Art Credit: Help me find the artist! :)

With my newfound motivation, I strut into class with my chin held high. Invitation or not, I was determined to prove my worth in class today. I reached my desk in time for homeroom.

Aizawa sensei hunched, lazily dragging himself into class. He placed down a book on the desk and his eyes drifted over our heads.

"I'm sure most of you must have received an invitation to conduct your studies with a hero agency." There was an agreeable silence.

"Those given assignments may approach me with concerns they have. We will occupy you with personal training which meets the motives of your assignments."

Mineta's hand shot up.

"Yes?"

"What if your assignment is low-skill like cleaning duty?"

"You'll soon unlearn that." Aizawa sensei stated. "We will be discussing your assignment for the first two lectures before a trainer on the campus is appointed for you." He paused.

"Bakugo, Todoroki, and Rylie," he didn't meet eye contact with any of us. "It was the lack of honest spirit that has left you with limited to no assignments."

Bakugo scoffed.

"Todoroki, you're plainly aware you have fewer offers compared to the number of internship assignments you were offered during the sports festival. Although you were selected by the Number 1 Pro Hero, consider this to reflect on your performance." Todoroki nodded, his face tensed a little.

"Bakugo," he looked at the blond who refused to meet his gaze. He gritted his teeth as his temper rose. "You're lack of performance has evidently left you with 0 assignments. That throws you back to the beginning with Rylie."

Rude.

"Do you care to explain?" He paused.

"That internship sucked," Bakugo grumbled.

"No," Aizawa stressed. "Your ego prevented your talent to grow. Best Jeanist has admitted to finding you very difficult of nature. Clearly, your unwillingness to learn has caught the drift of the other agencies. Hence, the two of you will be training with me." Aizawa sensei glanced at me. 

Even though a part of me dreamt, I knew the reality was going to be a nightmare. He called each student to his desk. My stomach twisted as I ran through my notes on my Ipad. I paced to the other end of the class.

"Izuku, can I borrow your notes?"

The question tore him away from his thoughts until his large green irises noticed the interruption.

"S-sorry," he pulled his notebook from beneath his desk and handed it over to me. The notes had me hooked as I meandered back my desk. There was a page on All Might's quirk, One For All. There was a muscular silhouette in the middle of the page, standing proud.

An arrow pointing to his bicep was labeled 'immense strength', an arrow from his thigh read 'Immense Speed', the one on his torso read 'Immense Durability' and the one from his heart read 'Immense Stamina'. The page next to it had an exhaustive list of attacks and their descriptions.

The next hero was Bakugo followed by the descriptions of the rest of the students of class 1-A. There were a few students listed from class 1-B. The last page was a rough sketch that looked like Hitoshi Shinso. Apart from the label, 'Quirk: Brainwashing', the entire page was empty.

The memories of  Ojiro's words came flooding back. He had warned me of his manipulation. A pat on my back interrupted me from my thoughts.

Ochaco pointed to Aizawa sensei, the latter glaring at me. I slapped the book shut and scurried to his desk. He closed the pen and placed it perfectly in the crook of his register. His stern look made me swallow hard on the anxiety welling up in my throat.

"Your lack of awareness of the quirk limits you to go beyond." I nodded slowly. "How do you see yourself among a class of talented students 5 years from now?" His icy tone bore holes in my heart.

"Fighting with them,"

He noted that down. "And why do you want to fight?"

"To rid of evil." 

He didn't write that down. "Subjective. Villains think that society is evil. What makes you any different?"

I bit my lip. My head was clouded. "People who hurt others for no reason are evil." I met his gaze.

"How is your quirk important to you?" That was not the next question I was expecting.

"Taking notes-" I remembered our conversation that day. "And electrocuting enemies," I smirked confidently with my answer.

"Why do enjoy basketball?" That was an odd question.

"Because it's my hobby." I gave him a distasteful look. 

He noted that down and I felt slightly proud of myself. "Are you aware that you are lacking behind your classmates?" He cocked a brow at me.

"Yes," I pursed my lips.

"Why do you think is that?" He closed his pen.

