4- Her Eyes

A hand slammed onto the bar, but Shigaraki didn't take away any of his attention from the television, knowing who it was.

"I got in." She sounded angry, which wasn't odd, but this time the anger was different.

He responded with a plain "Ok."

Golden eyes drilled into the back of his head. "Ok? That's all?" Azula's hand curled into a fist around a little grey disk.

"Miss Azula," Kurogiri's smooth voice flowed through her ears as he emerged from the back room of the bar, "is there anything upsetting you?"

"Tch." The grey disk made a thud as it fell onto the bar.

Out of the disk, the projection of a brightly colored stage was displayed, reminiscent of the backdrop of a game show. "Booyah!" A muscular man with chiseled features popped up on the projection, covering the entire screen, "I am here! As a projection!" The symbol of peace quickly backed away from the camera, revealing that instead of wearing his usual red white and blue costume, he was wearing a nice yellow suit. "'And why am I here?' is what you are most definitely asking! Well! This year," He put his fists on his hips, still holding his famous grin, "I am a teacher at U.A.!"

He paused, as if expecting the watcher to go into shock and to need to take a break. "Now! Onto the results! You passed, with flying colors!" His smile seemed to grow wider, before growing slightly grim, "However, it seems like you were misinformed about the practical portion of the exam." He pulled a remote from somewhere and turned to a screen that displayed the U.A. logo, "You informed young Ashido that if two participants were to destroy one of the robots used for the practical exam, both of them would earn the points the robot was worth." The screen changed to a video of her blasting a massive fireball down a street, "Whoever you got this information from, however, was misinformed. Only the participant who lands the final blow on the bot earns the points for it."

The image on the screen changed, to show the pink girl she had met at the exam sliding around robots, spraying them with a grey slime every time she passed one. "This means that while you got seventy-five villain points, young Ashido only got around ten." His face never lost his smile, but now, it was clear he wasn't thrilled. "Fortunately," he seemed to gain some enthusiasm, as he stood straighter and strained his smile wider, "villain points were not the only things being counted in this exam!" He spread his arms as if waiting for applause from a crowd. "How could a hero course reject those who help others? That is why, after some arguing and debating, a panel of judges has decided that Mina Ashido earned thirty rescue points for assisting in the takedown of over 20 bots!"

A scoreboard took over the projection, and green letters and numbers popped up, displaying the points all of the top ten participants got. "While you got zero rescue points!" The names and scores of the participants began to appear, starting from the bottom.

10- Fumikage Tokoyami- 47 villain points, 10 rescue points

9- Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu- 49 villain points, 10 rescue points

8- Izuku Midoriya-0 villain points, 60 rescue points

7- Tenya IIda-52 villain points, 10 rescue points

6- Itsuka Kendo- 25 villain points, 40 rescue points

5- Ibara Shiozaki- 36 villain points, 32 rescue points

4- Ochaco Uraraka- 28 villain points, 45 rescue points

3- Ejiro Kirishima- 39 villain points, 35 rescue points

2- Agni Azula- 75 villain points, 0 rescue points

1- Katsuki Bakugo- 77 villain points, 0 rescue points

Azula scowled slightly at this, while Shigaraki looked at the scoreboard out of the corner of his eye, barely paying attention.

"You both passed the exam," he held out an open hand to the camera, and spoke with a low, awe-inspiring voice, "Welcome young Azula, to your Hero Academia!" The video on the projection halted, displaying the grinning face of All Might.

"Ok," A dry, crusty hand picked up the disk, "you got in. Why so mad?" Asked Shigaraki in an uninterested drawl.

Azula clenched her fists and responded through gritted teeth. "I. Wasn't. First."

Shigaraki closed his fist around the disk. "And? Suck it up. Your job isn't to get first, it's to be our spy. Without a scout, how do we do our quests?" He finished the harsh statement by opening his hand, letting a small pile of dust fall to the floor.

Her eye twitched, and her arms began to shake as she restrained herself from killing the stupid man-child in front of her. "W-Well…" She glared at the floor, unable to form a valid reason for being angry.

"Hmm…" He scratched its neck, worsening the terrible condition it was already in. "Ohh," a cruel, raspy chuckle poured from his throat, "I get it, you feel weak." He kept laughing, amused by how childish she seemed. "Well, you wanna feel all big and strong? I got a job you could do…"

She glared at him, but he could see the glimmer of curiosity hidden behind the hatred.

