Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA.

x. tinder box

—

Growing up, perhaps because I knew I could never attain it, I had never truly striven to be number one. Being the best was never an idea that crossed my mind. I just wanted to be more, but as I look back at it, what did that even mean? How could I ever tell if I had become more than what I was? What did being enough entail? Was it because I wanted the same treatment as Momo, or because I wanted to stop being the thing I hated the most?

Needless to say, I came in third.

And that frustrated me more than anything.

My nails dug into the skin of my palm as I tried desperately to hold back the tears welling in my eyes. Third place. Why did that feel so awful? Why was I so unsatisfied? I had come in third place before, and that was on the first day of school. I had placed behind Todoroki, but ahead of Bakugo. And at that time, I was content. I didn't think I could place so highly because I never thought I was capable of it, but with the truth now clear to me, was this a testament to my growth as a person? Or was it proof I hadn't improved at all since then?

The myriad of emotions racing through my head was like a bomb had been set off. I was angry and exasperated primarily at myself for being too arrogant in the last leg of the race. Too slow, I kept telling myself. You were too slow.

"Fucking hell."

Bakugo's voice distracted me from my moment of self loathing. He stood a few feet away with his hands on his hips, shaking his head in either disbelief or vexation. I couldn't tell if he was upset because he was in second place, or because he lost to Midoriya. I was aware of their strained relationship, but I never knew to what extent it was.

"Hey," I called out, trodding towards Bakugo. I held out my hand, but he whirled around before I could even get close to touching him. "Are you okay?"

He snorted. "I'm fine."

"You did well."

"You thought I wouldn't?"

"No." I rolled my eyes. "Can I just compliment you without you getting defensive?"

"Don't say something like that to me if I don't deserve it," Bakugo hissed before turning away. The malice spilling from his lips was almost overwhelming. Bakugo wasn't someone who ever half assed anything he did. He never gave less than his one hundred percent, because that would be an insult to who he was as a person. He didn't care about being better— he wanted to be the best. And that's what made what he deemed as a loss all the more infuriating to him.

"Look, I know you didn't come in first—"

"—How the fuck did Deku of all people win this?"

I sighed. "But you shouldn't beat yourself up over this."

"You don't fucking get it," Bakugo said, turning around to face me. "I fucking lost. All that shit I did was for nothing."

"It wasn't for nothing," I firmly retorted. "It wasn't for nothing, because you're going onto the next round, aren't you?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but quickly closed it. He knew I was right.

"Don't use this as an excuse to feel bad about what you did or didn't do," I continued. "Instead, use this as proof that you absolutely can place first in the next round. Use it as the motivation you need to do even better so you can be first. You said it yourself, right? You're supposed to be number one in this."

I held onto my breath waiting for his response. Bakugo remained silent at first, eyes glancing cautiously at my form. I don't know if he was looking for something— maybe he wasn't— but I saw the faintest twitch in his lips and he turned his head in the other direction, jerking his arm away, which made me realize I at some point grabbed his wrist.

"Fuck off," he muttered. I smiled slightly.

"You appreciate me."

"You're a pain in the ass."

"I didn't hear a no."

Smirking, I slinked away before he could say anything more to me, but I could already imagine the list of names he was calling me in his head. I found my way to Midoriya, who had his head tilted towards the sky. I initially kept my distance, knowing that he was having his moment, but just moments later, he whipped around to face me. I greeted him with a smile and short wave of my hand, but within seconds, Midoriya's weight was against me, and I staggered back a few steps as his arms wrapped around me.

"D-Deku—?"

"Thank you, Ume."

My eyes widened.

"What?" I sputtered out. "What are you thanking me for?"

"Remember the day at the river?" he asked, pulling away so that we were looking into each other's eyes. "That day, I was having doubts about myself. I was worried that I wouldn't do well, but—"

Midoriya's eyes watered like he was going to cry. The sun was setting as we sat at the riverbed. It was a picturesque scene, something straight out of an artist's dreams, but that was the last thing I was focused on. Midoriya started shedding tears.

