Chapter 12: One-On-One Battles

Name: Luna

Quirk: Bast – She can assume the abilities of any cat, from regular housecats and lions to hybrids such as ligers and tigons. Her quirk is named after Bast, the Egyptian goddess of cats.

Appearance: Though usually taking on appearances of the cats' abilities, her usual look has been compared as eerily similar to a character of the anime RWBY known as Blake, however she has a tail, and they are complete opposites in terms of personality and choice of dress. She's 14.

Warning: Language and Adult Themes

When the buzzer to end lunch sounded and Luna still hadn't appeared, Midoriya was worried. He had gotten to know Luna as quiet and reserved, but honest and kind. When Yaoyorozu told him that Luna didn't come to eat after promising to, the boy instinctually knew something was wrong. That was why he jumped at the opportunity to help look for her, as did the entire class.

As Midoriya began searching the halls of the stadium, he absently began to wonder what kept Luna up. He knew Luna could take care of herself. Hell, she even took care of Kacchan and himself in middle school. So when something like this came up, Midoriya couldn't help but worry.

He was wandering down a random hallway when he first heard it. At first, Midoriya thought he was hearing things, but when he continued, he heard it. Crying. And it was terribly emotional crying too.

There's no way it's Luna-chan, is it? I've never really heard her with much emotion in her voice.

The closer he got, though, the more unsure he became. The loud cries led to a waiting room, and Midoriya paused, knocking on the door. No response came, and Midoriya knocked again, now very nervous at the prospect of opening the door. Once again, he was unanswered.

Finally, Midoriya tried to steel himself. He took a deep breath, thought himself ready, and slowly opened the door.

Midoriya was nowhere ready for what he was about to witness and hear. Once he opened the door, the loud sound was magnified by three times, assaulting him like a pickup truck. When Midoriya finally looked at the figure in the middle of the room, his jaw dropped, and sheer panic etched itself on his face.

There sat Luna, hands wrapped around herself and rocking back and forth. The area around her was essentially a giant puddle, continuously fed by the girl's tears. Her hair disheveled, eyes red and puffy from crying. She paid him no heed as he slowly approached.

"L-Luna-chan?" asked Midoriya, edging closer to her. She didn't respond. He tried again "Luna-chan. I-It's me, Izuku." She still didn't respond. He finally managed to get within arm's reach and tried to grab her shoulder. When he did, he was shocked to find that it was if he wasn't there. There was no response from the girl, no matter what Midoriya tried to do. He prodded her, tried to pry her hands from herself (but failed because Midoriya swore they were like steel bars), and as a last resort, tried to pick her up and hug her. He somehow managed to get Luna to her feet, but when he hugged her, he got no response from her. Instead, she just wrapped her arms around him and continued to sob.

"Midoriya-kun, what's with the …" Ashido appeared, her face morphing from curiosity to a blanch.

"C-Could you help me take her to Recovery Girl? She's not responding to anything I'm doing." Ashido nodded seriously and walked over, extracting the girl from Midoriya and began to murmur and whisper in an effort to calm her down, but Luna didn't even react.

They carefully walked her over to Recovery Girl's stadium office. While Ashido held the sobbing girl, Midoriya rapped on the door. When no response came, he began to pound on it.

"All right, all right, what's with the racket?!" opened the door, and her anger quickly morphed into concern. Throughout the two weeks before the sports festival, Recovery Girl had gotten to know Luna fairly well, and would go so far as to say that something akin to friendship blossomed between the two of them, despite the massive age difference. She was used to seeing Luna as solid as a rock, strong and dependable. However, this rock was now shattered by someone's iron pick. "What happened?!" she demanded, taking Luna from Ashido's arms.

"I-I'm not sure, Recovery Girl! When Luna didn't show up to lunch, Yaoyorozu-chan and Jiro-chan asked the class's help to look for her, as she promised to appear but never did. From there, I searched and found her in one of the waiting rooms like this. She hasn't responded to anything Mina-chan or I did."

"Luna dear, can you hear me?" carefully asked Recovery Girl, but she too was ignored. "Luna, I need you to respond." She didn't say anything, just crying and now trying to scream, but her throat was raw from the screaming she had done before, so now all that came from her mouth were a few weak sounds.

"What's wrong with her, Recovery Girl-sensei?" asked Ashido nervously, peering over Midoriya's shoulder.

