Squinting at the bright lights, Amaya groggily sat up, her head pounding, tail throbbing. Granted she was feeling much better than before, but the pain hadn't disappeared.

"I wouldn't move too much dearie. I healed all of your physical injuries, but since you still have another battle to go I left you with more stamina so you'll have to endure some aching for a while," Recovery Girl explained from her seat, momentarily surprising Amaya, who believed she was alone.

Recovery Girl felt her heart clench watching the small teen dazedly sit up. Remembering how the bots brought her in troubled her.

She was unconscious and bleeding everywhere. Her stomach was covered in dark bruises and that tail of hers looked practically mangled. These sports festivals were getting way too out of hand.

Amaya weakly nodded and gently laid back down on the bed.

"Oh, before I forget Eraserhead came in here while you were unconscious, I know he wished he could've stayed here for longer but with him being one of the MC's he couldn't. So just make sure you let him know you're okay when you have the chance," Recovery Girl quietly added, her smile gentle.

Amaya felt her heart squeeze at that, she really wanted to see Aizawa and thank him for his kind words. She had to try and find him when she had that chance.

Settling back down, Amaya had time to reflect on her fight. She felt more mentally tired than anything. That battle with Yaoyorozu was not what she was expecting.

But in a weird kind of way, Amaya was glad it happened. It sparked her competitive nature and she was hungry to win. She got everything off her chest and hopefully brought at least a little bit of closure for Yaoyorozu.

"Considering I beat her though, I doubt it."

"If I could separate myself from you, I'd fucking deck you right now. You stupid girl! How dare you risk your life like that?! What if that bitch killed you? Huh? I swear to—"

"How are you feeling Amaya-chan?" Uraraka's sudden voice called out, scaring Amaya who hadn't noticed the sweet girl's presence.

Uraraka scanned the petite girl, checking for any lingering injuries. Satisfied seeing she didn't find any, Amaya relaxed once more in her bed. Uraraka didn't seem to be in too much pain, but her eyes displayed defeat which worried the cat-girl.

Uraraka noticed the concern and quickly laughed it off waving her hands in the air, "I'm fine you don't have to look so worried! I went up against Bakugo and well I obviously lost, but I'm good! I gave it my all and that's all that matters!"

Amaya didn't speak, she could clearly see the forced smile Uraraka was trying to convince her with. She gave a small sincere smile back and nodded, "I don't doubt that you did. And maybe I'm overstepping but it's alright to be upset if you lost. I know how much you wanted to win. I'm sure either way you showed the world how serious you were."

Uraraka's smile turned wobbly and her eyes watered but she didn't shed any tears. She laughed, a little broken and a little proud.

"You're right. Thank you."

Amaya smiled wider even though her head didn't stop pounding, happy to have helped her friend in some way.

"Hey girls I don't mean to interrupt but there are quite a few of your friends just dying to come see you so are you up for some company?" Recovery Girl interrupted, her amusement clearly shining through.

Amaya stared at the small woman in confusion before it clicked. Uraraka was a bubbly and kind girl, of course people were worried. She offered the gravity girl a subtle nod and looked away, her face stoic once more.

It must be nice to have such kind friends like that. Amaya couldn't complain though, she had Uraraka and Midoriya, plus Iida and Shinso.

Amaya felt joy that her bubbly friend would be comforted, though she wasn't looking forward to ignoring Yajū who had not stopped scolding her since she woke up.

The majority of Class 1-A came through the doors, with an annoyed looking Shinso following.

Gold eyes wide, Amaya felt her tail bristle, causing the throbbing to worsen. She winced, not used to her cat features being hurt like this. Trying to appear fine she sat up straighter despite the pain.

The group of classmates suddenly turned toward her bed and Amaya felt a bit of fear spike through. Without meaning to, she reached up and lightly touched her shock collar.

Were they going to curse her out for beating Yaoyorozu? Did she finally fuck up enough and they were going to hurt her? But Shinso was with them so…. Why were they here?

