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"Congratulations on yer win, Kiraru."

After Yangchen's battle were three more matches: Tokoyami vs Yaoyorozu, Kirishima vs a steel boy named Tetsutetsu, and Bakugou vs Uraraka.

"Ya think Yaomomo's gonna be okay? She looked incredibly sad."

Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu's match was quite quick. Yaoyorozu tried protecting herself with a shield, but was sadly forced out of bounds by Tokoyami. She was so hyped up for it, ready to win…

"She'll get back up again. Poor Ochako…"

Uraraka's match was rough and furious. Uraraka stayed low so that Bakugou would tear up the terrain, giving her weapons. She enacted a meteor shower, but Bakugou easily destroyed it with one explosion. Poor Uraraka collapsed at the end, rendering Bakugou the winner.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Oh yeah. Them.

Kirishima and Tetsutetsu had both collapsed during their match, so they had to have a rematch. And of course, it's settled through arm wrestling. Those two are carbon (or should I say IRON ha-) copies of each other.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Kirishima eventually slammed Tetsutetsu's arm into the cement block, thus winning him the match. They both panted with their hands on their knees. They shook hands in a way that made it look like they wanted to be "manly" and walked away, leaving me to stifle my laughter.

That's when Kirishima decided to pull a dumb move and look up at the student section.

Guess what he did.

No takers?

Oh well.

He freaking winked.

The crowd went haywire, as did Yangchen. Well, Yangchen didn't necessarily go haywire, per say, more turning her gaze into her sleeve.

I smirked.

She slapped me.

I have no regrets.

Iida's match was… how do you say this nicely, absolutely hilarious. He faced this support-course student named Hatsume Mei, and the battle was essentially like watching a huge advertisement for her stuff. Yangchen and I were trying (and failing) to stifle our giggles. Uraraka and Midoriya weren't faring any better.

In the end, Hatsume launched herself outside the arena on purpose. Iida won on a technicality and he was so confused it wasn't even funny.

Iida's battle was the last in the first stage, which left eight competitors. I fight Iida in this stage, and Yangchen has to take down Tokoyami.

That was when Present Mic decided to announce the next battle. The one battle that I was really looking forward to.

"Aaaaaaand now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our next two competitors: Todoroki Shoto and Midoriya Izuku!"

No annoying preamble this time? Aizawa-san must have told him off. I stifled a laugh at the thought.

Todoroki walked in like the stoic stone he was, while Midoriya had a determined expression on his face. I had heard that Todoroki dragged Midoriya off somewhere from Uraraka. It was very telling.

Why would he tell Midoriya of all people?

Oh right, probably because of that battle declaration earlier.

Midoriya had secrets; he could probably keep one more if it were for Todoroki of all people.

"Competitors at your ready," Midnight called. "Begin!"

Todoroki immediately fired a barrage of ice at Midoriya, reminiscent of his victory over Sero. Midoriya was prepared though. The attack was quickly shattered by a flick of Midoriya's fingers powered with...his quirk!? His middle finger quickly turned a sickly purple hue as he cried out in pain.

The shockwaves from both his quirk and the ice resulted in an icy wind blowing in everyone's faces. I yelped at the sudden drop in temperature and shielded my eyes from the gusts of wind.

Once visibility was restored, Midoriya was clutching his hand in pain, but he didn't look sorry.

He's breaking his fingers. I widened my eyes at the realization. Even after getting treated by Recovery Girl, he'll be out of commission for the rest of the festival! What the hell is he doing?

The legit same thing happened; Todoroki sent a barrage of ice and Midoriya broke yet another finger with a yell of "SMASH!"

This time, Todoroki created a wall of ice behind him and slammed into it as the winds forced him back.

Midoriya's arm was shaking from agony as he tried to hold it still. He had on his thinking expression. I gulped; Midoriya would probably have a strategy planned.

As I found out later, he sure as hell did not.

Todoroki sent out another wave of ice which Midoriya deflected.

Was this gonna continue the whole match!?

Except, this time something was different.

"That idiot," Someone drawled.

Imagine my surprise when Bakugou was the one speaking for once. "The bastard can use fire so why the hell would he not? Quirks are physical capabilities; everyone has a limit. And he's gonna die of frostbite."

I found myself nodding. He had a point, no matter how rudely he phrased it.

