Amaya had cleaned herself up after that unexpected but emotional encounter. She scowled at her appearance. The tip of her nose and apples of her cheeks were still a smudge of pink, plus the puffiness of her eyes remained. She looked like she had cried, and that pissed her off.

"If anyone were to see you now, they'd probably laugh at how dumb you look."

"Thanks. This is the best I can do right now. I have to congratulate Midoriya on his win and see how Shinso is doing."

With that thought in place Amaya slapped her cheeks a few times and with her head held high walked towards the stands, hoping to run into one of her friends.

On her walk she noticed Midoriya all by himself and seeing as he would probably be mobbed by the class, she hurried over to him, shocking the poor boy.

"A-Amaya-chan!" Midoriya exclaimed, jumping in place at seeing the small girl run towards him. When she stood before him, he smiled awkwardly before he took notice of her face. Her eyes were red and puffy. He knew all too well what that meant.

"What's wrong Amaya-chan? Are you alright?" Midoriya asked, his voice warm and filled with concern.

Amaya stared at him in surprise and felt her cheeks heat up. Midoriya really was too sweet for his own good. She gave him a half-smile and nodded, worried her voice would give her away. Midoriya didn't look convinced and reached out to squeeze her shoulder, bringing her in just the slightest bit closer. Amaya felt her heart race and she worried about what he was going to say, so she interrupted him before he could open his mouth.

"I heard you won! That's amazing! Congratulations Midoriya!" Amaya cheered, using their close proximity to give him a light punch on the arm.

Midoriya noticed how she quickly changed the subject but let it go, knowing he shouldn't push. His own cheeks became tinted and he laughed shyly, obviously humbled about his win. He reached his arm to scratch behind his neck and spoke embarrassedly. "T-Thank you. It was really luck that I won. Shinso has a strong quirk. I knew what it was but still fell for it."

Amaya nodded, agreeing with Midoriya. She wished she could've seen their match, but it looked like it turned out okay. She just needed to see Shinso. But before she left, she noticed that his right hand had bandaged fingers.

She paused and gently picked up his hand, frowning at his injury. Midoriya began rambling about how he was fine, and that Recovery Girl fixed him up even though Amaya didn't ask. She stared at him with a deadpan gaze before punching his chest, a little harder than usual. Midoriya stopped speaking and stared at her in confusion and shock.

"I know it's your quirk, but I wish you'd find a way to use it without hurting yourself. I get worried seeing one of my friends cause themselves so much pain," she admitted, gently holding his hand, a pout etched on her face.

Midoriya turned red all over and he felt like steam was going to come out his ears. Amaya pouting was too cute for him to handle and the fact that a girl was holding his hand made him want to pass out. Before he could go off on another one-sided rambling conversation, Amaya let go of his hand and walked away from the hall.

"I'll be back. I'm hoping that you won't hurt yourself too much in your next matches, otherwise I'll be worried. And mad. So, try your best not break anything okay?" she told him, not listening for a response, just proud of herself for speaking so casually with him.

During their training period it was mostly filled with exercises and listening to Midoriya go into deep lectures about why they're doing said exercise. It felt nice talking like friends.

She smiled to herself as she walked towards the general students area, proud that her social skills were improving. However, while reminiscing about their training, the sudden image of Midoriya in a sleeveless shirt, showing her how to properly do a pull-up and then holding her waist popped into her head. Amaya grabbed the wall to steady herself and felt a raging blush spread all the way down to her neck.

What was wrong with her?! Why did she remember that?

She stared at the wall for a good second before slamming her head against it.

"I know I lost but you don't have to be that upset about it," a teasing, yet slightly concerned, Shinso appeared, scaring Amaya. She felt her blush brighten once more, but this time because she acted like an idiot in front of Shinso.

Shinso merely stared at her in amusement, though he did seem the slightest bit worried. Amaya didn't want to give him the chance to interrogate her so instead she asked him how he was. Shinso shrugged and leaned against the wall near her.

