'What was I thinking?'
Sakura knew that Shouto's situation had nothing to do with her. Just because his mother shared details of their personal life, it didn't give her the right to intervene with it. And yet despite the logic she dictated, she went against it to try and reach out to him. Ironic, since she hadn't allowed her classmates to reach her in that manner. However, they were not under the same circumstances; it's just that only she was aware of the fact.
But realistically this was always more Naruto's specialty, getting involved with others regardless of whether they were friend or foe. He would put himself in difficult positions, even the most painful, just to offer his hand. And like many, she wanted to follow his example.
Of course, not just anyone could.
That's because no matter how bright a candle flame tried to burn, it could never shine as brightly as the sun. Didn't mean it wouldn't try.
Sakura heard stories of her friends, and their harsh childhoods, but she was never able to do anything about it nor relate and it wasn't appreciated when the attempt was made. She understood that. But at the same time, Sakura was impulsive in ways that contradicted her own thinking. No matter how futile, she couldn't turn away when she saw people who needed help. It usually took someone else to pull her back.
With Shouto she had been drawing too many parallels with friends from her world and him, especially the suffering and complex family life that shaped their persona. She couldn't just bring herself to ignore it. Not when she knew the possible consequence.
Even though she intended to keep people from this world at arm's length from herself, she couldn't ignore the pain of others. Being indifferent to those situations just wasn't her strong suit. She was, after all, a kunoichi who cries easily.
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Once the stage was repaired, Sakura had to step into the ring against Fumikage. He had teamed up with Izuku during the cavalry, and his quirk Dark Shadow was their greatest defense and offense. A shadow-like creature that could extend from Fumikage and attack long range. Sakura saw this when he fought against Mina, and used Dark Shadow to barely swipe her out of bounds with barely any effort.
'He's probably going to try and use the same tactic against me,' Sakura thought, starring down her opponent. He was wary of her but kept himself more composed than Momo had. He likely figured that if he kept her at a distance, then she wouldn't be able to deal him any damage.
"LET THE MATCH BEGIN!"
"Go Dark Shadow!"
Barely a second after the fight was called to start, Fumikage activated his quirk Dark Shadow. The dark bird-like creature moved quickly, setting its yellow eyes on Sakura.
"I got her!" Like a real bird swooping down on its prey, its clawed hands swiped out but met the air as the pink-haired girl pivoted and swayed with a breath of space.
"Don't think so,"
It was some of the more fascinating quirks, reminding her of Shikamaru's shadows he could manipulate but those were just that; shadows. Fumikage's quirk seemed to have its own conscience. That didn't make it a tougher opponent though.
'As Hitoshi said, a quirk usually grows with the person,'
Taking the same swipes without real consideration for pattern, she didn't have to look too close to realize what move it was going to make next. With one hand, she began countering Dark Shadow's attacks, swatting away his hands when they reached for her.
"Tokoyami's Dark Shadows continues to attack Haruno but to no effect!"
'It doesn't look like they intend to strike me. Maybe just push me out of the ring,' She thought, ducking down, unbothered. There was no change in tactics, as Fumikage kept himself distanced from his quirk and Sakura. As far as she had seen, Fumikage relied on his power alone, something she observed during the combat training. He wouldn't get near an opponent himself which indicated that he either didn't feel the need for it or he was weak at close range. Probably both.
"You've got a good quirk, Fumikage," said Sakura, as she continued on the defensive, knocking back Dark Shadow, "But, I don't think you can wield yourself as well as your shadow!"
The next time Dark Shadow came at her, she moved to offensive. Planting her hand firmly on his head, she threw him down with a heavy push, cracking the cement of the stage before Sakura jumped, landed on his head, and ran along the creature's body heading for Fumikage.
"Grab her Dark Shadow!" The bird-like boy instructed as he saw her near him. It took a moment longer for his quirk to move, and in that time Sakura was only a few steps away from her target. Even when Dark Shadow tried to get hold of her, Sakura easily evaded, slipping through the gap between his arms and reaching Fumikage.
With a grin, she pulled back her index finger on her thumb and shot forward watching Fumikage hover through the air and land just outside of the borderline.
"Tokoyami is out of bounds Haruno wins!" Declared Nemuri, throwing her crop down.
"Another victory for Sakura Haruno, not breaking a sweat!"
