Admiration

Tsubaki Ishihara slid the door of Recovery Girl's office open, still in her gym uniform. She hadn't made it past the first round of the sports festival for the second year in a row, but it didn't bug her too much. After all, now she could help Recovery Girl for the rest of the sports festival and enjoy the rest of the events without having to worry about going into the ring herself.

Ishikara quickly spotted the elderly hero placing various bandages and cotton swabs on the counter with some medicine to prevent infections. Recovery Girl gave a loud sigh as she turned around, noticing her aid. "Today's certainly going to be busy," she said, already sounding tired.

Tsubaki nodded in agreement. "Last year wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Maybe this year will be the same," the blonde commented hopefully.

"Yes, well last year we didn't have Izuku Midoriya," the nurse retorted.

"Oh, he's that first year, right? The one who injures himself when he uses his Quirk?" Ishihara asked curiously. She knew the name sounded familiar, but there were quite a few first years who had already made names for themselves with the villain attack.

Recovery Girl only nodded in response, and her aid couldn't help but wince sympathetically. "Well, I'm gonna go back to the stands. The next round should be starting any minute now," the blonde said, easing her way towards the door.

The nurse nodded. "Just don't forget to come here if someone gets injured," she reminded loudly as her aid slipped out the door.

The cavalry battle had just gotten underway, and Tsubaki was already on the edge of her seat, trying her best to observe every one of the first year students. They all seemed amazing from what she could tell. But there was one in particular that she had her eyes glued to.

Kinoko Kimori, the shyest girl of 1-B. Ever since she met her at the entrance exams, she had been drawn to her. They had hardly talked, partially because of Ishikara being in 2-B rather than 1-B, but Kimori's shy nature also got in the way. On the few occasions they had talked, however, Tsubaki found herself enjoying the conversation and wanting to know more about the shy girl.

Ishihara was brought out of her thoughts by Present Mic's loud voice over the speakers, "It looks like Monoma's team has stolen away some of team Bakugo's points!" She scanned the arena and found the two teams just as Bakugo lunged at the other team. The blonde couldn't help but snort a little at Bakugo's tenacity. She didn't know a whole lot about him, but everyone in the hero course already knew about his anger and his ego. Not a good combination for a future hero, but he had a few years to grow out of it.

Monoma was another kid from 1-B. From what she had observed of him, he seemed to sneaky, conniving, and a little full of himself. Definitely rough around the edges, but his sneaky nature paired with his Quirk was a good combination.

Tsubaki's eyes wandered over the arena, occasionally stopping for a moment to watch whatever struggle was occurring between two teams. But it didn't take long for her mind to wander back to Kinoko after catching a glimpse of the team she was on. Her team was lead by a girl with orange hair pulled into a side ponytail. It was obvious to anyone who looked at her, Kimori wasn't happy to be in the spotlight. She was still trying her best despite her discomfort.

Ishihara looked at the scoreboard and grimaced. Team Kendo wasn't going to make it, not unless a miracle happened. She felt bad for them. They were giving it their all, and that wasn't going to be enough. She knew just how discouraging that could be. Just a minute later, Present Mic called time, bringing the events in the ring to an instant halt.

Tsubaki watched the proceedings, but her mind couldn't move away from how Kimori must have been feeling. It was awful to lose during the sports festival with all those people watching. She wanted to encourage her, help her move past this defeat, and that was just what Ishihara was going to do.

Once the next event and matches were determined and the losing teams had left the arena, Tsubaki left her seat and made her way to the first year student section. It was in one of the hallways that she ran into Kendo and Kimori. The orange haired teen smiled and greeted her brightly, as if the lose hadn't brought her mood down.

"Hey! I just came by to let you guys know you did great out there!" the blonde said, returning Kendo's smile.

Kendo chuckled bashfully and scratched the back of her neck. "Oh, well I'm glad you think so! We really tried our hardest out there, right Kimori?" The brunette instantly tensed up but nodded nonetheless.

"You guys should be proud," Tsubaki said. "The sports festival isn't easy by a long shot. Just making it to the second round can be a challenge."

"I'm not gonna lie, it was harder than I expected," the orange haired teen admitted. "And I already thought it would be tough. But I'm glad I made it as far as I did, even if I didn't win."

Ishihara only smiled at Kendo's words. At east Kimori had a good friend by her side to keep her positive through it all. "Oh, I should probably get going to Recovery Girl's office. A few kids got some scrapes and bruises, and she'll want me to help out." With that, she left both girls before either could say another word.