Konnichiwa peeps (It's IdolGirl)

So. Amano got burned. It's really not that bad, I dramatized it, but who cares.

Anyway, school's going great. My friend is dying in homework while I'm just there chillin cuz I got the best teachers. SO I'm able to write more. Life's good right now.

Also I am currently obsessed with A Silent Voice cuz it's SUCH a good movie so if anyone wants to talk to me bout that just like… dm me or something on Discord. My username is IdolGirl#8847. Also if enough people want me to, I could try making a server for this fic, but we don't have many readers right now so that can probably wait.

(DisasterDoodlesInc is on discord at XingHaiKourai#7865)

I have an All Might figurine that watches me while I do everything. It's nice but also kinda creepy.

Anyway, enjoy this week's chapter! (And no, it's not the kind of confession you probably were hoping for but that's coming! I promise! It'll just take like, several chapters.

Hey, this isn't slow burn for nothing ya know.)

UPDATE WRITTEN A MONTH AFTER THIS A.N WAS: I have a Discord server! (Not for the fic just yet but a weeb discord server) DM me on Discord and I'll give u guys an invite if u want.

- Idol

"Is she going to be alright?"

"I imagine she must be tired, but she should be fine."

"She's going to the next round."

"That's on her."

"Yeah, but I wanna face her! She's so strong!"

"But she won't be if she is tired. Jesus, let her rest!"

"Wait, I think she's coming back. Kiraru?"

These voices swam in my head as I tried to break through the surface of the darkness I was trapped in. A voice kept calling my name; I recognized it as Yangchen. There were others… Midoriya, Uraraka, Iida, and Kirishima? That's what it sounded like.

I mustered up the strength to crack open an eye. Sure enough, the blurry form of Yangchen was the closest to me, her brow creased in worry. I could make out the rest of my friends there as well. My vision slowly created as I attempted to sit up with a groan. Yangchen immediately moved to support me, pushing me up from my back.

I still had a pounding headache, but it was bearable. I looked down to my leg, which I remember being on fire earlier, to see it bandaged in a sea of white.

It was probably permanently scarred. And while that thought made me want to throw up...I was surprisingly more okay with it than I thought I would be.

"Kiraru!" I suddenly remembered that Yangchen was talking to me. Her eyes swam with worry. "How're ya feelin'?"

"Just peachy," I grumbled before looking at everyone else in the room. Midoriya and Uraraka were with Recovery Girl near the door, and Kirishima was a few steps behind Yangchen. "How long was I out?"

This time Midoriya answered. "Lunch already happened, and the recreation games are going on right now; I think they'll go on for another half-hour. We moved on; you saved our team."

"I did?" Suddenly I remembered the events that led to my leg getting burned. "I did. But how in the name of quirks did my leg catch on fire!?"

Uraraka spoke up. "It was Todoroki."

Ya know, that makes a lot of sense, but it doesn't at the same time.

"But I used my quirk," I said after a second. "How did he-"

"I say it was just instinct," Yangchen said before I could finish. "I don't think he meant to injure ya."

"He wanted to check up on you," Kirishima interjected, whistling lowly. "He seemed pretty worried, my dude."

"Todoroki? Worried?" I chuckled for a second. "Are you sure?"

"Yep," Kirishima popped the "p."

I realized that he was completely serious. "Oh, um, okay. Wow. Didn't expect that," I muttered the last part.

Midoriya turned to Recovery Girl. "Can she participate in the next round?"

"It really would be up to her," Recovery Girl answered. "Her burns aren't that bad because of how quickly you guys extinguished the flames, although it will leave a faint permanent scar. As long as she isn't heavily exposed to flames in that area again, she should be all set to participate in the next round."

"Awesome…" I grinned at my friends. "Meet in the finals?"

"Definitely!" Uraraka nodded.

"Alright, we'll leave you now," Midoriya said, making his way to the door. "We lost Iida and I kinda want to look for him, so…"

I waved my hand at him. "Bye!"

The door clicked behind him.

"You're allowed to go, you know," Recovery Girl glanced at me before walking over to her desk.

I chuckled. "I just want to rest a little bit before the finals. Do you know what the bracket looks like?"

"Do you really think something like that would be released to me?" She gave me an incredulous expression as I smiled sheepishly.

I relaxed, leaning back. This burn would be a serious handicap, but it wasn't something I couldn't roll with. What I was really worried about was my quirk. I used it excessively last round so everyone knows what I can do. They'll have counter-measures prepared. If I face Yangchen, she'll make a blindfold and earplugs or something.

Speaking of which, how did she make that opaque blanket earlier? And why did she throw it away?

