This ended up being a very big chapter, over twice as long as anything I've posted yet! But I'm sure you guys don't mind. It kind of branches between the season one finale and the first OVA (which I will be doing guys, so if you haven't watched them – which I recommend anyway – you should but it also really doesn't matter that much, you can just pretend I made it up when I really didn't). So yeah, this chapter covers a LOT and there will be some minor timeline changes but that's fine. Enjoy!

I focused my eyes on the sign in front of me and read it out, just as the doctor asked.

"E. F, P. T, O, Z. L… P… E… O…" I let out an aggressive sigh, venting my frustration. "I can't read anything past that, it's too blurry." I knew I was pouting but I didn't particularly care.

The doctor gave me an encouraging smile anyway though. "You've actually healed really well. I'm quite impressed." She said as she marked a few things on the file she was holding. "You'll need another treatment, this afternoon probably, before we release you tonight. But I expect your eyesight to recover fully. You'll have to come back in a week for a check-up though, and I can't speak for what's going to happen from the continued use of your quirk."

I grinned at her, feeling ecstatic despite the caution she brought with her. Of course, it was no surprise that I needed to be wary of my quirk now, it was something I fully intended on working on once I got out of the hospital.

It had been three days since the villain attack at USJ and I was more than happy to learn I could finally go home tonight. Despite the fact that I spent most of the time at the hospital either sleeping, speaking with visitors and doctors or going upstairs to my mother's room, I was still exhausted. Probably due to the healings I'd had done.

Once the doctors had assessed me, they'd brought in a doctor with a quirk very similar to Recovery Girl, and I'd been having gradual healings ever since.

I had burst into grateful tears after the first one where the doctor had told me afterwards that my eyes had returned to their usual blue colour. I hadn't been able to see much at all, just vague shapes and colours, barely enough to distinguish a person from a wall. But over the next few healings it had gotten better.

Now, after the fifth healing last night, my eyesight was quite good compared to what it was before, but it was still blurry. I couldn't read anything on the walls of the hospital room and making out facial expressions was sometimes difficult. But despite the frustration, I was still glad that it had improved at all.

When they had brought in a quirk specialist to speak with me, he had told me that mental quirks like mine often had side effects such as this. In a way I was glad for what mine was when I heard some of the others. People who could influence emotions could end up with serious mental health illnesses, other quirks had insomnia, multiple personality disorder, dementia, and the list went on.

According to the specialist, because I wasn't used to such strong visions, and because I was trying to subconsciously stop them due to the pain. My quirk had fried my optic nerve, leading to the loss of sight.

"How do I stop it from happening again?" I'd asked, more like demanded of him, once he'd finished explaining. He had shrugged at me.

"I can't confirm it will work, but your best bet is probably to practice with it and strengthen the connection. Like training for an event, but with your quirk. That way you're more likely to handle the power okay." He seemed to ponder it for a moment as I sat in my hospital bed and absorbed every word. "Training the use of your quirk may also help with removing the headaches. If you're used to using it more regularly, you won't get a headache, and you'll be less likely to try and shut off the connection from pain."

I looked down at my hands in my lap. I was gripping the bedsheet tight and it scrunched in my fists. "So what you're saying is I need to learn to ride it out, rather than trying to stop the visions?"

"Yes essentially, although I generally don't like it, I'd suggest you think of the phrase 'no pain, no gain'. You've probably spent years already training with your quirk but with side effects as significant as this you'll want to increase the training. Rather than shying away when you reach the limits, continue forward to stretch them out. Safely, of course."

I nodded at him, biting my lip as I considered it. He left me to my thoughts. I had a lot to figure out.

Since school had been cancelled the day after the incident I had a long weekend to rest. I was surprised when some time before lunch on Friday the first of my many visitors had arrived.

A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts and I turned to squint at the doorway. My eyesight was still poor after my treatment that morning so I could only make out blurry shapes. But I recognised the red, yellow and black hair colours anywhere.

"Hi boys," I said and I felt my face light up with a grin. Eijiro, Denki and Sero approached my bed and I noticed vaguely that they were each wearing matching grins.

"You're all right! The last time I saw you was when you passed out in Todoroki's arms before the villains attacked!" Denki said in a relieved voice as he took a seat on the edge of my bed, getting comfortable. Eijiro and Sero chose more appropriate spots on the spare chairs in the room.

"Yeah that's because you were walking around like a moron when we got out because you'd gone and fried yourself." Sero pointed out and Denki's face turned pink in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head.

"Hey I was a hero! Wiped out a bunch of villains beforehand! What did you do?"

"Hey, hey! We're here to see Mirai! Who cares about USJ!" Eijiro interrupted and the others quieted down before looking at me. "How are your eyes?"

I wasn't surprised that they knew. They were probably informed about it in some kind of debrief after I had left in the ambulance. I doubted Shoto had taken it upon himself to fill everyone in but the teachers knew when they organised the ambulance. I wondered what the rest of the class thought.