"You said I was your hero."

My breath hitched. "I did, yeah…"

"I didn't realize how much those words meant to me until the race started. I've always wanted to win, but I knew I absolutely could win, keeping what you said in the back of my head." He smiled. "So… thank you, Ume!"

"You don't have to thank me for that, Deku," I said, smiling slightly. "It's what you deserve."

Over time, the rest of the students began trickling in through the tunnel, one by one. Momo came in at fifth, who looked as flustered as I must have when I stepped over the finish line. A part of me wanted to say something to her, but I knew this was something she could bounce back from. So I stood, watching her, until she slapped her hands on her cheeks and uttered a few words of self confidence to herself. Momo rushed over toward me not to long after, immediately pulling me in for a tight hug that lasted a few seconds longer than usual.

"I'm so proud of you," she gasped. I smiled and returned the hug.

"I'm proud of us," I reiterated, a statement that made Momo practically glow. I caught sight of purple about five minutes later. Shinso strolled inside with a group of students trailing behind him, all carrying that dazed look in their eyes. He smirked proudly, and as soon as our eyes met, that smirk widened ever so slightly before he walked away.

"It seems you and Shinso-san have established a rivalry," Momo giggled, gently nudging me. I raised a curious brow.

"Rivalry?" I asked. I suppose in one way or another— perhaps in more ways than I was willing to admit— Shinso and I were competing against each other, but the same could also hold true for the rest of my schoolmates. In the end, we were moreso fighting to be seen by the pros rather than make it out on top, but placing first would certainly be a nice bonus.

People like Shinso always had to fight harder just to be acknowledged because his Quirk was deemed too useless, not flashy enough, unfit for a hero. And because the voice of society was always louder than that of an individual, what more could he do but accept his fate?

But that was the thing— this wasn't his fate. Shinso already proved everybody wrong by getting into Yūei, and I'm sure he would solidify what he knew was the truth by doing well in this. No matter the Quirk, if he or anyone wanted to be a hero, then they could. And that included me, as well. I already knew I was going to do my best, but I no longer wanted to be overshadowed by anyone. I wasn't going to fall behind or allow myself to be silenced knowing I could do well. In the simplest of terms, I was going to fight.

I don't plan on losing to you.

"Congratulations to everyone who made it through!"

We stood in front of Midnight, similar to before the race began. Some students looked exhausted, still panting from having to race around the entire stadium, juggling obstacles and other people, but for the most part, we were all relatively unscathed. Midnight lifted her arm into the air before pointing a finger at us all.

"Now, for the next event!" she began, pausing for dramatic effect. "A cavalry battle!"

"Cavalry?" Momo asked, furrowing her brows. "With all of us?"

"Nope! Only the first thirty two students who made it in the race will participate!"

A large majority of the students fell to their knees with the atmosphere becoming significantly more glum. Midnight shooed them away with a simple flick of her wrist, and the mob surrounding the platform she stood on became far less dense as a large majority of people left the area. I took a moment to glance at who was left; to my relief, most of class 1-A remained, along with some students from 1-B and even a few from other courses.

"Damn…" I heard Kirishima mutter elsewhere. Clearing her throat, Midnight demanded our attention again, smirking slightly as she swiped a finger over one of her eyebrows.

"Now then, here's how it'll occur!" Midnight's voice boomed. "You'll get into groups of four people! Each person will be given a point value based on their placement in the race! Your job is the take as many points as possible, and the two groups with the most points will advance to the next round!"

"Only eight people?" someone exclaimed.

"Two thirds of everyone here will be eliminated?" another asked, exasperated. I could suddenly feel the tension that settled in the air and fell upon us all like a heavy weight.

"And, with ten million points under his belt, the first place winner… Midoriya Izuku!"

