"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster," had recited the woman who'd given up on the world. "And if you gaze too long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

These words were the lullaby by which Miyaka Sesera fell asleep to, engraved onto her memory night after night since the day she got her Quirk. Until fairly recently, they were just the ravings of a madwoman who had failed to become a Hero, and she had sworn long ago that she would become nothing like her mother.

But after seeing the Number 1 Hero in action, she couldn't help but see some truth in those words.

All Might stood at the forefront, with nothing but the infinite chasm of evil he faced reflected in his eyes. He teetered on the edge of the abyss, his back to the people he'd vowed to protect.

She didn't want to become something like that either, and yet here she was.

The proverbial battlefield that was Yuuei High School's entrance exam was chaos magnified to the extreme. Millions of hopefuls from all across the country—from all across the world—wanted to get a spot in its famed Hero Course to further their aspirations of becoming, well, a Hero.

And yet it was all too clear that they were in over their heads. A large bulk of the applicants couldn't even take down one of the Villain robots they were put up against, and the onsite proctors had a lot of work cut out for them in pulling out the injured. With a trial that focused so much on combat ability, it was obvious that they weren't really looking for people who had the potential to become truly great Heroes.

They just wanted to weed out the weak from the strong.

Flicking her wrist, a whip of blue-white lightning stretched from the foot-long metal baton in Sesera's hand, ripping through the air. The bunch of speedy one-pointers looking to blitz her stopped in their tracks, their systems fried to the point of no recovery. Dark smoke slipped from the joints of their plate covers, sparking with flashes of light.

She'd long stopped counting her points, fully aware that she was going to pass this test whether she wanted to or not. Telling someone with a Quirk like Electromagnetic Force to take down robots was basically a one-sided massacre waiting to happen.

Walking through the ruined streets, Sesera noticed that a handful of applicants had opted out of fighting the robots and instead put their efforts into rescuing the less fortunate, assisting the proctors in retrieving the wounded.

Ah. There's that, I guess. Sesera didn't glance back at the ponytailed redhead who received a pat on the shoulder from one of the proctors for helping them get a bunch of kids out from under a piece of rubble.

All things considered, it came as no surprise that Yuuei was twisted enough to convert human lives to points as well.

"You mustn't become like that."

Sesera blinked, and the back of a blonde woman in red and white armor flashed before her—an image that was burned onto the back of her eyelids. Invisible hands held her back, stopping her from moving forward and strangling the breath out of her.

"You...mus—bec—e li...ke th—aat."

.

.

.

i. welcome to your hero academia

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.

.

Yuuei High School's façade was the same intimidating work of steel, glass, and straight lines that it was when Sesera last came here. It'd been the cusp of winter back then, and the trees lining the pathway had been as close to barren and dead as they could get. Those same trees were now overflowing with vibrant cherry blossoms, but spring did not make the school look any less threatening in her eyes.

Students of all shapes and sizes were loitering on the grounds as she walked into the campus. Sesera could easily pick out the first years twittering about like sore thumbs, and they did not mix well with the tangible anti-hero vibe from some of the upperclassmen. She made her way into the main building before any of them could notice her, heading towards her new classroom.

With help from the downloadable map app she'd gotten from the school's website, Sesera quickly found the torture chamber she'd be spending most of next year in. She stopped by the door for a few brief seconds, steeling herself before entering.

There was a gaggle of students already inside. Her pink eyes roved over the classroom once to inspect the people to be tormented alongside her.

The first one she took notice of was another electricity-user like her—blond, and based on the electric field around him, a straightforward power-type. Despite being one of the most common Quirk classes, rarely were electricity-users able meet the power levels demanded in Hero work.

This boy looked to have a decent maximum output so she supposed his presence here was justifiable.

Another blond was also distinguishable as an electric-type, as well as the invisible girl sitting at the back. Though their Quirks seemed to lean more towards the subcategory of light manipulation, their electric fields were still prominent enough that Sesera felt a sort of kinship.

One would think that four electric-types in the same class seemed a bit much, but considering the wide disparity in their predilections, the school's staff seemed to have thought out the class roster carefully.

Spotting a sheet of paper posted by the blackboard, Sesera walked over to take a look. It was the seating arrangement, and since her student number was near the end of the list, her spot looked to be the second-to-the-last seat along the far wall.

She headed to her appointed place, and the black-haired girl occupying the desk behind hers gave out a polite smile as she approached.

"Good morning." The black-haired girl spoke with a refined edge in her language, and her sitting posture was perfect. "My name is Yaoyorozu Momo. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Miyaka Sesera. Likewise." Sesera hung her bag on the hook on the side of the desk, pulling out the chair and smoothing down the back of her skirt before sitting down.

