Your heart thumped excitedly in your chest as you approached the large doorway to the training hall with Mrs. Yamamoto. Today was your private training session day, and, as much as you loved making a fool of yourself in front of the other students, these lessons were what you truly looked forward to all week. For the last couple of days, Mrs. Yamamoto had hinted that your private session this week would really bring the heat, putting you that much closer to a breakthrough in your hero training. You were positively giddy with anticipation, grinning from ear to ear. Mrs. Yamamoto and yourself stopped just outside of the metal doors. The red-headed woman bent down slightly beside you to meet your eyes.

"Are you ready, (H/N)?" She asked sweetly. It seemed your happy attitude was contagious.

"Mhmm- yes, ma'am!" You nodded adamantly. Your overseer gave you a kind smile as she re-erected herself.

"Alright, then." She reached up and pressed a button on her headset. "We're ready on this end whenever you are." You could just barely make out the voice of someone else responding through her earpiece. There was a moment of silence before the lock on the door in front of you clicked open. Mrs. Yamamoto placed a hand on one of the large doors and effortlessly pushed it open. You squinted as white light streamed out of the room, brightening the hallway where you stood. You felt Mrs. Yamamoto's hand on your back, lightly pushing you forward. Taking the hint, you stepped into the training grounds.

This area resembled a disaster scene: a setting you were familiar with from past drills and practices. Rubble piles were scattered all about in what appeared to be a run-down building. The flowery wallpaper in the hallway was yellowed and torn, and the dark carpet on the floor looked to be scorched and frayed in some places. Multiple doors lined the corridor, and at the end was a staircase. It reminded you of a hotel hallway.

As soon as you stepped completely into the room, the metal door creaked shut loudly. You jumped slightly at the unexpected sound and whipped your head back around to look at the closed doors. The bright light above you shut off abruptly, leaving you standing alone in the eerily dim-lit hallway. A voice came through over the hidden loudspeakers:

"Heroes, listen carefully to the following briefing: a villain has attacked in the city. Your job is to find them, and bring them in. The suspect you are looking for is hiding in the building you have just entered. They are considered highly dangerous and should be stopped by any means necessary. Use of excessive force in this case is acceptable. All the building's residents have all been safely evacuated, but be warned: the building has sustained a lot of damage. We're not sure how much longer it will stand. You have thirty minutes. Good luck."

A loud buzzer sounded at the end of the message, signaling the start of your training. You took off on foot down the hallway, using your quirk to open doors and quickly peer inside the rooms. They weren't at all like actual apartments; just plain empty rooms. Though it ruined the immersiveness, you figured it would at least make it easier for you to find your target. Now you understood why Mrs. Yamamoto had gotten you all excited for this session. Normally, closed-setting training scenarios like this were search and rescue drills, but today, you were actually going to be practicing an arrest. The anticipation was trilling. As you neared the end of the hall, you tried to address all of the questions that flooded into your mind.

'Alright. Villain. I should think about… uh… what kind of quirk they'll have! Yeah, I need to know how to deal with their power.' Every room you'd passed was empty. As you approached the end of the hallway, you decided to take the stairs up to the next floor.

'I wonder what the villain is going to look like. Maybe a training dummy like they usually use? No, wait, they said it was dangerous, so… are they using combat bots?' Your stomach fluttered w. Others were meant to imitate super strength and had robotic arms capable of punching holes through concrete. Then, there were the projectiles: robots that shot rubber bullets, fire, water, etc. They were dangerous, sure, but the overseers never allowed them to seriously harm any of the trainees. Most of them had failsafe mechanisms to keep them from going overboard.

'That must be it. I'll probably have to shut it off to complete the training.'

You bounded up the staircase to your left and found yourself in a similar hallway as before. This one looked nicer. You repeated your dash-and-bash with the doors on this floor as well, but found all of the rooms here to be empty as well.

'The other floor was torn to shreds, but it doesn't look like the villain has even been up here yet.' You thought to yourself.

"Dang it, does that mean it's downstairs?" You groaned. The way these staircases were set up, you'd have to run all the way through each hall to get to the next one. This was probably Mrs. Yamamoto's way of trying to get you to practice your flying- it was faster than running, after all. However, you hadn't managed to get the hang of it just yet, and slamming into walls wasn't exactly on your list of things you wanted to do today. This was going to be exhausting. You spun around to go back the way you came, but only managed to get a few steps down the staircase before noticing something peculiar.

'Is that… smoke?'

It was coming from the floor below the one you'd started on. The dark plumes gradually made their way up the stairs, shrouding the bottom steps in darkness. You used your quirk to try and clear some of it away, but more poured in.