"They're alright. I can see now! But everything is really blurry… the only reason I could tell it was you guys at the door was because of the hair."

They grinned at that before Sero started teasing Denki about the lightning bolt in his hair and they started trading quips at each other.

The boys stayed for half an hour before heading out, however, before they did they informed me that the girls were apparently going to stop by soon. I raised my eyebrows in surprise but couldn't help feeling pleased as I watched them leave the room.

Sure enough, I'd only been alone for an hour when my door was opened again and I noted five figures in the doorway. Six if you counted the floating clothes that were presumably Hagakure. Something pink threw themselves at me and I let out a huff as Mina landed on me and gave me a crushing hug.

"You're okay! We've been so worried! I wanted to talk to you yesterday but you seemed really out of it and Todoroki was glaring at everyone so we left it but I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Mina! She's in a hospital bed. Give her some room!" Yaoyorozu scolded and Mina hopped off me sheepishly.

"You look better, Mirai."

"You and Todoroki were so cool yesterday taking on the villains in the landslide area!"

"How are your eyes?"

"We brought you food. Ribbit."

I smiled at them and felt my cheeks ache slightly. I'd spent the time with the boys mostly with an unmoveable grin and that was continuing with the girls. The fact that they could cause such a reaction in me had my cheeks stretching wider and my eyes burning from happy tears.

I'd never had friends like this before. People who cared so genuinely about me. Sure in middle school I had friends, but I didn't connect with them. And I hadn't really had the time or care to try, with bigger priorities in mind. The fact that I felt like I'd found a second family in class 1A was something I had never expected.

Yesterday had been one of the worst days of my life. Only a few topped it, my father dying, my mother's diagnosis, the day I accepted the betrothal to Shoto – although that one didn't feel as bad anymore in hindsight. To recover from yesterday, and also have so many people surrounding me who cared so much was a new, very happy, feeling.

I reached for the bag of food that Jiro was holding with 'gimme' hands and said "food first, answers later". The girls laughed.

They didn't stay as long as the boys had, only long enough for us to eat and talk about everything that had happened yesterday.

Apparently Hagakure had been in the landslide zone with me and Shoto, something I don't think either of us had realised. Yaoyorozu – or Momo, as she corrected me with a smile – and Kyoko were stuck in the mountains with Denki, who I had already heard about. Mina and Ochaco had stayed at the entrance with Thirteen and helped Iida escape to get help and Tsuyu had been transported to the flood zone. Something I found amusing.

"Did Todoroki really carry you the entire way across the landslide zone? He seemed really worried about you after you left in the ambulance. Although it's hard to tell with him. But he definitely seemed more tense than normal." Ochaco spoke and Mina shook her head furiously in agreement.

"Yes, he got all prince charming like and picked you up bridal style when you passed out before they attacked! It was so heroic." She sighed dreamily.

"What's the deal with you two anyway?"

I flushed at all the comments and tried to think what to say. "Shoto and I's engagement is just an arrangement made by our parents, there's nothing romantic about it." I told them quickly and I saw Momo raise her eyebrows at me knowingly.

"Are you sure there's nothing romantic?" Mina asked me slyly and I nodded furiously, my blush increasing.

Nothing was going to happen between Shoto and I. Even if I wanted it to, which I didn't. It wasn't going to happen. Shoto had no interest in our betrothal, and I assumed that extended to any type of relationship at the moment. It made sense. And I couldn't allow myself to pine after someone who didn't want anything from me in return.

The girls left shortly after that which meant I was stuck with my traitorous thoughts.

I'd agreed to the arrangement with Shoto purely so I could help my mother pay for her treatment. But now that that was almost finished, I didn't really have a reason to stick around in the engagement. I also had no reason to end it though, since Shoto planned to do so when we finished school. And I really didn't mind the afternoons we spent hanging out anymore. It was peaceful, cathartic.

Guilt began to weigh on me though. Shoto never knew why I accepted the engagement, I hadn't told him. And there'd always been that part of me that felt like I was using him and his family's connections. I thought about how he would react if I told him but I honestly didn't know.

My thoughts were broken off by the doctor arriving for my next treatment and I forced it out of my mind.

Of course, it was forced back in when a few hours later the next knock on my door occurred and I recognised the red and white hair standing in the frame.

The treatment had helped. Enough that when I turned the TV on in the corner of the room I could make out shapes, even if I had no idea what was happening. So my attention had been on it. I'd been playing a guessing game of whether people who appeared were male or female, old or young, to satiate my boredom. Shoto's arrival was a welcome relief despite my thoughts.

"Hey," I smiled at him and he made his way into the room. "How are you?"

"Fine," he responded before he held out his hand and I noticed for the first time a container in his hand. Inside I could see chicken karaage.

