Author's Note! Sorry for the impromptu hiatus! I was being drowned in school work and then I was celebrating my 21st birthday on a trip! Thank you to everyone who has stuck along for the ride!

Warning: Talking about past trauma

After Aizawa's idea of a "logical ruse" was a different kind of training: a simulation of students playing heroes vs. villains with All Might as the lead instructor; I think they called them "Battle Trials". It was exciting to have the number one hero as a teacher, but today was the day where we all received our hero costumes and wore them for the first time. I put mine on and stared at myself in the mirror. It was a light blue long-sleeved crop top where the ends of the sleeves turned into fingerless gloves, skin tight pants that matched the shirt color; the boots were a brown leather with a matching thigh pouch. The finishing touch was the leather jacket my father wore during his debut.

"Woah! You're wearing a piece of history! That was the jacket Poseidon wore when-!" It was the green-haired fanboy.

"When he debuted? Yeah," I chuckled, "Dad gave it to me as kind of a comfort thing, I guess. But yeah it's the same jacket."

"Th-That's amazing! Wait, Dad?!"

My face was slightly red as we walked out to the training grounds. It wasn't that big of a deal, was it? Anyways, we were split up into teams. It was strange as we had an odd number of students and due to randomization, I was on a team with two boys named Sato and Koda. They were much taller than me but both seemed kind. We introduced ourselves to each other. Koji was very shy but seemed very interested in animals, which made sense given the fact that his quirk was talking to animals. Sato seemed more confident and was talking about how his quirk worked in addition to his baking skills.

The first students to be up against each other were Midoriya and Uraraka versus Bakugou and Iida; we were all on edge as we watched the match go down. Bakugou being overly violent wasn't a surprise to see, but there was a type of bloodlust and hatred behind it this time; the weapon made by the support department was too dangerous for someone so new to being able to use their quirk at full force. The explosions the blonde could make without any assistance were impressive, but building up the nitroglycerin sweat could lead to a life-threatening situation. This sparring match had the possibility of becoming a search and rescue mission in the blink of an eye. It was concerning to say the least and it felt wrong that our teacher wasn't stepping in to stop them from killing each other. I looked at my partners with worry and they shared the feeling.

"All Might? Sir?! You have to do something!" I said, but he seemed more preoccupied with watching the fight go down. It got down to the wire before he threatened to stop it, but thankfully Ochako had reached the target before it got too bad. I watched the pro hero in almost horror and disgust as things began to calm down. How come he wasn't intervening? Bakugo could have easily killed Midoriya in that fight and he sat there watching… almost like he was gambling with their lives and his bet was on Midoriya.

In our round, Sato, Koji, and I were set up to be villains against Mina Ashido and Yuga Aoyama. I took a deep breath before laying down the facts, "The best scenario here is to build a better offense with someone on the backline… Ashido and Aoyama seem to be mid-range to distance fighters, so if we get up close and personal to them, we can take them down easily. Most likely anyways. I think Sato and I should go and confront them while you stay behind and get some animals to build up a defense just in case they slip past." Both stared at me blankly before nodding.

"How'd you figure all that out?" Sato asked.

"I paid attention when Aizawa was testing our abilities… it's better to know your allies… and possible competitors, I guess," I said, shrugging.

Soon, they sounded the start of the match and I took a deep breath before walking out of the room with Sato, leaving Koji behind. We headed down the stairwell and already heard some noise coming from below. "For a recovery mission, they're certainly not very stealthy…" I smirked before we exited the stairwell into what looked like a conference room. Using my quirk to pick up some chairs, I kept two floating around me so I constantly had something to attack and defend with. Sato started eating a candy bar he had with him, and then we heard Aoyama and Ashido approaching. As soon as they rounded the corner, I slammed a chair into them, catching them off-guard. They were knocked back a few feet and looked at me in shock as I stepped out, revealing myself, "Hello there!" I grinned.

"What the heck, Fujibayashi?!" Mina shrieked as Aoyama started to fire his lazer. I dodged out of the way barely before taking the other chair and throwing it at them as well before starting to back up with my hands up. "You're surrendering?" She asked as I stepped back again.

"That was really all I had," I chuckled slightly, stepping back more as they stepped forward. Soon they were back where I had hit them and Sato caught them in a tackle where I stepped in and helped to capture them.

We could hear AllMight over the earpieces, "The villains win! Return to the surveillance room." I gave Sato a fist pound, shaking off the pain resonating from my knuckles. When we got back to the room, I was beaming, but AllMight seemed disappointed. "That was a short match and one member wasn't even involved."

"Didn't that technically make it just as fair as the rest of the matches? Plus, it isn't my fault I paid attention during the quirk assessments. Isn't analysis and deduction just as important in hero work?"

