The next morning, Sensei introduces the 'Big Three.'

I'm not really sure why, especially if Yamada-sensei is to be believed. Why dangle something everyone wants but won't be able to have?

The fact that I wouldn't be able to do it with Yamada-sensei still stinging.

The most powerful students at UA.

I don't know what I was expecting.

Whatever it was… it definitely wasn't this…

They're idiots.

I fold my arms, thankful to be in the back, and reconsider my trust in UA. The girl, probably the most annoying them all, had been bouncing around non-stop since she'd arrived, touching people and asking ridiculous questions she didn't bother to wait for the answers for. Luckily, she'd been contained to the front of the room, but her current fascination with Ojiro's tail was annoying.

He'd already pulled it back twice, and if he did it again, I was going to tell her to stop.

"Get to your point," Sensei says sharply, eyes activating threateningly. "This is irrational."

I scowl when the blonde waves nervously, reminding me uncomfortably of another similar man. Only the dark-haired boy seemed normal, and he was currently shivering against the wall.

Is this a joke?

"Ahh-"

He makes a noise, posing like an idiot, and then grins.

Something in that smile sets my teeth on edge.

"Why don't you all fight me at once?"

My eye twitches.

Is he serious?

All of us at once against one of the top students in the entire school? That was insane. There was no way one person could defend against that many quirks, especially with all our experience.

Definitely an idiot…

"What'd yah say?" The blonde asks, rubbing his nose and smiling like he wasn't asking our rowdy class to beat his ass. "Is that alright? I mean, it's the most rational to have them experience our experience firsthand! Right, Eraserhead?"

Something about the way he talks, the way he uses my guardian's rationality against him, makes my teeth grind. I can tell from Aizawa-sensei's measured gaze that this wasn't planned. And the fact that he hadn't mentioned a fight last night either…

"Do what you want."

I don't know what's more surprising, that this idiot was actually taking us all on or that Aizawa-sensei was letting him.

Sensei never does anything without a purpose.

If he's letting him fight, then… Did that mean he thought he could win? Or was this a ploy to teach our upper classman to be less cocky? But why would he care what the upper classmen think?

I try to catch his eye, uncertain, but Sensei avoids it.

So instead, I rise and follow the other, spilling out into the hall and changing rooms among my classmates' excitable chatter. Momo, in front of me, gushes about the unique opportunity, and Kyoka, waiting for her, snorts.

"There's no way he'll be able to take on all of us at once!"

"I wonder what his quirk is, ribbit."

I don't respond.

Shrugging off my uniform, I ignore the puckered hills of scars on my arms and pull on my pants.

"Rin-chan!" Toru whines, an invisible arm snaking out and snagging my shoulder. "You're so quiet! What's wrong? I thought you liked sparring!"

"I do," I huff, making a face before removing her to pull on my gym shirt. Sensei had gotten it adjusted with a slit so my wings wouldn't accidentally choke me.

"Yeah? Then why do you look so serious?" she complains, clothes wiggling emptily as she buttons the front. "You're supposed to be excited! We get to compare ourselves to an upper classman! This is so exciting! You should be excited! You can show Aizawa-sensei how much you improved!"

I pause.

Glancing over, I imagine if I could see her face she'd be smirking. She dances, the PE uniform still slightly open on her chest, and I blink and realize sharply what looks so strange.

What…

"Are you not wearing underclothes?" I ask her sourly, eye twitching.

This was getting a bit ridiculous.

She laughs, voice loud and free.

"Uh… no! Duh! I'd just have to take them off when we start and that's weird! I don't want the boys looking at my panties! It's just easier to leave them off altogether."

I snort.

Of course, it is.

"Rin-chan? Toru-chan? Ready?" Momo asks.

I stuff my uniform in my locker with a loud clang and nod.

As much as I'll ever be.

.

.

.

The blonde is stretching when we finally arrive.

I frown the moment I see him, those same uncertainties rising back up again.

The girl and dark-haired boy are with him, but they move away the moment we enter. Her towards us and the boy towards the wall. I narrow my eyes when she immediately latches onto Mina but can't stop my eyes from drifting back to the other boy.

It takes me almost too long to realize why.

He's shaking.

