❝ 后会有期 ❞

YUE STANDS IN THE MIDDLE of a pitch black area, no light to be seen.

Her narrowed eyes gaze around in order to find a trace of humans, but no one is there. She's all alone.

Suddenly, two creatures sway toward her - one coming out of a place where light shines from, and the other stepping out of the shadows.

The creatures turn out to be serpentine dragons, who continue circling around her. One of them has white scales, the other black ones. They're complete opposites, yet seem to work out in a team as they remain on surrounding themselves around Yue in a dangerous silence.

"Yue." The black dragon nears itself. It has a masculine, sensual voice, hypnotizing almost. "Aren't you sick of their lies? Change won't be created this way... Go away and start anew..."

"No, Yue!" The white dragon interferes, it now being the one on her side. "Don't fall for the black dragon! Life is a series of natural changes. You cannot force change, you need to let it flow!"

Nevertheless, the black dragon continues in its lulling voice, "Yue, it's time to go... Go to freedom, and then create change. If you want to fly, you have to give up everything that weighs you down..."

Wings form on her back. They spread widely, letting her fly up, yet the road remains in a dark, sinister area.

In a sudden, the heavy wings tear apart feather by feather, causing her to fall into an endless path of misery.

Throughout her falling, a source of light enters. "Come here, Yue," it says softly.

She desperately grasps her hand toward the growing light, and it accepts hers. The light engulfs her, warm and familiar.

"Don't worry, you're safe here. But, Yue, never let an old flame burn you twice, just because its power is alluring."

There's a heavy feeling in her heart as she suddenly awakens from another nightmare, jolting up.

Her head crashes against someone else's, both of them letting out an, "Ow."

"Todoroki," says Yue in surprise, immediately backing away from the close proximity.

Yet the boy isn't affected. He blinks cluelessly, staring her up and down in silence. "Why aren't you sleeping in your bed?" He's squatted down in front of her seated figure.

"Oh, I was..." She glances around, recognizing the place as being the training's room of U.A. "I was training. As I took a break, I kind of fell asleep, I guess."

As she stands up, he does the same. Yue grabs her drink from the ground, gulping it down while wiping her nervous sweat away that her dream has mastered to create.

"Shirohono, I think I'm worried about you."

Lightly chocking on her drink, she coughs, croaking out, "Y-You think?"

He nods. "I always get this... weird feeling when I see you angry or sad. It's like my mind is telling me to talk to you."

"Oh, that's..." She doesn't want to admit it, but his confused yet sweet sayings warm her heart up. Sincerely, she appreciates it.

"Let's talk outside," is all he says before taking off.

The sky is black tranquility married to a poetry of stars as they step outside. It is the softness that calls both body and brain to rest and let the heart go to its steady rhythm. Night comes as a reward of sorts, a restfulness above to calm the soul.

They sit down next to each other, the building's wall assisting their backs. Both of them are silent. Though neither of them mind it.

Somehow, their shared silence is never awkward - none of them have the need to fill the space up with useless smalltalk. It's a waste, really. Silence is a requirement to serenity. Silence draws both of them together, for only people who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking.

"How did you find me?" Yue tilts her head toward him. "It's the middle of the night."

"I wasn't really sleeping, and then I heard scratching and whimpers in front of my door." His tone stays monotone, gazing up at the sparkling sky. "As I opened it, I found your dog. I didn't really know if I should bring her back to your room or let it stay outside. But then she tucked on my clothes." He exhales softly. "And brought me here."

Frowning, she mutters, "Man, that's one extraordinarily smart dog."

"What were you even doing here?" Now it's his turn to ask, curious.

A small exhale leaves the crook of her neck, eyes falling onto the ground. She plays with the grass beneath her fingertips. "Dunno." Yue shrugs lightly. "I came to train."

"Do you always train when you're mad?"

His blunt question catches her off-guard, widened eyes falling on him.

She blinks while feeling slightly attacked of the accuracy. "Nooo..." By the way she elongates her denial, he's sure that she's hiding the truth.

Todoroki continues staring at her. She can feel herself burning up under his eyes that seek for the truth, ears heating up.

Swiftly, Yue spins toward him and creates a close proximity, eyes squinted slightly.

"Yeah, I do!" states the blue-haired girl as a matter of fact. "It's my coping mechanism." She starts counting by her fingers. "Anytime I'm happy, sad, mad, upset, guilty, hurt, bored, nervous, apathetic, feeling stupid, or having the feeling that I've done something wrong again—" She sucks in a deep inhale because of her fast words. "—I train."

"Oh," he mumbles, watching her tired features as she's only mere inches away from him.

After a small silence, wherein she has turned back around with a small huff, the dual-haired boy asks, "Is that why you always train? Because you're trying to cope with the foreign emotions you're overwhelmed with?"

"You know what? I liked you more when we ignored each other..." Her lips form a small pout, feeling too caught and attacked by her friend.

