Apparently it isn't a filler if it progresses the story so ig the last chapter was real story content

Contest results at the bottoM AY CHAD BOOK HERE WE COME

Happy 100th chapter this book has gone on too long let's all be real (':

Y'ALL IT'S 11:35 PM IN MY TIME ZONE AKA STILL JULY 1ST FOR ME I'M NOT LATE LOOK AT ME GOOOO

Third person pov

When the Wild, Wild Pussycats awoke them the next morning, most of the class had the enthusiasm of a dead armadillo. They dragged themselves out of their futons like they were the human embodiment of potato sacks, eyelids drooping tiredly and hair in disarray. Even Bakugo was a bit disgruntled, though more used to the lack of sleep than most of his classmates. He stayed up all night talking to Lillian, after all. It had made his sleep schedule entirely insane and unmanageable; though, he wouldn't have it any other way given the choice. Aside from him, there were a few more individuals peppier than the rest.

"Awwww yeah." Lillian clapped her hands together as 1-A slunk out to where they were meant to meet Aizawa, dressed in their gym uniforms and ready for a workout akin to purgatory. As in it would never end, and they'd all be in a constant state of suffering. Hitoshi was beat boxing horribly next to her as they walked, clearly having no experience in said field but not really giving a shit either. Lillian continued. "Yo my mom, she gave me a dollar, she told me to buy a collar, but I ain't buyin' no collar. Instead I bought some-"

"Bubblegum." Todoroki and Izuku chimed in, the former more blandly than the latter. Izuku was bouncing excitedly in contrast.

"Bazooka-zooka," Lillian continued.

"Bubblegum." The two boys said again. Hitoshi was still beat boxing.

It was amusing and perplexing at the same time. People wondered how they could act as though they had literally any energy, especially with those bags under their eyes. Bakugo really wasn't surprised. Lillian had come to school on no sleep whatsoever in the past. Though the her at the beginning of the year would have been brain dead right now and most likely incapable of more than minimal movement, this version of Lillian was painfully used to sleepless nights. Whether it be because she stayed up late with her friends, or because she had nightmares that kept her from closing her eyes again once they startled her awake. 

It turns out, half their class ran on pure coffee alone in the mornings. Nothing else but caffeine. But you know what they didn't have here? Coffee. At least, they didn't have any students were allowed to access. It left those who relied on it moving like slugs and more irritable than not. They grumbled to themselves like drunks with a hangover and glared harshly at anyone who made a sound above a whisper.

"Good morning, class. Today, we begin the training camp that will increase your strength." Aizawa announced as the students gathered. Lillian stayed near the back with her friends, sniffing slightly. Her muscles really didn't ache at all due to the fact that Hitoshi had carried her, but her head was still pounding from the overuse of her quirk the day before. Her eyes stung despite the sheer amount of eyedrops she'd doused them in, and her throat felt sore and raw from all the blood that had hacked its way up prior. Hitoshi was the opposite, constantly rolling his shoulders to try and soothe to pains that had taken root there, and bending his legs uncomfortably in hopes that would help somehow. 

"Our goal is to increase your skills exponentially, so that each of your earns a provisional license. This will allow you to face the dangers that continue to fester in the darkness. Proceed carefully." Aizawa sounded about as tired as his students looked, but that really wasn't new. The man scanned his daughter. Though she usually hated getting out of bed in the morning, it always astonished her how she could go from looking like, well, him, to looking like a functioning member of society who'd gotten a full night's rest and then some. "Look alive, Bakugo."

Bakugo easily caught the baseball that was tossed to him, glancing back at where Lillian stood. She shot him a subtle thumbs up that only Hitoshi appeared to notice. The turnip bastard glared, and Bakugo glared back before his attention snapped right back to his strict teacher. It was weird to think this was Lillian's dad. Every time it occurred to him, shivers went down his spine. If he and Lillian worked out somehow, he'd be seeing Mr. Aizawa a lot more. And Mr. Aizawa probably wouldn't be his biggest fan, considering how much he seemed to care for his daughter despite not finding her until she was fifteen.

"Try throwing that for me." Aizawa kept the grin off his face. This would be good. The tired man wasn't sure how to feel about Bakugo. He'd talked more to Mic before they left about the nature of the explosive teen's relation with his daughter, and it was reported that they were actually friends and had been since sometime before the internships even began. He'd cornered Hitoshi as well. The boy hadn't given much information, but did seem defensive of Lillian when it came to Bakugo. Did his most volatile student have feelings for Aizawa's kid? Because that wasn't about to fly.

There was a slight-- and this is a very slim-- chance that Aizawa was being to... critical. No, that wasn't quite the word he'd use. Fatherly, maybe? He just wasn't sure Bakugo was the right fit for his little girl! That's all! There were so many other people she could choose who... didn't have anger issues. Like Kirishima! He wasn't a total idiot and was fairly nice. An optimistic guy. Or maybe one of the girls would be better. Jiro was level headed and chill. Mic seemed to like her well enough, though Aizawa was pretty sure she had a thing with Momo. Shoji could be a good choice. He had manners.