Before she could get a word in, Iida came to stand in front of the group, who Amaya noticed was missing Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu.

Without warning they all bowed their heads and in a loud, clear voice Iida began speaking.

"Class 1-A is very sorry about the unjust treatment that we've all given you! And though words won't be enough we are still sorry and hope to make it up to you!"

Amaya felt a gigantic blush spread and she couldn't keep the shock off her face. She didn't know how to respond but thankfully the others began talking.

"Yea. Your parents might be villains, but it was very unmanly of us to treat you like one too," Kirishima guiltily apologized, his face looking like a kicked puppy.

"Yea. You're just quiet! A little awkward and you look like you hate the world but not scary like I thought you'd be," Ashido bluntly explained, and Amaya couldn't take offense because the pink girl was right.

"You're actually pretty nice. Seen by how worried you get over your classmates and Aizawa-sensei," Asui croaked, making Amaya's blush worsen.

"You got hot legs," Mineta grossly shouted, making Amaya hiss at him. The small purple boy yelped at the noise and turned to run but a painfully tight grip on his shoulder prevented it. Amaya didn't notice but Shinso was bruising the short boy and those who saw nodded in approval.

"Amaya-chan I know it'll take time, but do you think you could forgive us? All of us?" Uraraka quietly asked, smiling gently.

Amaya looked at everyone briefly, completely overwhelmed with everyone's kind words. They weren't scared of her anymore? They thought she was nice?

"Is this a dream?"

"Ugh they are scared! They just want to make sure you don't hurt them! Don't fall for it!"

Amaya internally frowned. Looking at their genuine faces once more enforced Amaya's motives. Even if that was true for some, Amaya believed they were speaking the truth. She needed to have faith and stop being so insecure.

"Thank you," she spoke, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Can I ask you guys to do something for me then?" Amaya continued, looking into everyone's eyes.

The class nodded and leaned in closer to hear her. They were all a bit mesmerized with the cute smile that had shown on the cat-girl's face, unaware she could look like that.

"Please call me Amaya from now on."

Eventually the class, including Uraraka, had to get out because there were too many people occupying space in the nurse's office. Amaya felt her heart warm at this fact. The fact that this class apologized to her, wanted her to forgive them.

Class 1-A was so different from what she was used to. Not only did they apologize to her, but they even stayed to describe Uraraka's fight and how badass both girls were. Amaya never expected to be treated kindly after the Bloody Incident. She expected the abuse, learned not to fight it, to feel as if she deserved it.

She knew she wasn't suddenly best friends with anyone in the class, but she smiled knowing she could at least breathe easier now. For once school didn't seem so daunting. She settled back into her bed trying to keep the stupid smile off her face, embarrassed to show her emotions so openly.

As the class shuffled out Shinso stuck behind, wanting to speak to Amaya, alone, who needed to rest a bit more before her next match. Watching her classmates leave, Shinso kept quiet, glad Amaya was getting the apology she deserved, but a bit jealous that they all stayed for so long. He wanted to spend some time with her himself.

Feeling some lingering stares on his form Shinso as they walked away, he remembered awkwardly running into class 1-A in the hallways a few moments ago.

While waiting for Recovery Girl to allow visitors, there had been a weird silence that passed between Shinso and the class. Thankfully some guy with glasses and exaggerated hand motions explained that the class wanted to apologize to Amaya, so Shinso decided to let them do their thing. Unfortunately for him he was stuck having to wait with them. However, he quickly learned that class 1-A wasn't so bad, just a little annoying.

But watching Amaya biting her lip to keep from smiling, her gold eyes shining so bright, expression light… he could definitely deal with these annoying kids.

Amaya noticed she wasn't alone, Shinso moved closer and without realizing it Amaya let herself smile.

"Hey. Looks like I won."

Shinso paused for a moment, suddenly slammed with all the emotions he felt watching Amaya fight. He scowled, reaching up and tugging harshly on her black ears, causing Amaya to hiss in pain. Before she could curse him out, she felt strong arms pull her small body into his.

