Pacing around the room, Mina occasionally glanced at her phone to check the time. The match had gone on for around 8 minutes now, counting the minutes from before she even walked away. Which meant that for 6 minutes, she'd been trying to think of a counter strategy against Tetsutetsu.

But that was just the thing, wasn't it? No matter how she looked at it, it'd eventually devolve into a full blown brawl.

If she tried hit and run- which meant she'd need to spread her quirk through more parts of her body at once- he would tank it and grab her. That's what she figured someone like him would do.

If she tried to tire him out by running circles around him, she'd tire out first. Her stamina with her quirk was okay. It wasn't bad, but he most definitely had all his life to use his very simple quirk. Aka, he definitely had more stamina than her.

'Maybe attacking from the back with my legs…? That…' She remembered how strong he appeared to be just physically. 'If his muscles are anything to go by, his back would probably hurt me more if I hit it. With all the muscle there and his steel skin, they'd be more than enough…'

She was at a loss. Nothing seemed like it would work, not at her current power output… he'd be stronger than her when it came to defense, every inch of his skin would become hard like steel. She wouldn't be able to hurt him in any area-

'...Maybe his chin! Right!' She snapped her finger, smiling. 'I don't have any reason to assume anything but his skin becomes steel, which means that if I hit his chin, I'd at the very least stun him, then I could throw him out!'

The intercom in the prep room buzzed. "Hatsume Mei wins by ring out! Students Ashido Mina and Tetsutesu- Tetsu- Steel boy! You're up in 5 minutes!"

"..." The first thing Mina thought was 'Did he just lose to a girl with no battle training'.

Her second thought however was that she was going to have to roll with her half baked plan. Against someone whose Quirk had the same advantages as Tokoyami…

"Oh boy…" She muttered under her breath, leaving the room.

Trying to refine her plan as she walked through the halls, Mina inadvertently bumped into someone in the midst of being lost in thought. She backed away, looking up. And up. And-

Saw the familiar thin figure of her mentor. "All-Mi-"

Toshinori shushed her with a hand to her mouth. "Young Ashido… we're in the middle of a hallway."

She nodded. "Sorry. Mr. Yagi! Do you need anything?"

He shook his head. "Actually, I simply came over to offer you some advice and encouragement!"

"Oh."

'Finally, some advice from the number one hero!'

He opened his mouth, only for a silence to follow suit.

"...Mr. Yagi?"

"Uh…" He began to sweat. "I… Sorry, teaching isn't my forte, I should have prepared advice that would apply to you before I came here, shouldn't I?"

The girl's glare was the only answer he needed.

He shrunk into himself, laughing. His eyes widened, "Oh, I've got it! Young Ashido, are you aware of what advice tends to be given to people who are trying to become better divers?"

"Like, swimming?" He nodded. "No, I don't think I do."

"'You have more air than you think'. Seems a bit vague, but the principle is that people tend to think they've reached their limit underwater when they still have air to blow out, even if their lungs start to hurt." He put a hand on his bicep with a grin. "Same principle applies to the rest of the body, in my opinion! Our limits are much higher than we first realize."

"Huh… I'll keep that in mind, I think?"

"As you should. Remember Young Ashido, even when things seem bleak, smile!" He buffed himself up for effect, pounding a hand on his chest. "I'm expecting great things from you!"

All-Might's words reverberated inside Mina's psyche, a shiver crawling up her spine. Great expectations.

When was the last time she'd felt that?

"It's time for the second round, folks! To my right we have the boy made of steel with wild eyelashes, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu! No, that was not a stutter!

And to my left we have the girl who pulls ahead at the last second, looking at her opponent with a determined stare, Ashido Mina!

READYYYYYYYY?!"

Mina's hands trembled. Her fist clenched and unclenched, sweat running down her brow.

This was it. Do or fall.

A fight that actually mattered.

"STAAAAAAAAAART!"

The two closed the distance between each other with slow strides, Mina letting One For All flow through her arms as Tetsutetsu's whole body took on a metallic consistency.

Face to face, she took initiative by being the one to throw the first punch before he could put up his guard!

The blow hit his cheek, his head snapped to the right. She smashed him again with her other arm, he snapped to the left. He was stunned! "And for the finishing blow-"

She reeled her left hand back and struck his chin with her entire body weight. His neck creaked, thrown back by the force of the punch- she dove in and grabbed his waist with both arms and pulled with all her might!

