"Aunt Rumi, I'm scared."
Rumi grinned unabashedly, repeatedly tossing a softball in her hand and catching it. "Ah, don't be like that, baby-doll. This'll help you out loads in the future, I guarantee it."
Hitomi pursed her lips, reluctantly pulling the blindfold down over her eyes.
"O-okay, when do we star—"
The pinkette was cut off with a grunt, falling on her back and cradling her stomach, where the softball painfully hit its mark.
"Damnit Rumi, aren't you supposed to be training her? Not kicking her ass?!" Nori angrily chastised the woman, coming over and helping his eleven-year-old sister onto her feet.
"This is training, beanpole." Rumi reached into the sack she held at her side, retrieving another ball. "Now step aside."
Nori grumbled, never a fan of Rumi's penchant for tough-love when it came to her grueling way of teaching.
"It's okay Nori," Hitomi lifted up one side of her blindfold, smiling up at him reassuringly, "I'll be alright."
Nori gritted his teeth, stomping just out of the way enough not to be in the line of fire.
"Can you at least explain what this achieves?" Nori hedged, wincing when another ball was lobbed straight at Hitomi's neck.
Rumi spoke over the pinkette's raspy sputtering, rearing her arm back to throw another, unbothered. "Baby-cake's got some super senses. All we're doing is teaching her how to rely on some without the others."
"We?"
The sack was tossed his way, hastily caught by reflex.
"Yep, we."
The ball made a hollow thud against Hitomi's skull.
…
"Begin!"
"Agh!" Hitomi roared, shifting as fast as she could, sprinting at Shiozaki.
The girl from 1-B extended her vines, coiling them in the air, and sending them out and into the ground like in Kaminari's match. With them rooted, they sprouted back up and came at Hitomi like green whips.
Hitomi moved impulsively, catching the vines in her mouth, biting down hard and whipping her head to the side. But the bards lining the vines cut into her mouth, the metallic tang of blood quickly coating her stinging tongue.
Growling in a low rumble, Hitomi dug her claws in and continued to pull. The vines tore from the ground, ripped away and tossed aside. Giving Shiozaki no time to bury more, Hitomi barreled at her, doing her best to coherently repeat the things Midoriya had been mumbling earlier. They were her ticket to winning this match.
But it turned out she failed in uprooting all of the vines in the ground, as a handful more shot out. They quickly snared themselves around both Hitomi's wrists and ankles, immobilizing her temporarily. Hitomi growled and snarled, tugging and wrenching at them, finding no give from the resilient vines.
No, no no nonono—
Her heart raced, and it felt like walls were closing in around her. She felt trapped. She was trapped, she couldn't get out she had to get out—
Something different from a bark or a howl escaped her throat, sounding more primal and desperate. When it cut off it echoed in the stadium, and rang in the audience's ears as she tried ripping out of her bounds again.
The muscles visibly rolling on her back, Hitomi first tore out of the vines on her hind legs, then her front. Panicked adrenaline giving her just enough of an added boost to do so.
Baring her canines, Hitomi continued on with her sprint towards Shiozaki, irritably finding that the girl hadn't needed to move yet. Until now.
Mouth opened and preparing to bite down on any more vines, Hitomi finally reached her opponent.
Only for Shiozaki to slam her hair onto the ground, launching herself into the air.
Hitomi jolted, an unexpected weight falling heavily on her back.
"I'm truly sorry about this."
The words hung in her muddled mind for just a second too long, registered right when something snaked around her neck, tightening and cutting off all airflow.
"Whoa there! Pretty ruthless move for someone who's supposedly not an assassin!" Present Mic jabbed, obviously still bitter about Shiozaki calling him out for her introductions before her and Kaminari's match.
Hitomi gasped for breath, stumbling around unsteadily on her paws. She lowered her front half, scraping the vines across the ground with no effect. She sat upright, trying to buck off Shiozaki, but only tugged painfully on the noose around her neck. Again, more of that desperate panic fueled her body, forcing her to keep moving and keep trying to remove the girl.
The clear answer was unusable. If she changed back, Shiozaki would have her thoroughly ensnared, and would be incapable of getting free. Even in the state she was in, Hitomi would rather lose the match fighting until her last breath, then give in prematurely.
