WARNING; Mentions abuse. I hate Endeavor 3 Also, expect more time between updates because school is kicking my ass.

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Chapter Thirteen

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Kazuya stood in the upper level of the stadium, a far-off look in her earthy eyes as she attempted to strategize through the swarm of thoughts buzzing through her mind like angry bees. She had won against Tokoyami and was trying to relax before the next match, but her restlessness did little to calm her anxiety. The thought of fighting Bakugou scared her enough, so watching him nearly blow up Kirishima did not help.

"Kazuya?" someone squeaked behind her. She turned to see a freshly-healed Midoriya approaching, blank face giving way to a worried frown.

"Todoroki really did a number on you," she eyed the new scars on his hands and the bandages running up his arms, "Shouldn't you still be with Recovery Girl?"

"I wanted to watch Kacchan fight," the green-haired boy turned to the ongoing fight.

Kirishima had tried to punch Bakugou but just barely missed his face, leaving a bloody scrape on the blonde's cheek from the jagged edges of his quirk.

"You really like that Dynamite Chihuahua?" Kazuya's lips twitched upwards as a scarlet flush grew on Midoriya's face. This one couldn't take any form of teasing, making it that much more exciting to watch him struggle. "How long have you been friends?" she asked after a moment.

"Since we were little," Midoriya explained.

She chuckled behind closed lips, "I know how it goes. After knowing someone for so long, you feel like you'd follow them to the ends of the Earth."

"You're…talking about Shinso, right?" There was no immediate response. It was silent between the two friends as Bakugou countered Kirishima's attack with an explosion to the side.

"Nice try, but that's not gonna work on me, Explosion Boy!" The redhead roared. Kazuya narrowed her eyes, painfully aware that if he and his ultimate defence lost the match, there was no way she would win.

"Yeah," she said, "Toshi and I are…friends."

"Did you break up or something? You've been distant lately," a bead of sheepish sweat slid down Midoriya's temple. Kazuya's face reddened as her eyes grew wide with shock.

"We were never dating in the first place!" she hissed, the vein in her forehead pulsing with agitation.

"But Ashido said — "

"She doesn't know what she's talking about!"

The two friends went quiet again. Kazuya pouted like a child until she noticed Midoriya staring at her worriedly. She sighed, dropped her head, and ran a sun-kissed hand through her deep blue tresses that had been taken down from their tight pigtails. Her scalp thanked her.

"It's not like that at all," she mumbled as if reassuring herself that it was true. Her eyes stayed glued to the fight as Bakugou dodged a barrage of punches, avoiding any more awkward conversations. Bakugou side-stepped backwards to avoid getting hit, scowl deepening. With every inch back, he grew closer and closer to failure.

"Bakugou's having a heck of a time dodging Kirishima's fierce attacks!"

Midoriya shuffled around awkwardly in Kazuya's peripherals. He looked as if he wanted to ask something, but approaching footsteps drew their attention elsewhere.

"Midoriya!" Iida called as he joined them on the balcony, "I take it your surgery must have gone well. I'm glad!"

"Yeah, thank you and congrats on your win," Midoriya smiled at the speed demon. While the two chatted, Kazuya silently straightened herself and made a mental note of what she learned from both Midoriya and the fight. As she turned to leave, Iida suddenly stopped and spun to face her.

"Imai, are you alright? You looked bothered during your fight with Tokoyami," he asked more like a concerned boss than a friend.

Does everyone want to stick their noses in my business?!

"I'm fine, just going to get some fresh air," Kazuya raised her hand and waved with her back turned. Behind her, Iida and Midoriya shared worried looks.

"But we're already outside," the latter mumbled, but she was already walking away. There was no destination in mind, but she hoped fate would put the right person in her path.

Fate proved to be rather cruel, however, when an interesting yet terrifying figure rounded the corner in front of her. The hulking man that she nearly ran into was dressed in a blue hero suit with flames surrounding his head as if it were his hair. It took her a few seconds to realise who he was.

"E – Endeavour," she squeaked, shrinking away from the ridiculing heat of his quirk. Beneath his fire beard was a deep frown that made the words on her tongue seem meaningless. This man practically radiated disdain.