To her right was a bored-looking boy with white and red hair, and in the seat in front of her was a much smaller boy with purple balls on his head. The two desks at the front of the row were yet to be occupied.

There were ten-odd people currently in the room, and with twenty seats to fill, there was still about half the headcount to wait for. It was fairly early, and the two boys sitting around her didn't look interested in conversation so Sesera turned in her seat, resting her arm on the back of her chair.

"Yaoyorozu-san, which middle school did you come from?"

The black-haired girl seemed a bit surprised at her sudden question, but she smiled sincerely, closing the book she'd been occupied with.

"I'm from Himegasawa Girls Academy," she replied. If Sesera recalled correctly, it was one of the leading schools for the daughters of influential persons, rearing young ladies for their societal debuts since a century ago—or something like it. In any case, it certainly did suit Yaoyorozu's image. "What about you, Miyaka-san?"

"Ah, it's a small school way out in the country," Sesera answered without pause, waving the matter off. "You definitely won't know it. I was born in Ehime."

"You've come a long way," Yaoyorozu commented, eyes widening. "Is this the first time you've been away from home?"

"Pretty much. I'm kind of nervous about it, to be honest." She looked around the classroom, "Everyone here managed to pass Yuuei's high standards. You're all really amazing."

"You did as well," Yaoyorozu said with a smile. "I'm sure your Quirk is just as wonderful."

She'd never thought of it as such. "I bet your Quirk is great as well."

"It's not all that," the black-haired girl replied, modestly waving a hand in front of her face. "And I'm nowhere close to being able to realize its full potential."

"But," Sesera started, resting her chin in her palm, "that's why we're all here, isn't it?"

At that moment, the door to the classroom was thrown open with a resounding bang, and by the entrance stood a sloppily dressed delinquent with sharp eyes that looked down on everyone.

His arrival had silenced the room, and everyone watched his prideful strut with cautious looks.

"Please be a little more considerate of your surroundings." A broad-shouldered boy with glasses came forward, "Your entrance has disturbed everyone. And there was no need to open the door like that. What if you had broken it?"

The glasses boy was much larger than him, but to his credit, the delinquent didn't back down one inch.

"The hell should I care about some two-bit extras?" the delinquent spoke roughly, and the boy with glasses looked righteously offended by his reply. "I'm going to be the Number 1 Hero, and I'll blow over you second-rate wannabes these next three years."

For someone wanting to be a Hero, he certainly had a mouth on him. If nothing else, his brusqueness did remind her of the current Number 2.

Speaking of the Number 2 Hero... Sesera only realized now, but from where she sat, her seat neighbor's profile reminded her of the Flame Hero. The hair and eye colors were perfectly the same.

The boy she was observing turned to her, white strands falling over a cold gray eye.

"What?"

Asking if he was related to Endeavor was probably a bit much. She was a fan so she knew that he had several children—his youngest even being her age—but considering that painful-looking scar on his face, asking if he could get her an autograph might not be a good idea.

She tried defusing the situation.

Putting on a pleasant smile, she introduced herself, "I'm Miyaka Sesera. What's your name?"

"...Todoroki Shouto." He turned away from her almost immediately after giving his name, obviously exuding an aura of 'don't talk to me.'

His offish manner was unsurprising, if not a bit unpleasant. Sesera turned back to face Yaoyorozu, who had a strained but kind of amused smile on her face as she watched the interaction.

Scrounging for another topic, Sesera asked, "What are your hobbies, Yaoyorozu-san?"

"Oh, I—"

"What on earth are you doing!? Put your feet down at once!"

Yaoyorozu was interrupted by Glasses' loud exclamation, and Sesera turned her head just in time to see the boy in question zip speedily across the classroom. He stopped at the desk at the very front of her row, where the delinquent had comfily settled himself into.

He was leaning back, balancing on the hind legs of his chair with both feet crossed at the ankles right on top of the desk.

The high-strung boy with glasses was gesturing wildly with his hands, spouting some nonsense about respecting the previous occupants and makers of the desk the delinquent had put his dirty feet on.

Glasses desperately needed to chill, but the delinquent's taunting comebacks weren't of any help. Their banter was amusing though, and looking at how everyone's attention was zoned in on them, they were likely thinking something along the same line.

Their squabble broke up when they caught sight of the newcomer at the door. A curly-haired boy with a bright yellow backpack stood stiffly as Glasses zipped his way across the classroom once more.

"Most everyone seems to have arrived. Homeroom should be starting soon," Yaoyorozu said, glancing at the watch on her wrist. "I wonder what kind of person our advisor is like..."

Sesera shrugged lightly. "I suppose we'll find out soon enough."

