On to chapter two! I'm so excited for you guys to be reading this! This is the longest chapter I've ever written for anything to date! Sorry for the sort of sudden ending, but I really just needed to hit a cut off and I couldn't find a good place to stop. It's convention weekend, and I knew if I didn't get this finished beforehand it would be almost another week before I got back to it and that's not how I want to start out a fic! I want to be at least semi-reliable in getting out chapters. As such, I'm letting you guys know now that it'll probably be two weeks for me to get the next one done, but I'm not forgetting about it, I swear! Anyway, I'm exhausted and rambling, so here you go!

"So Ryuu, huh?" Iida asked, giving me a look I was intimately familiar with.

"It's not my given name," I sighed. "I picked it when I was young, it stuck, and it just didn't seem to make sense to change it to something else."

"But why-"

"Don't ask." I didn't care to know whether he was asking why I had picked that name or why I had changed it- my answer would have been the same.

Iida seemed put off for a moment, but let the conversation drop. We were just finishing putting on our hero costumes, so it wasn't like it was really the time for my life story anyway.

"Wow what a cool costume!" Midoriya gushed, coming to look me over. The fact that I wasn't being made fun of surprised me yet again. My hero costume may have been remade with UA budgeting, but that didn't mean that it was all that glamorous. At it's simplest it could have just been motorcycle leathers with some extra padding to take a punch. "But why are your pants cutoffs? And a sleeveless shirt? It almost seems like you're trying to show skin..." Midoriya pulled a notebook out of his bag at lightning speed and started circling me as he took notes, never ceasing to speak as he did.

"Is this normal?" I asked, turning to Iida for help.

"Yes," he seemed torn between laughing and sighing. "C'mon, Midoriya-kun, we've taken long enough as is." The note taker in question pouted for a moment before putting his notebook away.

"Alright, alright."

"You know, we're on the same team. I can just tell you what my quirk is." I leaned over to him and whispered as we walked out.

"Really?"

"No," I laughed. We were walking up to the field now where the rest of the class was. "But get Uraraka-san, I do have one thing I have to tell you."

As we all started grouping together I let my paranoia take control. At my old school my class knew to avoid me before an exercise, but with this new anonymity came new dangers. I made sure to know where all my classmates were; having someone bump in to me or catch me from behind would ruin everything.

Since everyone was still gathering up, I had an extra moment to pull my teammates aside. I assumed we would have time for strategy talks later but for now I needed to get a vital point across. I removed myself from the group as my teammates came over to me and we took a few steps away to not be overheard.

"Ok really quick. Midoriya-kun you were right about my costume," I looked pointedly at Uraraka's hands. "Whatever you do, don't touch your bare skin to mine. Gloves are fine though." I touched Midoriya's gloved hand with my own for good measure.

"But-"

"Would you three like to join the rest of your class?" Aizawa was now standing in front of the class and glaring at me like I had personally offended him somehow (I hoped I had) and we made our way over to the others. I was pleased to note that Uraraka had taken my warning seriously, as she was now keeping a solid 3 feet away from me. I also made sure to place myself in the back, just far enough away to avoid any mishaps. "Today we will be focusing on team building, like I said earlier. Would anyone like to explain the importance of team building exercises?" Iida, unsurprisingly, had his hand in the air before Aizawa had even finished the question. "Go ahead, Iida."

"While we did use teamwork in our last exercise, we were also focused on the weaknesses of our fellow classmates, since we were working as one pair versus another. Having spent time looking at one anothers' weaknesses, it makes sense to now learn our strengths in group settings."

"Well said. Today your groups of three will be going through an obstacle course. Your goal is to beat the times of the other groups. Each trio will be going down a different path, so there will be no way to influence another group. Don't worry though, the course is exactly the same. This is all based on the cooperation between the three of you and nothing else. As such, all team members must complete the course in order for your time to count, though I will accept unconscious members carried across as complete." Aizawa's gaze landed on me for a moment as he said that.

