"Let's get this straight," Bakugo growled below a tall cliff face on their section of the arena. Kairi rose, challenging him with her stare. The anger in her gut was being maintained at a simmer, but one remark from him could turn up its dial to boiling. "I don't like this anymore than you do. So let's come up with a plan and get over with this as soon as possible!"

"Agreed," she said, forcing her voice to sound as calm as possible, though she was on the verge of snapping.

"Just let me blast towards them and we'll end this soon."

"Ah ah aha no," she almost laughed, crossing her arms. He eyed her daringly through his black mask. "That's not going to work. You can't just go barreling in there without a plan. Sure maybe you'll get Mineta, and honestly, I won't complain if the both of you get injured since I can't stand either one of you. But you want to go against Shoto? You think your little blasting trick will take him out so easily? Come on Baka-go, you can't be that stupid!" His eyebrow twitched. He glowered at her while his nostrils flared.

"What. Did. You. Call. Me?!" he sneered in a low voice. Kairi combated the nervousness that threatened to plague her, batting away while her anger stewed.

"I. Said...." Her mind flipped a reminder, flashing warning lights in her mind about how this would worsen tensions between them and they would fail the assignment. This wasn't going beyond. This wasn't Plus Ultra. She bit her tongue and huffed. "Bakugo." He smirked, pleased with himself and proudly held up one of the grenade thrusters attached to his arm.

"That's right, Hoshino," he sneered, cocky pride highlighting his face. Kairi allowed her eyeroll to be incredibly visible. She reached with her left hand for one of the scent tubes, inhaling as quickly as she could. Thick, damp air. A window blowing in the scent of wildflowers and gasoline. A meditative breath fell from her lips as she recalled the memory from childhood, chilling her anger and calming her heart. Audibly, Bakugo could be heard allowing a deep breath to escape. She tucked the tube back onto her belt. "Spill it then."

"Spill what?" she forced herself to calmly say.

"What's Icy Hot's deal? You must have some secret weakness of his."

"He doesn't exactly have a weakness," she explained, picturing the way he carried himself with a cool confidence and how he always had the right words to say to her. He never hesitated in his movements and reacted at the right moment. Kairi smiled to herself, imagining how he was challenging her to get better, rooting for her even when he was still fighting to win. "He's perfect..."

"Yeah, yeah, sure he's great!" Bakugo shouted, annoyed. His tone broke her from her gaze and she rushed to keep up with him as he peered around the cliff structure. "The guy's got to have issues, right? You're always hanging out with them. There's got to be something you can stir up." She scowled at him, hands against her own hips. Of course there were things she knew, emotions she could stir up. But the thought of doing either one of them clenched her will. Blades twisted and tangled in her gut as the sliver thought of using any of her emotions to manipulate him for their benefit conjured inside of her. No, she could do it when she fought against him when she first transferred – but she hadn't known him then, hadn't bonded. And she hadn't known the specifics then. If she used any memory of the mistreatment she endured, altering it to remind him of his own father. Reminded him of his mother's mistreatment... it would tear her open. Her hand touched her stomach as she churned around that scenario. She couldn't do it. It was unthinkable.

"No, there's nothing," she said quickly. The irritated expression, contorted by her own pain, on Bakugo's face told he didn't buy it for a second.

"You're a terrible liar, Hoshino. There's something, isn't there?"

"I'm not using it."

"Don't you get it, you nerd?!" he hissed. "He isn't your damn friend right now! He's your enemy, in this exercise, you are expected to defeat him! You do whatever it takes to win this round against him, you got that? Or are you fine in letting everyone believe you aren't willing to do whatever it takes to prove you're a hero?!" Her anger burst.

"No! I won't do whatever it takes to prove that I'm a hero, you know why?! Because there are heroes out there who will do anything it takes to prove themselves, to get results! And that includes things that are immoral, unethical, and just plain indecent! I can't do that, Bakugo! My conscience won't let me! I am not a fighter, I don't hurt people! I am not willing to forsake my values just to prove my strength or honor or have people accept me as I am!" she screamed, almost so loud the next door section of the training grounds could hear her.

