As spring ends // mha x reader

We stepped onto Ground Beta, sunlight glinting off the polished buildings and the carefully crafted cityscape. My classmates buzzed with nervous energy. Some were clearly pumped and ready to throw down; others looked like they’d rather be anywhere else.

All Might stood tall at the front, flashing that trademark grin like this was just another casual Tuesday. “Today, we’ll split you into teams of two! One team will play heroes, the other villains. Your objective, heroes: stop the villains and secure the weapon. Villains: protect it at all costs. Real-world situations call for unpredictability, and this is where you’ll learn to adapt!”

After the sorting, I found myself standing next to my partner. Shoto Todoroki. I’d seen him around, heard whispers about his power. But the guy was a total lone wolf, the kind who probably wouldn’t say “hello” unless it was to set something on fire or freeze it solid.

The first teams went up. Midoriya and Uraraka versus Iida and Bakugo. Everyone’s eyes glued to the screens as the fight unfolded. And let me tell you, it was something. Bakugo completely lost it, deciding that taking out Midoriya was the only thing that mattered, leaving poor Iida stuck playing bodyguard to the weapon. Iida got really into villain mode, like the kind of over-the-top bad guy from those old cartoons. Midoriya and Bakugo’s fight turned into a full-on demolition derby, while Uraraka tried sneaking past Iida to get to the weapon. Midoriya broke his arm but, apparently, that was totally worth it because he punched a hole through the roof and all the floors above. Uraraka used the opening to touch the weapon, activating her quirk and getting the weapon.

Minumaki, hovering above the chaos, leaned in with his usual deadpan commentary. “Oh, this is good. Ever watched reality TV? Same vibe but with way more punching.”
I glanced up at him. “You’re enjoying this a little too much.” He shrugged, voice casual as ever. “I’m dead. What else am I supposed to do? The afterlife doesn't come with cable.”

The next match kicked off: Todoroki and me versus Hagakure and Ojiro. They were the villains, we were the heroes.

. . .

I tried to start a game plan with Todoroki, but he pretty much told me to sit down and let him handle it. No chat, no teamwork. Classic.

Why did I get stuck with the guy who doesn’t even want to cooperate? I figured he’d at least try to plan, but nope. I groaned inwardly. Guess I’d have to bulldoze through on my own.

We approached the building, and before I could even get inside, he spoke up.

“Stay out here. I’ll take care of this.” Cold. Detached. As if we weren’t a team. I was already not liking this guy. Too bad for him, because stubborn is my middle name. There was no way I’d let him hog all the glory. This was a team exercise, and I was damn well going to participate.

I shot a glance at Minumaki and nodded. We weren’t sitting this one out.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” I said. “We’re being judged on all aspects. That includes teamwork. If you do all the work, it’ll look bad for me and you.”

Todoroki paused, eyes briefly locking with mine. “Fine. I’ll handle capturing them. You get the weapon.”

I grinned. Easy enough. “But seriously, stay out here so you don’t freeze your feet off.”Without a word, he stepped inside and unleashed a blast of ice, freezing the entire grounds. I stared at the suddenly slippery battlefield, then back at Minumaki, silently begging for some shadow shoes or something.

He smirked and conjured a small shadow platform beneath me. I stepped on it, floating just above the ice, and we moved forward.

The silence between Todoroki and me was thick. Not like I could exactly talk to Minumaki out loud without looking insane. Explaining my quirk or his presence here would take way too much energy, especially since Todoroki’s first impression was “no thanks” at best.

We found the weapon’s room quickly. Ojiro was stuck to the floor, completely immobilized. No clue where Hagakure was. She was invisible and probably somewhere plotting a sneak attack. She wouldn’t last long, though. I moved toward the weapon and touched it. “We’re just on different levels,” Todoroki said from behind me, eyes cold as he stared at Ojiro.
...

It's finally out! This chapter took so long for me to write… I really hate this chapter, but I'm too tired to rewrite it all. It's a shorter chapter, but that just means the next one will be longer than usual :] I have been so busy recently. But fear not! I shall continue updating as often as I can! Idk if you can tell, but I don't actually remember much about what happened during the actual anime/manga for this chapter. I have the manga for reference, but I couldn't find it today and just went off my memory. Could I have watched the anime to learn what happened? Yes. Did I? No. I'm lazy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyways, thanks for reading! Already over 500 reads! Honestly, I thought I was gonna get 16 at most. Thank you all for the support! I love reading the few comments I get and I really appreciate them! Can't wait for you all to read the next chapter. Thanks for reading my lovely doodle noodles :)))