"Here they are! As requested!"

Aunt Rumi proudly held up a dusty dufflebag, the muscles in her arms rippling visibly.

When she dropped it, Hitomi was fairly certain that it cracked the foundation.

"Oh no, absolutely not." Nori shot down immediately, shaking his head and wondering if he was the only sane one around. "Ayami, you can't seriously be thinking about letting Hitomi do this?"

The white haired woman hummed contemplatively, holding her daughter. "Well… Rumi did it when she was Hitomi's age, she can probably—"

"Definitely." Aunt Rumi interjected, snatching Hana away to give her sister's arms a break.

"—definitely handle it."

Hitomi beamed, diving for the bag and unzipping it.

Nori muttered something about 'maniacs' and 'health insurance getting dropped' and sighed. "She just had her head cracked open like a walnut! And I'm starting to think it's because the Villain mistook it for one! It's an easy slip-up!"

Aunt Rumi crouched lowly next to Hitomi, casually holding Hana as if she was light as a feather. "Why didn't you ask Yaomo to make you some?"

Hitomi pulled out the first one, wincing at the sheer weight. "Making tungsten takes a lot out of her. One of these would probably take a day alone, not to mention four. How heavy are they again?"

"Sixty pounds each."

Nori choked.

Two ankle weights, and two wrist weights. Hitomi was meant to wear them all the time, only removed when sleeping and bathing. It was an idea Aunt Rumi got from an old anime about ninjas that she saw as a kid.

"Wear these up until the night before, and you'll kick some major ass."

Hitomi nodded determinedly, securing the straps.

She had to push herself. Had to bring her body to its limit. The USJ was a wake up call that was dearly needed, and in a way she was thankful for it. The weak Villains she took down with Aoyama had gone to her head, making her overconfident and reckless when facing off with the real-deal. She very easily could have died that day, and almost did, if that exposed-brain Villain had thrown her down any harder. She had to become stronger, while keeping herself in check to not foolishly challenge anyone who was her better.

Over the next two weeks UA left its facilities open for the students to use in training, including the gym, and mock city they did the battle simulations with All Might in. Lunch times were heavily forgone in favor of taking the time slot to get some extra work in, and the cafeteria almost looked barren because of the lack of students eating there. The area outside that they had done the Quirk tests in their first day was claimed by many of the emitter types, such as Bakugou and Kaminari, who could use the wide open space to unleash their Quirks without fear of causing any damage to buildings or people.

While Hitomi focused on the physical side, Momo spent much of those two weeks held up in her room, memorizing every book she could get her hands on that would tell her how to make certain items. Hitomi also managed to convince Nori to make plenty of fatty meals for the girl so she could store up plenty in preparation. It was imperative that she have enough lipids to make whatever she may need.

Then their time was up. And they awoke the morning of the festival.

…

Hitomi bounced on the balls of her feet, dressed in jean shorts, sneakers, and her father's old grey UA hoodie. Slung over her shoulder was a mint green dufflebag carrying her gym uniform, ready to be changed into once inside.

Her arms and legs felt light, almost like they could float away, after fourteen continuous days of being weighed down. It was hard to tell at first if it did much, but then that morning she nearly accidentally threw Hana into the air instead of just playfully lifting her up.

"Alright, you got everything you need? Gym clothes, snacks for Momo, a sports drink, your phone, what else…?"

Hitomi's tail wagged at her brother's fretful support. "It's all there! I gotta go! See you later!" Then she took off.

Nori reached after her, standing by the entrance of the festival with Ayami and Hana. "Ah— hang on a sec… and she's gone." He sighed, then after a moment of silence, peered thoughtfully at Ayami. "You think they have anyone selling dragon's beard?"

Hitomi raced past the seemingly hundreds of stalls, mouth watering at all the delicious smells coming from every direction. But she was running late, and didn't have the time to grab a quick bite.

But then she flew by a crepe stand, and came to a halt.

She could smell strawberries.

...Maybe if she was fast about it.

One hastily placed order and impatient wait later, Hitomi jogged to the stadium while trying not to make a mess of herself from all the toppings threatening to spill over. Just as she was shoving the last bite into her mouth, crushing the paper plate up to tuck in her pocket until locating a trash can, she heard a woman's voice call out.

"Hey kid, which stall did you get that from?"

Hitomi swallowed, turning toward the direction it came from. "I—"

It was lucky she had finished getting it all down, because otherwise she would've choked.

Mount Lady, Kamui Woods, and Death Arms approached her, the two men following the blonde woman with resigned expressions.

Kamui Woods sighed, putting a hand over his masked face. "Do you plan to eat everything here?"

Mount Lady narrowed her eyes at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"U-uh, it was about halfway down that way," Hitomi pointed back from where she came, "between a ramen stall and a dragon's beard one."

Mount Lady smiled, giving Hitomi a casual pat on the head. "Thanks kid."

"Yeah, no problem." Hitomi dazedly watched the three newer Heroes start to walk away, when she remembered something about a certain classmate.