"Oh my god, yum!" I gasped and I snatched it from his hand without a second thought. His face was still blurry but I think his lips twitched.

I opened the container and dug in eagerly, moaning around the juicy chicken. Despite only eating a few hours ago the healing had left me starved. I held it out in offering to Shoto but he merely shook his head so I returned it to the safe confines of my lap. It was then that I recognised the container I was eating from.

"So you do listen." I saw Shoto turn to me with a questioning look. "Or did you just happen to stop at the chicken karaage place I told you about?" I recalled one of our first meetings where I had mentioned that it was my favourite place to buy it, but I wasn't sure if it was a lucky coincidence or not.

Shoto turned his attention to the TV as he responded. "Sometimes I listen. It's hard to sleep when you talk all the time." I ignored the subtle jab. He totally bought me my favourite chicken karaage. "How are your eyes?"

I paused, swallowing the mouthful I had as I looked at his blurry form. "They're alright, everything is still a quite blurry, but it gets better with every treatment. I'm just still thankful at the moment that they've recovered at all." I turned my attention back to the TV which Shoto was continuing to stare at. "By the way I have a question, the person on the left, is it a man or a woman?" The talk show program had been on for a while and although I had guessed man, there had been no actual answer yet. They had short hair, but their voice was neutral.

Shoto gave me a bewildered look before frowning at the TV. "Woman." He responded and I sighed in disappointment.

"Damn it, I guessed wrong." Shoto sent me another confused look and I just grinned at him.

We sat in silence for a while, watching the TV while I finished the chicken off. Once I'd placed the container on the side table I turned to the boy sitting in the chair next to my bed and studied him.

I was kind of surprised that he had actually visited, then I felt guilty for not giving him more credit. Shoto was by no means a bad guy, he just had very individual priorities. It made sense that he would visit his fiancée and fellow classmate in hospital when he was the one who had helped make sure I survived yesterday.

He must have felt my eyes on him because he turned his attention away from the TV to look at me. We stared at each other for a while before I broke the silence.

"Thank you." I said and Shoto raised an eyebrow at me. The unspoken 'what for?' was obvious.

"For the chicken firstly," I said with a grin, before my tone grew more somber. "And for keeping me safe yesterday. Even though it was a hindrance to you, you made sure I was okay."

He merely looked at me, meeting my eyes for a while before he nodded and turned back to the TV. I sighed. The guilt was building up in me again and I felt like I was going to burst. I felt like it was probably time.

"Shoto," I said and he must have registered my tone because he turned back to look at me again. "I need to tell you, or show you something." His expression didn't change but he nodded, clearly expecting me to continue.

I huffed before sitting up to get out of bed. "Are you allowed to be up?" Shoto asked me and I waved him off.

"It's fine, I'm only here for my eyes so it's not like I can go tearing stitches by walking around. I'm just thankful they never put me in one of those awful hospital gowns."

I leapt from the bed and stumbled as I got used to being on my own two feet again. I really hated being stuck in bed all day. Every now and then it was a blessing, but in general I was an active person, and I got antsy from being still for so long.

I walked towards the door and Shoto stood but didn't follow as he just watched me. I beckoned with my head. "C'mon, I want to show you something."

We walked in silence to the elevator. None of the nurses showed concern at me being up, they knew I was fine, and they probably also knew where we were going. It wasn't until we were in the elevator and I pressed the button that I spoke.

"I-…" I hesitated. I knew, logically, that it would be fine. But there was that small part of me that worried that Shoto would react badly to me not telling him. I sighed. "I'm going to show you why I accepted the engagement."

Shoto stiffened beside me before he turned to me with wide eyes which I didn't meet. I tried to prepare a speech in my head for what I was going to say but it was no use, I was clueless.

The elevator dinged as the doors opened and I stepped out into the hallway. I knew this path off by heart, having travelled it countless times over the last few months as we rounded the corner and approached the door. I gave a gulp as Shoto kept his eyes on me and I knew that I just needed to get it over and done with. Hesitating would only make it worse. I opened the door and walked in, Shoto following directly behind me before I closed the door again.

My mother sat in her bed reading a book but she looked up and smiled brightly at me before her attention turned to the person standing next to me and her eyes widened. I smiled back at her, although it was a little forced, and turned to look at Shoto who was keeping his expression neutral, obviously not knowing what to expect.

"Mom, this is Shoto. Shoto, this is my mother."

The moment he realised that we were talking to my mother I saw Shoto's eyes widen imperceptibly before his controlled mask returned. My mother on the other hand, had no problem with expressing her emotions.

"Oh finally, Mirai! I've been waiting months to meet him! Wow, you are handsome, it's so nice to meet you. Just call me Hikari." I flushed in embarrassment as my mom babbled but Shoto didn't seem to mind. He held his hand out stiffly to shake my mother's extended hand.

