"Self-worth comes from one thing – thinking that you are worthy." – Wayne Dyer
Chapter 03: Prove Your Mettle!
The UA opening ceremony went on as scheduled at the auditorium, despite being down a class. The students, new and current, sat with their class as Nezu gave a speech. As expected, some students were listening closely (many being the freshmen), some were half-listening (many being the sophomores), and some had their thoughts elsewhere (many being seniors). One of such seniors was Yang as she scanned around for her sister. She spots Class 1-B and tried to find the black/red hair of Ruby. All she saw was a green-eyed ginger looking around too.
Yang leans to her right, towards Mirio and whispered to him, "1-B's here and I don't see Ruby anywhere."
"Then that means she's in 1-A," Mirio whispered back.
Yang runs a hand through her hair. "Shit! She's gonna be put through the meat grinder."
Seating with his new Class 3-A, containing Tamaki Amajiki and Nejirie Hadou, Qrow looks through his phone to see an earlier text from Toshinori.
Toshi: Ruby and Midoriya are in 1-A
Qrow knew about the arrangement before Toshinori, being told this by Aizawa himself. In typical Aizawa fashion, the younger hero gave the older man a short, 'Your niece will be in my class,' and that was that. In all honesty, Qrow wasn't all that worried. He has faith that Ruby will pass Aizawa's tests.
Izuku Midoriya on the other hand…
Qrow scrolls through his messages to get to the more recent texts.
Me: Where are you?
Toshinori was supposed to present for the ceremony to give an All Might speech of encouragement, but the man was nowhere to be seen.
Toshi: Sorry! Aizawa took his class to the training field. I can't help but worry.
Qrow sighs. He turns off his phone and presses it against his forehead. "I worry too. Aizawa's a bit of a hard ass, but…" His thoughts went to Summer. "…he does what he does because he cares for those kids' future."
Toshinori hides behind the corner of a building near the P.E. grounds, currently in his muscle form so people don't see his thinner form in the oversized suit.
He let's out a sigh of relief. "Looks like I made it. That explosion from earlier had me worried for a sec."
"According to his records, Aizawa would examine each student with eight tests. Some of it is speed based, so Ruby shouldn't have much to worry about, but Young Midoriya…" The boy as yet to control One for All. Which was to be expected as they were in a hurry and the training was so Izuku could carry the Quirk without risking his body exploding. "Aizawa was there during the exam. No doubt he saw what Young Midoriya did to the zero pointer. And what happened to his body. He'll single him out. Young Midoriya, I am sorry. I should have said something. When I came here a year ago, I've met with my future colleagues. That included Aizawa. I've seen his abrasive attitude firsthand, and he didn't shy away from telling me how thought about me. I guess I can't blame him though."
Toshinori had originally used the media to further dissuade criminal activities. With all the media coverage he encourages, it brought forth some rather overzealous reporters who wanted to cover everything that involves the heroes. Everything. Because of that, they often get in the way of missions either because of trying to sneak into the scene or leaking information. Toshinori has no doubt that there is a good handful of underground heroes who didn't like his showboating.
"All I can say is…do your best, Young Midoriya."
Test 1: 50-meter dash
The test was as it's called, a 50-meter dash. The last time Ruby did this was the beginning of her training. If she remembered right, she scored a little over nine seconds when not using her Quirk. Now, she'll see how far her Quirk could take her.
Much to her luck, she was first, along with Tenya. Ruby noticed the pipes protruding from his calves, taking a mental note of how it reminded her of the hero, Ingenium. Maybe, she could ask him after the tests…that is if she doesn't get kicked out.
Ruby and Tenya are at the ready, waiting for the automatic recorder to start with Ruby using the time to put on her goggles and charge. At the sound of a blank shot, the sprint forward. The engine pipes in Tenya's legs ignited to life to boost his speed and Ruby forms into a swarm of rose petals. At 10 meters, Petal Burst cancels out, but Ruby charges up again to use her Quirk, which she repeats three more times after.