Which is when pain bolted through her arms in an instant, her nerves lit up all at once. She let go, stumbling back with a shake of both arms. With this, she also noticed that her knuckles were throbbing too...

"I'd be careful if I were you, Ashido!" Tetsutetsu proclaimed… creaking his head down slowly with a grin. "Don't want ya to dislocate your shoulders trying to move me."

"...What?" She blinked with an agape mouth. "How did- I- Those should've definitely rattled you. And I know I can lift up a person like you, easy!"

"You can probably lift most people up, I'll give you that! But I ain't normal, Ashido!" His grin widened, a glint in his eye craved for more. "I'm Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, my ENTIRE BODY is made of STEEL!"

Her heart wanted to drop, only stopped by Tetsutetsu bolting at her with his teeth bared, taken over by a hunter's spirit, his feet crushing the concrete beneath him with every stomp!

Her eyes widened- she threw her arms up. "He's-"

He connected his first full body punch on them.

'REALLY HEAVY!'

The amount of force she had to use just to not be dropped by him was ridiculous. Her teeth grit hard enough to feel like she might break them herself as he pounded at her arms.

"COME ON, FIGHT BACK!"

He'd been playing her-

A right hook almost threw her to the ground-

Just testing her from the second the match started!

He struck her arms again, lighting up her nerve endings. She dropped her limbs in pain, weaving away from a punch.

"I SAID-" He hurled his arm at her, just barely going wide with a timely duck. "FIGHT BACK!"

"FINE!"

She screamed out, her fist cut the air and smashed into his forehead with a loud clang.

For Mina, it was like everything had gone quiet. Tetsutetsu stood still, unmoving.

Her entire hand felt sore at this point. It shook, struggling and pushing against him.

"...When you said your quirk was called Power-Up, I thought it'd be stronger." He said. His grin now turned into a frown. "Was hoping this could be a good fight, but I guess I expected too much outta 1-A."

She barely had any time to react when he threw a punch to her torso, striking and knocking the wind out of her. She only just put up a guard to block the following blow to the head, the sheer weight behind it almost throwing her flat on her back.

"THE FIGHT STARTED WITH A LEAD FOR ASHIDO, BUT IN JUST ONE MOMENT, TETSUTETSU SHOWED US THAT HE CAN EASILY TURN THE TIDES!" Mic shouted.

He broke through her guard with a well placed left hook, throwing her head to the side and hitting her ribs with a right upper. She was only barely aware enough to see him going for a telegraphed uppercut, the blow glancing her eyebrow and cutting it.

She rolled away beneath his arm when he pulled back, getting behind him. She panted while clutching her hand. Her eyes shook when she watched him turn around nonchalantly. His face, which had been where she'd hit him the most, was spotless.

He charged her again. She bit her lip, only one thought in her mind. 'What do I do?!'

"Holy shit…" Setsuna muttered with wide eyes, a hand on her mouth.

"L-language…" Iida stuttered out.

Though he wanted to reprimand her wholeheartedly, almost everyone in the 1-A stands were watching the current battle intently. Every step Tetsutetsu took was like a bang to their senses, the sheer weight of not just his presence but actual strength not escaping them.

Every additional hit he landed on their classmate made them hiss and tense up. She'd been forced into just running away, and even that wasn't cutting it as her legs began failing her the moment he landed his first blows, letting him catch up and keep whaling away at her.

More than a few times did she end up falling, only to barely escape getting pinned down by him. Each time she'd done so, her movement got more erratic, sloppy. Her stamina and body health were torn apart by Tetsutetsu's barrage.

'Tsk… he'd be troublesome too.' Bakugou admitted to himself. 'Every damn person in this school… The attack's made them take this thing seriously. They're stronger than before.

'I thought I'd be at the top with no competition…' He remembered the white haired woman's words. '...That's a good thing. I need the challenge.'

"With how relentless he is, it's like he doesn't think about anything but winning…" Izuku commented. "If his whole body's steel like he says… I'm not sure many of us here could win against him."

"He's a monster…" Ochako added, reeling after seeing Mina get struck by a direct blow to the abdomen. "I could float him, but if he found a way to move around in the air…"

"Blondie better not embarrass our fuckin class any more than this dumb simp already has today." Bakugou growled, referring to Kaminari. "Where was that fire of hers back when she was all up in my face, huh?!"

