Man! Trying to finish this thing in time for Halloween was tough! Still, I had fun writing it! It's always fun to write this series.

Enjoy!

New School, New Friends part 1: New School

"Two new students will be joining us today."

Setsuna leaned forward, taking in their two new additions.

One was a boy with curly green hair that made him look like some sort of bush. He stood stalk straight, staring at the fellow school children like a prisoner about to be given his sentence while literally quaking in his large red shoes.

The other was a girl with chalk white skin and flowing black hair. She wore a long white dress and a pair of black dress shoes, with what Setsuna was pretty sure was a Warrior Unicorn Princess backpack on her back. She stood unnaturally still, her bangs covering her face, hiding any hint of what she was thinking. Setsuna didn't know why, but she had goosebumps just watching the girl. She almost reminded Setsuna of the stuff in Reiko's horror books.

"I-I-I'm Izuku Midoriya, a-and this is E-Erma Williams," the boy said. "Nice to meet you all!" He gave the class a stiff bow while Williams waved her hand.

Different last names, so they probably weren't related. The girl's name was clearly either American or European, so it was possible she was from overseas. The boy's name was Japanese and he hadn't had any sort of accent when he spoke so he was probably from Japan.

Once dismissed, the two walked down the aisles toward a pair of empty chairs, Midoriya in a stilted way reminiscent of a wind-up toy, Williams in a smooth, fluid way, almost as if she was gliding along the floor. As Williams passed Setsuna, she felt a chill.

What is with that girl?

Class began and Setsuna soon forgot the two new students and focused on their teacher's lesson.

Izuku kind of…liked this new school!

Granted, he hadn't been here long enough for them to find out he was quirkless, and once they did the other shoe was definitely going to drop, but so far, they were pretty nice to him. Even better, Erma was here too so at least he'd have her!

Izuku had no idea how he managed to get this lucky. One day, he was going to Thied Elementary like normal, the next Mom told him dad got a raise and had been recommended a private school to send Izuku to. He hadn't known how to react at first, but when she mentioned Erma was going there too he couldn't transfer soon enough!

He considered asking Erma if she knew anything about it especially since this had happened very shortly after that time she showed up at his school after some jerks shoved him on the playground.

Erma was waiting outside after school and noticed a bruise he'd gotten from the fall. He reassured her it hadn't been Kacchan, just been some random jerks. Not that it stopped Kacchan from challenging her to yet another "fight" before Izuku and Erma could leave. After that she took him to the park and made him explain his school life to her. He tried to resist, but she used the puppy eyes! He had no choice!

Even so, he made her promise, no pinky promise not to tell Mom, since she couldn't do anything about it. So transferring obviously couldn't have been her.

Erma wondered if Izuku had realized yet that she was the reason he switched schools.

She supposed that even if he had, it didn't matter. It wasn't like she'd broken her promise. He hadn't said anything about telling her parents.

For the next few days, the buzz over the two newcomers mostly faded. Midoriya was about as shy as they came and shrinking away from almost all meaningful attention. The most he was willing to bear was when asking everyone (and she meant everyone) about their quirks and writing them in that little notebook he kept.

Most of the class were more interested in Williams anyway, due to her unique appearance and status as a foreigner. Setsuna wasn't as interested as the others, but she still made a habit of keeping up with the schoolyard gossip

Williams, or Erma (Midoriya said she preferred her first name) was less shy than Midoriya, aside from the fact that she never talked. At all. Everyone would have assumed she was mute but Midoriya insisted otherwise. Barring that little oddity, Erma was easily the more outgoing of the two, often needing to drag Midoriya to join the other kids' games at recess.

Reiko was curious about Erma, deeming her "spooky", but was too shy to actually approach, Setsuna didn't really interact with them outside recess games, while Tetsu tried to introduce himself to Midoriya once, but only managed to scare him into hiding behind Erma.

Overall the new students weren't close with the other kids, but they played the games at recess well enough.

Then the rumors started.

Setsuna didn't who started them, but soon word was spreading that Midoriya had no quirk. At all.

