"IT'S THE FIRST MATCH OF THE SEMIFINALS! WITH BOTH OF THEM POWERHOUSES! IT'S A BATTLE OF THE ELITES! FROM THE HERO COURSE, HOKI RIN! VERSUS! ALSO FROM THE HERO COURSE, TODOROKI SHOTO!"

I stand in the arena again, eyes red as the dual-haired ice boy stands across from me. Todoroki. I move the name around on my tongue, watching as he frowns back at me, his look of intention from earlier today gone. I understand the feeling. My anger, simmering under the surface for so long, is the same.

"START!"

I pinch my arms, wisps of black shadows wrap there. I barely pull myself away in time, ice freezing the path I'm on. He does it again, and I barely manage to avoid the ice, sandwiched in the middle.

"OH! HOKI'S BEEN TRAPPED!"

He frowns as I make no move to attack.

"What are you doing?" he asks, eyes narrowed.

I sigh.

"I don't know," I tell him honestly.

He tilts his head to the side and wrinkles his brow.

Midnight glances between the two of us, eyebrow rising. "You giving up?"

"AND THE TWO OF THEM ARE… JUST TALKING? WHAT ARE THEY DOING!? AND, WHAT IS THIS? STAND PARTICIPATION! IS THAT BAKUGOU? ERASERHEAD, WHY IS HE DANGLING HIS PEERS OFF THE BALCONY?"

"Encouragement, I believe."

I glance towards the stands where I can hear someone screaming obscenities. Explosive hangs over the side, waiving Mineta in my direction, the ball-haired boy crying as he dangles off the balcony. The others are behind him, screaming. I frown and sigh again.

"No," I say, dragging my eyes back to the pro hero and then him. "I can't."

"I believe he intends for you to have more… passion."

"I know," I answer.

"Are you two going to actually do something?" Midnight asks scratching her head.

I close my eyes and let the shadows twist across my skin.

They're weaker, thinner, calmer. The black flames are gone. I grimace. Todoroki sinks on his knee and ice flies in front of him.

"TODOROKI'S GOING IN FOR THE WIN RIGHT AWAY!"

I use the shadows to throw myself up into the air, over the ice and towards the other boy. They snap out while I'm still mid-air and wind around his waist. He frowns, easily breaking them away. They turn to vapor on the wind.

Midair, I have nowhere to dodge.

The ice curls around my feet, my arms, and then my chest. I stop fighting. I shiver as I lose.

"WHAT!? AND THE WINNER IS TODOROKI! WELL, THAT WAS A LOT MORE BORING THEN I EXPECTED, ESPECIALLY WITH THESE TWO!"

I blink as the boy steps towards me. He frowns.

"You gave up," he says quietly, one hand out on the ice, heating it and melting it away.

"I had nothing to fight for," I answer honestly. The ice on my skin burns. When it's thinner, I manage to break the chunks and step out. I don't look in the boy's mismatched eyes. "Thanks."

He says nothing as I head to the stands.

.

.

.

Glasses is gone when I look for him.

Without any real idea of what to do, and unable to leave, I join my classmates. I stand at the top of the seating area silently, not sure what to do or where to go once I've arrived. The others glance my way and I cringe waiting for their screams. For their anger.

But like Glasses, they don't. Red grins, waving me over and patting the seat beside him.

"Hey! Hoki, you're just in time! Bakugou and Tokoyami are about to fight!"

I blink, swallow, and move to the chair beside him, pulling up my feet and resting my chin on knobby knees. My arms wrap around my legs, and I sigh quietly. Red glances over, curious.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

He stares a moment longer before shrugging and turning back to the fight. Bird-guy and Explosive are in the arena. A row below, Green and Tape peak back before returning to their attention below.

It's violent, explosive, and loud.

The blonde races around the ring and attacks in consistent, angry patterns that force Bird and his shadow backward. He barely has time to breathe before the blonde's attacking again and again.

"C'mon man!" Red says, leaning forward in his chair. "Hell yeah! Go Bakugou!"

There's a huge explosion as smoke clouds the arena. I frown and watch it disperse. Beside me all the others lean forward as well. It finally clears to show Explosive holding Bird down by his beak, a fiery hand pressed near the shadow, now small and shying away.

"BAKUGOU WINS!"

"Heh, that crazy bastard is amazing!" Red says slapping his thigh and pumping his arm in the air. I can't help the tiny smile at his enthusiasm. Tape, sitting a row below, turns fully in his seat and grins.

"You think he'll beat Todoroki?"

"Hell yeah!"

"No way," Mineta argues. The grape-haired boy sitting between Tape and Frog stands with one hand on his hip and the other against the back of his stadium seat. He shakes his head and closes his eyes in fevered passion. "Todoroki has ice and fire. He's way too powerful!"

"Hey, wait a minute man, Bakugou's powerful too!"

"Bakugou's cocky as hell though," Tape says, tapping a finger on his cheek. "And you know his temper."

"What do you think Midoriya?" Red says, calling to Green. The curly-haired boy turns to frown in contemplation.

"I think if Todoroki uses both sides, Kaa-chan is going to really struggle…" I stop following the conversation and close my eyes. I have no idea who Kaa-chan is. And honestly, it doesn't matter who wins. The noises in the stadium rumble around me, blending into a muted chaos, and I try to even my breathing. It's easier than I imagine. My eyes ache from the crying, my body aches from the constant battles.