He looked at me strangely, "Yes it is, but I'm not talking about team F, I'm talking about the heroes in that scenario. You both had the advantage when it was just Fujibayashi standing there and you let him lure you into a trap." After a lengthy analysis of the exercise, we were released from classes for the day.

I was heading to get my bike when Iida approached me, "Yes?" I said, waiting for some sort of lecture.

"You were very good today. Your strategy is why you won your round. There was optimum outcome with minimal effort. I look forward to working with you someday," the class rep said.

"Hey. If you're still hung up about what happened at the restaurant, don't worry yourself about it, Iida. You didn't know." I turned to go, but he grabbed my shoulder, making me flinch.

"Ah! Sorry… I just- I felt I owed you an apology after… everything." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. Seeing his face heat up from embarrassment made my own start warming up.

I cleared my throat, "How about we try again? I mean start all over and get to know each other over dinner like we were originally supposed to before I had that whole episode…"

"Again, I am so sorry…"

"Listen, if you're willing to apologize and hear my story, it'll make a lot more sense, okay? I don't want this whole weird thing between us because of that night. We're classmates and future coworkers. We should learn to at least get along." I looked at the floor, "would you like to grab take out with me? I'm too sore to cook honestly," I smiled at him.

"As friends?" He asked nervously.

"Yeah? What else would it be? We can grab food at the convenience store and then head back to my place to eat and study."

He nodded and I grabbed my bike, riding alongside him slowly as we headed to a convenience store. I got snacks and drinks while Iida grabbed some ramen cups. "Typically, I wouldn't eat like this since it's not very healthy, but in the spirit of camaraderie I suppose it's fine for tonight." He said as I shook my head. "Can you grab an orange juice for me?"

"Orange juice? Sure thing… seems odd to have with noodles, but whatever floats your boat." We were walking up to the counter with the items.

"It helps with my engines."

I stopped in my tracks. "Orange juice? Helps with your engines? I just never would have guessed."

"I thought you were an Ingenium fan. My brother told me he also drinks it to help his engines when I was a child."

"I think he might have just been trying to get you to drink your OJ, Iida." I laughed and he quickly looked away before we paid for our things and headed back to the apartment.

"Yep… you're definitely an Ingenium fanboy… you might even rival Midoriya's love for AllMight," Iida noted, walking in and seeing some of the decors around my home.

"I'm not that crazy! He was just… he was a big inspiration growing up. The eldest son being an example for his younger siblings? You bet your butt I took notes. My little sister and I are actually the same age difference as you and your brother."

"I see. But you also said you were going to explain things to me? About that night?"

I set the water for the ramen to boil before going and sitting down on the couch, taking a deep breath as I pat the spot on the couch next to me. Iida hesitated before sitting down next to me. "So, I'm not from around here… I'm from a small seaside village… a small town where not much gets out…" he looked as if he was hung onto every word I was saying, "and...you know how Poseidon has an older daughter?" Iida nodded. I felt my stomach start sinking as I was about to speak.

I must have been making some sort of face. "If you aren't feeling well again, you don't have to say," he offered.

"No. I do! I don't want this stupid thing eating at me for the rest of my life!" I took a deep breath, "I'm trans. I was his daughter, but now I identify as male… but there's a reason I came out before you run off and spread rumors about me!"

He looked at me in disbelief, "you… you think I would do that? I don't quite understand it now, but it means a lot to you. You don't have to keep talking about it if it's upsetting you, Fujibayashi…"

"But you deserve an explanation. And call me Rin, Iida, we've been over this," I grabbed his hand, looking in his eyes desperately, "you're going to be the first person aside from my family and therapist that knows this. I was in a relationship- it went south quickly… and when I didn't give him what he wanted, he took it." I squeezed his hand.

I hadn't realized I had started crying until Iida started wiping the tears from my eye. "I-" he looked upset, "I'm sorry… I had upset you when I grabbed your hand that night… It reminded you of that- I wish I hadn't…"

"You didn't know! … But afterward, I couldn't stand looking at myself in the mirror and seeing her, so here I am today. I get it if you're going to judge me or if you're disgusted..."

He still looked like he was in shock.

"Are you-?"

"I can't believe someone did that to you! And I apologize deeply for even doing something to remind you of that!" His face was bright red as he apologized repeatedly.

"Don't worry abou- OH SHIT!" I vaulted over the couch to the kitchen when I heard the water boiling over and sizzling on the stove. Quickly I pulled the pot from the heat before pouring it to get the ramen prepared. "Sorry. I got a little distracted. Anyways, the ramen will be done soon, we can eat, and then we can study." I smiled at him

"But… don't you want to-"

"I'd rather not right now… maybe someday Iida,"

"In private, Rin, you can call me Tenya, if you prefer."

I was lucky that I was turned away from him as my face and ears heated up, "Tenya it is then."

"Nothing about tonight will leave this room other than the fact that we were studying."

"Agreed."