As I enter the surveillance room, I scan around for the chair. Instead, I find Todoroki-kun walking toward me very quickly, determined.

He grabs my arms tightly and I flinch instinctively. Seeing my expression, he releases his tight grip but doesn't let go. There's a flurry of emotions in his eyes. He opens and closes his mouth many times. In the end, he manages to utter just one word. "How?"

I whisper to him, "I promise to answer your questions later. But my arthritis is going to flare up any moment now. I would really like to get the assessment part of the trial out of the way."

He lets go of me. "Oh. Right. Sorry. Later then." But he doesn't leave my side.

All Might-sensei begins his critique of my performance. "That was some ridiculously amazing plan you conjured. You caught me off guard with the darkness first, and then again with those layers of traps. Even though you may have lost, I have yet to see someone surpass that level of thought. GOOD JOB, YOUNG HANADA! I AM IMPRESSED!"

I suppress the urge to cover my ears, and I simply smile in return. "Thank you, Sensei."

All Might-sensei leaves, and I am attacked by the swarm of students.

"You're so smart! I would have never thought of that."

"You surprised the All Might! Cocky, much?"

"Earlier I was doubtful about your challenge. But it makes sense now."

"You're so cool! Let's be friends!"

"I thought you were arrogant and egotistical. But I think I'm going to have to change my opinion of you now."

"Hey, do you mind if I ask about the details of your quirk?"

I whisper to Todoroki-kun. "I'm feeling the start of it. I have to go to the infirmary."

He understands and ushers me out of the room. He holds my hand with his and wraps his free arm around my shoulders. I only make it past two hallways, when I collapse. He bends down with me. "Hanada-chan. Can you get up? We're almost there."

I try to get up, but I fall back down on my knees. I grimace in pain and consider trying to get up again. But before I can, Todoroki-kun loops my arms around his neck and lifts me from the ground. I look at the ground and then at his face. I stammer, "Y-you should put-put m-me down. I'll manage."

He raises a brow. "Yeah. I'm seeing how well you're managing." He says nothing more and carries me all the way to the infirmary. It takes much effort to hide my reddening cheeks all the while.

The infirmary is empty when we reach it. Recovery-Girl notices me and ushers him to set me down on an empty bed. He gently sets me down and removes my boots and mask. When Recovery-Girl prepares some medication, he steps back and watches. Recovery-Girl glances at Todoroki-kun and then at me. The question is clear in her eyes.

"He knows. It's alright," I say.

"Your arthritis is flaring up again, am I right? I brought some painkillers and ice packs. Take them when you need them. Otherwise, you should rest until it passes. That's the best way to let those flares pass. I'll send a note to class excusing your absence."

She heads toward her office, leaving me and Todoroki-kun alone.

After a moment of awkward silence, I say, "You should head back to class," at the same time he says, "Do you want a painkiller now?"

Another moment of awkward silence. I break it. "Sure."

I try to reach over toward the bed stand where the painkiller bottle is set, but Todoroki-kun pushes my arm back. "Remember what Recovery Girl said? You need rest. Moving your body is the opposite of rest."

I wince in pain but comply. He brings a cup of water with a straw to my mouth. I take a few sips. He tells me to open my mouth, and when I do, he puts the painkiller pill in and immediately moves the straw back to my mouth. Once I've finished the cup of water, he sets it back on the bed stand and sits in a chair beside the bed.

"You should go back to class," I say.

"There's nothing important going on in class. Just everyone recounting today's battles," he comments back.

"Then what about your costume? Don't you want to change out of it?" I return.

"Are you that desperate for me to leave?" he retorts.

I'm taken aback. "That's not what I meant. I just thought you were feeling obligated to stay with me in the infirmary. I figured you had more important things to do, and I didn't want to hold you back from them."

He smiles softly. "I don't have anything important to do. And I'm here with you because I want to. Not because I feel obligated. Besides, you promised to answer my questions."

I avert my eyes. "Go ahead, then. Ask."

"Did you really challenge All Might just to 'gauge your strengths and weaknesses' or did you have some other motive?"

He's sharp. I say nothing for a while.

"Well?"

I lie. "I did have other motives. I wanted to see the Number One hero's talents myself. I wanted to see exactly why he is treated like a god amongst the Japanese public."

His face is expressionless with his next question. "And did you get what you wanted?"

With an equally expressionless face, I respond, "I did."

Todoroki-kun exhales. "From the cameras, I saw you were tracing some patterns while you were walking through the hallways of the buildings. I figured that was you activating your quirk. But how did you activate it by just tracing? I mean, activating element quirks like yours and mine require very noticeable hand movements."

I understand what he's referring to. "I've practiced for many years enabling and disabling my quirk by very small hand motions. It was taxing, but it was worth it."

He nods his head, deep in thought. "This next question is a little stupid, but where did you come up with the idea of all those layered traps?"

I laugh. "Just because I wanted to judge All Might himself does not mean that I completely disregarded his title. Even though I wanted to see for myself why he is the Number One hero, I did not underestimate him. I could not be careless with him, even though my behavior and posture relayed carelessness. I didn't know if he would take his time via the lower levels or attack head-on. I had to be prepared for either case, so I came up with those series of traps. I wanted to wear him down."

"Huh. That makes a lot of sense. I was confused when I saw you lie back on that rock and drink from your bottle. I thought you were being reckless and naive. But I was impressed by your entire strategy. Like All Might said, it was ingenious. You're really intelligent, Hanada-chan. I knew that you were smart, but I didn't know that you were that smart."

I blush a little. "You weren't any less clever, though. I watched how you used Mezou-san's quirk to find your opponents' locations, and you promptly froze the building, along with their feet. Your strategy was quick and efficient. I think your trial lasted the shortest, too."

He rubs the back of his neck and looks away. "If you say so… One last question. Why were you acting like you were careless? And what were you drinking?"

"That's two questions, but I'll answer them anyway. In response to your second question, I was drinking milk. I like milk, and it deserves more appreciation. As for your first, …" I lift the corner of my mouth. "I wanted to shock you and the rest of the class. I thought it would be a nice surprise when I would display my plan immediately after pretending to have no care in the world."

He stares at me with a look of utter bewilderment. "Let me get this straight. You pretended to be reckless, just so you could surprise me and everyone else. You did that just because you thought it would be fun."

I chuckle. "Yes."

He shakes his head. "You're mad, Hanada-chan. Really mad."

I burst into laughter at that. And I immediately stop when my ribs ache. Groaning, I say, "I know. It's a talent. I'm proud of it, too."

He gets up and shakes his head again. But even he lets out a small laugh. "You're so weird, Hanada-chan. I don't get you at all. I'll see you at class tomorrow. Bye."

He leaves the infirmary and me alone with my thoughts. Finally, I can reflect on what I just learned about All Might-sensei.

Because, when Sensei used his quirk, I didn't absorb it. I didn't develop a laceration. That means I must have absorbed his quirk from before. But I didn't watch him in live-action or any of the footage where he used his quirk. I wonder if he has a child and passed his quirk onto the said child, but it's a stretch. Legitimate or illegitimate child, news like this would certainly appear in the media. All the reports say that he has a one-of-a-kind quirk. But there's no other explanation: someone else shares the same quirk as All Might, and I have absorbed the quirk from that person.

So just who shares your quirk All Might?