"Yeah, sure. Like in the fitness test." Bakugo gazed down at the ball. Lillian shifted her weight from foot to foot, glancing up at Shoto. He was squinting contemplatively at Aizawa as though trying to crack a code, and Izuku was pretty much no different. Hitoshi just seemed bored and like he wanted to go to sleep. Lillian could relate. The ground looked awfully comfortable considering how rock hard and dirty it was.

"That's right. When you first started school, your record was 705.2 meters. Let's see if you've improved." Aizawa stepped aside as the grumpy teenager stormed past, ready to send the durable ball flying. Lillian wondered what they'd be having for lunch. Scratch that, were they even going to have breakfast? Her father had a familiar bag sitting at his feet, and she could practically smell her favorite brand of granola bar sitting inside. She'd have to raid it later, when he least expected it. Not that he would dare cross her were she hungry enough to go feral and hunt the sack down.

"Oh, I get it! We're checking our progress." Ashido chirped, seeming more awake than she had a few minutes prior. A lot of 1-A seemed to slowly be coming to life. The longer they stood there, the less they seemed to slouch and yawn. Lillian could only snort at that. Plebeians. They needed to get on her level. She was sleep deprived and ready to rumble. Someone could throw Shigaraki in her general direction and she'd body slam him into the dirt like it was nobody's business. Wouldn't even cry that much while doing it. She wandered in the unhealthy in-between. The plane very few existed within. Energetic sleep deprivation. She, Hitoshi, and Shoto were very commonly in this state. Neito sat within it entirely, and probably would until they figured out how to CPR him back to life.

"A lot's happened to us the last three months! Maybe he can throw it a whole mile now!" Sero exclaimed, leaning forward as Bakugo wound himself up. Izuku and Lillian both shared a suspicious look. Lillian knew Bakugo and his quirk's abilities fairly well, and Izuku was just a downright genius. The more they thought about it, the more it became clear. None of them had specifically trained their quirks, per say. 

Yeah, they'd used them, but how much had they pushed? Lillian had before the Sports Festival, and so had Neito. Their time had definitely increased. But the rest of the class hadn't done any of that extra bullshit that drove you into the ground and made you wonder why you continued living. All their training had been mainly physical. Lots of hand-to-hand and building stamina. Half the class had endurance that was absolutely through the roof! Izuku was one of these people, for example, and Bakugo and Kirishima also fell in this category. But their quirks...

"C'mon, get it, Bakugo!" Kirishima called. Lillian would have shouted out too, but then people would look at her. She wasn't about that life. Not this early in the morning, anyway. Or unless she was DJing alongside Present Mic, apparently. She still couldn't believe she'd done that. Just thinking about it gave her anxiety. They'd made her a meme. She was an actual meme, and she had no idea how to feel about that.

"I've got this." Bakugo grumbled. Lillian could tell he was grinning. "No one blink!"

Lillian held her breath and braced for the inevitable. Someone play the sound of silence, because darkness, their old friend, was on his damn way to talk to them all again. Namely Bakugo, who she was pretty sure was about to become 30% disappointment and 70% pure, unadulterated rage. How lovely. They were all in for a treat. Pop the champagne. Not because they were going to have anything to celebrate, but because they needed at least something to drown their sorrows in.

"GO TO HELL!" Bakugo roared, and the ball went flying. Smoke tailed after it as it flew into the air in a wide arc that was quite familiar. The quirk apprehension test seemed so long ago; it was weird to watch a near replay of what had happened the first time. Bakugo looked so smug and satisfied as it rocketed off into the trees too. So sad. Someone get Lillian and Alexa, because in a moment, she was going to need to play Despacito. Dead meme or not, sometimes it was simply required. Desperate times, desperate measures. Everybody dougie, mad lads.

"That was 709.6 meters." Her dad had absolutely zero chill. He just gave it to him straight, and watched with sadistic amusement as shock overcame Bakugo's face. The class was stunned silent at the minimal difference between his first score and his current one. Aizawa held up the counter for them all to see, and Lillian winced. Sad boi times, everyone. Gather around with your tubs of ice cream. It was time to wallow in self pity and cry yourself to sleep. Hitoshi needed to whip out the vine compilations that could cure cancer and depression both.

"That's it? Kinda disappointing." Sero admitted, apparently absolutely ready for the end. Using the word 'disappointing' in reference to Katsuki Bakugo was a death sentence if you weren't on his no-kill list. And Lillian had seen his no kill list, and could confirm that there were only a few names on it. Sero's was not one of these names. As in, he was a goner. Lillian had planned funerals before-- namely her own, but that was besides the point-- so she was sure if she put her knowledge along with Hitoshi's together, they'd eventually get somewhere.

"You've had a single semester at UA, and due to your various experiences, all of you have definitely improved." Aizawa's eyes scanned over them. "But those improvements have mostly been limited to mental prowess and technical skill, with a slight increase in stamina thrown in along the way. Your quirks really haven't grown that much stronger. Not on a fundamental level. That's why we're now going to focus on improving your powers."

