[I will be changing Yaomomo's and Hagakure's costumes bc they're ass. I'm basing Yaomomo's hero costume off of @/Onughost's redesign on Twitter, and Hagakure's off of @/w1tchbud's redesign on Twitter. The only slight change I'll make to Yaomomo's redesign is that her shorts are a little bit longer (reaching the strap on her thigh). These lovely designs belong to those people, so please consider checking them out.]
[Name] slept like a rock after he got home from work. Thankfully, he wasn't disturbed by any more nightmares and got the proper rest that he needed. The following morning, remnants of the nightmare he had before work still loomed over him, but not enough for it to really take a toll. He could concentrate on the lessons that they were being taught that day and answered questions just fine when the teacher called on him. Compared to yesterday, today was considerably quieter and a bit underwhelming. It wore down the high that most of his energetic classmates had about attending the renowned U.A. High School, that's for sure.
Their morning classes definitely served as a harsh reminder that U.A. is still a high school, regardless of the new liberty they had with their Quirks. It really was like a normal school, minus the whole "hero" part.
At last, the students were given a break from all the ̶b̶o̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ engaging learning that they were doing once the bell rang for lunch. [Name] put his things away and got up to join Midoriya to the cafeteria. Much to his disdain, Iida tagged along with them, as well as Uraraka (whose presence he didn't mind as much). The chatty trio talked as they walked while [Name] remained silent and listened. Well, not quite. He listened to their voices but not what they were actually saying.
Something else was already weighing on his mind.
"Hiding me from your old classmates is one thing, but if you get into the hero course, then I'll have to come out eventually."
As much as it pained him to admit, Rai was right—
'I'm always right.'
It was easier for [Name] to keep the brat's existence a secret in middle school since they were forbidden from using their Quirks. But things are different now. Even if he tried to hide it, the risk of slipping up was remarkably higher. That, and he knew that Rai wouldn't make it easy for him. Hell, he could summon himself right here in the middle of the busy halls if he so wished.
The only reason why he didn't do so in middle school was because he claimed that he was "too good for worthless nobodies like them," meaning that he didn't think it was worth his time to try anything at a small establishment like that. That's what he claimed, but he would also hide in the shadows of corners and scare the shit out of any unfortunate students that walked by.
It's a miracle that they could never pin it on [Name].
"Hua? Hua, you're next in line." The [blonde, raven, etc.] boy was pulled out from the clouds by the call of his surname. He realized that it was, in fact, his turn to order his food and the others in line behind him were starting to get impatient. He seriously needed to stop spacing out like that before it became a bad habit. Not only was it dulling to his senses, but also incredibly reckless on his behalf. Letting his guard down was the most naive thing he could do.
'Ugh.' His sixth sense was fuzzy from the mix of different auras flooding it. There weren't all that many in the cafeteria, but the total number of students in the building itself was a whole other story. It wasn't as if it harmed him, it just made it difficult to distinguish specific auras from the crowd. Either way, he'd much rather sit outside in the fresh air and open space.
Once he paid for his food, the apathetic teenager followed Midoriya to a vacant table and sat down with the rest of the group. Now more attentive, [Name] surveyed the cafeteria to get more familiar with his surroundings. There seemed to be people everywhere he looked.
He wanted to leave.
[Name] drew in a steady breath and decided to put up with the crowd for the time being. If he was going to become a hero, he had to get used to this sort of thing.
By which he means: people.
A lone [EyeColor(s)] eye drifted to the side when he sensed a familiar radiant presence nearing their table. His gaze met with red ones and he instantly recognized the person to be Kirishima. The redhead grinned, showing off his sharp teeth as he happily approached [Name].
"Hey, Hua, Midoriya!" Kirishima greeted before settling into the empty seat across from the [blonde, raven, etc.]. "Man, the cafeteria is so packed. It's kinda crazy to believe that we're the next generation of heroes."
Midoriya looked surprised by his arrival, but he wasn't against the new company. The corners of his round green eyes crinkled as he smiled nervously, "Y-Yeah, you're right. I didn't even think about it like that."
"Oh, I'm Kirishima Eijiro! I don't think we've properly met," Kirishima introduced himself to Iida and Uraraka. They returned the introductions and were able to spark up a conversation amongst themselves almost immediately. [Name] really didn't understand how people could be so social.