"Shoto." Was all he said and my mother grinned before turning to me.

"His future is just as bright as yours is sweetheart. No wonder it's worked out so far." I flushed again in mortification, especially since my mother knew that it was a quirk marriage, but that didn't stop her.

Shoto turned to look at me out of the corner of his eye and I smiled at him. "I got my quirk from my mom, but hers is different. She gets feelings about people's futures and where they lead. It's a very good thing that she thinks your future is bright." He seemed to accept that as he nodded at my mother.

"Thank you," was all he said. I could tell he was feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all and uncomfortable so I figured I should probably explain it in more detail.

"I just wanted you to meet him, mom, but we're going to go back to my room now, I'll come back tonight though and see you then." My mom just grinned happily as she stared at Shoto.

"No problem, sweetheart. I'm just glad you finally brought him around. It was lovely to meet you Shoto!"

We left the room quickly and I didn't have to look at Shoto to know he was probably quite confused right now.

Anyone would know from walking into that room that my mom had been there for a while, there was a photo of me, her and dad on the table next to her, for god's sake. And as far as Shoto knew, my mother was perfectly healthy. Her absences from the few times where I'd had dinner at the Todoroki's was explained as her being out of the country for work so it was an adjustment to see the real truth.

We walked down the hall a little ways because I didn't trust my mother not to get out of bed and eavesdrop at the door, before I turned to look at him. He just watched me, obviously knowing I intended to explain and waiting for me to speak.

I sighed again. "My mother didn't organise the betrothal. I did."

Shoto looked suitably stunned at that, his mask slipping away as he stared at me in shock. I swallowed before continuing.

"Mom got sick last year, and although things were a bit tight after dad died we still had money. But when she couldn't work and the hospital bills started coming we struggled, and… couldn't afford her treatment."

My voice grew hoarse a bit as I spoke, trying to hold in my emotions but Shoto just stayed quiet as he stood there and watched me.

"Then your dad's letter arrived and I saw it as my opportunity to help. To save mom, and fund me getting into UA. I used to wonder if he knew about my mom, and that's why he sent the letter, but he's never said anything. I didn't really care about the consequences of the decision because I felt the pro's outweighed the cons. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, and I'm sorry I lied about mom being overseas working those times. I just… I couldn't afford for you to change your mind. But that's different now, and I owed you an explanation and an apology."

I looked down, staring at the pattern on the linoleum under our feet as Shoto absorbed what I had told him. It was quiet for a while before he spoke.

"You owe me nothing." He said and I looked up in surprise at him. Shoto's mismatched eyes stared into mine and I felt trapped in them. He was looking at me with a strange expression, like he was seeing me in a different light that he hadn't expected.

"Still," I said, and looked away, down the hall. I realised it was probably stupid to attempt to distract myself like this, considering I couldn't really make out anything in the hallway anyway. "I didn't want to lie to you."

"I don't care Mirai, it's not your fault. And you're entitled to your own secrets. We all are."

I turned back to him in surprise and noticed a fire in Shoto's eyes. It looked like burning anger. Anger at me? Or somebody else?

Before I could ponder it for too long, Shoto spoke again.

"I need to leave, I'm supposed to be back home soon. But thanks, for telling me." I nodded at him and Shoto watched me for a few more moments before he walked past me and down the hallway to the elevator. Soon enough he as gone.

The weekend passed pretty quickly after that. I continued to get treatments for my eyes, I spent some quality time with my mother. The only surprising thing to happen after my visits on Friday was when Midoriya turned up at my room on Saturday, blushing as he apologised for disturbing me, but he had wanted to see if I was okay.

He really was a sweetheart.

I had smiled at him and assured him it was alright before he came into the room and he sat down on the seat next to me. We had spoken for a bit about school and the incident at USJ. About how Aizawa and Thirteen were doing. I recalled the vision I had seen of All Might, and what happened to him before Midoriya had intervened. I narrowed my eyes at him, although my eyesight was still quite blurry I could still make out the nervous way he held himself. Was he always like this? I wondered if he knew what was going to happen if All Might had been attacked, and I suspected he did indeed know about All Might's weakness.

I didn't say anything though. It wasn't my place, and I was sure if it ever became relevant, me knowing in secret could be helpful. Midoriya stayed for a while, talking to me and I was surprised to find I enjoyed his company.

Once he had left though the weekend felt like it passed very quickly and before I knew it I was checking out of the hospital, my eyesight all but recovered. It was still slightly blurry occasionally but I was told that would disappear soon.

When I arrived home later that night I couldn't be bothered doing anything aside from having a quick shower and passing out, still exhausted from all the healings I'd had.

Of course, I woke up fatigued for school the next day but managed to drag myself out of bed and prepare myself for the day. When I arrived at class 1A though, everyone turned to look at me.

"Mirai! You're here!"

"You said you would be but I wasn't sure if you'd make it."

