Inasa feels like a live wire, sparking with energy. At the same time, his bones feel as solid as gelatin, and if he takes another step he'll just flop over and die, probably. He looks down at his hands, contemplating the tingly feeling in his palms. Moving air around makes his breath sharpen, and works best when he stretched his fingers wide and precisely. He does that now, pulling air currents like the strings of a harp. The trees hum around him, the branches breathe with him, errant leaves float on his breeze.

Shouto slaps at the not-so-errant leaf tickling his nose, pulling a face.

"What?" Inasa asks innocently. Shouto makes a wide sweep with his right hand, and ice follows in a swirling spire, starting from the tip of his toe and freezing up Inasa's leg. When he uses his quirk lazily like this, the ice manifests like a work of art, gentle, intentional.

Inasa's ice works differently, he's learned. He can't pull moisture from dry air like Shouto, but he can draw from existing pools of water or really humid air, even if he's too far to touch it. He's not very good at controlling water in liquid form, but with Shouto's help he has learned to freeze just about anything. And yet, melting ice back into water proves equally difficult, so right now he has to chip away at his leg to free himself. At least he's kind of resistant to the cold.

It's not as elegant as his friend's technique, but Inasa evens the playing field by drawing up bubbles of water to freeze over Shouto's sneakers.

"That's rude," Shouto complains, tugging his feet free. Inasa cracks a half-smile and flexes his fingers again, registering the different currents under his palms. There's more rhythm involved in moving water, like there's an ice flow under his skin he has to follow instead of the other way around. Unlike his air, water has a life of its own, existing outside of his breathe and (mostly) out of his control.

Steam curls up and over Shouto as he tries to dry his shoes without burning them. It's a slow and delicate task. Fire quirks work best with an actual spark. The three times Inasa has tried to steam himself dry, he's simply set his clothes on fire.

"When are you going to focus on earth?" Shouto asks patiently, running a hand through his hair that leaves a blur of pink bangs in its wake. "You're not bad when you try it. And you're getting better with water."

"Am I?" Inasa is doubtful. "I'm okay with ice, not water."

"I like ice. What's wrong with ice?" There's no inflection in his voice, but that's just because Todoroki's humor only has one mode, and it's sarcasm so dry that most people miss it.

Inasa rolls his eyes. "There's still so much I'm not getting. The water's been calling to me for years, and it's still calling. I can start fires and I can move a few boulders, but I don't—I have to do it in order." He grimaces as he says this, a tingle running over his spine. It sounds crazy out loud, there's no tangible reason for water to call to him. When his air quirk manifested, it was just a matter of flexing a new muscle, pushing his lungs to expand and contract along with the wind.

Now, it's like a push and pull on his soul. Like his spirit might be wrenched out of his body if he refuses it any longer.

No, they said that wouldn't happen, Inasa thinks to himself resolutely.

"Well, that checks out," Shouto shrugs, like what Inasa's saying makes perfect sense, like he doesn't think Inasa is pulling all of this out of his ass. "Water, earth, fire, and air." Todoroki counts off the elements on his fingers and then draws a loose circle in the air. "It's supposed to be a cycle, according to the internet."

That means jack shit to Inasa, though. He sighs. "The internet also says there used to be hybrid animals roaming Japan, like koalaotters and turtleducks."

"Catfish," Shouto deadpans.

"Those are not the same thing!" Inasa exclaims, outraged. "Those aren't hybrids, catfish aren't actually half-cat and half-fish."

Shouto lifts his hand to keep a tally. "Tiger sharks. Dragonflies… "

Inasa scrubs at his face. "No, those don't count—"

"Wait… do I count?" He asks gravely.

"Shouto," Inasa splutters. "What the heck."

"Well I'm half ice and half fire, so that makes me a hybrid," Shouto continues earnestly, eyes a little too wide, and it's at this point Inasa catches the joke and groans. Shouto's mouth twitches with amusement.

Inasa sighs. "Ok. Ignoring the hybrid-animals-thing, you might be right about the… cycle. I have to figure out water first."

Shouto just gives a short nod, accepting his word. "The Avatar cycle."

He frowns. As much as he desperately needs Shouto to believe him about his quirk, he doesn't want to believe what Shouto's been saying about it. Which is hypocritical as fuck, but true all the same.

It's one thing for Inasa to admit he has multiple quirks now. It's another thing entirely to admit he's the Avatar, the (soon-to-be) master of all four elements and bridge to the afterlife and a spiritual guide or whatever else the myths say. Especially the part where he could possibly strip people of their quirks. Like hell he's going to find out if he can do that. Spirits, how was any of this possible in the first place?

Oh right, Inasa thinks, sardonically, with only the smallest dash of bitterness, It's because Shinsou's mom was a cultist and messed up our lives.

He's been trying very hard not to blame Hitoshi himself for everything, but there is blame to be acknowledged, because unless Inasa was super evil in a past life (Not that I believe in past lives…. Do I?) Inasa did not deserve even half the shit that Amon's Vision put him through. And Shinsou's just there, smug as a bug, and he's better at rescue drills than Inasa and he can make Toph laugh more—

"I can't help you anymore with water, you've gotten the hang of ice and that's all I've got," Shouto continues after the silence stretches for too long without Inasa answering. "Maybe we could learn fire together, but that's…"

"Later," Inasa says softly, putting aside his complicated thoughts on Hitoshi Shinsou. He peers at his friend fondly. It would be great to learn firebending alongside Shouto, but something tugs at Inasa's chest and urges him in a different direction. "It has to come later, for me. But it might be time for you to master it. With your dad."

Shouto's expression goes through a multitude of emotions, fluttering by as quickly as a hummingbird's wings and just as inscrutable. But he knows Shouto, and he knows Shouto isn't totally against his father's help anymore. Fire, they've learned from countless false-alarms and a few real alarming bushfires in the swamp, is not an easily tamed element. As much as Inasa is frustrated at his own shortcomings, he's so, so glad that Shouto isn't rejecting his left side.

He still remembers the day he met Shouto, hazy as the memory was after all these years. Toph had asked him to use his fire side, to warm up the group of kidnapped kids, and Inasa had wondered why the half-and-half boy looked so ridiculously reluctant to use his own quirk. He'd wondered a bit, but had enough tact not to ask, about the funny red scar on the boy's face. He'd wondered a lot more when the Flame Hero showed up to (belatedly) rescue his son, and Shouto hadn't looked the least bit happy about it.