A happy, creepy smile blossomed beneath the hand on his face. "There's a gang nearby, the Red Snakes or something. They want the bar, but I don't wanna give it to them." He paused, for dramatic effect, or to let her take it in, she couldn't tell. "I'd kill them myself… but it seems like you're pretty angry. Destroying things usually makes me feel better…"

The glare had lost most of its heat, but it was still there, directed at Shigaraki. "You want me to kill them." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Yeah…" It looked like the perfect time to say something else, but he simply turned around and turned on the console connected to the television. "Oh yeah, they're in the building with the wires hanging out the window. It's pretty close, I'm sure you'll find it."

"Tch. Fine." She stomped out of the bar and down to where she had seen a building that matched the description Shigaraki had given her.

-C-O-R-

"Hey Kazu."

"Yeah Hutin?"

"You hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I dunno, just thought I heard somethin' 'round the corner."

"Then look dumbass." He punched the other man in the shoulder, the sleeve of his shirt riding up enough with the action to reveal the tattoo of a red snake on his bicep.

"Damn," Hutin rubbed his shoulder, scowling lightly, "Just tryna make small talk."

"This isn't the place for small talk, we're the Crimson Serpents, not Oprah." Kazu glared at the other man, "We're the only ones guarding the front. What if your talking distracts us?"

A subdued yet angry mumble was the response he got. "Fucking god I said sorry."

The next response any of them could have given was cut off by something emerging from the darkness of the night.

"Oi! This is Crimson Serpent territory dipshit! Get outta here!" Both Kazu and Hutin pulled out handguns.

"Hmmm," The figure, a small person in a hoodie, put a mocking finger to their chin, "No." Before they could fire their guns, the figure had lunged in between them, grabbing a head in each hand. An intense heat blossomed on their faces before any of them could move to remove the hand, making them drop their guns.

They both let out quiet, garbled noises as the figure used its momentum to keep moving forwards, smashing the backs of both skulls into the concrete beneath them.

The figures were silenced from any more noises as the heat flared, and small plumes of blue fire puffed into the night sky, dissipating after some seconds.

Trash and drugs littered the floor, making her nose scrunch up as the stench of alcohol invaded her senses. While Azula lurked through the dank building, she noticed the lack of gang members. The building was clearly inhabited, but there was nobody in sight.

"The fuck do you mean 'there's a dude there?'" She tensed, but relaxed upon realizing the voice was muffled. There was a conversation occurring in the level above her.

"I mean, that he won't give us the building." It was a different voice, this one deeper, more calm sounding.

"I don't fucking care! It's just a guy! Kill him and take the place!" The first voice responded, not at all as calm. "Is it some hero or somethin'?"

Another voice, slimy like a con artist's, responded this time, "Nah, just some freak with a hand on his face."

"So why can't you useless fucks kill him!" The first voice, sounding even more agitated.

"We've tried." Rumbled the deep-voiced one, seemingly unperturbed by the agitation the man was showing. "He's killed every man we sent."

The first man dissolved into intelligible, aggravated, rambling as Azula finally reached the stairs that led to the next level. She heard some quiet chatter above her, and took a peek, knowing that the people who were supposed to be guarding the stairs were focused on talking and not their job. She saw a hallway, where four people were making small chatter, each with visible tattoos of red snakes.

Beyond them, at the end of the hall, was a door, which presumably led to the room with the arguing men.

She stayed there, her head barely peeking out from the staircase. The muscular woman who seemed to be talking the most opened her mouth to laugh at something she had heard, but collapsed to the floor as a searing pain exploded in her throat.

As two of the people she was talking to opened their mouths to scream, or yell for help, Azula fired another two small bolts of fire into their throats.

The only noises that could be heard in the hallway were the arguing occurring in the other room, the pathetic gurgling coming from the throats of three people as they crumbled to the ground, and the panicked breathing of the fourth person as she saw what had just happened to her comrades.

As she quickly ran her eyes over the room, she saw a head of long, dark hair peeking out from the staircase, accompanied by two golden eyes. She activated her quirk, turning her fingers into knives, and made a sloppy lunge for the little girl.