"They have spent more time with their quirks," I admitted.

Aizawa crossed his arms and leaned back on his chair with an exasperated sigh. "We will start training today evening. Meet me in front of the teacher's quarters at six in the evening." He gestured me back to my desk.

Aizawa sensei rose from his desk when Cementoss entered the class. A growing discomfort turned in my belly. The one time I wanted to relax was going to be spent with the worst teacher in my academic year.

                                                                                              ***

At lunch, I spotted an empty table with a single seat on one end. "May I?" I looked at Aoyama who was daydreaming out of the window. With a cheek leaning on his wrist, he smiled at him.

"Oui~☆" he pointed to the empty seat across him.

I smiled back and put down my plate, however it was a little too loud than usual. Aoyama didn't seem to mind. As I tried to pick the sashimi with my pair of chopsticks, it collapsed and the sticky rice fell on the plate. I gathered the grains and ate with my hands instead, avoiding awkward eye contact.

"Are you nervous because Aizawa sensei called you out in class?" Aoyama seemed pleased with himself.

"I'm not nervous-" A heavy chuckle escaped with my breath. "Not feeling the best-" I gave up and popped in the sashimi in my mouth.

"You know unless we can face that which pains us... we can never truly sparkle ~☆" His chin rested on the back of his wrist, an undecorated smile on his face.

"Thanks, I guess. Doesn't really make me feel less nervous." I swallowed my anxiety.

"Think about it, au reviour~☆" He winked at me and lifted his empty plate. My thoughts began to eat me from within.

                                                                                              ***

The last class was Modern Hero Art History with Midnight sensei. I learned something new today. Back in the era when there were only a gifted few ancestors with superhuman quirks, the fear of being hunted by large organizations for experiments was a reality.

In that era, some receeded to remote parts of the world spreading their ideologies in art and educating those in the form of art critique. The many laws of heroics seemed to have emerged from the older philosophies predating from the 20th century.

I clicked save on the Note file and dropped it in the 'Classroom' folder on the homepage of my Ipad. When the bell rang, Yaoyorozu was the first to stand up. She slung the bag on her shoulder and paced to Iida.

"Back in my estate, my family has the Paysage color aux Oiseaux aquatiques by Jean Metzinger" Izuku's eyes widened when Yaoyorozu finished.

"In fact, the painting was a part of the cubism art movement Midnight sensei was discussing." They waited by Ochaco's desk.

"Y-your family has a famous painting in the estate?" Life seemed to escape Ochaco as her body slumped back on the seat.

"It's not much, but yes I do have one of them" Yaomomo dismissed her panic with a wave of her hand.

"You really like Modern Art History, don't you?" I humored.

"Yes, runs in the family" She smiled. Iida was trying to shake the life back into poor Ochaco. A momentary silence followed.

"Rylie-chan, if you need any help with hero training, count on me!" Izuku pointed a thumb to himself, changing the subject.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." That made me a little more nervous about the training. Ochaco rose back to life.

"S-sorry," she apologized and gathered her things. Jiro tailed beside Yaomomo as we left.

Iida took the opportunity to share his thoughts about my training program later today evening.

"Rylie, make sure to take notes during the training session. If you have any questions, message me anytime. We can go over your training schedule. Bakugo is very talented. It will be a great learning experience for you." Iida continued, his hand enunciating every instruction.

The excitement of Modern Art History began to die within me as I was being lectured for my predicament.

"Yes, I know" I'd like to forget that nightmare for some time but no one would let me. His words were cut short when he met his gaze on another classmate near the entrance.

Just outside the dorm to 1-A, I found Toya leaning beside the door with his arms crossed at his chest.

"Oh-hey!" I waved to him. He waved back, tearing me away from Iida.

"Is it a good time to talk?" His brows furrowed, a slight tension formed on my temples. I nodded. He peered quickly to his left and then to his right, grabbed my wrist, tugging me forward.

"W-wait, where are we going?" He hushed me. I followed him until we were safely behind my dorm.

"What is it?" I kept my voice low, scrutinizing his suspicious demeanor. "Is there something I-"

His lips crashed into mine.

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