She soon crosses the finish line, about 2 seconds behind Tenya's 3.04 seconds with Ruby's being 5.17 seconds.
Ruby lifts up her goggles. "Well, that's better than nothing!"
[Ruby Rose! Her Quirk: Petal Burst! She can burst into a swarm of rose petals going in high speeds after a quick charge. However, she could only use 15 consecutive bursts at a time, and they only last a second!]
"I wish my bursts lasted a little longer. Maybe if I train with it more…"
"Uh, Rose?" came Tenya's voice. Ruby turns to face him, seeing he was pointing at the rose petals littering the track.
"Oh…whoops."
[A rather odd side effect are the rose petals she leaves behind]
"Um…should I clean that up?" Ruby asked Aizawa.
"Don't bother. The wind is taking care of most of it. Next."
Jaune and Ren were up. Unlike Tenya and Ruby's Quirks, the Quirks of Jaune and Ren are unable to assist them in a test for speed. They could only rely on their basic endurance. Still, Jaune was able to score pretty good, earning 5.47 seconds.
"Looks like my training paid off," Jaune said to himself. He flashes back to the entrance exam when he was helping people during the test with his Quirk, boosting their stamina and Quirks. "I can't lose this. Not after how far I've come!"
By the time Ren made it, he was out of breath, scoring a less than stellar 7.18.
"Ren?" Jaune asked
"…Give me a minute…" Ren breathed.
"Need me to boost you?"
[Jaune Arc! His Quirk: Amp! He can boost another's stamina by transferring his own. Thankfully, he's chock-full of it! As a side effect, he can enhance other Quirks. Now, that's useful!]
"I appreciate the offer, but no thanks," Ren politely declined. "You'll need your stamina pool for the other tests, I think."
"…If you say so."
Aizawa watched silently before signaling the next two. At some point, the next two are Nora and Kaminari. Taking some advice from Mineta, Kaminari tries to sweet talk Nora.
"Hey, good luck," Kaminari winked, trying to be suave.
"Thank you! You're gonna eat my dust!" Nora declared cheerfully.
The tone of the declaration somewhat threw Kaminari off. "Huh?"
Once they were given the signal to go, they sprinted fast. Well, Nora sprinted fast. Really fast and she scored 4.75. "Yeah! Boop, baby!" she cheered. A couple seconds later and Kaminari caught up.
"The hell?" he wheezed, slightly out of breath. "She's got thighs like tree trunks."
"She's looks short," Sato commented. "I didn't think she could be that fast."
"Wow! That was awesome, Nora!" Mina said. "I didn't know you could run that fast!"
"Well, duh! Did you think I won't be saving people without thunder thighs?" Nora asked.
With a scratch of his head, Kirishima asked, "Hold on a sec, I thought thunder thighs was a derogatory term."
Like a sumo wrestler, Nora squat down with her knees apart from each other, before she lifted a leg and stumps down, causing a small quake much to everyone's surprise. "You tell me!"
Next up was Weiss and Tsuyu Asui. As Tsuyu hopped like a frog, Weiss summoned a Glyph at the start to propel her across, earning her a score of 3.10.
[Weiss Schnee! Her Quirk: Glyphs! A hereditary multitask Quirk passed down through her family, she can create Glyphs that can do many things, but mostly used for acceleration control and agility.]
"A real hero needs actual skill and make use of the abilities of their Quirk," Weiss said. Tsuyu soon makes it to the finish line, scoring 5.58. "It must be hard being limited with something just a part of your body. But, I guess there's nothing you can do about with what you're born with."
Tsuyu tilted her head curiously. "Ribbit?"
Izuku watched silently as he starts to worry about his chances. First test and Izuku could already tell that he'll be placed much lower on the list.
He takes deep breathes, trying to calm his racing heart.