"Guess that's what passes as support for someone like you…" Setsuna quipped uneasily. She yelped when Tetsutetsu hit Mina with enough force to send her flying a few meters.

In the corner of the stands, Kirishima sat, restless as he watched his middle school friend get beaten more and more. He gripped his arms, almost breaking skin. This was different from her first battle exercise… This was a fight where the opponent didn't think about or care for immobilization. 'She was already really hurt today, this is….'

"Tetsutetsu keeps charging at her, giving her no room to breathe at all! Though I'm starting to feel a little bad for her..."

He bit his lip with furrowed eyebrows.

Mina's vision was hazy. Her legs wanted to give out on her. Tetsutetsu had hit almost every part of her. Her abdomen ached. Her arms burned. Her nervous lip biting had given way to exhausted guffaws.

He threw another punch that she barely ducked under. She tried retaliating with a strike to his stomach. Which was a dumb idea, considering he was pure steel, meaning it only hurt her and not him. She grappled with his torso and began to pound and pound away at a single spot with her left hand, hoping to do something to him.

Every hit made the audience watch on in horror as it did nothing to him.

He drove his elbow into her back muscles, making her drop to the floor.

With his foot, Tetsutetsu tried to pin her down. She rolled out just in time, hobbling to her feet. She tried to stay upright, finding it difficult to do so.

Tetsutetsu rolled his neck. "You tried! But this is my win!"

She saw his fist coming. She screamed for her arms to move. For her body to duck. Sway. Anything.

It connected with her nose dead on.

Her vision was blanking out. She soared and hit the hard concrete below. Her eyes were open, but she only saw a blue blur in the sky. Taps. Was that Midnight…? Cementoss wouldn't have light steps...

She was calling the match, wasn't she? She lost. On her first round.

The crowd and ambient noises blended together. She didn't feel like getting up. She deserved this. For not being good enough.

"-SHI-" Briefly cut through. It was a voice. Familiar. "A-"

So hard to hear. To make out. Everything spun. She tried to get up, but her body wouldn't listen.

This was it.

"ASHIDO!"

That voice finally reached her, exploding her senses. Kirishima. She turned her head. He was there, almost going over the railing of the stands. His black arm bent them. He was shouting. What was he shouting? Was he mad at her for losing?

"GET UP!"

"THIS CAN'T BE THE END!"

Was he crying now…?

"YOU CAN DO IT, JUST WIN! I BELIEVE IN YOU, SO PLEASE-"

They pulled him away from the edge. "GET UP!"

At that moment, Mina's mind drifted. Words she hadn't paid much attention to flashed in her mind.

'Our limits are much higher than we first realize.' Toshinori's words.

'More than just someone, I can see that you're someone who's been trying really hard, I've even considered trying harder because of you.' Izuku's words.

'Congrats Ashido! Proud of ya, mean it.' Kirishima's words.

'You're a real piece of work, one I'm really glad to know.' Setsuna's words.

'That led to you. And I'll always be grateful because of that.' Dad.

She felt air enter her lungs. Her vision cleared itself and with a grunt, she rolled over. She tried to push herself off the ground. Her body almost gave out.

'Fight… Fight damn it…' She hissed. 'I won't get anywhere like this, I have to be stronger, better, for them! I made a promise- to myself, to Todoroki, to All-Might!'

She yelled out in pain, her body heated up. 'I'm done playing it safe! Whatever happens next, happens! Right here, now-'

The fire of One For All, a small blaze that she fanned when she needed, roared inside of her. And this time, it didn't fizzle out.

'I have to win!'

It spread throughout her body, each of her limbs caught alight within. "Push yourself…" She struggled out, curling into herself. "Remember… the cavalry battle…"

She grit her teeth, and it began. With a spark. A light red one. And then, her essence felt like a firestorm once more. Stabbing sensations on the top of her head peaked. Rose bioelectricity crackled from her entire body, threatening to scorch the ground. Red lines were drawn across her body, fading away once they completely engulfed her. "Come… ON."

It spoke to her, called to her! Every piece of trash she moved, every punch she threw, every weight she pulled, it was all for this. For her to finally begin to really use One For All.

She gasped out in pain, her muscles felt like they were stretching themselves to the limit, all of them flexing at once. Deep down, she knew she needed a little more time to get acclimated to her quirk to use it like this. But she needed it now, and if it meant her body would be aching afterwards, she would just have to deal with it.