Yangchen glanced at me. "You know something, and yer hidin' it. Badly."

"What?" I was taken completely off guard. "N-no I absolutely am NOT!"

"Case and point." She leaned back in her seat. "It's not my place to investigate, but you do you. But I can tell there's somethin' yer not tellin' me."

I had never been as thankful for Yangchen's aloof nature as I was at that moment. "I'll tell you one day, promise."

"I'll figure it out eventually, don' worry. Yer not the only one with a mysterious backstory."

This is UA. Who doesn't have a mysterious backstory?

Midoriya "SMASHED!" another barrage of ice as I face-palmed. But I face-palmed too soon.

Midoriya had used his pinky finger on that hit, so it was a little weaker. Todoroki decided to run up the partially demolished slope that the two had created as Present Mic screamed into the microphone. He used his ice powers to keep going where the ledge tapered off. And at this point, Midoriya was out of fingers in his right hand to use.

"Just LISTEN TO ME!"

Oh, snap.

Remember how I told Midoriya on the bus to USJ about spreading out his power? At the time I hadn't the slightest clue what his quirk was and it looked like he was shoving power up a limb, making it explode. I had just given a weird suggestion off the top of my head.

He had taken it to heart.

Oh snap.

The atmosphere had changed drastically. The air was crackling with energy as green sparks ran down Midoriya's body while he stared down a shocked Todoroki. The audience had gone quiet at this new development.

It looked like electricity, but Kaminari was the one with the electricity quirk. Was the power so great it was flowing off his body?

What kind of quirk did this guy have?

Todoroki by this time was already in the air, having leapt towards Midoriya. Poor Midoriya had no choice but to jump.

Well, rather, flew.

It was like a green lightning bolt. If you blinked, you would have missed it.

He jumped and punched Todoroki in the stomach.

Todoroki was flung across the arena as Midoriya landed on his feet, leaving small indents in the floor. It genuinely looked like Todoroki was going to fly out of bounds, when he managed to fling out an arm and create a shield of ice behind him.

He slammed into the ice with enough force to crack it. I winced as a choked cry of pain left his lips. He slid down, shakily landing on his feet and using the ice as a supporter. Coughing out painfully, he stared in awe at the new Midoriya.

"I'm...not going to lose!" A new wave of power spread from Midoriya and somehow he grew more powerful. "And you expect to beat me with half of your power? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Woo." Yangchen crossed her arms and stared down at Midoriya. "Little Dekkun just learned how to curse."

Todoroki just tensed and sent yet another barrage of ice at Midoriya. (when will this idiot learn that it isn't going to work?) By now you could see a marked difference in the speed of the ice. Frost was also starting to creep up Todoroki's right side.

It's just like Bakugou said. He needed the other part of his quirk.

I clenched my fist. He was going to lose if he didn't use it.

...When did I find myself rooting for Todoroki?

"I will beat you with only my right side!" Todoroki shouted at Midoriya. "You can't tell me what to do! I'm going to win, and I'm going to do it without my left side!"

"No!" Midoriya said sharply. "Keep going like this and you're losing everything that belongs to you!"

Todoroki at this point switched strategies. He sped forward by creating ice from his foot which propelled him. It looked like he was ice-skating. He dashed towards Midoriya and reared up for a punch, but Midoriya dodged almost easily. Todoroki switched course, but Midoriya was always one step ahead.

The third time, Todoroki let out a yell and put on a burst of speed, getting close to Midoriya before the green-haired boy jumped away. Todoroki growled in frustration. "Half my power? So be it, if it means rejecting my dad's quirk-"

"It's not your dad's fucking quirk, dumbass!"

Woah.

Todoroki faltered for a second at that. Midoriya kept going. "What, did you make your dad quirkless when you were born? No! You have full control over yourself! You're not just a puppet!"

Todoroki stared at him with such a face that you'd only think a monster was behind it.

"You are a human being who was blessed by the gods! Well, remember this, Todoroki! All men are not born equal! There are thousands of people who would have killed to have an ant's chance at being a hero and you're doing them a disgrace! It's your power! Not his!"

I knew Midoriya was one for insightful, empowering speeches, but still, holy shit.

Todoroki's eyes widened as Midoriya panted. The electricity flickered around him for a few moments.

He must be getting tired. I mean, this is his first time using his power like that.

My eyes widened.

He's going to lose.

