I LIVE! Sorry folks, been super crazy with my new job and having computer issues at the moment.

If there was one thing Hikari hated, it was the emphasis people put on quirks. Magic was much more versatile and useful, even if she had only stumbled on that spell book by complete chance. And while it sucked that even All Might didn't think that she could be a hero without a quirk, Hikari had trained her ass off for the past eight years to prove everyone wrong.

Today was the UA entrance exam, and she was eager to see what they could come up with. She heard the practicals were absolutely brutal.

Then she spotted Bakugo and had to grimace. It took a bit of quick work, but she was able to swap seat numbers with someone else. No way was she sitting anywhere near that ego-driven jerk if she could help it!

Robots...their practical exam had them fighting robots.

She felt like she was being cheated. Still, this was going to be easier than she thought, since she could silently chant her spells to amplify any metal she got her hands on. From what she saw she would have no shortage of pipes or other objects to use as weapons.

And wouldn't you know it? She had to use her acceleration in order to grab one idiot who managed to get themselves stuck when the biggest, most difficult opponent appeared to attack.

She learned from experience that fighting big monsters with large spells when there were people around was a bad idea. Her magic teacher was a very good example of what not to do if you wanted to be a proper hero.

Lina was an excellent teacher when it came to magic, but when it came to using magic responsibly around populated areas...well...she was a better example of what not to do considering she had once blown up an entire village as collateral damage by accident destroying a mere dragon!

"Thanks," said the other girl.

"Next time, don't overdo it with your quirk," said Hikari. She managed to carry the other girl out of the path of destruction and not daring to look back. It was taking all her power to get them out of the way as quickly as she was. "Crap... I don't think this thing is going to give up."

Hikari put the other girl down.

"What are you going to do?"

"Proving a point," said Hikari.

She pulled out...an real sword?

"Is that a sword?" said the other girl dumbly.

"Yup. Apparently real weapons are allowed so long as you can prove competence in their use and set them aside in a special area during the written exam," said Hikari. After all, some quirks required a physical item to anchor itself to in order to be used.

The only reason she had managed to get it into the practical exam was because she happened to be a national champion in both sword and martial arts, and she had carried the weapon to the school in a baseball bat case to avoid being bothered by the police. After all, it was a very little known rule that certain weapons were allowed in the exams so long as it was cleared first by the teachers. Generally that meant no live fire-arms, since the risk of accidentally hitting another potential student was far too high.

She paused for a moment, placing her feet into a decent position so that she could attack. Her stance was that of a proper swordswoman, even if the sword in question wasn't a katana or Japanese blade, but something closer to a European sword.

"Stand clear of the debris, okay? I don't want to rescue you from a situation that you could have avoided."

The other girl nodded dumbly.

What happened was a one-sided slaughter...for the giant robot.

The girl sliced through it with terrifying ease and skill...and ironically it was as she sheathed her unusual blade that the timer finally went off.

She could only hope that she got a high enough score to pass.

A month later...

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT LOSER GOT A HIGHER SCORE THAN ME?!"

Ah, the rage of the ego-driven jerk was pure music to her ears. Though she had to wonder what he meant by higher score.

Before she had a chance to look up the scores posted, her mother came in with the envelope she had been waiting for.

She got in!

It was their first mock combat scenario, and the teacher was...to her great shock...All Might. She had already surprised her new classmates by getting such a high score without having a quirk, and had cheated slightly during the test Aizawa-sensei had given to weed out those who had the wrong mindset for hero work.

She was relieved to find out that the information she looked up was correct for the most part. It was the only reason she wasn't shocked when Aizawa-sensei threatened to expel them all.

The second she heard that she would be on the villain team, and Bakugo would be on the hero team, there was a slightly unholy grin on her face.

"All Might-sensei, we're allowed to beat up the opposing team so long as no permanent maiming is done, right?" asked Hikari, almost a little too eagerly.

"No permanent maiming or lethal attacks allowed. However try to restrain your attacks so that the opposing team doesn't require any hospital stays! Other than that, you're free to put the opposing team into submission however you like!" he said with a thumb's up.

