A/N: Hhhhgghh...

I stayed up until 2 AM on a Saturday night to finish this chapter's drawing... I'm guessing it took me maybe, god I don't even know, I think I started around 7-ish? So I just sat down for almost 7 hours straight doing this drawing... TvT

On a happier note though, I'm really happy with how it turned out! It was based on the manga's second volume cover, the one that had Bakugou and Deku on it from their battle trial. Please check it out! :D

[10/7/21 EDIT]: This chapter now also has screenshots :)

Art -

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

[Ch. 45] Add /2j947o5va1x to the DeviantArt Stash URL.

Yoshiho launched another gravity pulse at Hitomi, the bluenette diving out of the way as she tried launching a force field at the girl. She rolled onto the ground, stopping just by the river as Yoshiho dodged her attack.

It went on that way for a while, where Yoshiho would launch an attack at Hitomi, she would dodge, Hitomi would try launching her own attack, and Yoshiho would dodge. Yoshiho was yelling at her all the while.

Apparently Hitomi had said something that had pissed her off.

"IT'S PEOPLE LIKE YOU I HATE THE MOST!" Yoshiho screamed, launching herself towards Hitomi this time. Before Hitomi could even react, Yoshiho had her pinned to the ground, an erratic look on her face that threw Hitomi off for a second.

"You don't even know me!" Hitomi screamed back, using a force field to get Yoshiho off of her and put some distance between them.

"I know enough," the Shiketsu student replied. "I know that you're weak, and doubtful, and unbelievably unsure of yourself, and yet… and yet…" Yoshiho's voice came out strained, as if she was about to cry.

"…Why do you deserve the love and support of your parents when you can't even do anything?!"

That caught Hitomi off-guard.

What do my parents have to do with this…?

"Talking about how your parents will always be there for you… how you didn't think you'd be here without them…

It disgusts me."

Yoshiho was looking down at the ground, as if frozen in place. Hitomi only stared back at her, the test momentarily forgotten.

"You have friends, and no one looks at you as if you're a mistake…"

Yoshiho launched herself at Hitomi again, screaming as she flew towards her.

"YOU'RE NOT BLAMED FOR YOUR BROKEN FAMILY!"

Hitomi narrowly avoided her, diving out of the way and making a path for herself to cross the river. She crawled along it, making her way to the forest.

As Yoshiho skidded to a stop, she glared at Hitomi from the other side of the riverbank.

"You were blessed with a quirk that matched your parents'... and you can't even use it to fight me."

She stumbled slightly, her gaze falling to the ground as she held onto one of her gauntlets. "You're so weak. If I can beat you, it'll just be another thing that I can use to prove them wrong. I'll get my license, become one of the greatest heroes in existence, and finally make my scummy parents eat their words."

Hitomi faltered, processing what Yoshiho had said.

"Scummy" parents…?

"So…" Yoshiho looked back up at Hitomi, her eyes so filled with rage Hitomi would say she almost looked murderous. "Stop running away like the useless person you are, won't you? Make this fight actually worthwhile."

Hitomi flinched at her words, taking a step back.

She has family issues, just like Todoroki.

Yoshiho aimed her fist at her again, a gravity pulse shooting from her hand. Hitomi narrowly dodged it, seeing it destroy some of the trees.

She's too strong!

Yoshiho launched another gravity pulse at Hitomi, the bluenette having no time to dodge. All she could do was make a force field and let herself get pushed back into her own wall, feeling as if the air was knocked out of her lungs.

When the attack finally settled, Hitomi fell to the ground, panting. She stared at the ground, her eyebrows furrowing as she felt herself get annoyed.

There was only so much Hitomi could assume.

But if what she'd figured turned out to be true, and this whole situation was what she thought it was…

Hitomi wasn't just gonna let herself be someone else's punching bag.

"Who cares what your parents think?!" Hitomi yelled.

