In a Matter of (Nano) Seconds

by Ciruelaa

AU. OC-Centric. 'It wasn't my lifelong dream to become a hero; it was merely a promise I made a long time ago, a promise I found I couldn't break. Entering U.A. high school, I figured, would just be another easy stepping stone in fulfilling that promise. I was completely and utterly wrong.'

12. Training Montage

Summary: AU. OC-Centric. 'It wasn't my lifelong dream to become a hero; it was merely a promise I made a long time ago, a promise I found I couldn't break. Entering U.A. high school, I figured, would just be another easy stepping stone in fulfilling that promise. I was completely and utterly wrong.'

I do not own the Boku no Hero Academia characters or story-line―please don't copyright me.

Chapter Eleven

First person POV

…

"Finally," I cheered, stretching my arms above my head until I heard a satisfying 'pop' in my back, "class is over! My brain was seriously starting to fry!"

Sero chuckled good naturedly at my antics, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he voiced his agreement, "Today felt long once lunch ended―I was pretty sure Kaminari was gonna pass out as soon as Present Mic mentioned verbs."

"Is it possible to have your brain fry from learning too much?" Kaminari chimed in, completely ignoring Sero as he packed up, eyes distant as if trying to picture it.

I snickered as I hopped to my feet, suddenly more awake and alert, definitely prepared for the jab he set himself up for.

"I guess you'll never know." I smiled with a complete lack of the innocent charm I was trying to portray, my laughter hard to hide.

As the blonde finished putting everything in his pale yellow bag, I could visibly see the thought process discerning what I said in his eyes, immediately suspicious at how wide I was smiling

"Why wouldn't―hey, wait!"

Kaminari instantly rounded on Kirishima, a fake pout on his face to try and gain the fellow red-head's sympathy. "Kasumi's bullying me."

"You did it to yourself dude." Kirishima deadpanned, shaking his head with a sigh.

I opened my mouth, ready to keep the banter going, but paused, my intuition telling me something was off. Trying to listen to my gut, I tuned into the loud, chatter filled the halls, the resounding echoes of footsteps creeping closer to the main doors of the classroom; at the end of the day, this would've been completely normal, nothing to give a second glance too.

The shocked gasp from the front of the room changed the situation entirely.

Confused and slightly alarmed, I turned my attention away from my sulking friend to peer at Ochako, her short frame stock still as her, Izuku, and Iida took in the sight just beyond the open door.

"Wh-what's going on?" she asked, surprised as she clutched the straps of her bag, her eyebrows furrowed and eyes a little wide.

Iida stepped in, arm robotically bent as he demanded―politely―for answers. "What business do you have with Class 1-A?"

'Who the heck are they talking to?' I wondered, stepping on my tip-toes to peak over and around Kirishima's broad shoulders.

My eyes practically bugged out of their sockets.

It seemed like the whole school was at our door―multiple students from different classes it looked like―peeking over one another, some at the front staring us down with curiosity, others apprehension.

I followed behind Kaminari as he and Kirishima edged closer to the front, their shoulders a little tense from the circumstance randomly thrown at us.

"We can't get out!" Mineta raved from Izuku's side, the small, shrill voiced boy holding more anger than expected in a tiny frame, "what'd you come here for anyway!"

It was then I noticed Bakugou, completely relaxed from the usual aggression, but still evidently annoyed. He sauntered slowly to the front door, not a trace of unease in his features, red eyes staring down the swarming crowd like they were a pack of bugs.

"Scouting out the enemy, small-fry." He answered neutrally, yet ultimately still offending the 'small-fry' in question, "we're the ones who made it out of the villains' attack, they probably wanted to check us out before the sports festival."

'I hadn't even considered the sports festival,' I mused internally, a little sheepish as the second part of my train of thought formed, 'I honestly think I blocked it from my memory.'

When in doubt, forget―that's a line my Nana coined personally.

"There's no point in doing stuff like that," Bakugou stated, hands in his pockets, figure standing tall as he walks directly in their faces, some shrinking back, "out of my way, extras."

I think I choked at the same time the golden trio went ballistic, Iida trying to explain how rude it was to call someone you don't know an extra.

