
Todoroki's gaze softened.
You were just as perfect.
You abruptly stood up and Todoroki went stiff.
"Oh."
You declared, "We must hydrate." You turned to Todoroki. "What is your preferred beverage?"
Todoroki was still processing your sudden change in demeanor. "I, uh... I'm fine."
"Melissa says hydration is important. What is your preferred beverage?"
"I'm fine."
"It is vital to maintain your body's moisture, especially after intensive exercise. You are not fine."
"But I am..."
You hadn't blinked for a solid fifteen seconds. "I will make a selection on your behalf."
You walked off. Todoroki just huffed through his nose in fond exasperation.
Your next opponent– the beverage corner.
Your task now was to deduce what Todoroki would like.
Water was a safe choice. Everyone liked water. Except Mineta. He'd probably drink girl pee given the chance.
Orange juice, a tasty beverage. The sugar would help with keeping Todoroki awake and energized.
Hot tea would also be nice. The pleasant bitterness always soothed the heart and muscles.
You poured some orange juice. Then you poured tea into the same cup. Everyone else at the beverage corner gaped at you like you were a monster.
You presented your abomination of a drink to Todoroki. If Todoroki didn't know you, he would've missed how you seemed almost proud.
"What... is this?"
"It is orange juice and tea." You held it closer to him and he had no choice but to take it. "The sugar from the orange juice and the anti-inflammatory quality of the tea will regulate your energy and overall health."
"Ah." Todoroki was mildly afraid.
You sat down and took a sip of your orange juice.
Todoroki frowned. Why couldn't you have just grabbed a normal drink for him too?
Realization struck Todoroki over the head.
You'd concocted this witch's brew out of concern for him.
Gazing down at the drink in his hands, Todoroki smiled quietly. "Thanks."
"It is no problem." You downed the rest of your juice and left to grab more.
As soon as your back was turned, Todoroki stuck a finger into the drink, isolated the orange juice by its density, and froze it. He then grabbed the chunk of orange ice and yeeted it across the room.
Someone yelped. "Who the fuck threw that!?"
Todoroki kept his head down and loudly sipped his tea.
You came back with no cup. "Hello."
"Hey." Todoroki noticed your empty hands. "Your drink..."
Sitting down, you explained, "I was utilizing the free refills. I was able to drink five more cups of orange juice before I was notified that I was 'hogging' it."
Todoroki thought about it for a bit. Nodding, he replied, "The refills are free."
"What does hogging mean?"
"It's when you're acting like a pig."
"What is a pig?"
You were hopeless.
Someone called for you and Todoroki. You both looked up.
Yaoyorozu made her way over with a sweet smile. Her movements were weighed down with fatigue. "I see you two finished first. Brilliant as always."
You took it literally. "I finished second."
Todoroki gave her a nod. "Yaoyorozu."
Jirou, Shouji, and Asui followed after Yaoyorozu. They waved. You returned it with your signature princess wave.
"Good job," said Asui. "I'm surprised Bakugou-chan isn't here."
Jirou snickered. "I don't know how you get away with calling him that."
You mimicked Asui. "Bakugou-chan."
Jirou rapidly waved her hands. "D-don't copy her! One person calling him that is enough."
"Okay. I will not copy Tsuyu."
"Thank you..."
Shouji shrugged. "It's better than what Midoriya calls him. Kacchan, right?"
"If he catches you saying that, you're so dead..."
Shouji didn't seem to care a whole lot. "I'm going to grab something to drink. Anyone want anything?"
Everyone gave Shouji their preferences. You asked for more orange juice, Todoroki and Jirou wanted tea, and Asui preferred plain water.
"Someone's missing," said Shouji. "Where's Yaoyorozu?"
You blinked.
You didn't notice when, but Yaoyorozu had disappeared. Yaoyorozu had a great presence. She was dangerously intelligent, had a near boundless Quirk, and was an excellent speaker. Yet she could still slip away when she wanted to.
The girl in question returned just in time. "I'd like tea, Shouji." She smiled. "Thank you."
Shouji nodded and left.
In the background, Todoroki was attempting to explain a pig to you and failing miserably.
Jirou desperately tried not to laugh. "Where were you, Yaomomo?"
Yaoyorozu lifted her hand. Between her fingers, she held a small silver key. "This key is for unlocking the targets we were given for the exam. We're to return both the targets and the ball bags we have to those shelves over there."
"Oh. Thanks for bringing it over."
"Of course." Yaoyorozu passed it over to Jirou.
Then Yaoyorozu turned to you. "A pig," she began, stealing your attention from Todoroki, "is a four-legged mammal with a long nose and triangular ears."
Everyone blinked except you.
Normally, Yaoyorozu would have gone into more depth. However, she kept her description to just the face shape and ears.