"Ah, wait!" She unzipped her dufflebag, rifling around in it for something specific. "Could you three do me a quick favor for a friend of mine?" She found what she was searching for, pulling it out and holding it up for them.

The three Heroes easily agreed, taking the offered item one at a time. After they were done she thanked them profusely before dashing off to the stadium again, now sufficiently late.

…

The waiting room door flew open, slamming loudly against the wall, giving several of her classmates a start.

Hitomi panted, now dressed in her specialized gym uniform, her previous outfit taking its place in the dufflebag instead.

"Where have you been?!" Momo hissed, wringing her hands in stress.

Hitomi chuckled guiltily, scratching the back of her head. "Ah, well, you see…"

Momo's face fell flat. "You stopped for food, didn't you?"

"Crepes." She nodded. "Yes."

Momo sighed tiredly.

She went on to lecture Hitomi about how important it was to have a proper breakfast, especially with how dire it was for her to eat well to use her Quirk for very long. All the while, Hitomi absently nodded, slowly peering past her at a certain freckled classmate. Once she figured Momo was done, she mumbled "yeah sure," and slipped away, heading over to him. Leaving Momo to question her taste in best friends.

Midoriya was muttering something frantically to himself, hand held up to his chin. The few words she could make out clearly were "power", "prove myself", and "am here", making it fairly obvious what he was stressing over. (At least that's what she thought.)

When she stopped to stand in front of him and he gave no reaction, Hitomi cocked her head and slowly extended a hand out, her index finger pointed. She soundly poked his bicep, brows shooting up when it felt like it connected with solid stone.

How could someone with such a soft face and unconfident scent be so thoroughly jacked?

Midoriya yelped, snapping his head up to face her, hands raised in premature apology.

"A-ah, sorry! I was just—"

Hitomi giggled, shaking her head. "You know Midoriya, for a Golden Retriever, you're really high-strung."

Midoriya blinked, completely thrown. "Golden Retriever?" He considered it for a beat, then straightened when he remembered something. "Oh, like how you called Kachan a Pomeranian on the bus?" He kept his voice low, anxiously eyeing his childhood friend across the room.

"Mm!" She liked that he recalled something as small as that. "It's easy for me to recognize people's personalities as dog breeds. Scents have a large hand in it."

"Scents?" His hands twitched as if he was holding a pen and wanted to write something down.

Right, that reminded her, she had a reason for coming over to him

"Oh yeah, I have something for you."

Midoriya floundered. "W-what? Me?"

"Mm." Hitomi nodded, opening her bag and retrieving a notebook, very carefully ripping out one page along the perforation. "Yeah, I overheard you talking to Iida the other day about Kamui Woods and his recent team-ups with Mount Lady and Death Arms, and wouldn't you know it, guess who I ran into on the way here."

Midoriya carefully took the offered paper, holding it so lightly between his fingers as if he thought he would rip it by accident. "Saito…"

Scrawled across the paper were three signatures, belonging to the three aforementioned Heroes.

Hitomi preened at the awe in his voice. "I thought you might like it."

"I— I don't know what to say! Thank—"

"Everyone!" Iida swung the door open just a bit more subdued than Hitomi had. "Get your game faces on! We're entering the arena soon!"

As if he was waiting for that as his queue, Todoroki approached the green haired teen with a look of borderline disinterest.

But his scent was laced with withheld anger. Hitomi could only hope it wasn't actually aimed at the person he was currently staring down.

"Midoriya."

"Hey, Todoroki. What's up?"

The fur on her ears and tail stood on end as the room fell silent, almost everyone turning to listen to what Todoroki had to say.

"From an objective standpoint, I think it's fairly clear that I'm stronger than you."

Midoriya winced, head lowering in timid agreement. "Uh— um, yeah."

"However," Todoroki narrowed his icy gaze, "you've got All Might in your corner, helping you out."

Midoriya gasped quietly, and just like that, there was that smell of panic that came with keeping secrets again.

Todoroki plowed on. "I'm not here to pry about what's going on between you two. But know that I will beat you."

Going by his voice, and scent, Todoroki was telling the absolute truth. Or at least his version of it. He really didn't have a doubt in his mind about winning, and for whatever reason, it felt entirely different from how Bakugou spoke of beating everyone in the packed hallway two weeks ago.

"What's with all these declarations of war lately?" Kaminari tried easing the tension, chuckling uncomfortably.

Kirishima put a hand on Todoroki's right shoulder, frowning defensively on behalf of Midoriya. "Yeah, what's the big deal? Why are you pickin' a fight all of a sudden? And right before we get started—"

Todoroki roughly batted away Kirishima's hand. "We're not here to be each other's friends." He turned and started toward the door. "Don't forget. This isn't a team effort."

Hitomi wanted to call out to him, and argue that it was. If they all graduated and became Heroes, it was important for them all to know how to work well with one another, but Midoriya's soft voice called out to him first.

