Only a little bit will do. You touched a couple of students' shoulders as you squeezed past them in the tunnel, borrowing some of their life energy. You felt the power coursing through you as you continued to run ahead towards those familiar robots. They used the same ones at the entrance exam.

You looked to your side, noticing Todoroki taking the spotlight as he used his ice quirk to create a massive ice wall in front of you. Though the sting of his lack of words hurt since yesterday hurt, you needed to focus right now. Your hands started shaking, so you sped up, dodging the massive robots as they defrost.

This was the opportunity to make your debut, which made you push yourself even harder to confront any obstacles the Sports Festival could throw at you. You wanted to prove yourself to the world more than anything.

But, as you forced yourself to hurry up, you began to drain your life energy reserves.

By the time you made it to the minefield, Bakugo and Todoroki were already a good hundred meters ahead of you, shoving each other with their elbows, dead set on winning.

Catching up your ragged breath, you shut your (e/c) eyes, trying to sense any life energy on the ground. You had only begun getting a better grip on this aspect of your quirk, so it felt a little fuzzy, especially as more first-year students approached you.

The ground had enough life energy due to various creatures, from microscopic bacteria, fungi, to earthworms, and plant roots. You could just about sense where they had placed the explosive mines.

You bit your lower lip in frustration before deciding that running through the minefield with your eyes closed would be the most effective way to tackle this challenge.

Unbeknownst to you, the crowd roared at your actions. From some saying it was a stupid thing to do while others came to respect you for being so brave and confident on your own abilities. Whether brave or stupid, it seemed to be working so far.

However, soon as you were closer to Todoroki and Bakugo, you got distracted by a bright life force flying over your head. You stopped yourself, as you looked up, with Midoriya in the air. He used a piece of scrap metal to help his landing and immobilise the other two boys. A mine went off in front of you, sending you flying back.

You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to sense the best place to land. However, more and more of your classmates neared you, which made this an excruciatingly tough task. You bent your knees, bracing yourself for the impact. Nevertheless, the ground where you landed did not explode. That mine had already gone off.

Arriving at the fourth place after Midoriya, Todoroki and Bakugo, a bright emerald light flashed before your eyes. As the crowd cheered on you, your hands began to tremble. With your quirk teetering off the edge of a cliff, it was apparent that you had absorbed enough energy to reach your current limit. The box that stored the vitality inside you, as Recovery Girl had described it, decided to show its cracks.

Todoroki shot a quick glance over his shoulder, noticing you crossing your arms over your chest to stop them from shaking. He was about to turn on his heel to check on you, but he restrained himself. His old man was watching him, so he better put on a good show, not complying to anything Endeavor was willing to force on him.

Digging his nails into his palms, Todoroki forced himself to look ahead. 

Mina skipped towards you and patted your back. "Hi, (y/n). You're amazing! I mean, like, I didn't know you could do that! Girl, like, were you hiding an extra quirk since the start of school?"

"Not quite, to be honest. It's just I'm not the best at using that aspect of my quirk yet." You clenched your fists so that she wouldn't notice them them trembling, now more violently. "And thanks, Mina. I didn't see you much, but I'm sure you were great."

After the cavalry battle was announced, the first person to come up to you was Koji Koda. He looked up to you as he fidgeted with his fingers in silence. You always seemed to end up being paired up with the quiet boy as your quirks worked well together, so you decided to ask him to join forces. "Should we make a team?"

Koji gave you a small nod and handed you a daisy.

You appreciated the freshly cut flower, staring at it in keen curiosity. It was a little crumpled, so you assumed that the boy must have stored it in his pocket since this morning.

Downcast, you brushed the daisy's petals with your fingers. "I'm sorry, but I can't use it for its life energy."

The boy with peach-coloured skin shook his rock-like head, making your eyes brighten in realisation.

"Oh, is it for me to keep? Thank you, Koji. That's very kind of you." You gave him a closed-eyed smile. "Let's find some more teammates and try our best, okay?"

---

You let out a sigh of relief, as your hands stopped shaking. "Well done, guys. Too bad we didn't make it."

