Who remembers when I said I'd stop attempting screenshot redraws?

Not me, clearly.

I think you can see the moment I gave up rip.

𓆱❀𓆱

I rammed into the concrete wall, flying clean through it, as ice surged past the hallway. I had a moment to breathe before the doorway burst open, and ice followed me deeper into the room.

"You're so persistent!" I complained, backing up to the wall. I would've liked to take point at the bomb on defence, but if I went now, I'd lead Todoroki right to it.

Speak of the devil. One red dot glowed from the darkness as Todoroki's footsteps crunched across the ice.

"Yikes. And I thought we were supposed to be the villains."

The concrete wall burst out behind me, flinging metal plates through the room. In the distraction, I rode a concrete platform up a floor, and promptly ducked under an explosion.

"Watch it, pointy!"

"Haven't you found Midoriya yet?" I yelled, running out of the empty room and into the metal-plated hallway.

"I can smell him," Bakugo snarled. "He's nearby."

"Every day I become more and more unsure you were raised in somebody's house and not in the middle of the woods. Did your parents happen to have long snouts and be covered head-to-toe in fur?"

"What the fuck–"

"Ice attack!" I shoved him into an open doorway moments before ice flashed through the hall. If you focused, you could sense the cold buildup moments before the actual ice, but it didn't help with anything but dodging. Todoroki's large-scale attacks came mercilessly, one after another, and I was constantly having to block him from freezing the whole building.

I pulled up a wall from the floor, diving into a nearby doorway right before Todoroki's ice burst through the concrete, chunks of debris flying in every direction.

"Found you, Deku!" Bakugo roared from somewhere down the hall.

Finally, I thought. I can count on Bakugo to keep him away from the bomb. Now I've just gotta do the same with Todoroki.

I pressed my hands to the floor, energy surging in the concrete beneath the metal plates. Todoroki would be... around here.

I pulled the floor away, dropping down through the sudden hole. A few metres away, Todoroki fell through, making an infuriatingly graceful landing.

We were up a point. To win, their team would need to either find the bomb in time, or capture Bakugo and I. No one was directly guarding the bomb right now, which felt stupid, but hey, heroes defend and villains attack, right?

Tapping my hands to the wall, I pulled away the floor again. Todoroki covered the hole with ice, sending an attack surging to my left. I stumbled into a dodge. My limbs were stiff and fatigued; the effects of my Quirk drawback combined with the cold. Todoroki appeared no better – he was starting to sway on his feet, and frost clung to his knuckles. Still, he managed to block my first punch, and slide out of the way of my second.

I'd been misled to believe I was the only one trained in close combat. A grin etched my lips, numbed with the cold, as Todoroki pranced a few steps away.

"Where'd you learn to move like that, Twinkle Toes?"

Todoroki's gaze hardened. "I could ask you the same."

I jabbed a boot into the ground, a mound of concrete racing his way. Todoroki raised his hand, a wall of ice shooting forward. I leapt to the side, pulsing energy down through the building supports, deep into the ground. A wall of earth burst up from below, enveloping the two of us. The smokescreen gave me enough time to rifle through my belt and pop a few supplements into my mouth.

As the floor below us shattered, it took us down to the first level. I sighed in relief. The closer I was to the ground, the better.

Ice built beneath Todoroki's feet, but I swept a hand, and dirt burst right through it. When he turned to me, there was resignation in his eyes.

He was going to have to fight through me to get to the bomb.

I pulled my mask higher over my nose, flexing my fingers a few times. Even with my padded gloves, they were starting to lose dexterity in the cold.

This would be so much easier if the damned candy-cane wasn't such a pain in close combat. Alas, getting close enough would put me in danger of becoming a human popsicle.

With ice coating the entire left side of his hero costume, that honour should be reserved for Todoroki, and Todoroki only.

Raising a hand, frost crept across Todoroki's fingers. Ice flashed through the room, filling it in an instant. As it flashed up my legs, the ground below trembled and shot upward, smashing the ice to bits.

The floor had been stripped away, leaving us standing on the earth. Debris of concrete and ice littered the ground. I clambered to my feet, pulsating energy through the room. The scattered rubble snapped to the air, converging to where Todoroki was. Slow to dodge, he was encased completely in rock below the neck.

I could feel the pushback against my hold, as Todoroki released a misty breath. In a flash, the earthy jail gave way to the ice shooting away from his right side. I pulled up a wall, and as the ice rammed into it, cracks threaded across its surface. But it didn't give way. Swiping a foot across the ground, earth shot upward, forcing the ice to shatter.