As Azula saw the last remaining gang member lunge for her, she gracefully lept, stretching her legs above the woman's head midair, followed by the rest of her body as she turned to face the woman midair. Before her enemy could attempt to strike her, Azula tucked her legs to her chest, and kicked the woman in the head, knocking her out immediately. The thud of her body crumpling to the floor made the people in the other room go quiet.

Hiroshi Imasuji was not having a good day. As the leader of the Red Serpents, he had a reputation to uphold, and having nearly a fourth of his numbers killed by one man was not a good image.

They had been scouting the area around them for some time, looking to expand, and had found the prime location for another base. A small building, an abandoned bar, but its location was easy to defend against any enemy gangs.

He had sent out men to go mark it as Red Serpent territory by attaching red wires along the building, but none of them had come back, only the two men he had sent to supervise the process survived. From what they had told him, some freak had come out and killed all 20 men.

He had gathered all his remaining people in the large meeting room, minus some low-rank goons that were guarding the building, as well as the two survivors. The entire gang had circled around him and the other two men, his large figure trembling with barely restrained rage.

He barely registered Suraimu's slimy voice ringing in his ears, as his muscles bulged and grew, his skin and three-piece suit barely managing to not burst.

"Fucking Dammit!" Hiroshi spun around as he felt Suraimu's hand grasp his massive shoulder. Not even giving him the chance to respond, he grasped his subordinate's head in his large hand, lifting him off the ground and into the air.

He felt the slimy bastard squirming, and drove his skull into the floor beneath him, creating a dent in the concrete, which was quickly expanded and filled with blood and viscera as Hiroshi repeated the motions, only stopping once the squirming stopped.

As he tossed Suraimu's mangled corpse to the side, he turned his attention to the other man. As always, Tsuika kept a calm appearance, but Hiroshi could see the fear in his eyes. How his jaw trembled, how sweat crept through his tailored three-piece, and the way the muscles in his neck tensed as if trying to make sure his head stayed attached to his body.

The arms of Hiroshi's suit strained and stretched as his arm muscles grew even larger, but they didn't break.

"Ah-" Tsuika, began, tugging the collar of his suit nervously, "Sir… Might I suggest-" He never finished the sentence, as a fist as big as his head ran straight through his head, splattering the man the fist was attached to with blood and brain matter.

Hiroshi ran a massive hand through his hair, clearing the yellow mess of any remnant of Tsuik's head. He let out an angry growl and pointed a gore-covered finger to the crowd surrounding him. "You see what happens to failures?"

It seemed like everybody in the crowd gulped, and he could tell all of them got the message. "Good, now-" He was interrupted by the faint sound of gargling and a thud from outside the door. His eye twitched and his suit strained even further as he grew even more. "Are those useless rats fuckin' around?" As he turned around to look at the door, grey eyes filled with malice, he felt his hair scrape a dangling ceiling light.

He glared at one of his goons, and they immediately scrambled towards the door. The crowd grew even more nervous as the man put his sweaty, shaky hand on the doorknob.

The door exploded, hurtling across the room as searing heat and blinding blue light engulfed everyone present. Piercing screams filled Hiroshi's ears, and the acrid smell of burning flesh invaded his nostrils. Instinctively, he raised his arms, shielding his face from the flames, relying on the strength of his suit to safeguard the rest of his body.

As the intense blue light faded, Hiroshi slowly lowered his arms, his face contorting with fury as he surveyed the aftermath.

The room was strewn with piles of ash and charred bones. Those farthest from the door writhed in agony, their flesh peeling off in fiery chunks as they cried out for help.

Azula, her hand dropping, panted slightly, observing the devastating consequences of the flames she had unleashed. The massive room now lay littered with lifeless bodies, and the nauseating stench of death twisted her face in disgust. Among the burning remains near the back were likely human corpses.

Wiping away the sweat trickling down her face, Azula stepped forward into the smoke-filled space. Suddenly, a colossal hand, larger than her head, swiped at the spot she had just occupied, narrowly missing her. The smoke dispersed, revealing a towering man, more than twice her height, launching a skull-shattering punch at her.

Hiroshi, panting heavily, seethed with rage. Through the dissipating smoke, he caught sight of a young girl- the same girl who had obliterated his entire gang. He lunged toward her, attempting to swipe his hand through her head. Yet, she agilely dodged his attack. Without hesitation, he tried to slam a fist into her skull.