"Maybe…" Shouto starts with genuine hesitance that already has Inasa frowning, "Maybe that's what you need, too." A cool breeze twines through the forest, but neither he nor Shouto shiver at it, even in their damp clothes.

"Need what?" Inasa asks, baffled.

"Endeavor."

Shouto is attempting to give him a meaningful look, but he's not very good at it. "Quit glaring at me," Inasa slouches. "I'm not learning fire yet." Not to mention, he hasn't been entirely honest with Endeavor about his quirk(s) yet.

"No, but he's a pro hero, and he knows a lot more than either of us about elemental quirks," Shouto picks his words delicately. "If you tell him you need to learn waterbending, he could find you a hero to work with."

The wind blows a little stronger, and Inasa isn't responsible for it. The idea has its merits. A lot of merits. "You promised not to push, Shouto."

"I haven't told anyone, and I won't force you," his friend replies gently. "But what's holding you back? We're going to be heroes, we can't be afraid of our own quirks."

Inasa looks down at his hands. These secret sessions with Shouto made his world small, bearable, controlled. But telling Endeavor makes it real, makes it fact and truth and A Problem. Endeavor is a lot like Toph, in the sense that he won't dither about secrecy or hiding his power—like Toph, he'll expect Inasa to face it head on, with full force, like a—

Like a hero. He has to face this. He's not a kid anymore. God, why did it take this long for him to figure that out? Inasa's eyes prickle with moisture, and he gives a loud shuddering breath and rubs at his face. "Get ahold of yourself," he mutters furiously under his breath. "Heroes don't cry."

Shouto appears at his side then, his blue-and-gray eyes watching him steadily. "No, even heroes cry, sometimes." Then his gaze darts away, unsure. "Probably. I think." Inasa gives a watery huff of laughter.

"Pfft. Have you ever seen Endeavor cry?" He asks doubtfully.

"No," Shouto arches an eyebrow, "But… I think he does."

His answer surprises Inasa. "Really?" Endeavor's certainly never cried in front of Inasa, but he always imagined that the Flame Hero, when upset, would just get angry rather than sad.

But this line of questioning proves to be a bit much for Shouto, because the fire-and-ice bender shakes his head dismissively. "Let's get out of here. Do you want something to eat?"

"Sure," Inasa answers quietly.

"Soba?" Shouto suggests as usual. He suggests cold noodles every time they go out to eat, every time Inasa starts to lose his mind a little, every time he wants to give up.

"Sure," Inasa says again, this time with more feeling. He should be sick of soba by now, but he isn't.


The next day at school, there's a whole mob of reporters around the front gate again. The last time this happened, when journalists were just learning that All Might was part of UA's staff, Toph had gotten to class before the majority of paparazzi had arrived to harass the students and faculty. She is not so lucky this time around.

"You! Miss Todoroki!" A stranger calls to her, and as one, the mob turns its attention to the little blind girl and the half-and-half boy making their way to class.

"Ignore them," Shouto advises her quietly, but Toph just grumbles in return. Of course she knows she has to ignore them.

"Is there a reason you've never been seen in any press releases with Endeavor, is he ashamed to have a disabled daughter?"

Toph grimaces. They're fishing for answers, that's why they're saying this stuff. But they're way off the mark, so it doesn't matter. She was expecting this, she knew there'd be questions after Kirishima brought it up on the hiking trail.

"What's it like being the youngest member of the Todoroki family? The forgotten girl?"

"Actually," Shouto cuts in before Toph can do more than grind her teeth in annoyance. He doesn't answer for a moment, simply holds them all in suspense as he and Toph inch closer and closer to the gateway. "I'm the youngest Todoroki. My birthday is in January."

Toph snorts. He's right, she turned sixteen in the first week of classes, but Shouto is fifteen.

"Uh," one reporter stammers, "Well, that's interesting. So how old is your sister, then? Or is it half-sister?"

"My elder sister is twenty-one." Shouto replies obstinately. "Please move before we're late to class."

"But, wait just a sec!" A journalist hollers. "What about this sister? A step-sibling? A cousin? What is your connection to Endeavor, miss? Miss?" Of course Toph doesn't answer. "Hey! Kid, I'm talking to you!"

Then the journalist makes the mistake of grabbing her shoulder. The temperature around Toph and Shouto drops by ten degrees as she shakes off the stranger's hand, pulling a face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Shouto mutters, taking a page out of his father's book, How To Poorly Handle the Press. He doesn't yell or rage at them, but his voice drips with contempt. "We are students. What makes you think this is okay? If you keep harassing us, I'll—"

"Excuse me!" A familiar voice interrupts, and then Yaoyorozu is there between Shouto and the reporter, breathless but polite as can be. "Please excuse Todoroki-kun, but we want nothing more than to return to our daily lives after living through such a harrowing attack on our school."

Yaomomo clasps her hands in front of her chest and speaks with a wavering, hesitant tone—Toph can feel the reporters melt like butter around the taller girl.

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Are you a student or a teacher? Very mature-looking…"

"No, wait, you're also in Class 1-A, right? Were you scared during the attack?"

"Miss, are you the Yaoyorozu heir? What are your thoughts on the recent merger between Yaoyorozu Industries and Morishita Mining?"

Huh, that last one was actually a decent question. But just as it's being asked, Vlad King approaches the gate and starts shouting at the reporters. "Scram! All of you! I'll get Present Mic out here, Nishi, you know I will," he warns them, pushing his way past the crowd to separate the students from the press.

"Vlad, buddy!" Presumably it's Nishi trying to protest. "C'mon, you can't give us anything? We have pictures of Endeavor at the gate, the people want answers!"

"The people can shove it!" Vlad King grumbles. "Get inside, all of you," he picks out the students still struggling through the gateway. Then, quietly, he adds, "Mic's already on his way, you don't wanna be here for that."

Toph cringes, and turns to Yaomomo. "Hey, um, Sugar Queen—?"

"I got it," she murmurs, not even fazed by the nickname anymore. She plucks a pair of ear plugs out of her arm smoothly. It's both disturbing and hella cool to Toph that she can just make stuff like this. "Todoroki-kun, would you like a pair?"

