*BANG!* The door slams open and a familiar helmeted face emerges from the shadows, stacks of papers in his hands.

Hey everybody, Happy New Year! Pulls off a candy cane stuck to his helmet. It's January and as promised, I have returned to start the season in AGC! How was your holidays everyone? I had a swell time spending time with friends and family and if you've been paying attention to my profile, I posted some other works on my break! A little sidestory for AGC called Froppy's Swashbuckling Adventure that I will continue and finish down the line and a pilot for a new crossover of mine called For Balance, For Honor! It's a cross between For Honor and Avatar the Last Airbender and I had a lot of fun writing something different from my usual fair. If you feel up to it, check em out and let me know what you think!

Anyway, I've got some big news. I have finally gotten an entry level position in my industry! It's all uphill from here baby!

Of course, this will have an impact on my upload schedule here as I am now working 2 jobs. I'm not sure how long it will take for me to release subsequent chapters, my previous schedule being every other Sunday. I'm thinking that they might be every three weeks from now on, but I'm not sure. Maybe once I get a hang of my new workload I'll be able to return to my old speed, we'll see.

As for this story, as of posting this chapter, it has reached more than 42k views, 200 favourites and 250 follows! Thank you all so, so much! Let's keep the numbers going!

No real reviews this time, but it does bring up a question I've been meaning to ask: Do you guys prefer this current system where I answer/acknowledge your reviews in the author's notes or would you prefer if I just reply in PM's? I'll be holding a poll, so let me know there and after a couple chapters I'll make a decision. So come on, cast your vote and let your voice be heard!

Now, as a gusty robot once said: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND OPENNNNNNNNNNN!"

Borderlands is owned by Gearbox and 2KGames and My Hero Academia is owned by Kohei Horikoshi and Funimation. Please support the official release.

Please rate and review!

"This means someone is talking."

'This means someone is thinking to themselves.'

This means it's a flashback.

*This means it's a sound effect!*

{This means I'm speaking in a different language!}

Angel in a Gilded Cage

It was another pristine morning on the Yūei campus. The breezy air of spring was now giving way to the slightest hints of the balmy heat of summer. The students chatted animatedly, discussing everything from finally getting into their summer uniforms, to their prospective vacation plans of playing their favourite sports, going to the beach and outdoor grilling.

Well, most of them.

"Huaaahh…" A certain raven haired first year yawned loudly, using her hand to cover her gaping maw. She smacked her lips, her eyes slits as she squinted under the bright rays of the morning sun.

Angel was not what you called a morning person. Considering that she didn't adhere to a normal sleep schedule for a certain period of her life, it became a habit that she was still trying to kick, joining Moxxi on her morning runs. Not that she did it this morning mind you, her guardian giving her a day off due to her just returning from her recent internship just to go back to school the next day.

Said internship was why she was feeling a little drained now though, so that effort was wasted. Her mind had been so preoccupied last night with thoughts about the event from the past week, as well her excitement about sharing her experiences with her friends and classmates, leaving her with little time for sleep. If she had her way, she would have rolled over and stayed in bed.

But just like her alarm told her, there ain't no rest for the wicked.

"Maybe I should try coffee?" She muttered to herself, trying to ignore the sound of nearby cell phones, the sensation akin to the buzzing of flies all around her.

"Did somebody say coffee?!" She jolted as someone wrapped their arm around her, the individual cheering loudly for all to hear. A quick glance made her relax slightly at the sight of a female uniform tightly hugging her.

"G-Good morning Toru-chan."

"Hey Angel-chan! Man, you look wiped! Were those pro heroes working you like a slave or something?" Her peppy friend pointed at the bags under her eyes.

Angel looked away bashfully.

"Come on kid! If you can deflect a tomato, you can deflect a fist, probably!" Maya declared as she launched her seventeenth barrage of bruised produce!

"I'M GOING TO FLOSS MY TEETH WITH YOUR VEINS!" Bubba the rampaging, One Armed Bandit screamed, chasing Angel and the civilians under her protection through the halls of the Pretty Penny.

Angel huffed, releasing her pen and taking a moment to flex her hand, aching from all of the papers she was helping fill out. Axton walked by, dropping another stack in front of her with a hefty thump. Her shoulders sagged and she looked up at the clock, letting out a groan when it read eleven pm.

"Or something." She answered, unsure if the invisible girl was scrutinizing her.

"Oooo! Now I've got to know what happened!"

"Maybe later when everybody's there." Angel promised her as they opened the front doors and stepped into the cool hallways.