"Any questions?" Iida raised his hand, but Aizawa completely ignored him. "Separate in to your groups." He counted each group aloud, giving us each a number. We were number 3. "See that forest across the field?" Aizawa pointed a good distance past the baseball field. "We were supposed to start there but I didn't want to go all that way, and I figured you could make it yourselves. Find your group number painted on the grass outside the tree line, and don't get in each others' way or your group will be disqualified. Your time starts now."

For a moment we all looked at one another in dumb confusion. Bakugo was the first to break out of it, with something akin to a battle cry he was sprinting down the field with no regard for the rest of his team. His yell seemed to startle the rest of us out of our stupor and we all began sprinting for the entrance.

As we ran I did my best to keep myself calm. This was not the kind of team building I had been expecting or I would have worn gloves. I was lucky my teammates were well covered, or we could have been in a lot more trouble. I still needed to be careful though, one wrong move would mean we would be stuck carrying our other teammate across the finish line. So much for my flashy entrance today.

"So what happens if I touch you?" Uraraka asked as we ran. The other teams were already starting to separate, but for some reason I still didn't want anyone else to know. The jig was up though, and now was as good a time as any.

"It's not that bad. It's not like my skin is made of acid or anything. I'll just knock you out."

"For how long?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Dunno. Haven't done it to enough people to figure it out."

Midoriya had gotten much farther ahead of us and was already at the edge of the woods. He was waving us down and pointing at the ground. Clearly he had found our number. He seemed completely unphased by the run, despite the fact that Uraraka and I were panting for breath when we caught up to him. At least all that energy of his was good for something.

"Ready?" Midoriya asked, looking concerned at our breathlessness.

"Wait," I managed, "What are your quirks? I knock people out."

"I can make people and objects float."

"I, uh," Midoriya seemed to stumble over his words, and I was surprised at his hesitance. "I have super strength, but I got my quirk pretty late so I can't control it." Suddenly a lot of aspects of Midoriya's demeanor made more sense.

"So basically Uraraka-san is the only one with a usable quirk, and mine is a detriment to the group. This is already going well." Midoriya hung his head miserably.

"I know, I'm sorry." A loud explosion cut off our pity party before it had really begun. "Kacchan. If we want any chance at this we had better get going!" With that we sprinted in to the trees.

Our surroundings immediately darkened as we ran under the foliage. We quickly made a simple line, putting myself in the back and Midoriya in the front. With no idea what could be ahead, I wanted to stay as far away from the others as I could.

"Do we know where we're meant to be headed?" I called to Midoriya.

"Not at all! I'm sure something will show us the way." What an optimist. "Oh!" He skidded to a stop, with Uraraka nearly slamming in to him. Being a few steps further behind, I had plenty of time to avoid the two. I didn't have to ask why they had stopped. It was literally right in front of us and way too big to miss.

"Can we just go around it?" I asked nervously.

"Not according to this," Uraraka pulled a piece of paper taped to the huge wall in front of us.

Skipping obstacles or going around them results in automatic disqualification.

"Up and over then?" Midoriya turned to Uraraka and smiled. The wall looked about 20 feet high and the one or two places that could have theoretically been handholds were completely out of reach. This was clearly not meant to be climbed, at least not normally.

"How thick is the top of the wall? It would be best if you could land there, otherwise you'd have to drop to the ground and that would hurt."

I gulped.

"It's hard to tell, but it should be fine. I'll go first, I could try to break the fall if I really have to," Midoriya offered. I had no reason to argue that, so Uraraka got to work. I watched with interest as she took a step towards him. I expected some kind of...I don't know, something, but she simply touched him and he started floating.

"Shout when you get there!" She called as he floated up. She turned back to me. "My quirk's not that flashy either, but it gets the job done!" With an adorable thumbs up, she went back to watching Midoriya's ascent. Those two were remarkably similar. I wasn't sure if they liked each other yet, but if they didn't date at some point I'd be surprised.

"Okay!" We heard a call a few moments later. "There's enough room for us to land on the wall."

