Chapter 1
Enter Luna: The Lone Wolf
The media hoard had, once again, gathered at the front entrance of U.A. The droning buzz of the group's near constant barrage of questions hurt Luna's sensitive ears. The young girl felt her lips curl into an annoyed snarl, her sharp fangs digging painfully into the soft flesh of her bottom lip. Through the crowd, she could just make out some teachers that were trying to disperse the mob that had formed.
Luna rolled her eyes before following the other students to one of the side entrances.
"Did you hear that Class 1-A was ambushed by a bunch of villains during rescue training yesterday? That's why Snipe-sensei ran off during class!"
Luna couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation a pair of upperclassmen were having a few feet in front of her. She arched an eyebrow at the information, eager to hear more.
"I heard! Someone in 3-C heard some of the teachers talking and they said that the freshmen actually took out a good many of the villains on their own! I don't think I could fight a group of villains yet and I'm graduating this year!"
I guess that's why they're in the heroics class, she thought to herself as she attempted to pull her unruly hair into a ponytail. She winced the few times her fingers tugged on some tangles hidden in her black tresses.
She made her way to 1-C's classroom and sat at her desk at the end of the last row, ignoring the immediate decrease in her classmates' excited chatter following her entrance. She calmly removed her notebook and pencil case from her blue slouchy backpack, pushing away the feeling of heavy sadness that settled in her chest.
Just focus on the lessons. Not them, she reminded herself as she discreetly blinked away tears that had started to pool on her lower lash line.
A few minutes passed before the warning bell chimed and the tall cement hero, Cementoss, entered the classroom.
"Good morning, students!" he greeted as he made his way to the front of the room, setting his planner on the podium.
"Good morning, sensei!" the class responded with varying levels of enthusiasm and genuine feeling.
An awkward pause fell over the class as if everyone was waiting for someone to ask the question that was on everyone's mind. Even Cementoss was waiting for someone to ask since he wasn't sure of how to approach the subject. Seconds continued to tick by in silence and it was grating on Luna's nerves.
She rolled her bright gold eyes and let out a huff of annoyance, which came out sounding like a bark, much to her embarrassment, before thrusting her hand into the air followed by a polite, "Ishiyama-sensei?"
All eyes shifted to her and she resisted the urge to narrow her already harsh gold eyes into a glare directed at her classmates.
"Yes, Ookami-chan?" the cement man answered, waiting patiently for the question he was expecting.
"Is everyone in 1-A okay after the villain ambush yesterday?" she asked, watching her instructor's face shift into a slightly surprised expression. She figured that he was expecting questions about the attack, but not that one in particular.
He cleared his throat and folded his hands behind his back. "Yes, all of the students in 1-A are fine."
"Pro-heros too?" she pressed gently.
The teacher nodded. "No. 13, All Might, and Aizawa-sensei needed medical attention, but have all returned to their duties as of this morning."
"Thank you, sensei," Luna said, lowering her hand, pleased with the information that everything was okay.
For now, she added pessimistically in her mind.
"Any other questions?" Cementoss asked, his eyes narrowed into a slit-eye glare. When no one responded, his glare instantly faded into his usual peaceful smile. "Great! Then on to the only thing on the homeroom agenda. The U.A. sports festival is in two weeks. Please do not over-do your preparations. I want to see the best Class 1-C has to offer."
The room erupted into cheers, almost all of the students shouting out in excitement. The only students to remain silent were Luna and the blue-haired menace two seats to her right. The dark-haired girl allowed her eyes to drift from her teacher to his slouched form. His dull blue eyes met hers, his blank gaze purposefully concealing his contempt for her. She bared her fangs in a brief, silent growl, pleased when his eyes widened a fraction in shock. She smirked when he turned away from her piercing golden gaze. She returned her attention to her open notebook, her pen scratching words into the paper.
"All right, settle down students! Let's get started with today's lesson!" Ishiyama-sensei said calmly as he began to write on the chalkboard.
