Her skin was blasted raw as her body arced through the air and into the ground. The explosion skimmed the walls, the glancing blow enough to be shredding. Sharp talons of heat raked her body, scorching every last inch of her flesh. The shoulder he'd grabbed and lit aflame was shrieking in agony, the heat of the pain so hot it was cold, and she curled up, clutching it to somehow make the hurt go away.

On your feet, go go go-

The world swayed -or maybe that was her- and she dragged herself upright with a snarl. The casual, loping gait in which Bakugo approached made her see red; the feeling of being toyed with sparking an anger she didn't know she had. I'm not prey; not anymore, not after everything.

A determined step forwards sent everything spiraling sideways; the sharp flash of pain that followed was a blinding white in her vision. The world kept spinning, then her arm was slamming into the ground- the moving, shifting ground.

Weak. The thought pulsed through her like a primal, liquid thing.Hungrily, she reached to unleash the barricade of One for All, the temptation of power almost drug-like in its addiction. It was a slap in the face to snap out of the urge; she had to be realistic- Tokoyami might still need her.

Bakugo was just a breath away, smelling of sweat and smoke. She had to figure out how to control On for All right now.

Problem was, the power hurt her nerves as it forcibly tore emotion from her mind. But if she could-

BAM. Her body was sent skidding sideways, sprawling limply across the floor. His kick had lashed her chin, and she was dazedly thankful that she hadn't bitten her tongue as Bakugo beat her over and over, brutally slamming her into the ground again and again.

"You tricked me!" He screamed, swinging a fist sideways into her cheek. "Played me for a fool! But you're still the same, aren't you? You're still weak!"

It was a bursting of a dam, the rage. Who was he to demand compliance, obedience, weakness? And now he was throwing a tantrum when he discovered his prey could bite; oh, Kimi definitely did bite- she was going to rip him to shreds.

Then suddenly, there was power.

Bakugo had backed away, admiring his creation of purple bruises woven overtop skin. Kimi gazed back through deceptively dispassionate eyes, then moved.

She closed the distance between them with a deathly swiftness, snaking her arm around Bakugo's outstretched one and twisting, his shoulder giving a sickening pop. He roared, but was cut off as she slammed her head into his nose, feeling fragile bone snap beneath her forehead.

A hateful scream split the air followed by a reaping blast of heat, but an off-hand thought sent a numbness to wash over her scorched skin. Speed was key, and Kimi didn't miss a single beat as she launched herself forwards.

There was nothing clever or subtle about the way they pummeled each with loathful blows. Energy was still pulsing through her veins, hot and powerful as it drove her knife forwards, slicing through the air. Soon, it would cut flesh.

She could already see the way the blood would spread, could already smell its metallic tang as imagination blurred with reality, then-

He caught it.

Gloved hands met the knife head-on, the fabric splitting, followed by the flesh underneath. The honed edge sank in deeper as Bakugo closed his fingers around it and pulled, yanking it from her hand.

He adjusted his grip to the hilt, and in her shock, Kimi forgot to dodge.

Pain blossomed in her shoulder -the one already blasted raw from a previous explosion- and Kimiko felt a scream tear from her throat. More painful was the helplessness that was threatening to devour her; her hands were empty. There was nothing between her and her vengeful enemy.

Powerlessness was not something Kimi dealt with well, and she felt a crazed frenzy grip her, bleeding vermillion into her vision. An animalistic shrieking snarl sprung from her throat and she howled, "Give it back! I want it back!"

She'd pushed a superfluous amount of emotion into it, crude and imprecise in her wishing. But the knife was back in her hands, the screaming in her ears had dulled, and all was once again alright.

One for All rode on her desperation, sending it surging throughout her body and bleeding red into her vision. The despair, the agony was an audible thing blasting through her ears, drowning out whatever words of hate Bakugo spat at her now.

I have to calm down. There was an attempt at a soothing breath but it twisted into a racking cough. Her eyes flickered away from Bakugo's hands, catching sight of a flash of darkness a couple feet down the corridor. Tokoyami.

