The green stripes are back y'all. They're a pain in my ass to draw, but I love them so dearly. You can thank Lady Nagant's design for convincing me rip 🥲

𓆱❀𓆱

Class 1-A of U.A. was alive with chatter as the final students trickled into their seats. "Hey, didja see the news last night? Everyone was on screen for a second, but I didn't stand out all all!" complained Hagakure.

Ojiro looked her way. "It'd be pretty hard to stand out when you look like that."

A row back from them, Kaminari was leaning back in his chair, looking to his friends over his shoulder. "All of the news channels were making such a big deal about it!"

"I was surprised!"

"Can you blame them?" Jiro sighed. "The hero course that keeps on pumping out high-ranking pros was attacked."

"Who knows what would've happened if the teachers hadn't shown up..."

"Stop that, Sero! Just thinking about it is gonna make me wet myself," whined Mineta.

Bakugo wheeled around in his chair. "Shut up, fucking scumbag!"

"Everyone!" Iida threw open the door, dashing over to the lectern. "Morning homeroom is about to start! Stop talking and take your seats!"

"We're already in them, though," Sero grinned. "Actually, you're the only one who's not."

"Shoot!"

"Don't mind, Iida!"

"Morning..." The classroom door slid open. In hobbled a man, wrapped head-to-toe in bandages beneath his dumpy black clothes and hair. Both of his arms were in slings, and he moved stiffly – every jerk of his arms sent pain shooting through him.

"Mr Aizawa!" his students exclaimed.

"You're back too soon!"

"You're too much of a pro!"

"My well-being doesn't matter. More importantly...."

"Wait, Mr. Aizawa..." Ashido raised a tentative hand. Her voice was uncharacteristically sullen. "Akiharu's not here yet..."

The class turned their gaze to the only empty desk in the room.

Aizawa shook his head. "There's no point in waiting," he said. "Now, as I was saying..."

Ashido rested her chin on her folded arms, lower lip jutting out with a pout. She glanced back in the direction of the empty desk. "Where are you..." she mumbled.

The classroom door was flung open. Standing in the doorway, dishevelled like she'd just run a marathon, was Akiharu. Her face was smeared with dirt here and there, her blazer was wrinkled, and her tie was even more crooked than usual.

"S– Sorry I'm late," she panted, closing the door behind her.

"Just take your seat," Aizawa muttered. Across the classroom, his students were stifling smiles and sighs of relief. Among them was a blonde-haired student with a pointed scowl, hiding his smirk behind his hand.

𓆱❀𓆱

Earlier that day...

After the written test came the physical ones. A speed test. A strength test. A combat test. Completing all of them took just over two hours. By the end, I was all but dying for my supplements.

I felt good about the tests, but there was no telling whether or not it was all in my head. Nervously, I looked to the Chairwoman, who stood silently behind the examination glass with her arms folded across her chest. One of the examiners approached her. She adjusted the cuffs of her lavender business outfit while she listened to the results.

At last, a different examiner opened the door. My stomach flip-flopped.

"Come hear your results, Ms. Akiharu."

I followed inside the darkened room. Screens lined below the window depicted my heart-rate, mineral levels, blood pressure, brain activity – all sorts of shit.

The Chairwoman gestured to the head examiner. I stood at attention. The reedy, dark-haired man glanced to me from his clipboard. "W-Well, we've seen an increase of 26% across the board. Which, compared to your usual increase of 7%, and taking into consideration the typical performance growth rates for Quirk training..."

The Chairwoman shot him a glance, as if to say finish up already.

"Well, t-to be frank, it's unheard of."

My eyes trailed to the Chairwoman as I tried to keep my hope from showing on my face.

She held my gaze with an upward incline of her chin, her eyes ever stoic. Then, letting out a near-imperceptible sigh, she shook her head. "Very well. You may return to taking classes at U.A. – However, you're to keep that bracelet on."