"Sh-Shinso! Wha-what?" Amaya sputtered, extremely flustered, unable to process anything.

"You idiot. How could you let her hurt you so much? Don't ever let anyone do that to you again. You are not a monster, just a dumbass I see," Shinso scolded, his words coarse, but his arms were warm and tight around her.

Amaya continued to blush, hands trembling as she reached up and gripped Shinso's arms, tears filling her eyes. She couldn't respond, too overwhelmed with his warmth, his kindness, this strange feeling spreading through her chest. Nodding, she let herself relax in his arms for a second.

How long had it been since someone held her like this?

The only one to have done so in the past three years was Aizawa. But she didn't feel like this with Aizawa. Aizawa made her feel safe, it reminded her of how her dad used to hug her.

Shinso… Shinso was making her feel weird.

Her heart couldn't stop pounding and she quickly pulled back, scared of this sensation. Shinso let go, surprised at her sudden movement before a blush appeared on his face, shocked by his own actions.

The two teens were a quiet blushing mess and the atmosphere only became more tense but thankfully Recovery Girl popped in to remind Shinso that Amaya needed to rest. He left with a small wave, avoiding her eyes.

As he was about to leave, he stopped for a second.

"This next match… you better not get hurt. Win without any damage. I'll see you later."

Amaya knew Shinso couldn't see her, but she smiled anyways. Forgetting her confusing emotions, she focused on her friend's advice. She would win without almost dying this time. She couldn't worry her friends again.

Besides, she needed to show the world what she was made of.

Feeling fully recovered, the pain only reaching a minimal bar in Amaya's pain tolerance, the cat-girl walked towards the stands. She knew that Todoroki and Midoriya were battling and wanted to see them in action when she almost crashed into Yaoyorozu.

The two stumbled back, a terse silence enveloping them. Amaya stared at the wall behind Yaoyorozu, not wanting to keep her head down but also too awkward to keep eye contact. What do you say to the girl who almost beat you to death?

"I wish this stupid seal didn't exist so I could show this bitch just who exactly she's dealing with!"

"No. I'm trying to be a hero, not a murderer."

"You're just lucky I can't murder you."

"I don't know how to feel about this anymore… I can't exactly say that I wish I hadn't hurt you like I did because I'm glad I got my anger out," Yaoyorozu muttered, her voice dull, surprising Amaya from her thoughts.

Amaya slowly nodded, not really knowing how to respond to that. She moved to leave but Yaoyorozu wasn't finished.

"But… I am sorry for projecting my anger out on you. I don't except nor deserve for you to forgive me, but I needed you to know that I was stupid. You're not the one who k-killed Mahiro," Yaoyorozu's voice cracked, tears spilling from her black eyes.

Amaya stared at the taller girl, her heart clenching in sympathy. How she wished she could've stopped her parents that day. Yaoyorozu wasn't the only one her family's hurt; she wished she could do more for her and fellow victims. Amaya expected Yaoyorozu to stop speaking there but she hurriedly wiped at her eyes and kept talking.

"It wasn't your fault and I know that, but I wasn't satisfied with your parents' arrest. My anger and grief consumed me, but I was forced to put a cap on it. When I realized that you had entered U.A., all those negative emotions came out again and the only way for me to stay sane was by focusing all my hate on you," Yaoyorozu admitted, clenching her shirt tightly between white knuckles.

"Fighting you. It was cathartic. Everything began flowing out and I was blinded by rage. I only realized you stopped fighting me until after you actually got me in a choke hold. Passing out I finally realized how dumb I've been," Yaoyorozu sighed, voice heavy.

She looked Amaya in the eyes, guilt prevalent in her onyx gaze. However, resolution was mixed there as well.

"I want to be a hero. And I see now that so do you. So, I formally apologize for my behavior in the arena. That was no way for the vice rep, classmate, hero-in-training… no… human being to fight like that," Yaoyorozu apologized, bowing in front of Amaya.