Not that I'm complaining.

I checked the clock; twenty minutes to go. I sighed, bored out of my mind.

Maybe I could-

Knock knock.

"Come in!" Recovery Girl called out. The door swung open, and in walked-

"Todoroki!?"

"Ah, Todoroki-kun, are you here to visit Amano?" Recovery Girl asked as Todoroki stood awkwardly in the doorway.

He just nodded, then fixed his piercing stare at me. "Can you walk?"

I blinked "I mean, I haven't tried yet but I'm pretty sure I could. Hold on, lemme try…"

I swung my legs out and let them touch the cool floor (I wasn't wearing shoes) before lifting the rest of my body off the hospital bed. I steadied myself with a hand on the side of the bed, before finally letting go and trying to take a step.

I stumbled.

Of course I did. I'm such a klutz.

I nearly screeched and braced myself for impact with the floor… but instead, I felt a warm grip on my forearm. Prying open eyes that I didn't know I'd shut I looked up to see Todoroki holding my arm with an unreadable expression.

Recovery Girl sighed. "I wouldn't suggest you walking just yet, but if Todoroki-kun helps you then I don't see a problem. Don't overdo it."

"Will do!" I called after her as Todoroki helped me out of the hospital room. He had slung my arm around my arm and pulled me towards the right side of his body since my left leg was the one that was burned.

After we left the hospital room, I exhaled rather dramatically. "Thanks for rescuing me; I hate hospital rooms."

He glanced at me. "Well I guess that's something we have in common."

We lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few minutes before I realized that I didn't recognize these hallways. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere private."

I narrowed my eyes. "That sounds awfully suspicious. You sure you aren't a villain in disguise?" I quipped, smirking.

His shoulders slumped. "I wasn't trying to be suspicious."

Oh. He took me seriously.

I laughed nervously, hoping to lighten the mood. "It was a joke, Elsa."

He glanced at me. "...Elsa?"

Oh fudge, I said that out loud, didn't I?

"Yeah, or do you want me to call you Zuko?" I rolled with it, fully knowing the stupidity of my actions. "Because as far as I'm concerned, you're a mix of both."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Why do you have to be like this?"

I sent him a cheeky grin, proud of myself for not angering him. "I was born like this, deal with it."

He didn't say anything more. That was probably because we had reached our destination-

"An abandoned hallway?" I shot him a glance as he helped me lean against the wall before moving away.

My side felt awfully cold without him there, even though the right side of his body was the cold side.

He went to lean against the opposite wall, crossing his arms as he glared at the floor. "...So."

"Yeah, what's up?" I was genuinely curious.

He lifted his eyes. Usually, though he was a stoic person, I could read his emotions through his eyes. I was good at stuff like that. But this time I didn't catch anything. It was all a mix. "...I wanted to apologize."

...okay, what?

I nearly forgot to respond, as as Todoroki looked away in defeat I finally found my voice. "No, don't apologize!"

His head snapped back to fix his icy glare on me...except, this time, there was less ice in it. "Why?"

"Uh."

And suddenly I was as eloquent as a cucumber.

"Um, well, you didn't mean to do it, right?" I tried to diffuse the tension with a smile. "So it's fine in my book!"

"But you still got hurt. You still got burned." He reached up to his left eye and touched the skin around it tenderly.

...Oh.

"How'd you get that anyway?"

The words were out of my mouth before I registered them leaving. Todoroki looked at me in shock as I flailed my hands around, flustered. "Forget i said anything! You don't have to answer-"

"It's fine."

Wait, what?

He paused for a moment, then started.

"Do you know what a quirk marriage is?"

A quirk marriage…?

"Nope, no idea."

And so he told me everything that happened to him. How his father would drag him to "intense" training sessions, how he never got to see his siblings much, how his mother got so stressed that she poured boiling water on his left eye…

I didn't even know I had slid to the floor until I was suddenly looking up at Todoroki. He was still in his original position, looking downcast as he addressed me. "I know that's a lot to dump on you so fast, but this is why I dragged you here. I wanted to make sure you wouldn't take it personally when you lost."

Now, normally I would be infuriated. And I was.

But after hearing that…

Todoroki didn't even know me that well and he shared his pain with me. How could I be angry with him after that?

So instead, I gathered my bearings and looked Todoroki in the eyes. "I wasn't planning to. And who knows, I might be the one to beat you."

"I'm on my way to victory, if only to prove to my father that I don't need him," Todoroki stated. "So losing isn't an option for me."

And with that, he started to walk away.

He didn't even give any closure and he started to walk away.