Almost immediately, everyone, including myself, whipped around to face Midoriya, who stood frozen like a statue. He gulped nervously, unable to even take in a breath when Midnight suddenly sounded a whistle that signaled us to form our groups. Everyone suddenly scurried away, notably from Midoriya, who still remained shell shocked.

"Deku!" I called out. It seemed my voice was enough to pull him out of his daze; Midoriya turned to me, blinking a few times as I approached him. Smiling, I held out my hand.

"Let's team up," I said.

"What?" Midoriya furrowed his brows. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I am. I trust you."

His shoulders tensed and the promptly relaxed. Midoriya grinned and stepped closer to me, and looked around, eyes scanning the rest of the students.

"Do you know who else you'd like to join?" he asked. I nodded firmly and pivoted on my heel with one person on my mind. Despite the fact his back was turned to me as I walked towards him, he turned around just as I reached out, as if he knew I was there.

"Oh?" Shinso gave that typical wry grin he seemed to enjoy wearing so often. "Is this an invitation to join your team?"

"It is," I said.

"What if someone else wants me?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I suppose they'll have to make do with who is left."

"You're quite assertive today."

"I can help you." I paused, contemplating the choice of my words. "We can help each other."

"Are you looking down on me, Yaoyorozu?"

"Not at all," I countered. "Look, maybe you think that you'll just bring me down, but I know who I want on my team. You're one of them."

His lips twitched downward.

"You're just taking pity on me," he muttered, eyes shifting to the ground. "I shouldn't be here, Yaoyorozu. You know what I did to make it here."

"That doesn't matter. You're here now, and whether or not you like it, you'll have to fight your way through."

I went to grab his wrist, but Shinso yanked his arm away and moved back a few spaces. His eyes refused to meet mine.

"I want to be a hero—" he started, curling his hands into fists. "But I don't want to become one like this."

"Like what?"

"Without using my own strength. My Quirk forces me to depend on other people, never allowing me to become stronger—"

I held my breath.

"What kind of hero can I become like this?"

Hero.

That word has dominated my life from the moment I was born. It was the first word my ears processed. I didn't doubt it would be my last. It was in the cherry blossoms that bloomed every spring and the snowflakes that fell every winter. It was the tears I shed and the stars I dreamt of. It was my comfort and my despair.

It's what we wanted.

Shinso Hitoshi was not an idiot. He wasn't a lot of things, really, but an idiot was among those. He was intelligent, cunning, he knew how to trap people into his web. He wasn't very sociable, yet knew how to strike and maintain a conversation. He was confident yet insecure, a juxtaposition in every form of the word, and my total opposite in that regard. I knew what he wanted. And I knew how he felt. And because of that, I knew that it wasn't his Quirk that he was talking about, but rather his shortcomings that he was so painfully aware of.

One could assume due to the nature of his Quirk, he never learned close combat or did any physical training. Why should he? But this is where the comparisons between us began— Shinso had settled for complacency. I'm sure as soon as he took the entrance exams he realized he wouldn't be able to get accepted into the hero course, and because of that, he settled for the general education course, sealed his own fate before it could even begin to be written for him, because he knew that he couldn't become a hero.

But what he didn't know was that he could.

Shinso Hitoshi was most certainly not an idiot.

"You can be as upset as you want, Shinso, I'm not backing down," I said firmly, accentuating my adamance with the crossing of my arms over my chest. "If you want to start using your own strength, then use it. You're stronger than you think you are, and I know that the hero you want to be is the hero you will become."

He pursed his lips.

"I don't want to give a big speech, but the whole point of this festival is to prove that the people we were at the beginning of the school year are different from the people we are now. If we want the pros to think we're worthy of being heroes, we have to believe it ourselves first."

"Then—"

"And if you don't believe in yourself, fine. Because I'll believe in you. I have faith in you, Shinso." I smiled. "Because unlike the rest of the world, I haven't given up on you. And you shouldn't give up on yourself, either."

Shinso exhaled deeply. His eyes flickered in unknown certainty, but as my words permeated in the air it seemed that, for just a moment, he believed me. Smirking slightly, Shinso slumped his shoulders and brushed his fingers through his hair.

