In the end, the finalists were the only teams that did not once face each other in the second stage.

Todoroki and Iida, Mina and Momo, Kirishima and Setsuna…

And Kyoka and Izuko.

There was another intermission, as the stage was set up to let everyone get checked over by Recovery Girl before they went on to the final event. Though the small old woman nagged a lot, none of the finalists was injured enough for her to use her quirk that would knock them out.

In fact, besides a few scratches here and there on Iida, none of them were actually injured.

Izuko would never be thankful to that monster, but her 'improved' body was one of the benefits she would carry forward into the future.

In the end, they had settled away from prying eyes, in one of the hallways on the way back into the arena, sitting and leaning against the white walls. Izuko's head was on Kyoka's shoulder.

It was with great effort that Izuko prevented her body from shaking in the aftermath of the fighting.

The tension was slowly leaving her body.

"Monoma apologized," Izuko said. Kyoka tilted her head slightly, her cheek touching on Izuko's hair. "Well, as much as someone like him is capable of apologizing."

"That's… good." Kyoka said. She wasn't sure what else to say, really. "I don't suppose he did it so you would not knock him out of the match?"

"No," Izuko said, shaking her head slightly. Her hair brushed against Kyoka's neck, making her squirm as it tickled her skin. "He's… unpleasant and arrogant, but not the most unpleasant and arrogant person I've ever met. I guess I can understand his inferiority complex."

Hell, she even understood All For One's obsession with cultivating powerful quirks in that way. In the end, both All For One and Monoma were only as strong as the strongest quirks they could get their hands on.

Monoma would never shine alone.

"I guess," Kyoka said. She snuck her arm around Izuko's shoulder, pulling her closer. "So why are you pouting?"

Izuko frowned, unwilling to pull away. "I don't know what you mean."

"Really?" Kyoka said, lifting her head up and turning Izuko's face with one hand. Izuko was looking away. "So what's this then."

Kyoka's hand brushed over Izuko's lips, which were definitely prodding out slightly. Izuko pretended to bite at Kyoka's fingers. Kyoka laughed, leaning in pressing their foreheads together.

"Kyoka, do you think I've… changed?" Izuko asked. Kyoka tilted her head slightly, her hair brushing against Izuko's cheek.

"Not… really?" Kyoka said, blinking. Izuko lowered her gaze. "But that's not a bad thing, is it? If you had changed that much, you wouldn't be you anymore. I like the you that you are now."

"I'm not sure I do," Izuko said. But people don't change. She'd always be the person she was now. "I don't know if I like myself."

"Well, I'm sorry," Kyoka said, planting a kiss on Izuko's cheek. "But I think you're lovely."

"No," Izuko said softly. "Don't."

"You're adorable when you eat something tasty," Kyoka said. Izuko shrunk into herself. "And your cooking is amazing."

"Please stop," Izuko said, feeling herself shrink further. "You don't need to butter up to me-"

"But the way you react to compliments is really cute," Kyoka said, pulling her up again. She planted another kiss on her lips this time. "The way you fight is admirable. You're funny, and you're smart."

Izuko melted away, flushing too much to say anything. She shook her head, trying to hide her face and failing when Kyoka reached up and grabbed her cheeks. Her breath was warm.

"I can't wait to introduce you to my parents," Kyoka finished off. Izuko made a noise between a tea kettle in pitch and a jet engine in volume. Kyoka kissed her cheek again, avoiding her no doubt scalding breath at this point. Burning one's lips once was enough.

Kirishima was the one to interrupt them this time. While they were not in an embarrassing position, it still felt awkward to look at each other as he called out to them. They stood up slowly, and Izuko tried and failed to calm herself down.

"They decided the matchups." Kirishima was slightly out of breath. He had used his quirk a lot today, and must have sprinted down the hall.

Izuko nodded, forcing herself to focus. "Who's up first?"

"You," Kirishima said. "And Todoroki."