Test 2: Grip strength
The next test was a test of strength, or rather the strength of your grip. Izuku should be able to use One for All for this. All he needs to do is visualize the egg in the microwave and control the level of power, like Toshinori told him. He could feel One for All beginning to surge in his arm, his arm trembled as he tries to prevent it from breaking. He then felt that familiar surge of power beginning to build up, making the boy remember what happened during the entrance exam and the surge faded to nothing, just as the grip meter made a sound.
Izuku dared to look. Surely, he was able to input enough power to give a powerful grip. Maybe in the 100s?
Much to his disappointment, he only scored 56 kg.
Ruby noticed his frustration and was able to take a guess that his grip score wasn't what he wanted. She then overhears that Mezo Shoji scored 540 kg. Judging the number of arms he used on the grip meter, three, each hand was giving the grip strength of 180 kg.
Wanting to cheer up Izuku, Ruby moved to him. "Hey, Midoriya, what did you get?"
Izuku was hesitant to show her but did so. "…56 kg." Really? 56? Isn't this the same guy who KO'ed a gigantic Zero Pointer?
"Hey, better than mine." Ruby showed her score, 45 kg. "See?" She figured since she had a better score than him in the 50 meter dash – he scored 7.02 – she figured why not give him a confidence boost. And it thankfully worked as Izuku smiles gratefully.
Mission accomplished.
And totally ignoring Nora Valkyrie's score of 109 kg.
Test 3: Standing long jump
It's very similar to the 50-meter dash, the main difference is that you have to jump after running for 40 meters and try to land as far as you can in the sandbox, maybe even clear it. At first, Ruby didn't know how to use her Quirk for this. Keeping in mind of her limits, she tries to use her Quirk sparingly, even though she used five bursts for the first test. Thankfully, the previous test gave her some time to rest her Quirk, but still…
After watching her other classmates do their jump – some even clearing the sandbox – Ruby had an idea. She for the first thirty meters before using Petal Burst for the rest of the way. Once she made it to the take-off area, she briefly enters a state where she was visible again, but her body was still 'scattering,' and she stumps the ground for mighty grand leap into the air, the petals she leaves behind burst in a wave akin to an acoustic wave.
"Whoa…Rose used the velocity of her Quirk to increase the height of her jump and hang time! That's a brilliant idea!" Izuku exclaimed.
Ruby, however, didn't have the same sentiment as she started to plummet. "Bad idea, bad idea, this was a bad idea! I gotta think of something, quick!" Sure, she was able to clear the sandbox, but she didn't think about landing strategy. She could hear the wind whistle her ears as she tries to come up with a plan. "Maybe I can use my Quirk…But I'm not sure if I could maneuver it while in the air!"
She stumbles when she landed before she lost her footing and begin rolling into a pile of mats. Everyone else flinched from the impact. Thankfully, Ruby seemed okay as she tried to get her bearings as she laid upside down, her goggles at an angle around her head.
Kyoka Jiro voiced a sympathetic, "Oof…"
"I'd give her an 'A' on jumping, but a 'D' on landing," Hagakure said.
"That was an awesome jump, though!" Sero declared.
"Like a beautifully explosive array of roses," Aoyama said. "Much more pleasing than the bombastic display made by Monsieur explosif."
The comment irked Bakugo. "Are you referring to me, Campy?"
Izuku inched away from the angry young man before looking over at Ruby.
"…Bad landing strategy…" Ruby winced.
Aizawa stared at the rose petals fluttering around at the take-off area before saying, "…Next."
Test 4: Repeated side steps
Weiss again shows off her Quirk use as she used two Glyphs for the sidestep. In fact, the only one who seems to be rivalling her in this test was Mineta!
Ruby, though, struggled. She at first wasn't sure if she could use her Quirk for this until she realized that she could actually control when she could cancel it before the full second was up. She, again, didn't think how she would fare on the final step because when it happened and her Quirk stops working, she stumbles into Shouto Todoroki, causing both to fall to the ground.
"You two okay?" Kirishima asked worriedly.
