There are a few moments of silence between us, before Todoroki finally speaks up.

"I understand where you're coming from," he says, tilting his head as he meets my gaze. "I can't relate, but I can understand. It hurts to see the family you have left try and go on as if everything is okay."

"But like you said before, you both are completely different people. Zai seems to be the type to smile no matter the situation, so maybe that's her way of coping. She's not open in the same way you are being to me right now."

"How do you know that..?" I ask with a sigh, resting my chin on my palm. "I mean, you'd think as her little sister I would have picked up on that."

"Maybe that's the point," he answers. "She probably just doesn't want to worry you, I've noticed that you can be a bit more protective of her than the other way around."

"Well of course I am! My sister is a fucking idiot," I scoff at him. "Someone has to protect her and keep her out of trouble."

"Maybe so, but it also might be her way of protecting you."

Our conversation stops there as I notice Zai and Bakugo walk in opposite directions, standing to face each other about a few yards apart.

Iida and Aizawa both make their way towards us, the stern boy staying a slight distance away to referee. "ALRIGHT THEN!" Iida calls with furious hand gestures.

"The rules are simple! You must immobilize your opponent for 15 seconds, knock them out or force them to forfeit. Any damage done to anything or anyone other than your opponent will be cause for disqualification, and you will lose."

"Be prepared to eat dirt, peacock!" Bakugo says, stretching his arm with a grin on his face.

"Don't you mean sand, boom boom boy?"

"Shut it, airhead!"

"Ooh, a new nickname! I feel so honored, should I prepare an offering for his grace as a thank you?"

"BEGIN!"

Iida's words cut through the banter like a knife through butter, and Bakugo didn't hesitate for a second. His palms were at the ready, but those who have seen my sister's quirk first hand knew this fight was over before it even started.

A simple shift in the sand was all it took to freeze Bakugo in his tracks, the guitar emitting from her body in waves. Zai keeps the volume just loud enough that we can hear it, but faintly enough that we wouldn't be impacted by the effects.

The blonde's eyes are wide as she immediately breaks into song, and I notice the slight movement of her fingers to the beat of the drum she's creating.

She doesn't have to come into contact with anything to make music, as long as she can move she's a threat.

My sister's quirk is truly amazing.

Would you love me more
If I killed someone for you?
Would you hold my hand?
They're the same ones that I used
When I killed someone for you

Would you turn me in
When they say I'm on the loose?
Would you hide me when
My face is on the news?
'Cause I killed someone for you

She dances around him as she sings, and the movements of her hips make background vocals to her own. Bakugo has an awed expression and his eyes are clouded over, as if he had been hit too hard in the head and had become dazed.

He didn't even get a chance to make a single spark.

"THE MATCH GOES TO ZAI!" Iida cries, and the music slowly fades away. The blonde shakes his head, and anger immediately replaces his previously awestruck expression.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" He yells, earning a smile from my sister. "It was like you forced me to become frozen, but it's not like icy hot over there."

"Hey..." Todoroki says beside me, but I can't stop smiling at the comment.

"My quirk allows me to alter the emotions of those who hear it," Zai answers, allowing her hands to rest at her sides. "I simply changed your heart a bit to become awestruck, to feel admiration for me on another level."

"Yeah, she got us really good during the heroes and villains training," Tsuyu pipes up from on the hill, gaining their attention. "Tokoyami and I felt completely hopeless then.. why didn't you use it this time, Zai?"

My sister's smile falters for an instant. Only an instant, before it's back up again. "Because I don't like to use that side of my quirk," she simply answers as they come up to join us. "I'm an entertainer, and I don't want my audience to lose faith in themselves or others. I only did it with you two because I had no other option."

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU HOLD BACK WITH ME THEN?!" Bakugo cries in anger. "DID YOU REALLY THINK I COULDN'T HANDLE A PUNY POWER LIKE THAT?"

I notice Todoroki press his lips into a thin line after she says this, before Aizawa chimes in. "Sometimes heroes have to make decisions that go against their own moral code," he says, more so to the blonde than anyone else.