With a reeled back left arm she punched the ground. The concrete beneath her fist cracked and the audience cheered. "I'm. Not. Done. Yet!" She surged to her feet with a burst of strength, stumbling back briefly. She struggled to breathe with her bloodied nose, looking straight ahead and into Tetsutetsu's eyes.

Midnight and Tetsutetsu looked taken aback. "What the hell…?" The boy commented.

She grinned, wiping her nose with her hand. "I said… I'm not done yet, Tetsutetsu!" She looked at her knuckles. The skin on them was ripped. She shook it off, the rose lightning whipping at the air.

Midnight blinked, "So, are you capable of contin-"

"Yes!" Mina cut her off, her chest grew and shrunk with exhausted huffs. "Round 2…"

The older woman walked away from the ring with an uneasy expression. The moment her heels touched the grass outside, Mina hurled herself at Tetsutetsu with a burst of speed catching everyone- herself included- off-guard.

With it she accidentally tackled the taller student in the torso. And for the first time in that fight…

"ACK-"

She got a reaction out of him.

He stumbled back with a hand on his stomach, not fully processing what was happening. She rushed in and pummeled him with punches, faster than she's ever done so before! Her arms felt like they'd give in at any second, and yet, she couldn't stop, she didn't feel like stopping.

Hearing a crack, she wasn't entirely sure if it was him or her that was hurting. Nor did she care.

"Metal… Fatigue, now?!" He groaned out, both contestants realizing that despite dealing no real damage, Mina had at the very least softened him enough up until this point to turn the tides now!

In the stands, everyone watched with eyes as big as dinner plates. "It's clear that Tetsutetsu's quirk weakened somewhat, especially since he's been using it for so long, but for Ashido to be able to affect him now, it's like her strength's jumped up several times…" Izuku commented. "Not to mention that lightning lashing out of her…"

She landed a blow directly to his face, a crack appearing on his forehead.

Though surprised, Tetsutetsu wouldn't take this sitting down, getting right back into the flow of the fight, exchanging blows with her! Neither of the two were on the strict offense or defense now. Just as Mina would smash his arms and crack them, hitting him where she knew would damage him, so would his heavy strikes make her bones creak.

With each sequence, neither would gain or lose much ground to the other, even though Mina had more damage accumulated, she pushed past that and carried on.

"Something's changed in ya, and I like it! COME ON!" He struck her arm again, and it felt hard. Her muscles were visibly tensed up beneath her skin. "Show me the REAL power inside you, Ashido!"

He slammed his foot, twisted his hip and charged with a steel fist- Mina responded in kind in the same fashion!

The two fists connected and both fighters pulled their hands back hurriedly, clutching them. Tetsutetsu's fist appeared to have small cracks on the surface, while Mina felt a shock of pain not just there, but her entire body. The heat inside her intensified.

"The-there's the limit All-Might was talking about…" She mumbled under her breath. Focusing, she bolted at Tetsutetsu, feiting another tackle and instead sliding around him using her hand as a support!

She clutched his torso from the back with both arms and heaved Tetsutetsu over her head with a loud grunt even as her back, legs and arms screamed out.

Setsuna looked on in awe. "Holy shi-"

"LANGUAGE!" Iida yelled out, enthralled by the fight.

"If he really has the density of steel, then-then- she's lifting..." Izuku trailed off at the same time as Momo, the two people in 1-A who truly comprehended what they were seeing.

"WH-What the hell?! Put me down!" Tetsutetsu struggled from her grasp, unable to twist his body in order to break free, no limbs being able to reach her.

"O-k!" She struggled out, walking towards the edge of the ring, each step feeling like the last she'd ever take. With a heft, she tossed her opponent away, making him land…

"RING OUT!"

A few meters outside the edge.

"ASHIDO MINA ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND!" Midnight announced, causing the crowd to break out into an uproar of cheers.

"WHAT A CLIMATIC FINISH!" Mic exclaimed, filled with joy.

The moment she let herself relax, the instant adrenaline began to subside and spikes of pain reverberated throughout her body, 'steam' steadily rising from her limbs. She gasped, curling into herself. Biting down on the inside of her cheek, she tried to play it off and look strong by raising her fist and looking at the crowd.

Which seemed to be the right move, as the cheers got louder than before!

With a pained smile, she looked at her fallen opponent.

