This Time

Chapter 6

It was no surprise, really that Aizawa had been lying about expelling the lowest score on the aptitude test. Like Yaoyorozu, I'd already suspected it was mostly scare tactics.

I couldn't help but keep any eye out for All Might as I walked the halls. It was almost odd that I'd only seen him once since I received my acceptance letter three weeks before the start of term, and while we'd walked along with our coffee and tea like normal, he'd seemed like his mind was actually somewhere else. I didn't see him that first day, and I had to resist texting him every time my hand twitched towards my phone that night. He was just busy, surely, and it was probably for the best we not associate lest it blow my cover... right?

Stop being so pathetic, I admonished myself.

He was nowhere to be found either the following morning, and as we trudged through the basic core classes I wondered if he was even on campus at all - that is until he came flying through the door that afternoon with a loud, "I am here, coming through the door like a hero!"

"Dork," I muttered under my breath, but I still couldn't help but smile. Around me the other students were chattering excitedly as the number one hero literally strutted to the front of the class.

Prior to the start of term, I hadn't realized how hard it would be to act as though I didn't know the Symbol of Peace. Throughout class I found myself wanting to approach and discuss the tactics of the teams he'd divided us into, or comment on the highlights of the matches. Class 1A talked among themselves about the assignment while we waited in the observation room for our respective turns, or while resting after completing it. Meanwhile I simply stood in the back and listened instead of joining in. Todoroki and a boy with a mutation quirk, Tokoyami Fumikage stood quietly at the back like I did, apparently deciding on observation versus conversation as well.

At the conclusion of class I found I'd hardly spoken at all, save for communicating with my team during the assignment, and I especially hadn't said a word to our teacher. He certainly had raced away like he had somewhere to be, but I thought I might have seen just a hint of smoke before he turned the corner. His place to be may have actually just been away from us.

"Do you think we should go check on Deku too?" Uraraka asked, looking at her nearby classmates.

"I'm sure All Might's got it covered," I said, thinking that if he actually was going to see the injured teen, there was a chance he would be in his weak form. I wasn't sure who among the staff knew about the hero's injury, but the principal did so it wasn't a stretch to think others might too. That being said, beside myself and Midoriya, I was fairly confident that none of the students knew, and that All Might would want to keep it that way.

"Hara's right," Ida said, and I looked up at the tall boy and nodded in thanks. "Let the teachers and the nurse do their job. I'm sure Recovery Girl will have Midoriya on his feet in no time." Uraraka and the others accepted this, and we headed towards our next class. I detoured from the rest of my class, however and ignored my own advice as I made my way towards the nurse's office.

I hadn't really talked with Midoriya much, so unlike Uraraka or Ida who seemed to be forming a friendship with him, I didn't really have an excuse to go check on the guy. My curiosity surrounding the aspiring hero was only growing though, especially after seeing the amount of power displayed in his fight against Bakugo earlier. His determination was almost scary, and as it stood, I was convinced he had the most raw power out of the whole class, even if he didn't have the knowledge or the skill to wield it. It was insane to think about - a quirk that it's user couldn't control. Quirks were a part of you and steeped into your very essence... it was like saying you didn't know how to use your own legs. Regardless, I thought maybe if I visited him and tried to talk with him a bit, maybe I could get him to trust me enough to offer some explanations. Given his abilities, he was definitely one of the students I needed to stick close to and keep an eye on.