Amaya's eyes widened in surprise; she would've never imagined for this to occur. First her classmates apologized for treating her like an outcast, now Yaoyorozu is sorry for trying to kill her? Did this sports festival put something in class 1-A's food?

Raising backup Yaoyorozu smiled awkwardly, "I don't expect us to become friends or anything, but I hope you know that from now on if you need anything, I'll try my best to help you as a way of making this up to you."

Amaya raised her eyebrow at this, surprised Yaoyorozu would go that far. She nodded, locking up that bit of information for later.

"I don't think we'll be friends either, but I really am sorry about your loss. For now, let's just try and be regular classmates. That'll be enough for me," Amaya explained as she walked away. She hoped her words didn't seem cold, but it was the truth.

There was too much baggage for Amaya and Yaoyorozu to be friends. Amaya could tell that while Yaoyorozu didn't see her as a threat she was still wary and slightly uncomfortable around the cat-girl. Be it because Amaya was a Hitachi or because Yaoyorozu felt bad about how she acted with Amaya, the fact that Yaoyorozu was trying was enough. They could at least be civil with one another, that's all Amaya really wanted in the first place.

Yaoyorozu nodded and walked away, satisfied with how they patched things up. Before she turned the corner, she called out to the petite girl,

"You better win this next round. It'll make me feel better about losing to you."

Amaya smirked, her fangs peeking out.

"Heh. I plan on it."

While Amaya and Yaoyorozu had spoken, Todoroki and Midoriya's fight had started, making Amaya rush over to the arena. Thankfully Amaya hadn't missed much, they were only on the introductions, so she took her place standing right behind Bakugo.

The blond porcupine glanced at her, subtly looking for any injuries, finding none. He felt satisfied in knowing the small runt didn't look so bloody and broken as before but felt vague annoyance at himself for caring in the first place.

Amaya turned and gave him a wry smile. "Congrats on your win. I heard you didn't hold back when fighting Uraraka."

Bakugo scowled, pissed that yet another dumbass was going to criticize him for going all out, when that was the fucking point of this. However, he stopped himself from yelling at seeing the grateful smile on the petite girl's pale face.

"I hope Uraraka won't take this the wrong way but I'm really glad you didn't pull back any punches. You gave her a real fight and that's respectable," she smiled brightly, her fangs peeking out.

Bakugo stared at her face for a second before scoffing and turning to watch the fight.

"Whatever, extra. Not like I need your approval."

Amaya sighed and rolled her eyes, there was just no talking normally to Bakugo it seemed. The boys next to Bakugo seemed to agree, complaining to him on how that's not the right way to speak to a girl. Amaya ignored them, deciding on trying to focus on the fight in front of her.

"You better win your next match. I want to have the chance to fight you. Maybe you'll actually put up a fight," Bakugo taunted.

Amaya sat still in her seat wondering if that was an insult or a compliment but seeing as Bakugo stared straight into her eyes she decided it was his way of complimenting her. Challenging her was his way of saying she didn't seem weak. She smirked lightly and nodded, keeping eye contact with him.

The two stared hard at each other, a smirk on each of their faces. The sound of the gun shooting is what shook them out of their trance.

"You seem confident now. Is that just because a few snot nosed kids said sorry to you? Don't forget your place."

"No, I'm confident because now I want to win. Will I? We'll see. It's just now I actually have the motivation to try."

"Sure whatever, I didn't mind you and hot-head ogling each other. He's a fine piece of eye candy."

Amaya's face heated up and she immediately turned her body to face the arena. Yajū really knew how to press her buttons. She missed Bakugo's own light blush and scowling features.

Thankfully watching Todoroki start the match with a freezing attack was enough to capture her attention. She worried slightly for Midoriya, but he quickly countered with a flick of his finger, breaking apart the ice wave. Amaya and others could feel the cold from all the way up. Amaya was left starstruck, unsure who to admire more; Todoroki and his freezing ice, or Midoriya with his powerful quirk, so strong just a flick of his finger was enough to stop an ice attack.