'The villain! This must be their quirk!' Most children would run for the hills at the mere thought of facing a villain in a creepy place like this, even if it was all fake. You, on the other hand, were thrilled. Excitement overflowed in your little heart and you took off down the steps, throwing caution to the wind with a smile plastered on your face. The hallway you entered was pitch black. Whereas before, you'd been able to see all the way to the end, you were now lucky if you could see five feet in front of you. The signature suffocating scent of smoke stunned your senses, causing your throat to seize momentarily. You coughed sporadically and brought your shirt up over your nose to use as a make-shift filter. Your eyes began to water and burn from the irritation, and you squinted as you made another attempt to look down the hall. It was no use.

'I can probably filter some clean air from upstairs, but I'm not sure how far I'd be able to go before my quirk is out of range. It's fine, though… A hero should be able to handle a little smoke!' Your mental pep-talks were helping psych you up. You immediately began pulling unpolluted air from the top of the staircase, allowing black clouds to take its place. Bringing it to your nose, you inhaled deeply and held your breath. If this was going to be the last bit of fresh air you got for a while, you were going to milk it. You started down the hallway with your hands extended out in front of you to feel for any hazards.

'With this much smoke… it must be a projectile bot. Maybe a smokescreen-type quirk?'

You'd managed to make it about halfway down the corridor when you felt your shin knock right into a pile of rubble. You sharply hissed out the breath you'd been holding, but managed to keep yourself from tripping.

"Ouch!" You wheezed, bringing your leg up to grasp your aching shin. In an instant, a bright orange light broke through the darkness in front of you. It was hot. The unexpected flames sent you stumbling backward to avoid being burned. Your eyes widened in shock, and your heart thumped a mile a minute in your chest.

'Damn, it's a fire bot! That's alright, at least I found it.' The flames had come from your right, and the pale light from the source still shown through the smoke. The walls of the room had been ignited. It had to be there. Though you were sure you were going to need to breathe sooner rather than later, you made a dash for the flame-spewing contraption. The glowing source grew more intense as you neared and sent another wave in your direction. You shut your eyes tight and ducked down to the side, managing to dodge the dangerous fire completely. Despite the brilliant light of the flames, the room was veiled in thick smoke, making it difficult to see much of anything. Still, you could take a guess as to where the blast had come from. Keeping your head low, you propelled yourself forward with your quirk and reached your arms out to take hold of the bot. You missed. Having very little control over your quirk, and nothing to slow you down, you collided with the opposite wall. The sting of the flames made you thrust yourself backward with your power. Your clothes had very nearly caught fire. Another blast streaked past you, striking the wall where you'd been a moment before. Although you couldn't see your assailant, you could now tell exactly where the attack was coming from. That was enough. You could use your own power as a defense. Without any hesitation, you used your quirk to lift the bot up into the air. What followed, however, caught you off guard.

"Wah?!" A voice? You released your quirk, and the boy fell to the ground, letting out an audible "Oof!"

You were stunned. This wasn't a combat bot at all. No, this wasn't even a solo training session. Without even telling you, Mrs. Yamamoto had just shoved you into a match with another trainee. With the exception of Touya and Keigo, you didn't get along very well with the other program kids. You'd never really spoken with or gotten to know any of them on a personal level, but there was one thing you knew for certain: there was only one person in the program with a fire quirk.

Your throat suddenly felt very dry, and you were certain your heart had sunk into your stomach. When he suggested that the two of you train together, you didn't think he meant this. You wanted to call out to him. With the overseers watching, though, you couldn't risk getting the both of you in trouble by using his real name. You choked on the black air as you tried to suck in a breath.

"Hey!" Your voice barely carried a few feet away. It was hoarse- barely recognizable as your own. On the ground in front of you, the light from his readied flame grew once more, and a wave of heat washed over you as the blast nicked your arm.

"Eek!" You shrieked as the stinging pain set in. Fighting Touya was the last thing you wanted to do. You knew the Commission was aware of your friendship, and you refused to give these drones the satisfaction. Immediately, you made a break for the door. The light from the staircase peeked through occasional gaps in the smoky clouds, showing you the way to freedom.

'If I can just get him to see that it's me…' You ran for the light, tripping on every little thing along the way. The lack of oxygen was beginning to make you feel lightheaded. Once you'd managed to make it to the top of the stairs, you coughed out the stale air in your lungs. You bent over, placing your hands on your knees, and panted heavily. The smoke from downstairs was beginning to make its way up to you. Soon, this area, too, would be filled with it.

