:)

- Chapter 8 -

Anger

He flipped his exercise book shut after going over his notes a few more times. Standing up from his chair, he started packing up the papers and pencils scattered on his desk. The teacher had dismissed them with a strict wave of her hand, before proceeding to quite literally skip out of the door without any regard to how she looked doing so. The girls who had been huddled around him as he worked dispersed as well, pulling out their phones and checking their social media immediately. They had been all up in his face before, asking him inane questions and brushing their elbows or shoulders against him in a desperate attempt to get closer.

He supposed he couldn't expect them to have enough braincells to solve simple mathematical equations if that was their pathetic idea of flirting. Airashi Seiichi sneered, shaking his head in disgust. 'Students, teachers, even faculty members- they're all the same.'

Everyone knew that cram school classes had been shortened due to UA's Sports Festival taking place. Nobody wanted to pass up the chance to get a glimpse of the finals. Seiichi's lip curled at the thought. Did people not have more useful things to do than watch a bunch of high school kids prance around and show off their quirks? He couldn't fathom how such a thing could be entertaining. Even at Soumei Junior High, people wouldn't shut up about those flashy wannabe heroes.

He adjusted his middle school uniform as he entered the limousine, his driver taking his bag off his back. Crossing his legs, he turned turned his face toward the window, his grey eyes surveying the changing scenery.

Heroes… in the world they lived in, they were a necessity for sure. Crime rates around the world were steadily rising and Japan was among one of the top countries with a crime rate below 10%. But that could only be attributed to the Symbol of Peace, All Might. What did other heroes do aside from raking in fame and money they didn't deserve? Absolute jack shit. Their statistics didn't even compare to All Might's. They were all lame attention seekers, acting like they were doing their jobs when in reality they did nothing but create more villains with the social hierarchy they had created.

He snorted to himself humorlessly. Haughty teal eyes and a scornful scowl came to the forefront of his mind. 'That's right. She thinks someone like her can be a hero. Delusional moron.'

Then again, if she did manage to become a hero, she'd fit right in with the rest of them. Either way, it would turn out just like his mother had said. A failure would always stay a failure no matter what they tried to do. A smirk formed on his lips, his fingers running through his straight brown hair. 'I wonder what you're doing right now, big sister. Crying in a corner somewhere because you lost the first challenge?'

It was excruciating.

She dug her nails into her scalp, shutting her eyes tight as another head-splitting ache made her groan in agony. The only warning Megumi had gotten before her body went slack from the unbearable pain had been her vision exploding in an array of kaleidoscopic colors. She had caught herself from tilting sideways onto the floor just in time, an intense sense of vertigo assaulting her.

She had only barely managed to drag herself into one of the waiting rooms, closing and locking the door behind her before sliding down onto the ground in a writhing mess. It hurt. Her skull was being cracked open, or at least that's how it felt like to her when every slight movement made the stabbing, straining sensation even stronger. Her rapid breathing filled the empty room as she tried to get a hold of herself.

It had never gotten this bad before. This… this was just pure, crippling misery.

Todoroki's words had been weighing on her mind ever since she had caught him telling Midoriya about his terrible childhood. She had gotten herself a few more boxes of tomato juice, drinking them and aimlessly wandering around while mulling over his words. She had made sure to avoid the entryway she had previously seen them in. Despite her calm exterior, there had been a sick feeling brewing inside of her.

So they were all humoring her? Like she was some kind of mindless puppet who could be manipulated for their entertainment? And nobody had even once bothered to get their head out of their ass for once to treat the Original like she actually had any say in her life? That was exactly the reason why that foolish girl had been so horribly sheltered and ignorant. Nobody had ever fucking bothered for once to knock some sense into her, because they just didn't give a shit.

They had raised the Original like a dumb cow ready for slaughter, and the Original had been so clueless and stupid and wrapped up in her own little world that- that she had no idea. She had never been in control. All the people feeding her empty praises, filling her delusional little mind with a uselessly grand image of herself like she was some kind of princess who just deserved everything without having to earn it- Awful. It was awful. They were going to chain her down and marry her off to some rich old loony as soon as they got the opportunity, and for what? Money, connections, reputation?