"Hey, hey! How many fingers am I holding up?"

I sighed, but couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face at their concern. "Yes I'm here, I was discharged last night. Of course if I said I'd make it, I was going to make it. You've got three up Eijiro, also that's how you test for concussion not blindness, although I suppose it would work if I were blind."

Half the class grinned at me, which I returned as I made my way to my seat. I smiled at Shoto who looked at me as I approached and he merely gave me a nod before looking away. Once I was in my seat, I stared into the distance, focusing and unfocusing my eyes. It pressed on me that I needed to train with my quirk more and I tried to think of how it would be best to do that. I contemplated asking the teachers at UA if they had suggestions, I'm sure they'd had other students similar to me over the years.

Present Mic came into the room, causing a scene as he did and I wasn't surprised that we had a sub homeroom teacher for a while until Aizawa recovered. From my understanding he was still in hospital in critical condition but stable and improving quickly. It wasn't surprising though that he wasn't coming back to work straight away.

I zoned back in and allowed myself to fall into the groove that was school.

Three weeks passed surprisingly quickly as the routine of school absorbed me. My eyesight returned to normal which I was very happy to have. Normal classes were in the morning, which I struggled my way through. Followed by lunch in the cafeteria which I spent with either the girls or Eijiro, Denki and Hanta. Hero training in the afternoon.

Sometimes we'd do something exciting in hero training but more often than not it was just gym work. My assumption was that they were giving us a break after the overly exciting first week of school we had. I didn't mind the gym work for hero training however, in fact, I enjoyed it.

We spent a lot of time sparring and I used that as an opportunity to practice with my quirk. One of the main things the class began doing in gym was seeing how many people could go up against me alone. I would be blindfolded and using my quirk with my bo staff allowed, while the others would not use their quirks but would practice team work skills to try and take me down.

All Might allowed it, because he saw it as mutually beneficial for both me and the class. Plus, everyone enjoyed watching me take on multiple opponents while blindfolded. I admitted I felt quite cool as well, if it wasn't well known that I wasn't some super ninja, I was just using my quirk to see their moves before they made them.

My record so far was five opponents before they overpowered me. But overtime, that was lessening as the class learnt to communicate silently and work together. I ended up getting my ass kicked more and more frequently, despite my increased skill with my quirk. But I didn't mind. It was good for me.

Once a week, Shoto and I would still spend the afternoon at the park together, and it was both better and worse than it had been since we first started. It was better because Shoto would more regularly reply to my questions and comments, now that I knew he was awake most of the time. He didn't seem to mind talking to me.

It was worse though, because sometimes Shoto would shut off entirely, and rather than just becoming indifferent, he would become standoffish and cold. Like I'd done something to offend him, but I didn't know what it was. I didn't even know if it was me, but every now and then it was like he'd remember something and just shut off.

That hurt more than I expected it would, which annoyed me in turn. I didn't have a right to be annoyed, Shoto didn't owe me anything, but I owed him everything. And he still treated me quite well. It just sucked when I thought we were bonding and I'd get this light feeling in my chest, just before he'd grow cold and distant.

The only significant event that I could think of that had happened over the three weeks was when Bakugo and I had gotten into an argument.

I don't really know how it started, it was before class and Midnight was running late. I think it had actually stemmed from Midoriya doing well in the Hero training we had the day before, because Bakugo's mood all day had been foul.

I had complimented Midoriya's technique from the day before and Bakugo had interjected something rude. I had responded. He had yelled. Soon enough we were arguing across the classroom.

Suddenly Bakugo had slammed his hands down on the table, small explosions going off as he sneered at me.

"And what would you know, blue girl? You shouldn't even be here. You're just a mail order bride!"

The room froze at that as everyone gasped in shock.

"Hey, what the shit, Bakugo! Take that back!" Eijiro shouted at him, shaking his hardened fist.

"K-Kacchan! What?"

"Bakugo! Your behaviour is inappropriate for the classroom!" Iida interjected.

I felt a lot of things at that. Shock, fury, and despite trying not to, I felt… like he was right. An awful feeling rose in my throat. After all, that kind of was how it had gone. His dad had essentially bought me with money. I had no grounds to defend myself. My insecurities took over for a second.

Was he right? Was I just here because I manipulated a bad situation? Did I deserve to be in the hero course with how I'd gotten there?

Before I could allow my thoughts to spiral the room cooled several degrees.

There was a crash and I looked up to see Bakugo had been thrown against the front of the classroom, stuck to the wall.

He was covered from foot to neck in ice.

I gaped, before turning to look at Shoto. He had his head bowed and he was standing, leaning over his desk. His hair was masking his face and his arm was still outstretched towards Bakugo. I could see his shoulders rising with every breath and when I got a look at his face I stilled.

I'd never seen him look so angry.