Aizawa grinned, and Lillian blanched. Not a good sign. Like, at all. Even Shoto tensed up, and the guy really wasn't phased by much. Save for Candy Crush, which could send him spiraling into a stress-induced rage that involved throwing his phone. And Hitoshi's phone. And Lillian's. Not Neito's, oddly enough, but they wouldn't talk about that. There were more holes in the wall covered by posters than any of the teenagers would dare admit. Lillian had a feeling Mihoko knew the destruction was there, but allowed them to live within their false sense of security out of sheer kindness alone. One day she'd snap.

"This'll be so hard, you'll feel like you're dying. Let's hope you all survive." Aizawa was grinning wider than usual. The bigger the smile, the worse it would be. Looks like Sero's funeral wasn't the only one Lillian would be planning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What's worse than hell? Trying to use plastic wrap? Your Windows laptop claiming it needs to update? Maybe your dog, farting in your bed at three in the morning after its just gotten into the trash and eaten a plethora of rotting leftovers. Either way, nothing could possible trump this. Whether it was Aizawa's idea originally or the Wild, Wild Pussy Cat's, the point stood that this would end in blood. Lillian was banking on someone losing a limb, and Hitoshi was willing to bet at least three students would die or get close to it. Some of the workouts were pretty damn hardcore.

A good example was Bakugo, who was literally plunging his hands into boiling water to expand his sweat glands before directing them to the sky and letting off several chain explosions to increase the scale of his attacks. They lit up the air and sent a wave of heat washing over anyone too close to him, making the already-sweating teenagers in the vicinity even hotter. It was clearly pretty painful if his frustrated cries were anything to go off of. Lillian was suddenly glad her quirk wasn't so physical.

Todoroki had been tossed into a giant bucket of water. He'd freeze the area around him, helping him get accustomed to the cold. Then he'd alternate over to his fire and melt it all again, helping him to control his flames. He was also regulating the water's temperature as he did this. If the ice was there too long, he'd get too cold. If he used too much fire, he'd get burned. It wasn't an easy line to walk, and he was very clearly near collapsing with exhaustion from the use of his given powers. Though, there was a chance this would one day help him to use both at once in tandem. 

There were other classmates who had less complicated things to do. Sero was on a cliffs edge just... shooting tape out of his elbows. Only it clearly hurt like a bitch, and he was forced to keep going. He was just continuously shooting it out to increase his capacity and hopefully its tensile strength. Iida was simply running without stop, his engines at work. Kirishima and Ojiro had teamed up and were sparring with one another, Ojiro having to use his tail against a hard surface and Kirishima having to... well, be the hard surface.

Kaminari was running his quirk through a battery, which helped him to handle larger amounts without his brain short circuiting. Koda was sliding out of his comfort zone to do vocal exercises to improve his quirk's range, which wasn't too bad. Lillian would definitely take screaming off a cliff any day of the week over what she was doing. Aoyama was firing his laser into the air, Tokoyami was in a cave somewhere trying to control Dark Shadow, Ochako was in this weird bubble thing getting rolled around while her ear canals got used to zero gravity, Tsuyu was climbing a shit ton, Momo was stuffing her face while constantly creating nesting dolls, Jiro was stabbing stone with her earphone jacks, and Mina was trying to melt stone.

Hitoshi was someone who would have had to be paired up with another person. His quirk really wasn't one that could particularly be strengthened, per say. It was straight forward enough that he was able to go off with Aizawa and instead learn more about the man's capture weapon. Class 1-B had arrived at some point, but Neito wasn't there so Lillian didn't give a shit. All she had to do was sit in one spot and breathe. That was her job. She just had to sit there, and hold up three huge ass boulders Pixie Bob had made with her quirk about ten feet in the air. If she felt close to coughing up blood, she'd drop them. After that she'd re-freeze them and lift them back up as far as she could herself. Her quirk seemed to null its weight

They were definitely heavy. The more time that passed by, the more she could feel it. It was an odd sensation. In a way, it felt as though she were physically holding the boulder as it hovered there unmovingly. There was something she wanted to try, but asking made her a bit nervous. The idea was potentially ludicrous. It could, without a doubt, kill her and probably several of her classmates if it didn't go well. She'd need Bakugo to do it, and he was busy anyway. It probably was better she did.

During her time freezing things over the past few months, one thing had become pretty clear. She could pretty easily lift the things she froze. Maybe her quirk froze gravity's effect on them, maybe it was something else. Either way, she could easily yeet one of these boulders down the mountain. If she released it at just the right moment, it would get heavy again and gain speed, becoming destructive and quite possible creating an Indiana Jones moment were anyone to get in its way.

That wasn't what she wanted to test. She'd already accidentally kicked one of the boulders off the edge of the cliff out of frustration, so they all knew that was possible. During the Sports Festival, she'd physically touched Kaminari's frozen lightning and moved it out of the way without being electrocuted. Bakugo's explosions had also been frozen during the race, which begged the question: could she pick up one of Katsuki's detonations and throw it at someone, releasing it right as it was about to hit?