"Fine," he finally said. "Who is the last member of this ensemble then, Yaoyorozu?"

"Um…"

Shinso and I turned around to face Midoriya standing with a rather familiar face, one of our classmates, Tokoyami.

"I can provide defense and cover our blind spots," he said without having to be asked anything. Smiling, I nodded.

"Let's do this."

It was to my surprise that Todoroki had whisked Momo onto his team, along with Iida and, even more shockingly, Bakugo. I couldn't imagine them working together, but I'm sure their desire to win that allowed them to put their own pride to the side just this once. The other teams all gathered in a circle, all of us facing each other, but no matter who we looked at, all eyes eventually landed on us. Midoriya and I would be the main targets of this entire match due to our high point value, but the entire group in general was overall the prey in this arena of predators.

It's exactly this reason that I decided we, under any circumstance, shouldn't try to go on the offensive. As long as we avoided the other groups, it didn't matter if we got any other points, because by default, we were number one. We just had to keep our headbands safe.

Tokoyami was the designated rider, as this gave him the most flexibility in covering our weak spots. I remained at the front, with Midoriya and Shinso at the sides. It was by far a perfect team, but that was the last thing I cared about. This was a functional team.

"Is everyone ready?!"

Everyone suddenly crouched into defensive positions upon hearing Midnight's voice.

"Get set…"

I inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Inhale, exhale. One, two, three.

"GO!"

An explosion erupted in the air as soon as the signal was given. Heads tilting upwards revealed Bakugo in the air, smirking wickedly as he released a series of blasts to propel himself toward us.

"I'll fucking kill you!" he yelled. There was no way to tell who he specifically was talking to, but that didn't matter. I knew Bakugo was smarter than to respond to Shinso if he tried to use his Quirk, and Tokoyami's Dark Shadow was weak to the explosions he naturally let off. Midoriya's power injured him, and Bakugo knew me well enough to move if I attempted to make a wall.

"Tokoyami-san!" I shouted, stomping on the ground and elevating a sheet of titanium. "Use this to block his attack!"

"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami hailed. The sentient being emerged from his stomach and immediately lifted the sheet over us. A large thud could be heard as Bakugo landed onto it, and I shot out my hand, pressing my plm against the sheet, and a hole of viscous liquid formed that made Bakugo hissed as soon as his hand touched it.

"Let's go," I shouted. We all turned on our heels and began running away with the distraction alive.

"What was that?" Midoriya asked.

"Hot melt adhesive," Shinso answered for me. I smirked slightly. "It melts with heat and almost instantly hardens."

"Thank you for covering us, Yaoyorozu-san," Tokoyami said. I shook my head.

"Don't thank me yet."

I knew at the very least, over time, most of the groups would stop going after us and instead try to accumulate points from other teams. It would be too much of a hassle to try to fight against us, considering the approach we were going for. But that didn't stop everyone.

"Watch out!"

I turned around just in time to see a flurry of glaciers careening toward us. Pressing my foot against the ground again, a wall of asphalt lifted in front of us, stopping the ice just before it reached us, causing us to flare out in all sorts of directions like some sort of frozen flower. I shuddered at the dip in temperature, but just as we took a step forward, Todoroki and Bakugo's group appeared from the side of the wall, while behind us, a quartet of students from 1-B appeared.

"Shit…" I hissed under my breath.

"We're surrounded… and the only other way to go is the border of the arena," Midoriya muttered. I glanced at Momo, but she simply smiled, eyes glimmering.

"Sorry, Yaoyorozu," was all Todoroki said before swiping his arm in front of him, sending a wave of ice toward us.

"Dark Sha—"

"Smash!"

It was a moment that felt like time had stood completely still, but all I saw was Midoriya lift his arm and flick his finger. The resulting blast of wind sent us all flying backwards. Dark Shadow wrapped its arms around us to keep us steady while I used the contact I was making with all three of them to slow us down to prevent us was skidding back any further.