'Well that was simple enough,' Sakura stretched out her arms, stepping off stage.
"Wow, Sakura's amazing!" exclaimed Ochaco.
"Yeah, she passed Tokoyami's Dark Shadow easily," Grumbled Denki. During the cavalry battle, he wasn't able to get past Dark Shadow's defense with his electricity.
"I'm glad I won't have to fight her," said Minoru, "She's scary,"
"She's really strong," corrected Mina.
Tsuyu touched her chin, tilting her head as she glanced down from the stands while the pink-haired girl disappeared through the door. "I wonder what she's going to do fighting against Todoroki?"
"Do you think she'll win?" asked Denki, "I mean I know she's tough but Todoroki's the strongest in class,"
Everyone had been observing their classmates diligently, observing their skills and quirks to better understand where they currently stood. If they wanted to make it to the to someday it sounded like a good idea to realize right now where you were and what you needed to do to get there.
Mashirao leaned forward against the seats, "You haven't seen Sakura fight seriously though; right now it just looks like she's bored,"
"She hasn't really stood out during the festival so far, so I can't tell," Sato said. "She hasn't even thrown a punch,"
"Yeah, but she won just by flicking her opponent's foreheads," said Hagakure.
Katsuki clenched his fists under his arms as he listened to his classmate's debate about Sakura and Shouto's match. He had been anticipating a match against Shouto ever since he was shaken by the power of his quirk when he froze the entire building during their first hero training. However, it was not the first time Katsuki had questioned his strength. The first time was because of her.
When Katsuki's mom brought in the letter from U.A, he snatched it up and opened it immediately with a puffed chest to see the results. Of course, he knew he would be getting into the hero course, and he was right. He was accepted.
But there was a problem that disallowed him from hearing his parent's congratulations. Actually, there were two problems.
The first was that he saw Izuku Midoriya's name sitting in the top ten passing students, just a few places away from his name which he thought was wrongly misplaced in the second slot of the ranks.
Not first. Second.
He had gotten through the written exam with unwavering confidence and the practical exam was perfect for his ability and quirk. So much he believed he had the upper hand over everyone there. Yet now he was looking, basically horrified to see that he wasn't first. But coming in behind a Sakura Haruno, who had over a hundred more points than himself. That coupled with Izuku's acceptance made Katsuki feel like there was an invisible weight pushing down on his chest.
'It's a mistake,'
It was partially why Katsuki had raged against Izuku so strongly on the first day, and then for the first place student of the entrance exam not to be bothered to even show up to class so that he could crush her. He was only further annoyed when Sakura displayed her power during the USJ attack. She wasn't fazed by those villains, that even shook up Shouto and himself. She stood against the leader and won.
Izuku may have had a strong quirk, but it wasn't able to compare to his when it did so much damage to his body. But she was different.
Shouto was regarded as the strongest in their class, but Sakura Haruno had yet to showcase her true strength in the Sport's festival as if she was taking it for a joke. The whole ordeal just….
'Fucking pisses me off,'
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The matches progressed to the semi-finals without many changes in pattern. There was a continued showcase of students' quirks. Tenya was up against the remaining student from class B but managed to bring his match quickly to an end with his speed. Then Katsuki was up against Eijiro, whom he had teamed up with during the cavalry. It wasn't as quick due to the nature of Eijiro's quirk that acted as the perfect defense against the explosions, but eventually, Katsuki was able to crack that shield and won with brute force and attrition.
That quickly brought them back to the semi-finals and it was starting with Sakura's match against Shouto.
"HEY, LISTENERS. We're back with the first match of the semi-finals!" Hizashi announced, "From the hero course, It's the girl with the killer strength Sakura Haruno versus-also from the hero course our favorite icy hot boy, Shouto Todoroki!"
Sakura wanted to close her ears to block out the noise when she entered the stadium. It wouldn't be an overstatement to believe that the crowds cheering could cause hearing loss. With the Sports Festival nearing its conclusion, she thought that perhaps the hype would dissipate. The experience had the opposite effect.
On the other side, Shouto wasn't interested in the audience, his dual-colored eyes focused on his opponent, unwavering in his entirety while she seemed scattered. Up to the point where Present Mic called for the match to begin.
