"You have the wrong idea," Ashido whispered. Cold, sullen, artificial light washed her in whites and grays. Shadows haunted her rosy face. "You think you're onto something, but I swear, I- I don't know anything else."

No one answered, so she did it for them. "… Right. Yeah, you're thinking, 'Sure, Mina, you're innocent – that's why the testimony singles you out, huh?' Testimony." Her laugh was as dry and bitter as ashes. "I hear it. I hear it from all of you – like nobody else in this room ever hid anything, or- or smoked, or dropped a gum wrapper? Total perfection, right?"

There was a water glass in her fist. She looked at it dully, as though she had never seen it before. Felt its edges. Hefted it, as if contemplating the weight.

Then she lifted it to her lips and drained it in long, savage gulps. The glass trembled in her fingers.

"I don't know what you want. I admit this looks bad. B- but, but… you know me, don't you? God, I feel like—like I'm in a room full of strangers, waiting for the sentence that'll shut it all down. You were my friends. You are my friends. I have to- have to still believe that. Please."

She hicced, just once, and all the fight left her shoulders. Mina sagged, silent and defeated, pale-knuckled fists balled up on her thighs. "Please." The first tear – the only tear – welled up at the crescent of her dark eyes and cut down her cheek like a scar.

Deku made a mental note to update Ashido's file.

It was a blisteringly good performance.

He slapped down a card. "Sorry, Ashido-san. You're the crook. Confirm?"

"Yes. And in the final round, too." Todoroki, looking faintly ridiculous in his huge white judge's wig, reached over and tapped her on the head with the plastic gavel.

Mina tossed her cards in the air, where they fluttered like snowflakes. "Aw, poop. And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids." She whipped out a compact mirror and began to dab away her smudged makeup.

"And your frog," added Tsuyu, with a hint of pride.

"It's true. Asu- … Tsuyu provided the last piece of the puzzle when she guessed you had the lockpick."

"Yeah, and what good did that do? She was wrong! Like I said, I used the keycard to get in." Cute, when she huffed like that. "I'm a good liar… not that any of you should ever bring it up outside this room."

The detective flipped over his partner's hand with a flourish. "Oh, I know you didn't have it, Ashido-san. Because she did." The criminal swore, sending a stray blob of mascara splatting on the table.

"If you want the right answer, give the wrong one and wait," mused Todoroki, impressed.

"Ribbit. I thought Midoriya-chan might not get it. You see, he doesn't always pick up on… signals." Her gaze was huge and typically unreadable. Mina snickered.

"Okay, pack it in, dorks. The great Pinky needs her beauty rest."

Todoroki stood and stretched with his usual measured grace. "Here's my cards… I'll be going first. I have notes to return to Yaoyorozu."

"WHAT K-"

"What kind of notes, Todoroki-chan?" Tsuyu asked neutrally, one hand clapped airtight over Mina's delighted squealing.

The taller boy froze. So did the doorknob in his hand, peppering the paneling with tiny crystal flakes that melted almost as quickly as they grew. He examined a particularly interesting mote of dust on the wall. "Notes. Note notes. On… topics of interest. Good night."

"Ah—Todoroki-kun!" Deku clambered to his feet. "You're still wearing the wi- MMPH!"

This time a hand clapped to his mouth, a bright pink one, in perfect concert with the long steely tongue whipping around his midsection and yanking him backwards into a chair.

"That," Mina purred sweetly into his ear, "was your game. Now we're going to play mine. Coming, dear Tsuyu?"

"You're a real sneak, Mina-chan. Just terrible. Let's go watch."

Later, stammering through the journalism club's questions, Deku affirmed this was probably not a very heroic stunt. Students reported horrified cries from the second-floor dorms – male and female, according to witness testimony – and some kind of a flaming hairball arcing out the nearest window like a powdery candle. He certainly wished it hadn't landed them all a quarter page in the school paper.

There was some awkward silence in homeroom, and a good long lecture about the smoke alarm, and of course the stench of burnt plastic hung around outside Yaoyorozu's hallway for days.

But he had to admit, it was kind of funny.