A/N: A little bit of Mr. Aizawa POV for you guys! I thought it was important to show his thoughts on this situation and I feel like it came out pretty well so I hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter Ten: Shock and Awe

Shota Aizawa had been this close to using his quirk to save her. When he saw Aisla Haru—the girl with an eye quirk and lack of self-confidence—plummeting from the roof of a building, he moved. One moment he was enduring Joke's harassment and the next he was catapulting into the arena. His scarf shot out toward her at the same time Tsuyu Asui tried to use her tongue to catch her friend.

Well, damn… he thought as the two quirks collided and his cancelled out the other. Haru continued to fall, but Shota would still have time to catch her…if it hadn't been for the idiot that got in his way.

Katsuki Bakugo lunged forward, blasters bringing him right into Shota's path. Again, his quirk erased the explosive blond's attempts to save her, and sent him flying to the ground next to a pile of rubble.

This is not happening. Shota was getting frustrated. Why was everyone getting in his way? He couldn't even save one girl. What the hell was wrong with him today?

"Stay back," he instructed his students. "I've got her."

"I can help!" Ochaco Uraraka came running toward him. He would have been able to stop her easily. He would have been able to wrap her up with one piece of his scarf and secure the other side around Aisla Haru. It would have been a close call, but he would have gotten the girl just in time.

He would have done it.

If not for Katsuki Bakugo.

The sound of his student hitting the ground at their feet was almost nauseating. Despite only knowing the girl for a short time now, he felt some inexplicable connection to her because of their similar quirks. Because of this, and the fact that she was admittedly becoming one of his more favored students, the image of her lying there was horrifying to him. Even Eraser Head, who had seen many villains fall from rooftops and heard the terrible sounds of their bodies colliding with concrete, couldn't bear the sight for long. He coughed to hide the bile that threatened and yelled for his students to clear the area. He needed to get her to a medic right now. How long had that fall been? Fifty feet? A hundred? She'd been falling so fast, too.

You better be alive, he silently commanded as he raced forward. He collided with Bakugo, who ignored the impact and threw himself at Haru's side. Despite his warnings, the blond pulled the girl onto her back and wept into her chest.

Shota sighed. You're not helping her, Bakugo.

"AISLA!" Bakugo cried. "WAKE UP, DAMMIT!"

"Bakugo," Shota tried, but the boy was beyond comprehension. His grief for a friend—or maybe they were more than that if his behavior was any indication—bound him from reason. He couldn't see beyond the image before him—the broken and bruised body that seemed lifeless in his arms.

He let out another heavy breath. He knew trying to convince the boy that she was going to be fine would prove futile. He would have to restrain him and possibly even sedate him until he could pull himself together.

"YOU BETTER NOT DIE ON ME!" Bakugo pleaded, holding Haru's limp form in his arms and probably causing more damage. Fortunately for her, she was out cold from the landing. Otherwise, she'd likely be in a lot of pain from his ceaseless shaking.

Even so…Shota had never seen such raw emotion from this boy before. He was relentless in his endeavors, yes, and there was no doubt that he was passionate, but this was something entirely different. No… Don't tell me. How had he never seen it before? It was so painfully obvious to him now that he felt stupid for not picking up on all the signs. Teenage hormones and crushes were an unfortunate by-product of his role as a high schoolteacher, and that was something he'd had to learn to accept ever since Kayama roped him into this job. Still, Bakugo was the last student he'd expect to be plagued by feelings of amour.

Aisla Haru was a nice girl, sure—helpful, demure, and selfless to a fault. He supposed some of those might be interesting attributes to the brash young man. But, in terms of compatibility, Shota would have expected someone with a personality closer to Eijiro Kirishima than Aisla Haru as a match for the live grenade that was Katsuki Bakugo. Yet, here he was, displaying an unusual amount of vulnerability when he could have simply charged back into the exam without his fallen companion.

