A whole long and lingering week had passed since the entrance exam and Zenko had been waiting tensely ever since then. At first, she was confident she had done enough, but when she came across the terrifying blonde she had encountered before the exam, he was surrounded by neverending piles of whatever he left of the obliterated villain bots. She remembered blanching at the sight and noting that while no-one else could compare, the rest of the examinee's seemed to do really well nonetheless, with countless robots littering the ground.

If she recalled correctly, she had gotten at least thirty-six points in the practical and had most likely passed the written test. She was proud of being able to do the best she could- 'But was it enough?'

"Zen-chan! It's time for dinner!"

Her pea-green eyes flutter open and she let a sigh escape her lips. Climbing off her bed, she swiftly made her way down the stairs and into the dining room where her mother had just laid her plate of tonkatsu onto the table. The dark-haired woman smiles gently at her. "Were you asleep?"

Zenko lightly shook her head in response holding back a yawn as she took her seat. "Not yet. Is Dad at work?"

"Yeah," She sat opposite her daughter, chopsticks in hand and handing one of the two pairs to her. "He's had to stay late because you know Akaashi-san? Well, it's his wedding coming up in a couple days so-"

Zenko barely just heard it, but she swore she heard the letterbox snap shut. She jumped out of her chair and her mother could only stare in disbelief as she darted to the front door of their abode. The raven-haired woman blinked before returning to the tonkatsu in front of her. "Alright then."

The brunette stared at the envelope that had dropped upon the floor, her eyes narrowed and felt almost as if she was having an old-fashioned stand-off with it. She hovered for a few moments, her twitching hand inching closer before she hastily snatches it up and begins to retreat back to her room. "So are you leaving your perfectly good dinner here, Zen-chan?"

She winces, turning to see her mother's blank face sticking out the doorway, but Zenko knew fully well that her grey eyes held intense malice, daring her to take another step and she shivered at the sight. It was the look. "Uh, sorry, Mum. My acceptance letter for U.A. came…"

Quicker than Zenko thought was physically possible, the look vanished and she hummed in understanding. "Ah, nevermind then. Dinner will probably be cold once you come back down, so make sure to heat it up later, okay?" With a final smile, the raven-haired woman's face disappeared from Zenko's sight and the brunette let go the air she had kept in.

Once she reached the desk within her room, she couldn't keep her gaze of the letter she held tightly within her grasp. It was round two of the stand-off and barely able to handle the thick tension, she slit the envelope open letting the holographic device within it drop onto the table. Zenko watched intrigued as it lit up in front of her but then she gapes.

"Am I a mouse, a dog, or a bear? All you need to know is that I'm the principal!"

She blinked once. Then twice. For good measure, she rubbed her eyes, but no. She could still see the small white animal that stared back at her with its small beady eyes and a dopey smile. "Huh, then not a ferret..."

"Hello, examinee! We'll be shortly discussing your results for your tests and then reveal our final verdict of your performance. Firstly, with the written test you passed with flying colours and then with the practical…" Zenko briskly looked down at her twitching hands. They were covered in plasters which hid the scabs beneath which she gained from smacking the ground too much. She clenched them tightly ignoring the ache that tickled. They hadn't started bothering her until now.

"...There were actually two ways to obtain points." She pauses, returning her gaze to the holographic mammal and tilting her head slightly. "One of which was told to every examinee to collect points from defeating the villain bots, and you managed to gain thirty-eight points by doing this. The other way to obtain points which we didn't disclose was by rescuing people!" The brunette furrowed her eyebrows and could feel her eyes sting. She was completely sure she hadn't saved anyone since she had been so focused on -

"You were able to obtain twenty points!"

Zenko, at first didn't seem to process this and had continued to stare at the small principal who grinned back at her. Then all at once, her jaw dropped and her pea-green eyes shot wide open. Feeling a scream lodged in her throat, she was somehow so bewildered she had fallen out of her chair and now laid upon the fluffy blue rug which saved her from the cold wooden floor. "What are you doing up there, Zen-chan?"

"What?! When?!" she exclaimed, sitting up from her position. "When did I save anyone?!" She honestly couldn't think of whenever she had encountered anyone while fighting, apart from the villain bots.

"This means in total you gained fifty-six points, which according to the scores of everyone else who took the practical test, puts you at tenth place!" She held her head which had lightly thumped against the ground which had begun to throb with the overload of new information. 'Tenth?!' That was when she heard footsteps climb up the stairs and she jumped up just in time for her mother to open the door.

"Zen-chan, are you alright-"

"Because of your results, you have been accepted into U.A.'s hero course. Congratulations! We hope you will enjoy your time at our academia." And with that, the hologram switched itself off.

