A/N: I'm back from my trip! I wrote about 5 new chapters while I was gone, which is a lot of progress. :D

I think I may end up actually making an upload schedule, because the sports festival is already wrapping up this chapter and it hasn't even been a month yet. I want to pace the story uploads out better so that it doesn't reach manga-only content before season 4 drops in October.

Art-

[Complete Gallery] Add /21axlkt3bolc to the DeviantArt Stash URL.

[Ch. 18] Add /24gzealcqku to the DeviantArt Stash URL.

Hitomi sighed as Recovery Girl wrapped her arm in bandages.

"You did well, making it all the way to the semifinals."

"Yeah, I suppose. It's just a little frustrating I got so close to the finals, though I don't think me battling Todoroki would last very long anyway…"

"Have more confidence in yourself," Recovery Girl said as she clipped the end of the bandages. "You didn't get this far with dumb luck; that was all your own skill.

Okay, you're all done."

Hitomi bowed in thanks before leaving the room, hoping the last match hadn't started already.

...

Arriving at the 1-A stands, she took a seat next to Kirishima in the last row to find a huge ice wall filling half the stage.

"What did I miss?"

"Not much," Kirishima said. "The fight just started. Great job on your match, by the way!"

"Thanks-"

Hitomi was interrupted when she heard muffled explosions coming from the ice.

Bakugou emerged from the ice, blowing a section of the front apart.

He then launched himself at Todoroki, grabbing him and throwing him across the stage.

Todoroki formed ice along the edge while in midair, keeping himself in bounds.

Bakugou came at him again, Todoroki avoiding his assault and grabbing him with his left hand.

"Use your left!" Hitomi heard Endeavor say. "Use it, Shouto!"

Hitomi waited in anticipation before Todoroki threw Bakugou away, no flames in sight.

…

"Todoroki-kun!"

Hitomi looked to see Midoriya stand up from his seat, cheering for the dual-haired boy to do his best.

From her seat she saw Bakugou launch himself into the air the same way he had during her own fight.

Flames erupted from Todoroki's left, the hot air starting to fill the stadium.

"He's using it!" she said.

Bakugou maneuvered himself in the air, moving in a twirling fashion and creating a spiral of wind.

Hitomi saw Todoroki aim his fiery arm at Bakugou, before the flames suddenly disappeared.

He's too conflicted with himself.

Bakugou let out one last cry, not noticing Todoroki's flames had dissipated as he let out a huge explosion akin to a missile.

The entire stadium shook from the force as the smoke slowly began to clear.

Bakugou was on the floor of the stage while Todoroki was laying on top of his ice, out of bounds.

Bakugou got up from his place on the ground, running towards Todoroki's limp body and grabbing him by the shirt.

"Stop screwing around!" Hitomi heard him say. "Didn't I tell you there was no point, damn it?!"

Bakugou sounded like he was about to cry.

"To get first place like this! Like this…"

Hitomi watched Bakugou fall to the ground, noticing pink smoke filling the stage.

Midnight had used her quirk to put him to sleep.

She approached the two boys, staring at their unconscious bodies for a moment before raising a hand in the air.

"Todoroki is out of bounds! Which means, Bakugou wins!"

The semi finalists and finalists were expected to be ready at the first, second, and third place podiums so Midnight could begin the awards ceremony, which meant Hitomi had to separate from the rest of the class.

When she arrived to the podiums, she saw a sight that made her stop in place.

"What's going on…?"

Bakugou was on the first place podium, chained to a cement block, his hands in a metal claw to prevent use of his quirk while a mouthguard was on his face.

"He's been difficult since he woke up," Cementoss explained.

Hitomi slowly walked past him, taking her place on the third place podium. "Isn't that… a bit much…?"

Bakugou made strangled noises through the mouthguard, shooting Hitomi a menacing glare.

Maybe not…

As Todoroki took his place on the second place podium, Hitomi noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Iida?"

"He had to leave early," Cementoss told her. "Family emergency."

…

Hitomi heard the stadium's loud cheers as the podiums rose through the ground, sounds of confusion at the sight of Bakugou.

Hitomi noticed the flash of cameras, realizing the paparazzi was close by. She wanted to cover her face in embarrassment from all the attention, but decided against it.

"Now, we will award the medals!" Midnight announced. "The presentation of the medals will, of course, be by this man—"

Cheers erupted from the crowd as All Might's laugh was heard from above, the No. 1 hero making a flashy entrance as he flew through the air and landed on the ground below.

"Now then, All Might," Midnight said as she held up a tray of medallions, "please present the medals, starting with third place."

That's me…

All Might laughed brightly as he approached Hitomi, a bronze medal in his hands.

"Congratulations, Miss Kanetsukabe," he said as he slung the medal over her head. "You're going to be quite the formidable hero once you're older."

Hitomi grasped the medal around her neck, glancing at it as she thought of Nari. "Thank you, All Might."

"However," All Might suddenly said, "you rely on your quirk too much as a buffer."

The hero suddenly engulfed her in a hug as he continued. "Practice more on your personal fighting skills and reflexes, and one day you could be one of the best out there."

His armpit smells like hopes and dreams…

Hitomi held the medal close to her chest as All Might stepped back, remembering how she'd lost to Bakugou. "I'll do my best, All Might!"

The hero flashed her a bright smile before continuing with the ceremony.

Night was falling by the time Hitomi returned home.

As she opened the front door to her house, she was greeted by loud shouts.

"WELCOME HOME!"

Nari and Toku came barreling towards her as she entered the family room, her older brother and Nari's parents sitting on the couch while her own parents were sitting at the kitchen table.

She noticed tons of her favorite foods laid out on the counter as she took her shoes off. "What's all this?"

"To celebrate, duh!" Nari said. "I told you you'd do great!"

"Can we see the medal, Hitomi?" Toku asked.

Hitomi walked over to the couch, setting her bag down and unzipping it, pulling out the bronze medal.

Everyone made sounds of awe as Nari's parents congratulated her. "Amazing, Hitomi!"

Her older brother leaned back against the couch as Hitomi put the medal away. "I can't believe you went up against that Bakugou character, though. He's terrifying!"

"Yeah, he sure is…" Hitomi made a small laugh as she grabbed a plate. "But I survived, didn't I?"

"Don't let the fame get to your head, okay?" Hitomi's father joked. "I don't want to have to deal with an ego like his."

"Oh, believe me, that's never happening."

Nari elbowed Hitomi in the back as she was grabbing food. "Don't forget me when your famous, got it?"

Hitomi chuckled. "Like I'd ever."

A/N: Did anyone catch that Tumblr reference? No?