"Yeah, that makes sense! I can't wait to hear what everyone's internships were like! Mine is probably going to be really bland compared to everyone else's. All I did was join some patrols and stuff." Toru grumbled.

"I mean, there's such a thing as too much excitement isn't there?" Angel offered with a shrug. "You heard about all that stuff with the Hero Killer, right?"

"Oh yeah! I hope those guys are okay. You must have been so worried. I'd hate for something bad to happen to them, especially Todoroki-kun."

"Why Todoroki-kun?" Angel asked, her friend letting out a little squeal.

"Are you kidding me?! He's such a dreamboat! He's sooo cool and handsome! Nothing ever seems to get to him!"

Angel pursed her lips, her mind going back to the moment on the forest bench.

"I wouldn't say that."

"What?" Toru asked, making Angel jolt. She hadn't said that out loud had she?

"N-Nothing! Oh hey we're here!" She smiled, speed walking ahead to their classroom door and throwing it open. She was immediately met with raucous laughter.

"BWAHAHAHAHA! WHAT THE HELL BAKUGO?!" Kirishima and Sero fell over themselves laughing.

Angel couldn't help the little twitch of her eye at what she saw, a hand over her mouth as she mustered all her strength to not laugh out of fear for her life.

Her classmate in question trembled furiously, who was a sight to behold as his normally spiky blonde hair was now flattened into an immaculate fringe, not a lock out of place. And as the proverbial cherry on top, there was a pretty, pink bow tucked in just above his ear. Baha's handiwork if she had to guess.

"Shut the fuck up you pieces of shit! I spent all weekend trying to fix it, but it wont go back to normal!" Bakugo snarled, looking like he was five seconds away from committing two accounts of second degree murder.

'Don'tlaughdon'tlaughdon'tlaugh!' She repeated in her head, cheeks hurting from how hard she was smiling behind her hands. She had no idea how or why he was looking like this, all she knew was that she just couldn't make a sound!

"MAN! GOTTA SAY, THAT BOW REALLY BRINGS OUT YOUR EYES!" Kirishima teased him.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!" Bakugo snapped and his rage finally broke whatever spell he was under, his hair exploding back to its natural state! The bow remained where it was.

"IT TURNED BACK! AHAHAHAHA!" The two boys fell to the floor and Angel's dam broke.

"Snort!" She let out and Bakugo immediately whirled around, looming over her!

"WHAT'RE YOU LOOKING AT?!" He roared, spit flying from his mouth!

"N-N-Nothing!" She answered, eyes watering as she scooted around him and entered the room, a giggling Toru on her heels.

"Heeeey! Toru-chan! Angel-chan! Over here!" She spotted Ashido waving at them from where she and Jiro were standing at Asui's desk.

"H-Hey." She waved back as they approached. "How're you guys doing?"

"Great!" The pinkette smiled. "We were just talking about the stuff we did on our internships! Jiro-chan got to join an arrest!"

Said girl merely shrugged and twirled one of her earphone lobe around one of her fingers. "Eh, all I really did was help some civilians evacuate and stuff, I didn't really get involved in any fighting."

"T-That's still really important." Angel offered, thinking back to her own experience getting her three hostages to safety.

"Sure, but it wasn't that crazy compared to USJ. What about you Tsu?" She asked the frog girl who put a finger to her chin.

"It was mostly just drills and some patrolling. Then again, there was this one thing that happened at the end but…" She made an inscrutable face. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"What?! Come on girl! Don't leave us hanging like that!" Toru protested.

"Trust me, you won't." Asui said bluntly, putting an end to that conversation and turning to Angel.

"What about you Hodunk-san?"

Angel took a second to think about it, specifically, remembering how much she was allowed to share.

"I…uh… took part in a raid on a human trafficking ring."

All four heads (she guessed Toru did as well), turned to her with wide eyes.

"Woah! For real?!" Ashido leaned in close over the desk.

"Scary, kero." Asui said low.

"Like, selling people?! How come I've never heard of this?!" Toru asked.

"Everyone's too focused on that Hero Killer stuff." Jiro reasoned.

"I've got so many questions now! Where did this happen?! Where were they getting shipped?!" Ashido asked, making Angel take a nervous step back.

"U-Um, I'm not allowed to say."

"Sure you are! Spill already!"

"No, I-I'm really not. They had me sign a contract and everything."

"Aw man! First Tsu-chan, now you?! Why does everyone else get the cool internships and not share?!" Toru whined, stamping her shoe on the floor.