"Owww…" Ruby uses her arms to pull herself up to see that she was on top of Todoroki, somewhat reminding her how she met Izuku. As she stared into mismatched eyes, she then gasped. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! Ti-Toh-To-Todoroki, right?"
"Just…get off," Todoroki muttered.
"R-Right! Ruby scrambles off and got up, but she loses her footing again and falls on her rear. She looks at the now standing Todoroki and smiles nervously. A part of her hopes that this would somehow end with her and the peppermint haired young man becoming friends, like what happened with Izuku. But, Todoroki just walks away. Ruby frowns at the silent rejection. "Welcome to UA…" She sees a handheld out to her. Looking up, she suspected it was Jaune, but instead it was Izuku. She was grateful either way as she takes Izuku's hand, and he pulls her up. "Thanks." Izuku nodded at the appreciation, before they followed the rest of their class back out to the field.
As they walked, Izuku becomes lost in his thoughts. "The next test is the softball throw. I haven't been able to use One for All at all." He looks at his hand. "When I try to control the gauge, I get nervous of it backlashing and breaking my bones again. Not even the egg allusion is helping. I know that if I don't use it, then I will be in last place and get expelled." He curled his fingers close. "I can't let that happen. And I know that means that someone else will have to take the fall and I don't want that to happen, but…" He thinks about Toshinori and the hard work he put through so Izuku could succeed. "All Might entrusted his Quirk to me and named me his successor. I can't let him down, not after all of our hard work."
"Hey, Midoriya?" He heard Ruby through his thinking.
"Hm? Yeah?"
"How come you haven't been using your Quirk for the other tests?" asked Ruby.
Izuku deeply wishes that he could explain One for All to her, but he remembered Toshinori's paranoia and decided to try to the explain why. "Remember when I told you that it manifested during the entrance exam?" Ruby nodded. "Well, since it manifested so late, my body wasn't accustomed to it yet and it winds up breaking my bones in the process."
Ruby cringed at that, not liking the mental image. "Yeah, I can see that being that being a problem. But wouldn't that get in the way of hero work?"
"If I could just focus that energy into one spot, then that's good enough for now. And hopefully my body would grow accustomed to it." Izuku repeats in his head, "Hopefully…"
Ruby puts an assuring hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Sounds like you got a plan." Unknown to the two, Bakugo had heard it all.
"That useless nerd is lying through his damn teeth," He accused in his head as he fought the urge to confront Izuku with the nitroglycerin popping from his palms. "He doesn't have a Quirk. He didn't get one when we were kids, and he won't get one now. He'll be exposed in the next test."
Test 05: Softball Throw
Arching her arm back, Ruby throws the ball. She figured her Quirk is useless in this exercise, thus she doesn't use it. The ball landed at 41 meters. Slightly different from 39 meters, but progress is progress and Ruby was willing to take it.
Lie Ren was up, and he throws the ball, getting a score of 52 meters.
"Everyone's scores are so lackluster," Kaminari remarked, feeling a little disappointed.
"After seeing Boom-Boom Boy's throw, I don't anyone could beat that," Sero said.
"Damn right…And what did you called me?!" Bakugo exploded. He was about to lose his temper to the snide remarks.
Ochako was next. She lightly tosses the ball, much to Ruby's confusion, until the ball started to float up, up, up, up…and up.
Aizawa shows Ochako's score.
"Infinity?!"
"Forget what I said. That's crazy," Sero said.
Bakugo scoffed "She used gravity, big deal." He sees Izuku going up. As he had already did the throw, Bakugo was exempt from the test. "All that matters is that Deku flubs up and get his ass expelled like he deserved."
"If Midoriya doesn't shape up, he'll be sent home," Tenya said gravely.
Ruby hears this and didn't want that to happen. "You can do it, Midoriya! Show them who's boss!"
Weiss leans in. "Rose, right? Will you quiet down? He's trying to concentrate." Ruby raises a brow at her. What's wrong with cheering for a friend.