"Why would you think that?" Now he's the one feeling attacked, understanding her ironic words as more literal than needed. "I like having you as my friend."

Those innocent words cause her lips to fall ajar, slowly looking up at him.

Fuzzy feelings ignite within her, and she playfully hits him in the stomach a few times. "Ah, man, you're gonna make me blush!"

"Sorry. I didn't mean to." Once again, he notes her teasing statement as different than intended.

Thus, she chuckles at his clueless tone. As her eyes sparkle in the moonlight, an even wider smile extends on her lips while watching him.

Contently, Yue spins away from him, the soft smile staying on her face. "Thank you."

"I didn't do anything," he says, blinking.

"No, you did." She nods curtly. "I can't form it into a sentence, but..." Indeed, she can't. She's struggling. "Well, I really can't, but I just wanna thank you. Once I'm able to properly talk about my feelings, you'll be the first one I'll go to. Promise."

At that, a light smile spreads on his lips, head falling down ever so slightly.

It's an incredibly rare sight to see, and Yue sure as hell isn't one to miss it. So, swiftly, she spins back toward him. "Oh, my God. I made you smile," she states flatly, eyes wide.

That only makes it enlarge. Todoroki looks up at to lock his eyes with hers, warmth building up in his chest.

"Ah! Stop! This is too much shining light! Too many stars! Too much prettiness all at once!" Yue dramatically blocks her sight by holding her hands up, seemingly preventing herself from turning blind due to the beautiful sight of his rare yet sweet smile.

Her fist hardly collides with the human-sized puppet. A carousel of thoughts spiral through her head over and over again.

Yue is thinking about Dabi's words that have changed her entire reality. With every possibility, her mind darkens, and she hits the puppet even harder out of pure rage.

How she wishes to be stupid and ignorant. Stupid people just do. They don't think about events that didn't even occur in the slightest. The sharpest minds often ruin their lives by overthinking the next step, while the dull win the race with eyes closed. That's the advantage of being stupid.

To think too much is a disease. And Yue is aware that she's slowly turning sick.

It makes her stomach drop. The fear rises.

Distracting herself with practicing or with her classmates is what she's been trying to do all along. But to no avail. Her mind is, indeed, poisoning her energy.

She can feel herself changing, and she's afraid of the possible—yet also worst—outcome.

"No..." Her voice calls out softly. Yue covers her ears with her hands, eyes squinted too tightly.

Exhaling shakily, her forehead collides against the puppet and stays there.

"Stop running away from the obvious problems like a child!" The female voice called out, tone raised while chasing after him.

But he remained on walking away from her, sighing. "Seikatsu, leave me alone. I'm tired."

"No!" the said woman retorted loudly, grabbing his arm to turn him around. "You listen! I don't give a single shit of you being tired! I am the one who's sick and tired of you overworking my daughter—"

"She's my daughter, too." His eyes turned darker, narrowed.

In contrast to his wife, his voice was cold and monotone, meanwhile hers was fiery and loud.

"All I want for her is to be safe and not afraid of her own fire. If you don't understand that, then that's your problem."

His voice and words did not reassure her, whatsoever. In fact, they only turned her angrier. "How could you say that it's a me-problem when Yue is growing up completely differently than all the other kids! Ever since she's born, she's been out of this house three times! Three!"

"Do you seriously think that caging her up like an animal is to let her be safe? You're doing the complete opposite!" Her eyes were popping out of their sockets, veins showing on her neck and forehead out of the pure rage he managed to ignite within her. "Have you turned completely insane now?!"

Her thundering voice boomed, "Don't be surprised if she isn't here anymore!"

"What are you implying?" He took a firm hold on her arm, having had enough of her mind games.

"I'm taking Yue with me," she promised.

The anger faded slowly, just the once fulfilling love between them did. She was unable to meet his eyes, tears forming in the corners of them.

Though she straightened her posture instantly, not allowing the grief to overshadow her assertiveness, "And I don't care what you have to say. All that comes out of your mouth is trash, anyway."

"You're not caging Yue up here because you want her to feel safe." She shook her head. "You're the one being afraid of those flames."

"Of their impact," she continued. "What you can't control. You don't even know what her Quirk is. And that's what makes you scared. Because you're a coward."

Kaito wasn't usually one to let rage overcome him. He really wasn't. But his wife's words always ignited such dangerous splinters of anger in him that he simply had to raise his voice.

Their heated quarrel continued. It was definitely a war of words and who can hurt the other one worse. Both of them were at each other's throats like savage hungry dogs fighting over dominance.

Blood was bound to be spilled, feelings hurt.

Little Yue sat in the next room, legs pulled toward her upper body for some sort of comfort.

Silent tears rolled down her cheeks as she covered her ears by her hands to escape those voices, another night of endless screams and yells passing by.

