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Chapter Ten

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Kazuya's eyes grew to the size of saucers. She was sure that if someone were to look close enough, they could see little stars dancing in her pupils.

"Is it a good idea to have the festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?" Jirou asked, sceptical of the school board's decision to continue with the annual UA Sports Festival.

"Administration thinks this is a good way to show that the threat has been handled and our school is safer than ever. Plus, they're beefing up security compared to past years and it's not something we can cancel because of a few villains." Aizawa's tired eyes peeped out from a tiny slit in his face wrappings, making him look even more undead.

The UA Sports festival is one of the most popular televised events because who doesn't love watching children beat the crap out of each other for the validation of pros?

Kazuya remembered how pumped her parents were when Kagami competed, although she seemed more excited about "kicking ass and taking names". If she remembered right, her sister got fourth place. She wasn't going to get that far but she sure as hell would try.

"One chance a year, three chances in a lifetime. No aspiring hero can afford to miss the festival. That means you better not slack off on your training," charcoal-grey eyes narrowed gravely, a threat looming behind the teacher's cold stare. No one was going to argue, that much was certain.

When Aizawa finished his lecture about not acting like little shits, the class split into groups to discuss the upcoming games. Some took it more seriously than others, talking about what opportunities they would bring. Kazuya rested her head on her arms as she slumped over her desk and stared off into space.

The Sports Festival is open to not just the hero course, but to every UA student; that means she might have to fight against Shinso. While he never used her quirk on her, she knew he was strong enough to force her loss if he willed it. Would he even be willing to fight her? Did she even want to fight him?

"What about you, Imai?" Her mind came crashing down when Iida called her name.

"Huh?" Shaking her head free of cobwebs, she blinked herself back into reality.

"Everything alright?" Midoriya asked, noticing her dazed expression.

She smiled, albeit distractedly, "Yeah, just nervous. I guess I've had enough cameras shoved in my face for a while." He gave her an understanding nod and let her go back to her thoughtful sulking.

When the bell rang for lunch, Kazuya did her best to hide in the small crowd of her classmates as they left the classroom. However, she had to split off from the group eventually, and her confidence began to dwindle. The judgemental stares returned and she realised she didn't want to eat in the cafeteria anymore.

I guess it's lunch outside again. She sighed internally then pulled out her phone to ask Shinso if he would mind eating in the courtyard again. Before she could shoot him a text, however, his tired voice spoke up from around the corner.

"I don't even know why a villain like that bothers. She's worthless."

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Shinso had gnawed the inside of his cheek raw. If it weren't frowned upon by practically everyone, he would have beaten every kid that talked shit about his best friend into the ground.

He didn't know why, but when he heard her name come out of anyone else's mouth, he wanted to force them to walk right into a semi-truck. With all this in mind, he kept his head down and focused on rescuing his best friend so she wouldn't have to bear the cafeteria alone.

As he walked down the hallway leading to her classroom, he was glad to hear that most people had moved on from the subject of the villainous doctor's daughter.

"Did you guys see that Imai chick?"

Of course, he spoke too fucking soon.

"I heard she's a freak! She threw some kid through a wall last year!" snickered the shortest of the three douchebags.

"Pure evil. I mean, I don't even know why a villain like that bothers. She's worthless." Not even a split second after his friend finished cackling at his own words, he was approached by a shady figure.

"Why don't you talk a little louder, you personified headache?" Shinso might not be the strongest physically but he could still fuck up these guys. All it takes is one word…

"What the hell did you say to — "

Bingo.

"Choke your friend," the vein in his forehead pulsed with agitation. Eyes hazing over, the supposed leader of the group brought up his hand and held his friend up by his neck. Metallic claws grew from his knuckles and poked the tender flesh of his friend.

"Y – Yuudai?!" gasped the suspended boy.

"Cut it out, man!" the shorter one shouted, looking between Shinso and his friends.

"I don't think I heard you correctly. What were you saying about Imai Kazuya?" Violet eyes stared blankly. Repeat it so I can have a reason to make you knock each other's teeth out. The Brainwashed kid's claws dug further into the other's neck.

"She's a freak," tears began to stream down the face of the boy getting strangled.

"P – Pure evil," Shinso raised his brow when the last one paused. He took a step towards the bastard and looked him dead in the eye. Go on, he seemed to say.

"I don't even know why a villain like that bothers," the words came out bitterly as he finished his sentence for him, "She's worthless, right?"

The light gasp from somewhere behind him was so quiet that he almost missed it.

But he hadn't.