Bakugo felt a sudden chill go down his spine at the way his former friend was looking at him. Why did he suddenly feel so terrified? She was a quirkless loser! She shouldn't scare him like this!

Inside the 'villain base'...

"Look, when the boys get in here just work on distracting Iida-san. Bakugo is such a hot head that once I rile him up enough he won't think straight at all and will charge in like an enraged bull. Iida is fast, but he's too straight laced to do any damaging attacks and if we alter the floor the right way we can trip him up and make it easier to kill time until I get back or until the timer runs out."

Ochako nodded.

"What did you have in mind?"

"How many objects can your quirk effect without making you sick?" asked Hikari seriously.

Once she explained her plan, Ochako grinned wickedly. Her partner was scarily devious and if they did this the right way then it would kill a lot of time for the hero team because Iida's speed would be nullified. After all, he was a bit too by-the-book to come up with something creative in such a short time period.

"What are you going to do to Bakugo?"

"Vent eleven years of frustration and feminine wrath on him," deadpanned Hikari.

"..."

With the hero team...

Iida was sorely wishing he had another partner for this. The only thing Bakugo cared about was proving his 'superiority' to his former classmate and friend Hikari.

Sure, learning she had no quirk had come as a genuine shock, but she had more than learned to compensate from what he saw during the entrance exam. She had rightfully earned her place in the hero course with her sword skills.

Besides, he had the distinct feeling she had a few tricks up her sleeve to even out the odds.

The second he saw Hikari, Bakugo saw red and charged in like an idiot. Iida knew a lost cause when he saw one, so he went to find the weapon and quite likely Ochako.

This was going to end badly...he just knew it.

With Bakugo and Hikari...

Hikari's eyes gleamed as she stared down an enraged Bakugo. A few choice words and he completely lost his cool, which was what she wanted.

An enraged opponent was often a stupid one, and she knew most of his attack patterns. However he had no idea about any of the things she could do because he had been so full of himself he never took the time to notice.

Besides, she knew his weaknesses.

Hikari began muttering under her breath, and before Bakugo had a chance to send out his attack she sent an arrow of ice at him.

"Freeze Arrow!"

Bakugo couldn't dodge fast enough, not in the confined space she had tricked him in. He had thought he had the advantage, only for her to pull this on him!

"What the fuck?!"

"Your quirk works by using your natural sweat glands to produce nitroglycerin. Those toys of yours on your arms likely collect them for a larger blast," said Hikari sing-song. "So what happens when you come across someone who can freeze you before you have a chance to break into a sweat and you're too busy trying to retain your core temperature instead of freezing your balls off?"

Bakugo was beyond pissed.

"You bitch!"

"Eleven years."

"What?" he said confused.

Hikari crossed her arms annoyed.

"I've had to put up with your ego-driven bullshit for eleven years. Eleven years of having to listen to the adults praise that stupid overly-flashy quirk of yours while openly disparaging or derisively mocking my dream of being a hero like All Might. Of having to watch as your ego inflated out of control because you happened to have a flashy and somewhat decent quirk, and because they wanted to say they had a 'hand' in pushing you into UA, since there was a chance you might remember them once you made hero," said Hikari darkly. "Your ego has grown out of control, and the only reason I didn't bring you back down to earth is because the adults would have given me more trouble than it was worth. Now though.. now all bets are off. I'm going to show you exactly how much I appreciated that damn ego and harassment of yours."

Hikari pounded her right fist into her left.

"Prepare to feel the wrath of someone you pushed too far."

That chill Bakugo felt tripled in an instant. This would not end well...and it pissed him off that the stupid quirkless girl had hidden this much power all this time!

Outside in the observation room...

All Might had to sweat drop slightly at the way Hikari was basically curbstomping her former friend into submission. Though what really interested him was the odd chants Hikari was using.

It was almost as if she knew how to cast magic, but that was ridiculous. That power, as far as he knew, was lost centuries before the first quirk appeared.

"Um...Sensei? Shouldn't we stop her?"

"She isn't inflicting any lethal wounds, and from what I can tell she's holding back a lot of her power. She's not attacking him directly with those ice arrows of hers, but using them to restrict his quirk. As long as she keeps it within acceptable parameters, I won't interfere," said All Might.