So much damage was done when both of her parents argued. Every mean thing they had thought but knew better than to say came flooding out mercilessly. When either saw pain in their opponent's eyes, none of them ever backed off, only dug deeper, like a hunter at the first sign of blood.

Only now is Yue aware of how many negative memories she actually has. It's always been like the hard reality has been hidden by her own mind in order for her to live an at least slightly peaceful life. Now, after Dabi's harsh and cold words of truth, she's been whiplashed back into reality.

Though she swiftly shakes her head. "It's not true," she breathes out, eyes closed almost too tightly. "Dabi always lies."

More bad memories cloud her mind, and she's swift to hit the puppet even harder, angered tears escaping her eyes.

Yue quickly wipes them away, continuing to hit the poor sack, who has witnessed so many of her diverse emotions.

Yet they all lead to the same thing.

The day of the provisional Hero license has come, and tons of students are waiting in front of the grand building. "If you can pass this test and get your provisional licenses, then you novice eggs will become chicks. You'll hatch into semi-pros," says Aizawa. "Do your best."

"Let's all call out the usual!" Kirishima exclaims, excited fist held in the air. "Ready, set—Plus—"

"ULTRA!" Another voice finishes.

It surprises the class, who turn toward the shrill voice. "I am..." He bows deeply, until his head collided against the concrete and begins bleeding. "Extremely sorry!"

Shiketsu High School stands in front of them with all their pride, and the extraordinary boy is one of them. Yue's eyes focus on somewhere else, suppressing a yawn.

"I am extremely honored to be able to compete against U.A. students! I'm looking forward to it!" He leaves with his classmates right after.

Soon, another school recognizes them. "Eraser?! It's you, isn't it, Eraser?!" An exhilarated, feminine voice calls out.

"I've seen you on TV and at the Sports Festival." Her hair is in a teal color. The class recognizes her as the Pro-Hero named Joke. "It's been a while since I've seen you in person!"

Yue simply waits for this whole introduction thing being over. There she stands, absentminded, while playing with the skin of her fingers. Her mind is still filled with a never-ending circle of thoughts, which is why she isn't able to pay attention to her surroundings.

Suddenly, someone grabs her slightly cold hands and holds them up.

Her feet sense someone sharing a close proximity with her, sending appalling signals. A tall boy with quite striking features stands in front of her, beaming a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

"I'm Shindo! I've seen you on TV, Shirohono-san! You're even prettier in person." He doesn't release his hold on her hands, which seem to be getting colder the longer he touches them. Her eyes narrow. "You have a really cool Quirk! I'm impressed!"

"It's literally just fire," says Yue flatly, seeing right through his facade.

Shindo continues smiling. His demeanor radiates all positivity smushed inside a ball and put inside of him, but his aura says quite different.

From human language lessons to her own mistrust issues with people, she can sense his false layer of excitement miles away. He's shallow, and it's evident by analyzing the fine details on his face.

Either way, she doesn't care. As long as he doesn't get in her way, it's none of her business, anyway.

"Stop pretending. What you're saying doesn't match the look on your face." Frankly, Bakugou has identified his fake behavior as well.

"Hey, guys! Stop being so impolite!" Kirishima states, looking over to the unimpressed and irritated duo. He turns toward Shindo, scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry for their rudeness..."

Waving it off, Shindo exclaims, "It's fine. It just shows their strong hearts—"

"Yue..."

All heads turn toward the person who has dared to call the expressionless girl by her first name.

The class sweat-drops at the bravery the mysterious stranger possesses. Her class has always been afraid by the reaction she'd show if they were to used her first name. That's why they never do it.

And they're making smart decisions, because Shirohono's eyes narrow in callous irritation as her gaze whips to the boy who has said her name.

Another boy blessed with tall height stands in front of her, absolute shock written on his strikingly beautiful features.

His long raven locks, which are almost fit for a mullet, covers most part of his upper face area by the way it's disheveled. Somehow, he makes the messy look incredibly alluring.

His skin is almost honey-like; the complexion flawless and the sun seeming to have danced on this handsome young boy. The girls of her class gape open as they observe his sharp cheekbones and jawline - in absolute awe.

Midnight and ravens wings are best to describe his mesmerizing eyes. They are the type of darkness that isn't dark. They are sweet silence before dawn and responsibility. The entirety of his physical form is simply breathtaking,

He looks at her, his onyx eyes drilling into her suspiciously squinted ones. Then, the attractive male takes slow steps at her whilst he analyzes her entire form with widened eyes.

"Yue, I..." His voice is smoothly deep.

Whenever he spoke, every head in the room would turn. He had that rich, silky tone - almost hypnotizing.

He speaks as if he controls the world, his experience seeping through. He would remind you of a stormy day. A nice one.

Everything about him screams perfection. And that is exactly what makes Yue so suspicious of him. She watches him, arms crossed defensively. Who the hell is he?