"So say it again, tell me you care," I tell him viciously swiping at my eyes.

"I care."

"W-W-What?"

"Hoki-san, as your classmates, it's our job to care!"

I fall asleep in seconds.

.

.

.

"Oi, Hoki, wake up!"

I rub at tired eyes, yawning. Eyes still closed, my hands drag down my face, down my neck, and then up in stiff, vibrating pops. My feet settle on the floor and I blink twice, only to see the awestruck faces of my classmates staring back.

I shrink, face burning at their intensity.

"Hoki-chan is really adorable," mumbles Frog, and Mineta, beside her, drools.

"Ah?" I have no idea what they're talking about.

"Mademoiselle, you must have been very tired," says Laser with his thick accent. He smiles. "You slept through an amazing match!"

"Maybe a B-cup?" Mineta murmurs under his breath.

"Don't be gross!" Frog fusses, slapping him with her tongue.

"Oh," I mutter, not wanting to get involved in that. "Who won?"

"Bakugou," Bird says. He's standing with his arms crossed in the corner. "Come on, they want us for the awards."

I flinch.

"A-A-Awards?" I ask, voice pitching high, my eyes widen.

"Yeah!" Green says brightly two rows down. "You and Tokoyami made third place!"

I redden.

"I-I-I-"

Red grins and slaps my back. The force sends me careening forward out of my chair. I stumble and grab the back of the seat in front of me to stay upright. Kaminari, the electric blonde, laughs from his place a few seats over.

"Hah! You didn't think about that, did you Hoki? Enjoy being put on full display!"

Nausea churns in my stomach, but I don't have time to think about it. Bird is gesturing me on and I follow sedately in his wake. The others, behind us, are going a different route. I swallow as we separate, taking a back door and empty hall. We make it about ten feet before he gives me the side-eye.

"You can stop pretending," he says lowly. I swallow at the deadly tone.

"Pre-"

"I watched your fights," he says crossing his arms. Human hands. They seem so odd. "You weren't nervous at all. It makes no sense for this to bother you now."

I fall silent and stare at my feet.

"They think we have similar quirks," Bird says after a moment, resuming the walk. I don't speak as he walks, hands clasped in front of me, pulling at my fingers. There's a long, drawn-out pause in which neither of us speaks. "They're not."

I flinch.

"I don't know what your shadows are made of," Bird says softly, his black feather glinting under the tunnel lights, his eyes darting back razor-edged. "But they smell like death. And today, you smelled like a predator."

I grimace.

He isn't wrong.

I was. Snakes and flames and angry sneers. I feel foolish and horrid and wrong.

I don't say it though. Even if I knew how there's no time to. We're walking out into the light and the field opens up to our peers all scattered up ahead. I frown noticing Explosive locked in chains and tied to a block of wood.

"Oh…"

The boy struggles and screams, head knocking back and forth as if to break free. He looks ready to explode himself.

"Come on you two."

Pro Hero, Cementoss, offers a smile before helping everyone into their places. Todoroki moves on top of the second platform. Eyes downcast and face thoughtful, staring at his hands. Bird steps up on the third, it's lower than the other two and he passes me a glance. Cementoss helps me beside him. With only so much room, our shoulders are nearly touching.

The blonde screams and rattles his chains when fireworks explode. I cringe away, terrified he's going to blow through the metal chains and wreak havoc on us all. At my side, Bird rolls his eyes.

"He's like a man-eating fiend."

Midnight throws out an arm. Chaos abounds everywhere and I twitch as she gives a cameraman a pretty wink. The cameras turn to us, and I give up trying to contain myself. I step into the Bird's shadow. He huffs and crosses his arms.

"Now, what you've all been waiting for! The presentation of medals, given today by our one and only-"

"HA HA HA!"

The booming voice trembles through my chest. I hate it. There's a strange mix of audio as Midnight and All Might start yelling at the same time. I try to tune them out, chewing on my lip. It's hard when the large man comes our way, his huge figure nearly blocking out the sun.

"Young Tokoyami, congratulations!"

The Bird bows his head, accepting the medal and All Might beams at me behind him.

"You're strong, young man. But remember that to fight well against all enemies, you need to rely on more than just your quirk. If you train your own strength more, you'll have more options when you fight."

He leans forward and envelops Bird in a hug. I squeak and step back. The edge of the platform gives and I'm left reeling as the giant of a man steps away. Bird, not at all phased, lifts the medal to his face and nods.

"Yes sir."

"Young Hoki, Congratulations!"

I freeze as he returns with a second medal for me. He places the bronze necklace over my head and I stop breathing, stop thinking, and stiffen.

"Today, you looked like a different person." He says, hands on his hips, his grin wide and bright. Tentacles snake through my chest, stones plummet in my stomach. It's the same face from the projector as he rose from the rubble. I want, more than anything, for it to look away. "What happened?"

"I…" I stare at his chest, trying to disperse the feelings. "I was angry. I'm sorry."

Bird, beside me, gives me a strange, crooked look.

"I won't pry," the large hero says, leaning forward and wrapping me in his arms. It's the second hug I've received today, and I honestly can't remember the last time that happened. I feel my breath shudder out through my lungs. He smells like Stranger-san. "But do try to have more confidence in yourself."

He lets go.

I stare at the medal as he walks away.