Uraraka was holding your hand after the excitement died down. It was so bittersweet to watch... both Izuku and Shinso did amazing.

Deep down, you already had a feeling Izuku would win. It didn't make witnessing Shinso's expression of defeat any easier.

Some recruiter was bound to notice him, you thought. He was going to be just fine!

You wanted to find him. Hug him. Do something. But Uraraka insisted that you wait, "He might need some time alone, you know... guys have such sensitive egos."

It made sense but you didn't like it.

"Besides," she beamed, "you have to worry about your match next!"

Your back stiffened. Oh, balls, your fight with Denki! Everything leading up to this point hadn't required you to show off your quirk too much. Now, you and Denki would be centerstage.

"Right," you sighed, "okay!"

"Good luck, (Y/N)! Denki! Go out there and kill each other!" Kirishima's sharp teeth formed an enthused smile.

"That's comforting..." Denki mumbled.

Entering the arena on your own was way different from entering with the entire class. When they announced your name you didn't move for a second. Is this real life?!

I'm gonna hurl. I'm gonna hurl.

You saw Denki on the other side of the field. He had his usual grin and seemed relatively calm. Hopefully, your nerves weren't too obvious...

"BEGIN!!" Present Mic sang.

You were already preparing yourself for a giant electrical attack, but Denki didn't move. What is his deal? You worried you were walking into some kind of trap.

"As much as I want to show everyone my quirk," he said, "It seems to help you more than it does hurt you. So... we'll try something else!"

You were shocked to see him running towards you with no attack prepared. No sparks left his fingers - nothing. You weren't prepared for this. You'll have to get his energy another way.

It looked like he was going to tackle you. Your mind played out all the scenarios you had with Bakugo and how to defeat him when he'd tackle you. You had this. You-

"Whaa?!" You let out a pitifully girlish squeak.

Denki, instead of tackling you to the floor, had you in a fireman's hold over his back. "That was cute," he chuckled, "After I win, maybe we can get dinner together?"

For having someone on his back, Denki was moving quickly. He made a run for it to get you out of bounds. You struggled, but it was impossible to kick him properly and he had one of your arms trapped.

"What's this?" Present Mic prepared a narration, "Sparky isn't giving her a chance to do much of anything! Is this match already over?!"

You cursed under your breath. This was not going to be how you lost!

You wanna play cheap? I'll play cheap...

With your spare hand, you grabbed a handful of Denki's hair and pulled. You attempted to put all of your weight backward, hoping it would throw him off balance.

"Ow, ow!" He whined, "So feisty, (Y\N)!"

It wasn't working as well as you hoped, so you turned it up a notch. You focused anywhere your skin was touching his, even if it was hardly anything. You just had to take enough to make him tired.

"You're pretty heavy," he said, his run turned into a jog.

"You shut your mouth!" you hissed.

"No joke, you're turning into a boulder..." he was panting now. It was working! But the line was so close. You took advantage of his weakened state and attempted to throw both of you backward again.

It worked. He practically crumbled beneath you. The line was only a couple of feet away. You retreated from it but noticed Denki still hadn't left the ground.

"What did you do?" He groaned, "I'm so wasted..."

"KAMINARI IS ON THE GROUND!" Present Mic's voice boomed, "I didn't even see what happened, but it looks like his easy-win idea has failed!"

The effects weren't permanent. In a moment, Denki was back on his feet, "Woah, don't know what you did, but color me impressed."

It wasn't going to give you the same energy to land killing blows, but it was a neat trick for desperate situations. Now he was the one facing the line.

He still didn't use his quirk, but the two of you engaged in normal hand-to-hand combat. You smiled, noticing that all your training might actually save you. Denki didn't have the best of reflexes.

"Dangit," he scoffed and unleashed a powerful bolt.

The sensation startled you. You couldn't control how your body convulsed and an irritating, burning tickle reached all of your muscles. He definitely improved his power. "Okay... that hurt like a mother..." you twitched.

Denki beamed in triumph, "Don't make this any harder for ya, (Y/N)!"

You still needed a second for your muscles to stop spazzing, but you knew his time was over. He's given you the upper hand.

You lifted your head and gave him a cunning wink. He stopped in his tracks and actually looked a little scared.

"Yippee-ki-yay..." you landed a kick to his ribs and he was sent flying off out of bounds and rolling in the field.

Midnight skipped over to you and let out a giddy squeal, "The winner is, (Y/N)!!!"

She pinched your cheeks and cooed about how adorable you were. You were too relieved to fight her off and tried to smile through it.

"There you have it!" Present Mic announcer, "we've had two very different matches today. What do you think about it, Aizawa? Not too flashy with the quirks today."

"A good hero should have more than one trick," you heard Aizawa's voice grumbling into his microphone, "I'm glad to see the students are well-rounded..."

You went to retrieve your crippled opponent and helped him to his feet. "No hard feelings?" You grimaced.

"None at all," he breathed, "Maybe just a little..." Denki hunched forward like he might puke.

"We'll take care of him, sweetie," Midnight assures, "If you need a rest you can head to the nurse as well."

The crowd was suddenly getting louder. But the fight was over? Then, you realized they were showing the replay of your kick, over and over.

I do look kinda cool..?

Other than feeling some jitters, you didn't see a need to visit the nurse. So, you joined your class in the stands again. They congratulated you, and their mood overall seemed to improve. You were glad the whole Shinso-drama was brushed under the rug for now. The only person who still seemed timid about it was Izuku.