"She seems to be in a state similar to a panic attack; she's locked herself away deep inside her body and isn't responding to anything. Whatever caused this is bad news; Luna's always been strong, but now …"

"Can you fix her?" asked Midoriya nervously.

"I don't know." came the terrible response, and Midoriya and Ashido gulped simultaneously. "Regardless, you need to leave. I need to examine her and see if I can snap the girl out of it. Oh, get Eraser Head to come here as well."

"Yes ma'am!" the two students cried and left, hurrying to the announcer's booth in search of Aizawa. When they burst into the booth, they found Aizawa and Present Mic chatting, with the latter slurping some noodles. The conversation paused when the two students burst in, breathing heavily.

"Aizawa, sensei! Please, you have to go to Recovery Girl's office, it's Luna-chan!" cried Ashido and Midoriya nodded emphatically.

He didn't ask any questions but instead took off, running a lot faster than everyone in the room thought possible, considering the fact that the man was still wrapped in bandages.

When Aizawa got relatively close, he heard Luna's heartbroken sobs and ran even faster. His muscles complained at the fact that this was his first time running like this since getting injured, but he ignored them, focusing on the girl's cries. He burst into the office, taking quick looks as to ascertain where she was.

"Chiyo, where –"

"Back here, Shota." Interrupted the nurse, and Aizawa sprinted to the back and shoved aside the curtain to find the little old lady trying to comfort the girl, who was now in a fetal position, hands wrapped around her knees.

"What happened?!" Aizawa demanded, striding over.

"I don't know. Midoriya said he found her like this after she didn't appear during the break. I can't get through to her; it's like she doesn't hear me." Recovery Girl said, her face full of pain and shame.

Aizawa paused, looking Recover Girl over. The woman prided herself in her ability to help and heal others, despite the wounds they could possibly have sustained. Now, however, she couldn't, and Aizawa could see that it was bothering her extremely.

"Try to get through to her; I'll get her some medicine to calm down." Aizawa nodded. He was about to speak, but his voice was caught in his throat. He finally cleared his throat, preparing for the pending conversation. He didn't know what could possibly have set this off, but whatever it was, Aizawa would find out, and take care of it.

"Luna." Aizawa hated himself for what he was about to do, but he had to do it, in order to bring her back "Luna. Listen to me. You need to stop crying. You need to shut up."

Aizawa didn't know if his senses were playing tricks on him, but he thought the girl was sobbing slightly less.

"You need to stop throwing yourself a pity party and get over yourself. You are training to be a hero, are you not? What are you going to do if the same thing happens in a battle with a villain?" No, he was certain that the girl was quieter; she was actually looking at him, seeing him as if for the first time. "Are you going to let innocent people get hurt because you're too weak? Are you going to let young children see their parents die and become orphans because of your weakness? The Luna I knew was strong, enough so that nothing could bother her. The girl I got to know trained the entire day, not letting herself stop unless she was forced to by pro heroes. Where is she? Or was she a farce all along, a disguise used by a coward?"

The girl now lay quiet, listening to his words. Her body still spasmed, but she was finally quiet. Though she technically wasn't forced by pro heroes to stop training, it was true that she would have remained training if she didn't think it rude and impolite. She would have utterly devoted herself to become stronger until it was no longer possible. Luna finally sat up, staring at Aizawa intently.

Aizawa felt dirty for what he had just done. He didn't like it one bit, but he had to do it, and it worked. He wouldn't blame the girl if she turned her nose up to him. Though many thought Eraser Head as cold and bitter, he didn't find any pleasure from being cruel. Aizawa believed that most attachments would only serve as a weakness if he displayed obvious positive emotions, such as happiness, love, and even something as simple as a smile. Ichika was an exception, as she was strong enough to protect herself from most threats, and Aizawa knew that their relationship even made them stronger. But his students were entirely different; they were inexperienced, hesitant, weak. Any obvious connection to them could be easily exploited by powerful villains, so Aizawa found in necessary to act indifferent to them. The reality was that he deeply cared for them and would do almost anything for them.

"Can you hear me now?" asked Aizawa, scanning the girl as she stood on wobbly legs. He expected the girl to hit him, to yell at him for not understanding, to act her age. What he did not expect, however, was for her to drop to her knees in a low bow, forehead scraping the floor. Aizawa froze, unsure of what she was about to do.

