My Hero Academia: The Story of Twin Heroes

by Guy with a fanfic acount

[MHA AU Fic] "What if Izuku had a Twin Sister?" (This story will follow the main show.) After a Villain encounter, Izuku Midoriya meets All Might and learns the truth. Meanwhile his sister, Ami Midoriya, born with a dangerous quirk, tries to overcome her insecurities to become a hero. (Season 1 Done. S2 ongoing.) Reviews are needed & appreciated. :)3YR ANNIVERSARY! Eventual Romance

22. S2 Chapter 12: Ami vs Aoyama!

"Let's keep pumpin' out these hits and move on! Time for the fourth match! Get ready to watch some students duke it out!" Present Mic shouted into his mic. The audience raised their hands in the air and cheered. They clapped their hands and applauded in excitement, ready to watch another match. All of Class 1-A did the same, showing support for the Class President.

"Go, Iida." Ami cheered, raising her fists. She stared down at the battlefield with eager anticipation. Now that Iida had defeated Tsu in battle, she felt like she could legitimately cheer him on now. Tsu was also clapping in support of Iida which made it okay for her in her book. She looked back down at the battlefield and smiled upon seeing Iida walk out of the tunnel with a confident smile.

"Here he comes." Ami thought, getting excited. The second Iida stepped out of the tunnel, however, Ami took notice of the strange attachments he had on his body, causing her smile to falter. She reared her back in bewilderment and raised an eyebrow in confusion. She quickly turned her head towards the rest of the class to see if she was the only one that noticed. The pyrotechnics on the corners of the ring erupted large blasts of fire into the sky, warming up the audience.

"He's the kid with engines in his legs and he's looking ready to go fast and furious! It's Tenya Iida from the Hero Course!" Present Mic announced, receiving loud applause. The audience clapped their hands in excitement to see how Iida would perform against his new opponent. None of them seemed to be paying too much attention to notice the equipment Iida was carrying.

"Versus, a fully equipped gadget dynamo. The Support Courses, Mei Hatsume!" Present Mic introduced, sending the crowd into an uproar. The crowd cheered on in excitement over the contestants.

"She got through that massive hole in the Obstacle Race with ease!" An audience member pointed out, getting an excited nod from his friend.

"Yeah, and she helped that plain looking green kid avoid Todoroki in the Cavalry Battle. I can't wait to see what she shows off now!" His friend said, smiling. He shook his seat in excitement.

"Uh huh. Support Course students always have some creative gadgets to show off." Another attendant sitting beside him said, putting himself in their conversation. He nodded his head in agreement and showed off his enthusiasm by clapping.

The audience was teeming with excitement and anticipation. Mei's work during the whole Sports Festival had sparked many audience members interes. The excitement was brewing for what she'd reveal in her first match in the final. And with a hero course student as her opponent, Now was a perfect chance to see how she'd do against one of the best of the best.

Ami put her attention away from Iida for a minute and watched as Mei Hatsume appeared out of the tunnel with a smile. She clapped excitedly at Mei's arrival. But most of her attention was focused on the gear strapped on her body. She slowly stopped clapping and narrowed her eyes at Mei, examining her gear.

"Izzy's teammate." Ami thought, recalling what Izuku had told her about Mei Hatsume during lunch. She looked at the gear on her back and looked for any rockets on the end. Whatever she was carrying wasn't a jetpack. Which, to Ami, would've made sense to use against Iida. She continued to examine her technology completely unaware of the glare coming from the less than amused blonde sitting next to her. Bakugo glared at Mei as she walked onto the battlefield. He had his own reasons for being angry at her. He remembered what she did for Deku in the Cavalry Battle and growled. His headbands would've been his if not for her stupid jetpack and Dark Shadow.

"She's the reason Deku had a jetpack during the Cavalry Battle." Bakugo thought, remembering Deku's escape during the Cavalry Battle. He did not want to see her win. Even if it meant rooting for Four Eyes. He stared at the blank expression on the pink haired girl's face and narrowed his eyes, sensing something was off about her. Being around Habanero made him aware of figuring out if someone was hiding something. Right now, she was definitely hiding something. Getting a closer look at her facial features, he could've sworn her eyes had crosshairs like a gun. Ignoring that for now, he examined the strange technology she had attached to her back. It didn't look that extraordinary, visually, but he knew better than to underestimate technology. Even if it was made by what he assumed to be an actual basketcase. Bakugo could tell that she could easily turn the battle into her favor should she come prepared.

"Four eyes will have to take her down fast. Surprise her before she gets a sense of him. Otherwise he's screwed…" Bakugo thought, making a passing glance at Habanero in his peripheral vision. As he glimpsed at her, a sudden realization struck him. He looked straight ahead but kept his eyes on his left, staring at Habanero.

"Once this match is over..." Bakugo thought, thinking about the upcoming battles. He turned his head slightly to get a better look at Habanero while she was distracted. She was looking at the battlefield with excitement, not noticing Bakugo was staring at her while he was thinking.

"Then you'll be up next, Habanero." Bakugo thought, intensifying his glare towards the battlefield. Bakugo wondered if Habanero was aware that her match was after Four Eyes but held off on saying anything. He shook his head and pushed that thought away, focusing his attention towards the challengers. Across the stadium, where the heroes sat, Backdraft and Wyvern watched with calm excitement as Iida and the pink haired girl walked onto the field.

"This oughta be good." Wyvern stated, straightening himself in his seat.

Wyvern watched the pink haired girl enter the ring with her support gear on. He focused his eyes on her support gear and analyzed it from afar. He was intrigued by her inventions to say the least. He wasn't a hero that heavily relied on support gear but he had a respect for it. Recalling how she acted towards her inventions during the previous rounds, her enthusiasm reminded him of another hero that he knew.

"Interested?" Backdraft asked, curiously. Wyvern glanced at Backdraft and nodded with a stoic expression.

"You could say that." Wyvern admitted, getting a smile from the firefighting hero.

"I get you. Support items are a tremendous help for heroes like me when fighting against house fires and wildfires. It'll be interesting to see just what she can show off." Backdraft commented, staring at the pink haired girl.

"It's always a pleasure to see what they can create." Backdraft nodded, containing his excited curiosity.

"Amen." Wyvern said, chuckling in agreement. He looked down at the girl and stared at her face, taking notice of her expression. At least the expression hidden beneath the fake smile. He made a quick glance towards her opponent and noticed the gear he was sporting on his legs and back, causing him to raise an eyebrow at him. Something was going on here.

Back in Class 1-A's designated stands, the other students in the class watched with anticipation as the two fighters entered the ring.

"So, it's Hero Class versus Support." Jiro stated, looking down at the two fighters.

"I have no idea what this fight will look like." Tsu admitted, slightly relieved it's not her down there taking on Mei Hatsume.

"Uh, what's up with Iida?" Sato questioned, wondering if anyone else noticed the stuff on him.

"Where the heck did he get all that weird gear from?" Sato exclaimed, getting several nods in agreement from his classmates. Ami heard Sato's question and nodded her head in agreement.

"He does know he can't wear that, right?" Ami asked, pointing at the device on Iida's back. Sero looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't listen to the rules. Down on the battlefield, Midnight raised her flag towards Iida. Pointing her flag at him with a look of disapproval, getting Iida's attention. Iida stared at Midnight and saw the professional look she had on her face, feeling unnerved. He slumped his shoulders anxiously.

"Hero course students can't use support gear unless they have to. And you didn't fill out any of the proper paperwork for that." Midnight explained, looking at Iida in disapproval.

"Yup. I learned that from Principal Nezu himself." Ami mumbled, shaking her head at Iida's ignorance.

"Shouldn't you be the one to know about that out of all of us, Mr. Class President?" Ami thought, sighing. Thinking about it more, she wondered if she ever mentioned to Iida about what Principal Nezu told her. She leaned her head back in thought as she tried recalling if she ever complained about not being able to bring her lighter to the Sports Festival during their training. Down on the battlefield, Iida cursed himself for being unaware of this rule. He gasped upon hearing Midnight's explanation.

"I didn't know that was the rule! Aoyama got to wear his belt, so I thought it was fine." Iida explained, justifying his reasoning.

"He turned in the proper forms." Midnight answered, shutting Iida up. Knowing the mistake he made and its ramifications, he took a deep breath and sighed.

"I apologize, ma'am." Iida apologized, leaning his chest over and bowing in respect and regret. As he stood there bowing apologetically, he remembered why he had put this gear on in the first place. The moment he left the waiting room for this match he was stopped by Mei. He remembered her exact words and didn't bother asking how she found him in less than a minute. Thinking back to that moment, he stared at the ground in silence, clenching his fist.

"It's just that, my heart was moved by my opponent's sportsmanship. Even though she's from the Support Course, she wanted this to be as even a match as possible since she made it this far. To have a fair fight! So, she offered to give me this equipment. I respect her integrity. That's why, to honor her, I would like to wear this gear!" Iida said with a determined face, touching his chest in emphasis.

"Such youthful vigor! Midnight exclaimed, blushing red. She giggled at Iida's response and wiggled her body. She quickly returned to teacher mode and waved him down with her flag.

"I'll allow it!" She said, surprising everyone.

"What?!" Ami shouted, erupting like a volcano in her seat, "I can't bring a lighter, but Iida gets to wear that out of the blue?!" Ami criticized, clenching her fists in anger. Bakugo let out an annoyed grunt upon hearing Habanero's outburst. He glared at her with flared nostrils and raised his voice at her.

"What did I say about yelling in my ear, Damn it!? You want me to go deaf, Habanero?!" Bakugo demanded, rubbing his ear.

"Oh, please." She scoffed, crossing her arms in defiance, "Your explosions are ten times louder than me!" Ami countered, yelling back at him.

He growled in frustration and glared at her, receiving a frustrated growl back. The students around them glanced at Ami and Bakugo's hostile attitudes and looked away, anxiously. Kaminari leaned as far away from them as possible while Kirishima hid in front of his seat. Sero looked the other way, whistling to himself. None of them had anything to say to stop their argument. They didn't want to intrude and pretended not to hear anything. Up in the announcer room, Present Mic looked at Midnight incredulously.

"Really?" Present Mic questioned, feeling speechless. He regretted not knowing the rules.

"I guess if everyone's in agreement, then it's okay. Right?" Aizawa stated, having no feelings about the matter. The way he saw it, things were already bizarre enough for this year's Sports Festival. He was sure anything else would just be expected at this point.

"Weird. That doesn't seem like something Hatsume would do. Unless…" Izuku commented, realizing something was off. He looked at Mei's face and noticed a twisted smile was forming on the side of her lips, causing him to frown.

"Well, if everyone's on the same page, let's begin the fourth match!" Present Mic said, sending the audience into an uproar of cheers. Iida charged forward with a serious stare, speeding down the battlefield with quick succession. Iida quickly noticed something was different about his speed. He could tell he was running faster towards Hatsume. A quick satisfied smile formed on his lips as he rushed forward. This device on his legs was great. He felt faster than normal with it on.

"Wow. This gear is amazing. An incredible invention of my opponent." Iida complimented inside his head. He was satisfied by the effectiveness of Mei's invention and was impressed by how quickly he was reaching her with it on. He stared ahead at his target and noticed Mei was just standing there with a smile on her face, confusing him. It didn't take long before he found out why.