Nobody had bothered to… to just tell her the damn truth.

Not even Todoroki. She knew, knew that she shouldn't be mad at someone who had been reluctantly following his father's orders since a very young age, but it didn't change the fact that he had done nothing like everybody else. He could have distanced himself from the Original, told her very bluntly that he had no interest in her and that she should fuck off.

But he didn't- he endured her despicable behavior. He continued to lead her on, giving her false hope that maybe one day he could reciprocate her feelings- without having any intentions of doing so. Was he obligated to look out for his obsessed stalker? Absolutely not. However, that didn't change the fact that he had never explicitly stated or gone out of his way to be truthful with the Original about how little of a flying fuck he gave about her.

No, he had gone ahead and done just as his garbage daddy had told him to. Out of all things to not be rebellious about, he had chosen this particular thing? Really?

She was so fucking mad.

Everyone was out for their own selfish interests. The disgust physically made her eyes water. Nobody deserved to live like that- to live in a fake happy bubble, like an actor whose role a higher force could mold into whatever they wanted. The Original had been a sad, sad little girl who had never learned to grow up.

She just couldn't get over it. Colby was seething- no child deserved to be raised that way. How would the Original have turned out if she had normal parents, surrounded by a loving family?

It was in the middle of her fuming inner monologue when her migraine had lashed out with a vengeance.

And now here she was, in a dark empty waiting room, squirming in pain and distress as she tried to gather her wits. They were going to be announcing the matches for the fighting tournament in less than 10 minutes- she had no time to waste. Megumi didn't particularly want to see anyone's face right now, and especially not Todoroki's. Hell, she couldn't imagine fighting anyone with the way she was now- she hoped the time off they gave them before the first round would be enough to get her shit together. Not showing up to the matchup announcements would give them the impression that she was some kind of good-for-nothing slacker who didn't bother showing up. She couldn't have that happening, it simply wasn't something she could do in good conscience.

She already had some things in mind for what she wanted to do during the first round of the tournament. What she could do was exchange a flew blows with her opponent, before forfeiting so she could drag her sorry ass to Recovery Girl's office. Her anger was starting to simmer down, the stabbing pain gradually turning into a dull throb. Now that she wasn't as disoriented anymore, Megumi noticed the thick warm liquid dripping down her nose. 'Uh oh.'

She shuffled over to the sink at the corner of the waiting room, looking at the small mirror above it. The glow of her eyes were flickering on and off erratically, blood streaks running down to her lips and chin. Some of it had gotten on her gym uniform, but the color was hardly noticeably due to the material soaking it up.

She grimaced at her reflection. The spot she had previously been laying on looked like a bloody crime scene. 'Didn't even fight yet and I look like a corpse. Better clean this up and get going.'

"And just look how fired up those cheerleaders we called from America are!"

Megumi followed behind a few 1-B students, entering the stadium. She felt like a Spartan gladiator walking to her death. Was that too dramatic of a comparison? Perhaps.

Anyone who looked at her would not be able to tell what she had been going through just minutes prior. Her eyes absentmindedly strayed to the cheerleaders dancing energetically for the crowd. Where did they get that much energy? At this rate, any of those cheerleaders was more likely to win in a fight than Megumi. Annoyance still festered somewhere in the forefront of her mind, though not enough to have her eyes flicker like a pair of broken lanterns again. Her quirk was being affected by her terrible mood.

"Huh? What's this? What happened, Class A?!"

At first, her brain couldn't quite process what she was looking at. She had automatically drifted over to where her class stood without really looking anyone in the face.

Yaoyorozu looked absolutely livid as she stood clad in an outfit identical to those of the American cheerleaders'… along with the rest of her fellow female classmates. They all had decidedly unamused expressions. "Mineta, Kaminari! You tricked us, didn't you!"

She pointed an accusatory finger at Megumi when she saw her approaching. "You! Where were you!? I even made one for you!"