Shinso searched through his peripherals and saw Imai staring at him with the widest eyes he'd ever seen. How long had she been standing there?! Surely, she didn't hear only what he had said…?

"Kazuya, it's not what it looks like," he dropped his control over the main idiot and let him sit there confusedly. Her earth-coloured eyes were trained on the ground, hidden from his view, but her shaking fists were a tell-tale sign of how upset she was.

"I've been dealing with this shit all day," her voice cracked harshly, "Not once did I think that I'd have to hear it from you. You're my best friend for fuck's sake."

"Listen, I – " There wasn't a chance for Shinso to get a word out before a stinging sensation blossomed across his cheek. She hadn't slapped him hard, but it still hurt.

Imai finally lifted her head to glare daggers into the dumbfounded eyes of her thought-to-be best friend. She stormed down the hallway without a second glance, pausing when he grabbed her hand. In a fit of rage, she turned around and shoved him as hard as she could. Granted, he only stumbled back a foot or so, which made her even more irritated, but he hurt her. Why couldn't she hurt him back?

"Stay the fuck away from me!" she shouted before disappearing around the corner in a blue blur. Shinso's words filled her mind like a hive full of swarming bees. This was the last straw. At this rate, she was seriously considering becoming a villain. At least then she could see her father.

It didn't even occur to Kazuya that someone was walking in front of her until she ran face-first into their body.

"Imai?" called a familiar but startled voice. Looking up, she realised she had run into her Modern Hero Art History teacher and certified hot badass, Midnight. There was no time to bask in her awesomeness as she would in class, as Kazuya immediately broke down.

"I can't take it anymore!" she dropped to her knees, hands pulling at her hair until blue and black strands littered the floor. Without missing a beat, Midnight caught the young girl and pulled her into a restraining hug.

"What happened?" she asked slowly, voice strangely soothing compared to the flirtatious tone she often held when she talked. Kazuya tried to explain, but thinking about it made her more angry and confused. Her eyes darted around, searching for answers or a sign that would never come.

"I just want it to stop!" She knew how pitiful it sounded. Her mind begged her to scream and cry I want my daddy! Midnight scanned her face as if she were searching for something, and then paused to silently assess whatever was found.

"Come with me," the R-Rated Hero smiled comfortingly and helped Kazuya onto her feet. Afraid she was going to get kicked out or something, she stayed rooted in place. Midnight was patient and stood next to her until she was ready to continue.

Eventually, they made it to the teacher's lounge. Inside the small room were a few teachers she recognized from the USJ incident, along with a few she had classes with every week. Chatting at a table next to a mini-fridge was Aizawa and Present Mic.

"I believe this one's yours?" Midnight's icy blue eyes shifted to the bandaged man.

"What happened?" he sighed. Everyone except the three teachers surrounding Kazuya quieted down, trying and failing to make it less obvious that they were listening in. Through tears and a shaky voice, she explained what was troubling her.

"Did these kids hurt you physically? Did you see who they were?" Aizawa asked, expression unreadable thanks to the dressings covering his face. She shook her head and sniffled.

"I didn't recognize any of them…" Other than Toshi.

"It's okay. You don't have to think about that right now," Midnight wrapped her arms around Kazuya again and held her longer. While she usually didn't like being touched, something about this woman's embrace made her melt into her arms immediately. She was so kind and warm, it was like she could fall asleep right here and now.

"I'm just gonna…lie down right here." Midnight's Somnambulist quirk began to push her further and further towards sleep until she fully collapsed.

"She reminds me of Livewire. I guess chaotic runs in the family," Present Mic scratched the back of his head, still baffled by the student placed into a chunky chair.

"That woman was the definition of chaotic," Aizawa sighed. He wasn't wrong.

"I only released a little of my power, so she should wake up right after lunch. Hizashi and I can bring her back to class after I report this to the principal," Midnight ran a hand through her dark violet hair. A frown marred her beautiful features at the thought of searching for security footage of the incident and then dealing with the paperwork. Aizawa nodded his approval and then spared Kazuya one last calculating glance.

"Try not to freak her out when she wakes up. I don't need her missing class because you scared her off," he suggested before shuffling out of the room. Mic didn't realise he was talking about him until the grumpy man left the room.

Sure enough, Kazuya woke up terrified at first because Mic wouldn't stop shouting. Then, she was escorted back to class by a much more comforting Midnight.

"If you ever need anything, you know where to find me," the hero smiled and flattened out some stray baby hairs before leaving her by 1-A's door. Kazuya swallowed the lump in her throat then walked inside.

Her classmates didn't say much to her, other than a few snide comments from Bakugou that made her realise just how awful she looked. Again, she was thankful for his bluntness. Ashido looked as if she wanted to speak but when Kazuya turned to face her, she jumped and pretended to be busy.

