That night I fell asleep thinking of Shoto. As I dreamed my thoughts turned into nightmares. I dreamed I was back at that bar, where Shigaraki and his league were hiding out. The room was completely empty except for a TV monitor near the wall. I tried to open the doors but they were all locked.

"There is nowhere to run, Number Seven," that calm, chilling voice said through the TV.

"All For One," I said with a shaky voice. "You are in prison."

"For now at least," All For One said. "I will be free of these bonds soon enough and then you will come back to me. I created you for a purpose. One you will accomplish. All Might might be retired but Izuku Midoriya holds the power you are to destroy."

"I won't!" I yelled as the scene changed around me.

Arms wrapped around my neck and I felt someone pressing themselves against my back. I looked up and saw Shigaraki smiling down at me. "I need you, number seven. You will be my most important pawn." His hands gripped my shoulders tight and I felt them disintegrating.

"NO!" I shouted pulling free of him. I ran away and ran right into Shoto.

"Villain," he said with utter disgust. "That's what you are, a villain."

My eyes shot open and I realized I was in my room. My clothing was soaked from sweat and I had to take a moment to catch my breath. I draped an arm over my eyes as I tried to collect myself. I knew that Shoto didn't really think I was a villain but the way he said it in my dream...

"Get it together," I whispered to myself. I looked over at the clock, it was still early but I figured I would get up anyway.

I pulled off my pajamas that were still clinging to my skin and pulled on some shorts and a tank top. I grabbed my shower stuff and went to the common area where the baths were located. It was early enough that no one was awake. While I showered I let the water run over my face. Instead of thinking about my nightmare I remembered how it felt to be in Shoto's arms.

A smile crept over my face as I washed myself. Once I was done I dried my body and went back up to my room. I dressed and braided my hair. I decided I would make an omelette with ham and toast for breakfast. So once I grabbed the necessary ingredients I went down to the kitchen. Asui and Ashido were heading into the showers and I gave them a quick greeting as I passed.

I turned the stove on and began cooking. I wondered about making a portion for Shota. It seemed like forever since we ate breakfast together. Although things have been busy for him with classes starting. This weekend I planned on doing something with him after our training session with Shinso. I thought about how much stronger he had become since our first session.

"Morning Shichi!" Iida said making me jump slightly. "Ah I didn't mean to surprise you!"

"It's okay!" I laughed. "I was just lost in my thoughts is all."

"Oh, well be careful not to burn your food!" Iida smiled as he walked off.

I giggled to myself as I focused back on my meal. Just as I finished, Shoto came up to me. "Good morning," he smiled.

"Good morning," I smiled back at him. "Do you want to have breakfast with me?"

"Sure," Shoto nodded as he made a quick meal. As he sat down next to me, he asked, "did you sleep well?"

"Not really, to be honest," I said.

"Everything okay?" Shoto asked, there was slight concern in his voice.

"I just have nightmares sometimes," I said waving my hand.

"Oh," he said. We finished our meal in silence and as he stood up, he asked, "do you wanna talk about it?"

I stood up and cleaned my plate. While I did that I told him about my nightmare and what All For One said. I hesitated when I got to the part about Shoto calling me a villain, but I managed to get the words out. When I was finished, he surprised me by hugging me. "I could never see you as a villain, Kanna."

I wrapped my arms around him and breathed in his scent. He smelled like fresh linen and soap. "I know that, Shoto. Sometimes my nightmares don't make any sense. Shota has told me many times that just because it happens in a dream, doesn't make it true."

Shoto chuckled, "that does sound like Mr. Aizawa. He is a very rational person." He brushed a hand over my chin while leaning down. He lightly brushed his lips over mine, sending shivers throughout my body. "Come on, we should get ready to go."

"O-okay," I said trying to keep my face from blushing. We went out to the common area where Midoriya and Katsuki were cleaning.

"You idiots!" Kirishima exclaimed as we walked out.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Midoriya and Bakugo were out fighting last night and now they are on lock down," Kirishima said.

"Why were you guys fighting?" I asked.

"Have you two made up?" Uraraka asked Midoriya.

"Not exactly," Midoriya flushed. "And it's kinda a long story."

"Now you two will be absent at the opening ceremony!" Iida pointed out.

"Bakugo, what about the special class for our licenses?" Shoto asked, adjusting his tie.

"Shut up and mind your own business!" Katsuki snapped at him. I tilted my head and flashed him a smile. He snorted before getting back to work.