"What do you think we'll be doing today?" Uraraka pondered with an inquisitive finger on her chin, her eyes drifting upwards in thought. Midoriya paused in his chewing and turned the question over in his head in contemplation.
"It's difficult to say for certain. I have no doubt that our teachers will choose a vital component for becoming well-respected pro heroes such as them," Iida assumed with a sure nod of his head and robotic arm movements.
"I think it'll be something fun!" Kirishima said as he bit into his food. "Yesterday was more stressful than fun since Mr. Aizawa threatened us with expulsion. But now that that's over, I think we'll be able to enjoy ourselves a little more!"
"Yeah! Or at least I hope so," Uraraka agreed. "I think we might do some training with our Quirks this time."
The brown-haired girl's speculation had [Name] contemplating Rai's words even more. He wasn't confident that he'd be able to control his second Quirk well enough to avoid injuring someone. His stomach churned when the possibility of being outcast by his classmates flashed in his mind. Isolated in a familiar way that made his blood run cold.
I̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶l̶o̶n̶e̶
[Name] visibly shuddered, his chopsticks slipping—and almost falling—out from his hand. His brows subtly furrowed in confusion at the way that his foggy head cleared from any negative thoughts that filled it. His visible [EyeColor(s)] eye drifted over to the other teenagers sitting at the lunch table with him and he saw their smiling faces as they excitedly talked about the hero course.
He could just barely see it, but each of their auras were emitting a bright white with positivity. Being around them seemed to ward off the natural negativity that was his own aura (although it was mostly Rai's), along with any doubts he had. He felt...
"Hua! Tell them how you totally destroyed that 0-pointer!"
... at ease.
"Hua?"
"I think he's spacing out again."
[Name] focused his vision and blinked a couple of times, only then realizing that he was staring blankly at his classmates. He noticed their expectant gazes and looked down at his food, his grip on his chopsticks readjusting so they wouldn't fall.
"Sorry, I wasn't listening."
"It's okay! Uh, we're probably talking a lot and not letting you say anything, huh?" Uraraka smiled apologetically with closed eyes, her hands pressed together as if asking for forgiveness. "Sorry, we'll be more considerate."
[Name] raised his head, "No, that's not necessary. I don't mind."
The brunette's shoulders tensed slightly when he directed his attention to her. Seriously, he had such an intimidating presence and his—uhm—good looks didn't make it any easier. Was anyone else put off by this? Kirishima seemed immune, along with Midoriya. As for Iida... well, there was tension between the two, so neither have really interacted. Or rather, Iida has made attempts but either gets ignored or...
...
There's no "or," [Name] just ignores him.
Flustered, but not as nervous as she was the first time they met, Uraraka averted her eyes, "Oh, okay..."
Everyone's attention went to Kirishima when he suddenly hummed and leaned forward in his seat, his red eyes narrowing in faux suspicion as he analyzed [Name]'s face.
"What?" The bi-racial teenager asked when the redhead didn't say anything. He leaned back when Kirishima leaned in further. So close, in fact, that he almost squished his own lunch.
"Damn dude, you're pretty good looking." [Name] felt his thoughts come to a screeching halt at the blunt comment—no, compliment. "I don't think I noticed before since so much was going on."
"I..." The [blonde, raven, etc.] was at a loss for words. He scanned Kirishima's face as if waiting for him to laugh it off as a joke, but he didn't. And if his aura was anything to go by, he was dead serious. Friendly, but not deceptive. [Name]'s raised brows furrowed in confliction. "Thank you, I suppose..."
Kirishima gasped in pleasant surprise, "Aha! So you do have more than one expression."
Feeling as if he were tricked, [Name] stubbornly shoved food into his mouth as the rest laughed at their interaction. He refused to say anything more, even after Kirishima pleaded that he share the story about how he defeated the giant robot in the practical exam. The redhead ended up just telling them himself, albeit in a more exaggerated fashion.
Ah, this wasn't good. [Name] was getting soft.
'Ugh, you guys are so gross.'
"̶N̶e̶v̶e̶r̶...̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶g̶u̶a̶r̶d̶...̶"̶
After lunch was over, everyone gathered back into their respective classrooms for the remainder of their lessons. For Class 1-A, that was Hero Basic Training. Everyone waited in anticipation for their next teacher to enter the classroom, for they didn't know who exactly would be in charge of them. A lot of students were secretly hoping that it wasn't their home room teacher, even if it was unlikely.
