Deja Vu

XI

The crowd eyed Midoriya like hawks on rabbit prey. In which case, poor Midoriya was the prey to the other forty or so students who all targeted for the same goal:

The ten million points headband. 

'You have fifteen minutes to gather up into groups of three to four! Starting now!' Midnight cackled. All the teachers enjoyed seeing the students suffer.

(Name) was about to approach some potential team members when a sudden rush of students passed by her, almost knocking her over with how many surged forward all at once. They clambered and yelled, trying to get the attention of Bakugou. He, however, looked ready to kill someone. But doesn't he always?

(Name)'s ear twitched. She turned around, greeting Todoroki politely when she saw him approach. Behind him were Yaororozu and Iida. Iida waved at (Name) as enthusiastically as always and Momo smiled. 

The attention went back to Todoroki, who was staring straight at (Name)'s ears. He was staring so intensely at her ears, she thought they would melt and recoiled them unintentionally. Just the action of the drooped ears made Todoroki want to snuggle them. They were fluffy. So cute. What he wouldn't give to caress them. But he would never let anyone know that. His face hid his emotions well. No one would ever have thought the cold, ruthless Todoroki Shoto was secretly fanboying over rabbit ears.

'Join my team,' he said, tone even and concealed of joy. 'We could use someone with a quirk to sense presences. And your stomp is wide-range, which will be useful for dealing with long-distance contestants.'

(Name) tilted her head, blinking curiously. This guy was so uptight. Although it did make sense to recruit team members based on powers, he should also consider relationships and cooperation. 

'But I can't control the stomp as well as my other attacks,' she countered, but gently because not much of this girl's demeanour is even close to harsh. 'I might accidentally hurt my teammates that way.'

'We have Yaoyorozu for defence,' Todoroki said, not looking at her eyes. His gaze was still on the ears. God, they look so cute and fluffy. 'So will you join?'

'Mm! Sure, I have no one else anyway,' (Name) grinned happily, ears flopping so much they were in her face. She sheepishly gripped them out of the way and hid her face in the fluffiness in embarrassment. Todoroki couldn't resist the urge anymore. In a slight daze, he reached out and placed his right hand on her head. His fingers grazed the base of her ears, feeling how she shivered under his touch. 

So soft. So fluffy.

Todoroki blinked, catching himself when he realised he had been rubbing her ears affectionately for a solid few minutes there. In front of his teammates. In front of the other students. The stadium. The cameras. The entire world.

He quickly retracted his hand and used it to cover up his blush. 

'A-ah... sorry,' Todoroki whispered hurriedly, turning on his heel and avoiding the curious stares of Iida and Yaoyorozu. (Name) stood there, a slow blush creeping up her cheeks at the sensation of someone touching her ears. No one did that except her brother. 

It felt nice.

.oOOo.

Everyone in the room flinched as the team captain glared the world's accumulated hatred at a small television screen in the far corner of the gym. 

Ushijima Wakatoshi didn't blink, opting to focus his intimidation on the image he saw presented on the screen, making the top eight headlines.

[ENDEAVOUR'S SON HAS A LOVER: UA FESTIVAL]