Zenko's room was silent and all she could find herself do was stare back at her mother. But then the dark-haired woman smiled brightly and tucked the brunette into a tight hug. "My goodness, Zen-chan!" she gushed. "This is incredible, I'm so proud of you!"

Zenko smiled, feeling her eyes sting once again and hugged back albeit less firmly. "Thanks…" she mumbled unable to move her face away from her mother's shirt. The grey-eyed woman suddenly pulled back, her hands gripping Zenko's small shoulders.

"I'll call your father. He'll be delighted once he finds out!" she beamed and the brunette couldn't help but smile back. "He should be finishing up just now anyway, just let me go grab my phone." The dark-haired woman then hurries out of Zenko's room leaving her to herself. Zenko lets out a sigh and sits up the fallen chair before falling onto her bed, facing the ceiling. She couldn't hold the silly grin in any longer and before she knows it she can feel warm tears running down her cheeks.

'When was the last time I was this happy?' she thinks to herself rubbing her eyes. She sits back up, her gaze locking onto the holographic device that laid on her desk. But now she was also more curious than ever because she wanted to know who she had inadvertently saved. Even if it wasn't intentional, they still managed to get Zenko points for just being there. Zenko promises to herself right then and there she would have to thank them because if it weren't for them, she wouldn't have done so well. The fact she had even gotten into the top ten was mind-blowing to her.

"Zen-chan, your father is on the phone!" called the dark-haired woman from below. The pea-green eyed girl found herself speeding down the stairs to see the woman holding the phone out to her and she hesitantly took it from her. Who knows what he would say since he never seemed to like the idea of heroes - she's still unsure of how she was even able to attempt to join U.A..

She began to speak. "Hey-"

"Ko-tan!" the man howled making Zenko flinch and almost drop the phone. "Oh, Ko-tan! I-I-I'm so proud of you! You've been working so hard for this, haven't you? Oh, Ko-tan I honestly cannot believe it! Isn't U.A. really hard to get into?! " He continued to wail and Zenko was sure she could hear the faint sound of the shop's bell tinkling in the background.

"Uh, yeah-"

"Oh, I'm so proud of you! I'll have to treat you to some dorayaki and-ah wait a moment where did that customer go…? That's strange… Anyway, I'll be home soon, take care, love you, bye!" As soon as he finished the phone made a resounding beep and the brunette couldn't help but stare blankly at the small screen. She heaved a sigh and shook her head.

"What did he say, Zen-chan?" her mother said. "Your face is odd."

'Typical Dad.' she deadpanned. She hadn't expected him to be so accepting of it, but she was still extremely glad nonetheless. She looks up to the raven-haired woman and a smile draws across her face as she hands the phone back to her. "He says he'll be home soon after losing a customer."

"How typical of him."

Two months later, a week had passed since April Fools and Zenko was stood in front of U.A. High - but this time, she was a student attending it. The brunette found it difficult whether to determine she was feeling more blessed or terrified at that thought, though found it hard to keep a small giddy smile from slipping out. Soon enough she was making her way throughout the enormous building and found herself in another corridor.

'Why must U.A. be so big?' she internally sighed as she felt her legs begin to ache. Her eyes dart to the signs of each classroom, noting how incredibly large the doors even are. "How far is it now?" she grumbled tiredly.

"Hey, are you looking for 1-A too?" a voice called from behind her making Zenko almost jump in surprise. Turning on the spot, she spots a wide-eyed brown haired girl jogging towards her with one of the brightest smiles she has ever seen from someone that isn't her father. So much so she feels as if she might go blind from the brightness.

"Yeah," Zenko responds lightly returning her smile. "It's taking me a while though. I didn't realise how big U.A. really was."

"I know right?" the bright girl's shoulders droop though her smile stayed on her face. "I wonder how they have enough money to invest in everything… Ah! Sorry, I haven't introduced myself - I'm Uraraka Ochako!"

"Wakuribana Zenko." the pea-green eyed girl replies with a small smile and nod. 'Uraraka or Urararaka?'

The two brunettes walked on with Uraraka rambling on and surprisingly found the classroom quicker than Zenko had thought would take. Stood in the doorway of the classroom was a boy with dark curly green hair and a mustard yellow backpack, someone who Uraraka seemed to recognise.

"-and I'm wondering when the orientation will be as well. It'd be after the ceremony, right? Oh, that curly hair!" she exclaimed. "You're the plain-looking one!" The boy turns around and once he sees the taller brunette of the two, he gasps as his cheeks turn red. The happy-go-lucky girl continues to speak and Zenko takes this chance to slip through the doorway and past the bespectacled navy-haired boy into the classroom.

She swiftly peered around the classroom seeing that everyone else had taken their seat and spots a lone desk near the furthest corner. She takes note of the assemblage of colourful people in her new class as she quietly made her way to her seat and finds herself sitting next to someone who even had red and white hair halved down the middle. 'I wonder if it's natural or if he's trying to look like a colourful Cruella de Vil...'

