Kimiko was ready to fight.
It'd been three and a half years since she'd felt the rush of battle; that thundering of her heart sending bolts of energy surging through her with each beat, the singing of her blood and the roaring in her head. True, she'd never want the circumstances to be the same as 'the villain incident', but something in her yearned to see how she'd fare now, when the stakes weren't as high as death.
But then she opened the door, and the sea of unfamiliar faces sent a nauseous feeling churning in her stomach. Kimi scanned the rows of desks, spotted Todoroki, and made her way over to him.
"Hey." She waved.
He cast her a lazy glance. "Midoriya."
Despite his curt tone, Kimi felt a bit of the anxiety within her dissipate at the familiar face. A slow smile blossomed across her face. "I hope you weren't planning on winning, by the way."
"Scared?" His voice was laced with cool amusement.
"Because I'd hate to annihilate your hopes and dreams."
He snorted and turned away. Kimi felt herself grin. What the hell, I think I'll give this competitive thing a go.
She was content to sit in silence, absorbing the atmosphere. There was excited chatter buzzing around the room, individual conversations merging into a single noise that Kimi drank in hungrily, along with the desks, the walls, everything. The whole scene was dreamlike; she was here, in U.A. This feeling was something that a simple tour couldn't capture; it was more special in a way that she couldn't describe.
Bakugo's ferocious gaze struck her out of her mystified state, and Kimi realized she'd zoned out on him. A different kind of tension gripped her, one twisted by something dark and ugly; she thought about apologizing but couldn't find it in herself to actually mean it.
"How the hell did you of all people get an official recommendation?!" Bakugo snarled, roughly shoving her against the wall. Kimi felt her head smack against the hard cement, the whiplash making her see stars.
"Bakugo, wait, I can explain-"
"You must've cheated somehow – bribed someone, didn't you?" His calloused hand held her in place, an iron grip on the hem of her shirt. "Don't think I won't hit you because you're a girl! I was supposed to be the only one from this crappy school to make it! But you just had to screw that up!"
"Let me go." The feeling of being cornered, trapped, roused a long-buried panic in her. Her breathing quickened.
Bakugo snarled, his vice-like grip only tightening as he pressed her harder against the wall. "Tell me what you did!" He got right up to her face, baring his teeth. Kimiko felt a sense of claustrophobia kick in.
"Let me go," she whispered, voice shaking.
"Shut the fuck up!"
A gun, a knife and guts on the floor. The mantra started, a quiet murmur bubbling in her chest. A gun, a knife, and guts on the floor. It was a soft chanting in her head, a firm order, a promise.
"A gun," she whispered, feeling cold metal slide into her hand. She breathed, "A knife," and a six-inch steel appeared in her other. A wicked smile slashed across her lips as Kimi pressed the gun against Bakugo, something burning in her chest as she whispered, "And guts on the floor."
Bakugo stiffened, his grip tightening in surprise. Gun, knife, guts on the floor; the mantra burned itself into her mind, a feeling of hot liquid oozed from the words and crept into her mouth, onto her tongue, searing and burning.
Kimi gave the gun a sharp push into him, sweetly cooing, "Get the hell away from me."
Evidently, they had been reliving the same memory as Bakugo's snarling face twisted into something even less pleasant, his lips pulling back to show teeth. Kimi shrunk back under his gaze, her previous bravado nowhere to be found.
"Shallow perception and heavily lacking awareness," an icy voice drawled. Heads swiveled toward the man in the room – the man that certainly hadn't been there before. He had a lanky form, limp locks of black hair framing his face, and his arm clutched something that suspiciously resembled a sleeping bag.
Cold, disparaging eyes flickered across the classroom. "I stood here unnoticed for exactly thirty-five seconds. If I were a villain, something would be dead." He stalked around the desks, making his way to the front of the room causing Kimi's heart to sink; this was her teacher?
Unaware, or simply uncaring of the startled, judging eyes, the man absentmindedly let the sleeping bag fall at his side, those onyx eyes never leaving the students as they roved across faces with a disapproving gaze.
"My name is Shota Aizawa," he said. "And I'll be teaching some of you."
The class, who'd been shocked into silence, burst into conversation. A boy with a tail called out, "Only some?" and the class hushed.