"Sorry…" Angel shrugged. "Other than that, it was just paperwork and training. One of Double Tap's members taught me a few-"

"Wait, Double Tap?!" Toru suddenly interrupted, stiffening in place. Then she leapt forward and grabbed Angel by the shoulders from where she could tell she was face to face with the invisible girl from the feeling of her breath on her skin. "YOU GOT TO WORK WITH THE ASSASSIN HERO ZERO?!" She screamed, drawing the whole room's attention as she violently shook Angel back and forth!

"Y-Y-Ye-e-e-s?! A-A-r-r-r-e y-y-y-o-o-u a f-a-a-a-a-a-n?!" She gasped, her world a blur as she kept getting rocked.

"Toru-chan stop, you're going to hurt her!" She barely heard Jiro say over the blood sloshing around in her head.

"O-Oh, sorry." Toru apologized as she relented, releasing her and letting her stumble back holding her head.

"I-It's okay." She gave her a shaky smile. "Just… a little space please."

"O-Okay." Toru said with the sorrow of a kicked puppy.

"Look Toru-chan, I'm fine. So, you're really a fan of Zer0?"

Toru nodded, shimmying in place. "Y-Yeah! There aren't that many invisibility heroes out there, or at least, not that many that get noticed. But Zer0, I saw him on tv once and he was so cool! Flipping around, disappearing and before any of the bag guys knew it, BAM!" She punched the air. "They never knew what hit em! That's my dream as a hero you see? I want to be a hero as cool as him!"

Angel watched her friend ramble on, much like Midoriya whenever he got on the topic of quirks or heroes in general. Everyone had a role model it seemed and Toru's was a certain ninja man, which made sense now that she thought about it. Toru had always seemed to have a desire to stand out despite her natural tendency to blend into the background. No wonder she would gravitate towards someone with a similar ability, who would go unnoticed, but then make a big impact like it was nothing, like an assassin in a way.

'Hope Axton doesn't find out about this, he'll be super jealous.' She thought, laughing a little.

"Well, maybe I can tell you all about Zer0 later, at lunch?" She suggested.

Toru immediately perked up and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Really?! Thank you!"

Glad that the bit of awkwardness had been resolved, Angel gently pulled herself out of Toru's embrace and glanced about. "Have any of you seen Uraraka?"

"Uh, yeah she's over there." Jiro pointed one of her lobes to where the brunette was… posing? She was holding her arms out in front and to her side, rotating them slowly through some kind of practiced motion.

Then her memories of the last week hit Angel like a truck as she recognized her movements and stance.

Uraraka was doing katas.

Angel took a few tentative steps closer, feeling a little unnerved by the menacing air around her friend.

"U-Um, hey Uraraka-chan. How was your internship with Gunhead?"

"It was… truly enlightening." She answered in a low, focused voice, then proceeded to aggressively jab at an unseen opponent. Angel watched in a mixture of awe and bewilderment.

It seemed like her time with the combat hero had lit a fire under the normally gentle girl.

'But then again, who am I to judge?' She thought to herself.

Speaking of…

"Say, I just so happened to learn a few new moves on my internship too. Maybe we can… you know, practice together sometime?" She suggested.

That seemed to snap Uraraka out of her little trance, making her pause mid kick and almost stumble. After catching herself, she turned to look at her in elation.

"Seriously?! That would be so cool! Maybe we can ask to use one of the gyms!" She babbled excitedly, making Angel smile.

It looked like she was still her compassionate, gleeful self, much to her relief.

"Man…" Kaminari said, watching the exchange from his desk. "Even the mousy Hodunk-chan is learning cqc. What is the world coming to?"

"You naive fool…" Mineta wagged his finger. "A woman's cute and disarming exterior is merely a facade."

He began to violently shiver, a haunted look in his eyes. "Underneath are their true selves, vicious monsters ready to take you for all you've got!" He rambled fearfully, anxiously chewing his fingernail.

"Sheesh, what the heck did Mount Lady do to you?" Kaminari sweated at his diminutive classmate's behavior before he caught sight of someone at the back. "Whatever it was, I bet it was nothing compared to those guys." He said loudly, pulling everyone's attention including Angel's to the back.

A relieved smile stretched across her face to see Midoriya, Iida and Todoroki gathered around the latter's desk, alive and well. She hadn't even noticed them when she came in.

"Oh yeah! You guys ran into the Hero Killer!"

"That must have been so scary! Glad you three are safe!" Kirishima and Sero remarked from the headlocks Bakugo was giving them.

"I was so worried when I heard about the attack on the news. Good thing Endeavor was there to take care of that murderer." Yaoyorozu said a couple seats over.

