Chapter 4. ...Is Someone You're Proud Of!

Sofia found herself looking at her new outfit in her bathroom mirror. She had brushed her hair to the right and used her Quirk to wet down the untamed pitch black monster before brining the water back into her body. Now wearing UA's school uniform. A grey blazer with green highlights covering up the white button up dress shirt. Her tie wasn't the most neat but she had done her best with the previous knowledge she had of watching her dad get ready for the day early in the mornings along with looking up a guide on the internet.

She smiled remembering the many times her father woke her up from her sleep as he dashed throughout their apartment, searching for all his gear. Early on in her life she had been annoyed by his loudness and having to wake up early, but as she got older she enjoyed seeing him off.

She wished he was currently here to see her off for her first day. With a saddened expression she flattened down the green skirt and pulled up the black leggings. Slipping into the brown dress shoes provided to her. She exited her bathroom and looked around at the quiet apartment, sighing.

She always thought she liked things quiet. Especially as she got older. Her fear of public spaces came a lot from the loud noises and constant stimulation of her ears. More than anything she enjoyed the time she got to just spend in her apartment back home with nothing but her and her dad to make sound.

But therein lied the problem.

She only enjoyed the quiet when she had people around her. They kept her sane. Be the people her father, Ms. Roadfield, or Mr. Kenneth. Having them around to talk to and keep her from focusing so much on the quiet.

Her new apartment was almost lifeless to her without anyone else in it. She'd have to adjust quickly or this place would become a prison for her, which she severely didn't want to happen.

She looked to the rose. In the two weeks she had spent here the flower looked no different than usual. She liked that familiarity. She had made sure to water it everyday with her Quirk, and keep it in the sun. The living room table sitting right next to the window took care of that.

The red petals reminded her of her dad's eyes. Both extremely colorful and filled with life. She wondered if her own eyes could be described in the same way as the man she looked up to.

Letting water sprinkle from her fingertips, the flower gratefully took in the liquid. Sofia smiled and grabbed her school bag. Having that flower here definitely helped the silence not overtake her.

She headed to the front door. It was time for her to head out. Looking at her phone, she saw two text messages. One from her father, and the other from Jiro.

Dad: You're gonna do great this semester Sofi. Wish I could be there to see you off, but this will have to do. Good luck! And don't forget to have fun as well. High School is more than just hitting the books and hitting villains!

Jiro: Heyo Sofi. I'll be heading to UA soon if you want to join me.

Sofia smiled at both of the messages. Her father had finally gotten his phone back after a week of radio silence. Normally she'd be sad not having him to talk to. However what happened with him and Ms. Roadfield was slightly her fault, as he had put her above his own work, so she took the punishment as well.

Jiro and her had talked much over the past week as they awaited their first day. They learned that they lived quite close to each other and also found out they were in the same class. Class 1-A. She hoped having Jiro around would make things better for her in terms of connecting with the rest of the class.

She knew she could interact one on one with the other students. As someone who wanted to be a guide and support for people, she prided herself on her people skills. But only when it was one on one. The more people there were, the more she lost her confidence and began to shrink into herself. She knew she needed to work on it. And she hoped this year would be a good way to improve on herself.

She sent a quick message to Jiro letting her know she'd meet her at the intersection between their two homes. And to her father she sent a thank you and letting him knew she loved him. Opening the door, she yelled into the empty apartment, pretending her father was standing in the hallway watching her.

"I'm off!"

Meeting Jiro at the crossing, they began their trek to their school. Sofia slowing down her pace so her friend didn't have to keep up with her. She couldn't help it. Her nerves demanded she get to the classroom as soon as possible so she could sit and cool down. Jiro shook her head and chuckled as the dark haired girl who was paced ahead of her slightly.

"I know you're excited Sofi, but if you use all your energy now you won't have any left for the rest of the day." Jiro pointed out to the girl who only pouted.

"C'mon Jiro! Aren't you excited to meet our new classmates? They'll be our friends for the next 3 years! Getting to know them is key!" Sofia pointed her index finger in the air, imagining all the colorful characters who would be in their class.

"Sure I am. But unlike you, I can wait another half an hour. And I thought you had trouble with other people. Why so gung-ho today?" She gestured to the excited teenager, who eagerly responded.

"Well of course I'm nervous. And I don't think I could handle all of them talking to me at once. But this is kind of the first time in my life I'll be in a room with so many people my own age." The smile on her face causing Jiro to cover her eyes.

"Too bright!" Sofia chuckled as Jiro uncovered her eyes, "I think you were sheltered a bit too much Sofi." The comment made Sofia blush and hide her face, "Well don't worry. Any guys try to put the moves on ya they'll get a jack right in the eye!" She was only half joking.

Sofia laughed and stood side by side with her friend, "Thanks Jiro. Flirting is most definitely out of my comfort zone. I'll be counting on you to protect me!" Sofia joked back, not knowing her friend had been serious.