The man eyed him for a good long moment, almost gleefully allowing the sudden quiet to swell into an anticipatory silence. Then he said, "Those of you who earn your spot here."
Kimiko caught Yaoyorozu's eye, giving her a nod. You were right.
His gaze landed on a blue-haired boy with glasses who'd been quarreling with Bakugo earlier. He tossed him a pile of blue fabric, which the boy shot up from his seat to catch.
"Pass that around."
The boy actually saluted. "Yessir!"
They were shirts; a gym uniform of sorts. The class was sent to change into them then made their way outside. On the way, Yaoyorozu drifted towards Kimi, murmuring, "Second thoughts?"
About being last? "None," she replied firmly. It was a calculated decision.
"Alright," said Aizawa. "You'll be competing in a quirk assessment test."
"What?" A girl cried, her large brown eyes widening in an almost naïve disbelief. Choppy brown hair fell around her indignant face. "Then we'll miss orientation!"
Her teacher scoffed. "U.A. didn't get to be the top school by following tradition; this is my class and I run it the way I want, and we don't have time to waste on such frivolous events. Here, what I say, goes."
Contrary to the tense atmosphere Kimi was practically bursting with anticipation and energy. Kimi had missed the entrance exam, but now she had another chance to show the world what she could do. To show them all that she deserved to be a hero.
"Any problems?" Aizawa sneered. "Good. Now you've all taken standardized tests, but with quirks restrictions since the Ministry of Education appears to be harboring some delusion that all men are created equal. They sabotage the potential of the powerful in a pitiful attempt to keep things fair. Well, power-hungry villains that attack children aren't fair. Nor are catastrophic events that raze cities. Bakugo," he called sharply. "What's your farthest distance throw with a softball?"
"Sixty-seven meters."
He tossed him a softball. "Try it with your quirk."
He strode forwards, winding up his arm as he fell into a crouching stance. Bakugo's face contorted into a leer as he hurled the softball, an explosion blasting from his palms that sounded too close to a gunshot for Kimiko's liking.
705.2 meters.
Aizawa waited for the ruckus that erupted to quiet down before declaring, "Eight physical tests to rank you. One-on-one matches based on the rankings to gauge the combat potential of your quirk." His lips parted in a nasty grin. "Students who appear to have a more support-oriented quirk will be transferred to the Support class."
There were a series of shocked gasps. There were far too many desks in the Support class, Kimi remembered. They're expecting him to transfer a whole bunch of us.
"Also," he continued. "The one who's potential I deem lowest will be expelled."
"What?!" The brunette from before exclaimed. "We already got in; you can't do that! It's not fair!"
"I thought we've already established that fairness is an illusion." Aizawa remarked, that nasty grin still plastered to his face. "Shall we begin?"
/~/
Kimiko was a fast runner, so she made sure to slow her pace in the 500m dash to add time. For the rest, it wasn't hard to completely suck without a quirk. At one point, Aizawa rested his eyes on her for a beat too long, a thoughtful tint to his eyes, and Kimi met his gaze steadfastly. He turned away after that.
After the tests were all over, the students gathered round their teacher, equal parts excited and terrified. Aizawa pulled up the results. "Alright, take a good look at where you place. Matches will pair the first with the last, second with the second last and so on."
"But that gives a spectacular advantage to those who scored higher!" The brown-eyed brunette, (Uraraka, Kimi discovered) complained. "That's unfa-" She cut herself off, flushing with embarrassment.
But Kimi was barely listening. Her eyes were glued to Todoroki's name in the first place slot, then shifted to her own, in last. She exhaled, the tension rolling off her body, and allowed herself to look over the rest of the list. Yaoyorozu had come second, but Kimi was sure that it had been a close battle; both she and Todoroki had performed brilliantly.
"For the matches, a win is a knockout or pushing your opponent outside the boundaries. If you're unconscious, don't worry, Recovery Girl will forcibly revive you to hear your result," said Aizawa. "The matches are as follows: Shoto Todoroki and Kimiko Midoriya, Momo Yaoyorozu and Minoru Mineta, Katsuki Bakugo and Toru Hagakure…"
He went on to list every matchup, but Kimi had stopped listening from the moment her match was confirmed, a sharp breath expelling from her body.
