The moment Midnight-sensei proclaims who the qualifiers are, I turn to Shinsou-san.

His mouth quirks to the side in victory.

I'm also smug that we won, but other emotions are prevailing over it.

I incline my head toward him. "We need to talk."

He glances briefly at me before returning his gaze to the sight in front of him. "About what?"

"Your quirk."

He stiffens and glares at me coldly. "What about my quirk?"

He's being defensive ... "Correct me if I'm wrong, but your quirk is a mind control one, right? You ask a question, and when someone responds verbally, you can grasp them under your control. Hence, why you were able to use my body to do your bidding. When you said that you would manipulate the other teams and use my cane to your advantage, was this what you meant? I had no control over my body, but I was fully aware of my thoughts. Because of your quirk, I was running as fast as everyone else. That caught the other teams off guard, and you took that opportunity to steal their headbands. Additionally, you knew that those teams would be focused on the ten million points, which added more to their surprise."

"Now that you know, what will you do? Tell me how it was wrong of me to strip you of your will and freedom?" he scoffs.

"On the contrary, no," I reply. He is taken aback by my answer. I have all his attention now. "We can't help with what quirks we're born with, how they work, and their consequences. I walk with a cane because of my quirk. Yes, you did take my will and freedom away. But at the same time, I felt what it was like to be like everyone else. Running unrestrained in dreams is one thing, running unrestrained in reality is another. If only for a brief time, I was not handicapped. That was a freedom of itself. If anything, I want to thank you, even if it was not your intention."

He stares at me, close-lipped, speechless. I smirk at the expression. "The only complaint I have is that I would have liked for you to warn me before you used your quirk. I understand why you kept it a secret, but still, a little word of caution would have been nice."

He snorts and quirks his lip again. "What's your name?"

"Hanada Selene."

"Pleasure to have made your acquaintance, Hanada," he says as he extends his hand toward me. "It was fun working with you. I hope it's just as fun combating you."

"Likewise." I return the gesture.

After a firm handshake, we separate and go on our respective ways.

Now that this matter is sorted out ...WHERE'S THE GODFORSAKEN INFIRMARY?!

This is the longest I've endured the backlash of my quirk. It doesn't feel like an achievement. On top of that, I absorbed another ridiculous number of quirks. Hearing that there's a one-hour gap between this event and the last, I leave the stadium to go to the infirmary. As I traverse the hallways, I internally criticize the school's thinking. Shouldn't there be a medic nearby at all times? Within reachable distance, available to help at any moment's notice? Or perhaps one of those med robots the school keeps? But just my luck! Here I am, a patient, scouring the entire structure for medical help. Has this school never had-

Hmmph!

A hand slaps over my mouth, and another hand snakes around my waist, pulling me back against someone's chest. I struggle in their grasp. I twist my head in all directions, looking for a good angle to bite the hand smothering me, and I change the grip on my cane, holding the base instead of the head, ready to swing it into the owner of the hand's head.

"Shhhh, Three Legs! Keep it down and listen!" the person assaulting me hisses.

That nickname and voice are all too familiar. I turn my head to look up at my assaulter's face: Bakugou-san. He waits for a few seconds, checking whether I will attack before he lets me go. I truly do want to hit him. But he told me to listen, and I hear two more familiar voices just around the corner: Midoriya-san's and Todoroki-kun's. Taking a few steps away and never leaving my eyes from Bakugou-san, I incline against the same wall he is leaning against.

"You blindsided me. So much so that I broke my pledge," Todoroki-kun tells Midoriya-san. His voice is cold, unfeeling. Though I cannot see either of them, I can tell Todoroki-kun is wearing a mask to hide his true emotions. "Neither Iida, nor Kaminari, nor Yaoyorozou, nor Tokoyami, nor Uraraka ever felt it. Only I felt it, that moment. After all, it was only me who'd seen All Might at his full power, up close."

"So ... what is it ... you want to say?" Midoriya-san asks him, befuddled. Even I have the same question. Just what did I miss?

"I'm saying what I felt from you was the same. Something too familiar," he responds. I hear Midoriya-san's intake of breath. But after a moment's pause, Todoroki-kun asks out of the blue, "Are you really All Might's secret love child or something?"