I looked to the fit-bit like device around my wrist. It was what was transmitting most of the information to the examination room. "Yes ma'am."

"And let me be clear: There will be no other incidents."

"Yes ma'am."

"You have to leave now if you want to make it to U.A. on time. You're excused."

"Yes ma'a – Er, pardon me." With a hasty bow, I just managed to walk out of the room and down the hall without running. I held my cheer in until the moment I stood safely behind the closed door of my room.

"Fuck yes!" I pumped a fist as I rifled through my closet. Stumbling into my uniform, I looked into the mirror. Yikes. it was hardly 7:00 am and I already looked like I'd been through hell.

I pushed on my shoes and ran out the door, then realizing I forgot my school bag, ran back inside. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck I'm so late...!"

𓆱❀𓆱

I barely managed to stay awake during homeroom, as Aizawa droned on about U.A.'s plans to proceed with the upcoming sports festival. Once homeroom was dismissed, it was back to English with Present Mic. Being near the front row, it was impossible to doze off with him teaching. Like another loud blonde in the room, he didn't seem to have a volume-down button.

Math with Cementoss was a different story. By the time the door closed and first break began, I'd slumped across my desk, resting my head in my arms.

"Aki!"

I blearily raised my head to look at a very annoyed-looking Mina standing at my side.

"You sleazeball!" she complained. "You just disappeared off the face of the Earth! I even called U.A., and Recovery Girl told me she gave you my number, but you still didn't call! How could you!"

"Sorry... I didn't want to bother you at home..."

"When you didn't show up to class I thought you dropped out!" she wailed, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. "Why were you late!"

"I slept in..."

"Slept in? You caused me so much stress I'm breaking out!"

"You look great, Mina," I said, muffled by her shoulder.

She pulled back, eying me skeptically. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Then I forgive you!" she cheered. Just how temperamental can a person be? "Plus, since you called me Mina without me reminding you, I won't make you buy me lunch today!"

I grimaced. "When was that on the table...?"

𓆱❀𓆱

As we were dismissed for lunch, the class erupted into excited chatter. "Even though all that stuff happened, I'm getting real pumped up!" exclaimed Kirishima.

"Ojiro, I'm getting nervous... I gotta make sure to stand out at the Sports Festival...!"

"No pro will notice you unless you try really hard, Hagakure..."

"Oh dear, what'll I do?" Aoyama's boast carried through the class as he struck a series of odd poses. "I stand out just by standing still, so the scouts won't be able to stop looking at me, right? Right!"

Kaminari hoisted himself up on his desk, crossing one leg over the other. "You're lucky, Shoji. Your brawn stands out on its own."

"There's no point if I cannot demonstrate my usefulness."

Jiro buried her snicker in her hand. "I think you'll stand out, too..." she said, hinting at a certain-someone's short-circuit.

I wiped the smirk off my face and replaced it with the dumbest face I could muster. "Yay~" I uttered, pumping a thumbs up.

Jiro choked on her laughter, burying her head in her hands.

"Hey... I don't look like that, do I?"

"Yes, exactly like that"

"Exactly," Jiro agreed.

"Let's do our best at the Sports Festival!" Uraraka was growling at the back of the room. She pumped her fist into the air, exuding quite a dangerous aura.

"What's the matter?" hummed Mina. "You don't look carefree at all, even though that's what your name means..."

"Everyone!" Uraraka raised her other fist over her head, glaring nervously atop her grin. "I'm gonna do my best!"

"Yeah!" Mina cheered.

The typically kind-hearted girl whipped around to my area, repeating the cheer. "I'm gonna do my best!"

"Y-Yeah!" Kirishima agreed. "But, uh, your character is all over the place!"

As the class filtered out the doors, I accompanied Iida, Uraraka and Midoriya to the caf. The freckle-faced boy turned around as we made it up the last flight of stairs. "Hey, Uraraka, why did you decide to come to U.A. to become a pro hero?