My jaw clenched to keep my teeth from chattering. I was blinking haze from my eyes and wincing with each throb of my head. Across from me, frost began to climb up Todoroki's right arm. When he started forward, he came slower than before.

I raised my hands and slid into a fighting stance, when a voice crackled over the intercom.

"Young Bakugo, stop!" All Might called desperately. "You'll kill him!"

A massive explosion ruptured from above. Bits of debris rained upon us as tremors shook the whole building. I huffed as dust clouded my vision and the ringing in my ears slowly subsided.

"Young man! Young Midoriya!" the flustered All Might was shouting.

I raised a hand to my ear. "Blondie, what the hell are you doing!"

Todoroki took my distracted moment to dive for the stairs, propelling himself up with ice.

"Shit!"

Up ahead, I saw Todoroki tap his hand to his earpiece. "Got it."

"Young Bakugo," All Might was saying, "The next time you use that, I'll stop the fight, and your team will lose. To attack on such a large scale is inviting the destruction of the stronghold you should be protecting. That is a foolish plan, for both heroes and villains!"

Did he use his gauntlet directly at Midoriya? That's insane!

My energy raced through the walls, splitting to cut Todoroki off. He raised his arms and forced a stream of ice, bursting through the concrete. He was heading for the fourth floor, right toward the room with the bomb.

Damn. Midoriya must have noticed the lack of windows.

As Todoroki burst into the room, concrete split off from the walls and surged in front of him, cutting him off. He turned to face me, tapping his earpiece once more.

"I'm here."

I glanced back toward the door, heaving for breath. "Which floor are you on?"

"Second floor!" Bakugo yelled.

Todoroki's ice attack surged my way. Prioritizing the bomb, I tapped my hands to the wall. Behind the walls separating it from us, I opened a hole in the ceiling and pushed the bomb up a floor.

Ice flashed up my waist, freezing my lower body in place.

It was so cold it burned.

Concrete surged up from below, shattering the ice. Still, I shivered.

Inhaling deeply, I pushed my energy out, coating this floor, and then the next, until slowly, the whole building was under my control. As I closed my eyes, I could sense its shape as if it were an extension of my body. I pushed the bomb to the top floor, and across the building; as far from Todoroki as possible. I repaired the damage we'd caused; the damage from Bakugo, Todoroki, and myself, drawing back pieces of rubble into place.

My eyes flashed open once I was done. I drew back whatever energy I could back to me – it was only scraps. There was under a minute on the clock. I stood between Todoroki and the door. Though my head pounded and my heart raced, there was little the hero team could do to –

An ear-splitting crash. Stronger than before, the floor burst open with a stream of upward force. Walls shattered and the building shook as an invisible force plumed right through the ceiling and into the floors above.

Todoroki shot skyward on his ice, as the building was all but blown apart from the inside out. I surged up after him on a platform of concrete, but when I arrived, it was too late.

Todoroki had a hand on the bomb.

"First match of indoor person-to-person combat training... Hero team wins!"

I dropped into a crouch as my head throbbed, eliciting a wince. Each racing beat of my heart felt like it might pound right out of my chest. Damned drawbacks... Ugh.

I fought with one of the pill bottles to get it open. "Stupid child-proof caps," I muttered. Taking the diabase rocks from my pocket, I formed a knife and simply cut the bottle open.

Problem solved.

I noticed Todoroki staring at me, looking mildly perturbed. Ah. I had just emptied enough mineral supplements in my mouth to probably kill a person or two, and was now chewing the pills like they were popcorn. (It may've tasted terrible, but they worked faster this way.)

"Oh," I said, "This is... Uh, prescribed, I think?" I'd never asked about the details. Taking things from superiors without question was pretty much second-nature. "Anyway, they aren't anything serious. Just help with my Quirk drawback..."

Todoroki stared at me blankly before looking to the door. He either didn't care enough to talk to me, or thought I was crazy and therefore not worth talking to.

I huffed, pushing myself to my feet once I felt steady enough. "I'm going to check on the other two. That crash was insane... Was it Midoriya?" I wondered aloud, stepping over to the massive crater on the floor. "Nothing I could've done about that..."

"You don't seem too upset about losing," Todoroki said.

I turned back to him. With a shrug, I looked back down the hole. "It's just class."

I jumped into the crater, dragging my hand into the supporting concrete pillars to slow my fall. When I arrived, Midoriya was kneeling by Bakugo's feet.

"This was all... I could think of," he muttered, before collapsing completely.