So that's what she asks. "Who are you?"

In contrast to him, she seems closed-off and cold. She can see the hurt pass through his dark eyes because of her unsympathetic sentence, and it makes her frown slightly.

"Why are you calling me by my first name? I don't even know you," she continues, not fazed.

But her stoic demeanor makes a grin twitch on his features. Now, he stands right in front of her, his pearly smile making jaws drop.

"Only people I like can call me by my first name."

He lets out a melodic chuckle. "Do you still get annoyed when people do that? Although we were friends for so long, Yue?"

She focuses on the last sentence. Her eyebrows furrow. Even if she is about to reveal too much information about herself, she doesn't care anymore. "I think you're looking at the wrong Yue. I was homeschooled, and, quite frankly, I was never outside to be able to make friends."

"People I like are allowed to call me Yue!"

Yue remembers the bright smile she threw at her uncle that day. And the way he mirrored it, too. The memory makes her heart sink.

Her once folded arms fall to her sides, widened eyes staring up at his.

His eyes, so black and deep, are like a bottomless well. They are dragging her in, those eyes of his, and so many of her memories that are shared with him flash through her vision like a second world.

Utter shock is painted in her eyes as her mouth gapes open.

"Doumeki..." she mumbles in realization.

A cheeky smile plays on his lips. "How have you been, Yue?"

"Is that her boyfriend?!" exclaims Mina in the meantime. Her entire class is watching the encounter curiously, wondering what sort of business he has with her. "He's so handsome! That's why Shiro-san got flustered when we talked about boys the other day!"

Yet the boy frowns slightly. He leans further into her, mere inches away, as he curls the snowy strand of hair in his slender fingers. "Why is your hair white here?"

Ashido almost faints at the sight, clutching her heart. "He's so... Wow..."

"Do you know Shirohono-san, Kuragari?" asks Shindo in curiosity, pulling the duo out of their own universe.

Said boy nods, smiling as he pats her head softly. "Yeah. We were best friends in school."

"School? I was homeschooled before coming to U.A.," states Shirohono flatly. Regardless of recognizing him, she's still suspicious.

That makes his eyebrows furrow. "No, Yue, you went to school. It was a huge temple where people with elemental Quirks went. We were classmates. Do you not remember?"

"No..." Pensive, she looks down.

Recalling old memories is easier said than done for her. "I don't..."

Taking it lighthearted, he laughs. "Are you serious? You went from being the worst student to being the best of the entire school. How could you forget that?"

"This dumb-ass was the best one at school?" mutters Bakugou from beside her, not believing him at all. "Your school must've collectively been stupid."

The way the blond degrades her makes Doumeki's eyes narrow. "Yeah, she was. She had straight A's in all subjects."

"Straight A's?! Shirohono?!" The association with both of those completely unrelated terms cause her class to exclaim in utter shock.

"When I came to U.A, I couldn't even spell 'carrot' in English without using a dictionary." Yue blinks.

Doumeki grows as confused as her. "Yue, you were fluent in English," he states as a matter of fact.

To say that she's puzzled would be an understatement. Yue has already been questioning her entire life and existence in the past few weeks, and this just adds salt to the wound. Desperately, she tries to recall all events and seeks the truth, but all she does is reach a dead-end.

"Who are you even?" asks Todoroki now, noticing how his friend has completely trailed off now.

The tall boy shows a lopsided grin. "My name is Kuragari Doumeki. I started pursuing on being a Hero only a few months ago. Ketsubutsu is a school I'm visiting for a few weeks, until moving on to another. I'll enroll in U.A. for some time as well."

"Are you a second year?" Midoriya questions.

Kuragari shrugs. "Depends. Since I'm 17, the schools told me that I'm too old to start from the start. So I just took all the exams of the first years and got to go to the same class as Shindo now."

"You didn't even go to the first year and managed to pass through all the exams?!" In shock, Kirishima stands there. "That's so manly!"

"Guys, you have to change into your Hero costumes now," Aizawa interrupts their conversation, leading the way.

As a farewell, Kuragari ruffles Yue's hair. "Let's see how much you evolved, Kei."

Kei? Her brain is stuttering, steam coming out of it.

She's utterly perplexed. A gush of new thoughts hit her like a truck, causing her to malfunction completely.

Thankfully, Todoroki notices her terror-stricken self, and drags her to the changing rooms; knowing that she won't be able to walk herself without getting lost.

He doesn't want to overwhelm her even more, but his own curiosity takes over. "Shirohono, who was that? Is he telling the truth?" is what he asks quietly.

Each of her features are still in deep pensiveness, but she manages to mutter out, "Yeah, he is... I just..." Yue thinks out loud, "But I thought I was homeschooled... I—"

They halt in front of the building. His sudden stop causes her to collide against his back, pulling her back to reality. "Don't let that forget why you're here, Shirohono," says the dual-haired boy. "Try getting your provisional license and forgetting of your past for some time. If not, it'll only be in your way of success."