"Of course someone like you would say something like that!" Yoshiho screamed back, clenching her fists. "You spent years living in a blissful lie! Always getting told you were worth something! You didn't live with the weight of your parents telling you would never amount to anything!"

Hitomi's hunch was confirmed, the girl getting up from the ground as her fists clenched.

She's hurt.

Hitomi couldn't even begin to imagine what Yoshiho's life was like.

Hitomi's eyes glowed, the air getting warmer as she launched a force field at Yoshiho. The Shiketsu student jumped out of the way, launching herself with her quirk and leaving some cracks in the ground.

"And you believe all that?" Hitomi yelled, her voice echoing across the river.

She saw Yoshiho flinch slightly, the girl fumbling her landing. She stumbled a little bit, looking surprised for only a moment before she shook her head, her eyes narrowing. "Why would I believe it?!"

Yoshiho launched another gravity pulse at Hitomi, Hitomi diving to the side as she felt her hair billow behind her. She rolled on the ground, sliding along the dirt. Hitomi groaned, before staring back at Yoshiho, a look of realization in her silver eyes.

"...Because you're scared," Hitomi mumbled, getting up from the ground.

Yoshiho froze, her eyes wide in bewilderment. Hitomi took that chance to attack, forming a large wall and blasting it at the Shiketsu student. Yoshiho recoiled, having no time to dodge and holding her hands up in an attempt to block it. The force field hit her hard, pushing her back as her feet slid across the ground before it finally dissipated.

Yoshiho slowly lowered her arms, a hateful look in her eyes. "Why would I be scared?"

Hitomi gulped, feeling as if she was prying into matters she knew nothing about. In a way, that was exactly what she was doing.

But there was something in Hitomi that made her continue.

"You're scared…" Hitomi insisted, her eyebrows furrowing, "...because you're afraid it's all true."

Yoshiho balked, dashing forward and catapulting herself towards Hitomi.

"DON'T TALK SO MINDLESSLY ABOUT THINGS YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!"

Hitomi made a force field around herself on instinct, seeing the soles of Yoshiho's boots as the girl landed on top of the barrier. The cuffs around Yoshiho's wrist glowed, right as Hitomi felt herself get pushed into the ground. The world was rumbling around her, Hitomi getting pushed deeper and deeper into the soil. The immense pressure was making it hard to breathe.

"You know nothing," Yoshiho sneered.

Hitomi was struggling, gasping for air as she heard the ground crack beneath her. Somehow, though, she found the voice in her throat to speak. "You… you're afraid," she choked out, her eyes squeezed shut. "You're afraid they're right… you're afraid you really are worthless."

The gravity increased, Hitomi sinking deeper into the ground.

She needed to get Yoshiho away from her.

Hitomi drew in more heat, the air getting hotter as her force field expanded rapidly in size. Yoshiho was launched back, landing on the other side of the river as Hitomi sat up abruptly. She panted, taking in deep breaths as she could finally breathe again.

Hitomi got up from the ground, albeit wobbily, stumbling slightly.

"You're scared," Hitomi continued, cradling her arm, "that you're useless… You're scared… that they'll look at you, and realize they're right."

God, how ironic.

They were both afraid of the exact same thing.

Hitomi took a deep breath, finally finding the courage to look back at the other girl. Yoshiho was scowling at her, the shadow of her hat giving her a dark look in her eyes.

But to Hitomi, at least, there was something that told her it was fake.

There was something that told her… that Yoshiho's hateful resolve was slipping.

"I don't know why you have it out for me so bad…" Hitomi began, backing into the forest, "or what your family's scandal is… I don't know what they've told you… or the things you've been through…"

Hitomi wobbled, placing a hand on one of the tree trunks to balance herself.

"But, whatever your parents did to you…"

She backed into the shadows of the trees, stepping over the roots.

"...you're more than what they say you are."

With that, she turned and ran into the forest, disappearing into the trees as she left Yoshiho to stare at her in shock.

