HEEEEY PEEPS!

Guess what? Idol is BACK!

Well, not back, but you get the idea.

I'm alive! I'm writing this note before the school year has started, but by the time you lovely readers read this, I'll be overrun with work. But BEFORE that, I'm gonna write as much as humanly possible (and read as much fanfic as humanly possible :P)

So yeah, Disaster is gonna be writing most of the fic while I'm in school, but I'll still be here! I;m gonna be editing and adding in scenes.

Meanwhile, I've been getting obsessed with Mafumafu yet again and I'm currently playing his song Jigsaw Puzzle on loop, so there's that.

Anyway, enjoy the chappie!br /

Idol

(Quick note from DDInc: Greetings! Yangchen's twin brother is actually going to play an important role in the coming chapters, so keep an eye out in this chapter for his name!)

"Woah, what's happening?"

An enormous crowd of students was waiting outside the classroom door. When it was opened, Kaminari fell back in surprise.

"Oh don't mind them. They're just scouting out the competition." Bakugou's arrogant voice cut through the crowd. "Although there's really no reason to. I'll beat all of your asses in the Sports Festival!"

Suddenly a voice cut through the clamor. "I thought Class 1-A would be incredibly powerful, but you all just look like a bunch of arrogant jerks."

A boy with tired eyes and messy indigo hair made his way through the crowd. "It only takes one attack on students and then the media's in love with you."

Bakugou growled. "What did you just-"

"Woah there, calm down!" Kirishima immediately rushed to the explosive blonde. "It's just one student. Don't sweat it!"

"You think you're on top of the world," He snarled. "That's just what fame does to people. But just you wait, I'm not a weakling like everyone else here. They say that sometimes students from General Studies get transferred into the Hero Course if they do well in the Sports Festival. But to make room, they have to transfer students out."

"On top of the world?"

A quiet voice stole the attention as all eyes turned to Yangchen.

"I almost died in a hospital! I never asked to be punched against a wall and break my bones! I never asked to be in a coma, alone, lost, and sad! I never wanted to sit on death's door without ever seeing my family again! You have no room to talk!"

The entire class stood in shock at Yangchen. I stood in shock at Yangchen. She has always kept a calm demeanor, no matter where she went or what happened. This was completely unprecedented.

But something about this, just this, felt wrong. This was a side of her that nobody in the world had seen, and it stemmed from something much deeper than anyone could see.

I was surprised it didn't wake up Aizawa-san.

The kid with the indigo hair looked around at the shocked faces of my class and spat out one word. He stared into the classroom with the same deadpan, monotone aura and seemed to ask why everyone stood paralyzed.

"What?"

Kirishima spoke up from the back of the room, still dumbfounded.

"She never snaps."

Bakugou clicked his tongue and walked straight into the crowd, which parted to let him pass without resistance. We all followed in his path.

Kirishima approached Yangchen slowly and tried to calm her down. She ended up ducking behind a desk. Kirishima sat down with her.

That was… strange.

Then again, Class 1-A was all over the news right now because of the USJ, so the others had every reason to hate us for the fame. But it's not like we wanted to be famous. We just adapted to the situation at hand before it got out of control.

But that kid...he wanted to be a hero. However, he failed the entrance exam. His quirk must be nonphysical, like mine. I only passed because I'd been working out, and that kid probably wasn't.

I wondered what kind of quirk he had.

"Aw man, I was hoping to catch a glimpse at the brave class that got attacked, but you're all just condescending brats!"

Some other kid with grey hair and crazy eyebrows shoved his way to the front. I guess he was mad about what Bakugou said too. Bakugou was going to give this class a bad reputation if he hadn't already!

"That won't matter as long as we beat you in the festival, you damn extra." Bakugou's unmistakable voice cut through to everyone's ears, followed by a series of unpleased sounds from my class.

Why do you have to make us sound more bastardly than we actually are?

"Come over here, it looks like the twins' quirks are developing!"

