That first week was entirely spent helping Izuku acclimatize to One for All. Shouto came up with the idea of having him hold it as long as possible while trying to do normal everyday activities and workouts. Needless to say, a lot of things were broken in those first few days. It's a good thing theTodoroki's had more than enough money to replace all the equipment he accidentally damaged. Izuku was horribly apologetic whenever an accident occurred. He offered to pay us back, but we waved it off, mentioning he wouldn't even be able to pay back the replacement of one machine, let alone all of them anyway. Cue his freak out over breaking multiple several hundred-thousand yen exercise equipment.

The boys started up a friendly rivalry once Izuku was finally accustomed to his strength enough. Shouto was particularly excited to start sparring the second week. It had the added benefit of giving Izuku a subconscious limiter when using his power against a living person and thus granting him further control over One for All. I gave him a bit of instruction in hand-to-hand, subtly pushing him toward styles like kick-boxing, taekwondo, and other kick-based martial arts. He hasn't picked up on the hints I'm dropping yet. I did suggest he make some changes to his costume design, which he reluctantly agreed to when I mentioned giving his limbs support just in case he ended up breaking bones again. Hopefully, the design was submitted early enough for it to be ready in time for the internships.

At school, Shouto and I were fully integrated into the Dekusquad, and I finally got Izuku to fix his fucking tie. I'd always wondered why Tenya (unlike with Izuku, I actually asked to call him this), the biggest hardass on following the rules, would allow Izuku to continue wearing his tie like that. I also felt increasingly guilty spending time with Tenya. I could only hope my early warning was enough to prevent his brother's fate. The days passed by in a blink of an eye and soon the big day came. I had done some thinking over the last couple of weeks and I'd decided I wanted to stand on my own feet. My twin and I were oft regarded as a package deal. You couldn't get one without the other. We were always together, and I think it's become a bit of a crutch for us. We've never had to face any obstacle without the other at our side to help us. I wanted to stand out as Hien, future pro-hero, not the female half of the Todoroki twins. Shouto was conflicted when I spoke to him about it the day before the festival but ultimately agreed that we should make ourselves known as individuals and not as a matched set.

I made a concerted effort to sit next to Ochako, leaving Momo in my usual spot beside my brother. I was more anxious than usual without him at my side, so I kept fiddling with my hair. I'd forgone my usual braid in favor of a basic low ponytail, which was probably a mistake. Just as I'd let it down to make a tight braid, Tenya burst through the door, warning us that we'd be starting soon. To my surprise, Shouto stood up and called Izuku out with a declaration of war. Izuku, to his credit, wasn't put off and instead answered confidently in a way that made a surge of pride bloom in my chest. These last couple of weeks training together really did wonders for the boy's confidence. Eijirou tried to mediate, taking their words as aggressive instead of the friendly rivalry I saw it as. That wasn't to say neither was serious about beating the other. They both aimed to come out on top, but they were also friends now.

Not wanting to be left out, I stood up and made my way between them. "Aren't you boys forgetting someone? I'm aiming for the top, too, and I won't let either of you stand in my way. I'll crush you both."

"Now Hien-chan's making a declaration of war?!"

"Nee-san..."

"Otouto." I sashayed back to my seat, taking advantage of my currently loose hair to smack him in the face with it when I dramatically turned away. My serious expression almost cracked when I heard him sputtering, some of my hair catching on his mouth. Good luck being taken seriously by our classmates now, Shouto.

We were herded through a long tunnel into the arena, and wow, it still amazes me how big U.A. grounds are. Present Mic was commentating the events today. Logical given his side job as a radio personality. He really knew how to amp up the crowd. His over-the-top introduction was almost missed over the cheering of the audience. There were so many people! I was glad the stadium was so big that I couldn't see their individual faces unless I was close to the wall of the arena. At least I wouldn't have to give a speech. Speaking of which, all the first years crowded in front of a platform where the R-rated hero, Midnight stood. She was refereeing the games.

"Is it okay for her to be at a high school if she's R-rated?"

I heard Tokoyami ask from nearby and I couldn't help but wonder the same thing. The men in the crowd seemed particularly excited as well. Gee, I wonder why? Midnight called everyone to attention.

"Representing class 1-A, Bakugou Katsuki!"

I winced, knowing even without my future knowledge that this would end badly. He stepped onto the stage, and it was quiet as he began speaking into the microphone. Cringing, I braced for the backlash of his brash words.

"I pledge...that I'll be number one."