"Aizawa-sensei, I deeply apologize for making you worry over me." She didn't move, awaiting his response. Truthfully, Aizawa was a bit terrified of what he heard. Luna's voice, though usually short and to the point, usually held warmth and kindness. The voice he heard now was cold, emotionless. Whatever happened, something snapped within the girl, changing her for the worst.

"You don't need to do this. Get up." Aizawa said, and she rose, her cold amber eyes meeting his concerned black ones. "What happened?"

Luna shook her head "I … I let my mind run away with itself. I can promise it will never happen again, and that you won't need to worry about it."

"Not worry about it. Did you see yourself?"

"No, but I won't make this mistake again."

"Luna, you need to tell me."

"No."

"No? I'm your current guardian and homeroom teacher. I can make you."

"You can, Aizawa-sensei, but some things … aren't meant to be spoken about." And yes, Luna did quote Todoroki, not that Aizawa knew.

"Are you sure? I don't want a repeat of this." He paused, Ichika's words ringing in his head "I'm worried about you, Luna."

"I understand, and yes, I'm sure. Thank you for your concern." At this point, Recovery Girl walked in with the sedatives, and frowned when she saw Luna standing there, right as rain.

"You could have just told me you'd be fine so I wouldn't have to run around like a chicken with its head cut off." She huffed, and Luna smiled, but once again, Aizawa saw that it didn't reach her eyes.

"My sincerest apologies." Was the reply, and Recovery Girl frowned as she realized the shift in tone. She sent a questioning glance at Aizawa, who shrugged. "Has the third event been announced?"

"No, they're waiting for me to get back to the box. If you're sure you can cope, go to the stadium with the rest of your class."

Luna nodded and bowed, before leaving. Her mind felt … different, and not because of the complete breakdown she had. No, it felt … emptier, lighter, quieter. Luna didn't really know why, but it didn't really matter, did it?

Unbeknownst to Luna, Midoriya and Todoroki were standing in a hallway, staring at each other. Midoriya stood nervously, feeling uncomfortable under Todoroki's piercing gaze.

"If we don't hurry, we might miss the third event." Todoroki didn't answer, and Midoriya gulped, now slightly unnerved and confused. Why did Todoroki want to talk to him?

"Luna found me after the cavalry event. She wanted me to talk to someone. About what's been bothering me."

"W-Wait, you saw Luna? Was she okay? Was she …?" Todoroki stiffened but didn't address the questions.

"Iida, Luna, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, Uraraka … They nearly saw me use my left side, when we couldn't grab the headband. None of them saw me nearly break my pledge. Only me. And you. I saw and felt the burning desire to win from All Might, back at USJ." Todoroki looked at his left hand, focusing on it.

"Uh …" Midoriya said, unsure of how to reply.

"I felt the same exact desire to win from you. Not similar, not close to, not almost the same, but the exact same. The same can be said for your Quirks. You even use the same names as he does." He paused, now looking at Midoriya "Midoriya, are you … All Might's secret love child or something?"

Midoriya froze, eyes widened in horror at the prospect of the thought that people thought he was All Might's secret lovechild. How do you even come up with this kind of thing?

"Well, are you?"

"That's not it! I mean, even if I was, I would say I wasn't, so I don't think you'd believe me, but anyway, that's not how it is … In the first place, let me ask you something … Why do you think that about me?"

"Since you said, 'That's not how it is,' that means there's a connection between the two of you that you can't talk about, right?" Midoriya shifted his gaze, confirming Todoroki's statement. "Endeavor's my old man. I'm sure you know that he's been stuck as the number two hero forever. If you have something from the number one hero, then I … I have even more reason to beat you. My old man has a strong desire to move up in the world. As a hero, he won a name for himself using crushing force. Because of that, the living legend, All Might, is a great eyesore to him. Since he couldn't pass All Might, he moved onto his next plan."

"What are you talking about, Todoroki-kun? What are you trying to tell me?"