A class of kindergarteners and the other teacher approach two children. The boy's palms glow with red lightning streaks, and the girl grips a blue ball that glows near her fingertips.

"What is it?"

The boy holds out his hand as though to fire something from it. A small poff of energy blasts out of it as the lightning streaks fade away. The girl squeezes her eyes shut as the blue ball turns into a rubber duck.

"Incredible! Jordan, what do you think your quirk is?"

"I can shoot energy out of me! Woah!"

The boy trips over something and falls on his face. He stands back up and his front is completely covered in red lightning like before.

"I think your quirk might actually be Kinetic Energy Reflection."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that if someone punches you, you use their punch against them."

"Ooh, awesome! Come at me!"

The boy fires the energy out of his front, knocking over a chair.

"What about Yangchen?"

"I think she has transmutation. Yangchen, that means that you can touch something and change it into something else."

The girl quickly nods.

"Maybe they'll work together! Their family's famous, and they've got the money to make their own hero agency!"

"These two twins will become great heroes one day."

"Welcome to the Confidence Lesson!"

"Um."

I laughed as Midoriya looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. "Today, we're going to work on your confidence, and I have some ideas for your quirk."

Midoriya raised an eyebrow. "I don't think-"

"Oh come on, it'll be fun!"

"I think we have different definitions of fun."

We had a good laugh before we decided to get back to work. "So, about the thing with your quirk…"

Midoriya suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Do-do we have to do this?"

I nodded seriously. "If you don't want to go breaking your bones every minute of the day, yeah, I suggest you work on the quirk."

Midoriya went silent for a few seconds. "...Can we at least invite a teacher?"

I cocked my head. "Um, okay, if that's what you want. Which one did you have in mind?"

I thought he was going to say All Might or something, but he responded with "Yagi-sensei."

Huh?

Now, I knew that Midoriya got his quirk from another person. I had yet to figure out who, but the most likely candidate would be All Might since they both had strength enhancement quirks.

But who was Yagi-sensei?

Midoriya must have sensed my confusion, for he suddenly started stumbling over his words. "He-he's an expert on, uh, quirks, so...I mean, we don't have to! It's really up to you-"

"None of that," I cut him off. "This is your quirk so you get to make the call."

He frowned. "...Okay, I'll call him next time we do this."

"Great, so let's work on that confidence level of yours!"

He nodded nervously. I cackled to myself as I began explaining. "So, there was a pre-quirk strategy for gaining confidence."

Midoriya seemed to be listening intently, so I continued. "Basically, you ask for something ridiculous from a stranger and get rejected."

Midoriya raised an eyebrow. "...Okay?"

"It works, trust me!" I grinned at him. "I made Yangchen do it! Given she ended up crying afterward, but it works!"

"You did what." He deadpanned.

"She liked it enough."

"I feel really bad for her."

"Oh come on!"

We got back on track after that. "Anyway, you know the Hero Too Donut Shop?" He nodded. "You're going to ask the employee there if you can greet every customer that walks in."

Midoriya blanched. "What the- no!"

"Too bad." I wore a shit-eating grin as I grabbed his wrist and pulled him over to the shop, even as Midoriya protested with all his might. Luckily he didn't use his quirk.

I finally got him to the front door, swinging it open. The employee looked at us with a surprised face. "Hello?"

I shoved Midoriya forward and gave him a thumbs up. He just glared at me.

Long story short, Midoriya threw up at the end. And it was hilarious.

Yes, I am a sadist and you cannot stop me.

Two weeks later, the school was packed with people. The school had three stadiums on campus, one for each year of students. Class 1-A was directed to go to a waiting room, before the ceremony, so everyone was lounging around, hyping themselves up for the upcoming events.

"I heard they beefed up the security this year because of the villain attacks," Mina mentioned.

"I saw some pro heroes walking through the gates," Sero added. "Maybe they're guards."

"Or maybe they're here to scout us!"

Everyone had changed into their PE uniforms to make the games fair. The only way to get access to special gear is through a lot of paperwork. Yangchen told me that she was going to get access to her belt if she made it to the final brawl.