"I'd pull you up but…" She stumbled back with a strained laugh. "I can barely hold my own weight up right now. Still, that was a gr- hiss- great match, Tetsutetsu!"

He looked up at her, his frown turning almost fearful for a moment, for he saw her face stained with her own blood, and two smudged protrusions on the top of her head. He shook his head and laughed. "I told ya, my friends call me Tetsu."

Chitose dropped the Espresso she was drinking for the past half hour, the ceramic cup shattering on the tiled floor of her house. She tuned into the Sports Festival for entertainment, really. It was the one time she could see the new generation go wild with their Meta Abilities.

Her first surprise came when her young lady Ashido not only tied for first in the race, but did so with power she would compare to her Grand Commander's output. Not nearly as strong as his maximum power of course, but it could easily get there.

Her second and current surprise was her sustained power. It's one thing to have a burst of incredible power, it had to be used carefully. This was evident by the fact she wasn't dominating the competition. And at first, she was disappointed by how little power she could use constantly.

So when she suddenly got back up, expelling lightning, which also reminded her of her Grand Commander's Meta Ability, she was shocked at the power jump, from not hurting her steel opponent at all to lifting and throwing him out of the ring.

"Guess that tenacity is one thing she also inherited from her father…" She muttered to herself. If U.A followed the usual protocol, then tomorrow and the day after would be days off… A wry smile came upon her face.

"I'm sure she won't mind spending time with her dear old mom."

Her eyes drifted onto the floor. "...I should clean that up."

After that brief exchange with Tetsutetsu, Mina hobbled her way to the nurse's office, meeting All-Might on the way there. He tried to help her, only for her to shake her head when he tried to support her by her arm.

While trying to play off her injuries to the outside world, the moment she arrived there, she fell to her knees almost immediately, panting.

"Easy there." Recovery Girl and Toshinori helped her up, guiding her to the bed. "My goodness, not only does it feel like you strained every single muscle in your body, you're burning up like hell itself."

"I have to agree…" He said, a worried tone in his voice.

She lent the girl an ice pack. "Y-yeah, probably because… I used One For All in my entire body for the first time… Willingly that is. But I may have… Used it for too long?" She laughed. "It wasn't too bad at first, but after I really pushed it, I could tell my body wouldn't take much longer, so I ended the match."

"Good thinking. Still, now you know how long you can keep that up before your body gives in." With a sterilized alcohol wipe, she cleaned her knuckles and the cut in Mina's eyebrow. "Regardless, good job getting that down. Definitely better than breaking your bones."

"That's for sure, hehe! Ow…" She winced once she felt her abdomen protest her laughter. "I can probably manage a minute or two safely."

Toshinori patted her head, smiling. "You've made great strides in using One For All today, keep it up. How does the quirk feel now?"

"It feels different. Before, it kinda felt like I wasn't any different from before I got it, but now it's like there's this… like, warmth in my chest?" She smiled, "It doesn't feel bad! Plus, it's finally progress I can actually see for myself!"

As they talked, the nurse's eyes wandered to the top of Mina's head. She noticed her stare. "What, is there something wrong?"

"Since when did you have horns?"

"W-what?" Recovery Girl reached into the cabinet and pulled out a hand mirror. And sure enough, on her head there were two yellow horns, slightly curved back. "What the heck?!"

"Huh, that's right…" Toshinori put a hand to his chin. "Do any of your family members have horns?"

"I-I mean, my dad and his side of the family do have them, but they're really short! And stubby!" She grabbed one of the wipes Recovery Girl had offered her, cleaning them. "These are proper horns!"

He let out a sigh of relief. "Well, then it's not really that unexpected, fortunately."

"Huh?"

"You see, something similar happened to me when I first inherited One For All." Toshinori explained. "I used to be quite average in height and build, even though my father was a fairly large and tall man. Once I began to get a hang of One For All however, I rapidly grew taller over the course of a few days, eventually surpassing him!"

Mina blinked. "Woah…"

"Since you were quirkless like I was-"

"You were quirkless?!"

He blinked. "...Oops, forgot to mention that. Since you were quirkless like I was, your mutated gene probably laid dormant all this time, until One For All finally activated it." He put a hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her. "The process was quicker for you due to my own cultivation of its power, I think. It got stronger, so naturally the effects would intensify as well."

She fiddled with her horns briefly. It felt weird, not unpleasant, but definitely a unique sensation. Recovery Girl wiped them down, cleaning them carefully.

