"No."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

Mako's whining reached a peak usually audible only to dogs and those possessing canine-like Quirks, explaining why one of the first-year students from the hero management course covered her floppy ears. Yet scooping another clump of white rice dripping with curry sauce onto the fork, Ryuko shoved everything into her mouth, choosing the small possibility of choking over answering something so stupid, "Because I don't want to."

"Aw, come on!"

"No!"

"You know she's not going to stop," across the table, mashed potatoes balanced delicately upon her fork, Itsuka Kendo's appetite vanished when Mako resumed devouring her lunch.

It sickened her.

Yet she couldn't look away.

"She's right, Ryu," unlike Class B's representative, having witnessed Ryuko's appetite in junior high, Tsuyu kept eating, "There must be someone you have a crush on."

Ryuko glared at her friend like she'd been stabbed in the back.

"I don't have a crush on anyone," she didn't know how the stupid game started and how she'd gotten roped into answering dumbass questions about hypothetical relationships and boyfriends. It had started with Tsu mentioning Midoriya and Mineta helping her defeat some villains at the USJ before suddenly segueing into relationship advice. And judging by the pink hair and horns perking over some plants across the cafeteria, Ryuko had a pretty good idea who gave Tsu such a stupid idea, "Now drop – "

An unsettling chill caressed her neck.

And it didn't take a rocket scientist to understand why.

The corner of her mouth twitched as through the decorative plants behind Kendo and Tsuyu, past Ida and Uraraka at another table and in the middle of a maniacal laugh that wasn't healthy, not by a long shot, was a familiar annoyance, "What's his problem?"

Kendo didn't even need to turn around.

"Oh, I don't know," as confusing as that sounded, it was the truth, "Ever since this morning, Monoma's been worked up about something," she poked and prodded her lunch, scrapping her fork against the tray before giving up, "It started after he copied your Quirk. And yesterday only made things worse. He's determined to prove our class is better than yours."

Ryuko kept chewing.

"You want me to knock some sense into him?"

The class representative from Class 1-B weighed the pros and cons of the request before shaking her head, "Thanks, but I'm pretty sure I can handle him on my own."

"You sure?" Ryuko stabbed her fork at the eavesdropping copycat, who immediately parked his ass back down in a cold sweat, "A good punch to the face ought to – MAKO!"

Quick reflexes and experience allowed Ryuko to save whatever remained of her lunch from the bottomless pit that was Mako Mankanshoku.

"I'm sorry, Ryuko," it felt like she'd kicked a puppy. Or a kitten. Or both. And Mako's watering eyes didn't make things better. It was only the drool leaking from the corners of Mako's mouth that she didn't immediately surrender. And even that was a tough decision, "I'm just super hungry since I forgot to eat breakfast this morning. The fridge was on the fritz since dad forgot to unplug the microwave, so I planned on having some lightly buttered toast, but my alarm didn't go off and…"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it."

It was close.

Another second slower and she would have been forced to listen to Mako's entire story, and she simply didn't have the time or energy for that.

"Here," reaching into her pocket, Ryuko pulled out a dark blue plastic card, UA's logo on one side and a holographic picture of the campus on the other, "Just don't spend too – "

A hug.

A hug tight enough to squeeze the air from her lungs.

"Thanks, Ryuko!"

Ryuko didn't know how long the hug lasted. It could have been seconds. Or hours. Time simply stopped. And when it resumed, however long after the fact, Mako was rushing towards the line of students waiting for their first lunch.

"Are you okay, Ryu?"

She heard Tsuyu's question, but it might as well have been screamed from across campus for all the good it did. Disheveled hair frazzled from static electricity, uniform ruffled by the unexpected hug and bewildered, Ryuko blinked, "Yeah…?"

It didn't sound confident.

She didn't sound confident.

But that was not her problem. And she refused to let it be her problem, "Soo…" deciding to forget the last ten seconds before her mind collapsed, Ryuko grabbed her fork and violently stabbed her food hard enough to murder anything left alive, "Yaoyorozu wants to form a study group. You interested?"

It was an obvious change of topic.

But anything was better than imaginary crushes.

Including fighting that blonde psycho.

"Ryuko Matoi?"

Her eyes snapped towards the stranger approaching their table. She looked up. She looked down. She frowned. He wasn't from her class. And he wasn't from Kendo's if her confusion wasn't some form of elaborate prank. Indigo hair messier than her own. Dark purple eyes ringed by noticeable bags. A face that looked like death warmed over. She didn't immediately say anything. Instead, she resumed eating. Since she didn't know this punk, he either came from general education with Mako, support or management. Which was fine. Or he wasn't a student, but a villain who snuck through UA's security, stole someone's uniform after killing them and this was a brutally straightforward assassination attempt.