"Thank you," he sighs. Toph can sense Present Mic from the staircase, and hastily shoves the ear plugs in.

Just in time, too, because their English teacher doesn't hesitate to spring into action as soon as he's within range—

"GOOOOD MORNING UA!"

The three students hustle towards their classroom, covering their ears. Even in the safety of their homeroom, classmates are shuddering from the volume of Present Mic's power. Tsuyu ribbits mournfully, and Jirou is clutching her earlobe things desperately. Today's not the day for students with sensitive ears.

It is, however, Aizawa's first day back from his non-existent recovery period. He stirs from beneath his desk at the sound of Mic's yelling, catching Toph's attention.

"Sensei?" She pauses to focus on him, aghast. He's moving so slowly, and the way his clothes shift around—he has to be covered in bandages. "...Aizawa-sensei," Toph says again as Eraserhead settles into his desk chair.

"Hm? Ah. Beifong," his voice is lower than usual, gravely and muffled. His orbital bone is still healing, probably.

Toph remembers the way it felt when Eraserhead's skull was fractured by that monster.

She bows deeply. "Please excuse my actions at USJ."

The rest of the class seems to hush as they take notice at her apology. Aizawa goes still. "...So you understand what you did," he mutters tiredly, sinking back into his chair.

"Yes," Toph answers quietly, straightening up out of her bow.

Aizawa breathes slowly, and even that sounds a little painful to Toph's ears. "See me at the end of the day for detention, Beifong. You as well, Midoriya."

Midoriya gives a little "meep" of surprise. "I-I-I have detention?!"

"No, I just want to talk with you," Aizawa says blandly.

Midoriya sighs loudly with relief before stammering out a "yes sir!" and immediately placing his head on his desk. Toph just nods, and goes to her seat.

"Now then," Aizawa begins class with the same enthusiasm as always, "UA is dealing with the villain attack, so put it out of your minds. You should all be concerning yourself with what comes next—the Sports Festival."


Enji watches quietly with a sick, churning sense of anticipation in his gut as Inasa Yoarashi freezes the hot tea in his cup and then clumsily tries to melt it with too many flames and not enough heat. He doesn't hear the boy's rambling attempts to explain himself, staring down at the lukewarm jasmine blend in the super-hot cup, watching the chunk of ice in the center swirl around in lazy circles. Inasa's expression reminds him of Fuyumi, at age six, worriedly chipping away at the ice she formed in her mother's favorite mug. Natsuo's quirk manifested that day, when he saw his sister's distress and proceeded to shatter the mug by converting the ice to water vapor too quickly.

But Yoarashi is no preschooler, fumbling around with untrained bursts of power. He is fifteen, a hero student at the top school in the country, and he's been hiding the extent of his strength for years. "So you're having trouble with waterbending," Enji speaks at last. "Which is next in the Avatar cycle."

Inasa gawks at him for a moment, eyes wide with confusion, then suspicion, and then with hope clawing out of him like a wild, caged animal. "Y-yes."

His eyes flicker past him to Shouto, who hovers by the bookcase and pretends to be busy but watches them like a hawk, and then return to the mildly panicked boy in front of him. "Shouto's been helping you, but he only knows ice."

"...Yeah," Inasa says, and sounds less like a nervous wreck this time around. "I think—no, I need a teacher."

The temperature of the room creeps up, degree by degree, as Enji stares at the airbender. "You were asked, several years ago, if you'd experienced any alterations to your quirk after you were rescued from Cato."

Inasa swallows nervously, swimming in guilt. "I didn't want to believe it could work. That I was turned into some kind of—I thought if I just used air, everything would be—"

"So you've had these quirks for five years, and only now you've decided to clue us in about it?" Enji interrupts brusquely, hands clenching on his desk. "How considerate of you."

He's met with wide grey eyes and a gaping mouth as Inasa flounders for words. A shameful flush of red streaks over his face. "I know," he replies in a small voice. "I know I should have said something sooner—"

"Then you must know you're too late to speak up now, right?" He points out sharply, and the boy jumps.

"Father," Shouto's voice interrupts, but Enji doesn't even look his way. His eyes are fixed on Inasa. He can't believe this. The fucking audacity. You don't get it, do you? Enji thinks bitterly. Time for a wake up call, Yoarashi.

"Too late?" The airbender repeats blankly. "I-I don't—?"

Enji sucks in a short, harsh breath of air. "You haven't told Beifong about any of this, have you?"

Inasa looks gobsmacked. "No," he admits sullenly.

"It's obvious you haven't," Enji continues tersely, the wooden desk charring slowly under his fingers. He pulls his hands away slowly, clenching and unclenching his jaw. "Otherwise she'd be the one telling you now. Your best bet for a waterbending teacher died in the line of duty, six months ago."

As soon as the words leave his mouth, Inasa seems to realize what Enji is saying, and the look of dread on his face truly shows his age. "Water Hose…" he croaks, devastated. "Toph's…"

The Flame Hero clicks his teeth and looks away. He doesn't mean to be cruel, but Yoarashi is in dire need of a reality check. Shouto too. Did he really think that ignoring his power would make it go away? Enji has no time for childish delusions. Enji has no time to think of what-ifs and should-haves.

Kano and Miyuki would have been perfect teachers.

Inasa hunches over, head bowed forward. "I'm sorry, I should've said something years ago," he admits in a rush, "I don't know why I had to hide it, I didn't even hide it well. I should've gotten help when I first knew, I should have just told you what happened at Cato—I don't remember it all, but do remember some of it, I should have gone to Miyuki-san and K-Kano-san—"

Enji leans back in his desk chair, looking over the boy perched on the edge of his seat. Yoarashi has grown at an alarming rate over the past few years, to the point where he's now towering over all of Enji's children and nearly matches the Flame Hero himself in height. The airbender doesn't always remember his own strength, and more than once he's knocked over furniture and decorative items in Enji's house. At six years old, Enji remembers seeing Inasa lift up both Toph and Shouto into a bear hug, dragging all three of them into the air on a whim. He's seen Yoarashi spar with Shouto and demonstrate an impressive amount of mastery over wind currents, even as a preteen.

But he's still a boy. He won't be sixteen for another four months. And he can see boyish fear on Yoarashi's face, raw and genuine.