Megumi shifted slightly, turning her head away. "I had… some stuff going on… and uh, you guys look…" A snort escaped her. She immediately clamped a hand over her mouth. "…nice."

Yaoyorozu looked like she was dying on the inside. Ashido put her hands on her hips as she pouted. "Yeah, well, you would've looked just as nice if you hadn't crawled into some gloomy corner during lunch break!"

Another snort. Megumi turned away completely, trembling with suppressed laughter. "S-sorry, just give me a moment." She utterly failed to keep a straight face. They looked hilarious.

"How did I end up stumbling into Mineta's schemes once again…" Yaoyorozu bemoaned, slumping in defeat. Uraraka patted her shoulder, attempting to comfort the taller girl.

Jirou threw her pompoms on the ground like they were poison, glaring daggers at Mineta and Kaminari. "They really are just idiots!"

Even if only for a split-second, Megumi felt genuine humor press back the heavy ire clouding her mind. Smoldering irritation had lodged itself into her gut and she very much doubted it would go away any time soon. At least she could distract herself with other things to keep her quirk from going haywire. She didn't want her chains drunkenly lashing out due to her emotions.

Asui zeroed in on something on Megumi's tank top. "That looks like a big stain."

Megumi's heart instantly leapt to her throat. "...Must have spilled while drinking tomato juice." She hastily zipped up her blue sweatshirt all the way up. She hadn't thought the blood would be visible on the black material, but Asui had keener eyes than she had expected.

Present Mic's voice grated on her ears again as he spoke. "From four teams, 16 individuals have made it through! Next on the program is a tournament! We're pitting them against each other in one-on-one combat!"

Oh boy. Here it was. The announcement for the main event. Megumi fiddled with her zipper distractedly. She wondered which lucky bastard she'd be matched up against. Whoever it was gonna be, they better appreciate the free win she was going to give them. It wasn't an everyday occurrence to have someone in one of the most competitive classes at UA forfeit willingly.

Midnight pulled out a lottery box from god knows where. "Whether or not the 16 who will be competing want to join in on the recreational activities is up to you." Recreational activities? Ah, right. Those. She'd pass. "Since I'm sure many of you will be wanting to take a breather or preserve your energy. So, starting from the team that placed first, let's determine the order…"

Megumi expected it when Ojiro put up a hand in the air, withdrawing from the fighting tournament. He must have been conflicted, having made it to finals, albeit not on his own merits. 1-B's Shouda followed his lead as well, the round boy looking up at Midnight earnestly. "I don't remember what happened either… I want to abstain too! For a person who didn't do anything to rise up to the next round… it would defeat the purpose of the Sports Festival!"

She couldn't help but cross her arms, subtly nodding her head in agreement. She could definitely understand where the both of them were coming from. If only Bakugou had chosen one of them instead of her- they certainly deserved going to the finals more than she did. Nevertheless, Megumi chanced a glance at Shinsou who had been publicly called out during the whole debacle. The purple haired boy looked sullen, but not at all apologetic. 'Man, that must suck. Imagine getting called out for using your quirk during a competition that requires you to use your quirk… dude's got it tough.'

Kirishima was on the verge of tearing up, touched by their display. "Man, you guys are super manly!" Meanwhile Bakugou looked on in confusion, clearly not understanding what this whole issue was about. To him, a win was a win.

"How naive and green… I love it!" Midnight cracked her whip in delight. Megumi winced. 'This woman is low-key insane.' " I hereby accept Shouda and Ojiro's withdrawals!"

Okay good. So that was over. The team who came in first would be drawing lots first, and so she made her way to the podium with a jumpy Ashido following after her. It was funny how none of the 1-A girls had changed out of those cheerleader outfits yet. She hoped Yaoyorozu wouldn't pull her aside to shove one of those things into her arms for her to wear, because there was no way she would ever willingly slip them on.

Her mind briefly went to the Original's idea of a hero costume. She blanched. 'Oh lord. I need to change that.'

"And the matchups are as follows!"