I'm a disgrace, Shota scolded himself when he realized he'd just spent the last minute contemplating the love lives of a couple of teenagers.

"Bakugo, let me take her to see Recovery Girl," he said sharply, hoping to get through the haze around his student.

Bakugo didn't move, didn't so much as make a sound. He held Haru against his chest silently now. His body was shaking—possibly going into shock. Shota needed to do something before a crowd started to gather and the situation got worse. He'd been more or less given permission by the Public Safety Commission to intervene in emergencies, but he needed to make haste because there was still a test going on. He also needed to consider the possibility that his intervention could affect the scores of any involved students.

"Class 1-A!" he intoned in order to get all of his students' attention at once, at least those that were in the area. They all stopped whispering and looked sheepishly at him. "All of you get the hell out of here. Get back to the exam. I'll take care of these two. The rest of you…" he looked them each briefly in the eyes, "go make me proud."

"Yes, sir!"

To his immense relief, they all scattered, leaving him with just one more problem to deal with.

He placed a firm hand on the boy's shoulder. "Bakugo." He waited but no response came. "Aisla is going to be fine, you have my word on that one." He purposely used the girl's given name to get through to him—aware that, like Asui, Haru was a rare exception to the surname rule when it came to her interactions with the other students. "Let me take her to get treated."

"I can take her, Mr. Aizawa."

Shota turned to find Todoroki standing before him, eyes full of remorse as if he'd been personally responsible for this disaster. He allowed his gaze to soften. Miss Haru had a lot of powerful allies on her side, it seemed.

Bakugo's head slowly turned toward the familiar voice as if it was the first one he'd heard. Did he tune out Shota's voice so much in class that it didn't even register in his brain? His eyes were hollow, empty shells of what used to hold anger and determination. They found Todoroki, but he couldn't say if Bakugo was really seeing his classmate or not.

"I can take Aisla," Todoroki repeated more firmly. He was speaking to Bakugo now and his words held a silent promise.

These two boys… Had they finally come to an understanding with one another?

Bakugo slowly nodded but made no moves to release the girl. He was definitely in shock and should probably be checked out as well. Maybe Shota could just restrain him and drag him there…

Shota watched as Todoroki walked forward with slow, careful steps, gaze never leaving Bakugo's—like he was approaching a wild animal, not a fellow classmate. He knelt before them and stretched out his arms, carefully pulling the unconscious girl from Bakugo's hold. He stood up, easily balancing her in his arms, then turned back toward Shota.

"I'll carry her," he challenged.

Shota arched an eyebrow but allowed the inappropriate response for now. Todoroki was worried about his friend, so it could be excused just this once. As long as Haru was taken to Recover Girl as soon as possible, it didn't really matter how she got there.

"You do understand that if you leave the exam area, it could negatively affect your score," Shota cautioned. "I can't guarantee that you'll be allowed back onto the playing field, and I can't speak to whether your performance thus far has warranted a passing grade."

Todoroki stared at him for a long moment, expression as stoic and unreadable as always. Finally, as if the answer was obvious, he said, "This is a rescue mission, isn't it? They can't deduct points for a real rescue, if that's the case. And if it's not…well, getting my license is something I have to do, I know that. I still don't know what kind of hero I want to become but… I think that protecting my friend is in line with those values."

Shota gave him a nod, then turned back to Bakugo. His arms had remained outstretched as though he was still holding Haru between them. Shota placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle shake. The boy didn't move, so he put an arm around him and helped him to his feet. He stood with no resistance and didn't protest when Shota started to walk. He didn't think the silence would last long, however. As soon as Bakugo came to his senses, they'd all be in for the explosion that was sure to come. Especially if his break from reality caused him to fail his provisional license exam.

I'll cross that bridge later. For now, Shota helped him walk across the field in as inconspicuous a route as he could manage, and back into the building. He dragged him along behind Todoroki until they reached the waiting area, then attempted to get him to sit in a chair. Bakugo just slumped against the wall and dropped to the floor, burying his face between his knees in defeat.