"You've heard of Quirk marriages, right? That thing became a problem for the second and third generation after superpowers appeared. Choosing a spouse based solely on strengthening your Quirk and passing it onto your children, forcing people into marriage. The old-fashioned way of thinking brought about by a lack of ethics. He is a man with both accomplishments and money. He won over my mother's relatives and got a hold over my mother's Quirk. He is still trying to fulfill his desire of raising me to be a hero to surpass All Might. It's so annoying … I won't become a tool to scum like that. In my memories, my mother was always crying. 'Your left side is unsightly,' my mother said as she poured boiling water on me. Basically, I picked a fight with you to show him what I can do, without using my damn old man's Quirk. I'll reject him completely by winning first place without it." With that, he began to leave "I don't care if you can't tell me how you're connected to All Might. No matter what you are to All Might, I will rise above you with just my right side. Sorry for wasting your time. Maybe Luna was wrong about this."

And with that, he stalked off. Midoriya, however, wasn't finished with him.

"I … I have always been supported by others. That was the case earlier, too. I am here because of the people who supported me. Saving people with a fearless smile, the greatest hero. All Might. I want to be like him. In order to do that, I have to be strong enough to become number one. My motivation might seem trivial compared to yours, but I can't lose, either. I have to live up to the hopes of those who supported me. I don't know if Luna-chan told you herself to speak with me or not, but I do know one thing. She was right in asking you to talk about this issue." Todoroki flinched slightly, but Midoriya trucked on, pretending to ignore it "By doing so, you can have someone help you move past the issue. I know for a fact that Luna would want you to get help, to move past everything that's bothering you. That's how she acted with Kacchan; at first, he didn't want anything to do with her, and I'll be honest when I say I don't know how she did it, but she listened to him, advised him, helped him. And he grew much stronger. His attitude might suck sometimes, but he's in a lot better of a place than he was before. And I think she wants the same for you. The declaration of war you gave earlier … I'll return that. I will beat you, too."

With that, Todoroki looked at Midoriya one last time before heading off to the stadium. When Todoroki arrived, he walked to the platform where Midnight was, but felt someone stand next to him. When he turned his head to look at the person, his eyes widened slightly at the fact that it was Luna, of all people. When she turned to gaze at him, Todoroki noticed that she appeared … different. The kind and gentle twinkle that was once there was now replaced by a cold glint.

"Todoroki-kun." Luna greeted and turned to face the platform where Midnight was standing.

"Now that lunch is over, it's finally time to reveal the last event! But before that, there is good news for all of you who didn't make it to the finals! This is just a sport's festival! So we've created recreational games that you can participate in, too! We've even brought in real cheerleaders, too! Huh?" Present Mic paused, observing all the girls from Class 1-A, who were now in cheerleading uniforms of their own.

"What are they doing?" asked Aizawa for everyone. Todoroki turned to face them, one eyebrow slightly quirked.

The hell?

"What's the matter, Class A? What kind of fan service is that?"

"Mineta-san, Kaminari-san, you tricked us, didn't you?!" angrily exclaimed Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki just sighed at the antics of the class's two resident perverts. "Why am I always getting caught up in Mineta-san's antics? I even used Creation to make these…"

"All right, everyone! Let's have fun competing in the recreational games! When that's over, the sixteen from the four teams that made it to the final round will duke it out, tournament style, one-on-one!"

Todoroki's class began to whisper, and he gave Luna a side glance, who merely stared at the screen, disinterested.

"Luna, I-" he began, but Luna interrupted him.

"There's no need to apologize for your words, Shoto. I understand why you said them, and I have to thank you for them. I was distracted, but your words gave me a guide to follow."

Todoroki got a weird feeling in his chest once he heard those words. The fact that Luna was taking them to heart and didn't seem to be offended … but Todoroki could tell something was wrong.

"I took your advice. About talking to someone about my problems."

Luna turned to face him, a strange look on her face "Did it help, Shoto?"

Todoroki just realized she switched back to calling him Shoto, but, funnily enough, he didn't mind it at all. In fact, he liked it, which surprised him somewhat "I'm not sure, as of yet. Maybe a little."

"Well, should you want to talk to me, I'm all ears. Just let me know." Todoroki nodded, still feeling slightly uneasy.

She still wants to help? After what I said? What did I do to deserve this kindness from her? Todoroki thought.

"The sixteen students can choose whether or not they want to participate in the recreation. I'm sure some of you want to rest or save your strength. Now, from the first-place team -" said Midnight, but was interrupted by Ojiro.

"Um, excuse me. I'm withdrawing."

Midoriya blanched "Ojiro-kun, why?"