By the time they had reached UA, Sofia had gotten all her excess energy out. Finally walking side by side with the musically talented girl, they made their way down the hallways of the prestigious Hero school. Students were hustling and bustling to make it to their home room classes, some even using their Quirks to their advantage. One girl even floated through the air with an excited look on her face as two of her friends tried to pull her down.

"Why do I look at her and think of you?" Jiro rolled her eyes at the behavior, continuing their walk. Jiro soon realized the girl she was teasing wasn't even paying her any mind as she had stars in her eyes looking at the floating girl.

"I wanna do that SOOOOOO badly!" She emphasized her words to show she was serious and Jiro just snorted, covering her mouth.

Jiro finally got her friend to avert her gaze of the scene so they could make their way to their own home room class. Classroom 1-A wasn't lively, but wasn't dead at the moment either. They hadn't arrived as early as some students, but they most certainly weren't last as many seats still sat empty.

Looking at their student ID cards, they found their respective seats, Sophia sat in the fourth seat of the first row while Jiro sat in the second seat of the second row. Looking to the rest of the class, there were only a few people that were currently seated.

Behind Sofia, a black haired young woman who had pulled her hair up into a ponytail sat dignified. She was looking over a book that, upon closer inspection, Sophia noticed was UA's school rule book.

Sitting directly in front of Jiro was someone Sofia recognized from the entrance exam. A young man who wore a plain black face mask. His silver hair that covered one of his eyes would've made him stand out, but what actually made him stand out was his giant wingspan. That being six arms that all connected by what Sofia could only assume was his skin.

A few seats behind Jiro were two boys. One, of the avian variety. His head was much like a bird, beak and all. His fur? Feathers? Well whatever they were, they were pure black that only amplified his red eyes much like Sofia's fathers.

The second boy was easily discernible from the others as his hair split right down the middle with dichromatic colors, much like his eyes. The left side of his hair was red while the right side was white. And his heterochromia had his left eye as a piercing sky blue while his right was a deep black.

The last student that joined them Sofia had recognized instantly as the boy who had called out that green haired guy during the opening presentation for mumbling. This young man sat in his seat as stiff as the chair he occupied. Sofia had to keep her giggles contained, imagining the man as a robot.

Jiro looked to her only friend out of the group, to see the girl was already turned around in her seat and staring at the black haired beauty. She face palmed before walking over to her friend after getting all her school supplies ready.

The girl reading the school rule book hadn't noticed Sofia's piercing eyes just yet. But as she turned the page and looked up to see who else had joined the class, her onyx eyes quickly met Sofia's deep ocean blue ones.

Jumping in her seat slightly, she placed the book on her desk, "Um, hello there. May I help you?" Sofia smiled brightly and was about to introduce herself before a hand placed itself on her shoulder.

"Sorry about her. She's made it painfully clear she's super excited about today." Sofia only pouted that she got cut off, "I'm Kyoka Jiro. And this is Sofia Striker." Jiro held out her hand, which the other teen gratefully took.

"My name is Momo Yaoyorozu. It's a pleasure to meet both of you." Yaoyorozu smiled at the both of them and then shook Sofia's hand. To which Sofia took the chance to finally get her own word in.

"Jiro left out one crucial detail in my introduction. You can call me Sofi or Sofia. I do prefer Sofi though!"

"Oh! Then please feel free to call me Momo or Yaomomo since we're getting personal. I wouldn't want you to feel left out." Jiro looked quite surprised by how quickly the girl felt comfortable around them.

"Sure thing Yaomomo!" Sofia seemed quite glad she wouldn't be the only one going by her given name. "This is going great so far, right Ji-"

All three girls were startled as the door to their classroom flew open and created a resounding "BOOM!" Looking to the cause of the minor explosion, they saw a blonde boy who's hair could only be described as explosive. All eyes glued onto him and he smugly looked back as he went to the desk two seats in front of Sofia. He tossed his head pack and looked at the three teenage girls.

"Don't stare too long. You'll all have plenty of time to get acquainted with my back since you'll be chasing after me for the next three years." The three looked at him shell shocked that he could be so rude to people he didn't even know. Cackling the teenage boy threw his feet on the desk.

"Oh really now? Well how bout instead I-" Jiro's threat was cut off as the blue haired boy made a surprised gasp before standing and heading towards the cocky boy. As he did, many of their classmates walked through the door finding their seats in the midst of the argument that was about to ensue.

"Excuse me, please take your feet off of that desk! You are disrespecting UA property and I won't allow our predecessors to be disrespected by your selfish actions!" The robot like boy chopped his arm up and down at the arrogant boy. Said teen only laughed and began to yell something at the young man with the glasses that Sofia wasn't paying attention to. She had looked away from the scene to see a face she hadn't expected to see.

A mop of green hair had found it's way into the doorframe of their classroom. His face adorned with freckles and two green eyes that matched the boys hair. This teens face was one Sofia remembered well as the one who destroyed the zero pointer in one punch.

