Mallory was in a haze as she made her way back to the arena. Izuku departed to wish Tenya luck, and she just barely remembered to buy popcorn and a drink for herself to shake any suspicions. She felt embarrassed and small, but...she was also really happy.

She hadn't been rejected or denied. He was not revolted by her. He believed in her, in the same way that she wanted to believe in him.

She was in a much better mood when she returned towards the end of the fight between Eijiro and Katsuki. She respected the former's capabilities, but it wasn't too surprising when the latter won. Still, she regretted not watching it. All of her peers had so much to offer her in terms of observational learning, and she wanted to take in everything to be the best hero she could be.

Soon after she sat, Izuku made an appearance. Tsuyu and Ochaco greeted him, but Mallory looked away when their eyes met, feeling flustered in a way that surprised herself. Well, she supposed it couldn't be helped given the circumstances. She was giddy, she was happy, but above all she was relieved. There was finally someone outside of her family, someone she wanted to consider a friend, that knew and accepted her grisly past. And if he could, then maybe her remaining classmates would, too. The loneliness in her heart was beginning to fill, bit by bit, and she focused on the coming match to hold back tears of joy and gratitude.

Next were Tenya and Shoto, another match that Mallory believed the latter would win. He and Katsuki were overwhelmingly versatile, controlled, and powerful, so the two of them being in the finale had seemed like a foregone conclusion from the start. Still, she applauded the sincere fight for victory her peers put their whole hearts and souls into. It was because of their conviction that she found the strength to do everything she could to get the best placement in the tournament she could get, despite acknowledging that she didn't have the experience to reach the third round.

"The first match of the semifinals! With both of them from hero families, it's a battle of the elites!" Present Mic announced to the roaring approval of the crowd.

Mallory straightened in surprise. "Wait, what?" she wondered aloud.

"You didn't know?" Ochaco turned to her and explained, "Iida's family has been pro-heroes for a while, and Todoroki's dad is Endeavor."

"Endeavor?" she repeated in astonishment. The number two hero, Endeavor...Shoto was his son? No wonder he was so powerful, but that must have been a lot of pressure, too. The crowd's excitement seemed to intensify, and she realized that this was a highly anticipated match.

Tenya's speed would be the key to victory. He easily dodged Shoto's ice, even jumping over it with impressive height. He closed the gap between them and kicked once, twice, with just the second landing a direct heat on Shoto, sending him to the ground almost faster than the eye could see. So far, he was the only one to properly fight him back.

Tenya grabbed him and sped towards the boundary line, no doubt attempting to throw Shoto out of the ring. However, just yards from the line, he stopped. Shoto wasted no time to immediately grab him, spreading ice across his body and freezing him in place. Though Mallory couldn't quite see what had happened, she assumed Shoto had found a way to stop his opponent's movements.

"Iida-kun is incapacitated. Todoroki-kun wins!" Midnight announced with the crack of her whip.

The crowd cheered, but Mallory clapped politely. It was a shame the match ended so soon, especially because Tenya had managed to hurt Shoto; however, the fact the hard blow didn't knock the wind out of him long enough to give Tenya the victory was impressive in its own right. For a brief moment, it had seemed the faster of the two would win, but Shoto was almost overly prepared for a freshman even when using just half of his power. The bar for heroism was set astronomically high this year.

The tournament continued at a rapid-fire pace, and the last of the semi-finals between Katsuki and Fumikage began before Tenya had the time to return to the stands. Mallory didn't know everything about Dark Shadow, but she understood that it was a powerful, versatile Quirk like Katsuki's. She was interested to see how the fight would unfold.

It did not go as expected. Fumikage, who had so easily defeated the equally talented Momo, quickly began to struggle.

"Looks like Tokoyami is on the defensive! What's going on?" Present Mic narrated.

Indeed, Dark Shadow was not the large, intimidating mirage he had demonstrated himself to be. Katsuki assaulted him with a barrage of explosions, seemingly leaving no room for Dark Shadow to strike. There were some feeble attempts, but Katsuki easily dodged them.

Thinking that maybe Fumikage's teammates from the cavalry battle might know more, Mallory turned to Izuku and Ochaco. "What's going on?" she asked. "I didn't think Tokoyami-kun would have so much trouble."

Izuku put a knuckle to his chin, observing intently. "Dark Shadow's weakness is light. It looks like this wasn't a good match-up for him."

"Really? That's bad luck," Eijiro muttered, overhearing the conversation.