"Why are you people buying into his bullshit? Deku doesn't have a Quirk," Bakugo accused.
"What are you talking about?" Weiss questioned. "Of course, he does. He wouldn't be here, otherwise."
"He's not supposed to be here, Snowflake. Deku is a Quirkless loser."
Tenya gasps. "Bakugo, name calling is uncalled for!" he chided. "And he does have a Quirk. Did you not hear what happened in the entrance exam?"
"Were you in Block A?" Ruby asked Tenya.
Tenya nodded. "Yes, I was."
"Who else was there?" Ruby asked the others.
Ochako raised a hand. "I was."
"Me too," Jaune said. Ruby already knew that, but this was for practically.
"As was I!" Aoyama said as he looked at the sky…for some reason.
"And did any of you saw what he did?" Ruby asked.
"Yes," Tenya nodded.
"I did!" Ochako said as she nodded vigorously.
Aoyama does another dazzling pose, much to Weiss' annoyance. "Oui."
"Me too," Jaune said.
Ruby turns to Bakugo with determined eyes. "See? At least four people saw what he did. That's gotta mean something."
"Then you people need your eyes checked," Bakugo said stubbornly. At this, Ruby starts to feel frustrated at the blonde's absolute refusal to believe that the guy he bullied for years – Ruby could take a guess as she has some experience with bullies – now has a Quirk.
"Quiet down, over there!" Aizawa said with a slight raise of his voice.
"Look what you did," Weiss seethed quietly at Ruby, who looks at her with angry confusion.
"What did I do?" Ruby whispered.
"You nearly got us into trouble."
"I don't see how that's my fault."
Izuku had heard the whole conversation from where he stood, and he was appreciative that Ruby stood up for him. "Thanks, Rose." He looks at the softball in his hand. A replacement for the one Ochako sent to oblivion. "I gotta use One for All. My future is on the line. All that's left is this, the distance run, sit-ups, and the seated toe-touch. It's now or never." He thinks about Toshinori, his mother, and Ruby. He moves to throw, channeling One for All in his arm. He no longer cared if he breaks his arm again. He needs to pass! "Everyone is counting on me!"
Aizawa's eyes flashed a bright red and Izuku gasped as he felt the surge of One for All disappear just as he was about to let go of the ball, giving him a distance of 46 meters.
"Wh-What happened? I was going to use it…"
Aizawa's hair and scarf are floating as his eyes continue to glow red. "I erased your Quirk."
"Erased?" Izuku wondered. Why does that sound familiar? He then noticed a pair of goggles around the man's neck, usually hidden by the scarf. "Those yellow goggles…" He gasps. "The Erasure Hero—!"
"Eraser Head!" Ruby finished.
"Um…who?" Kaminari asked.
"Never heard of him," Satou said.
"That's not a surprise. He's an underground hero. Underground heroes work mainly at night, away from the media spotlight," Ruby explained.
"How do you know that?" Ochako asked.
"I—"
"Shhh!" Weiss hushed. Ruby glares at her.
Aizawa continued to use his Quirk on Izuku as he stared the boy down. "The people behind the voting weren't rational. You are not ready to be in this school. I've seen what your Quirk did to your body. What's the plan when you break your body, having someone else to come save your sorry hide?"
Izuku fought back a flinch at the man's harsh words. "No! I—" Aizawa's scarf lashes out to grab Izuku and pull him close.
"Whatever your argument is, it means nothing when you become a liability," Aizawa said. "You're starting to remind me of a certain hero with that same overzealous passion who saved thousands. But that is where the similarities end. You are worthless as a hero if a single punch is enough to break you. Sorry, but you have no place here." He releases Izuku and his hair falls as he canceled his Quirk. "Go do your final throw, Midoriya."
Toshinori's heart clenched the sight of Izuku so downtrodden. Aizawa pulls no punches. The man thrives on rationality, and he won't sugarcoat anything to spare your feelings.
