Hey ya'll, SnowyNeko here. With the end of the third season, I got caught up in the MHA hype and ended up creating a character for it. I was really trying to focus on my HxH story Venom, but although I knew what I wanted to do with Sera, the inspiration just wasn't flowing. I still hope to do something with that story, but this girl here was calling my name. So. I am still writing an original story, so I dunno how often updates are gonna happen, but Megumi is rarin' to go. With that out of the way, let's get to the story! I hope you enjoy!

I unwrap a sucker as I trail after my new teacher. The sweetness does little to replace the hard taste of smokey tobacco, but it at least gives my lips something to occupy them. As I suck on the strawberry candy, I take in my new school's decor. The wide windows thrown about everywhere give me a bit of a hope that this school might not feel quite as claustrophobic as the previous ones I've been in. Still, the famous uniform I wear under my leather jacket doesn't let me forget the enormous expectations this place will force on me. As Mr. Aizawa shoves open the door to the classroom, I sigh through clenched teeth.

At their teacher's arrival, all the chattering students scatter to their seats. All eyes quickly shift to me, though, as I follow the man into the room, stopping in front of the blackboard and turning to face the class. Mr. Aizawa greets the class and states the obvious that a new student is joining while I carefully eye each of my new classmates in order to get an idea of what I've signed up for. They look...well, like hero material. All except for that one blonde that exploded at the sports festival. A certain red and white haired boy sits straighter at the sight of me, but I keep my gaze averted.

"This is Kyou Megumi," our teacher finally introduces. Then, without so much as a glance my way, his hand darts up and snatches the sucker out of my mouth the same way he'd stolen my cigarette when I'd met him in the office. I swear, there's something mocking in his voice when he says, "Be sure to take care of her."

I don't say a word of introduction and instead make my way to the open seat in the back of the room, which was clearly added just for me considering it's the only row with a desk more than the rest. I plop myself down and cross my legs, my tongue twisting irritatedly in my empty mouth. I guess I'll have to wait until we get a break before I can use another candy.

The class itself isn't worth paying attention to. Some lecture about the strategies of top heroes, all of which I've heard and read about before. The real concern begins once the period is over, and the students begin crowding my desk and introducing themselves. Not that it's necessary. The whole country knows the names of the U.A's top class.

Uraraka, after telling me her name, gushes, "It's amazing that you managed to transfer here! It's so rare for students to get in after the entrance ceremony!"

"You're quirk must be pretty cool," the redhead, Kirishima, muses. "Can you show us?"

Yaoyorozu warns, "You guys shouldn't question her too much on her first day. She's probably pretty nervous." She smiles at me apologetically. If I had my usual cigarette, I would've blown smoke her direction.

The questions quiet, though, when the multi-colored hair boy pushes through the others to stand directly in front of my desk. The little boy with purple balls for hair gasps, "Ooooh, has the indifferent Todoroki actually taken an interest in the new girl? An elegantly cold face, small but round bust, a skirt shortened by the lift of her butt, she makes a perfect counterpart to the resident pretty boy! Could a class romance be about to bloom? A couple in the classroom? I wonder what perverted things we'll get to see!" and I get the urge to smack him in the face. I manage to restrain myself, locked in the piercing scrutiny of the boy before me.

Finally, he asks, "What are you doing here, Kyou?"

I nearly falter when he uses my family name. I screw my jaw tight, however, and answer, "I applied and got accepted, Todoroki."

"Don't avoid my question."

"I'm pretty sure I answered it."

I tilt my head in challenge, waiting for a retort. Before he can say anything, though, the Midoriya kid interjects, "Do you know her, Todoroki?"

When he doesn't reply, I go ahead and do it for him. "Our mothers were friends."

"We grew up together," he finishes.

"Well that's good," the boy continues, talking to me this time. "You'll have a friend to help you get adjusted. It might be a little hard at first, haha. This class is a little eccentric, but I'm sure you'll get used to it." He rubs his neck nervously as he speaks, clearly intimidated. Why does he even speak if he's scared?

"Clearly you can't read the mood," I bite, causing him to flinch. "Does it look like we're on good terms to you?"

The class falls silent. Of course, it's Shouto that dares to break it.

"Don't go causing trouble."

With those four words he has me bristled and ready to leap to my feet, but he returns to his seat before I can even get a single word out. Before anyone else can come up with something to relieve the tension, the next teacher arrives and they're forced to sit down for their next hour. During the passing periods, some of the girls still come up to talk to me, but I eat alone at lunch, and when the final class period ends, I immediately stand from my seat.