But God, she just wanted to lay down and breathe—
Oh.
Hitomi stopped, body stilling for the first time since Shiozaki began choking her.
Then, with dark spots dancing in her vision, Hitomi dropped. She landed heavily on her left side, and promptly rolled over onto her back.
The crowd's silence was deafening.
There was a black tunnel now, closing in on her view of the sky above. Her chest burned, her lungs aching in a way she had never felt before. With the last cloud in the sky flickering out, the vines coiled around her neck finally retracted.
Hitomi heaved a massive breath, becoming lightheaded but cherishing it nonetheless. Waiting for everything to come back into focus, she only hoisted herself up once she could see clearly again.
Shiozaki coughed, squinting up at the Akita-girl, the sunshine momentarily stinging her eyes after unexpectedly being smothered in the dark. With a grimace, she stuck out her tongue and picked a long orange hair off of it.
Hitomi leaned her head down, lightly nipping Shiozaki's shirt, holding it between her teeth carefully. In a single bound, she stood at the boundary line, and gently deposited Shiozaki down on the other side.
"Shiozaki is out! Saito advances on!"
When she shrank back down, Hitomi winced and rubbed her neck, the beginnings of a bruise starting.
"I apologize for my merciless behavior. It was all I could think to do." Shiozaki bowed, looking thoroughly shameful.
"Don't sweat it. I'm sorry too, about squishing you." Hitomi rasped, hugging her middle, and trying to ignore the fact that she was being broadcasted topless—
Oh God, everyone in Kanagawa and Italy is going to eventually see this.
The bracket changed on the monitor, making it official.
Her next match was with Todoroki.
Hitomi could practically hear Nori yelling at her to forfeit, after what he and Midoriya did to each other. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. Mama and Papa never forfeited a match during their three years at UA, no matter how much stronger their enemy was. Her parents were proof that you didn't have to win every fight to come out on top. It all just depended on what exactly you were at the top of.
"My honor is restored!" Kaminari threw his hand into the air upon Hitomi's return to the box.
"Is it though? By Saito winning, all she proved was that she'd kick your butt too." Tsuyu once again pulled no punches.
"Call me Hitomi." The pinkette quietly requested, taking the hoodie back from Momo, and quickly slipping it on.
"Ribbit, Hitomi can kick your butt, then."
"Are you doing okay?" Unexpectedly, it was Ojirou to pose the question, pointing at the slowly darkening ring around her neck.
"Yeah, I'm fine. For a second there, I thought I was going to pass out, though."
"Why didn't you just turn back?" Jirou asked.
Hitomi sheepishly scratched the backs of her ears. "Ah, well… I didn't want to give up. If I was going to lose, it would still be while fighting."
The third match of the second round, was between Tokoyami and Iida. Tokoyami was objectively stronger, but Iida was no doubt faster. But anyone could see the imbalance, and serious disadvantage their class rep was at when facing off against the avian boy's emitter type Quirk. Despite this, the way it unfolded felt almost as equal as Kirishima's matches, likely thanks to how smart and adaptive Iida was. He was able to think quick on his feet— no pun intended.
But with Tokoyami's Dark Shadow standing guard, with no blind spots for Iida to exploit, the fight slowly started to resemble someone trying to swat a particularly persistent fly from the air. And in the end, the fly lost. With one vicious swipe from Dark Shadow, Iida was sent skidding back, and his heel just barely touched outside the boundary line without his notice. With Midnight's call, Tokoyami was declared the victor, leaving Iida standing there, looking at the ground akin to the way Momo had after her defeat by the same boy.
Hitomi was positive that her position still in the tournament was entirely thanks to lucky matchups. Which had clearly run dry after Shiozaki.
…
"He countered!"
Kirishima's jagged skin carried trails of smoke, scorch marks left by Bakugou's latest barrage of blasts. Though the blonde himself sported a deep cut along his right cheek, courtesy of Kirishima's hardened fist.
"Come on! You got this!" Hitomi leaned onto the railing, watching as closely as she could.
"Who are you even rooting for?" Sato questioned.
"I dunno." She chirped.
Should've known. Her classmates thought to themselves in unison.
"Kirishima! Go straight for his chin! His chin!" Tetsutetsu encouraged from the box to their left.
