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My eyes widened.

It took a bit of force to pull us apart.

"Excuse me, what is this?" My head was turning.

He searched my eyes. Finally, he spoke "When you said you fancied someone I wanted to reach out and-" his thoughts were rushed.

"Wait, didn't you just ask out Sakura?" My brows furrowed.

"What?"

"And she rejected you two weeks ago?"

"No, that's not how it happened," his hand traced my elbow. I felt sick like it was a betrayal of my own feelings.

"No we can't," I shed his hands and looked away. "I'm into someone else,"

"Oh, I see," He took a few steps back. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to"

And he disappeared away further down the lane to his dorm. The awkward silence lingered around me. I sunk my hands into my face.

This feels so wrong...

I trudged back to the entrance of my dorm.

"Rylie-chan!" I felt a tight grip on my shoulders. Denki Kaminari huddled behind me. Jiro's face was pale, a hand on her hip and the other twirling the cord from her earlobe.

"What made you think you could make fun of Momo like that and get away with it?" She cocked her head to the side, giving off a cold stare. Kaminari whimpered.

"Leave me out of this" I plucked his hands off my shoulders. I was on my way toward the hall when a voice caught me.

"Rylie!" Mina waved from the far end of the room. I walked over to her. The six girls were sitting around the coffee table in the far right of the room. Seated on top of the backrest, Mina's legs were draped over the seat. Hagakure, whose shirt and shorts outlined her sitting frame, handed over a mug to me. It was warm and a little heat escaped from it. A marshmallow sat on top of a dollop of cream floating on its surface.

"Sato made us hot chocolate milk. Here's yours" She said. I took the seat beside them with the mug.

"I have so much homework to do." Ochaco sighed, placing her cup on the table.

"If you need any help with homework, I can come to your room." Yaoyorozu offered. She placed a delinquent hand on her chest.

"Help me with my homework too!" Hagakure chimed.

"After we do homework, let's hang out at my place for a sleepover." Mina asserted with pride.

"Let's be real - kero. Rylie, do you think you will have time after the training session?" Asui looked toward me.

"Oh yeah, looking forward to your training?" Momo looked at me, her loosely knotted ponytail draped over her other shoulder.

"Honestly, no" I scratched the back of my head, taking a sip of the hot chocolate.

Jiro paced back toward the couch. "I gave him a piece of my mind. What did I miss?"

"A homework session and a sleepover" Mina winked.

"Am in though" I raised my hand. "I'll come for the sleepover." I agreed. I finished the drink and rose from the chair.

"See you tonight!" Mina beamed and I waved back at them.

***

Later that evening, I found the largest pullover and the comfiest pair of trousers. Neatly fitting the towel, bottle, and sneakers into the gym bag, I wore a sweatband on my wrist and headed out. A neat high ponytail lifted the hair off my face.

It was 17:45 in the evening when I was headed out. I saw a fuzzy blond standing at the entrance towards the teacher's quarters.

"So this is it?" Nonchalantly avoiding his gaze, I raked the teacher's dorms.

He scoffed and turned his head away. After a moment of awkward silence, Aizawa sensei appeared from the far right.

"Follow me," he gestured to the two of us. I fidgetted with the hem of my shirt, taking in the large part of the estate. The gardens were evenly trimmed, dew drops were settled on the cropped bushes. We followed the path behind the teacher's dorms. When the glass double doors opened, a gush of cool wind hit our faces. The small room was a gym. On the other end of the room, we overlooked a sizeable training ground.

The halls were empty today with the exception of pulling off some free-form exercises.

"Hey Rylie," Shinso greeted me with a wide toothy grin, meeting me at a high five. I pulled off my shoulder bag and returned the gesture.

"I don't remember you being so friendly," Bakugo grunted at Shinso.

"I don't remember you being so nosy," the sarcasm loosely slipped off his tongue with a natural smile.

"Alright, you two. No time to settle." Aizawa sensei sunk his hands into his pockets. "Let's start off with you Rylie. Land a punch on him and you pass." Aizawa gestured to Shinso.

"Bakugo, I have another plan for you.." He indicated a thumb and the grumpy blond followed him. I pulled out my sneakers from the bag and sat on the stairs.

"So you and Aizawa sensei know each other?" I looked at him, tying my laces.

"Yea, long story" he dodged my gaze. I brush the dust off my hind and took positions.

"I hope he has taught you well," I set my fists to my sides, holding my feet in a defensive stance.

"I hope you can put up a good fight" Shinso grimaced.

"Watch me," I smirked. Suddenly, my mind went blank. I lost the senses in my limbs. My conscience felt like it existed in the void of my body. Against my will, it moved on its own.

"Now let's fight," Shinso's lips curled.

Let me go! The voice never escaped my lips. When I regained control of my limbs, I was bruised and lying on the soil.

"Get up, we're not finished yet!" Shinso taunted.

I immediately bit my tongue and studied his frame. There wasn't much of a fight in him. Only talk.

"Smart, so you figured..." he chuckled. I launched a punch but the binding cloth over his shoulder tightly wrapped my wrist.

"Unfortunately for you, I possess more power than one. This will be difficult for you. And I promise I won't go easy." The binding cloth spun and tripped me over my feet. I rose myself to face him.

"Keep trying but you aren't going to win" Shinso teased. The binding cloth slapped my wrists and held them away from me.

"I'm just going to let you hang while I go fetch Aizawa sensei." He approached my hanging body and grinned. I grit my teeth, tugging at the cloth that held me.

"No you won't" With a dance of index and thumb, I was able to create a holographic screen in thin air. A single swipe of my fingers made the screen race at high velocity, slicing the binds that held me. I fell on my knees, gaining Shinso's shocked gaze.

"Woah, I didn't know you could do that" Shinso's eyes widened. The binding cloth snaked back to his shoulders on his command. I massaged the pain on my wrists and raced toward his position, raising holographic screens that deflected the binding cloth. A long length of cloth wrapped itself around me, cocooning me into suffocation.

"I may not be in the hero course but I have more experience than you" He was heard from the outside. His remarks were cut short when the binding cloth loosened and fell. The holographic screens enveloped me in a shield revealing my living, breathing, and resting frame. I looked up toward him and shot him a sly smile. "We'll see about that,"

"It was stupid of me to not have thought of this sooner" I produced tall walls of four screens, encasing him in it. "And here's the climax," Vaulting over a screen I produced mid-air, I landed a punch to his face dropping him to the ground.

"Alright, you win" Shinso chuckled. My eyes gleamed at those words.

"Yes!" I punched the sky. I was applauded with a slow clap in the distance. It was Aizawa sensei. "You learn fast and Shinso you need work," Aizawa stated and Shinso sulked. "But let's keep that up. Bakugo,"

The blond came trudging over, slumped, in his khakis. "Now it's time for the two of you to fight." Aizawa pointed at me. I swallowed my fear.

"Bring it on," Bakugo's face lit up with passion. "Let's see how your reflexes protect you against this!" The flames popped on either of his palms. My stomach knotted at the slightest compliment but I was more determined for him to bite the dust.

"Try me," I readied my fists at his challenge.

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