Robinn walked straight to the waiting room after the match, the soles of her shoes tapping lightly against the stone floor. The arena behind her was still steaming, thick mist rising as crews worked to melt and clear the leftover ice. The next match wouldn’t begin for a while, there was damage to repair, but she didn’t wait around to watch the cleanup.

  A few minutes passed in still silence before a knock came at the door. Predictably, Midoriya, Uraraka, and Kirishima entered, all visibly somewhere between excited and overwhelmed.

  "Robinn, congrats! You made it to the finals!" Uraraka beamed, practically bouncing with energy as she crossed the room. "But you have to explain what that whole thing was."

  Robinn stood as Midoriya approached, his notebook already open and balanced awkwardly in his sling. She didn’t need to be told what he wanted.

  "I’d also like to know," he said, eyes shining. "I thought you could only transform into materials, but you changed your temperature?"

  Kirishima lingered behind them, hands half-raised in hesitation, as if the words to congratulate her were caught somewhere in his chest.

  "Well, I guess I can tell you guys," Robinn said, cracking her knuckles. She raised one hand in front of her face, flexing slowly. "Since you're no longer enemies."

  Her tone was even, instructional.

  "Thinking of something as a material is a limitation. I used to think that way too... I never tried anything that wasn’t solid. Mental block, I guess. But my Quirk doesn’t really follow those rules. You probably could’ve guessed what I did... I’ve transformed into air before."

  She made a fist, then slowly extended her fingers one by one.

  Uraraka and Kirishima traded a confused look, but Midoriya's eyes lit up with understanding. His breath caught.

  "You mean you can..."

  Robinn’s pointer finger shifted in an instant, transforming into fire. It was strange to look at, it barely flickered, unnaturally steady, a solid flame in the shape of a finger.

  "Yep," she said. "I can also transform into these kinds of things."

  Kirishima stared, speechless. Uraraka leaned in slightly, curiosity overtaking caution.

  "But didn’t you say metal drained a ton of stamina?" she asked. "How were you transforming your whole body into it during the fight?"

  "She wasn’t," Midoriya answered, flipping to a blank page and sketching rapidly. He held up the diagram after only a few seconds. "She never transformed her whole body. Just a thin outer layer."

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Robinn smiled slightly.

  "And she kept the inside of her body as fire... That’s why Todoroki couldn’t freeze her. His ice melted before it touched her. And she can’t feel pain while transformed, so even if he used fire..."

  He stopped, awestruck. "You weren’t fighting him. You were countering everything about him."

  Robinn nodded once as Midoriya spoke. Her stance was calm.

  "A Quirk is only as versatile as its user," she said. "And by intentionally showing you a limited number of materials... I made some of you underestimate me."

  That line hit harder than anything else she said. The room shifted. Uraraka’s smile faded, she looked to Kirishima with uncertainty.

  "Anyways," Robinn said, turning and sitting back in the cold metal chair behind her. Her tone cooled. "I need to get ready for the final match. Could you all leave?"

  It wasn’t a request. It was an order.

  Midoriya and Uraraka exchanged glances before turning to go. Kirishima hesitated. His steps faltered, and he turned back to her.

  "Hey Robinn..."

  She turned, raising a brow. “Yeah? What is it, Kirishima?”

  He stiffened but pushed through.

  "I heard from Midoriya that you’ve been... really interested in Bakugo today. Stalking him, even."

  She didn’t look surprised.

  "Yeah. What about it?"

  Kirishima lowered his gaze, fists clenched tight at his sides. "They’re saying it’s because you’ve got a crush on him."

  His voice was steady as he looked back up. "That isn’t true... right?"

  That one caught her off-guard. Not flustered, just... off-balance. She opened her mouth to respond... but the screen behind her flickered on.

  The match had started.

  Bakugo stood in the arena, squaring off against Tokoyami. She turned toward the screen with a small, unreadable smile, her reply lost in the roar of the crowd.

  Kirishima watched her reaction, his eyes narrowing slightly. But his gaze shifted to the screen.

  "Do you even need to watch this one?" he muttered. "I’m sure you’ve already bet everything on Bakugo winning, haven’t you?"

  Robinn’s smile dimmed into something quieter. She turned to him.

  "I guess so. But..."

  Midoriya and Uraraka walked back toward the stands, the empty hallway muffled by the roaring stadium overhead. The sound of distant explosions filtered through the walls.

  "...Hey, Deku," Uraraka said after a long silence. "Robinn was acting weird just now, right?"

  Midoriya blinked, pulled from his thoughts. He looked at her, puzzled.

  "Weird? It’s probably just nerves, right? I mean... it’s the finals. She's probably nervous, even if she hides it well..."

  Uraraka looked down as they walked, unconvinced but willing to let it go.

  "I guess that could be it."

  Neither spoke after that. Midoriya’s energy had drained again, the adrenaline of analyzing Robinn’s Quirk giving way to a dull ache in his arm.

  When they reached the stands, Mina and Momo were already leaning forward. Mina was shouting something at the arena.

  Bakugo had Tokoyami pinned.

  He held him down by the beak, one arm gripping tight while the other unleashed relentless explosions into the shrinking mass of Dark Shadow. The spirit flailed, weakened under the constant flash and impact.

  "He figured it out..." Midoriya murmured, eyes wide. "Dark Shadow’s weakness."

  "It was a bad Quirk matchup," Uraraka said quietly, almost to herself.

  Midoriya glanced at her. That didn’t sound like her.

  "What do you mean?"

  She flinched slightly, then spoke fast. "Oh, it’s just something Robinn was talking about during the first round. How Quirk battles are almost never fair."

  He nodded, letting it sink in.

  Down below, Bakugo stood victorious. The crowd roared for him. But not everyone was cheering.