Blue Butterfly | Amajiki Tamaki

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2nd POV

"Are you ready?!" Present Mic yelled. "We have reached the last match of the first round, here are the last two!"

The darkness lingering in the tunnel caked the looming walls, the burst of light towards the end the only source guiding you to the arena. A non-existent breeze blew your bangs astray, unable to whisk away the permanent crease furrowing your brows, [e/c] eyes rid of their usual glow.

A torrent of emotions overflowed their capacity—a mixture of melancholy, guilt and exasperation boiling to a certain degree that you couldn't simply hold back.

A scowl settled on your face, teeth gritting and jaw taut as a rock; a fiery flame kindling itself inside of your soul as you bawled your fists, bared your teeth and stepped into the blinding light.

"He's one of the strongest in the hero course and has magma seething through his veins; it's Inoue Kou! Versus! She may be small but she's a feisty little butterfly who can sting like a bee; also from the hero course, it's [Surname] [Name]!"

The crowd ruptured wildly with roaring cheers and claps, yet at that moment, you couldn't fathom a single sound, let alone Present Mic's ear-splitting voice cutting through the air.

As if a projector, your mind replayed a plethora of images, causing you to remember the tinge of bitterness on your tongue when you eavesdropped on Mirio and Tamaki. You were utterly frustrated; with yourself, with the fact that you couldn't empathise with them and on top of all; with Haru. You wanted to wipe clean that malicious, smug grin that was always etched onto his lips, give him a powerful blow to the gut for humiliating Mirio like that, but what good will it do?

It wouldn't evoke the sweet satisfaction you needed to satisfy the qualm, and what was done was done.

Mirio had gave it his very all albeit for a short time and made it thus so far; with his bubbly attitude and his sheer determination to keep growing as a hero, there was bound to be a Pro amidst the thousands in the stands who would offer their agency.

But why did your heart still ache?

Kou's crimson locks drifted across his forehead and quirked eyebrows, his hazels slitting and his sardonic smirk widening. "How unfortunate you must be, [Surname]. To be pitted against me, the worst match-up for your itty-bitty Quirk. I feel sorry for you."

"... Shut it," you growled fiercely, the ebbing anger from earlier returning.

"Oya?" His smirk twitched in amusement. "Where did all that 'gentleness' disappear to? Are you finally showing your true colours?"

'Don't answer him, he's only trying to provoke you and fire you up,'  you thought.

"Not answering? That's fine too; I really like it when people are mad, it gets my blood pumping," he spoke, shuddering in delight. "Saving people who are in distress with fear written all over their faces and hearing their scared pleas, that's what I love."

When he was met with nothing but quietude, he resumed, his glare deepening:

"But do you know what I hate? People who are happy for no absolute reason, like what the hell goes through their brain? Can their happiness really last for eternity or is just a farce to mask their sorrow?"

Kou paused briskly, a hefty silence draping across the both of you. "Hm, maybe I'll give you an example?" He dipped his chin in thought, contemplating.

"An example?"

"I hate people... like Togata Mirio."

Your heart hammered erratically in your chest, frustration hissing in your blood like deadly poison as his words sank into your thumping head. 'What?'