A/N. Before I start, I just wanted to sincerely thank all of the people who've left their lovely reviews for this story. I honestly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

/~/

Two long strides brought Todoroki firmly before her. His eyes flickered back and forth as he cast a quick glance around the clean sands of the beach. "It still amazes me that this used to be such a dump."

"Uh, yeah," Kimi mumbled (she had, after all, been the one to clean it), and swiftly changed the topic. "How are your injuries healing?"

"Adequately; Recovery Girl is truly an accomplished medic. Yours?"

"I'm alive," she replied with a smile, spreading her hands.

He snorted. "I see that."

"So…" He'd been the one to initiate their meeting this time, and Kimi struggled to find a polite way to ask why.

Todoroki saved her from asking by simply stating, "The villains."

"Yes."

"Why did you go after them, Midoriya?" There was a hint of strain in his voice, and his mismatched eyes were pinned intently on her.

Kimiko stiffened. "Not today?" I don't want to answer.

A humorless smile ghosted over his lips. "That's what you said last time." Please?

"Ah, I did, didn't I?"

"Mmhm."

She sighed. "You know I don't owe you an answer."

"I know."

"Well I'm glad we're on the same page."

"And that sounds like dodging the question," He pointed out, causing Kimi to purse her lips. After a beat of hesitation, he murmured, "...I don't have a happy relationship with my father back at home."

A private detail. A peace offering.

She softened, though only allowing simple calm to show on her face. "I had an… incident with villains as a young child."

Todoroki nodded. "I see."

Do you? The trace of bitterness that laced the thought was involuntary, a long-buried emotion given chance to rise up.

Almost as if he sensed her thought, he amended, "Or at least I hope to, in time." He flashed her one of those rare smiles; small, but genuine. She couldn't help but let a smile of her own blossom on her face.

"Quite the smooth talker, aren't you?"

"I could say the same for you." And then wryly, "I'm sure those villains would agree."

Those villains, encased in ice, who she'd torn information and dignity from. That villain, Shigaraki, who she'd held at knifepoint.

Kimi grimaced. "Please don't remind me."

He shrugged. "I suggest you don't toil over it; I would have done the same."

"Why?" she said. "There had to have been a better, righter way…"

"Was there?" Todoroki's eyes slid from the softly roiling waves to meet hers. "Sometimes all we need is more force. Other times we need speed. But sometimes, the best way to take what you want is to just…ask."

Kimi gave an unpleasant smile, stomach churning at the thought. "Perhaps."

"Allow me to demonstrate," he said. "Midoriya, what did All Might want with you today?"

His words were a gust of chilly wind that split the pleasantly warm air. What would she tell him? Surely not the truth- she'd been open today, but that was too far. A sudden tension seemed to undercurrent the atmosphere, and Kimi tried to laugh it off. "A seamless segue," she joked, but Todoroki was unamused.

"Yes," he replied blandly, waiting with an almost demanding air.

She would not betray All Might, the person who'd done so much for her; she would not risk his secret for anything. Wordlessly, Kimi shook her head.

"Kimiko."

His use of her first name caused her to blink, but if he was expecting her to soften because of it, he'd be sorely mistaken. All Might had trusted her.

With false sweetness, Kimi replied, "Shoto."

"The greatest hero," he said with a bit of a snarl. "What do you have to do with him?"

"I helped him out of a tight spot back when the villains attacked the USJ. He wanted to thank me in person."

Todoroki dismissed it swiftly. "We both know that's not it. That alone wouldn't have you so defensive; this is something that's been going on for a long time. What is it, Midoriya?"

"I think we need to revisit that part where we agreed I don't owe you answers."

Kimi held his gaze levelly. After a tense moment, he said stiffly, "Then I think we're done here." Todoroki got up and walked away with a curt nod of his head, leaving her to stare after him with a feeling of cold finality.

She didn't regret her decision; this was not a line she would cross, and that was that.

/~/

The next day after homeroom, Kimi packed up her things with deliberate slowness, waiting for the rest of her class to trickle out of the room. Aizawa-sensei stared her down as she purposely fumbled a pen, waiting for Kirishima and Mina to make their exit.

"Out with it," he snapped.

Unperturbed by his bluntness (she was honestly used to it at this point), she calmly said, "I want you to teach me hand to hand combat."

Without missing a beat, he replied, "Have All Might do it."

"He's a great teacher, and he's been helping me out with creative applications of my quirk, but his straight-on style of combat isn't something I can use."

"That is true," he relented. "What are you asking?"

"Oh, just half an hour every other day. Familiarize me with your fighting style, give a couple tips on mine, you know."

"Arrogant of you to presume I have the time." The words weren't given with the sharp bite of dismissal but with a soft curiosity, as if he were waiting to see how she'd reply.

"When the villains attacked the USJ, I couldn't teleport to get the principal because my personal emotions got in the way," Kimi started.

Aizawa stared her down. "You're trying to remind me why this is worth my time."