Over the last week she'd thought much about him. Hoping he'd make it into the Hero course. Even with her knowledge of the rescue points, she wasn't sure if his actions would award him enough points to get him into the school. So seeing him here put her heart at ease. He had basically given up his test score for that other girl so if anyone deserved to be a Hero, it was him.

She was brought out of her trance as the boy who had been berating her explosive classmate was making his way towards the freckled youth, who hid his face as he introduced himself.

"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya. I-It's nice to meet you Iida..." Midoriya, as she had heard, seemed quite uncomfortable as the boy talked to him. He would only cower more as he got sandwiched in between who she now knew as Iida and another familiar face.

"I'd recognize that clump of hair anywhere! You're the guy who saved me!" The girl with the zero gravity Quirk walked up to Midoriya. Said boy looked petrified and didn't say anything as she went on to talk about how cool he had been, something Sofia agreed with, and bringing up other quick topics like who he thought their home room teacher might be.

She was cut off as a quiet, yet powerful voice came from out in the hallway, "If you're just here to make friends then I suggest you pack up your things and leave." At those words, every student looked to the source of the voice. Those in the very back unable to see the man until he stood up. What they saw made them unsure about their eyesight.

Standing there was the man that had taken Sofia's information during the entrance exam. Cocoon sleeping bag and all. His tired eyes slightly covered by his unkempt black hair trained on the three students crowding the doorway before falling onto the rest of the young teenagers, "I'm Shota Aizawa, your home room teacher." His deadpan tone made many students look on in confusion, not believing someone like him could be their instructor.

Pushing past the three in the doorway, he made his way to the podium directly in front of them, "It took you all a whole three seconds to quiet down. And that's not gonna fly." Unzipping his sleeping bag he revealed a blue track suit with white and red highlights that spell out UA from top to bottom, "Now, quickly put these on and meet me at the track field. And don't make me come find you for being late." He quickly began to bring out more of the tracksuits from his sleeping bag.

Yaoyorozu, Jiro and Sofia just looked at each other stunned and a little nervous. The mood was shared by most of the class.

None of them had a good feeling about this.

"A Quirk assessment test!?"

All the students were rather confused. They didn't know what was going on, but they hadn't thought their home room teacher would be assessing them on their first day. The brunette girl Sofia had met stepped forward from her spot next to Midoriya.

"But sir, what about orientation? Aren't we going to miss it if we're here being tested?" She questioned the decision. Sofia was thinking the same thing, however there was no way she could stand up to her teacher in that way. She didn't have the courage.

"UA is quite lenient on its teaching policies. That means I get to run my class the way I want it and not have to be held to anything as illogical as tradition." Their teacher, who was now out of his sleeping bag turned around to look at the girl. His outfit was one that seemed more situated toward nightly work, being black and grey. And covering his neck was some type of wrapping Sofia had never seen before.

"If you want to be a Hero, you can't worry about something as pointless as ceremonies and tradition. Villains won't wait to destroy entire cities as you worry about what to wear for your next interview."

Sofia found herself agreeing with the man's view, however his tone made her a bit uncomfortable as he seemed to be accusing all of them of what he was talking about.

"Now, let's get right to this. You all will recognize these tests as you've been taking them since junior high. These were used to assess your physical prowess but you were unable to use your Quirks." The man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "This is illogical and, frankly, stupid. Knowing where you stand with your Quirk and its capabilities is essential in our lives even if you aren't trying to become a Hero. And as your teacher I need to know where you stand as well. That being said... Bakugou."

Their home room teacher tossed a softball at the loud and explosive teenager who reacted and caught it with ease, "You scored highest on the entrance exam. How far could you throw a softball during junior high?" The dirty blonde responded quickly.

"67 meters." He seemed rather proud of his score.

"Let's see how you do when you use your Quirk. The only rule is to stay in the circle. Don't waste my time." Bakugou made his way to the circle and smirked as he winded up. What happened next almost made Sofia lose her footing.

"DIE!!!" As the teenager threw the ball, a huge explosion released itself from his palms, propelling the ball further than it previously would have. He looked at his handy work and just laughed.

Their home room teacher looked at his phone before beginning to address them, "By knowing your maximum output it gauges your room for growth and shows me how to work with you." He showed the phone to the rest of the class, which showed an outrageous number, "That is the most rational way to train you."

"750 meters!?" Some looked on in shock. Some looked amazed. And some, like Sofia, found themselves nervous of the teenager who now looked much less full of hot air.

"This looks fun! I wanna give it a try!" A girl with pink skin and horns in her matching pink hair pumped her fist.

"I've always wanted to use my Quirk in a physical test! This is gonna be awesome!" The boy with cylindrical elbows looked raring to go.

Sofia just looked down at her hands, activating her Quirk so they went transparent, 'I don't know how my Quirk can be used to give myself a physical boost.' She looked up at Bakugou who still was acting confident about his chances, 'How am I gonna prove myself here?' Finally looking towards there teacher, she noticed him smiling rather ominously.