We headed to class and dropped off our things before the opening ceremony. "Hurry and line up everyone!" Iida said, ever the responsible class rep.

"I heard Mr. Aizawa isn't coming," Sero said.

"Well I imagine things have been busy for him," Kaminari said. "Right Shichi?"

"Yeah he's been working extra hard getting ready for classes," I nodded.

"Well, well, well, class 1-A," Monma said, leaning against the lockers. "I heard two people in your class failed the license exam." He brushed his hair back and grinned.

"Let me guess, you were the only one in your class to fail?" Kirishima retorted.

Monma turned around and went back to his class. He turned back around and smirked. "No one in our class failed," Testutetsu said. "Seems things are gonna be changing."

"I'm sorry guys," Shoto said, slightly defeated.

"Don't sweat it," Kirishima said.

"Vlad told us that we will have classes together," a girl with blonde hair and horns stepped forward.

"Hey that's Pony, I heard she is a foreigner," Kaminari pointed out.

"Really? That's awesome!" Kirishima exclaimed, excitedly.

"We are going to grind you into the dust!" Pony said cheerfully.

"What did I tell you about teaching her weird phrases?!" Kendo yelled at Monma.

I giggled at how silly they were. "Hurry and line up!" Iida demanded.

"I thought I heard you guys," Shinso said as he walked forward. "Good to see how lame you all are."

"Hey Shinso!" I waved and he gave me a smile. "I'll see you on sunday right?"

"Yeah, same as usual," Shinso said as he walked passed.

Shoto and Kirishima gave me a strange look but I just laughed it off. "We hang out sometimes," I explained.

"Oh that's cool," Kirishima scratched his head.

We headed outside with the rest of our class, to where they were holding the opening ceremony. The teachers were standing next to a small stage. Principle Nezu got up and began talking. At first he was going on about his fur and how it's important to maintain a healthy diet and sleep schedule. He continued by saying, "the biggest disruption to our lifestyles was the incident that took place over the summer. The loss of our pillar. Now we are seeing the effects of that, emerging at a rate beyond expectations."

"Our society needs to prepare for unparalleled hardship in the near future," Principal Nezu continued. "This applies especially for those in the hero course and our second and third years in work study. Going forward you must be more aware than ever of the threats out there. I know such gloomy talk makes us all heavy-hearted, which is why us adults are doing everything we can to keep things from getting too dreary. We hope to inspire an industrious ethic in you all so you may go on to become capable members of society. The business course, general studies course, the support course, and the hero course will inherit this society."

Once he was finished he walked off the stage and joined the teachers. Up next was our school life supervisor, Hound Dog. He took a deep breath before barking and snarling. He barely managed to get out a few words and when he was finished he just howled, leaving us all astounded and confused. I heard someone whisper that he forgets how to speak when he's upset.

Vlad King stepped up in his place, "what he meant to say was, we had a fight between some students last night. We understand that some of you are still adjusting to dorm life, but we ask you to control yourselves and make this work for everyone."

"They are really making Bakugo and Midoriya appear to be naughty children," Momo said softly.

After that they sent us all to class. Shota came in for homeroom and stood at the front of the class. "Alright, a lot has happened, really too much, but it's back to business as usual. Today in class we will have a lecture, but you can look forward to even harsher training throughout the semester." Ashido turned around to whisper something to Tsu. Shota's hair stood up as he glared at her, "What was that?"

"N-nothing sir!" Ashido stammered.

"Sir, I have a question," Tsu said, raising her hand. "What are work studies?"

"The principal mentioned them," Sero said.

"I too am curious," Tokoyami said.

"Many of the upperclassmen are engaged in them right?" Momo added.

Shota sighed, "I was planning on going over them at a later date, but I guess now is a good time. In simple terms it's hero work outside of school. It's a more immersive version of the internships you all had."

"I didn't know we got to do that sort of thing," Uraraka tapped her chin. Suddenly she stood up. "Wait, what was the point of trying so hard at the sports festival?!" She shouted in a very un-Uraraka like fashion.

"With the work studies available it seems the sports festival was hardly our only option," Iida said.

"You will be using your networking connections from the sports festival to secure hero work studies," Shota explained. "It's all at your discretion to start with and it's unrelated to your classes here. Those who didn't get scouted will have a hard time finding positions anyway. It used to be that every agency in the country would seek out applicants but the competition to win over UA students caused a lot of issues. That's why things are the way they are."

"I'm sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusion," Uraraka said, sitting back down.

