I walked into one of the waiting rooms, seeing no one before walking to the other one, but stopping as I heard a conversation coming from the hallway before me.

I slowed my steps and stopped, listening to the conversation, to be honest I didn't want to walk past and make things awkward.

"You need to control your left side. You're just letting it all out, and it's dangerous." Endeavour said to who I guessed was Shoto. "But you have abandoned your childish tantrum and finally become a perfect upgrade of me."

'What?' I questioned, continuing to eavesdrop.

I know I shouldn't, but I couldn't walk away or move, it could give away my spot.

"After you graduate, come work for me. I'll lead you down the path of the mighty." Endeavour said, followed by silence.

"There's no way I can abandon anything." Shoto spoke up. "It's not something that can be so easily reversed. It's just...back then...For that one moment...I forgot about you."

I heard footsteps and slowly started stepping back, treading lightly.

"Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing...Whether it is correct or not...I need to think about it." Shoto said, his footsteps seeming closer, so I picked up my pace and stepped back quickly.

Shoto rounded the corner and seemed surprised to see me standing there with a guilty expression.

"I...uh.." I started but he quickly walked towards me and opened the door to the waiting room I had checked earlier and pushing me inside.

He stepped in and shut the door quickly, footsteps from Endeavour being heard from outside walking past.

I looked at him to see him looking away, his eyes covered by a shadow.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" I started before getting cut off by Shoto pulling me into a hug.

I stiffened and felt a blush spill over my face as I awkwardly hugged him back.

It was silent before I heard him mutter.

"I hate him so much..."

"I know you do..." I said softly.

After a while he pulled back, pink colouring his cheeks, and looking away.

"I gotta pick up a new uniform shirt...want to come?" He asked, me nodding.

We walked out the room and to where he got a new shirt, chatting away.

"So, are you going to use your fire in the final round?" I asked.

He looked away. "I'm not sure, my father already thinks I've stopped rebelling because I used it, I don't want to push his ego any more..."

"Well whatever you do, I'm sure you'll be great!" I said, giving him a grin, which he returned.

———

I walked back to my seat next to Shinsou and sat down, seeing Bakugou and Kirishima fighting each other.

"What did I miss?" I asked.

"Well Iida won between him and Shiozaki and Tokoyami won between him and Ashido, now it's Bakugou against Kirishima." Shinsou said, making me look at the battle field.

Kirishima started to try and punch Bakugou, slowly driving him towards the boundaries as he avoided the attacks.

Though after a while Bakugou sent an explosion to Kirishima's side, seeming to make him stumble a bit before sending countless explosions at him.

The battle eventually ended with Bakugou knocking Kirishima to the ground with an explosion, making Bakugou the winner of the round.

Now the fight was down to four more people, Shoto, Iida, Tokoyami and Bakugou.

There was a small break before the first round of the semifinals came, Iida against Shoto.

I sat forward in my seat a little, wondering what Shoto would do.

Shoto sent out ice towards Iida, who avoided it in an instant, trying to get to the side of Shoto but got surrounded by ice, giving him less space to run.

Shoto sent another ice attack at him, Iida jumping up and using his quirk to get him closer to Shoto before sending a powered kick at him.

Shoto ducked down and avoided the attack easily but was sent to the ground with another kick from Iida.

I winced as that happened, hoping that it didn't break anything.

I saw the ground cover in ice though Iida avoided it and picked Shoto up and running to the boundaries.

Iida stooped suddenly, ice covering the exhaust pipes as ice covered his body, immobilising Iida.

"Iida is immobilised! Todoroki wins!" Midnight announced with a crack of her whip.

I cheered along with the crowd, though remembered that he didn't use his fire.

'I wonder if he uses it for the next round he's in...' I thought, seeing where Endeavour was standing.

———

The next battle was Tokoyami and Bakugou against each other, which was intense but it ended with Bakugou sending a huge explosion at him.

Tokoyami gave up because of the bad match up, making Bakugou the winner.

'So...it's Iida and Tokoyami battling it out for third place and Shoto and Bakugou for first and second...' I thought, standing up to go see Shoto one last time before the final fight.

———

I walked to the waiting room to see Shoto sitting there, staring at his left arm with a thoughtful expression.

"Hi..." I said, snapping him out of his train of thought and gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry if I interrupted you."

"Oh, it's quite alright." Shoto said with a smile.

I grabbed a chair and sat down next to him.

"So, are you nervous?" I asked.

"A little..." Shoto admitted. "I still don't know whether to use my left or not."

Suddenly the door was kicked open, revealing Bakugou standing there with a confused expression.

"Huh? Hey, why are you here?" He asked, pointing at Shoto before looking at the sign in front. "It's waiting room...oh, this is room 2? Damn it!"

Shoto looked at him before looking away, seeming to piss Bakugou off even more.

"I may have gotten the room wrong, but what's with that attitude against your opponent in the final?!" Bakugou asked, stomping over to him.

I got ready to use my quirk to push him away but Shoto glanced at me and lightly shook his head.

"Hey, hey, hey. Where are you looking, Half-and-Half Bastard?!" Bakugou yelled, an explosion igniting on the table and making me jump back while Shoto sat there with a weird look.

"And you!" Bakugou said pointing at me. "I saw you on this bastards team. Don't think you're any better than me, I could beat you in seconds!"

I nodded my head quickly as Bakugou ignited another explosion, making me wince again.

"That's..." Shoto muttered.

"Huh?!" Bakugou asked, looking back at him.

"...what Midoriya said to me, too." Shoto continued, looking at his arm in thought. "That guy acted recklessly and came to destroy all the problems I'd been carrying. You guys are childhood friends, right? Was Midoriya like that when you were young, too?"

Bakugou seemed at a loss for words, screwing up his face in slight disgust and the mention of Midoriya's name.

"That damn nerd..." Bakugou started, kicking the table away. "Who cares about him?! Seriously, who the hell cares...?"

'Anger issues much?' I thought as he kicked away the table, Shoto seeming a little surprised.

"Your family circumstances, and your feelings...I don't care about that stuff! Just use the flames on your left on me, too!" Bakugou yelled, walking away. "I will hold them down from above."

He left and slammed the door behind him, leaving the both of us in silence.

"Shoto...? Are you going to use your fire?" I asked hesitantly.

He looked down at his hand and shook his head. "I'm not done with my father yet."

I nodded. "I understand." I said with a grin before standing up. "Well I'm going back to my seat, good luck!"

I gave him a grin and walked out of the room, not noticing him staring after me as I left.

'This is going to be one interesting fight.'

Word count: 1331 words