"You damn brat!" Hiroshi growled, his frustration evident. "Do you have any idea who I am? I'm Hiroshi Imasuji, the strongest man in Kamino!" The sleeves of his suit burst as his muscles grew even further, "Die!"

He lunged, striking her in the chest with his palm. He used the momentum from the lunge to slam her into the wall, breaking it, and still pushing her, he jumped from the third story of the building he was in, aiming to squash the girl between the floor and his palm.

Azula screamed in pain as her back collided with the wall behind her, the impact shattering it. Hiroshi leaped forward, continuing his relentless pursuit, intending to crush her against the alley floor.

Hiroshi's palm slammed into the ground, but not before Azula, using her firebending, propelled herself to the wall of the adjacent building. Rubble and dust filled the air in the alley as the gang leader crashed into the ground, momentarily halted.

"Ha!" Hiroshi exclaimed, lifting his hand to examine the supposedly lifeless body of the girl he had just flattened, only to find nothing. Perplexed, he let out a grunt of pain as his exposed arms were scorched by blue flames. He desperately covered his face, peering through his arms to see the little girl clutching the fire escape of an abandoned building with one arm and using the other one to blast a torrent of blue flames at him.

Summoning his immense strength, Hiroshi reached behind himself, leaving only one arm to protect his face, and hurled a massive piece of rubble directly at her. Simultaneously, he leapt towards the wall above him, aiming to strike it with both hands where the boulder collided. However, the girl agilely evaded both attacks, descending to the alley floor.

Propelling himself off the building with his legs, Hiroshi plummeted toward her, ready to end her life. But she dodged his fists just in time, but she couldn't dodge the shockwave caused by the impact, causing her to lose balance and fall onto her back as the ground trembled beneath her.

"Yeah!" Hiroshi roared triumphantly, slamming his fist into the ground beside her. "Not so strong now, are ya'?!" A sadistic grin spread across his face as he prepared to deliver the final blow, rearing his other arm back, muscles bulging and skin tearing with power.

As Azula stared into the deranged gray eyes of her imminent executioner, thoughts of another pair of gray eyes flooded her mind- eyes that had always regarded her with awe.

"You're the most amazing, smartest, and prettiest girl in the whole wide world, Azula!"

"No, you miscalculated! You should have feared me more!" Azula declared, bringing her arms forward.

Mai swiftly drew a knife, assuming a throwing stance, her sharp gaze locked unwaveringly onto Azula.

Azula felt her internal energies split as she prepared to...

Thunk.

Her arm went numb, and her torso twisted limply.

Snap!

Collapsing to the ground, she lost control of her legs.

Without a moment's hesitation, Ty Lee- the only person she could come close to calling a friend—rushed to Mai's side, tending to her injuries.

A tear slipped from Azula's eye as the memory of one of the most agonizing moments of her life surged into her mind. Why? Why now? Seconds before she died?

A sharp punch landed on her shoulder, hitting a precise spot that could never be struck accidentally.

A blow to a specific area of her spine, causing her legs to give way.

A fire ignited within Azula's heart, synchronized with the flames erupting from her palm, propelling her toward the fist that aimed to end her existence. She soared past the colossal fist, and to the man's shoulders, remembering the exact spot Ty Lee had struck her.

THUD!

The man's torso twisted loosely through the air, carrying the momentum of his punch.

Flying over the man and using her firebending to twist her trajectory, she hurtled towards the man's back.

SLAM!

Her heel crashed onto his spine, precisely where Ty Lee had struck her. Agony shot through her foot, but she pushed past the pain. Tumbling to the ground, she rolled until she collided with the

wall.

Hiroshi remained bewildered. One moment, he had been on the verge of crushing the little girl beneath his fist, and the next, he lay sprawled on his back, incapable of movement. He screamed, commanding his muscles to obey, but they remained unresponsive.

"Hey! What the fuck?!" Hiroshi strained to turn his head, searching for an explanation but found nothing. Listening intently, he caught the sound of scraping- like someone dragging their foot across the floor.

Azula's breath came in ragged gasps as she hobbled toward the massive, limp figure before her, the painful memories of Ty Lee's betrayal reigniting the flames of sorrow and rage within her.

"Brat!" Hiroshi's voice boomed, muscles twitching with futile resistance. She limped closer, her body trembling but her determination unwavering. Finally reaching him, she planted her foot on his chest, her gaze locking fiercely with his own piercing gray eyes-

Her eyes.