"Still, thank you so much for using your power to help us, (y/n)!" Hagakure said, recognising that, without your support, your team would have ranked far lower.

Jiro pressed her lips together into a line. "Yeah, you helped us all do our best. It just wasn't enough."

All three of you nodded, your shoulders sagging, until you noticed Koji Koda smiling instead. Such a wholesome bean.

Though that more pleasant mood soon vanished as you met eyes with Todoroki, who stood a few meters away from you, on your side.

Though you weren't sure if he had been staring at you, you had known him for long enough to be able to tell he looked upset, burning in anger even.

You averted your gaze from him, and looked around the crowd, disappointment welling from deep inside you as you hadn't make it to the top four teams. Technically, you would have been excluded from the final event: the one on one tournament that you had hoped would allow you to prove yourself to the hero agencies.

Despite being part of the team that ranked third in the previous event, Mashirao Ojiro and Nirengeki Shoda resigned. Your eyes widened as Midnight whipped the floor in her revealing hero costume.

"That means we need two students to replace you two. Are you sure of what you are doing?" The somnambulist said as she licked her whip.

"Yes, it wouldn't be fair on our classmates otherwise. I can't remember how we won," the blonde boy with the sturdy tail said, nervous sweat trickling down his cheek.

"I see," Midnight began. "We will have to sort through the other two events and pick another two fighters."

Midnight glanced at the daisy tucked behind your ear as she waited for the computer to analyse and show the results. Your mouth dropped when you saw the screen. You and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu were to take the two available places. Straining yourself on the first event seemed to have paid off so far.

---

You straightened your back as Midoriya sat next to you, near your other classmates on the stadium's benches. You noticed the dry tears that lingered under his eyes.

"Deku, did something happen to you?"

"(l/n), I-I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but you're my friend, so I'm doing it for your safety."

You furrowed your eyebrows. "What is it, Deku?"

You put your hands over your mouth as Midoriya told you what he overheard Endeavor shout at Todoroki under the tunnel.

You sprinted down the corridor, searching for the half-and-half boy. You still couldn't believe what Midoriya had told you. Suddenly, everything made so much more sense, and it all made you feel terribly hollow inside. Growing closer to you must have been so painful for Todoroki when all he could picture was his twisted family wrecking you for no reason. His father's plans utterly baffled you. You weren't sure you could live with Todoroki anymore now that all the arrows pointed to Endeavor playing bloody matchmaker with you two.

You stopped right on your tracks when you overheard the explosion boy shouting at someone in the waiting room.

"You ignored me again. Just fuckin' listen to me, Icy Hot," Bakugo said. "I don't usually butt in with extras, but if you're upsetting (y/n) again, just get over it."

The ticking time bomb had gone off. You covered your mouth so no one could hear your breathing, while you listened into the conversation.

"What's with that stick up your ass? Stop giving me the cold shoulder, and fuckin' stop giving it to (y/n) while you're at it, you bastard."

"It's none of your business."

"Huh? Cut that crap, Icy Hot. I can't beat the shit out of both of you fair and square if (y/n) keeps breaking down because of you."

You peeked at the room, only to see Todoroki sitting down on a chair, looking down to his hands. He gritted his teeth.

Hearing Bakugo's strident steps nearing the door, you looked to either side and realised that you'd better leg it if you didn't want to crush into him.

Your ears perked up when you heard Todoroki's voice. Against any trace of common sense, you stayed there, intently listening in to what he had to say. But you couldn't quite catch his threatening, soft-spoken words.

"Don't put words in my mouth! No matter how fuckin' kindly (y/n) treats you, don't get too cocky. Did you get that, you idiot?" Bakugo said before storming off.

When the ash-blond saw you a few meters away down the corridor, he decided to walk the other way. He cursed under his breath. With his blood boiling, talking to you at this minute would send him into overdrive. Lashing out at you could hinder your ability to fight him, and he wanted to ensure that he earned his first place.

"You don't need to hide. I know you're there, (y/n)," you heard Todoroki's deep baritone voice from inside the waiting room, making your heart rattle.