"Bet you love how fast that gear makes you! Huh, Iida?" Mei questioned, her voice echoing loudly across the stadium. The sudden loud voice surprised everyone watching, even the heroes.

"She's got a mic?" Iida questioned, slightly baffled by her. What reason could she possibly have a mic during their match?

"Hey, now..." Present Mic muttered, staring at Mei with a dumbfounded look.

"Is she wearing speakers?" Aizawa questioned, getting the feeling like he spoke too soon.

"Don't your legs feel lighter than usual?" Mei asked, confusing Iida even more.

"That should be expected. I designed those leg parts specifically to increase the wearer's speed and mobility." She explained, watching as Iida got just a few feet in front of her, "But, of course…" Mei said, triggering a feature on her device. A large pole jutted out the side of her gear, hitting the ground and creating a hole through it. The pole jutted out on both sides of her gear, lifting her whole body off the ground.

"I can easily evade you with my hydraulic attachments!" Mei demonstrated with a look of satisfaction. Iida yelped as he came into contact with the pole. He flapped his arms around in the air as he tripped over the metal pole. Mei looked up at the stadium with a piercing stare. Her eyes were shaped like crosshairs, a hard to notice feature if you weren't paying attention to her. She looked at the boxes sitting at the very top of the stadium and felt her excitement grow larger.

"Those are boxes for support companies." She thought, squealing in excitement. She zoomed in on her crosshair eyes and saw their look of shock and surprise at her babies. The support companies watching in the boxes all whispered amongst themselves as they stared at her. Some of them were already making phone calls.

"They love my babies! I've got this in the bag!" Mei said with heightened enthusiasm. She retracted her hydraulics and clenched her fist in satisfaction. She could sense accomplishment already but the best part was yet to be revealed.

"Mei Hatsume. Her quirk: Zoom! If she gets serious, she can see up to five kilometers away!" Present Mic narrated. Iida panted in confusion as he recovered with sweat glistening down his forehead. Rushing after her and nearly tripping caused his body to spasm and flail around. The surprise response to his charge nearly knocked the wind out of him. That bizarre display of her invention made Iida feel a growing hint of frustration go through him. He nearly tripped from running straight into her metal pole but thankfully, Mei's own invention kept him standing. He quickly recovered and turned back around, charging after her with serious intent.

A red light blinked on the back of Hatsume's gear, alerting her of danger in her proximity. Another pole jutted out from her right side and pushed her body up in the air again, pushing her away from danger. Iida watched Mei get pushed by her invention and gasped, trying to slow himself down. He was unable to stop himself from hitting the metal pole for a second time.

"Since I've got sensors in every direction, it's impossible for an opponent to sneak up on me!" Mei announced, getting another gasp from the audience. Iida yelped again and made contact with the metal pole. He nearly got tripped up again but managed to recover faster and keep running. Just as he was about to turn around, pockets of air sprayed out from the canisters attached to the device on his back. The air from the canisters assisted in turning him around, much to his surprise.

"What the heck is going on?" Iida questioned, beginning to understand what Hatsume was doing to him. Rather, he was beginning to understand what she was using him for.

"Look at how adeptly Iida just changed his course!" Mei exclaimed, spreading her arms out.

"It's all thanks to the ingenious auto-balancer I created." Mei Hatsume explained. Up in the announcer room, Present Mic watched Mei rabble on on her microphone with unease.

"This is weird." Present Mic stated, feeling self conscious about his own announcer skills. Aizawa was facepalming in disappointment, wishing he hadn't jinxed himself earlier.

"She's turning the festival into one big commercial." Aizawa complained with a tired voice, feeling completely done with this festival.

"There's absolutely no lag time!" Mei advertised, causing Iida to growl as he charged after her. He was starting to get fed up with what Mei was doing in the middle of their fight. If you could even call it a fight. He sped himself up and charged after Mei again with a look of frustration on his face.

Ami looked at the frustrated expression on Iida's face and was taken aback by it. She hadn't seen that frustrated look since combat training. At least then, it was blocked by his helmet, but here he was visibly annoyed.

"Iida's getting mad at her." Ami thought, watching with interest. Iida continued to charge after Mei, expecting a different result from before. Much to no one's surprise, that didn't work. Mei's gear activated again upon detecting Iida's presence, launching out of her sides and pushing Mei back into the air. Iida tripped on the metal pole for a third time and started spinning out of control. He panicked as he realized just how close he was approaching the ring's border.

"The auto-balancer is equipped with a custom 32-axis gyro sensor!" Mei explained, just as Iida's gear went to work. Iida spun out of control and flailed his arms around again. The device on his legs and on his back went to work, activating before he could exit the ring. The device sprayed air out and pushed Iida back into the ring, allowing him to regain control somewhat. He started to slow down and struggled to balance himself, nearly tripping several times.

"As you can see, it can keep the user from falling unless they actually want to." Mei explained, waving her hand at Iida. Iida glared at her in frustration and betrayal and continued charging after her.

"I thought you said you wanted this to be a fair fight?" Iida exclaimed, rushing at her. Mei watched Iida draw near and widened her stance, activating her next device. A circular piece of her gear spun in her shoes, charging up energy. They accelerated in speed until they had reached sufficient charge, activating their ability. Mei leapt into the air in quick succession, laughing to herself as she flew. Iida stopped running and looked at her in bewilderment.

"That's right. I'm practically flying through the air!" Mei demonstrated, pointing at her shoes with excitement, "These electro shoes use electromagnetic induction on both feet. They're perfect for evasive maneuvers or just keeping things light!" Mei explained, sparking interest in Ami from far away.

"Oooo. Cool." Ami complimented, placing both hands on the side of her face. She couldn't help but show her enthusiasm towards Mei's invention. A part of her imagined wearing them and wanted to give them a try.

"As soon as she lands, I'll stop her!" Iida told himself, running after Hatsume with anger. Mei landed several feet in front of him and quickly turned around and faced him. She pulled out a gun from her gear and pointed it at Iida. She blissfully pulled the trigger and shot off a red net that covered Iida head-to-toe. Iida crossed his arms together expecting a bullet of some kind. He didn't predict a net to the face however and quickly fell to the ground.

"Huh? What is this?" Iida questioned, squirming on the ground and pulling as hard as he could in an attempt to get it off.

"A capture gun to use against villains! The nets are loaded into small cartridges. You can fire up to five before having to reload! And all of these items were developed by yours truly: Mei Hatsume. Support course prodigy!" Mei Hatsume declared into the mic, receiving applause from an entertained audience. Mei heard the applauding audience and smiled big and wide.

"They love me!" Mei thought, "That's good PR!" Mei thought, feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment.

"So, to any support course companies out there looking for strong new recruits, the choice is clear. You want me! Again, I'm Mei Hatsume. That's H-A-T-S-U-M-E." Mei said, spelling out her name for all to hear. The support company sponsors were blown away by what they saw.

"She's something." A man in a business suit said, adjusting his glasses.

"And now, let me introduce you to a few more of my babies." Mei continued, baffling the support company sponsors

"Wait, there's more?" The business man exclaimed, looking shocked.

10 minutes later

"Whew! That was fun, but I think now I've shown off everything I wanted to. I suppose its time for me to wrap this show up." Mei Hatsume said, feeling drained from all her advertising. She wiped sweat off her forehead in exhaustion and stepped out of the ring with a look of pure satisfaction. Midnight watched Mei walk out of bounds and felt her mouth drop a little. She was so caught up in what had happened that she momentarily forgot she was an announcer.

"Uh. Hatsume stepped out of bounds. So, Iida advances to the next round." Midnight announced, waving her flag. The audience heard the announcement and began murmuring amongst themselves. The audience slowly accepted tbe result and started clapping, much to the confusion of everyone watching. Few people were silent, few people cried, and only person laughed.

"Hahahaha!" Wyvern laughed, breaking down in his seat. The loud laughter surprised the heroes surrounding him. Backdraft most of all was disturbed by the usually stoic man's laughing outburst.

"Wyvern, you okay?" Backdraft asked, concerned and disturbed. It took a couple seconds for Wyvern to regain most of his composure as he glanced at Backdraft.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm fine." Wyvern apologized, collecting his composure.

"Let's just say I hope a friend of mine was watching. If not, then I know what I'm gonna talk about when I get back home." Wyvern stated, getting a raised eye from Backdraft.

Down on the battlefield, Tenya Iida panted in exhaustion. Ten whole minutes of running, jumping, dodging, and nothing to stop him. That was the worst workout of his life and it wasn't even supposed to be a workout. Even worse, he was watched by an entire stadium and dozens of cameras captured the match. What if his brother was watching? The shame and embarrassment he felt from this match broke his calm and professional exterior, causing him to break down in frustration.

"I can't believe I let you trick me!" Iida shouted, feeling more embarrassed than Sero. What was better? A match against an opponent you could never harm that ends in a second or a match that lasts ten minutes that ends with you winning without ever touching your opponent at the expense of public embarrassment? Mei certainly understood that hypothetical question. She frowned for just a split second upon hearing Iida's outburst. However, she stood strong and straightened her posture, keeping a solemn face.

"Sorry about that. I needed to use you to make a name for myself." Mei apologized, hiding her face from Iida. Up in the student stands, Izuku and Ochaco watched Mei as she made her exit. Izuku gulped and felt sympathy for Iida.

"Iida's so sincere, he trusted her motives. She probably made it sound like she was doing him a favor. She's so driven. Straightforward about her goals. And from what I can tell, she'll pretty much do whatever it takes to reach them." Izuku muttered, surprised by the lengths Mei made to take advantage of her opponent.

"Poor, Iida." Ochaco stated, feeling sorry for her friend. She heard Izuku's muttering and understood everything he was saying. Hearing him talk about Mei's drive and how straightforward her goals were caused her to frown, getting an anxious feeling in her stomach. She gripped the tea in her hands and drooped her head down in sadness. She felt dread continue to get to her as the matches continued. She knew full well why she felt this way. And who she was up against was what she was scared about the most.

"It's about damn time. This fight would've been over if he didn't keep charging after her." Bakugo complained, cracking his neck in frustration.

"At least it's over." Ami nodded, flexing her muscles. As soon as she finished flexing, she heard a snore coming from her left side. She turned her head towards the direction of the sound and saw Sero sleeping in his seat. Ami looked at him with mild amusement and sighed, raising her hand and poking his arm repeatedly.

"Wha- huh? I'm up. I'm up." Sero said, jolting awake in his seat. He looked around frantically after getting woken up before yawning and stretching out his limbs. Ami rolled her eyes at him and hid her amused smile. She looked down at her clothes and brushed off her uniform.

"Who won?" Sero asked, looking up at the jumbotron. The large screen displayed Iida's profile with the words, victory, hovering over him.

"Iida." Ami answered, getting a grin from Sero. Sero stretched in his seat and wiped his hands at Iida's victory.

"Oh, sweet. Go, Iida." Sero smiled, relaxing into his seat.

"Yeah, I think she let him win, though." Ami guessed, unsure what to call that match. It wasn't what the average observer would call a fight. More like an infomercial. She stared down at the battlefield and watched as Iida finally exited the field, causing her to frown. She clenched her fists and took a deep breath, feeling a little nervous. The next pre-match would be starting soon. Her pre-match.

