Chapter 3

"Ow. Where am I?" Kaiya mumbled, rubbing her head to erase the pain. She gasped in shock as six villains surrounded her quickly, blasting their Quirks at her. She regained her footing and realized she was in the landslide zone alone. "Perfect." She smiled and raised her right hand to bring the earth up underneath her so that she could see from above and get away from the villains. "Okay, now I have a better vantage point. Wait, what's that?" An ice path formed under the raised earth and entombed the villains below her. "Did I unlock a new Quirk?" She asked herself quietly, looking at her right hand.

"You can come down now." A familiar voice sounded back on the ground. Kaiya peeked over the floating fragment of earth under her and saw the familiar red and white hair of Todoroki. She silently thanked God that she wasn't alone and lowered the earth again, joining her classmate. "So you can move earth too." He stated simply as Kaiya came back to earth.

"And yet, you still had to save me." She grumbled, pointing at the frozen villains in front of them. Todoroki rolled his eyes at the sight and approached the trapped villains.

"I warped here before you, you had two seconds to react. It was unfair for you." Todoroki explained, stretching his right hand. "These villains are weak though; being taken down by a kid." A few bodies shifted out of the ice and lunged for Todoroki but Kaiya managed to blow them away before they could cause any harm.

"Now we're even." Kaiya smirked, the ice boy nodded to her, approaching the buried villains again.

"So the plan was to scatter us, then kill us?" Todoroki asked the mass of villains in front of them. "You were woefully unprepared. In fact, it seems to me as though you've had no training. You haven't the slightest idea how to use your Quirks." Todoroki growled.

"This power. He froze us the instant we warped here." A villain shuddered.

"He's not a kid, he's a monster." Another villain said before Kaiya shattered the ground beneath the villain, burying him further.

"How do they plan to kill All Might?" Todoroki asked Kaiya, replaying what the lead villain had said when he arrived. "At first I thought they gathered a group of elite criminals to simply overpower him, but that can't be their master plan." He explained, lunging away from a behind attack. "Most of these villains are low level thugs, just pawns."

"I think there are only four or five really dangerous people here. The smoke guy, the hand guy, the...weird brain...thing and maybe a few others." Kaiya told him.

"If that's the case, then what we need right now is more information."

"We can't beat it out of them Todoroki. We are trying to be heroes here." Kaiya reminded him, seeing the fire in his heterochromatic eyes.

Todoroki turned to the trapped villains. "Listen well. If you remain frozen your cells will begin to die as your body succumbs to frostbite and hypothermia. Luckily for you, we want to be heroes. So we'd like to avoid any unnecessary cruelty. But I can only do that if you tell me how you plan to kill All Might, that's the only way you'll survive." The villains were already shaking and begging to be released so it wouldn't take much for them to give away their plans if they wanted to live.

"I'll start creating a prison for them with my earth; so when the police get here; they won't be able to get away." Kaiya offered and Todoroki went to work gathering information from the freezing villains. Kaiya started shifting the earth to create the prison when a thought crossed her mind. "Shit." She cursed under her breath. Once Todoroki was satisfied with what he learned, Kaiya pulled him to the side. "How do we get the thawed bodies into the prison?" As soon as he would thaw the bodies, the villains could attack them immediately before Kaiya could have a chance to move them into the earth bound prison. "Aside from dropping a bunch of rocks on them to knock them out….I don't have much more of a plan." Kaiya admitted quietly.

"Let's do that." Todoroki replied, earning a gasp from Kaiya. "What? That is literally the only way we get out of this with our lives." His tone was uncalled for but Kaiya grunted her reluctant agreement. "Unless you can move the ice?" Todoroki asked. "Isn't it technically part of the earth?"

"Yeah I can move the ice, that's not the issue . You have to thaw them out before I move them; you won't be able to thaw them all out in the hole without getting attacked." Todoroki began punching the villains to knock them out, earning a growl from Kaiya.

"Then knocking them out is the best option." Kaiya carefully moved the entombed villains with her Quirk and placed them all in a big group in the dug prison hole. Her concentration was intense as she wasn't used to moving the weight and amount of objects she was controlling at the same time. "Take your time, you're doing great." Todoroki encouraged her, beginning to melt the knocked out villains.

Soon enough, the hole was full and Kaiya looked down at the trapped villains. She really didn't like the fact she was about to crush these people; villains or not, it didn't sit right with her. She looked around her and saw a large rock about the size of the hole and smirked. "What are you doing?" Todoroki asked her, seeing her jog over to a rock. Kaiya ignored him and levitated the boulder and placed it carefully over the hole, trapping the villains without crushing them.