"You're right." She nods, sighing.

Exhaling thoroughly, she tries to wash out most of her thoughts that throw stones on her path. It works, more or less.

After the students change into their Hero costumes, they all huddle up in a large building.

"Um..." An incredibly tired-looking man starts, speaking into the microphone. "Let's start this provisional license thing... I'm Mera from the Heroes Public Safety Commission."

He starts explaining the rules of the preliminary round shortly after. Entirely, Yue has managed to push all of her relentless thoughts away and focus on getting her license. "You get through this round by defeating two people. That's it for the rules."

Out of nowhere, the walls of the building open up and fall to the ground neatly. It's almost like a surprise box has opened itself.

Now, they're surrounded by an even larger area with a huge diversity of terrains.

All students start running to the terrains they want to fight in. Midoriya calls out, "Everyone, don't get too separated! Let's move as a group!"

This decision of his makes her shake her head. Shirohono jogs away, turning around a bit to lazily salute at the green-haired boy for one last time with a lopsided grin. "Sorry, but I'll have to explore this place a bit on my own."

And so she takes off. Where, she's not sure yet. All Shirohono knows is that a dry area without water would be most appropriate for her Quirk.

Not even five minutes later, she can sense some people creeping up on her.

Yue is currently between many huge buildings, and, surprisingly, the area seems abandoned. Almost too sketchy. Her eyes narrow.

Suddenly, a hole is created right in front of her walking feet.

Her eyes rip open, about to fall into the void, but she manages to exhale a wide range of blue flames out of her throat that manages to hold her back up.

"Aren't you a bit too sure of yourself, Shirohono?"

A lazy voice speaks up from somewhere, but the blue-haired girl can't identify anybody around. The female voice dryly chuckles at her failed search. "I guess the rumors of you being skilled and cunning are a lie, huh? You can't even see me, can you? How foolish you are."

Pure concentration washes over Yue, silent.

It causes signals to vibrate from beneath her feet, telling her where the person who has created the hole of nothingness currently is located at.

By raising her two fingers into the air, a thin string of fire manages to slit a half of the building apart like a piece of cake.

The divided part of the house falls down, but the female intruder jumps up and clamps onto the rest of the building with dear life.

To spice things up a little, burning hot flames are suddenly emitted beneath the girl, whose eyes widen at the absolutely terrifying sight.

Somehow, the merciless opponent has created new fire without even using her hands; only by stepping closer. The red-haired girl is in shock, unexpected to the events.

"You're the foolish one here for thinking that I can't see you guys." A lazy grin forms on her lips, letting the ball in her left hand jump up and down. "If you want to come out of here without any injuries, I'd advise you to tell your little friends to come out. It's time to play."

New faces are in her view now.

She hears how the red-headed female cries out for help, falling down rapidly. But no damage is done, because Yue lets her fire go out right before it could come in contact with the girl's skin. Safe to say that she's at least knocked out by the hard concrete she collided against instead.

"Coming alone was just too cocky," one of the three opponents says, his vibrant green hair in a tight bun. "You may be strong, but you can't win against all of us."

"Yeah, yeah. Less talking, more doing," she mutters in response, rolling her eyes while waving a dismissive hand.

What makes Yue lose focus are sudden waves of complete anger.

It confuses her at first, wondering where it has come from. As her eyes—swiftly and uncontrollably switching colors of the natural blue and a crimson red—land on the smirking girl with white hair, she knows that she's the root of the emotion.

Desperately, she tries to fight against the manipulation of her emotions, but it seems impossible to do so.

Her legs give in, falling down to her knees, as her eye color continuously flickers to the bloody hue.

"I did some research on you," the white-haired girl states loudly, smirk growing. "It was really hard to find any information of you to be honest, but a private source told me that you can't properly use your Quirk and lose control when you're angry? What a shame."

Another one uses their Quirk on her, making her jolt up in a stiffened form. The last one of the trio has energy strings wrapped around her like a puppeteer playing its wicked game, which enables the nerves of her body.

They have her in their hands, but that's not even where Yue's focus is on.

All she's currently trying to do is fight against the wrath that engulfs her soul. Yet the girl doesn't stop manipulating her apathetic emotions into pure hatred and rage.

Suddenly, the bloody wrath unleashes itself and colors her eyes completely.

"N-Nara, I think you should decrease your power," mumbles the puppeteer to his friend, eyes widening at the scary sight of the U.A. student. "I don't think this is a good idea..."

Color drains their once prideful faces as Yue's muscles crack—gaining back the control of her own form.

They grow panicked while staring into her sinister, bloody eyes.

Without warning, they are all thrown apart due to the massive pressure that Yue's angry soul and huge sea of light blue fire has created as soon as she has unleashed herself; the energy strings long gone.