"Young Midoriya…Don't forget your resolve. You can do this."
Ruby watches Izuku drag his feet back to the pitch circle. "Midoriya…"
"Probably told him to pack his bags," Bakugo grumbled, arrogantly. That severed Ruby's tolerance towards him.
"Okay, you know what—?" Before she could say anything else to Bakugo, Jaune quickly grabbed her, holding her back and covered her mouth so she won't say another word. It was way less for Bakugo's sake and more so Ruby doesn't get into anymore trouble.
"There is a time and place, Ruby. Here and now is not it."
Izuku stared down at the ball. "Mr. Aizawa is right. I will be useless if I break my whole arm." He takes a deep breath and moves to throw once more.
Ruby, still restrained, widen her eyes. "Is he…?"
As did Toshinori, his blue eyes shimmering from with the shadows of his sunken eyes.
"…going too…?"
Instead of channeling One for All throughout his arm, Izuku focused the power on the tip of his index finger as he throws the ball with a mighty, "SMAAASH!" and the ball goes flying far as though it was shot out of a cannon. Everyone marveled at the sight. Even Aizawa's tired eyes broaden wide. Izuku winced from the now broken finger. "It hurts…but not as bad!"
Aizawa hears the ding of his phone the moment the ball came back to the ground. He glances at it to see the score.
705.3
Aizawa smirks behind his scarf.
"Mr. Aizawa…" Aizawa looks up at the sound of Izuku's voice. The boy was still wincing from the pain, tiny tears from the corners of his eyes, but he still smiled through the pain. "…See? I can still move!"
Aizawa's smirk grew. "This kid…" He shows the score to the rest of the class.
After a second of processing the score, Ruby removes Jaune's hand from her mouth as she lets out a loud cheer screech close to a crescendo, causing others to flinch. "He did it! He did it! He did it! Whoo-hoo! He did it!" She runs over to Izuku to hug him. Izuku was able to keep his injured finger away and hugs her back with his other arm. "I knew it! I knew you could do it!" She lets go to look at him in the face with a bashful look. "…Okay, maybe I was a little bit worried, but that doesn't anymore! You did it! Ha-ha!" She hugs him again and he winces. Ruby gasps and let's go. "Oh, cats. Your finger!" She takes Izuku's hand gently. "Is it okay?"
"It hurts," Izuku admitted. "But it's better than my whole arm."
Ruby takes out one of her handkerchiefs, a red cloth with paw prints, and carefully wraps it around the finger and gently ties a knot. "There we go. At least its secured until you could go see a doctor."
"Rose, you didn't have to do that," Izuku said.
"Remember what I said about the handkerchiefs?" Ruby smiles. "That one's for drying tears."
Izuku laughs as he used the covered finger to wipe the tear from the corner of his eye. The sweet moment gets interrupted by an explosion of sorts.
"DEKU!" Ruby and Izuku sees Bakugo charging at them like a raging bull and sparks flying from his hand. "YOU BETTER TELL ME WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!" Izuku screams in terror and Ruby moves in front of him, her arms outstretched.
Just as Bakugo got close, Aizawa quickly subdues Bakugo with his scarf, stopping him in his tracks.
Bakugo struggles to turn in the tight grip to face the pro. "What the hell? Why is your scarf so strong?"
"It's made of carbon fibers and a special metal alloy," Aizawa revealed.
Ruby gasps. "That's like…Blake's Capture Ribbons…"
"Stand down, Katsuki Bakugo," Aizawa ordered. "I don't like using my Quirk longer than necessary. It gives me serious dry eye."
"Too bad. That power is amazing," the rest of Class 1-A said.
Ruby noticed Bakugo had stopped his attack as Aizawa relinquished his hold and Quirk. She motions to Izuku. "Come on, Midoriya."
"R-Right."
As the two returned to the rest of class, and Ochako coming to check on Izuku, Bakugo continued to glare seethingly.