His face was dark with the emotion and I felt something rise in my chest as I looked at him. He usually had such brilliant control. Why had this set him off? Sure, I could understand most people being upset about it but Shoto tended to not let anything get to him. He was indifferent to petty arguments.

Maybe his emotions controlled him more than I thought.

The rest of the class was staring between Bakugo and Shoto like it was a high speed tennis match and nobody said a word until Midnight walked in the door.

She took one look at the scene and sighed. "Todoroki, go to the principal's office. Defrost young Bakugo on your way out though."

Shoto's hand slowly lowered and by the time he raised his face to walk across the room to Bakugo, his perfect neutral mask was back up. He rested his hand on Bakugo's arm and we all watched as the ice melted. Bakugo let out a shiver as he was freed and he glared at Shoto, but he wisely didn't say anything.

Shoto slowly walked out of the classroom while Bakugo returned to his seat with a scowl. He acted like he was immune to the shivers still wracking his body from the cold and the class also returned to order as Midnight began teaching.

When Shoto finally returned half an hour later, nobody said anything as he returned to his desk but I could see a lot of anger hidden in his eyes as I tried to catch his attention. He ignored me, and when I did have contact with him over the next few days he remained cold and distant, before he eventually returned to normal a bit.

After that, time passed pretty quickly as I settled into a routine and then, before I knew it, one day Aizawa walked into homeroom instead of Present Mic.

The door opened and everyone ignored it, assuming Present Mic was making his way in. However when a tired voice spoke a soft "morning", the class turned to see Aizawa standing in the doorway. He was covered head to toe in bandages and looking like a mummy. More importantly, we hadn't been told that he'd be returning to school any time soon.

"Aizawa-sensei, you're back too soon!" The class shouted.

"You're too much of a pro!" Denki commented, watching him in awe. I could see Eijiro and I knew if I could read his mind for a moment he'd probably be repeating the words 'so manly!'

"So you're all right, Aizawa-sensei?" Iida asked him as he hobbled to the front podium.

"Can you really call that alright?" Ochaco whispered from beside me in disbelief. I was inclined to agree.

"My well-being doesn't matter. More importantly, the fight is not yet over."

Fight? What was he talking about? My heart beat faster as I searched through visions rapidly for what he was referring to. How could I miss an attack? I'd been working on stretching out my quirk over the last three weeks. I quickly found what he was referring to and almost sighed in relief.

"The U.A. sports festival is drawing near."

"That's a super normal school event!" Everyone shouted again.

"Wait a minute!" Denki spoke and he slapped a hand over Eijiro's face who was continuing to react energetically to the news.

"Is it okay to have a sports festival so soon after the villain's snuck inside?" Kyoka asked.

"What if they attack us again or something…?" Ojiro queried from the front of the room.

"Apparently they think of it as U.A. showing that our crisis management system is solid as a rock by holding the event. Security will also be strengthened to five times that of previous years. Above all, our sports festival is a huge chance. It's not an event to be cancelled because of a few villains."

I thought about it and felt excitement build as some of the class talked about it amongst themselves. The sports festival was the opportunity to show the world of pro's that you were there, and you were intending to join them.

The way I viewed it, it could go very well for me, or very badly, depending on the types of events they chose. But I was sure there would be at least one event that I could shine in. That my years of training and using my quirk could home in handy for. I felt the excitement continue to build as Aizawa kept talking.

"Our sports festival is one of Japan's biggest events. In the past, the Olympics were called a festival of sports, and the whole country was crazy about them. As you know, with reductions in scale and population, they're now a shell of their former glory. And now for Japan, what has taken the place of those Olympics is the U.A. sports festival!"

I remember when I was younger, my parents and I had gone one year. I think I may have been seven, and that was the first time I'd said that I wanted to be a hero. Of course, I also wanted to be a princess, but it was my first time admiring the people training in this profession. This profession that I had now chosen, and was training for myself.

The sports festival is also a good opportunity to be scouted by hero agencies and I wondered, dreamed, about what it would be like if I was to receive offers from them. That would be incredible. I didn't know what kind of agency I would choose. Would I go into rescue operations? Where my quirk would help save valuable time while searching for people. Or would I fight villains? And help protect civilians from being hurt or killed. It was something I was excited to consider.

"Of course, joining a famous hero agency will get you more experience and popularity." Aizawa continued. "Time is limited. If you expect to go pro, then the path to your future will open up at this event. One chance a year, a total of just three chances. No aspiring heroes can afford to miss this event. If you understand that, then don't slack off on your preparations!"

"Yes, sir!" The class responded.

"Homeroom is dismissed." AIzawa turned to walk out the door while we waited for our next teacher to arrive. I stood quickly and followed Aizawa out the door.

