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When Izuku got on the tatami, there wasn’t really space in his brain for what the other person looked like, the only things that mattered were limbs, openings, body parts to strike and his own to protect.
He knew this time that his opponent would be someone with a reputation, from the prestigious Todoroki school, many tournaments won and all that, but Izuku brushed it from his mind as he brushed his hair out of his face. Oh, his curls were getting long again, it might be time to— no! Concentrate! He was about to step on the tatami, to do what he loved, finally having found his way to kumite tournaments, having trained to be faster on his feet than even his fists were when he’d been told he was predictable. No more, he was there to win and make his Master proud.
So he bowed at the edge of the tatami, stepped forward precisely as his opponent did the same. They bowed and Izuku’s brain ran to catalog everything important: how this Todoroki was taller than him, so he would be at a disadvantage in reach, but Izuku was fast and probably more stable thanks to his compact physique. He offered less of a target than Todoroki, no matter the other’s experience, this was the only fight that mattered now.
So when they lifted from the bow, Izuku grinned brightly, excited and ready. He saw Todoroki’s eyes widen, but a moment later the call to begin rang, and Izuku dropped in position.
Todoroki was a second slower, he noticed, and his guard… his guard was still hanging so low!
Without stopping to think, Izuku abandoned all his previous plans as he saw an opening too good to pass up.
He moved forward with a feint of kizami tsuki, ready to go all in with the frontal punch if he could, but Todoroki was already moving to parry and seemed ready to counter, though his guard was still. Low.
Izuku didn’t stop to wonder if he was opening himself too much, because he knew how fast he could be with one of his favorite hits. It was the work of a second: as soon as his weight was on his front leg again after pushing for the feint, his back leg was up, tracing a perfect half circle that he had trained for again and again, soaring high towards his opponent’s face.
Smack!
Izuku stopped in position for a fraction of a second, right leg extended perfectly and then swiftly retracted, the back of his foot having tapped against Todoroki’s left cheek just enough to shake the other boy. Izuku noticed only then that Todoroki’s eyes were two different colors, wide as they were that the hit landed.
And oh, Izuku hoped it had landed, or it was time to hightail it out of close contact and—
The arbiter’s hand came down sharply between them to break up the fight. They were redirected to their starting positions, waiting with bated breath on the next words that would shape their encounter.
Or, Izuku supposed when the arbiter lifted a hand high on his side, end it.
“Ippon!”
Izuku whipped his head to the arbiter. A full point?!
He had to resist the urge to squee in disbelief as they were directed to bow for the end of their match. He bowed to Todoroki, the arbiters, the tatami…
And finally allowed himself to squee once he was back with his teammates!
Oh my gosh, that had been EPIC!
Still, he felt kinda bad for Todoroki, given that the other boy hadn’t had a chance to show off any of his strength. Izuku had kinda looked forward to that too, given Todoroki’s reputation.
So he went to look for the other boy later, when the attention was on other matches, hoping to invite him to a friendly spar without the pressure of the tournament (and possibly to apologize for cutting their match that short, though he’d have to see if Todoroki was the kind of person who’d get offended over such an apology —the image of an angry Kacchan shouting at him popping into his head, making Izuku cringe).
But well, he ended up apologizing anyway as soon as he neared Todoroki and caught sight of his face. The place where he’d hit the other boy was red.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” Izuku rushed over, half startling Todoroki but too busy bowing in apology and hovering trying to make the situation better when— “Oh my gosh, it’s all my fault! I usually have better control than this, I was sure it was a controlled hit, I never meant to hurt you, oh my gosh, do you want to go to the arbiters? I shouldn’t have the match if I can’t even control—”
“Midoriya.”
Izuku’s mouth clicked shut, and he looked once more at Todoroki as a whole, not only the angry red patch of skin on the left side of his face. Todoroki didn’t seem mad at least, more considering, his head slightly tilted as he studied Izuku.
“Your name is Midoriya, right?”
Izuku nodded, bowing once more. “Yes, and I’m so sorry that I—”
“Don’t be.”
“Uh?”
Izuku stared dumbly as Todoroki gestured to the side of his face, moving the hair aside a bit to show fully the angry red… scar? It had a different texture than just a hit for sure. And Todoroki was in fact explaining.
“This is not your fault. I’ve had it since way before our match.” A shadow passed over his eyes, but it was gone a moment later when he offered Izuku a small smirk. “Your mawashi geri was good, but not that good.”
That made Izuku puff up. “Hey! ‘Not that good’ won me the match!” But he deflated a moment later, a bit ashamed to be so direct with someone he didn’t even know. It had to be the pumped feeling of the tournament still going on around them. “Uhm well, are you sure I didn’t hurt you, then?”
Todoroki nodded. “Positive.”
Izuku released a deep breath he hadn’t known he was holding. “I’m glad.”
Todoroki seemed to study him a little more. “You really hadn’t noticed my scar before now?”
It made Izuku rub the back of his neck self-consciously. He knew he could have a bit of a one-track mind now and then, but it had never led to such an embarrassing moment. Well, in a while, at least. “Uhm, not actually? I think I was more focused on our match than on your face, to be honest.”
A hum, Todoroki looked pensively towards the tatamis where the tournament was still going on. “Quite fair. Maybe I should have done the same, but your face was very pretty.”
Heat flooded Izuku’s cheeks. “P-p-pretty??”
Todoroki turned to look at him and Izuku could feel his blush intensify. Then with a nod of finality Todoroki declared. “Yes, pretty. Are you free after the tournament is over?”
Izuku battled his embarrassment to finally regain the line of thought that had led him to look for Todoroki in the first place. “F-free? Like, for a friendly spar? I actually came to ask you about that, I wanted another chance to…” He trailed off, unsure now under Todoroki’s intense gaze.
But Todoroki did incline his head. “We could spar some more. You are an interesting one to face in kumite. But I think you could be interesting in general, too. So, would you be free for a date?”
Izuku’s blush returned full-force. “A d-d-d-date?!”
Todoroki nodded, though he was frowning now. “I’m sorry, does the idea upset you? I’ve never asked anyone on a date, so if I’m doing it wrong I apolo—”
“I’D LOVE TO!”
Izuku clapped his hands over his mouth after practically shouting that in Todoroki’s face. But he was rewarded with a tiny grin, so hopefully the other boy wasn’t too put off by his bumbling and fumbling.
Todoroki gave him a small smile, and Izuku’s worries melted like snow under the sun. “Great.”
“Dekuuuuu!” Ochako’s voice calling for him cut into the moment, jolting Izuku out of his thoughts.
“Ah, those are my friends! I guess I need to go get ready for my next match, ah, sorry again for taking you out so suddenly, I’m sure you are a great opponent and I can’t wait to see your moves when we will get to spar, but I really should be—”
A long, slender finger pressed gently to his lips stopped his ramblings. Izuku stared at Todoroki wide-eyed, as the taller boy chuckled and got his finger back. “Go. Do your best. I’ll be here for our date when the tournament is over.”
A spark of anticipation and determination lit up in Izuku. He gave a nod and marched back to his teammates to get ready to fight once more, but he threw a look over his shoulder as he went.
Todoroki was there, smiling his tiny smile at him.
And when later Izuku stood on the podium to get his prize, he caught sight of Todoroki in the crowd, clapping politely, but offering Izuku that same little smile once more.
It felt like the best prize.