"Nope. No way." Toph crosses her arms firmly, raising her chin. "Why would you even ask me that?"

"I second that," a bitter teenager grumbles next to her, trembling with rage and exhaustion. "I'm not getting lessons from a toddler."

Anger spiking, Toph flicks her foot, sending a piece of rubble flying into the offender's temple before he could so much as blink.

"What the FUCK—"

"Both of you cut that shit out," Loban's stern voice slices through the thick, smoking air. Hotshot's still rippling with anger, but he's out of it from his trial run. "You're not competing until my employees approve it. You've already trashed one practice ring, I can't imagine the shit you'll pull in a real fight."

"I can control it," he mutters, shifting his feet unsteadily.

Toph can't help but laugh. "No, you really can't. But wow, I can't say the name doesn't fit." Now she gets his question from the first time they met.

He growls. "Just put me in the heavyweight group then, they fuck up your stadiums all the time."

Loban growls right back, and it sounds a lot more intimidating from someone with a Tiger-mutation quirk. Hotshot is unnerved even if he doesn't say it, Toph can tell. "Not the problem. The problem is the burning. We can handle minor injuries, but burns are different. You know how hard it is to nab a medic that can treat third or fourth-degree burns? It's not cheap, I'm sure you know that."

Hotshot goes stiff as a board for a second. "No, I don't. Quillfish is fine, no one got actually hurt, just like you asked."

Toph twitches. That's not strictly true. Because while Quillfish—terrible match up for a fire quirk anyway—only has a mild rash and a few bruises, but Hotshot himself…

"And here I thought Bandit was the blind one!" Loban snaps, striding up and grabbing Hotshot's wrist. He flinches badly at the contact, and when he yanks his arm away Loban lets him go. "Either you control yourself, or you're out, and I never want to see your face at my tournament again. Y'got that kid?"

Hotshot is mute. But Toph assumes he nods, because Loban doesn't yell again.

"I'll owe ya one for this, Bandit. Can you handle fire or not?"

Toph thinks about it. Fire is more dangerous to her because she can't anticipate it like most solid objects. She's never actually fought someone using fire. Not like Hotshot's quirk, which spread to half the stadium in seconds.

It's a frightening power. She is frightened of it, whether she wants to be or not. I'm sure he's scared of it too, by the way he's acting, Toph thinks, It must be pretty sucky to be afraid of your own power.

She shrugs, turning to Hotshot. "Guess we'll find out."


Hotshot's whining under his breath as they leave the arena, shoving a jacket on with great reluctance. "Where are we going, brat? If we're gonna train, shouldn't we do it here instead of wrecking another place?"

Toph adjusts her bangs, hanging in thick locks over her face, and then sticks a baseball cap over it. Her face isn't well-known outside of school, and she's more concerned about people realizing how young she is. "One of the outdoor locations," she says simply. "We'll take the train."

He pauses, and then grunts in annoyance and goes rifling through his pockets for something. The next time he speaks, his voice is muffled by a surgical mask. "I don't like the train."

"Neither do I," she agrees neutrally. Again, she wonders what he must look like, but doesn't push it. "Tell me about your quirk."

He gives a long-suffering sigh, but answers. Loban's Rumble sure does pay well, after all. "I generate fire. It's blue and hotter than normal fire."

"Is that why the arena fell apart so quickly?" She asks. "Even the ground was disintegrating."

He gives another hum of acknowledgement as the step onto the platform. "Which train is it?"

"The one headed towards Ueno." It's pretty late that there's only a few trains running, and the platform is virtually empty. Toph keeps her voice low, but casual. "Is it backlash from generating fire, or are you getting burned after it's made?"

"...Not sure." He fidgets, and Toph can still smell acrid smoke on both of their clothes. Actually, she can smell a chemical too, the kind she smells at home after her mother gets her hair dyed.

So, a surgical mask, dyed hair, and a burnt (?) face. He's really embracing the punk-rock delinquent life. I bet he has piercings too. Toph wants to convince herself that Hotshot's some idiot loner, but he also seems kind of cool.

He shuffles his feet, scuffing a heel on the concrete idly. "Either way, it can't be helped. That's just what my quirk is, it's called Cremation for a reason."

Toph rolls her eyes. "You can call it whatever you want. According to Loban, I get to decide what you can do."

