𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘺

Chapter 13

Bakugo and I didn't argue any further, the two of us too exhausted and worn from our trials to even so much as brush each other off. In a dawning silence, the two of us walked to the waiting area, finding some of our classmates waiting around as they carefully watched the two of us approaching them.

On some far corner, I found Shindo asking Izuku to show him how to kick. I hummed, feeling some sort of amusement as I watched Shindo kick pathetically at the air as Izuku smiled and told him, 'Good job!' Izuku was too nice. Had it been me? I wouldn't have lied. I would've told Shindo he looked much better with his feet on the ground where they belonged.

I hadn't realized how long I'd been staring until the blonde girl from before went to retrieve Shindo. Judging by the way the two looked at one another, I had to assume they had some sort of relationship beyond just working alongside one another. Izuku smiled, placing his hands on his hips as he waved and watched the two wander off in arms. He sighed, glancing over at me as he sported some sort of hazed lazy smile.

"There you are," He smiled, wandering up beside me as the two of us slowly walked closer to our classmates. "You feel better?"

"Yeah, well... I got it out of my system." His eyes flickered down to meet mine before curiously glancing me over.

"You seem a bit shaken up... Did something happen? I asked Kacchan to wait for you, I hope he didn't bother you too much. Though it seems he doesn't really pick on you at all anymore," Izuku began tugging on his bottom lip, his eyes scouring the crowd as if he'd find his answer among them.

"Just tired. I've never been more ready to get home and shower in my entire life," I sighed.

"They had showers here. I know your not comfortable with your scars but... you know the girls would never judge you, right?" His voice was soft like butter, dripping with concern as his eyes raced over my frame.

"There's mirrors in the bathroom... I don't much like standing in front of them anymore," I shrugged, finding his face contorting into a pained look as he seemingly winced at my words. "Don't get upset about it, nothing to cry over. Just don't like 'em."

He pursed his lips, his eyebrows furrowed as he turned away from me to watch the stage before us. Though he had been looking at me, I could tell his mind had been elsewhere.

I turned to see what he was watching so closely, finding the tired man from before as he prepped a stack of notecards before lowering his lips to the microphone on the pedestal before him.

"Okay... Everyone? Thank you for your hard work in today's exam. Now before I announce the results, I should probably explain the way we evaluated you. Between H.U.C.K. and those of us in the Heroe's Public Safety Commission; we had a two-fold merit system to determine your total scores."

I glanced at Izuku, finding his hands balled into fists and sweat dripping from his brow as his eyes seemingly burned holes into the screen before us. I hadn't been nervous until I'd seen him. Until now, I'd just felt... nothing.

"In other words, we were evaluating you on how few mistakes you made in a crisis situation. Anyway, the names of those who passed are listed here in alphabetical order. Keep my words in mind as you search the screen for your name."

He flung his hand out and almost immediately, the screen turned on with a loud click and a list of names in digital green letters appeared in rows.

Izuku's harsh muttering almost caused me to jump. Looking over at him, my eyes went wide in surprise. With his finger jammed at the screen like he was accusing it of murder, he grit his teeth and began sweating profusely. The wrinkles on his brow were prominent, his eyes tearing the screen apart like some sort of equation we were given in class.