Enji peers back at the airbender, impassive and as calm as he can muster. But don't misunderstand, Enji is incandescent with fury. The fire surrounding his costume has dialed up by another thousand degrees over the course of this ridiculous conversation. Shouto hovers at the edge of his office, obviously aware of this, and Enji hates that his son looks ready to jump in with a wall of ice between them.

He's never been skilled at this sort of thing. Sure, he coaches his sidekicks, but there's a vast difference between pro heroes and adolescents with quirk problems. He couldn't even give his own sons the kind of instruction they needed.

But he's all that's left, isn't he? The Izumis picked an awful time to die.

"Inasa," Enji cuts him off pointedly, taking a long, slow breath that lengthens the silence between them long enough that the boy is left with nothing to do but wait, to listen for Enji to speak. "'Should have' is how we got here. It's not where we're going. We'll figure this out."

The airbender stares at him for a moment longer, dazed. "T-TODOROKI-SAN! THANK YOU!" Then Inasa bolts to his feet in one swift movement and bows a head-to-the-ground, is-he-concussed kind of bow that makes a loud thud noise in the process.

Enji startles. "Did you hit your head?"

Inasa springs up with a streak of blood along his hairline. "Todoroki-san! I-I really need your help!" He all but shouts at Endeavor. "Please teach me—or find a teacher—or maybe a way to get rid of all this butIdon'tthinkthat'spossible—?"

"Inasa," this time it's Shouto that steps in to slow the boy down. "You're going to be okay."

"No he won't," Enji looks at the boy critically, not noticing how both teenagers freeze at his words. He pushes himself to his feet and walks around his desk to glare at the airbender up close, inspecting his bloody head. "You just gave yourself a concussion, didn't you?" He accuses.

To answer, Yoarashi bursts into tears. "I'M FINE!" he howls.

Enji feels a gust of wind at his back, and then Shouto crashes into his side, roped into a hug via Yoarashi's burly arms while the airbender weeps into the shorter boy's hair. Enji will deny it till the day he dies but he leans into the hug for about half a second just to hold them both closer. He can't remember the last time he's held Shouto like this.

His son peers up, squinting at his father. "You didn't actually agree to teach him yet," he mutters.

Enji is well-aware of this. "We'll figure it out," he repeats tiredly. "I'll oversee your training if I have to."

Inasa's crying settles down into hiccups. "Shou needs to learn Flashfire first," he blubbers.

"What?" Enji blinks down at his son in surprise, and Shouto immediately begins to wriggle away.

"Inasa, not now," he hisses.

"Yes now," the airbender releases them both, sniveling. "Shouto hasn't mastered his fire side and wants your help!"

That shocks Enji more than anything else he's been told today. By the cagey expression on his son's face, Yoarashi isn't making this up. "You do?"

"No," Shouto denies too quickly. "Maybe," he concedes. "Only after Inasa finds a teacher."

"You can work at my agency after the Sports Festival," Enji suggests before Shouto can start having second thoughts. "If Inasa performs well, I can help him pick out a work study that will allow him to focus on waterbending."

Inasa throws an arm over Shouto's shoulders, a friendly gesture that also prevents Shouto from hightailing out of the office. "That sounds great, right Shouto?"

"But," Enji continues curtly, eyeing the taller boy. "I want you to use all four elements."

"WHAT?!"


At the end of the morning lessons, there's a crowd outside their homeroom.

Among the muttered threats and snide comments from other first-year classes, Toph hears the distinct footfalls of one enormous airbender barging through the crowd. She lifts her head as Inasa bursts through the doorway of the room.

"TOPH BEIFONG!" He hollers, leaning in, only held back by three students that must be his classmates. "I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!"

Toph can feel several classmates whip their heads around towards her, but she has no idea what her expression could be read as. She's mostly just confused.

"Who's that third-year?" Sero wonders, leaning over to Ashido's desk. The acid girl is bouncing up and down in her seat.

"I don't know, but looks like Toph knows him!" Ashido draws out her words teasingly.

"Uh," Yaoyorozu interrupts quickly, her voice lowered politely, "That's not a third-year, that's Yoarashi-kun. He's in 1-B."

"Oh!" Inasa whirls around at the sound of his name. "Hey Yaomomo!"

"H-hello, Yoarashi-kun," the ponytailed girl replies, somewhat exasperated. "I'm not sure you're supposed to be in our classroom. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with Aizawa-sensei."

"I'm not interrupting! Class is over, ne?" Inasa points out, loudly. If Aizawa was napping under his desk like he usually did during lunch, Inasa would've woken him up by now. But their teacher was currently shuffling towards the teacher's lounge, wrapped in bandages and oblivious to the on-goings of the classroom. "Toph! Come with me?"

What in the world was he doing? "Can't it wait until lunch?" Toph deadpans.

"NOPE!" Inasa chirps sunnily, so whatever he wants to talk about can't be that bad. "It's gotta be now. Alone. C'mon, c'mon!"

She feels a gust of wind over her face and rolls her eyes. If he's not careful he's going to cause an updraft and flip up a skirt. And if it's Toph's skirt, she will put him through the floor. "Whatever, quit fussing," Toph relents. He grabs her hand and pulls her through the crowded doorway. There's a lot of whispered conversations happening now, but that's to be expected when you get called out by a maniac in front of half their grade.

"Inasa," Shouto's voice interrupts from the doorway, sounding tired. "What are you doing?" Inasa doesn't respond, as far as Toph can tell, but Shouto doesn't push the issue. Stupid non-verbal cues. He probably winked or something.

"WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING HERE, YOARASHI!" Another student yells from the crowd, shaking a fist. "I NEED ALL OF CLASS 1-A TO KNOW I'M GONNA BEAT THEM!"

"Then tell them!" Inasa shouts back, still guiding Toph away. "Just, uh, not Toph. Sorry!"

Toph rolls her eyes again as the 1-B student starts up a tirade about being in the second-best class. It was funnier coming from Shinsou, but she's sure the rest of her class would appreciate the challenge from 1-B. She can already hear Kaminari howling in complaint as she and Inasa move farther and farther from the classroom.

As soon as they're relatively alone, in a hallway that's already emptied of most students, Inasa gets down on one knee. "What the fuck," Toph immediately blurts out, "do you think you're doing?"

"Just listen," he says, unworried. There's not a shred of uncertainty in Inasa's tone, and with the same airy confidence he cups his hands around both of hers. "It's important."