All Might's closing announcement echoed dully through my head. Bakugo looked completely shell-shocked – unresponsive – but right now, my priority was with the other boy.

I knelt at Midoriya's side, eyes flicking fervently over his injuries. "What happened?"

He was covered head to toe in nicks and bruises, and completely unconscious. One of his arms was purple with bruises and blood, bone shattered beneath the surface. The other was scarred with third-degree burns. I fumbled at my belt for first aid supplies, but what I had would only treat minor injuries. Would it be wise to move him if I didn't have proper treatment?

Fuck! What the hell happened here!

Whirring and crunching footsteps sounded as All Might arrived alongside a medic bot. It loaded Midoriya onto a stretcher and carted him out of the ruined building. I watched it leave until could see him no longer.

My jaw clenched, my hands balled into fists. My gaze flicked angrily to Bakugo. I wanted an explanation, no matter how shitty I was sure it would be.

But something looked... wrong. Bakugo's eyes, typically firey red, were extinguished. Watery and unfocused, they remained trained on one of his hands. As it clenched into a fist, his breathing grew erratic, bordering on hyperventilation.

"Baku..." All Might's hand thumped into my back, cutting me short. He pat Bakugo with his other hand, voice toned cheerfully.

"Come on back, Young Bakugo, Young Akiharu. It's time to review the results. Whether you win or you lose, looking back and learning from your experiences is a part of life."

Sure. It made sense. But as my eyes slid to Bakugo, I couldn't help but feel like that was the wrong thing to say.

𓆱❀𓆱

I felt sick to my stomach as the small highlight reel of my match played for the class to watch. The final score was soon revealed: Hero team's win with a score of 0-1. The bomb was an auto-win, and the only actual point was scored when I captured Uraraka.

I was so preoccupied I hardly noticed the congratulations of my friends – Ashido chattering happily away, Kirishima clapping my back. I forgot to pay attention to All Might's lecture until he mentioned my name.

"With that in mind, the MVP for this battle is Young Akiharu! Hm... Well... Out of the other choices, why is that? Does anyone know!"

"Yes, All Might!" called Yaoyorozu, one hand raised. She held herself with a certain stoicism and high self-regard that's pretty well expected of someone from recommendations. Her keen intellect and analysis would be one of the many reasons she passed through that route. "That is because, in addition to securing the Villain Team's only point, Akiharu adapted the most to the context of the training."

Though All Might expected her to stop there, he soon discovered the girl was not nearly finished.

"From observation, Bakugo acted on his own due to an obviously personal grudge. In addition, as All Might said earlier, it is foolish to launch a large-scale attack indoors.

"As for the hero team, taking into consideration the damage he received, Midoriya's plan was also rash. Distracting Bakugo and splitting up from the others was the right idea, but his final attack was too reckless. If he had treated the papier-mâchés as a real weapon, he never would've done a thing so dangerous.

"Uraraka used the environment to her advantage, but was taken out of the match early. Though Todoroki's movements were intelligent, and he secured the atomic bomb at the end, he was practically led around by Akiharu throughout the match.

"Akiharu both prepped for the hero team's arrival and planned her moves appropriately based on her partner's movements – however uncoordinated. She worked to repair damage to the villain stronghold, and prioritized the bomb at crucial times. In the end, the villain team lost not due to their ineptitude, but due to the hero team practically breaking the rules."

Yaoyoruzu finished off her speech with a tasteful nod. "We should always start with the basics to develop depth of learning. We must strive to devote ourselves wholeheartedly. Otherwise, we cannot become top heroes."

All Might's commercial smile twitched. His lecture was completely robbed from underneath him. "W-Well," He was desperate to add something, "Young Akiharu did make a few decisions that put the atomic bomb in more danger than necessary, but well, that is correct!"

I shrugged inwardly at the criticism. He wasn't wrong. My mistakes weren't what was bothering me. I took a breath, then clamped my mouth shut.

Is your goal really to be an educator? I wanted to ask. Instead, I settled for something more tame.

"Pardon me, All Might, Sir," I said, "Why didn't you stop the match earlier? All due respect, I don't believe there was reason for Midoriya to sustain those injuries on the second day of school."

The sight of his battered body, lying still on the concrete, was etched into my mind. What was the need for that?

Perhaps that was what felt wrong. It wasn't hard to blame Bakugo, especially after seeing the highlight reel. He was completely off the rails, and trying wholeheartedly to hurt Midoriya. But they were being supervised. All Might was supposed to be acting in their best interest.