But she steeled herself again; the hard part was yet to come. Todoroki's eyes were narrowed, his expression flat, and Kimi thought about what he said about only using ice. Was it arrogance, saying that he didn't need to use his father's legacy to win? Or was it something else?
Whatever it was, Kimi was going to press that advantage in any way possible. His right side is the ice side; I'll attack from the left.
Aizawa explained the boundaries of the match and the restrictions; no fatal blows, no permanent injuries, though feel free to do some light maiming, but it was all just distant chatter in her head; Kimi felt impossibly light, the world around her bleeding away into the background as the familiar feeling of the fight seeped in.
Six wishes: that was her maximum. Her standard repertoire consisted of short distance teleportation, creation, and body enhancement. More demanding ones costed two and basic ones costed a half. Like her notebooks on heroes, every tool she had at her disposal was methodically categorized within her mind, and Kimiko wasn't aiming to just survive this time.
She was going for the win.
Kimiko was flashing forwards from the moment the word "Begin" fell from Aizawa's lips. She covered the distance in a single sweep, calling up that ancient power from her veins. It purred, coming alive with a rush of cold energy. Half a wish was spent sending a burst of power to her legs and the other half summoning her knife to her hands.
It was the same six-inch knife (a gun, and guts on the ground) from the 'villain incident' and it rested with a painful familiarity in her hands. Todoroki's eyes widened, the whites of his eyes showing as he almost tumbled away from her first strike. Kimi pressed her advantage with the ferocity of one who'd learned that to hesitate meant to die.
A gun, a knife, and guts on the floor. A gun, a knife-
It was the same fight; the same, familiar steps to this bloody dance that Kimiko had been forced to perform. Her eyes were locked on his heart, the blade clasped in her hands driving forwards, reflecting the shine of the sun. Todoroki sidestepped, trying to maneuver his way around her, but Kimi coiled with feline flexibility and exploded to streak low to the ground, slashing at his legs.
If he can't walk, a sing-song voice chirped, then he can't kill you.
The feeling of a knife sinking into flesh never came as Todoroki jumped directly upwards, tucking his legs close to his chest. He landed away, but his weight was on his heels. Unable to dodge in time, he brought up an arm to block a right hook from Kimi.
Five seconds left until he can attack.
Todoroki danced backwards, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. Three seconds to close the distance; three seconds to do her damn best to finish this. She let herself simmer in the coolness of her power.
Kimi threw the knife forwards and wished herself next to him, fingers closing around the thrown knife the moment she materialized and bringing it down-
Only to throw herself aside as a spear of ice shot from the ground.
Get away, get away, get away! Spurred on by panicked emotion, the third of her six wishes was spent teleporting herself aside. A pointless wish: she could have dodged that. Cursing softly, Kimi eyed the pillar of ice that had shot from the ground.
He can manipulate ice across the ground, even when it's away from his body. She filed that away, focusing on bridging the distance between them; she was at a disadvantage here, a short-range attacker trapped long-range.
Wish four sent a sensation akin to an electric current along her body, jostling her nerves and muscles to improve reaction time. It saved her, allowing her to just barely snap away the next burst of ice. It continued to barrel forwards even after she dodged, before stopping to explode outwards. He can't change the direction after it's been fired, Kimi realized. The ice can't swerve.
Knowing that, Kimiko hurtled straight towards him. Her boosted reaction time allowed her to weave around his barrage of spear-like icicles, but they were quickly followed by a crashing wave of ice. Kimi wished, and a shield was sent flying into the before being suspended above the ground, devoured by the frost.
If Todoroki wanted to hit her, he'd have to blast a new beam which would take time; perhaps only a few seconds, but that was all she needed
An offhand thought drained the last of her hope, boosting power to her legs, and Kimiko's world streaked into a blur. But she'd been too focused on his quirk; she hadn't anticipated the wicked right hook that sent her head reeling and her body tumbling to the ground.
Then the ice came with a terrifying swiftness, the sound of crackling filling the air as it broke through the ground. Kimi tried to do something, anything, but her mind blanked and then her body was encased in the ice.
