The next day brought their first hero basic training with All Might himself. Hancock stood in the classroom wearing her hero costume—an elegant qipao-style dress in deep purple with gold trim, modified for combat with reinforced fabric and strategic slits for mobility. Her long black hair flowed loose down her back, cascading like a dark waterfall.

  She'd designed it herself. Beautiful, regal, untouchable. Just like her.

  "LOOKING GOOD, EVERYONE!" All Might's booming voice filled the room. "NOW THEN, SHALL WE BEGIN? TODAY'S TRAINING IS BATTLE TRIAL!"

  Hancock listened as he explained the scenario. Heroes versus villains. Indoor combat. Teams of two.

  Teams, she thought with displeasure. Of course.

  All Might began drawing lots. "FIRST MATCH! TEAM A AS HEROES—MIDORIYA AND URARAKA! TEAM D AS VILLAINS—BAKUGO AND..."

  Hancock watched the massive hand reach into the box.

  "HANCOCK!"

  Her eyes widened fractionally—the most emotion she'd shown all day. She looked across the room to where Bakugo stood, and found him already glaring at her with an expression of pure fury.

  "HAH?! I have to team up with HER?!"

  Hancock's expression cooled into ice. "The feeling is mutual."

  "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

  "Young Bakugo! Young Hancock!" All Might intervened. "Part of being a hero is working with others, even those you may not get along with! Consider this valuable training!"

  Hancock said nothing. She simply turned away, dismissing Bakugo once more.

  She could practically feel his rage radiating across the room.

  In the monitoring room, Hancock stood as far from Bakugo as the space allowed. They were villains for this exercise, tasked with guarding a fake nuclear weapon on the fifth floor.

  "Listen up," Bakugo growled, not looking at her. "I don't need your help. Just stay out of my way and let me handle Deku."

  "Deku?" Hancock's voice was quiet, but something in her tone made Bakugo glance at her.

  "The useless nerd with the green hair. I'm gonna crush him."

  Hancock observed him coolly. The hatred in his voice was visceral, personal. "You have history with him."

  "That's none of your business!"

  "I wasn't asking." Hancock turned toward the screen showing the building layout. "If you're going to abandon the objective to pursue a personal grudge, at least tell me so I can plan accordingly."

  Bakugo's eye twitched. "I'M NOT ABANDONING ANYTHING! I'll blow away Deku AND complete the mission!"

  "Unlikely. Your emotions are compromising your judgment."

  "MY WHAT—YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME?!"

  "I think," Hancock said calmly, meeting his furious gaze with her own cool stare, "that you're loud, reckless, and letting your pride control you. Yes. I am better than you."

  For a moment, she thought Bakugo might actually explode—literally. His hands sparked with barely contained rage.

  "We'll see about that," he said, voice dropping to something dangerous. "When this is over, I'll prove exactly who's better."

  "I look forward to it," Hancock replied, turning away again.

  The truth was, she'd analyzed the rankings. Bakugo was second overall. Powerful, fast, aggressive. In direct combat, he likely had the advantage.

  But Hancock had never relied solely on power. Strategy, observation, understanding her opponent—these were her weapons too.

  "BEGIN!"

  The moment All Might's voice echoed through the building, Bakugo took off.

  "Wait—" Hancock started, but he was already gone, explosions propelling him through the corridors at high speed.

  She closed her eyes briefly. Idiot.

  She stayed with the weapon as planned, positioning herself where she could monitor the single entrance to the room. If Bakugo failed—which seemed likely given his emotional state—she would be the last line of defense.

  Through the building, she could hear explosions. Shouting. The sounds of combat.

  Hancock waited, patient and still.

  Minutes passed. The explosions grew more frequent, more violent. Through the earpiece All Might had provided, she could hear the commentary.

  "Young Bakugo is being excessively aggressive! That's not how you—HE JUST USED HIS GAUNTLET! THAT'S TOO MUCH POWER FOR INDOORS!"

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Hancock's eyes narrowed. Reckless. Just as she'd predicted.

  Then she heard footsteps. Running. Coming up the stairs.

  She moved to the doorway, peering out carefully. Uraraka—the round-faced girl—was sprinting up the stairwell, heading for the fifth floor.

  The green-haired boy must have occupied Bakugo's attention, Hancock reasoned. Smart tactics. Divide and conquer.

  She stepped into the doorway, blocking Uraraka's path.

  "Oh!" Uraraka skidded to a halt, eyes widening. "Hancock!"

  "You should surrender," Hancock said quietly. "You won't get past me."

  "I'm sorry, but I can't do that!" Uraraka charged forward, her hands outstretched.

  She needs to touch me, Hancock analyzed instantly. Her Quirk must be contact-based. Gravity manipulation, perhaps, based on the entrance exam.

  Hancock sidestepped smoothly, her hand shooting out to grab Uraraka's wrist. Pink energy flickered at the contact point.

  Should I use it? she wondered. I could make her feel drowsy, content, willing to give up...

  But that felt wrong. Invasive. Like the opposite of everything she stood for.

  She released Uraraka and instead delivered a Perfume Femur kick that the girl barely dodged.

  "You're strong!" Uraraka said, circling carefully. "But I have to get through! For Deku!"

  They traded blows—or rather, Hancock attacked and Uraraka desperately evaded. The girl was agile and determined, but clearly outmatched in direct combat.

  Then the building shook.

  A massive explosion from below made the entire structure groan. Hancock stumbled, and Uraraka seized the opportunity—she touched the floor, the ceiling, the walls.

  Everything became weightless.