"Anyways. Guess it's my turn now." Ami said with a low nervous voice. She raised her arms up and stretched in her seat while her friends stared at her.

"Wait. You're up next?" Sero questioned, not noticing the time.

"Uh huh." Ami muttered, anxiously.

"Who're you fighting?" Sero asked. Ami swallowed her nervousness and replied.

"Well. First, I'll be going up against Aoyama. Then, if I pull off a victory there, I'll be up against Mina, next." Ami answered, shaking just a little.

"Hey, Ami, you look a little nervous." Kirishima pointed out, twisting his body around to the back of his seat.

"Do I?" Ami asked, shaking a little. Bakugo looked at her in his peripheral vision and shook his head in disappointment.

"Relax, man, you got this." Kirishima insisted, giving Ami a thumbs up.

"Don't forget, you, me, and Sero; we're Team J, remember? We'll be cheering you on from up here." Kirishima exclaimed, pumping Ami up.

"Yeah." Sero nodded in agreement, making Ami feel better.

"Mhm. As will Dark Shadow." Tokoyami nodded, watching Dark Shadow form out of his body. He flew towards Ami with two thumbs ups and a smile on his shadowy beak, cheering Ami up a little.

"Thanks, guys." Ami smiled, feeling her confidence rise. She was grateful for her friends' support and petted Dark Shadow. Who purred audibly, disturbing Tokoyami.

"Don't mention it." Kirishima smiled confidently. Ami calmed down and looked for Aoyama in the stands. She found him instantly and noticed his confident smile was on full display, causing Ami to sigh.

"I'd be great if I knew more about Aoyama, though." Ami said, slumping her shoulders.

"He shoots a laser out of his stomach. That's pretty self explanatory, if you ask me. He does got a weird accent, though." Sero stated.

"French." Tokoyami corrected, sitting beside Kirishima.

"I don't know much about Aoyama but I do know Mina. You'll have to be careful around her. She's pretty fast with her quirk." Kirishima explained.

"Understood." Ami replied, stopping herself from petting Dark Shadow.

"Well… here I go." Ami said, getting up from her seat. She maneuvered around Bakugo's seat and reached the stairs without any delay.

"Good luck, Ami." Kirishima said, raising his fist higher in the air.

"Yeah, take care." Sero waved, nodding his head.

"Knock him dead, Ami." Kaminari exclaimed.

"Light him on fire." Dark Shadow exclaimed, raising a thumbs up.

"Yeah, and don't worry, you got this! I'm sure, Bakugo's wishing you luck, too." Kirishima stated, getting a reaction from Bakugo.

"Who said I was? Shut the hell up!" Bakugo scoffed, raising his voice. Ami grinned upon hearing Bakugo's overreaction and held back her laughter. Before she could walk up the stairs, however, she peeked at Bakugo's face and noticed his mood. He had the typical annoyed look in his face along with his default glare, but there was also a conflicted look in his face. Almost like he wanted to say something but was holding himself back.

Ami glanced at him from the staircase and smirked, sensing that maybe he does have something to say to her. She stood there and looked down at him from the staircase, humming to herself with her arms crossed. Her annoying humming to an unrecognizable tune quickly grabbed his attention, raising his eyes towards Habanero with a scowl. Bakugo looked up at Habanero and noticed her smirk twist into a satisfied smile upon making eye contact, causing him to let out a grunt. He knew she had seen the conflicted look in his face, causing him to flare his nostrils in response.

"What do you want, Habanero?" Bakugo asked, keeping his cool.

"Anything you wanna say before I go, Kacchan?" Ami asked, curiously.

"Hmph. No." Bakugo grunted, rolling his eyes. Ami raised an eye at him and stood there silent. Bakugo looked up at her curious face and scoffed, flashing a malicious grin at her.

"Alright, fine. You better not lose, Habanero, or else I'll kick your ass." He grinned sadistically, crossing his arms. Habanero rolled her eyes at his threat, taking no offense to it at all. She knew he was kidding. Hearing that kind of threat from him was the words of encouragement she'd come to expect from the explosive blonde. Even if they didn't sound very encouraging to her other friends, she appreciated it.

"Thanks, Kacchan." Ami said, feeling her confidence increase. With that out of the way, she walked up the steps with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Ami! Over here!" Mineta shouted, getting Ami's attention. Ami heard Mineta's voice and turned her head towards his direction. She braced herself in anticipation for whatever perverted thing he was going to say to her. She stared at Mineta and saw him wave at her with an encouraging smile that had no perverted intent. Tsu and Shoji sat next to Mineta, staring at Ami with their own looks of encouragement. All three of her former Cavalry Battle teammates nodded their heads in unison, giving her a thumbs up in support.

"Good luck, Ami." Mineta smiled.

"Do your best. Ribbit." Tsu encouraged, hoping Ami could avenge her loss.

"You got this." Shoji nodded. Ami stared at them and smiled immensely at their encouragement. Most of the class waved at her with a smile and a nod, showing their support for her. Seeing them all gave her a huge boost in confidence as well as raising her spirits. But all she needed to hear was the support of one more person that was important to her.

"Ami, wait!" Izuku exclaimed, running up the stairs towards her. Ami stopped walking and smiled. There he was.

"Oh, hey, Izzy." Ami greeted, turning around and facing her brother with a determined smile. The twins looked at each other in silence for a few seconds until Izuku spoke up.

"You can do it, Ami. I believe in you." Izuku said, making a determined smile that gave her a boost of confidence. That sure look of his always cheered her up.

"Thanks, Izzy." Ami smiled, holding back tears of appreciation.

"Be careful, though. I don't know much about Aoyama's quirk but I know it's powerful. Strong enough to put a hole in the exam robots. If you need it, I made estimates on the strength of his laser in my noteboo-" Izuku said, talking fast. Ami caught what Izuku was saying and raised her hands at him. She grabbed his shoulders and tugged them, snapping his attention away from the notebook.

Woah. Slow down, Izzy. I appreciate the thought, but I'll be fine. I'm not going to go down so easily after what it took to get here. So, don't worry." Ami grinned, confidently. Izuku was about to protest but stopped himself. He stared into Ami's eyes and saw the determination in them. He focused on them for a second before nodding at her. He trusted Ami completely and if she said she was fine, then she was fine.

"Right." Izuku nodded, putting away his notebook.

"Be careful." Izuku said, pulling Ami into a hug. Ami accepted and hugged him back, smiling.

"You said that already." She teased, laughing a little, "I will." Ami assured him. Bakugo watched the twins hugging at the exit and noticed the notebook in Deku's pocket, causing him to scoff. The twins separated and waved goodbye at each other. Izuku watched Ami leave and returned to his seat, feeling anxious. He twiddled with his thumbs in nervous anticipation. Part of him wondered if this was how Ami felt waiting for his match. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to remain cool.

Unbeknownst to Izuku, he was being steadily watched by a student sitting at the far end of the stands. Truth be told, Izuku wasn't alone in feeling anxious for the next fight. Unlike Izuku, however, this student managed to keep his cool and remain calm. The student stopped paying attention to Izuku and looked down at the floor beneath him.

He breathed in and out, hiding the anxious pit in his stomach. He clenched his fists and flared his nostrils, burying his anxiety away. This was it. This was the fight he'd been waiting for. Ever since it was announced on the jumbotron who it was he was fighting, he'd been mentally preparing himself for this match. He watched every fight with bated breath, knowing his fight was coming closer and closer. And now that it was here, he found it difficult to keep up appearances.

He tapped his foot on the floor anxiously, contemplating why he didn't resign with Ojiro when he had the chance. He quickly shook his head and pushed that thought away, mentally cursing himself for thinking of such a thing.

"C'est le destin." Aoyama shrugged, accepting his fate. He clenched his fists and stopped tapping his foot on the ground. None of his classmates knew about his feelings towards this match. He never told anyone. He didn't want to tell anyone. And now here he was, about to go face-to-face with Ami Midoriya.

He stared at the battlefield with hesitancy, gulping water down his throat. He knew he should be getting up now, but he found it was hard to do so. Nevertheless, he stood up from his seat with legs acting like jelly.

"Ici je vais." Aoyama mumbled, heavily stuttering his sentence. A couple of his classmates watched him stand up and looked at him with smiles. The closest student sitting next to him was Todoroki, who watched Aoyama stand up with a curious expression. He noticed the look of dread on his face just before he switched to his usual confident look, causing him to narrow his eyes in examination.

"Something the matter?" Todoroki blurted out, getting Aoyama's attention.

"Hm? Moi? No worries. I'm ready to wow the audience with my sparkle." Aoyama answered with a wink, clearly hiding his fear with a false sense of confidence. Shoto narrowed his eyes at Aoyama and peered into soul. Aoyama smiled at Todoroki and noticed his soul-stealing stare, causing him to dart his eyes left-and-right anxiously. He squirmed at the feeling of Shoto's staring and felt unnerved by it. Could he know about his fear?

"Welp. Destiny awaits." Aoyama blurted, turning his back on Todoroki's piercing eyes. He continued to stare at Aoyama and dialed back his piercing stare. He watched Aoyama make his way around occupied and unoccupied seats and thought about what he saw.

"He's covering up his fear, but why is he so scared in the first place?" Todoroki wondered, observing his body language. As Aoyama walked down the aisle with false confidence, a few of his classmates gave him looks of encouragement.

"Hey, Aoyama. Good luck in your match." Sato said with an encouraging smile, not noticing the uncomfortable expression on Aoyama's face. Aoyama nodded and did his usual theatrical routine.

"Merci. Try not to miss my sparkle." Aoyama thanked, meandering towards the exit with nervousness.

"Is he really that scared to fight Midoriya's sister? Or is it because of something else?" Todoroki pondered, looking up at the jumbotron. On cue, the jumbotron changed animations and showed off the profiles for the students in the next match. Aoyama and Ami's profiles appeared on the screen, exciting the crowd. Todoroki narrowed his eyes and looked up at the screen, focusing on Aoyama's opponent.

"Hmm." Todoroki hummed, glaring at Ami's profile. He stared at the picture of Ami on the jumbotron and tensed his arms. As he stared at Ami's profile, the memory of the Cavalry Battle went through his head. First it was her brother's ability to avoid him for ten minutes that annoyed him. Then at the last minute, she appeared. Midoriya's sister broke through his wall of ice and ate the flames off his arm, an action that shocked him greatly. Then, it was what she did afterwards that set him off. Izuku was well aware of his reluctance to use his flames. So when Ami appeared at the last second and also took advantage of his reluctance, it angered him. That alone had caused him to feel negative thoughts. The twins bested him and embarrassed him. Even worse, they were proving his father right. He clenched his fists and flared his nostrils, taking a deep breath.

He looked up at the picture on the jumbotron and held back his scorn. The picture they used for Ami's profile had her smiling at the camera with a wink in her eye. Overall, she did a good job at hiding her own nervousness with a confident smile and wink. Shoto narrowed his eyes and leaned back into his chair in silence.

"Scared or not, I hope Aoyama actually does put up a fight." Todoroki thought. He made one last glance at the jumbotron before looking down on the battlefield. He put his hands on his lap and waited for the next match.

"Maybe then I won't have to deal with her myself." Todoroki thought, hiding the anger in his cold blank stare.

Off in the faculty stands, All Might had his attention on the jumbotron. The screen had Ami and Aoyama's profiles displayed on them, bringing a smile to his face. He stared at Ami's profile and felt a sense of pride go through him.