Fumikage found an opportunity to jump away, leaving distance between them, but Katsuki didn't falter. He lunged forward, dodging a swipe from Dark Shadow's claws by catapulting himself into the air, twisting mid-jump to not let his guard down. When he landed, he held his hands out and unleashed a harsh blast of light and heat, raising a black plume of billowing smoke high above the stands. When it cleared he had Fumikage pinned to the ground, holding him by his beak.

"Tokoyami-kun surrendered. Bakugo-kun wins!" Midnight shouted to the crowds' enthusiastic approval.

"Looks like the final match will be between Bakugo Katsuki and Todoroki Shoto!" Present Mic added.

Mallory flinched. If she was forced to place bets at the start of the tournament, she probably would have guessed those two would face off, but she wasn't quite happy about that. "I hope they don't hurt anyone in the audience," she muttered, and Eijiro and Denki shared uneasy laughs.

Tenya briefly returned, but soon left to answer a phone call before Mallory could have a chance to praise his efforts and offer sympathy to his loss. Or would that offend him? She slouched in her chair when she realized she had no idea. She desperately wanted to be close to everyone, but she felt like she knew so little. Maybe that was fair given her own secrecy, but she glanced at her hands and recalled the beautifully reassuring smile Izuku offered her. Would everyone else react the same way?

There was a break long enough for Mallory to throw away her trash, and when she came back Tenya was speaking to Izuku and Ochaco just outside the box in a low tone. Ochaco caught her eye and raised her head, and Mallory was surprised to see her troubled expression. Noticing, Tenya turned, and his face was likewise dark and stern. He quickly said something to his friends and marched off with more urgency than usual. Mallory was immediately worried.

She looked to Ochaco and Izuku, and the two exchanged glances. A silent agreement passed between them and Ochaco shook her head at her. Mallory's shoulders dropped in disappointment. Whatever was going on, she wished she was close enough for Tenya to confide in her. However, when she nervously clasped her hands together, she bitterly wondered if she had any right to think that.

Of course, the trio had every right to keep her out of the loop. She wordlessly returned to her seat, but the tension between her and her two classmates was almost palpable. She hoped it wasn't anything too bad, but before she could ponder further, Present Mic announced the start of the final.

As the crowd roared with energy, she knew without looking at the cameras that Shoto looked calm and collected, a stark contrast to Katsuki's storming anger and confidence. The former was like a blizzard, the latter a wildfire - both of which she was familiar with thanks to her hometown's proximity to multiple mountain ranges. She braced herself, hoping a full-on calamity would be prevented.

As expected, Shoto attacked first. He slammed his hand into the ground, causing massive icicles to explode upwards and enclose Katsuki, similar to how he beat Hanta. Anticipating the move, Katsuki dug his way out of the ice with explosions, the dull sound barely reaching Mallory's ears above the spectators' chatter. The cold air drifted upwards, making her shiver as the two lunged at each other.

She closely followed Katsuki's incredible maneuverability as he twisted away from Shoto's outstretched arm, grabbing him from behind and throwing him. She knew she couldn't replicate his ability to fly through the air or be quite as agile in her hero costume thanks to the gas tank, but damn it, she almost hated how much she could learn from him alone.

Shoto caught himself before he fell out of bounds, gliding across the stage on his ice. Katsuki avoided an attack and jumped at him again, but Shoto knew what to expect now. He grabbed him with his left arm, and for a second Mallory feared what could happen. If Shoto used his fire Quirk, he would surely burn Katsuki.

Before she could even hold her breath, Shoto opted to throw him instead, but Katsuki easily landed on his feet and bared his teeth like a feral cat. He shouted, loud enough for her to hear, voicing his righteous anger that Shoto wasn't using all his power. Mallory was relieved that Shoto didn't burn Katsuki, but she could see where her classmate was coming from. She sat back in her seat and sucked in a breath, hands clasped and offering her full attention.

She understood what he meant. He doubtlessly worked for years to be at his current level, and when striving for such a dangerous job as heroism, it was important for everyone to give all their efforts, to understand that anything less could only end in disaster. His sentiment closely mirrored the advice she had offered Izuku just moments earlier. Katsuki frightened her - he was overbearing, overconfident, but only now did it occur to her that perhaps his anger stemmed from desperation to prove himself.

Her stomach churned and she closed her eyes. Mallory didn't feel such outward passion as he did, but she resonated with that desire to do something right, to be strong. She wanted to find a purpose for her Quirk. She wanted to stop feeling so miserable just for having it. She wanted to stop regretting having it at all. So, for his sake-

"Todoroki-kun, don't lose! Do your best!"

