Finding Me (Todoroki x Reader)

Chapter 18

I took off running as fast as I could, refusing to look back and see what expression Todoroki wore on his normally neutral face. Bakugou, I had no doubt, would be beyond exploding with anger, but Todoroki...

'Stay focussed! ' I shook my head, nearing the exit to the mine field. 'I'm almost there! Just need to-'

Suddenly, the earth shook once more, and I allowed myself to turn and check out the aftermath of my lead-stealing move. I almost stopped in shock when I saw Midoriya flying, just as I had, on a piece of scrap metal from the robots before.

'Holy crap...' I stared at him in awe, 'did I look that ridiculous when I did that? '

However, before I could answer myself, Todoroki and Bakugou and Midoriya all started closing in on me and my lead. Midoriya had somehow delayed the two boneheads from continuing to advance, and so they were now two positions out of the potential lead.

"Shit..." I mumbled as I realised how close Midoriya was getting, and how mad Todoroki and Bakugou were, as they used all that they had to get back to where they were: where I am now.

So I didn't look back, but instead looked forward towards the arena, where we'd started our race earlier that morning. 'Come on, Y/N. I'm almost... there...'

"Agh!"

A stabbing sensation pierced my heart, and I lost my ability to function for a moment, causing me to fall to the ground and curl up in the fetal postion. I felt as if time had stopped, as I couldn't breathe and couldn't feel anything else other than excruciating pain.

'What is happening to me? ' I thought, but the moment I thought it, the pain was gone, and my senses returned to me.

A set of feet stopped in front of me briefly, another set stopping in front my eyes. The first set of feet no sooner arrived than left my vision, while a third set of feet flew by like leaves in the wind. I rolled onto my back, finally feeling free of my pain and loving the sensations I got when I could hear and see and feel things.

I looked up at the person towering over me - the second set of feet - and, although the sun covered his face, it didn't stop my heart from hitching at his voice.

"Take my hand, L/N," Todoroki said quietly, almost scared of something. "We've got a race to finish." I didn't quite understand what he was saying, but I saw his outstretched hand and figured he was helping me. So I grabbed it, and before I knew it, we were running into the the final tunnel to the stadium floor, holding hands all the while.

I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, and as we neared it, Todoroki's warm hand let go of mine so suddenly. I stumbled, slowing down a little from Todoroki so that he was now clearly in front of me, and I was trailing him as we entered the arena.

The bright light was blinding to begin with, but the sound of the raucous crowd seemed to fade it down, so that I could the packed stadium, and, more importantly, who else was on the floor with me. I scanned the whole area, but I could only see Midoriya, Bakugou, and Todoroki - no one else.

'Hang on, does that mean...'

"And our fourth placed competitor is Y/N L/N! What a great race she had," I heard Present Mic announce to the crowd, and a giant wave of cheers and claps resounded throughout the crowd. I felt so overwhelmed by the fact that I was in the top four, all I could do was stand with my mouth agape just looking at it all.

"L/N!" I was knocked out of my stupor when I heard my green-haired friend's voice, and a small smile spread across my lips as he came up to me.

"Midoriya!" I greeted him, "Congrats on the win. That was quite the move back there. Very impressive!"

"Thanks, L/N," he blushed at my praise, rubbing the back of his neck. "I-I actually saw you do it and decided to give it a go. It was a good strategy, even though I had to adjust it a little for it to work for me. Without your strategy, I would've been last for sure."

I only smiled brightly as I continued to chat with him while the other competitors filed, one by one, into the stadium. However, as much as I was happy to be there, and grateful to have been given a slight chance at victory, I couldn't help but wonder...

'What happened to me before? And why did Todoroki help me? He said we weren't friends, so...'

I mulled the thoughts over a hundred times in my frazzled brain, scanning the field to try and find the red and white-haired boy so I could chat with him.

'He could've possibly taken the lead from Midoriya if he hadn't have stopped to help me. So why didn't he? ' I finally spotted him standing by himself on the outer rims of our large group, just staring at the ground.

Once again, as if he could sense my curious E/C eyes staring at him, his head tilted up enough for his eyes to lock with mine. He seemed so... torn. So unsure.

'One things for sure, though...' I decided on as Present Mic was beginning to announce the next game. 'Something's definitely not right with him, and I'm gonna find out what it is.'