"Ready?" Uraraka called back up.

"Ready!" She tapped her fingertips together, a focused look on her face, and I saw Midoriya now perched on the edge.

How did he make that look so easy?

"Alright, your turn, Ito-kun." She took a step towards me and I immediately backed up. She paused and cocked her head to the side. "What's the matter?"

"Sorry, just making sure, but you don't have to specifically touch me do you?"

"Oh!" Understanding dawned on her face, "No, it's fine. I can touch your clothes. It doesn't make a difference."

"Okay," I hoped I didn't sound as nervous as I felt. I held still as she took another step closer.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Apparently I did sound as nervous as I felt.

I wasn't sure which was worse, telling her that I was afraid of heights or that I wasn't used to people touching me. Both sounded ridiculous.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied.

"If you say so..." she looked genuinely concerned as she reached out and placed a hand on my chest. It took a tremendous force of will not to pull away from her, but suddenly it didn't matter as I felt my feet leaving the ground. I immediately turned my head upwards, making sure not to look down at all as I made my way up towards Midoriya.

"I hate heights!" I muttered to myself, trying to keep cool.

It didn't take long for me to get close to the top of the wall. "I-" I tried to look down at Uraraka to let her know and realized I had made a mistake. Panic overcame me. I was now at the height of the top of the wall, Midoriya watching me just a foot away in confusion. He was probably saying something to me, but for some reason all I could hear was a rushing sound, like my head was underwater.

My vision started to flicker, and I belatedly realized that I had been holding my breath. I was now at above Midoriya and still rising. I tried to force myself to take a breath, but as soon as I did I started to fall. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Midoriya's determined expression.

I opened my eyes to find myself looking up at the trees. I sighed in relief. Nothing hurt and I was safely back on the ground. I sat up slowly, my head spinning.

"Are you alright?" My teammates came around from behind me.

"What happened?" I slowly got up and turned back to the wall.

"You fainted," Uraraka answered. "Luckily Deku realized you were panicking and told me when to let you go. He caught you and then we lowered you back down."

"Deku?"

"That's me," Midoriya blushed. I quirked an eyebrow at him, but decided now wasn't the time to question the nickname.

"How did you get me back down?" I asked nervously, eyeing the wall and imagining the drop made me woozy all over again. "Actually, never mind. We had better get going." Uraraka stepped in front of me before I had taken a step.

"You weren't unconscious very long, just a minute or two, but are you sure you're okay?" Uraraka eyed me seriously but not unkindly, and I was reminded that she had asked me the same question on the other side.

"I'm sorry for lying before. I'm fine now, really." She stared at me a moment longer before letting me pass. My apology wasn't honest but her worry was only related to the fact that I was her teammate so why did I care?

Without another word, we continued to the next task. I could only assume we were at the back of the pack- that had taken entirely too long thanks to me. Hopefully I wouldn't be quite so useless on the next one and we could make up for lost time.

More explosions rang through the forest along with the occasional shout, but it was hard to tell how much further the other groups were compared to us.

After the wall there seemed to be an obvious path through the woods, so at least that was no longer an issue. We ran along it at high speed, until Midoriya again was forced to stop.

"What?" I asked from the back. Midoriya didn't stop staring at the clearing before us, but I noticed there was another paper pinned to a tree beside it. I grabbed it and read aloud,

Heroes don't kill innocent animals unless completely necessary. Do not let it become necessary. Subdue it in order to move past this obstacle.

"Subdue what?" I asked.

"T-that!" Midoriya's shaking hand pointed to the huge rhino in the clearing ahead of us. He apparently hadn't taken his eyes off of it since he saw it.

"How are they keeping it in there?" Uraraka wondered. The rhino turned and looked at us.

"I think we're about to find out! Run!" I shouted. In spotting us, it had lowered it's head to charge, and I sure as hell was not going to get caught by that. This school was way more hardcore than my old one! This was insane! "Where did they even get a rhino?!" I couldn't help but shout as we panicked, each of us running behind trees. A rhino couldn't charge through a tree, could it? Shit, I didn't know enough about African animals for this!

