​

When you awoke, dawn light was seeping through the window. You had forgotten to shut the blinds last night. The guest bedroom was so lavish that it still felt foreign to you. With a spring in your step, you walked to the bathroom, splashing some cold water on your face and snatching the towel from its hanger.

After changing into your new school uniform, you went to the kitchen, where you saw Shoto's older sister. She was buzzing about as she prepared some coffee. You suspected that the papers sprawled on the table had something to do with her job as a primary school teacher.

"Morning, (y/n). I went to the shops and bought (your favourite food). That's what you usually have for breakfast, isn't it?"

"Really? Thanks, Fuyumi. You didn't have to." You grinned at her, returning the soft smile she held.

"Awh, quit making that sweet expression or else I'll have to squeeze your cheeks."

You let out a laugh.

But she was serious. As Fuyumi approached you, her elbow knocked over her coffee mug. The dark liquid trickled towards her stack of papers. You managed to lift them out of the way, only allowing the edge to stain. Fuyumi laughed at the situation.

"U.A. better keep their eyes peeled for your quick reflexes! If only I weren't so clumsy..."

As you sat on the traditional tatami mat, Shoto's sleepy face caught you by surprise. You thought you'd be up earlier than him, but he had beat you to come down for breakfast.

The last thing he wanted was to start a conversation with you. If not awkward, it would make him see you as more than another tool his father wished Todoroki to use so that he could forge his path as a renonwed hero in the future. Todoroki soon stood up from the table though, having quickly finished his steamed rice.

You spooned the last of your food into your mouth, wanting to ask him if he could wait for you so that you could walk to the train station to get to school together. Given that were still relatively new to the hectic city life, you knew that you'd probably get lost on the way there.

Forcing yourself to stay quiet, you bit down on your lower lip. But your dread of being late on your first day at U.A. overcame your unwillingness to spark a conversation with Todoroki.

"Shoto?"

"What?" he snapped back.

Your courage withered as you acknowledged his aloof gaze. Maybe, I'll just leave it. I'll try my best not to be late on my own. I doubt Shoto wants people at U.A. knowing that someone like me lives with him anyway.

"Never mind," you said.

​

---

As soon as you changed into your school shoes and left the other pair in your new locker, you dashed up the flight of stairs, taking two steps at a time.

You then continued running through the school corridors, though you suspected it was against school rules, only stopping right on your tracks when you read the sign above your head: 1-A.

How many great heroes had walked through those doors? How brilliant was it that you could now call this your classroom?

Taking a deep breath, you realised how thrilled you were to meet your new classmates.

"Um, I-I'm sorry, but can I squeeze past? I think I'm a tad late," a taut voice startled you, making you jolt in your place.

On your left, a boy ran a hand through his fluffy dark-green hair. There was a tint of pink on his freckled face.

"Yeah, knock yourself out."

"S-sure," he said. He nervously began muttering something under his breath. Even though you couldn't quite catch what it was, you were almost certain that you heard him say your name.

"Is this your class, too?" you asked, aware that the boy seemed not to be making a move.

Both of you only had a few minutes to settle in your homeroom before the bell rang.

He nodded slowly. "My name's Izuku Midoriya. What's yours?"

"Nice to meet you, Midoriya. I'm (y/n) (l/n)," you replied, still wondering how on Earth he knew about you. Either this boy was the ultimate fanboy who'd pour over the most minute details from the news, or he was a stalker. As he opened the massive door to the classroom, you hoped that this seemingly timid potential friend was not the latter.

Some shouts greeted you. "Take your feet off that desk now!"

"Huh?" An ash-blond boy sat further into his seat, keeping his white trainers on the desk to the other boy's annoyance.

He pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Don't you think that it's disrespectful to the upperclassmen that have used these desks before us, as well as those who have worked hard to make that desk?!"

"You're kidding me, right? Did your old school put a stick up your ass, or were you fuckin' born with it?"

You noticed that Midoriya trembled as the rude boy spoke. "Do you know him?"

Midoriya flinched. "Y-yeah, he's Kacchan."

"Let's start over. I'm Tenya Iida from the Soumei private academy."

"Soumei, huh? So you must think that since you're 'elite', you're better than me. I'm gonna have fun tearing you a new one."

Iida was taken aback. "You would threaten me? Your own classmate? Are you sure your goal is to be a hero?"

Kacchan huffed and then glared at you, but soon focused on Izuku, who was behind you.

Iida then strode across the room towards the quivering green-haired boy. While they began chatting amongst themselves, you started making your way to find your desk. But Iida stopped you from doing so. "It's you, from the entrance exam! You realized that there was something more to the exam as well, didn't you?"