"Fine then," he barked. "Guess I should just blast him out of his quadrant then." He clenched his fist, proudly display the prominent grenade thruster around his arm for dramatic effect. Kairi smirked.

"You can't, he's too strong."

"Do you even want to pass this, Hoshino?!" he snarled, the tension growing thicker as Kairi's feelings moved away from calm again. A shrieking argument was forming behind her lips, ready to tackle him and forget everything about this assignment. She wanted more than anything to be fighting against him instead of with him. Seeing his scowl surged something just short of hate through her limbs. She shivered under the fire of her fury. It was blazing around them, growing Bakugo's anger. This wouldn't do, she told herself. This was not logic. She was heavily wired into all her emotions and needed to recall the logic. Anger would get them nowhere. Kairi took a pull from another dose of the most calming memory tube. Her body took it in deeply, detaching herself from the situation. A peaceful day from a moment of quiet in her childhood. She tapped out a rhythm on her thighs, pulling in her zen to maintain order of her own emotions.

"What the hell are you doing?" he snarled.

"Stop. This is getting us nowhere..." she breathed, her breath edging on anger but she clenched its reins. "We're arguing and that won't help us win. We need to come up a plan. Together, the both of us. You're a fighter and jump into action. I stay back, try to assess the situation and study the angles I can take. I'm more indirect. I can dodge, I can divert, but head on fighting isn't my style. How do we combine those?"

"You detain him while I go in for the attack," he said, calm but grumbly. Bakugo shrugged. "That was frickin' obvious."

"But how?" Kairi pursed. Thoughts sped while her mind flicked. Frustration and rage dissipated as her Focus returning, turning the mechanisms to formulate something.

"Your emotions are stronger the closer you are to someone, right?" he asked, recalling something she had said several times.

"Yes." His lips curled.

"Then we need to get you as close to him as possible."

Bored, Shoto and Mineta stood at a far distance, watching their opponents peer around the edge of the cliff wall that separated them. For the last several minutes, they had done nothing but scream at each other. While the words were unclear, the voices were carrying.

"Are they going to do anything?" Mineta yawned.

"I'm... not sure. Kairi hates Bakugo more than she hates you." Mineta squeaked and looked at Shoto in horror, who seemed unmoved by his seemingly natural comment. "When she gets worked up, she really gets worked up. Hard to know if it's a part of her quirk or just how she is. Whatever the reason, it helps in her quirks amplification and projection. Her emotions are powerful, as you no doubt have guessed. If applied appropriately, she could at the very least render us motionless and weak."

"And if she doesn't... apply it appropriately?" Mineta slowly asking, blinking fear at Shoto. The boy remained still, unfazed by his own words. He sighed.

"Kairi is fast. She can process angles of physics just by looking at them and make an accurate judgement about where to go, how things are going to play out. But that's circumstantial."

"So how do you think it's going to go with us?" Mineta questioned. Shoto squinted, assessing the scene before them as Kairi placed hands against her hips and breathed in calmly. He smirked, pleased.

"I'm unsure. Kairi's improved, but throwing her in the same team as Bakugo could upset things. I sincerely hope she's able to work past her own judgments and focus on the task rather than her own feelings towards Bakugo. For her sake." Mineta looked blankly at his partner, expression contorted by his confusion.

"Todoroki, are you hoping to lose against her?" he asked, shock straining his voice. He smirked as if the claim were ridiculous.

"I'm hoping she does well is all I mean. She could use a win, but you're mistaken if I'm going to make it easy for her. She knows she's no match against me, and that knowledge may help her to not become so arrogant. However, if I struggle in fighting against her, I would be glad for that." Mineta's smile stretched as wide as it could go, suspicious eyes boring into his teammate.