"I came to see what the infamous class 1-A was like," A figure called from the back, voice deep, tired, "but you seem pretty arrogant. Are all students in the hero course like this?"

Wild purple hair reached the front, another relaxed stance that seemed unafraid of the aggressive blonde he was insulting backhandedly. I took note of the bags under his eyes as the golden trio plus Mineta frantically denied having any relation to Bakugou's personality.

Said person was snarling, looking ready to pounce upon being looked down on.

"Seeing something like this makes me feel disillusioned," the boy sighed, rubbing the back of his head, and I found I really didn't know what to make of him yet.

'His mannerisms are throwing me off,' I hummed to myself, arms crossed over my chest loosely as I observed the situation, 'he seems so laid back, but he's definitely trying to challenge us.'

"There are quite a few people who enrolled in general studies or other courses because they didn't make it in the hero course―did you know that?"

From everybody's reactions and my own, no, we didn't know that.

"The school has left those of us with a chance: depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course, and it seems they may even transfer people out."

I had never considered losing my spot in class 1-A. I don't think anyone did. To lose the top spot would be a big blow, especially since it would be documented on your file. Hero agencies could possibly see the shift in level, and reevaluate their consideration within hiring you.

How annoying and classically 'hero' like to create a hierarchy of skill and make it a popularity contest.

I rubbed my forehead with a bit of exasperation, eyebrows pointedly furrowed in frustration.

This sports festival was just one headache after another.

"Scouting out the enemy?" he resumed, voice low, purple eyes skimming over the class with obvious thought, "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 from right out under you―I came with a declaration of war."

"How bold." I murmured, Tokoyami, who was standing quietly next to me, nodded in agreement.

"Hey, hey!" A loud, very deep, boyish voice shouted, my eyes instantly consumed with the raging aura this person gave off, "I'm from class 1-B next door, I heard you fought against villains, and came to hear 'bout it! Don't be so full of yourself!"

'Great, another.'

My gaze fell on the back of the blonde that instigated this whole dilemma, and was minutely shocked at how aloof he seemed about the situation.

"If you bark too much," the 1-B student reprimanded, aura and voice still intense, "it'll be embarrassing for you during the real fight!"

Seeing that Bakugou didn't care, and was―amazingly―proceeding to leave without offering any rebuttal, the boy went wild.

"Are you ignorin' me, bastard?!"

I pushed Kirishima's shoulder forward, a silent suggestion of 'he talks to you the most, go intervene'.

"Hey, wait a minute Bakugou," seemingly already on this mission himself, "what are you going to do about all this? It's your fault everyone's hating on us!"

My gaze went from Kirishima to Bakugou, eyes resting on the back of his head as he stopped walking, turning to look over his shoulder. "It doesn't matter." he spoke, voice sure, set.

Upon seeing everyone's confusion, especially Kirishima, he sighed, resuming his exit. "It doesn't matter as long as you rise to the top."

The crowd parted for him, his departure easily made, leaving the rest of us to mull over his own declaration.

"That's so simple and manly." Kirishima teared up a moment later, his hand clenched in a fist.

"Are you kidding me?" I deadpanned, walking to his side with my nose slightly crinkled at his obvious support and admiration.

"You said it." Sato mused, his hand grasping his chin as he closed his eyes in thought.

"Huh?" I heard Kaminari next to me utter, his mouth slightly parted in disbelief as he looked to me for back up. Seeing we shared a similar thought process and expression, we instantly united forces.

"The top, huh? There's truth in that." Tokoyami agreed, sending me and the blonde the signal to go for the offensive.

"Don't be swayed, he just made pointless enemies!" Kaminari tried to reason, my contribution noted by how furious I was nodding my head in agreement.

Others in the class, from what I could tell, either looked motivated, or resigned at the events that had just transpired. I looked towards Izuku, who I had recently deemed to be Bakugou's other half in terms of evil twin and good twin, to get a better grip of the situation.

The boy looked motivated, eyes shining quietly with resolve, the strength evident in his stance. He valued the words Bakugou had just said, albeit it starting more trouble than good. He wanted to reach the top, too.