"Yes. Finally." All Might thought, happy to finally see Ami take part in the final.

"You've gotten this far, Ami. I know you'll get through this." All Might thought, folding his hands together.

Stadium Interiors - Tunnel Exit

Ami paced herself around the battlefield entrance. She looked around the tunnel and walked in a circle, playing with her hands as she walked.

"I got this. I got this." Ami thought, controlling her breathing. She felt her stomach rumble a little as she walked, causing her to frown in discomfort.

"Jeez. Is this what you felt like when you were in here, Izzy? Ami wondered out loud, brushing her hand through her hair. She stopped walking and clenched her fists, shrugging her shoulders.

"Alright, let's see. I'm going up against Aoyama. I know who he is. I know what his quirk is. He shoots lasers out of his belly button." Ami thought, ignoring how strange that description was. She shrugged and resumed thinking.

"Anyway. His lasers are gonna be tough to avoid. I'm not a fast runner but I do have stamina. If anything, I can hopefully tire him out before I get tired." Ami thought, imagining herself running around Aoyama. She imagined his laser beam chasing after her as she ran. She sighed, realizing she knew next to nothing about how long he can fire his laser. She was familiar with his strength. She saw it firsthand when he used his laser to lift himself into the air.

"It'll be hard to get close to him if he's able to hold that beam for a long time, too. But, maybe, depending on how strong his lasers are, I could try to use my flames against his laser. See which one is stronger." Ami thought, rubbing her chin with her hand. She imagined her flames and Aoyama's laser meeting halfway and creating a large explosion upon impact. An explosion would be nice. The smoke could give her cover. And she could swallow any leftover flames on the ground as well.

"Wait a minute…" Ami thought, realizing something. Her mind focused back to visualizing flames on the battlefield. That's right. Aoyama's laser produces flames. If she can avoid his hits long enough, then the flames he leaves behind on the battlefield would be hers for the taking. She thought about the flames created by Aoyama's laser and then shifted her attention to the laser itself.

"Aoyama's laser produces a super heated beam of light. The flames I can breathe out are just flames. But, they can also get stronger than that if given enough power." Ami thought, thinking back to one of her least favorite memories. The USJ. The negative thoughts came swirling in her head as she remembered her experience inside the Fire Zone. A dome containing a fake burning city contained inside an even bigger dome. Pushing aside all the negatives and haunting memories, she stayed head strong and focused on one memory in particular.

It was in that memory that her flames were pushed beyond her limits. The thought brought a shiver down her spine as she remembered her victory against the Obsidian Villain. She had climbed onto his back and choked him using her whip. Then she swallowed all of the flames stored inside his obsidian armored body and broke the magma holding his armor together.

She winced and rubbed her throat as she thought about the memory. She remembered the pain she felt upon eating the flames off the Obsidian Villain in the Fire Zone. The flames he had stored inside him were like eating a small volcano. It was enough for Flame Catcher's range to attract all the flames in the entire zone. And when she had managed to consume every single piece of flame in the environment she vomited out a large blast of fire. The flames were so strong she blew a hole in the USJ. Twice.

"Ugh. I hate that memory." Ami winced, hugging herself and wiggling in discomfort.

"But now that I think about it. My flames weren't really flames back then. I made a laser beam of my own if I remember correctly. It was orange and sparkly and it was huge. What did Recovery Girl say to me when I asked about it?" Ami thought, focusing her mind on Recovery Girl's explanation.

"It's likely the second the fires reached your organ, it boosted your natural fire to the point you were creating plasma. The zapping you felt was likely an after effect from creating a plasma weapon." Recovery Girl hypothesized.

"So I can make plasma beams with my mouth?" Ami asked, rubbing her lips with her fingers. She was amazed to find out she could do that. Ami nodded at the memory, subconsciously rubbing her lips with her fingers as she thought about the feeling.

"Plasma beams. I can make plasma beams. If I can make plasma beams, then, theoretically, I should be able to eat Aoyama's lasers? Ami theorized, feeling a sense of hope. She proudly smiled at her theory before quickly returning to a straight face.

"Hmmm. I'm not entirely sure about that, though. I'm a flame eater, not a plasma eater. I suppose this is my best chance to recreate that plasma beam in a relatively safer environment. That's if Aoyama's lasers are even hot enough to reach that level of power." Ami thought, guessing the likelihood of her eating enough flames to come close to the strength of that blast. If anything, she believed she could make a shorter, weaker, and maybe more controllable blast if she swallowed enough flames.

"Welcome back, everybody. It's time for the third pre-match. Let's get started with the introductions!" Present Mic announced, causing Ami to jump. She looked down at the tunnel entrance and saw the large flames jutting out of the corners of the ring. The warmth of the large flames touched her skin, soothing her. She relaxed and took a deep breath, shrugging her shoulders in relaxation.

"Okay. This is it, Ami!" Ami shouted internally, hyping herself up. She clenched her fists and hopped a couple steps forward.

"No time to be scared. This is your moment!" Ami thought, making a determined face. She clenched her fists even tighter than before and stepped into the shadows, making contact with the field. She felt the sun on her face and the sound of the crowd erupting into cheers and knew they were aimed at her.

"Here she comes." Backdraft said, finding newfound excitement. He raised his head down at the battlefield and clapped his pipe arms together. Away from the school grounds, Inko stared at the television screen and felt her heart rate increase upon seeing Ami walk out of the tunnel entrance. The cameras zoomed in on Ami's face showing off her determined face to millions of viewers. Inko gripped her tissue box and felt her eyes start running again.

"Oh, my baby girl! Be careful!" Inko cried at the television, not wanting to suffer through another near death experience like the one during Izuku's match. Somewhere far away, a girl with orange hair watched the match with a similar sentimental look on her face.

"C'mon, Ami." She said, clenching her fists. Off in another part of Japan, another person watched the festival with a more murderous intent. He stared at the computer screen in his dark room and watched as the familiar green haired girl entered the field. He narrowed his eyes and groaned in hatred.

"Damn, brat." The raspy voice said, flexing his heavily bandaged hand. He winced upon doing so, feeling the pains from his burn wounds.

"Entering from the left side, she's already made Festival history with her twin brother. Let's see if she can bring the heat to the final round! In the words of one of our previous contestants, Ibara Shiozaki, she's known as the Angel That Breathes Hell's Fire: Ami Midoriya from the Hero Course!" Present Mic announced, hyping up the entire crowd. Wyvern and Backdraft both raised their eyes in unison upon hearing the nickname.

"That's a mouthful." Wyvern stated, leaning his head back.

"It's creative." Backdraft commented. Down on the ground, Ami looked up at the announcer room and frowned with unease, slightly shaking her head in nervousness. She listened to the excited cheers from the audience and darted her eyes across the stadium, taking in the sheer size of it all. The sight of all the people in the crowd made her gulp.

"Did he have to hype me up that much?" Ami complained, clenching her fists. A bit of worry entered her mind as she wondered how she could measure up to a grand announcement like that.

"And he's quoting, Shiozaki, now, too?" Ami mentioned, wondering how he could've possibly known about that nickname. Up in the hero stands, the same lone figure stood tall above everyone else sitting below him. Endeavor had his arms crossed as he stared at the battlefield with narrowed eyes. Present Mic's announcement grabbed his attention, placing his eyes towards the plain looking green haired girl on the battlefield. He recognized her instantly as the one that made an embarrassment out of Shoto at the last minute of the Cavalry Battle. Endeavor looked at her and could see the nervousness from her body language alone. He sensed a similar aura of nervousness coming off her twin brother when he was watching him. As he watched the girl enter the ring, his son's words entered through his mind.

"That girl with green hair. Her quirk lets her eat fire from her surroundings. Fire quirks, too. So, even if I used your power, it would've been more worthless to me than it is now." Todoroki stated, stinging Endeavor with his words. Shoto's words left Endeavor's mind as he stared at the girl. A quirk that eats flames from the environment? Quirks, too? That ability alone was what grabbed his interest in her quirk. It was an interesting quirk to Endeavor. One that would prove troublesome if she were to go up against his son.

But before that, Shoto would have to go up against the brother first. Endeavor furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes, flaring his nostrils as he thought about the both of them. Their quirks were fundamentally different from each other. Were it not for appearances, he'd have a hard time believing they were related. Could one of their quirks be a mutation? Or did they inherit a quirk from only one of their parents? He brushed that thought aside for now. He'd investigate later. Right now he needed to get a sense of what this girl could really do. And assess whether or not her quirk was a counter to his son's flames.

"Hmm." Endeavor hummed, finishing his thoughts. Just as he did, the annoying voice on the speakers continued his introductions to the girl's opponent.

"And on this side, we have an extravagant student who's sparkling with confidence. Did I mention he has a freaking belly button laser? It's Yuga Aoyama from the Hero Course!" Present Mic introduced, receiving loud cheers from the audience. The boy's camera ready attitude caught the eyes of many watching. His face was sparkling and glistening in the sun. Little did the audience know, however, that glistening was actually from his nervous sweat. Aoyama waved at the cameras and made elegant poses as he made his way to the ring.

Ami watched her opponent enter the battlefield in amusement. She figured he'd love the attention and the loud audience. She subdued her laughter as Aoyama made poses for the cameras while entering the ring. Aoyama entered the ring and gripped his belt attachment, smiling at Ami.

"Enchanté, Mademoiselle." Aoyama grinned in delight. Ami heard the familiar french words and understood their basic meaning. She raised her hand up and waved at Aoyama in return.

"Hello." Ami replied, courteously.

"Ready to face, moi? Let's make this interaction tres magnifique." Aoyama stated, twirling around dramatically. Ami stared at Aoyama and tensed her muscles.

"Right back at you, Aoyama. Don't hold back on me, okay?" Ami asked, clenching her fists. She tightened her stance and narrowed her eyes at Aoyama, sporting a game face, "Because I'm not going to hold back, either." Ami assured him.

"Hm…Oui." Aoyama replied, feeling sweat drip down the side of his face. He felt his stomach tighten upon hearing her statement. Up in the stands, Izuku watched his sister enter the ring with Aoyama and clenched his fists in excitement. A gleeful smile filled his face as he readied himself to cheer on his sister.

"Psst. Hey, Midoriya." Kirishima whispered, getting Izuku's attention. Izuku turned his head to the right and leaned his head forward, getting a view of Kirishima.

"Huh? What is it, Kirishima?" Izuku asked, curiously.

"You know a lot about your sister's quirk, right?" Kirishima asked, getting a nod from Izuku.

"Yeah. I know all sorts of things about my sister's quirk." Izuku replied, rapidly nodding his head in confirmation. Kirishima grinned and jumped in his seat upon hearing the confirmation.

"Alright. I gotta know. Ami's quirk lets her eat flames created by other quirks. And a laser is basically fire, right? So, I thought, Ami should be able to eat Aoyama's lasers, right?" Kirishima asked, excited to know the answer.

"That's a good question. I'm curious about it myself." Iida interjected, agreeing with Kirishima. Izuku looked at Kirishima's excited face and Iida's inquisitive face and frowned, mumbling a bit.

"Uh. I'm not really sure." Izuku admitted straight up, surprising both students.

"You're not?" Kirishima questioned, more surprised than skeptical.