The rest of the school day passed without incident. Just after the final bell rang, the members of 1-C rushed out the door, leaving Luna alone in the room staring after them in confusion. She shook her head slightly, her hair falling into her face, before finishing to pack her things away. Once everything was stored properly in her bag, she exited the room and started making her way towards the shoe lockers. However, her passage was blocked by a large crowd that had formed around the 1-A classroom. She watched the over-sized door slide open from her spot at the edge of the congregation.
"What's going on?!" a girl shouted just beyond 1-A's threshold. She sounded confused.
Between the gaps in the horde, Luna's sharp vision allowed her to see the girl responsible for the exclamation. Her brown hair was styled in a bob cut and a surprised flush dusted her cheeks. Just behind the girl stood a tall boy, his posture stiff and proper, borderline ridged. She could also sense others, but they were just out of sight.
"No way out? What're they here for?" a slightly childish male voice exclaimed from farther inside the room.
"Scoping out the competition, duh, small fry," a gruff voice insulted. A boy with light blonde, spiky hair and a harsh face pushed forward passed his classmates and towards the mob.
"Cuz we're the kids who survived a villain attack. Makes sense they'd want a look before the sports festival," he continued, his face pulling down into a deeper snarl.
The crowd began to mumble under their breaths as tension started to build, but the girl could make out a meek voice apologizing to someone.
"And that's him on a good day." The meek voice was almost soothing in comparison to the blond boy's gratingly arrogant tone.
The angry blond took another step forward, his red eyes gleaming in the same afternoon sunlight that draped half of his face in shadow. "No point, though. Move aside, Cannon Fodder," he growled in a defiant manner.
Luna could hear someone in the room chastise the blond for his "eloquent" choice of words, but her attention was pulled to a familiar figure pushing past her and into the crowd. She scowled at Shinsou's back as she watched his blue hair travel to the front of the horde.
"It's true. We came to get a look, but you sure are modest. Are all the kids in the hero course like this one?" Shinsou's bland voice caused all other murmurs to quiet.
The blond's face changed from an arrogant glare to a furious snarl at the newcomer's words. He tilted his head back, looking down on the other boy, and growled out a harsh "Huh?!"
Shinsou continued, "Gotta say, I'm a little disillusioned if this is what you're offering." He rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly unaware of the students that were backing away from him. "Those of us who didn't make the Hero Course are stuck in General Studies and the other tracks. There're quite a few of us. Did you know that?"
Luna cursed under her breath and began to shove her way through the group of students, hoping to reach her classmate in time to stop him from saying something stupid that would reflect badly on their class.
"Depending on the results of this sports festival…" Shinsou paused, "They might consider transferring us to the Hero Course. I understand the reverse is also possible for you…" he paused again, his eyes drifting over the visible 1-A class members before resting on the navy-tinted mop of hair that broke through the mob on his left side.
"Don't say anything stupid, Shinsou," Luna growled out in a low tone, her warning sparkling clear in her golden gaze.
Shinsou didn't even blink as he finished, "Scoping out the competition? For a General Studies kid like me… This'll be the perfect chance to knock you off your pedestals. Consider this a declaration of War."
The short girl gaped at her classmate, infuriated and appalled at his behavior. She briefly noticed some of the 1-A members' shocked frowns, before she used another student's outburst to drag the blue-haired big mouth away from the commotion. Once they reached the end of the hall, she dropped his wrist from her grasp with such ferocity, it was as if he had burned her.
"What were you thinking? Everything you said is going to not only paint a target on all the General Studies students during the festival, but it is also going to reflect badly on Ishiyama-sensei," she growled, her hands clenched tightly around her backpack straps that were situated on her shoulders.
Shinsou scoffed and leaned down, getting in Luna's face. "Shut the fuck up, mutt. No one cares what you think. And don't think that us being classmates means that I won't be gunning for you during the competition. As far as I'm concerned, you are at the top of my list."