With her head resting on her desk and her eyes glazed over, it was hard not to see the cobalt-haired girl as a literal zombie. Her classmates were all aware of her short temper thanks to Midoriya's retelling of the USJ incident, and no one dared to speak to her in case it lit some metaphorical fuze.

Nevertheless, she sat silently at her desk, not listening to any lessons and even risking her progress by not taking notes. She'd surely get behind but she didn't care. Sulking was all she could do to keep herself from breaking down or breaking things.

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"Why the heck are you all here?!"

Uraraka's surprised shout drew every eye in class 1-A to the door. Some looked more shocked, while others seemed annoyed by the sea of onlookers standing outside. The hall was filled with students, muttering amongst themselves with the cameras of their phones pointed into the classroom.

"Do you students have some sort of business with our class?" Iida asked with that same authoritative cadence he always used.

"Why are you blocking our doorway? I won't let you hold us hostage!" Mineta raised his small fist into the air threateningly. Well, as threatening as the little grape boy could be.

"They're scouting out the competition, idiots. We're the class that survived a real villain attack. They want to see us with our own eyes," Bakugou gave no shits as he walked straight towards the mob. "At least now you know what a future pro looks like. Now, move it, extras."

"You can't keep calling people extras just because you don't know who they are!" Iida swung his hand up and down as he scolded the blonde. Of course, he brushed him off with a scoff.

"So this is Class 1-A. I heard you guys were impressive, but you just sound like an ass."

No one seemed to notice it at first, but a deadly aura was emanating from the back of the classroom, reacting to the voice.

"Is everyone in the hero course delusional, or just you?" the indigo-haired boy continued, "How sad to come all the way here just to find a bunch of egomaniacs."

"What did you say?" Bakugou snarled, hands clenching into tight fists.

"I wanted to be in the hero course, but like many others, I was forced to choose a different track. Life can take but it also gives. Now, we get a second chance."

This was news to many of the hero-course students, evident by their faces now twisted in shock. There were some with good grades and astounding strength that would surely be kept in heroics, but for those lacking in one department or another, this sudden relay of information was horrifying.

"I'm here to let you know that if you don't bring your very best, I'll steal your spot right out from under you," the sleep-deprived boy spoke again, narrowing his eyes challengingly, "Consider this a declaration of war — "

He was silenced by a pencil, coated in red, whizzing through the air and stabbing into the wall next to him. It hit with such force that it splintered and left wood chips scattered on the floor. Both sides of the room were dead silent.

"A declaration of war?" Kazuya was suddenly standing, her eyes shadowed by her hanging hair. Her quirk's glow had faded, but her hands still gripped the edges of her desk.

"Kazuya…" Shinso warned.

"We're worthless. We shouldn't be an obstacle for someone like you, right?" As her head tilted up, her veil of azure fell away from her face. Her dangerously calm expression gave anyone who looked her way chills.

To those outside her class, this was the face of a villain. In all reality, it was a trait inherited from both her parents: her mother's ability to feel emotions ten times over and her father's power to mask them with a straight face.

"Don't do this right now," Shinso frowned, knowing damn well that arguing in front of a bunch of people wouldn't be good for either of them.

Grabbing her bag, Kazuya strolled up to the spectators. Her scarily blank expression and monstrous aura didn't change when they took a few frightened steps back, leaving her standing face-to-face with her "best friend".

"Is this your idea of a good apology?" she folded her arms over her chest. Her indigo-haired friend shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"You're the one who said I should prove these idiots wrong." She didn't have to look behind her to know she was getting some strange looks from her classmates.

"Well, I'm a part of this group of idiots now, so you'll need to try harder than a half-assed threat," she furrowed her brows, and then let her eyes sweep over the gathered horde. She began to agree with Bakugou when he called them extras.

"You want your villain? You want your war? Fine by me."

"Are you serious?" They both knew she wasn't joking.

"If you impress me at the festival, I'll consider giving you a chance to explain yourself. Until then," Kazuya pushed past him with her shoulder, "stay out of my way, 'Toshi."

"'Toshi?"

The confusion in her friends' collective voices made her smile to herself while walking away. She felt like a complete badass, despite the negative impact this would have on her reputation. Why try to prove she wasn't evil when they had their hearts set on saying she was?

She was done pleasing them. Shinso was going to get his ass handed to him in front of millions of people and everyone else would know she wasn't one to be messed with. Was that a villainous and partially manipulative way of thinking? Perhaps.

But damn did it feel good.

