ALWAYS || Katsuki Bakugo

31- Above And Beyond

Todoroki sat across from her in the waiting as she stored energy, chin resting in her palm as she gazed outside the sunny window, zoning out but listening to Present Mic in the commentary. He found it hard to concentrate on what Present Mic was saying when she was sitting in front of him, hair a little disheveled with soot on her freckled nose but beautiful as ever.

She let out a huff, and metallic eyes drifted towards him. They stared at him, making his stomach twist and turn.

Is this what butterflies feel like?

Todoroki recalled Midoriya telling him and Iida what it felt like to be around Uraraka when they started dating. He mentioned butterflies. Todoroki was sure this was what butterflies felt like.

Todoroki held her gaze, not looking away for a second. Suddenly, she smugly smirked with a 'heh'.

"Huh?" Todoroki looked at her, confused.

"Nothing. Just thinking about how much I'm going to enjoy beating you."

Well, aren't you a lot like Bakugo??

"Er... Thanks...?" Todoroki muttered, unsure of what to reply to such a statement.

"I'm bored." She lamented. "Tell me something interesting."

"Like what?"

"I dunno. What do you like doing in your free time."

"I like reading." He replied.

"Really?" Yoshiko perked up, leaning in closer to the table. "What do you read."

"Pretty much anything." He shrugged. "My favourite genre is fantasy."

"I love the fantasy genre too!" She exclaimed, surprising Todoroki. "Have you read Six Wings? It's so fucking good!"

"Yeah," He couldn't help but feel jittery at her excited face. He opened his mouth to tell her which character was her favourite when Present Mic declared the winner.

"BAKUGO KATSUKI HAS WON THIS MATCH!! WILL HE WIN IN THE FINALS AGAINST WHOEVER HIS OPPONENT IS?!"

They could hear the faint cheers and chants of Bakugo's names from the waiting room. Yoshiko got up, the light in her hair fading. "It's our turn now." She said, opening the door and walking out.

She didn't look back as she confidently walked out into the sun, making her way up the concrete fighting stage, hands in her pockets. Todoroki came up from the other side. "NOW FOR THE FINAL MATCH OF THIS ROUND. THAT MATCH THAT DECIDES THE SECOND QUALIFIER FOR THE FINALS, TODOROKI SHOTO AGAINST AKIMITSU YOSHIKO."

"Start!" All Might exclaimed.

As soon as the words left All Might's mouth, Todoroki tapped his foot on the ground, sending a large wall of ice towards her. Yoshiko anticipated that move. She knew he usually went for big ice attacks as soon as he started fighting. She held both palms out and answered with an equally big explosion, shattering his ice into crumbs.

She let out a cold breath as ice fell down upon them like shaved eyes, sparkling like glitter. She propelled herself forward with her explosions. When she got close, Todoroki created another small wall of ice, having her punch ice instead of him.

Yoshiko exploded herself into the air and landed behind the wall. Todoroki summoned fire on his left arm. He swung his fiery fist at her. She threw an explosion at him, having him go crashing into the ice wall behind him. The wall cracked when Todoroki's back met it.

He saw her summon four light balls with a wave of her hand, his eyes widening. Before she could have them explode, he surrounded himself in a small but strong dome of ice. The balls exploded, cracking his ice in the process. The dome somewhat protected him. If it weren't for it, Todoroki's limbs would have said goodbye.