(A/N) Thanks to all those who have favorited, followed, or reviewed this story! This chapter has already been posted on AO3, and hopefully I can post the next chapter later this evening.

This chapter was not beta-read.

Fuyu stared down at her paper, blushing, as the teacher listed off who had applied to U.A. She had been preparing for the exam practically her entire life. Her father 'trained' her quirk, and Izuku made sure she crammed as much information as possible into her head.

The teen herself figured she could go to any hero academy, considering she wanted to become an underground hero, not a limelight hero. Something about the anonymity of it seemed...more enticing. She wouldn't have to make great speeches, talking about her motivations and what not. Underground hero's saved people and protected them from the villains just the same, but it was on a different level.

Besides, underground heroes generally weren't idiots, unlike some of the aspiring heroes in her class (cough, Bakugo, cough). According to Izuku, she was highly intelligent, but Fuyu thought of it more as actually using common sense.

Caught up in her thoughts, Fuyu didn't realize school had ended until she heard an explosion rock the classroom. Remembering her promise to her best friend all those years ago, the straight-haired teen didn't say anything and stood up to leave the classroom.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING APPLYING TO U.A.?! I WILL BE THE ONLY PERSON TO MAKE IT OUT OF THIS SHITTY SCHOOL AND MAKE IT INTO THE HERO COURSE. IT'S PART OF MY BACKSTORY, AND I CAN'T HAVE A DAMN QUIRKLESS LOSER MESSING IT UP FOR ME. UNDERSTAND?!"

"Y-yes, Kacchan."

Fuyu heard Katsuki activate his quirk, and that's when she stepped in. Using her quirk, she created a small vortex, which pulled Bakugo to her from all the way across the room.

"Goddamnit, Katsuki. Can't you leave Izuku alone for one minute. Just 'cause you have 'the best quirk' in this class, doesn't mean they'll accept you at U.A. You see, people actually like heroes, unlike you. I've never heard of a pro who literally explodes at the slightest thing. Well, except for Endeavor, but he's a piece of shit."

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN, AIRHEAD? I'LL MAKE IT INTO THE HERO COURSE AND LEAVE THE REST OF YOU IN THE DUST."

"Tch, that just proves my point. Come on, Izuku, I want to hear about the new techniques you thought of for me."

"I'm home, Father."

"Good," he responded gruffly. "We're going to the beach to train now."

"But Father, we already trained for three hours this morning before school. I think I've maxed out-"

"YOU WILL DO AS I SAY. THEY'LL HAVE NO USE FOR YOU AT U.A. IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE USING YOUR QUIRK FOR A WHILE. YOU'RE NOT GONNA BECOME A HERO WITH THAT ATTITUDE. NOW GO, CHANGE."

"Yes, sir." Fuyu hurriedly changed into her workout clothes, which were leggings and a long sleeve top. The blue-haired girl wore the long sleeves to cover the numerous scars upon her arms and back inflicted by her father's quirk. Usually, the teen would cover them up with a little makeup, but that wasn't very plausible for an intensive workout.

Honestly, Fuyu was still exhausted from this morning's 'training.' Her father had woken her at the ass crack of dawn, and yelled at her for hours straight, making her extend the limits of her quirk.

Eventually she had passed out, as always. Then she had the pleasing sensation of regaining consciousness only to hear her dad screaming his head off on how 'her lazy ass would be late to school if she didn't get up and stop being so fucking weak.'

Fuyu couldn't understand why he was doing this to her. The over extensive 'training' would only lead to her burning out from exhaustion, meaning she had no hope at passing the U.A. entrance exam.

The only reason Fuyu even went through with applying to the most prestigious hero academy in Japan was that it was Izuku's dream school. Her 'father' was really the one pushing for it, not allowing her to apply to any other schools. (She assumed it was because he failed the U.A. exam when he was teen, but she never dared bring that up.)

His 'regimen' of a strict diet and way too much exercise led to her near constant fatigue. This new addiction of limiting her food intake had only started last month. He said that she needed to learn how to build up her stamina, claiming that limited calorie intake taught her body to be adaptable.

Things wouldn't be like this if Mom was still here. Fuyu felt tears leak out of her eyes at the memory of her mother. If only that monster hadn't… NO, YOU TOLD YOURSELF TO SUPPRESS THAT.

But it's hard to suppress the trauma induced by seeing before your own eyes your sweet, defenseless mother murdered by the man you called dad. He had shoved her down the stairs, and the woman's skull cracked open upon hitting the last step.

Fuyu remembered how horrified she was by seeing the crimson blood pool around her mother's head. Her mom's lifeless eyes eternally held a terrified gaze.

When the paramedics arrived and questioned her about it, they assumed Fuyu didn't talk due to the shock induced by witnessing her mother's death. But that was far from the truth. Before calling the ambulance, her father hit her, threatening bad things if she were to tell the police what had really happened.

They ruled her death a tragic accident. She somehow slipped, and toppled down the long flight of stairs. She died from brain damage caused by the fall.

So only two people knew the truth, and that's what haunted Fuyu at night. She was always exhausted not always due to the 'training' her father forced upon her, but because of the frequent nightmares that kept her up.

The teen suddenly jerked herself from her thoughts, and looked down at her watch.

I've been standing here ten minutes! Father is going to be furious.

"What the hell is taking you so long?! If you're not out in the next second-"

"I'm so sorry, Father. I'm coming right out. It won't happen again!"