"Hey, Kitten! How're things coming along?" Pixie-bob was making her rounds. Lillian glanced at her with a small smile, her lungs burning and her eyes screaming in protest. Shit hurt, and the look on her face probably made that clear. She was surrounded in water bottles and cans of milk, as well as packages of crackers. When you lost blood, it was important to stay hydrated and maybe snack on something to help your body reproduce more. The blonde woman's smile turned a bit more sympathetic. "That bad, huh?"

"I-It's alright. I've had worse." Lillian thought back to the USJ, and she shivered. Pixie-bob's joyful expression dimmed slightly. Lillian scrambled for a subject change. "I-I, uh, I-I really want t-to test something, a-actually. I just... u-um..."

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and Pixie-bob's beam came back full force. This was just what the woman wanted! Sure, this training camp was more about strengthening the quirks rather than finding out new ways to utilize them, but creativity was always encouraged amongst the young ones! Not to mention Lillian's idea could potentially be great practice, whatever it was. Her eyes kept darting in the general direction of her classmates, so she probably needed one of them to help her out.

"What is it that you want to try, Kitten? Do you need one of your classmates?" The blonde's eyes scanned the crowd, trying to work out what she might be wanting to try. This was so exciting! She loved to watch the kittens grow, even if they were only here for a short amount of time.

"Y-Yeah. Bakugo, but h-he's a bit-" There was an explosion in the background followed by a loud 'damn it!'. She winced. "-busy?"

"Nonsense! I'm sure he could use a break anyway. He's been at it for a few hours now, so it's not a big deal." The pro waved a paw mildly, giving a reassuring smile. Lillian seemed to ease up a bit. She knew Bakugo wouldn't mind working with her or helping her out, but she still didn't like interrupting him in the middle of his training. Just because he didn't fuss about it didn't mean it wasn't an inconvenience! Pixie-bob's voice rose. "Bakugo! Be a dear and come over here!"

A few people glanced over at them briefly, but most were too tired to actually care, or simply too focused on what they were doing. Lillian let the boulders drop as she stood on slightly-shaky legs, the ground trembling slightly as they landed and balanced themselves out. The relief she felt was immediate, and she sucked in a breath of fresh air as though she hadn't been able to breathe before. Pixie-bob eyed her a bit nervously when Ragdoll's perplexed and concerned gaze snapped over to them. 

"What is it?" Bakugo's tone was snappish, but Lillian wasn't shaken. He was exhausted and drenched in sweat, and his arms and hands probably hurt like hell. Pixie-bob turned expectantly to Lillian as she wiped at the line of blood dribbling past her lips with a cough. Bakugo's gaze immediately turned to more concern. And by that she meant his eyebrows furrowed slightly and he frowned a little. He still looked completely ready to commit a mass murder were someone to glance at him the wrong way.

"W-Well, I wanted to try something but sort of need your help. Sorry for interrupting whatever... that was." Lillian's nose scrunched up as she waved a hand in the general direction he'd come from. He snorted, seemingly amused by her opinion of his training.

"A shitty method of torture." Bakugo suggested with a scowl and flippant shrug of his shoulders.

"Anger management." Was where Lillian's mind immediately went.

"Why the fuck would I need anger management?" Bakugo's eyes narrowed at her.

Lillian looked away and coughed into her fist awkwardly, earning a dry look from the teen. Pixie-bob was absolutely delighted! The explosive boy didn't yell at this girl like he did the others. In fact, they seemed like friends. It would be interesting to see what Lillian had come up with for the both of them. She took a step back as quietly as she could so she didn't accidentally throw them off. If they kept chatting long, of course she'd have to step in, but she and her team had always enjoyed being observers more than anything else. Save for Tiger. He was a more hands-on type of guy!

"Alright, I just- uh... stay there. And make an explosion when I tell you to." Lillian said vaguely, and Bakugo rose his eyebrows. He didn't refuse or ask questions though. She got a nod and spun around, darting off a good ten feet away give or take. Bakugo kept his hands shoved in his pockets, his shoulders slumped tiredly as the girl scooted around a bit trying to find a good spot. He watched her hold her hand up to block him from her view, and it became apparent what she was about to try. Why she wanted to try, he wasn't sure.

"How big should the shit be?" Bakugo asked, needlessly cursing. One of the cat women was staring, and he didn't like it. This wasn't any of her business, was it? Lillian didn't need her damn help, she needed his.

"U-Uh, not too big. Microwave size?" Lillian blurted out, wincing awkwardly. She was blocking Bakugo from view, but she didn't have to look to know he was probably scoffed at her in amusement.  

"Fine. Microwave size." Bakugo held out his hand, waited for Lillian to adjust hers so his arm was also blocked out, and let one loose.

It froze as soon as it escaped his palm, not even reaching full size. He pulled his hand back and gazed at it in wonder as Lillian came scrambling back. Pixie-bob also took a few steps forward, staring curiously at the suspended explosion. The champagne blonde could only watch as Lillian snatched it out of the air as though it were solid. And now, maybe it was. Watching her turn it around in her hands was weird. Like someone had made a sculpture, and it wasn't just his detonation frozen in time. The awe he held for her quirk swelled. Impressive.