"And now…" Recovery Girl kissed her hand and Mina felt relief wash over her. She still ached somewhat, but it was a hell of a lot better already. "There you go. I had to heal you only partially, so you'd be able to fight still. You'll be feeling sore for quite a while more, I imagine."

"Right… Thank you!"

With a bow, the girl got up, only for All-Might to stop her briefly. "When it comes to telling the world you're here… You're doing great."

Blinking, she smiled warmly at him. "Thank you, All-Might!"

She left the nurse's office once more, clearly giddy over her new accomplishments. Unaware of the growing concern from her mentor.

"Hey hey!" Mina cheered, walking down the stand stairs slowly and sitting with her friends, groaning as she did so. She didn't miss the glance Todoroki was shooting her way as he himself left the stands.

For a moment, everyone talked over each other in a cacophony of voices. "Guys, I can't understand any of you…"

With some impromptu input from Iida, the others eventually piped down and let themselves take turns.

"Ashi, that was incredible!" Setsuna exclaimed with a grin. "I thought for sure you were gonna lose to Tetsutetsu, in fact I was almost starting to get angry at how much he was dragging it out. But then you just- Boom! Like that!"

"Should have seen Kirishima though, the guy was almost throwing himself over the railing to help you, hah." She smirked, floating an eye to look at him. "He calmed down when you won though, so no need to worry!

Ochako nodded along. "I wasn't expecting that at all, I thought your quirk was an all or nothing type of deal!"

"It was truly remarkable, your speed was comparable to my own starter gear, which is nothing to scoff at!" Iida said with an underlying sense of pride. "You have reached quite the new height."

"Thanks! Especially you Iida, your physics lessons came in clutch when I needed to get behind him." Mina acknowledged their compliments while paying special attention to the comment about Kirishima's behavior.

He nodded, the prideful feeling becoming more obvious. "Naturally!"

"I feel as though we are underselling her accomplishments a little. Ashido, you.." Izuku trailed off for a moment as his mind raced. "Do you realize how heavy Tetsutetsu actually must have been?"

She shook her head. "Why?"

"If he is around the average weight of a male, perhaps a little more considering his muscular build, then he would have to weigh roughly 63, maybe 64 kilos… The density of steel is 8 times that of the human body." He paused, mumbling numbers under his breath quickly. "Even if we go with a conservative estimate of 63 kilos, he'd weigh just over 500 kilos… That's half a ton with raw strength alone!"

"I…" Mina's brain began processing that, her eyes slowly widening, alongside a few of the people who weren't listening to Izuku and Momo for the first time. "Holy crap… I'm strong!"

"I think we could tell just looking at you, girl." Setsuna quipped, looking at Mina's arms. "You are ripped."

She blushed a bit under her friend's comments. "Speaking of her appearance-" Kaminari interjected. "- Nevermind the fact that every time you go into Recovery Girl's office you come out looking more and more like a mummy, where did those come from?"

He pointed with his index and middle finger at the top of Mina's head, making her grimace. "I was hoping you guys wouldn't notice…"

A silence overtook the group.

"You grew horns in the middle of the match?!" Setsuna exclaimed, scrambling to get a closer look. "Holy crap, they blend in a bit with your hair so I didn't notice, but he's totally right, you have horns now! That is sick!"

"Oh my gosh, I always wanted to have a pair of those." Ochako added, "Then I'd look like a type of alien from outer space!"

Meanwhile, Izuku and Iida looked utterly lost. "But… how?"

"Don't… Don't ask me." Mina shrugged with a frown. "I have no idea."

"Did it hurt when they came out?" Kaminari asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was a bit busy trying to not get walloped to notice something like that, Kamina- Mm~" The blonde slapped a hand over her mouth, her face going a bright red as she realized what kind of undignified sound she'd just made.

She shook her head and threw off the culprit, a disembodied hand. She knew who it'd have to be just from the angle. She glared at Setsuna, trying to pay her embarrassed friends no mind. "Do not."

The girl threw her hands up defensively, her face flushed with a faint red tint. "Sorry! Didn't know. Either way, they look really cool! You might want to dye your hair a different color if you want them to stand out, though. You look good blonde, but your natural might work better."

Mina blinked, processing the comment. "You know my hair's dyed?"