"Want to walk with me to the dorms?"

I glance at the frog girl, then keep walking. "Not goin' there."

She puts a thoughtful finger to her chin and leaves it at that. I'm stopped at the gates by some random teacher who wonders where I'm off to, to which I proceed to snub him with a bland, "I'll be back at nine." Of course, he doesn't let this go without pursuit, and I'm forced to run for it. Despite the guy being a professional hero, I have to laugh at how easy it is to get away. If I can get away this easily without even using a quirk, how is that guy ever going to catch a villain?

I frown. God, I hope not all the heroes at this academy will be that pathetic.

It's a long walk to my destination, an hour just on its own, but it's all worth it the moment the faded staircase to a building's basement comes into sight. I take the steps down two at a time, tossing my cigarette on the ground and stomping on it with my boot before shoving open the door. I light another one the second the door shuts behind me, wrapped in the room's ever-present smell of smoke.

The room itself isn't heated. It doesn't have running water despite there being a sink, and the toilet in the restroom doesn't work, and old wallpaper is peeling off the walls, but the floor is littered with fat beanbags, books, and empty bottles to indicate the place is occupied. At least, sometimes occupied. My part time roommate currently lounges in a large black beanbag in the corner of the room, clicking away at something on his phone. I saunter over and fall into a slightly smaller green beanbag that sits near his.

Attention still on his phone, he observes, "Interesting uniform."

"I wanna burn it." I puff a cloud of smoke at the ceiling. "I hope you know my stance remains the same."

"The others don't even know we're connected," he waves off verbally. He finally flips down his phone and turns up his bright blue eyes to face me, revealing the purple that reaches the stitching at his lips. The first time I saw the purple beneath his eyes, I'd thought they were bags until I saw the stitches. Now that I know him, I have a sneaking suspicion he stitched those there to hide his actual bags, because I've never seen him sleep despite how often he comes here and how long he sometimes stays. "Were you in the same class as Shouto?"

"I was." I cough out a laugh. "He called me fucking Kyou. You know how many times he's done that before? Not. Once."

"How many years has it been since you've seen him?"

"So what if it's been awhile? That doesn't change the fact that we're on a personal name basis! But Kyou! And then he even went and warned me not to cause trouble! Just remembering it makes me want to smash someone's head in!"

"Heroes don't smash heads."

I grimace. "Shut up."

"You'll hardly make a hero like you are now."

"Who are you kidding? Even if I was the nicest chick in the universe, I would never make a hero."

"If you really believed that, you wouldn't have enrolled at U.A."

I tense, the cigarette bending between my fingers. "That...we don't need to talk about that. What's up with you? Were you a part of that fiasco surrounding the kidnapped student?" He gives me a look and I snarl, "Just because I'm enrolled at that school doesn't mean I'm on their side. You really think I'd go blabbing like some disloyal wuss?"

He balances his phone diagonally between his knee and finger, taking his time before responding, "It'll be my fault if they torture the information out of you."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever you're suggesting, it's insulting."

"True," he relents, pondering. "Truth is, we're just gathering members. The time is right, after All Might's fall. Villains are coming out of hiding. It really would be handy if you would join us."

"Not now," I wave off.

"Do you really think you'll end up somewhere else?"

"Even if I do become a villain, I might not want to join your league. I don't like the sound of that Shigaraki character."

He lets his phone fall. "Now you're insulting me."

"Sorry, I only meant to poke at the organization your in. Your choices have nothing to do with it." I smash the finished cigarette butt on the floor and fish in my pocket for the package. Placing another to my lips, I snap the lighter on. Except it doesn't light. I try a few more times, only for the single flame I manage to sputter out before it can take to the tobacco. After a few curses under my breath, I hold out the virgin cigarette and request, "Do you mind?"

"How many have you been smoking, lately?"

"Don't count. Enough to need a new box at least once a week. Why?"

"You're going to make yourself sick."

I blink. Then, laughter explodes from my lips. I examine the little cancer stick while I laugh. "Thanks, Dabi. It's nice to know someone is worried about me." My laughter fades as I stare at it, my smile small as I turn it over between my fingers.

Knowing the look, Dabi comments, "You just wish it was Shouto who said it."

"A couple days ago, I would've thought it was something he would say, too." I once again hold out the stick to him, and he flicks a little tongue of blue flame onto the tip. Returning it to my lips, I sigh, "Now I know that awful father of his got to him."