Another forkful of rice shoved its way into her mouth, "What's it to you?"

"I suppose you don't remember me?"

One cheek noticeably expanded from the enormous amount of food, a few grains of curry-soaked rice clinging to her chin, Ryuko chewed slowly and methodically, savoring every last bite. She made certain to enjoy her lunch. And one when she was finished did she swallow, fork firmly clenched between her teeth, "Nope."

She expected some sort of reaction.

Not nothing.

"During the entrance exam, we were assigned to the same group," her expression must've meant something other than 'I really don't give two shits' wherever he came from, because instead of shutting up, he kept talking, "At the time, I didn't think much of you. You were quiet, kept to yourself and looked annoyed at, well, pretty much everything," it was almost as if the bastard thought they were discussing something perfectly normal. Like the weather or homework, "I thought you'd be easy competition. Just another nobody believing they were good enough for UA," but the more he droned, the deeper his voice drilled into her skull, "But you proved me wrong. By the time I took down one robot, you'd already destroyed enough to earn second place."

It was wearing on her nerves.

"What, you want an autograph?" she half-asked, half-snorted.

"I watched you take down that zero-pointer," instead of answering her question, his exhausted eyes shifted towards Kendo, "And if that wasn't impressive enough, you helped defeat those villains yesterday," just as slowly, they turned back to her, "That's quite the accomplishment. You really are cut out to be a hero."

For a moment, Ryuko wondered if she'd misjudged him.

But the purple-haired bastard, because he definitely was a bastard, decided to answer that question for her, "I, on the other hand, found myself forced onto a different path."

And there it was.

"So, you're pissed at me, huh?" an unfamiliar pressure clamped around her ears. A muffled silence ticking all the wrong boxes. It wasn't uncomfortable. She didn't break into a cold sweat or feel the urge to stab him with her Quirk. But there was something unsettling about his voice, "It ain't my damn fault you failed."

Ryuko seriously didn't like the bastard's smile.

"You're right."

And his half-assed insults pissed her off.

"As much as it pains me to admit, I simply didn't make the cut. It's that simple," the background noise – people chattering at their tables, on the way to Lunch Rush and even leaving the cafeteria – faded into an eerie silence, "Unlike you, UA thought I wasn't good enough to be a hero," her class. Kendo's class. Everyone. The moment this guy started talking bullshit about her, everyone within earshot decided this was more important, "Which makes the rumors about you dropping out of the sports festival all the more baffling."

The fork shifted from one side of Ryuko's mouth to the other.

Someone was spreading rumors.

And she had a pretty good idea who, "Don't know how that's any of your business."

"I admired your father," uncalloused fingers fell from the nape of his neck, "The great Isshin Matoi. He's one of the reasons I wanted to become a hero," something clung to his voice even as the temperature dropped, a certain compulsion that failed to worm into her head, "Who would've guessed his daughter would be such a coward."

CRUNCH!

"The fuck did you just say!?"

For a heartbeat, Ryuko gave herself the benefit of the doubt and assumed she'd heard nonsense.

Not even Bakugo was stupid enough to sign his own death warrant.

"Relax, I'm not here to pick a fight," but apparently the bastard was determined to not only erase any doubts, but dig his own grave, "That's simply my opinion," all while maintaining an unreadable expression despite the bullshit spewing from his mouth, "Honestly, it's not really important why you've decided to not participate in the sports festival."

She clawed back the urge to strangle him.

"Oh, yeah?" the fork she'd stabbed through the tray groaned, "And why's that?"

"Without someone like you hogging the spotlight, there's nothing stopping me from shining," he wasn't smiling, yet every word expressed confidence, "It won't be easy. And I'm not arrogant enough to think I'd win. But as long as I impress the judges, UA might decide to transfer me into the hero program.

He looked at Tsuyu.

"Of course," an unsettling glint shimmered in his eyes, "That begs the question of who I'll be replacing. Maybe you. Or one of your friends. It'll be up to UA to decide who gets cut."

Ryuko's eyebrow twitched.

The fork clattered onto the table, grooves where her fingers had squeezed the stainless steel a little too hard.

She was pissed.

No, she was beyond pissed.

"Oh! Hey, Shinso!"

And just like that, the tension deflated like a popped balloon.

"I didn't see you at the usual spot," Mako squeezed around Ryuko, plopped down in her seat and drooled over the 'heaping mountain' of food on her tray, "You want to eat with us?"