I blink twice. Did I hear that right? Secret love child? I look to Bakugou for confirmation, who's already looking at me with bewildered eyes. I definitely heard that right. How did he reach that conclusion? No. I know how he reached that conclusion. A few months ago, didn't I once consider that Midoriya-san might have been blood-related to All Might? Given Todoroki-kun's intelligence, he could have deduced the same. But was I too hasty in dismissing their possible father-son connection?

Midoriya-san stutters and rambles, "Y-you've got it all wrong! I- Well, of course, that's exactly what a secret son would say, so I get it if you don't believe me. But I swear! That's not it! Actually, ... I was going to ask you something. Why are you ... I mean ... why me?"

"The way you said that. 'That's not it.' In other words, you have some connection to All Might that you can't talk about, whatever that might be." I agree with Todoroki-kun's analysis. Midoriya-san was not lying when he said he was not All Might's illegitimate child, but at the same time, he implied that there was indeed a relationship between them.

Todoroki-kun changes the topic suddenly. "You must know about my father. Endeavor. He's been the Number Two Hero forever now. If you're connected to the Number One hero, then that means I need to win all the more.

"You see, my old man will do anything to advance his position. He made a name for himself during his hero career, firing on all cylinders, but it was never enough to outpace a legend like All Might, who was an irremovable mite in his eyes. And because he knew he could never hack it by his power, he devised a plan."

Midoriya-san stutters once again. "What are you talking about, Todoroki? What is it ... you're telling me, exactly?" I'm just as perplexed. Where is he heading with this little anecdote?

"You know about 'quirk marriages,' right?" Todoroki-kun answers his question with a question of his own. "After the phenomenon had started, it came into the picture during the second and third generations. Choosing mates solely to enhance one's quirk to be inherited down the line ... and forcing marriages for that purpose. A throwback to a bygone idea devoid of any logic. As a man of means and merit, he easily ingratiated himself into my mother's family. And took possession of her quirk. All he wanted was to slake his thirst and raise a hero to rise above All Might.

"Fuck him! I'll never be that piece of shit's tool!" I'm shocked to hear him swear so crassly. But he continues, "In my memories, my mom is always crying. She told me that my left side is ugly. And she dumped boiling water on me." That's why he has that scar ... "The reason I'm aiming to beat you is as a personal triumph. I won't use my shitty old man's quirk. Rather, I'll become Number One without needing to. This is my total disavowal of him," he asserts.

I don't know how to react after hearing all of that. Neither does Bakugou-san. With his hands in his pockets and eyes focused on the ground, he's deep in thought. Even his frown is not so menacing anymore.

I hear recognizable footsteps walking away. "If you can't tell me anything, that's fine. You keep being All Might's something-or-order. And I'll climb over you using only my right side. Sorry, I took your time." Todoroki-kun leaves with the final word.

I consider taking my leave before I'm possibly discovered, but Midoriya-san's words halt me in my tracks. "I-I've just been the beneficiary of outside help all this time. That was true earlier, too. The reason I'm standing here is that someone always saved me.

"All Might ... I want to be like him ... And I need to become strong enough to accomplish that and become Number One. It may be a trifling motive compared to yours, but all the same, I can't lose. Not only for myself but to pay back the people who've helped me along the way! So I'll take that declaration of war of yours and echo it. I'm going to beat you, too!"

Midoriya-san takes the final word. After looking at their retreating figures once, Bakugou leaves the hallway premises silently. I should go, too. But where? Right! The infirmary. I can think about all of this later. Getting myself treated is the priority.

But the walk to the infirmary is difficult. Not even my cane helps me; I rely on the wall for support as I stagger. The wall! I delayed for too long! I'm losing too much blood and the flares are insufferable. Furthermore, I'm certain the whip wounds from weeks ago have reopened. This much blood loss in a short period is not good. I should start healing them now. Disinfectant and whatnot can come later.

I lose my balance and fall ungracefully to my knees.

My vision fades in and out.

Lines twist and curl into curves.

Curves undulate like waves.

Waves crash rhythmically against each other.

How soothing ...

That is my last thought before everything turns black.

Note: I have copied some dialogue from one of the English-translated versions of the manga. The link to the chapter is here: .online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-31/

Also, I copied Shouto's "secret love child" quote from the English-dubbed version of the anime. The translation of this moment was very well-done and humorous.