There was a fleeting wave of whispers in the classroom, and when she turned her eyes toward the door, Sesera's blood ran cold. She squirmed in her seat, trying to make herself as sparse as possible.

At the door, Pro Hero Eraserhead wiggled out of his bright yellow sleeping bag, dressed all in pitch black. His messy hair and dull gaze didn't make him seem like an impressive person, but Sesera couldn't help but flinch when his eyes met hers while he was surveying the class.

Anti-Quirk abilities were rare, and Eraserhead was one of the best in what he did. It didn't come as a surprise to her that someone like him was in charge of a class full of fledgling monsters, but she still shivered at the thought of him.

"It took you all eight seconds to quiet down," he grumbled out, voice low and scratchy. "Time is precious. There's no rational basis in wasting it away. My name is Aizawa Shouta, and I'll be your homeroom advisor."

He pulled out a packaged set of gym clothes from his sleeping bag, thrusting it at the curly-haired boy who stood closest to him.

"Hurry up and change into your gym clothes," he told them. "There should be a set for each of you in your lockers. Then gather at the athletic field."

With those obtuse orders, he left the room while dragging his feet and sleeping bag. No one in the class moved, likely still in a shock induced by their apparent homeroom teacher's words.

The delinquent was the first to react. He rose from his seat noisily, the legs of his chair scratching against the floor. He walked down the aisle with his hands in his pockets, heading for the numbered cubbyholes at the back of the room. He stopped in front of number 16, snatching up the set of gym clothes that had been placed inside.

Following him, the others stood up to get their own uniforms as well. Numbers 19 and 20 were right behind Yaoyorozu's seat, and she didn't even need to take two steps to reach them.

"Here you go," Yaoyorozu spoke, handing Sesera her set. "Shall we then, Miyaka-san?"

"I'm right behind you," Sesera replied.

The two of them exited the classroom, and they headed towards the locker room together.

"What do you think Aizawa-sensei will be having us do?" Yaoyorozu questioned.

Sesera shrugged slightly. "Since he's having us change into PE uniforms, it might be some sort of physical test."

"I thought the same," Yaoyorozu said with a quick nod. "Though considering this is Yuuei, it would likely have something to do with our Quirks in particular."

She was highly likely to be correct. This school was infamous for its 'anything goes' policy, and Eraserhead didn't seem like the sort of person to beat around the bush.

Sesera was not especially looking forward to what their homeroom teacher was planning.

After changing into their PE uniforms, they met up with Eraserhead at the track oval, where he was pointedly staring at the large clock that decorated the face of the main building. Once he was sure they were all gathered, he announced what they would be doing.

"We'll be having a Quirk Appraisal Test."

Back during middle school, all students went through physical ability tests that were collated into nationally standardized metrics, but 'in the spirit of fairness,' Quirk usage was expressly forbidden. Now, Eraserhead was telling them to go ahead and use their Quirks in these tests.

Essentially, this was a diagnostic to see what they were truly capable of.

Still, the activities he enumerated were obviously biased against anti-personnel and support-type Quirks like his. After all the complaining he did about the Ministry of Education's policies, Sesera thought he would've been a bit less orthodox.

If he was trying to push the point that Quirks made people different from each other, then bundling together all the people with Quirks and setting a group standard for them wasn't solving the big problem either. Then again, despite Yuuei's so-called 'freedom,' because of the very nature of Heroics, it was bound to follow the government's lead.

For a demonstration, Eraserhead called up someone as a guinea pig.

"Bakugou, you took first place in the Hero Course's entrance exam. How far could you throw in middle school?"

The spiky-haired boy who'd had his feet up on the desk was the one who answered, "67 meters."

Eraserhead pointed him towards a circle painted on the ground and tossed him a metal ball.

"Try using your Quirk this time around," their teacher directed. "You can do anything as long as you don't step out of the circle. Don't hold back."

The delinquent took the ball and stepped up, rolling his shoulder to warm it up. In a few moments, he was winding up in the middle of the circle, pitching the ball forward and up.

"DIIIEEE!"

Sesera squinted, covering her nose and mouth with one hand. Her other one she waved around in a feeble attempt to blow off the dirt and dust that formed a brown cloud around them.

The delinquent seemed to have turned himself into a fire cannon, and with the strength of that explosion, she wouldn't be surprised if he'd destroyed the ball in the process.

"Holy crap," another spiky-haired boy near the front exclaimed his awe.

"Before anything else, all of you need to know what you're capable of," Eraserhead stated, holding out a palm-sized phablet. 705.2m flashed brightly on its screen. "That's the rational first step to figuring out what kinds of Heroes you'll be."