"You know quite a lot about Hoshino, don't you?" he teased, a hidden chuckle in his words. "So... how well do you know her, anyway?" Shoto reddened, and took his angry eyes off his opponents for a moment.

"I want you to cautiously choose your next words," he replied in a low, warning tone. Shoto began to move out of sight from Bakugo and Kairi. Mineta called out, having been left behind and hurried after him quickly.

"You know... you hang out a lot. You've said she's your best friend. Have you ever touched her, or looked at her underwear drawer, or has she worn just her underwear around you...!" Mineta's voice was growing even more excited with each suggestion. As the smaller student grew more excited, Shoto's eyes darkened under a cloud of embarrassment sweeping his face. He snarled and turned to look at Mineta, who cowered quickly under the venomous expression.

"Why would I ever do that?" he scoffed. "That would be violating her privacy. I've hugged her, when she's needed it. That's about it."

"But you for sure have feelings for her... riiigghht?" Shoto pursed his lips while he inhaled deeply, turning his head away.

"I think it's best we think about the plan, Mineta."

Kairi gawked after Bakugo, who disappeared again behind the wall of rock that shielded them from the opposing side. She stomped after him as he was stepping away from the wall, deductive eyes analyzing his position in accordance to the wall, mentally prepping next steps.

"Get away from me, Hoshino," he snarled. "Your proximity is making this harder." She scoffed and folded her arms.

"Because my general presence disgusts you or because my emotions are making you feel wike a weak wittle Bakugo..." She pouted tauntingly, sticking out her bottom lip for effect. He glared angrily.

"You know I can't stand being around you, but it would help if you did that Focus thing so I could think properly!"

"You know, I can think too. I'm a very good thinker. How about we let me think and add my voice to this plan which is ridiculous?!" she screamed.

"You agreed that all parts of it were correct and doable!"

"Yes, but together as a singular, cohesive plan isn't going to work for us! Mineta works best at close-range... oh god, in more ways than one..." She shuddered, thinking of the meaning of her words. "With Shoto, it really doesn't matter how close you are as long as you are in the general proximity. However, he can still knock me flat!"

"But he won't," Bakugo said coolly. Kairi blinked, startled by his calm.

"Wh-what?"

"It's true that Icy Hot will work to excel and defeat you and win. I don't doubt for a second he will pull out all the stops to win, and that he won't go easy on you. However, he's going to be far more careful about using his quirk against you. He can get away with encasing you in ice without causing too much damage, however, fire is pretty instantaneous." His eyes fell to her elbow, a flicker of shame for just an instant before he frowned again. "My bet is he will use his ice against you more than fire. He wouldn't risk hurting you, that much has become clear. So we know that. We can predict his movements that way. If you're near, he will only use one quirk, and will be weakened that way." Kairi blinked.

"How the fuck did you pick up on that?!"

"It's hard not to notice you when you're the most annoying person in the room with your emotional thermostat! And who's often around you? Icy Hot."

"But we've only ever fought against each other once, and he didn't know me then! What makes you think-"

"Because even someone like Deku would be able to pick up on how quickly he moves in to protect you! Maybe you're more deserving of that name than he is!" he growled. The rage began to expand in her again. Boiling, her hands shook as she listed off all the ways she would love to cause him to bleed. She watched a vein throb on Bakugo's forehead, watching his expression contort as her own anger manifested in him. There was some logic in what he was saying. He was constantly jumping in to help when she was unable. Lacking in physical abilities to fight off against those who were stronger and far more skilled in defenses, he had been there. Relenting to his logic, she breathed in and shut her eyes. She channeled the anger, pushing it aside and decided to concede.

"Okay," she agreed, opening her eyes again.

"Okay..." he mumbled, surprised at confused by the ebbing of emotion and how calm she had made herself.

"Here's hoping Shoto does as you said," she breathed. "As far as Mineta goes... his one trick is throwing around those sticky balls of his. I'm hoping that I can dodge them fast enough." Doubt heaved in her and her body whimpered. Bakugo rolled his eyes.