Everyone's attention went back to the screen when they heard Hikari use the words "DETROIT SMASH!" and plow Bakugo through the walls.

"Does anyone else feel sorry for Bakugo?" asked Mineta.

"In this case I'm going out on a limb and say that she's using this as an excuse to vent after eleven years of holding back," said Momo sweatdropping.

"Considering this is Midoriya-sempai, I'm not surprised," muttered Ojiro. He noticed the looks everyone was giving him. "What?"

"Why did you call her sempai?" asked Todoroki.

"She trains at the same dojo I do during the summers and teaches the beginning rank students as a part-time job," he replied. "I've sparred with her a few times before, but I've never beaten her once. I had no idea she was planning to join UA."

"Any idea what she based her hero uniform on?" asked Mina curiously.

"Actually that's what she normally wears," said Ojiro. "I guess she didn't feel the need to come up with a different uniform and simply sent in a picture of her usual outfit and asked that they make it more durable. Though I think the belt is new at least."

"Holy... I take it back, I feel sorry for Bakugo," said Mineta horrified.

"Why?" asked Momo, before she turned to the screen. "Oh."

She had used the capture tape to truss Bakugo in a way that would inflict no end of embarassment and possible innuendo. The expression on his face said volumes, especially when she made a throwaway comment about a ball gag, which had some of the girls blush at the imagery.

All Might sweatdropped, as he was pretty sure the tape wasn't supposed to be used like that. Though he could partially relate to her revenge, as he could all too clearly recall the pain he felt being mocked for not having a quirk.

Besides, the worst she had done was inflict a bit of minor embarassment on him that could be mostly forgotten about later. She had allowed him to keep his dignity, even if she had utterly shredded his new hero costume.

Then he noticed the time, and the fact Iida wasn't going to get past the subtle but highly effective trap Ochako had implimented at Hikari's suggestion.

Ochako had used her quirk to levitate the entire floor slightly and at subtle angles.

Iida's quirk allowed him to accelerate at high speeds, particularly on flat surfaces. Ochako's allowed her to negate the effects of gravity.

Hikari's plan was simple and highly effective. She had Ochako erase the gravity on all the floor tiles just enough that they could manipulate the surface and make it uneven. However some of them were left alone, so that Iida couldn't simply just crash through them.

At first glance the floor appeared to be level, but the moment he tried to use his quirk he tripped.

And when Ochako canceled her quirk on the tiles, they smashed against the floor creating an uneven and dangerous surface for someone going too fast on.

They were, quite simply, at a stalemate. If Bakugo hadn't chased Hikari, the strategy wouldn't have been so effective, but he had allowed his pride and ego to get in the way of the mission.

When Hikari showed up, Iida barely had a chance to notice her before she used the capture tape Ochako had on her to get him as well.

"Villains win!" announced All Might.

What happened next had him rushing out of the room, along with most of the class.

Apparently Bakugo took the minor humiliation Hikari subjected him rather poorly, because he had an enraged expression on his face as he sent a medium-sized blast towards one of the support pillars in the room, causing a section of the roof to collapse.

Hikari, having far more expereince in dangerous situations and a strong sixth sense for trouble, shoved Iida and Ochako out of the way and narrowly avoided a devastating injury.

However she didn't come out of the attack unscathed. There was a nasty gash on her side and it was clear just by looking at her that she had a serious concussion. Iida and Ochako were fortunate that Hikari pushed them away, as they got away with minor bruising instead of the major injuries they would have gotten.

All Might made sure to remove the gauntlets from Bakugo's arms, but the damage was done. He could have easily killed his classmates and there was no way the teen could claim it was a 'training accident', considering he had attacked a full minute after All Might announced the exercise was over. Besides, he still had capture tape on him which meant that he was supposed to be out of bounds to begin with.

On the plus side, he knew he had found a proper successor to One for All. Hikari hadn't hesitated for a second to push her classmates out of the way before she attempted to do so herself, even if it meant she would be injured in the process. She had a few quirks to her personality, but he attributed that to the way she grew up. Besides, most heroes developed a few personality quirks to deal with the stress of the job.