His words lit a flame under the rest of the class, and they burst into enthusiastic cheers, eager to show off what they could do. The air vibrated with their excitement, but upon seeing the narrowed slits Eraserhead's eyes had been reduced to, Sesera decided to lie low.

"It looks fun, you say? So you were planning on spending the three years you have in this school just having a good time?" he questioned, and the ones who were previously overflowing with excitement froze up. The sudden mood change would've been enough to give her whiplash on a bad day. "What happened to becoming Heroes?"

The aura he was exuding was terrifying, and Sesera scooted over a bit to the left to hide behind the six-armed boy, making sure to position herself outside of Eraserhead's line of sight.

"Fine then, new rule: the student who ranks last will be judged 'hopeless' and instantly expelled," Eraserhead decreed, and the tension that rippled through the class was tangible. "The freedom of Yuuei also allows us teachers to dispense with students as we please.

"Welcome to the Department of Heroics!"

.

The first event was a 50-meter dash, and Sesera took it as a chance to examine the Quirks of her new classmates.

Overall, Endeavor Jr. and the delinquent were the obvious high rollers. Bird Boy also made her list of people to watch, with a Quirk that was both powerful and interesting enough to catch her curiosity. Glasses' Engine was not quite novel, but it was functional and reliable, as thoroughbred for Hero work as they came.

The sparkly blond was equipped with a surprisingly high-tech belt despite the lame concept behind his ability. It looked to be a general Quirk-support item like her regulator instead of some sort of enhancer, so she had to wonder about the real nature of his power. Sesera's exposure to people her age was limited, so she sort of wanted to be able to talk about it with him, but...

His... sparkliness... makes him kind of hard to approach...

The other power-type electricity-user didn't even attempt to use his Quirk. From what Sesera could tell, his maximum output was over a million volts so he should have plenty of power to spare. The fact that he didn't implied that he had some sort of control issue like her. In any case, he seemed like he would be easier to talk to than Sparkles, so she figured she could try to approach him later.

Everyone else's Quirks tiptoed the line between useful depending on the situation and meh.

Still, they'd definitely gone all out in showcasing their Quirks in this first event, and the level of flashy had been astounding. Motivation seemed high despite Eraserhead's threat of expulsion hanging in the air—or maybe it was because of it.

In truth, Sesera had never really been fond of using her Quirk, and she had half a mind to just take the opportunity presented and intentionally flunk out. But even though she'd never considered herself to be a prideful person, it was hard to ignore the honest determination that came rolling off of her new classmates in waves.

The feeling of wanting to prove oneself was nothing new to her, but having it envelope her so thoroughly—and with this level of intensity—was something she hadn't experienced before.

It made a shiver run down her spine, and she instinctively wanted to puke.

Sesera and Yaoyorozu were the last pair to come up. The black-haired girl had proven herself in possession of quite the interesting Quirk as well, somehow producing a pair of roller skates from virtually nothing. She stood by the starting block with her arms held behind her, and it seemed like she planned on using some sort of propelling force to move her forward.

The light on the bot by the finish line flashed red, giving them a few seconds to prepare.

"Three, two, one... Go!"

Yaoyorozu sped ahead by producing a pair of metal pipes from her palms, boosting herself to the finish line with the force of their manifestation.

"4.08 seconds!" the robot trilled once Yaoyorozu passed it, beeping once more as Sesera crossed the line. "6.37 seconds!"

Her score put her in at around thirteenth or so, and Sesera figured it was good enough. She could've used electricity to give her muscles a bit of a performance boost, but more so than going into battle mode, coming down from it was bothersome.

This was still only just a school thing, and she'd rather spare herself the trouble.

Before long, Eraserhead called on everyone to gather in the gym. "Next up is the grip strength measure."

The class was divided into groups of four, and five digital dynamometers were distributed among them. Yaoyorozu took charge of recording their group's score on the index card Eraserhead had handed them.

The small boy who sat in front of Sesera in class went first, turning up with a surprising 48kg result. She didn't expect it from someone his size, but it looked like he had a pretty solid grip.

Seaweed Head had been concentrating very hard as he took hold of the dynamometer, and once he was done, the display showed 56kg.

He didn't look very happy at the result despite being above average. Based on what she'd seen so far, a lot of the girls and a fair number of the boys would score lower than him so he wasn't really in much trouble. It was only the second event, and he hadn't really gotten an opportunity to use his Quirk yet, whatever it was.

By the time he was done, Sesera was still debating whether or not to go through with her plan to take first place in this activity, so she bid Yaoyorozu to take her turn before her.

Passing her the pen and card, the black-haired girl began unzipping her top.

"I'm not complaining, but what is she doing?" the small boy asked casually as Seaweed Head covered his face with his hands and let out a short shriek.