"START"
He didn't waste any time. A growing trail of ice emitted from Shouto's right side started covering the stage, raging towards the pink-haired girl who kept her stance. The growing hill of ice blocked his view; a similar display to his first match where he covered almost half the stage, except without the ice going over the stands and peaking above the stadium. A display that left everyone truly awestruck. There was no visible movement or activity following this and the stillness had to be filled by Hizashi's comments.
"Todoroki immediately opens with an ice attack! Could it also be the last? Is the match already over?"
A blur of white, followed by a sickening crack and shattering of ice to his left turned his attention to the pieces of ice now scattered, breaking part of the stage floor.
"What? You're worried about me getting too close?"
He followed the voice easily to find the source; standing, feet pressed against a near-complete downward slope of ice that couldn't hold anyone's footing and yet Sakura was standing against it, her body straight providing no support.
'How is she standing like that?' Shouto thought the same as most of his classmates. Sakura had stated her ability to be super strength and healing, so the surface scaling took him back. She hadn't shown this skill during training, and she didn't explain the extent of her quirk to their classmates leaving them to assume.
Another current matter; Sakura was unfazed by his ice barrage. Sending some of the ice back as a warning.
"How is Sakura standing against the ice like that?" Ochaco asked.
"I'm not sure, I guess this has something else to do with her quirk," said Izuku.
While Izuku was in surgery he had unfortunately missed half of the second round; including Sakura's match. That's why once Chiyo finished and healed him just enough to be able to walk and although he was still feeling a lot of pain in his bones, was bandaged up heavily, and had his arms in casts still, he hurried back outside for the matches. He was eager to observe this one since he hadn't been able to collect a lot of data on either competitor. For Sakura, he had noted the super strength, healing, and cloning. Izuku didn't know what Sakura's quirk was classified and she didn't seem eager to explain it either and further observation proved it wasn't just super strength.
'If I had to choose though, I'd probably think Todoroki would win,' Izuku came to this based on his match with him. The combination of ice and fire was amazing in his opinion. It was enough to keep him from being moved by the winds created from a quirk that All Might himself had and passed onto him.
Now it was time to see if his hunch was correct.
If she had been a few years younger, Sakura was sure someone like Shouto would've given her a difficult time with his quirk when she wasn't able to counter with chakra enhanced strength or reflexes that had been refined under Tsunade's training. However she wasn't looking to finish this with one strike, otherwise, she would have delivered a chakra punch to the stage powerful enough to knock her opponent directly out of the ring.
Perhaps she was also a little upset about her conversation with Shouto. As contradictory as it was to herself, she didn't like being pushed away when she wanted to help.
She had prolonged her other matches as well, instead of going in for a direct hit. Feeling out her opponents, even though they currently had very straightforward fighting methods she could easily take apart. This had more to do with the way she was taught to fight. Fighting was also one of the best ways to understand someone; it was one of the best forms of expression. There was always something to learn, about yourself or your opponent.
In this world the values were different.
Once Sakura fell from the wall of ice that had covered most of the stage and was standing upright on it, Shouto came at her with another ice attack, the moment his foot set on the ground came a river of sharp solidified water.
Pulling back her fist, Sakura waited until the ice was barely an arm's length away when she pulled forward and released her punch. Breaking apart the ice and shattering it along the floor, without the same amount of wind pressure Izuku presented with his attacks. However, the audience noted that she had been able to negate Shouto's ice without breaking her bones.
"Haruno counters Todoroki's attack! Are we finally going to see something flashy from the rockin pink head?"
'I knew she'd be able to counter the ice,' Shouto thought, glaring down his opponent.
Shouto wasn't slowing down with his ice attacks, while it did nothing to even exhaust Sakura's energy. But the young kunoichi wasn't trying different tactics either and continued to punch the ice when it was in her reach. The ice would charge and she would scatter it every time, like breaking glass.
'He's got a lot of power, but little variety, and he doesn't have that same energy when he fought Izuku,'
Shouto was particularly on edge about fighting her. His fire would be the more ideal element against her but his exhibit of power against Izuku and Sakura's words as well as his father's about control made him hesitant to do so.
After his second match, Enji had waited for his son to enter the tunnel, he had such an ambitious gleam in his eyes that made Shouto's gut wretch when he told Shouto he needed to learn to control his flames better. Shouto hadn't trained with his fire, as a symbol of defiance and rejection of his father's blood. And yet he had revealed his flames twice against Izuku, and in one of those cases nearly set him aflame.