"This is a rare chance for pros to see you!" Iida supported.

"I barely remember anything from the cavalry battle until almost to the end. I think it was that guy's Quirk. I know that it's a great chance, and foolish to waste it, but … everyone here competed by giving their all! I can't … I can't be up there with everyone without knowing what really happened."

"You're worrying too much about it! You should just make sure to produce results in the finals! If you're gonna say that, I didn't do anything either." Hagakure tried to persuade Ojiro, but he shook his head.

"I'm talking about my pride here … I can't …" Todoroki could understand; the boy wanted to stand up there knowing it was because of his prowess and brains that he made it so far, but because he didn't remember, he felt he didn't deserve it.

"Um … I'm Nirengeki Shoda from Class 1-B. I also want to withdraw for the same reason. Regardless of ability, don't you think it goes against the goal of this sports festival for those who didn't do anything to move onto the final round?"

"What's with these guys?! They're so manly!" Kirishima was practically in tears because of the touching movement.

"This is an unusual turn of events. We'll have to see what the chief umpire, Midnight, has to say about this." Finally, Todoroki heard the tone of Present Mic's voice change to normal levels, somber but solemn.

"Youthful talk like that is something … I like! Shoda! Ojiro! I accept your withdrawal! In that case, we'll have to move up two people from the fifth-place cavalry battle team …"

A girl stepped forward and spoke "If that's what's going to happen, rather than us, who barely did anything during the cavalry battle, it should be them, right? The ones who fought to the end and stayed in the top, Team Tetsutetsu, right?"

"Kendo …" Tetsutetsu said, startled at the girl's praise.

"This isn't collision or anything, it just makes sense."

"You guys!" The boy looked about ready to burst into tears, much like Kirishima.

"And so, Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki moved up to make sixteen! This is the bracket based on the results of the drawing!" Midnight decreed and the crowd cheered. The students finally drew lots for their battles, and it looked like Todoroki would first face Sero.

"Again?! This is too redundant!" protested Kirishima and Tetsutetsu at the same time, glaring at each other.

Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami were to face each other right afterwards.

"I'll give it my all." Promised Tokoyami.

"That's what I want!" said Yaoyorozu confidently.

Ashido and Aoyama were also paired together.

"Merci." Said Aoyama.

"Too bad you got me as an opponent!" crowed Mina.

"You mean, too lucky!"

The rest of the pairings were done, and Todoroki could see that if he and Luna both won their first and second battles, they would have to face off against each other. He remembered their first fight, in All Might's first class, and they basically fought each other to a standstill. Technically speaking, Todoroki won then, but now, he wasn't sure about the level of progress that Luna had made in the weeks leading up to it. While it was true that Todoroki had gotten better with his ice, he had completely neglected the other half of his Quirk, Endeavor's fire. Even thinking about it set him on edge.

First, however, he had to deal with his first opponent; Hanta Sero. Todoroki had no doubt he would win that. Curiously, he looked at Luna's first battle; it was against Ibara Shiozaki, one of the two who were moved up in place of Shoda and Ojiro. He remembered the cavalry battle, where Yaoyorozu held her off with a flamethrower, but Luna didn't have such an advantage. He began to worry for her slightly before clearing his head. She'd probably cuff him over the head if he expressed his worry; she'd be fine.

A more pressing matter was his second round; if Midoriya managed to win, he would have to face him.

Come, Midoriya. I'll defeat you with this hand.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Luna and Shiozaki quietly conversing before the latter left. Luna, meanwhile, looked to the bracket leaderboard before fixing Todoroki with a cold stare. She nodded, and Todoroki nodded back. He wouldn't admit it, but he preferred the Luna from before, who was warm and kind.

Of course, if you didn't screw her over, she would still be like that. A part of Todoroki's mind said, but he just shrugged it off.

"All right! Let's leave the tournament aside for a momentary interlude! Let's have fun with the recreation!"

Aaaand there was the overtly loud and annoying sound of Present Mic's voice.

"All right, first is the scavenger hunt!"