"Oh, so you think this looks fun do you? Well then how about we up the ante since you obviously can keep that spirit up." He turned around to face his students, "Whoever scores the lowest in this exam will be expelled from UA, showing they have no potential." The majority of students looked at their teacher stunned, but he wasn't finished.

Looking directly at Sofia he began to explain the next hurdle, "In fact, if you don't show results in at least one of the tests I put you through, you will be expelled along with the student who scores lowest." He had addressed the entire class, but his eyes were never taken off Sofia.

"Some of you took advantage of the fact the entrance exam utilized robots. This gave you an unfair advantage against other prospective students that only work on humans." His eyes left her and glared at a boy with bright yellow hair and a black outline of a lightning bolt, "I'm not convinced those of you who did that deserve your spot here. You need to prove here and how you can be useful against things not skewed in your favor." The boy being glared at took a step back and chuckled nervously.

Bakugou laughed, showing he wasn't intimidated by their professor's threat. Sofia on the other hand...

'W-what!? Expelled? But... but I just started! I barely understand my Quirk as is, and now if I don't show results I'm done? What am I gonna do?' Her mind went a mile a minute as she began to think of ways she could utilize her Quirk physically to her advantage.

"But sir! We just got here! This isn't fair!" Sofia was too preoccupied trying to think of ways she could show she was worth a damn to even take notice of the zero gravity girl's comment.

"Oh and you think things like natural disasters and villain attacks are?" They all got uncomfortable hearing these words, "Our world is riddled with unfairness. At any moment someone could come along and need saving because of the unfairness of our world. It's your job as Heroes to combat that unfairness. To Go Beyond. Plus Ultra." He pulled his hair back and stared down at all of them, "Now... show me you're worth my time."

Sofia just shook, holding her wrist and trying to keep her body stable as she thought of what her father might do in this situation.

First up was the 50 meter dash. Something Sofia wasn't exactly looking forward to as she couldn't think of anything to keep her in the running.

Watching from the sidelines, Sofia saw Iida and the girl who looked like a frog take their spots at the starting line. The green haired girl got on her hands and knees while Iida got ready for a sprint. From what she remembered from the entrance exam, he seemed to have some type of speed Quirk.

Her memory was right as the start gun went off and in a flash the boy was already across the finish line.

"3.04 second!"

The second runner went as fast as she could, jumping with her strong legs, but compared to Iida there was no contest.

"5.58 seconds!"

Sofia sighed as Aizawa indicated for her to take her starting position. Next to her was the other student Aizawa had singled out, the boy with bright yellow hair.

Try as she might, she couldn't think of any way to give herself an advantage here. As the starting gun went off, the two teenagers took off, both seemingly not using their Quirks.

The first one to cross the line was the make of the two. Reaching the line with a hard gasp for air. One that Sofia would share as she crossed the line.

"6.57 seconds!"

"7.87 seconds!"

The machine mocked them both as the stood with their hands on their knees, trying to catch their breath.

"Let's hope both of you can begin to take this seriously, or you'll be going home sooner rather than later." Aizawa mocked them before turning his attention back to the starting line.

Sofia grunted in disappointment. She thought she might be able to at least make her way across the finish line in under 7 seconds. Obviously she was wrong.

The boy to her right seemed just as nervous as she was. They looked at each other and gave a look of understanding. Their chances were looking rather grim.

The next test was grip strength. She knew that, again, her Quirk would be useless here. Nothing she could come up with helped. If she tried to use her Quirk in her hands it would only short circuit the device.

She looked to her rock friend to see Jiro had wrapped one of her ear chords around the grip and was clenching hard while pulling on the chord with her left hand. By her reaction it seemed like her plan had worked.

Sofia looked down at the device and looked determined to just use her own physical strength and get a good score. She clenched the device with all her might. And...

...The screen said 49 KG. Not good at all.

The look on her face made her friend nervous. She hadn't seen Sofia sad before. Nervous and out of her element yes. But never sad.

Never down and out.

The standing long jump went a little better for the girl. Utilizing her Quirk, she was able to turn her body into liquid as she jumped. With the weight of her body now mitigated, she was able to go a little farther than she normally would.

Reforming her body only slightly past the line, she looked to the professor, hopeful that score would be enough. However that hope was dashed as Aizawa shook his head.

On the opposite end of the spectrum was Bakugou who simply used his explosions to propel him over the line. She shook her head and clenched her fists. Banging her head she looked to the next challenge. Determined to do something.

The repeated side step was no better in the end. Her brain was coming up with no way to apply her Quirk. She sat on the balls of her feet, dejected even as Jiro and Yaoyorozu tried to comfort the teen.

Aizawa just looked at her. Disappointment evident in his eyes.

"A waste of a Quirk."

The next challenge was the ball throw again. Sofia had a slight idea what she could do, but she wasn't confident especially after the zero gravity girl took her turn. She only lightly threw the ball, and yet it never came back down. Showing the phone to everyone, an infinity symbol took up the screen.

