The fight was hard to watch.

  Uraraka’s relentless charges were battered away by Bakugo’s explosions... each one a concussive roar that lit up the stadium with fire and fury. She sprinted at him again and again, arms raised, feet scraping across the scuffed arena floor as dust billowed with every detonation. Her body was thrown back more than once, only to rise again, refusing to stay down.

  The crowd shifted from murmurs to outright boos. It wasn’t admiration for her resilience, it was discomfort. Bakugo looked like a villain, detonating blast after blast at a girl who just wouldn’t quit.

  Eraserhead shut them up fast. Silence rippled through the audience like a thunderclap. This wasn’t cruelty. This was a real fight. And Uraraka had earned her place in it.

  Then the smoke started to thicken.

  At first, it looked like just another cloud of debris, stirred up by Bakugo’s wild blasts, but then something strange happened. The fragments didn’t fall. They floated. Bits of broken concrete and rubble hovered high above the field, glinting faintly in the stadium lights. A silent storm, suspended.

  She’d planned this. She’d kept low so his explosions would tear up the ground, bit by bit. Now she was using it all against him.

  Midoriya leaned forward in his seat.

  Uraraka clapped her hands together.

  The debris dropped like meteorites.

  A thousand jagged pieces screamed through the air toward Bakugo, a hailstorm of sharpened earth and steel. And behind it, she charged one last time, legs wobbling, lungs heaving.

  Bakugo raised his hand.

  The explosion was massive, deafening, a sunburst that swallowed the falling rubble and flung her back like a ragdoll. She hit the ground hard, staggered upright, took two steps forward... then crumpled.

  She didn’t get back up.

  “Bakugo advances to the second round,” Midnight announced, voice quiet, almost sad.

  Midoriya’s eyes narrowed. He caught something moving near the challengers’ tunnel... just a flicker of orange hair and a ponytail. Robinn. Standing where she shouldn’t be, tucked away at the edge of the field, watching Bakugo with laser focus.

  Again?

  Before Midoriya could even tap Iida’s shoulder, she slipped back into the shadows. Bakugo began walking off the field and toward the same tunnel she had vanished into.

  The moment passed. The round was over. His match was next... or, technically, right after Kirishima and Tetsutetsu settled their brawl with an arm wrestling match.

  Midoriya stood up and made his way toward the prep room. A weird guilt sat heavy in his chest. Uraraka had said she’d see him in the finals.

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  She wasn’t going to be there.

  He walked with his head down, until...

  Boots on the stairs. Bakugo.

  Midoriya almost bumped into him. “Ah... hey, Kacchan...” he squeaked.

  Bakugo stopped and glared. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Midoriya fumbled. “Oh... uh, I’m up next, so, y’know... prep room stuff.” He turned to walk away. “Congrats on your match, by the way. See you around.”

  But Bakugo wasn’t done. He trailed after him, his tone angrier than usual. “It was your idea, wasn’t it? That pathetic plan of hers. That’s the kind of annoying crap you’d think of.”

  Midoriya stopped cold. “You’re wrong.” He turned, his voice firmer than before. “Uraraka came up with that plan by herself. I didn’t even know about it. If the fight was harder than you expected, it’s because of her. Not me.”

  Bakugo’s scowl deepened, but he didn’t respond. Midoriya walked away.

  The break room was quiet when he opened the door, except for the person already inside.

  Uraraka.

  She looked up and grinned, one hand rubbing the back of her neck. “Man, I lost... too bad!”

  Her voice was bright. It threw him off. He’d expected tears, silence, or something quieter.

  “Guess I got a little carried away thinking I had it in the bag,” she laughed. “Dangit.”

  He stepped closer. “You seem okay. Weren’t you injured?”

  “Recovery Girl patched me up,” she said, pointing to the bandage on her cheek. “Still got some scrapes though.”

  Midoriya looked at her for a long moment. “You sure you’re okay?”

  Without hesitation, she nodded. “Yeah, totally! Better than I expected.” Her phone buzzed. She ignored it. “Even if you lose, you just keep looking ahead, Deku. This just means I’ve gotta work harder now.”

  He didn’t get a chance to reply. Present Mic’s voice echoed faintly in the background. Kirishima vs Tetsutetsu had wrapped up.

  “Later,” he said, turning toward the door.

  “Oh, I’m sorry!” Uraraka stood. “You couldn’t prepare because I was here...”

  Midoriya gave a small smile. “Don’t worry... this was perfect.”

  “Oh.” She blinked, then grinned. “Then good luck out there! I’ll be watching!”

  “Thanks,” he said, stepping out.

  But the pit in his stomach didn’t go away. She was cheering him on... and all he could feel was helpless.

  He hadn’t helped her.

  She was the one helping him yet again.

  And then, of course, the universe tossed another boulder on top of his anxiety.

  Endeavor appeared at the end of the hallway.

  And Robinn stepped out behind him.

  “Endeavor?!” Midoriya yelped, far too loud.

  The towering figure turned. “Ah. I was looking for you.”

  The man walked forward, heat rippling around him like waves.

  “Oh, uh, hi... what are you doing here? And why is Robinn with you?”

  Robinn smiled brightly. “I was just helping him find your prep room. Funny we ran into you, huh?”

  Endeavor pointed a finger at him. “I watched your match against the brainwashing kid. That air pressure you created just by flicking your fingers... it reminds me of another Quirk. You share a lot in common with All Might.”

  Midoriya broke into a cold sweat. “Oh... well... I guess I never thought about it that way. Sorry, but I really should be going.”

  Endeavor’s voice deepened. “My Shoto will surpass All Might one day. This match with you is a necessary test of how far he still has to go. Don’t hold back. Hit him with everything you’ve got. That’s all.”

  He turned and walked away, the temperature in the hallway finally beginning to drop.

  Midoriya didn’t move. Not until he spoke. “I’m not All Might. And Todoroki... he’s not you.”

  He turned to go, and Robinn stepped in beside him.

  “Hey Midoriya, wait up!” she said, jogging to his side, her tone light.

  “Oh... Robinn. Sorry, I really don’t have time to talk...”

  “It won’t take long. Y’know, I never saw it before... but your Quirk really is kind of like All Might’s, isn’t it?” Her smile had the faintest edge of smugness.

  Midoriya hesitated.

  Then he spoke. “Robinn. About USJ... when All Might showed up... you didn’t look surprised.”

  She faltered. Just a beat. Then the smile stretched wider, too polished. She walked up, clapped both hands on his shoulders, and spun him toward the arena.

  “Hey, you said we don’t have time to talk, so go fight, okay? Good luck! You’ll need it!” She said pushing him forwards.

  It was so fast he barely had time to react.

  He stumbled forward, past the threshold, into the sunlight and noise and blinding pressure of the stadium.

  His mind was anything but ready.