"Uh, yeah, well….Believe it or not, but it's pretty hard for kids to get their hands on a laser beam. Uh heheh." Izuku laughed, awkwardly brushing his hair.

"I suppose that makes sense." Iida nodded, thinking up another alternative, "Ah! How about a laser pointer?" Iida asked.

"Actually, yeah, she's used her quirk on a laser pointer." Izuku nodded, seeing their eyes light up.

"Really? What happened?" Kirishima asked excitedly.

"I'm not really sure. I mean, I wasn't there when the doctors were examining her quirk. I was in the other room with my mom but apparently one of the doctors tested her flame collection by experimenting with a laser pointed at a wall. The test was to see if she could prevent the laser from touching the wall." Izuku explained.

"And what happened?" Iida and Kirishima asked at the same time. Before Izuku could answer, the stadium speakers came on.

"Alright, people, enough with the chit chat! Let's get this party started! Challengers, are you ready!" Present Mic shouted, interrupting Izuku's reply.

"Deku, it's starting." Ochaco blurted out, getting Izuku's attention. Izuku stopped chit chatting and smiled wide with excitement. Iida and Kirishima focused their attention to the battlefield and ceased conversing, watching with anticipation.

"Here it comes." Ami thought, tensing her body.

"3." Present Mic counted. Ami cracked her knuckles from squeezing her fists.

"2." He counted. Ami fllashed her teeth towards Aoyama and activated her quirk. The flames shot up from her flame organ in an instant, lighting up her throat as it travelled into her mouth. She made a wide grin at Aoyama, ignoring the small bit of smoke emanating through her teeth.

"1….Staaaaart!" Present Mic screamed into the microphone. Aoyama heard the announcement and immediately went into action. He flexed his stomach and activated his quirk, shooting out a large blue laser beam through his belly button. The laser shot forward at incredible speeds, causing wind to push off dust from the concrete floor.

Ami saw the fast approaching laser beam and felt her eyes widen. She narrowed her eyes at the beam and counted down in her head. While she counted, she twisted her head to the right and looked down at the cement floor. Not wasting any time, she quickly activated her flamethrower and spewed flames out of her mouth. The audience gasped at the scene, watching in awe as her flamethrower touched the ground. The cement burned under the immense heat, creating smoke off the ground. Ami tensed up and put more force into her flame. She felt her body get lifted into the air, achieving lift off. With only a second before making contact with the laser, Ami's body flew to the left side of the ring, narrowly avoiding the laser.

"Nice." Backdraft complimented. Ami stopped breathing fire and looked beneath her, keeping her mouth open to push out the remaining smoke in her mouth. She braced herself and landed gracefully on her feet, successfully landing on the cement on the left side of the ring. She felt the smoke leave her mouth and sighed in relief.

"4 seconds to reach me." Ami thought, finishing her countdown. She smiled in satisfaction at the thought. That was enough time for her to work in her favor. She heard the laser beam shoot past where she once stood and watched as it made contact with the stadium walls. Ami watched the beam burn the wall and grinned. Flames ignited beneath the laser as it tried to poke a hole in the strong walls.

"Alright!" Ami exclaimed. Aoyama saw Ami dodge the laser beam and frowned. He squirmed in his position and stopped firing his laser. He made a small groan as he stopped, feeling his stomach churn a little in response. He kept up his unfazed appearance and smiled at Ami, applauding her graceful dodge.

"My. My. How fantastique. You dodged my laser." Aoyama commended, impressed with her speed and timing.

"It was faster than I thought." Ami replied, keeping her body ready for another attack. She waited for Aoyama to attack once more, mentally preparing.

"I got the timing of how long it takes for his laser to reach me. Now all that's left is to find out if I really can eat his lasers." Ami thought, squeezing her fists in a tight ball. The danger of doing this was clear to her, but she needed to know.

"Well, there's more where that came from!" Aoyama said, firing off another laser towards Ami. Ami saw the incoming laser beam and readied her stance, bunkering down. She took a deep breath and tighten her whole body.

"Here goes nothing." Ami thought, narrowing her eyes. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth. Aoyama saw her tighten her stance and looked at her in confusion. She was going to take his laser head on? Is this a trick? She was bluffing, right?

"What?" He thought, hoping she was trying to fool him by dodging at the last second. He wondered what she was doing and felt thoughts go through his head. He noticed her mouth opening up and felt his eyes bulge out in realization.

"Huh?" Aoyama stuttered. Everyone watching looked at Ami with concern. All Might cheered Ami on in the faculty stands and watched her hunker down, raising his eyebrow in curiosity. He saw Aoyama fire off a laser and started to get concerned.

"What the heck are you doing, kid?" All Might questioned, getting flashbacks with Izuku's fight. He watched Ami stand perfectly still and saw the smoke poking out through her teeth. The second he noticed her quirk was activated, he felt his jaw hit the floor in realization.

"Ami, are you really serious about doing this?" All Might questioned, looking at the battle slack-jawed and scared. The hero stands weren't any different, gasping at the fast approaching laser. They felt the air exit their lungs as they watched Ami open her mouth.

"There's no way…" Wyvern said, looking at Ami with eyes wide. He frowned and dropped his stoic look, looking at Ami with a baffled look. Backdraft had his eyes glued on Ami, watching her open her mouth in silent terror. The words he wanted to say were unable to leave his mouth. Standing at the top of the hero stands, Endeavor watched Ami open her mouth with a look of wide eyed shock on his face.

"Lasers, too?" Endeavor questioned, flexing his crossed arms. Up in the announcer room, Present Mic looked at Ami with a frown and pulled out his hair with both hands.

"What the heck is she doing?" He asked, watching in bewilderment. Aizawa pulled the bandages away from his eyes and stared at Ami with silent shock.

"You're kidding." Aizawa thought, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I can't watch this." Tsu said, covering her eyes.

"She's gonna freaking die!" Mineta exclaimed, going into panic mode. Bakugo stared at Habanero with an incredulous look. He knew what she was about to do, but part of him worried that she was biting off more than she could chew. He scowled at her and felt his anger rise.

"Don't you dare, Habanero." Bakugo growled, clenching his fists in anger. Izuku stared at Ami and instantly figured out what she was doing. He anxiously tapped his foot in fear, squeezing his pants with a tight grip.

"Ami. Be careful." Izuku thought, unable to take his eyes off of her. The fear he felt inside shook him to his core, but he held on out of faith. Faith that what Ami was doing would work.

The laser beam shot across the ring, reaching Ami in four seconds. She activated her quirk and inhaled, taking a deep breath. Sure enough, the beam felt the pull of her quirk, reaching her faster. The beam seemingly broke apart in the air just before it entered her mouth, but it's force remained. It's shape transformed into fumes that hit Ami like a ton of bricks in the face. The pain felt like she was getting continually punched in the face, causing her to shake. Ami winced at the pain and kept her eyes closed, feeling the intensity of the laser smack into her.

The force of the blast pushed her feet back against the cement, forcing her to strengthen her stance. The power in the laser shot into her mouth and created an oscillating vibration. If a person without her quirk had done this, the pain would have been severe. Deadly, even. But not for her. She was made for this. Her skin was fire resistant, her insides were immune to heat, and her mouth could handle it. She hoped her mouth could handle it.

Ami felt the laser shoot into her mouth and cringed, feeling the urge to gag. She wanted to close her mouth but she persevered and held on, resisting her urges. The audience gasped at what Ami was doing. The flames that were visible through her mouth swirled around like saliva as it took in the laser's energy. Her mouth started to glow brighter and brighter as she did.

As the large collection of energy entered her mouth, she felt the energy travel down her throat and knew what was coming. As more of the energy entered her insides, her red flames sparked and burned up, switching to a blue flame. Upon changing colors, Ami felt a burning sensation slowly tickle her throat as she held on. She had the faintest idea what was going on around with her eyes closed but the brilliant blue glow of her flames showed through her closed eyes. It gave her a hint that she was increasing her power, much to her worry. She had to guess she was experiencing temperatures that matched an oven.

"Don't give up. You can handle it. You can handle it!" Ami shouted at herself, giving her motivation to continue. The entire stadium had their jaws dropped as they watched Ami eat more and more of the laser. Aoyama was beyond shocked by her impressive display of ability, causing him to lose track of time. After half a minute passed, he was snapped out of his shock by the pain coming from his stomach. He gripped his belt and deactivated his quirk. He watched the laser dissipate and saw its remnants fly into her mouth, ending the steady stream of light.

Ami felt the source of the laser come to an end and slowly opened her eyes. The flames in her mouth swirled around in her throat. There was an audible hum that vibrated in her mouth as she held in the flames. The heat she felt emanating inside her mouth was intense. She could actually feel it. She relaxed her body and winced, realizing that was a mistake. The burning sensation in her throat caused her to gag. She dropped to the floor and caught herself from landing face first with her hands, coughing profusely. The audience watched her fall and grew concerned, starting up whispers. At the Midoriya Household, Inko was on the floor dead for the twelfth time.

The humming sound in her mouth vibrated her throat, feeling it in her uvula. The vibration was triggering her gag reflex which led to the coughing fit she was trying to endure. Her eyes went red at the uncomfortable feeling, beginning to tear up.

"Holy shit…" Ami stuttered, unable to hold back swears as she tried to get a grip of herself. She fell on her knees and grabbed her throat, feeling her face turn red.

"Uh, mademoiselle. Are you alright?" Aoyama asked, unsure whether or not he should continue fighting with her.

"I just need a sec…" Ami replied, in a raspy voice. Deep inside her body, the humming trickled down her throat. Eventually, the large collection of energy made its way to her flame organ. Her stomach rumbled as the energy reached her flame organ. The energy swirled around inside the organ, boosting its power and expanding in size in order to take in the newfound burst of power. Ami squirmed around uncomfortably on the floor, contemplating her situation in her mind.

"Stay calm." Ami instructed herself, trying to remain calm. As she laid on the floor, her flame organ had done its job and taken in the newfound energy. The boost of power shot up from her organ and flew back into her mouth. She winced as smoke began emanating through her mouth along with the return of a familiar sensation. Sparks of light zapped her closed lips. Plasma.

Ami saw the sparks of plasma flying out of her mouth and knew she had gotten what she wanted. It was just like in the Fire Zone, but not as harmful. The zaps were painful but they felt more like pinches. She felt she could handle more plasma, however, the fight for control wasn't over. She clenched her fists and continued struggling to contain her newfound energy. It desperately wanted out of her. She felt the flames dance around her mouth and covered her mouth with her right hand. She couldn't let it get out. Not yet. She needed to keep it.

"This isn't like last time. Stay calm." Ami thought, drilling the instruction through her head.

"It's not as much as the Fire Zone. It's far from that. Keep it inside, Ami. You can do it. You've spent years collecting flames with your lighter. You're telling me you can't collect a small amount like this?" Ami insulted herself, pushing herself forward. Memories of All Might training her quirk on the beach went through her mind.

"I've collected more flames than this before. This is nothing." Ami thought, flexing her muscles. When she had swallowed all the fire in the Fire Zone, it weighed her heavily. She felt like she couldn't move. But that was then, this was now. Ami narrowed her eyes and focused on the past.