From behind my tree I could feel the pounding steps of the animal, and then there was a sudden thump. Was that it hitting a tree? It sure as hell didn't sound like a tree... I peeked my head out of my hiding place, feeling like a character in a horror movie about to get stabbed. Instead of being murdered though, I found my would-be aggressor still in the clearing.

"Is there some sort of force field around it?" Midoriya asked, also coming out of hiding to see what had happened.

"Looks like it. Well that makes this simple. Midoriya-kun, can you kindly walk around the outside of the clearing, about a quarter of the way around?"

I was probably smirking like an idiot, but I couldn't help myself. I couldn't believe I was so lucky!

Midoriya looked at me in surprise, but began to do as I asked. I was surprised by his lack of questions, but the fewer questions meant the quicker we could be done, so that was fine with me. "Make sure the rhino is keeping an eye on you! You're my distraction."

"You're not going to ask him to go in there are you?" Uraraka asked, her eyes growing sharp. Ah, there was the mistrust I was expecting.

"No, I'm going in."

"Wait, what?!" Midoriya and Uraraka screeched at the same time. Fortunately, the rhino was still very interested in Midoriya, who looked a lot like a monkey with the silly motions he was making.

"My quirk's gotta be good for something, right?" I grinned and stepped into the clearing. I watched as Midoriya's eyes widened in fear and he started working double time to distract the rhino. On my end, I focused on slowly making my way towards the pair. All I had to do was touch it, but I still didn't want to take the risk of it trying to barrel me over.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Midoriya asked me, making sure that he didn't betray my position by looking at me. I shrugged nonchalantly and continued my way over to them. "Oh sorry, you can't really answer me right now." I was only a few feet away, and I thought Midoriya was going to give himself a heart attack with how freaked out he looked.

Unfortunately, for me, Midoriya's fears were perfectly well founded. The rhino was apparently smarter than I had given it credit for, and somehow realized that I was sneaking up on it. "Wait wait wait! Look at me, Rhino-san!" Midoriya shouted desperately, but it was too late. The animal had spotted me, and was now turning around to face me head on.

What if I touched it and it fell over on me? The image came unbidden to my mind- my broken body beneath it. How fast were rhinos anyway? Could I possibly outmaneuver it? I made sure to keep a brave face, even as the rhino prepared itself to charge. I couldn't let the others know that I had lost control of the situation, especially since I still had a slight chance of getting out of this.

As I prepped myself for the worst case scenario, Uraraka burst from the trees on the other side of the rhino, opposite Midoriya. She was running really fast, much faster than I had seen her run earlier.

"Get ready!" She shouted at me. The rhino was now completely distracted from its charge and seemed to be trying to figure out what was going on, but it didn't get the chance before Uraraka smacked it and sent it floating through the air. "Quick, before it gets too high!" I figured out what she was asking for and ran to touch it myself.

I noted Uraraka's pained expression as I touched the rhino's foot and wondered at how much strain this was putting on her. Fortunately it was over now, so she could let it go.

"It's not asleep!" Uraraka groaned.

"What?" I shouted in surprise.

"Touch it again?" Midoriya suggested.

"Shit!" The rhino was almost floating outside of my reach and Uraraka was turning an alarming shade of green. "Just let it go and run!" But just as those words left my mouth, the object of our concern stopped twitching and looked fast asleep. Uraraka immediately put the tips of her fingers together and sighed happily as the rhino crashed back down to earth.

"Is it hurt?" Midoriya asked, appearing at my side. We all took a few steps closer and peered at it. I put another hand on it for good measure.

"I think it's alright. I've never tried my quirk on something so large before, so I guess it just took longer to have an effect."

"Next time, can we make the plan together?" Uraraka pleaded. I eyed her for a moment. She was looking at me sternly again, and I realized I had not been a very easy teammate to work with so far.