Setsuna didn't really care about the rumor, though she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious. Setsuna had never met someone without a quirk who was younger than her parents. It must be weird growing up without having some sort of special power.

Midoriya and Erma were still allowed into games, but there was now a barrier of sorts between the other kids and Midoriya.

It wasn't that everyone was mean to him (their school had a strong anti-bullying policy), but many started to treat him like he was weaker, excluding him from games, and if he was invited to join, picking him for their teams last out of fear he'd drag down the team.

A couple kids tried to keep him from playing a Hero in Heroes vs Villains once but Erma glared them into submission.

Soon both new students were outcasts, Midoriya by chance and Erma by choice.

Then the dodgeball incident happened.

The game started normally. They were playing dodgeball at recess, no quirks allowed. Setsuna and Reiko were on one team, Tetsu on another. Erma and Midoriya were playing too, with Midoriya on Setsuna's team and Erma on Tetsu's.

It was the usual fair, balls being thrown, kids shouting who was out, the kids in jail calling for a jailbreak, etc. Then someone called for quirks.

Chaos ensued.

At once several kids began using their quirks to enhance their throws. Setsuna split in half to evade them then split her arms to grab some ammo. Reiko lifted several balls telekinetically to shield herself, while Tetsu used his quirk's enhanced strength to bolster his throws.

Out of the corner of her eye, Setsuna saw Midoriya diving for cover behind several other kids, looking utterly terrified. She assumed he was just scared due a combo of his disadvantage of not having a quirk and the power behind some of the other kids' throws.

If she'd looked closer she might have noticed he was looking at one person in particular...

Then, all at once, every dodgeball in the game floated into the air.

Setsuna stared. This wasn't Reiko. She wasn't this powerful.

The balls all formed up behind one particular girl, with skin pale as snow and hair black as death, who's dress billowed in a wind that hadn't been there before as her bangs covered her face. Erma.

Erma lifted a hand. The balls rose up higher.

Setsuna sighed. This is gonna suck…

Erma threw her hand down. At once the balls rained down on Setsuna's team, bombarding the helpless dodgeball players. Setsuna tried to dodge, but could only avoid so many before getting smacked in the stomach. Reiko tried to use her quirk to protect herself, but several dodgeballs went behind her and hit her in the back. Tetsu tried to catch a ball, but so many others pelted him at once that he dropped it.

One by one Setsuna's team fell, and it became more and more obvious Erma would carry the match on her own.

At least until someone yelled "Caught one!"

They all turned toward source of the voice.

Midoriya was on the edge of the court, holding a ball high above his head with a big grin. "You weren't paying attention over here, so I grabbed one!"

Erma gave her friend a thumb's up and walked into jail. For a moment, it seemed Midoriya had done the impossible and turned the game around.

Unfortunately there were only like four players left against nearly an entire team, so still they got utterly clobbered. But hey, points for effort?

After that Erma Williams was no longer the "kinda weird new student". She was the "freakishly powerful new student". Everyone wanted to hang out with her now, thinking she was the coolest ever.

There was just one problem, they weren't interested in Midoriya, and Erma made it quite clear they were a package deal. You want her, you take him.

For example:

Setsuna saw some kids walk up to Erma and Midoriya.

"Hey Erma," one said. "We need some more players for a game of Heroes and Villains after school. Do you wanna join?"

Erma glanced at Midoriya, then nodded. She and Midoriya started to walk toward them.

"Actually," said one of the kids, rubbing the back of his head. "We really only need one player. So we were wondering-"

Erma turned heel and walked away.

"Wait!" said Midoriya. "E-Erma? Are you sure? You don't have to-"

Erma grabbed Midoriya's wrist with her hair and dragged him off.

Setsuna may have kept tabs on the buzz around the two newcomers, but she figured it would be temporary. These things rarely captivated the school for long and soon it would become normal while a new novelty got all the attention.

Setsuna assumed that when that happened, she'd barely even notice the new students anymore. What she didn't expect was to be pulled even closer to the two by Reiko suddenly becoming a lot more invested in meeting them.

Reiko turned the page in her book. Such twisted imagery.