"Earning the provisional licenses will give you extended, in-depth experience when it comes to this stuff," Shota continued. "Keep in mind that there's virtually no reason for first years to have licenses. But, with the sudden burst of villain activity the possibility of first year work studies are carefully being considered. We will revisit this at a later point. Then you will receive a more complete explanation along with some testimonies."

Present Mic entered the room as Shota left. "Alright everyone! Time for first period English! I'm sure you are all excited to see me up on that stage again!" Mic said ever excited.

The rest of the day flew by and when class was dismissed I hung back to talk to Shota. "How are things going Kanna? I know we haven't had much time to spend together," he said as he stacked some papers.

"Things are alright, I had another nightmare last night but I think that it's getting better," I said.

"Do you want to see the doctor about adjusting your medicine?" Shota asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, at least not yet, it's not as bad as it was before," I tapped my chin.

"Okay, good," Shota nodded. "Let's have dinner together tonight, we can go out for curry."

"Okay!" I nodded eagerly.

Shota finished his things and we walked to the restaurant together. It was nice to get out with just him and I. When we sat down I decided to tell him about how Shoto kissed me. Shota paused for a really long time after. "Shota?" I asked leaning forward.

Shota blinked a few times before shaking his head. "Well as long as you're happy and it doesn't interfere with your studies."

"Alright," I giggled. "Thanks, Shota." I added and he just gave me a smile.

After we finished dinner he walked me back to the dorms. Everyone was sitting around talking about some of the things that happened in class. Kirishima walked over to me, "hey Shichi can you help me with English? I didn't really understand Mic's lesson."

"Sure," I said, sitting next to him. "What did you have trouble with?"

He showed me the parts he struggled with and I helped him out. English was something I was pretty good at. He was mostly struggling with conversions so I showed him a simple way to remember them. Sato and Sero joined in after they saw me helping Kirishima. Seems they didn't really understand the lesson either. After they seemed to understand I headed up to my room.

I changed out of my uniform and took my hair down. The soft waves fell over my shoulders and down my back. I tugged on some pajama pants and a t-shirt. Just as I sat down to work on some of the things from class there was a knock at my door. I stood up and found Shoto standing there.

"Hey," I said, moving aside so he could come in.

"Hey, I just wanted to hang out with you a little," Shoto said. He sat down on my bed, I sat across from him on my chair.

"Shota and I went out for dinner," I said tucking my knees to my chest.

"Did you tell him about us?" Shoto asked, he seemed a little nervous.

"I told him that we kissed, if that's what you mean," I laughed.

Shoto paused for a moment, "was he okay with it?"

"He seemed a little shocked, but yeah he was fine," I tilted my head.

"Oh that's good," Shoto smiled. "I saw you helping Kirishima, Sato, and Sero."

"English is something I'm pretty good at," I said. "Did you want me to tutor you too?"

Shoto let out a laugh, "no, I'm doing just fine in class. But, if you wanna study together, we can."

"Sure," I nodded. "I would like that."

"Oh yeah, I didn't know you and Shinso hang out," Shoto rubbed his chin.

"Well it's not really hanging out. Shota has me help train him," I explained. "I'm not even sure if he likes me or not. He keeps things professional when we are together."

"Oh I see," Shoto replied. "Seems you are good at helping people."

"I try," I chuckled. I stood up and closed the brief gap between us. "Uhm, Shoto?"

"Hmm?" He looked up at me.

My face went red as I forgot what I wanted to say. I frantically waved my hands and stammered, "well- I- uhm."

Shoto laughed and held my hand. He tugged me close to him and pulled me onto his lap. He put one hand over my legs and the other he placed on the back of my neck. My face was so close to his that I could feel his breathing. I let my eyes meet his and he slowly brought his lips to mine. I shifted, ever so slightly, and wrapped my arms around his neck. As we deepened the kiss he pulled me tighter. I could almost feel his heart beating, or perhaps it was my own.

He tucked his arm under my legs and moved me to where I was laying on the bed. He pulled his face away from mine and I could see his face was as flushed as mine. He positioned himself over me and he whispered my name before kissing me again. I ran my hands through his red and white hair. It was softer than I expected and I found my fingers wrapping around the strands. It felt like time had stopped completely. All I wanted was for this moment to last forever. His soft lips pressed against mine, the feel of his skin, the warmth coming from him.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. A knock on my door followed by, "Shichi are you up?" It was Uraraka.

"I should probably get going anyway," Shoto said as he pulled himself off me.