"Well..."

Before long, Yaoyorozu had pulled out an industry-grade clamp from her stomach and recorded a whopping 1200kg.

"Is that allowed?" the small boy dubiously asked their teacher as he passed by.

"I'll allow it," Eraserhead replied lazily, hands shoved deep into his pockets. His eyes turned to Sesera, and she held her breath at his gaze. "We don't have all day here, Miyaka. Get to it."

All things considered, there was a very effective and rather simple way for her to ace this entire sham of a test, even though it kind of defeated the point of taking it. This particular event was just the easiest way to show it off without being overtly unfair.

The only thing holding her back had been whether or not she dared with Pro Hero Eraserhead supervising. But seeing how easily he allowed Yaoyorozu's cheat, she figured she could go for it.

"Here you go, Miyaka-san." Yaoyorozu had zipped her jacket back up, and she held out the device for Sesera to take.

Before she had a chance to change her mind, Sesera took the dynamometer into her hand and sent a short shock of electricity through it.

The digital display lighted up. It beeped and Sesera held out the device, screen up.

9999kg

"Amazing!" Seaweed Head exclaimed, wide eyes fixed on the numbers on the screen. "How'd you do that!?"

"Manipulation of technology through electricity, huh?" Yaoyorozu was the first one to understand what happened. "What a versatile Quirk in today's world."

"It's not that amazing," Sesera replied noncommittally. "Over half the Electromaster population goes into electronics."

"That's gotta be cheating," the small boy stared up at her with narrowed eyes that were directed nowhere near her face.

Unflinchingly, Eraserhead took the index card Yaoyorozu handed him, punching in their scores on his phablet. "I'll allow it."

He was a lot more lax about it than Sesera thought he'd be, and she let out a silent breath. Still, she wasn't up to pushing her luck against an opponent who could literally kill her with a single look, so she decided to lie low for the next few events.

Once all the groups had finished, Eraserhead collected their scores and shooed everyone out into the field once more.

Even though she took first place in the second event by a landslide, Sesera loafed about during the next couple tests to keep a low profile. Yaoyorozu and her ingenuity did not drop below third in any event, and Endeavor Jr. and the delinquent consistently ranked high. Glasses and Bird Boy were also honorable mentions.

Sesera figured she'd be hovering somewhere along the upper tens.

For the fifth event, they went back to the middle of the field for the ball throwing activity. A lot of people were able to show off, but Gravity Girl took the cake early on with an almost unbelievable score of infinity. She wasn't really able to display it much in the previous events, but looking at it now, it was actually a pretty interesting ability.

Most everyone got fairly good scores for the event, and the delinquent even managed to add some distance to his earlier try.

The curly-haired boy came up after him, looking like he was on the verge of a panic attack as he stepped into the circle. He hadn't really done anything special yet, so she was beginning to wonder what kind of Quirk he had.

Off to the front of their pack, she heard Glasses murmur concernedly, "Hm, Midoriya isn't doing so well..."

"Well, duh. He's a Quirkless runt!"

The statement caught Sesera's attention, and she immediately turned her head. Looking at how furrowed the delinquent's eyebrows were, he didn't seem to be lying. Still, Quirklessness was a fairly rare case in this day and age, and she hadn't expected to hear about it again in Yuuei, of all places.

Not to mention that it begged the question: if that was the case, then how'd Seaweed Head get into Yuuei in the first place?

"Quirkless? So you didn't hear about his feats during the entrance exam?" Glasses wildly gestured with his arms. Beside him, Gravity Girl nervously twiddled with her fingers, her eyes fixed on the aforementioned curly-haired boy.

Returning her attention to the front, Sesera scrutinized the boy who stood in the middle of the circle, mumbling to himself. He took a deep breath as he stared at the ball in his hands. Raising his left foot, he twisted his body as he prepared to throw.

There was a prickle in the air, and she could sense a massive power that accumulated into Seaweed Head's right arm as he extended it backwards before flinging it forward in a wide arc.

She didn't know what that delinquent was talking about. Seaweed Head totally had a Quirk.

"46 meters."

The mechanic voice announced the result of Seaweed Head's throw, and Sesera blinked, turning her gaze to their teacher.

"I erased your Quirk," Eraserhead spoke with a heavy sigh, pushing back the hair that covered his face. The scarf around his neck had loosened, floating in loops around him. Slitted goggles rested around his neck, and Seaweed Head let out a gasp, recognizing the trademark equipment.

"You're the Erasure Hero, Eraserhead!" the curly-haired boy exclaimed, the look on his face somewhere between awe and dismay.