"Upset that I lost. But also, not gonna cry about it. And it seems like U.A. students aren't so bad," he admitted, the last part coming out more reluctantly, but Amaya could see the light blush that appeared on his cheek. She raised an eyebrow and stared at him questionably.

"Some of my classmates may have praised me and my quirk… as did some pros," Shinso confessed, tone slightly embarrassed but mostly gleeful.

Amaya smiled widely and squeezed his arm tightly.

"Aw Shinso! I knew you were amazing and now so do others," Amaya praised, looking at Shinso with a bright smile.

Shinso felt a smile of his own slip and rolled his eyes, ruffling the cat-girl's hair. She groaned, sticking her tongue out and complaining about how he was so mean to her for doing that when she was actually being nice to him. He stared at the short girl and let himself relax. Her presence might have scared others, but it calmed him.

Amaya stopped complaining when she saw the serene smile on Shinso's face. She felt a small blush appear and avoided his gaze, confused as to why her chest felt warm.

"Ughhhh can you leave now? You should really be watching the fights. Especially since yours's will be up soon."

Amaya sighed and agreed with Yajū. As much as she would like to hang out with Shinso, this tournament wasn't over for her.

Shinso recognized a determined glint in Amaya's golden eyes and smiled.

"Well I didn't beat you but that means you can't just let anybody beat you either. You need to win this for me now," he joked, looking at her in faux seriousness. Though he did mean the first part.

Rolling her eyes but smiling, she looked away from him.

"Yea, yea. Alright. But I should view the fights from where my class is. Wish me luck?" Amaya asked, staring at Shinso slightly worried.

He gazed at her one last time, admiring her will power despite her situation. She was strong. And she was good. Amaya would prove to everyone that she deserved to be a hero too.

"Luck? You don't need it. You got this."

Amaya returned to her stands just in time to see Sero trapped in a huge block of ice. Her eyes bulged out of her head and she stood stuck in her place staring at just ice in front of her.

The arena was silent, everyone in disbelief at what happened. Amaya shivered but it wasn't because of the cold. Amaya knew Todoroki was powerful, but this... This was on a whole other level. And for him to go off so fast into the tournament meant that he wanted to win and fast. He was angry.

Still shaking, Amaya could barely hear Midnight declare Sero immobilized, moving Todoroki into the next round.

She watched as he moved to unfreeze Sero and though his face might've been blank Amaya detected sadness in his eyes. Biting her lip, she contemplated what could've angered him so much. Until she remembered who she met not so long ago.

Hissing, she glared into the stands, hoping Endeavor could feel her hate.

"Bastard."

"For once we agree on something."

Amaya sighed and tried to ignore her anger by looking for a place to sit while the arena was being cleaned up. She noticed Midoriya, Uraraka and Iida sitting in the very front along with the other students.

"Welp I guess I can't sit with them."

"Why the fuck do you wanna sit with people? Look at blondie, he's chill sitting by himself."

Out of the corner of her eye Amaya saw that Yajū was right. Bakugo was sitting a few rows away from everyone else, staring at the arena blankly.

Biting her lip, Amaya knew she should sit by herself, but for some reason a part of her was curious about him sitting alone. She wasn't blind and knew people didn't like his explosive attitude, and neither did she, but he was purposely sitting alone. It bothered her for some reason.

"Don't bother him. He might be hot but he's still another wannabe hero."

Amaya felt her face flush and scowled. Why was Yajū saying such embarrassing things, like really why wou—

"Take a picture, it'll last longer. Sit the fuck down and stop staring at me extra," Bakugo called out, annoyance clear in his tone but it almost sounded like a tease. That is until he glared at her and abruptly turned his head back towards the arena.

Amaya felt her blush intensify but wasn't about to let Bakugo make fun of her. Taking the plunge, she sat right next to him.

Immediately he scowled, "I didn't mean next to me dumbass."

"Why? Scared I might hurt you?" Amaya bluntly asked him, satisfied watching his eye twitch in anger.