"Bakugou's having a heck of a time dodging Kirishima's fierce attacks!"
The redhead didn't falter, snapping out his fists without a break, slowly inching Bakugou back. Forcing the blonde to go on the defensive. Until he had had enough.
"Whoa! Bakugou is countering again! But what's this!? It seems to be working this time!"
The explosions from Bakugou's hands finally started to do something against Kirishima, leaving behind more than just ashy scorch marks.
"You've been straining to keep your body rock-hard this whole fight, right? But that means you're overusing your Quirk! And sooner or later, you'll fall apart!" Bakugou roared.
Mineta snorted into his hand. "Rock-hard…!"
Hitomi didn't bother glancing back, not willing to risk missing anything, though she cocked her head. "What's funny about him being hard?"
From the look on Mineta's face, it would have seemed like he was just gifted his own personal harem, or something in the like. He jumped to his feet, eyes lit with glee for the opportunity of a lifetime just presented to him.
"Because it sounds like he's talking about Kirishima's di—"
An earphone jack stabbed into the side of Mineta's head, and at the same time, a strip of tape was slapped over his mouth, subsequently muffling his pained shriek.
Both Jirou and Sero blinked, staring at each other's contribution, then locked eyes and gave matching nods, expressing something silently.
(Hitomi stood, unaware that she had just gained a secret protection detail.)
With Kirishima's Quirk weakening, Bakugou dealt a crushing wave of blasts, taking up the offensive position. With one last attack, he roared his usual "Die!" And blew Kirishima away.
"Kirishima has been knocked out." Midnight announced, as if the redhead laying there unmoving wasn't sign enough. "Bakugou is the winner!"
"With that vicious carpet bombing, Bakugou advances to the third round! Ladies and gentlemen, our final four!"
The screen changed, showing off pictures of Todoroki, Hitomi, Tokoyami, and Bakugou.
Hitomi swallowed, feeling a familiar kind of pressure. The one that came with expectations, and the weight of what possible failure might bring.
She supposed it was just a good thing that she didn't have to deal with the usual from her classmates, her parentage unknown to all but Momo, and the boy she shared the same burden with.
…
"Time for the first match of the semifinals!"
Hitomi stepped up to the plate, trying not to sweat under Todoroki's indifferent stare. Glancing around, she locked eyes with a camera, and nervously waved with a wobbly smile.
"Get ready for the fated battle of the next generation of Pro Heroes!"
Hitomi went cold.
"Mic—"
Present Mic continued, undaunted. "Both students of the Hero course, in Class 1-A, we have Shouto Todoroki! Son of the number-two Hero, Endeavor! Versus, Hitomi Saito! The daughter of the legendary Hero duo, Silver Shifter and Golden Giest!"
Hitomi stared ahead numbly, suddenly finding it very hard to breathe again.
"Ow— Eraser! What gives— Ah! How are your punches so strong!? Your arms are supposed to be broken!"
Caged. Caught. Trapped. She couldn't breathe.
"Just start the match— begin!"
Hitomi shut her eyes, holding her turning stomach.
…
"Uh, is he serious?" Kaminari asked, despite that the paleness of Momo's cheeks said it all.
The ravenette sat in the stands with the others, hand over her mouth in horror.
"I don't recognize the names." Uraraka sheepishly admitted.
Surprisingly, it wasn't Midoriya who elaborated, but Kirishima who spoke first, sitting straighter. "They were a duo of Heroes from UA. They still hold the record for fastest built agency right out of school, even beating out Endeavor. They were also responsible for taking down thirty of the most notorious mafia rings in all of Japan. They were super manly."
Ashido casted a look to the old UA hoodie draped across Hitomi's seat. "What happened to them?" She quietly asked.
"They were killed on a mission, eight years ago." Momo answered lowly, causing them to wince.
"W-well, at least the Villain was caught, right?" Kaminari tried to lessen the grave tension.
"No. The culprit still runs free." Momo practically snarled.
Kaminari made no protest to the two smacks he received on his head from Mina and Sero.
"Wha— what's she doing?!" Jirou drew their attention back to the field.
…Where Hitomi was still human, and gracefully dancing around the spears of ice launched at her. With her eyes closed.