[Name] anxiously picked at his lower lip, which certainly worsened their chapped condition. Mey has tried to help him break out of his bad habit, but she didn't come out very successful (if that wasn't obvious). He only stopped when he could sense an incredibly familiar aura approaching the classroom; the same one that Midoriya's own bore a striking resemblance to.
"I am...!" Everyone turned their heads towards the booming voice, which was coming from behind the door. "...coming through the door like a normal person!"
Sure enough, All Might's enormous figure appeared not even seconds later. And unlike how people normally entered rooms, he was anchoring himself from the sides of the door's threshold and leaning into the class like a bored child would. Whispers of excitement broke out amongst the starry-eyed first-years as All Might... very robotically and stiffly marched to the podium.
[Name]'s lips tightened when he made the comparison of the pro hero's odd movements and the way Iida often moved his arms. The No. 1 pro hero certainly had... a personality.
The 16-year-old waited for some sort of smart-ass comment from Rai, but it never came. Like what happened with Midoriya, he was eerily quiet. He was probably scoping out All Might to see if he could take him in a fight or something, but that didn't make it any less disconcerting.
"I teach Hero Basic Training." [Name] wasn't sure whether or not he should be relieved. "It is a subject where you train in different ways to learn the basics of being a hero. Without further ado, let's get right into it! Today, we will be doing combat training!"
'Oh.'
The timing couldn't have been worse.
"But of course, you must look like a hero to play the part!" All Might pointed to the wall opposite of the door and slots of numbered cases began to slide out with mechanical whirs. "Here are the costumes that were made based on your Quirk registrations and requests you sent in before school started."
The classroom erupted with audible awes of admiration. They were all instructed to change into their hero costumes and gather in Ground Beta. All too eager, they stood from their seats to collect their cases, the students practically itching to see how it felt to be in professional, tailored clothing that brought them one step closer to becoming pro heroes.
[Name] tightly gripped his own numbered case, anxiety coiling uncomfortably in his gut as he and the rest of the boys walked to the boys' changing room.
●○●
Being as punctual as he was raised to be, [Name] was one of the first to finish changing and led the way to Ground Beta. The class grew unnaturally quiet, the seriousness of the course settling in as they neared All Might.
The [blonde, raven, etc.] himself was wearing a black, sleeveless turtleneck that was a bit too snug around his torso. There was what resembled a white eye printed on the middle of his chest and an opening on the back that allowed for Shadow Arms to get through better. That wasn't to say that they couldn't go through thin material—because they could—but it was more convenient for there to be a window. They couldn't go through the cropped, white jacket he wore, but since it was cropped, they could go underneath. He hadn't asked for that, so the people responsible for creating the outfit must've added it themselves. A white utility belt hugged his hips and kept his black pants in place. On his feet were boots that reached his calves and on his hands were fingerless gloves. To top it all off, a tinted visor covered his face and hid his expressions (most importantly, his right eye).
He, along with his classmates, remained silent as they grouped up with an awaiting All Might. From what [Name] saw, everyone's costumes had their own flair of creativity and personality. Some looked impressive, while others looked questionable at best. He had no idea how someone is supposed to move freely when half of their body is covered in ice.
Their teacher stood with his hands on his hips, his permanent smile growing a little bit more as he complimented them on their hero costumes.
"Now, shall we begin, you zygotes?"
'Hmm... I think I can take him.'
'...'
One person lagged behind the rest of them and [Name] didn't have to turn around to know that it was Midoriya. He had caught a glimpse of his hero costume in the boys' locker rooms, as well as when he stumbled upon it once when he went over to his apartment, but his friend seemed so shy about it that he wasn't able to see the full thing. With that thought in mind, the [blonde, raven, etc.] turned around to access it and paused.
My god, it was so painfully obvious that it was heavily inspired by All Might himself. What also stood out was the homemade look it had. [Name] knew that Midoriya's mom had taken it upon herself to make the outfit, but he never actually got to see it until this very moment.
[Name] approached his friend and cocked his head to the side, "You really don't know how to be subtle, huh?"
Midoriya gave him a puzzled look before recognition flashed in his eyes, "H-Hua?!"
"I showed you my hero costume request form, why are you so surprised?" The monotone 16-year-old sighed as he removed his hood, internally cringing from how loud Midoriya had shouted his surname.