"Nothing scares me, especially not some little cat. Sit wherever ya want. I don't give a shit. Just don't talk," he fumed, peeved that this petite cat had the balls to talk back to him.

"Wow. What a fuckin gent this one."

Amaya didn't respond and turned back to watch the arena being prepped for the next battle. As things were setting up, she glanced at Bakugo. This was the first time they were ever being truly civil with one another. If you could call ignoring each other civil.

Though it was a bit stiff the overall atmosphere wasn't necessarily uncomfortable. Surprisingly Amaya felt quite calm in Bakugo's presence. Maybe it was because he wasn't yelling like usual. Or maybe because he never once feared her and made that known, which she appreciated.

Amaya felt the stares before she saw them and only had to flick her eyes briefly to catch the rest of class 1-A staring at her and Bakugo in disbelief. The villain and the bombshell sitting together. It was quite the scene and obviously this duo was frightening the class.

Amaya's black ears started dropping down and she wondered if maybe she should've just sat alone. Bakugo didn't have the best personality but he could still make friends, yet her presence was killing that. She stood up and made to leave when a calloused hand roughly pulled her back into her seat. She plopped down with a small "oof" sound and gazed at Bakugo curiously.

"What the hell are you extras looking at? Hah? Fuckin turn around before I make you," Bakugo threatened, his voice terse and pissed as usual.

Immediately everyone turned away except for Midoriya who stared at the pair in confusion. Bakugo growled, hands twitching in anger. Why the hell was that damn nerd ignoring his threat?

Midoriya faced Amaya with a concerned look but she was too busy processing what Bakugo had just said. Midoriya frowned before turning around, annoyed and confused at the sudden ache in his chest. Midoriya was hoping to sit next to Amaya but seeing as he was in the front row, he could only blame himself for why she was sitting near Kacchan right now.

Amaya bit her lip, blinking twice to make sure that it was really Bakugo sitting next to her. He didn't speak to her or turn to look at her, but he defended her… sorta. The question was, why?

"I thought you didn't want me sitting next to you?" Amaya brought up, tugging on her ears, trying to appear nonchalant.

Bakugo rolled his eyes and spoke without looking at her, "I don't. But it pisses me off more that these idiots doubt I could whoop your ass if you actually tried to attack me. Bunch of dumbassess still see you as the threat when they should be fearing me."

Amaya paused for a moment wondering how to take that comment. It warmed her heart that in his own Bakugo way he basically told her he knew she wasn't dangerous. Yet that last comment was a bit worrying. She seriously prayed for his hero morals.

"Thank you," Amaya uttered, shyly looking away from the blond boy. There was a slight pink to her cheeks, but she blamed it on embarrassment for having to thank this angry porcupine for defending her.

Bakugo analyzed her face for a moment, noticing her timid demeanor, raising a brow. This was the same girl that looked him straight in the eyes the other day showing no fear and actually chastising him? He felt a slight smirk pull at his lips but quickly changed it back to a scowl.

"Whatever pipsqueak. Just shut up and watch the damn games."

Amaya couldn't stop the quiet laugh that escaped. Bakugo certainly was an acquired taste but now that she's seen more of him, he wasn't that bad.

Bakugo felt the slightest amount of heat build on his cheeks, being the only one to hear the cat-girl's muted giggles. This cat just kept surprising him; he wouldn't have ever guessed she could laugh so innocently.

Until he realized she was laughing at him and began yelling at her for being an annoying pest.

Watching the rest of the fights was quite entertaining for Amaya. She hadn't felt this normal in forever. She felt like she was out of her body and just seeing everything from an outsider's view.

There she was sitting next to an unusually quiet Bakugo who'd only ever grumble something here or there. In front of them was a very cute Midoriya who'd be furiously writing into his notebook, mumbling about everyone's quirk and scaring some of the other classmates. Uraraka would compliment him and watch the games with interest as would the others.

It looked like a perfect little scene to Amaya. No one was glaring at her or insulting her. She even got a kick out of seeing Iida be used as a prop for Hatsume's advertisement. That shit was funny.