"Fuck." Kyoka sighed. Izuko raised an eyebrow. "What, we said no cursing in front of the cameras. There's no cameras here."

Izuko rolled her eyes. "It'll be fine. I did promise him a fight, right?"

"It's not him I'm worried about," Kyoka murmured. Izuko laughed, walking with Kirishima and Kyoka back towards the arena.

"No worries, I'd never lose to someone like him," Izuko said.

The stage was set, and the rules were easy. Whoever knocked the opponent out first, or got them out of the ring, would win. The teachers kept the privilege of deciding a winner in case the match looked like it would get too dangerous. Any injuries that could not be healed by Recovery Girl would be an immediate disqualification.

The fight would start when the buzzer rang. Until then, Todoroki looked like he had something to say.

"Do you feel like a hero yet?" Todoroki asked. Izuko frowned. "You're here, on this stage, being watched by millions of people all over the country, maybe even billions over the world if they care enough. This is the festival of a hero school."

"No," Izuko said. "I don't feel like a hero, but that's not what I'm here for."

"Right, you're here because you have to be," Todoroki said. His voice was cool, but there was a certain edge to it. "You're strong and intelligent, and you wasted it on a life of crime. You took a quirk that's not yours for that purpose."

"And you were bred to be a hero, so what's the point in arguing about it?" Izuko asked, crossing her arms. "You've got daddy issues, I've got almighty issues, where does that leave us? A schoolyard brawl?"

"My father has nothing to do with this."

"But he does," Izuko said. "Deep down, you know it. In your mind, there's an Endeavor shaped hole. In your heart, all you hear is his oppressive voice keeping a tight grip on everything you do. Your every action is defined by your connection to him."

"Shut up," Todoroki said, his cool facade breaking. "You know nothing of my family."

"I know enough, I've met your brother. Your father's a scoundrel," Izuko said, bashing her fists together as she glared at the tall boy. "And so, it seems, are you."

Todoroki frowned. He would never feel insulted on the behalf of his father, but the comparison made him angry. She could see it, the heat gathering on the other side, the soft wisps of smoke that could explode into flames whenever he wanted.

"You want to talk family? Fine," Todoroki said. Midnight made a motion with her hand, and one of the lights on the cameras went out. If Izuko remembered Kyoka's trivia right, the sound was cut. "I imagine we're not too different, considering our mothers."

She knew it was a provocation. She knew that he wanted her to go all out.

She also knew that she was not above the petty anger that rose up when he mentioned it.

"I informed myself, of course, considering how much you know about my family I just thought it'd be fair if I knew more as well," Todoroki said. "Your family ditched you,leaving the country out of embarrassment for having a villain daughter."

It was strange. She felt off. Even after the talk with Kyoka, everything in her body felt wrong. Her quirk was… awkward. It burned twice as bright and four times as long. Maybe it was overuse, maybe it was the lack of proper use for such a long time that she was having trouble adjusting to it.

Maybe it was something else.

Like something was being pulled out of her.

The buzzer announced the start of the match. Izuko made the first move. He sent a wave of ice, and she was already above him, kicking down with her heel. Though he dodged and sent another wave upwards, she melted through it in seconds and landed next to him.

Todoroki made one simple mistake in his provocation. He expected her to make mistakes when she was angry. She wouldn't. Even as the flames of cremation ignited under her skin, she would never lose her sense of battle.

If anything, she became better the angrier she got. Her success fed into her emotions and she continued winning. She would keep winning.

Todoroki could pretend that this was about revenge for his brother as much as he wanted, but in the end, people did't change. This was, and always would be, about his piece of shit father. Izuko knew he was using her as a measuring stick to see how long of a way he had to go.

She was more than happy to oblige.

Her fist smashed into Todoroki's face. He had created some ice there, blocking the attack but leaving him shaken. Rather than take another hit, spikes of ice exploded around him and forced her back.

Todoroki created a lance of ice and sent it ahead. It broke off the large formation and flew forward at a ridiculous speed. She wouldn't be able to melt it completely before it passed her, so she dodged-

She heard a scream.

