On the right side of the arena he stood, nervously flexing his fingers in anticipation of what was to come. Thunderous roars and exhilarated cheers came from all sides as the crowd shook with excitement at the upcoming match. His stoic face shone on the large screens hanging around the stadium, the letters VS boldened and red smacked square in the center and on the other half of the screen was Mina Ashido.

"So, if I win, you'll go out with me this Saturday, right?" Ashido asked with a smile.

The rest of Class 1A was seated up in the bleachers in their own private partition. From their seats they cheered their classmates on and kept an eye on who their competition might be later down the line. Everyone watched with intense focus, but no one was more intensely focused than Midorya. Notebook and pencil in hand, he scribbled note after note as he watched the matches, muttering to himself the entire time.

"A match between (L/N) and Ashido. Let's see. Both of them are effective at close range and from a distance, but Ashido can really only do mid-range attacks before her acid loses velocity, so she'll probably want to get as close as possible to put pressure on (L/N) and keep him from using his quirk. There's nothing much for either of them to use as cover in this ring, but (L/N) can create his own cover, meaning Ashido is at a disadvantage. Not to mention (L/N) barely uses his quirk. Even at the USJ he only really used the same technique, so his quirk is still an unknown variable. There's no telling just how versatile it is."

"Fifth match, begin!"

As he'd predicted, Ashido immediately began rushing (L/N), trying to close the gap between them. In response, (L/N) fired rays of light from his palms, trying to keep her at bay. Her evasive skills though, were remarkable. She jumped and weaved, changing direction effortlessly as she circled around (L/N), slowly closing in.

"Man, I thought (L/N) would be putting up more of a fight." Kirishima said rather disappointed. "But look, he can't get a bead on her."

Bakugou scoffed. "Look closer you idiot. He's not trying to hit her."

"What do you mean?" Sero asked.

"Do you dumbasses not pay any attention? She's not the one controlling the fight. He is."

"I still don't get it." Kaminari said.

"Would you idiots just shut up and watch!?" Bakugou shouted. "Look, he's been cutting off her movements the entire match. Right now, she's going to far too the left."

As if in response to his words, a ray of light shot forth from (L/N)'s hand, forcing Ashido to change direction. When she traveled to the point where she was almost on his side, another beam directed her back towards the center.

"And look at the edges of the arena." Bakugou pointed out. "You see it, don't you? The way the light is shimmering. Like a heat mirage."

"Oh yeah." Sero said. "What is that?"

"I get it now." Kirishima said.

"Well, don't leave us hanging, man." Kaminari said. "What is it?"

"It's just like Bakugou said." Kirishima responded. "He's been cutting her off the entire time."

She had a confident grin on her face. His attacks were single minded and easy to dodge. Just a few more passes and she'd be right on top of him. As far as Ashido was concerned, she had been the one dictating the flow of the match. But with every attack, (L/N) had been slowly closing in on her, forcing her path narrower, like the pattern of a wi-fi symbol. The distance she covered during each pass was less and less, and eventually, the trap was sprung.

She effortlessly slid beneath another ray of light, and as she came back up changed direction to avoid a follow up attack. She cocked her arm back and gathered a fistful of acid, just about to throw it when she ran into a wall. Stunned, she felt something start pushing her back and out of the ring.

"No, wait!" She screamed. She got back to her feet and skated to the other side, barely covering any ground before hitting yet another barrier, all the while a wall of light slowly moved forwards until it finally caught up to her.

"Ashido is out of bounds!" Midnight announced. "(L/N) wins!"

[My Hero Academia]

If there was one thing to be said about the hero course at UA High, it was that there was never a dull moment. Since the very beginning the establishment hadn't pulled any punches. From robots the size of skyscrapers to the intensity of their training, and now here they were competing in an event more heavily anticipated than the Olympics had been even in their glory days. She thought she'd encountered every surprise UA had to throw her way. But she never anticipated this.

She thought it might have been him when she saw him in the cavalry battle, but she had been too preoccupied to have given it any real thought. Even afterwards when she did have time to consider it, she dismissed it as a possibility. She'd only ever met one person who wore a blindfold, but it had to be a coincidence. There was no way he would ever find himself at UA. Even still, the resemblance he bore was uncanny. And then she heard Present Mic announce his name and his image was plastered upon the enormous screens.

(F/N) (L/N).

Time seemed to stop as the rest of the world disappeared, her gaze focused solely on him. The way his bangs fell over his blindfolded eyes and how his shoulders never seemed to fully relax. And the forlorn frown that always found its place amongst his handsome features. It was undoubtedly him. Kendo's stomach churned uncomfortably, her forehead dampening in nervous sweat while her heart was set aflutter in a way it hadn't been in over three years.

The ensuing match was of little interest to her. All she could focus on was him. He looked exactly the way he did in the dreams she still had about him, yet something about him seemed so different. Was it the way he seemed to be able to control his quirk? Or was it perhaps the weight his soul seemed to crumble under. Weight she had only added to. Why here? Why now?

The following matches seemed to pass in a blur. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she even forgot to cheer on Ibara and Tetsutetsu. Instead, she sat silently trying to work up the courage just to peak over the small wall separating her from Class 1A, but to be honest, she was scared. Scared of seeing him again. Scared of what he might say. That fear was the tax her conscience paid for her guilt. That feeling of shame she'd long since buried, or so she thought.

She'd never dealt with it well. The gnawing sensation that ate away at her insides and clawed beneath the surface of her skin. She couldn't count how many restless nights she'd spent as her spirit and mind battled one another. Her spirit demanded she fall before him and apologize endlessly for what she'd done, but her mind countered with innumerable scenarios that haunted her dreams. Nightmares where his hurt expression turned from her and left her in his shadowed past, forgotten. Eventually she found morbid solace in knowing that even if she ever did find the courage to face him and eat crow, she would never be able to track him down. She convinced herself that there was no possibility that after three years he would still be at Shonien's. More than likely, she would never see him again. But now he stood before her, preparing for his second fight in the final rounds of the UA Sports Festival.

As it so happened, it was only because of (L/N) that Kendo found herself at UA. If not for him, she may never have even considered it. It seemed a cruel twist of fate that this is where she would find him again.

"It's nothing special." Kendo said, sitting next to (L/N) on his bed in the boiler room. "All I can do is make my hands grow."

"That sounds pretty special to me." (L/N) said. "I don't know anyone else who can do that."

"But it's not very strong and it doesn't look cool. Not like your quirk."

"My quirk?"

"Yeah, your quirk is amazing." She said enviously. "I bet you could use it to save so many people. I don't know why you don't use it more."

(L/N) fidgeted with his hands, rubbing his fingers against the palms of his hands. He wished he could tell her why he hated his power, but he was scared that if she found out, she would leave him. Just like everyone else had.

"I just wish I had a quirk that let me save people too. I want to be a hero."

(L/N) frowned. He didn't care much for heroes. He never had. But he cared about her.

"You know," he said, quiet as he always was, "whenever I hear the others talking about the heroes on the news, it's always about how they beat up bad guys."

"So?"

"So, heroes use their fists to beat up the bad guys, right? So, if you can make your hands bigger, then your fist would be bigger too, and that means you can defeat villains better than other heroes. And you can offer a helping hand to people in need that's bigger too."

Kendo smiled meekly.

"I think you'd be a great hero." He told her. "If that's what you want, then you should go for it. And, well, I'll be cheering for you the whole way."