She hoped she'd be against someone who would originally be winning anyway. Like Iida, or Shiozaki- hell, even Midoriya! Then again, no natter who advanced in the finals, either Todoroki or Bakugou were sure to sweep them off the competition. Those two were on a league of their own. Midoriya still couldn't control his quirk properly as far as she knew, but in a few years he'd be giving pros a run for their money anyway. In the grand scheme of things, this Sports Festival was just a small hurdle to him.

The big screen attached to the walls of the stadium came to life, displaying the matchups for everyone to see. The tension was palpable as participants eyed the people they were going to be up against. Megumi's teal eyes tried to take it all in, her gaze flitting over to the other matches first. To her surprise, the matchups were surprisingly similar to what they had been in the original series- except that it would be Shiozaki fighting Aoyama and Ashido versus Kaminari. Oddly enough, the order of the matches were different despite the minuscule differences in matchups. The first match would be between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu. Midoriya and Shinsou were all the way in the second to last slot of the list. Ah, and there it was, her name…

Her blood ran cold.

Shinsou sidled up beside the blonde, also scrutinizing the matchups on the big screen. She made no indication of having noticed him coming up next to her. He tilted his head at her silence. She'd been chatty enough in their previous interactions.

He let out a tired yawn. There was no harm in messing around with her. "So we both made it to the final rounds. I didn't expect much from you, but you sure do hold on to what you preach."

No answer. His brows furrowed slightly. He pushed on. "I guess we never got to fight during the cavalry. That explosion guy on your team made sure of it." Shinsou always had trouble dealing with the crude types with flashy quirks. He still hadn't forgotten Bakugou's arrogant declaration at the start of the Sports Festival.

Still no response from Airashi.

Did she refuse to talk to him now that she knew what he was capable of? It wouldn't be the first time that happened. For someone to find out about his quirk and go cold turkey. Maybe he had given her too much credit for talking to him so freely before.

No… that wasn't it. His bloodshot eyes narrowed in on the matchups she was so focused on.

Shinsou's eyebrows shot up when he saw her name. "Ahh, Todoroki." He snickered a bit. Now he got what was going on. "Too bad you won't be advancing any further than that, huh? Gonna let your boyfriend win?"

She stayed quiet. He finally looked at her, starting to feel a bit antsy.

Her eyes were boring holes into the screen, pupils so dilated they swallowed most of the teal iris. A thin red stripe of blood dripped from where she had bitten her lower lip. Her canines were unusually sharp.

He found himself inching away a bit. She didn't look like she was in the mood to talk.

Airashi turned on her heel and left. Shinsou scratched his head awkwardly. Had he been talking to himself all this time?

Out of all 16 people. Out of all 16 people, she had gotten Todoroki.

The only damn person out of 16 people who she desperately wanted to punch in the face.

Megumi kept telling herself that he had his own problems and struggles, that she had no right to be angry, especially when the Original had been annoying and pestering him for so goddamn long- but alas, alas, she couldn't help it. His bitch-ass dad was far out of her reach, and Todoroki was a constant reminder that she was going to be used and thrown away like used tissue by her so-called 'family'. He was the next best thing to let off steam on, the one person she had the opportunity to physically hurt.

And that was what scared her- she didn't want to hurt him. She was just so pissing mad that she doubted her ability to hold back. She wanted to let him win, she really did, that's what she had planned from the very beginning- to let the person she matched up against win without a fuss.

She was supposed to be the adult right? The 'bigger person'? But why did that leave a sour taste in her mouth?

It wasn't about letting her opponent win anymore. She... she wanted to fight Todoroki. She wanted closure.

Could she do it? Could she just let him win, knowing he wouldn't appreciate it in the least? She knew what everyone still thought of her. A smitten girl who couldn't bring herself to hurt her precious crush. Some girl who had made it very clear that her desire to become a hero was shallow at best. Sure, she'd gotten pretty far in the other challenges, enough for her to get at least 2 or 3 recommendations- but how much had that really changed?

They expected her to forfeit, didn't they? They expected her to let him win without a fight. She didn't know which ground her gears more- the fact that they thought she'd be such a weak-minded person, or the fact that Todoroki probably wouldn't even have to lift a single finger to win. Megumi was just a minor pebble in his path after all.