He crouched next to the explosive blond to examine him for a moment. His eyes were unfocused, warring with emotions that Shota understood too well. Fortunately, all of his students would be able to recover and no one was dead. "You'll be fine," he promised before following Todoroki down the hall. He found him standing next to a door and shouting angrily at a girl in a nurse's uniform.

"Who do you think you are?" he was saying. "You can't keep me out of there! I'm the one who brought her in!"

"I'm sorry, but she's getting checked out right now," the girl replied tiredly. "You can see her when Recovery Girl is finished." Her shoulder length black hair was tucked under a white cap which barely clung to her head by a few strands of hair. If she jerked her head too quickly to one side—

And there it goes.

The cap went flying in his direction, landing right at his feet. He ignored it and groaned wearily at the spectacle before him.

"She's my best friend!" Todoroki snapped in irritation. "I need to make sure she's okay!"

This show of affection was almost as surprising as Bakugo's stupor. At the start of the year, Todoroki was as cold as his right side, and had only begun to open up to others after his battle with Midoriya at the Sports Festival. He was socially unaware and took things too literally, which may have been why he latched onto Haru when she expressed an interest in obtaining his friendship. Fantastic. If this doesn't scream "love triangle that's going to affect their school performances, attitudes, and overall well being," then I don't know what does. Again, another bridge he'd have to cross later.

The girl nodded. "I hear you, but you're just going to have to wait like everyone else."

"I won't—"

Todoroki finally noticed his teacher standing against the wall across from him, arms folded and expression displeased. The boy visibly deflated. "I apologize," he said with a sigh. "I'm just…I'm really worried about my friend."

"You must be very close," the girl noted mildly. She turned toward Shota with a respectful expression and bowed low. "Pardon me, Eraser Head, sir. Recovery Girl is just about finished."

Shota nodded. "I'm going to check on her." His red-eyed gaze dared the youth to deny him access. Her constricting pupils and twitching lip told him he'd hear no arguments from this one. He stepped past her, ignoring the glower he was receiving from Todoroki, and entered the room.

Smoooooch!

"How's the patient?" he asked casually as the door shut softly behind him. He leaned against the wall next to it and waited for the doctor to fill him in.

Aisla Haru lay on a hospital cot, eyes pinched shut in either pain or humiliation, he couldn't say right away. His intuition told him that she was definitely in pain, though he didn't think it was the physical kind. He didn't know exactly what went down on that field, but he did know Haru and she tended to take things much harder than some of her other classmates.

"She'll be just fine, Shota," Recovery Girl told him. Her words were curt with the faintest note of scolding in them.

Shota ignored the insinuation that he was somehow to blame for Haru's hospital visits today. "Her friends are worried about her," he explained nonchalantly. "They asked me to get an update."

She gave him a look that said he wasn't fooling her in the slightest. "I think someone else might be worried about Miss Haru. But don't fret, you got her here just in time. Any later and I might not have been able to repair the damage to her bones. She'll just have to sit out of classes for a day or two to finish healing. She fell a long way." Her tone was almost accusatory, or perhaps that was just Shota projecting since his numerous attempts to stop her from striking the ground had been thwarted.

He resisted the urge to scowl.

"She's in good hands," he responded coolly.

"Of course she is! Now I'll leave you two to chat for a minute. I have to talk with my assistant."

Recovery Girl left them there and Shota had a rare moment of speechlessness. He didn't know what to say to his student. What was the best approach here? Stern guidance or reserved encouragement? This was the line he constantly walked with his students.

"I really am fine," came Haru's timid voice, as if reading his thoughts.

His eyes automatically flicked over to hers but he kind of regretted doing so. Her expression was so full of anguish it could triple Bakugo's and Todoroki's combined. He wasn't surprised, but seeing her face so stricken felt like a blow to the gut.