"Oi, uh, Strawberry-Vanilla..."

He turned around to look at me. "What is with you and those goddamn nicknames?"

"I picked them up from Yangchen." That is a false statement. Yangchen only calls him 'Zuko' or 'Totoro' or some variant on that.

I shook my head. This wasn't what I wanted to say. "But anyway, I don't give a singular flying shat if you win against me, but don't do it out of spite alone. That is the worst thing a human can do."

He just turned away. "What would you know?"

And that was the last straw.

"Todoroki, my parents were murdered in front of my very eyes and I couldn't do anything." I hissed quietly, but loud enough for it to catch Todoroki's attention.

"Do you know what happened to Yangchen? She's got demons too. She hates unfounded pride like you, people who simply assume they're at the top just because of nothing. She fights harder and harder every day for her chance at the top, and she needs this win just as much as you do. I need this win just as much as you do. Just because you have issues doesn't give you the right to walk all over the rest of us!"

He paused where he was standing as I realized what I had just done and thunked myself on the head.

Stupid, stupid! You had to go and make him angry! What in the holy mother of quirks were you thinking?

"Oi, Straw-" I lifted my head and called out to Todoroki,

But he was gone.

Tse Family

"And now, the news. Lions Automotive accused of fraud due to series of car accidents. Coming to you from our man in the field, over to you, Wong."

"Thanks, Liwei. According to legal authorities, several families have accused Lions Automotive for fraud in their vehicles. In the past three months, car crashes have increased, according to police departments. Several departments have collaborated and have found that most of the cars involved in these crashes were manufactured by Lions Automotive. Once this information was presented to the victims and their families, they came together to try and sue the company's owner and CEO, Tse Bojing. While the trial has not yet begun, here is what Tse has to say on the matter."

The television cut to the interview.

"We are aware of the devastation caused in the accidents, and we take accountability for a part of it. Recent factory reports have noticed deficiencies in airbag and braking technologies, and we have been working to try and solve the problem. However, several hundred cars from these factories had been put into circulation by the time I got the report, and presumably it was too late. We do understand-"

Tse Bojing turns off the TV

"Jordan, Yangchen, I know it might seem scary. When you go back to school tomorrow, kids might look at you or say mean things to you. I just want you to know that your mom and I love you. We'll always be here if you need something. We just want you to keep your head held high, and stand strong in the face of ignorance and resistance."

"Why are they angry at us?"

"Well, when some of the cars were being made, some of them didn't work properly. Like when a person is born with a diseased organ

. Some people started getting in car accidents in our cars, and they say we're responsible for not controlling the problem."

"Is it our fault?"

"Well Yangchen, I don't know. I just know that this might be the eye."

"The eye?"

"Yes. The eye of the hurricane."

The brackets were up.

I had hobbled over to where everyone was waiting: a large room with an open space looking over the arena we were going to be battling in. I finally figured out how to walk normally, so that was a plus.

Now, what wasn't a plus was my opponent.

The first person I had to fight was Kaminari.

Kaminari in particular could cause all kinds of problems, making me lose before I got a chance to get close to him.

On the other hand…

Kaminari goes into a period of shock for a while if he goes over his wattage limit. While there's no way I can dodge that, if I can survive it, he'll be rendered immobile and I'll win. That's under the assumption I can survive two million volts of electricity.

Impossible.

Then again, he wasn't aiming to kill, he was aiming to get me out of bounds. This meant that he wouldn't go all out, but would release his shocks in short bursts.

Some semblance of a plan started forming in my head.

Yangchen was going to face Aoyama. Said person gave an over exaggerated wink at her while Yangchen groaned. "Why him…"

"Well, at least you know his weakness," I consoled her. "You can beat him."

"Guess so… " She looked back at the brackets for a second. "You know Denkkun's weakness too."

"Yep." It was then I noticed something odd. "Wait...who's Midoriya facing?"

It showed that he was facing some kid named Shinsou Hitoshi. His name didn't ring any bells. Maybe from the General Studies course?

"Leader of the fourth team.," Yangchen answered. "Don't think Izukkun knows the kid's quirk." She then eyed me. "You, however, fired off willy-nilly."

I raised my hands in mock-defeat. "Alright, I'm sorry!"

"Ya better be." Suddenly the amused tone was gone from her voice. "Yer dead if we get matched up."

I balked for a second, then grinned. "What did I expect… "

"Woah, Kiraru, you look feral," Uraraka commented as she made her way over to us. "Also, good luck!"

I grinned at her now. "Same to you!"

For some reason, she jumped back. "Woah, you look like Bakugou!"

I blinked. "...What?"