As mortifying as this is turning out to be, Toph just stands there like a statue, not pulling her hands back. She'll hear him out and then beat him up accordingly. "Either it's important or you're being overdramatic," Toph corrects him promptly, making him laugh.

"Maybe, maybe!" Inasa agrees, catching his breath. "Toph Beifong, this is my declaration." He pauses long enough for Toph to panic. "My declaration of war."

"Your what?" She blurts out again, eyes wide. It's like a gust of wind blowing over her, surprising and chaotic. "War?" she laughs, and Inasa leans forward intently, a smile in his voice.

"In the Sports Festival," he explains, "I'm going to crush you, Beifong, so don't get cocky," Inasa declares vehemently. "I know you think I'm weak after the entrance exam." She opens her mouth to argue, but he doesn't let her. "It's true, I didn't do my best! So much for being a hot-blooded hero, huh? I keep hearing about you guys in 1-A, and I've seen my own classmates work so hard—I'm falling behind, and it sucks!" He confesses in a rush. "But now, I'm giving it everything I've got in the Sports Festival." Inasa squeezes her hands lightly. "Everything, Toph. You'll see."

Everything… She can feel the weight of his words, even if she can't see the dead-serious expression on his face. He has to be talking about his quirks, about having multiple elements.

"I don't really know what I'm doing," Inasa admits, almost sheepishly, "Really, I'd still count myself a master of one out of four." He pauses. "One and a half out of four," the airbender amends.

Time seems to stand still as his words sink in.

"Really?" She says quietly, as his hands drop away from hers. Toph reaches forward, her fingers brushing against his ear and his hair and then settling on his shoulder. His heartbeat thrums, quick and steady under her hand. With him kneeling, he's below eye-level, but their faces are close enough for her to feel his breath.

"Really, Toph." There's a certain poise to his tone that Toph hasn't heard in a while, and for the first time since they were rescued from Amon's Vision, she doesn't doubt him at all. She doesn't know why he's telling her all this now, and she doesn't know why he'd ask for Shouto's help before anyone else, but it doesn't bother Toph as much as she thought it would.

Inasa makes a low, whining sound. "Don't look so happy! I'm going to kick your butt."

Toph bursts into laughter, and before she knows it she's leaning forward to curl her hands over his neck. Inasa loops his arms over her back automatically and hugs her hard. In one motion he gets to his feet and lifts her off the ground, like he used to do when they were younger. Not being on the ground means she can't sense anything past her own body and Inasa's, which she never really noticed when they were kids, but she feels extremely aware of now, pressed against his front and hearing his chest vibrate with laughter.

"You… you can't even beat me in checkers, don't overestimate yourself," Toph mutters, a little shrilly.

"You can't even reach the floor right now," Inasa says right back, his mouth somewhere against her hair. Toph feels warm all over. "And do not get me started on checkers or I'll carry you to the cafeteria," he threatens.

She squirms. "You wouldn't."

He squeezes her a little tighter, still chuckling, and lowers her to the ground. "You're right, I wouldn't," Inasa agrees warmly. "This is good enough for me."

Toph's eyes narrow as she takes a step back. "What does that mean?"

"Mm," Inasa hesitates, shifting over to her side as they turn towards the lunchroom. "I like it when you let me hug you," he admits earnestly. Toph doesn't hear any sort of distress on his part, too busy listening to her own heart thumping loudly in her ears. Only Inasa could act so nonchalant about gooey stuff like this. "But you're too shy to hug me back in front of other people."

Inasa doesn't show any outward sign of flinching, but somehow he dodges her punch anyway. "I'm not shy," she grumbles, crossing her arms tightly. "You're just gross and mushy."

Inasa leans in suddenly, resting his chin on her shoulder. "And you're a big softie."

She honestly tries her best to slap him this time, but he dances away like the big lumbering ballerina he is. "Twinkletoes," Toph scowls.

"We should get going," he says pleasantly, hooking his arm around her elbow and moving on like it's nothing. "I'm hungry. You know Shouto keeps feeding me soba, and now I'm starting to crave it on my own? I think I've been trained. I always liked hot soba until now."

"So, like a dog?" Toph suggests, keeping pace with his stupid long legs. "Did he teach you any new tricks while he was at it?"

"Hey!" Inasa protests. Then he seems to consider her words. "Oh. Maybe he did. One and a half, remember?"

So that meant air and ice, but not water. Toph doubted Shouto was good enough with fire to teach Inasa anything about it. "Will you show me?"

"You, young lady, will have to wait until the Sports Festival," he states firmly. "I'll blow you all away, for sure!"

"But not with air," Toph points out.

Inasa makes a strangled sound, releasing her arm to clutch at his chest dramatically. "All my lines are air-related," Inasa realizes with a gasp. "I need new ones!"

"What lines?"

"Toph, you have them too," he admonishes her. "Like when you say 'I'll bury you alive' or 'I'll crush you into dust'! Those are earth-y one-liners. Or Shouto's 'You need to chill', except he doesn't ever say it at the right time for it to be cool."

"...I see," she says dryly.

"Aha! You have blind one-liners too!" Inasa exclaims. "This is serious, Toph, I'll have to figure out a different hero name too. Gale Wind is kind of misleading."

"I thought it was Whirlwind? You keep changing it." Toph shakes her head. "I can't even decide on my own name, Inasa. Unless you wanna go with Twinkletoes, I'm out of ideas."

"That's no good, can you imagine anyone else calling me Twinkletoes but you? That's not allowed!" They've reached the lunchroom by now, and Inasa elbows the doors open and lets her through first. As the swell of chattering students floods her senses, Toph can't make out whatever Inasa says next.

"What was that?" Toph asks, sliding her heel across the floor. She can't quite tell where Shouto or Yaoyorozu is yet, there's a lot of interference to work through.

"Ah, nevermind, I can see Yaomomo," Inasa says a little louder, raising a hand to wave at her classmate. But instead of walking towards their table, Inasa just stands there for a moment, his arm still looped around Toph's.

"You know I can't tell where they are right now," Toph points out eventually, poking him in the ribs with her elbow before sliding her arm out of his. "What's up?"

"Oh, yeah," he replies faintly, sucking in a sharp breath. "Toph?"

"What is it?" It feels like he still has more on his mind, but now that they're in the lunchroom it's really not the time for a heart-to-heart.

