Redemption (Part 3)

Gang Orca grabbed Katsuki in midair and threw him back to the start. Inasa activated his quirk to stop him from hitting the wall. "Are you ok?!" Katsuki yelled. "Fuck off! I don't need your help!" Shoto sighed. "And that's the reason we're here." She ignited her flames. Inasa smiled. "I don't want to make the same mistake again. I won't use my wind if I see your flames." "Thanks." Shoto took a deep breath. "His screeches are what destroyed us last time. We need to split up so he can't hit us all." Inasa nodded and used his quirk to float up into the air. Katsuki sighed and stood back up. "Alright, fine. But we're doing this my way." Shoto glanced at the blonde. "You have a plan?" Katsuki smiled. "Hit him with everything we've got!" Shoto smiled. "Perfect." The two charged forward.

Chris and Momo walked to the mall. Kirishima and Mina were still waiting in front of the tents. Momo smiled. "Hey love birds." Mina smiled at the couple. "Hey." Kirishima let go of Mina. "What do you guys think of these tents? I'm thinking three people per tent." Chris nodded approvingly. "Big tents. Oof. Big price tag too." Momo shrugged. "Two tents, right?" "Yep." Momo nodded. "Anything else?" Mina looked over. "Shoto said she was going to buy a boat." Chris scratched his head. "Don't we need boating licenses?" Kirishima raised his hand. "Jason and I finished the classes yesterday. We're certified." He sighed. "Stupid fucking class." Chris smiled. "Now we just need to hope Shoto can pass."

Gang Orca punched both Shoto and Katsuki away. "Pathetic!" Katsuki rolled and hit the wall. Shoto tried landing on her feet, but still fell on her ass. She unleashed a giant ice attack from her right foot. Gang Orca screeched, destroying the ice. Katsuki stood back up and raised his hand, aiming at Gang Orca. "AP Shot!" He unleashed a volley of small fireballs at Gang Orca. The pro hero was forced to block both attacks. He let out one massive screech and sent both students flying. Jason sighed as he watched the fight from his chair. Shoto had improved her teamwork, but they were still up against the Number 10 Hero. Not to mention that Gang Orca wasn't wearing any restraints for this match. If Shoto couldn't beat him during the exam when he was holding back, then it was doubtful that she could win now. Jason looked down at the ground as he felt his chair get lifted up into the air.

Shoto slowly rose to her feet. Katsuki rushed in with one final attempt to defeat Gang Orca. The hero swung at Katsuki, but the blonde managed to dodge it. His hands began to glow as he unleashed all of his power at point blank range. "Howitzer Cannon!" The explosion completely engulfed Gang Orca and shook the entire gym. Katsuki tried to catch his breath as he stared at the smoke. Then Gang Orca reached through the smoke and grabbed Katsuki. "Not bad, kid." The blonde was thrown once more, cracking the wall on the far side of the room. "Given more time, you'll be an amazing fighter. But you simply aren't ready for this line of work." The pro hero turned to Shoto. "Now all I have left is you. Do you have any tricks up your sleeve?" Shoto sighed and smiled. "I never stopped training. As soon as I failed the exam, I got to work. I needed to learn quickly." She steadied herself by dropping into a combat stance. "All of that training, and all I could do was partially figure out a new technique." Gang Orca was getting excited now. "Is that so?! Then show me!" Shoto took a deep breath as she muttered under her breath. "This is going to fuck me up, but I have no choice." She pictured Jason and Chris in her head. "I have to keep up. If I can't, then who'll watch their backs?"

Shoto's fire consumed the left side of her body. "Fire." Ice began to form on the right side of her body. "Ice." Both elements consumed her. Endeavor stood up. "When did she start harnessing both halves?!" All Might also rose to his feet out of excitement. "She's been training non stop trying to get it to work!" Shoto aimed both of her arms at Gang Orca. "I'll hit you with both extremes, and force your body to collapse!" Both ice and fire shot out at Gang Orca. "Apocalyptic Shock!" Gang Orca raised his guard and got hit by fire and ice. His body couldn't take both extremes at the same time. "...I… can't… believe it…" He forced his eyes open so he could look at Shoto. "...She… wasn't... kidding…" He smiled. Shoto felt herself weakening. She's only able to hold both elements for about a minute, and she could only use Apocalyptic Shock for 10 seconds. She willed herself forward, intensifying the fire and speeding up her ice. Gang Orca fell to a knee. Then Shoto fell, her body quitting on her. Just as handling both extremes damages the target, it also damages her body. Gang Orca stood up, holding his burned arm. "...Not bad, kid…" He shook his arm. "...Not bad at all…" He stood up straight. "Unfortunately, you two lost sight of the objective. You two have-" Metal clanging on the floor caught Gang Orca's attention. He froze. Inasa had just put Jason down on their side of the gym. Inasa smiled. "We win!" Gang Orca was at a loss for words. Katsuki coughed. "...when you threw me the first time… I saw Inasa fly over you… I used AP Shot to keep your head down…" Shoto couldn't bring herself to move at that moment. "...When Katsuki went down… I had to… stall you… so Inasa could… get Jason…" Jason used his quirk to free himself from the handcuffs. "Not gonna lie, I was so focused on the fight that I didn't even notice Inasa until he picked me up." Gang Orca was flabbergasted. He had lost.

After the exam, Shoto, Inasa, and Katsuki all stared at their brand new Probationary Hero Licenses. Jason smiled at Shoto. "Congratulations." She hugged Jason. "Thanks for your help." "I did very little." Inasa hugged both Jason and Shoto. "We're all heroes now!" Katsuki scoffed. "We have a long way to go before we call ourselves heroes." The blonde started walking away. "Katsuki." He turned to Jason, who was walking up to him. The two stared at each other for a minute. Then Jason held his hand out to shake. Katsuki, without breaking eye contact, shook his hand. Katsuki walked off. Inasa scratched his head. "What was that about?" Shoto smiled. "I think those two finally came to terms with each other."

Endeavor walked up to the group. Shoto glared at him. However, to her surprise, he grabbed Jason by the arm. "We need to talk." Jason didn't resist as he was dragged around the corner. The two stopped out of earshot. Jason looked up at the giant of a man. "So… if this is about a rematch, I don't think we should-" "Shut up and let me talk." Endeavor took a deep breath as his expression softened. "...I'm a terrible father. I've done things that I can never take back. Even now, as I try to correct those wrongs, I know I will never make it up to my kids." Jason relaxed, understanding that Endeavor needed to get this off of his chest. The hero looked Jason in the eyes. "I've been trying to reconnect with my family, but I know that I burned down that bridge a long time ago." He sighed as he wiped a single tear from his eye. "I don't like you, Jason. I really don't. That being said, out of all the people my daughter could've chosen to give her heart to, I'm glad it's someone strong enough to protect her." Jason was surprised by the compliment. Endeavor took a deep breath. "Please take care of her for me." "...Yes sir." Endeavor began walking away. He turned the corner to see Shoto. He looked down at her for a second. She glared up at him. Endeavor nodded. "Good work today. That Apocalyptic Shock was truly extraordinary." He walked away. Shoto looked at Jason. "What did he talk to you about?" "...I'm pretty sure he gave us his blessing…" Shoto blinked for a second as she registered the comment. "...Seriously, what did he talk to you about?" Jason smiled and held Shoto's hand. "Come on. Let's get you back to the dorms. You need to rest up before the camping trip." The two walked together to All Might's car.