Endeavour didn't speak for a long time, he just glared down at her as if she was gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe. In all honesty, she was an ant compared to him, but she tried not to show how absolutely terrified she was.

"You're that girl in Shoto's class," he narrowed his sapphire eyes. His words stirred something within Kazuya, the cogs in her brain turning at a gradual pace.

Shoto? Todoroki? Why would he bring him up? Now that I think about it, why is he even here? He doesn't exactly seem like the type to sign up for a simple security job —

Oh.

"You're his…Hm, wow, okay…So this is where his hatred of fire comes from," she unknowingly mumbled her thoughts aloud. Her mouth clamped shut when frown lines appeared on Endeavour's forehead.

"You're the daughter of that disgusting doctor," he snarled, "Isn't this supposed to be a villain-free event? Why would they let someone like you continue to enrol in UA?"

Something about the flame hero's words made Kazuya snap. She had barely said anything to this bastard and she was already getting berated?!

This was Todoroki's father: the one who bought his wife, the one who manipulated and abused his own family, the one who was ultimately at fault for his son's scar and lack of childhood…

Yet he had the nerve to call her dad disgusting?

"You're not exactly winning father of the year either," she folded her arms over her chest and fought the urge to push Endeavour through a wall. He ground his teeth at her taunt, unaware he was falling right into her trap.

"Who do you think you are?" He stepped towards her but she didn't move. A single brow raised as her lips curved into a devious smirk, like a snake watching life leave the eyes of its prey.

"Oh? Branching out to other people's children now, are we? What are you going to do? Punch me? Burn me? Arrest me?" Dark oak eyes bore into a vast blue ocean as she cackled.

"You insolent brat," Endeavour growled low and deep, "Stay away from Shoto. He doesn't need to be negatively influenced by lowlife scum."

"That doesn't seem like a very heroic thing to say, sir. Maybe if you were nice to people, you wouldn't be stuck in second place," Kazuya snickered at the way his eye twitched. She was getting under his skin and it was just too fun to stop.

The cannon-like pops of Bakugou's undoubtedly large blast shook the stadium, including the floor they stood on. With the building rumbling and an intense look in her eyes, Kazuya felt like a badass. It was a pity no one was around to witness it.

Bakugou's attack either knocked out or killed Kirishima, but either way, Midnight declared the human grenade the winner.

"You better hurry to find a seat," Kazuya nodded towards the inner part of the stadium. "Wouldn't want to miss your prodigy get first place. I mean, you trained him to be better than you, right? To accomplish everything you're too weak to?"

"Don't lecture me, rat. Your next family reunion will be happening behind bars," Endeavour's words held more venom than a viper's fangs.

Kazuya's hatred for this asshole en fuego most likely stemmed from some deep psychological resentment towards her own father abandoning her not long after the loss of her sister. Of course, this reasonable explanation would fly right over her head.

Instead, she chalked it up to sadism and wanted to watch this infernal idiot get ridiculed by a child.

"You know what? I'm going to become friends with your son. Best friends, even," she relished in the way Endeavour's fists clenched at his sides, "We're going to get along so well that he'll forget about all the stupid shit you've drilled into him when I'm around."

"You wouldn't dare," the flaming man grumbled, face growing redder than the scarlet-coloured hair beneath his quirk.

"I'll let him be whatever he wants to be and do whatever he wants to do…and you? You won't be able to do a goddamn thing about it," Kazuya's smile grew wider as she took a step forward to show she wasn't scared. In all honesty, she was terrified of being incinerated but the sweet temptation of karma triumphed over her fear.

"It's no wonder everyone close to you goes missing," Endeavour used one of his massive hands to push her out of his way. Her smile fell when he walked past as if she was never there in the first place. "I don't know how anyone could stand to be around you," he mocked with his back turned.

It was ironic that these words came from a man who had no business having a family but somehow made it hurt more.

"I'm loved by my family. That's more than I can say about you," Kazuya bit out, not daring to turn and face Endeavour out of fear that she'd do something to get arrested. Instead, she stared forward and resisted the impulse to slam her fist through a wall.

"Fuck," she sniffled, finally aware of the tears stinging the corners of her eyes. She wiped her face with her sleeve and regained her composure. Iida was set to fight Todoroki, then she'd suffer at the explosive hands of Bakugou.