"Just… no hard feelings, alright? In the Sports Festival?"

That's definitely not what he wants to say, but Toph just rolls her eyes. "Twinkletoes, if you go easy on me I'll punch you past the lithosphere."

He breaks down into bright and loud laughter. "Of course you will! Man, you say the coolest things. I have my work cut out for me, huh?"

"Duh," she mumbles, warmth prickling at her cheeks. "Good luck trying to beat me, loser."

Inasa keeps laughing. "Thanks!"


Today marks the start of UA's annual Sports Festival. But it's day one, reserved for the first years. His intern won't be participating until the day after tomorrow.

Mirai Sasaki, otherwise known as Sir Nighteye, knows he ought to be watching the first years, but he isn't looking for more students. Mirio is doing an excellent job thus far, and he has his hands full with the increase in organized crime in his prefecture. It wouldn't make sense for him to offer a work study to any newcomers at this time, none of them would have the necessary experience to become an asset to his agency.

Knowing this, Mirai scheduled himself on patrol for the majority of the day, scouting out the northern sector of Tokyo. Mirio and Centipeder were in the stands, keeping an eye out for any interesting students. Meanwhile, Sir Nighteye needed to get his eyes on a member of the yakuza.

Sure, the mafia wasn't as strong as they'd been in their heyday, but in recent years they've shown a distinct increase in activity, especially with the introduction of Trigger and its variants. The shift in priorities bothered Mirai a great deal—especially since it coincided with the Tarrlok conspiracy. There was no official alliance between the new iteration of Tarrlok's cult and the yakuza, but Nighteye had his suspicions.

Mirai walks at a steady, assured pace, holding his phone out and keeping his eyes glued to it like a harried businessman. There's a few men ordering from a food stand up ahead, their voices sharp and hostile even with each other. It's common for this neighborhood, and they're probably thugs that work for someone dangerous, but it's not enough for Nighteye to determine if they'd be of any use to him. He needs more assurance before he uses Foresight to gather intelligence.

"But where's the MEAT, Tengai?!" A tall, muscular laments, tugging at his face mask. "How's anyone s'pposed to survive on that rabbit food, eh? Don't know how Chrono does it."

The word hits him like a truck.

Chrono? Mirai doesn't quite believe his ears. Surely no member of the yakuza is foolish enough to throw out a name like that in public. The tall man has an intimidating build, with wildly tangled hair and odd wrappings over his arms. He's a thug for sure. This is hardly his first day scoping out this neighborhood, but his luck has never been so good that he's literally run into the mafia before.

"Idiot!" The other man, Tengai, hisses, shooting the taller man a vicious look. "Stop talking, would you? Unless you want to get stuck on guard duty indefinitely."

"You shut it!" He scowls, raising a fist to Tengai. "I'm starving over here…"

That Tengai was too observant, but Nighteye weighs the risks and benefits as he closed the distance between himself and the pair of men. Chrono was a known member of the top brass, his quirk was incredibly dangerous and difficult to deal with. But he's never heard of a Tengai, or anyone with the build of the muscular man. Even as a bystander, Nighteye wasn't safe in this neighborhood if he accidentally upset either of them, and he was only here to gather intelligence.

His shoulder knocks against the taller man's, barely skims it. "Oh!" Mirai gasps, quickly catching himself. "P-Please e-excuse me, I'm so sorry!" He trembles, eyeing the man for the briefest moment before stumbling away.

"Eh?" The man grumbles, looking back at him oddly. "What'd he do? Hey, what'd you do?!"

Tengai smacks him. "Rappa. He bumped into you, idiot. You must not have felt it, he looks like a stiff breeze could knock him over…"

"Oh. What a joke! How weak, that's almost sad," Rappa crows, ambling off with Tengai.

Mirai slows down his pace, activating Foresight and letting the footage roll.

But—wait, why would they—?

"WHOA! Tengai! Look, look!" Rappa exclaims, jumping up and down. Nighteye ducks around a corner, incredulous, as one eye watched from a bird's eye view and another peers at the yakuza members from an alleyway. Simply watching them through his quirk was eye-opening enough, but Nighteye has the rare opportunity to overhear their exact words, too.

The two men have stopped to look at a storefront, one with several televisions all set to the news channel covering UA's Sports Festival. They've just finished the first event, but all Mirai can see is an enormous chunk of ice jammed through the stadium.

"AMAZING START FOR OUR FIRST YEAR HEROES!" Present Mic's excited voice narrates the event. "DESPITE THE MAGNIFICENT LAST-DITCH EFFORTS OF OUR CLASS B FIRECRACKER, FIRST PLACE GOES TO IZUKU MIDORIYA?"

"What's the big deal, Rappa? They're small fry, trust me. None of them could hold a candle to you, big guy," Tengai says dismissively. But when he turns to walk away, Rappa clasps a hand over his shoulder, rooting him in place.

Mirai tenses, skimming ahead, watching time pass just a few seconds ahead of real-time.

"You're wrong. Look—LOOK!" Rappa hisses, delight coloring his entire demeanor. He looks strained with the effort to watch the screen, tense as a bow. "Not the baldy, the girl. That girl!" He suddenly points at the screen as it cuts away to a shot of the students.

Toph Beifong, the caption reads. Fifth place. There's a short clip of her punching through robots, then the footage moves to Endeavor's son and so on.

Through Foresight, he sees the girl even clearer—her disheveled appearance, wordless shouts of anger, Rappa winding up to strike her

"An earthbender," Tengai grumbles, shifting uncomfortably under Rappa's hand. "Who cares?"

Rappa stares at the footage intently. "I do."

A building crumbles. Rappa dashes after a hero—wearing black? Green? Where are they? It's too dark

He shuts off his quirk. The future is immutable, but only if he watches it all.

The catalyst for the chaos continues to play out in real-time, and Nighteye is helpless to stop it.

"Toph Beifong," the yakuza thug repeats the girl's name with awe, tapping the glass with increasing force. "Toph Beifong. I have to beat her." He taps harder, and cracks appear in the glass. "I never got the chance to beat her—the Blind Bandit!"

I chose wrong, Nighteye realizes. If he hadn't used his quirk, he wouldn't have sealed this fate. He can't see alternate futures, but perhaps if he hadn't patrolled here today, Rappa wouldn't have seen the UA Festival at all. I've put her life in danger.