  "NOW!" Uraraka shouted, and suddenly debris from all the previous explosions came floating up through the damaged floors—chunks of concrete, pieces of wall, all surrounding Hancock like a deadly constellation.

  Clever, Hancock admitted.

  Uraraka released her Quirk. Everything fell.

  Hancock's eyes widened. She couldn't dodge this—there was too much, coming from all angles. She did the only thing she could.

  She kissed her palms and thrust both hands forward.

  "PISTOL KISS!"

  Heart-shaped bullets shot out in a rapid barrage, destroying the largest chunks of debris. But there was too much—she couldn't stop it all.

  Something hit her shoulder. Her leg. She grunted in pain but stayed standing, protecting the weapon behind her even as dust and small debris rained down.

  When the dust cleared, Hancock was still standing, blood trickling from a cut on her forehead. Uraraka looked shocked.

  "You... you didn't move."

  "I'm the villain," Hancock said quietly. "This is my objective. I don't abandon what I'm meant to protect."

  Even if no one had ever protected her.

  Uraraka's expression softened with something like respect. "Then... I'll just have to try harder!"

  But before she could move, All Might's voice echoed through the building: "THE HERO TEAM WINS!"

  Uraraka deflated. "Deku did it..."

  Hancock said nothing. Through the earpiece, she'd heard everything. Midoriya had sacrificed his arm—broken it completely—to defeat Bakugo and capture the weapon on a different floor through sheer force.

  No. Not defeat.

  Bakugo hadn't been captured. Which meant he'd failed to stop Midoriya despite all his power and rage.

  In the monitoring room, Hancock returned silently. The other students were buzzing with excitement about the match, but she ignored them.

  Bakugo arrived last, his face a mask of barely contained fury and something else. Something darker.

  Humiliation.

  All Might began his analysis. "Now then! Who can tell me who the MVP of this match was?"

  "Uraraka!" someone called out. "She had a great plan!"

  "Midoriya!" another voice said. "He won the match!"

  All Might shook his head. "Good guesses, but NO! The MVP was... YOUNG HANCOCK!"

  Several students gasped. Hancock's expression didn't change, though internally she was mildly surprised.

  "Young Hancock was the only one who fully committed to her role as a villain!" All Might explained enthusiastically. "Young Bakugo abandoned the objective to pursue personal grudges! Young Midoriya caused excessive damage to the building! Young Uraraka's tactics were clever but also risky! But Young Hancock! She held her position, adapted to unexpected tactics, and prioritized the objective above all else! THAT is what heroes—or in this case, proper villains—do!"

  Hancock felt multiple sets of eyes on her. She kept her gaze forward, expression unchanged.

  "However!" All Might continued. "You could have been more proactive in supporting your teammate before he left, and in communicating a backup plan!"

  "My teammate abandoned me to pursue a grudge," Hancock replied evenly. "I prioritized the mission he neglected."

  "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Bakugo rounded on her, but All Might stepped between them.

  "ENOUGH! Young Bakugo, she's not wrong! You let your emotions control you! That's not what heroes do!"

  Hancock watched Bakugo's face twist with rage and shame. For a moment, she almost felt... something. Not quite sympathy. But recognition.

  She knew what it was like to lose. To feel like you weren't enough.

  She looked away.

  The rest of the matches proceeded. Hancock observed each one carefully, analyzing Quirks, tactics, weaknesses.

  When it was finally over and they were changing back into their uniforms, Ashido approached her again.

  "That was so cool how you protected the weapon! You were like a real villain—I mean, in a good way! Very committed!"

  "Thank you," Hancock said quietly, then paused. "Your acid is versatile. You should experiment with using it defensively, not just offensively."

  Ashido blinked in surprise. "Oh! That's... that's actually really good advice! Thanks, Hancock!"

  She bounced away happily, and Hancock wondered why she'd said anything at all.

  Don't get close, she reminded herself. You don't need them. They don't need you.

  But as she left the changing room, she nearly collided with someone in the hallway.

  Bakugo.

  They stared at each other for a long moment. His red eyes were still burning with emotion, but different now. Not just rage.

  "You held back," he said abruptly.

  Hancock's expression didn't change. "I did what was necessary."

  "No. You held back." He stepped closer, and she resisted the urge to step back. "When you grabbed Round-Face's wrist. I saw it on the monitor. Your Quirk activated but you didn't use it. Why?"

  "That's none of your concern."

  "Like hell it isn't! You said you were better than me, but you're fighting with one hand tied behind your back!" His voice rose. "What's the point of having power if you won't use it?!"

  "I use what I need to use," Hancock replied coolly. "Nothing more."

  "That's STUPID! That's—" Bakugo stopped, visibly struggling with something. When he spoke again, his voice was lower, more controlled. "You and I are gonna fight. A real fight. No teams, no objectives. Just you and me."

  "Why?"

  "Because you piss me off," Bakugo said bluntly. "Because you act like you're above everyone. Because you're hiding something and I wanna know what it is."

  "You don't need to know anything about me."

  "Maybe not. But I'm gonna find out anyway." He turned to leave, then paused. "You're strong. Stronger than eighth place. But you'll never be the best if you keep holding back."

  Then he was gone, leaving Hancock alone in the hallway.

  She touched her wrist where she'd grabbed Uraraka. Where she'd almost used her emotional manipulation and chosen not to.

  Holding back, she thought. Is that what I'm doing?

  No. She was protecting herself. There was a difference.

  But as she walked home alone that evening, Bakugo's words echoed in her mind.

  What's the point of having power if you won't use it?

  She didn't have an answer.

  Not yet.