Shouto didn't want to prove his father right. He didn't want to show him that he needed to learn how to use this power, or that he was embracing the left side that resembled the number two hero so greatly. Even though Izuku's words still weighed heavy on him. About his power belonging to him, despite it being inherited.
'What do I want?' He didn't think now was the right time to be pondering on these thoughts, but it was like trying to fight against a current. The more you resisted the quicker you were worn down and would drown.
"Okay," Sakura's voice drew him back to reality but he felt like the hairs on the back of his neck just stood up. "Let's go,"
That was the only warning Shouto had before the emerald-eyed girl pushed off on her feet and was sprinting towards him. The target clear.
'Can't let her get close!' Shouto went down, slamming his palm on the ground to create a field of ice to block Sakura's path but she didn't deter in the slightest as the large spikes of ice sprung in her direction. Avoiding them just before they emerged.
'She's too fast!'
Sakura was able to see it, just the moment before the ice would grow to its full length, she had been able to avoid it easily. Something that's been happening often with quick attacks, she was able to decipher the path quicker than usual. While keeping her speed in check. It wasn't something that she felt was necessary for this fight. Otherwise, the match would already be over.
"You're too focused on your quirk," Sakura said when she was up in the air, right above Shouto.
He brought up a piece of ice to block her, but without breaking it, Sakura grabbed it to give her momentum and spun her body to get in front of Shouto again, her fingers already at his forehead, delivering a swift flick that sent him back and off the ground.
But he didn't go out of bounds. A layer of ice formed beneath Shouto, on his right, allowing him to quickly regain his balance. He moved while producing the ice to increase his mobility.
"Todoroki's skating across the stage and heading straight for Haruno! Looks fun"
With this move, Shouto hoped to put himself out of Sakura's reach, but it seemed that had just become an extension, when she struck the ice with her fist, causing it to scatter and sent him off. Shouto managed to land smoothly and was quick to raise his head, searching the stage for his opponent.
"Over here,"
Shouto sent his ice behind him in the direction of the voice, but Sakura avoided the attack easily by side-stepping and jumping back. He didn't waste time and continued to try and push her back to get out of her striking range. He didn't want to risk getting hit with one of those punches, because she could deliver them continuously without any repercussions. But he wasn't able to get her to go very far and with her flexibility and speed, he couldn't get her to stagger either. Sakura wasn't afraid to reach him in close quarters despite his quirk and their clashing elements from his right and left.
"It looks like Todoroki might be on the ropes this time! Haruno continues to evade his cold attacks!"
"Todoroki's attacks are powerful but too simple, he's lost his touch since his fight with Midoriya, and Haruno's using that to her advantage," Shouta stated.
Was he still going to be able to win with just his right side as he initially intended, or was this was as
far as he could go? Was his father right when he said he would reach a limit with his mother's quirk? It hadn't been that long since his fight with Izuku which caused nothing but an array of confusion. Now at this moment; he didn't know what he was aiming for.
Shouto continued to try and get Sakura from a distance with his ice, but she was too agile and fluid with her movements. Her facial expression barely changed no matter how difficult her maneuvers were. Her talent for dodging shining through.
And then adding to his turmoil and the frustrations of the match and his mind was his father's voice calling out through the crowd. "USE YOUR LEFT SIDE SHOUTO,"
Sakura glanced away from him, to find his father's figure in the audience. Her arms neatly at her side, completely unguarded but Shouto didn't pay attention, he had been taken aback by the interruption that seemed to put them at a stand-off as if this was the start of the match again.
"So…" Sakura trailed, "Are you going to do it?"
He didn't respond, but Shouto realized he had to peel his eyes away from his father and return them to his classmate. He met Sakura's sharp gaze and the hairs on his neck stood on end. His throat felt like it was constricting and his heartbeat was touching his ribcage and Shouto just knew that Sakura was done playing the defense.
"Well it doesn't matter to me if you to use your fire or not; that's your choice; and like you said none of my business, however I'm through holding back,"
Shouto noticed she called it his power, intentionally, but his focus returned to the match as Sakura drew her hands from her side, her legs crouching back.