Todoroki, too, stopped. The lance of ice had moved faster than the teachers could stop it as well, and while it had not hurt anyone it had hurled itself towards the contestant stand where the other six finalists were waiting.

It had lodged itself half a foot between Kyoka and Kirishima, who had reflexively hardened in response to the shock.

Izuko saw red, then blue, and then lost herself in that color.

Right now, she was no longer Izuko Midoriya.

Hellfire on her back, she was no longer the Fire Princess.

She was at the center of a sun, the sweat that formed on her brow immediately evaporated and turned into nothing. Her hair was slightly singed as she was wreathed in blue flames. A baptism by fire gave birth to who she always was.

Right now she was Helios.

Todoroki looked ecstatic. Much the same as her, he created an armor of ice and a world of frozen wasteland around him that extended forward to half the arena until it met with the heat of her flames and turned into steam. It was already volatile, if they clashed, it would explode outwards.

Izuko took it all in. She was not just wearing the flames like armor, but also the stares, the attention. All eyes were on her. She stood here, and like the sun the world revolved around her and her alone.

Then she saw herself reflected in Kyoka's fearful eyes and the sun collapsed on itself. In spite of the heat around her, a cold shiver ran down her spine. It began deep in her neck and carved into her back until it made her cringe.

"People don't change," the small voice in the back of Izuko's mind spoke softly. A cruel whisper. "Only their circumstances do."

She wasn't sure how true that was anymore.

Midnight looked uncertain if she should let the match happen. Her eyes were seeking the approval or disapproval of the announcer box, where Aizawa had stepped out off and was making his way down. He had not yet erased her quirk, but his eyes were focused on both of them rather than just her.

The cold kept creeping up on her, trailing a path back up her body and onto her arms. She felt smaller, now. The world in front of her was no longer an audience that screamed, but a skeletal man with blood running down his mouth.

He had just told her she would never be a hero. She wanted to lash out and scream. She wanted him to take his words back. She wanted him to be the person she had adored and worshipped.

Izuko took a shuddering breath.

The flames vanished and she invited the cold in.

"I forfeit."

She stood there with her eyes closed and her arm raised. The screaming in her ears died down. The world was silent. Izuko was not certain just how long she was left standing there before she opened her eyes to find herself searching for a resolution to her decision in the eyes of Midnight and Todoroki.

Both looked shocked, the former frozen in the middle of the motion to use her own quirk to stop the fight early, and the latter wavering between anger and confusion.

"No," Todoroki managed to force out. His breath was shallow and his voice echoed with discontent. "This was meant to be our fight."

"I'm sorry," Izuko said. She wasn't sure who she was saying it to. There was Todoroki, who was denied his fight. There was Hawks, who was here to see her win. There was the audience, whom she had scared to the point that some people were leaving the arena. There was Midnight, as her homeroom teacher, who had always given her the benefit of the doubt. There was All Might, no doubt watching from somewhere, hearing the same words that he had spoken once in the past.

And then there was Kyoka, who had all but rushed onto the stage and wrapped her arms around her. The warmth of another person was much more pleasant than the heat of her flames.

Izuko sunk to her knees, her face pressed into Kyoka's shirt as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's back. Kyoka followed suit, kneeling down and hugging her back. Each time she attempted to stand, her legs would start shaking.

The crowd did not say a word. Kyoka lifted Izuko up and carried her to Recovery Girl, who led them both back to her office.

Chapter 21, upcoming:

"I know you have more things to worry about right now, and I do not wish to pressure you into a decision," All Might said. "My master has always said that I should not never judge someone by their ability, but the content of their character. I have erred on that front in many ways, and as I approach a point in my life where I feel I cannot continue for much longer, I have… a request."

"What kind of request?"

"I wish to make you my successor," All Might said. "And for that, I wish to pass on my quirk to you. To someone whose legs move faster than their brain."