Shirohono is breathing heavily, hands forming into fists to gain back the control of her emotions, but it's easier said than done.

A few more controlled breaths are needed for her to calm down.

But as her eyes fall on the knocked-out students in front of her, her heart shatters. Yue's lips gape apart at the to her terrifying sight.

"What did I just do...?" She mumbles in fear, eyes popping out of their sockets.

Slowly, she shakes her head and forces herself to look down. "No..."

I had to do this, she tries reassuring herself. It's part of the task. I need to pass. I need to change.

Still exhaling thoroughly, she uses their knocked-out figures significantly - placing her ball on the three spots on their body, causing her to score more than the needed results.

"Examinees who have passed should proceed to the waiting room," a customer-service voice coming from the targets on her body says, all three of them lighting up in the process.

"Sorry..." she sheepishly mumbles at every single one her opponents as she passes them. "You guys have cool Quirks, though."

They can simply muster a groan as a response, waving a reassuring hand at her apology.

In the anteroom are already quite a few as she steps foot into it. While walking toward the end of the room to take a seat somewhere, she notices the dual-haired boy taking the same route.

"Todoroki." Her light voice catches his attention, making him turn around toward her.

As her searching eyes glance around, she fails to find other people of her class. "Guess we are the first ones of 1-A."

He nods curtly. "Yeah..." But she notices his attention being elsewhere.

Sitting down beside each other, Yue observes the extraordinarily tall and noisy boy who had injured his head earlier.

She also notices how he throws daggers at her friend. The realization she makes results in her stifling a laugh.

"He doesn't like you," is all she bluntly says.

Todoroki's eyes widen slightly, gazing at her, and then back at him. "How do you know?"

"I can sense his distaste in you miles away. His aura is simply radiating strong hatred." Yue shrugs. "I'm not sure as to why he doesn't like you, though." In a teasing tone, she adds, "Some people just don't like royalty, I guess."

Those playful words make him frown. "Royalty? What do you mean by that?"

"Well..." Even though it was meant as a joke, there lies some truth behind it. "You're Endeavor's son, the number one Hero. Because of your father, you're already well-known and have a title to behold. He may be jealous or hold a grudge against you because of it."

To prevent embarrassment, she adds in a swift way, "And the girls think you look like a Prince, but that's beside the subject and not important at all."

More and more students enter the building, including the duo's classmates.

"Ah, look who's here!" Yue stands up, walking toward the blond. "Bakugou, who came in many spots after me!"

"Shut up!" is all he has to yell about the stone-cold truth.

After all 100 students huddle up in front of the monitor, they await for the announcement of the second exam. They watch with curious eyes as the field is getting destroyed by explosions.

"The next test will be the last one," states Mera. "We will have you all perform rescue exercises as bystanders in this disaster site."

Elderly and children are spread around the field like a virus. They all wait for the young Heroes to save them before their disabled states worsen. All of them are actors, of course, but the thought still counts.

"We will now have you all carry out their rescue," finishes Mera. "In addition, we will score your rescue based on points."

Rescuing citizens is what Yue strives to be best at, yet she's aware of how it clashes against the natural flow of her Quirk; destroying rather than nurturing.

Before those negative thoughts could drain the small ounce of positive energy she has left, though, she senses some presences nearing.

"I would like to build a good relationship with U.A.," the ball of hair says after apologizing for one of his classmate's behavior against Bakugou.

Between him and a few other students of Shiketsu, the tall and bulky boy isn't hard to not see.

"If you guys are so desperate of having a good relationship with us, then why does that baldie keep glaring at my friend?" It comes out as blunt and simple question, whilst Yue innocently points at the accused person.

"I'm not bald!" He responds loudly, lifting his hat to show his tiny amount of hair.

Before he could say anything more, Todoroki himself intervenes. The other students leave them alone.

"Well, I'm sorry, son of Endeavor..." Inasa's eyes darken the more he stares down at Todoroki. "But I hate you guys. You've changed a bit since then, but your eyes are the same as Endeavor's."

Damn. Yue's eyes pry open, blinking.

A shrill ringing sound slices through the students' conversations.

Like a box, the building opens up again, showcasing the destroyed city filled with civilians.

"Due to heavily damaged roads, the group of rescue workers have been delayed! Until they arrive, the Heroes in the area will lead the rescue efforts. Save as many lives as you can."

Everyone starts dashing to fulfill the goal.

There is a single vibration that pulses through her body in a sudden, to which she immediately runs off to. Her classmates ask what she's planning to do, but she's already too far away.

Indeed, an old man is screaming loudly while coughing. He's not hurt in any types of ways, though. Yue frowns. Although there are no injuries, he continues screaming.

"Can you, like, not scream? That hurts my ears," she states flatly, jumping down to get him to the rescue place.