"You," she hissed, her voice dripping with venomous contempt, "are no longer a part of my life." Raising her hands high above her head, she took a deep, shuddering breath, channeling the entirety of her turbulent emotions into them.

"What? The fuck are you talkin' 'bout!" Hiroshi's words were cut short as Azula crouched down, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on his face, a storm brewing within her. With a sudden, violent motion, she brought her hands crashing down upon his skull, an inferno of animosity and sorrow consuming her very being.

The narrow alleyway was bathed with an intense, searing blue glow, the pulsating light casting flickering shadows against the walls. As Hiroshi Imasuji's head disintegrated into a swirling vortex of ash and cinders, Azula felt an indescribable surge of power coursing through her veins. It was as if the fiery inferno that consumed her enemy symbolized not only her release from the past, but also her transcendence beyond it.

With a sense of quiet resolve, Azula stepped back, her fiery gaze lingering on the remnants of Hiroshi's existence. The ashes slowly dissipated into the cool night air, carrying away the remnants of a broken past. She inhaled deeply, savoring the newfound freedom that surged within her, and with each exhale, she let go of the shackles that had held her captive for far too long.

Azula emerged from that alleyway, her steps steady and purposeful. She carried with her the knowledge of her past, no longer a burden, but a tool. The world lay before her, and she was ready to embrace it, guided not by her hatred, but by the scars of yesterday.

-C-O-R-

"So," She had barely limped through the door, caked with blood and ash, before Shigaraki had addressed her, "feel better?"

A solemn smile found its way to her face. "Yes. I suppose I do."

AN- I really wanna get a consistent update schedule, like a chapter bi-weekly, but I'm not gonna write if I don't feel the motivation to write, as if I do that my writing wont be good, so it might take 3 weeks, or 1 week, depending on my mood

-Crossposted the story to Ao3, under the same username

- If you couldnt tell im trying to get better at making shit dramatic

-I dont wanna call anybody reading this stupid, but be fr, half the people on this site are dumb as bricks, so ill explain this chapter

-Azula feels angry because she didn't get first in the entrance exams, which makes her feel inferior. Something that might have been difficult to pick up on is that this drags up feelings of inferiority, which is why shes angry

- Shigaraki says the itching stopped when he killed his dad, and at this point all Shigaraki wants to do is destroy, so its easy to infer that destruction can make him feel better, which is why he reccomends it, plus he had always intended to kill the Crimson Serpents, but this way, he doesnt have to do it himself

-In case you couldnt tell, Azula remembers Ty Lee because Hiroshi has the same eyes as Ty Lee, silver-grey

-I know in ATLA that when Ty Lee paralyzes Azula she hits her in the back of the shoulder but im changing that :3

-Also you might have noticed that Imasuji is Muscular's last name, I thought it would be cool to have him be Muscular's distant cousin or something, which is why their quirks are similar.

-The main point of this chapter is to show Azula learning that she should learn from her past but not dwell on it.

-Also, I dont want Azula's only weapon to be her fire, I know I buffed her fire and i think i might have overdone it, but i dont want her fire to be more powerful that Endeavor's or even Shouto's, they are hotter, as they are blue, but dont have as much pure power, and she cant make as much fire as them.

I went off on a tangent there, but I dont want Azula's only weapon to be her fire, the reason Azula was such a good villain in ATLA wasn't her fire, it was her cunning ruthlessness and her mentality. I want to be able to write her like that. I know I didn't do that well this chapter, but ill do it later I swear ToT

-Also there will be little to not character bashing in this, excluding people hitting Mineta. I believe people should face the consequences of their actions and their past, but as long as they grow from it and become a better person I don't see the need to keep bashing them. Thats why I hate a lot of endeavor bashers. He is currently facing the consequences of his actions and growing from them. It is valid to hate him in like season 3, but if you do not recognize his character growth, you cannot comment on him rn. The same applies for Mineta. I know he's a dipshit, and I want him to have punishments for his actions, but in this fic, I want him to change and grow and eventually stop being weird.

-Also why tf do people hate Ochaco and All Might so much T_T like bro they're so cute

-Also I changed my writing style a bit. If you couldn't tell, every time I do a little line break I kinda change who the narrator is narrating

-As always, if you have any critiques, please just say them, I always want to improve. Same applies to any tips you have on how to improve my writing.

-Love you all :P