Affinity

Chapter 7: The Uniforms

Emiko hadn't ever considered fighting her classmates as an option to win the sports festival - though now, standing in the crowded underground halls of the stadium she wished she'd had. After the explosive results of the Cavalry Battle, she'd somehow landed amongst the top 16 students in the entire first year.

A part of her felt guilty, though. She knew that she likely wouldn't have made it this far if it wasn't for Shinso - it was his quirk that had allowed her to succeed. She'd worked her hardest - had run barefoot through an entire obstacle course, but when it came down to it, when it really mattered, her quirk hadn't been enough. Everyone knew it - each of her classmates had carefully avoided eye contact during the planning stage of the last round, diverting their gaze and moving into smaller clusters, leaving her out and alone.

Shinso had helped her, taken her under his wing. He'd controlled her using his quirk, and she hated that she had no idea what had happened during the fight. All she knew was that when she regained control, when her blurry vision finally cleared, was that the crowd was screaming. They were hysterical, the volume in the stadium rising to an octave she'd never experience before. Her quirk was slow to catch on, though the panic quickly infiltrated the few moments of peace that she'd been given. Her muscles ached from the strain of carrying Shinso around, her calves burning as if she'd just run 20 kilometres.

She'd evacuated the stadium quickly, hiding her flushed cheeks by turning her face down. Her blue eyes had filled with tears the instant she had shelter over her head, and she'd run to a secluded place as soon as possible. As much as she hated to admit it, she felt disappointed. It made her chest tighten when she thought about it too much - her inability to really take part in the festival. She'd let herself wallow in self pity for a moment, allowed the tears to fall freely down her cheeks, stopping only when Mina had come barrelling down her quiet hallway screeching something about getting changed.

She'd been tugged into the dressing room, plopped down onto the bench and been filled in on the situation.

"Kaminari and Mineta forgot to mention it earlier, but the girls were asked to do some cheering during the intermission!" Mina chirped, quickly stripping off her gym uniform and tossing on the orange and white outfit.

Momo nodded, setting a neatly folded pile of fabric onto Emiko's lap.

"Well, they reminded me. I seem to have missed an important piece of information from Aizawa."

She only sighed, obliging her friends. She was too tired to argue, too tired to try and point out the flawed rationale behind the skimpy uniforms.

She undressed, throwing the costume on and wincing at the amount of skin it exposed. She was rarely so bare in public, her lightly toned abs exposed to the glaring brightness of the fluorescent overhead bulbs.

She was embarrassed, she realized. Her cheeks flushed as she moved about the room, unused to the feeling of a breeze tickling so much of her skin.

"You look amazing in that, Miko!" Mina shouted, bounding over to her with her unique black eyes gleaming. Her arms wrapped around her shoulders, shaking her lithe frame slightly.

Ochaco beamed brightly from the corner of the room, zipping her skirt up. "Seriously, Miko. You look great!"

Her friends all chimed in, alleviating some of her stress. It made her feel a little more at ease knowing that she wasn't going out there alone, she knew that if she was embarrassed, she would be embarrassed beside people who cared enough to make sure she was comfortable.

For the first time in her life, Emiko realised that she had a group of people who cared - a band of misfits who all fit together. A cluster of people who saw through her brave face and who wanted to see her smile in spite of her own insecurities.