I grimace and turn expectantly towards Aizawa-sensei, but he's locked in a conversation with Todoroki, brows pinched as he asks him something that I can't hear.

My frown deepens and I hesitate again.

Those with power have two choices, Rin-chan. You either use it, and be a hero, or abuse it, and be a villain.

I swallow, shifting, then, steeling my nerves, cross the room towards the older boy.

"Hey," I say, feeling my words come out harsher than I mean to at my own rising anxiety. "Are… Are you okay?"

There's a pause in which I'm fairly sure my classmates are gaping at my back.

I can even feel his blonde friend's stare, but I don't glance back, lips firm and eyes narrowed.

"Cause… Cause you look an-anxious," I say, twitching uncomfortably at his lack of conversation. What are you doing? Sensei's right there! Let him handle it! "And… And if- if you are, you should breathe. I… I mean, if you need to…"

The boy's dark eyes widen, sliding towards me as he stares.

"I… what?"

"Breathe," I repeat, not sure if he's asking about the anxiety or what to do. I shift awkwardly from one foot to the other and pull at my fingers. "I, mean, you don't look like you're having an attack, but if you were, you should lean forward, because it'll, it'll um help. Or at least, it helps me. Sometimes I have really- really um bad anxiety and Sensei says it's okay, that lots of people get it. My aunt—er, I mean, Midnight-sensei—actually, I don't know if I should say that. But if, um, if you want, you can, uh… talk about it?"

If anything, the boy looks even more worked up.

I open my mouth, fully prepared to spout more nonsense—because he's clearly not saying anything, and I must be doing something wrong—when a hand clasps my shoulder. I nearly jump.

"Ehhhh! That's super kind of you!" laughs the crazy blonde guy from earlier and I freeze instantly under his touch, feeling my stomach twist instantly into knots. His hand is huge, large enough it takes up my whole shoulder and my skin heats beneath his too-bright blue stare. "But, hey, Tamaki, you're going to be alright, yeah?"

The dark-haired boy, Tamaki, glances between me and the blonde and grimaces.

"Ahhh… I just wanna go home."

Still holding my shoulder, the blonde throws up a thumb and grins.

"That's what I figured! He's fine, just being a little shy," the brighter boy laughs, and I'm struck by how similar it is to All-

To him.

"I… Oh," I manage, flustered and embarrassed and wishing the ground could just maybe swallow me whole.

He releases my shoulder and winks.

My mouth dries instantly.

Did he just-

"Hoki-chan, right? I've heard about you! I can't wait to see what you've got! But we should definitely get ready, I don't think Eraserhead's a big fan of wasting time."

I glance, red-faced towards Aizawa-sensei, and nearly shrink when I catch his look. Eyes narrowed dangerously, I can almost read his thoughts.

What are you doing?

"Uh… yeah…"

He laughs, steps back, and immediately jogs back to the middle of the gym. The others, all locked into some sort of discussion with the girl barely notice. Well… mostly.

"Hey, Rin-chan, you okay? Your face is like super red!" Toru whispers as she suddenly slides next to me.

"I… yeah," I mumble, fingers twitching at each other.

"Oh good, cause if I didn't know better, I'd think you were blushing," the girl teases, and I make a face.

"Close combat team, you should move in first!"

I quickly separate myself from the invisible girl and slide closer instead to Ochako and Kirishima. The redhead takes one look and snickers, his body already hardening.

I resist the urge to throw something at him.

"Rin-chan?" Ochako asks, her hand rising to hide a smile. "You good?"

I groan and summon my shadows, annoyed when they're red too.

"Oh my gosh, is her quirk blushing?" laughs Mina.

"Class! We need to focus!" Iida shouts. "Long-range fighters, prepare!"

"Anytime now!" whistles the blonde, not even bothering with a stance as he waves in our direction.

This was either going to be really easy or really, really bad.

"Alright!" Kirishima grunts, clearly pumping himself up. "It's on-"

"Here I come!" shouts Midoriya and there's a flash of green as he charges. I don't hesitate either, racing forward with reddish shadows circling my arms.

And then his clothes fall off.

