Mystic

Chapter Seven

        A light shake woke me from my slumber. I was still a little tired, but nothing I couldn't handle. With the way the bracket was set up, I'd at least have some more time to relax after my first battle against Aoyama.

        "Thank you, Toko—" My eyes shot open, wider than ever. "Todoroki? What are you doing here."

        The boy stood up, placing his hands in his pockets. "Tokoyami decided to watch the other matches. He said you looked like you could use the extra rest and asked if someone else could wake you up before your match. He's in the waiting room at this point. You're supposed to be going on now."

        "Now?!" I exclaimed, hurtling myself up and off the grass before moving toward the stadium. "No one thought of grabbing me sooner?"

        Todoroki shrugged. "He said you needed the sleep. I maximized that time."

        "Gah! But now I run the risk of being late!"

        I began running towards the closest entrance, panicking. If I got disqualified because Tokoyami left me outside and no one in Class 1-A could be practical enough to wake me up before my match was scheduled. . . God, I was so screwed. I paused abruptly, staring down the many halls of the arena.

        "Uh, you wouldn't happen to know where I'm supposed to go, would you?" I asked Todoroki, knowing that at this point he would have already finished his fight against Ashido.

        "Here. Follow me."

        He led me through the maze that was the first floor of the stadium until we arrived at the entrance I was to use to get into the arena. Thankfully, we'd arrived with a few moments to spare. Though the majority of the previous matches had gone by rather quickly, it appeared that poor Ida had gotten stuck in a spontaneous commercial for that girl from the support course. Sad for him, but stellar for me as it meant I had a bit longer to go over my plan. Eh, but I already knew what I was doing. There wasn't much to it. Dodge and push out of bounds. I didn't really think I'd even need to use my quirk to move up in the bracket.

        "I assume you won your match, right?" I inquired, turning back to Todoroki who hadn't left yet.

        All I got was a nod in response. I'd noticed he was very to the point, serious, and didn't talk as much as our other classmates. However, he had gone out of his way to declare war against Izuku earlier. I assumed he had the same sort of passion as Kacchan. He just knew how to keep his emotions in check.

        I began rambling, as I worked out how their battle must have gone down. "I mean, Ashido didn't really stand a chance. So long as you encased her in ice as soon as the match began even with her acid Quirk she never would have been able to melt herself out before being deemed immobile by the refs. But, even if she did manage to get a bit closer before you took her out, her fate would still be the same. The only one here with a real counter to your Quirk would be Bakugo 'cause of the fire, but. . .

        A smirk spread across my face. "If I'm looking at the bracket right, you'll never have to go up against him. And that's because despite your skill, Todoroki, I'm afraid I will be the winner of this festival. I suppose I should thank you for waking me up before my place became forfeit."

        "If that's the case, Kaneko, then I look forward to battling you later. You were smart in hiding some of the aspects of your Quirk, but at this point in the festival I think you've lost that advantage." I could have sworn the corners of his mouth upturned ever so slightly into the smallest of smiles. "It will be an honor beating you."

        He walked away before I could even attempt to reply, and at that point, it was my turn to compete.

        "We're gonna charge right along to the fifth match," began Present Mic as Aoyama and I took our places on the newly made platform. "Let's hope that gaudy belt serves some kinda purpose. It's Yuga Aoyama from the hero course!"