He sat next to you and Uraraka and did his usual notetaking on everyone's abilities. When you asked to see yours, he turned brighter than a tomato and said it wasn't finished yet.

"You know I don't believe you," you laughed.

"I swear! You're... kind of a mystery," he muttered.

You felt Uraraka tensing up again, and decided to bring her into the conversation.

"What about Ochaco's? What notes have you taken on her?" you asked.

"Oh!" he seemed excited about the subject change. So did Uraraka. You let them chat together while you focused on the next few matches.

Some were over with quickly, some weren't. Some were painful to watch, and some were literally painful because chunks of cement from the field came flying into your booth. That was usually after any match with Bakugo.

Soon, you were up again, this time against Iida. He gave you quite the workout, but in the end, you were able to outmatch him. It helped that you had some fuel from Denki still. When you went to the nurse to find him and try to be sportsmanlike, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you guys know where Tenya went?" You asked your classmates in their seats.

"No," Izuku frowned, "I assumed he went to the nurse?"

"I just got back from there," you sighed.

"He might be calling his folks or something," Uraraka said, "My parents called earlier. Don't worry!"

"(Y/N)!" Kirishima clapped you on the back, "I can't believe a chick is going to be in the top three! That's so manly! Eh, womanly! ...It's rad!"

"Thanks," you said, "It's kind of unbelievable for me too..." You were dreading your next match, or matches if you made it passed Todoroki. Watching his matches earlier was enough to make you want to cry! You smashed his ice walls before, but you didn't have Izuku's power anymore, and you felt like a cheater stealing energy before the match...

"I'm so jealous," Uraraka pouted, "You're going to get so many internship requests."

"I'm sure we all will," you said, "Our class is dynamite, remember?" Uraraka didn't look convinced but she giggled anyway.

The match below ended in another win for Bakugo. You sank deeper into your chair. Even if you somehow beat Todoroki, there was no way you could beat Bakugo right after! I should've just lost to Iida or something and called it good...

"You'll be amazing, (Y/N)," Izuku said, "You know each of them and their quirks - and, generally, their techniques." Even as he tried to pump you up, he couldn't hide the concern in his voice. You didn't blame him. His last match with Todoroki was a hazard to anyone within a five-mile radius...

And apparently, Todoroki wasn't shy about his fire quirk anymore. Brilliant.

"That's the problem," you said, "Neither of them is going to let me get close..."

You paced up and down in the empty hallway, awaiting your turn to face Todoroki. How did you even make it this far? No, no, confidence - you told yourself - confidence is good. You were a battle-goddess!

You bounced on your heels a bit, trying to get some blood flowing when someone came around the corner and startled you.

"You ready?"

The white and red-haired ice king stood gazing at your curiously. You immediately stopped your dancing, "Oh, Todoroki? What's up? Why are you here... Shouldn't you be on the other side?"

"Yeah..." he rubbed his neck, "You know we still have half an hour."

You did know that...

"I'm just trying to get in the zone," you shrugged, "I couldn't sit still."

He seemed to understand that and nodded, "I couldn't either."

"Really? You always seem so confident. I didn't think you'd be worried."

He was silent for a moment. You felt a little uncomfortable being the object of his focus. Was he upset about something? Or wanting to put you in your place pre-game? He seemed to come to a conclusion on something and took a few steps forward.

He's intimidating... you felt like such a coward with your fast-beating heart.

"Why are you here, Shoto?" you asked again.

He paused, "I'm not really sure."

Your head tilted to the side. He was thinking about something pretty intensely. He didn't look up from the floor until he heard you breathe. You silently hiccupped and realized just how nervous you were.

"I'm going to win," he said.

...

Seriously?

"But," he continued, "I compared my last few matches. The only one I was happy with was with Midoriya."

"When you..." - used your forbidden fire quirk?

"It just got me to thinking," he mulled, "I want to face you at my best. Not just fifty-percent of me, but all a hundred."

Fan-freaking-tastic... You imagined your demise.

His eyes locked onto yours, "I want to see your best too."

"Oh," you relaxed a bit, "Don't worry. I'm gonna be fighting like hell, trust me."

He smiled. It was a rare sight when it came to Todoroki. Your chest fluttered until you remembered he was about to murder you in a few moments.

"I know we talked about our quirks before. I swore to never use my father's fire..." he said, "I know you don't want to use yours in its entirety either. Obviously, you aren't going to kill anyone, but..."

He took another step towards you. Your face was heating up and you weren't sure if it was just the warmth coming from his left side. The look he was giving you made your head spin. What was going on? What was he doing? Why couldn't you have a mind-reading quirk?

His breath lightly brushed your face, and it felt like a small gust of winter. If he got any closer...

"Don't take this as pity offering," he said, "I'm just giving you the chance to show them exactly who you are."

Your eyes widened.

"Midoriya gave me that chance. Even if he had to provoke me," his gaze was mesmerizing, "Part of me regrets it, but part of me thinks... it was the best thing for me."

Your heart was beating so fast you thought it would explode. Todoroki's hands cupped your face. The feeling of ice and fire touching your skin jarred your brain. The ice king had frozen you in place, and he didn't even have to use his quirk.

The next words to leave his lips were softer than a whisper, "Will you let me do the same for you?"