"Eh?" The girl's big brown eyes glanced to one side. She hung her head in embarrassment, speaking hardly above a mumble. "Well... That's... It's for the money..."

"Money?" Midoriya stopped dead in his tracks. "You want to be a hero for the money?"

"That's what she just said," I mumbled, nudging his side.

Uraraka rubbed the back of her head furiously. "To boil it down simply, yes... Sorry it's such an unwholesome reason!" She cupped her flushed cheeks. "Everyone else has such admirable motivations, it's embarrassing..."

"Why?" Iida's brow furrowed above his rectangle glasses. "How is having a goal to support your livelihood not admirable?"

I nodded. "I've never thought motivation mattered much. You're still doing the same work..."

Uraraka wrapped her arms around her head, heaving a small sigh. "My family owns a small construction company... But we haven't gotten any work at all, so we're flat broke. This isn't really something to tell other people, though..."

"Oh!" gasped Midoriya. "With your Quirk, if you get licensed, it'd bring costs way down!"

"Right? That's what I told my Dad when I was little! But..." With a stern nod, a fire burned in the dark umber of her eyes. "I'll definitely become a hero and make money and let my parents take it easy."

"That's an admirable reason as any," I said.

"You think?" replied Uraraka, covering her flushed face. "I'm glad..."

"That reminds me, Akiharu!" Midoriya's insatiable green eyes turned my way. "What about you? Why are you in U.A.'s hero course?"

The question caught me off guard. "Uh..."

Well? Why exactly am I here? Why did I fight so hard to come back?

I covered my hesitation with a smile. "Since I was a kid... I guess I've just never thought of doing anything else."

Midoriya's face brightened. "Me, either!"

A sudden rumble shook the hall. Startled, I ducked behind the nearest cover – the largest of which happened to be Iida.

"All Might – Akiharu –" Midoriya's head whipped between the appearance of his mentor and my sudden duck behind his tall friend. "Wh– What's wrong?"

"Lunch!" declared the Symbol of Peace, raising a bento box that looked comically small in his hands. "Wanna eat together?"

"He's like a highschool girl!" Uraraka choked. As she sputtered on laughter, Iida looked at me over his shoulder.

"Akiharu, may I inquire what it is that you are doing?"

I blinked. I couldn't exactly tell him I used him as a meat shield, could I?

"I thought... I saw a roach...?

"Oh, I see."

"Why's a person strong as you afraid of bugs!" laughed Uraraka.

"Roaches, I said! Those things are unnatural!"

𓆱❀𓆱

It was half past four o'clock by the time the school day concluded. As soon as the dismissal bell rang, I noticed a slight change in the atmosphere. It took me a moment to pin what had caused the shift.

There was a crowd gathered outside the class. I could tell by the soft shuffling and quiet murmuring through the door. Without noticing, Uraraka wandered over and pulled the classroom door open.

"W-Woah..." she murmured. The clamouring of the crowd grew once the door was opened. "What's going on!"

Iida stepped to her defence. "What business do you have with Class 1-A!"

"We can't get out!" complained Mineta. "What'd you come here for, anyway?"

"Scouting the enemy, small fry," Bakugo scoffed as he pushed past him and to the open door. "They wanna see the gang who came through the villain ambush. They're checking us out before the big battle, you scum."

Mineta gaped at his language. Midoriya leaned to the grape-bitch's side with a smile. "Sorry, that's just Kacchan in neutral..."

Bakugo stopped in the doorway, staring the crowd down. He rolled his shoulders back, inclined his chin, and jutted his chin out. "There's no point in trying that. So get out of my damned way, you extras!"

"Stop calling people extras just because you don't know them!" Iida ordered, waving his hand rigidly. Several of our classmates stood with mouths hung open in shock.

"I came to see what the famous Class A was like, but you seem pretty arrogant," called a low, masculine voice. "Are all the students in the hero course like this? Seeing something like this makes me feel disillusioned..."