"A-Alright, here I go." Lillian suddenly reeled her arm back. "Thanks, Obama!" 

It flew towards a nearby cluster of rocks that was a surprising distance away. Bakugo was definitely impressed now, and possibly a bit more attracted to her. Her upper body strength had without a doubt improved. The explosion sailed through the air, and just as it was about to hit, he saw her blink. The reaction was immediate. His eyes went wide with surprise as the frozen explosion went off with a bang, sending bits of stone flying. The microwave-sized ball of fire left about as much destruction in its wake as it would have had Bakugo sent it straight from his hand. Only Lillian had done this from a distance. As in, she could make his attacks long range and could make them transportable in a sense.

"Wow!" Pixie-bob gasped excitedly. Lillian whirled around to face Bakugo, eyes shining. The pyromaniac in her had been awakened once more, and Katsuki couldn't stop his grin. At least this arson was legal.

"If I freeze it before it gets too big, how much power can we throw?" Lillian asked. His expression sharpened in a manner that was near sinister, but in the best way possible. His palms sparked.

"There's only one way to find out." He noted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The curry their class made for dinner? Absolutely fucking disgusting. Couldn't get any worse, really. Even with what Lillian had been taught about spices, she'd somehow got stuck peeling potatoes. Bakugo hadn't been allowed near a knife, which successfully pissed him off. After accidentally blowing up one of their stone ovens, he was banished to go sit in a corner. Hitoshi had managed to dislocate his shoulder while training with Aizawa, so he was out of commission. What Lillian was essentially saying is that the three people who actually knew something about cooking were somewhat benched.

Sleep came a bit easier. With how exhausted everyone was, they were all out like lights. But not before Lillian could dump out her stash. It made the guys all very glad she was rooming with them during camp all of a sudden rather than the other girls. She'd barreled into the room carrying a bulging bag of what turned out to be chocolate, sour gummy worms, twizzlers, and such of that like. The bag looked suspiciously like one of the one's Mr. Aizawa had, but they were all too ravenous to care as they devoured a good fraction of what had been brought. The abundance of spicy chips was sucked down by mainly Bakugo, along with Lillian herself. It was a godsend.

The remedial students weren't so lucky. They did get a full five hours of sleep, which was a lot more than Lillian and Hitoshi normally got, but it was still hellish for those who weren't used to it. It had even Shoto shaking his head in pity. In contrast, the freckled girl and her insomniac best friend were a bit surprised to find they'd been out for a full eight hours with no issues whatsoever. Somehow, despite the rest, the pair both felt more drained than they had the day before. Lillian's eye drops were going, and they were going fast.

Day three of camp was essentially the same as the one prior had been. Tokoyami flung himself back into the cave, those with more strength quirks were stuck with Tiger, and Lillian found herself throwing more of Bakugo's explosions off a cliff anytime the teen needed a break from the boiling vat of water he'd been assigned to. It was hard and hurt like hell, but it wouldn't completely kill them. Lillian was dead on the inside anyway, so she was confident there was nothing she'd could lose here. She just kept recalling the Sports Festival training. This was way worse than that, but it also wasn't in a way. At least she had some stamina and a little muscle this time around.

"So, can you freeze just what's in front of you?" Pixie-bob, for whatever reason, had taken a great interest in Lillian despite the complete difference in their quirks. Aizawa was with her this time, eyeing the boulders his daughter kept suspended several feet in the air. Hitoshi's shoulder needed time to recover, so he was set to running today to try and build more stamina. The sling he had kept his shoulder secure and less likely to be jostled as he sprinted about on the same path Iida was on. He'd get back to work tomorrow. He was finally starting to understand just how Aizawa's gear worked.

"W-Well..." Lillian thought back to the USJ, when she thought her dad was going to die. A shiver went down her spine. For a moment, everything had gone still. Those few seconds had saved her and the lives of some of her classmates. Her dad raised his brows at her. Right, she hadn't actually told anyone other than close friends. Barring Bakugo. It just hadn't really come up with the teenager, which made her a little guilty in some ways.

"What do you mean 'well'?" He questioned accusingly. Lillian's quirk was pretty straight forward, was it not? Whatever was in front of her froze when she blinked. Then, if she wanted to unfreeze it, she could release it with another blink or by freezing something else. That's how it had always functioned, but the girl looked unsure now as she shuffled her feet and tried to keep her blood inside her body where it belonged, rather than bubbling up her throat. Aizawa's heart still skipped a beat anytime he looked over and saw her wiping crimson from around her mouth.

"A-At the... at the USJ..." Lillian trailed off quietly. It was easier to talk about it nowadays, with how much she'd been around Vlad, but recalling the events still made her gut clench and her eyes sting with unshed tears. Pixie-bob visible straightened, and Aizawa's expression softened a great deal.

"What happened, dear?" The blonde woman coaxed with a welcoming smile. Lillian winced, eyes darting to Hitoshi as he passed nearby. He slowed to a stop when he saw the distress on her face, frowning and cocking his head in silent question. She shrugged back, eyes going to the boulders she was holding. Today just wasn't her day, was it?