Sofia would've been impressed if she wasn't so nervous about how things were going. She looked to see who was next. The boy who had destroyed the zero pointer. So far, Midoriya hadn't done well on any of the tests. Much like herself. But she thought this might've been his chance. He seemed to destroy his body when he did use his Quirk, however that strength was sure to come in handy here.

He looked at the ball, unsure of himself. Until he clenched the ball and took his stance. Sofia braced herself, ready for the wind she knew was coming.

This only made the throw that did occur make her lose her balance. But not because the wind overpowered her. But because there was none there and she had put too much weight into the front of her body, making her fall flat on her face.

Jiro and Yaoyorozu quickly picked her up, asking what was wrong. But Sofia just looked at Midoriya in shock. She saw his face. She knew he was trying to use his Quirk and judging by his own reaction, she knew that what happened wasn't what he had planned.

"Wh-what? But... but I was trying to use it just now. What happened?" Midoriya looked at the ball, only about 50 feet away. The shock on his face quickly turned to dread as he turned around to see his professor, hair and wrappings defying gravity, glaring at him.

"I erased your impractical Quirk." He quickly grabbed Midoriya with his wrappings and pulled him in close.

None of them could tell what their professor was saying as he lowered his voice. But judging by Midoriya's reaction, Sofia could tell it wasn't words of encouragement.

"I've returned your Quirk to you. Get this throw over with and then pack up your things and leave." He turned back to the rest of the class. His voice carrying a weight behind it so Midoriya could hear his next words, "You don't deserve to be here."

She wanted to say something.

She wanted to step forward and shout that he was wrong.

To fight for Midoriya.

To be a guide for him.

But she couldn't.

She couldn't even guide herself. Not once during these tests had she actually fought for her own dream or figured out a way to use Liquid Body to her advantage. Her own goals and ideals were worthless if she didn't have the actions to back them up. If she couldn't do that. How could she possibly fight for someone else.

Looking at Midoriya, she didn't know if she'd ever see the boy again. Which saddened her greatly. She wanted to know him. Sure he looked plain. But behind those eyes she saw a kindness and determination she'd only ever seen in one other man.

Midoriya began his windup again after contemplating for about half a minute. She was unsure what to expect. Maybe for him to blow out his arm. Give up entirely. Show off how he actually did have control. But what came shocked everyone. Aizawa especially.

"SMASH!!!" With a yell she wouldn't have expected to come out of such a small boy, the ball went flying out of his hand and left a slight trail as it tore through the air.

Many saw themselves taking a double take. The most prominent being Bakugou as he watched the ball fly through the air with ease. The longer it flew, the more he tensed up with shock and anger.

They all looked back at the boy even as the robot announced his score. He himself was just staring at the ball with his right arm just hanging. Sofia thought for a second his arm was broken again.

That was until she noticed his broken finger.

Putting two and two together she realized Midoriya had used his Quirk just in his finger at the last second so that he could mitigate the damage but also send the ball flying.

The shy yet powerful young man turned to their professor, "Did you see that Mr. Aizawa?" He clenched his fist and looked to see the man who had tainted him, "I'm still standing sir!"

"This kid..." she barely heard it, but his voice wasn't one of anger or annoyance. It was one of being impressed. Which many of the students also were. They were brought out of the trance however as a blur passed them all.

"DEKU YOU TELL ME HOW YOU DID THAT RIGHT NOW YOU BASTARD!!!"

Bakugou had run out of the crowd and directly towards Midoriya who flinched, expecting an explosive hit. One that never came as Aizawa wrapped the same thing he used to trap Midoriya around the explosive teen, who was unable to fight back.

"What the hell is up with your damn scarf!?" Bakugou tried fighting back against the wrappings but could only keep himself in place, which itself was rather impressive.

"It's a capture weapon made of a special metal alloy. Now stand down Bakugou! I won't wait a second to expel you for bad behavior." The threat instantly made Bakugou stand down and clench his fists in what many assumed was anger, "Don't make me use my Quirk so much. It makes my eyes seriously hurt." Midoriya took this chance of him looking down to go around Bakugou and make it back to his friends.

"Alright. Whoever is next go. And make it snappy some of you still haven't shown me anything good yet." His eyes instantly darted to Sofia. However he couldn't actually see them as her head was down slightly, hair covering her eyes. She slowly made her way over to the circle and grabbed the ball one of the robots had brought back after Midoriya's toss.

'I've been such an idiot.'

'I really haven't been giving it my all.'

'If I can't do that.'

'If I can't show how much my dream means to me.'

She looked up. Eyes full of desire. Desire to win. Desire to prove herself.

'HOW CAN I BE A PERSON YOU'RE PROUD OF!?"

Activating her Quirk, she made her right arm into water. She then allowed her watery arm to disconnect itself from the rest of her body and splash onto the ground, leaving a fleshy bump where the arm used to be.

Some students avoided looking at the scene, unsure of how to react. There was no blood but their classmate no longer had an arm. That wasn't normal.

Sofia concentrated and brought the water up out of the ground. Closing her eyes she pictured the water forming the shape she wanted. A bubble.