"I wonder what our teacher's like?" the rosy-cheeked girl cheerfully continued to the red-faced boy who attempted to cover himself up. "Aren't you nervous?"

"Go somewhere else if you want to play at being friends." a sombre voice suddenly appeared. Startled, Zenko darted her eyes to see something laid down in the doorway on the floor.

"This is the hero course." it murmurs, taking a drink out of its bag and drinking it dry. 'A caterpillar?' she questions silently. She quickly forgets it once the man stood out of his yellow sleeping bag and scolds herself for her silliness. "Okay, it took eight seconds before you were quiet. Time is limited. You kids are not rational enough." She takes note of his very red eyes and wonders, 'Does he ever sleep and actually who is he?'

"I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta. Nice to meet you." Well, that was answered pretty quickly. "It's kind of sudden," he continues and pulls out a navy-blue, white and red top. "But put this on and go out to the field." The whole confused class begins to mutter, but all follow his request and found themselves in said field.

"A Quirk assessment test?!" The entire class yelled loudly.

"What about the entrance ceremony?" Uraraka asked. "The orientation?"

"If you're going to become a hero," the teacher begins. "You don't have time for any leisurely events. U.A.'s selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are. That's also how the teachers run their classes." He looks back at the class and Zenko sighs. 'Of course, this school is going to be wacky.'

"You kids have been doing these since junior high too, right?" he prompts, holding up a phone. "Physical fitness tests where you weren't allowed to use your Quirks. The country still uses averages taken from results from students not using their Quirks. It's not rational. Well, the Ministry of Education is procrastinating."

He turns to the spikey blonde. "Bakugou-" 'What a suitable name.' "You finished at the top of the practical exam, right?" She switches her gaze to him. He seemed to be the strongest here so far, and also the scariest, blanching as she recalled the entrance exam. "In junior high what was your best result for the softball throw?"

"Sixty-seven metres." 'I don't think I've ever gone past twenty.' Zenko sulks quietly.

"Then, try doing it with your Quirk."

Bakugou moves forward with his given softball into the ring. "You can do whatever you want as long as you stay in the circle." Aizawa informs him. "Hurry up. Give it all you got."

"Well then," the blonde grumbled. Up to this point, Zenko had noticed his calm expression and had been questioning how odd it was and if this was the same person after all. Maybe the stress of anticipation for the exam had gotten to him and he just needed to let it out somehow-

"DIE!"

'Nevermind then…' she winces as he blasts the poor softball away.

"Know your own maximum first." Aizawa said, turning to the rest of the class. "That is the most rational way to form the foundation of a hero." He raises the phone once again to reveal Bakugou's score.

'705.2 metres?!' Zenko's jaw drops.

"750 metres? Seriously?" She hears someone say and forces herself to not give them a look.

"What's this? It looks fun!"

"We can use our Quirks as much as we want! As expected from the hero course!"

"'It looks fun', huh?" the droopy-eyed teacher muttered. "You have three years to become a hero. Will you have an attitude like that the whole time?"

Zenko notes the suddenly sketchy smirk that crosses his face and could hear herself gulp. "All right. Whoever comes in last place in all eight tests will be judged to have no potential and will be punished with expulsion."

"Huh?!" Everyone understandably responded.

"We're free to do what we want about the circumstances of our students." He lifts his head up, swiping back his hair to unveil his hysterical smile. "Welcome to U.A.'s hero course!" Zenko clenched her fists as she grimaced staring down at her feet. 'It has to be a lie, right? No teacher in their sane mind would do that… But he doesn't seem like that at all, judging by that smile. Is he a sadist?'

"Last place will be expelled?" Uraraka exclaimed. "But it's the first day of school. No, even if it wasn't the first day of school, this is too unfair!"

"Natural disasters, big accidents and selfish villains." Aizawa began and Zenko returns her gaze to him. "Calamities whose time and place can't be predicted. Japan is covered with unfairness. Heroes are the ones who reverse those situations. If you wanted to go talk with your friends at Mickey D.'s after school, too bad. For the next three years, U.A. will do all it can to give you one hardship after another. Go beyond. Plus Ultra." His devious smirk returns to his face as he wiggles his finger. "Overcome it with all you've got."

'Definitely a sadist…' Zenko thinks to herself. She notes the now determined expressions on all of her peer's faces and she smiles. 'But I guess I'm also feeling a bit fired up now.'

"Alright, demonstration's over. The real thing starts now."


Sorry if it felt slow in the beginning, I think I should have added the first half to the first chapter but it's too late now so meh. Hopefully, you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless. Also due to the Japanese alphabet, Zenko would be the last on the register so she would be behind Yaomomo for the seating arrangements (W comes after Y).