It was the latest novel by her favorite horror author, Sam Williams, and she was utterly enthralled. Next to her, Tetsu and Setsuna were chattering about something, but she paid them no heed. All of her attention was consumed by this book.

She read one piece of disturbing image after another, described with an almost documentarian level of detail. Reiko usually preferred twisted ideas and warped feelings over grotesque monsters and gore in her horror, but Sam Williams was an exception.

His horror was always so lovingly detailed, giving Reiko such a detailed mental picture. The characters were scared, but whenever he described the monsters, it almost felt like they were admiring the beauty of the wretched things the way a poet would admire his beloved. She wondered what drove him to write in such a manner…

"Geez, reading that American horror guy again, freak?"

Reiko's concentration was shattered by the grating voice of one of the lunchroom's various jerks. The school didn't allow bullying, but that didn't stop every mean remark. There was still plenty of room to be insufferable within the rules.

Reiko didn't dignify the jerk's ignorance with a response, instead opting to roll her eyes.

"Whatever," the ignoramus said, "the only kind of person who'd read, let alone write, that kind of book is a total loser."

"Fascinating. Such knowledge regarding its contents would imply that you have read it, would it not?" said Reiko.

The jerk froze, having just enough brain power to realize her predicament. However, she boldly substituted bluster for logic and declared, "I just know!"

"How?" said Reiko, her eyebrow raising. There was something rewarding in the cornered look in the fool's eyes. Given that Reiko's oddness made her a natural target, she was fortunate that the jerk's kind were rarely intelligent.

"Well, uh…I mean…Hey! New girl!"

Their classmate Erma Willaims, who'd been sitting a table away, turned her head. "You look like you know horror stuff!"

A nod.

The jerk snatched Reiko's book from her hands and held it up. "Do you think the author of this is a total dweeb?"

Erma cocked her head to the side, then shrugged and nodded.

"Ha! See?" The jerk walked away, tossing Reiko's book over her head. Reiko grabbed it with her quirk and pulled it back to her arms, before glaring at her treacherous classmate.

She'd thought perhaps Erma had good taste in horror, given the books Reiko had seen her reading in her free time, but to mock Sam Williams? Clearly, she needed an education on good writing!

Reiko got up and silently stalked toward her spooky classmate. Next to Erma, her friend Midoriya said. "Do-do you even know why she was asking that Erma?"

Erma shook her head and shrugged.

Midoriya scratched his neck. "O-ok, well…"

Reiko opened her mouth to speak her many indignations.

"Let's just say, I don't think you should have answered her about your dad's book like that..."

Reiko froze. Her…what?

Several details clicked, like a puzzle Reiko hadn't even known she was solving.

Erma's nationality. Her interest in horror. Her name.

Erma Williams.

She was Sam Williams' daughter! And if she lived here then…

Reiko stood completely still as the realization truly sunk in.

This is perfect…

There was a tap on her shoulder. "Uhh Reiko? The lunch bell just rang. We gotta get out of here," said Setsuna.

Reiko shook her head and looked around. Students were clearing out of the lunch room. Erma and Midoriya were already long gone.

"You ok Reiko?"

"Yes. I…have something to research later."

After getting home, Reiko logged onto her computer and searched the internet for information on Sam Williams' home life. She found little. The interviews she initially found offered little in the vein of family, aside from some jokes about how his strained relationship with his in-laws. His Wikipedia page was similarly barren. However, near the end of the page it mentioned that he had a wife and a daughter.

Reiko's eyes widened. Could it really be?

She continued searching, combing through every source she could find. After several minutes, she finally found a picture of Sam Williams' wife. White skin, black hair, and bangs that covered her face. Exactly like Erma

It is!

Reiko resisted the urge to leap up and down with excitement. Her favorite author's daughter went to her school! That meant he probably lived close! And that meant she could get his autograph!

She walked into school next day feeling giddy and excited. She strolled up to Erma, with every intention to introduce herself and speak about their shared interest in the dark and spooky things in the world. Reiko opened her mouth…

Then closed it and promptly turned heel and hurried to her seat like a coward. The bell soon rang, causing class to begin.

This was going to be harder than she'd thought…

Hope you enjoyed! Reviews make me smile!