"Don't start that shit now," he groaned. "You just said a few moments ago that you think you could move fast enough to dodge his attacks!"

"I said probably!" she sneered.

"Well can you, or can you not?! Do you have any idea what your abilities are, Hoshino?!" he screamed. Anger was rising between them again, blurring her thoughts and mind as she tried to think her way into a new plan. The ground burned beneath her feet as her anger swayed her. "You are the one who came up with this portion of the plan, remember! If you have something better you better say it right now before I launch us into the air!" Once again, he was correct. Her irritation towards Bakugo had fueled fake confidence that she definitely could do that. How many times had she been told how quick her reaction time was? It's not as if she could move faster than a speeding bullet like heroes of old could, but she was sure she could dodge Mineta's barrage of sticky balls, at least enough until his head began to bleed from irritation. That would slow him down at least and he would easily be beat. That was her suggestion, anyway. Shoto however... it was just as he had said. Maybe, he would be careful about his quirk around her. That would limit him, and she could use whatever emotion of choice to weaken them. Then Bakugo could come in and "take them down", as he had said. Bait, distraction, weaken. That was her role, the role she had agreed to and even decided on. Bakugo would come in and do his explody bits. Simple, easy.

"I can't just climb over this," Kairi said, looking at the length of the rocky edge and gulping at its size. It was small, being in an indoor training stadium. However, it was still high enough that a fall from it would injure someone badly.

"You're the one who said-!" Bakugo began angrily. She held up a hand.

"I know that. It's not about ability. I could climb this, sure, but it's not as if I had lightning speed climbing abilities. They would see me coming up over and would use their quirks to prevent me from going over. They would block me. If Shoto created a large ice wall, we would need to change our plan. I have to get in somehow, quick enough to avoid their quirks. I have to... sneak attack, in a sense. Jump in."

"Jump in, huh?" He growled his displeasure, frustrated, but the reluctant rolling of his eyes told her he had a plan that he wasn't a fan of. He held out his arm. "Grab my arm."

Suspicion flipped her gut. "And what can I expect to happen when I do that? Some party trick?"

"No, you nerd! I'm going to blast you to the other side! Unless you want another mangled elbow, I'm going to need you to hang onto me, got it?!" Dread conjured bile to enflame her throat. Bakugo lurched forward, his face whitening at the sensation she was expelling. "Calm down, Hoshino!"

"My favorite words..." she moaned, annoyed. Her eyes dropped up over the angle and lengths of the rock before them. That would be quickest way in and would catch them off guard. Kairi took in several deep breaths and forced herself not to make her displeasure took noticeable. Nothing could be done about the convulsing, wretched regret that was churning inside her but that was probably for the best – at least he would know how disgusted she was with this. "Fine."

"You better be as light as you look." Ignoring the comment on her weight, Kairi made sure to tighten her grip around his arm and back, tight as possible so he could feel her nails tearing into him. He hissed but remained silent, instead casting her a displeased glance. Holding onto her just tight enough to make sure she was secure, he nodded to his free grenade thruster. He reeked, like a mingling of body odor and gas. For a moment, she wondered if her quirk wasn't so bad – it had to suck to smell like glycerin. Then again, he probably didn't care that much. "You're going to have to pull the pin."

She shook her head, jostling herself out of her thoughts. Kairi nodded and reached across him. She curled her fingers over the circular key from the large green thruster and ripped it out.

A couple seconds later, fire blasted from behind them and helped to launch them into the air. Startled by the kickback, Kairi gripped harder and found some pleasure in the way he winced. Moving at a speed that was pulling her stomach out of her chest, she covered her mouth to prevent the possibility of her breakfast returning. In moments, they were suspended above the cliff heights.

Bakugo released Kairi.

Thanks so much for all the attention I have been receiving for this story! It means a lot to me! The next chapter won't be posted until after Christmas (Working long hours in retail in TOYS of all things... I'm a bit worn out lol) so I hope you all have a good holiday, whatever you celebrate!