The goal had shifted.

The urge to utterly destroy her opponent was still singing in her blood but Kimi shoved it down. If Tokoyami was here instead of with the target, it meant he'd taken down Iida and planned to win through the other conditions; neutralization of the villains.

I'm ready.

Light sparked in Bakugo's palm, sending a jolt of icy fear shooting down her spine. The burst of terror was enough for a desperate wish for protection, and an invisible force knocked his arm back. The spark died in his hands.

Tokoyami began a cautious approach and their eyes met, before Kimi glanced back to Bakugo. He was flexing his fingers, his other hand going for the release trigger on his gauntlet. Palm thrusting forwards, he howled, "MIDORIYA!"

Kimi ran headlong into the explosion, wishing for a gust of wind to propel her forwards and through the blast. Then she ducked out of the radius, the pressure disappearing; it was just Kimi now, riding the wind with a knife in hand.

"BAKUGO!"

His blazing eyes rose to bore holes into hers, arm winding back in preparation to exchange a final blow. It was fist versus knife, flesh verses steel, and Bakugo was expecting to come out on top; his hand was a hair's breadth away, ready to win this final clash to end it all.

She dropped the knife.

Wide eyes were still trained on the airborne blade as Kimi skidded into a slide, sweeping both his legs out from under him then pouncing to pin him to the ground. In the next heartbeat, Tokoyami was there with the capture string in hand, snaring his wrists with a cold efficiency.

Bakugo thrashed, but the deed was done. Kimi lifted herself from his body and dusted herself off.

She glanced at Tokoyami, head throbbing. "Well, it seems the villains have been captured."

"It appears so."

Bakugo seethed, spitting hate and curses and Kimiko bent over to smile at him, the world blurring and spinning around her. She thought she rather deserved to gloat; he'd been unnecessarily cruel in his methods, setting off an explosion right against her flesh. Even now, her shoulder burned.

"Trickery." He snarled. "Underhanded tactics. You're a coward, Midoriya, and you don't deserve this win."

Kimiko shrugged. "You deserve it less."

/~/

She was thankfully conscious this time as Recovery Girl healed her, though still wasn't able to go watch the other matches. Despite managing to reduce the damage, it was still significant enough to require ridiculous amount of painkillers.

After it was all over, All Might dropped by for a visit. Kimiko glanced up upon hearing the familiar shuffling of his feet.

"It's been a while since our last one-on-one meeting." He murmured. "You've done well, Midoriya."

Those words, his praise, sparked a fluffy feeling inside even after all this time. Despite the pain, Kimi felt a smile inch onto her face. "Thanks, All Might. I appreciate it. Really."

They were content to sit in a comfortable silence, each reliving their own memories. Kimi sighed, allowing her eyes to flutter closed.

There'd been a poof of smoke, and he'd…changed. All Might's new form was painfully skinny, all sharp angle and bone. But…it was still All Might. And she'd still say what she wanted to say.

"I have a bastardized quirk!" She burst out, giving him pause. "An anomaly, an amalgamation, something crude and unnatural. It's weak, wrong, but do you think…d'you think it's enough for me to be a hero?"

"…A bastard quirk," he mused. The moment the words fell from his lips, his expression darkened. The expression on her idol, directed at her was soul-crushing, and Kimi felt tears gather in the corners of her eyes. "No."

Her sharp intake of breath was more of a rattling sob. "Please, I want to be like you. I want to inspire confidence, hope, I'll try harder than anyone else-"

"Don't tell anybody about your quirk," All Might warned, cutting her off. "Keep it secret, get good grades, maybe become a policewoman if you really want to help. It's good that you have a dream, but make sure your ambitions are obtainable."

"I…"

"Sorry, kid."

Kimi breathed, casting the memories aside. "All Might?"

"Yeah?"

Do you still think I'd make a good hero? Why do you think I want to be a hero? Is it bad that I don't want to die?