His expression had been so unbothered when he had seen the matchups… he knew he was going to win. He didn't consider her as anything worth worrying about. His goal was to beat Midoriya.

What had he said again? Ah, yes, they were humoring her. She wanted to swing her head back and laugh until she cried.

Except she wasn't laughing right now. 'What a load of bullshit.'

She sat herself down at the bottom of a stairwell, holding a hand to her face to calm down. Her quirk was urging her and she was sick of having to repress her chains. It quite literally gave her a headache. She mumbled curses under breath, wondering about the jumbled mess that was her life. No matter what she tried, Todoroki's words kept echoing inside her head. The way he had said it, sounding so unbearably arrogant...

Light footsteps came from upstairs. Megumi froze, unsure whether she was allowed to loiter around these parts.

The footsteps slowed and came to a halt- only to approach closer to her. Megumi didn't want to lift her head from her hands, in case it was a prissy janitor telling her to go play outside.

"Hm~? Has the festival not gone well for you?" A pair of shoes stepped into her vision. Her eyes widened. She immediately lifted her head up. Now she remembered her- well, her name. The girl she had bumped into before.

Periwinkle curls and royal blue eyes. Hadou Nejire. Megumi stared up at her, mouth open in surprise.

"Hey guys, are you ready?! We've got a bunch in store for you! It's here that you will brawl!"

They watched as Cementoss crafted the arena they would be fighting in. It was considerably smaller in comparison to the entire stadium. The audience hung onto Present Mic's every word in anticipation.

"And the only person you can rely on is yourself! You don't have to be a hero to face such trials in life! You get it, right?!

Megumi clenched her fists, nails digging into her palm. Surprisingly, she couldn't help but take his words to heart. Especially after her conversation with Nejire-senpai.

"This will test your body! Your skills! Your very soul! Your wisdom and intuition!"

…Okay, now it was starting to get a bit obnoxious.

She was sitting up in the stands, together with the rest of her class. By the time she had arrived most of the seats had been taken, Ashido and Asui shooting her apologetic glances. She waved at them to ensure them it was fine, sitting somewhere empty in the middle of the front seats. It was closer to Bakugou and Kaminari than she would have usually liked, but if she had to choose, they were infinitely better than if Todoroki decided to join his class for whatever reason. He was still absent, probably brooding in one of the empty waiting rooms. Most likely he'd be slinking out to the stands once Midoriya's match started.

Kirishima and Tetsutetsu walked up to the ring, shoulders rigid and determined. Hell, she could feel the pure testosterone they gave off wafting all the way up to her.

She wondered how she would be approaching Todoroki. Calmly? Angrily? Looking just as manly as Kirishima? Haha, yeah right.

Nejire-senpai had been unexpectedly helpful- she almost felt like she didn't deserve such good advice.

Nobody else had really tried prying much into Megumi's affairs. Ashido and Asui were wonderful friends, but she didn't want to burden them with her problems. So when the older girl questioned her whether she was alright, Megumi found herself at a loss of words. Those royal blue eyes were imploring her to talk. Megumi had never met someone with such a friendly and trustworthy aura before.

That's why, despite her doubts, she told Hadou what had been plaguing her mind (albeit in a more abridged version without mentions of reincarnation or family drama). She didn't know what the hell she was doing at this point- and the girl before her didn't seem like the type to blab out everything she heard to other people. If she was this overwhelmed just by Hadou alone, she wondered how it would feel having both Mirio and Tamaki in the same room as well.

Hadou simply tilted her head in confusion. "Isn't it obvious what you should be doing?"

Megumi stopped wiping the blood off her lip, the coppery taste on her tongue.

…Obvious? Had she been missing something? Megumi's mouth twisted into a frown. She'd been wracking her brain about this predicament, slipping in and out of anger and worry repeatedly. What did she mean it was obvious? What was so obvious? She was seriously starting to question her own intelligence.

Hadou giggled, patting her on the head like she was a little child sulking over candy. "How silly. Why are you overthinking it? This is a Sports Festival! It's for fun! You need to be having fun, Kouhai-chan!"