Yet she isn't ready for the even worse impact his sudden yells have on her ear. "What kind of Hero would say something like that to a simple civilian? Minus points!"

"What?! You're not even hurt!" replies Yue defensively, his arm around her shoulder for the support he doesn't even need.

"It doesn't matter!" His shouts continue. "I'm old and cranky, and you can see that as soon as you see me! I was screaming, so you should know that there's some chronic pain going around my body! You're supposed to be able to help people with your license, yet all you do is complain!"

I guess that's mutual, she thinks to herself with narrowed eyes, but knows better than saying it out loud.

The old man's complaints do not find an end, whatsoever. He grumbles, whines, and protests about almost everything Yue does; from the way she jumps to the way she holds onto him.

"Take this man with you, I'm begging you," mutters Yue as soon as she sees Shindo, exhaustion evident in her eyes.

Shindo chuckles while the blue-haired girl puts the man onto the matt. "You have way too much of a harsh hold on me! And your hands are cold as well! What person with a fire Quirk has cold hands in the first place?!"

Murder on my mind. Yue stares at the man, blinking.

He instantly shrinks under her murderous glare. Yue huffs. 

Nonetheless, she runs back to find more people to rescue. She's already aware of how many points she's lost, and wants to regain those swiftly.

"Help! I need help!" A young voice calls out desperately.

Quick on her feet, Shirohono rushes toward the little girl, only to observe her being beneath the huge building.

That makes her panic. Eyes widening, she looks around and searches for help, aware that her Quirk will only damage this situation.

Suddenly, the entire building is being lifted into the air. Her mouth gapes open, staring over at the person who's done this much of an impact with only a single hand.

While he's holding the building up by one hand in a carefree and easygoing manner, he walks down and saves the girl by the other. Yue's mouth stays ajar, in absolute awe and shock.

"That's how it should be!" The little girl yells at her, an accused finger pointed toward her direction. "You can't call yourself a Hero and hesitate when it comes to rescuing! People are hurt and maybe dying. If you pause for even a few seconds, lives could be risked. Minus points!"

Slowly, Yue nods.

Doumeki releases his hold on the building, letting it fall down. With a small smile, he puts one finger under Yue's chin, and closes her agape lips.

"See you soon, Kei." His voice is alluring, hypnotizing. They leave.

Her shoulders slouch down. "Minus points again..." she breathes out, lips curled downward.

Why can't I just have a Quirk that is more efficient for rescuing? She holds her hands up, staring them down. All I have are these stupid flames...

What pulls her out of her degrading daze are sudden explosions being emitted from all over the place. "There's been a large-scale terrorist attack by Villains."

Gang Orca and other so-called Villains run toward the others, ready to attack them to accomplish the goal that is given to them. Maybe I can score some points by fighting...

Though there's another cry for help before she could go. Yue looks around, heartbeat rising with every passing second.

Identifying a kid almost falling from a window, her eyes widen, and she immediately uses jet-like flames to propel herself further.

The boy was about to fall face-deep into the stones and boulders, but Yue swiftly caught onto him.

"Are you okay?" Her voice is quick, almost shaky.

"Yes..." is all he says.

They move toward the rescuing place in silence. "Don't you want to reassure me that everything's going to be fine?!" His big head yells out all of a sudden, catching her off-guard. "I almost fell into a puddle of hard stones, and you don't want to tell me how lucky I am?"

"You didn't survive because you were lucky. You survived because I saved you." She frowns in pure confusion.

She also adds, "People who believe in luck are foolish."

Yet it only seems to add fuel to his anger. "You can't say that to a hurt civilian! Minus points!"

"Why do I get minus points for being honest?! Telling lies will only hurt a person more—"

"Not in a situation like this!"

The boy swiftly cuts her off, shaking his head. "When you save someone, who has probably been traumatized by the mere thought of dying, you need to be there as a Hero and tell them that they're okay. You have to assure that their family is fine, and change the subject to distract them."

"Sometimes, being honest hurts more than lies."

In that moment, Yue finally understands.

The realization hits her lick tons of bricks. So, she nods slowly. "You're right."

As soon as she recognizes her classmates beneath her, she quickly floats down and hands the boy over to Ashido. "Can you please evacuate him? I think it would be better for me to protect the civilians from the Villains in a short-ranged fight."

"Of course! Take care, Shiro-san!" Ashido nods swiftly, before jogging away.

Yoarashi and Todoroki are already combating as Shirohono gets there. But a small frown etches on her forehead, glancing in between their unspoken—yet quite obvious—rivalry.

"Hey, let's focus on the main thing here!" states Yue loudly in order to gain their attention.

Unfortunately, without success.

"Why don't you go help while evacuating the first-aid station?" Todoroki asks the other boy, voice raised. "That works with your Quirk, right? I'll take care of this."

She facepalms herself.