"They probably have a few hours of air; it's better than running the risk of killing them by landslide." Kaiya explained, stretching her hand out. Todoroki shrugged his shoulders and saw Kaiya stumble, grabbing her head.

"Are you okay?" Todoroki asked, seeing the colour drain from her face.

"Yeah, it just took a lot out of me. My Quirk is extremely mental as well as physical." Kaiya explained. Explosions erupted from near the center of the facility and the pair braced themselves to continue fighting. "This is going to be fun."

The pair ran to the center of the compound and saw that All Might was fighting a huge villain and struggling to keep up. The smoke villain, Kaiya heard, was named Kurogiri, and was surrounding the fight too with the hand villain standing nearby. Todoroki sent a wave of ice to freeze the villain All Might was fighting midwarp as Kaiya circled Kurogiri in a wind barrier.

"One of your poorly trained thugs said you were here because you think you can kill All Might." He announced as All Might jumped out of Nomu's grip next to him. Kaiya had good control of the smoke, keeping it steady within her barrier. "Can you control him long enough to buy us time?" Todoroki asked Kaiya, seeing her hand shake. She saw his eyes dart to the left side of her body. "Use both hands?"

Kaiya ignored his last command but answered his first question. "Maybe. It would be easier if the air wasn't so dense here. If we were outside, I could at least use the natural wind to make this stronger." Kaiya had a good grip on keeping Kurogiri trapped in her barrier but it wouldn't last long; she was already weak from earlier. She used both hands to secure her grip as the villain snarled at her before feeling heat brush past her. "Bakugou?"

"I have him, he won't move or I'll blast him." Bakugou told Kaiya as he gripped onto Kurogiri's metal frame. Kaiya ceased her wind barrier and the smoke dissipated bringing relief to her aching hand.

"Shigaraki, we need to make our escape." Kurogiri told the hand villain who was scratching at his neck roughly. Bakugou pushed down further into Kurogiri's neck guard causing the villain to groan.

"Don't try anything funny or I'll blow your ass up. They'll be cleaning you up for weeks." He snarled.

"Oh that doesn't sound very heroic." Kirishima pointed out.

"The Symbol of Peace will not be taken down by delinquents like you." Todoroki told Shigaraki, controlling the creature that had warped half way through Kurogiri's portal. The group stood ready to fight until Nomu moved through the warp gate, his arm and leg shattering off due to Todoroki's ice attack.

"How is that thing still moving? He's all messed up." Midoriya asked a shocked Todoroki.

"Stay back everyone! I thought you said he had shock absorption power." All Might said to Shigaraki.

"It can't be his only Quirk." Kaiya mumbled, noting the size and strength of Nomu.

"He has the power of regeneration too. He has been modified to fight you even at 100% of your power. He's basically a highly efficient punching bag that hits back." Shigaraki explained.

"We can't win this alone." Kaiya whispered to Bakugou who glared back at her. "We need the other teachers here." The look on his face almost looked as if he agreed with her.

"First we have to release our method of escape. Get them Nomu." Shigaraki ordered as the creature took off towards Kaiya and Bakugou. All Might ran to the teens and threw them both out of the line of fire just in time.

"You dodged him?" Midoriya asked the two teens lying on the ground as the dust settled.

"No we didn't, you damn nerd." Bakugou answered. Kaiya got up and brushed the dirt off herself when she saw that All Might had been thrown into a cement wall.

"You ok?" Todoroki asked her, his eyes grazing over her for injuries.

Kaiya nodded and noted All Might encased in the cement wall. "Better than him at the moment." She pointed at a bleeding All Might.

"These are kids and you didn't hold back?" All Might growled at Shigaraki.

"We're villains...what did you expect?" He snarled in reply. Nomu lunged for All Might and for a moment Kaiya worried that the number one hero had met his match after all these years. In his younger days, he may have been able to take Nomu down quicker, but he was older now and something was off with the hero.

"Does All Might...look a little flustered to any of you?" Kaiya asked carefully, sensing Midoriya tense near her.

"He probably can't go full power in case we get caught in the crossfire." Todoroki offered, satisfying Kaiya's concern.

The battle was short but intense. All Might finally got the upper hand and punched the Nomu villain out of the USJ roof after hundreds of blows.

"How could this have gone so wrong?!" Shigaraki yelled out, lunging for All Might but Midoriya jumped to the rescue. "I will end you!" Shigaraki lunged through the warp gate but the villain fell back when a bullet from Snipe hit him. The teachers finally arrived, just in time.

"Thank god." Kaiya sighed, her legs giving out. She felt Todoroki's cold hand grab her arm gently before she hit the ground. "I'm okay, thank you." She whispered, exhaustion in her voice. Todoroki glared at her in turn as she sighed. "Ok, I may need a minute." Bakugou came over to check on her state too, kneeling to her height.