This is my fault, he thought with remorse. I shouldn't have let them attempt that ridiculous rescue. He'd been watching the scene unfold from the bleachers, noting all the ways the kids were overlooking easier solutions in favor of a convoluted, shabbily crafted rescue scheme. He'd been kicking himself for not putting them through more intensive rescue training and focusing on combat due to the League of Villain attacks. Still, with Miss Joke cackling in his ear and their licenses on the line, Shota had kept his feet firmly planted even when it was clear that disaster was impending.

"I know what you're thinking," Aisla said softly as she pushed herself into a sitting position. She winced as she did, making him want to echo the reaction. "And it's all my fault. I should have said no. Or I should have suggested that we wait for someone with a different quirk to help us, but…"

"You wanted to spite Bakugo," he guessed. From what he could see on the monitors, Aisla and Bakugo had been in some kind of debate before she'd run off with that other student. He couldn't tell what had been said between them, but he'd seen the fire blazing in her eyes as she turned her back on Bakugo and stormed away.

"In a way, yes," she admitted. "But I was also just so tired of being useless that I needed to do something. I wanted to help."

"That wasn't the way to do it," he admonished gently. "Next time, you need to think before you act."

"I know," she agreed quietly.

A long moment passed in silence—the only sound being the tap of shoes in the hall and the distant sound of crumbling and explosions from the ongoing exam.

"What happened out there, Miss Haru?" he finally asked.

Something had to have happened. Before he'd gotten to her, something had changed. He'd seen it happen with his own eyes, but even so, he wasn't sure if he believed it. He wanted to hear it from her. He wanted to see what she had to say.

What did you do, Aisla Haru?

Her eyes registered surprise, then understanding, then something like pain. "I don't know, Mr. Aizawa. One moment I was watching Hitori fall, and the next…he was fine! I don't know what happened! I watched him fall. And then I got this weird feeling, like a migraine was hitting me, and Hitori was back where he'd started and I was falling. The tower—" She sucked in a breath, then spoke in a soft tone. "It was just gone, like it had never even been there." Her eyes met his and they were wide with fear.

She doesn't even know what she did, he realized. This wasn't some move she'd been secretly practicing in her free time. This thing she'd done…was entirely by accident. That was a hell of a lot more difficult to deal with.

Shota sighed. "Miss Haru," he addressed her, "take me through what happened, step by step. Don't leave out any details, even if you think they don't matter. If the wind changed directions, you got a strange smell, your nose tickled, you had to sneeze, you thought about your mom, all of it. Start from when you got to the top of that tower."

She filled him in as best she could. Their plan hadn't been going as smoothly as they'd expected, so the boy with her had attempted to loosen the stone with his quirk. When he did that, it created a chain reaction that sent the whole building tumbling down. A tower was formed from the wreckage, which Haru had landed on.

"The rest is a bit hazy," she admitted slowly. "I remember looking for Hitori and the HUC member, but the building created a lot of dust in the air when it started to fall so it was hard to see them. I know I found Hitori on one of the few pieces left standing, and then…" she shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't do anything. I just looked at him."

"What happened when you looked him in the eyes?" Shota pressed.

She frowned in thought. "I'm not sure. I saw…images, or maybe they were just memories, but they were played in reverse. Just a few of them—three or four maybe?—and no more than a second each. It could have just been my own mind replaying scenes that already took place."

"Or," he countered, "it could be your ultimate move."

Her eyes widened once more. "But I don't even know what I did, much less if I could replicate it. It all happened so fast."

He was nodding before she'd even finished speaking. He understood now. He hadn't been certain until this moment, but now he knew. Aisla Haru could do much more than she thought she was capable of.

An ultimate move…

He'd been considering what that could look like in this student since he'd first learned how similar her quirk was to his. He'd never expected something like this from her, certainly not this early on, but he supposed it made sense that it came out of hiding like it did. She'd been afraid for her comrade and a power had manifested itself to aid her. It wasn't unusual for quirks to evolve when the right amount of pressure was applied. Fear of death or fear for someone else, or particularly strong drives could be enough to cause sudden ability enhancements. What else could this girl do?

