Two one-on-one training sessions happened today.

One with Endeavor.

The other at school.

One of them was uneventful.

I can't say the same about the other.

As I stand under the showerhead in the U.A. 's boys' locker room after dueling with Kaminari, I reminisce about the eventful training session from this morning.

I did it.

I confronted Endeavor about Mom.

But as I expected, it did not end well. Deep down, I don't think I wanted it to.

Since Endeavor's return from work and the Sports Festival announcement, my morning training became more rigorous than before. And for a good reason, too. Both of us agreed that the Festival was not an opportunity that I should waste and that I should strive to rank first, although we had different motives for that.

This morning he wanted me to work on defense. "Shouto, while you have two immensely powerful quirks, don't underestimate your opponent's quirks. Remember that your opponent also vies for the same position," he said.

"I'm not a fool, as much as you think I am one," I commented bitterly.

His mouth thinned into a line as he launched a chain reaction of flames at me. First his signature Flashfire Fist - raise the temperature of the fire to maximum - and Hell's Curtain - throw both fists back while concentrating the fire to a single point and then emit a blanket of flames. I blocked both attacks with my Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall, but not without damage. The Wall melted upon impact. He took advantage of that to make his next move: Hellfire Storm - create a fire whirlwind that burns everything within its range. To counter that, I summoned a ring of ice around the whirlwind, tall enough to tower the whirlwind twofold. This defense was better than before: on the upside, not all the ice melted; on the downside, the ice that didn't melt came crashing down.

But I wasn't so lucky with Endeavor's last offense. He executed his Hell Minefield move. He smashed his fist into the ground, causing visible cracks to form, and sent a wave of fire in my direction. I summoned another Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall, forgetting the catch in this particular move: the second impact. Because the moment I finished building my defense, another wave passed through the cracks, generating a massive explosion on my side, from behind the Wall.

I was flung back from the sheer impact and landed not so gracefully on my bottom. Looking behind me at the rocks and trees just centimeters away from me, I was barely saved from a concussion.

Just as I got up, Endeavor stormed toward me. "Why did you block all my attacks with simply ice? What about fire? Why are you not using your left side?"

That ticked me off. "You know damn well why I'm not."

He huffed in frustration. "Again with this childish rebellion of yours. During the Sports Festival, do you intend on remaining this adamant? You will never win first place if you keep this up."

I responded likewise. "You call it childish, I call it maturity. I'll use my left side all I like during training, just for your unnecessary satisfaction and my need to retain skills. But when the time comes to battle, I won't. Mom's quirk got me into the U.A. Mom's quirk will get me first place. Not yours."

"Shouto, be sensible about this. You were born with two quirks, so use two quirks. This favoritism won't do you any good. It will-"

Seething, I cut him off. "Really? My favoritism won't benefit me, but keeping Mom locked away in some psychiatric ward will? It's been ten years since I've seen her, Endeavor. Ten years. I only have a picture of her so that I don't forget her face. You stole the happiness Mom deserved from her marriage to you, and then you stole your children's happiness that we deserved from both of you. In all honesty, I have every right to reject you and everything that defines you, including your quirk."

"Even being a Pro-Hero, Shouto?"

It didn't escape me that he didn't acknowledge Mom. How typical of him. That riled me even more. "Especially being a Pro-Hero. A Pro-Hero like you. I've said it before: I'm going to be a hero of my own volition. A hero opposite of you: one who doesn't care to surpass others and hurts his family in the process. One who wants to be a hero for the sake of it, to spread justice and peace around the world."

I had enough. Without another glance, I walked away from the dirt field, leaving Endeavor standing, shouting my name to come back.

I take a deep breath and step out of the shower.

With one towel around my waist and another in my hand that I'm using to dry my hair, I move toward my locker.

As I take my school uniform out, the locker room doors open and Hanada enters.

Hanada! What is she doing here in the boys' locker room!

She hasn't realized that she's inside the wrong room. Thankfully, she's still in her training uniform. Her eyes are aimed at the floor, one hand resting on her cane, the other removing blue dahlias from her hair. The other boys see what I'm seeing, but none of us dare to say a thing.

And maybe it's because none of us say anything that Hanada doesn't realize that she's stepped on two of Mineta's sticky balls, one ball under each foot. It's only when she tries to take another step that she notices the balls. I admit I didn't see them until now. She looks visibly confused, as she should, and tries again.

