We walk out of the tunnel together, finding most of our classmates already there, along with All Might. I take a moment to admire their costumes before they all turn to me and stare. I quickly become flustered and stare at the ground, shuffling around to the side of the group. All Might went on to explain the rules and I tuned out, only paying attention at the end when we were assigned our teams.

"The situation is that the villains have hidden a nuclear weapon somewhere in their base. The heroes are trying to dispose of that. The heroes need to either capture the villains or obtain the weapon within the allowed time limit. The villains need to protect the weapon or capture the heroes to win. Teams and opponents will be determined by drawing lots!" All Might shouts, producing a box.

"They're being decided so haphazardly?!" the boy wearing the white armour asks.

"Pros often have to make makeshift teams with heroes from other agencies, so maybe that's why?" Izuku responds. I smile at him.

"I see. The discernment to look ahead... Please excuse my rudeness!" the boy continues, bowing to All Might. All Might does a 180 jump and pumps his fist in the air.

"It's fine! Let's do this quickly!"

Team A: Izuku and Uraraka

Team B: Shoji and Todoroki

Team C: Mineta and Yaoyorozu

Team D: Bakugou and Iida

Team E: Mina and Aoyama

Team F: Koda and Sero

Team G: Kaminari and Jiro

Team H: Tsuyu and Tokoyami

Team I: Erin and Ojiro

Team J: Kirishima and Hagakure

(Yes I shuffled some things around, I had to.)

"The first teams to fight will be..." All Might says, his hands buried in black and white boxes labelled "Heroes" and "Villains".

"These guys!!" he shouts, holding two balls in the air. The balls said A and D, A being the heroes and D being the villains.

'Wait... Team D is...' I think, turning slowly to look at Bakugou.

'Well shit.'

My pulse started fluttering faster, my mind working overtime to think of all the scenarios where Izuku's broken body is wheeled away.

'Have some faith, Erin. He'll be fine,' I tell myself, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. I realised the class had left me behind along with Bakugou and Izuku. Bakugou glares at Izuku, making him look at the ground, but as I watch, Izuku clenches his fist and looks back at Bakugou. Bakugou's eyes widen momentarily before his glare becomes more sinister.

I walk with the larger group to the monitor room, my claws clicking on the cement. The boy named Ojiro found me and we stood together in front of the screens, watching as Izuku and Uraraka climb in through a window.

They seemed to be making a lot of progress before Bakugou suddenly jumps out and attacks them. Izuku just barely manages to tackle Uraraka out of the way, half his mask destroyed, before Bakugou's fist slams into the wall and a massive explosion erupts. I clench my fists, making a silent promise that, whatever injuries Bakugou inflicts on Izuku, I'll repay tenfold.

'Don't think like that, idiot. it's just a mock battle, Izuku won't be hurt.'

I watch in awe of Izuku's skill as he fights Bakugou. I was tense and nervous during the whole fight, especially near the end. Bakugou pulled the pin from his gauntlet and I watch with my heart in my throat as the giant explosion blasts towards Izuku, who feebly raises his arms in defense.

"All Might, stop the fight!" I shout, slamming my fists onto the railing that separated us from the screens. Kirishima shouts with me, saying it's too dangerous. All Might seems to consider it for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"They can both still fight. I won't stop them yet," he replies. I grit my teeth angrily, shoving myself away from the railing and storming towards the exit.

"Young Erin, if you join in, I'll have to disqualify all of you," All Might calls, not taking his eyes off the screen. I whirl on my heel, glaring at his back.

"So disqualify us! I'm not watching this any more!!" I shout, kicking open the door. Just as I'm about to leave, someone grabs my wrist.

"Erin, think about Izuku. Would he want you to join in?" Ojiro asks, holding me still.

"Of course he would! You don't know what Bakugou has done to him! Now let me go-" I cry, trying to rip my arm away from him, then stopping as my eyes fall on the screen. Izuku was about to punch Bakugou, his arm glowing with power, then turns it into a uppercut that broke the floors above him and suspended the cement fragments in the air, his body being engulfed by Bakugou's explosion.

The cameras pan up to where Uraraka and Iida were. Uraraka makes a pillar weightless and uses it like a baseball bat, making the fragments of cement fly towards Iida like bullets. While Iida is distracted, she leaps over the hole formed by Izuku's punch, hugging the nuclear weapon. My jaw hangs open and I was unable to take my eyes off the screens. Ojiro was still holding my wrist, but he was also staring at the screen.

The cameras return to Izuku and my heart stops. His right arm was broken, and his left arm was severely burned. His hair hung over his face, hiding his left eye. He slowly falls to the ground, unconscious, and I felt my breathing get heavier, my eyes wide.