Todoroki, as ever, only blinked stoically and looked down. "Yeah. Lucky." He said quietly, an implication that was not missed by the two people in the room that Angel knew were aware of his circumstances, herself and Midoriya who gave him an uneasy smile.

'Getting saved by the father he despises. That must have stung.' Angel thought, hoping that her newest friend caught onto the sympathetic look she was giving him.

"What do you all think about what they're saying on the news?" Ojiro piped up. "They're speculating that the Killer might have been working with the League of Villains. Could you imagine? That man at USJ?"

"Sure Ojiro-san, but have you seen that video floating around? He was giving that crazy speech even while he was bleeding out. You kinda have to respect the guy for his drive right?" Kaminari said, making Angel's blood run cold.

"Y-You can't just say that! What about what he did to Iida's brother?!" She blurted out and immediately regretted it, slapping a hand to her face. "O-Oh no! I-I-I'm sorry Iida-kun!" She apologized, turning to her friend expecting that same hard look on his face from the train station.

"No, no." He shook his head, regret in his eyes as he rubbed his hand. "I assure you all, I am alright. Tensei is alive while others have been… less fortunate, so I have learned to count myself lucky. As for the Hero Killer, on the most basic level I respect him too. He was a man who truly believed in his mission, so I'm not surprised that some people would be swayed by his charisma. But as much as I give him that, his methods were unforgivable."

Raising his head, he waved his hand in one of his signature gestures. "And so, to prevent such beings like him from propagating, I have reaffirmed my goal to become a great hero with greater vigor than before! A hero that my brother will be proud of!" He declared!

The class all smiled or laughed at their class representative's familiar antics. Angel especially felt relieved. Unlike when they had left a week prior, Iida seemed to be acting like himself again, genuinely. It no longer felt like an act to mask a burning desire for vengeance.

Her friend had let go of his hatred, something she felt he would never do. And didn't that make her feel better, her shoulder's relaxing as she smiled.

"Now, everyone to your seats! Aizawa-sensei will be here any moment!" Iida ordered, eliciting some groans as everyone began moving for their chairs.

"See ya at lunch Angel-chan!" Uraraka left, smiling and waving.

With a nod, Angel moved to do the same.

"Angel-chan." She blinked and looked up to see Iida standing next to her. A pained grimace was on his face, as his eyes remained glued to the floor.

"Iida-kun." She returned.

"I want to apologize." He let out quietly, his words unheard from those nearby from the clamor of everyone moving to their seats. "You noticed the… deplorable state of mind I was in last week and probably surmised what I had planned to do in Hosu. That is accurate, correct?"

She nodded.

"At the station, you tried to talk me out of my foolish crusade, or at least that's the intention that I gleaned from your words. I promised that I would keep myself safe, yet I broke that vow and surely caused you no small amount of worry when you found out. So again, I am deeply sorry." He lowered himself into a bow, his head down past her waist. "I hope you will come to forgive me."

Angel only stared. In truth, she had felt anger when she had seen the news story that morning. Angry that he would do something so dangerous, despite knowing that she and the rest of their friends would be devastated had he perished.

But of course, she couldn't bring herself to hold on to that ugly feeling for more than a second.

She knew all too well what pain and loss did to even the wisest and kindest of people. All too well.

She put her hand under his arm and pulled him back up. He blinked in surprise and their eyes met.

She smiled softly.

"I'm just glad you're alright. I forgive you."

Taken aback, he took a moment but eventually relaxed, letting out a sigh.

"I'm glad. Thank you."

She nodded and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "See you at lunch." Then she left him, walking past to her seat and setting herself down.

Iida on the other hand was still standing. Then he took a second to fix his uniform for what was probably the hundredth time this morning alone and walked off to perform his self appointed duties as class representative. There was a noticeable spirit in his step.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Aizawa stepped in.

"Good morning class." He ground out.

"Good morning sensei!" The class chorused back.

"Quiet, I get enough of that stuff from Mic." He said, rubbing his eyes and stepping to the podium. "I hope you all had a productive time at your internships, because we will be going over your placement performance reports. These were filled out by the pros you worked under so if I learn that any of you slacked off I'm going to expel you."

His threat didn't carry the same weight as the first day, so everyone just took it as a joke, some even smiling or laughing to themselves.

Angel smiled again, leaning back with her eyes closed, taking in the feeling of anticipation and excitement in the air.

She missed this.

And so the first day of the week began in full swing. Aizawa ran through the feedback from the internships and on the whole they were positive with some little notes on areas of improvement. He also threw an irritated look in Midoriya, Todoroki and Iida's direction for disobeying their superiors to confront a dangerous villain on their own.