"Can't run now, can you? Good. Because I'm not done with you." The Obsidian Villain said, grinning sadistically at Ami's condition. Ami winced at the memory of him grabbing her by the scarf and lifting her up. Even with his obsidian body armor destroyed, the man was tall enough to lift her feet off the ground. She squirmed and groaned under his grasp, holding back her flames as best she could. When she saw him ready a punch, she finally gave in and gagged.

"I'm gonna enjoy this you son of a bi-" The Villain said, before coming face-to-face with a blast of fire that instantly sent him flying through the air. Her inability to control the flames that so desperately wanted out of her was what saved her and Ojiro that day. But that isn't what she wanted to happen now.

"I didn't collect flames my whole life just to fail to contain one blast. I can do this. I can keep this one. Go beyond, Ami. Go above and beyond. Keep this power to yourself!" Ami shouted inside her mind, she tightened her mouth shut and felt the flames in her mouth. They weren't getting out. Not yet. Ami held back the flames and raised one knee up, putting herself in a kneeling position. The audience gasped as they watched Ami put one foot on the ground.

She raised her head up with a forceful smile and wobbled a bit on the ground as she straightened her upper body upwards. She kneeled tall on the ground and stared at Aoyama with a look of determination that showed she wasn't giving up. Aoyama looked at the small smile on her lips and saw the sparks of plasma that zapped her lips, feeling a sense of dejavu hit him. He'd seen those zaps before.

"You can do this, Ami. Eat it. Make the power yours. Don't gag. Don't vomit. Make it yours and win!" Ami thought, pushing herself to swallow the flames.

She grinded her teeth and clenched her fists, swallowing the flames in her mouth. The flames moved down her throat and made contact with her organ. The expanded size of the organ kept the flames inside, trapping them in her body. She felt the flames in her body and closed her eyes. With the flames contained inside her organ, she took the chance to take a deep breath through her nose. The burning sensation the flames had created inside her soothed and cooled down, returning her body to its previous state. As if she didn't eat a laser at all. She deactivated her quirk and felt her organ extinguish the flame, reducing its size. The second she deactivated her quirk, she gasped for air once more as smoke began to billow out of her mouth. She held her stance, and stayed kneeling, coughing out the leftover smoke from Aoyama's laser. Tiny zaps of plasma pinched her mouth as she coughed out the smoke, waving her hand around in an attempt to dispel the smoke around her faster.

"Holy crap, Ami. You did it!" All Might exclaimed, mentally shouting in pride.

"Not only did you hold it in, but you managed to swallow and extinguished the flames in your body. That's the spirit! You've improved your quirk incredibly." All Might thought, smiling proudly in his seat.

"Are you alright, Mademoiselle?" Aoyama asked, temporarily forgetting they were fighting. Ami looked at Aoyama through the smoke as best she could. She felt sweat drip down her forehead and wiped it off with her arm. She looked at the sweat on her arm and breathed heavily, chuckling at the sweat. Sweat was a good sign. It meant she still had water in her body which meant she didn't have to worry about feeling dehydrated. A sense of relief went through her body as she fully comprehended what she had done. She had extinguished a fire of immense strength and added it to her flame organ. A laser as strong as Aoyama's was sure to give her flamethrower a power up the next time she used it.

She stopped what she was doing as soon as that thought went through her mind. She furrowed her brow and rubbed her stomach with her hand.

"How strong will my flamethrower be when I reactivate my quirk now? Ami thought, looking up at the stadium. The cheers and applause from the audience had tripled since she recovered from her power, giving Ami a satisfied smile as she stared at them.

"But how long is my range?" Ami wondered, thinking about the possibilities.

"Hey, fighters. You gonna fight or keep standing there!" Present Mic shouted into the microphone, his voice reverberating through the speakers.

"Ah. I almost forgot!" Ami panicked, looking back at Aoyama. Aoyama looked at Ami with a moderate amount of concern and quieted down his nervousness.

"Back for more?" Aoyama asked, getting a smile from Ami.

"That was a good practice round. But I'm ready if you are." Ami said, assuring him she was ready to fight. Aoyama looked at Ami and flared his nostrils in astonishment. He could tell her quirk had given her trouble with her stomach. Sort of like how his quirk gave him trouble. To that length, he could sympathize with her pain. But that didn't matter now, now he had to fight her again.

Aoyama nodded and took on an offensive stance, firing his laser at her. He kept it in a short burst this time instead of making a beam. On the off chance that Ami really did want more, he was going to feed her the bare minimum of his sparkling laser.

Ami saw the approaching the laser shot and counted down. She raised her eyes and looked to her right. She quickly jumped forward and landed on the cement with her hands. She made sure not to land on her stomach as she recovered.

"Five seconds. That was five seconds this time." Ami thought, staring up at Aoyama. She looked at Aoyama's face and examined him. He was sweating. Sweating a lot.

"Is he getting tired?" Ami thought, noticing the slight amount of pain on his face. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head in thought.

"No. There's more to this." Ami thought, watching Aoyama fire off another laser at her while she was on the ground. Ami saw the approaching laser and quickly reacted, she placed her hands on her body and rolled out of the way. The laser shot hit the cement next her, creating a sizzling sound on the cracked cement. Ami caught herself and stopped rolling away, panting to herself.

"Eating his laser took a lot of my stamina. I don't want to dodge his laser using my flames again. Depending on how much power I swallowed from his laser, I might blow myself out of the ring." Ami thought, imagining blue flames shooting out of her and sending her flying. She shrugged that thought away and focused on his face. The more lasers he fired, the more she noticed the pained expression on his face. Seeing how much pain Aoyama's laser was giving him made her think.

"He's like me and my flamethrower. Use it too much and it gives me pain, too." Ami thought, comparing their quirks. She looked at Aoyama's face and then focused her attention to his belt. Another laser shot out at her, causing her to jump out of its way.

"That was six seconds that time. His laser is getting weaker." Ami thought, looking at his belt. Watching the beam fly out of his belt gave her a revelation, causing her to gasp.

"Of course!" She thought, feeling a lightbulb go off in her head, "Why didn't I realize it sooner?" Ami thought, recalling what Principal Nezu had told her.

"The only students allowed to bring items to the Sports Festival are the students in the Support Course. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but that's only for rare occasions and requires certain criteria needed." Principal Nezu explained. His explanation echoed through Ami's head.

"It's his belt. He must need it for his quirk. If I can break the belt, then he won't be able to use his quirk." Ami thought, watching Aoyama fire his laser at her again. She saw the laser approaching her and reached a conclusion in her head.

"Worth a shot." She thought, activating her quirk. An unusual feeling shot through her the second she did. She felt sparks of plasma zap her tongue as the flames reached her mouth. Her neck glowed a brighter blue which she saw at the bottom of her vision. The blue glow surprised her, causing her eyes to widen.

"Did Aoyama's laser boost my power that much?" Ami thought, feeling a tingling sensation shoot up her throat. Within seconds, blue flames reached her mouth and sizzled her tongue. The strange tingling sensation tickled her tongue, forcing a smile out of her. She felt a low quiet hum in her mouth as she focused on the fast approaching laser. Seeing it caused her to spring into action, releasing her flamethrower at the laser. Her eyes widened even more as a blast of blue flames shot out of her mouth towards the laser.

"Woah! Incredible." Iida stated, adjusting his glasses. The blue flamethrower reflected on his glasses as he adjusted them.

"Her flames are blue." Ochaco pointed out, feeling her flames all the way from here.

"Blue flames are the hottest flame she can produce. Eating Aoyama's laser must have boosted her quirk beyond its regular limits. Amazing." Izuku said, smiling proudly at Ami.

"...Damn." Bakugo stated, staring silently at Habanero. The blue flames raised the temperature of the entire stadium. Everyone could feel the warmth of her flames on their skin and clothes.

"This, kid." Wyvern grinned, breaking away from his stoic expression. He was impressed. Beyond impressed. Blue flames were no easy feat.

"Incredible." Backdraft stated, baffled by Ami's blue flames. Backdraft watched Ami's blue flames make contact with the laser, creating a surprising result.

Upon contact with the flames, Aoyama's laser exploded in mid air, creating a small shockwave that pushed Ami and Aoyama. They both steadied themselves and recovered. But Ami's flames weren't done yet. They pushed through the explosion and smoke and continued heading straight forward, getting Aoyama's attention. Aoyama saw the blue flame coming towards him and screamed. He jumped out of the way and hit the cement hard, narrowly avoiding the blue flamethrower. Ami saw Aoyama land hard on the cement and stopped breathing fire. The smoke of the explosion cleared up, allowing her to see her blue flamethrower fly towards the stadium wall. She felt her jaw drop at the power and range of her flamethrower.

"Oh shit." She cussed, shocked by the powerful blast. Glancing towards the downed Aoyama, Ami quickly sprang into action. Aoyama raised his head up and heard footsteps approaching. He turned his head and gasped when he saw Ami running up to him. He twisted his body and placed his back on the ground. He immediately starting crawling backwards with his hands and tried to fire off a laser at Ami from the ground.

Ami saw Aoyama's laser coming and swirled flames around in her mouth. She collected it all into a tiny ball and spat a fireball out at Aoyama. The ball of blue flame landed on Aoyama's belt, immediately lighting the belt on fire. Aoyama looked down at his burning belt and panicked, screaming in horror. He fired a laser with the damaged burning belt and winced at the uncomfortable amount of pain erupting from his stomach. A tiny blast of laser fired out at Ami who immediately reacted by swallowing the small laser shot. She took the small amount of laser in her mouth and swallowed it. Feeling okay, she looked at the burning belt on Aoyama's stomach and inhaled, swallowing the flame.

Aoyama sighed in relief when Ami ate the flames burning his belt. He felt the belt slip off of him and threw it off him. The flames on it were gone but the heat it gave off still hurt.

Ami started panting heavily in exhaustion. Sweat was dripping down her face as she watched Aoyama squirm on the ground. She frowned at his actions, feeling sorry for burning Aoyama's belt. Nevertheless, she needed to confirm that the fight was over.

"You done?" Ami asked, hoping Aoyama would concede.

"...Yes. You win, Mademoiselle." Aoyama winced, gripping his upset stomach in pain. Midnight heard Aoyama's surrender and nodded her head, raising her flag.

"Aoyama is defeated. Ami wins!" Midnight announced, sending the stadium into a loud uproar.

"Yes!" Backdraft said, raising his pipe arm and clenching a watery fist. He jumped out of his seat in excitement, clapping his watery hands in a standing ovation.

Well done, kid." Wyvern stated, clapping his hands in admiration.

"Thank you, Aoyama." Ami whispered to herself, feeling a sense of relief go through her. She looked at her clothes and brushed off the dust and wrinkles off it. She felt her stomach churn a bit and frowned, rubbing her stomach in an attempt to make herself feel better.

"Ow." She said, wincing in pain. Another rogue spark of plasma zapped her lips as she frowned. She rubbed her lips with her free arm and tried to get rid of the plasma around her lips.

She didn't let the pain and discomfort get in the way of the feelings she had at the moment. She grinned triumphantly at her victory. She did it. She won her first match. She looked around the stadium and stared at the audience members, listening to their cheers and applause. It was all directed at her. The overwhelming feeling made her eyes red, dripping with tears. She turned her attention towards the students' stands and saw Izuku waving at her with a smile on his face.