"We'll work on it during training next week," he promised her. Though admittedly, this was more to satiate his own curiosity than to offer his student a helping hand.

He pushed off the wall and gave a stretch. "Well, I'd better go check on everyone else. Get some rest, Miss Haru." He turned his back on her to leave but she called him back.

"Mr. Aizawa!" She paused, and he wondered if she was waiting for him to turn around. He didn't. "You don't think this…power or whatever it is…could hurt someone, do you?"

"I think any quirk can be used for either good or bad," he told her sagely. "It's up to the person using it to make that decision."

"Heroes or villains," she murmured.

He nodded. "Something like that." He opened the door to leave, but just before stepping through he said softly, "I'm proud of you, Aisla."

It was like watching a nightmare unfold. All color faded to black and white like an old film reel, and everything started moving in slow motion.

Aisla, scaling the side of a dilapidated building.

Aisla, thrown from the roof, flailing as her body spun through the air.

Aisla, slamming into a concrete tower.

The tower disappearing… Aisla plummeting…

…and me, jumping, flying through the air like a bird, reaching, holding out hope…

…then failing to save her.

Katsuki didn't care about the rest of the test after that. He knew it wasn't like him. He knew his license was important and his whole damn dream relied on acing the exam, but in that moment… He couldn't think, couldn't move. He didn't even know how long he'd been stuck in this position: crouched on the backs of his heels with his back against the wall, head clutched in his hands, fingers pulling at his hair in frustration.

I won't leave this time, he promised. I won't leave you alone.

Time ticked by slowly, minutes, maybe hours. Still, he sat there, unmoving, unblinking, until his legs grew numb and his eyes were so dry he could no longer see. Someone came to get him eventually and helped him into a chair. A cup of water was placed into his hand, too. He might have drank some, he didn't know. Distorted words were spoken around him, muffled sounds he couldn't comprehend in this state.

It doesn't matter, he told himself. None of it matters. I have to be here—for her.

Something warm was wrapped around his shoulders. A blanket? When had that gotten there? He pulled it tightly around himself as he tugged his knees up to his chest once more.

"It's alright, Bakugo." Mr. Aizawa? "She's fine. Get some rest now. She's going to be just fine…"

"Good," he murmured, as his forehead rested against his knees and he allowed his eyes to close for just one moment…

When he opened them, his head felt much clearer. He must have fallen asleep when all he'd meant to do was rest his eyes. He shot to his feet so fast he fell right back onto his ass and had to try again.

"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?!" he demanded, though his vision had black spots and he couldn't see who he was yelling at.

"She's right in there, Kacchan. She's fine!"

"DEKU!" he growled. When his vision finally cleared and that damn nerd's face came into focus, he glared so hard the loser's ghost popped right out of his body. He gripped him by the shirt collar and shook him hard. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER, YOU DAMN NERD?! WHY ISN'T SHE HERE?!"

"Nothing, Kacchan!" he said. "Haru is right in there! Recovery Girl said she'll be just fine, she just needs a little while to let the rest of her injuries heal before she can get back to classes."

"THAT DOESN'T SOUND FINE TO ME!" he shouted. "TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO AISLA BEFORE I MURDER YOU!"

Deku's voice shook as he responded. "She fell from a height of almost ten stories, which would normally have been fatal but amazingly, her fall was slowed by the multiple rescue attempts made by Tsu, Uraraka, and Mr. Aizawa, despite the fact that everything collided at the last moment! I watched the replay and saw what she did with her quirk which was so amazing that I had to write it down and I—" He caught the death glare Katsuki was sending him and inhaled a sharp breath. "Oh, but uh, of courserRecovery Girl healed her and the important thing is that she's alive, Kacchan!"

"He's telling the truth, Bakugo."