After that they went through their standard curriculum classes, the return to ordinary subjects feeling quite jarring after everything from the past week.

Then it was lunch, the time that was quickly becoming Angel's favourite part of her school day. She was joined by her usual associates, Midoriya, Uraraka, Iida and the more recent addition Todoroki. Toru sat with them as well, more than enticed by the prospect of getting as many questions off about her idol as possible. After answering more than a dozen of them, the group also got onto the topic of everyone else's experiences in the field. Uraraka immediately launched into an animated retelling of her training with Gunhead, learning techniques such as hand to hand, grappling and even fighting an armed opponent.

The three boys at the table had less to talk about however, due to them spending the majority of their week in the hospital after their encounter with the hero killer. Todoroki did recount some observations he made of his father in the field, but was relatively tightlipped for obvious reasons. Midoriya had apparently been mentored by a more senior hero by the name of Gran Torino, but other than a brief mention of some specialized training he didn't give much else, seeming a little bit more nervous than usual. Iida's stories were the shortest considering he hadn't been exactly focused on his workplace experience at the time and the conversation ended there.

Overall though, everyone was relaxed around each other, all of them just happy that they were back to their comfortable school routine, as much as it can be at a hero academy.

The only thing that somewhat soured the experience for Angel was the absence of Shinso. Despite his acceptance of her invitation to join them at the end of the Sports Festival, he had yet to actually show up. Had she missed something when they spoke last? Had he found another reason to dislike her? Who was to say? In the end, she decided to try to stop worrying about it. Until she managed to get ahold of the elusive boy and get some answers, it wouldn't do her any good to keep stressing on a problem she couldn't do anything about.

Finally before she knew it, it was time for everyone's favourite class; Hero Studies. With eyes brimming with fire and a belly full of pudding (it was on sale), Angel stood before the gates of Simulation Ground Gamma alongside the rest of her class. She savoured the actions of putting on her costume. Pulling on her fingerless glove, snapping her belt closed and setting the weight of her visor over her head.

It was beginning to feel familiar and that was beginning to feel oh so right.

"Salutations, for I am here!" All-Might greeted his gathered mentees in his usual vivacious way. "It's good to see you all! I hope you had an informative time at your internships, because now we will put your newfound experience to good use! It's time for… a RESCUE RACE!"

Iida's arm automatically shot into the air. "Rescue training Sensei? Shouldn't we be at USJ for this?" He asked, dressed in his phys-ed uniform as his costume was undergoing repairs.

"Inquisitive as always young Iida, but USJ is for disaster rescues! This is a rescue race!" He reiterated. "Today we are focusing on how you maneuver in an enclosed space and for that, I brought you here, to Ground Gamma!" He gestured at the wall behind him, the tops of fake factory smokestacks and piping just barely visible. "The tight confines of this faux industrial park will make the perfect stage for this exercise! I will situate myself somewhere in the zone and when I give the signal, five of you will compete to see who can reach me first! Whoever does gets a neat sash! And finally, try to keep property damage low! I'm not outing anyone in particular, but some of you need to work on that!" He said, while also pointing at "anyone in particular".

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Bakugo growled.

"Without further ado, here is our first group!" All-Might said, reaching into a box and pulling out some ballots. "Ojiro, Ashido… Midoriya, Sero and… Iida! Make your way to the starting positions! Everyone else will be watching! Make sure to take notes and formulate your own strategies!"

With that the class started moving to a raised stage where they would spectate the exercise on a large monitor, while All-Might and the chosen five stayed behind.

Angel spared a moment as she was walking away, giving a thumbs up and an encouraging smile to her two friends participating. Both of them returned the gesture.

"So, who wants to make bets?" She heard Kaminari ask as she caught back up with the group climbing up the stairs to the stage.

"That's a tough call, kero. Three of them have great maneuverability." Asui pointed out, sitting down in front of the screen in a squat.

"I just know I'm not betting on Midoriya-san. No offense to the guy, but how is he going to move fast without breaking his bones?" Jiro wondered, getting a shrug from Yaoyorozu.

"He does have a disadvantage here. I'm more worried for Iida-san myself, he hasn't completely recovered yet."

"If I had money, I'd put it down on Sero-san!"

"That's a safe bet, but don't forget Ojiro-san is pretty nimble too."

"You guys are underestimating Ashido-san! She's pretty flexible and agile!"

"Deku's gonna lose."

"So who do you think is going to win, Angel-chan? I'm thinking it'll be Iida-kun." Uraraka turned to her as they sat down.