"It's me!" You called out. Touya's fire became vaguely visible from the bottom of the stairs. Through the shroud of smoke, you could just barely make it out. Touya's hand reached out, and ghosted the wall beside him as he strode up the steps, setting the wallpaper ablaze. The fire was catching up to you faster than he was. With the highly-flammable wallpaper as fuel, and Touya showing no signs of stopping his assault, you only saw one option.

'I have to get out of the building!'

You rushed down the hallway to the next set of stairs. As you peered up at the top, however, you noted that this staircase didn't lead to another hallway. Instead, it led to a metal door similar to the one you'd entered the grounds through. Glancing back down the hall, you found the entire corridor was now engulfed in flames. Touya's body blocked the light behind him, allowing you to see only his silhouette. His palms and eyes looked to be ignited and burned brilliantly.

'How… it's… it's burning way too fast!' You panicked internally.

"Hey!" You shouted once again with a raspy voice. Did he not know it was you, or… did he just not care? This couldn't have been what he meant when he said he wanted to train with you. Touya's pace quickened, and you felt your heart sink. You were out of options. You hurried up the steps towards the door.

'Please don't be locked. Please don't be locked.' You prayed silently as you reached out for the handle. You gave it a strong tug, but the door didn't budge. You yanked at it again and again, but still, it defied you.

"Come on, come on- come on!" Frustrated, you slammed your fist against the metal, wincing when a sharp pain ricocheted through your hand. The heat from the flames grew more intense by the second. You turned your head to look down the stairs, only to find your friend standing at the bottom with a frightening face. Fire flowed frantically from his wrists and up his arms. His face was engulfed by his power, allowing you to barely make out his angry-looking eyes. The mask-like pattern… it reminded you, almost exactly, of Endeavor's. Given Touya's lack of experience with it, however, it was much less controlled than his father's. Stray flames flickered away in front of his eyes, and you came to a semi-comforting realization. He couldn't see past them. Your friend's cool new look might have elicited more enthusiasm had you not known the truth about his power.

'What is he doing?! He's going to burn the crap out of himself!'

The white-haired boy stuck his flaming palm out and slammed it against the wall. The wallpaper lit up instantly. It was coming right at you. In a way, you were grateful Touya couldn't see you; it kept him from seeing the horror in your expression. The roar of the fire nearly drowned out your thoughts. You turned your attention back to the door.

"Sorry, Touya…" Every muscle in your body tensed as you activated your power and ripped the door from its hinges. The hunk of metal was sent flying down the steps and hit the flaming boy square in the sternum. He was forced to the bottom step once again, and you took the opportunity to run out of the burning building. You were almost certain that the door would have led back into the Commission building. Unfortunately, you weren't so lucky. This area was simply the roof of the building. There was no sky above you, but a dark, metallic, dome-like roof. You weren't outside- you hadn't even left the commission building. This entire set had been built within the school. At the corner of the building, was a wooden structure with a fake-looking satellite attached to the top. Other than that, there wasn't anything else on the roof that could be useful. You took a moment to breathe in the clean air here. The burning in your lungs had yet to subside. Your chest felt tight, and your breaths were wheezy. You swivelled your head back and forth, hoping there would be a place to escape to. To your dismay, you found that the building you stood on was the only one in sight. You ran to the edge and peered over the ledge at the plain concrete ground below. You might have had a chance at making it down safely… if only you could fly.

Keigo was right- you would be so much more useful if you could fly, not only to yourself, but as a hero. Despair sunk in as the realization that you were out of options washed over you. The sound of metal striking concrete behind you commanded your full attention, and you whirled around to face the sound. The door you'd chucked at Touya moments ago was now clanging against the rooftop. Parts of it glowed red hot and emitted heat waves across the cement, distorting the view ever so slightly. Touya emerged, limping, from the doorway, his flames still burning brightly on his face. You froze as his eyes appeared to lock on to your figure. One last time, you tried to call out to him.

"H-hey…" You spoke unsteadily. "T-turn off your flames…" You were sure you sounded more like a coward than a hero. To your surprise, Touya responded.

"Why? You scared?" He said viciously, taking slow, intentful steps toward you. You clutched your hands tightly to your chest.

"I'm only worried about you. You… you won't be able to keep this up much longer." Your voice, though scratchy, held genuine concern. Still, Touya hobbled toward you with one hand clutching his chest. He was definitely hurt. Who wouldn't be after having a slab of metal hurled at them?

"You think I'm weak or something?" He growled as the flames that covered his body grew more intense. "You don't know a goddamn thing about me. Don't act like you're one of my friends!" Touya raised his free arm and sent a flamethrower-like attack careening toward you. You leapt to the side, bumping into the unstable framework holding up the satellite. He wouldn't be deterred by your dodging. Touya readied another attack and aimed it directly at the rickety structure. In a moment of sheer panic, you sent yourself upward with your quirk. You managed to evade his attack once again. Unfortunately, your split-second decision was not paired with a strategy to get down. You began to fall back toward the hard cement. You reached out instinctively and grabbed on to the closest thing to you: the tower. It creaked and shook as you landed on the wooden beams.