Megumi sighed. Of course she'd say that. Hadou was all smiley and easy-going, how could she understand the worries of some weird adult lady stuck in the body of a teenager? And why did it seem like this third year high schooler had her life figured out better than she did?

Hadou eyed the way Megumi looked skeptical, giving off an unsure energy. She shook her head as if chastising. "I think you're keeping quite a lot from me about this whole thing," Megumi snapped her head up. How had she been able to tell? "but I will be giving my opinion nevertheless. Why do you sound guilty over having to fight him? It's a fighting tournament! It's what you should be doing!"

That… wasn't wrong. But she was an adult. Talking out her issues instead of using force was something that had been instilled into her from a young age. Punching it out just wasn't her style…

Hands gripped both of her shoulders. Hadou looked her in the eyes intensely. "Trust me, once you step into that arena, you'll understand what I'm talking about. It doesn't matter what you are in a fight- age, gender, relationships, or whatever else there is, they won't exist. You'll both be on equal grounds. That's why, Kouhai-chan," she pinched Megumi's cheek, making her yelp. "you need to have fun."

She rubbed her cheeks solemnly as Hadou stepped back. They would both be… on equal grounds? But his quirk was…

"Anyway, I need to get going now. And you do too! Cheer your friends on, at least! And smile, you'll look cuter that way!"

Megumi stood up as well. Hadou had certainly given her a new perspective on things. "Ah, uh. Thank you, Hadou-senpai."

Hadou pouted. "No no- call me Nejire-senpai! That's what all my Kouhais call me! Well then, I hope I've helped even a little. I bid thee farewell!"

"...yes, Nejire-Senpai."

The bubbly girl bounded back up the stairs, disappearing from sight. Megumi started making her way back to 1-A's prep room, occasionally stumbling with the way she absentmindedly walked.

Fun… all she had to do was… have fun?

"Whaaat? How shocking! First match of the festival ends up in a draw! Well I suppose such an outcome also has its charm! What a hot-blooded battle that was!"

She watched as both Kirishima and Tetsutetsu knocked themselves out simultaneously, getting carried off to a nearby nurse's office when Midnight declared it a double knock-out. Bakugou and Uraraka had both gone down to prepare for their own match sometime in the middle of Kirishima's fight. Todoroki had surprisingly come up to the stands as well, not sitting but standing a bit off to the side.

She flexed her hands, starting to feel a bit impatient. Her and Todoroki's fight would be the last of the first rounders. There was still quite a bit of time until she had to go on.

She still had time until then. Silent plans started to form in the back of her mind, glassy eyes focusing on the next battle down below.

'Fun, huh…'

Uraraka didn't hold back with all the tactics she employed. In this battle, the brunette definitely had a disadvantage. She had to touch Bakugou with all five fingers for her to be able to land a critical blow on him, and Megumi knew all too well from having been together in a team with him that he was virtually untouchable with those exploding fists. His instincts were crazy and he was always unusually level-headed during serious fights, often outmaneuvering his opponents. It was only when he lost his cool that he began to get sloppy, evidenced by his previous (and future) fights with Midoriya. But Uraraka was holding up well against this beast of a boy, although Megumi could definitely see a few kinks in her defensive position.

She was going to be learning martial arts during her internship with Gunhead, wasn't she? Definitely a smart move. Someone with Uraraka's fighting spirit wasn't easy to come by.

However, Bakugou was going to win simply on the account that Uraraka's long-range quirk was clearly mismatched with his flexible close-range quirk. Megumi tried not to focus too much on the comments of the audience, complaining about Bakugou going all out on a girl. She found it nothing sort of demeaning for them to watch such an incredible fight and only focus on the fact that one of them was a girl. Watching them, she could only see two headstrong opponents, both going in for the win and nothing else. 'You should be ashamed of calling yourselves pros if that's the only thing you can think of saying.'

Was it going to be like this with her against Todoroki as well? How could she have fun when she knew that there'd be comments like this circulating around? Even her classmates were looking worried for the brunette girl... and somehow, that made Megumi incredibly exasperated. Did they have no faith?