Momo sighed, just a small portion of her nerves ebbing away. "That, is years of being bullied by Rumi, coming to fruition."
…
Hitomi kept her eyes closed, blocking out the sight of the stadium watching her, knowing who she was. The only people that existed were her, and Todoroki.
She listened to the arches of ice whistle toward her. Smelled his scent moving around on the other side of the stage. And felt the rumbling underneath her bare feet, telling her exactly where the next bout of ice would strike. So far he hadn't used his fire, so she had to hope that he wouldn't be using it this round if she had any chance of winning. If he wasn't going to use it, then that meant her goal was to draw the match out, and make him overuse his ice, slowing him down like during his fight with Midoriya.
It didn't feel great to know she could only win if he kept himself at half-power, but she was being realistic.
His scent was spiked with growing anger with every attack she dodged. But also, with that, something tickled the back of her mind, telling her something here was off.
"Why won't you use your Quirk?"
Hitomi knew why. It was because she couldn't think straight when it was in effect. But why did Todoroki care?
She paused, her stance loosening. None of his attacks had been reaching their mark. It was almost like…
"Why do you want me to use it?" Hitomi opened her eyes, and cocked her head.
Todoroki scowled, and the next ram of ice nearly got her.
"My father still seems to think we'd make a good pair."
"What?!" Hitomi yelped shrilly, recoiling, then wincing. "Ah, I mean, not that there's anything wrong with you, I just—"
This time the ice sliced a shallow cut across her left side.
"So I'm going to show him that your Quirk isn't as great as he thinks it is." His breath puffed visibly from his mouth, but there still wasn't enough frost hindering his right side.
Hitomi pursed her lips. She had firsthand experience with the drawbacks of her Quirk, but she didn't have the option to stand there and list to him the reasons Akita Inu sometimes sucked. What she could do, was what she had been putting off.
Hitomi huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "Fine. But it's because I want to. Not because you asked."
Todoroki eyed her strangely. "I didn't ask—"
Hitomi lunged, landing in a four-legged sprint. In this form, Todoroki's scent evolved, her nose able to pick up more layers to it.
Confusion. Regret. Hope. Shame. Fear. And bitter, bitter resentment. Borderline hatred.
Maybe if she hadn't been busy studying his complex emotions, she could've prevented his next attack. Though, it wasn't so much of an attack, as it was a finishing move.
Timed with perfection, so it would be most effective, Todoroki waited until all four paws touched down as she ran.
'Shink.'
Hitomi lurched, momentum carrying her, while her paws remained in place. And when she looked down, it was clear why.
"It looks like Todoroki has Saito completely immobilized! Is this the end of the line for our Heroine!?"
Hitomi growled, shifting her weight, and experimentally tugging upward. But the pads of her paws were stubbornly frozen.
No, fight! Have more fight!
Midnight stepped closer, starting to raise her whip.
No! Not yet!
"Saito is—"
("Pry yourself up if you want. But it might be hard to fight me with no skin on the bottom of your feet.")
Fight. Fight. Fight. Win—
With a growl that resembled something more of a roar, Hitomi pushed all logical thought from her mind, and jumped.
The crowd gasped in horror, aghast at her desperate actions. Todoroki didn't look much better, surprise coloring his face as he stared at her incoming form.
Her feet hurt, her hands hurt, and the pain was only exacerbated when, middair, she changed back to normal, her left leg bent to her chest while the right was poised straight, aiming for Todoroki's head as she came down.
Hitomi had never wanted to win a fight so badly before in her life.
And she didn't even really know why.
…
Shouto acted fast, shooting forward a few steps just before Saito landed. When her feet touched the ground, she nearly slipped from the ice and slick blood covering the skinned sole, but that didn't prevent her from immediately pivoting on the damaged appendage. In a move that was strangely reminiscent of a dance. Saito twirled, her left leg coming up high.
Shouto staggered back, his chin barely getting caught by her foot, leaving behind a smear of crimson. His right arm reached up and out at her.
Saito completed the twirl in a blur, then ran at him low to the ground, fists curling despite the blood gushing out from between her fingers.
As soon as she was within range, Shouto grazed her left forearm with his right hand, leaving a crust of ice in its wake before she grabbed his wrist in a crushing grip. He winced, feeling his bones grinding together, her raw and bloody palm seeming to not be hindering her at all.