"U-Uh... wh-when..." Lillian crossed her arms over her chest, and then uncrossed them, only to cross them once more. Yeah, no, she wasn't about to hop on this train. Sad boi times in the club. This wasn't her cup of tea, nor would it ever be. The USJ was something she really just wanted to forget. It could fall in a hole and die, and that would be fine. She'd almost died, her dad had almost died, her classmates and another of her teachers had almost died. It had just been a whole lot of near death and she wasn't really a big fan of that. To this day she still had nightmares about it, but she was so used to them occurring now that it never really bothered her or made her raise a brow. Sort of like she'd grown numb to them.

Hitoshi trotted over. He knew that look on her face. Mr. Aizawa was trying to bring up something she didn't want to talk about. Probably the USJ, because Lillian was pretty open about most other topics. She'd evade talking about Chad anytimeTsukauchi tried to coax information from her or anyone else in Mihoko's house, but she'd never looked sick to her stomach by it. Her not-parents could make her cry, but the darting eyes and her being unsure of where to put her hands told him this was something a bit more serious.

"USJ?" He asked as he walked up. Aizawa and Pixie-bob turned to him, seeming a bit startled. He looked like shit, sweaty, with his arm in a sling, etc. If Neito were here, he'd shake his head and claim it wasn't Hitoshi's look. That was valid. Totally fair. Hitoshi missed Neito a great deal. Camp wasn't as fun without him. Or perhaps he should say as 'spicy', as that was something the blonde would probably prefer. 

"Y-Yeah." Lillian muttered, looking down and blinking. She glanced at them. "Y-You can tell them?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure. Which part?" Hitoshi shrugged. Lillian scuffed her shoe at the ground and muttered something about her quirk. Aizawa felt a bit of concern well up in her. A look of realization dawned on Hitoshi's face. "Right, right. So when the Nomu was about to uh... kill you, Mr. Aizawa, Lillian sort of panicked. And for a few seconds or so, maybe around thirty or less, everything froze. At least, that's what she's told me in the past."

Aizawa straightened, and Pixie-bob got an excited glint in her eyes. "Everything froze? What do you mean by everything?" He questioned, looking at his daughter as he said it. She winced again, pulling at her fingers uneasily. 

"W-Well, everything." Lillian gestured vaguely. Hitoshi wiped his sweaty forehead on his forearm.

"Full 360. Whole USJ went still, she says." Hitoshi noted. Pixie-bob grinned.

"Kitten, this is great! I'm willing to bet you could freeze more than one thing at a time with some practice! You know, freeze what's in front of you, spin around, freeze what's behind you too! This is wonderful news!" Pixie-bob cried. Lillian gave a hesitant smile, and Aizawa felt a grin stretch across his face as his daughter's anxiousness faded away slightly. Hitoshi gave a small salute and patted Lillian on the head like she was a dog before turning and jogging away before Aizawa could snap at him to get back to work. Behind the teachers, the three large boulders dropped and shook the ground. Lillian's nose scrunched up mildly at that, and Ragdoll once again peered over.

Her training took a turn after that. She'd toss a twig in the air, freeze it, and then was supposed to turn away and toss another in the air to try and freeze that one too without letting the other one drop. It wasn't working out too well. She tried as hard as she could to focus on holding, but it was as though she couldn't get a firm grip. The twig she'd turned away from would always slip when she went to freeze the other. She'd even gone so far as to try and focus on what had happened a the USJ and how she'd felt when it happened. That hadn't gone well either. All it did was leave her feeling nauseous as vivid memories of her fathers destroyed arms came to mind.

Aizawa was a bit worried about Lillian. He could see her from where he stood, and she'd sometimes shiver as she prepared to try and freeze her second stick midair. Her skin was pale, but not in a blood-loss sort of way. You could just tell she was sick to her stomach by looking at her, blinking back tears and taking deep breaths. He was legitimately considering putting her back on boulder duty and focusing on how long she could hold heavy objects rather than trying to get to hold two objects, no matter how useful the second skill sounded. All quirks had their limits, and were known to do crazy things in dire events. Her life had been threatened, and everything freezing could have been a side effect of that. One that would never activate again.

Her mental state was just as important as her physical one, if not more so. A hero's mindset was everything in a crisis. If they wanted Lillian to get better, they had to raise her up. Not task her to do things that would only bring her down. 

Still, Lillian didn't appear to want to stop. She didn't lag as she continued trying. When he'd asked how she was doing in a low voice while passing by, all she'd said was, "By choosing GEICO, you can save 15% or more on car insurance", which had pretty much answered his question. It was a solid no. But she didn't try to stop nor did she show relief at his subtle intervention. She'd just throw her stick back in the air and frozen it.

Dinner came around once more after what seemed like whole-ass eternity, and it was time for the kids to cook. 

"Whoa, Bakugo! You're really good with that knife! It's weird." Ochako looked extremely concerned as she cradled a bundle of firewood in her arms, eyes wide while she focused on what he was cooking. They'd all changed into more casual clothing that would be more comfortable for dinner time. Lillian was glad to hear she'd be able to wear her sweatpants during the test of courage. She was also wearing the cranberry sprite shirt Chad got her, and could see Kaminari sweating from where she stood.

