“So the last round’s gonna be brackets like always, right?” Kirishima asked.

  Robinn drank from her thermos, leaning against a row of lockers near the far wall. The break room buzzed faintly with background chatter, though most of Class 1-A had already wandered off, some to the stands, others grab last-minute snacks or prepare.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. Don’t know what the rules will be exactly, they change each year,” she said, capping her thermos.

  “Who do you think would be the hardest to fight against? There’s a few we don’t even know yet.” Kirishima sounded a little too enthusiastic.

  Robinn raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment.

  “Well, the ones from Class 1-B aren’t that worrying, to be honest.”

  “How do you know that? We haven’t had any classes together,” Kirishima said, leaning against the lockers too.

  “Yui Kodai. She’s in the gardening club. I’ve been asking her and Ibara about their classmates and their Quirks,” Robinn said casually.

  “Doing your research, huh?.. Wait you joined the gardening club? I know we had to pick one, but I didn’t see you as a plant nerd,” Kirishima said, surprised and a little teasing.

  “It’s not like I’m pruning bonsai or whatever,” she added. “I just water things sometimes and leave. It just seemed like the one I’d have to put the least effort into.” She rolled her eyes, then crossed her arms. “What club did you join, then?”

  “Huh. That actually makes a weird kind of sense. He scratched the back of his head. Literature club for me. I guess I joined cause it sounded relaxing, but it’s more fun than I expected.”

  “So what, you’re reading books and comics? That doesn’t really sound that great,” she said, kicking off the locker.

  “It really isn’t bad. We barely have to read a whole book every week, even short ones,” he said, standing up straight too. Then he smiled again, this time more playful. “And by the way, you didn’t answer my question. Who’d be the hardest to fight?”

  She looked at him for a second.

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  “Todoroki, honestly. At least with my Quirk.”

  “Really? I mean, he is pretty powerful, but I’d say it’s Bakugo. His Quirk’s way too strong. But you think you could beat both of them?”

  “Well, it’d be a tough fight with Todoroki. Not sure about Bakugo though.”

  Kirishima raised an eyebrow.

  “So you’re saying you’d lose to Bakugo?”

  She shrugged.

  “Nah. I’d win.” She said it completely serious, paused for a moment, then added, “Anyways, I’m gonna go check on something.”

  Kirishima laughed it off. “See ya then.”He watched her walk away.

  Robinn was certainly interesting. She said that so confidently, like Bakugo wasn’t even a challenge. She was always like that. Calm, focused, never nervous. Kirishima liked that. It was nice to have someone in class who was confident without being arrogant.

  And Robinn was just such a mysterious gir-

  “Hey Kirishima, what’s up, man?”

  Sero clapped him on the shoulder from behind, cutting straight through his thoughts. “You nervous for the last round?” He followed Kirishima’s line of sight... “Or are you too focused on Reibach?”

  Kirishima turned to look at him, slow and confused. “What? I mean yeah, I’m kinda nervous, but what do you mean by that?”

  Sero grinned and leaned against the lockers. “You, my man, seem to have quite the interest in her, don’t you? I swear I always see you hanging around her.”

  Kirishima hesitated, eyes narrowing. “What??? It’s not like that. I was just thinking about something she said. She’s so confident she’ll win the whole tournament. I don’t know, man... it’s super manly if you ask me.”

  Sero raised an eyebrow. “Sure, if you say so. Also dude, you really gotta stop calling girls manly. I know you mean it as a compliment, but it kinda rubs people the wrong way.”

  That shut Kirishima up.

  “Anyways, focus up before the matches!” Sero said with a cheeky grin, walking off.

  Kirishima stared after him.“I show a lot of interest in her? I guess so...” He glanced down at his hands, muttering,“And Robinn is a girl. Maybe I should stop calling her manly.”

  The stands were half-filled now, noise and movement slowly returning as students filed in for the next event. Thirteen sat beside All Might.

  “So how’s Robinn doing?” Thirteen asked, turning to face him, her voice filtered through her helmet. “I thought she’d be more excited in the events, but she’s been quite serious.”

  All Might looked over, skeletal and sunken, but still smiling warmly.“As stubborn as ever.”He glanced back toward the empty arena.“Thirteen, how’s she been doing in your classes?”

  Thirteen paused to think.“She’s an amazing student in practical terms. Not the best with teamwork, though.”

  “Yeah, sounds like her. That’s why she hasn’t shined yet. But I’m worried about her in this last round.”

  “You think she’ll fail?” Thirteen asked curiously.

  “No. I think she’ll outshine all the others. That’s the problem.”All Might’s voice was quieter now.“Robinn’s not the type to lose when it really matters.”

  Thirteen leaned back slightly, then spoke again, this time with a teasing edge.“That sounds familiar.” She chuckled.“Can’t imagine your whole ‘Symbol of Peace’ act was a good influence on her growing up.”

  “It wasn’t as influential as you’d think.”

  All Might ran a hand through his hair.

  “That stubbornness doesn’t come from me.”