She caught on. Shouto breathlessly thought, his left and only free hand useless to him. He couldn't bring himself to do it again. Not yet. Not until he just had some time to think.
Saito yanked his wrist, pulling him toward her, and snapped out her right fist, burying it viciously in his gut. The same place Midoriya had repeatedly hit him.
Shouto grunted, staggering back and trying to keep his breathing even, the air knocked out of him for the fourth time.
Saito let his wrist slip from her grasp, somehow ignoring the agonizing sting surely coming from her hands. If she were smart, she would just forfeit already, and to get herself to the nurse.
Shouto stood back, separating them by several feet, panting. He studied her, taking stock of the damage he had done so far, and how it somehow didn't seem to be bothering her.
No, he narrowed his eyes. It was affecting her.
It was subtle, but he could see the way she kept her stance wide but with the weight carried mostly on the front of her feet, likely where the least skin was torn. Her hands were held out in front of her, almost made into fists, just not fully clenched. Her whole body was trembling in minute shivers, chilled exhales quickly huffing visibly from her mouth. Her left arm was starting to turn purple under the ice he encased it in, the beginnings of frostbite setting in.
And what did she have to show for it? Giving him a bruised wrist and stomach.
So why the hell didn't she look worried?
The one thing unaffected by him, was her face. Set in a determined expression that he had never seen on her before. Her eyebrows furrowed and drawn together, her eyes pinned solely on him with something predatory gleaming inside.
This fight was going far differently than he expected. This wasn't that ditzy, cupcake-sharing little girl anymore. He should have acknowledged that by now. But that bastard's prolonged idea of them being perfect together had sowed the seeds of bitterness. If he gave her so much as a crumb of attention, Endeavor may take it as permission to pursue the ridiculous idea.
That was why Shouto needed to wrap this up. To show the bastard that Saito wasn't anything special—
The girl took a deep breath, then smacked both her cheeks with her damaged hands. Leaving behind morbid crimson prints on her face.
What—
"Argh!" Saito screamed, clenching tight fists, and dashed at him at a full sprint.
Foolish, on her part.
Shouto waited, all the way up until Saito was rearing her right fist back, and tensed.
The punch landed across his left cheek, surprisingly stronger than he expected. The thought that she dislocated his jaw flickered by, before he shoved it aside.
It worked, she stared at him for a second, stunned that the hit landed without resistance.
And a second was all he needed.
By the time Saito noticed the ice creeping up her left side, it was already too late.
She gasped, and immediately tried wiggling her way out of the growing prison, grunting and growling. But it was no use, and her whole body was encased in a flash.
Shouto packed it tight, poising spikes in certain places, so she couldn't transform without subsequently impaling herself.
There. It was over.
Grey and teal eyes narrowed up at the glowing figure in the stands.
And it didn't even take your Quirk.
…
"Saito is immobilized! Todoroki wins!"
Hitomi stopped, looking down at the ice keeping her in place.
Well… shoot.
"I didn't think you would resort to tearing yourself out of my ice." Todoroki admitted, putting his left hand on the block entrapping her.
It steamed, melting away, and Hitomi smiled wryly. "Eh, well, you're the one who told me to do it. Back in the indoor combat training."
Todoroki blinked, eyes widening a fraction when it seemed he remembered.
The robotic gurney rolled up, and Hitomi gratefully sat herself down in it. Her feet didn't even hurt too badly, until she got off of them.
Third place. Along with either Tokoyami or Bakugou.
Hitomi could live with that.
Because I haven't found a place to slip this info in, I'll just mention it here. So, Hitomi was born in March, and the Japanese school year doesn't start until April. That means Hitomi's the youngest in the class, right?
Hitomi's actually the oldest. She turns sixteen (edit: i accidentally wrote "seventeen" originally, but it's sixteen. Thank you BethxAngel for pointing it out) the March before UA.
How does that work? She was in the same grades as Momo too, right?
Due to an incident shortly before she turned three, Hitomi missed the first year of kindergarten. She has been behind a grade ever since. We'll get to the accident that caused this at some point down the road. I just wanted to clarify Hitomi's age, and why she is where she is.