Your identification of animals was based almost purely on those two factors, after all.
Yaoyorozu knew you well.
"I see." Your irises spun as you committed this obviously important information to memory. "Thank you."
Yaoyorozu's eyes crinkled upward. "It's nothing."
Todoroki's quiet glare went unnoticed. He was a little miffed at your attention being taken away like that.
This was war.
Jirou passed the key over to Asui. Asui finished using it and handed it over to Yaoyorozu.
"Thank you." After nodding to Asui, Yaoyorozu took your helmet from the chair next to you.
You tilted your head questioningly.
Yaoyorozu unlocked the target on your helmet. Yaoyorozu set the target onto the chair and handed your helmet back.
"Thank you." You held it in your lap. "That was unnecessary."
Yaoyorozu faltered and Jirou scrambled to console her.
"I'm sure he didn't mean it like that."
Yaoyorozu looked down with a tight press of her lips. "No, it's alright. I overstepped my boundaries–"
Asui bluntly cut in, "What he meant to say is that you didn't have to. Don't be so quick to take things personally, Yaomomo."
Yaoyorozu perked up. She looked to you for confirmation. Her dark eyes, twinkling hopefully, resembled the night sky.
"That is what I meant to say. You did not overstep any boundaries." Your irises began to spin faster. "Have I offended you?"
"No, you could never."
Asui gave Yaoyorozu a hard stare that she ignored.
"Are you certain of that? I believe I am able to offend you."
Yaoyorozu's laugh was a playful challenge. "Really now? I don't believe I remember when you ever have."
You took a gander. No Iida in sight.
You straightened your back, took a deep breath, and said confidently,
"Poop."
Everyone froze.
Then they all sighed in relief.
Yaoyorozu put a hand over her heart. "I thought you were going to say a bad word. Thank goodness."
Pressing a finger to her lip, Asui asked you, "Who told you that 'poop' is a bad word?"
"Iida told me."
"Thought so."
Todoroki chose violence. "I remember Sero compared Yaoyorozu's Quirk to poop once."
Yaoyorozu immediately curled into a ball.
"Take it back!" Jirou shook Todoroki. "Take it back right now!"
Asui glanced over to you with vague amusement. "Looks like you managed to offend her anyway."
"I did not offend Yaoyorozu. Todoroki did."
It was at this exact moment that Shouji came back with drinks. "What the heck happened while I was gone...?"
After explaining the series of unfortunate events to Shouji, you all thanked him for the drinks.
Yaoyorozu coughed. Her face was still a bit red from earlier. Clapping her hands together, she put on her vice president voice. "Has everyone finished removing their targets?"
"Yes," you all chorused. The targets were in a pile next to you. Everyone was holding their individual ball bags.
"Wonderful." Yaoyorozu gathered the pile into her arms. "I'll go ahead and return these then."
Yaoyorozu was clearly struggling to hold them all.
Ignoring her protests, you took more than half the pile from her. "I am helping."
Yaoyorozu didn't have the energy to argue any further. She shot you a grateful smile instead. "You're always so helpful."
"I am?"
"Yes!"
"I am full of help?"
"Haha. Not quite. What I mean is–"
With that, you two walked away.
Todoroki followed you with his eyes.
"Is something bothering you, Todoroki?"
Todoroki felt Asui's blank stare. Before taking another sip of his tea, he murmured, "It's nothing."
You and Yaoyorozu were stacking the targets onto the shelves.
"Were you the one behind the fire?"
You paused your movements.
A few seconds passed.
"Yes," you confirmed. "I set the forest on fire in order to contain my opponent." You said more than you needed to in an effort to take accountability. "I have been irresponsible–"
Yaoyorozu stopped you by raising her hand. "That's enough."
You went quiet.
Though Yaoyorozu was softer than Iida, she wasn't beyond reprimanding you.
Was she going to lecture you?
There was a feather light touch on your hairline.
"I'm so glad you're unhurt."
If you were to describe surprise, it would be the sound of wind chimes on a windless day.
You observed Yaoyorozu for a few seconds.
There was kindness in every part of her, from the gentle curve of her mouth to the tips of her fingers.
Tenderly, Yaoyorozu tucked some hair behind your ear. "Thank goodness..."
You blinked. "I almost hurt many people."
"I know." Yaoyorozu quickly tangled her hands together, shocked by her own boldness. "A-ahem. But it was you who solved the problem in the end, wasn't it? No emergency services were called and no one was hurt. If that was the case, you wouldn't be here right now."
You gave yourself a moment to process this. Moments later, you said, "Yes."
You weren't being scolded. You weren't being treated like a villain, or on the other hand, like a child who could do no wrong.
You were being treated like a regular person.