As for me, I'd have earplugs and a blindfold on standby.

" Attention everyone, we will be entering the arena soon! Please get ready! "

People's heads turned to the door, and some people began to prepare themselves. I stretched my arms, releasing some of the tension in my shoulders. I hadn't slept ( again) so I couldn't afford for my body to be stiff.

"Oi, Kiraru."

I turned to look at Yangchen, who was twiddling her thumbs. "Yeah? What's up?"

She looked up and stared me in the eyes. "We're friends." She started. "But I'm not gonna go easy on anyone just cause of that. You couldn' begin to imagine how much I need this. Don't expect much help from me."

In her eyes was a fire I rarely saw in her. It might have a connection to what happened during the USJ.

I knew then that she would be an absolute monster during the Festival.

"Great, I wasn't expecting you to." I held out a fist. "May the best hero win."

After a moment's hesitation, she knocked her fist with mine. "I plan to."

We went back to doing our own stuff, doing our best to prepare. The jitters I had felt were mostly gone, but I couldn't help but be worried.

In the midst of an omnipresent anxiety plaguing the room, Todoroki approached Midoriya. Heads turned to face the two.

"You know I'm stronger than you, right?"

Midoriya looked at Todoroki with a look of confusion. "Of course. Where are you going with this?"

"You've got the number one hero in your back pocket. But just know that I'm better than you, and I will beat you." Todoroki may not have many expressions, but the one he wore right now read determined. Determined in a way I had rarely seen in him, despite his arrogance.

"Todoroki," Midoriya caught Todoroki's attention as he turned to leave. "I'm not going down so easily."

Well, seems like the confidence lesson worked.

Or he really is that reckless.

It honestly could be either.

A bell rang, signaling us to go to the stage. The class filed out through the door, and we made our way to the stage.

As we walked out, the sun shined on our faces, blinding us for a second. The stadium was enormous, and the audience's cheers were deafening.

I stared out at the crowd, smiling widely.

This was it. This was my time to shine.

"Everybody please give me a big hand as our first year students enter the stage!"

I looked behind me to see several other classes following suit as Present Mic introduced us. I guessed that they were the business, general studies, and support groups. They wouldn't be getting as much attention as the hero course, but they were not to be underestimated.

Everyone made their way to a central concrete area with a small stage in front of it. On it stood the teacher who I assumed to be our chief umpire. She wore a...concerning outfit, with bluish-black hair and a whip.

The students immediately started muttering amongst themselves.

"Woah, look! It's the R-Rated Hero, Midnight!"

"Someone should talk to Miss Midnight about her outfit. We're fifteen."

"Silence!" Midnight certainly knew how to grab attention. "And for the student pledge, please welcome Bakugou Katsuki!"

Wait, HE'S doing the pledge? I mean, I know he topped the entrance exam, but couldn't they have gotten Yaoyorozu or Yangchen?

Funny, I just realized the smart girls in Class 1-A have names that start with Y.

That's strange.

Anyway, as Bakugou walked up to the platform, I groaned to myself.

I guess we can kiss our ounce of reputation goodbye.

Heads turned to Bakugou as he walked up to the microphone.

He started. "I just want to say,"

Please don't screw up our reputation…

"I'm gonna win."

Cue the angry shouts.

"Damn you, Bakugou!"

"Why would you say something so disrespectful?"

"Yeah, you're representing all of us, you know!"

Ladies and gentlemen, he has done it yet again. He might as well win an award by now.

"Without further ado," Midnight cut off the hushed conversations with her loud voice. "It's time for us to begin! The first round of the festival! What could it be?"

An enormous holographic spinner appeared behind her. The spinner flew through what I could assume was hundreds of options. After several seconds of suspense, it landed on...

"An obstacle race!"

Huh. That seemed tame.

Then again, this is UA.

"All eleven classes will participate in this treacherous challenge. The track is four kilometers on the perimeter of this stadium. As long as you stay inside the track, you're free to do whatever you feel! Now then," She brandished her whip. "Prepare yourselves at the starting gate!"