An idiot in the crowd had the gall to stand up and start yapping like he actually knew what he was talking about. "Hey! Do you mean to be a hero with conduct like that?! Stop toying with her-"

She stood up, smashing her boot onto the railing. Her classmates flinched back from the abrupt movement. Megumi reminded herself of the speech classes she had took sometime during college. 'Stand straight. Breathe through your diaphragm.' Her hands came up to cup around her mouth. "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND WATCH THE FIGHT. GO HOME IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE HEAT, YOU WIMPS. WE DIDN'T GET HERE PICKING FLOWERS AND LOOKING PRETTY! AND YOU CALL YOURSELVES PROS!"

That shut them up real quick. Aizawa coughed a bit into the microphone he had stolen from Present Mic, addressing the people who had been booing Bakugou before her little outburst. "...How many years have you been a pro for? If you said that he's toying with her in your right mind, then there's no meaning for you to keep watching. Do us all a favor and go home. In fact, you ought to keep watching the fight at a career turn-over site. He clearly recognizes the strength of an opponent who's reached this far and is on guard as a result..." An amused lilt crept into his tone. "... and as someone said, none of the 16 participants have come this far picking flowers and looking pretty."

Megumi grinned in delight, taking her boot off of the railing and sitting back down to continue watching. There was a noticeable dent in the metal but she could care less about that. Aizawa-sensei was completely wrecking those guys with his commentaries and she was living for it.

Uraraka had the opportunity to wow the crowd with one final move, before she collapsed due to her weight limit. The blonde boy's explosion had sent the rubble flying, the shockwave reaching even the audience. Bakugou honestly looked the most shocked out of everyone. She was pretty sure he was incredibly unsatisfied with how the fight had turned out, considering he didn't get to full on brawl with his opponent. Megumi definitely wanted to see a rematch in the future. Midnight came up to check on the brunette. "Uraraka is unable to move. Bakugou advances to the next round!"

Well, that was one of most exciting matches yet. She saw Midoriya make his way downstairs for Uraraka.

Only six more matches to go. She shivered, knowing her turn was coming soon.

1-B's Shiozaki beat Aoyama without really having to fight, her vines gently snaking around him and depositing him past the boundary. Poor guy's stomachache had him curling on the floor. Megumi could only scratch her own head at that. She could relate. Maybe she should ask him for tips on how to deal with it...

Next up was Iida against the support class member Hatsume. Megumi had never seen Iida look as irritated as when he saw Hatsume advertising her babies to the audience without paying attention to actually fighting him. He eventually did win... but at what cost? By the end of it, it was Hatsume looking like the victor instead of Iida who was shaking his head in disappointed disapproval. She'd just used him as a walking advertisement after all. It was pretty funny to watch.

Ashido beat Kaminari, no questions asked. He couldn't conduct his electricity with her acid shielding her, and it was all over for him once he went over his voltage limit. Ashido was hopping and sliding around like she wasn't fighting at all, resembling a dancer. Megumi took note of the way she had expertly avoided his electricity. She looked like she was having fun... once Ashido came back onto the stands after her fight, they exchanged a low high-five before settling back onto their seats.

In the middle of Yaoyorozu's fight against Tokoyami, a finger tapped her on the shoulder. Uraraka smiled at her sheepishly. "Hey."

Megumi looked at her, puzzled. "Hey? What's up."

"I heard what you were shouting and... well, I guess I just wanted to tell you that I appreciated that." She rubbed her elbows shyly. Megumi could see that the brunette was still wary of her. It was commendable of her to go out of her way to still speak with her despite obviously feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"It's fine. Everyone was thinking the same thing, trust me. I don't know what made them think booing would be a good idea, but both of you were giving it your best. Aizawa-sensei had the situation under his control." Megumi assured. Brown eyes studied her curiously, as if trying to figure out whether there was any ounce of sarcasm in her voice or not. Bakugou observed their interaction, silently rolling his eyes.

"Tokoyami advances to the quarter-finals!"