Yaoyorozu furrowed her brows and lifted her chin. Her voice took on a firmer tone when she said, "So hold your head high and have pride."
That meant a lot coming from Yaoyorozu. The girl who had everything but faith in herself.
To you, her words were like water to a sponge.
"...I see." You mirrored Yaoyorozu, raising your chin as well. "I will. Thank you."
"Of course."
A peaceful silence settled over you.
Your stomach growled. Spotting the snack table, you wandered off.
Midoriya burst through the door.
He whipped his body side to side like a madman.
When he found his favorite person, he ran over at the speed of light.
Your cheeks were full of food when Midoriya reached you. Round eyes blinked twice.
In front of you, Midoriya had a vice grip on his knees as he panted violently.
He raised his head and cried, "You're okay!"
To Midoriya's immense relief, you weren't burned, cut, or otherwise touched. In fact, you were stuffing yourself like a hamster. Midoriya wished he had his phone so he could take a picture.
With much effort, you swallowed your food. "Hello, Midoriya. I'm okay. Are you okay?"
"Yes!" Midoriya straightened up. Just to make sure, he grabbed your upper arms and physically turned you side to side, looking you over as he did so.
Your eyes got rounder. "I am being inspected. I do not have any forbidden items on my person, such as crabs or dirt."
Midoriya's relieved sigh was so intense that he deflated. He didn't seem to hear you as he started rambling. "I'm so sorry! I wanted to check on you, but I was stuck in the middle of fighting the weirdest person! She was naked and it was horrible!"
"Examinees are allowed to be naked?"
"Apparently? I– I don't even know anymore. Hagakure's allowed to participate, so I guess. But the girl I was fighting, she shed her targets and everything. I'm pretty sure that's not allowed." Midoriya tugged at his bottom lip in thought. "What a strange person..."
You surveyed the room. "Who is the person who infringed upon the rules? They must be punished."
Midoriya waved his hands around. "W-we don't have to report her or anything! It's okay. I'd rather not get involved with her any further, honestly..."
You didn't really understand Midoriya's line of thought, but if he didn't want to, that was his choice. "Okay."
"Anyway, what happened?" Midoriya's big eyes flicked between yours. "Your laser beams are normally very thin and concentrated. I find it hard to believe that you misfired to the point of starting a wildfire."
"I did not misfire. I set the forest on fire in order to capture my opponent."
Midoriya's jaw dropped. "Huh?"
You analyzed Midoriya's facial expression. Then, without any sort of emotion at all, you let your own jaw hang open.
Inhaling deeply, Midoriya pressed his hands together. "You're– you're serious."
"I am serious."
Midoriya face-palmed.
As flabbergasted as he was right now, he couldn't find it in him to be mad.
You were Midoriya's favorite little arsonist.
"Yo!"
You peered over Midoriya's head. He turned around as well.
Kirishima, Kaminari, and Bakugou were heading over. Kirishima was waving and grinning widely. Kaminari was also smiling. Bakugou was definitely not smiling.
Midoriya smiled. "Guys! And Kacchan!"
You waved back. "Yo."
"Haha! It's weird hearing you say that." Kirishima gave you a hefty pat on the back. "Glad to see you're okay, man."
Hands in his pockets, Bakugou stopped a good distance away from you. "Duh, idiot. You'd think that with his power, his armor would make him immune to fire."
"Oh, you're right!"
In spite of what Bakugou said, he still gave you a quick look. He locked eyes with Midoriya and scoffed. "Stupid Deku, getting worked up over nothing."
Midoriya laughed sheepishly. "Haha, force of habit..."
Chewing on a cookie, Kaminari said, "Damn, Bakugou, who pissed in your cereal this morning?"
"I'll piss on your life!"
Kirishima was the only one who noticed Bakugou checking on you. He grinned to himself. He chose not to say anything. Better not to ruin a good thing.
You watched Bakugou swing Kaminari around like a ragdoll. Kirishima and Midoriya, who were both desensitized to Bakugou's malice, paid no mind to this and kept conversing.
You clenched a fist. It was your job to save Kaminari.
"Bakugou."
Bakugou whipped his head to you. "Hah?"
For at least a few seconds, Kaminari was free from the Bakugou-Swings-You-Against-Your Will ride. He slumped to the floor.
You offered Bakugou a singular chili pepper. "I would like to make a trade offer."
Kaminari cried, "Is that all I'm worth to you!?"
Bakugou actually did end up taking the chili pepper. He started munching on it. The beast had been tamed for now.
Kneeling by your side, Kaminari threw his hands into the air. "I'm only worth a freaking vegetable!?"
Kaminari sobbed dramatically as he gathered some cookies, grabbed a confused Midoriya, and stomped away.