Todoroki didn't participate, but most of his class did. He would later find Luna and Tokoyami sitting in a tree, relaxing. He didn't approach the two, content to leave them be, but he felt a pang in his chest when he realized how peaceful and serene Luna looked. Gone were her tense muscles and frosty eyes. Now, he could see her relaxed, lounging like a cat would be in a tree; one paw, er, hand dangling from the branch, the other used as a pillow for her chin and head. Her tail was waving back and forth, with her ears swiveling from side-to-side occasionally. One of her eyes opened when she sensed him, but this time, whether she was too relaxed or just didn't care, her eye held some of her previous warmth in it. However, he could still sense the fact that she was ill-content with him, so he left.

It's fine; I survived all these years without her, and I'll continue to do so. Just because she's a smart, pretty, kind girl who seemed to like me for who I was doesn't mean it's the end of the world. I can handle it, just like I've been doing these past years.

It's incredible how similar you two are. I can see why she was drawn to you, kitten.

Todoroki snapped out of his musing, tensing, and glaring around himself, looking for someone who was speaking to him.

Silly kitten, I'm not here. I'm in your mind.

Who are you, and what do you want?

I'm Bast. Luna might have spoken about me, but maybe not.

She's mentioned you in passing, and I think I saw you at USJ. You still didn't answer why you were in my mind.

Great, this makes it so much quicker and easier. Anyways, I'll keep it short, as it is incredibly taxing just being in the mind of someone who's not my descendant. I came here to apologize.

For what?

For your argument. Luna didn't want to pry originally, but I basically coerced her to. Just for your information, she wasn't trying to make you spill your deepest, darkest secrets: at least, not originally.

It was … It was you?

Yes, and I'm incredibly sorry for putting you both through … that. Just to clear the air so that you two could make up. She might not have said it, but your friendship was incredibly important to her, maybe even more than her friendship with that Bakugo boy. I just … I just tried to play matchmaker and didn't consider the consequences. So, I'm not sure how much this means to you, but Luna really did want to help. You two have terrifyingly similar pasts, and she tried to help you out of the hellhole you are currently in.

So I just blew up on her for something that really wasn't her fault, huh. She just wanted to help, and … I hurt her for no reason.

Don't be too harsh on yourself, kitten. It's only instinctual that once someone's walls are broken down, they lash out indiscriminately.

The problem is that I tried to apologize already, but she just brushed me off.

I was afraid of this. Look, my reserves are basically spent, so our time is running out. Regardless, just make it to your battle in the semi-final. You can do it there.

What makes you think she'll listen to me?

Just tell her what your heart tells you, and I think you'll be fine. Don't be discouraged if she tries to push you away, just push back, and, hopefully, you'll break through to her.

But what if that doesn't work?

This time, no answer responded to his question.

Bast? Hello?

Again, no answer. Todoroki swore, but there was nothing he could do; the deity was gone. And made him feel like a total jackass. All Luna had been trying to do was to help him, and he lashed out. And what exactly did the cat goddess mean when she said they had similar pasts? Does that mean that she really did understand him? She understood the pain of the abuse from one's parent?

Todoroki began to take deep breaths and decided a walk would clear his mind before the battles began. Unfortunately, it didn't; time flew by all too quickly, and soon, it was time to start.

Todoroki made his way to the area reserved for his class and sat down. He once again felt someone near him and turned to his right, where Luna sat. This time, when he looked into Luna's eyes, they weren't so emotionless and cold; there was a bit of a twinkle to them, much like honey topaz might shine. She didn't nod to him this time, just sat there.

"Thank you, Cementoss! Hey guys, are you ready?!" yelled Present Mic.

The crowd went ballistic, screaming and shouting in joy. Todoroki noticed Luna pull out a small napkin but froze when she tilted her left ear, and it turned red from blood. She pulled out her noise-cancelling earbuds and put the right one in to prevent it from bleeding. Once her left ear stopped, she carefully cleaned it out before inserting her left earbud too.

"A lot's happened, but now it's come to this! A serious battle! You can only depend on yourself Even if you're not a hero, you'll face lots of situations like that! You get it, right? Heart, skill, body, wisdom, and knowledge. Use all of that to rush up!"

The first match was Midoriya versus that purple haired boy who declared war on Class 1-A, and who Luna put in his place. Todoroki found it kind of startling how cold she was to the boy but shrugged when he realized that she was doing it to protect her friends. To protect him. He felt kind of happy, but then scowled when he realized when he was the one to ruin everything between them.