And with that thought the formless water took its shape as a small bubble, only slightly bigger than the softball she held, that Sofia placed said item into. It tried to fall out of the bubble with gravities pull, however the watery prison stayed formed as she did the same thing she did with her own body when wanting to turn into water without become a puddle, keeping the ball trapped.

Slowly but surely she focused on moving the ball out of the circle. It wasn't quick as she needed to stay focused as to not lose the bubbles physical form, but it worked nonetheless. And because of her focus she was able to keep the bubble from collapsing in on itself for a good while before sweat started to drip down her forehead. Determined however she pushed through and kept the bubble formed until she knew she was about to collapse.

Making the bubble lose its physical form, the ball fell and she quickly pulled as much of the water back to her body as she could.

"358.7 meters!"

She fell to her knees as the water reformed around her arm. She had gotten most of it back, however some of it had dropped as her focus had been one of desperation to get as much back as she could. Her right arm now had many bruises that didn't look too bad, but still looked painful.

Jiro wanted to step forward to see how she could help her raven haired friend, but before she could Sofia pushed herself up and began walking back to her classmates. And as she did she looked to Aizawa.

"Was... was that good enough sir?" Her voiced heaved as she held her arm. It was an actual question. Not one bragging about her score. She wanted to know if she had reached his expectations. Expectations she had realized she needed to set for herself.

"Yeah. That was a good start Striker."

Aizawa had quickly ordered who Sofia now knew as Shoto Todoroki to make some ice and then melt it. He did as his instructor said and made a small block of ice with his right hand before heating it up and melting it with his left.

Sofia took this opportunity to absorb the melted ice and slightly repair the damage caused by her lack of control. The water that was provided to her let her regain the amount she lost. However the damage had already been done to her arm and the excess water only made the pain go away. The bruises would stay there until they naturally healed.

'Definitely won't be telling dad about that.'

With a slight win under her belt, Sofia wanted to show she wasn't going to just skate by with one good test result.

She had to do sit-ups next. Knowing she wasn't very physically capable of getting a high score she thought about how to best utilize her Quirk.

And the best way to do that, was to make sure she didn't run out of energy and lose speed halfway through the minute of sit-ups.

Activating Liquid Body, she kept her form and allowed her feet to stay fully formed so her partner, Denki Kaminari as he introduced himself as, could keep her steady. With less gravity on her and less resistance, she was able to perform above average and get a passing nod from Aizawa.

With another win her smile slowly began to return. But she needed to stay focused. So she didn't let the victory distract her.

Getting in position for Kaminari. She saw he wasn't looking so hot. Much like herself during the previous challenges. She was about to question him, before his mouth opened without her needing to say anything.

"How'd you do that?" He looked at her questioningly as she held his feet, "A second ago you were just as down and out as me. And yet now you're applying yourself better... How do I do that?"

Sofia was surprised. She hadn't realized her actions were being watched by anyone aside from Aizawa.

But this was her chance.

This was what she truly wanted to do.

Be a guide for someone in need.

She could most definitely do this!

"Well, I realized I wasn't living up to my view of myself. I was being nearsighted. Lazy. Uncreative. I may not have the best understanding of what I can do. But I'll be damned if I can't re-energize myself and pull outta the mud."

She internally cringed as she swore. It had just popped out and she couldn't stop it. She looked to Kaminari who seemed to be having an epiphany.

"Re-energize huh?" He closed his eyes and laid on the ground. Sofia felt a slight jolt go through her hands and then the rest of her body, numbing her skin. Once Aizawa started the time for the groups, Kaminari came up and down with lightning quick speed.

"Woah! Hey I can't keep count of this!" Luckily she didn't need to as a robot was already on standby watching Kaminari and keeping track of his score.

As he kept going up and down Sofia couldn't help but notice his smile. One of pride for himself.

By the time the minute was up, Kaminari had cemented his spot as number one for sit-ups with over two hundred. He only laughed and wiped the sweat off of his forehead, "Hah! I've never thought about using my Quirk on myself like that!" He turned towards Sofia and placed an arm around her shoulder, "Sorry if I shocked you. And thanks for the advice! It seriously helped. Ummm..."

Sofia giggled, proud of herself for helping him, "It's Sofia. But please call me Sofi."

He was about to respond with some flirty line, but before it could even exit his mouth an earphone jack had found its way into his ear.

"GYAHHH!" His body fell to the ground as a resounding boom went throughout Kaminari's body.

"You better not be getting handsy with Sofi!" Jiro's earphone jack made its way out of Kaminari's ear, but didn't return fully to her as she used the device to point at the now collapsed Kaminari. Sofia laughed, a little uncomfortable with the whole situation. But she still took the moment as a win.

After all...

She had guided someone to victory!

During the seated toe touch, Sofia figured that the best way to reach her feet was to activate Liquid Body in just her lower back. Using this she was able to fully bend her body down enough to grab the balls of her feet. Only a few others were able to replicate this.

She stayed calm, but still felt proud of herself. Aizawa only nodded. But to her that was enough. Acknowledging her was enough.