She hummed, watching the feeds displaying the five contestants waiting at their starting posts, all of them doing warm up stretches. "I'm kind of leaning towards Sero-san. Iida is fast, sure, but there isn't going to be a straight path to All-Might with all of those buildings there. Sero-san will likely be able to bypass almost all of it."

"As shrewd as ever Angel-chan!" Her companion said, the compliment making her blush. She still wasn't entirely used to praise.

"T-Thanks."

"Runners ready?! Set! START!" All-Might bellowed over the loudspeaker and the runners shot into action, all of them taking different approaches to the trial.

"Oh, Ashido-chan is using her acid to carve handholds in the sides of the pipes, that's clever!" Uraraka said.

"She might get docked points for damaging it though. Everyone's making ground, but Sero-san is ahead by far." Angel pointed at the screen, the boy she was referring to using the tape shot from his elbows to swing and sling above the difficult terrain with ease.

The moment was cut short however, as a green streak shot past the camera.

"What was that?" She blinked as the camera turned and focused on whatever the blur was. Her eyes widened and she leapt to her feet.

"HUH?! MIDORIYA?!" The entire class gaped. They watched in disbelief as he soared over the factory landscape, effortlessly jumping from building to building, crossing streets in a single bound! He ran along walls and kicked off surfaces like a seasoned acrobat, pulling stunts like midair flips and spins! But what was more bizarre was his appearance. His skin itself appeared to be glowing from within and small arcs of green electricity were emanating from his body!

"Since when could Midori-bro do that?!" Kirishima questioned, voicing the whole group's thoughts.

Angel watched in disbelief, rapidly turning into amazement. Midoriya was traversing the environment with ease, his newfound moveset proving more than perfect for such a scenario. But the thing that made her smile was how in control he seemed. Last time she had seen him use his quirk, he had broken nearly every bone in his body and scarred his arm permanently as a result.

Now? There wasn't a hint of pain in his expression as he got closer and closer to the center where All-Might was, just a look of pride and eagerness.

'Looks like I'm not the only one who learned a new trick.' She thought.

"Wow… look at him go!" Uraraka breathed in awe. "Actually, his moves kinda remind me of…"

She drifted off, but Angel caught onto her implication, taking a small glance over at Bakugo.

He looked horrified. She hadn't seen him so shaken since his loss in the battle trial.

She turned back to the screens. She imagined it wouldn't end well if he caught her staring at him right now. Better to not poke the hornet's nest.

"Oh my gosh! He's gonna get first! Go Deku!" Uraraka cheered their friend on, who was only a couple blocks away from the center.

It was then that disaster struck in the form of a wet pipe. Midoriya's shoe slipped sideways off the slick metal surface and Angel flinched as he fell down to the street below, smacking off every pipe on the way down!

"Oooooo!" The class collectively groaned sympathetically.

"Ouch… you think he's okay?" She asked aloud.

"I… think he's fine?" Uraraka said, the fallen boy raising his head with a dazed expression on his face. "Aw man, he lost." She grumbled, the rest of the competitors now on center platform as a couple of robots brought him up and deposited him there.

"The winner is Sero Hanta!" All-Might announced, draping the decorated sash over the tapeboy's shoulders before pulling out the lottery box again. "Now, the next group to go will be… Mineta… Jiro, Bakugo, Aoyama aaaaand… Hodunk!"

"Well, that's my cue." She sighed. "Wish me luck?"

"Yeah, you'll need it against Bakugo. Knowing him he's probably going to gun for you off the bat." Uraraka warned. "Don't lose, okay? I'll be rooting for you!"

Angel gave her a smile. "Just keep your eyes on the screen okay?" She asked as she walked away.

"You might just be surprised." She muttered to herself.

"Ow, ow, ow! Man, that smarts!" Izuku hissed, licking his wounds (not literally of course, that's gross!) while he made his way out the training ground towards the spectator stage.

So it looked like even though he was getting the hang of regulating One for All through his body, or at least five percent of it, he still had a long way to go. It was one thing to mimic Gran Torino's zippy movements and fighting style, it was another to understand all the nuances that came with it, say, watching where he stepped.

But hey, at least he didn't detonate his bones again. That's progress in his book.

'Speaking of progress, guess I impressed All-Might today. At least enough if he's going to let me in on One for All's story later. I have so many questions.' He pondered, climbing the steps to the stage.

"Hey, Deku-kun, over here!" He looked up to see Uraraka waving him over, Iida already seated next to her in front of the screen.

"Are you alright Midoriya? That looked like a painful fall there." Iida questioned.

"I-I'm fine." He assured them both, grimacing from a particularly painful spot in his back as he sat down on the other side of Uraraka. "I'd say it was one of my better landings h-honestly."