"What do you mean 'it's weird'?! How can you people be so damn bad at everything?!" Bakugo snapped angrily, glaring at her as he barked out the words. Lillian would have thrown a plastic spork at him if not for the fact that she was currently in charge of managing the two, large pots of curry. The coriander was being difficult, and some newb from 1-B had put far too much black pepper in one pot, meaning she'd have to balance it out with other things. Said newb had been banished from being anywhere near their food.

"Hitoshi!" Lillian called over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off the teaspoon before her. "Do we have turmeric?!"

"I'll check!" Hitoshi shouted for somewhere behind her. Satisfied, she dumped the spice she'd been measuring out into the pot with the smugness her father probably felt watching them suffer today. The garbage heap that happened to be last nights meal was not going to be making another appearance if Lillian had anything to say about it. Yesterday's curry? Endeavor tier. It wasn't good. Tonight? They were going to go beyond even All Might. They were going to shoot for Chad's level. Some claimed it to be unobtainable. With the mess up from earlier, maybe it was for one of these pot's of curry. But Lillian would be damned if she wasn't about to try.

"Wow, I didn't know you knew how to cook, Lillian!" Mina awed at the girl as she snatched the spice from Hitoshi, who was squinting at the salt like it had something to hide. "If we combined you, Bakugo, and Shinso, we'd have the perfect housewife!" 

"What the fuck did you just say?" Bakugo snapped as he gingerly handed Lillian a massive bowl of chopped carrots. She rose her eyebrows at him before looking down at the bowl, and then back at the boy again. She glanced back at Hitoshi who was adding a few more potato chunks to the second pot with definite focus, carefully putting in a pinch of salt right after before swiftly beginning to stir. The freckled girl returned her gaze to Mina.

"Yeah, you're not w-wrong." She admitted, sifting some of the carrots into the first pot. Bakugo looked affronted. Lillian just scrunched her nose up at him. "Y-You participated and did a good job. What did you expect?" 

"What the fuck? I'm good at everything." Bakugo's fingertips sparked, and Mina held her breath, hoping he wouldn't blow Lillian up. The girl cried pretty easily. Even though they'd apparently done really well during exams, that didn't mean they got along! Lillian seemed like the type to kick someone in the balls if they went too far, though. That was a bit of a relief. Honestly, the freckled girl was pretty badass considering her shy demeanor most days!

"Except hand stands and replacing windows." Lillian dumped more carrots in innocently, taking the mustard from Hitoshi when he silently handed it over.

"Oh he's not good at a lot more than that." Hitoshi muttered under his breath spitefully, sending a glare the blonde's way. Bakugo ignored it and instead scoffed at Lillian, giving her his full attention.

"I didn't expect my window to fucking break. Why the hell would I know how to fix one?" He asked irritably. Lillian knew he wasn't actually upset though. She just rolled her eyes and passed the remaining carrots to Hitoshi, taking the basket of peeled potatoes from him. She flashed back to Vlad throwing the burning desk out of Bakugo's window, and she shivered. Honestly, that single event had caused her more trauma than the USJ had.

"No comment on the hand stand, then." She kicked him in the shin lightly. Mina stared down at her foot like it was a creature from another world. Bakugo huffed in a defeated manner, lips curling up into some sort of smile. It was snarky, but there nonetheless. Mina backed up slightly. 

"Whatever. At least I won't piss myself during the test of courage." Bakugo snapped back. 

"At least I have courage." Lillian bit out, eyes narrowed. Mina backed up further, and she wondered if this was what Kaminari felt like before people knew Lillian was genuinely terrorizing him.

Because Mina was well aware that if she tried to tell any of the girls what she'd just witnessed... well, they'd never believe her.

They finished up the curry, Lillian and Bakugo doing the brunt of the actual cooking. They got into a heated argument over how much coriander should be going into the fucked up pot to help balance the previous mistake of the newb, who will still not be named purely for legal purposes. It was during this time that Shoto and Izuku both urged everyone to get out of firing range, because Lillian could get scary when heated. Not only that, but they didn't want to risk anyone seeing her hair float and eyes turn red if she got a little too pissy. Her relation to their teacher wasn't a huge secret or anything, but they weren't exactly open about it either.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Kirishima all but cried as he shoveled more of the food in his mouth. It was dark out now, the lights strung overhead being the only thing lighting up their tables. They passed food around happily while chatting with one another. The fucked up pot was definitely All Might tier, but the other, unmarred, perfect, virgin pot was definitely of Chad worth, without a doubt. People were scarfing it down, leaving both Lillian and Bakugo with a deep satisfaction. The pair exchanged smug looks. Today they were sitting side-by-side, proud chefs. 

"Yeah, you guys really outdid yourselves." One of Shoji's mouths said, the other taking in food. Lillian squirmed under the praises of her classmates, while Bakugo puffed up cockily instead. Lillian could almost see the way his ego was growing. She'd have to pop that like a balloon. As if she'd ever let him get too full of himself. Not today, and not tomorrow. He was too much of an asshole already, and he knew it. At least he was trying. Sorta. It was a work in progress, to be honest. He still needed to be several pegs down to be socially acceptable. 