These class 1-A kids were definitely something else. Amaya really needed to step up her game if she wanted to go against them. Glancing back at Bakugo, she stared at his hands.

"Ya know if you used me you wouldn't have to worry about how to beat these kids. I'm all you need."

Amaya scowled, upset with the possibility that maybe Yajū was right. She was going against Ashido next but if she did win would she even last five seconds with someone like Todoroki or Bakugo?

"No."

Amaya shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. She didn't need to think about this right now. She needed to watch the match in front of her.

On stage, Todoroki created a shield of ice behind him to prevent him from being blown out of bounds. Amaya hated to admit it but that was smart. She hoped for Midoriya to win but watching him break another finger had her gripping her tail in anxiousness.

Todoroki continued his assault, sending ice wave after wave, forcing Midoriya to keep breaking his fingers as it seemed that was his only plan of defense. Was this cinnamon-roll really going to fight a battle of endurance with Todoroki? Amaya felt her heart clench watching the green-haired boy continue to hurt himself.

Amaya barely heard as Kirishima came up next to Bakugo, claiming loudly how they were going to fight against each other next. She was too focused on trying not to scream at Midoriya for letting himself take all this damage.

"But man, you and Todoroki can both shoot off powerful attacks that cover a lot of ground. Like 'bam'!" Kirishima praised loudly.

"And you can do it with no time lag," Sero added on, half-admiring, half-jealous.

"I'm not just shooting them off. Don't underestimate 'em. If you overuse your muscles, the muscle fibers tear, and if you keep running, you'll run out of breath," Bakugo quietly explained, distracting Amaya from the fight.

She stared at his back, thoughtfully. That's right. Bakugo may be stronger than her but he still had his own limits. There was only so much power he could produce before he had to stop.

"This might be important for later."

"Quirks are physical abilities too. They must also have some kind of limit," he finished, red eyes zoned in on the match.

Amaya was lucky in the sense that her cat-abilities were just a part of her. She didn't have to train that side of her as much because it was always a part of her. But her real quirk… That was a different story.

"If you used me life would be so much easier. You're just a wimp."

Amaya ignored Yajū and watched as Todoroki created a pillar of ice to climb in order to get closer to Midoriya.

Midoriya managed to destroy the ice stairs by breaking his middle finger on his left hand, but it did little to stop Todoroki as he evaded and jumped into the air above his opponent. Todoroki then crashed down and tried to hit Midoriya with a freezing punch, but thankfully the shorter boy moved back in time.

However, it seemed as if Todoroki expected that, so he expanded the ice until it reached Midoriya's fleeting foot. With no other choice left, Midoriya sacrificed his entire left arm to counter with a full powered smash attack.

Amaya could hear his pained screamed and even from high up in the stands she could see where Midoriya had broken his arm. It looked terribly purple, limply hanging down on his side. She clenched her fists tightly trying to calm herself down.

Looking at Todoroki, her keen eyes noticed the slight trembling in his arm. He was reaching his limit, yet he still refused to use his left side. Amaya grit her teeth, annoyed with Todoroki but overall pissed at Endeavor. She hoped he was watching this match and understood just how badly Todoroki disliked his own power. Maybe he'd understand why.

Amaya couldn't keep bashing Endeavor in her head because her acute hearing picked up Todoroki's taunts towards Midoriya. It was a bit difficult to listen in on, but she managed to hear, "Thanks Midoriya. That guy's face is clouded over thanks to you."

Amaya knew 'that guy' was probably Endeavor, most likely fuming at watching his own son publicly reject his power. A malicious smirk appeared on her face without her noticing, how she wished to rub that in Endeavor's stupid face.

"Where are you looking?"

With a forceful punch, Midoriya countered sending Todoroki almost off the platform if he hadn't created a shield of ice just in time to prevent himself from falling out of bounds.