They all finished the last test. The long distance run. Iida obviously won that one but Sofia found a way to keep up with most of her classmates. By making herself as lightweight as possible while in Liquid Body and keeping her feet fully intact she was able to glide along and not use as much energy.

Looking back on the original dash she wished she would've stopped being so lazy about how to implement Liquid Body. Even small things could make a big impact.

But now it was time. Time to show how all of the students had ranked. And to see who of their class would be going home.

She knew she wouldn't be leaving. She'd proven herself in at least 2 events, maybe even 3.

But she was still nervous for the people that might not have performed well.

"Alright. Time to show you your scores. I won't be going over them one at a time so just find your name. You probably already have a good idea where you stand after all of that."

Yeah. She did. She was probably around the ten to fifteen mark. She'd screwed up heavily in the first four events. So she knew there was no way she'd be top ten.

And she was spot on.

1. Momo Yaoyorozu

2. Shoto Todoroki

3. Katsuki Bakugou

4. Tenya Iida

5. Fumikage Tokoyami

6. Mezo Shoji

7. Mashirao Ojiro

8. Eijiro Kirishima

9. Mina Ashido

10. Ochaco Uraraka

11. Rikido Sato

12. Tsuyu Asui

13. Sofia Striker

14. Denki Kaminari

15. Hanta Sero

16. Yuga Aoyama

17. Kyoka Jiro

18. Koji Koda

19. Toru Hagakure

20. Izuku Midoriya

Every pair of eyes looked to Midoriya. His eyes showed defeat and despair. Something Sofia had felt many times. But she didn't know what she could possibly say to him. Especially now.

She just looked down. Hoping their professor wouldn't drag on the expulsion.

"Oh by the way I was lying about expelling last place or anyone else for that matter."

...

...

...

"WHAT!?" Midoriya, Kaminari, and Sofia all yelled out.

"It was just a rational deception to get you all to make sure you gave it your all." He gave a creepy smile as Midoriya fell to the ground in relief.

Yaoyorozu looked at the three individuals and scratched the back of her neck, "You guys didn't figure that out? I'm sorry I should've said something."

'Yes you should have!' The though was present in all of those who had been sweating profusely throughout the exams.

"That being said." They all tensed up, "I wasn't lying about some of you taking advantage of the entrance exam." Instead of beating around the bush, he pointed directly at Sofia, Kaminari, and Jiro.

"Though you've shown me you do deserve to be here, you three have a lot of catching up to do with those top of the list. And Midoriya." He looked up from his relief fest as his name was called, "You above all need to learn to control that power of yours. I won't tolerate you always destroying your body. Understood?"

Midoriya nodded quickly to which Aizawa just closed his eyes and begin walking towards the school, "Good, go get your finger fixed up by the old lady. For the rest of you the syllabus is on your desks. You're dismissed." They were left alone and Sofia couldn't be happier.

She was tired of being stressed out.

Sofia sighed as she packed up all her gear. Tired after the day. She was proud of what she had accomplished with the limited knowledge of Liquid Body, however all that Quirk usage had exhausted her.

She stood up and made her way to Jiro's desk, who had just finished packing up herself, "Ready to get going?"

"Actually I'm heading to my dad's gig. He needs a little help with setup. Plus I always love to see a good performance." She stood up and looked to her friend, "You can come with if you want. I'm sure dad wouldn't mind giving an extra ticket to a friend."

Sofia cringed. She wanted to say yes, but...

"Sorry. Thank you for the offer but I'm gonna hafta pass. Large crowds plus loud music equals a very stressed out Sofi." She laughed, embarrassed about her social anxiety, "Plus I'm pretty tired after those tests today."

Jiro nodded her head as she began walking towards the door, "Yeah I understand. Your arm still doesn't look to great even if the pain is gone." Looking at her arm, the many black spots were almost mocking her, "I do want to eventually take you to a concert though. We can work towards getting you to that point!" Jiro smiled lightly, trying to reassure her friend that she could work through her issue.

Sofia was glad Jiro was willing to help her. If anything someone who was rooted in the things Sofia was scared of helping her was the best possible outcome.

"Thanks Jiro. I'm gonna head home and rest. Probably read over the syllabus too." They exited the classroom and began to go separate ways, "I hope I get to meet your parents sometime soon!" She waved to her friend as they parted.

Making her way to the south side school gates, she thought she'd be heading home alone. That was until she noticed a green head of hair walking slowly out of campus. Using the little energy she had left, she quickly made her way up to her classmate.

"Hey Midoriya! How're you feeling?" She popped up next to him, who jumped and made a surprised noise. Holding his head in his hands he said something she couldn't really hear, "Midoriya you're muffling yourself."

He slowly took his arms away from his face, a huge blush adorning him, "I-I'm feeling better. Extremely tired though. Recovery Girl was able to fix my finger but now I'm exhausted." He showed her his hand which had his finger wrapped up in some gauze.

