I'm back with the next chapter! First of all, thank you all so much! I never expected this to get as much attention as it did, so it was a pleasant surprise. I'm so glad that you guys are enjoying the story enough to want to know what happens next. Thank you all so much! I'll try to get chapters out as soon as I can without them sucking or being short. I used some of my friend's OCs for this chapter, and they will be playing a big role throughout the next chapter. I also realized that I didn't give you guys my dA account. My dA account name is Phantom-Umbreon. You can find Shun's bio there, so you can learn more about her if you're curious.
Akiko Clear belongs to Artistgirl5935.
Hideko Madea belongs to Momma-Spooky.
Muuyama Kuusuke belongs to japankkitty.
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. I only own Shun Sakura.
Souma, Shun's mother, froze dead in her tracks. There was a silence between them as her mother contemplated her daughter's words. "S-Shun…" Souma managed to squeak out. Sakura's determined expression remained on her face, signalling that she wouldn't budge. "No…" her mother finally finished. Sakura's whole body tensed up at her mother's response, but she wasn't giving up that easily. "Please don't do this sweetie," Souma cried suddenly. The tone of her mother's voice made her wince, but she remained strong.
"Mom, I've been thinking about this for a long time. Please, just trust me on this," Sakura pleaded to her. She looked deep into her mother's eyes and saw fear; fear for her daughter's safety.
"I want to support you on this, Shun, but I… I'm just so scared…" Souma replied, leaning against the counter. She began to take deep breaths to calm herself down and steady her nerves.
Sakura walked over to her mother and laid a comforting hand on her back. "Mom, keep taking deep breaths," Sakura said in a gentle yet calming voice. Souma Sakura was prone to overly-dramatic performances such as this one.
The next few moments were quiet ones. The only noise was Souma's deep breaths and the noise of the oven. Finally Souma seemed to have calmed herself and said, "Shun, I just don't know about this. I just don't want to see you get hurt."
Sakura's eyes flicked down guiltily to the counter top. Her mother's worries were founded in truth. Being a hero was no easy task, nor was it a safe task. That's why her grandmother was no longer alive. "Mom, I know how dangerous it can be, but I'm willing to take that risk," Sakura pushed.
Souma pursed her lips and took a deep breath once more. "Okay, okay. Shun, if you want to be a hero, then I'll support you as best as I can," Souma choked out. "Do you know which school you want to try and get into?"
Sakura's ears flattened against her head, and her gaze shifted to the floor and she bit her lip, effectively increasing her mother's worry. "I want to go to the same school that grandmother went to," Shun stated with as steady a voice as she could muster. She winced when her mother's face whitened with horror.
"Sweetie, are you trying to give your poor mother a heart attack?" she asked dramatically, putting her hand over her heart.
"Mom, I want to be like grandmother. I want to be as amazing as she was, so I need to go to the best school," Sakura protested. "I want to try for UA."
"I don't know," Souma muttered thoughtfully as she rested her head in her hand. "I'll have to talk it over with your father."
Shun sighed in defeat. There wasn't much she could do. They were her parents after all, so if they decided that she couldn't at least try to get into UA, then she would just have to settle for whatever other school they decided on. Hopefully her father would be able to talk Souma into it.
Raijin Sakura, Shun's father, and Souma were in their room, completely alone. "What was so important that you couldn't tell me over the phone?" Raijin asked curiously. His own curiosity had been driving him mad ever since she called him.
Souma sighed before she started. "Shun finally decided what she wanted to do," she stated in a grave tone. Her eyes matched the graveness of her tone.
"That's great!" he exclaimed with joy. "What did she choose?" The minute the answer left Souma's mouth, Raijin's face fell. "She wants to be…?" His wife nodded solemnly. He let out a long, tired sigh and flopped onto the bed. "I was scared this might happen," he muttered.
"Raijin, what are we going to do?" Souma asked fearfully. "I don't want to see my baby get hurt, but I don't want to hurt her myself either." Raijin peered up and saw his wife's pleading eyes.
"We should give Shun a fair chance," he responded, surprising his wife.
"We should what?!" Souma cried dramatically.
"We should let her at least try to get into UA," Raijin repeated. Her face was once again white with horror. "Think about it, Souma. If she gets into UA, then we'll know that she can make it in UA's tough course. If she doesn't, well then…" he trailed off.