Seeing him wave at her gave her a warm feeling inside that brought a smile to her face. All of her friends were waving in support at her. Bakugo was simply staring at her with a look of satisfaction. Once he noticed Ami was looking at him, he quickly darted his eyes away from the scene, hiding his approval. Ami rolled her eyes at him, waving back at her classmates with a proud smile.

She pulled her attention away from Izuku and her friends and noticed Mina's seat was vacant. She composed herself and flared her nostrils. The empty seat was a reminder that she wasn't done yet. This was only the pre-match. She's taking Aoyama's place in the tournament, which meant she was going up against Mina Ashido next.

She turned her attention away from the hero stands and looked up at the crowd of heroes. She couldn't see most of their faces, but she heard their cheers. The sounds of clapping filled her heart with joy. She looked up at the heroes and hoped Backdraft was still up there watching her right now.

"I hope he saw me." Ami squealed internally, getting giddy. She stopped fangirling and looked up at the very top of the hero stands, feeling her body freeze in place.

There was no mistake about who she saw standing up there. It was the number two hero, Endeavor. Endeavor was watching her with his arms crossed. That's about all the detail he could see out of him. She had no idea he was up there watching but seeing his opposing figure standing above all the seated heroes unnerved her. She gulped and slowly turned around, hoping to ignore Endeavor. Up atop the hero stands, Endeavor glared down at her with a scowl on his face. That match was impressive. Extremely impressive. However it only made him realize the unbearable truth. Shoto needed to avoid this girl or else she could undo everything he made him for.

Like father, like son, Shoto stared down at the battlefield with a scowl of his own. Watching Ami use her flames in battle made him scowl. He could bet his father was loving it. Once he saw her flames burn blue it set him off. This girl was using her flames like how his father wanted him to be. It angered him. When the announcement came of her victory, he remained calm and focused. He wasn't going to let his feelings get the best of him. He watched her stare at the hero stands and almost freeze, causing him to narrow his eyes. He examined that uneasy feeling on her face and glanced towards the person she was staring at. Tracking her eyes, he raised his eyebrow at the sight of Endeavor staring down at Ami with a glare. A glare? Now that was interesting.

Keeping her back facing the hero stands, Ami stretched her limbs and relaxed. She shrugged her shoulders and twisted her neck, feeling the tension leave her body with each crack.

"I should probably head back now." Ami said to herself, fixing up her hair.

"Wait, Mademoiselle." A weak voice called out to her. Ami heard the voice and recognized it was Aoyama. She stopped walking away and turned her head back, staring at the ground where Aoyama laid.

"Hm?" Ami moaned, turning around fully. She stared at Aoyama and watched him struggle to stand, causing her to feel sorry for him.

"I need to talk to you." Aoyama said, holding onto his stomach.

"Are you okay?" Ami asked, mentally facepalming at her own question.

"Of course he's not okay, Ami. He's on the floor holding onto his stomach." Ami thought, shaking her head. She shrugged and approached Aoyama with a concerned look.

"What is it?" Ami asked, wondering what he needed to tell her.

"Please..don't leave. I have to get something off my chest…" Aoyama pleaded. Ami heard his plea and smiled back at him, assuring him she wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm not leaving. You can tell me." Ami said, dropping to her knees in front of him. Aoyama was surprised by her actions and looked up at her with a nervous frown, gulping anxiously. He hesitated a lot. What he was about to say was incredibly difficult for him.

"there's something I've been meaning to confess." He admitted, getting a confused reaction from Ami.

"To confess?" Ami repeated, taking in what Aoyama was saying, "What is it?" She asked.

"It's about the USJ." Aoyama said, causing air to leave Ami's mouth. She raised her eyes at him and listened to him more carefully. Aoyama noticed the fear in her eyes, causing him to grimace. It was still affecting her, too.

"I never told anyone where I was during the USJ." He admitted, closing his eyes shamefully. The memory of what he saw played through his mind. The yelling, the screaming, the fighting, and the destructive beam of orange light that burned through the building twice. He squirmed on the ground, feeling the pressure to let out what he had been holding increase.

"...I saw your beam in the sky." Aoyama said, confusing Ami.

"I think everyone did, Aoyama." Ami replied, not understanding what Aoyama wanted to tell her. Aoyama heard her statement and shook his head nervously.

"No. That's not it. I saw your beam before it hit the sky...before it burned a hole through the Fire Zone." Aoyama admitted, feeling the pressure of hiding his secret dissipate.

"You did?" Ami questioned, thinking it through in her head. He saw the beam burn a hole through the Fire Zone. Well, that couldn't be right. No one else saw her beam until it had broke through and burned the USJ's roof. Unless…?

"But-...that would mean…" Ami said, feeling her eyes bulge out in realization. She felt her mouth open and gasped, covering her mouth.

"You were there, weren't you? In the Fire Zone with me and Ojiro." Ami asked, feeling riddled with shock. Aoyama looked at Ami and felt his shame rising. That level of shock was the reaction he had been expecting.

Oui…" He nodded, frowning in shame.

"But...how? I mean. Where were you?" Ami asked, beyond shocked.

"...When that creepy purple guy teleported everyone, I was next to Ojiro when a portal opened up beneath me. I fell first and landed on the roof of one of the taller buildings." Aoyama explained, remembering his side of things.

USJ - Fire Zone - Two Weeks Ago

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Oof." Aoyama screamed, landing hard on the roof. He landed with a thud on the hard floor and groaned to himself. He winced in pain and flared his nostrils, unwittingly getting a whiff of smoke in his nose. His eyes shot open at the smell, causing him to panic. He raised his chest off the ground and grabbed his face. His beautiful, hurting, face. He looked around his surroundings and gasped. He stood up and looked up at the ceiling. Two more floors of wherever he was and he would've been able to touch the ceiling with his hands.

He brushed away the dust and dirt on his shiny hero costume, not wanting it to look grimy and filthy. Looking around some more, he noticed he was high up in the air. He was on ground, of course, but he could tell something was up. He saw an edge and walked over to it, confirming his worst fears.

He was in HELL. The devil had taken him in his youth and sent him to his own version of hell. A burning city covered in smoke. As he stared at the hellscape below, the sound of a portal opening up gained his attention. He looked up at the sky and saw a shadowy portal appear in mid air, dropping another screaming student into his hellscape. He stared at the screaming student and recognized it as Ojiro, causing him to gasp in realization. He wasn't in Hell, he was still in the USJ. He was in the Fire Zone!

Then, I saw Ojiro fall into the Fire Zone." Aoyama explained, "that was when I realized I was still in the USJ. I thought about screaming at him. To tell him where I was, but then…" Aoyama explained.

Aoyama stared at Ojiro on the ground floor and felt his mouth immediately close shut. He saw people. More people than he was comfortable with seeing. The villains murmured and talked amongst themselves. The flames and smoke covered up whatever they were saying to each other. He saw them all walking towards Ojiro's direction and felt his heart start racing.

"-Then, I saw you." Aoyama said, remembering hearing the sound of a portal opening up nearby him.

"Ahhhhhh!" Ami screamed, flailing her body around in a wild panic. Aoyama watched Ami fall with horror in his eyes, biting his fingers anxiously. He felt relieved once he saw her control her descent with her flames and land safe and sound in a pool of fire. He was scared of watching Ami burn to death until she had swallowed all the flames around her, leaving her on an empty road.

"I watched you recover and then get instantly surrounded by villains." Aoyama explained, remembering what he had seen. He was horrified to see the villains had reached Ami so quickly, surrounding her with weapons.

"I wanted to help you. I thought about using my quirk as a distraction so that you could run for it, but I hesitated." He explained. Aoyama looked down at the villains and groaned in distress. He looked at his belt and thought about using it. If he didn't right, he could hit the street and confuse them. That would work. He peered over the edge once more and felt his stomach churn, causing him to frown. He felt dizzy all of a sudden and winced in pain.

"Then I watched one of them shoot lava towards you and I feared the worst." He frowned.

Aoyama gasped and gripped the edge as he watched a pool of lava shoot out from the villains hands and come straight towards Ami. He panicked internally. That was it. She was done for. He quickly closed his eyes and waited for the impending screams. Bracing himself for the sounds of death. However, Ami didn't scream to death. He opened his eyes and gasped when he saw Ojiro jump away with Ami in his arms, landing in an alleyway. He sighed in relief and wiped sweat off his forehead, happy that Ami was safe.

"I watched the two of you get surrounded by villains and feared for your lives from my vantage point on the roof. I wanted to scream and shout, make my presence known so that I could lighten the load for you two. At least then you'd have less villains going after you. But…when it came to actually doing it. I hesitated. I couldn't even get a peep out." He explained, frowning with guilt.

"I was so scared about getting spotted that I ended up doing nothing to stop them from attacking you." Aoyama explained. He had crouched down and sat down in the fetal position, scared beyond imagination.

"Then I saw what you did."

Aoyama tapped his foot anxiously on the rooftop. He then heard fighting noises and rolled over to all fours, poking his head over the edge to see what was going on. He watched with terror in his eyes as Ami climbed atop one of the bigger villains and activated her quirk on them. He watched the flames fly out of the villains back and into her mouth with shock. He was amazed by her quirk. Soon enough, the fires on the floors below his building came shooting out. He watched as the flames on his building came flying out towards Ami with his jaw dropped. Seeing it from here was incredible. He couldn't believe Ami was capable of doing this. He watched Ami swallow all of the villains fire and then drop to the ground, causing him to look on in concern. He gasped when he saw the villain she had climbed on walking back towards her.

He watched the villain walk towards Ami and gasped, feeling like now was the time to save her. If he focused just enough, he could fire a beam at the villain's back. It could knock him down or at the very least, catch him by surprise. He gripped the edge of the building tightly and squeezed, readying his attack. But, when he thought about it more. He stopped.

He watched Ami get lifted into the air by the villain and felt his stomach churn. Oh, no! He was too late! He gritted his teeth and frowned, looking away once more. The villain's loud voice echoed through the dome, sending shivers down Aoyama's spine.

"I'm gonna enjoy this you son of a bi-" The villain roared. Aoyama looked away until he felt the side of his face warm up. He opened his eyes and looked at the scene, watching as Flames erupted out of Ami's mouth and make contact with the villain. Aoyama watched as the blast sent the villain flying. Flying straight towards him! He panicked and ducked for cover, putting both his hands on his head in response. The building shook as the villain made contact with the floor beneath him, shaking the roof with him on it. He screamed for a few seconds and stayed huddled on the ground. He was oblivious to what was going on with Ami until he had heard her screams. He raised his chest and got up off the ground and ran towards the edge. He made it just in time to see Ami fire a beam of orange light fly into the roof. The blast melted the steel frame of the dome, burning a hole through the metal. He flinched at the raw power, feeling the building shake from the breaking of the dome. He watched as the beam of light shot out of the dome and made contact with the USJ roof, sending his mouth agape.

"I watched you burn through the Fire Zone's roof and then the USJ's from my spot on the building. When things had calmed down I watched you leave." Aoyama explained. He watched Ami leave on Ojiro's back and smiled, slumping his shoulders. He dropped to the floor and leaned his back on the edge in relaxation. He looked down at his costume and his belt and frowned, feeling awful.

"I was happy that you two made it, but I realized that you survived without me. Because none of you knew I was there. I watched you two fight for your lives while I watched from a comfortable spot. I did nothing. I stayed on that roof for nearly ten minutes because I was too afraid to leave. Eventually, I did leave the building and I wandered out of the Fire Zone."