"Audience! The finals that you've all been waiting for are finally starting! Match number one. Even though he's done well, what's with that face? From the hero course, it's Izuku Midoriya!" His appearance was met with a loud cheer from the crowd. "Versus … Sorry, he hasn't done anything to stand out yet! From general studies, it's Hitoshi Shinso!" He was met with a smaller cheer, but that was because he was relatively unknown as compared to Midoriya, who got first in the qualifier and just barely got his first place stolen by Todoroki's team in the cavalry battle.

Todoroki didn't know what the boy's Quirk was, but he didn't think Midoriya would have too much trouble with him.

"The rules are simple. Force your opponent out of bounds or immobilize them!"

"You can also win by forcing your opponent say, 'I give up!' Bring on the injuries! Because we got Recovery Girl on standby! Put your morals and ethics aside for a moment! But of course, anything life-threatening is crap! It's not allowed! Heroes should only use their fists to catch villains!"

"I'll stop things of they go too far." Remarked Cementoss, now sitting in a referee chair he created for himself. Todoroki saw Shinso begin to say something to Midoriya but couldn't hear because of the crowd. He turned to Luna and was about to ask something but stopped himself.

You have no right to ask her anything! You hurt her! You made her cry!

Todoroki grit his teeth, now fuming that he thought he could ask Luna of a favor as if nothing happened between them. Luna, however, noticed and turned to him.

"What is it, Shoto?" she asked. There was no malice or hate in her voice.

"Never mind. It's not important." Was the angry reply. He flinched slightly when he felt Luna's hand on his arm.

"Shoto. Stop beating yourself up for what you said. Now, tell me. What is it you wanted to ask?"

Todoroki hesitated, conflicted between asking and not. He finally decided to just ask. She did say she would listen to him, after all.

"I was wondering if you could hear what they were saying down there. I know, it's stupid and selfish and –" Todoroki paused when Luna began to squeeze his arm.

"Stop it. I would normally love to, but with these earbuds, they lower my hearing capabilities so that they become comparable to yours. Sorry."

"Not as much as I am." Todoroki heard a sigh from the girl, and she removed her hand from his arm. The place she held was now kind of tingly and buzzing, though it was by no means unpleasant. Just … different.

"Ready?! Start!" decreed Aizawa.

At first, neither competitor moved, with Shinso saying something to Midoriya, who proceeded to grow angrier and angrier each passing second. Suddenly, Midoriya rushed forward before coming to a screeching halt. Todoroki furrowed his eyebrows; something was wrong. He heard Luna begin to growl.

"What's wrong?" Todoroki asked.

"It's that Shinso boy. He has some sort of persuasion Quirk. Midoriya told me that if you answer any of his questions or statements, he can force your body to do anything he wants. The only way you can get out of the trance he puts you in is if someone touches or hurts you. He said he had a plan, but he's ruined it!" she hissed, angry eyes now glinting dangerously.

"So, he's lost?"

"He better not, or I'll beat the crap out of him! After all that he's promised, too!" Todoroki thought that Bakugo rubbed off on the girl but didn't comment.

"Hey, hey, what's the matter? It's the important first match! Liven things up! Midoriya, the match just started, and now he's frozen! Could it be Shinso's Quirk? He didn't stand out at all, but could he be someone amazing?" There was a pause as Present Mic let everyone process his words before he continued "Hitoshi Shinso from general studies has gotten the better of Izuku Midoriya from the hero course! Who would've imagined this?! Will the bottom really overthrow the top?"

"That's why I said the entrance exam isn't rational."

"Huh? What?"

"Here's some basic data from the two of them. Since it's individual matches from here on out, I had someone compile it for me. Shinso failed the practical exam for the hero course. Since he also applied to general studies, he probably knew that would happen. His Quirk is very powerful, but the practical exam consisted of fighting faux villains. That gave an advantage to those with physical attack Quirks. Shinso wouldn't have been able to rack up any points with his Quirk."

"Now, turn around and walk past the out-of-bounds line." Now that the stadium was quiet, everyone could hear what Shinso said.

Midoriya turned, and slowly began to walk to the boundary line.

"Huh? WHAT?! Midoriya's being so obedient!"

Just as he was about to step out of bounds, a small explosion was set off, obscuring Midoriya from view.