The woman seemed to think it over some. "Yeah," she said slowly. "You're right." A look over realization overtook her face. "What if she does make it into the hero course? I've heard about how dangerous it can be…" she fretted.
Raijin simply shook his head at his wife's dramatics. "If it looks like it might be getting too dangerous for her, then we'll take her out of the school. It's as simple as that," he stated, somewhat calming his wife.
Souma let out a sigh of defeat. "I guess so," she admitted reluctantly. "I should probably go deliver the good news…"
She walked to Shun's room and stopped at the door. Souma could hear her daughter pacing inside the room impatiently. She knocked on the door gingerly. "Shun?"
The pacing stopped and footsteps approached the door. The door opened, and Shun greeted her mother.
"Your father and I did some talking and…" Souma began. Sakura waited expectantly for her to continue. "We decided to let you go to UA," she sighed.
The red-head's eyes widened in surprise and shock. "R-really?!" Shun breathed. Souma nodded slowly. Shun threw her arms around her mother, surprising her, and cried, "Thank you!"
The woman couldn't help but smile at the glee in her daughter's voice. She gave Shun a squeeze. "You're welcome, sweetie."
Sakura walked into the classroom next Friday morning. She glanced at the teacher's desk; it was messy and no one was in the chair. "Hey Sakura!" a voice called. She turned to see Muuyama Kuusuke walk through the door of the classroom.
Shun had been friends with Kuusuke for a long time, ever since kindergarten in fact.
"Oh, hey Kuusuke," she responded absentmindedly. Finding the teacher was her top priority.
Muuyama noticed her unusual tone immediately. "Is something wrong? You seem off," she asked curiously.
"I didn't tell you yet, did I?" Shun realized with a sheepish smile. Muuyama's confused expression told her all she needed to know. "I'll tell you later. There's something more important that I need to do." Sakura started towards the door.
Muuyama stared at Shun's retreating form in disbelief. "What are you even talking about, Sakura?" she asked.
Sakura's tail flicked behind her playfully. "I'll tell you later!" Shun said before she exited into the hallway, leaving a confused Kuusuke behind in the classroom.
As Shun walked down the hallway, she spotted one of her other friends, Hideko Madea. Hideko had brown hair up in a partial ponytail, purple eyes, and a grouchy look on her face. Sakura had know Hideko ever since kindergarten. It was just recently when she started to act more assertive and confident. Before, she was as shy and timid as can be.
She waved to her friend and received a tired wave from her. That was her usual greeting.
Sakura continued walking down the hallway. She couldn't get distracted now. She had been waiting all week for this. Every Friday, the school offered mock test sign ups. Shun was planning on signing up for one. If she wanted to get into UA, then she'd need a start line.
The red-head walked all throughout the school, trying to find her teacher. She was on the verge of giving up when she spotted her teacher, Mrs. Cho. Mrs. Cho always had a bright smile on her face as well as a cheerful tone of voice. She always focused on the positive side of things, even in the worst situations.
"Mrs. Cho," Shun called to gain her attention.
The woman turned around to face Sakura. The woman had two big, bug-like eyes with two smaller black dots underneath, and two antennas on her head that were part of her quirk. Her quirk was pheromones. Her antennas would emit different kinds of pheromones that manipulate people's emotions. It was really great for when the class was acting too rowdy. All she had to do was use her quirk and the whole class would calm down within a minute.
"Yes Sakura?" she asked with a smile.
"I want to sign up for a mock battle," Sakura said. "I've been all over the school trying to find you."
Mrs. Cho seemed surprised. "You've never wanted to do a mock battle. What's with the sudden interest?" she asked curiously. That was another thing about Mrs. Cho. She always wanted to know everything.
"I decided that I want to try for UA," Sakura responded. "I want to get into their hero course. I've got to start somewhere, so the mock battle is the best place."
"Well, I'm glad you chose UA," she said. "They have the best hero course in all of Japan! I'll be sure to write you down for the mock battles once I get back in the room. They're scheduled to be right after school, at three-thirty," Mrs. Cho said.