In a few seconds, red filled everyone's vision as Todoroki combusted. Flames blazed to life around his left side as he grinned at Midoriya, who was struggling to stay on his feet.

Flames sent intense heat on one side while he activated his ice, sending cool winds the other way. It looked awesome.

"You… are an absolute idiot," Todoroki said.

Midoriya managed a smirk. "Believe me, I know."

Todoroki suddenly bent his knees, power flaring out. "What do you say we end this?"

Midoriya's smile grew wider as he got into a ready position. "You bet!"

What was hilarious was the way Cementoss and Midnight were panicking as they tried to stop the fight before the two clashed.

Why?

Because it casually destroyed the arena.

Midoriya flashed forward as Todoroki rocketed forth on his ice to meet Midoriya. Then he raised his left hand.

I don't know exactly what happened. I only saw Cementoss desperately putting up barriers that were crushed by the explosion of the two's collision. It looked like a nuclear bomb had just blown up, and I wouldn't be surprised if it did. The shockwaves were legendary, and so was the smoke as Present Mic complained about not being able to see anything.

I fell back on my chair, only noticing then that I had gotten so tense that I was leaning forward. "Damn."

Yangchen just looked confused. "Who won?"

I snorted. "Dammit, Yangchen, they both could be critically injured and all you can think about is who won?"

She just shrugged.

Uraraka was watching with wide eyes. "I didn't know Deku-kun could do that…"

"And what's with that weird lightning thing that was going on?" Kirishima mused. "Another extension of his power? But how?"

Bakugou looked like he was seething but I chose not to comment on it.

The smoke eventually cleared.

One person stood panting in the middle of the ring. Another was crumpled against a dent in the wall.

Todoroki stood victorious, half his shirt burned off, taking gulps of air from exertion. And Midoriya lay horribly bruised on the wall.

Midnight stuttered. "Uh, Midoriya is out of bounds! Todoroki advances to the next round!"

The crowd roared as Todoroki walked up to Midoriya, who was barely conscious. He said something quietly which was drowned out by the din of the crowd before the medical team arrived on the field to carry Midoriya away on a stretcher.

Well. That was climactic.

We settled on the one that Yuki picked out.

The target was a surly old man with faded yellow hair like urine and huge muscles. He had a fake eye too. I remember hearing that this guy killed a bunch of people, including the Water Horse duo. Shame, Maki said that they were her role models.

And maybe that was why Shun and I snuck out of the house.

When I asked why, he said that Hiro usually did all the work and he wanted this to be a surprise for Maki. I was honestly baffled he asked me to come with him, since Hiro and I were basically siblings at this point and my quirk was not suited to secret vigilantism. But then again, this was bound to be a messy fight.

It would be a miracle not to get caught.

Which is why I was wondering why we were even going through with this when we found Muscular.

He didn't realize we were there at all. Shun and I hid in an alley while Muscular guzzled some stolen beer. My mouth upturned a little; a wasted Muscular was a weakened Muscular.

Shun nodded to me, and I stepped out. Muscular saw me and promptly ignored me. After all, it wasn't common to see kids in rags out here looking for food.

I walked up to him. "Mister? Do you have an apple or something to eat?" I made a show of clutching my stomach. "I've been walking for days and I'm really hungry. Please?"

I looked up at him with my best doe eyes while I saw Shun appear behind Muscular. Said villain just growled at me. "Kid, if you know what's good for you, you'll beat it out of here before I smash this bottle on your head."

I hid a smile. All according to plan.

Shun slipped on a blindfold as I continued. "But mister-"

"I said SHUT UP!"

He swung the beer bottle at me as I hurriedly clapped my hands. I knew Shun could see, but I sure as hell could not. My ears burned from the ringing and colored spots started popping up whenever I tried to look anywhere.

I whimpered as I registered my butt hitting the ground.

This was why I hated my quirk. It always really hurt to use it, to the point where I almost never did. I only agreed this time for Shun's sake, but normally I would avoid using it. After all, I couldn't control it for the life of me.

When I ran away from home? That was probably just adrenaline. I still have no idea why the use of my quirk didn't knock me out, but I'm putting that up to shock.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyway, I rode out the pain for a good half of a minute, and when I could finally see, I almost wished the quirk kept going.

Apparently Shun had missed with the hammer, as it was wedged on the ground.