"She's got a point." Yangchen touched my shoulder. "'S not like you're not intimidating when you're in the zone."

"Heh, I guess…" I laughed it off sheepishly just as Midnight's voice rang out over the loudspeakers calling us down. The people who made it started leaving while everyone cheered them on. I grinned at everyone, and they seemed oddly off-put.

Huh. Guess they were right. I must look like Bakugou.

What if I grin like that against Kaminari?

The thought nearly made me giggle and break the determined atmosphere.

And as we stepped out into the light, the only thing on my mind was the match ahead. If I didn't win it, I wouldn't be able to advance. And if I verse Todoroki, I was going to have to smack some sense into him.

This is going to be fun.

Ojiro forfeited.

Yes, he forfeited.

He said something about not winning on his own terms, and well, basically something about his personal pride. Some other kid from his group agreed and also withdrew. They put in Yaoyorozu and some girl from the support course in their places.

"AAAAAAAAND now, the first matchup of the day, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Midoriya Izuku from Class 1-A!"

From our place in the stands, we could see Midoriya as he cautiously walked through the archway. He looked like he might faint.

"And his opponent, Shinsou Hitoshi!"

My head whipped towards the other gate to see the next boy. And of course, it was quite a surprise.

Remember the boy from before? The one who called us arrogant. With the indigo hair and the tired eyes.

He's Shinsou Hitoshi.

I guess here's where we see what his quirk is.

I shouted to both boys from the stands. "Good luck Midoriya! Good luck Shinsou!"

"Be careful!" Uraraka chimed in.

"KICK HIS DAMN ASS DEKKUN!"

Everyone in the general vicinity looked to the seat right next to me. Yangchen had gotten up on her seat and shouted at Midoriya at the top of her lungs. I would barely expect Yangchen to cheer for anyone, much less this loud.

"Uh, Yangchen?" Kirishima was seated behind us, and he tried to pull Yangchen down. He tugged on the bottom of her shirt, and she angrily sat back down.

Is she gonna do that for everyone? Or is there something special about Midoriya?

Huh. Weird.

Anyway, Midnight, who was acting as ref, started the match. What was more, we could hear a lot of what was going on down there.

It was not that good.

"Start!"

"Yo." Shinsou gave a lazy wave.

Midoriya didn't respond. If anything, he tensed up.

Shinsou noticed this and smirked. "Looks like that damn monkey warned you, huh? The one who dropped out raving on about his pride?"

Midoriya's face tensed at the question, and he clenched his mouth with his hand. He looked strained.

"Shame," Shinsou shrugged. "He threw away his shot. His choice, I guess. The choice of a coward."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY YOU-"

Midoriya froze. Shinsou smirked.

Okay...what?

Shinsou looked around blankly and then back at Midoriya, and then spat out one single sentence.

"You're under my control now, so go ahead and walk on out of this ring like a good little boy."

Midoriya's not going to listen to him, is he? He can't! This kid can't just say something and expect Midoriya to follow!

Unless that's his quirk...

"What's this? What is happening to Midoriya?"

Suddenly Ojiro's forfeit made a lot more sense.

Midoriya nodded, turned on his heel, and started walking. Slowly, but still walking.

"Midoriya Izuku is… completely under Shinsou's spell!"

God, Mic, I get that you're supposed to be the commentator and everything, but please!

"No no no no no! DEKKUN! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Yangchen screamed from where we sat, fear and concern lacing her voice. She got up and pressed herself to the glass, watching intently. I could tell she wanted Midoriya to win.

Or she wanted Shinsou to lose.

"Midoriya! Don't listen to him!" I tried to encourage him.

Ojiro groaned and face-palmed. "I warned him not to say anything!"

Midoriya made his way closer and closer to the edge of the ring. Each step echoed, since the crowd had gone completely silent at this display. Soon enough, Midoriya's foot hovered above the line. His face was blank, and Shinsou's expression remained smug.

"Even with a quirk like mine, I'm blazing my path to being a hero. So go lose, and do it for me."

This is it.

There's no way he can advance.

I squeezed my eyes shut and prepared for Present Mic's voice to declare Midoriya's loss-

...But it never came.

Curious, I cracked an eye open. From my line of vision, I could see him. Midoriya's fingers had formed a flicking shape and fired a blast of force...at the ground?

Dust billowed around him as Shinsou crept back in shock.

"Argh, you're not supposed to be able to fight back! What did you do?!"

Midoriya clamped a hand over his mouth as he advanced towards the lavender-haired boy. No words escaped his mouth.

Looks like he's finally taking Ojiro's advice to heart.