"Good to hear that." Uraraka laughed. "So, who do you think is going to win? I think Angel-chan is a shoe in, but…"

"Kacchan." He finished for her. She nodded grimly.

Looking up, he could spot his former childhood friend on the screen, looking more livid than usual. He kept curling and uncurling his fists, a tick that Izuku was more than familiar with, back in many of the playground beatdowns he had been given over the years. It made him worry for the first friend he made here at Yūei.

'Has it really been that long?' He wondered, thinking back to that fateful day, the entrance exam.

That first encounter when she was having a nervous breakdown and he had somehow calmed her down with a smile? God that was so cheesy, he felt so embarrassed remembering that.

Regardless, Angel had seemed so fragile back then. How she would flinch at close contact with others and would trip over her words when she spoke. The way she ran away from the large crowds in the cafeteria. How panicked she was when she thought they were mad at her for blowing them off. The tears she shed when they told her they wanted to help her, because they were her friends.

At this point, it was obvious that there was something bigger haunting her than what she led them to believe, deceased mother or not. But despite all of that, in the relatively short time that he had known her she had blown him away, over and over again.

Coming to his rescue when he was at the Nomu's mercy at USJ, followed by the swath of destruction in her wake. Her opening speech at the Sports Festival, having the courage to stand before the entire world when she could barely stand being around tens of people at a time. How she had nearly taken down Todoroki in a captivating display of skill and quick thinking.

She was overcoming whatever had been holding her back all this time and he respected her for that. No, maybe admired was the better word. He was still struggling in coming to terms with his new reality now that he was no longer quirkless. The fact that he was still so far behind everyone else just by the fact that he could barely use the power entrusted by him landing in the hospital.

But his problems still felt smaller compared to the state he remembered her in back when they first met.

But now?

He shifted his gaze to her location on the screen, where she was stretching her arms behind her. Now, she wore a nervous, yet determined smile on her face.

There was something about that look that inspired him, that made him want to see what she would accomplish next.

'Is this the sort of thing All-Might saw in me?' He wondered.

"You know what?" He said suddenly. "I think she's going to be fine."

"You think so?" Iida looked at him.

He gave the taller boy a nod. "Yeah, I do."

"Runners, to your mark!" All-Might announced! "Set! GO NUTS!"

The instant the horn blew, Angel took to the sky. Using the exposed piping and buildings as footstools, she flapped her wings with every step, rising swiftly. With one last jump, she was above the metal and concrete jungle. She looked towards the center of the compound, narrowing her eyes when she spotted her blonde, musclebound teacher.

"Here I come!" She declared, tilting forward and making a beeline for All-Might. She pumped her wings harder, picking up speed as she flew right over the rooftops.

Flight really was unfair sometimes.

Unfortunately, there was another who could just as easily defy gravity.

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!* She turned her head to the right to see a bloodthirsty human missile arc right towards her.

"THESE ARE MY SKIES YOU GLOWING CHICKENSHIT!" Bakugo shouted over the din of the explosions propelling him, his eyes glittering with murderous intent.

Angel's mind raced. There was no way she could charge enough power for a big enough phaseblast to knock him off his flight path quick enough before he got within striking distance. Thankfully, she had something else, courtesy of her Siren Sister.

Her markings pulsated, the light coalescing in her hands. Her brash attacker threw his ignited arm out and she met him head on.

Just as Maya had done unto her but with an added twist, she slapped his hand off towards the side with a burst of energy of her own, diverting his attack away!

*BOOM!* The blastwave rattled her teeth, but the real shockwave and fire harmlessly shot past her!

Bakugo's eyes widened in shock as they turned to meet Angel's, which were narrowed and filled with a courage he didn't know she possessed.

"Repel!" She cried and slammed her other palm into his chest!

*ZAAAT!* The gathered energy cracked and Bakugo flew back, spit flying from his mouth as he was sent the way he came!

Angel hung there for a moment, adrenaline buzzing in her veins as she breathed. She didn't take pleasure in dealing damage to her classmate (even if it WAS Bakugo), but she couldn't deny the satisfaction she felt in the knowledge that her training was paying off.

"Oh Hodunk-chan~?" The moment didn't last of course, as a familiar voice reached her ears, one that never failed to get her blood boiling.

She turned around and sure enough, standing on a crane above her was Mineta, sticky balls in hand and lecherous smile on his face.

"You ready for a blast from the past?! Purple Piggyback!" He crowed and launched a barrage of his infamous projectiles. She couldn't possibly dodge them all, which left only one option.