With all her feelings locked away, Kazuya continued her stroll down the hall. Heterochromatic eyes hidden amongst the shadows watched her disappear with subtle interest, having witnessed a conversation never meant for them.

She didn't return to her seat in hopes of avoiding another awkward encounter with Midoriya, but found a less crowded section and made herself comfortable.

"The first match of the semifinals! Both come from hero families, making this a battle of elites!"

"Ingenium's brother versus Endeavour's son. This should be interesting ~ ," sang a nearby spectator.

Kazuya remembered when Iida introduced himself on the first day of school. He was the first to suspect who her father was, but it wasn't until a week later that she remembered her old man ran plenty of tests on willing participants with mutant-type quirks. Ingenium just so happened to be one of them.

Iida and Todoroki were skilled fighters, as well as incredibly smart, so there was no way of predicting the match results. Even so, Kazuya couldn't deny that she favoured one classmate over the other.

The second Present Mic shouted start, Todoroki sent a wave of ice towards Iida. The blue-haired boy started up his engines and dashed out of the way, only to get caught in the path of another frozen surge. He pivoted and ran in the opposite direction again which trapped him between two frozen walls. With a third heading straight for him, he had no choice but to go over.

One short burst from his quirk and Iida had rocketed himself over the next wave and closed the distance between him and his opponent. Luckily, Todoroki managed to duck in time to evade an especially powerful kick and keep his head on. Unphased by his missed blow, Iida increased his engine power and tried again.

Kazuya was on the edge of her seat, mesmerised by the blue flames erupting from her classmate's exhaust pipes. She cringed as Iida's leg slammed into the top of Todoroki's head and slammed him face-first into the ground.

"That's gotta hurt…" a kid in front of her groaned, clutching his skull.

Iida was strong, but Todoroki wasn't one to be underestimated either. He caught himself and slammed a hand onto the ground, wanting to freeze the concrete below, but Iida was too close. He grabbed the back of Todoroki's shirt, activated Recipro Burst again, and shot towards the boundary line.

From where she was sitting, it was hard for Kazuya to see just what caused him to stall, but when ice crept up his legs and coated his entire body from the neck down, it was clear Todoroki had tricked him. After effectively turning his classmate into a popsicle, Todoroki glared down at his unused left side.

"Iida had been immobilized! Todoroki advances!" Midnight brought down her whip to signal the end of the match while declaring the winner. The crowd exploded into a series of exclamations, cheering for the dual-quirked kid.

Kazuya would have joined in, but the dread of her imminent demise was starting to kick in. She and Bakugou's names glowed briefly on the board, calling them down to the pit, and slumped deep into her chair.

"Why couldn't you have fought for a little while longer?" she chastised Todoroki and Iida, knowing they couldn't hear her.

When she got down to the arena, Bakugou was waiting for her. The angry blonde looked like he was about to start shaking with withheld anticipation, although she doubted it was for her.

"You ready to die, you fucking blueberry?" He cracked his knuckles. Kazuya sucked in her lips and took a deep breath.

"Absolutely."

Not. Check, please.

"An intense battle of brains versus brawns; 1-A's Bakugou versus Imai! Oh, are you excited Eraser?!" Mic shouted, somehow still full of energy.

"Just don't kill each other," Aizawa grumbled.

Kazuya felt a bead of nervous sweat streak down her temple as Bakugou opened his hand. If their teacher thought she was powerful enough to kill someone, it was meant to be a compliment…right?

"Ready?" Midnight eyed her for a moment, seductive siren eyes now soft yet stern like a mother. There was a silent sentiment of "You've got this, kid," behind them.

Kazuya smiled and nodded.

"Then…BEGIN!"

Kazuya shot forward like a bullet from a gun. Repel pushed her shoes away from the concrete in short bursts, making her twice as fast as she normally was. This speed gave her a slight advantage over Bakugou by making it easier for her to dodge his exploding punches.

Present Mic had said this was a battle of brains versus brawns, but in all reality, Bakugou is plenty bright. True, he used his knowledge differently, but he wasn't one to be underestimated because of his inflated ego. He never let Kazuya get close to touching his clothes, fully aware that she was powerless if she couldn't make contact.