"Here I come Shouto,"
This time, Sakura was making it clear. He wouldn't be able to stand against her like this. Even though she turned away from him and started running at the giant heap of ice he created. When she pounced, her movements were barely any different than her previous but it was as if she had allowed him to feel her intentions to finish this match now.
When her fist connected with the ice it was like watching a chain reaction, a loud crackling followed by a burst of shards before a large shadow fell over the stage on Shouto's side. He, along with the audience looked up in shock and awe as a large boulder of ice hung above with the figure of Sakura holding it up.
"H-H-Haruno's punched out a giant rock of ice and has hoisted it into the air! What's going to happen now!?"
It just struck him, like when he watched All Might taken on that Nomu, or when Izuku came at him during the cavalry battle. A warning going off in his mind, his senses overwhelming him, the instinct for survival taking over, making him forget the promise he made to himself, forgetting his complications and emotions. Forgetting that this was just a match without their lives on the line as his opponent flung the ice at him. It hurdled at him at high speed despite its size.
"SHANNARO!"
The only thing he could think of was, 'fight!'
Shouto didn't even notice his temperature rising when his flames emerged from his left side, the horrible memories that would burn with this fire didn't come to light. He wasn't looking at Sakura like his opponent or annoying classmate. She was just something he wanted to stay away from him. He didn't want to draw in any closer and he was only certain that his flames would be able to do that.
'He's using his flames!' Izuku was stunned. It had taken a lot of broken bones and headbutting before he was able to convince Shouto that the fire he used was his alone and not his father's. But this time when he used his flames it was different. Almost like he wasn't aware he was wielding his fire.
'Here it comes,' Sakura watched as Shouto raised his left arm, his hand pointed right at her as she fell with the ice. Just as she expected. 'Time to end this,'
The flames grew, raising the heat, and then they were nearly covering the entire stage like a cloth over a table, Shouto being the end of it. Sakura seemed to have run straight into the fire as the ice shielding her melted from the intensity of the heat.
"SAKURA!" Hitoshi called from the stand as he saw her vanish into the warm colors.
The audience watched as Shouto produced a similar degree of firepower he had used against Izuku, the only difference was, he released the energy while remaining stationary and he didn't combine his ice. The flames broke through without the resistance of wind pressure or cement barriers brought up to prevent the attack.
"AAH! WAS THAT A DIRECT HIT! ERASER SERIOUSLY WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR STUDENTS!?"
"Enough!" Shouta was also watching rather shook by Shouto's fire. With the way this fight had been going, it was clear Sakura was just dancing around Shouto, taking her time as she had with Momo and Fumikage.
'What happened?'
Shouto finally comprehended his actions, seeing his left side covered with flames, his vision blurring from the heatwave. 'What am I doing?'
Sakura's voice distorted his thoughts, "Solid and cool as ice or chaotic and destructive as fire, it's like you switch between the two depending on which side you use to fight," Shouto jumped with fright, as he looked behind him. There Sakura stood, arms folded, not a singe on her clothing or a burn on her body.
"You make your turmoil obvious,"
He tried to move quickly; she was on his right. And his foot pressed to the ground, ready to create ice; but he wasn't fast enough. He didn't see the fist that struck him directly in his face, and he barely knew he was skidding across the grass in the stadium until he felt the burning sensation. His vision filled with dots, and he knew he lost. Despite this, Sakura's words lingered on his mind. Feeling she had more meaning behind them.
Nemuri took a moment to make sure she was certain about the results before speaking up, "Todoroki is out of bounds…Haruno wins!"
Sakura glanced around the stage that was overcome with cheering, her eyes meeting with Hitoshi's who looked like he had been running a marathon. She gave him a cheeky grin before leaving the stage. Glancing behind to see Shouto already being carried out by and off to the nurse. Then she turned back to the stands where her classmates were seated.
'One more to go,'
"Holy crap, she beat Todoroki!" Denki exclaimed, gripping the ends of his hair.
"Seriously, Sakura's way too strong," said Hanta, hands trembling in disbelief.
Izuku was glad that his surgery was over before Sakura's match started so he was able to see it unfold.
"I knew she was tough but she managed to win against Todoroki without even getting a scratch," observed Eijiro before turning to Katsuki and Tenya. "She's in the finals,"
Huffing, Katsuki stood up from his seat and proceeded to make his way up the stands, stopping only to watch one of the big screens to look at Sakura walk away to await her final opponent.