Bakugou walked past you. He narrowed his eyes and grunted, "Don't go thinking this means we're friends."
Something in your chest grew heavy.
Suddenly, Kirishima reappeared to give you an encouraging elbow nudge. "That's Bakugou language for, "You did something I like!""
The weight lifted.
"Bakugou approves of me? And he has his own language?"
"Yes to that first one! No to the second. I didn't mean it literally. Would be pretty funny if he did though."
You nodded. "I see."
Golden light flashed Kirishima right in the eyes.
"Ow!"
Your irises had taken on a brilliant gold color.
You felt lighter all of a sudden. Rather than warm sunshine, you felt stars peppering your skin.
Bakugou, the guy who always had something mean to say to you, actually approved of you for once.
You bowed. "I apologize for hurting your eyes, Kirishima."
Kirishima rubbed his face. "Nah, you're good!"
To Kirishima's dismay, your light disappeared as soon as it showed up. No matter. He was glad to have seen it in the first place.
Smiling, he said, "You look better when you're happy."
"I am happy," you repeated back. The light may not have been there anymore, but a single second was all you needed to know how you were feeling.
"Wow. You really like Bakugou, huh?"
You thought about it for a moment. "...Yes. I like Bakugou." You added, "I like Kirishima too."
Kirishima's eyes flew wide open. His face became an adorable bright pink. "Y-yeah!?"
"Yeah."
Kirishima coughed loudly and people gave him weird looks. Unable to look you in the eye, he bashfully scratched his head. "Aw, shucks. You sure a way with words have! W-wait, what did I just say?"
You were about to answer only for Kirishima to stop you.
"Actually, don't mind me. I– I'm going to get a drink now. Yeah." Kirishima hurried off in the same direction Bakugou left.
"Okay." You were alone now. Back to stuffing your face you went.
Blueberry muffins. A fine delicacy typically found in the nearest Kostko.
Your teeth chomped down on thin air.
Someone had snatched your muffin the moment you went for the killing blow.
Iida placed it back onto the table. "I'm pleased to see you have an appetite, but please eat slowly. It would be awful if you choked!"
"Hello, Iida. Okay."
"Thank you!" Iida swung his arms up and down as he nearly shouted, "Are you hurt at all!? I had an inkling that you were the one behind the forest fire! However, I was unable to come assist you because I was assisting our classmates in the open field!"
Iida's face was flushed from exhaustion. His chest was rising up and down in shallow breaths. Even his normally pristine hair was out of place. And yet here he was, worrying about you first.
"I am not hurt." Recalling Yaoyorozu's hair tuck from earlier, you patted down some of Iida's beansprouts.
His face became just as red as his eyes. "W-what are you doing?"
"You appear to be exhausted. Are you okay?"
"Ah, y-yes, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern." Fixing his hair, Iida cleared his throat. "More importantly, are you hurt, ahem, emotionally...?"
You physically couldn't comprehend why Iida would ask that. "I am not hurt emotionally. What would be the cause of my emotional hurt?"
Iida clenched his jaw slightly. Pressing his hands to his sides, he bowed deeply. "I did not come to your aid. I could have, but I made the conscious choice to remain out in the open to support the others. I wasn't even doing an acceptable job until Aoyama brought everyone together with his Navel Laser."
You tilted your head. "That is not true."
Iida looked up. Confused, he asked you, "How do you know that? You don't have to reassure me."
You pointed behind Iida.
Aoyama was leading the rest of the class. All the kids who finished right before the cutoff followed directly behind Aoyama, while the other kids trailed after them. They were all smiling to varying degrees. Except Bakugou. He was being dragged along by Kirishima. Kirishima let go of Bakugou to pull you to his side.
Iida blinked. "Why are all of you–?"
Striking a pose, Aoyama chirped, "We could not have passed as an entire class without you, mon ami! ☆ It was you, Iida, who gave me the courage to act as a beacon!"
Iida quickly refuted this. "No, no, not at all–"
Aoyama cut him off with a clap of his hands. "Together now, everyone!"
Everyone bowed simultaneously and shouted,
"Thank you, Class President!"
Even Bakugou, who had to be strong-armed into doing this by Kirishima, begrudgingly grunted, "You're not totally useless, I guess."
You straightened up from your bow. "Iida is a kind person who is always helping others. Do not forget that, Iida."
Iida's eyes widened.
Then, wiping at them, Iida dipped into a deep bow. He slapped his hands to his sides again and shouted back, "It is my honor to lead this class! Thank you very much!"
1-A whooped and hollered. Everyone gathered around Iida, engaging in happy chatter.
This was a nice break. You all had been so tense, constantly fighting to win and staying on your toes.
Now, you were all going to tackle the rest of the exam.
Together.