However, all good things must come to an end. She felt that piercing glare on the back of her neck, bringing her back into reality.

It was time for her to prepare for her battle with Yaoyorozu. Taking in a calming breath she lightly slapped her cheeks and stood. Guess this was it.

"G-good luck Amaya-chan!" Midoriya cheered, surprising everyone. Amaya blushed, shyly waving back before scurrying out the door.

"Yea, good luck girls!" Uraraka added on, hoping to acknowledge both girls' efforts. Amaya paused briefly and smiled back at her before heading towards the waiting room.

Uraraka and Midoriya frowned towards each other. Even though Amaya smiled, her eyes looked so sad.

"You may have tricked Midoriya and Uraraka into believing you're not a monster, but you can't fool me. You're a beast. Just like your parents," Yaoyorozu hissed, eyes full of fire.

Amaya ignored her, waiting patiently at the other end of the room for their names to be called. It hurt to be degraded when she truly had no part in her parent's attacks but responding to Yaoyorozu's comment would only instigate a fight and she had to save her energy for their actual match.

The screens above the door lit up green and with a shuddering breath Amaya stepped into the tunnel. It wasn't short nor long but to Amaya it felt like it went on forever. She could hear the people in the arena and felt trepidation in her heart. This was so going to suck.

The light blinded her, and the once cheerful shouts turned into murderous boos and insults throughout the arena. Amaya stood tall, despite the shaking in her knees and bristling of her tail.

She made it to the platform, face blank, and hoped to appear more collected than she actually felt.

"Now, we've got no time to lose! Let's move on to the sixth match! This is gonna be one interesting match. Standing before us is all-purpose creation! She was admitted through recommendations, so her abilities are certified! From the hero course, it's Momo Yaoyorozu!" Present Mic announced, eliciting generous cheers and claps to sound throughout the space.

"Versus… the daughter of infamous Scarlet Doll and Tamer, two of Japan's most radical villains. How U.A. let a specimen such as herself in, only the higher-ups know. This cat-girl is also from the hero course and hopefully ready to prove why she belongs here, Amaya Hitachi!"

Aizawa stared at Present Mic distastefully, before looking back at Amaya, his mouth set in a straight line. She could do this. She would show all these pricks that she could be a hero.

The arena was a mix of gasps from the few who hadn't realized Amaya was present, boos from various audience members, and loud curses and shouts of outrage. Among all that chaos Amaya's black ears picked up the sound of cheers and claps from a select few individuals. She should have expected it, but it still surprised her to no end that there were people on her side. Those few friends warmed her heart and she kept her head held up high. She'd try her best to not let them down.

Across from Amaya, Yaoyorozu grimaced, her onyx eyes filled with contempt and Amaya couldn't help but wonder how her parents' mistakes affected Yaoyorozu so much that she projected her anger towards Amaya.

The gun shot rang through the air, surprising Amaya out of her curious state. Any and all game-plan she might've had vanished from her mind, leaving her to rely on her instincts. She dashed across the stage, fists clenched, reaching Yaoyorozu in a flash. Aiming a strong cross to her chest, the taller girl blocked it jumping back, her black eyes cold as she glared at Amaya.

Before she could react, thick white smoke filled the air, leaving Amaya disoriented. Her senses tried to readjust to this sudden blind attack, barely missing a way too close knife to the head. That knife seemed a little too aimed, causing the slightest panic to build inside of Amaya.

"This is still just a sports festival… right?"

Yaoyorozu was light on her feet and the smoke had not led up, forcing Amaya to rely on her hearing. Amaya felt a kick and blocked it before it could connect to her stomach, but it seemed that she fell right into Yaoyorozu's trap. Without Amaya realizing, Yaoyorozu had pinned a knife to the tip of her shoe and while Amaya blocked Yaoyorozu's kick she toppled right over.

Using her clumsy fall to her advantage Yaoyorozu quickly pinned Amaya's clothes to the ground, making her escape difficult. Amaya hissed, pissed that she let herself fall but she didn't have time to brood because Yaoyorozu didn't stop there.