"Sorry. I'm not allergic to teamwork, I swear. I guess I'm just not used to this sort of thing," I admitted. My apology ended up feeling more genuine than I expected it to. I didn't plan on working alongside any heroes in the future so I didn't need to be an ace at it, but I did need to be good enough at it to get through this program. Getting my classmates to like me was definitely a good first step towards achieving that. I didn't need Uraraka spreading it around the class that I wasn't a team player. But all that rationalization didn't explain why I felt a little guilty for my actions.

Midoriya thumped me on the back jovially and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I had been completely lost in thought while the other two were talking.

"Right, Ito-kun?"

"Oh, uh, right. Just be careful," I eyed his hand warily.

"Oh! No worries, I've still got my gloves!" Midoriya smiled. "Now let's get going! I don't know if or how far behind we are the others, but I think we might have taken down that rhino a lot faster than everyone else. If we hurry, maybe we can even be first!"

I really needed to figure out where he got all the optimism from- maybe I'd get some too.

Just like before we were back to running. We found another path rather easily and Midoriya seemed pumped from his own little pep talk earlier because he was almost sprinting. Uraraka and I let his energy infect us, though we had a lot more trouble keeping up with him.

The three of us were now running together, side by side, and I was just about to beg Midoriya to slow down when we saw the break in the trees. It opened up to the sun shined field we had started at, and I marveled at how we were somehow back to where we started. For a terrible moment I wondered if we were going the wrong way, but I could see Aizawa in the middle of the field, much closer to us than the school. At least we wouldn't have to do that full out sprint again all the way back to the beginning.

Were we really the first group out? There didn't seem to be any other student's by Aizawa, but he could have sent them inside already. My mind was racing a mile a minute (far faster than I was running, I might add) and I noted that my partners seemed as confused as me. Something was wrong here...

"Hey guys-" I started, but my warning was too little too late. All at once we were flying through the air. With a group yelp we ended up tangled together in a net suspended about 10 feet off the ground. My stomach gave a very uncomfortable lurch at realizing how high up we were and I felt even worse when I realized that I was now the sole conscious member of our group.

"Fuck..." This was so, so bad.

We had apparently set off a trap, and the three of us were now a mess of bodies held up by nothing but rope. Of course, being scooped up together meant that I had bumped Uraraka, and if my elbow being in Midoriya's face was any indicator, I had managed to touch his skin too.

I groaned in frustration and tried to move around. There was no way I could hope for my teammates to wake up soon- besides the fact that my quirk usually lasted around a half an hour (on people), being forced to continuously be in contact with the two of them meant they would be unconscious indefinitely. In other words, this was all up to me. Technically, I could give up and wait for Aizawa to cut us out but, of course, that wasn't an option; besides the utter embarrassment of having asshole-sensei rescue me, I was not about to finally finish off our team and cement the fact that I was the worst teammate of all time.

Fortunately, all I had to do was steel my resolve and this would all be over soon. The idea of falling to the ground was admittedly a scary one, but I let my imagination run wild of how much worse it would be to be stuck here and I was able to keep moving.

Luckily for all of us, I always kept a pocketknife on my person. Growing up on the streets, it was the easiest way to end a fight and to keep people off my back so I got in the habit and never stopped even when I started living in school dorms. I didn't know if it was allowed in class or if I was technically forfeiting by using it, but it was the only option I could think of so it was worth the risk.

After some very ungraceful attempts (Uraraka's ass being in my face was not helping my focus), I managed to pull the knife free from my shoe and get to work. Cutting at the rope took longer than I hoped, but I let the daydream of being first keep me going.

After the first bit of rope was cut free the work seemed easier, and eventually I had enough cut away that I felt like the next piece would do it. I reached for the rope but as the basket swayed beneath me I watched as the piece I had been about to grab started to fray and snap.

"Shit!" I muttered as I closed the knife and hid it with a practiced ease. I had barely enough time to get it out of my hand before the net went crashing to the ground. I was the only one to cry out this time, and fortunately I was alone since I probably sounded like a ten year old girl.