"A huge retaliation from Team Yaoyorozu!" Midnight commented in exuberance. I was suddenly out of breath, slightly weak and a bit nauseous from the effort of decelerating the molecules of three separate people, but we were able to stagger back to a standing position.

"That was close—" I moaned.

"And stupid," Shinso hissed, glaring at Midoriya. He bit and chewed on his lip with a new broken finger that would definitely make it more difficult for us to navigate. This entire thing would take ten minutes to complete, and two have already passed. Eight more minutes, I kept whispering to myself. Just eight more minutes.

While in my own head space, I took a moment to analyze all eight groups. With some, it was essentially a game of cat and mouse. Some groups chased after others, Quirks of all sorts flying out in an attempt to slow down or stop others in order to get their bands. In the distance, I saw Todoroki and Bakugo's group, with the aforementioned boys occasionally stealing their glances at me, most likely to gauge where we were now.

"We should keep moving," I said, already beginning to walk. "Deku, can you feel my hand?"

He clicked his tongue. "I-I think so—"

"Let me heal you," I said. "Your skin just needs to be making contact with mine. I can handle it from there."

"Your Quirk can achieve something like that, Yaoyorozu-san?" Tokoyami asked. I nodded. Of course, broken bones were far more difficult to treat than simple cuts, but at the very least, I could help try to reduce the swelling and get Midoriya's finger to a more optimal state. His skin was warm against mine. I struggled to feel and gather the molecules in his hands, considering the awkward and limited position of my hands, and a part of me felt like scolding Midoriya for doing something so reckless in the first place, but now was not the time for that.

"I can't," I eventually yielded with a large sigh. I was starting to feel the fatigue creeping within me, and I knew that I couldn't overuse my powers so early in the round.

"It's impressive you can do that at all," Shinso commended. I shook my head.

"It's a work in progress."

"Oi, Princess!"

Great.

Bakugo stormed toward us, the blond holding a number of headbands in his hand. He was letting off a series of explosions dangerously close to Iida's head, the latter having to crane his neck to the side in order to avoid the heat radiating from his teammate's palm. I clicked my tongue.

"He won't stop chasing after us, will he?" Tokoyami asked. I chuckled dryly.

"With Deku and I on the same team? Absolutely not," I said. I turned my head to see Shinso narrowing his eyes, as if contemplating something.

"You really are rather hot headed, aren't you, Bakugo?" Shinso asked. Oh.

"What the fuck did you just s—?!"

Whatever anger he was feeling had all but dissipated. Bakugo's eyes turned white and blank, and his arms fell to his sides limply.

"What happened?" Momo asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"Bakugo isn't stupid, but people like him tend to abandon their sense of rationality when angered," Shinso remarked, smirking slightly.

"Dark Shadow, go!" Tokoyami shouted. Dark Shadow extended outwards and snatched some of the headbands from Bakugo's hands, leaving his group with what they started with, giving them no chance to react as we dashed away.

"Good job, Tokoyami-san!" I said.

"Tie random ones around our necks," Shinso advised. "Turn them inside out. It'll confuse people and force them to hesitate as they choose, which will give us enough time to counterattack or run away."

"Got it!" Dark Shadow said.

"That's a great idea, Shinso-san!" Midoriya gasped. I smirked.

"I knew you were good for something."

Shinso's lips twitched at my comment, but I knew this didn't mean we were out of trouble yet. As Dark Shadow went to work with tying the headbands, I took a few seconds to consider our situation. At the very least, Shinso could maintain his hold on Bakugo for the duration of the event and his team would still be able to make it through. We only had six teams to worry about in that case— and six minutes left.

But of course, in this free for all, that moment of peace couldn't be maintained for any longer than that. From behind, we heard what sounded like wild shouting, and we turned around, seeing that group of 1-B kids from before. A boy with blond hair and purple eyes a few shades lighter than Shinso's was the rider, with a girl sporting a head of vines, a strawberry blonde, and a boy with metallic skin carrying him.