"Aizawa-sensei?" I asked quietly and he stopped and turned to me in the hallway. I hesitated, wondering if it was appropriate to ask or not before I decided to just do it. "When I was in the hospital, the doctors and quirk specialist told me I needed to keep training with my quirk and strengthen it so that what happened at USJ… with my sight… doesn't happen again. I've been doing a few things. Looking into the future more regularly, training with it during hero basic training. But I wanted to know if you had any suggestions that might help me with it…" I trailed off as I finished my longwinded spiel but Aizawa just watched me quietly before nodding underneath all his bandages.

"From what I've been informed of from All Might and the other teachers, you appear to be doing well yourself in adjusting how you train. However, I'll have a think about and let you know if there's anything I think may help. It's impressive that you've adjusted as well as you have to the news, Himori. Although I'm sure you're aware that your injuries at USJ were only the fault of your own carelessness."

I cringed but nodded. He was right after all. If I had better prepared myself and my quirk I could have been fine. Speaking of USJ, though.

"I also wanted to apologise for that, sensei." AIzawa looked at me curiously and I swallowed. "If I had been better prepared for my quirk, if I had thought about the visions I'd seen more. We wouldn't have ended up in that situation, and you wouldn't have been put in hospital."

"You're reasoning is highly irrational, Himori. Your quirk may be powerful but it is not limitless. They would have found a way to attack in any situation and it could have ended far worse. The blame for the incident at USJ is shared amongst the staff of U.A. and more importantly, the villains."

I nodded quietly looking down at my feet as I absorbed what he said. Maybe he was right, after all, Aizawa was generally a very smart and logical person. I felt the weight on my chest lift a bit and my lips twitched. Aizawa didn't say any more, merely turning around and walking away, so I re-entered the classroom.

It was when school ended that day that class 1A got an even bigger shock. I had been slowly packing up my bag, not in any particular hurry since today I was going to the park with Shoto, when I heard Ochaco shout from the doorway.

"Wh-… Wh-what's going on?!" My head snapped up and I stared at the swarm of students crowding around the door to our classroom. They stood there staring at us as they whispered and I gaped. What?

"What business do you have with Class A?" Iida asked from near the front. His serious persona coming out.

"We can't get out. What'd you come here for, anyway?" Mineta shouted at them.

"Scouting out the enemy, small fry." Bakugo responded as he ignored the commotion and strolled towards the door. He was correct probably. With the announcement of the sports festival today, they were bound to come and look at the competition. It was just a little bit intimidating to have our exit blocked. "We're the ones who made it out of the villains' attack. They probably wanna check us out before the sports festival."

I hummed in agreement.

"There's no point in doing stuff like that." He continued in a growl. "Out of my way, extras."

The rest of the class paled.

"Stop calling people "extras" just because you don't know them!" Iida shouted and the rest of the class cringed at Bakugo's approach to the situation. Of course he would antagonise the crowd.

"I came to see what the famous Class A was like," a voice spoke, and I frowned, recognising the slow drawl. I grabbed my bag and shuffled towards the door to get a better look. "But you seem pretty arrogant."

A boy was pushing his way to the front of the crowd and the sea of people parted for him. I recognised his purple hair and purple eyes immediately. The bags under his eyes were unmistakeable. Hitoshi Shinso. We went to middle school together. I knew he was at the school somewhere having been accepted into general studies, but I hadn't seen him around campus since school started. Whenever I thought I saw him he quickly disappeared. Was he just observing and biding his time?

"Are all students in the hero course like this? Seeing something like this makes me disillusioned." Shinso commented and I walked further forward into his line of sight. He had shoved his way to the very front and he looked at me, not seeming surprised in the slightest.

"Shinso." I greeted. I would have smiled at him, but since I didn't really know what his plan was, I just gave him a neutral nod.

"Himori. Ah, so perhaps not everybody then." He gave me a nod in turn before turning his attention back to Bakugo and the others. "There are quite a few people who enrolled in general studies or other courses because they didn't make it into the hero course. Did you know that?"

Of course, I did. Although I had also applied to a few other hero schools, the likelihood of the physical tests being that different between the schools wasn't high. My back up plan was to do exactly has Shinso had done. Fortunately for me, my intense physical training had helped me make it into the hero course, along with a few different benefits my quirk had for me. Shinso was not the same.

I felt bad for him. When I asked him once in middle school if he wanted to train with me for the entrance exam he just shook his head and declined. He didn't have any expectations that they would provide an entrance exam that he could get into using his quirk. So he had resigned himself to going into general studies. I, however, did not give up that easily. Which was why he was here. Making his move later on in the game to get into the hero course.

"The school has left those of us a chance. Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course. And it seems they may also transfer people out."

The class stiffened in surprise at that.

"Scouting out the enemy? I, at least came to say that even if you're in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll sweep your feet out from under you. I came with a declaration of war."

The class descended into silence at that and I felt my lips twitch. Yep, I should have seen this coming from Shinso. Another voice cut through the stunned silence and I turned to someone else with grey hair shaking his fist at us.