It was annoying but respectable.

Her solution was to wear him down but his stamina (and anger) was relentless, so she dropped down and slammed a hand onto the floor. With the grace of a soggy noodle, her quirk tossed her into the air and left her open for attack.

Bakugou took the opportunity to aim his sparking palm up to the sky. The blast he let loose threw Kazuya off balance, forcing her to roughly crash into the concrete below. Little stars and spots marred her vision as obnoxious laughter bubbled out of her throat.

"What the hell's so funny?!" Bakugou growled while inching his firecracker-like fist closer to her face threateningly.

"You are," she nickered. In a move mirroring one of Kagami's most notable attacks, her legs swept the back of the blonde's knees and made him stumble.

She pulled him to the ground and locked him in place with intertwined limbs like a serpent coiled around its prey. Needless to say, it was an embarrassing position.

Right when she reached out to touch his shirt, he grabbed her by her throat and tossed her away like trash. Attract kept her from rolling out of bounds but she didn't go unscathed. Crimson dripped down her lips from her nose and abrasions covered her arms, legs, and face.

"This is just pathetic. Give up," Bakugou spat, looming above her like a tyrant. Kazuya scoffed and shakily pushed herself up and onto her elbows.

"Not a chance," she winced when she finally got onto her feet. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see cameras zooming in on her face. Her lips curved into a taunting smile.

"Why are you still here? I figured you would have run home crying by now," Bakugou ignited his hands again, waiting for her to attack.

"I've got goals too, Blondie," she said, "For example, I had to get this far so I could ask you a question."

"Screw you and your dumb questions! The quicker I beat you the quicker I get to fight someone who's worth my time!" Bakugou got tired of waiting and rushed forward. A large explosion propelled him closer and allowed him the range he needed for another attack.

Kazuya furrowed her brows and ducked under his hand, wrapping both her arms around his stomach like a weird hug. A blue aura covered his jacket as they were both pulled to the ground for the second time in the past few minutes.

"Why are you so mean to Izuku?" Kazuya tilted her head inquisitively, pinning his dangerous hands above his head, "Like, I know you're mean to everyone – that's your…thing – but why are you extraangry towards him?"

"That's none of your damn business, now fucking let go of me!"

"Hm. Not the answer I was looking for."

Blue faded to red and Bakugou was promptly yeeted across the concrete slab. He shouted obscenities as he was thrown from one side of the arena to the other, kept just barely within bounds.

Kazuya's barking laughter became uncontrollable as she watched him whiz back and forth like a pesky blonde bee under her control. Once enough time had passed for him to be properly dizzy, she deactivated her quirk and let him drop to the floor.

"You're…dead!" he roared, fists balled up against the cement while he struggled to keep down his stomach contents.

"I guess I should stop playing around, huh?" Kazuya wiped the tears of joy from her eyes. I'm so going to find that footage, she told herself with a sigh.

Bakugou roared like a pouncing tiger and threw a few punches her way. She dodged the first two but the third was an uppercut and caught her off guard. While she was still reeling, the loud bastard grabbed her shirt and set off a smaller explosion in front of her face. Because of how she turned her head, the blast popped right into her ear.

Her mother had shouted at her and her sister plenty of times for playing loud music and the damage it would have on their hearing. This felt a lot like that, although she wasn't sure whether her mom's yelling or Bakugou's blasts were louder.

The ringing in her ear left her vulnerable and she couldn't figure out where her opponent was coming from, so she activated Repel, using Bakugou's shirt and the ground as variables. When he was high enough in the air, Kazuya let go and watched him fall back down.

What she didn't expect was for him to twist his body around so that he could let a larger explosion launch him towards the ground like a fucking missile. She squeaked and tried to use Repel to slow him down but, as Newton's Law states, a Bakugou in motion will stay a Bakugou in motion unless acted on by a greater force.

Unfortunately, her power was too drained for that kind of effort and the angry pomeranian was moving too fast for her to scoot out of the way. With a sigh, she stood there and let him crash into her. The resulting collision left a crater in the concrete underneath her.

"Imai looks like she's gonna be sick!"