Everyone gasped in shock, Amaya couldn't tear her eyes away from Midoriya for a second. That same determined look Midoriya got whenever he was serious entered. It sent chills throughout Amaya's body; Midoriya could go from looking sweet and nervous to this powerful figure within a moment's notice. It was impossible not to look at him.

"You're trembling Todoroki-kun. Quirks are physical abilities too. There's a limit to how much your body can take isn't there? And isn't that something you could solve by using heat from your left side? Everyone's fighting with everything they've got… To win and get closer to their dream… To become the number one hero…" Midoriya panted glaring at the floor.

He raised his head and stared straight into Todoroki's eyes, his gaze passionate and angry.

"You want to win with just half of your strength? You haven't put a single scratch on me yet, you know! Come at me with everything you've got!" Midoriya screamed, making a fist, standing up straighter despite his obvious pain.

Tears gathered in Amaya's eyes; she couldn't believe how stupidly kind Midoriya was. There was just no limit to how much he cared about everyone and the honor he held for them. She prayed that his words reached Todoroki because she hated to admit that she was worried about him and his trembling.

Midoriya's words only triggered Todoroki and he ran towards the broken boy, but his movement was much slower than before.

The instant Todoroki lifted his right foot, Midoriya striked his stomach with an enhanced punch that sent Todoroki flying back. Todoroki managed to partially freeze Midoriya's broken arm before getting hit and recovered, trying to freeze Midoriya again, but his ice was too slow. Midoriya could dodge it now. The battle kept going on like this: Midoriya, despite his injuries, continued to sacrifice his fingers in order to keep Todoroki away.

It got so bad that eventually Midoriya was unable to make a fist due to his injuries. Amaya stared at this brutal showdown feeling her anger building up. These idiots were going to get themselves killed!

"Why are you going so far?" A tired Todoroki asks, looking at Midoriya intently.

"Because I want to live up to everyone's expectations… I want to be able to smile… and respond to them… to be a cool hero… That's what I want to be!"

Midoriya headbutted Todoroki in the chest, yelling for him to give it his all. Midoriya admitted he could never relate to what Todoroki had gone through growing up with Endeavor, but he went on to tell Todoroki he didn't deserve to be the best if he wasn't going to use his full power.

As Todoroki fell down Amaya couldn't help herself anymore, and she rushed as close to the stands as she could. Midoriya was hurting himself so much for this idiot to understand, she had to try as well.

"Todoroki you moron! Don't let that asshole control you! It's your power! Now fucking fight with it!"

"It's your power isn't it!" Midoriya screamed, his voice and Amaya's voice overlapping.

Class 1-A gasped and stared at the cat-girl in shock. They never would've imagined her encouraging a classmate like Todoroki, but that only showed how little they knew of her.

Bakugo couldn't help but stare at the small girl. He didn't know she cared so much about that half-n-half bastard.

Todoroki gasped, his eyes going from Midoriya to the stands where he heard Hitachi scream at him. These two… they were so strange.

Strange as they were, their words were enough to snap Todoroki back together.

Todoroki unleashed his flames and the arena became ablaze with intense heat. Amaya had to step back, the heat being too much, but watching was enthralling. His fire was uncontrolled, dancing around; a whirl of chaos with him in the center. Amaya had never seen something look so incredibly free; it was glorious. In that moment, though she would deny it later, Amaya couldn't help but also think Todoroki's smile was beautiful too.

"Shōto! Have you finally accepted yourself? That's it! Good! It all starts from here for you! With my blood, you will surpass me…"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP OLD MAN! NO ONE GIVES A DAMN ABOUT YOUR AGENDA!" Amaya screamed, shocking everyone in the stands.

Class 1-A gasped and Iida quickly stood, trying to relax that cat-girl but she wasn't having it.

"YOU'RE AN ANNOYING BASTARD YOU HEAR ME!"

Bakugo felt himself smirk, impressed that such a tiny girl could scream so loud.