Just as Todoroki releases a wide wave of orange flames, Inasa sends wind toward Gang Orca as well.

Of course, the entire attack fails miserably.

"Embarrassing..." Yue holds in her snort, hand in front of her mouth.

"Why did you use your flames?!" Yoarashi quivers, still floating in the air by his wind. "The heat makes the wind rise!"

"Because the ice was blocked earlier!" The dual-haired boy retorts. "Didn't you do that on purpose? Your wind blew away my flames!"

"You're the one who did it on purpose to keep me from getting all the glory!"

Arms folded in front of her chest, Yue shakes her head. "Children, I swear," she says to the Villain beside her, who nods in agreement with a sigh.

"Well, guess I'll have to fight against you guys by myself."

Those are her last words before Yue jumps in the air and kicks away the poor man beside her.

By doing that, she captures the attention of the Villains, who throw cement at her through guns. Yue dodges the attacks by moving her body around flexibly.

Placing her palm on one of the Villain's head, she swirls around high in the air, while the man gets all the cement that was actually aimed for her. She kicks him in the stomach, which throws him further into the distance.

At the tremendous pounces that are aimed at her, she holds both of her hands up and emits a large sea of blue flames; protecting herself, and attacking the others.

Someone suddenly throws cement at her left arm from the side. It is glued onto her body, decreasing her immobility.

"Todoroki! She yells out, igniting flames by doing a cartwheel with one hand only. "Stop getting distracted! You don't have to be a prisoner of your blood!"

Yue's eyes rip open as she sees her friend's flame being redirected right toward Shindo because of Yoarashi's gush of wind.

The sight causes her breath to get stuck in her throat.

Even though the Villains have put cement on most of her body parts, she manages to let her free feet fly her toward him—even as it's an imbalanced route.

While Midoriya saves Shindo and flies away, the blue-eyed girl is faced with the red flames. Since she can't move her stiffened body, all she can do is release a large breath of blue fire by her throat and hope for the best.

It blows Todoroki's own flames away, but it also rises an irritation within her. "What the hell are you doing?!" She shouts out, wide and disappointed eyes meeting his.

Each parts of her were so afraid of the possible and agonizing outcomes that would've happened to Shindo's body.

His screams of pain drill through her ears, making her want to clutch those spots to make the sounds disappear, but she can't. Genuinely, and from deep within her heart, she was scared.

And Todoroki knows that. He can see it by the emotional and utterly fearful look in her eyes.

That's when he realizes. That's when the penny drops.

"Fire is destructive and damaging if not controlled."

He remembers the words she told him at the Sports Festival, and several more sayings she quoted as they trained together.

At this specific event, he realizes the weight of her words, and why she thinks that way in the first place.

Now, he's aware of her biggest and only fear.

The Villains dash toward the people who need to be evacuated, meanwhile Gang Orca has the petty duo in his hands.

Though Yue's arms and legs are glued together, she continues standing straight on the spot to protect the civilians.

If it wasn't for her immobilized state, she would've come up with a good strategy. But the way she can't move her body drives her insane. Yue feels caged, controlled. And she absolutely despises it.

In order to protect the others, she breathes out more flames that divide the Villains from the Heroes. There's a blue wall between them now, which rises the more she breathes in and out.

Soon on, her vision is starting to get dizzy, and her breath uneven.

The once steady walls of azure fire shake the same way her breathing does. It's not stable anymore, and they decrease.

Midoriya notices Yue's drained-out form, and is quick to hold her up before she could fall onto the hard ground. "Sh-Shirohono-san!"

Because of the lack of power, the walls of fire go down, until they extinguish completely.

Shindo swiftly lays his hand on the ground, causing it to tremendously vibrate and shock the Villains. "Take Shirohono and get the remaining injured to the shelter!"

Carefully, Midoriya brings her elsewhere and positions her in front of a stone. "I will go look after the others!" He informs her before flying back away.

Not even a few minutes later, the shrill ringing alerts again, indicating that the second exam is over.

In nothing but absolute defeat, Yue slams the back of her head against the hard wall.

She already knows her result. It's obvious. And she couldn't be more disappointed in herself.

With a low-casted head, Shirohono listens to Mera's words about the scoring system.

The monitor shows the results, and, even though she knows that she has failed, the blue-haired girl can't keep her eyes from searching her name in pure hope and desperation.

Only to not find it.

Fun-Fact: Edgeshot, her uncle, is the sole reason as to why Yue began on pursuing the Hero career.

┇蛍 ; [ Kei ] means "firefly."┇

ꃼ

◜ different kanji forms ◝
佳惟
"佳" is beautiful, lovely, "惟" is think deeply.　

希生
"希" is hope.　"生" is living.　

華依
"華" is flower.　"依" is depending.

( NOTES ! )
if you're confused, great; that's the whole point.
i want you guys to feel how yue feels: completely
confused, overwhelmed, and perplexed.