CHAPTER FOURTEEN

      Megumi wanted to hit herself.

      But first, she was going to murder that stupid purple grape, Mineta and also Kaminari. Stupid boys.

      "What happened, Class-A?! What kind of service is this?" Present Mic sounded rather shocked.

      All the girls of Class 1-A were deathly still and dressed in the same outfit as those American cheerleaders. Megumi felt like an idiot, wearing the skimpy costume. The other first years were clearly gawking at them, some giving them pretty weird looks.

      Already frustrated over her loss in the second round, Megumi was now feeling a little angry. She dropped one of the pom-poms out of her hand, and stomped on it, rather angrily. "I'll roast that stupid grape and that Pikachu! I'll really roast them."

      "Careful, Megumi-chan," Tsuyu patted her back. "You are starting to sound like Bakugo-kun there."

      Megumi stomped on the pom-pom again.

      Yaoyorozu fell to her knees, looking very frustrated. "Why do I always end up falling for that little pervert's stupid schemes? I even used my quirk to make these outfits."

      Uraraka leaned next to her and patted her back.

      "Well," Hagakure suddenly spoke up, invisible hands raising the pom-poms in the air. "There's still time before the finals and it's tiring to be nervous. We should just do it!"

      "Huh? Hagakure-san, there's no way I am ever doing something like this," Megumi clearly said, removing the other pom-pom from her hand. "Ever."

      Before any of the other girls could say something, Present Mic finally resumed his commentary. "Now, it's time for a fun recreational competition! After this, sixteen players from the four teams will compete in the final stage, tournament style."

      Megumi walked up to Natsume, who was standing next to Yuu and Mika from 1-B. Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly, rather), Natsume had quickly become friends with them. How her cousin was able to do that; she didn't know. But it was one of his skills that she was jealous of.

      "I can't believe you fell for that," Natsume said, snickering slightly. "You don't look too bad though."

      "Natsume, do you want to die?" Megumi threatened, though her heart wasn't it. "Don't ever talk about this again."

      "Tachibana-san is right though. The outfit isn't that bad," Mika added with an encouraging tone.

       "Don't care; I look dumb," Megumi said, crossing her arms with a huff.

      Around them, people from the four selected teams were already talking about this battle and how excited they were. Megumi wouldn't lie; she felt pretty jealous of them.

      "Now we'll draw lots to determine the pairings! Once the pairings are determined, the battles will start after the recreation games." Midnight suddenly brought a yellow, square box with a slit at top. "The 16 finalists can choose whether or not they want to participate in the games or not, as some may want to save their strength. Let's start with the first team."

      But before she could do so, Ojiro raised his hand and suddenly spoke out, gathering everyone's attention. He raised his hand, high.

      "Umm...excuse me? I want to withdraw."

      A jolt of surprise went through Megumi. "Ojiro's withdrawing? But why?"

      Others of their class and some of the other U.A. first years had the same confused look as she did. Ojiro lowered his hand, looking rather regretful about something.

      "I don't remember much of what happened during the cavalry battle," He pointed towards Shinso. "I think it was his quirk. I know this is a rare opportunity, but everyone else has worked pretty hard to get here and I was just someone's puppet. I can't fight with everyone without knowing how I got here. It wouldn't be fair."

      Megumi frowned as she looked at Ojiro. She could understand his sentiments very well, but still...he'd lose his chance.

      "I wasn't much help to my own team, you know," Mina admitted, trying to get him to change his mind. But that was no use. Ojiro had already made up his mind.

      "That's not it. This is about my pride; I can't just give that up," Ojiro said, voice quivering slightly. As an afterthought, he added. "Also, why are all the girls dressed up in cheerleading outfits?"

      The girls collectively flinched.

      Then, another boy stepped up. "I'm Nirengeki Shoda from 1-B. I want to withdraw for the same reason. Despite our ability, if someone, who hasn't done much, advances, doesn't it defeat the whole purpose of this Sports Festival?"

      "Listen to these guys!" Kirishima cried, clenching his fists. "They are so manly."

      'What's Midnight going to do?' Megumi silently thought, crossing her arms.

      "That kind of youthful talk...," Midnight started to speak slow. "Is something that I like! Shoda, Ojiro, I accept your withdrawal!" She finished, with her usual flair, a strange blush on her face.

      Megumi rolled her eyes. Seriously, why was Midnight their referee?

      "Then the two participants to replace their spots...," Midnight said. "I'll choose them from the 5th place team, that is, Team Kendo."

      Kendo, the orange haired girl, suddenly looked rather shocked. But she managed to steady her expression. "If that's the case, instead of us who barely moved during the cavalry battle, it's these two teams, right?"

      She looked at Megumi and her team; and also Tetsutetsu and his. Megumi suddenly froze up. 'Eh? What does she mean?'

      "Shouldn't it be members from Team Tetsutetsu and Team Okumura, who fought to keep their place till the end?"

      "Kendo-san," Mika suddenly whispered, standing right next to Megumi, who was still actually frozen, barely understanding what Kendo was talking about.

      "It's nothing suspicious," Kendo said, looking at both teams (yes, even Megumi and Natsume who were from 1-A) with a smile. "That's how it should be."

      "Oh, you guys...THANK YOU!" Tetsutetsu cried in delight.

      "Umm...I don't really know you, but thank you for doing this!" Megumi said, bowing as low as she could. "Really, thanks a lot. Thank you!"

      A chance that was lost was regained once again. Things had immediately changed. Megumi had a chance again; to show the pros what she was made of.