"I'm aware," he grits his teeth, but there's no real edge to his tone. Good. Toph already knew he could reign in his temper, now he just had keep his quirk in check alongside it. Passion is great and all, but letting your emotions run a fight never ends well.

"Why's he asking a little kid like you to train me?" Hotshot continues after a moment. "You don't even have a fire quirk, I'm sure there's someone else that knows more about it than you."

Toph remembers the sound her bones make when they fracture. She's only done it a few times since she was kidnapped, pushing her body too far and too hard just to prove a point in the ring. In her case, fractures are easy to treat as long as she gives herself the time to heal properly. And because her senses are so good she can adjust her movements to avoid future breaks.

"Because I fight to win." Loban's known this for a while now. He doesn't like it, but her appeal as a contender goes beyond her quirk, it's her resolve that fans admire. "I love fighting. I like getting better at it. And sometimes I break my hands in the process."

There's a rumble in the earth, indicating that a train is near. The PA system of the platform crackles to life, announcing the train to Ueno as it chugs onto the platform. As always, the sound grates on her ears and Toph scowls as they pick seats in the train car. This is one of the only reason she bothers to wear shoes on a regular basis. Since moving further into Tokyo, the trains and cars leave the ground constantly buzzing—not to mention the constant stomp of pedestrians all over the place.

Hotshot clears his throat unsubtly. "So your quirk can injure you."

"Rocks are hard. Fire is hot." Any quirk can be dangerous.

"Wow, that's so helpful."

"Shut it, Sparky, I'm being profound." She really isn't.

"Are you sure."

Toph resists the urge to punch him. "Elemental quirks are pretty simple, but that doesn't make them easier to master. The more power you have, the more control you need. Still following?"

"Shut up," Hotshot mutters, growing sullen. "You think I haven't tried controlling my fire before? I've been training my whole life, and it still isn't enough."

Toph picks at her ear idly. "Then why are you still here?"

He pauses. "What?"

Toph lifts her head, flicking away the dirt from her nails. Hotshot likes to talk big, but Toph can read him like a book. He can complain and question her all he wants, it doesn't change the fact that he's still listening—still hoping for something more. "Buddy, if you were so sure you've tried it all, you would've quit when Loban made his offer."

"I… " The words die in his mouth. "I don't know," he says finally.

Toph crosses her arms. "I think you're here because some part of you hasn't given up yet. And if you're willing to put in the work, so am I."

The train rolls to a stop, and they exit the car in silence. Toph leads the way, headed towards the outskirts of the city. They stop when they reach the beginnings of a forest. Or, more specifically, a swamp.

"What is this place?" Hotshot asks, seeming rather repulsed as he pulls his foot out of muck.

Toph grins, kicking off her sneakers without hesitation. "This is the Blind Bandit's Swamp Boot Camp—no shoes required!" Her feet sink deeply into the blend of plant, earth, and water. The perfect place to snuff out any errant fires and practice her own powers in peace. "Really, take off your shoes, they're gonna get ruined."

Hotshot is silent for a moment, baffled, before he mutters something about the state of his loafers and tugs them off. "I'm already regretting all of this."


Okay. Toph swore to herself when she started school that she would avoid any and all hero-type punks that could get her into trouble with her parents. First year—perfect, untroubled, no problems. But it's been a couple months since she was moved into class 3A and holy shit she's gonna murder this class of pansies.

Once word spread that Toph was 1) super blind and helpless and 2) heir to a huge fortune, the goodie-two-shoes of class 3A were scrambling to befriend her, because they're all crazy ambitious or greedy bitches or—Toph doesn't even know, could you be a gold-digger at age nine? Kanto sure seemed like one. Her previous class wasn't nearly as interested in her, but this class is the "smarter" section, the "top tier" of the school, and they're all assholes.

Just declining invitations to lunch or after-school hang outs isn't enough for class 3A. They're persistent, and it's getting on Toph's nerves. She's not trying to make waves or anything, but if a girl physically grabs Toph's arm in order to "hang out" with her, that girl better be prepared for a verbal smackdown at the very least.