Flames licked at your calves as they climbed the structure. The physical pain you were feeling now was only adding insult to injury.

'Did he say… we're not friends?' The tears that pricked your eyes evaporated as quickly as they came with the heat of Touya's flames finally reaching you. It took everything in your power to keep the full extent of the fire's energy from reaching your skin. You couldn't jump down- not with Touya being this aggressive. He'd only attack you again. You chose to climb up, instead. You no longer had a plan. You were being driven by pure, dumb instinct. You reached up and swiftly began making your way to the top of the tower as the bottom half burned below you.

"You're supposed to be a dangerous villain, right?! So what the heck are you running away for?!" Touya's screaming was barely audible through the raging inferno around you. You winced at the occasional burns you received; keeping up with the fire was becoming difficult. You were losing stamina fast. From below, you could only just make the boy out through the flames. The tower creaked and swayed. Smoke rose high and gathered on the dome-like ceiling of the training grounds. At this point, your throat was raw from coughing. You reached up desperately to the next beam, but stopped short when something above caught your eye: a camera. It was attached to a couple of the inner beams of the tower. It stared back at you as your eyes narrowed in anger.

'Are they just… watching?!' You felt ridiculous. Of course they were watching- that was the point, but it was the fact that they were just letting this happen that filled you with rage. Had they known about your little rendezvous at night? Was this their way of punishing you? You felt like a complete idiot. Not only had you made a fool of yourself by running away, but your terrified nature now must have looked pathetic. A snapping noise pulled out of your self-pity. The wooden beam underneath you gave way. All at once, the structure collapsed, sending you down with it.

"Ahhh!" You screeched as you plummeted. For a moment, the world seemed to move in slow motion as you struggled to activate your quirk. Finally, it seemed you'd stopped yourself in midair. You panted wildly, finding it excruciatingly difficult to catch your breath in the smoky air. Just when you thought you were stable, the sudden weight of another beam struck you hard on your shoulders and forced you back down. You landed on the concrete roof with a loud crack. Your vision was blurred as you looked around frantically. You couldn't find Touya at all.

All of a sudden, it began raining. Raining? No. The emergency sprinklers in the training grounds had been triggered. Water drenched your tense body, momentarily soothing your burns. The fire around you slowly began to die.

"Training simulation complete." The robotic voice from before echoed. You managed to sit yourself up, but found it difficult to use your right arm. The sprinklers still sputtered away, forming small puddles around you. The scorched wood, now scattered all around you, was gradually extinguished. Your hair and clothes clung to you as they, too, became soaked. Using your good arm, you wiped the water from your eyes. The sound of rushing footsteps gradually grew louder until, suddenly, your overseer was kneeling down beside you.

"(H/n)."

"Mrs. Yamamoto?" You muttered in a daze. Truthfully, you were less occupied by her presence, and more concerned with another's. You turned your head all around before you finally found him. Your pained eyes locked with his own horrified ones.

"(Yn)...?" He whispered sadly. Touya began walking towards you, but was quickly seized by his overseer.

"Come on, we need to talk about your behavior." Mr. Takakage scolded Touya, gripping him by the wrist and whisking him away.

"But… wait, no!" The boy protested as he tried to wriggle out of his overseer's tight grasp. You watched in bewilderment. He looked so upset. Was he not satisfied with the training, or was it something else? Even after you spoke directly to him… could he not tell it was you? Even as he was being literally dragged away, he was worried about you.

"I said wait, damn it! Let me go! (H/n)! Let go!" The white-haired boy tried and tried again to pry his overseer's hand off of him, but to no avail. Your own overseer took your attention away from the scene.

"Are you alright? Your arm- let me see it." She commanded, gently pulling your damaged limb closer to her. You sucked in a harsh breath as the pain finally began to set in. Your arm was visibly swollen, and an angry shade of purple had begun to spread across your skin. It bent awkwardly as Mrs. Yamamoto lifted it up.

"It's broken." She said calmly. "Come on, let's get you to the infirmary. They can take care of some of these burns, too."

You rose slowly to your feet. Your legs wobbled like a newborn calf beneath you. You looked back to see if you could find Touya, but he was nowhere in sight. A deep frown fixed itself onto your features. As you made your way out of the training grounds with Mrs. Yamamoto, you couldn't help but worry deeply about your friend. Hopefully, they wouldn't be too hard on him.