"I mean, besides the thing-" Oh, right. That talk. "- Your roots started showing a few days ago. Hard not to tell, especially since I used to hang around a lot of people who dyed their hair."

"Oh, oh! What color is your hair normally like?" Ochako asked with excitement. "I can't really see it well from over here."

"It's… lilac." Her eyes flicked away, squirming subtly. "I'll talk about my hair some other time, ok?"

Izuku hissed when he realized the figurative hot stove Setsuna had touched, earning him a few confused glances. Setsuna played it off better, waving her hand. "If you say so. Come on, we got a match to focus on."

"Exactly, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki." Mina said, eager to move on from the touchy subject. "I better see what they can do, I'm gonna be fighting whoever wins this one..."

"It is going to be interesting to see which one comes out on top, specifically how Todoroki's superior raw firepower measures up against any counter strategy she might come up with. It is valuable for us as heroes in training to analyze any match we can! This one will prove to be-"

While both fighters still hadn't arrived and Iida droned on, Setsuna poked Mina in the cheek to get her attention. With a motion of her hand, the blonde leaned in. "Sorry. I forgot about the whole… Deal with your hair." She whispered. "I'll make it up to you, promise."

While she wanted to say that she didn't need to do that, bringing up something she was sensitive about in front of people who weren't in the know was a pretty bad move, all things considered.

With that in mind, Mina chose to just smile and nod, earning a satisfied grin from Setsuna.

"By the way, d'you know what Kaminari said before he slipped on his own acid and fell out of the ring?" Setsuna spoke up. The boy in question looked mortified. "He said he was gonna dedicate his match to you. And then he tried to play along with another girl, and still lost!"

"S-shut up!" He barked out, his yellow skin now orange. "I, uh… I- Agh!"

"And she looked so disappointed too! She probably still had so much to advertise!"

Mina shouldn't laugh at other people's suffering. Especially at someone who would be feeling extra awful at losing due to his own mistake, to a support course student no less. Then she remembered the date where he made her feel insecure. And stole her first kiss in an attempt to save it.

And she gladly laughed, snorting.

The crowd roared to life when he stepped onto the ring and Mic announced who he was.

'The son of Endeavor', he called him. Deep down, he knows he doesn't mean anything by it. It's simply a flashy title that would get the attention of almost anyone.
Doesn't mean it doesn't sting.

Especially after his father so delightfully reminded him of his purpose right before the battle. His right hand felt colder.

"Grow. Up.

Remember, you have a duty to surpass All-Might.

You, and you alone, are my greatest creation."

Opposite to him stood Yaoyorozu Momo. She looked determined. But ironically enough, she wasn't the girl currently on his mind.

That would be Ashido.

The girl had grown from 'Nuisance with bouts of trouble' to 'Pure trouble' in one fight.

If she used all the power she had, she would be able to deal with her ice, but he knew that she couldn't use that often. That was easy enough to deal with. But now she seemingly could enter a state where her physical agility and strength jumped up several notches, without hurting herself.

He steeled himself when he heard Mic announce the round start. He didn't have time to waste on someone who wasn't Ashido. Someone who wouldn't prove to his father that he could surpass All-Might without the use of his fire.

Without HIS power.

Momo made the first move, beginning to create something.

Without HIS cursed blood.

A useless move.

Without HIS GUIDANCE.

From deep within Shoto came out a roar. One he didn't know he could make.

The stands gasped.

A glacier that pierced the heavens followed. His entire right side felt stiff when he did that. Hard to move. Hard to breathe. He put his left hand on his right arm, very slowly melting the frostbite away.

In a bout of rage, he'd gone overboard, as if he had the stamina to spare before fighting Ashido.

'Even so… that's that.' He thought to himself, self assured in his win.

Only for parts of the glacier to smash away, scattering on the ground.

Out came Yaoyorozu from within the ice, holding a thoroughly frozen iron shield, hand covered with a thick black glove. Her breath came out in visible puffs against the cold.

"I figured you would try something like this." She began, her voice wavering. She was feeling the cold too. "Not to this scale perhaps, but my countermeasure proved effective anyway."

From her exposed stomach she produced several round, red objects.

Shoto felt closer to his regular temperature now, so he tested the waters with a small wave of ice directed at her. She dodged.

He frowned. Something was fishy with them. If his hunch was right, they were likely…

With a wave of his arm, he shot out a taller wave at her. He couldn't see what she did, but the explosion that destroyed it combined with the fact she was missing one of the balls now confirmed his hunch.