The final bell of the day finally rang much to Sakura's relief. She had been tense all day in anticipation for the mock battle later on. Shun had no clue who she would be up against nor if she would do well or fall flat on her face. Other students were allowed to come and watch the mock battles. They let them watch so they could learn from the battle, but most people just came to watch the battle for entertainment.
Shun walked out of the classroom and made her way to the girls locker room to change. Students were allowed to wear whatever they liked for the mock battles as long as it didn't show a vulgar amount of skin. The red-head quickly changed into a tank top and her gym shorts before she left for the school's makeshift battlefield.
On the way out, she ran into Akiko. Sakura had told Kuusuke, Hideko, and Akiko about her plans during lunch. Saying that they were all surprised would be an understatement. Akiko rarely ever talked due to Japanese not being her first language, but she actually expressed her thoughts when Sakura told them about her revelations.
"Good luck out there," Akiko muttered quietly. Shun smiled at the other girl.
"Thank, Akiko," she responded. "I don't have to win, I just don't want to embarrass myself." Shun scratched the back of her head and sighed. She was so nervous about it, but she didn't want to let it show.
"I'm sure you won't," Akiko reassured quietly. The two girls walked out to the makeshift battle field, and they separated as Shun made her way to her spot on the field. Sakura turned her head to see Hideko, Akiko, and Kuusuke in the small bleachers that had been set up. Mrs. Cho was also sitting in the bleachers. Mrs. Cho was the one who supervised the mock battles. Her quirk made it easy for her to stop a fight in just a few seconds.
The red-head turned and looked across the field and gulped when she say who her opponent was. There was Okami Kemona, an energetic girl who had light tan hair with a black outline. She wore baggy, loose clothes for what seemed like no reason, and she had a big, fluffy tail and wolf ears on top of her head. Okami had been doing these mock battles for a while, so she knew what she was doing. Kemona flashed a fanged grin at Shun, slightly unsettling the red-head. Sakura knew nothing about her quirk besides that it was a transformation quirk.
"Alright girls," Mrs. Cho called as she stood up from her seat, "I want a clean fight. The first one to get the other outside of bounds will be declared the winner, and you are allowed to use your quirks. If one of you is injured badly during the fight, then I will stop it immediately. Ready? Fight!"
Kemona and Sakura circled each other, neither one taking their eyes off their opponent. Shun was keeping her guard up in case Kemona made a sudden move. "So," Okami began, grabbing Shun's attention, "why are you suddenly so interested in mock battles?" she asked curiously.
"I realized that I wanted to try to be a hero, but I can't do that without practice," Sakura responded. Kemona was either making small talk, or she was trying to distract Shun.
Kemona's tail began to wag excitedly behind her. "That's really wonderful to hear!" she exclaimed. "But you're still another obstacle for me to overcome," Okami added with a sharp glare and flash of her sharp teeth.
Suddenly, Kemona lunged forward, her teeth bared. Sakura managed to step back just in time to avoid the attack and counter with a weak punch. Okami simply ignored the weak blow and swung her arm into Shun's stomach, knocking the breath out of Sakura. Kemona quickly followed it up with another strong blow, this time to Shun's face. The red-head fell onto her back from the hard blow.
Kuusuke winced at the battle. "Sakura isn't doing too hot," she commented as Shun missed another punch. Akiko muttered her agreement while Hideko sighed.
Sakura felt a trail of blood trickle out of her nose. She wiped it with the back of her hand and took a deep breath. Okami was charging at her again, but this time Shun dodged her successfully. Sakura swung her leg around and swept Kemona's legs out from under her. She fell to the ground with a thump.
Sakura attempted to punch Okami, but the wolf-girl rolled out of the way, causing Sakura to punch the ground instead. Pain shot through her fist, causing her to cry out in pain. "Nice try, Sakura," Kemona said before she hooked her arm around Sakura's torso and tossed her to the side.
Shun pushed herself up and prepared to jump back up when Mrs. Cho said, "Sakura is out of bounds. Kemona is the winner!" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She expected to lose, but she also expected to perform better than that.
"I guess I've got a long way to go…" Shun muttered as her ears flattened against her head in disappointment.
Alright, I decided to split this across two chapters so I could get it out sooner. Sorry about the battle being a bit rushed. I was having a hard time thinking of a good fight between those two. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