"You've got some strength in your fingers. I wish I had a quirk like yours!"

Shinsou struggled to find his words as he spoke.

"People like you are lucky. You're born with strong quirks and don't have to work hard. You don't know the struggle of needing to fight for every scrap of potential around! It'll be so easy for you people to reach your goal!"

Now, as much as I hated this kid, I could relate to him. He probably wanted to be a hero really badly, but because his quirk was nonphysical and it wouldn't work on robots, he couldn't get into the Hero Course.

Of course he'd be bitter. Of course he'd lash out and have a bias against people with strong quirks, like Midoriya or Todoroki or Bakugou.

It made perfect sense.

What didn't make perfect sense was for Midoriya to snap at his words and start barrelling towards him. I mean sure, he had a point, but he shouldn't get so angry over it-

Wait.

Midoriya said that his quirk was given to him. So...that would mean he used to be quirkless. So he could understand where Shinsou was coming from.

Geez, they paired Shinsou up with the worst opponent.

He ran towards Shinsou, shoving him with all his strength but not using his quirk. He practically picked up Shinsou and almost carried Shinsou out of the ring. Shinsou struggled and punched and squirmed, eventually forcing his way out of Midoriya's grasp with a cry of pain.

He tried shoving Midoriya out of the ring, but Midoriya grabbed his arms and slammed him into the ground with a resounding thud.

"Shinsou is out of bounds. Midoriya advances to the next round!"

Midoriya panted with his hands on his knees, staring over Shinsou. He offered his hand out to Shinsou, but it was slapped away.

That's when Midoriya started talking to Shinsou.

We couldn't make out what he was saying, but Shinsou's eyes widened as he stood up, and they both respectfully bowed to each other. The crowd roared at this display of sportsmanship.

"Serves you right, kid. Don't go calling us arrogant without anything to back it up." Yangchen grumbled as she made her way back to her seat.

"You okay?" I asked as she sat down. She just nodded in reply.

"Geez, that was…" Kirishima struggled to find words. "Uh, I dunno...anticlimactic?"

"Ya don't say," I drawled. "Who wants to go check up on Broccoli?"

Uraraka stifled a laugh before she volunteered to go. I also stood up-

When Yangchen pulled me back into my seat.

"Zukkun's match is next. Might wanna watch that. " She grinned at me. "I'll find Dekkun and report back with the details."

I nodded. "Roger that, captain."

As they left, she threw me a peace sign. "Yangchen out!"

I chuckled as the door closed behind them. It was then that I noticed Kirishima staring at the door.

"...Kirishima?"

No response.

"Kirishima."

"Oi."

"EARTH TO KIRISHIMA!"

"Oh!" He jumped, looking around frantically until his eyes found me. "Oh, it's just you."

"Whaddaya mean, it's just me?" I flailed my hands, as I tended to do when I was excited. "I called you, like, five times!"

Kirishima stuttered for a second, before deciding on a simple "Oh." His cheeks were dusted in light pink as he fiddled with his thumbs.

...Oh.

I smirked. "Kirishima~"

He jumped again, presumably lost in thought before I called him (again).

"Y-Yes!"

"Do you like Yangchen~" I sang, my smile growing wider.

And now his face rivaled his hair. "NO! Not at all! She's, uh, just a, just a friend!"

"Mhm, keep telling yourself that," I knew I wore a shit-eating smile, but seeing him so flustered was absolutely hilarious.

I would have teased him more if it weren't for the fact that Mic was announcing the start of Todoroki's battle. And contrary to popular belief, I actually did want to see what he would pull off after that conversation we had.

Hopefully I managed to get through his thick skull.

"Hey guys?"

"What do you want, weird hair?"

"I have a name, you know!"

"Nevermind! What is it, Kirishima?"

"Uh… Well… there's this girl."

"OH MY GOOOOOOOOOSH!"

"Mina! Be quiet!"

"Who is it? It's gotta be Yaoyorozu, she's the hottest girl in the class!"

"It's not Yaoyorozu…"

"Jiro? Hagakure? Uraraka?"

"Uh… no… how do I ask out a girl?"

"Well, whatcha gotta do is find a nice place to do it. Preferably in a public place."

"Like the sports festival?"

"Uh… kind of."

"Great. I'll ask her out during the award ceremony."

"You're that confident she'll win?"

"I know she will."

So y'all know that one vine to some Michael Jackson song where the one woman is aggressively singing along to the lyrics and then another woman comes into the frame behind her with a pot and hits the pot on beat

Jiro: The first woman

Kaminari: With the pot

www. youtube watch? v=lvqs2C7T75U