"Just because she chose not to do it with you, doesn't mean she thinks less of you. If anything this should be an important lesson to you, Bakugo. You didn't underestimate her, but challenging her to a fight when you could have waited until her quirk was revealed wasn't a smart move."

"Tch.. whatever," Bakugo says, clearly upset at the results. "Next time, I'll kick your fucking ass!"

"We'll see about that," Zai answers with a grin, and the two of them head off. Well, Bakugo started walking and my sister probably decided she wanted to annoy him more. I stand up and grab my bag, slinging it over my shoulder.

"Hey... is it okay if I walk you home?" Todoroki asks, his eyes on their fleeing figures. "It looks like your sister is going to be a while."

"Ah, sure I guess," I merely replied. "We don't live too far from here."

And with that, the two of us made our way from the beach, leaving the rest of our classmates gossiping about my sister and the fight as a whole.

Zai's POV-

"Don't forget about our deal now," I say to the blonde, who gives me a dirty look in return. "You have to come to my concert tomorrow!"

"...I was going to go anyways," he mutters, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "The old hag is a fan of yours, so when she heard you were going to be performing she bought us all tickets."

"Really? Oh that's so sweet of her!" I reply, clapping my hands together in happiness. "I'll make sure to look out for her while I'm on stage."

Bakugo rolls his eyes as we walk, in no particular direction of course. "So," he starts, narrowing his eyes. "Why didn't you use that quirk of yours during lunch, when everyone was panicking like headless chickens."

I let out a sigh, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "If I had tried, it would have to be loud enough for everyone to hear. Due to how everyone was screaming and all, if I had done that I would have burst everyone's eardrums. I don't want people's heads to explode, thank you, I'm not Present Mic."

For a second I thought I saw a small smile on his face, before it quickly turned back into a frown. "How the hell did you end up like that then? Getting trampled all over.. I don't like that you beat me when you were easily overpowered by something that stupid."

"I was just unlucky," I replied in a quiet tone. "I got dragged over and eventually got too caught up in the chaos. I'm surprised the others survived all of that."

There are a few moments of silence between us, the air getting slightly colder as we go. Bakugo mumbles something to himself, but not loud enough for me to catch it. "What was that..?"

"...Promise me something," he says in a low tone, looking at me from the corner of his eye. "Next time we fight, you'll be stronger. I don't want to have to save you all the time you know. Not that I care what happens to you, fucking peacock."

I can't help but burst into laughter at that, he reminds me so much of a tsundere and it'd be cute if he wasn't constantly screaming his head off.

"Alright, I promise," I respond with a bright smile. "But the same goes for you. Make sure our next fight lasts longer than twenty seconds, alright?"

The angry Pomeranian is back once more as he snarls at me, narrowing his eyes in my direction. "Oh shut up. I'll kick your ass any day of the week!"

"Suuuuure, boom boom boy. I'll see you at my concert tomorrow, and if you don't show... well that would be pretty shitty of you."

"... I'll be there. Now get your ass home before I drag your ass there."

"You know, that could be kinky if taken in the right context-"

"OH SHUT THE HELL UP!!"

For those of you who have read up to this point before the chapter being posted, you may have noticed a pretty big change in the story.

That's right!

There's chapter titles now!

I couldn't help myself after writing this chapter, so I went and changed them all. But I like having them like this, it makes it easier to keep track of when I'm looking for reference to something I've said.

Also, I kind of started writing another MHA story in the background, centered around a certain winged hero ;) that might be posted later on, but I've only written a couple chapters as of now. I'll let you know when I have gotten farther in the story writing.

Yuga Aoyama: Quirk - Naval Laser! His quirk allows him to shoot a powerful sparkling laser cannon from his navel. It is so powerful, it can blast through 2 meters of solid concrete. If he fires the laser for more than 1 second at a time, he will suffer intestinal distress.

Daily Quote: "If you're going to rely on words alone, then they better be incredibly powerful." - Shoto Todoroki

~Author-chan