A lanky boy with wild purple hair fluffed in all directions pushed his way to the front of the crowd, stopping hardly a foot away from Bakugo. He stared down the blonde boy through eyes framed with prominent dark circles.

Damn. He looks as tired as I feel...

Bakugo leaned back as his teeth bared with a scowl. Uraraka, Iida and Midoriya began waving their hands frantically, trying to signal the new boy to stop. He either didn't notice them, or simply didn't care.

"There are quite a few people who enrolled in general studies or other departments because they didn't make it to the hero course. Did you know that?" He rolled his head to one side, his indigo eyes slitted to slivers – though whether it was because he was antagonistic or just exhausted, I couldn't tell. "The school has left us a chance. Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course – And it seems they may also transfer people out.

"Scouting out the competition?" His dark eyes scanned over the class through the open door. "I, at least, came to say that even if you're in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll sweep your feet out from underneath you." His jaw set determinedly. "What I came with was a declaration of war."

Wow, he's bold enough to rival that of Bakugo, in his own way...

The two boys stood nearly chest-to-chest, eyeing each-other up and down. Sighing, I took it upon myself to defuse the situation somehow – some of us actually had places to be.

I shoved Bakugo out of the doorway with a laugh. "Wow, you're all fired up! Let's all do our best..." I straightened my shoulders and smiled up at him slightly– it was rare I had to look up to someone my age. "I'm Akiharu," I said. "Just Akiharu."

A split-second of hesitation flashed behind the dark gaze of the boy. "Hitoshi Shinso."

"Then, Shinso, I'll look forward to your challenge!" With that, I gestured to the seething blonde at my side. "And sorry about him! When he first developed his Quirk, he accidentally blew up part of his brain and now his emotional intelligence has yet to develop past that of a toddler."

"What'd you say!?" Bakugo raged. His hand snatched for the collar of my shirt as he gnashed his teeth. "Don't start spouting lies, shitty tie! My brain is just fine!"

"See?" I pointed at his baleful glare "I promise, he's the only one like this. He's just a little messed up in the head – But don't worry, he's all bark and no bite."

"I kill you! How's that for all bark and no bite!"

"That's so unheroic!" someone from the crowd booed.

"Scary..." another student murmured.

With a growl, Bakugo released my poor uniform, and stepped back into the doorway. "Huh? Wanna run that by me again!"

"Hey!" A boisterous voice called from the back of the crowd. "I'm from Class B from next door! I heard you fought against villains, so I came to hear 'bout it! But I don't wanna hear it from some snot-nosed punk! If you bark too much, it'll be embarrassing for you durin' the real fight! Don't embarrass the hero course in the main event, you hear me!"

Another bold person...

Bakugo didn't even bother giving him the time of day as he growled, pushing past Shinso and down the hall.

"Wait a second, man!" Kirishima called after him. "What're you gonna do about this? It's your fault everyone's hatin' on us!"

Bakugo's deep red eyes flicked over his shoulder. "It doesn't matter," He announced his own challenge. "It doesn't matter as long as you rise to the top."

The declaration could mean a number of things – a challenge for the crowd outside, a challenge for the class, or even an acknowledgement of his class' strength.

Knowing Katsuki Bakugo, it was probably some combination of the first two.

I sighed. He'd been particularly docile today, but with the sports festival approaching, I had a feeling things were about to take a turn.

𓆱❀𓆱

When I mentioned "carpal tunnel" a lil' while ago it was mostly just me being dramatic cause I started having minor wrist pain but the symptoms have been getting worse and I'm... fuck my life.

DRAWING AND TYPING IS MY LIFE YOU CANT TAKE THIS AWAY FROM MEEEEE

Anyways, if you notice a sudden drop in quality and quantity of art, just know it's not out of choice.

Also, I didn't want to switch povs in the middle of the chapter because it feels "unprofessional," but hell, it's Wattpad we're talking about. I can do what I want and no one can stop me.

Mwahahahhaahhahaaa <333

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