"I just—It's kind of hard to tell with the visor and the hood over your head and uh—it's a lot different from the drawing..."
Midoriya didn't have the heart to tell [Name] that his drawing skills were near nonexistent.
It's a good thing he wanted to be a pro hero and not an artist.
"Now, it's time for combat training!" All Might's exclamation silenced all chatter, the anticipation of the class rising yet again.
"Sensei!" But alas, history indeed repeats itself because Iida cut in before the blonde man could continue. "This is a battle center from the entrance exam, so will we be conducting urban battles again?"
"Nope! We're moving two steps ahead!" All Might went on to explain and list examples of how most villains appear indoors as opposed to outdoors. The ones outside tended to be more flashy and covered more in the news, so that made sense. "In this society filled with heroes, truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows!"
[Name] rolled his eyes when Rai laughed.
"For this class, you'll be split into villains and heroes and fight 2-on-2 indoor battles."
'Oh?'
Lord.
"Without basic training?" A green-haired girl with frog-like features inquired. [Name] couldn't help but find it questionable. Pitting teenagers with Quirks they haven't mastered to fight against each other seemed—no, is reckless on All Might's behalf, as well as anyone who gave it the all-clear. What would happen if someone accidentally went too far and severely injured someone else? What if it was so bad that it was life-threatening? They should at least be taught how to properly utilize their Quirks against other people, first.
No wonder his father...
"This is a real battle to understand those basics! However, the key this time is that there's no robot you can just beat up."
"How will wins and losses be determined?" A tall girl with her hair tied back into a ponytail asked.
"Can we beat them up anyway?" [Name] deadpanned at Bakugo's question.
All Might was bombarded with rapid-fire questions one after another, his body tensing as he tried to keep up with them. Since this was his first time being a teacher, he was quickly overwhelmed by their curiosity. He took out a paperback book that looked comically small in his large hands and cleared his throat.
"Listen here..." Essentially, the prompt is that the villains have hidden a nuclear weapon in their hideout and it's up to the heroes to either find it, or capture the villains. They must do this in a certain amount of time in order to win. The villains, on the other hand, have to protect the nuclear weapon or catch the heroes to win. Both teams and opponents will be decided by drawing lots.
Iida promptly apologized for interrupting and it was finally time to begin.
'At least he has the decency to apologize.'
The possibility of being teamed up with him dawned on [Name] and his eyes narrowed from behind his visor. Surely, that wouldn't happen. Surely.
...
Yeah, it didn't.
"It looks like there's someone without a partner," All Might observed. The class turned to stare at [Name], who was, in fact, standing alone. This was due to the uneven number of students in Class 1-A, which was 21.
The prickling feeling of numerous eyes on him made him want to turn around and walk right back into the dark tunnel they came in from, but he resisted. Instead, he crossed his arms over his stomach and picked at his lower lip out of anxiety. At this rate, it was going to bleed.
"Young Hua, would you like to join a team of your choosing?" The No. 1 Hero offered.
The [blonde, raven, etc.] immediately declined, acting as though he wasn't put off by the overwhelming attention he was subjected to, "No. I do better on my own, anyways."
"Are you sure?"
[Name] didn't answer, his mismatched pitch-black and [EyeColor(s)] eyes staring blankly at All Might from underneath his visor. While the teacher couldn't see it, he could sure as hell feel it.
Getting the message, an unsettled All Might coughed into his fist to regain everyone's attention again. "Well then, now that that's settled, it's time to decide the first match!"
"The first teams to fight will be..." The teenagers watched intently as he dug his hands into two different boxes: one labeled "Villain" and one labeled "Hero". Just as quick, he slid his hands back out to dramatically show them the two randomly selected teams. "... these guys!"
The tension that filled the air was immediate. [Name] sensed fear radiating off of Midoriya, hatred from Bakugo, and worry from Uraraka. A pit of mixed emotions welled in his own gut, his hands flexing ephemerally and his chest burning with annoyance as All Might gave them instructions.
This was troubling.
The rest of the class that wouldn't be participating in the match began to walk towards the monitor room, although [Name], Bakugo, and Midoriya stayed rooted in place. [Name] eventually started to follow everyone else, although not before stopping beside his friend, leaning in close enough for the latter to see his face behind the visor, and muttering lowly,
"I'll drag him around for you later if you want."