Katsuki's gaze shifted until it landed on dual-colored hair and a face that held so much remorse it was practically screaming the emotion at him. So, he felt guilty, too then…

"What about the test?" he asked no one in particular. The last thing he remembered was rushing forward to grab Aisla, knowing it was a futile hope but still needing to do something.

"We took Aisla to Recovery Girl and then our classmates honorably finished the exam."

Katsuki didn't remember anything. What the hell happened to him out there? Did he freeze up? Hit his head and pass out?

"You were in shock," another voice answered his silent inquiry. Katsuki turned to find his teacher leaning against the far wall with an unreadable expression. His face took on some color as he realized what Mr. Aizawa was implying. He'd been in shock…because of her? He wouldn't be such a wimp. He would have finished the exam like a real hero! He wouldn't fall over and mentally die because of some girl he didn't even like.

"You've got it bad, man." Kirishima had told him. "Seal the deal and make her yours."

Katsuki didn't want to make her his. He didn't want anything to do with that damn girl…right?

"She's been asking for you," Todoroki stated. "I told her I'd send you in when you woke up."

"How long was I out?"

"An hour or two."

"Shit," Katsuki cursed. That long? Then, something occurred to him. "HEY, WHAT ABOUT THE RESULTS?!"

"They were postponed," Mr. Aizawa explained. "They'll be up in another hour or so."

Relief washed over him. He didn't want to miss the chance to see his name up there, flashing proudly that he was authorized to be a hero now.

You won't see your name up there, his mind sneered at him. You didn't even finish the test.

Bullshit, he thought right back. I kicked ass in the first half and I rescued more losers than any of these other freaks combined. There's no way I failed because I got choked up in the last few minutes over some girl. It didn't happen! I must have gotten dehydrated or something, yeah, that's it. I got dehydrated and passed out, I didn't lose points over something as dumb as worrying about a chick. If anything, it's her fault I wasn't on my game. She was in my way. I had to deal with her and the other extras the whole time and it wore me out and I got dehydrated and passed out, so if I failed this exam, it's on her—not on me.

"You can go see Miss Haru now if you want," Mr. Aizawa said passively. "But make it fast."

He didn't want to go see her. If it wasn't for her, then he could have finished the exam along with everyone else. He should have just let Todo help her. Then he could have failed instead. Katsuki deserved the win more than that loser.

"Alright!" Mr. Aizawa intoned. "Everyone get the hell out of here. Go change back into your uniforms and head down to the waiting area. Bakugo, tell Miss Haru it's time to go."

"I'M NOT TELLING HER ANYTHING!" Katsuki raged, but his feet didn't obey his order to move, to follow his retreating classmates into the next room. They stayed planted on the floor until everyone else had disappeared from sight, then moved of their own volition toward the door that led to the infirmary.

I'm not talking to her, he told himself as he slipped inside.

He saw her there, sitting up on a cot on the opposite side of the room, face buried in her hands as tears dripped between her fingers. He could just make out her profile from beneath them, face contorted in pain. Somehow, he knew better than to think she was in physical pain. He could tell from the way she sobbed, muffling the sounds so no one would hear them, that she felt unrestrained sorrow. She must have thought she had failed the test, too, and she'd almost died.

You're such a fucking asshole, he thought to himself as he stood there and watched her silently cry. He'd just been thinking how this girl had ruined his chances of becoming a hero, but if he was being honest with himself, he knew it hadn't been her fault. And if he was feeling shitty about the possibility of not making it, then she undoubtedly felt ten times worse.

He didn't mean to sigh aloud, but suddenly Aisla gave a start of surprise and her eyes flicked over to him. They were red from crying and tears continued to flow without ceasing. She was in so much pain right now. He should say something comforting, right? Make her feel better?

In the end, he couldn't find any words to say. So, he took up a chair next to the bed and let her cry until she had no more tears left to shed. He didn't even realize he'd grasped her hand until sweat started to build up between them and he had to pull away before he accidentally ignited her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered hoarsely. "I'm such an idiot…" Fresh tears welled up in her eyes.