This was only the beginning.

Without warning Yaoyorozu stabbed a knife into Amaya's tail, pinning the sensitive appendage to the floor.

Amaya screamed.

Tears built up in her eyes, and she started thrashing violently, so startled by the pain she couldn't think straight. It only made it worse and her screams became louder, scaring many in the audience who couldn't see what was happening due to the thick smoke.

Through blurred tears Amaya stared helplessly as Yaoyorozu produced a long wooden bat from her abdomen, swinging it carelessly. Amaya tried to form words, but the pain was blocking her train of thought.

Yaoyorozu didn't seem bothered in the least by Amaya's pathetic, muffled whimpers. The small cat-girl stopped moving, finally feeling the sharp sting in her tail turn into a dull ache. She looked so tiny, like an insignificant animal cornered. It made Yaoyorozu smirk.

Amaya could only stare, trying to gather her bearings as Yaoyorozu crept closer and gently placed the head of the bat under Amaya's chin, forcing her to look into onyx eyes.

Unhinged. That was the best word to describe the dark emotion swirling in Yaoyorozu's eyes. She didn't look like the elegant vice class representative, or the kind genius Amaya had seen before.

She also didn't look like the protective Yaoyorozu that Amaya had unfortunately gotten to know on a personal level.

Pinned to the ground, waiting for something, anything, Amaya realized the truth. Yaoyorozu had no intentions of winning this battle, no, she had her mind set on killing Amaya.

"Why?"

It seemed like Yaoyorozu's calm facade finally snapped and with a harsh cry she began assaulting Amaya with hard hits to the stomach. Amaya didn't cry out. She grit her teeth and bore it.

Anybody else would've tried to get away, maybe call for help, hell at least try and block their areas. But Amaya didn't, she left herself vulnerable to the furious Yaoyorozu. Amaya had never heard the pristine Yaoyorozu lose her composure like that, but she recognized the rage in her eyes. It was enough to make Amaya still.

The crowd remained unaware of what was occurring, the smoke that Yaoyorozu created obviously meant to stay up for a while. Not even the teachers could interfere and so the whole arena stayed silent as the sounds of the blunt weapon hit something.

Yaoyorozu didn't stop in the slightest, swinging the bat hard, landing a hit against Amaya's head. The impact was a lot more painful than Amaya initially thought and if she hadn't already been pinned, she would've fallen down like a sack of potatoes. The hit jostled her head and there was a painful ringing in her ears, Amaya was surprised that the hit didn't knock her out.

Squinting she stared up at the dark and looming figure of the taller girl. Warm blood dripped down the back of her head, her tail, her mouth, but Amaya didn't react, too concerned with the look in Yaoyorozu's eyes.

"Hurts doesn't it? Good. Feel that pain. My pain. The pain of everyone your family has made suffer, you monster!" Yaoyorozu growled as she hit Amaya once more, but this time she aimed for her tail. Instinctively Amaya tried to roll away, but the knife only jiggled causing her to cry out.

Screeching she felt the sharp blades scratch her body each time she moved but she ignored the pain in favor of ripping the knife out of her tail. Yaoyorozu changed directions and attacked her hands but that didn't deter Amaya; she needed to save her tail. Focusing solely on her tail Amaya ripped the knife out, crying out until the knife clattered onto the floor.

Now that she was free Amaya quickly rolled away, coughing up lots of blood and feeling the familiar pinch of having her ribs cracked.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? FIGHT BACK YOU IDIOT!"

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry," she wheezed, trying and failing to stand up.

Yaoyorozu's eyes roared in anger and she screamed as she ran towards the crumpled up form of the small cat-girl.

"Don't you dare apologize. You think a simple sorry will bring Mahiro back? Think a fucking sorry would undo all that evil your parents unleashed?"

Amaya rolled again, just in time to miss the bat hitting her spine and managed to bring herself into a crouching position, blood still spilling everywhere.