"Beifong-san!" Tenya Iida, newest bane of her existence, calls out, popping up next to her just as the class ends for lunch break. She'd be startled by the abrupt greeting if not for the all clomping, metallic steps he makes. Toph can sense Iida coming from a mile away, literally. She's never been so bothered by the way someone moves, but man does Iida like to move.

Apparently his quirk is having engines in his legs, and as soon as Toph overheard that, she tried to focus on the shape and size of the organic-mechanical mutation—big mistake.

It's so loud. It's as if now that she's heard it, she can't un-hear it, which is something that's never happened to her before. The vibrations he makes are sharper than other footsteps, a rumble that rip-roars to life whenever he activates his quirk.

"What, Iida?" Toph answers, hoping to convey as much reluctance and irritation as possible in the fewest words. Maybe that's not only Iida's fault though, she's also still sore from sparring with that Jello-Head fighter. The Quirk Rumble had a few medics on hand in case any of the fights got dicey, but there wasn't much to do about muscle fatigue.

"I noticed you haven't been sitting with any of our classmates during lunch," Iida continues, his voice slightly more muted than usual.

Toph scoffs. "Neither have you," she shoots back, and immediately regrets it. She's not supposed to know that, but she really can pick out his footsteps from anywhere in the school.

"Wh—How would you know?" Iida exclaims.

She frowns deeply, thinking fast. "Because you want me to sit with you at lunch?"

"I—well. Yes? I think we got off on the wrong foot the other day. You're clearly very capable and a good student, and I should not have assumed otherwise because of your blindness."

Toph rolls her eyes. "That's right." She shoved her belonging into her bag and stands from her desk. His engine legs were rumbling a lot, making him vibrate in place.

"Beifong-san? You haven't answered yet. Would you mind if we ate lunch together? I would like to know more about you!" Iida insists, oozing earnestness.

Toph is quiet. She doesn't care who she sits with, first of all. If her parents find out she's "consorting with hero kids" that won't go over well. But do they even care anymore? Should she worry about them bringing that creepy therapist back? It's not like she hasn't been going behind their backs already.

"No." His quirk is giving her a headache anyway.

He freezes for a moment, shocked. Toph goes to walk around him.

"But… Beifong-san, I…" He reaches a hand towards her.

"Get out of my way, Engine Legs," Toph says plainly, deftly turning her shoulder out of reach and walking quickly down the hall, leaving Iida at the edge of the classroom.

She's halfway to the cafeteria when he does this sort of vibrating-revving thing and then whoosh.

Her hair flies up, pulled out of her headband from the sudden gust of wind in her face. Toph is startled, and for a second she's overcome by the familiarity of it. Twinkletoes did it all the time. Except this is Iida, Iida with footsteps like thunder and a prep-school smugness that makes Toph want to commit murder.

"Beifong-san!" He skids to a stop at her side. "What was that! I was lead to believe you were blind!"

Toph's face scrunches up in confusion. He seems surprised, and a little suspicious of her, and Toph can't fathom why. "I… am blind. I got the sunglasses and everything," she points to the glasses on her face. They're round and have dark green lenses that match her headband, according to the nanny that picked them out.

"Then—then how did you know about my legs?"

Toph raises her eyebrows in alarm, because, oh shit she's not suppose to know that.

"Uh," Toph says eloquently, "Because… someone… told me you had engine legs?"

"... Oh," Iida says sheepishly. "Sorry, that was a foolish question. I couldn't help but wonder, you tend to move and act like a normal—sighted—person most of the time." He's trying to be more careful about his wording now, at least. "So I was thinking—do you still have spatial awareness, and only partially blind?"

He's more observant than Toph gave him credit for, even if he's wrong. "Why are you so interested me, dude?" She asks instead. "Have you been watching me or something?"

"N-No! Not in the sense you are implying! I was only concerned!" Iida backtracks immediately, suddenly waving his hands in wide, fast arcs. Or at least that's what it seems like. His legs are vibrating again, throwing off her senses. "You just seemed very isolated from our peers, so I wanted to show you that you weren't alone!"

"Isolated?" She's not isolated. Who even says that? And who uses that as a reason to talk to a classmate? "You took pity on me is what you're saying," Toph surmises. "And quit moving around so much," she warns him, shaking her head.

"What—this isn't pity!" Iida yelps, and he does another chopping motion with his hand, like he's slicing the air, very nearly smacking her in the face. "Please do not twist my words, Beifong-san! I only want to be friends!"