Finally, she raises her head and looks around at all the boys staring at her, including me. I catch a glimpse of her cheeks burning cherry red as she glares hard at the floor again. She shuts her eyes and covers her mouth. I can hear her mumble something like, "Seven blessed heavens and ten bleeding hells." She attempts to walk back in the direction she came from to no avail.

Just then, Mineta rounds the corner and exclaims, "It worked! It worked! My prank of switching the boy and girl placards outside the locker rooms worked! A girl finally came into the boys' locker room!" Immediately, Hanada drops her hand from her mouth and looks up. She stares at Mineta and utter shock.

"This was your doing?" she asks, dumbfounded.

"Yep! My fantasy's going to come true!" Mineta can't contain his glee, and I cannot contain my revulsion.

I walk towards Mineta. "This isn't funny. Release your hold on those balls and let her go."

Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks so. To my surprise, Bakugou speaks up. "Pervert, listen up! I am not going to change clothes where there are male pheromones and girls in the same room. So, get her out."

Midoriya, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero try a kinder approach.

"What Bakugou means is that he agrees with Todoroki, and you should let Hanada leave," Kirishima tries to placate. Bakugou looks affronted at the idea that he and I have the same opinion.

"Yeah, Mineta. Hanada can send a complaint to the school against you," Midoriya takes a more logical approach.

"That's pretty serious, I have to admit. That kind of stuff stays on your record for a long time," Kaminari and Sero add on.

But Mineta isn't persuaded. "I've waited weeks for a golden chance like this. I'm not letting it go. I'm not letting her go." He turns toward Hanada, who has already untied her shoelaces and is standing on the floor, gratefully, with socks on.

She walks toward Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sero and makes them hold their hands out. She puts her dahlias in their hands, just before she stands behind Mineta, swings her cane in front of Mineta's neck, and pushes him down.

Mineta is saved from falling face-first onto the floor by the cane. But he's not safe from Hanada's wrath. There is a cold fury in her eyes as she shoves her knee into Mineta's back, pushing him further into the ground, and presses the cane tighter against his Adam's apple.

She whispers, "You planned to trap a girl here and do what? Seduce her? Assault her? Seduction is not your forte, I've seen and now experienced that much. That leaves assault. Did you think I would plead with you for mercy as you stripped and touched me? Did you think I would behave like a damsel in distress, incapable of doing anything to protect herself?

"What a shame, I did neither of those things. Here you are, trapped above and below by the very girl you wished to molest. Wonderfully ironic, no?" She laughs maniacally and leans closer to his ear. "Now listen to me very carefully. I wish I could vouch for all the girls, but pity, I cannot, so I will vouch for myself. As your classmates pointed out, I will file a complaint against you. Let that serve as a warning because the next time you pull a stunt like this, I'll crush your jugular." For effect, she taps the dragon head of her cane against his Adam's apple twice. "Understood?" she jeers with false cheer.

"Y-y-yeah," Mineta whimpers.

"Excellent." She gets up and releases her hold on Mineta. The second he is free, he runs to keep as much distance between himself and her as possible. "Oh, do place the placards in their proper positions and release my shoes from your quirk's grip."

He does as ordered, trembling the entire time, and as Hanada wears her shoes, he says, "You're terrifying. Like a villain. Or a demon. Are all girls like this?"

Her smirk is villainous. "I don't know if all girls are. But if defending myself and threatening you makes me one, then so be it. I am a demon. Take that as another warning, if the school complaint is not enough."

With that, she takes the dahlias from Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sero leaving one in each of their hands. "These flowers don't mean gratitude, but I would like you to treat them as such for standing up for me." With shaky thank-yous they accept it. She turns toward Midoriya and Bakugou and gives them a dahlia each. Midoriya smiles nervously as though he's never received a gift from a girl, and Bakugou mutters "Fine, but I won't do this again."

Finally, she gives one to me. I stare at it, perplexed. "You don't have to express every emotion with flowers, you know?"

She laughs lightly. "I know, but I like to. I want to thank you, and this is my method of doing so. Also, you didn't take a flower from my hair today. Treat the blossom as one or the other, or both. Whichever suits you."

With a parting warning glare at Mineta, she leaves.

I'm left with a blue dahlia and her words.

Treat the blossom as one or the other, or both.

Treat her with friendship.

Treat her with hate.

Or both.

I want to choose a fourth.

Treat her as I treat everyone else, aloof and distant.

Because I can't be friends with her, and I don't know how to hate her without hating myself.

But that's easier said than done.

It will hurt the most.