I was getting ready for my first day of real school when Tsu popped her head in the doorway. The small knock she made didn't startle me as much as it did back at the hospital, still though, the nightmares with All For One wouldn't waver so easily. They kept me awake since I moved here three days ago, and though I've gone for days without sleeping before, my body was moving so much more than in the past. I felt exhausted.

"Good morning!" Tsu said from the door, "Are you ready for class? Ribbit."

"I am," I nodded as I smoothed out the school uniform. Mr. Aziawa had explained it to me once before, and though I didn't feel comfortable in it, I knew I wouldn't stand out as much as I would have otherwise. Good and bad things aside, I had to try and make it through today.

"Momo's cleaning up with Sato downstairs, so I said I would come and get you," Tsu said, with no smile or lies in her words. I nodded, and followed her down, walking past the elevator which I still wasn't used to. "I have a question for you. Ribbit. About Bakugou?" I nodded for her to continue, playing with the end of my right sleeve, debating if it was a good idea or not to show my dragon mark. "You hugged him the other day and he never lets anyone hug him! Ribbit. So, does that mean you know him from somewhere?"

"Uh-" I nodded again. It wasn't that I didn't trust Tsu or the others, which I didn't just yet, but I still wanted to move past that part of my life with All For One, telling people about my life wouldn't help me do that. "I met him and some of the others before I came here." We left it at that.

We walked down the stairs and out into the big large room, every girl dressed in clothes that match mine and Tsu's and all the boys in pants. What I wouldn't give for a pair of pants right now.

"I'll keep an eye on her, beat it," Bakugou said as he walked over to us, bag slung over his shoulder.

"Is that alright with you? Ribbit," Tsu asked as I looked at Bakugou between the tangles of my hair. I nodded silently and walked over to him.

"Hey, Baku-Bro!" Kirishima said and jumped in from behind him, startling me a bit, "Oh, Nana! You coming with us to class?"

"Y-Yeah..." I said quietly. Kirishima and Bakugou were like opposite sometimes, and other times they were the exact same. One who cared about people so much and the other who cared so much for few people.

"Awesome," Kirishima said, "Today's gonna be so much fun!" He hit his fist together with the big, wide smile I liked to see so much.

"If she can stay awake," Bakugou said with a pointed finger at me, "It's obvious she hasn't been sleeping at all." He turned around and began walking towards the doors without another word.

"Come on, he won't wait for us," Kirishima said as we ran to catch up with Bakugou. I clung to his shirt from behind him while Kirishima walked slightly behind Bakugou as if to help protect me... I didn't trust everyone, but I knew I could trust these two.

I stayed with those two through all of our classes, and the teachers never called on me for a question. The halls were filled with students left and right, so many that I got separated from Bakugou and Kirishima only once. I had lost my grip on his shirt and was pushed into the crowd. My heart pounded and my hope began to crumble as I stepped through the people to find them.

"Uh-I-I'm sorry!" I said anxiously as I fell into a person. It didn't take them long to snag my arm and pull me from the crowd. Their small blue eyes staring at me.

"Hey, it's alright, are you lost? Do you need help?" He was tall with messy blonde hair and a big smile. He looked like... All Might.

"I-I... separated... people," I was panicking so much, actually words were the last thing I could do. Even more so when I watched him slip through the wall, poking his head back out so only his face was showing.

"I can help you find them!" The face in the wall said, "But you've gotta stop crying first, it's totally bumming me out!" He wasn't shouting and he wasn't loud, he was... energetic, just like Kirishima.

"O-Okay..." I said and wiped the tears from my eyes, ones I didn't even know were there.

"There you go!" He said and stepped back out of the wall, "Do you know who you were with and what class they were in?"

"B-Bakugou and Kirishima..." I said quietly, "I-I don't know... the class-"

"That's alright! I know who Bakugou is!" They said with a smile and began to head back into the crowd. I followed close behind, reaching to grab his coat, but he threw his arm around and pulled me under it, my body trembling. I didn't recognize the hall or the people here, I didn't know who this was or where we were going! "So, you're in the Hero Course too?"

"'Too?'" I asked a bit confused, still trembling.

"Ah, right. You have no idea who I am!" He laughed, "I'm Mirio! A 3rd Year in the Hero Course! If you know Bakugou then you must be a 1st Year, am I right?" I shrugged and nodded at the same time, my body never relaxing while under his arm, even as the number of people subsided.

"Uh-Hey guys I found her!" Kirishima yelled as he ran over to Mirio and me. I pulled out from under Mirio's arms and dropped into Kirishima's. This time soft tears coming as I buried my face in his chest. All the fear I had felt when I first lost them rushed back to me all at once and I wanted to collapse.

"Seems one of your friends found you!" Mirio said, bright and cheerful as he'd been the whole time, "Looks like you don't need my help anymore!" He turned and began to walk away while I stared at him, his tall and muscled figure walking back proudly before he stopped. "Hey, 1st Year." He turned back to us, the same smile on his face, but his eyes were serious and calm. "Try and smile, okay? That way anyone you save will be able to smile too!" He gave me a thumbs up and headed back, his stance, his stride, all of it was comforting, calling out to me to move forward.

It was then I realized, despite everything, everyone, from the Heroes who know my story, and the students who lived the ending with me,  and those that didn't know my name... They all wanted to help me. Every single one of them.