Muscular had a fake eye so he could still partially see.

Why the flip didn't we think of that!?

Because now the villain was holding a squirming Shun by the throat, talking about how much fun it would be to kill him. Shun's eyes were wide as his airways were slowly closed off.

And me?

I froze.

I almost couldn't breathe, let alone move. Fear reared its ugly fangs at me and I was rooted to my spot.

Move, I urged my leaden limbs. Save him!

Shun was almost unconscious.

"No…"

Muscular shot me the most deranged smile. "Oh don't worry girlie, you're next-"

He never finished.

The air became black and white and he ceased to move. I looked around confused, until my eyes landed on one figure, stalking up to us.

"Hiro?"

"Right now it's Musco."

I had never heard his voice so cold.

He quickly pried Muscular's fingers off of Shun's neck. Shun fell to the ground, coughing and clutching at his throat while Hiro rubbed soothing circles on his back. I managed to get up and stumble towards them. "Wha-but-how are you here?" I whispered.

Hiro looked at me impassively. "You really didn't think I'd not notice you guys leaving after Shun fell on that paint can?"

Shun winced. "Sor-" He fell into a coughing fit, voice sore from the torture he was just subjected to. Hiro and I just sat with him through it.

Once he was done, he was being helped up by me and Hiro. "Come on, we're going home."

"What about Muscular?"

Hiro looked at me like I was crazy. "That guy is an A-ranked villain who murdered two pro-heroes and you think we can beat him?"

I didn't bother to grace him with an answer. He was right, after all. We were acting like complete, utter idiots.

If later, while we were walking away, we heard a crazy scream, none of us mentioned it.

Well. Midoriya needs surgery again.

Needless to say, Uraraka was very miffed and worried once Recovery Girl told us off for trying to see Midoriya. There was another person next to the banged-up Midoriya too.

He was sickly thin with long, limp blond hair, sunken eyes, and a worried expression.

...I got the feeling I'd seen him somewhere.

Meh. Best to ask Midoriya. Once he's out of surgery of course.

Meanwhile, there was a small break while Cementoss rebuilt the arena. I met Yangchen in the stands as we contemplated the matches ahead.

"So who's match is up next, Yangchen?" I plopped down on a seat.

Her lip curled up. "Yours. Might wanna go get ready."

My eyes widened. "Really? I thought-"

"Wiiiiiiiiiill the two next competitors, Amano Kiraru and Iida Tenya, please make their way down to the challenger waiting areas! Your battle will begin when Cementos finishes fixing the arena!"

Oh would you look at that.

"Oh, ok then. Wish me luck!" I stood up.

"Good luck!" Yangchen called after me as I left the platform.

Once I was out I took a breath. If I managed to beat Iida, then I would face Todoroki. Then I could give him a piece of my mind.

Then again, Midoriya did convince him to use his fire…

But knowing him and his stubborn ass, he'd probably go back to using just his ice.

Ugh.

With those thoughts in mind, I turned the corner-

Only to crash into someone and fall on my butt.

The impact jostled my burned leg, which was still throbbing but was ignorable. I barely bit back a cry of pain as I hit the ground.

Then I made the mistake of looking up.

Endeavor stared down at me in all of his dumpster fire glory.

"Woah there, watch where you're going-"

Smack.

I stared at my fist in awe as Endeavor clutched his cheek in surprise.

I just slapped the number 2 hero in the face.

And I don't regret it.

He opened his mouth but I beat him to the punch. "Aren't you Shouto's dad?"

My eyes narrowed. "Then know that Shouto does not have any obligation to you whatsoever, you raging dumpster piece of shit. If I hear one more thing from him about you causing him any pain, you will regret it."

I'd worry about the consequences of punching and threatening him another time.

And I'd also ignore the fact that I called Todoroki "Shouto."

I decided that the flaming piece of crap wasn't worth my time and walked away. I could hear him spluttering from down the hall.

Once his screams faded, I let out an angry breath and unclenched my fists (when did I clench them?). It wasn't worth it to get angry at him now; not with a match coming up.

Seriously, did I have to run into him now of all times?

I stared down Iida, who was stretching his legs on the other side of the ring. It was finally time for our match, and I was pumped.

Before I get into that, I need to explain something.

I noticed it right after the whole Endeavor fiasco.