Because one way or another, Rappa was now fated to fight Toph Beifong.


The crowd screams as the rest of the participating students struggle through the finish line. Izuku looks back at the gateway, horrified and amazed at the jagged prison of ice he so narrowly avoided. Why am I surprised? Izuku thinks dolefully, That Yoarashi kid is Beifong's friend, of course he's strong.

"NEXT UP!" Present Mic has just finished announcing the top 42 students, so there's no time to consider the implications of Yoarashi's power.

"Cavalry Battle!" Midnight beats Present Mic to the punch, cracking her whip sharply through the air. "The top students will form teams of two to four members, and earn points by grabbing other teams' headbands!" Izuku works to steady his breathing, already sweeping his gaze across the arena of students for allies. "But those at the top will suffer more," Midnight adds. "The number of points each student is worth depends on their placement in the Obstacle Race!"

Ah, that's bad, he'll have a bit of an advantage—

"The exception is first place, which is worth ten million points!"

It feels as though a vast cavern splits the earth, separating Izuku from 41 students with fiendish eyes fixated on him. His heart jackhammers in his chest, threatening to jump right from his throat. It's a different sort of attention from the stares he got in middle school, so different…

All Might, is the pressure always this heavy?

"Now!" Izuku flinches. "You have fifteen minutes to form your teams!" Midnight exclaims, cracking her whip again.

In a trial like this, it's not really about who's strongest anymore, it's about who's compatible. Yeah, Izuku has a good grasp on most of his class's quirks, and with that in mind, there's a few students he'd definitely want on his team…

Except there's a vast cavern stretching between himself and the other students. No one wants to be on his team because of his points! Not good, not good, he didn't even show off his quirk in the first event, so no one wants to risk teaming up with him!

"Um… Ojiro-kun?" Izuku says tentatively.

The tailed boy grimaces and inches away. "Sorry."

Crap, crap, crap! He scrambles towards Iida next. "Iida-kun! Would you want to—?"

"Sorry, Midoriya," Iida cuts him off, and Izuku's words die on his tongue. "Ever since the entrance exam, I've been losing to you. I need to stand my own. Right now, we're rivals."

"O-Oh. I understand," Izuku whispers. He breaks out into a cold sweat as soon as Iida leaves.

Across the arena his classmates flock around Kacchan—even with his abrasive personality, Kacchan came in fourth place and has 195 points. And his quirk is adaptable, no wonder he's popular! Then there's Todoroki, who was third place with 200 points. He used ice to freeze up all the zero-point robots, he's crazy strong on his own, but there's a chance he'll team up with Yoarashi, the other ice user….

Izuku watches, shocked, as Todoroki approaches Kacchan instead. No, no, there's no way they'll

"Oh my god, why?!" Izuku gasps audibly as Kacchan gives a curt nod instead of blowing up Todoroki.

What happened to Yoarashi? Isn't he better friends with Todoroki? What sort of witchcraft did Todoroki perform to get Katsuki Bakugou to team up?!

Yoarashi is farther away, but Izuku can spot his bald head towering over most other students. He's gathered a small crowd of his own, and he's hunched over to talk with someone shorter. Beifong must be the one teaming with Yoarashi instead, they've probably planned on working together ever since Yoarashi singled her out in class! To stand against a powerhouse team like that, no wonder Todoroki went to Kacchan… Iida said he didn't want to team up with friends, everyone is an enemy now, so Izuku ought to think of a different team idea...

But who else is there? No one wants him! Izuku's worst fears are confirmed. No one wants to plan on keeping their headband for the whole fight, so his point value is keeping him isolated. He's doomed, no one has any confidence in him because he didn't show off his quirk—

"Deku-kun!" Uraraka chirps. "Let's be a team!"

"U-URARAKA-SAN!" Izuku bursts into tears. "IS IT OKAY?" He blubbers, shaking with anticipation and relief. "Everyone'll be after me!"

"Yeah!" The gravity girl agrees easily. "If we run away the whole time, we'll be fine, ne?"

Izuku winces. "I, uh, think you might be overestimating me…"

"Well, I think we can do it!" She beams. "Besides, it's better to team-up with people you get along with!" Izuku can't take this much emotion. She's so bright. His heart might burst. "What's wrong? You look funny making that face."

He ducks his head. "Ah, well, I just can't look directly at you right now…. But I wanted to team-up with you too!" Izuku confesses sheepishly. "So I'm glad you're here!" Uraraka nods earnestly. "Now, with someone with a quirk like yours, we can work with that, but we need at least one more person. I-I don't know who else would fit in, but Iida said no already, so maybe—?"

A hand claps down onto his shoulder. "Oi, Mr. First Place."

Izuku goes rigid. No way. He turns slowly to face the newcomer.

Toph Beifong points a thumb at herself. "I'm teaming up with you," she states bluntly.

I think I'm going to pass out.

"You… you want to team up? W-with me?" Izuku gawks at her for a moment. Uraraka was one thing, but Beifong? Izuku wants to cry again. It's too good to be true, there has to be more to it. "Why would you want that?"

Toph's expression is tight with annoyance, but she's looked like that ever since she broke through Yoarashi's (and then Todoroki's) ice wall to claim fifth place. "Stay here, I'll be back," she says dismissively, and before Izuku can even open his mouth, she's marching away. Izuku can only stare at her back in wonder, until his eyes accidentally drift over to a certain red-and-white-haired student.

Todoroki is glaring at him with such unbridled resentment that it sends a shudder down his spine.

Izuku sighs. Every time Izuku thinks he's starting to get along with Todoroki, something shifts between them and the half-and-half boy is back to scowling at him like he's killed his cat. Izuku goes back to following Beifong's progress through the crowd, wondering who she could be looking for—she has to be looking for a fourth teammate, but if it's not Todoroki (Thank goodness it's not Todoroki), who else was there? Not Iida, not Yoarashi, not even Yaoyorozu, who seems to be forming a team with Ashido and Kaminari…

"What's she doing?" Uraraka pipes up, looking between Midoriya and Beifong skeptically. "Also, uh… since when are you two so… close?" There's an unusual edge to Uraraka's tone, but it doesn't quite register in his head, he's too focused on trying to figure out Beifong's motives for himself.