'He'll be fine he'll be fine he'll be fine calm down Erin, he'll be fine!'

I grit my teeth again, ripping my arm away from Ojiro and stomping towards All Might.

"Hero... hero team... WINS!!!" he shouts. I reach him and shove him in the shoulder aggressively.

"Why didn't you stop the fight sooner?! Izuku almost got killed!!" I shout, knowing I was stepping out of line but unable to stop myself.

"I knew he would be fine. Would you like a few minutes to calm down before your fight?" he suggests gently, trying to calm me down but only making it worse.

"THERE WAS NO WAY YOU COULD HAVE KNOWN WHETHER HE WOULD BE FINE OR NOT!!" I scream, drawing my fist back to punch him, forgetting that I had blades on my knuckles. My legs are suddenly encased in ice and someone grabs my arms, twisting them behind my back.

"LET ME GO!!"

"No, Erin. Not until you calm down," a cool voice says, perfectly calm. I struggle against his grip, trying to free myself, and my classmates watch with unreadable faces. Why were they looking at me like that? Why were none of them acting the same way I am?

Eventually I tire myself out and stop moving. The person releases me and steps back, but my legs are still covered in ice. The person walks into view and I take in his features, glaring around the room as I do so. The boy had half white, half red hair and a large burn covering the left side of his face. His eyes were different colours, the right one grey and the left one bright blue.

I grit my teeth and look away, stomping towards the exit. Ojiro follows me, walking silently beside me with a troubled face. We were given a few minutes more than the others to get ready because of my outburst.

"Why did you react that way?" Ojiro asks gently, not entirely sure if he should talk or not. I stay silent for a few seconds before sighing.

"Izuku is my best friend. This is the second time he was almost killed, and I couldn't do anything about it. He's the only one I have, so I hate seeing him get hurt," I say, covering my eyes with my left hand.

"The only one you have? What do you mean?"

"I don't have a family. I used to, but they kicked me out. Look," I say, lifting the tail of my shirt so that he can see the bottom of the scars that litter my back. He stares for a few seconds before placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Ready to start?" he asks. I nod.

"Thanks for hearing me out," I say. He smiles and nods at me, and we walk back together to All Might to tell him we're ready.

"Sorry about earlier. I just needed someone to blame," I apologise, averting my eyes.

"It's fine, young Erin! But, in the future, please be a bit more considerate of your fellow classmates," he replies, his grin growing.

"Of course," I say, still staring at the ground like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"In the mean time, the building is ready for your use. You may go in and get ready," he says, placing a large hand on my shoulder. I nod, turning around and walking with Ojiro to the room that held the weapon.

"We're up against Todoroki and Shoji, right?" I ask, sitting against the pillar and memorizing the floor plan.

"That's right," Ojiro confirms. We agreed that he would guard the weapon while I walked around to find the heroes.

"My Quirk won't work well indoors, so I'll have to rely on my costume. Yours?" I ask, looking up from the paper.

"Mine will be alright so long as I stay in this room. It's more open than the others so I'll have more space," he replies. I chuckle.

"We both have Quirks that don't work well indoors, so we'll have to be extra careful. Alright?" I say, standing up and handing him the paper. His face tints a light shade of pink and he nods.

"BEGIN!" a loud voice cries. I jump to attention, nodding to Ojiro and running through a doorway. I memorised the route I would take, covering the whole building. Before even ten seconds had passed, however, a sound like liquid moving fast caught my attention. The only thing that saved me were the springs in my boots. I saw the wave of ice a second before it caught me and jumped above it.

I heard Ojiro cry out in alarm and guessed the ice caught him. I turned back to go free him and almost ran directly into Todoroki. I swung at him out of instinct but he deflected my blow with his left hand, reaching up with his right hand to grab my face. I push him away, jumping backwards and running away.

'He's more powerful than I am, so I'll have to take him by- HOLY SHIT,' I shout in my head, skidding to a stop just before I crash straight into a wall of ice. It had risen up in front of me with no warning, trapping me in a dead end. Todoroki runs around the corner and I tense, ready to fight him. Shifting to bird form now would leave me vulnerable, so I didn't yet.

He grounds his right foot and a wave of ice shoots towards me. I manage to roll out of the way, then leap towards him. He reaches out with his right hand again and manages to grab my arm, a layer of ice appearing along it. I rip myself free and kick, aiming for his legs, but he jumps backwards and out of reach again.

Suddenly, I'm frozen in place. While I was focused on attacking him, I wasn't paying attention to the ground below me. I sigh, knowing it was pointless to try to escape, and Todoroki walks away to the room with the weapon in it. After about a minute, I hear All Might saying that the villain team won.