'If you can deflect tomatoes, you can deflect hairballs!' She told herself and grit her teeth. Her fists flashed and she punched the first couple that got close.

*BZZT! BZZT!* Amidst the smell of burning hair, Angel knocked the balls away, the energy enveloping her hands preventing them from sticking to her!

"What?! How the heck did you do that?! Fine, take this!" Mineta redoubled his efforts, throwing as many of his purple orbs as possible, to which Angel kept batting them away. Mineta kept them coming, but after almost a week of getting covered in tomato juice, she would never forgive herself if she let one of them touch her skin.

*BOOM! BOOM!* Her ears perked at the telltale detonation of nitroglycerin and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Bakugo coming back over the horizon and saying he looked pissed would be an understatement.

"FLASHY UPSTART BITCH!" He yelled!

Angel's brows rose. She just got an idea.

Turning her attention back to the onslaught hairballs, she flapped her wings and shot upwards, all the while she kept swatting away. She kept ascending, fighting against the tide like a fish swinging up a raging rapids.

On Mineta's end, it looked like his quirk was taking its toll, a stream of blood starting to leak from his scalp.

"I-Impossible!" He cried, starting to slow his pace, giving Angel the brevity she needed to shoot up and loom over him. She glared down at him in an uncharacteristic show of loathing.

"Not this time!" She hissed.

"Mother." The pervy teen squeaked.

Angel's wings beat. She whirled around and lashed out with her leg!

*POW!* Her boot connected with his side and with a quick pivot, she spun and kicked Mineta in Bakugo's direction!

"READY TO DIE EXT-?!"

"SOMEBODY CATCH ME!" Mineta screamed right before-*WHAM!* he smacked right into Bakugo, head first! They hung in the air a second before they lost momentum and crashed onto a nearby rooftop in a tangle of limbs.

"OOF! GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" The delinquent yelled, grabbing Mineta by the neck and trying to pull him off, but to no avail.

"OWOWOWOWOW! STOP IT!"

"See you boys!" Angel waved and in a quick flutter, was back on course towards the goal. She could spy Aoyama using his navel laser to give him quick hops over the last few pipes on his way to the finish, but it wasn't fast enough to beat Angel in a steep dive. She carried down to Earth then let her wings catch the wind as she landed at All-Might's feet.

He grinned at her and threw his arm up.

"The winner is Hodunk Angel!"

"Wow, did you see that?!" Ochako asked as she did a self indulgent fist pump. "She just slapped Mineta at Bakugo! I never thought I needed to see that!"

"I know, it was truly a remarkable stratagem, turning her opponents against each other, though I'm not sure how practical that would be versus real villains." Iida added.

"What do you think, Deku-kun?" Uraraka turned to him, only to falter when she saw him with his notebook out, pencil scratching a thousand words a minute.

"-was established before that she could shape her energy into wings and blasts from her hands, but in retrospect, the latter one did imply that her control might not have been restricted to a specific place on her body! Was that some kind of skin covering protective shield?! If so, what are its limits?! Could she deflect bullets?! Can it be stretched over her entire form like a suit of armor?! How taxing is it?! Does she-?" He rambled under his breath, completely lost to the outside world.

Ochako snorted a little. At first her friend's little muttering fits were off putting, but it was slowly growing on her, like everything she learned about him.

"Hello? Earth to Deku?" She poked his shoulder.

"BWAH!" He jumped, tossing his pencil and notebook in the air, which he frantically scrambled to catch before it hit the ground.

"Youuuuu okay there?"

"O-Oh yeah, I-I'm okay, more than okay!" He nodded vigorously, a bashful smile gracing his face. "S-Sorry for getting like that, b-but I can't help it sometimes!"

"Don't worry about it! You love quirks, I get it!"

"Mmhmm." He nodded again. "E-Everyone's quirks are so amazing! E-Especially A-Angel-chan's, it's so c-crazy and versatile."

"Uh huh…" Her smile shrunk a little.

"A-And the way she uses it, it's just so impressive really!" He returned his gaze to the screen.

"Angel-chan is so cool isn't she?"

Ochako's smile fell from her face. She didn't know why, but she suddenly didn't like what she was seeing. The way that Midoriya's stammer seemed to disappear and the way he was staring up at their mutual friend on the screen receiving the victory sash from All-Might.

A small, ugly feeling wormed its way up from the bottom of her heart. It was almost like she was…

She shook her head and the feeling abated, leaving a hole which rapidly filled with confusion and shame. She was supporting her good friend, she shouldn't feel this way.

She pulled her usual happy-go-lucky smile back on.

It wasn't quite as wide this time.

"Yeah… yeah she is."