"Huh?! What's this?!" the blond shouted, irises filled with a disturbing amount of contempt. "1-A students are running away from everyone?!"

"What the hell?" Shinso murmured.

"Monoma, seriously…" the strawberry blonde sighed. "Shiozaki, go!"

The girl Shiozaki extended her vines toward us at an alarming speed. Dark Shadow reacted just as quickly, however, by grabbing the vines, but in the next moment, I suddenly felt a cold chill crawl up my leg. I twisted my head over my shoulder, biting my lip as Bakugo's group charged at us once more, with frost pooling in Todoroki's palm, and this time with unfaltering confidence. In the distance, several other groups ran at us. Like before, we were surrounded, but unlike that time, we had nowhere else to go.

Damn it.

Dark Shadow remained in a defensive position beside Tokoyami. Shinso's expression steeled. Midoriya's eyes shifted around, perhaps pondering whether or not he should use another attack. Are we going to lose? Will this be the end of us? What can we do?

"Ume!"

Momo's voice?

I turned, and my eyes met hers. She grinned.

"I won't lose to you!"

I didn't want this to end here. Not when I had so much I could still show and do. Todoroki held out a pole that Momo had created; Shiozaki extended another series of vines toward us; everyone else prepared their own attacks, all aimed at us. I knew what I had to do. Moving my hands, I crouched down and pressed my hands against the frost the encased our feet. It slowly turned to liquid underneath my fingertips, and slowly, slowly, as all sounds and sensations melted away, I focused solely on the molecules that shifted and moved and changed.

And I felt it.

I slammed my palms flat against the damp ground and the ground surrounding us cracked and contorted before upthrusting, exploding with a magnificent burst that threw everyone off. Some groups fell apart; others had to stop their attacks to maintain their balance. I was immediately hit with a wave of nausea and had to cover my mouth with my hand to keep from throwing up.

"Amazing!" Midnight exclaimed, riling up the crowd even more. "A powerful counterattack that's shaken up the other group!"

I wholly ignored the poor attempt at a pun and rushed to return to the others.

"Are you okay, Ume?" Midoriya asked. "You look sick—"

"I'll be fine," I muttered quickly. My head shifted to where Bakugo's group was. They were among those who had fallen over due to the makeshift earthquake, but to my surprise, Bakugo's eyes were no longer that milky white.

"Did your brainwashing wear off, Shinso-san?" Tokoyami asked.

"No, it doesn't work like that—" Shinso frowned. "He must have fallen to the ground and hit his head."

"A sufficient amount of force or pain can snap someone out of the brainwashing…" Midoriya deduced. In just a matter of a few seconds, Bakugo's group had reformed, with the blond carrying a deeper, much more intense look in his crimson eyes.

"I'll fucking kill you for that," he growled, looking directly at me. I could barely speak, let alone move without feeling like I was going to collapse. I wanted to do something, I needed to, but all the groups were recuperating from my stunt, and we didn't have much time left to escape.

"Shinso," I groaned. "Use… use your Quirk on me—"

"What?" He turned to me. "Why?"

"Just— do it! Take over for me."

Shinso looked more than unhappy with the prospects, whether because he didn't want to use it on me or was unsure of what was going to happen, but he knew more than any of us that this wasn't the time to debate the ethics.

"Fine," he muttered. I smiled.

"Thanks."

Shinso Hitoshi was not an idiot.

If there was one thing he prided himself in, it was his intelligence— his calculating nature, his ability to understand a situation and act accordingly. It's how he was able to get this far. How he was able to get into Yūei— despite his failure in the practical exam, his scores on the written exam were more than sufficient to land him a place in the general education course. Not what he wanted, particularly, but it was better than nothing.

It's for this reason that he trusted Yaoyorozu. He knew every Quirk had its limits and she had reached hers. It's why she asked him to use his power on her, so that she wouldn't have to worry about the repercussions that came with the overuse of her ability. Up until now, Yaoyorozu had been the primary core of their defense, but with her out of commission like this, it was up to Tokoyami and his Dark Shadow. It was rather pyrrhic.