"Of course not. I know that. But I apologize that you have to suffer because of my parents' choices and—" Amaya doubled in pain, clutching onto her stomach, but she forced her eyes to look up, and locked eyes with Yaoyorozu, "—I swear on my life to spend the rest of my time helping and saving others," Amaya coughed out, her vision blurring in and out.

Yaoyorozu laughed bitterly, throwing the bat away and instead racing to throw a round kick which Amaya unfortunately could not block. She landed on the floor with a flop and this time tightened her muscles if only to prevent any internal bleeding. Yaoyorozu ruthlessly began kicking.

The smoke had finally evaporated, and anxious eyes gasped at the scene before them. Before they could only hear what was occurring, thud hits, weak coughs and cries of pain. Now that they could see… there was so much blood.

"Amaya!" Midoriya cried out in shock, throwing himself against the railings in urgency. He almost jumped over had it not been for Iida and Uraraka's arms restraining him.

The rest of class 1-A stood up as well, very anxiously staring at the bloody field before them.

Bakugo tried to remain calm but even he couldn't stop his heart from plummeting at the scene before him.

Aizawa froze in his seat, not comprehending the scene before him. His charge was hurt. Hurt bad. Never had he wanted so badly to end a fight, but even so he couldn't move. Too paralyzed by everything around him.

Midnight and Present Mic stared at each other and came to an understanding to end the fight. Hitachi seemed to be barely clinging on to consciousness but yet she maintained fierce eye contact with the creation girl.

Before anything could transpire a broken voice loudly began speaking.

"Four years ago, I lost someone I cherished, a person I had always thought would be with me… a family member. As an 11-year-old I had to hear the screams of Mahiro, my beloved and trusted butler, as wild bears tore his limbs apart. He protected my body with his and sacrificed his life for me. Those bears ate him like he was nothing, and all I could do was cry as I felt his warm blood drip onto me and his heart stop," she briefly stopped kicking Amaya, black eyes glistening with tears as she glared into her gold eyes.

"Those bears weren't the only savages that day. If it weren't for your parents' terrorist attacks Mahiro would still be here!" Yaoyorozu cried, kicking Amaya in the back.

Amaya took it all in stride; the pain, Yaoyorozu's tears, the self-hate. The crowd had stayed deathly quiet, most remembering that horrid day, others too in shock at what had transpired. Some were concerned about a murder possibly taking place and others okay with that happening. The teachers couldn't stop the fight either, too surprised by this turn of events and others lost in their memories.

Memories of Scarlet Doll blood-bending over 1,500 citizens and making them her puppets, forcing them to attack and kill other civilians. Tamer summoning his wild animals to run amok in the bustling city, destroying stores and hurting innocent people. Over 3,000 people died at the hands of Amaya's parents and so many more were affected by this incident. The Bloody Incident.

Amaya felt as if her black collar started tightening, trying to strangle her for all her parents' misdeeds. Amaya deserved it. All this hate, all this pain. Even if she had not committed the crimes, her parents' arrest obviously meant nothing to these people who needed to take their anger out on someone. She would take it. It was the least she could do.

"Don't you dare give up kid! You're a hero for a reason! Not a scapegoat! So, get up and fight!" Aizawa yelled through the speakers, finally breaking out of his stupor, his voice shocking everyone. Amaya's gold eyes widened, and she felt misty tears fill them.

Aizawa.

Aizawa believed she didn't deserve it.

He saw potential in her, saw her innocence.

He saw her.

What was she doing? Amaya's only goal was to get in the finals, she was okay with losing her first battle because seriously, who expected her to even make it this far? She thought she would be satisfied with ending it here, but she couldn't.

She couldn't let this end here.

She pushed herself too hard to let herself fail because that's what the public wanted. What they expected. No. She was going to try and win now. Because the world needed to know her name.

Her name.

They wanted her to lose but that only made her want to win even more now; and she would.