Megumi took deep breaths, slowly rising up to stand. Midoriya and Shinsou were next- and after that... oh boy. She inhaled and exhaled, her chains itching just beneath her skin like they always did when she was psyching herself up for action. She tried to banish all thoughts of Todoroki and her own filthy family from her mind, concentrating on Nejire-senpai's unwavering gaze as she had simply just told her to... to have fun. What fun could she possibly derive from getting beat up by Todoroki? She still wasn't sure how she was supposed to implement fun into the equations running inside her head, but surely there was a way?

She froze in place as if she had forgotten something, turning back to Uraraka who had taken a seat next to her. "Speaking of appreciation... I'm going to be giving it my all against Todoroki." A wolfish smile crossed her lips. Uraraka swallowed nervously. (Had Airashi always had such sharp teeth?) "I hope you can cheer me on."

With that, she walked off downstairs to settle into one of the waiting rooms. Each waiting room had a small screen where she could watch what was going on in the arena. From what she could see, Midoriya was completely under Shinsou's mindcontrol. He was steadily getting closer to crossing the boundary line. That could only mean one thing... their match would be over soon. Megumi paced around, keeping her breathing steady. 'Calm. Breaths, in and out. No headache, no nosebleeds, no nothing- you're prepared. You can do this.'

Midoriya flipped Shinsou onto his back. Midnight's whistle went off, signaling the outcome of the fight.

"Prepare yourselves for the last match of the first round competitions! Hoho, what interesting matchups indeed!"

Megumi grimaced, suppressing the trembling of her hands and exiting the waiting room. She had enough time to keep calm and sort through her thoughts, and yet she still felt wobbly on her feet. This challenge was different- everybody would be watching, analyzing her every move. She opened her palms, inspecting the crescent shaped markings as a result of digging her nails into the flesh. Her quirk cooed and coerced her, as if telling her it would be alright. They told her she should keep going. They told her to keep walking, and don't look back.

Her feet carried her outside toward the stadium. The lights were blinding. She was strangely numb, the buzzing in her ears undoubtedly a sign of her quirk warming up for the occasion. It had a calming effect, knowing she wasn't alone.

Her body stilled as she came to the realization. 'That's right... I'm not alone.'

Her quirk purred in agreement. She could feel the heat crawling up her calves and shoulders.

"Next up are these two! She's captivated many with her performance during the race- in spite of how she looks, she has shown us that she has more than a few clever tricks up her sleeve! Airashi Megumi from the heroics department!"

...'in spite of how she looks'? What the goddamn fu-

"Versus! You who stand at the top! He who is way too damn strong! From the same departments of heroics, Todoroki Shouto!"

Her eyes met Todoroki's.

He looked absolutely raging mad. 'Seems like Endeavor payed him a friendly visit.'

Megumi scoffed, laughter bubbling up at the back of her throat. She was screwed, wasn't she? Her heels dug into the ground, taking a subtle stance.

She felt like she was facing off against a wild animal.

"START!"

A/N:

Send help this arc is taking far longer than I anticipated

I just wanted it to flow naturally so here we have a chapter full of Megumi being angry. I can't believe I wrote this lmao. Well now you know what to look forward to next chapter. XD

I'm so happy that you guys didn't find Bakugou OOC, I'm still trying to adjust to writing him cause I feel like he's incredibly unpredictable and selective with the people he interacts with. For me, the race was definitely the most exciting part I wrote. I think this chapter has a lot of tension that's ready to explode, or at least that's what I went for.

Also to answer a question, yes the Original Megumi is gone. The current Megumi is a technically an entity of her own, since she's a mix between Colby and the Original's past memories- however, she's definitely more heavily influenced by Colby. Colby has adapted to the Original's memories and she often can't decide whether to take things personally or not, considering she wasn't too keen on getting yelled at by Aizawa when the Original did something reckless. As you can see a bit this chapter she's also conflicted whether she should be seeking justice for the Original when it's not her place to, but the emotions she feels from the Original's memories often has her acting irrationally.

Thank you for your lovely reviews, I like answering questions :)