"Hey, hey! I'm from Class B next door! I heard you fought against villains, so I came to hear 'bout it! Don't get so full of yourselves! If you bark too much it'll be embarrassing for you durin' the real fight!"

I sighed in annoyance. Why did everyone think we were so full of ourselves? Did they think we wanted villains to attack? They all seemed to be targeting Bakugo but I would have thought he wouldn't care enough to have purposefully antagonised other students over the last few weeks. Who knew though?

"Wait a minute, Bakugo!" Eijiro called when Bakugo simply started pushing his way through the crowd. "What're you going to do about this? It's your fault that everyone's hating on us!"

"I don't think it is-" I responded but Bakugo cut me off.

"It doesn't matter." Bakugo said simply.

"Huh?"

"It doesn't matter as long as you rise to the top." I watched as he walked through the crowd, ignoring the silver guy still shouting at him.

"That's so simple and manly!" Eijiro whispered and I turned to see him clenching his fist, looking spiritually moved by the comment. Obviously overcome with the prospect of it. I laughed, giving him a pat on the shoulder before walking to the door.

I smiled at Shinso. "It's good to see you again," I told him and enjoyed the imperceptible widening in his eyes at that. Even after three years of it, he was still surprised that I spoke to him without any hesitation.

I think it was that, and also the fact that we both had mental quirks that had given us the mutual respect for each other we shared. We definitely weren't friends, but we had no problem with each other, and I trusted him. In fact, it was that trust we shared that had been a factor in me not being all that successful in the friends' area during middle school. People liked me, but if they ever said anything about Shinso, particularly him being a villain, I would defend him. They all thought that was weird.

Shinso just have me another nod in acknowledgement and I felt someone step up behind me. I didn't have to look to know it was Shoto as I parted the crowd and he followed me out and down the hallway.

When we reached the school gates, Shoto spoke.

"How do you know him? The one who challenged the class."

I shrugged. "Shinso and I went to school together. We were the only ones from Nabu Middle School to get into UA. Although he went into general studies. His quirk wasn't suited for the entrance exam unfortunately. That was actually my back up too, since I thought the same thing might happen."

Shoto nodded, seeming to accept that story. I looked at him as we walked down the pathway.

"Why do you ask?"

"I didn't know whether to consider him a threat for the sports carnival. He obviously has your respect, however, considering he was unable to get into the hero course I don't think he'll be a problem for me."

Huh, so Shoto was starting to gear up for the sports festival, I suppose it made sense. "I'd say you should still be wary of him, especially not knowing what his quirk is. But in your case I think you'll be fine." I told him and he just nodded as he stared forward. He had that cold look on his face, this distant anger at something that I couldn't see. It'd been growing more frequent over the last few weeks.

When we arrived at the park, I sat down on the ground and tried to strike some resemblance to a meditation pose. Shoto, as usual, rested against the tree with his eyes closed. For the 1000th time, I wondered what he thought about when he did this.

"Do you know what the relationship between Midoriya and All Might is?" He asked me suddenly and I looked up at him. His eyes were still closed but there was a frown on his face. What had brought this on?

"No, I wasn't aware they had a relationship." I lied. Although, was it lying? I actually didn't understand all the details of their relationship but I knew that Midoriya knew his secret and cared for the hero deeply. But it wasn't my place. And it certainly wasn't my place to tell Shoto. "Why do you ask though?"

Shoto's eyes opened and he looked at me. That cold, intimidating look was there, and I tried to ignore it. "I overheard Iida and Uraraka discussing something at lunch today. You know something but you won't tell me." He accused and I flushed. "It doesn't matter anyway, I'll find it out, and I'll beat him."

He closed his eyes again and I repressed a shiver at his words. Why was he so determined to win?

"Shoto… you've been acting very strangely over the last couple of weeks. Are you alright?" I asked him timidly and he ignored me. I wasn't very surprised.

I sighed. Something was bothering him, and I assumed when he came to a decision about it all he would let me know. Until then, I wouldn't let it bother me. I had my own training to do.

I breathed deeply and searched through my visions. It had been something I had started doing to try and grow used to the headaches I got. Increase my endurance for the quirk. I searched for what was the lunch special at school tomorrow, and then how long it would take me to get home from school the day after. I stayed in the visions even when me head started to hurt. I stayed in the visions until I saw a flash of USJ which snapped me out of them.

Huh, so we were going back to USJ next week. Interesting.

I had managed to increase how far I could see by two days, although it still hurt to do so. But I grew used to the pain and it didn't bother me as much anymore.

I smiled. I was going to be ready for the sports carnival. And I was going to succeed.

Wheeww, long chapter. I don't know whether the later chapters will also be this long but it kind of just happened.

Next chapter… the first OVA! Get keen. As I said, if you haven't watched it, it isn't that important. But you definitely should because it's good.