Kazuya groaned as she did her best to ignore that familiar burning in the back of her throat. God forbid her to throw up in front of millions of people. Her body felt as if it had been beaten into the ground with a meat tenderizer and it was so easy to just slip into nothingness.

"Imai? Imai?!" Midnight's voice reached her but she wasn't able to answer. Her eyes closed as the sound of Present Mic declaring Bakugou the winner grew more distant by the second.

Just going night night for a bit.

As darkness enveloped her, the swirling clouds above her faded into an old memory of more peaceful days.

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"Ma! Zuzu ruined my stuff!" a sixteen-year-old Kagami shouted, storming out of her bedroom with a piece of paper in her hand. On the paper was a detailed drawing of a prototype Livewire costume with child-like illustrations covering certain spots.

"I did not!" Kazuya whined. Tears stained her cheeks as her mother and father gave each other knowing looks from across the kitchen. Her father turned down the stove flame and crossed his arms.

"Is this your costume submission? It looks great!" he gleamed while scanning the sketch, dinner abandoned behind him.

"Yeah? Well, now it's ruined and I have to start over!" Kagami growled and turned to Kazuya with sparks of black lightning radiating from her tense shoulders.

Kazuya's flushed cheeks puffed up like she was about to explode, "You can make another one!"

"I spent all week on this and it's due in the morning!" Blinded by her rage, Kagami snatched the page out of her father's hands and ripped it up. Kazuya's widened, chocolate-coloured eyes watched the pieces fall to the floor like winter snowflakes.

"It's alright, Mija. She'll get over it," Elena gently squeezed her trembling shoulders as Kagami disappeared up the stairs.

"I – I just…she said we'd be…" she blubbered between exaggerated gasps for air. She said we'd be heroes together.

Later that evening, Kazuya crept up to Kagami's room with a taped-together sheet in her small, gloved hands. She rapped gently on the door, only to be ignored.

"Kagami…? I know you're in there," she called. There was no answer. She gnawed on the inside of her cheek anxiously, "I'm sorry I ruined your drawing. I just thought — "

"Go away, Kazuya. I have to work."

The blue-haired tot paused. She tightened her grasp on the paper she held then dropped her head in defeat. Feeling dejected and ashamed, she dropped the paper on the floor in front of her sister's door and rushed back to her room. The door slammed behind her, keeping her from seeing the way Kagami's door gently creaked open.

A single charcoal-coloured eye peered across the hall before travelling down to the ground. She picked up the paper and took the time to properly scrutinize her sister's dumb doodles.

Her original drawing was a meticulous recreation of the costume she had planned on wearing since she knew she wanted to be a hero. Kazuya's additions were simple, not even that big compared to her intricate work: a poorly drawn girl with long blue hair and a black jacket, pants and boots. Red and blue lines were added to the sleeves with a glitter gel pen.

For ten years Kagami had drawn the same outfit over and over again. She had no idea why she got so upset in the first place over something so meaningless –

But it's not meaningless to her, she reminded herself. Brows furrowing, she glanced at Kazuya's door once more. This drawing meant a lot to her because they promised to be heroes together and this paper was their first written proof of their dream. This made it feel real. That thought had Kagami feeling nothing but regret for the rest of the night.

Of course, Kazuya wouldn't know this since she was locked away in her bedroom, sleeping off her emotions. All she knew was that when she woke up, a more realistic recreation of the original drawing was left on her nightstand and Kagami was already gone for school.

"Livewire and Nexus," was written at the bottom. Kazuya's eyes sparkled at the message as she instantly ran downstairs to show her parents.

To this day, that drawing sits on a shelf in her bedroom, a photocopy of it sent off as her costume submission.

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As soon as Kazuya woke up, she rolled out of bed like a piece of spaghetti that slipped off the plate. She hoped she had gotten up in time to watch Todoroki and Bakugou's match, even if her legs didn't work because of overexertion. With some force, she managed to drag herself into a wheelchair and sit on a balcony in the stadium. She hadn't missed it!

Todoroki and Bakugou both scared the hell out of her for different reasons and watching them fight felt like a real test of one of those dumb hypothetical questions kids ask. Who would win in a wrestling match: a bear or a crocodile?