She jumped in her seat, startled by Izuku's passionate cry close to her ear. Indeed, regardless of her annoyance at his brash nature, Katsuki deserved a chance at a genuine victory, a chance to show Japan that he was a promising future pro hero. Just as well, she didn't want Shoto to degrade himself by not using his power to its full potential. Surely he worked hard, too, and he deserved to hold his head high, to be proud of his trials and tribulations.

Unfortunately for Mallory, she was self-aware that she could not direct such compassionate thoughts towards herself. Even without knowing the intricacies of her classmates' lives, she doubted their Quirks had ever bogged them down as much as hers had. Seeing this spectacle before her was motivating in its own way, for she truly and deeply wished she could reflect her earnest thoughts of goodwill inward.

Izuku's words briefly stirred Shoto, and he allowed a flash of fire to glide across his arm and melt the frost that had formed on his skin as Katsuki threw himself at him, using his explosions to spin and gain momentum. A funnel of smoke barreled towards Shoto, who raised his left hand to meet it...only to give up at the last moment.

A blinding blast tore the icy terrain apart, the heat and light and sound pushing Mallory into her seat. She shielded her face, only daring to peek through her fingers once the wind and smoke died away. Shoto had been thrown clear across the arena, slouched against a protective barrier that was out of bounds. For a moment, it was silent.

But then the realization slowly sank in, and Katsuki marched to Shoto and grabbed him by the collar, shaking him and demanding to know why he held back. His frustration was palpable, but it was obvious that Shoto was unconscious. His tirade was cut short by a violet mist that wrapped around him, and he suddenly crumbled to the ground.

Mallory was so startled that she leaped from her seat. "What's that?" she exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah, you don't know," Eijiro spoke up behind her. "That's Midnight's Quirk, Somnambulist. It puts people to sleep, and apparently, it works better on guys than girls."

"Bakugo went right out," Denki observed.

Mallory was bewildered. "It only puts people to sleep? That's it?"

"Er, yeah."

"So Bakugo-kun will be okay?"

A few eyes turned to her curiously. "What do you mean, Tinker?" Eijiro asked.

Mallory wrung her hands nervously. "I mean, it's not toxic, is it? It won't asphyxiate Bakugo-kun or put him into a coma? It won't cause his lungs to fill with fluid, will it? Or burn his skin? Or cause his tissue to die from hypoxia? No, wait, I don't think that will happen since he's not in an enclosed space."

At this point, she was rambling, enough so that her accent had thickened. After registering her words, Eijiro and Denki recoiled. "Um, Tinker, you're saying some really scary things," Denki muttered.

But she hardly heard him. "What kind of gas is that?" she inquired aloud. "Most gases aren't that color naturally, but iodine is highly toxic, so Bakugo-kun would suffer severe adverse effects. It could be argon or krypton, but neither is very effective in an open area, and they're usually colorless. Does Midnight's Quirk let off a smell?"

Deep in her pondering, her classmates exchanged glances. "You sound like Midoriya," Hanta said, snapping her out of it.

"Huh? Oh." The attention she had finally registered, and she blushed. "S-Sorry."

"Uhh, Tinker." Minoru, seated in front of her, regarded her with suspicion. "Are you saying those are things you could do to Bakugo?"

Her heart skipped a beat, and she felt her face grow even hotter. She got carried away, and not out of excitement, but rather out of disciplined necessity to analyze and understand gases. Embarrassed, she silently sat back down, staring at her hands in her lap. Everyone's gazes lingered, and she prickled with unease. Surely they were equally uncomfortable with the knowledge of the kind of damage she could cause, weren't they?

"He'll be fine," Izuku assured her after a brief silence. She looked up, and he smiled at her. "You're really concerned for him, huh?"

She didn't know what to say. It was true she was worried, but in hindsight, it seemed incredibly unfair to dare insinuate that Midnight, a genuine professional, would hurt Katsuki. She had no business projecting her insecurities onto a teacher, nor was she ready to admit her terrible mistakes to anyone save Izuku. Minoru's question tinged with discomfort was perfectly valid, warranted, and familiar. She knew some of her classmates understood what it was like to have destructive potential, but to take life with a single breath was nothing short of villainous.

Tuning out the crowd's uproar as Midnight declared Katsuki the winner of the tournament, she could only wonder if she would ever truly open up to her classmates.