You gestured to yourself, tilting your head to the side. "Are you sure it was me?"

"Yes, you were the girl who saved those examinees from under the rubble, isn't that right? I respect the fact that you did that when all the rest of us went for the robots instead."

"Oh, I'm not so sure it was like that, Iida. I had no idea about the rescue points," you confessed, rubbing the back of your neck. Those three examinees had been incapacitated by a nearby explosion, caused by some reckless person. All three of them had given up on the entrance exam by the time you asked them if you could borrow some of their life energy.

"Still, I hope we can all get along." He bowed to you and Midoriya.

Pushing your school bag further up your shoulder, you eyed a desk near the front which had a formal piece of paper with your name on it. As you took a seat, the obnoxious boy from earlier threw his arms behind his head.

"Hey, you cheater," he said.

You straightened your dark skirt and looked around the classroom with a sparkle to your (e/c) eyes. You couldn't wait to meet the rest of your classmates. As you realised that Todoroki was already at his seat at the back, you held back your urge to wave hello at him. When he finally set his heterochromatic eyes on you, you had already turned around. Though he did notice how, for a moment, your chin dipped to your chest... in disappointment?

As you looked to your side, you saw the boy with short ash-blond hair and choppy bangs that hung over his furrowed eyebrows. He appeared to be angry about something, but you shrugged it off.

"Huh? Are you ignoring me now?" he seethed.

"Oh, nice to meet you too, Kacchan. I'm (y/n) (l/n)," you replied, a hint of sarcasm lacing your tone. You heard a few boys behind you snort and chuckle at this, but they soon went quiet.

"What the fuck did you just call me?"

Crap. Getting into a fight first thing will definitely not look good on me. Focus, (y/n).

"Kacchan?"

The deadly scarlet glare he gave you told you that you had hit the jackpot. You were aiming to fix this broken world, not to shatter your high school career on your first day. The keyword being, 'aiming', as, so far, you were closer to failing than anything. It's gonna be a fun year, sitting next to this ticking time bomb. It's like I can't say anything that won't wind him up.

Perhaps, luck was on your side today, as your homeroom teacher disrupted the rising tension in the classroom. Funnily enough, he was laying down on the floor in a yellow sleeping bag when he introduced himself as Shota Aizawa. "If you're just here to make friends, you can pack your things up now. Welcome to U.A.'s Hero Course."

Before the teacher stood up from the floor to continue to lecture the class, Kacchan called your attention. "The name's Katsuki Bakugo. Keep that in your skull, you fuckin' extra."

---

"Alright, teacher. You asked for it," Bakugo said as he stretched his arm with a softball in hand. "DIE!" He threw the ball, propelling it with an explosion.

"All of you need to know your maximum capabilities. It's the most rational way to figure out your potential as a Pro Hero," Aizawa said.

Most of the class gasped at Bakugo's throw. Though he had a terrible attitude, no one could deny that he had talent. Seven hundred five meters was an impressive score.

"If this sounds like fun to you, think again. You have three years to become heroes," Aizawa continued. "The student with the lowest ranking after today's quirk apprehension test will be expelled."

Aizawa's words made the mood change drastically; any friendliness that lingered from the start of the day was crushed by a wave of competitiveness, one of survival even. Although you were keeping your distance from the half-and-half boy, when you glanced at him, you could tell from his widened eyes that he was somewhat bewildered, too.

Feeling like someone was staring at him, Todoroki set his intense gaze on you as he blinked while his eyes adjusted to the unwanted attention.

You jolted in your place before pretending to be looking another way, but your rattling heart you made you whip your head away from him a little too blatantly.

"What about you, you cheater?" Bakugo walked up to you as he clicked his fingers. "Will you be fuckin' stealing other people's energy to make yourself look better? 'cause you ain't taking any of mine."

You gulped, already feeling some panic set into you. Bakugo ranked first in the entrance exam, so why does he want to get back at me? Trying to calm yourself, you took in a deep breath. This test could turn out to be more like the mug of coffee from this morning than you realised. Despite Bakugo spilling some information about you, if you caught it in time, you could manage to get by, right?

"Just back off, Bakugo. I don't want any trouble." You stretched your arms and legs, preparing yourself for this uphill ride of a quirk apprehension test.

However, you noticed your new classmates starting to distance themselves from you, except for Midoriya. He stared at you in awe, amidst the anxiety simmering within him. Neither of you was willing to give in to Bakugo, nor this test.