"This is … Midoriya stopped!" As everyone erupted in cheers, Todoroki noticed a certain quiet spot beside him. When he turned to look at the girl there, he noticed that she had a small smile on her face. And for whatever reason, Todoroki couldn't look away. His heart began to skip beats, and his breathing hitched. It was as if Shinso managed to capture him in his Quirk and commanded Todoroki to keep looking, because no matter what Todoroki tried, he kept staring.

Damn it, what the hell?! Why can't I stop staring?! After some internal struggling, he just gave up. Was her smile always so pretty? Have I just never noticed? Damn it, I'm turning into one of those main protagonists from Fuyumi's novels!

At that moment, Luna turned to face him, but froze when she noticed him staring. She colored slightly, but then she took a deep breath, and the moment was lost. She gave him a blank stare and continued to observe the now visible form of Midoriya standing there.

Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot! You're supposed to be mad at him! He hurt you! He's not your friend! He LIED to you! You're not supposed to like him! He'll just hurt you again! Because you are NOTHING! You are WORTHLESS and PATHETIC and WEAK! What could he possibly see in you?!

Luna's breaths came out in ragged gasps, remembering her conversation with Todoroki. She began to sweat and shake, and her eyes grew wide as she was transported back to her room.

NOOO! NOT AGAIN! PLEASE!

Luna appeared back in her room. No longer was she in Aizawa's house, but now, she was in her father's house. But this wasn't the house her father currently owned. No, this room was back in British Columbia, in Kelowna. She was back to the one of two places she didn't want to be. She ran to the door and began trying to open the door, but she knew it was no use. It would only open if someone opened it from the outside. Last time, it was Aizawa, but many times before him, Luna had to sit and wait and endure what was about to come.

Her father tried to ship her off to an insane asylum in a bid to get rid of her when he found out about these episodes, but she was always brought back. The doctors told him that they were merely panic attacks, and with medication, she should be fine. That didn't stop him from withholding it and trying to get rid of her all the same.

Luna began to try to shatter the windows, but she wasn't able to activate her Quirk. All she did was bruise and split her knuckles. She tried throwing her chair, her laptop, anything heavy to try to smash it, but everything just bounced off. And then the whispers began.

Luna whimpered and went into a frenzy, pounding on the door and windows to be let out.

"I don't want you to play therapist! I don't need you!"

"You're just like your pathetic excuse of a mother! Weak, manipulative, conniving! She robbed me of everything, and you are probably going to do the same!"

"You're not my … friend. I don't have friends."

"Help! Anyone! Please! Let me out! I can't stay in here! I'll do anything!" Luna sobbed, but like always, nobody came to save her. And that was when Luna heard her.

"Luuunnnaaaa~"

"No! Stay away!"

"Luna dear, it's time to get up." The melodious and beautiful voice rang out. Luna merely panicked even harder. She wasn't fooled one bit. "Luna, I'm getting annoyed now. Open the door."

"I can't! Let me out!"

"Luna! Open the damn door!" the voice barked, now very angry.

"I'm trying!"

"Open the door, fool! How hard is it to open a fucking door!"

Just as it was about to get even worse, Luna heard a voice she didn't expect to hear outside her room.

"Luna! Snap out of it!"

And just like that, her room shattered into tiny fragments of glass. She was suddenly in an empty hallway, held by the shoulders by none other than Todoroki. Tears were streaming down her face, and she threw herself around the boy, taking deep, ragged breaths and shaking. At first, he stiffened, but he hugged her back tightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…" Luna chanted, and they boy didn't responds. He merely held her in his strong, warm arms, letting her cry into his school uniform.

Well then, welcome back! Another difficult chapter to write, but I promise these won't be the norm! They'll happen episodically except for a part or two, but yeah. Couple things I wanted to point out in the chapter. In the actual anima and manga, Quirks are something relatively new, but in this story, I made them relatively old, going as far back as … let's say to neolithic times. I never actauuly outright stated this, but there you go. Next, Todoroki's and Luna's matches will begin starting next chapter. I know it seems like I'm stretching it out, but I won't really focus on most battles, just Todoroki's and Luna's. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Stay safe out there! – Bananaman out!

Mirrorflower: Indeed, our poor Shoto is broken. I found it kind of weird how the anime doesn't really cover it? I mean, we see the flashbacks and are told of the terrible stuff he went through, but he's just … fine? Like, I would think there would be some kind of lasting damage but there isn't? IDK, I just wanted to kind of bring that aspect into focus a bit more in this story.