"Sorry, already ate," acting bashful for someone who was seconds away from getting their face shoved into the back of their skull, Shinso shrugged, "Maybe tomorrow."

"Aww…"

"What? Hold on!" Ryuko whipped her head towards Mako, then back at Shinso, then back at Mako, "You know this creep, Mako?"

"Sure do!"

Mako attempted to helpfully explain how she knew Shinso and why Ryuko shouldn't kill him. Unfortunately, she was also stuffing her face with meatloaf, potatoes, rice and multiple kinds of vegetables and fruits, "We're in the same homeroom! Plus, he's sorta the one who brainwashed me!"

Yet Ryuko understood enough to crack her knuckles, "Oh, really?"

"Is that what she told you?"

Another sigh, far more exasperated than unnerved given the renewed threat to his health and safety, lingered around Shinso, "Well, didn't expect this. Then again, Mako isn't exactly normal. And her imagination is something else," that last line was directed more to himself, but it was enough for Ryuko to lower her fist, "Judging from your expression, I'm guessing Mako left out a few details?" her silence was enough for him to grumble, "I used my Quirk and had her follow me to our classroom. Nothing evil or nefarious. She even thanked me."

Ryuko didn't know how to process any of what he just said.

And Mako's enthusiastic confirmation of his bullshit excuse only further frustrated her.

"Anyway, consider this my warning, Ryuko Matoi."

What little remained of the crowd quickly parted around Shinso as he walked away, one hand tucked into his pocket, "If you don't bring your best, I'll be the one sitting in your seat."

Ryuko didn't even wait for him to leave.

"Tch," with significantly more force than necessary, she stabbed the freestyle artwork formerly known as a fork through a chunk of meatloaf, "What an asshole."

"Nah, that's just Shinso," still oblivious to the animosity lingering in the air, Mako smiled, "He acts like a dark loner who patrols the streets for crime, but he's really an enormous softy who loves cats!"

"I don't know, Mako, he sure sounded serious," Tsuyu swallowed the nervous lump in her throat, "Aren't you worried, Ryu?"

A scoff.

And the sound of bent metal scraping against aluminum.

"Don't tell me you bought his stupid story," another forkful of food disappeared into Ryuko's mouth.

"He's right," grimly moving around what little remained of her lunch, Kendo sighed. She'd kept silent throughout the conversation, listening but saying nothing, "So many people took the entrance exam. Yet only thirty-six passed, plus the four who came in through recommendation. If UA wanted, they could hire more teachers. Double the size of the program. But they don't, which probably means every day is another test to prove we deserve to be here."

A clump of cooling rice slouched off Ryuko's fork onto her tray, "Seriously?"

Kendo crossed one arm over the other and nodded, "Anyone can apply for a transfer. Whether or not it's successful, on the other hand…" she trailed off, eyes staring out the windows overlooking UA's main campus, "…if UA were to approve his transfer, that would mean they believe someone in the hero course hasn't met their expectations. They'd be transferred out."

Across from Mako, still busy eating the remnants of her secondary lunch, Tsuyu swallowed her nervousness, "I didn't know that."

"The hero business is cutthroat. Everybody wants the chance to prove themselves, even if that means destroying the competition," Kendo's voice lowered to a whisper, "But still, it's hard to imagine knowing our friends could be dropped out of the hero course without a chance to defend themselves."

"That's bull – "

Attempting to stand, Ryuko forgot the chairs were bolted to the floor, slamming her knees directly against the underside of the table, "Son of a…graah…" before another word escaped into the wild, she clamped her lips shut, swallowing the pain and refusing to grant it freedom. She screwed her eyes shut. She mentally screamed everything she desperately wanted to shout at the idiots who came up with such a stupid rule.

Even if that meant All Might.

Especially if that meant All Might.

"That's not right," the pain slowly dulled to a numb throbbing, leaving her standing out of her chair, fingers digging into plastic and metal, "There's no way UA can just do that!"

It felt like an entire lemon was lodged in her throat.

Everything tasted sour.

Even her thoughts.

She didn't care about becoming a pro hero.

But someone else's life might crash and burn because she refused to participate in some stupid festival?

Ryuko didn't care when Mako swiped the remaining scraps of her lunch.

She was already walking away.

"Are you okay, Ryu?"

"I'm fine," her sneakers beat a steady path towards the hallway only for Tsuyu's worry to pull her back, "Just need some space to think, is all," she hesitated, unsure of what to say or even how to say it, before talking another step. And then another, "I'll see you back in class, Tsu."