I was right, this is going to go horribly.

Horribly FUN.

Everyone immediately rushed to the starting gate. I mean, there's no time to waste when it's you versus over two hundred others. I was able to snag a place close to the front with Yangchen, giving us an advantage.

"Begin!"

She might as well have said Run!

I began running like there was no tomorrow. The end of the tunnel is in sight! Almost there and- oh gosh.

Alright, close your eyes for a moment. Imagine you are a sheepdog who herds sheep into a pen. Now imagine there's two hundred sheep, and the gate to the pen is five meters wide.

That's how it all felt.

Everyone was shoving their way through the doorway, trying to get ahead. The cacophony was overwhelming. Eventually, I broke to the front with Yangchen, who sighed in relief upon seeing me. I did the same myself at finding a familiar face.

All of a sudden, a cool breeze encapsulated our ankles. It took me a few seconds to find the source.

It looked like Todoroki was taking control.

"Ow, no fair!"

"Damn you, IcyHot!" That one was Bakugou.

Todoroki paid him no heed. "Apologies."

Ice spread from his feet, ensnaring all it could reach, including me. People with quirks that could free themselves rose above us and advanced.

Gosh, I wish I had a more useful quirk.

"Oi, Kiraru! Snap out of it! No time to waste!"

Yangchen had made her way to my side, feet free from the ice. She was holding a spear, probably made out of some of the ice. She hit my ankles with the head (hard) , freeing me. Shouts came from behind us, begging her to free them.

Not like she cared.

"I would have made us something like ice skates, but I don't have anything to make them out of!"

"That's fine," I brushed it off.

We slid forward slowly, using the walls as supports. Other people had found creative ways to move. Bakugou was rocketing himself forward, Aoyama was using his belly button lazer, and that one crazy kid with the indigo hair from before was being carried by his classmates.

Arrogant, you called us.

Soon, the path widened drastically, revealing the next stage. Just as Yangchen and I were about to break clear, something blocked our path.

"What is that?"

"Are those… the bots from the entrance exam?"

Oh, you've got to be shitting me.

I stopped in awe of them. They all looked like, zero pointers? The school gave us a bunch of enormous zero-pointers to fight?

I'm so utterly screwed.

Todoroki stood on the front lines, mumbling to himself. He lunged forward and completely froze one of the bots in an instant.

"If only they could have prepared something more difficult. Especially cause my dear old dad is watching."

Wait, he thinks these are EASY?

People shouted in praise, hoping to make it through. I ran forward, but Yangchen stopped me with her spear.

"No, Kiraru. Look at the weight distribution of the bot. Take the left, it's a lot safer."

Damn, I had to admit, Todoroki was smart. He got himself through and the falling bots would block everyone else. Yangchen was the smart one; I'd be stupid if I didn't follow her.

Well, I already am stupid, but nobody cares about the details.

I took the right, but it looked like Yangchen wasn't taking her own advice.

"C'mon, Yangchen! We gotta go!"

"No. G'head, I'll catch up in a bit."

And with that, she proceeded to pole vault herself onto another robot with her spear.

I groaned in annoyance. God, couldn't you have just gotten a few metal balls approved by the staff?

Present Mic's voice cut through the crowd.

"That's Todoroki Shoto, pulling ahead to an early lead! He's one to follow and look out for! But wait, what is that girl doing?"

Heads turned to Yangchen, atop a robot. She began to search the surface of the robot for something. After a few moments, she came to a seam between the robot's exterior plates, and ripped off the plate of metal with her bare hands.

"You may recognize her from earlier this year at the USJ, Tse Yangchen, ladies and gentlemen! Back from a coma, having made a full recovery! Eraserhead, what do you have to say about her situation right now?"

Aizawa gave a bit of commentary.

"There's no true reason for her to fight a robot head on like that. Yangchen sent another student on a safe route around the robots."

I guess they're talking about me. I waved at the cameras.