"Let's go," Shinso said, using the distraction of Yaoyorozu's earlier attack to safely weave and maneuver away from the other groups. Their biggest issues would be Todoroki and Bakugo. The former's ice was difficult to counter on its own, and the latter's mere aggression was an issue in of itself.

"Pyrrhic victory," Shinso repeated in his head. "She really is..."

Not an idiot. Yaoyorozu trusted him. She trusted him, because—

"If you want to start using your own strength, then use it."

Because she knew he was stronger than what he thought.

"If we want the pros to think we're worthy of being heroes, we have to believe it ourselves first."

She knew that he could become a hero, too.

"And you shouldn't give up on yourself, either."

She knew what they both wanted, and if there's one thing Shinso couldn't do, it was let her down. Not when she had so much faith in him. Not when they were so close to the end.

"Two minutes left!" Midnight shouted. Todoroki and Bakugo were the first to advance toward them. With the engines on that boy with the glasses' legs, his mobility was better than the average person. Shinso knew this.

"Be careful of Iida-kun's Recipro Burst!" Midoriya warned. "He hasn't used it this entire time, but now that we're close to the end, I don't doubt he plans on using it soon."

"Bakugo, as well," Tokoyami added, narrowing his eyes as he glanced in the direction of the rowdy blond. "Unfortunately, my Dark Shadow is weak to his light. We won't be able to take his group in an one-on-one battle."

"We won't have to," Shinso said, stealing a glimpse at the still brainwashed Yaoyorozu.

"How so?" Tokoyami asked.

"If that boy uses his speed, there's no way we'd be able to dodge it. However, considering our position, he'll most likely aim for Yaoyorozu or Midoriya. I don't think he is able to shift from left to right if he's going that fast. He knows Midoriya is incapacitated and has probably picked up in Yaoyorozu's state, which makes them both, by default, the easiest targets." Shinso inhaled deeply. "Switch the headbands and put the lowest valued ones on their neck."

"That makes sense," Midoriya said and nodded at Tokoyami. Shinso looked at the advancing groups and bit his lip when he saw Todoroki pull a staff from Momo's arm. He encased it in ice, then slammed the pole onto the ground, a trail of the same element racing toward them.

"Move!" Shinso shouted. And they did. They rushed to the side just before the ice reached them.

"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami called.

"Iida, now!" Todoroki commanded.

"Right!" Iida said, lowering his knees. "Recipro…"

Shit.

"Burst!"

No one could have prepared them for the force that whisked past them in the literal blink of an eye. The only proof the group had passed at all was the frigid breeze that blew when they passed by. Shinso, Tokoyami, and Midoriya gaped with wide eyes as Iida skidded to a stop at the other side of the arena, while Momo and Denki were left reeling.

"He took them!" Tokoyami vocalized. Todoroki held up one of the several headbands, the number on it making everyone blanch.

One million.

"How?!" Shinso shouted.

"I realized what strategy you were using," Todoroki said coolly while tying the headbands around his neck. "I was aware you had switched the placement of the headbands."

"You were aware that Iida-san can't switch directions quickly, so without a doubt, you put the lower valued headbands around Ume and Midoriya's necks, the ones who were in his direct line of sight," Momo continued, smiling proudly. "That left Tokoyami-san, and of course, you, Shinso-san. But putting the one million points around Tokoyami-san's neck would be far too obvious. Who else could have it but the unknown in your group?"

"You're both fucking annoying," Bakugo grouched, rolling his eyes at their explanation.

He was outsmarted.

Shinso seldom felt frustrated. He preferred to keep his emotions in check, otherwise, he could end up becoming like that pesky Bakugo. But this was something different. Something new. Maybe Yaoyorozu could have read through this, but that wasn't the point of this. The point was that he needed to come up with a new plan—

While Bakugo suddenly launched himself from his group.