Internally accepting fate, I knew that there was no time to waste.

The sports festival was in two weeks, after all.

...

Training was something that helped me focus; running allowed me all the time in the world to think, plan, strategize. I understood my quirk―it was one of the perks of having pro-hero parents―but there were still facets of my ability that I wasn't sure how to utilize.

Any effort I put into advancing the limits of what I could do dealt mainly with strength training and control. I figured my body needed the endurance to run, plus I needed to be able to control the electricity. If my body wasn't up to par, I'm sure I would waste away from my glucose levels dropping, or my muscles simply just giving out―or worse―exploding.

And I really, really didn't want to find out.

This also meant I had to consume more than the average person―the recommended calorie intake for a normal person was the equivalent to one meal for me. I had done a good job keeping my insane eating habits under the radar, snacking on super powered energy bars throughout the day to keep me sane.

I wasn't hiding it really, like some super big secret; it was just another drawback to my quirk that I tried to keep underwraps.

Never show your weaknesses, a quote from the Book of Nana.

Today, class 1-A was meeting in the training areas for a group workout; I had the absolute pleasure of getting there at the crack of dawn because Iida―bless that boy―was clinically insane.

He was the only other person I knew that had a quirk at least a smidge similar to mine, so I figured the best course of action was for us to bounce ideas and methods off of each other.

He was enthusiastic, declaring his approval as he finished packing up his bag, a gleam in his eyes. I immediately regretted the choice when the next words out of his mouth entailed a six in the morning, all out run.

"The sun isn't even rising yet!" I moaned aloud, the fabric of my gym uniform itchy against my skin as I tugged on the sleeves, my ponytail too tight. Barely awake, and already the crabbiest person alive.

My sour mood darkened as soon as I saw his bright and shining face, waving robotically from the sandy beach.

"Good morning, Hayakawa-san―!"

"Kasumi is fine, Iida―!"

"My apologies, good morning Kasumi!" he amended, still so cheery, still so energetic. "Why don't we start with a warm-up?"

I nodded, shaking off my backpack, securing my old goggles over my head with a snap. Cracking my neck, popping my shoulders, I surveyed the terrain.

My running was best suited for solid, secure land―it provided a streamlined effect, giving me more speed. Running on sand would definitely disrupt the flow, but if I could get it down easier, it would increase my control.

The engines in his calves roared to life, my eyes briefly falling shut to sense the electricity in the surrounding environment. My best bet was to use whatever I could conduct from the power lines a distance away, another small hurdle I needed to leap over.

"Are you ready?" he asked, blue eyes determined, arms poised in a running stance.

"Hell yeah!" I yelled, suddenly full of life, electricity crackling like a thunderstorm around my body, "Get ready to eat my dust dude!"

I dashed away, giggling as his indignant shouts clipped at my heels.

"W-wait―this is only supposed to be a warm-up!"

…

Chest heaving, my lungs feeling ready to burst, I laid on my back starfish style―the morning sun had finally risen, the heat beginning to rise and making my surroundings akin the fiery inferno of hell.

Iida sat beside me, gulping down the last remnants of his water, sweats dripping lightly from the side of his jaw.

Our training consisted of timed trials, seeing how fast we could push our bodies when given a certain time constraint―I had impressed myself, not used to a limit being put on my movement. Iida, while his quirk wasn't as fast as mine, seriously surprised me with his results.

"I admire your tenacity," he breathed from beside me, sounding tired from all the endurance running we just completed, "however, sometimes it's good to have restraint."

I felt so alive when running that I sometimes forget that my body wasn't invincible―sadly, I learned my lesson as soon as my body went into combustion. Poor Iida nearly had a heart attack, telling me to run into the ocean, emergency exit style.

Chuckling breathlessly, I sat up, pulling my goggles to rest on my damp forehead, "and you tell me this two hours later, Iida?"

He immediately rushed to defend himself, thinking I was serious, and I waved a hand at his uptightness with a smile. "I'm joking, I knew I was pushing it when my shoulders started smoking."