"Her Quirk exhausts her?" He asked Todoroki roughly, a slight hint of concern in his voice.

"Please don't talk about me like I'm not here." Kaiya growled at him but relented to staying on the ground as Todoroki nodded at the boy in response.

"You need to work on your endurance then. We forget that these Quirks are mental too, not just physical." He growled down at her.

"I said that earlier." Kaiya growled back, the world spinning slightly as she tried to stand up again. Todoroki grabbed her left forearm and she winced away from his warm touch. He narrowed his eyes and she saw that he remembered the burn mark on her forearm. It shouldn't have hurt her if it was a burn, maybe she wasn't used to people touching it.

"Sit. Down." Todoroki commanded Kaiya, choosing not to mention the mark. Bakuguo bent down to Kaiya's level again and looked into her eyes. Her eyes were cloudy with pain but there was a flash of red over her green orbs. Bakuguo smirked at the girl, earning a confused look from her and Todoroki.

"She'll be fine after some rest. But seriously, endurance training. You can't fall down after every fight no matter how good you are." Kaiya rolled her eyes but knew Bakugou was right.

"I think he gave me a compliment." Kaiya mumbled as the teachers began to circle the students and direct them back to safety out of the USJ. Between Todoroki and Bakugou, Kaiya was helped to the student bus back to campus where everyone's bruises and scratches were examined.

"Everyone seems to be all okay except that Midoriya kid. All of you are released to go home." A police officer announced to the group of teens.

"Kaiya! I finally found you!" Misa's voice sounded. She ran over to Kaiya with a few scratches on her face, but nothing too terrible. "Were you involved in the All Might fight?"

"You could say that." She mumbled, thinking she didn't really help at all. "What about you?"

"Shoji grabbed me in time before that Kurogiri guy could transport me. We ended up squaring up with him so Iida could get some help."

"I'm glad you're okay." Kaiya sighed in relief and pushed herself off from leaning on the police car. "I'm going to get home. I'll see you tomorrow." She made her way down the street when a voice sounded from behind her.

"Can I offer you a ride home?" The familiar tone of the ice boy warmed her heart. She turned and saw Todoroki standing next to a waiting town car.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm fine. I need to build up my endurance like Bakugou said." Kaiya smiled, trying her best to mask the amount of exhaustion coursing through her right side.

"A day of rest first may be better, Kaiya." He replied to her. She knew he was right but she couldn't let him take her home. "I don't mind at all." He insisted, alerting Misa to the situation.

"Thank you Todoroki, but I am fine. I'll see you in class." She sensed he was going to argue with her again but she stuck her ear buds into her ears to mask his voice. Phew, that was close.

"I wouldn't take it personally, Todoroki." Misa said to him when he looked at the retreating Kaiya. He turned to Misa in question to see a small smile on her face. "That girl protects every part of her. I only know so much about her and yet I think I know her more than anyone in her life."

"She doesn't accept help." Todoroki mumbled, opening his car door.

"She will eventually. She just doesn't know how to without thinking you want something in return. It's how she grew up. Nothing came easy." Misa explained, turning to walk away.

"Can I offer you a ride?" Todoroki asked, seeing a smile form on Misa's lips.

"I'd love one. Thanks."

About thirty minutes later, Kaiya arrived at the training facility she called home. Mr. Ayoyama came bounding out of the gym and scanned her for injuries. "I heard your class was attacked on the news! Are you okay Ayumi?" The older man's voice was laced in concern and caused her to smile at him.

"A bit sore, but I'm okay. I'll be able to clean the gym tonight, don't worry." Kaiya answered, stifling a yawn.

"Not tonight. It can wait until tomorrow. I'm not a monster you know?" Ayoyama smiled, retrieving her backpack off her shoulder. "Come now, I have some food for you."

Todoroki lay in his bed that night, his mind whirling with the USJ attack and Kaiya's abilities. Misa had filled in some curiosites Todoroki had about the girl on the ride to her apartment; but Kaiya was still a mystery. She was a strong and determined fighter and very controlled. "She controls the earth too. What a strange Quirk." He mumbled to himself. He remembered how strong and focused she was when trapping the villains, hoping not to hurt them too much; so there was a sense of compassion within her. When she wasn't fighting she was still as determined, but more gentle in her convictions. However, there was still a sadness in her eyes when he offered her a ride home. Kaiya was not open despite her kindness towards others, and her burn mark told a story too. That was a commonality between them that Todoroki wanted to dig into; a foreign feeling for him to feel a connection to someone. "Why did she pull away from me?"