"I have to admit, I was a little doubtful about this match," stated Hitoshi when the pink-haired girl returned to him.
"Well," Sakura took her seat next to him, "I'm sure a lot of people were surprised,"
"That's because you're better than you make yourself out to be," Hitoshi stated and she just responded with a coy smile, a habit he discovered when she didn't have much to say.
Unknown to Hitoshi, it was actually when Sakura truly had a lot to say.
She clapped her hands together, "Now let's see who I'm facing off this time!"
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"KATSUKI BAGKUOU ADVANCES TO THE FINAL ROUND!"
Katsuki was temperamental but that didn't make him brainless. He wouldn't have gotten this far if he simply acted carelessly. While practically anything set him off, the only one who really made him lose his train of thought and forget the track was Izuku. Other than that, Katsuki did not act without some frame of mind.
It wasn't as easy as he had hoped, beating Tenya. He was faster than Katsuki in terms of speed, and he behaved more level headed. Yet Katsuki's determination didn't waver. He wanted to be number one and that meant he was willing to do whatever it took to get there. While Tenya could outmatch him in a race, Katsuki was able to predict his movements. And he proved it the moment the match was called to begin.
Tenya couldn't make tight turns the way Katsuki could and he couldn't propel himself in the air which had become Katsuki's territory with his explosions. He also knew that the breaks on Tenya couldn't compete with the speed he used. It was all a matter of throwing him off balance. That was easy to do with his quirk.
Tenya used his immense burst of speed to grab Katsuki and end the match fast by throwing him out of the ring, because in a battle of attrition Tenya wasn't so show he could outlast the blonde, but Katsuki used his explosions to throw Tenya off track and make him stumble with his speed before compressing his power in his palms to create a blinding flash that stunned Tenya long enough for Katsuki to attack with everything he had, defeating him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have our finalists, Katsuki Bakugou and Sakura Haruno!"
Now there was one more obstacle that stood in his way and he was determined not to lose to it again.
The door to the waiting room slammed into the wall, and Sakura saw Katsuki still holding up his foot used to kick it. His expression was as if he had a bucket of snow dropped on him.
"Can I help you?"
"The hell are you doing here Fivehead?" Katsuki glanced back to the sign and realized he had gotten the wrong waiting room but he didn't want to point his mistake, although Sakura was more than happy to oblige.
"This is waiting room two, I'm supposed to be here," Sakura yawned. "You're supposed to be in the other room,"
"Damn it, I know!"
"Okay then, see you out there,"
Katsuki didn't miss the discursiveness that she took towards his presence and that stabbed right into his ego. Fueled by his boiling blood, his palm lit up and slammed onto the table the pink haired girl was sitting and set off an explosion to remind her of his presence.
Sakura leaned back from the heat, but it wasn't enough for her to get out of her seat, "What was that for?"
"You're really pissing me off, you know that?"
"You're always like this, so how the hell am I supposed to tell?"
She gestured to the partially burned table, now lightly filling the room with the smell of ash and wondered if this was somehow going to give her grief with the faculty who hadn't gotten off her case since she arrived at school. Katsuki may have been the one to set the explosion but Shouta would probably target her first to assign blame.
Her ignorance only further agitated him, "What are you doing out there ha?! Parading around on stage like this is nothing for you! Toying with everyone like some joke. You ain't gonna pull that shit with me got it Fivehead!?"
A pink eyebrow arched, "Want to elaborate on that shit?"
"If you think I'm going to let you stand at the top with your half-ass effort, think again." Katsuki spat, the tips of his fingers smoking.
Sakura scoffed, her lips perching up, folding her right leg over the left, "How I win this tournament isn't up to anyone but me. If you don't' want me to half-ass this then you're going to have to be worth the effort,"
'Though I doubt you will be as you are now,' Just like his other classmates Katsuki did not have the experience or fighting ability as Sakura for her to consider throwing her punches full force. He was unbelievably arrogant though and it certainly tempted her to hit him hard but she resisted the urge. She could tell where he stood right now and from her point, she was currently looking down.
Katsuki clenched his jaw,"You-I'll kill you,"
"You can try,"