      "And so, Tetsutetsu and Okumura complete the sixteen finalists!" Midnight declared with a crack of her feathered whip. "The pairing based on the lots is this!"

      The screen above them crackled to life, now displaying the tournament brackets and the pair-ups of the sixteen finalists.

      "Where am I? Where am I?" Megumi quickly scanned the screen, finding her name in the third match of the day. Against Kaminari.

      Natsume suddenly came up right behind her hair, putting an arm around her shoulders. "I suppose you won't be taking part in the recreational games then?"

      "Oh hell no," Megumi covered her face with her hands. "I thought I'd be ready for this, but now that I have the chance, I don't even know if I can actually do it. I need to mentally prepare myself as much as I can."

     "You can do it. I know you can. Right? Ouma-san, Tanizaki-san?" Natsume turned towards the other two who had walked right next to them. Both of them nodded.

      "After spending that short time with you as part of your team, I'm sure you can definitely do it," Yuu said, tilting his head.

      "I agree with them. I'll be cheering you on, Okumura-san," Mika added, an encouraging smile on her face.

      "Thank you for your words, you guys," Megumi said, bowing again. But internally, she was still freaking out. Did she have a chance? Could she actually do it? Were her powers enough? She pressed a hand over her racing heart, taking in a deep breath.

      The tournament battles were definitely going to be a lot more intense.

      Once she was finally out of the stupid cheerleader costume and back into usual U.A. gym clothes, Megumi finally allowed herself a chance to breathe. But, just a mere second after she sat next to Natsume, nerves rose up inside her and suddenly she felt rather anxious. She took a deep breath, trying to calm the agitated beat of her heart.

      Seeing her actions, Natsume peered at her with a look of concern. "You good? You look a little off."

      Megumi smiled weakly, giving him a thumbs-up. "Yeah, I'm good. Don't worry about me."

      "Alright then," Natsume said, though, somehow, his expression said that he didn't believe her. "Well then, let's pay attention and cheer Midoriya on."

      "Yeah, sure."

      But quite frankly, Megumi was so nervous, that instead of watching the current battle, her mind was forming strategies on how to beat Kaminari. As idiotic as he is, his quirk is still pretty strong. How does fire even work against electricity? I mean, I know I could use mine as a shield and all, but how effective would that be? Maybe I should try-but then...'

      Half-paying attention to Midoriya's fight with Shinso and half-strategizing for her own battle, Megumi's mind was definitely working a lot faster today. But it was also spinning with nerves. So even when she formed a strategy, she immediately started doubting it. With this, she had gone through at least five strategies by the time Midoriya's match was over and the green haired boy had gotten his victory.

      Around them, her classmates were cheering for Midoriya and behind her, Bakugo was hissing in annoyance, almost like he couldn't believe that Midoriya had won his fight.

      Megumi took in a deep breath, placing a hand on her chest. 'Don't think about it. Don't think about it. I think it's best to go in with a clear mind. I have to stop my overthinking.'

     "Whose fight is it next?" Megumi asked Natsume, who was leaning forward, talking to Uraraka and Iida sitting in the row in the front. He leaned back, sending a cheery grin to them.

      Turning to Megumi, he said, "It's Todoroki and Sero's fight."

      "Oh, I see," Megumi said. Maybe, this would be fun to watch. After seeing Todoroki fight the villains back at U.S.J, she knew he had a greater chance of winning. But Sero was a pretty good fighter too.

      Right before the battle started, Midoriya returned back to the 1-A seating area. As he passed by their row, both Megumi and Natsume called out in unison. "You did amazing!"

      "T-thanks!" He replied, before taking a seat next to Uraraka and Iida, who were also grinning at him.

      And then, the match started. The torches next to the battle stage lit up, high flames flaring and fluttering in the wind. Todoroki and Sero were on the stage. The crowd went wild with their cheers.

      The moment the signal was given to start the match, Sero immediately launched his attack. Releasing his tape from his elbows, he sent them straight towards Todoroki, wrapping the other boy by his arms and his legs and started pushing him towards the boundary, all the while controlling him with his tape. And just as Todoroki was about to be completely thrown out, he used his attack.

      Well, to be fair, it was more like Todoroki unleashed his power with so much energy that he ended up creating a massive glacier that covered half the stadium.

      Megumi instinctively moved back, arms raised to defend herself. Next to her, Natsume's mouth had fallen open in shock.

      "Holy shit," He mumbled in awe.

      'Yeah, holy shit,' Megumi thought. 'Does that mean at USJ, he wasn't even using his full strength? Shit, he's much stronger than I thought.'

      Then she thanked the gods, feeling lucky that it wasn't her facing him. Though technically, she could easily melt his ice. But still...Shoto Todoroki was pretty strong.

      But as the 'Don't mind' chant echoed around the stadium, Todoroki took a moment to melt Sero out of the glacier he had created. But Megumi suddenly thought his expression was a rather sad one.

     'I wonder why that is,' She curiously thought.

     The thought faded a second later as it finally hit her; her match was going to be the next one. And she had zero idea on what she was going to do.

     'Oh shit.'  

Like I said, Megumi is going to be a part of the battle rounds too. Think of this as more of a filler chapter, because the next chapter is a going to be a lot more fun and more action packed. Also, notice how Megumi didn't pay attention to Midoriya's battle at all, but when it came to Todoroki, she was watching it kinda closely. Hehe. I can't wait to write more moments between these two. 

Till then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below <3 <3