He poked her chest hard, pushing her slightly off balance forcing her back against the wall, before he stormed off towards the exit.
Luna bit her lip, trying to hold in both shouts of retaliation and tears of frustration. She glared at the floor, already formulating battle strategies against him, just in case.
The sound of approaching footsteps shook her from her impromptu brainstorming session. She glanced up, seeing two of the 1-A members from before, the brown-haired girl and the stiff boy, followed by a meek-looking boy with a mop of green-tinted hair. As they passed, her harsh gold eyes met the meek boy's kind green ones. Time seemed to slow to almost a stand still while their eyes were locked, but the moment ended abruptly when one of his companions came between them.
She quickly dropped her gaze to the floor and walked in the opposite direction of the trio, trying to calm the sudden thudding of her heart. She pressed her hand to her chest, her eyes involuntarily drifting back in the direction the boy had gone. She shook her head as she chastised herself. Focus, Luna. Now isn't the time to develop an interest in boys. The sports festival is your only shot at the heroics department. You need to prepare. No time for distractions.
The two weeks passed in a blur for Luna, since all of her free time was spent training under the watchful eyes of her four older brothers.
Her time in school was spent focusing on lessons, but during breaks, she found herself scanning the crowds of students, looking for the boy with the kind green eyes.
Finally, the two weeks were up, and the day of the sports festival had arrived.
Luna got up early, put on U.A.'s gym uniform, and cooked herself a healthy breakfast. Once she had cleaned up the kitchen, she grabbed her backpack and headed to the front entryway of the house to put on her shoes.
As she sat on the small step that led from the entryway into the house, she heard the sound of her father's heavy footfalls approaching from behind her. The wolf ears twitched on top of her head as the thudding sound echoed in the narrow hall.
"Luna," his deep voice bounced off the walls, seemingly coming from everywhere all at once.
She turned her head just enough to look at his looming figure from over her shoulder; her messy curls obscuring some of her view. His gold eyes, that were only a few shades darker than her own, pinned her in place.
"Aim for the top, my daughter. You need to be admitted to the Heroics Department. It is your birthright."
The teen rolled her eyes, pushing off the step, and standing at attention. She grabbed her bag from the floor and swiftly walked out the front door, ignoring her father.
Luna sat at an empty table farthest away from the rest of her classmates inside the 1-C prep room. The excited chatter that flowed from her peers seemed distant as she focused on her breathing.
This is it, Luna. This is your chance to make it to the top without the help of Dad's name. All you have to do is keep your temper in check and you should be good.
The grating sound of a chair scraping across the floor directly to her right snapped her out of her meditative state. Her golden eyes flicked to the person who caused the offending noise.
Shinsou plopped down in the seat across from her and proceeded to stare silently.
"What?" she asked dully, her black tail swishing restlessly behind her.
He blinked, the dark bags under his eyes more apparent in the fluorescent lighting. "Don't expect to get through this test at all. I will crush you in the first stage."
She arched an eyebrow in interest. "Oh really. I hate to disappoint you, but I plan on making it to the end. I trained too much not to."
"Whatever," he replied shortly, rising to his feet as an adult called to the class to line up at the stadium entrance tunnel.
The wolf girl, once again, stood off to the side, away from the group. Class 1-A was the first to enter the stadium, and the roar of applause and cheers were practically deafening to her sensitive ears. She winced as the sounds grew louder as she followed her class out onto the field.
"LUUUNAA~!"
She flinched at the sudden shout of her name. She slowly turned her head, only to see two very familiar faces leaning over the railing a few feet to her left. She felt her eye twitch as she identified the almost identical faces that grinned at her.
"DO YOUR BEST, LITTLE SIS~!" the pair shouted in sync, waving what appeared to be homemade flags with her name on them.
Luna covered half of her face with one of her hands, trying to hide her embarrassed flush, while walking over to her twin older brothers with their matching glittering blue eyes.