He punctuates his sentence with another whoosh of his hands, and this time Toph reacts instinctively, deflecting his hand before he whacks her head. "Quit it!" Toph snaps, grabbing his hand in mid-air and yanking it down to his side. Her hands curl into fists in her skirt so she doesn't try punching him. "Maybe you're the one feeling isolated, Iida—and it's your own fault, for acting so high and mighty all the time. You're just like the rest of this class."

Iida splutters in surprise and stops in the middle of the hallway, but Toph just keeps moving. Great, she's gonna get to the lunch line late because of this weirdo. But maybe he'll give up on following her around and her headache will go away.

Alas, luck is not on her side. Iida jogs back to her side in a few seconds, making up the distance with a few long strides rather than using his engines. "I'm very sorry for almost hitting you," he says slowly, "But—but you're also very rude, and—and I have had enough of it."

Oh, wow. There's no mistaking the anger in his tone now. Toph is surprised, to say the least. They both slow down without realizing it, just at the edge of the lunchroom. Toph crosses her arms, waiting. Iida says nothing.

"Well go on, Sensei, don't stop now," Toph arches an single eyebrow at him.

He's actually shaking. "You are the most—belligerent—person I have ever met. I have been nothing but kind to you, and you refuse to act civilly with me! What have I ever done to you?!" He sounds so offended. She's not the only one putt off by his weirdness, so why's he blaming her?

Toph rolls her eyes, even as her gut twists in discomfort. "Take a hint, Iida. I don't want to be friends."

"And I don't believe that!" Iida snaps.

Toph's jaw drops. "What do you mean you don't believe me?!" She splutters. "What, you can't believe someone wouldn't want to be friends with your annoying ass?!"

"No! I mean you're—You shouldn't speak like that! I never said—"

"Go bother someone else," Toph cuts him off, rubbing her temple. "We're done here."

Finally, when she leaves, Iida doesn't follow her. Instead, she's haunted by a headache and a distinctly shitty feeling in her heart.


The headache never really goes away. Next Tuesday, she almost wants to forfeit her match because of it. But like hell is she gonna bow out like a pansy.

CRASH

Toph dives out of the way just in time, rolling inelegantly back to her feet. From the sidelines, she hears jeering. Her mouth burns. Growling to herself, she spits out a glob of blood, having bit the inside of her cheek.

"What's the matter, little girl?!" Her opponent taunts, quickly reeling in his clunky fist. His long-range attacks are faster than Toph expected, and she's already been nicked by two of his fist-throws. He's been taking hits too, she can tell by the way he's limping.

Toph kicks the ground, throwing up a few stalagmites to knock Reel Pop off-balance and give her some time to think. She hasn't even been knocked down, but her head's kind of killing her. She should've taken some ibuprofen before getting in the ring.

Reel Pop's already winding up for another strike, dodging around her obstacle course for a clear line of fire. She can feel his moves, and she knows there's only a few spots he can take a clean shot from, so—

WHAM!

Her mind blanks. She can't feel anything.

His fist deflected off the rocks, Toph guesses in dismay.

Then, slowly, like water rushing back in, she's barraged by vibrations all around. The ring. The stands. The low buzz of fluorescents. Her own breath, blood pumping, muscles creaking. Head pounding like a motherfucker.

Reel Pop stepping towards her. She shuts out all the other noise.

Toph lurches to the right, but then her knee makes a horrible sound as the punch connects. Teeth clenched, Toph digs a hand into the ground and forces up a burst of dust particles. Before Reel Pop can even react to the distraction, she lifts her hand further to bring up an uppercut of hard concrete.

It connects. Reel Pop goes flying out of the ring.

"WE HAVE OUR WINNER! THE BLIND BANDIT PREVAILS ONCE MORE!"

Toph lifts herself on one knee, and raises one fist in victory.

She can hear Hotshot yelling on the sidelines, barely acknowledging it over the throbbing pain of her leg. "Bandit, you dumbass. Jello, go get the fucking medic, she can't even stand."

Toph lowers her fist, then points in Hotshot's direction to flip him off.

"Fuck you too, Sifu."

Sifu. Hah. Hotshot's a headache too, but he's a lot more fun.