"Lillian." A voice drawled, and she twisted around in her seat in a startled manner just in time to see the bottle that was being held out to her. Her dad stared down at her impassively. "Here." 

"Hey, Mr. Aizawa! What's that?" Hagakure chirped curiously. Lillian's eyes grew wide and starry, and Hitoshi sighed. He knew it was only a matter of time before this happened. Bakugo also glanced over her shoulder, doing a double take when he saw just what she was being offered. He zeroed in on it hungrily as Lillian took it like it was the Holy Grail itself, her tongue poking out from between her lips with concentration as though it actually required all that much focus to retrieve it.

"You have no idea how much I love you right now." Lillian said in all seriousness. She got a few odd looks from those who'd actually heard. Aizawa just sighed and patted her head before turning away so nobody could see the smile that formed on his face. Lillian finally turned back around, cradling the bottle of spicy paprika like it was her lifeline. Bakugo scooted even closer to her, gazing down at it with intent. She glanced at him, quietly asking as the volume of the chatter once again rose, "We split it?"

"What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine." He responded in all seriousness. She popped the cap open. Hitoshi and Shoto shared a look, seeming mildly uncomfortable or at least weirded out. Originally, the purple-haired teen had thought Bakugo and Lillian would be a train wreck together. But now he had to wonder if together was exactly where they belonged, because he was watching them dump copious amounts of spice onto curry that was already moderately hot. And they were grinning wildly as they did so.

"They deserve each other." Shoto said distastefully as they mixed their curry with the paprika. 

"I'm beginning to see how that might be true." Hitoshi admitted. 

"Avocado!" Vlad shrieked. They both nodded in greeting as the creature loomed over them, before...

"Wait just a fucking second-"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vlad dictionary so far y'all-

Avocado: Hello!

Metal fork: Yes.

Plastic fork: No

OKAY CHAD ART CONTEST LEGGO

S o I can only have one for the cover, so of course I had to pick TWO for the cover-

This first one is by kermitkrying and it is absolutely amazing. The crocs, the gun, the tie-- I just adore it so much. It's definitely going on the cover. I just adore it so much I want to sister scream. If you have a one-shot request, definitely message me and I'll slap it right in the Freeze Frame one-shot book! Or you can request I update something! I personally don't suggest that because I usually just update anyway regardless so it'll eventually happen but- just thank you I love it ahhahdlkahsH

This second one will also go on a cover and I'll just alternate between the two because I genuinely could not pick. This amazing piece of art is by NevelsMusicalTrash! I just adore the style and colors, so if you want a one-shot as well, definitely message me. Same with an update, but again, I'll eventually update anyway so uh yeet leggo.

OTHER GOOD SHIT I HAVE TO SHARE HI:

This is by M_Rotten and it literally so good. Unfortunately, it's a bit blurry to be a cover and I don't have the heart or soul to digitalize it, and I'm not even sure if you'd ever be okay with someone doing that. Either way, I really love it and think it's amazing how you included so many characters and elements from this story within it!

maddie_wenson drew this, and it is literally so cool. I'm like quaking in my mf boots looking at this. It is so amazing. I love it! Unfortunately, a lot of people tend to believe that the winged Nomu from the anime is the same one as Vlad, but I actually did change him up, so he has black skin and a beak like the one from the USJ! I really, really adore this though. It's so cool and eri had a little water gun and UGH-

As per usual, lazy_apocalypse has absolutely outdone herself. Look at him guys. Just l o o k at him. I love this so much, I can't even put it into words. It's so amazing. Seriously, you're such a good artist. Thank you so much for drawing this.

....

*Screaming slowly increases in volume*

Y'all, look at this. animeswagg has legit ass outdone theirself. Like, this was so close that like, you can have a one-shot too. Like I spent ten minutes just wondering if three covers would be okay before slapping myself and saying that two was still too many. Like this is just so amazing and spot on. Seriously, thank you so much, and if you want a one-shot, DM me. I also appreciate that the Chad entry was the 69th part in your story like I died-

Mxrial, this is amazing. I just love it so much. Look at Vlad back there I just-- thank you so much for this. It's incredible, and your illustration skills are absolutely top notch. Low-key crying in the club over here.

TempermentalTeenager has outdone herself. This is so good that I just can't even. The anatomy is also just??? So good??? Seriously, thank you for this. Keep doing art, because you're great at it and like just wow

Waffle-Ninja has drawn this and I just really adore it. The way the jacket was drawn looks literally so cool, and his grin is hella spot on. Thank you so much for drawing this. It's my phones background literally right now, and I just- gah! Thank you so much. If you want a one-shot, you seriously deserve it. Feel free to message me if you have a specific one-shot you want me to write!

I'm sorry I couldn't put all the piece sin here! I saw and appreciated every single one (as long as you commented ay yo yeet) and they're all amazing. Thank you all for your time, and just seriously ahhHHHDSHD you're all amazing artists and I can't express my gratitude enough. Thanks for putting in the time to enter!