𝕆𝕣𝕡𝕙𝕚𝕔【𝘉𝘕𝘏𝘈 𝘹 𝘰𝘤】

《𝟙𝟟: 𝕀-𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕: 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖》

He does not want to be here.

He does not want to be here.

He does not want to be here.

"And next up is Susumu Todoroki from Japan, up against Seok Kim from Korea." The old announcer mispronounced both of their names, and she quickly moved on to announce other competitors. He's the only one not bothered. His opponent had a big frown on his face and glared at the lady. Not to mention, other people...

"HEY! IT'S SUE-SUE-MOO!! PRONOUNCE IT RIGHT, YOU OLD HAG!!" Ashido yelled, leaning forward against the railing that separates onlookers from the competition. She hasn't fallen yet because of her friends holding her back

"Mina! Stop it!" Jirou was on her left, pushing her back. Hagekure was on her right, with a tight hold on her arm.

"They're going to kick us out if you don't stop!" Uraraka said anxiously.

No, please continue.

The only reason they haven't been kicked out yet is that the management knows Yaoyorozu; turns out they're close with her father, who makes a sizable donation every year to the island. Security is still near their group, though.

"THEN SHE SHOULD STOP SAYING EVERYONE'S NAMES WRONG!"

To the accouncer's credit, she's doing a good job ignoring all the racket. Or maybe she is deaf, just as Ashido claims.

"SUSUMU GO BEAT HIM UP! I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!"

"This isn't a fight!"

Ugh.

This was more embarrassing than he initially thought.

He wished it was just Shouto here to support him; he's been quiet and respectful the entire time, only clapping whenever necessary. But he does feel uncomfortable from his stare. His friends are all louder; they clapped the loudest, shouted words of encouragement and cheer whenever he removed a chess piece from his opponent. They brought in posters, most have encouraging words for him, and others have his face on them. Luckily, there's a rule that you can't present any posters that would obstruct others' view, but it's frightening to see his face on a cardboard cutout.

Almost the entirety of 1-A is present; the only ones missing are Mineta and Kaminari since they're both working. Even Bakugou is attending, but it's because Kirishima dragged him here. He's fortunate that they're also cheering for another child, Aoyama's cousin is also competing and asks for everyone's support, considering their parents couldn't appear. The students agreed to cheer for both of them whenever they can, and if they go against each other, then they'll split up.

The worst thing about everything is that there are cameras everywhere. The event is recorded; that much is obvious, but those teenagers also have their phones out taking photos and videos. Midoriya and Iida helped Shouto with how to properly use his camera. He only took a few pictures before putting them away, presumably meant to show Fuyumi and Natsuo. Susumu tried his best to cover his face as much as he could by ducking his head down or hiding behind his hands. Sometimes it obstructs his view of the board, but it's not too much of an issue.

Susumu learned a valuable lesson after today: never play chess as a cover again. No, he's not on the verge of crying, but it's close.

He attended a few contests back in Japan to maintain his cover; they were typically on a much smaller scale, Fuyumi or Natsuo would be there to support him. When the organizers recommended him for the chess competition on I-Island, he shrugged and agreed, under the impression he wouldn't be allowed to go. Fuyumi would never let him leave the country by himself; that all changed when it was revealed that Shouto would be attending as well.