I'd been training longer and harder than most of these children. That's why I knew, for a fact, that destructiveness was not something needed for improvement. Rarely did it help at all. It's never something to be permitted, especially not encouraged.

Maybe I just didn't get it. Maybe it was because my circumstance was different. Maybe this... intensity made sense to them, but it certainly didn't sit right with me.

All Might regarded me with an honest expression. "I felt that Midoriya and Bakugo were maintaining level heads, and made a decision based off of that. By the time I decided to stop the match, I'm afraid it was too late. I'm very new to this whole teaching thing. I still have many shortcomings. Apologies, everyone. It won't happen again."

I nodded, voice hardly reaching a mumble. "Okay. Sorry for the interruption..."

"Then, everyone, let's change locations and start the second match! Tackle this training after considering what we've just discussed."

I followed after the class, but All Might stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. "Would you mind checking in on Young Midoriya? You're welcome to take a rest in Recovery Girl's office."

With pursed lips, my weary attempt at a smile failed. "Thanks."

𓆱❀𓆱

The office door echoed with my knock. "Yes, come in!" called an elderly voice. I poked my head into the room, where the tiny U.A. nurse – dubbed appropriately Recovery Girl – wheeled around in her chair.

"Not another one..."

"No, I'm okay," I said quickly, waving the concern away. "I just wanted to..."

Midoriya had already been treated, and now laid unconscious on one of two hospital beds. One of his arms remained heavily bandaged, and the other was attached to an IV. He was still scuffed and bruised here and there, but at least now his chest rose and fell clearly.

"Is he okay?" I asked.

Recovery girl nodded, hopping down from her chair. "I can't treat him all at once – it uses too much stamina. Once the IV is finished, his body will heal overnight."

The nurse prodded my hand with her own. "Here, gummy," she said, plopping a little red thing into my palm.

"Thanks." I popped it in my mouth without consideration. It was another one of those things I should probably question, but Recovery Girl was my superior. Who was I to question her?

"So? What are you doing here?" asked the elderly nurse, retaking her chair. "You still have class, no? Surely you're not skipping on the first day."

I leaned back against the wall. "I wish. All Might said I could take a break in your office."

The nurse murmured her assent, returning to her desk and clacking away on her keyboard.

Silently, my eyes drifted back to Midoriya.

How could I allow this to happen?

Ah. That was really it, after all.

I kicked myself mentally. I wasn't responsible for Bakugo nor Midoriya's actions. Taking responsibility was the same as looking down on them, and I wasn't their superior.

Even understanding that, for all of this shit to go down while I was on the field? I could've gone about it differently. If I'd interrogated Bakugo less, if I'd convinced him to leave Midoriya alone – If I'd gone about this right, I could've prevented it, somehow.

I guess I wasn't all that upset with All Might after all, not really. I was just frustrated with my own ineptitude.

𓆱❀𓆱

"Akiharu!" Kaminari chirped as I reentered Ground Beta. "You're back. Where'd you go?"

"I visited Midoriya in the nurse's office." And raided a few vending machines. Even the ones at Hero school were relatively easy to game.

And you know what? With U.A.'s fortune, the snacks should be complimentary anyway.

Kirishima looked away from the screens, which displayed the fight between The Villains: Kouji Koda and Rikodou Sato, versus the Heroes: Ashido and Yuuga Aoyama. "How is he?" he asked.

"He's okay," I said, crumpling the empty cheese cracker bag. "Still unconscious, but just resting for now."

"That's good. He looked pretty terrible earlier..."

"Look!" Kaminari pointed to the screen. "They've engaged! They're fighting! Get 'em, Ashido!"

Aoyama was surrounded by critters, and put up a decent fight with his navel laser, but they managed to snag him with the capture tape at Koda's command. In the room with the bomb, Sato powered up with a fistful of sugar, muscles bulging, but with superior mobility, Ashido slid across her acid. She slipped beneath his lunging fist and popped to her feet, reaching for the atomic bomb with a "yay!"

"Hero team wins!" All Might announced. "Let's review the results!"

Koda got MVP despite his complete inability to play the part of a villain. He made good use of his Quirk, both in intel gathering and in capturing Aoyama. His only criticism was to take more initiative – in simpler terms; be less shy.

"All right! Good work, everyone!" All Might concluded. "Aside from Young Midoriya, we didn't have any major injuries. You all did a great job for your first training! Well then, I must review the results with young Midoriya! Change and return to the classroom!"

He disappeared down the tunnel in a flash, leaving the class behind.

Why's he in such a hurry?

𓆱❀𓆱

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