"How…?"
After that, the rest of the tests went on as normal, though Izuku had to work through the pain in his finger. Thankfully, Ruby stuck by his side.
Soon, the time came. The time to see who stays…and who leaves.
"All right. Now that is all done, let's go over the results," Aizawa announced as he shows the results on a holographic screen. As she scanned around, Ruby notices she's placed in 10th and that Izuku was placed in 25th.
"…No…" She looks at Izuku, who looked just as devastated, and places a hand on his shoulder.
Aizawa turns off the results. "And I was lying. Nobody is going home." Everyone stares at him blankly. Seeing their faces, Aizawa gives a rather odd smile. "It was a logical ruse so everyone would put their all in."
"WHAT?!" shouted the class…except for a few.
Weiss huffed. "Looks like you were right, Momo."
"You think we should have told the others?" Momo asked.
"I don't think it would've helped in the long run."
The others didn't agree. "YES, IT WOULD HAVE!"
With a sigh of relief, Toshinori leans against the building he was hiding behind. "Thank goodness. Looks like Young Midoriya was able to impress Aizawa."
"The man claimed that his threat of expulsion was merely a ruse, but that's far from the truth." He sees Aizawa coming over towards his direction. "Young Nikos had Aizawa during her first year and had witnessed his strange method towards tough love. He would expel a student before he would accept them back in if he deemed them worthy. This will be tough. Young Midoriya, Ruby, keep going strong."
After the tests, Izuku was given permission to go see the school nurse, Recovery Girl and Ruby accompanies him.
Izuku didn't know that it was the old hero who healed him after his attack against the Zero Pointer. Now, he gets to see how her Quirk works and he wasn't expecting the woman to stretch her lips to give his hurt finger a kiss, which result him shrieking in shock.
After calming down, Izuku looks at his now healed finger. "Oh…that wasn't as bad as I thought." He then starts feeling woozy. "But I do feel sleepy…"
"That's because my Quirk requires energy," Recovery Girl explained. "Get too injured and you lack the energy, you'd go into shock and die instead of healing so do be mindful."
"It could kill me?!" Izuku exclaimed. He took a few breaths to calm down before turning to Ruby. "Thanks, Rose, for coming with me."
"What are friends for?" Ruby smiled
Izuku smiles and hands her handkerchief, now neatly folded. "Here."
"Thank you." Ruby and Izuku exits the nurse's office. "So, what are you doing later?"
"Other than sleep, I don't know."
Before Ruby could say anything, she is suddenly hugged by Yang. "What the—Yang?!"
"I knew I should have listened to my big sister sense!" Yang declared.
"Your what?" Ruby asked as she tries to get out of her sister's grip.
Yang does move, but she takes hold of Ruby's right shoulder as she inspects her little sister. "What happened? Did you sprain your wrist, twisted an ankle?" She gasps and takes a hold on Ruby's head. "Did you hit your head? Are you concussed?" Ruby somehow manages to free herself.
"No, Yang, I'm fine. Really!"
"…You are?" Yang asked worriedly.
"Yeah," Ruby assured. "Totally fine."
"Then, why were you coming out of the nurse's office?"
Ruby turns to Izuku, who was still standing there. "I went with a friend."
Izuku looks at the blonde girl and waves shyly. "Hi…"
"So, you're Izuku Midoriya," Yang stated.
"Uh, y-yeah. That's me," Izuku said.
"You look more plain that I imagine," Yang said.
"Yang," Ruby chided.
"You okay?" Yang asked, ignoring her sister's scolding.
"Uh, yeah." Izuku shows Yang his bandaged finger. "Recovery Girl patched me up."
"It's a good thing that there aren't any classes today." Yang flashes a sympathetic grin. "The old lady's Quirk can take a lot out of ya. Oh, I forgot. I'm Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's older sister."
"Sister?" Izuku wondered. "Oh, Rose did mention having a sister. But why are their family names different? Is it…Are they like All Might and Silver Line?"