"Remember the next time you try something like this, you belong to me..." His words always echoed in my head, always making me feel like I couldn't move, but now there were new words to fight his. From Bakugou, Kirishima... All Might, and now the strange 3rd Year... Mirio.

"You ready to go?" Kirishima asked from beside me, with a wide smile. I nodded as we turned down the empty hall.

"Kirishima," I said, my voice small but smooth, "What's a 3rd Year?" He laughed.

"I believe I mentioned this already," Aizawa said with an intense glare on the class, "But you're main focus this summer is obtaining Provisional Hero Licences."

"Yes, Sir!" The class said.

"Do not take this lightly," Aizawa continued, his gaze seeming even more intense and fixated than before, "A hero license means that you're responsible for human lives. You can imagine that the exam to receive one is very difficult. Only 50% of students pass the test required for these permits each year."

"It's that hard to get a Provisional License?" The shortest one asked from up ahead. I sat there fidgeting with my hands under the desk, wondering if the school would even have me take the test.

"In order to prepare, today you'll concentrate on creating something new." The door slid open and in came three teachers, each who I've met earlier in the day, and all of which I was too shaken up to talk to. One was the female who showed me around the dorms... the other two were guys I think. One had a stone for his head and the other was purple and yellow with a permanent and sharp tooth smile. They're were probably the hardest appearances to explain. "Two ultimate moves."

"Ultimate moves?" Kaminari, Mina, Kirishima, and Sero yelled, causing me to flinch back a bit. I was doing good with the loud noises too... "An exam is a normal school thing! But this is total hero work!"

"When we say ultimate, we mean a move that will ensure you win against your opponent," The purple and yellow guy asked.

"An action so unique to your identity, that no other person could hope to copy it," The stone guy continued, "Simply put: You must learn to lean into your strengths."

"Your moves represent who you are," The female teacher followed on, "These days most Pro Heroes have an ultimate move. Those who don't are fools."

"This may sound abstract, but we'll explain more as the day goes on," Aizawa finished, "For now change into your costumes and meet in Gym Gamma."

"Unique to your identity... lean into your strengths..." I thought as I stood up and mindlessly searched for Bakugou or Kirishima, "Who... you are..." I've been in the world for almost ten days now... and all I knew is I hated large crowds, I will always like puzzles and rabbits, and felt comfortable around three people only.

"Miss. Nana, stay back for a minute," The female teacher asked... Midnight. That was her name.

"Nana! I'll wait outside for you!" Kirishima said from across the room. With that, the classroom emptied and I was left inside with Midnight and Mr. Aizawa, a still silence in the air that no one wanted to break.

"We wanted to talk to you about a few things before we send you off with the rest of Class 1A," She tells me, "Simply put, we're unsure of how to introduce you to this class. We don't know your level of combat experience, and your Quirk is still unknown to any of the staff here. We're not sure if you're ready for this exam or to fight in general." I wasn't surprised at all by her words, silently I looked between her and Mr. Aziawa. I knew I was far behind everyone, but... in the least, I hoped for the same chance they would be getting. Something that could put me on their level.

"You're still trying to face this battle all on your own," Mr. Aizawa adds in, "But we're all here to help you, staff and students alike. We've still signed you up for the test, but be aware, should any of the staff involved with the training until then think you're unfit for the exam, we will be pulling you from it. For your safety alone. Is that understood?"

"Yes," I nodded and he gave me a nod, letting me take in what he said. He knew just like I did, how much I wanted to be on even grounds with the others, to be treated like a normal student. A normal person.

"Have someone show you to the Support Room after training," Mr. Aziawa said, "You'll need to set up your costume request by days' end to have it in time for the exam." I didn't look back, I just kept walking, spotting Kirishima outside as he promised.

"B-Bakugou didn't wait..." I said quietly. He shook his head and explained that Bakugou never stopped moving forward, no matter what. I wish I could've been like him, keep moving, not let my past sink me so far down. "You don't need to fight me so much." I shook my head with a tremble as his words continued on. I had been fighting the pain in my body all day, the urge to sleep and rest, but I knew if I did I'd see his eyeless face staring at me.

"So, you do know how to fight, right?" Kirishima asked as we headed outside. The warm air was a nice feeling, and I always felt at ease outside because of it and the shining sun that washed over me.

"Yes," I told him.

"Really?" He asked surprised, "How'd you end up learning?" I thought for a moment, before nodding to myself with closed eyes. I could trust Kirishima.

"When I was little, a woman lived next to us," I told him, my voice quiet in case someone else was listening, "I couldn't leave, but she taught me from the window between our rooms."

"That's awesome!" Kirishima said, "And this training will only help you get better too!" He was always excited and happy, filled with a joy that I couldn't find in me yet. He reminded me of her in a lot of ways.

How she used to dance in front of my Mom and thought that the small room we were trapped in was once the whole world. How that single window to the woman across was just a reflection of who she could become... of a hero tall a brave. Yet, here she stood now, shaking beside Kirishima, ready to fall over because of how sleep-deprived she was.

"I can show you some techniques after class if you want," He said and snapped me from the distant memories of who I used to be. "Seems like you could use some extra training, and not helping you wouldn't be very manly of me!" He smiled proudly and joyfully, soon meeting up with Momo and the girls when we had to part ways.

Watching him leave, it dawned on me... for the first time in my whole life, I had a real friend...