Chapter Text
Hizashi Yamada lived for moments like these.
The heat of the crowd, the roar of the stadium, the electric buzz that thrummed underneath his skin. The feeling of performance. He basked in it.
He knew how to hold a spotlight.
Hero course students had reputations to uphold, and his was loud
Flashy
Unmissable
So when the announcer’s voice boomed across the arena, “ YAMADA HIZASHI, FROM THE HERO COURSE, CLASS 1-A ,” He walked out of the tunnel like he owned the world, and the audience exploded in applause.
Hizashi flashed his brightest smile to the camera facing him and gave it a wink. He turned and waved to his mothers, holding the banner with his name on it, and threw them a kiss.
Confidence radiated off of him. Why wouldn’t it? Not to toot his own horn, but he got to semi-finals in the Yuuei Sports Festival. He stepped on the edge of the field, eyeing the dark tunnel that would reveal his new opponent.
He didn’t watch any of the other rounds, first because after his fights, he got severely dehydrated and light-headed, and he thought he would already know everyone’s quirk since he had classes with them, as they would most likely be in the hero course.
He turned to see his opponent step out onto the field.
“AND FACING HIM—FROM GENERAL STUDIES, CLASS 1-C—AIZAWA SHOTA!”
Hizashi blinked. General studies?
Some guy ambled into view, tallish, and hands in pockets, unbothered by the screams from the audience. Hair dark and unkempt, falling messily into his face and completely covering his eyes. His back was slouched, and it looked like he didn’t want to be here.
Hizashi tilted his head in confusion
The boy didn’t even bother looking up
The moderator started the countdown
Then—“BEGIN!”
Hizashi wasted no time opening his mouth, ready to shake the field with a single shout.
But no sound came out
He stumbled, staggered a half step. His throat vibrated, but there was nothing
His stomach dropped.
“What the—?”
The other boy was already moving directly towards him. His hands flattened his hair on his forehead like he was scared they would be let loose.
Who is this guy? Why is he so worked up about his hair?
Hizashi tried again. Still no sound.
That was when Emo boy closed the distinct between them and struck with a quick punch to the face that made Hizashi even more surprised.
Before he could recover, the boy’s foot drove into his chest.
He crashed to the ground hard.
Hizashi looks down at the white paint that was directly under his waist. Half of his body was outside.
Out of bounds
Match over.
"WINNER, AIZAWA SHOUTA!"
Hizashi looked up, stunned at everything, with finally a good view of the mystery boy who stood over him. As he looked down on him, his hair shifted in the breeze, and he saw his crimson eyes turn to black.
The boy was pale, like he hadn’t seen sunlight in years, and every angle of his face was razor-sharp, cheekbone carved high, jaw tight, a nose that could slice glass.
His face looked sculpted, almost cruel in its precision. Beautiful in a way, Hizashi hadn’t expected.
He didn’t smile, nor did he blink.
He looked dead behind the eyes
Sanpaku. Cold.
But they locked onto Hizashi like he could see right through him.
The boy turned around and left without another word.
Hizashi stayed on the ground a beat longer before remembering he was before an audience.
He quickly stood up and shrugged to the nearest camera he found and gave a quick grin. He waved goodbye to the audience and thanked them with both hands together and in sign, and disappeared into the tunnel.