We sit in silence for awhile, Dabi getting back to his phone. Me, I just watch the smoke twisting up and pooling against the ceiling. When my cigarette is just about burned out, I remember, "Oh yeah, I wanted your opinion about my hero costume. They told me they wanted a blueprint before class tomorrow, so they could get one made so I could join the class training sessions coming up." I grimace at the thought. What even is there for me to train?

"I don't care. Do what you want."

"The problem is I haven't really thought about it. I haven't even considered heroism as a profession since I was little, and all the ideas I had back then were ridiculous. I wouldn't be caught dead in any of those designs. Do you really not have any idea? Aren't you picky about hero stuff?

"If anything," he shrugs, "a hero shouldn't care about their costume, as long as its effective."

I fidget. "Well of course, but…"

"Shouto?"

"Yeah."

"You still care so much, even when he treated you coldly?"

"Don't get me wrong." The cigarette crushes between my teeth. "I'm not forgiving him for that one easily." I stand, throwing the burned out, crooked stick to the ground and grinding it with the tip of my shoe. "But yeah. I don't know how often I'll make it here in the near future. I had to run away from a teacher today just to leave the campus. Your little stunt with your league made them security nazis."

"Leaving already?"

"I'm already in trouble. I'd rather not make it more annoying by staying out past sundown. They'll suspect me of villainy."

"If they don't already."

"Shut up, I meant it as a joke and you know it." Stuffing my hands in my jacket, I nod, "Catch you later," and turn on my heel.

I reach the Academy just before the sun touches the horizon, and sure enough, I'm dragged away for a lecture. After tuning out the teacher's 'I'll let it slide since you're new', and 'We will take harsh disciplinary action in the future' talk, I'm ever so kindly escorted to the class A dorm, which nobly displays the word Alliance across its front. I suck roughly at the mint in my mouth, then push open the doors.

"Oh, you're back!"

The round, cheery face of Uraraka greets me as I step inside, as if she had nothing better to do than to await my arrival. I freeze, nearly stepping back. Behind her, a few of the other students watch from their seats on a couch. The only face I really wanted to see is nowhere in sight. I stuff the mint into my cheek and ask the airhead, "Is there something you wanted?"

Her smile holding strong against its wavering, she explains, "I'm here to give you a tour and show you to your room! And if you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I'll answer the best I can."

The look in her eyes is as if I might literally bite her for simply talking to me. I sigh and tell her to just take me to my room. When we arrive, I immediately step inside and slam the door behind me, taking in the room. The walls are bare, the carpet pale, and the bed sheets are covered with deep blue and purple swirls, like a nebula star. A single desk, a large antique wardrobe, blackout drapes tied up by the window...it's all exactly like my room back at home. I'm nearly convinced they used someone's quirk to straight up transport it here, except that under my bed, my stash of books proves to be missing. That's almost unfortunate.

There are, however, scratch paper and notebooks in the drawers of the mahogany desk. I flip out a sheet and grab a pen out of the pencil holder. They even got the type of pens I use right.

My costume...what do I do about that? I was half convinced when I applied that I wasn't even going to get in, let alone succeed in getting into class 1-A, and when I got the acceptance letter, clothing was the last thing on my mind. I lay my cheek on the desk, fiddling the pen between my fingers. What's even the point? Most costumes are there to enhance the person's quirk, but what good would a costume do me? Maybe something purely for defense? Or something covered in weapons? But then I'd have to learn how to use all of them, and my hands would also be occupied.

My hands have to be free.

I set the pen flat, turning my hand to stare at the small dot on its back. I twist it, then, to examine the thin red markings decorating my palm. My fingers bend to rub them absently as I trace the vaguely elliptical pattern with my eyes. Then my hand clenches into a fist and I bump my forehead down on the desk.

This whole thing was a stupid idea. Still, what's done is done. I may be an idiot, but I need this. I need this to fail so I can get this naive hope out of my head. The sooner the better. Nothing good will come of me trying to force something that, if I'm being real, is never meant to be.

What'd you guys think? Honestly, I don't know whether to refer to her as Megumi or Kyou in these afore and after notes. Megumi is her personal name, so I feel like I should call her by it, but she'll probably be primarily referred to as Kyou in universe, so it might get a little confusing... Anyway, I'm excited to see where this story goes. I may be the author, but sometimes my characters surprise me. It's one of the things I enjoy so much about writing! And something tells me Megumi has some tricks up her sleeve.