Quickly she tied up her sneakers and darted out of her bedroom into the living room. Her procreator gripped her shoulder painfully, and led her out of the building to train.

"Now, I want you to control the water."

"But, sir-"

Fuyu felt her father's claws graze the base of her neck, right between her shoulder blades. "Do as I say. You were given a wonderful quirk, and you're limiting yourself by not using it to its fullest potential."

"Father, listen. I can't control something that large and swift right now. I'm still drained from this morning."

"And that's why you're doing it now. It's to build up your stamina. Now. Do. It."

Fuyu circled her right hand around her other wrist, concentrating on the ocean before her. She envisioned the wind around her shifting its current and pushing on the water, making the water swirl even more.

"Smaller motions, girl. If you do it like that, the whole world will be able to see and you lose the stealth advantage. The villain can stop you. Just. Like. That."

He shoved the blue-haired teen from behind, making her lose her balance and break the concentration she held.

"Come on; you need to fight through it. Hold the power. Don't let anything distract you. Let loose the maelstrom."

"I-I can't. My quirk isn't all-powerful, and I'm still drained from earlier."

"Bullshit. We're not leaving here until you do something useful with that quirk of yours."

And so they stayed out at the beach for another two hours, until the female once again collapsed from exhaustion.

Fuyu woke up on the couch in her living room. Well, at least her father had the decency to carry her back home, unlike past times where she'd had to walk back to the apartment complex in the middle of the night, dodging shady figures lurking in the alleyways. Because of that, she had taken to carrying a small pocket knife with her wherever she went.

Hearing her father in the kitchen, the teen turned on the T.V. and flipped to the local news station. It was broadcasting the latest villain fight, which ended when All Might showed up at the last minute to save the day.

'Thankfully, our Station 7 chopper was able to pick up clear footage of the fight.'

The video now being displayed showed this monstrous sludge-like creature, who had taken hold of a hostage. There were several pro-heroes on the scene, but it looked like they weren't doing much.

Backdraft was putting out the fires created by the hostage's quirk, which explained why Kamui Woods was on the sidelines. Fire and wood notoriously don't go well together.

But Fuyu couldn't understand why Mt. Lady, Slugger, and Death Arms weren't doing anything.

Things seemed to take a turn for the worst when the villain completely smothered his victim, manipulating his fluid body around the poor soul's entire head.

Suddenly, a person from the crowd sprinted forward, dodging the pros who tried to hold him back. Unfortunately, the blue-haired girl recognized exactly who that bystander was. It was impossible to not identify her best friend with his vibrant green hair and gaudy yellow backpack.

Of course.

Oh, I am so calling that idiot later tonight.

Izuku swung around his book bag, throwing it at the villain's head. Several notebooks and other supplies fell out, but luckily one of his journals nailed the sludge monster right in the eye. It quickly grasped at its injured face, allowing the hostage time to breath freely.

As her best friend tried to pry the victim loose from the villain's grip, Fuyu realized exactly who had gotten caught by the monster.

Of course.

It was Katsuki fucking Bakugo. Well, that explained the fires everywhere.

The clip ended with All Might swooping in and using his famous Detroit Smash on the villain, blowing it to bits and changing the weather completely.

Of course.

The news reporter made no mention of Izuku who had essentially saved Bakugo. Instead, they opted to praise All Might as well as the explosive blonde himself, even though he most likely caused a lot of collateral damage with his explosions.

Of course.

"Get the fuck off your lazy ass and come eat dinner." Her father called to her from the kitchen.

"Yes, sir."

As soon as she finished dinner, Fuyu went to her room and called her best friend.

'Fuyu?'

'Hey, Izu. How's it going?'

'Uh, nothing much. Just finishing some homework.'

Fuyu smirked at how nervous the greenette sounded, even over the phone.

'Did you hear about the recent villain attack? Apparently, All Might showed up in the end. The other pros on site weren't doing much before that.'

'Uh, no, I didn't hear about it.'

'Really? It happened only a couple streets away from our complex.'

'Huh. I'm surprised I haven't seen it on the news already.'

'That's weird, since I just saw not too long ago. Well, maybe you haven't seen it on T.V. because you were actually there to watch it.'

'...'

'Why'd you rush in and save Katsuki?'

'I-I don't know. My body reacted before I could really think what I was doing. He just...he looked so helpless, Fuyu. An asshole he may be, but I couldn't let him go through that. I mean, I barely lasted when that thing attacked me earlier-'

'What the fuck do you mean, it attacked you earlier?'

'Heh, funny story. I guess it started when we split up after leaving the school grounds…'

'So let me get this straight. You were attacked by the sludge monster, then All Might showed up and saved you.

Like an idiot, you grabbed onto his leg and flew halfway across the city and landed on some random rooftop, only to have him tell you that you could never be a hero.

And so as you were walking back home, you saw Bakugo in need of saving, seeing as how the heroes on the scene weren't doing shit. You ran in half-cocked, pretty much defeated the villain, but then All Might showed up once more and blasted into bits, completely changing the weather while he was at it.

Then afterwards the pros scolded you for saving Bakugo's sorry ass, while they pretty much did jackshit except for putting out the fires Bakugo created.

To top that off, they praised the angry pomeranian's quirk, and yelled at you more when he told them you were quirkless.

And finally, Bakugo cornered you outside the apartments and insulted you once more and berated you for saving him. And of course, All Might showed up and apologized to you for saying you couldn't be a hero.'

'Yeah, pretty much.'

Fuyu groaned. 'Only you, Izu. Only you.'