I'm not strong enough to go up against someone like her.

It seemed like she has some personal issues she's struggling with, but…

I have a test to focus on first.

Hitomi made her way back to the reception room, breathing a sigh of relief.

After her run-in with Yoshiho, Hitomi managed to find two people in a secluded area, trapping them in force fields and tapping their targets. She had done it while there was only 20 open slots left to pass, and hoped the rest of her class had made it through.

As she put her targets and bag onto the return shelf, her mind drifted back to the auburn-haired girl.

I wonder if she was able to pass…

If she was a first-year skilled enough to participate with the second-years, and is on the same caliber as that Yoarashi guy, who's supposedly better than Todoroki, she should've been able to, right…?

Even though Hitomi could tell the Shiketsu girl pretty much hated her, it was obvious there was more behind that hate. The girl had mentioned her family, and based on what she'd said to Hitomi...

There was way more to them than Yoshiho had let on.

Hitomi returned to the main room to find Midoriya, Uraraka, Sero, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Bakugou had entered the reception area, and in a rush of excitement, dashed straight for Kirishima for a big hug.

The redhead nearly toppled over, laughing as he hugged back.

"You made it!" Hitomi exclaimed.

"I'm glad to see you did too! Were you with the rest of the class?"

Hitomi pulled back, giving him a sheepish smile. "No… this guy with a vibration quirk separated everyone, and I ended up running off on my own…" She scratched her cheek, looking away. "I actually ran into someone from Shiketsu…"

"Woah, no way! Me, Kaminari, and Bakugou did too!"

"Bakugou?"

She looked at the blonde, recalling that he'd just arrived with the others. "I got here before you? That's wild."

Bakugou scoffed, looking away. "It was because of that dunce face!"

If Kaminari was nearby, he would've whined, but he was off with Mineta pestering Midoriya about something.

"Eh? But you went off on your own, didn't you?" Hitomi teased, raising a brow. "What happened, Bakugou? Didn't want to leave your friends?"

Bakugou scowled, huffing as he looked away. Hitomi and Kirishima both laughed at the sight.

"So, you fought a Shiketsu student right?" Kirishima asked, directing Hitomi's attention back to him. "Were you by yourself?"

"Ah, yeah… I ended up running away, actually. I wonder if she's here…" Hitomi glanced around the room, looking for a Shiketsu hat and auburn hair.

She found her, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, not talking to anyone.

Kirishima followed her gaze, his eyes widening with recognition. "That's Koatsu… she's one of the first-years, right?"

"Yeah… she's really strong, and that's why I decided to run away. But, uh… can you tell me what exactly that whole… 'family scandal' thing is all about?"

Kirishima stared at the girl from across the room for a moment, before he turned back to Hitomi. "Well, I'd feel weird talking about it when she's right there, but… I'll give you the short version.

Y'know the Koatsu Support Company?"

"No…" Hitomi's eyes widened. "Wait. Don't tell me she's…"

Kirishima nodded. "Yeah. She's the daughter of the CEO. Well, supposedly, I guess."

"Supposedly…?"

Kirishima glanced at the girl again, looking wary. "Basically, what happened is that there were accusations of cheating between the CEO and his wife, and because it was the husband doing the accusing, his wife and daughter got the short end of the stick. It was a big thing when it happened a few years ago, and there've been tons of rumors and speculation over whether she's really his daughter or not."

Hitomi stared at the auburn-haired girl, thinking back on their fight.

"You're not blamed for your broken family."

There was still so much Hitomi didn't know about her, but now Hitomi had an idea of what those words meant.

A/N: I remember when I first wrote this chapter I really wasn't happy with it. Their fight was originally much shorter, but I felt it was too abrupt and the last thing Hitomi told Yoshiho seemed out of nowhere in the original draft, so I added more dialogue to their fight that helps it flow better. At least, I hope it did...

But either way, all the extra content I added ended up shooting this chapter to 2040 words. XD