Yaoyorozu's right leg, which was aiming to kick Amaya in the back again, was quickly trapped in the small cat-girl's weak grip. Yaoyorozu stumbled back, obviously startled that the petite girl was still conscious. She fell off balance and that was all Amaya needed.

Using all the energy she had left Amaya quickly jumped on top of Yaoyorozu and wrapped her body around her like a backpack, squeezing the girl in a choke-hold. Eyes wide in surprise, Yaoyorozu fell to the floor face-first while Amaya stayed on her back, keeping a secure hold on her choke. The taller girl struggled, thrashing around but Amaya kept a tight grip, using the remnants of her energy to stay attached.

"You're right, my parents are monsters. But I will never become like them," Amaya screamed, as placed pressure onto Yaoyorozu's carotid artery, effectively knocking the other girl out after a few seconds of struggle.

Rolling off the unconscious girl and Amaya stared at the sky for a moment. Everywhere hurt and blacking out didn't seem so bad right now. She didn't want to get up, but she had to secure this win. Body trembling, Amaya stood on shaky knees and faced the arena, eyes blazing with fire.

"I may be a Hitachi, but my name is AMAYA!" She screamed, shocking the audience into silence.

Midnight hesitated before coming out of her stupor, declaring Amaya the winner.

Amaya stared into the stands feeling as if the whole world was watching her. The atmosphere was weird. Some were impressed with the Hitachi girl's declaration, while others were still trying to process what happened. And of course, there were people who still hated her.

Exhaustion and pain finally reached Amaya, with her adrenaline dying out she collapsed on the stage.

Class 1-A stared at the scene before, no one had really seen what transpired between the two girls, but it didn't take a genius to find out. Plus, that ending was more than enough to imagine what actually occurred, looking at the tiny cat-girl's injuries.

While they mourned for Yaoyorozu and understood her pain, they also expressed sympathy for the petite girl passed out and bleeding on stage.

In the following weeks the class had observed the cat-girl up close and while they were still wary of her, they realized that besides being reserved Hitachi wasn't really that big of a threat. Perhaps they were blinded by how the media perceived her, that black shock collar on her neck, or the fact that she was a Hitachi. Either way, now many of the students couldn't help but pity her.

The minute she stepped on stage, they could all hear the harsh treatment she received and saw the nasty looks she got. Hitachi was only 15 and yet she endured all this without ever complaining? She was literally not allowed to sit too close to them and was forced to wear a collar, it was just inhumane. Many students began to feel guilty about their actions, especially after seeing the abuse she took from Yaoyorozu.

Some were still trying to process how she hadn't died or how the fight wasn't stopped.

Midoriya had to restrain himself from jumping to Amaya's side, worried about all the damage she endured. He never expected someone like Yaoyorozu to do something like this, and he still couldn't believe that Amaya just took it. It was clear to see that she let herself be hurt. He felt himself gritting his teeth in an effort to calm himself down, wanting to see her as soon as possible. Uraraka and Iida's touch being the only thing to ground him.

Todoroki stared at the arena in complete disbelief. Had that really just transpired? He knew Hitachi was hated but this! It was like she wasn't even human anymore. He felt himself clenching his fists so tight his knuckles turned white.

Bakugo stared at the scene with what seemed like a blank face, but his enraged eyes and low growls betrayed him. What was that stupid pint-sized cat thinking in taking all that damage? She was reckless and had no regard for her own well-being. She could've died!

Still... he could admit that this idiot had guts.

Shinso had begun emitting dark energy since the beginning of the match, and it grew to the point that his classmates were too scared to be within five feet of him. He couldn't decide how to feel, murderous towards that bitch that hurt Amaya, pissed that Amaya intentionally let herself be hit, or highly worried about the petite teen. Shinso knew Amaya was strong, and she definitely showed that now, but she was so small and skinny that he couldn't help but worry about her breaking apart. He bit his lip and marched towards the nurses office, ready to scold that idiot. And maybe hug her to death too.

From deep in the shadows a group watched the fight that had transpired, intrigued. Amaya Hitachi was something else, and they would definitely have to keep their eyes on her.