My hands hurting was nothing new; clapping my hands so hard all the time tended to do that.

But they were glowing.

And when they were, I couldn't activate my quirk.

It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen. They weren't glowing, persen, but they were shining with a yellow light that wouldn't go away. It was unnoticeable until you really looked for it.

How come I was only discovering this now? And what the hell does it mean?

I really need to talk to Yangchen…

As such, I would be facing Iida with no Quirk whatsoever.

Just great.

Present Mic's words went in one ear and out the other, and before I knew it, Midnight was giving the symbol to start. I took a deep breath, calming my raging nerves.

Just in time too, for Iida rushed at me so swiftly that I barely dodged in time. His arm nicked me in the shoulder. I was kind of hoping he's carreen out of bounds but he was actually quite agile when he wasn't wearing such a bulky suit.

I had some semblance of a plan, but nothing to actually act on. So he rushed me again and I dodged again- but this time, he caught my hand.

His engines started lighting up.

"Recipro-"

"Hey, did you know that you're a goody two-shoes?"

I wanted to vomit in embarrassment.

That was the weakest roast I have ever said in m e.

But luckily, it distracted Iida as his engines cooled a bit. "Wha-"

I pulled my hand out of his grasp, and while he was distracted, I aimed a kick at his left side. He grunted and took a step in the opposite direction, and during his moment of surprise, I tried pushing him out of bounds.

Keyword: tried.

Iida was as heavy as a brick, and he held his ground well. I opted for a kick to his engines, but I couldn't reach them in time. Iida shoved me to the ground.

I managed to roll and land on my feet, but Iida rushed me immediately. This time I didn't react fast enough, and he got me by the arms. Now his engines were really heating up.

"Recipro-"

As if I'd let you win so easily.

I legit had no idea what to do, so I did the only thing I thought was plausible.

I slapped my hand over his eyes.

It required a bit of twisting on my part, but I got it done. My hands were glowing even if I couldn't use my quirk so it managed to startle Iida enough to cool his engines. I ripped myself out of his grip and while he was surprised, got behind him and kicked him in the back.

Luckily we were close to the boundary and I was able to push him just over. It was very close though. His foot stepped out, but once he realized what was going on, he stopped himself.

It was too late.

"Iida is out of bounds! Amano wins this round!"

"LET'S GO!"

I pumped my gift and cheered as the crowd roared in approval. I looked at the shocked form of Iida. "Sorry bud, but I need to advance as much as the next guy." I held out my hand. "No hard feelings?"

He hesitated for a moment before gripping my hand tightly and shaking a bit too harshly. "No hard feelings! Good job on the win, Amano-san!"

If anything the crowd roared louder.

I ran into Todoroki again.

It wasn't my fault! I was running back to the viewing area when Todoroki turned a corner. I couldn't stop myself so I just ran headfirst into his chest.

We both stumbled in opposite directions before apologizing quickly. Todoroki turned to walk away, but I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait."

He turned back to me, scarred eye regarding me with interest. "Is something wrong, Amano-san?"

My grip may have been shaky, but my resolve was not. "I won't lose to you."

Todoroki looked up at the roof before responding.

"Neither will I."

I let out a breath before continuing. "Todoroki, please don't let your father control you. Just because he's your father doesn't mean you have to love him."

That was it. That was the sentence I think broke him.

He stared at me. Not in a rude way, not in an angry or sad way, but sentimental. As though… someone finally told him not what he wanted to hear, but what he needed to hear.

"I understand."

He trotted away.

"Welp. She's doomed."

"Excuse me? Saki, I don't think you have a right to-"

"Did you see the match?"

"Um, no, Shiggy took away my TV access."

*sigh* "And pray tell, Musco, why did Shiggy take away your TV access?"

"Said I was being a petulant brat or something. I don't know, do you really think I listen to him?"

"I would think so since he's the one keeping you alive."

"Hey-"

"ANYWAY, she's facing a guy who won against Tape-man in less than ten seconds and who blew up the whole arena with Wonderboy."

"...What."

"No, I am not kidding."

"...Rest in pieces."

"It's rest in peace, you absolute twit-"

(In some kind of magical girl context, you've all seene that one meme)

Ashido: Smile!

Hagakure: Sweet!

Uraraka: Sister!

Jiro: Sadistic… ?

Amano: Surprise!

Yangchen: Screw this.