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Kazuya spent the days leading up to the festival training her heart out. At home, she'd leave her gloves off and try to control when she did or did not push and pull. A lot of tableware and a window were sacrificed in the process, but her mother bottled up her irritation for her sake.

Elena had tried to convince her to invite Shinso over for some sort of armistice, but she was adamant that it had to be done this way. That's when her mom began to suspect that this feud was slowly becoming less about him apologising and more about Kazuya wanting something to push her mentally. She let it go after that.

There was one Saturday, while Kazuya was in the back garden exercising, the house phone rang. Her mother was in the shower upstairs, so she answered it herself.

"Imai residence," she spoke while wiping sweat from her forehead with a towel. The line was quiet for a long while. Just as she was about to ask who was calling, a hushed voice broke the silence.

"...Spitfire?"

She gasped and looked around to make sure the coast was clear, "Dad?! You can't call us here! If the police find out, they'll track you and — !"

"I know, I know I just needed to…" he sighed, "I miss your voice."

Kazuya's heart sank at his words. She knew how he felt. She knew he never wanted to abandon his family. She knew there was no way of clearing his name and bringing him home. She knew plenty of things, yet she didn't know how to make accepting any of them easier.

"I miss you too," she involuntarily smiled, "The Sports Festival is starting soon."

"Yeah, I'll be watching," Taigen got extra quiet this time, almost whispering.

"I'm getting stronger. Root for me, will ya?" Kazuya chuckled. There was an uncomfortably long pause that gave her a chance to listen to the ambience of his environment. A few whooshing sounds and honks told her that he was near a busy street, probably using a pay phone. "Dad? Are you there?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm here. It's just that your sister said the same thing before her first Sports Festival." Taigen's laugh was music to her ears, but she couldn't help but notice how tired and strained it was.

"Where are you?" she blurted out, the longing in her chest becoming too painful to bear.

"Sweetheart…" her father groaned dejectedly.

"I can come to find you! No one has to know! I'll disguise myself, I – I won't tell Mom!" Kazuya stammered through the freshly formed tears welling up in her eyes. Just let me see you.

"You know we can't," Taigen spoke more sternly.

"But what if we could? I don't have to know anything about the League, we can meet somewhere and talk. Just talk nothing else. Please, Dad. You've missed so much! Mom's not okay, I got into a fight with Toshi — "

"Kazuya!" her father bit out.

"NO, I NEED YOU! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, tears finally overflowing. Her legs gave out as she slid down against the kitchen wall. "I can't keep living like this. The things they say about me, about you, about our family…I just want it all to stop. I want you to come home."

"I do, too, but I can't. Everything's a mess. I don't know if I'll ever be able to come home," Taigen's words were like an arrow to the heart but she had accepted them already. At the USJ, when he said he couldn't come home for a while, they both knew there was a possibility for "a while" to turn into "never".

"Promise me I'll at least see you again?" Kazuya asked in a broken whisper.

"I promise," her father answered hesitantly. He hung up without giving her a chance to speak. Kazuya was left listening to the receiver's buzzing static as her mother rushed downstairs. In any other situation, she would have laughed at the woman with her dripping hair, her towel barely covering her body, and her baseball bat.

"Are you okay?! I heard screaming," she scanned the room, ready to bash someone's face in. Kazuya didn't answer. She let her mom hug her despite still being wet and sat there for what felt like hours.

"Mom," her voice was gritty and broken when she finally spoke.

"Yes?" Elena asked, still rubbing soothing circles on her daughter's back.

"Can you let me go? I need to get back to training."

She paused, slowly let go of Kazuya, and then nodded. Without another word, the girl was running back outside. It was heartbreaking to hear her father say he wouldn't be coming home, but she buried those feelings by focusing on the Sports Festival. She needed to get stronger. If her father would be watching, she wanted him to see how much she had improved during her time at UA. She wanted him to be proud, even if they were on opposite sides.

So, she trained non-stop for the next two weeks.

Her at-home workouts helped her gain some muscle mass, even if she was still lacking compared to some of her other classmates. She was scrawny compared to Ashido's athletic build, but more muscular than Asui's smaller and thinner frame.

Every day, for an hour or two, the students were allowed to go all out with their quirks outside. Kazuya's decided points of conditioning were her stealth, control, and stamina, per usual.

She knew the effects of her quirk would last an hour when focused on a single item, so she touched a bunch of pavement that Kirishima had broken up and stuck it to her tracksuit like velcro. The extra weight made it harder to sneak around the trees that surrounded UA, but she still caught some of her classmates off-guard.

One such incident got her frozen to the tree she was sitting in.