"Y-yeah, it's getting late. I don't want you to be in trouble," I nodded, trying not to blush further.

He helped me up and gave me a hug. He pulled away and with a smile he let himself out of the room. "Todoroki?" Uraraka blinked as he left.

"Night," Shoto smirked as he walked down the hall.

Uraraka slowly turned to me and a smile spread across her face. "What was Todoroki doing in your room?"

"Uhm," I began to blush again. "He was just saying hi?"

She clearly didn't believe me. I sighed and let her into my room. We sat on the bed together and I told her about how he kissed me last night. "So are you two like together now?" She asked when I was finished.

"Maybe? I don't know, it's not like we've discussed it exactly," I scratched my cheek.

"Still, I'm glad you two figured it out," Uraraka beamed.

"Are you going to tell Midoriya about how you feel about him?" I asked.

"No, now isn't a good time," Uraraka blushed. "I already made the decision to not think about those feelings. I don't want to distract him or anything."

"Oh I see," I nodded. "Well if that's what you wanna do. I mean you can always tell him later on!"

"That's true," Uraraka laughed.

"Oh yeah, was there something you wanted to talk about before, you know?" I laughed nervously.

"I did, but now I can't remember," Uraraka said. "I'm sure I'll think of it later. Anyway I'm gonna head to bed."

"Okay, good night," I said as I let her out.

"Night!" Uraraka waved and headed to her own room. I let out a sigh and went back to working on my assignments.

The next three days passed by and Midoriya was finally let off lockdown. I sat down at my desk and watched as Midoriya exclaimed how motivated he was to make up for the days he missed. He even apologized to Iida for letting him down. Before class started he came over and we briefly talked. He wanted some tips on how I fight. Seems he was still trying to improve his new style of fighting. I told him that I could always show him some stuff after class.

Once class started, Shota entered and addressed us. "Now that Midoriya is back we can talk about work studies for real. Come on in," he called to the door. Three students walked in as he continued to speak. "They are here to tell you how work studies differ from internships. They are people who have got out there and experienced it, so give them your full attention. They have taken time out of their busy schedules just to talk to you. These three students are the top three reigning third years, more commonly known as The Big Three."

I recognized the three students. While I had never actually talked to them in person, Shota had told me about them and I remembered seeing them on the TV. The tall boy with blonde hair was Mirio Togata, the girl was Nejire Hado, and the shy looking boy was Tamaki Amajiki. I heard the other students talking about how they had heard of them before as well. Kaminari even pointed out how pretty Hado was.

"Let's start with introductions," Shota said. "Starting with Amajiki."

Amajiki bit his lip and glared at us intensly. He seemed really nervous and his eyes widened. "Mirio, Hado it's no use. I was going for potatoes but they still look like people from the neck down. Can't speak well...mind going blank." He turned around and faced the wall. "I wanna go now!"

"You're supposed to be the hero course's best of the best right?" Ojiro asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"He has a heart of a flea, weird right?" Hado laughed. "He's Tamaki Amajiki and I'm Nejire Hado. We are here to talk to you guys about work studies." Her attention turned to Shoji and she leaned in close, "what's with the mask? Are you cold or is it a fashion statement?"

"A long time ago-," Shoji started but Hado's attention was elsewhere.

"Oh I see Todoroki back there, how did you get that scar?" She asked.

"Well, uhm," Shoto started.

"Oh Shichi! Did you get all your scars from the lab? What was that like? Can you use all your elements at once?" Hado asked rapidly.

My face went red and I tucked my arms under my desk. Since we were wearing our summer uniforms my arms were exposed. "I-uhm," I stammered, trying to shrink myself. Luckily Hado moved on to someone else.

"Ashido, if your horns broke off would it grow back? Can they move?" Hado questioned. "Asui, are you more of a tree frog or a toad? Ojiro can you support your body with your tail? There are so many curious things about you all!"

"She's not very rational is she?" Shota asked, irritated.

"Don't worry Eraserhead!" Togata said. "I'm the main act!" He stepped forward and leaned in, "the outlook is looking..." he waited for a response, "grim! The answer was grim. Well that didn't work."

"They seem kinda weird," Sato said.

"It's hard to tell what they are made of," Tokoyami nodded.

"I see a lot of faces that seem to say 'who cares!' I mean you have third years showing up out of nowhere to talk about work studies you don't have to do. It doesn't make sense right?" Togata said. "You got your licenses as first years. Hmph, seems this batch of first years are real go-getters. Since this talk isn't going well how about you guys take me on!"