Nodding, he rose to his feet, extending a hand to help me get to mine. I was too tired to care if my palms were sweaty, relieved to not have to extend more effort then needed.

"You're quirk really does allow you to move fast enough to catch on fire; thankfully you reached the water in time." he stated, pushing his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose.

I sighed, jolting more awake once I heard my stomach growl aggressively. He quirked an eyebrow, mouth parted in motion to comment, but I had already unwrapped the energy bar at record speed.

"No worries, just need to catch up on what I worked off." I managed to get out, mouth full of granola goodness.

He nodded affirmatively, realizing that I wasn't about to keel over from hunger, body turned as he bid farewell. "I'll be going now, my brother wishes to help me train at his agency later; I appreciate the training today."

I waved politely, checking the time on my phone. "I gotta go meet up with the class, thanks for the tips!"

With that, I found myself tiredly reaching the training building, my gym uniform still a little damp from a combination of seawater and sweat, my hair probably in knots behind me―my only lifeline the second helping of snacks I was devouring.

Body slumped on the bench of the girls locker room, I removed the goggles from my head, undoing the rats nest my hair had formed into.

That's how Mina and Ochako found me: bags under my eyes, growling profanities as I raked a comb through my unruly strands.

"Hey Ka―what are you doing to your hair?" Mina cried, gym bag forgotten as she dashed to yank the comb from my hands. I really didn't have the strength to stop her.

"You're damaging it!" she chided, forcing me to swivel around towards a softly laughing Ochako, lightly breaking up the knots as she set to work, "how did it even get like this?"

Yawning, I took another bite of the apple I found in my bag, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "I woke up early and trained with Iida on the beach for some endurance workouts―either the wind did this, or me catching on fire and crash landing in the ocean jacked it up."

I looked up and was graced with the most puzzled expression from the brown haired girl in front of me, Mina's brushing stopping completely.

"You caught on fire?" Ochako asked hesitantly, very unsure of the situation.

"Crash landed in the ocean?" Mina pressed.

"Yeah," I nodded, another loud bite of my apple, "if I run too fast, the rate of friction increases, and if I don't watch it, I combust. The only way to put it out was for me to run straight into the waves―you should've seen Iida's face, he was very distraught."

I heard Mina sigh behind me, and I could already picture her shaking her head in resignation. "Of course you of all people would catch on fire and think it was funny."

Scowling, I tossed the remnants of my apple in the trash a little ways to my left. "That was a dig, but I'm too tired to deny it."

"You must've been up early if you went to train with Iida," Ochako spoke, now clad in her gym uniform, her bangs clipped away from her round face, "I'm sure he was super energetic too!"

I laughed, voicing my agreement, relaying the exact way I greeted him this morning to the laughing brunette. There was a tugging sensation now with my hair that made me pause, and I tried to turn my head to see what exactly Mina was doing.

"Stop squirming!" she scolded, trying to keep me in place, "I'm almost done!"

Feeling the weight of my long hair seemingly get lighter, I turned when she announced she was finished, curious as to why her grin was so wide.

Getting to the closest mirror, I marveled how out of my face and neatly braided it looked. A long trail of hair reached the upper middle of my back, the french braid secured all the way to my roots.

I've never had my hair so contained before, never really learning how to braid myself.

Turning around, I smiled widely, which they both matched once they noticed my elation with the look.

"I really like it―you'll have to teach me how it's done," I babbled, twirling the bottom with childish glee, a complete one-eighty from my previous mood, "it'll be so useful for when I'm using my quirk, or even when I tuck my hair into my helmet!"

Pulling the gym uniform over her head, Mina grinned, sticking out a thumbs up. "I'm glad you like it!"

"Are you going to train with us Kasumi?" Ochako asked, the fiery glint in her eyes suspiciously close to the day the sport festival was announced, her hands clenched in a power stance.

Shoveling the rest of my items into an open locker, I sheepishly laughed, slightly nervous about her rising fiery aura. "Definitely―I just need to find Shoji before I do, ask a few weight lifting tips."

"Sounds good," Mina nodded, bumping my hip with hers, her gracefully redirecting Ochako's intense determination, "you know where to find us!"