"Ready to head home?" Yang asked Ruby.
"Uh, yeah, just…hold on a sec," Ruby said before turning to Izuku. "Where are you heading from here?"
"To Mosu Station to take the train," Izuku answered.
Yang ginned at that. "Well, what do you know? That's where we're heading! Let's get going then!" She walks ahead of them.
Izuku's eyes shimmered with delight at he won't be alone on his way home. Then noticed that Ruby seemed concerned over something.
"What's wrong, Rose?" Izuku asked.
"…I guess nothing…" Ruby said, looking unsure.
Izuku faces Yang and noticed that Yang is missing her right arm, the empty sleeve hanging limply.
"I wonder what happened?" Izuku wondered. "Did it had anything to do with All Might hurrying to the hospital back in February? Whatever happened, it's not my place to ask. It might be a sensitive topic."
Over in the teacher's lounge, Toshinori suddenly feels like a teenager again as he shrunk on the couch under Glynda's scolding gaze.
"Your first public appearance as a UA teacher and you failed to show up for the orientation ceremony!" the woman said as she paced back and forth. "We had to tell everyone that you were off to another one of your heroic endeavors, when in reality, you were spying on Aizawa's class. Even after we told you how he goes about his teaching…"
"I'm sorry, Glynda. I was just worried," Toshinori said as he rubbed the back of his neck, his gaudy gold pinstriped suit hanging loosely on his thin shoulders.
Glynda sighs. For that, I should give you a pat on the back…" Toshinori looks confused. "…and a slap on the wrist!" She whips her crop on the table, making Toshinori flinch back.
"She definitely hasn't change," Toshinori thought as he remember when he met Glynda many years ago during the provisional license exam, back when he was a UA student and Glynda was a Shiketsu student.
Aizawa watched the reprimanding until he heard Hizashi and Qrow snickering at the desks.
"And what are you two birdbrains snickering about?" he asked.
"It's still weird to see All Might, of all people, gettin' scolded like a teenager," Hizashi said. "No matter how many times I've seen it."
Qrow chuckled. "Wait until I tell you how Summer would chew his ass out for the stupidest of things."
Hizashi moves his shades down with an arched brow and coy smile. "Over a drink, like usual?"
"You have class tomorrow," Glynda and Aizawa pointed out.
"Which is why it's a Saturday night thing," Qrow said before turning back to Hizashi as the man moved to leave. "Sound good, Yamada?"
"It's a date!" Hizashi joked. "Bye~." Aizawa silently leaves not long after.
"I'll take my leave too," Glynda sad and turns to Toshinori. "Yagi, be sure to take it easy and rest for the night. The underground heroes can handle the night shift. I mean it." After that, she leaves as Toshinori watched her go. He turns to Qrow as the later sauntered to him.
"She's right you know," Qrow said. "We got this. All you need to do is get a good night sleep. Tomorrow is when the real challenge begins." He then leaves.
"Qrow's right," Toshinori thought. "The real test starts tomorrow."
Night falls and the underground heroes are at work. One was walking down the street when he noticed someone down an alley. They moved to get a closer look. When they did, they knew who it was. Many heroes in this area were briefed about a missing UA student: Blake Belladonna.
The underground hero reach for her, only to have grabbed a shadow as the fake image fade away. The hero looks around for the young woman before making contact with their fellow heroes to be on a lookout.
Up on top of a building, Blake, dressed in a dark purple hoodie and dark leggings, was in a hurry to hide in the shadows from prying eyes. She can't risk getting caught, not while Adam was still roaming around.
Not while the White Fang was on the prowl.
And there we have it! And school will officially begin next chapter!
Since it will involve in the battle trials, you'll get to see Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, Ren, and Nora's hero costumes. You can see the jest of their costumes on my OHA tumblr page under the hashtag character information, along with the rest of Class 1-A and any possible changes I've made for them.