I gave myself a few moments to get my bearings, practically kissing the ground out of thankfulness, though I was definitely sore from both the rope and the drop. Uraraka had also landed on top of me, so getting her off was another chore (though I didn't mind that quite as much).

As I finally managed to get off my ass, I noticed another sheet of paper on the ground. It was crinkled from where we had landed on it, but it was still legible.

While it's not unwise to be focused on your goal, don't forget to watch your surroundings on the way.

"What are you, some goddamn prophet?" I growled at the paper, throwing it back on the ground.

I now had to figure out how to move two unconscious bodies and I was already fatigued. One at a time would be fine if I wasn't in a rush, but I still had no idea where we were compared to everyone else.

"Sorry guys," I murmured.

I grabbed them both by a wrist and started dragging. Hopefully they would understand. I couldn't help but groan only a few feet in to pulling. "What the hell are you made of, Midoriya? Bricks?" I complained. How could he be so heavy for such a small kid?

After another foot, I decided my plan wasn't working and grabbed Uraraka to carry her on my back. She barely stayed on, but I somehow managed to balance her as I took Midoriya again and continued my trek. As we broke through the tree-line, I saw one of the other trios running ahead to Aizawa. I wasn't sure if I could beat them, but it was worth a shot. With a growl I burst in to a sprint, my back at an awkward angle to hold my partner steady. Poor Midoriya was going to be sore as hell when he woke up.

I was gaining on the unsuspecting group until one of them noticed me and shouted to the others. Picking up their pace, I was completely outmatched with the weight of three people on my back. I watched them reach Aizawa, unsurprised by their shouts of victory, but I was surprised by their cries of confusion.

I slowed down my pace as I came up beside them, and only then realized that the Aizawa was wrong somehow. He stood there, looking as real as my classmates beside me, but he was just staring off in to space.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked.

"He's a fake," Bakugo answered, rolling his eyes.

"I heard there was a teacher who could make clones. Seems like we're meeting one." Someone else added.

"How do you know?" I asked again, feeling ridiculous now.

"He said so."

"What?"

"I am a clone. Your test is not yet over. We will be waiting for the rest of your class before we continue," it droned.

"So we did all that for nothing?" Bakugo exploded. "We got here first!"

"Your class is your team, Bakugo. It isn't about who finishes first if your fellow heroes are left behind. In fact, some of them may need your help right now." Bakugo's clenched fists exploded multiple times as he digested this new information.

"Fine. Let's get their slow asses out here," he growled, stomping back towards the woods. He paused for a moment, finally looking at me for the first time. "What the hell happened to them?" He motioned to my unconscious teammates, who I had laid down when I arrived. I thought about lying, but now that we were all working together, it didn't make sense to take the risk.

"Me."

"What?" Bakugo actually seemed surprised, a rarity from the short period of time I had known him.

"My quirk. If I touch someone, they pass out."

"How long?" He looked at me with a new expression, something along the lines of disgust.

"Maybe half an hour? It depends," I shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. I was used to reactions like Bakugo's. My quirk didn't exactly make me endearing to people.

"What happened?" A small voice murmured behind me. I turned around, startled, to find that Midoriya was awake.

"I thought you said half an hour. Has he been out that long?" Bakugo demanded.

"I...It's only been a few minutes. I've never seen someone wake up that fast," I stammered, looking at my sleepy teammate like he had two heads.

"I'm awake," Midoriya smiled dreamily.

"Are you sure?" Bakugo sneered. Midoriya paused for a moment, seemingly to ponder his answer.

"No, I'm not sure," he finally decided. I couldn't help but laugh.

"I don't know what they've been feeding him, but Midoriya's certainly made out of some tougher stuff than the average person," I said. Bakugo glared at me in response and I shrugged. "I'm just saying he should still be asleep. Though I don't think he's in any condition to be helping us yet. In any case, I think we should leave him here and focus on helping the others."

"What the hell is taking them so long?" Bakugo glared back at the woods.

"I don't know. Want to find out?"