I flinch at Kyoka's scream and stop my assault, twisting back immediately. Only she's unharmed and alone, eyes wide as she points forward. I jerk back, suddenly all too aware of the enemy I just lost track of at my back.

Only, I'm not really sure what to do in the face of his sudden nudeness.

They're upset about that but not Toru?

I grit my teeth and glower, the blonde hurriedly pulling back on his pants. Midoriya, just as caught off-guard as the rest of us, doesn't hesitate. I wait for the crack of bones, the speed and power behind that kick surely enough to break bones—Sensei's not going to be happy.

But it doesn't happen.

A flash of powers explodes forward, a laser and clawed hand, and my heart suddenly hammers at the cloud of dust.

Something's wrong.

And that's when they scream.

There isn't time to think—I barely have time to react. One moment the blonde is in front of us, the next he's not. Kyoka screams, a commotion behind us, and suddenly something is plowing through my classmates violently. Blonde hair flashes through the chaos.

Ash in the air, blood in my mouth, and great plumes of smoke blocking out the sun.

My shadows break free on instinct, exploding from my skin in a surge of power. It circles my body in a revolving storm, twisting into briars and hands, faces caught in the darkness, classmates with open mouth screams.

"POWER!"

I stop hesitating.

Reaching out, I summon every dark, bleak thought I can.

You're mother's dead. She's gone and no one thought to tell you for years.

Did they ever really care?

I breathe.

Black tentacles erupt from my mouth like fire. Scorching the earth beneath us and melting the cement, it's only my absolute control that keeps it from touching my classmates, swirling past Sero and arching over Momo.

Bright blue eyes widen, sharpening as they meet my own.

He's coming for me.

Naked, rippling with muscles, and fast. He disappears into the ground and-

A flash of silver in the dark.

I dodge up, tentacles forming a clawed hand of darkness. It drags me into the air only seconds before he reappears. A hand passing just by my leg, and wide blue eyes. I kick at nothing, mouth automatically releasing another thick torrent of darkness and flame.

A hand winds in my hair. I stumble, and he pushes me at the wall. I grunt but don't scream, too afraid he'll bash my head against the bricks.

"I'm going to make you suffer."

He drags me again, this time walking slower, at a steadier pace, down another alley, and I scramble to keep my legs under me. I want to call my shadows to my hands, I want to summon black fire and claws, nightmares and death, but they don't come. They won't come. Terror wells, the thick, cloying kind that clogs my throat and constricts in my chest. Tears mingle with rainwater and I choke on silent sobs.

I won't be weak like that again.

Grasping to the rafters, I snarl at the chaos below. Bodies strewn across the floor, the blonde glances back. Midoriya, his last victim, is doubled over closest.

Shin cries in the corner, Yui-san slumped next to him, throat slit and a sideways 8 carved in her forehead.

Teeth barred; I glare.

"Heh, you're pretty good!" the boy laughs, already sinking back into the floor.

There isn't time to consider the words.

One moment he's sinking, the next he's flying out, one arm extended, teeth gleaming. I release my shadows instantly, but they're not enough. He passes through them like nothing. As if they don't even exist. And even as I let go, as I try to make space, as I retreat, he's before me.

Too fast.

He punches through everything—darkness, fire, bone—shattering my defenses effortlessly, fist digging into my gut.

We're mid-air, and it still knocks the breath from my lung, lurches my stomach. Weightless, for a moment as we're suspended-

The world blackens at the edges-

The room spins-

I sprawl across an arm, unable to breathe. Nausea climbs my throat, choking.

Flesh around my neck-

I can't breathe-

The acid and drool leak from my lips. My teeth click together, tears spilling unbidden.

"Hey! You burned me!"

He sounds impressed.

I want to snarl, want to curl in a ball, want to sharpen my tentacles and attack.

I don't have near enough breath for that.

Helpless.

It's a bitter, awful taste.

The blonde doesn't stick around to gloat. Curled on the floor, I gasp for nothing as he strikes a pose. The rest of my classmates, groaning.

Pale and still, chest barely rising in the purple smoke.

"POWER!"

I slump, eyes sliding mercifully shut.

So promise me. Promise me Hellspawn, promise me you'll get strong.

Forehead against the floor, I remember his face.

Power…