"I saw how you couldn't control your Quirk during the entrance exams. You'd just be incapacitated again if you do the same thing," Eraserhead said coldly, approaching him with wide steps. "Were you thinking that someone would once more step in to help afterwards?"

So his Quirk came with a severe rebound? It wasn't unheard of, and Sesera herself was in a similar predicament. But Quirks going out of control was one of the top three dangers their current society faced, and the nine years of mandatory elementary and middle school education was, in part, dedicated to helping children learn to control their abilities through whatever means necessary.

By their age, people would've already achieved a certain modicum of control, especially those who aspired to be Heroes. Seaweed Head's situation would make more sense if he rarely used it because of the rebound, but he didn't hesitate at all in trying to use it just now.

"N-No, it's not like that—!" Seaweed Head was cut short when Eraserhead's scarf wrapped around him, and he was pulled forward.

"Whatever you're planning," Eraserhead spoke, looking the boy in right in the eye, "it would have inconvenienced those around you. If you're totally useless after saving just one person, then there's no way you can become a Hero."

"You mustn't become like that."

Sesera closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I've given you your Quirk back. You have one last shot," Eraserhead told the curly-haired boy. "Let's get this over with."

Once again, Seaweed Head was left alone in the circle. He gripped the ball tightly, his head hanging as he muttered to himself.

Now that she thought about it, he'd had a particularly pained expression on his face all this time. He was clearly trying his best, but for some reason, it looked like he was having a hard time getting his Quirk under control.

In that sense, she could sort of empathize with him.

Breathing in deeply, Seaweed Head took wide steps forward. His left foot dug into the ground at the very edge of the circle as he swung his arm down.

There was that massive amount of energy flowing through him once more, and Sesera nearly shivered at the torrential force that he was trying to fit into one small finger.

If there was any aspect of her Quirk that felt close to a blessing, it was the ability to cut herself off from her pain receptors. It was something she'd started doing out of necessity to be able to even use her Quirk, and, eventually, turning off her nociception became an involuntary action for her.

She knew—a bit better than others—how to recognize pain.

That's going to hurt, and it's going to hurt a lot.

That said, the split-second finesse Midoriya Izuku showed was beautiful, and his timing was nothing short of perfect. His finger was on the ball until the very last second, and as it slipped away, he imparted it with every ounce of power his body had generated.

The ball flew into the distance until it was nothing but a speck. Predictably, Seaweed Head's forefinger was a stinging red, his entire arm trembling as he bit his lip.

Even so, he threw a victorious smile at their teacher, teeth gritting as he proudly claimed, "I... can still move!"

Not for too long, Sesera surmised, impassively estimating how much pain he was biting back. He might've proven himself, but he wasn't going to leave any more good marks in the state he was in.

At this rate, he was still going to end up the bottom feeder, and she had no doubt that Eraserhead was the sort of person who did good on his words.

But Midoriya Izuku showed his grit just now and the expression that had appeared on the Pro Hero's face was clearly impressed. Even if he did land in last place, their teacher would likely wave the expulsion off as a joke or something.

Well, maybe not quite a joke...

Sesera was brought out of her thoughts when the delinquent suddenly dashed forward, flames and sparks spitting from his open palms.

"What the hell!? Explain yourself, Deku!" he demanded as he rushed at Seaweed Head, who screamed bloody murder at the sight of his charge.

Before the delinquent could reach the other boy though, the flames in his hand were whittled down into trailing gray smoke and he was caught in a net of cloth. It was somewhat admirable how he persisted in fighting against his constraints, his hands trembling as he forced his Quirk to come out despite the futility of it.

"Sheesh. Stop using your Quirk already..." Eraserhead grumbled, looking very fed up as he pushed his hair out of his face. "I have dry eye, damn it!"

Once the delinquent backed down, their teacher pulled back his weapon, wrapping it around his neck once more.

"We're wasting time. Who's next?" Eraserhead barked out snippily.

"That's you," Sesera told the small boy who sat in front of her in class, and he immediately ran up to the circle, not eager to further displease their teacher.

He recorded a remarkably lackluster result, especially considering he went right after Seaweed Head's eventful turn. The curly-haired boy still seemed to be stewing in the pain from his finger, and his facial expression was obviously strained as he conversed with Glasses and Gravity Girl.

Once the small boy was done, Sesera stepped up into the circle, catching the new ball Eraserhead had thrown her.

"Make it quick."

Sesera held the ball with both hands, trying to gauge how thick its metal shell was. Railgun mechanics probably wasn't the best choice for a distance-focused test, but she had very few attacks in her repertoire that didn't require an external medium to channel her power through. Other than the grip strength test she basically cheated on, her scores in the other activities were pretty below average. There really wasn't much of a choice if she intended on keeping herself afloat.