Nodding, I bid them farewell, a little hop in my step as my braid swayed behind me.

"Now, time to find the weight-lifting room."

…

Successfully finding my intended target, I found the very tall, usually quiet boy was very passionate about weightlifting, even more so when explaining the best way to go about it. I realized halfway through that this was the first time having a full blown conversation with him, and I silently noted how the usual awkwardness with strangers wasn't present.

Sato overheard Shoji's tips and paused to throw in a few of his own, both of them stressing that more reps with lighter weights was better than the vice versa.

I nodded, trying to absorb the copious amounts of advice I just received, noting that I would put it in practice later when I got home.

Meeting back up with Ochako and Mina, I found Aoyama had joined them, putting in practice their own form of training. I had asked Ochako to make some of the debris weightless for me to practice bouncing off of in mid air.

She happily complied, and I used the electricity running through the building's power system to charge up, bolting forward like a rocket as I bounced around through the concrete.

At one point, I passed Kirishima in slow motion, watching with dawning horror as he solidified his forearms into pure rock and launched forward off the skyscraper.

The beginnings of a gnarly curse had reached my lips, my initial fear bursting through my veins when I realized my momentum was in the complete opposite direction―there was no possible way for me to slow down.

Time had come back to the present, my body forced to richot off of the nearest stone molding, before I launched in between spaces to try and reach the impact sight.

Heart thumping wildly, the settling dust clouded my vision momentarily, my legs shaking from strain as they were placed firmly on the ground.

"Are you ok?" I asked frantically, nerves distinct in my tone.

The redhead, completely unscathed, burst out of the rubble with a triumphant yell, sharp grin stretched wildly across his boyish features. My dread was washed away with irritation, a vein definitely throbbing on my temple.

"Hey Kasumi!" He started, out of breath but excited, "did you see tha―uh, there's smoke coming from your―!"

Immediately swinging my gaze downwards, a high pitched squeak had escaped my lips, trying to pat away the growing flame. Him, startled, bolted forward to do the same, large hands clamping down on my shoulders in an attempt to extinguish it.

Once all that was left was smoke, I wearily thanked him, before suddenly slinging him in the shoulder.

"Ow, what was that for!" He grouched, a little surprised.

"For randomly jumping off a building and making me think you were going to die." I sniffed, pulling the goggles from my eyes and placing them just above my hairline.

A silent pause.

"...but it looked pretty cool, right?"

Another pause.

"...yeah, it looked really awesome."

Laughing wholeheartedly, he exclaimed he was going to give it another go, rushing off in a slight jog to reach his starting point once more.

Heading back to the locker room, exhaustion creeping in my bones, I grabbed the remnants of my stuff, saying goodbye to any of my classmates that I had passed. Braid now messy, my clothes fresh and comfy, I stepped outside, basking in the sunlight of the afternoon.

A low rumbling escaped from my stomach, a subtle reminder to feed the beast, and completely ruining the atmosphere.

I probably made it a good block on the compound before getting violently jerked off my feet by a loud explosion, my ass hitting the pavement without any forgiveness.

"What the hell?" I complained, annoyance flaring in my tone as I strained to get back to my feet. I was at my limit for the day, any extra effort was really pushing it―not to mention I still had a trek to get back home to look forward to.

I didn't have to search hard to find out the source, a shouting Bakugou only mere yards away, looking very pleased with his accomplishments.

He noticed my presence―I chalked it up to his oddly keen awareness of his surroundings―and his red eyes narrowed, a silent accusation of 'what are you looking at?' pretty evident.

I scowled right on back, though the initial effect was lost as soon as my stomach decided to chime in her two sense.

Brushing the hair from my face with my soot covered hands, I turned, completely ignoring his existence much like he was content to ignore mine.

I was tired, I was hungry, and I was ready to take a shower; I trained my ass off today, I was going home.

The sports festival was soon, so I know tomorrow I was going to wake up and do it all over again.

...

Hello! Happy Fall! This is sort of a filler chapter, a little more tidbits of interactions before the main arc begins. I hope you enjoy the read!

Any questions/comments/reviews? Let me know! Review!