Ignoring that, she went on. "That's a point for your hypothesis that eventually my emotions are going to get the better of me and something's going to happen. You've expressed that you believe me a security risk- it's your duty as a teacher to keep an eye on risks, as well as manage them. It's also your duty as a teacher to indulge students who need a little extra academic help. Not to mention you seem to be personally curious about my quirk," she added daringly, then held her breath.

Aizawa's face remained unreadable, and the bandages layering his face didn't help. With an offhand shrug, he said, "Very well."

With a relieved sigh, she said, "Oh, thank you-"

"Meet me in the gym tomorrow after school," he said. "And be on time; you won't like what happens if you're late. Actually," he added as an afterthought, "You probably won't like what happens anyways."

"…Yes, sensei."

/~/

I wonder if All Might is really recovered enough to be teaching, Kimi wondered as she made her way down to the gym. His external injuries hadn't been severe, but the internal strain One for All put on him had been immense. Before worry could fully take hold of her, Kimi shook it off. He'll be fine-

"Kimi-chan?"

She blinked. "Midnight?"

The pro hero flashed a dazzling smile. "Yup. Listen, Kimi-chan, I just wanted to thank you for what you did during the USJ attack- I heard what happened from All Might. You were really brave."

What I did? Then realization dawned. Oh.

Bargaining for the captured teachers. Pressing a blade to Shigaraki's throat. Threatening to push.

Something within her gave a great shudder, a part of her wanting to cry out that her goal had never been to inspire fear- that it had always been about hope, not terror. Midnight must have seen the conflict in her expression and gave her a reassuring smile. "You did the right thing," she told her gently.

But as Kimiko began to walk down the stairs to the gym, the oppressive feeling of unease -a thick, liquid gloom- trailed her like some twisted shadow.

Everyone keeps telling me I did the right thing... but then why does it feel so wrong?

/~/

Aizawa cast a glance at the clock on the wall, the seconds hand finishing a full circle around the clock as he did so. "Cutting it a bit close, Midoriya."

"Sorry sensei. But," she added a little cheekily, "I'm still technically on time."

"Technically," he agreed. "But that doesn't mean this is going to be any easier, you know."

Kimiko couldn't help the eager grin that spread across her face. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Then I shall do my best to change your mind."

She braced herself.

/~/

The following ten minutes were remarkably anticlimactic, given Aizawa-sensei's dramatic words. He had her perform a series of basic attacks- punches, roundhouse-kicks, elbow jabs, and right and left hooks, making basic corrections to her form for each before telling them to practice and build muscle memory in her own time.

Then came a quick synopsis of the structure of his fighting style, along with demonstrating a few basic maneuvers on her. A quick lesson on how to fall safely and roll with the momentum followed after, ending the series of short lessons.

"Now," said Aizawa-sensei. "We put it all together in combat. Here, you are faced with two choices." He lifted a finger. "One; we put you on the fast track and develop a swift, efficient way to take out enemies, just in time for the Sports Festival."

In the brief pause that followed, Kimi mulled it over. "And?"

"Two; we take it slow and develop a fleshed out fighting style for you. I can give you some pointers on where to start and check in every so often to make sure you're on the right track. However, it won't be anything usable for the Sports Festival, and you'll have to find some other means of winning fights."

"What if we figure something out quickly for the Festival and then take it slow afterwards?" asked Kimi.

Aizawa shook his head, his tangled black locks swishing back and forth. "Whatever you sloppily put together now will seep into the style you create. Although, that's not necessarily a bad thing, unless your natural style is directly contradictory to the quirks of the 'fast track'."

"...What are the quirks of the 'fast track'?"

He wore an expression of grim amusement as he said, "I teach you how the most efficient way within reason to neutralize an opponent, with arguably immoral tactics."

Keeping her face carefully neutral, Kimiko said, "I see."

"Do you?" replied Aizawa with a tilt of his head. His eyes rested on her with a precise calm. "Perhaps I should make a visual demonstration."

"I-"

He blurred out of existence, the sound of feet softly landing behind her before the wind left in his wake had even settled. A whoosh of adrenaline swept her, but it came a beat too late as a unrelenting force unbalanced her feet and a firm hand loped around her arm, twisting.

Out of sheer reflex, she jerked away. But her lurching forwards placed her shoulder in a prime position for Aizawa to exploit, and she was sent tumbling to the ground.

"Get up," said Aizawa-sensei.

Blinking dazedly, Kimi unsteadily clambered to her feet. "What..."

"Did you register that?"

"...No," she admitted. "You caught me off-guard."

"And that, Midoriya, is exactly the point," said Aizawa. "Also, I will retract my offer for extra help unless you can relay exactly what I just did. Right. Now."

There was a jolt of blind panic as Kimi frantically scrambled for something to say. "You moved swiftly before I finished my sentence," she started. "Ah..."

The smallest of smirks crossed Aizawa-sensei's face. "I'll give you thirty seconds."