Her head, the only part of her that was free to move, jerked over to stare at Aizawa. Her emerald eyes were burning, blazing, demanding him to don't stop the match, please, I'm not done here-
Aizawa held up both hands, all fingers outstretched. Ten seconds.
Kimi gritted her teeth and strained, but to no avail.
As she struggled, his words floated to mind; "…matches based on the rankings to gauge the combat potential of your quirk…" Combat potential. Not winning, not beating your opponent into the ground with fists or maiming with knives, but how suited your quirk was for combat. Kimiko's mind raced, going over what she'd presented- teleporting things, creating things, and with a rush of panic, she realized that her quirk appeared perfect for the Support class.
A chill washed through her body, and it wasn't from the ice around her. It was that voice again, the undercurrent in her mind murmuring, what about you, what about you, what about you, Kimiko Midoriya?
What about her was so special? What about her made her deserve to be here? Everyone else had taken the entrance exam, or had a thorough skill-analysis for a recommendation- but what about her?
She couldn't find an answer, and she threw her almost childish frustration against the ice, hoping her rage burned hot enough for it to melt. But it died quickly, and she fell limp within the cage of sheer cold. Her power was fueled by hope and desire. Using it up meant apathy.
Aizawa's counting registered dully in her mind. She tried to collect her emotions, tried to motivate herself to try. But the emotional exhaustion was too much; there was no wishing, no hope, nothing but Kimiko Midoriya, wallowing in despair as her last five seconds ticked by.
Five. She didn't want to fail.
Four. She wanted to be a hero.
Three. She wanted to be strong. Strong enough to never despair again.
Two. She wanted to be a hero, so nobody else would have to feel that way either.
One.
All Might had put his faith in her, and she wasn't going to let him down.
That thought was the trigger that burst the dam, and pure, unadulterated power surged through her veins, enhancing her body, her mind and mental fortitude, her resolve and her hope.
One for All- I can feel it!
Hope; the fuel for three wishes. Her mind; a broken thing that had learned to artificially stimulate emotion. And her body; the weapon she'd honed to execute her desires.
As raw power exploded in her veins, all three components surged to godlike levels and Kimiko Midoriya screamed, sheer want blasting through her body, and the kingdom of ice around her shattered.
Her scream warped into a howl, as the roaring, raging power shrieked alongside her from within, helping blast her body forwards and wishing the ice towards her to disappear, to veer off to a side, to get out of my way, damnit! But Todoroki had the presence of mind to switch tactics, shooting ice from underneath him and pushing him up into the sky.
I want to be there.
Kimiko appeared on the ice platform, lunging forwards for a punch, but Todoroki slapped her hand away and rammed a fist into jaw, and her world whirled, flashes of memory blinding her.
She thought she felt a tooth fall onto her tongue, felt it with a disturbing realism, but there was nothing there, nothing but the ghost of a memory. The shock was enough for Todoroki to shove her off the ice platform but Kimiko twisted in midair and disappeared, reappearing on the ground.
The living, writhing power of One for All pounded loud enough to drown out her heartbeat; it was a symphony, and she would execute its song.
A tranquilizer gun blinked into existence, curled within her fingers. The sheer power of One for All made up for her lack of knowledge, interpreting her wish for something to end this, but not kill in its own, messed up way. Of course it would be a gun, it was always a gun (a knife, and guts on the floor-).
She wished again, another vague wish, thinking about falling dreams and collapsing empires, and the ice pillar before her came crashing down. Todoroki was forced to vault off it, more glistening frost roaring into existence to ease his fall.
He landed, but she'd flashed directly behind him, dangerously close. The gun in her hands jerked upwards, almost of its own volition but it was Kimiko and Kimiko alone that pulled the trigger.
The dart landed. It landed!
The triumph barely managed to circulate through her body when something brilliantly bright caught her eye, reflecting the blinding rays of the sun. Todoroki snarled, a blast of ice slammed into her, and Kimiko fell.
She fell.
She fell, the darkness claiming her as her eyes closed.
/~/
Shota Aizawa glanced at the unconscious bodies of his two students, then over at where All Might 'hid', watching in attempted secrecy.
He sighed. "Kimiko Midoriya was the first to pass out, so Shoto Todoroki wins. Yaoyorozu, Mineta, get on the field. Someone drag these two away."