"I expected her to team up with Yoarashi," Izuku murmurs, losing sight of Toph as she weaves through the crowd of students. She could put together a team of her own so easily, anyone that had an inkling of her strength would flock to her side if she wanted it. "She knows my quirk, but that's not really a reason for her to choose us. And she must know the kind of target I've got on my back right now…" His words peter off as the earthbender emerges from the crowd, this time accompanied by a surprising guest.

Understanding floods Midoriya's mind at the sight of them.

"We're on your team," Toph declares, hands on her hips, speaking with all the confidence of a world leader. Izuku wouldn't even dream of denying her.

Next to her, Fumikage Tokoyami dips his head in a solemn nod. "Dark Shadow and I will do what we must to make sure we all survive this mad banquet of darkness," he vows. His quirk bows dramatically alongside the bird-headed student, a curious mass of shadow curling between him and Beifong.

Izuku sucks in a breath, feeling like he's been forgetting to breathe this whole time. "G-Great! Thank you, Tokoyami, Uraraka, Beifong! This can work. No, this will work. A team like this can definitely get through to the third stage!" He realizes, excitement swelling in his chest. "We're diverse, we have mobility and firepower and reach—"

Before he knows it, Izuku is unleashing the full-force of his analysis on his teammates, strategies tumbling past his lips almost too fast for him to say them all. His classmates seem braced for this sort of response, because they take it all in stride, bouncing ideas back and forth between the four of them. Beifong does the most talking besides Midoriya, which is to be expected with a personality like hers. She doesn't trust his ideas as quickly as Uraraka, nor is she as reserved as Tokoyami. If they were in any other situation, Izuku thinks she'd be the one leading them, coming up with the plan—but for some reason, Toph Beifong has chosen to take a calculated step back.

Tokoyami and Uraraka… They're students she doesn't want to fight. Izuku realized this when he first saw them all together.

She'd be weak against Dark Shadow, and even I don't know how her quirk would interact with Uraraka's, Izuku thinks to himself. But where does that leave me?

Izuku wouldn't last long against Beifong in a straight fight. Her seismic sense made her practically clairvoyant against most physical attacks, and she knew he could only break so many fingers before he went bust. So where was the disadvantage? Was there one to begin with, or… or was it the other way around?

Maybe Toph knows Izuku wouldn't hold up well against her, and this her way of avoiding confrontation. Does she pity me?

"Ack!" A hard punch on his shoulder snaps Izuku back into the present. His gaze immediately goes to Toph, the only one standing close enough to have punched him. She's also glaring, so that's a dead giveaway. "W-What was that for?!"

"I don't pity you, you fucking dunderhead," Toph hisses under her breath, quiet enough that Tokoyami and Uraraka, in the midst of stretching, don't hear it. Izuku feels his face flush with color regardless, because of course he had to start thinking out loud in front of Beifong.

"Isn't it obvious why I want to be on this team? There's two reasons." She folds her arms across her chest, and for a moment, her eyes meet his dead-on and Izuku feels rooted to the ground by her clouded stare. Then Izuku blinks and her gaze is settled just off to his left; the eerie feeling lingers though, lighting the tiniest bit of panic in him. Izuku is not afraid of Toph, but he sure as hell is intimidated by her.

Beifong raises on finger, counting off her reasons like a teacher. "First of all, you stole the show with the obstacle course. You have all the points. Everyone's watching you, so if I'm on your team, they'll be watching me too. "

Well, that'll only be true as long as they're able to hold onto their headbands, but—

"Second of all," Toph continues brusquely, eyebrow arching, "I can't be the rider."

Despite the roar of the crowds, and the rolling waves of conversations and cheers all around them, everything around Izuku seems to fall away into silence as he considers Toph's words.

"Because you're blind," he says dumbly. "And your quirk works through the earth."

"Yes, Midoriya," she affirms dryly. "Get it now?"

"Yeah," he croaks. "I forgot."

"I know, Midoriya."

"Sorry."

"You should be."

"But…"

Toph groans. "What now? We're starting soon."

"I'm sorry," Izuku says again, "But why me? Don't get me wrong, I want you on our team! We're going to win this! But… Toph. You could've put together any team you wanted. You placed first in the entrance exam, after all. People saw you use your power in the obstacle course, too. And if you were looking for friends to team up with, there's—so many people you know." Izuku winces at the traces of jealousy in his own tone, but he is jealous, in a way, of how popular Beifong is. "Wouldn't Yoarashi be a better choice? Or Todoroki? I bet even Kacchan would let you join his team, he knows how valuable you are."

But the earthbender just casts him a quizzical look, shaking her head. "They're not you," she says, simple as that. "Don't overthink it. You're my best option. And I'm definitely yours." Her grin is sharp and haughty, so much so that Izuku doesn't fully register her words or how they could be interpreted.

Instead, he looks at Beifong and just sees so many possibilities for victory.

She's exactly what he needs to win. Combined with Uraraka's maneuverability and Tokoyami's versatile fighting, Beifong's earthbending would let them compete—no, dominate the arena. And she came to him willingly, fully prepared to follow his lead and fight alongside him. It was insanely good luck for Izuku, and yet Toph is acting like this was the obvious choice for her.

"Oh, one more thing," Beifong says suddenly, just as Izuku prepares to climb up between his teammates. "Yoarashi is teamed up with a kid with purple hair. We have to avoid 'em, you're not a match for him."

"You think they're stronger than us?" Izuku asks, surprised. "You must know more about Yoarashi's quirk, right?"

"Avoid them, Midoriya," Toph repeats irritably. "Or I'll have to hit you."

"Eh?!" Izuku stammers as his teammates lift him. He scrambles to balance himself, feeling odd and a little embarrassed to grab Toph's shoulders so tightly. She doesn't even flinch. "Wh-what does that mean? Why would you—?"

An alarm blares out, signaling they're out of planning time. "Now then, it's time to get started!" Midnight declares.

"Our twelve cavalry battle teams have lined up on the field!" Present Mic hollers. Beifong kicks off her shoes. Tokoyami speaks solemnly to Dark Shadow. "It's time for UA's bloody battle!"

"Beifong, Uraraka, Tokoyami…" Izuku's heart is hammering again, but this time he's swelling up with excitement. "Thank you. I'm counting on you all!"

"Counting down to the brutal battle royale! Three…. Two… One!"