"That's not nice," she frowned, legs stuck to the branch beneath her. It was uncertain whether she shivered because of the cold or the uninterested look threw her way, but it left a strange tingle in her spine. When Todoroki turned to walk away, she immediately panicked, "H – Hey, I'm just messing with you! Don't leave me up here!"

"You can get out yourself," the dual-quirked boy took another step forward, only to have a small nut from the tree hit him in the back of the head.

"Hey, Elsa, come back here and melt this ice!" Kazuya crossed her arms and pouted childishly. She noticed Todoroki had paused to glare at her and sent another acorn his way. It landed a hit in the centre of his chest but bounced right off. Knowing she was doing nothing but annoying him, she sent a dozen more acorns at rapid-fire speed.

"Fine," he finally caved when the tree had been stripped of all its nuts. The dual-quirked boy begrudgingly scaled its trunk and took a seat next to her, resting a hand on her frozen legs and thawing them out. A thought crossed Kazuya's mind as the melted ice dripped down and she smiled mischievously.

In her free hand, she caught the water and watched it slip through the cracks between her fingers. Before it hit the ground, however, she activated her quirk and strained to pull it into her other hand. After getting the hang of controlling something so fluid, the liquid swirled around her fist like a watery glove.

"Pretty cool, huh? I've never done this before," her lips curved into an impressed smirk, holding up her arm for Todoroki to see like a child showing off a bug they found. He didn't look away nor did seem excited, yet Kazuya's lips twitched into an even bigger grin.

Seconds later, the water glowed red as if someone had thrown a cracked glowstick into a pool. It collected above them in a big orb and then, with a splash, it dispersed in every direction, drenching both of the students.

Kazuya laughed so hard that some of her giggles turned to pig-like snorts. When Todoroki scowled at her, damp hair stuck to his beautifully sculpted face, she only cackled harder.

"Y – You're like a cat!" she doubled over, shifting her balance. With a yelp, she plummeted from the tree branch.

Her chocolate-coloured eyes shut tight, expecting to hit the ground so hard and have the air forced from her lungs…

but it never came.

Peeking an eye open, she immediately noticed Todoroki had jumped down and caught her. There was an awkward silence that followed the revelation, where she slowly removed her arms from around his neck. Her feet awkwardly found the ground again and took a shaky step back. Her legs were still a little numb from the coldness of his ice.

"Uh…you – I mean – wow, uh, you didn't have to do that," she averted her eyes and cursed the heat in her cheeks. There was no response.

Just as she was about to apologise for getting him wet, she felt a warmth emanate from Todoroki's left side that grew hotter and hotter. Her eyes widened as the water in his hair and on his clothes evaporated from the extreme heat. The steam surrounding him only added to his beauty that felt damn near ethereal.

"Did I burn you?" he suddenly asked. It took Kazuya a second to realise she hadn't called him hot in her brain but out loud. Thank the stars that he thought he meant his quirk!

"O – Oh, no, I'm fine! See? Peachy!" she prattled on while waving her arms up and down like a penguin. He probably thinks I have brain damage. Way to go, Kazuya!

"Now that I think about it," she continued after clearing her throat, "how come you never use your other quirk? I've only ever seen the ice."

Todoroki narrowed his eyes in an irritated manner, an eerie silence morphing the mood of the conversation from awkward to uncomfortable. As he turned to leave, Kazuya reached up and grabbed his shoulder out of fear that she had offended him. Much to her surprise, her hand sizzled against his skin as if she had touched a hot stovetop. Her feet did a weird little dance as she pulled away and waved her burnt hand around to cool it down.

Todoroki sighed after a minute of watching her run around like a chicken with its head cut off. Kazuya whimpered when he grabbed her injured hand with his cold one. The relief was instantaneous, she found; an icy sensation cooling her wound and making her move closer. The frigid air surrounding his right side felt like heaven after working outside in the hot sun for so long.

Kazuya didn't even notice she was practically leaning onto his right arm until he pulled his hand away from hers. When Todoroki finally distanced himself, she felt her cheeks turn scarlet.

"I shouldn't have done that!" she shouted as if scolding herself. Todoroki's heterochromatic eyes scanned her face as if trying to figure out what the hell was going on. It probably didn't help that Kazuya had begun to clam up. Before he could speak, she started to waddle away, the weight of the rocks on her body suddenly ten times heavier; "I'm just going to go before I say something I'll regret. Have a day nice – FUCK! – Have a nice day."

Without giving him the chance to say anything, she disappeared behind some trees and made it her mission to stay as far away from her peppermint-haired classmate as possible.