"Well, we tried," I mutter, waiting for Todoroki to come free me. When he appears again, he presses his left hand to where he froze me and the ice begins to melt. I thank him and leave the building. The rest of the battles were mundane compared to Izuku's, and after it's done and we're allowed to leave I almost teleport to the room Izuku was being held in, I ran so fast.

I knock on the door nervously, hoping I would be allowed in and that he would be awake. I didn't really want to face Inko alone when I tell her that her son had been hospitalised. Recovery Girl answered the door and let me in. Izuku was awake and sitting up, staring out the window. I rush forwards and throw my arms around his shoulders, taking him by surprise.

"Would you please stop doing that?! I was so worried!" I cry, tears pricking my eyes. I quickly wipe them away, but there's too many and they roll down my cheeks. Izuku seems at a loss for words, simply wrapping his arms around me and closing his eyes, resting his head on my shoulder.

"Are you okay now...?" he asks after a few minutes. I nod, sniffing and wiping away the last of the tears. We let go of eachother and Recovery Girl comes back in, telling Izuku he can go home. On the way home, I wrap my hand around his.

"Seriously. Stop doing that." I say, keeping my gaze straight ahead. He looks at me in surprise, his face tinted red, and we both stop walking. Without really knowing what I was doing, I lean in and place my lips on his, my eyes closed peacefully. A few seconds of silence pass before I realised what I'd done and I jump backwards, my face burning.

"I'm so sorry! I don't know why I did that, I'm sorry!" I shout waving my hands around and walking backwards. Izuku seems completely frozen, staring at me with wide eyes and slightly parted lips. I shift into bird form faster than I ever have before and fly away, shooting out of view in a matter of seconds. I keep flying in a straight line until I reach the forest, landing among the trees where nobody can hear me, and scream.

"WHY DID I DO THAT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" I shout, clapping my hands over my face. I was shaking, and I couldn't understand my emotions. I slapped myself in the hope of calming down a bit but that didn't do anything other than make my cheek sting.

After a few minutes I calm down enough to breathe properly again. I take a few deep breaths and my heart calms down a bit as well. My knees were drawn up to my chest so much that it hurt, so I relaxed them a bit. I know I shouldn't sleep outside again but it takes a lot of arguing with myself before I take off again and start heading home.

Home.

When did I start refering to Izuku's house as "home"? I shake the thought from my mind and concentrate on flying. I don't fly in a straight line, more weaving back and forth to stall for time.

'What if he doesn't want to be friends any more? What if he pushes me away?' I torment myself, thinking of all the ways this could go wrong. I decide that, if it doesn't work out, I'll grab my mother's toy and hightail it out of there. I was so buried in thought that I would've missed Izuku's house if his mother hadn't spotted me and called out. I was flying rather low for once, so I heard her clearly. I land and shift back to human form.

"Where's Izuku? He hasn't come home yet," she frets, glancing up and down the street.

"I'm not sure. I... Inko I did something and I don't know what to do next." I admit. I was tempted to make something up, but I really didn't want to lie to her.

"What happened? Are you okay?" she asks, turning her worried gaze on me and touching my arm. I smile at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Physically, anyway. Can... can we sit down?"

"Of course!"

We go inside and sit at the table.

"So, Izuku and I have known eachother since we were four. And, I... I kissed him today," I say quickly, staring hard at the table, "And I'm feeling really conflicted and I don't know what to do."

After Inko recovers from the surprise, she smiles broadly at me and pats my hand.

"It'll be fine, Erin. Izuku told me a few days ago that he likes you and didn't know how to say it."

Now it's my turn to be surprised. Then I'm elated. The relief I felt would have made my legs crumble if I hadn't been sitting down. I slam my forehead onto the table and heave a sigh of relief, feeling the stress and tension leave my body. Just then, the door opens again.

"I'm home, mum!" Izuku calls. I suddenly felt tense and nervous again, despite Inko's reassurance. As he walks into the room, a glowing smile on his face, we both freeze.

https://youtu.be/g7hvE2gP_2M

"Talk it out, you two. I'll be in the kitchen," Inko says cheerily, waving us away. She pushes us into Izuku's room and closes the door for privacy.

'God damn it Inko why are you like this,' I moan in my head, face palming. Izuku steps forwards and wraps his arms around my waist, holding me close to his body. My face turns red and I can't look him in the eye for more than a second.

"I'm assuming mum told you about how I feel," he says, almost whispering. My heart skips and I nod, still looking away from him. He removes one of his arms and gently grabs my chin, turning my face towards him.

I don't turn away.