Warped

Festival

    "And now!" Present Mic's voice boomed over the loudspeakers, "We'll introduce then General Studies class!"

     Hitoshi could feel his heart beating in his chest wildly. He was experiencing such a raging adrenaline rush that some would believe that just his name had been called, not just the class. This was way different from when he infiltrated the villains. He could show off being himself.

     "Calm down, " Sakura chided, gripping him fiercely by the shoulders, "I can't have you hyperventilating before you even make it out of this dark tunnel. Stay cool, calm, collected. Keep your head in the game and win."

     Her emerald eyes dared him to say otherwise and he could feel his cardiac muscle begin to slow. Breathing in much more normally, his shoulders drooped, and she removed her hands.

     "Okay..."

     When he stepped out, he heard the roar of the crowd. If Sakura hadn't calmed him down earlier, he had no doubt that he would've been carried out on a stretcher due to cardiac arrest. However, he paid no attention to the excitement of the crowd. All they wanted was a good fight and prospective interns. This meant way more than that to him.

     "Now we will have a speech from our class representative!"

     The whole arena died down so quickly that a pin drop could be heard. All eyes were on the feisty and short-tempered Katsuki Bakugou who had the same irritated expression. 

      With unwavering determination he announced loud and clear to everyone there or listening on the broadcasts, "I am going to win first place."

     Sakura held back a snicker as she looked at the other members of Class 1-A. As the other classes were in uproar and upheaval, they silently cursed the explosive male for being so arrogant and creating even more enemies.

     "He's stacking even more enemies against him, " Hitoshi stated curiously, "Why would he do that?"

     With a grin, she hummed, "It's quite simple. By going up there and saying that, he's putting his pride and dreams on stake. He's stacking the pressure against him in hopes that he'll out perform everyone else. Pressure can turn coal into a diamond after all."

     Sakura smiled as the first event was picked for the festival. It all went according to the vision she saw as it was a race. 

     "Don't slip, " she warned coyly.

     "Why would I slip?" he asked, clearly not catching on that she knew of something.

     "Nothing, nothing..."

     When she heard the sound that meant the race was starting, she jumped, not freezing from Todoroki's ice in the mean time. Hitoshi, who hadn't known what was going to happen, was lifted in the air by Sakura. He narrowly missed getting his feet frozen to the floor.

     "You could have told me sooner, " he sighed, brushing his purple hair.

     Without a reply she pressed the button on her shoes that turned them into ice skates. She internally cried about how much money went into it and the design. It could've been spent on testing more effective and tasty soldier pills, but she couldn't bring Hitoshi down with her unpreparedness. All those extra hours of working had to go somewhere.

     "You didn't bring another one, " he commented, "How am I-"

    She stopped him mid-sentence by lifting him the air once more and holding him in her arms. For a growing boy, he didn't weigh a lot. "Don't worry, kitty, I'll carry you."

     He sent her an annoyed look which then caused her mouth to stretch into a grin. "Mmn, let's get this show on the road."

     As she skated across it, she felt a small drop of sweat rolling down her face. She had tried to adapt to rough ice, but Todoroki's was beyond what she could have simulated. Had she not prepared, Hitoshi would have had to use someone to carry her. As a publicly-viewed quirkless 'hero, ' being carried would be a mockery to her name and title.

     However, somewhat embarrassing Hitoshi seemed to bring entertainment to the crowds. The poor kid's face was tomato red, and he struggled to cover his face.

     Sakura sped up, watching as Todoroki finally looked back to see her on his tail. Of course it surprised him that she was slowly catching up, but he was dumbfounded that she took it upon herself to carry a person while doing so. 

      The half-hot half-cold boy jumped up, creating a hug gap between the icy road he was creating. The pinkette grimaced and lightly shook Hitoshi so he'd look at her.

     "Yell at him in question form."

     He understood what she was saying and exclaimed, "What was that for?!"

     Hitoshi's eyes widened as Sakura leapt into the air, propelling herself to reach the other side that Todoroki had deemed unreachable. 

     Readying a blast of ice to stop them in their tracks, he answered curtly, "I don't have time-"

     Well, he tried to answer.

     That was all it took for the half-ice half-fire quirk user to be under their control. His eyes instantaneously glazed over, and Sakura silently cheered at the success in her head. Hitoshi then used his new puppet to create a smoother surface. Now that Todoroki wasn't trying to shake them off and make things worse, it was just smooth sailing.

     "Good job, Hitoshi, " she praised with a wide smile on her face, "I knew that I could count on you."

     "Is it really alright to use my quirk so early in the game? What if I lose the element of surprise?"

      Sakura only laughed, readjusting her grip on the boy. "Make them believe that it's something else then. From here on out, whenever you use your quirk make sure that you do something with your eyes. Whoever gazes into them will be under your control."

     "Not a bad idea... But what about the other student from the general studies? They'll know right away, Sakura."

     "Don't worry about that, Hitoshi. The only person from the General Studies class in the final round will be you."

      At that time, he hadn't realized what she said.