"Astro, Cane, what on Earth are you doing here?" she asked through gritted teeth, looking around the seating area for the missing two brothers.
Astro, the white-haired twin, grinned wider. "Do you really think we would miss your first U.A. Sports Tournament?"
Cane, the black-haired twin, shrugged his shoulders and said, "We didn't have any jobs for today, so Gray made us come. He and Kai said to tell you 'Good Luck' by the way."
She sighed and muttered "Of course" under her breath.
"Ookami-chan, please join the rest of the class for the opening ceremony." Cementoss-sensei said gently, as he steered her back to the rest of the students. "You can talk with your brothers afterwards."
Luna rolled her eyes, but followed her teacher's instructions. She took her place among the 1-C group, eyes drifting towards the center stage where the heroine Midnight was waiting.
"Now for the Athlete's Oath!" she shouted into the microphone, snapping her bullwhip.
Murmurs about whether or not Midnight was an appropriate MC for the first-year student events cropped up throughout the crowd.
"R-Rated Hero? Should she really be a high school teacher?" a deep voice questioned from the 1-A class.
"Pipe down!" she cried, once again snapping her whip. "Your student representative is from Class 1-A, Katsuki Bakugo!"
The arrogant blond with the rude mouth from that day 2 weeks ago made his way through the crowd.
"Whaaa? It's Kacchan?!" A familiar meek voice called out in a befuddled manner.
The girl's golden eyes lit up at the sound, glancing over the crowd until she landed on the green-tinted hair that she had been seeking out for the past few weeks. Her heart started to thud in her chest at the sight of him, drowning out the few conversations that popped up during Bakugo's walk to the mic stand.
"The Athlete's Oath…" he paused a moment, tucking his hands in his pockets. "Make no mistake about it," he continued louder, "I'm gonna take first place!"
The students erupted into angry shouts, which only grew louder when the blond responded to them in an arrogant tone, "You'll all make great stepping-stones, I'd say." He made a cut throat motion with his thumb, his lips turned up in a sneer.
He walked off the stage as Midnight once again demanded attention. "Now, without any delay, let's get the first event started!" She turned her head to look at the screen behind her as it began to flicker.
"These are the qualifiers!" the heroine announced excitedly, "It's in this stage that so many are sent home crying every year!" The dark-haired woman pointed exaggeratedly at the screen. "And the fateful first event this year is…"
A tense pause fell over the students as all eyes watched the screen in front of them stop flickering, finally displaying their first task. The words Obstacle Course Race appeared, followed by Midnight shouting, "This!"
An obstacle course? There's gotta be more to it than that. Luna thought to herself, her golden eyes drawn to the gates clacking open before them.
"It's a race between every member of all eleven classes! The course is a four-kilometer lap around the stadium itself." Midnight explained, signalling the first yellow caution light above the gate to illuminate.
"Our school preaches freedom in all things!" the heroine laughed, "So as long as you don't go off the course, anything is fair game!"
The students started shuffling closer to the gate as she spoke, trying to stealthily get into running positions. Luna moved off to a less populated area, her gaze comparing the size of the crowd to the size of the entrance to the test.
So the first obstacle is getting to the course. That weeds out a lot of people literally right out of the gate. I can't fall behind. This is my chance to prove to Dad and my brothers that I don't need their name and influence to make it as a Hero!
"Racers, to your positions…"
She pressed the ball of her right foot into the dirt, getting a good foot-hold. Her ears were standing up at attention, waiting for the instant the buzzer sounded. The next light lit up. The seconds seemed to stretch on indefinitely.
This is it!
The final light lit up at the same time that Midnight screamed, "START!"
Thank you soo much for reading my new story! My Hero Academia is probably my favorite anime and my second favorite manga series. I will try my hardest to get new chapters out on Saturdays after the new episode is released.
Hope to see you next time! Happy Easter! Plus Ultra!