"Wait a second, Todoroki. I don't know what's going through your head, or why you think you'd need to tell me that you'll beat me. And yeah, of course you're better than me. In fact, you probably have way more potential than anyone in the Hero course. That's why you got in so easily."

Kirishima tried waving him off. "Midoriya, maybe you're being a little hard on yourself, and us."

"No." Midoriya's mouth fell into a firm line. "He's right, you guys. All the other courses, they're coming for us with everything they've got. We're all gonna have to fight to stand out." Midoriya lifted his head, and there was something fierce shining in his eyes when he leveled them on Todoroki. "And I'll be aiming for the top, too."

Todoroki's expression didn't change, but his tone was lower when he responded.

"Fine."

…

"Hey! Make some noise, all you rabid sports fans! Get those cameras prepped, media hordes! This year we're bringing you some of the hottest performances in sports festival history, guaranteed! I've only got one question before we start this show: Are you ready!?"

Present Mic's voice boomed over the stadium, echoing down the corridor the class marched through, heading toward the light on the other side.

"Let me hear ya scream, as our students make their way to the big stage!"

Stepping through the arching doorway, Hitomi's ears went back at the deafening cheer the crowd gave at the class's entrance, accompanied by fireworks shooting off above. Just in case a camera was on them, she struggled to keep the smile on her face from twisting into a grimace at the nearly painful influx of noise.

A slender hand slipped into her own, and she squeezed it gratefully.

Hitomi glanced around the stands, knowing there was no way she could spot her small family from down below, but it was worth a shot. It helped in knowing that even if she couldn't see them, they could see her.

The smile turned into something more genuine.

"Welcome back to the annual UA Sports Festival! Where up-and-coming Heroes leave everything on the field as they fight for the chance to achieve worldwide fame and celebrity! This first group are no strangers to the spotlight! You know them for withstanding a Villain attack, the dazzling students lighting up your TVs with solid-gold skills! The Hero course students of Class 1-A!"

No pressure, right? Hitomi could practically hear Nori chiming snidely to her.

"They haven't been getting nearly as much screen time, but this next group is still chock full of talent! Welcome Hero course Class 1-B!"

Hitomi looked to her right, watching the class she had yet to meet any of.

"Next up, general studies classes C, D, and E!"

A flash of dark lilac had Hitomi scoping out the general students, barely spotting the head of messy purple hair weaving in the masses.

"Support classes F, G, and H! And finally, business classes I, J, and K! Give it up for all of UA's first-year contestants!"

Once the horde of students were standing in front of the high podium in the center of the field, the year's umpire, Midnight, cracked her whip to grab their attention, as if she didn't already have it.

"Now, the introductory speech!"

Kirishima dipped his head, his cheeks flushed. "Uh, someone should talk to Ms. Midnight about what she's wearing."

Kaminari nodded, his face a matching shade. "Yeah, that costume should come with a warning."

Hitomi frowned, cocking her head. "What? Why? What's wrong with it?"

Mineta's eyes widened, almost seeming to pop out, and he took a sharp inhale as if he was preparing to go on an eager spiel. "It's—"

One of Jirou's earphone jacks shot out, piercing into his forehead before he could get another word out.

"Silence everyone!" Midnight ordered over the sound of the crowd's pleased reaction to her, and Mineta's pained shriek. She snapped her whip again once it quieted down. "And for the student pledge, we have Katsuki Bakugou!"

"Ah— he's the first-year rep?" Midoriya gawked, as did most of the class.

Bakugou ignored them, face settled into a seemingly calm expression as he made his way up the podium.

Sero scratched the back of his neck. "Guess that hothead did finish first in the entrance test."

A brunette girl from the general department sighed in irritation. "Only for the Hero course exams."

Midoriya looked down guiltily. "Oh, right."

"That girl obviously hates us." Sero whispered uncomfortably.

Kaminari pouted, glowering up at their explosive blonde. "Yeah, and we've got Bakugou to thank for them not liking our class."

Said teen reached the top with Midnight, standing in front of a microphone. While ascending the steps his hands never left his pockets, which Hitomi thought was needlessly dangerous.

Glancing a bit down, she noticed something she hadn't before, thanks to them now being in her direct line of sight.

"I just wanna say… I'm gonna win."

Hitomi put a finger to her mouth, speaking as though everyone around her hadn't just erupted into outrage or disbelief. "I like his shoes. It's a pretty shade of orange on the black."

Momo covered her face. "Hitomi…"

"Hm?" She blinked cluelessly at her friend. "Is something wrong?"

All Momo could do was sigh.

F.Y.I. Don't ever dive headfirst into wearing super heavy weights. It's dangerous and will only hurt you. If you ever do this sort of thing, start small and slowly work your way up.

That being said, this is anime, and these are superpowered children, so take it with a grain of salt.

(And yes, it's 110% inspired by Rock Lee. I feel like he and Hitomi have a lot in common personality wise, which may be because he's my all-time favorite Naruto character.)