From where he was, Aizawa couldn't help but let out a small snicker glad to see Amaya was fine, laughing at the absolute rage that appeared on Endeavor's face.

Shinso looked up smirking from his seat. Amaya really was different from everyone in the hero courses.

Todoroki and Midoriya looked towards their class to see Amaya flailing in the stands, screaming loudly with her tail and ears perked up. Iida seemed to be holding her by her waist to prevent her from falling even as she continued thrashing.

Midoriya was glad Amaya seemed fine but he couldn't believe she could insult a pro-hero so easily like that. He worried she'd fall from that height with how much she was trying to escape Iida's grasp.

Todoroki let a small smile filter on his face at the scene. Hitachi sure knew how to rile up his dad.

"Thank you Endeavor for those… encouraging words?" Present Mic questioned, allowing everyone to focus back on the fight.

Ignoring his father, Todoroki focused on Midoriya, thinking about how crazy this guy was with how he was smiling. Smiling himself he let his full power out and a magnificent mirage of ice and fire blasted out from him, aimed towards Midoriya.

Midoriya got into his stance ready to defend and jumped.

There was a loud booming noise, and so much force came out of the arena that no one could see anything. If it wasn't for Iida's strong grip, Amaya would've been blown away. She covered her ears and furrowed into Iida's neck, trying to shield herself from the impact. Poor Iida blushed heavily at this kind of contact but turned his body away trying to protect the small girl as much as he could.

When the dust settled, Iida let Amaya go and everyone saw Midoriya's knocked out body, laying down out of bounds.

"Todoroki-kun advances to the third round!" Midnight announced, sounding professional despite her disheveled appearance.

Amaya's eyes zoned in on Midoriya's still form and she felt her heart constrict. She desperately wanted to go see him right now, but she knew he needed his injuries to be tended too first.

She turned her gaze to a half shirtless Todoroki; he was panting but his form seemed strong. This guy was just too powerful sometimes, it seemed unfair.

Like he could feel her staring, Todoroki turned and stared into Amaya's gold eyes. Amaya wasn't sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her or not, but it seemed like he was actually smiling at her. She felt her face heat up and turned the other way.

What was up with her today? So many strange emotions were filling her chest.

Thankfully it seemed as though she wasn't the only one concerned for Midoriya as Uraraka quickly grasped her hand and practically dragged her to go see Midoriya with some other classmates.

They all forcibly barged into the small room and Amaya felt weird being a part of a group like this. It was a good weird but definitely weird.

As everyone screamed Midoriya's name, Amaya was pulled into the front since Uraraka had yet to let go of her hand.

"Ugh why isn't anyone scared of you anymore? Since when was it okay to touch you so much!"

Amaya ignored Yajū's strange complaining and focused on the skinny older man standing next to Midoriya. Uraraka politely greeted him which he awkwardly returned but Amaya couldn't help but feel as if she recognized him from somewhere.

"You're all so noisy," Recovery Girl sighed, but she hadn't made any moves to kick anyone out, yet.

"Everyone… what about the next match?" Midoriya weakly asked, barely keeping his eyes open.

Amaya moved closer to the green haired boy, her eyes never leaving his as she gently brushed his hair out of his face. She then lightly flicked his head, tsking at him.

"You and that other idiot created so much damage they have to take some time to rebuild the stage," Amaya scolded, her eyes a mix of proud and angry.

Midoriya lightly blushed, not knowing how to respond, only understanding he worried Amaya a lot.

"That match earlier was scary Midoriya…" Mineta interrupted, his small form shaking at remembering the match.

"What kind of pro's gonna want that?" Mineta continued and if Amaya wasn't so close to Midoriya she would've bared her fangs at him. Luckily Asui had a similar thought, scolding the small pervert.

"Be quiet everyone! I know you're all worried, but I've got to do some surgery now.

The others nervously reiterated the word surgery, but Amaya merely frowned, staring at Midoriya's guilty form. He looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't. Amaya didn't want him to feel like this before his surgery, so she gave him a small smile.