"Yeah, you kinda are," he muttered without thinking.

A hiccuping sound, followed by a choked laugh. "You're not supposed to agree with me."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I know."

She sniffled, blew her nose, then took a deep breath. "I'm okay now," she murmured.

"I don't think you are…" he replied just as quietly.

His words hung in the air for a long moment before she finally responded. "You're right. But I will be."

"What happened out there?" he asked because he couldn't hold back the curiosity another minute, and because it was easier to talk about the facts than to be left with weighted words that dripped with feelings he didn't want to face.

Her face fell slightly like she was disappointed that he'd brought that up. Maybe enough people had already been badgering her about it. Or maybe she just didn't want to tell him.

"Mr. Aizawa said it was probably my ultimate move," she explained shyly. "I don't really know more. It all happened so quickly."

"Yeah," he agreed, "I guess it did. It was, you know, pretty epic."

The corners of her lips lifted just slightly. "You think?" she asked. He nodded.

A beat passed before… "Did you mean what you said right before the test?" she asked, abruptly changing the subject. When he didn't respond, she continued. "When you told me you didn't want to be my friend?"

I did say that, he recalled, and too late he'd realized that she'd taken it the wrong way. He hadn't meant to say that he didn't want to be friends with her anymore, he just wasn't good with communicating his thoughts to others. He'd thought it was clear from his tone and his actions over the last few weeks, but maybe he'd been fooling himself into thinking he'd actually been doing okay with making an effort to be good to her.

"That's not what I meant…" he mumbled.

"What did you mean then?" she pressed softly.

"I don't know," he admitted in a whisper.

I'm sorry, he added silently. I can't say it.

"I think that you do," she breathed.

He sucked in a sharp breath. It was almost the same thing he'd said to her only moments ago, only for some reason her echoed response made something stir inside of him, something only she could bring out.

"I don't think we can be…friends…anymore," he told her, enunciating each word carefully. She stayed silent, waiting for more. "I don't think…I can be…"

I can't say it. Don't ask me to say it…

Her hand found his once more, fingers brushing the top in a tender touch. "I understand now," she said. "And Katsuki?"

"Yeah?"

She waited until he turned back to her. "I think…I don't want to be friends anymore either."

His heart hammered in his chest at her words and he felt his lips threatening to curl at the corners. He averted his gaze but didn't pull back his hand.

A/N: Look at you, Katsuki, doing your best to not be a huge butthead! Good effort, boy! So they don't want to be "friends" anymore, hmm…? Interesting. What shall our two protagonists become if friendship is no longer their goal? Katsuki, Aisla, and Todoroki all stopped mid-exam, but like Shota mentioned, they could have enough points to earn them a passing grade. Do you think their actual rescue will be enough to save them from the downfall of leaving the test early? Put your guesses in the comments below and find out the results on next week's chapter!

Beta: yellowchikadee

Test Audience: yellowchikadee; Ashteriax

I had a lot of help on this chapter, particularly with Shota's POV, so a huge shoutout to yellowchikadee for doing her best to make this chapter shine! I know how much you love Shota Aizawa, so thank you for your expert suggestions!

Reviews:

Knightwalker405: "Meatball Guy," or Shishikura, is a very minor character—if you've seen the anime or read the manga—one who happens to be kind of a creepy asshole. Also, this is fanfiction, meaning it's fiction. In other words, it's not real. Shishikura may or may not be a pervert who picks on girls, who knows? For story purposes, he is. He does not have a major role in this story, other than he was one of the reasons Aisla's parents wanted to transfer her to another school. I try to stay as true to the characters as possible, but this is fanfiction so sometimes I have to twist them a little bit. Thank you for your comments, though. I appreciate you taking the time to read and leave your thoughts. I hope I was able to answer your questions.

I'm also on AO3 under the same name!