"What was your quirk before One for All was passed to you?"

His mouth stretched to what one could call a grim smile. "I was quirkless."

/~/

Aizawa clapped his hands together once. "Alright class. Generally excellent showing yesterday, with a few notable exceptions. That was a good warm-up exercise regarding the hero-villain dynamic."

An indignant voice called out, "A warm-up exercise?!"

"Yes. Now, this dynamic changes when a third party is introduced; a hostage. And thus, your aims and fighting style must shift appropriately. Our next unit will revolve around recon and rescue."

Bakugo gave an angry snarl, shooting up from his seat. "I want to learn how to kill stuff, not save damsels in distress. It's Support's job to take the useless tasks, not mine."

That was so much wrong with what he said that Kimi's mouth wrenched open angrily, ready to shoot him down; thankfully, Aizawa beat her to it.

It was just a slight movement, but the entire atmosphere of the classroom changed as he narrowed his eyes. Little things, such as the tapping of a foot or shifting in a seat, died instantly to leave a strangely eerie silence. It was almost an art form, the way Shota Aizawa commanded his class.

"I think we have a small misunderstanding about heroism and Support," he said, slow and icy. "The role of Support is a noble one that requires extreme skill and forethought, as well as a flexible, strategic mind. They set the terrain for people like you to burst in with your emotional recklessness with no danger to the civilians; they prepare your hero suits that you carelessly damage and tear.

"And their thorough understanding of equipment and skill with stealth allows for careful sabotage of the equipment of enemies. So when I say that someone like you, Bakugo, could never be a Support unit, I mean it as an insult."

The boy's spine had stiffened, his face working through several expressions of anger ranging from furious to downright murderous. Kimi caught a faint trembling in his muscles, and was rather surprised when he sat back down with no more than an angry huff.

Aizawa's face split into an unpleasant smile. "That's better. Now, as for being a hero, never forget that your primary goal is to protect, not kill. Killing is what villains do, and what we do when there is no other option. Understood?"

There was inaudible muttering.

"Understood?"

"Alright!" Bakugo's upper lip curled. "Alright, okay. I get it."

Aizawa looked rather doubtful, considering the promise of death in his expression, and Kimi was inclined to agree, giving a slow shake of her head.

"As I was saying, a hostage is introduced into the equation, most often your goal will be to eliminate the villain as swiftly and efficiently as possible without using large scale attacks." There were pointed glances at Bakugo and Todoroki.

"That's what we'll be working on over the course of the next month. Those with damaged costume, please turn them in for repair; you won't need them tomorrow as you'll just be participating in basic training exercises." He sighed. "Dismissed."

/~/

Kimiko was sure she was crazy.

Yes, that had to be it. There could be no possible other reason for her to be approaching the trembling form before her; trembling with what was definitely rage, not sorrow.

"…Bakugo?"

He whirled with a startling suddenness, a dark flame to his eyes. "What?" he snapped roughly.

Was he that upset over his loss? Kimi imagined a world where people sang praises of her strength, and where every win was an effortless, flawless victory. For him, it was more than just a blow to his pride; even if he rationally understood that he wasn't the strongest out there, he'd been groomed to subconsciously believe it. The loss, to someone he'd perceived as the weakest, was a devastating wake-up call to reality.

From personal experience, Kimi understood how such wake-up calls could be world-shattering; hers had left her hospitalized then sent to a mental ward.

His rage was understandable though not relatable, so her voice contained a distinct lack of spite when she said, "Good fight. You're really strong."

Bakugo didn't say anything for the longest time, soft anger simmering in his eyes. In some ways, it was much more terrifying than the blazing hatred before; these eyes were quietly calculating, precise in its hatred. And that was so much worse.

After a long pause, he scoffed. "One day, Midoriya, I'm going to rip you to shreds, and you're going to scream. You're weak. I'm strong. I swear it- I'm gonna beat you into the ground."

A lopsided smile slashed across her face. "Just don't forget that I beat you first."

Oh, she was definitely crazy.