"You're fucking dead!" he shouted. He used his explosions to propel himself through the air. Think, think. While Bakugo was here, his other teammates were vulnerable. They'd lose in an one-on-one fight, Shinso knew this, but—

But it didn't have to be that.

"Tokoyami, grab a headband from one of them!" Shinso ordered. "Parry Bakugo's attack!"

"Go, Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami said. That's right. They were defenseless. Iida's Quirk could no longer be used with that final move he used, Todoroki was beginning to feel the consequences of his Quirk, and Momo couldn't create something fast enough to counter them. With their main offense like this, the effort Dark Shadow needed to snatch a headband was minimal. In the same instance, Dark Shadow extended one of its arms toward Bakugo, but the blond easily countered it by unleashing a particularly powerful explosion, surrounding the vicinity in a blanket of black smoke.

"This is our chance!" Midoriya shouted. The smoke was the perfect cover. Without a moment of hesitation, the group charged forward. Though he could barely see through the smolder, Shinso held out his hand and yanked a headband from around someone else's neck. He didn't know who it came from or what the value was, but right now, it didn't matter, because as soon as their eyes hit light again and large horn blared.

"Time's up!" Midnight shouted.

"What did you get?!" Midoriya asked. Dark Shadow held up the headband it managed to grab— ninety five points— which wasn't enough to push them into second place.

"I apologize," Tokoyami said in regret. Yaoyorozu suddenly gasped, taking in deep gulps of air as she blinked a few times. She would have fallen to the ground if Tokoyami hadn't grabbed her to help keep her study. She whipped her head around, eyebrows uplifting in concern, then immediately turned to Shinso.

"What did you get?!" she half-shouted. Ah. Slightly amused, Shinso chuckled and showed them the headband.

Two hundred and five points.

"We have our finalists, ladies and gentlemen!" Midnight said, pointing at the two groups. "It will be these eight who will advance to the next and final round!"

The roaring cheers from the crowd was nothing compared to the relief Yaoyorozu felt. She couldn't help but begin to shed a few tears at the fact that they had made it. And without thinking twice about it, she pivoted on her heel and practically lunged into Shinso's arms, throwing her arms around his neck.

"We did it!" she cheered. "We did it, we did it—!" She paused and shook her head. "You did it."

Shinso, stunned at the sudden gesture, simply nodded a few times before looking away. Embarrassment? Shame? Surprise? He couldn't quite tell, but that quickly pushed itself to the back of his mind.

"We did," he said.

And while Bakugo's group celebrated their victory, it was, of course, Bakugo himself who was not happy. Because he saw what was happening between Shinso and Yaoyorozu. He saw how she practically jumped into his arms— which she never did with him— and the way she looked into his eyes. And Bakugo suddenly felt a twinge in his chest that came with a churning in his stomach.

"What the fuck…?" he muttered.

It was only afterwards that Yaoyorozu Ume, having now come down from her adrenaline high, crouched over to the side and hurled.

A/N:

It's Shinso tiiiiiiime!

First and foremost, thank you all for your lovely reviews last chapter! I was incredibly happy that you all enjoyed it, and I hope you were able to enjoy this one, too. I'm sorry for taking a bit longer than usual to update, but with the semester coming to a close, I'm scrambling to do well so I don't have to repeat any class ;v; College life, you know?

That aside, there will be a lot more Shinso in the future because I have a ton planned for him and Ume. That being said, I absolutely cannot wait for the Internship Arc. I'm really excited to show you guys what I have in mind for that!

I didn't really enjoy writing the cavalry battle, which is part of the reason why I took a bit longer with this chapter. I also apologize for the sudden shift from first to third person, but I thought from a narration stand point, it would be the best way to continue the story. That's all I really have to say, but thank you for reading and supporting this story! If you guys have any theories for what will happen in the future, or any character/relationship analysis, please let me know! I'd love to hear what you guys think!

Thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!