She wouldn't be able to get anywhere close to Gravity Girl's infinity score without a miracle, but currently at second place was Endeavor Jr., who had passed the kilometer-mark earlier. As long as she controlled her output well, she could match up to his score.

She was only on normal mode, and with her semiconducting fabric undershirt and gloves on, there shouldn't be much threat of injury.

Still, knowing that Yaoyorozu would likely create an actual, physical cannon after her turn made her want to push herself a bit more. Except, that would be extremely stupid and superbly bothersome. While it was true that a modern supergun could easily shoot something over a hundred kilometers, that was serious overkill.

Besides, though Yaoyorozu was obviously intelligent, Sesera highly doubted that she was all that knowledgeable in heavy artillery.

There were three other events, and third or fourth here was good enough to keep her out of the lower tens in overall ranking.

Sesera held the ball in her open palm, aiming it up an angle. She had to be careful about where she shot, too, since a ball this size was pretty much an artillery shell if launched at the speed of sound.

She slid one foot back to brace for the rebound and made sure to support her outstretched arm with her other hand. Starting from her shoulder, two magnetic currents ran down either side of her arm, pulsating with blue-white cackles of light.

The ball shot forward, becoming a speck in the sky. Yuuei was obscenely huge, so based on her calculations, in the direction she had launched it, it would land in one of the numerous training grounds.

It was an anxious six-second wait before the light on the robot turned green, and its mechanic voice announced her score.

"1187 meters!"

It flew further than she expected it to, to be honest.

"Hoooly crap!" the other spiky-haired boy exclaimed. He threw her a sharp-toothed smile and a thumbs up. "That was seriously manly, Miyaka!"

She blinked at the redhead's words, not quite sure if they were supposed to be taken as a compliment or something else. "Thanks?"

"Whoa, whoa! Hold up!" the other electricity-user came straggling forward with bulging eyes. "Weren't you a hacking-type? What's with that power!?"

"My Quirk is Electromagnetic Force." Sesera summarized concisely, "I can manipulate electrically-charged particles."

"No, no, no!" he vehemently shook his head, holding one hand out. "Hacking into stuff requires like, super delicate work! Fine control of small quantities! Plus, you'll need really specialized knowledge about machines and stuff! They have a completely different skill set from power-types!"

"She seems like she'd be smarter than you, that's for sure," Earlobe Girl commented in a casual tone, and Tape Dispenser Elbows snickered conspicuously.

"But hacking-types and power-types are on total opposite ends of the spectrum!" the other electric-type bordered on whining. "If you have the power to shoot out blasts like that, control at the small-scale gets inversely more difficult! Most Electromasters turn to electronics because only a small portion of us has the power generation ability to be useful at Heroics! They hone their fine control because they don't have anything else going for them! Getting the best of both worlds is totally unfair!"

His impassioned—and admittedly verbose—speech silenced the group of people around them.

"It's... um, a hobby," Sesera lamely made up her excuse. "I... like computer games...?

She could sense that there was true frustration behind his words, but the way he scratched his head and dramatically screamed, "I'm so jealous!" made her second-guess how serious he was being. She wasn't all that sure how to take his forward and honest personality, especially considering she was so used to electric-types being conniving and attention-seeking.

"Even though you're both electricity-users, the two of you use your abilities very differently," Seaweed Head commented, one hand still cradling his injured one. "It's quite interesting to see."

"No two Quirks are exactly the same, and that is why it is called an 'individuality,'" Glasses recited. "Even in my family, while the nature of our abilities are mostly the same, the ways we each use them are quite diverse."

"Ah, that's right," Seaweed Head's face brightened up. "I remember All Might said something similar in an interview once."

She knew what he was referring to, since she'd seen that interview as well.

As bodily functions, Quirks were, in general, hereditary characteristics. Reviewing a child's family background was enough to make an educated guess on what kind of Quirk they could manifest. Sesera's mother was the culmination of a long line of electricity-users, and the sheer output of her Bioelectrogenesis was proof of what power compounded upon power could result in.

Of what generations of human greed could spiral into.

"You mustn't become like that."

Sesera walked toward the back of the group as her classmates continued their animated conversations, their voices buzzing in her ears.

"Doesn't it hurt?"

Sesera blinked, turning her head up to meet Junior's flat expression. His gaze dropped down to where she was rubbing small circles over the length of her forearm, and she suddenly noticed a patch on her sleeve that seemed to stick differently onto her skin.

The familiar kick of the scent of well-done meat hung in the air.

"No, it doesn't," she answered truthfully.

He seemed to weigh her words for a lengthy moment before looking away.

"Is that so."