With eyes trained on Todoroki as he let loose a large frozen wave directly at Bakugou, Kazuya couldn't help but notice that his movements looked different this time around. Before he attacked recklessly and with more power, (maybe over-compensative for something), but now he was calm and controlled. What changed, she wondered.

Bakugou burst through the ice and went straight for Todoroki's head with sparking palms. When he got close enough, he boosted himself over the dual-quirked boy, grabbed his hair and shoulder, then flung him towards the boundary line. Todoroki saved himself by skating along an ever-growing slide of ice until he was in front of his opponent again.

As he latched onto Bakugou's forearm, he hesitated for a moment. Kazuya narrowed her eyes and slumped back in her wheelchair, somewhat disappointed.

"Still no fire…" she mumbled to herself as her blonde classmate slid back a few feet. Even from where she sat, his annoyingly loud voice carried through the stadium.

"I'll tell you what'll happen if you make a fool out of me; I'll kill you!" he snarled like a maddened dog, "I don't want there to be any doubt that I'm the best student at the festival. That's only possible if you come at me as hard as you can! There's no point in it if you don't fight with the same power you used against Deku!"

There was something to be said about his declaration. Someone looking past the brilliant piece of golden shit that is his personality might see that he felt left out and wanted the attention that came with being the winner of the extraordinary final match. To some extent, every participant shared his ideals. Everyone wants to win and show off their potential. That's one thing about the hero industry; if you don't have the heart, you won't get far.

Kazuya could only guess what drove Todoroki to become a hero. She knew damn well he had some demons to fight, but as Bakugou surged forth like a bat out of hell, she wondered if he would agree to be friends with her after all the bullshit his father put in his head.

"COME ON, TODOROKI! DON'T GIVE UP! DO YOUR BEST!" a squeaky voice shouted from nearby. Looking over to the student's section, she found Midoriya standing like he was about to jump into the arena and give Todoroki a pep talk right then and there. A smile graced her face. There was something about that kid that just made everyone want to do better.

Oh, sweet, sweet broccoli boy.

In a move that was both cool as fuck and incredibly terrifying, Bakugou spun around mid-air with explosions twisting him faster and faster until a tornado of smoke and anger was flying towards Todoroki. He grinned wickedly when brilliant flames licked up his opponent's left side. The blaze danced around his arm for only a second before dying out anticlimactically.

Kazuya had to shield her eyes from Bakugou's attack, giving her no time to wonder what was going on with Todoroki. She could feel the heat from where she sat, sending an ironic chill down her spine. It was unnerving to know someone so…mentally unbalanced held such great power.

"Todoroki didn't fire off the flame attack that wowed us in his match with Midoriya! So, what has become of our two top competitors?!"

A cloud of dust and smoke kicked up below, concealing the competitors. It was like watching those videos where a cat slowly pushes a glass off a table; there was only a matter of time before it broke and everything would go to shit.

When the arena was visible again, Bakugou was lying on his stomach in the aftermath of his attack and Todoroki had collapsed on his ice. A frosted wall caught him, only for Bakugou to grab his shirt and shake him violently. It was clear he was already dead —

Not dead! He's not dead, just unconscious, Kazuya reminded herself, finally letting go of her withheld breath.

As the feeling returned in her legs, she watched Midnight use her Somnambulist quirk to knock out the raging Bakugou, who was shouting at Todoroki to wake up and fight him with full force. His refusal to accept that he won was almost as hard to watch as his ability to offend and irritate everyone around him simultaneously.

"Todoroki is out of bounds! This means Bakugou is the winner!" Midnight declared with an oddly serious face. Kazuya couldn't read the older woman as easily, but she guessed she was hiding her worry for the boys. She was such a sweetheart under all that leather and lust.

The crowd roared louder than ever, cheering for the official winner of this year's Sports Festival. It was finally over!

After the arena was cleared and the boys were healed, all the students were gathered in the field for the awards ceremony. Kazuya had ditched her wheelchair (and apologised to Recovery Girl for disappearing on her) before meeting Present Mic and her fellow winners in a room under the stadium.

"This school has an insane love for theatrics," she hummed as she stepped onto the third-place podium that had yet to rise out of the floor.