"Impact explosives." He mused. "Not bad."

But not bad wasn't going to be enough against him. He froze over the arena's floor, catching Yaoyorozu's feet. He knew she'd be able to free herself. She did so in the Obstacle Race.

Trapping her wasn't his goal, of course. Not with that at least. Because for the split second it took for her to realize that she had been frozen in place, and the following second she took to start acting against it, spelled out her doom.

For he circled around her, skating with ice, and grabbed her by the shoulder.

Ice encompassed her from the shoulders down.

"Your explosives went off the first time because I was too aggressive with how I froze you, didn't they." He stated, barely masking it as a question. "Which means that a slower freezing process would do the trick."

"I-I-" She stuttered out, shivering.

"I recommend you give up." The ice got thicker, crawling up her neck. "I don't want to give you severe hypothermia, and you're out of options. You find a way to knock me back, you'll still have to deal with being frozen. Who knows how long it'd take for you to thaw yourself out."

He couldn't see it, but the girl had bit her lip. He could hear her stifle a quiet sob though. "...I give. I got careless."

"TODOROKI SHOTO ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND!"

At that, he let out a sigh of relief and thawed her out with his left side. His shoulders slumped. "Sorry. You're someone I can't give time to act. You're strong like that."

She felt the warmth return to her and relief washed over her. It didn't last very long though. She shook herself free from his left hand. "Thanks… I think." She walked out of the ring and into the halls, sight cast down towards the floor.

Shoto wasn't the best at reading people. But he knew when people were angry or sad. Yaoyorozu was the latter.

Even when he used the part of himself that wasn't cursed, he still hurt people around him.

As if to remind him that his blood was tainted, Endeavor walked out of the hallway she had just gone down and shot him a glare. He quickly dashed through the ring and shot to the peak of Shoto's glacier, melting it top first with burning efficiency, the fire intense enough to almost instantly vaporize the ice.

Mic whistled at the sight. "And with a little help from Endeavor, the ring has been cleared! Thank you, Number two!"

At least Shoto wasn't alone in his anger now.

He tried to walk the hallways opposite to Endeavor, but his father was tenacious and much taller than himself. Catching up to him was a trivial task for the Hero, overtaking him and standing in front of the boy.

"Shoto." His voice drawled out, a gutteral bass that still made Shoto's skin chill.

He tried to ignore him and just walk past him.

"Shoto." He repeated, a commanding tone in his voice making the boy stand still for a second. "You could have ended that match immediately if you ignited her explosives while she still carried them."

"And blow her hands off?" He craned his neck towards Endeavor, summoning the willpower to look him in the eyes. He knew his father was brutal. He knew that more than anyone still alive. "She's not a villain. She's a classmate. A teenager."

"You still must act with efficiency, son. A threat would have sufficed. If you don't, the-"

Something broke inside Shoto. He whipped around fully, the hall's temperature dropping significantly.

"How dare you call me son." He growled out through gritted teeth. "I'm your weapon. Your loaded gun against All-Might."

The man narrowed his eyes. With a single huff, the halls felt like a sauna. "Watch your tone, Shoto. Soon, you'll realize your limitations."

"You wish."

While almost everyone else in the stands had watched the match in awe, marvelling at Todoroki's power, at Momo's ingenuity, or how quick it had been, Mina couldn't help but notice that the boy looked… disappointed. Tired, even. Not physically, but emotionally.

Her frown didn't go unnoticed, and while the likes of Iida and Ochako thought she was simply worried about facing the boy now, Setsuna and Izuku knew why she looked like that. And when she leaned forward, she noticed that Kirishima had an expression that mirrored her own.

"Did he…?" She trailed off, turning towards Setsuna and Izuku, the latter having gotten up to prepare for his match.

Neither met her gaze, only Setsuna spoke up. "Y-yeah…"

She wanted to be annoyed at them for keeping that from her, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She slid down her seat and sighed, reality crashing in and reminding her of her current circumstances. 'Guess they wanted him to spill it himself… Kiri…'

Her thoughts drifted to her closest friend.

Todoroki's quirk works a bit differently in this AU, if you haven't noticed already. I nerfed it somewhat, since in canon, it barely depends on stamina to function, meaning that after he unlocks his fire, he has little to no weaknesses. Which just makes him boring IMO. So, now it also drains stamina.