Immediately the other classes began booing and jeering, 1-A's reputation plummeting even further thanks to that stunt. Bakugou paid it no mind, just reiterating that he'd step on everyone else on the way to the top. Midnight took over, announcing the first game selection for the preliminary round. I only vaguely remembered what was supposed to happen. I wanted to use this as I chance to measure my actual skills. Applying my foreknowledge would be counterproductive.

"This year, it's an obstacle course race! All eleven classes will participate. The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium- about four kilometers. Our school's selling point is freedom! As long as you stay on the course, anything is allowed. Now take your places!"

My heartbeat skyrocketed in anticipation as we waited for the countdown to end in front of the gate.

"Start!"

I shot off, using my agility and flexibility to weave through the crowd, not letting myself get trapped between people. I managed to be one of the of the fortunate frontrunners inside the tunnel and as soon as I was clear, I activated my quirk, going airborne just in time for Shouto to freeze the whole tunnel and most of the competition inside it. I wasn't the only one who managed to escape, but I was the fastest. I quickly caught up with Shouto, giving him a shit-eating grin as I flew overhead. I could hear Bakugou screaming behind us, something about not letting those half and half twins beat him, and that icyhot woman stealing his moves. I snorted and pushed on ahead, only to be stopped by the first obstacle. Large building-sized robots stood in our path. I had to swerve in my flight-path to avoid them. On the ground, my twin impressively froze all the giant robots at once.

"Show-off," I grumbled underneath my breath as I landed on the ground, using my momentum to keep running. "Hmm, I can't hold such high speeds for more than a minute, it seems. I'll have to work on that."

At the giant chasm (when? how?) about halfway around the stadium, it was a piece of cake to just fly over most of it, though I had to be careful to land on a platform before I ran out of juice. I spared a moment to glance at my brother who had fallen behind due to him being stuck on the ground. Not wanting to lose my lead, I charged on, my legs and lungs starting to burn from all the running.

The next and final obstacle was a minefield. I cursed my flight limit. I wasn't confident I'd be able to make the whole thing in one go and I didn't want to risk landing on a mine since I didn't know how bad the ensuing explosion would be. With gritted teeth, I painstakingly made my way through the field, much slower than I would've liked. I could hear people fast approaching, but I ignored them in favor of moving as quickly as possible. Close behind me, I could hear Bakugou duking it out with my brother. Not wanting to head to head with the explosive boy, I threw caution to the wind and let loose an explosion of hot and cold fire, becoming airborne once more. I didn't look back and risk losing my precious few foot lead, but I think I caught Bakugou in my frozen flames if his enraged scream was anything to go by. Just as I felt an immense chill at my back- my twin's retaliation- a large explosion came from behind us. I couldn't risk looking back mid-flight, so I was entirely blindsided when Izuku crashed into me. I hit the ground hard, only for a landmine to go off underneath me and send us flying again. Izuku shouted apologies at me as he shot ahead with a boost of One for All, recovering much faster than I did. Frustrated and in pain, I let out a scream and exploded in flames again, pushing my quirk to its absolute limit. Twenty meters. Fifteen meters. Ten meters. Seven meters. Five meters. Two meters. Just a bit more. I burst through the exit like a firework, in a flash of brilliant flames that quickly sputtered out as I fell onto the grass, chest heaving and muscles shaking with leftover adrenaline.

I felt a slight ache in my body, particularly around my arms for overusing my quirk. We had some time before the rest of the runners arrived, so I didn't have any intentions of getting up any time soon. My pounding pulse drowned out the roaring of the crowd, as I stared up and saw nothing but sky. I didn't even know how I did, it was so close at the end there. My momentary respite was ended by a shadow blocking the sky overhead. Shouto was standing above me looking frustrated and concerned in equal measure. I lazily reached up for the hand he offered me, and I allowed him to haul me onto my feet. The sudden change from horizontal to upright made me lightheaded for a second. The pulsing in my ears had subsided and I could hear the entire stadium cheering. I turned away to get some water. Sliding down against the wall of the arena, I sat on the grass intending to recover as much as possible before the next event. I closed my eyes, hoping to block everything out and just sit while sipping my water. When the last of the stragglers arrived, Midnight had us gather around the stage again and I steeled myself to look at the scoreboard.

Todoroki Hien, second place.

I hope I did a good job on this one. One of my biggest fears is that everything goes too perfectly for Hien. It's hard when she both knows the future and has a pretty OP quirk. Trying to put limits on her power is difficult when her brother is capable of creating literal icebergs large enough to cover a stadium, not that she can do that, but she could probably create huge firey tornadoes or something like that.