"That gave you the element of surprise," she continued, pressing on. "Then...then you targeted my legs, aiming for my knees. I think I raised my arms to balance myself, and you grabbed one and twisted it to control my balance."

"And then what?" asked Aizawa. He gave a pointed glance at the clock.

Out of sheer desperation, Kimi blurted, "I don't know! My back was facing you; how do I know what you did?"

"Ten seconds," was her only reply.

Exploring a more colorful vocabulary in her head, Kimi felt herself stutter an incoherent protest, before schooling herself. "Okay, um, oh! You predicted the way I'd try to pull back and threw your control against my momentum, further unbalancing me enough to knock me to the ground." She finished, breathing a little quickly from being put on the spot.

"A little vague, but adequate," Aizawa admitted. "Now, can you generalize the style of techniques that you will learn based off of this?"

Still reeling, Kimi shook her head.

"Surprise, speed, and control."

"Surprise, speed, and control," she recited. "Got it."

"Before we end off, I'll give you a quick maneuver to go over in your spare time," said Aizawa. "It's similar to the one you pulled on Shigaraki."

Kimi flinched, eliciting a raised eyebrow.

"Don't like being reminded of that?" he guessed. "Care to share why?"

Her mouth went dry as revulsion drove a shiver down her spine. This wasn't something she ever thought she'd have to put into words, and Kimi found herself a little lost at how to describe the feeling.

"I held a knife to his throat, and that feels wrong, like something a villain would do instead of a hero. And," she added quickly, "if you tell me I did the 'right thing' without explaining why, I'm going to hit something."

"If you do, at least use the correct form I showed you," Aizawa said wryly. "And as for what you did, the act itself isn't inherently evil or good. That is defined by the intent behind it. You did what you had to."

"So it was necessary," Kimi muttered. "That's what Todoroki told me. But it couldn't have been the only way; I refuse to believe that."

"No," Aizawa-sensei agreed, causing her to glance up sharply. "It wasn't. Perhaps a coordinated genius maneuver by your classmates would have been enough to neutralize the enemy into a position for bargaining. But you cannot act for other people, only yourself, and I'm telling you that you took the most practical approach to accomplish all your objectives."

"I...yeah. Thank you, sensei."

He didn't react. "You're dismissed, Midoriya. Practice your forms and the maneuver for next time."

"Yes sensei."

/~/

"...scouted. Golden opportunity..."

"...determine your path in the future..."

"...one chance a year, three chances a lifetime..."

A little stunned, a gloomy atmosphere of dead silence hovered over the class of 1-A. Iida sat stiff-backed, Bakugo deathly still with twitching fingers, and Mina a little purple in the face. Kimi herself hadn't been ready for the onslaught of sheer pressure the teachers would build. It had been Sports Festival this and Sports Festival that, until the basic formulas they were learning in math could apparently be applied to it.

"...the fledgling Symbol of Peace..."

Kimi squeezed her eyes shut.

"You will take the competition by storm and say, 'I am here!"

A hot tang hit her heart as her skin...her skin felt like it was splitting with the mounting strain from within. Her breath quickened, just a beat faster, and a warm tinge spread across her forehead. I'm...I'm shaking...

The sound of approaching footsteps in the dead quiet room had her eyes snapping open. All eyes were trained on Shoto Todoroki as he steadfastly made his way over to her, eyes shadowed and his posture that of a tracking hound.

Quietly but firmly, he said, "I'm going to take you down, Midoriya."

Breathe in, breathe out. The knot in her chest loosened with each breath, and a casual smile spread across her face. "I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken, Todoroki-san."

Something in his eyes flinched, just a little twitch of the retreating light before it was enveloped by the darkness. Wordlessly, Todoroki glided back to his desk and pushed himself onto it, training his eyes towards the floor.

"Hey," snapped a rough voice. Bakugo's lips were curled back into a snarl as he glared at Todoroki. "You chose the wrong person to be your rival, you half-and-half bastard. That little shit's too weak to put up much of a fight."

Todoroki glanced up at him then away, dismissive. "Of course, the same goes for you and everyone else. I intend to win."

Bakugo gave a guttural growl. "I will rip you to pieces!"

Todoroki said nothing.

"Hey!"

And then... the crashing waves of nerves within her calmed into a distilled pond of knowing. Knowing what she wanted. Knowing what she had to do. Kimi could see it now- see right through the clear pond and straight to the bottom, and she saw... she saw...

Something within her shifted, revealing a chasm of an ancient, primal something. It was magnificent, and the sheer incomprehensibility of it shot straight to her core.

Kimi reached out with her mind's eye, but her fingertips only barely brushed the surface before the angles all shuffled and the chasm was no longer in sight.

And then the tense atmosphere was broken with Uraraka loudly declaring that she'd do her best and try as hard as she could. A little startled by her ferocity, the class hesitantly joined in with her cheering.

What...?