"So why would she do something like that?" Present Mic asked his friend/crush.

"Yangchen's not the type to want to show off," Aizawa-san explained, "so there's no gain in her doing that out of spite. Her quirk required external sources to make weapons or tools. Right now, she doesn't have anything to use, so she's getting materials."

As they spoke, Yangchen proceeded to rip out wires and circuit boards, tying one wire around her waist and shoving the rest in her shirt. The robot started to spark and malfunction and pitched forward when she slid down the side of the robot, joining me and running at my side.

"Out just in time," She panted.

I patted her back. "Good job."

"Why didn't you go ahead?"

I pouted at her. "Did you really think I'd let you do that by yourself?"

"You didn't do anything."

"I like to think I did."

Many more robots began closing in on the students. True to Yangchen's word, we were out just in time. I think the iced robots started falling and one fell on Kirishima, but I hardly had time to think about that. Other students had also escaped before stuff got real, and so we all ran to the next obstacle.

"What an upset!" Present Mic screamed into his microphone. "Todoroki Shoto has taken an early lead!"

Todoroki was far in front of us. Crashes were far behind us. People began to catch up.

Running with no danger in sight, I allowed myself to regain my bearings and brace myself for the next obstacle.

Honestly, why did I ever think this would be tame of all things?

Suddenly the road wasn't in front of us.

As we stared into the chasm, Present Mic's voice broke the silence. "Aaaaaand the next challenge, a pit of doooom!"

Well in fact, it's a pit of doom.

An enormous, bottomless pit stood before us. Scattered throughout it were pillars of dirt, and between them were tightropes.

Are you kidding me?

This is not known to many people, but I have a fear of heights. And in this obstacle, it was quite likely I could fall to my death.

U.A probably wouldn't have students dying but I couldn't keep my brain from overreacting.

"Kiraru," Yangchen got my attention. "Use your quirk. Get everyone off our tails!"

I cocked an eyebrow. "But-"

"Just do it!"

I will never understand her.

I quickly tied my blindfold on and shoved the earplugs in. With a little concern for her, I clapped my hands together.

The surrounding area was filled with a blinding light, and people covered their eyes. They started shouting as confusion and sickness settled in, realizing they were unable to see or hear.

That rendered a large part of the competition immobile for a little bit.

"AAAND contestant Amano Kiraru uses her quirk to temporarily blind and deafen her competitors!" Present Mic cheered. "Quite a useful quirk for the situation, dontcha think, Eraser?"

He didn't reply. But it didn't matter, my chest swelled with pride anyway.

It's been a long time since someone called my quirk useful and not a nuisance.

Anyway, in the midst of all the confusion, Yangchen grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. "You're on your own for this one, Kiraru. I'm sorry."

Wait, how can she see? Wasn't she blinded?

Ah, she probably made a blindfold.

Yangchen then jumped onto one of the tightropes, walking across it quite well. Almost like a cat.

I guess I really was on my own.

I've tried slacklining before, and let me tell you I suck at it. Mainly because hanging from a rope really sets in the feeling that you could fall to your death. I had to go another route.

I spotted Midoriya on one of the tightropes, arms and legs hooked around it and scaling the rope while upside down.

That seemed like a valid idea.

I tentatively grabbed onto the rope, wondering how to go about this. The black pit seemed to swallow me up, freezing me before I could do anything.

Screw it, if I keep being a scaredy-cat I won't get anywhere!

Throwing all caution to the wind, I pushed my foot off from the cliff-

Only to have it miss the rope.

I yelped as I held on to the rope for dear life. The rope was digging into my hands painfully, but I knew I couldn't let go. Or I would fall.

My eyes made the mistake of travelling downwards- and I froze.

That was all my hands needed to release their grip.

I screamed as I fell, wind rushing past me-

Until everything was still.

I didn't even realize I had shut my eyes until I had to pry them open as the feeling of zero gravity took hold.

Zero gravity.

Uraraka was staring at me worriedly, hand outstretched. "You okay?"