"Hey just focus on recovering right now. You can get chewed out by me later," she offered, poking his cheek.

Midoriya simply nodded, returning his own smile, making Amaya feel much better about leaving. As they were all kicked out, Amaya didn't forget the fact that that skinny blond man was allowed to stay.

Just who was he?

U.A. was certainly quick and they had fixed the stage in no time. With Iida winning his own match Amaya walked back into the locker room, readying herself for this next fight.

Amaya took a deep breath, calming her nerves before her match. She was up against Ashido and from what Amaya remembered, the pink-skinned girl was quite formidable in hand-to-hand combat. Amaya also had to watch for any acid tricks.

"You know you wouldn't have to worry about your weak body if you only used me?"

"We are not having this argument again. I am not going to use you."

"Boring. Have fun trying to win then."

"I already have won without you, remember?"

"Whatever."

The light turned green and Amaya knew it was time to fight.

She walked through the tunnels and when she entered the stage the crowd's reaction was much different from before. Instead of the loud insults from last time there were a lot of quiet murmurs throughout the stands. Amaya was sure that it still wasn't a good energy running through the crowd, but she preferred that to their insults.

Ashido stood on the other side and smiled widely at Amaya.

"Good luck Amaya! You'll need it!" Ashido playfully shouted, shocking everyone aside from class 1-A and Shinso that someone could tease a Hitachi like that.

Amaya smirked in return, "We'll see who needs it soon."

The gun shot rang through the air and the match started.

Both girls ran towards each other, Ashido had her hands poised together, forming huge wads of acid. Ashido was fast, but Amaya was faster.

Using her small body to her advantage Amaya dived through Ashido's open stance, surprising the girl.

Ashido quickly turned around but Amaya had predicted that and used her furry black tail to wrap itself around Ashido's wrists forcefully pulling the girl's arms up. Ashido tried to kick Amaya away but swiftly the cat-girl blocked it and jumped onto Ashido's back.

Much like her previous match, Amaya got Ashido into a choke hold and in no time knocked the pink-skinned girl out. Once the girl fell limp in Amaya's arms, she gently placed Ashido on the floor.

The match ended and Amaya was declared the winner. The hushed whispers never went away but Amaya focused on her classmates cheers, and that made her smile.

Walking away from the arena she noticed her name now placed to go against Bakugo and she felt panic enter her body. All of her previous confidence vanished at realizing just who she was about to fight came in mind. This battle seemed like nothing now that she knew she was going against Bakugo, who was physically stronger and faster than Amaya. She really had to think outside of the box to win against him.

"Or you know. You could... FUCKING USE ME YOU DUMB FUCK!"

Amaya winced at Yajū's shouting, ignoring it for now. She didn't want to use her quirk, but without it….

How was she supposed to win against someone who had no trouble making everyone his enemy from the start? This explosive Pomeranian was dead set on winning.

This next match wasn't only going to be a battle of strengths but a battle of mindsets as well.

Amaya only hoped to make Aizawa proud, she was going to try her best to beat Bakugo!

A/N: I'M SO SORRY I AM LATE AGAIN! I won't lie I procrastinated a little and then writer's block hit me hard. But I'm back and you can all thank my wonderful editor because I sent them this today and they had it edited for me by 12 so I'm just in tears. Thank you for last week's reviews yall make me so happy. I just want to clarify that this is a BNHA x OC. So Amaya's going to have a lot of moments with these guys. Specifically Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki, Shinso and maybe someone else. She might have some moments with other characters but since this is my first story I don't want to stretch myself out too much so for now a max of 5 is good. Also about the fanart.

First of all: AH!

Second: *insert puppy dog eyes*

You guys are awesome and while I cannot draw for the life of me I am lucky enough to have artistic friends and so something might come out in the future. So once again sorry about the late update! Thank you for reading and please review because I love hearing from you guys! Stay Safe :)