"Of course, when I left the front door. I saw All Might and some freaky buff guy fighting." Aoyama remembered.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" He screamed, watching as the Nomu was sent flying into the trees near the Fire Zone entrance. He watched as All Might jumped towards the Nomu with fists raised. The memory of watching All Might fight the Nomu and win brought a small smile to his face. As the memory faded, he looked back up at Ami's face. He stared at the look of shock on her face and frowned again, feeling his guilt rise up at max volume. He looked away from her and frowned.

"I wanted to tell you earlier but I never got the chance." Aoyama admitted.

"So when I found out we were going up against each other I thought, why not?" He said.

"You've been keeping this a secret the whole time?" Ami questioned incredulously. Aoyama glanced at Ami through tears and froze. Eventually, he slowly nodded his head. Ami frowned and put a hand on her forehead, shocked by the revelation.

"Oh, man….And I thought I was nervous for this fight…" Ami commented, going over everything Aoyama just told her in her mind. Aoyama was there at the Fire Zone with her and Ojiro. He saw everything this whole time and said nothing. She could only imagine just how much guilt had built up since those two weeks had passed. Frowning, she looked down at Aoyama and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Aoyama, you don't have to apologize to me. I forgive you." Ami said, causing Aoyama to look right at her in shock.

"What?" He questioned.

"But, after everything I said-" Aoyama stuttered.

"I know. I remember everything that day, too. What happened at the Fire Zone was terrifying. But it wasn't the worst memory I have of the USJ." Ami assured, interrupting him. Aoyama looked at her incredulously, flooded with uncertainty.

"It isn't?" He questioned, unable to process what she said. Ami saw the confusion on his face and nodded.

"No. That award goes to almost getting my face disintegrated by the scary guy with all the hands." She said, thinking back to that haunting memory. She frowned for a split second before she pushed the thought away.

"...I'm sorry. I should've done something. Anything to save either of you, but every time I tried, I hesitated. And by then it was already too late." Aoyama apologized, denying her forgiveness.

"It's okay, Aoyama. I know how you feel. And I know what it's like to be in your position." Ami said

"You do?" Aoyama questioned, confusing him even more.

"Mhm. Sort of." Ami nodded, smiling awkwardly.

"It's not exactly the same but...Bakugo used to bully Izzy nearly everyday. It got so bad one time that everything he did was aimed at insulting Izuku. I watched him insult Izzy and do things to him countless times but I always did nothing. I was afraid of taking action. But, eventually, I had enough. I insulted him back. I fought back and I used my quirk to eat his explosions. Every time he tried to do something to Izzy, I was there to get in his way. Eventually, he backed down and things stabilized a bit." Ami reminisced, thinking of the many times she had gotten her revenge on Bakugo.

"But you see why I fought back right?" She asked, receiving silence from Aoyama.

"Not really." He answered, truthfully. Shaking his head in confusion. Ami nodded back and frowned.

"I had a best friend before. We used to watch Bakugo play with his quirk all the time as kids. My friend and I would watch him and then secretly practice our quirks on the playground. She'd light her finger on fire and I'd eat the flames off her finger. It was always that or we'd use my lighter." Ami said, remembering fonder memories. She shrugged them away and focused back on Aoyama.

"What I'm trying to say is. I had friends by my side to push me to act. Bakugo, Izzy, my best friend, and her boyfriend, eventually. All you need is a friend to help push you. I can be that friend. I know you're sorry for not being able to help me then, but you've helped me today more than you realize." Ami explained, getting a shocked look from Aoyama.

"Help? What do you mean? Help with what?" Aoyama questioned, looking at her like she was crazy. Ami smiled back at him and nodded.

"When I thought about my quirk and how I could push it to the next level. I always frowned because the memories of the USJ were always heavily looming behind that success. It was hard not thinking about the USJ whenever I thought about creating plasma." Ami explained, frowning just a bit.

"But you changed that today, Aoyama." Ami said, cracking a grin of appreciation towards the blonde.

"You helped me create plasma with my quirk. It may have ended up being at your expense but I'm happy that I was able to create a positive memory from that experience. I made that achievement because of you. That's how you've helped me today, Aoyama. And I'm really grateful that you did." Ami explained. Aoyama was baffled by her compliment. He helped her gain a positive memory of her plasma. A memory she could think back to that didn't have the haunting memory of the USJ behind its shoulder. A memory that could make her smile. He flared his nostrils and felt his emotions get the best of him. Unable to hold back, he bursted into tears.

"A-a-a-Ami! C'était beau, Mademoiselle! Merci! Merci!" Aoyama exclaimed, pulling Ami into a hug. Ami was caught by surprise by the tight hug and felt the air exit her lungs.

"Too tight." She struggled, feeling Aoyama loosen his grip by an inch. She blushed in embarrassment at getting hugged in front of everyone, but kept her smile up in appreciation.

"There. There?" Ami said, patting Aoyama on the back, unsure what to do.

"Merci beaucoup, Ami. You have my promise that next time I won't hesitate. I'll help anyone that I see in a fight. No matter what! I promise." Aoyama said, grabbing Ami's hands. Ami looked at him and smiled, laughing uncomfortably.

"Alrighty then." Ami laughed. Aoyama laughed with her for a minute before they had finally calmed down. Bakugo had seen the whole thing along with everyone else in his class. He relaxed in his seat and cracked a grin at Habanero, making sure that no one saw his face. Ami looked up at the sky and stood back up, brushing away dust and dirt. She looked down at Aoyama and then looked at the broken belt on the floor next to him.

"Sorry about the belt." Ami apologized. Aoyama shook his head and smiled, waving his hand.

"It can be replaced." Aoyama replied, pushing her worries away. He gripped his stomach and felt the faintest bit of pain still in him. He winced at the feeling and struggled to stand. Ami noticed his struggling and frowned, raising her hand up towards his face.

"Need help getting up?" Ami asked, generously. Aoyama looked at her again and shook his head in denial.

"Oh, no worries, Mademoiselle. You don't have to do that." Aoyama assured her, waving his hand at her. Ami quickly caught the hand Aoyama waved at her and smiled, surprising Aoyama with her quick reflexes.

"I know I don't have to, but, I am." Ami insisted, gripping onto Aoyama's hand.

"Why?" Aoyama asked, caught off guard by her generosity.

"I'm a rescue hero, Aoyama. Or well, I'm going to be a rescue hero. And a rescue hero saves everyone out of a bad spot. Regardless of who they are. That goes to you, too. Friend." She winked, smiling at him. Aoyama stared at her for a few seconds. The thought of being her friend made him smile. His efforts to apologize to her had ended with them both smiling at each other. Her reaction turned out better than he could have possibly imagined. Seeing her offer to give him a hand made him smile.

"Oui." He nodded, accepting her help. Ami pulled Aoyama's hand and successfully stood Aoyama up. The friendly gesture didn't go unnoticed by the audience. They erupted into cheers at the friendly conclusion to the match. Midnight watched her help Aoyama up and smiled.

"What a sweet girl." Midnight said, smiling at Ami's kindness. As soon as Aoyama got up, however, something else happened. Turns out Aoyama's belt wasn't just for his quirk. The audience gasped as Aoyama's pants fell to the floor, flashing the crowd with his boxers. Ami saw the pants fall off in her peripheral vision and turned red, quickly looking away before she could see anything.

"Ah. I'm so sorry." Aoyama apologized, quickly holding his pants up with both hands.

"Don't worry. I didn't see anything." Ami smiled, assuring him she saw nothing. She really didn't. Unfortunately for someone else in the stands, he saw all of it and he was not happy.

"I saw underwear. But they weren't from a girl! Damnit!" Mineta screamed in his seat, bawling.

"Why are you the way that you are?" Shoji complained, shaking his head at him.

"You've gotta get your priorities straight, Mineta. Ribbit." Tsu stated, shaking her head in disapproval.

"With Ami's victory against Aoyama. She now moves on to her next match. Stay tuned, folks! It's gonna be a wild ride!" Present Mic announced, sending the crowd into an uproar once more. More did await Ami. She was up against Mina next. She headed towards the exit and kept a calm face, hiding the nervousness towards her next match. This match was tough. Tougher than she had expected it to be. But, in the end, she could confidently say that the match ended with a newfound friendship. And that was something worth smiling about.

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Author's Notes:

Hello, everyone! Welcome back and thanks for reading the chapter! If everything went right, I am posting this on the morning of Thanksgiving. I love this holiday because we get to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade every year. Not to mention the turkey is delicious. Before we begin I have something else to mention. This was a long time coming but I partially re-edited Season 1 Chapter 4. I removed and added new things to Ami's dialogue regarding her hero costume. Hopefully, I addressed the problems listed by one of my reviewers and made the whole thing less repetitive and redundant. With all that said, let's get into some explanation over what occurs in today's chapter.

I saw a lot of people say that Endeavor would look at Ami and be interested in her quirk. Well, that is partly true, but I feel at this point in the story, the main thing on Endeavor's mind is making sure no one outshines his son. And right now, Ami and Izuku are the biggest threats to Todoroki's success. Hence why despite the interest he has in Ami and her quirk, his son takes precedence and he does not want him to lose to her.

As for why Todoroki is mad at Ami. From how I see it, he believes that using his flames would only make his father happy and not himself. So, add Ami and her fire quirk into the mix and you get Todoroki getting reminded of his father everytime he sees her flames. And every time she uses her flames, Todoroki imagines Endeavor must be impressed. But he doesn't know that Endeavor considers Ami a threat to him as much as he does. That's the situation going on with Todoroki and Endeavor.

Next thing I know will get a lot of people talking is what went down with Aoyama. As of November 25th, 2021, it is still unknown where Aoyama landed in the USJ. That may or may not change in the future. If it gets answered, I will do my best to work around it if that ever comes.

The location reveal with Aoyama in the Fire Zone was months in the making. My hints were vague and almost not noticeable. That was my bad there. But, yes, Aoyama was at the Fire Zone and he got there first. Last chapter I said in my Author's Notes that eating Aoyama's lasers wouldn't be so easy. Yes, she created plasma in her mouth, however, she didn't actually achieve the same level of power like in the Fire Zone. This version of her plasma beam is weaker even though it's turned her flames blue. I will be working on this power for the rest of the arc. You'll have to wait and see how Ami learns to use it. Before anyone asks, because I know I'll get one, this plot was invented before I made my decision on Ami's romance. I know last chapter I said I'd reveal it here but this reveal has nothing to do with the romance side plot. Aoyama is not who Ami will end up with. From this point onwards, they will be friends and nothing more.

Speaking of romance, last chapter I asked you if I should say who Ami would end up with in the Author's Notes of this chapter. After a stunning complete radio silence and an uncomfortable wait for a single review, I think I get the message. I can see that none of you want me to say who it is right now. The complete and total silence I received was quite alarming. I thought I had done something wrong but nothing happened. Please leave a review for this chapter and the last chapter. Sometimes it freaks me out but that might be my ADHD overthinking things.

Next chapter, Ami goes up against Mina. Another fight that will be hard to write about. Once again, this fight will probably be short, if not, shorter than Ami vs Aoyama. Please leave a review or message me privately about any question you have. Be sure to provide feedback and point out any mistakes you see in my writing. Thanks for reading and have a great Thanksgiving!