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and took her hand as she pulled me up. "I'll release you once you get set on the rope."

She helped me position my hands and legs, and then with acry of "Release!" I suddenly had weight again.

"Thank you," I breathed out to her as I started moving.

"And now, the final obstacle, look before you leap; you're headed for a minefield!"

Wait, someone's already at the next obstacle?

I pushed that thought out of my mind for now as I focused on getting across. I kept my eyes trained on the rope, not letting myself look at the bottomless chasm directly below me. My heart thudded in my ears as I put one hand in front of the other, one foot in front of the other…

Suddenly my hand couldn't go further.

I was through!

I let myself heave a few breaths before starting to run again. The panic was fading and I could focus again. Uraraka and the others had long made it to the next obstacle by the time I arrived.

The minefield was appropriately named. A big open field of dirt with dark circles scattered around. I guess that's where the mines are.

Many other people were already out on the minefield, careful stepping their way to freedom. One person stepped in the wrong place and pink smoke filled the area around him.

I guess they're not that fatal then. Good.

I was just about to step onto the minefield when something flew over my head.

"Aaaaaaah!"

Wait, I know that person.

Yangchen!?

Have you ever seen Attack on Titan? I hope you did, cause that was Yangchen's strategy. On the sides of her waist were two small metal boxes with handles jutting out to the front. She had launched herself Attack-on-Titan style and grappled onto a billboard on the other side of the minefield. She flew through the air as the grappling hooks pulled her forward.

"For Wall Maria!"

Oh look at that, she's even got the cape. And the double swords. She actually sucks at using swords, but I guess she just needs to have the aesthetic.

She looked absolutely epic.

Then again, she was my only chance of making it through this in one piece.

How else could I clear this…

An idea came to me, one I hadn't thought of using until I realized I could, thanks to Yangchen.

You ended up helping me in the end anyway, buddy.

Quickly tying the blindfold around my eyes and plugging in the earplugs, I clapped my hands.

Everyone was less surprised this time around but they still weren't prepared. Todoroki and Bakugou, who were at the front of the pack, stopped momentarily. Yangchen stumbled but managed to keep flying in the same general direction. Midoriya was screaming as he… flew through the air!?

This. Was. Bad.

Everyone started stumbling and activating the mines as I started running like my life depended on it. Avoiding the mines was suddenly so much easier when everyone was activating them. There were hardly any left in the ground for me to activate, and they really didn't do anything except scare me a bit. I didn't have to stop running or anything.

I was almost there. Midoriya still couldn't see as he fell. I dove, arms outstretched-

And I caught him.

We went tumbling to the ground, but he was relatively unharmed. He groaned as he got up, vision returning. "Kiraru?"

"Heh, thank me later," I huffed, rubbing my arms where I had caught him. "You have a race to win."

His eyes widened as he stood up, thanking me. He then went to sprint after Todoroki and Bakugou, who were back to racing. Except this time Midoriya was keeping up with them.

Guess my quirk really jarred them.

I didn't have any time to waste either as I picked myself up and started running again.

In the end, fifth place is nothing to sneeze at, but I still wish I had gotten something higher. Midoriya somehow managed to outrun both Todoroki and Bakugou to come out first. Bakugou came in next, followed closely by Todoroki.

Yangchen came in around seventh.

I greeted her as I caught my breath.

If this is just the first event, I don't even want to think about the rest.

"This young boy really gets under my skin, Kurogiri."

"I know you might not like him, but do consider how an action could affect the League of Villains if you were to act against him."

"I know that, Kurogiri. This one's just…"

Shigaraki looks at his computer screen and sneers at Midoriya, winner of the obstacle course.

"Different than the others."

"Was there any recent news from them ?"

"The Musco Fafia doesn't matter to me. They're just more pawns in my game."

"What about the runaway?"

"She looks so happy out there. She's so wrong."

Lying in bed at the hospital

Yangchen: Life is a party.

Yangchen: Specifically for the League of Villains.

Yangchen: And I am a f*cking pinata.