Sensing that that was the end of their short conversation, Sesera returned her gaze to the front. Inside the circle, Yaoyorozu was assembling the different parts she had produced into a small-scale cannon.

It had a long and thin chase that was most definitely built for distance. It seemed to be a blackpowder model, but considering how the ball had withstood even the delinquent's firepower and her high-speed launch, it'd probably be fine.

Yaoyorozu slipped the ball into the chamber and fired.

28.2km flashed on the phablet their teacher held out.

The fact that it had changed over to a different unit of measurement cemented just how impressive Yaoyorozu's score was. Even then, the satisfied smile on her face was neither boastful nor smug, but just genuinely pleased with her performance.

It was a refreshing thing to see.

For the next couple of events, they were all herded back inside the gym. After telling them to partner up, Eraserhead handed each pair another index card and pen to write their results in. Everyone was told to stretch and warm up properly with these activities since afterwards, they'd be starting the endurance run immediately.

They finished with the sit-ups and seated toe touches fairly quickly. When time came for the endurance run, Yaoyorozu quickly assembled a functional moped with a full tank of gas, riding it all the way to first place.

Unsurprisingly, Seaweed Head had been the first to drop out, not even finishing two laps before he was forced to quit due to the intense pain from his swollen finger.

In the end, Sesera got fourteenth place, and even though he was dead last, Midoriya Izuku was not expelled. He made a really funny face when Eraserhead told them that the whole expulsion thing was a ploy to get them to do their best though. Still, it was more likely than not that their teacher just changed his mind halfway through after seeing the determination the curly-haired boy with the odd Quirk showed.

Seaweed Head was given a clinic pass to go get his swollen finger looked at, and the rest of them were told to pick up a syllabus from the classroom and then pack up.

Sesera walked back to the changing rooms with the other girls, and the invisible girl and the pink girl were chatting up a storm, talking about inviting everyone to an outing for some sort of class bonding session. It would've been troublesome to refuse them, so instead she changed and scrammed as fast as she could.

When she arrived at the classroom, there were a few of the guys idling around, talking amongst themselves. She headed straight for the teacher's desk, where a pile of papers lay neatly in the middle. Sesera picked up one of the stapled stacks and began flipping through the pages.

Halfway through her perusal, the delinquent came up behind her and grabbed a stack of his own, skimming through the first page before shoving it into his bag and walking away.

"Hey."

He didn't seem to be in the best of moods, if the murderous look and rough "Aah?" he threw her were anything to go by.

"You said Midoriya-kun was Quirkless. What did you mean by that?"

She'd gathered from the test that they knew each other even before entering Yuuei. The easiest explanation for the delinquent's overreaction to Seaweed Head's power showcase during the throwing activity was that the latter had just been keeping it a secret from him.

But there wasn't really any fathomable motive for a young boy to lie about not having a Quirk, especially to someone who would use it as a way to demean him. Sesera didn't know how far their acquaintanceship went, but Seaweed Head didn't seem like the type to lie or hide things, and neither did the delinquent.

Still, Quirklessness was a clinically determined condition, and it was particularly rare among the latest generations, especially in an insulated island country like Japan. Quirkless people were differentiated from normal people because their bodies simply weren't able to stimulate the production of the Plus Alpha factor that controlled Quirks. This was an absolute physical barrier that couldn't be overcome just because someone snapped their fingers.

If Midoriya Izuku only recently got a Quirk, then that was practically a miracle in itself. Quirks manifested at ages four or five at the latest, and while there were passive Quirks that weren't really obvious until certain conditions in later life were met, people clinically deemed Quirkless suddenly getting Quirks of their own was the stuff of urban legends.

It was the kind of conspiracy theory that Dr. Tokudome and the researchers at the Institute tried their hands at.

The crease between the delinquent's brows furrowed even deeper. "The hell do you care, bitch?"

Sesera paused, considering her options. After seeing how he had to be forcefully held back by a veteran Pro Hero like Eraserhead, she decided that this explosive boy's wrath wasn't quite worth the satisfaction of her usual nosiness.

"...Just curious," she shrugged.

"Deku is a fucking pebble." The delinquent practically spat out the name. He was looking at her, but it seemed like he was saying the words to himself. "I dunno who he blew to get here, but that damned nerd doesn't fucking deserve to be."

Sesera blinked. "Okay."

He scowled at her blasé answer, turning away with a harrumph and making a beeline for the exit.

Once he was gone, she neatly slipped the syllabus into a folder to make sure it wouldn't crease. Zipping her bag back up, she returned the farewells that had been thrown at her before exiting the classroom.

And thus ended Miyaka Sesera's first day at Yuuei High School.

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Last Edit: 5 Aug 18