"Gotta go all out!" Mic shouted, pumping a fist into the air excitedly. How he still had so much energy after commentating all day was beyond her.

"Yeah," she snickered, glancing at the heavily restrained Bakugou in the first place.

"Mmhmnmphmm mmmn fmmp!"

Translation: I'm going to kill you all.

Looking past the squirming blonde for a second, Kazuya caught sight of Todoroki's solemn face and felt her own smile dissipate. The podiums began to rise before she could speak, forcing her to hold her tongue. With a sigh, she let a smile hide her concerned queries.

Hoots and cheers erupted from the crowd as the three of them were lifted into the arena. Their classmates were standing before them, albeit nervously thanks to Bakugou's thrashing. According to Midnight, Iida had to leave for familial reasons, otherwise, he would have shared the third pedestal with Kazuya. She hoped he was okay but didn't let it ruin her mood.

"Let's break out of all this seriousness! Obviously, there's only one person worthy of giving out awards!" Midnight's hand raised towards the sky as booming laughter filled the stadium.

From a height that would have shattered a normal person's bones, All Might leapt down from the top of the arena to the bottom-most level. Everyone looked so amazed by his appearance, except for Midnight, who seemed salty over her ruined entrance.

"Why don't you start the presentation?" she held out the medals, eyebrow twitching in annoyance. Kazuya stifled a laugh as All Might took the third place medal and turned to her. She immediately straightened up and clamped her jaw shut.

"Young Imai, you've come a long way! Congratulations and my condolences on recent events," he slipped the ribbon over her head, "You've fought obstacles and prejudice in the best way possible; by proving you are more than someone else's opinion."

"Thank you, Sir," she bowed deeply, only to be pulled into a lung-crushing hug. Something cracked?!

"However! There will always be naysayers. Remember, you'll have to keep fighting for what you believe is right. Have confidence and do good!" All Might continued and allowed her to breathe again.

The upward curve of her lips was genuine this time. It felt as if the world was just a little bit brighter or like she had unlocked some hidden character in a video game. She was stronger than she thought, but she never would have known that if she hadn't pushed herself for her father's sake. Perhaps there was a silver lining to these dark clouds.

All Might moved over to Todoroki and offered him a similar speech. He still looked gloomy, but it seemed to help a little.

Gazing at the sea of students, Kazuya searched for a familiar head of messy violet hair. She wasn't going to talk to him today, she decided. It would be best if they were both well rested and in a clear state of mind for the conversation she planned on having…

The sun had begun to set, leaving golden streaks of light to paint the sky as the stadium slowly emptied. Students were sent back to their classrooms to collect their things and then sent home for a well-deserved two-day break.

Once excused by their mummy of a teacher, Kazuya gathered her things to begin the long walk to the train station. It was difficult to keep her eyes open on the ride home when all she could see was the hypnotic passing of tunnel bricks, so she pulled out her phone and scrolled through whatever she could to keep herself awake.

When one name popped up under her missed calls list, it felt as if ice had been thrown on her. The voicemail left by her father stared her in the face like a blinking red sign of hope. This was what she wanted, right? To hear his voice? To see if he was okay? She pressed play and brought her phone up to her ear.

It was immediately clear that something was off. Taigen's voice was low and quiet as he muttered to himself in the background like he was trying to keep someone from hearing. Based on the slurring of his speech, he was probably drunk, although Kazuya hung on to the hope that this wouldn't be a butt dial.

"Hey, Spitfire. It's…erm – It's Dad."

Her chest tightened at the nickname. Even a stammered hello pushed needles through her heart when it came from his alcohol-laced mouth.

"Look, I'm going to cut right to the chase here, Kiddo. Things are bad. I miss you. I miss your mother. I miss my bed. This fucking mattress sucks." Kazuya snorted in amusement as she listened to her father attempt to fight a mattress for a minute.

"Oh, right, I'm on the phone…I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you're up for it, I'd love to talk face to face. Let's say tomorrow at three? We can meet at that park you and Shinso used to play at."

"Tomorrow," Kazuya breathed out a sigh of relief. Her head dropped as a smile crossed her exhausted face and the date set by her father repeated in her mind.

"I'll…I'll see you soon, Sweetheart."

"See ya, Dad."