"Well that's excellent to hear Midoriya! UA absolutely needs someone like Recovery Girl to help out. Especially with many of us not having complete control over our powers!" This time, Sofia joined Midoriya in getting spooked and jumping as another voice joined the conversation.

Iida had somehow snuck up on the two and placed his hands on both their shoulders, "I wanted to check up on you both since you seemed to sustain the most damage from those tests out of all of our classmates. I will admit I was rather shocked when your arm just fell off Striker." His attention shifted to the raven haired teen.

"Heh, yeah I should've been more focused during the ball throw. I gotta deal with these bruises now. But don't worry! They'll heal in no time!" She pumped her fist to show it didn't bother her, "And please call me Sofi. Sofia is fine as well."

"Very well Sofia. I noticed you're Japanese and yet you have an American name. Could you perhaps be adopted from Japan?" Iida caught on quick. She of course had nothing to hide.

"Yep! I've been living in America since I was three. I recently came back though so I could try to become a Heroine!"

"That is excellent! It is always a pleasure to meet others from different parts of the world!" Iida smiled and stood next to Midoriya. Said boy was now looking at Sofia with stars in his eyes.

"Woah! So you're from another country? That means different Heroes with Quirks I've never seen before! I mostly keep tabs on the Heroes here in Japan. I wonder what type of Quirks Heroes in America have. And how their laws effect Hero work as I assume America must have different rules about Hero work than they do here. Oh and what type of Hero schools they have as well. I bet you guys have a lot more Heroes since America is so much bigger than Japan. Though does that also effect the villain percentage or are things calm over there? How do Heroes deal with villains in America? Do they have different procedures. How long do they..."

Midoriya rambled on and on about Heroes. The two teens standing next to him were shell shocked. They hadn't heard the boy speak as much as he was speaking now. In fact they thought at this moment he spoke more words than they had heard combined. Sofia ventured to guess that most of these thoughts were supposed to be in his head. She was about to say something, but before her words could leave her mouth, a voice yelled to them.

"Hey you three! Wait up!" From behind them, the girl with brown hair and pads on her fingers ran up to the small group. She smiled as she finally caught up and looked to them.

"Oh you're that infinity girl right?" Iida said.

"I'm Ochaco Uraraka! And you're Tenya Iida if I remember correctly." She pointed to the tallest of the group and then looked to Sofia, "I think Aizawa said your name was Striker," She then looked to Midoriya, "And you're Deku right? Midoriya?"

"D-Deku!?" Midoriya looked petrified at the name.

"Yeah! I heard it when Bakugou ran at you. Isn't that your name?" Uraraka looked at the boy with a confused look that was shared on all three teens.

"Well my real name is Izuku. Deku is the name Kacchan calls me to make fun of me so..." Sofia frowned. All her interactions with Bakugou had been extremely bad so far. And judging by his behavior towards this boy she wasn't liking her chances of being friends with him.

"Well that's quite rude." Sofia said bluntly.

"I must agree, it isn't very Hero like, that is most certain." Iida chimed in.

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't know." Ochaco apologetically said, "But y'know I kind of like Deku! It sounds a lot like Dekiru! You can do it y'know! I think it'd make a great Hero name! Plus it's really cute!" Ochaco looked excited as she said her peace. Midoriya on the other hand was as stiff as a statue.

"DEKU IT IS!"

Both Iida and Sofia looked to Midoriya, surprised by his words, "What? Just like that. But weren't you saying it was an insult?" Iida questioned what was going on.

"Are you okay? You're really stiff." Sofia thought she could lightly poke the boy and he'd fall over.

"My world has just turned upside down. White is black, night is day. Water is fire." Midoriya covered his face and the blush that crept onto it was extremely noticeable. To all except Uraraka of course who remained oblivious of what she was doing to the boy. Midoriya quickly cooled down but still kept quiet as they began to walk away front he school.

After that they all started to make their way to the station, letting each other know where they would be getting off.

"Are you sure you wish to ride with us Sofia? As you said your apartment isn't that far from here. Would it not be a waste of money?" Iida looked to her.

"Yeah! Of course! I love to take the train. Even if I don't get to spend long with you guys I wanna talk some more."

And talk they did. For about three minutes. But in that time Sofia had gotten to finally introduce herself to Uraraka and tell Midoriya how cool he had been during the entrance exam, as well as how his actions had motivated her during the tests today. Iida and Uraraka shared the sentiment while Midoriya shyly said what he did was no big deal.

None of them believed that of course.

Sofia quickly said goodbye as she got off the train and waved to her classmates. And with that the train pulled out of the station and towards its next stop.

Not taking very long, Sofia reached her apartment, opened the door, placed her school bag on the ground, and fell onto one of the chairs around the living room table. It had been a long and eventful day. But even though she was tired, she smiled as she looked up at the rose.

She'd helped someone.

She'd proven herself.

And she'd made some new friends.

Slowly drifting off to sleep, even while laying her head in on arms while sitting at the hard living room table, she felt proud of the days accomplishments.

'I hope you'll be proud of me, dad.'