Momo tossed and turned sleeplessly in her bed. There was someone who could be watching her at all times and someone who could brainwash people, and the two already didn't like each other! She didn't know what her daddy was thinking picking these room mates but it was very worrying, she would never know a moments peace until she got to know them better.

Momo had always been good at reading others, a skill she had first learned from watching her daddy interact with other people. Now she was stuck with dorm mates who could be watching her every move, she wouldn't be able to tell what he knew or saw; the thought alone made her blush and pull her covers tightly around her.

The others seemed nice enough though shinso would have to be a little friendlier, she may be wary of Dex but besides the smart mouth and uncomfortably quirk he seemed harmless, Izuku was painfully shy she noted but at least she found a new friend in Ibara.

*V*

Hitoshi was thinking about how besides the smart mouth kid no one had openly criticized his quirk. Sure there was some uncomfortable looks but no one said it was a villains quirk and that made him smile a bit.

"maybe I should apologize" he said out loud turning over in his bed, it wasn't something he was used to. He would have to learn how to deal with being around people constantly. Hitoshi was so used to being avoided that he honestly didn't know how to deal with other people.

Sighing he decided he would see where the HCP meeting would get him and go from there, there had to be people with scarier quirks then his, right? Rolling over one last time he closed his eyes, it would make his mother sad if he didn't at least try to make friends, it was college after all.

*V*

Ibara sat on her knees finishing a prayer before bed, moving to her bed she began brushing her hair and thinking on the others, her dorm mates. Ibara liked them all honestly. It was a nice dynamic with Dexs quick wit and fast mouth, the boy obviously liked to have a good time and while she already knew she wasn't interested in his idea of a good time she was not going to judge the boy.

Hitoshi seemed so lonely, just one look into his eyes and she almost reached out to give the boy a hug. She wanted him to know he was blessed but he stormed off before she could offer him words of encouragement. She would have to try harder next time ibara promised herself.

Izuku her fellow green haired student seemed too shy to speak more than a few words, it was so unlike the normal strong man. Most men with strength type quirks were quick to flaunt it around, he was a welcomed surprise and a breath of fresh air.

Then there was her new friend momo, they had spent a little time watching tv before eventual turning in, momo seemed a little unnerved and on edge. Ibara hoped to calm the other girl some, hopefully in the days to come she well be more open to sharing her feelings.

Finishing her hair she put in up in a bun and turned in for the night wondering what to expect in the morning.

*V*

Izuku was up witting in his journal his new dorm mates had such amazing quirks he couldn't wait to find out more about them, he wished he were bold enough to ask them while they were all together but his nerves got the better of him.

After making sure Dex was ok after his brainwashing izuku had asked him more about his shadow scope, but sadly it seemed like his friend was too upset to talk more. Friend it was new to him, he hadn't had a friend since Kachan and that was years ago.

Finishing his notes Izuku merely undressed, and gotten into bed. Of course, before he slept, Izuku had tenderly removed a gold pocket watch from his backpack and gently wound it as he did every night.

He then checked the time and made sure the watch was running right then set it down in a place of honor on his bedside table. Then he had gotten into bed himself, pausing on his direct flight toward the land of slumber only long enough to run a finger along the watch and softly whisper, "Goodnight, Sensei." After that, he was gone into a dream.

*V*

"Welcome, freshmen!" The speaker was a tall man with glasses, black hair, and a charcoal-colored suit. He cut an impressive figure even from behind his podium, looking around the room emanating confidence and ease, as though he had made this speech dozens of times before.

Which, coincidentally, he had. "It is my pleasure as Dean of the Hero Certification Program to be the first to congratulate you on making the cut and being enrolled in our very elite little academy," the dean continued. "My full name is Blaine Geffries, however, I want you all to just call me Dean Blaine. It is my hope that each and every one of you grow stronger in the years ahead, and that the best of you graduate from here with full certifications and go on to become acclaimed Heroes. I want to watch all of you find the lessons you need to succeed!"

"Of course he does," Dex muttered to Izuku quietly from his seat in the middle of the auditorium. "The more prestige a Hero has, the better it looks on the school that trained them." "I didn't think the five universities that ran this program were in competition," Izuku said curiously.

"Where there is money, there is competition, and these bad boys are government funded," Dex replied. "Now, I know all of you are a little nervous," Dean Blaine said in an understanding voice. "After all, most of you are from schools, if not towns, where you were the strongest present. Having peers around you who can understand and relate to what you're going through is a new experience, and I'm here to tell you that it will be a wonderful one. You're going to have friendships, support, and respect all built on the mutual understanding that only a select few can share."

"You're going to need that support network, too," Dean Blaine continued. "As all of you should know, becoming a Hero is a grueling task. You'll be taking combat classes, training your tactical skills, learning to think around corners, and - possibly most importantly of all - you'll be learning about the ethics behind having and using abilities. And, of course, you'll be doing all of that while maintaining your secret identity up top."

The sound of groans permeated the audience, which was about fifty people strong. Dean Blaine only gave this talk to freshmen. "Now, now, none of that," said Dean Blaine without breaking his smile. "I know many of you have lived out in the open about your abilities for years, but this is how we do things at UA. Learning to protect a secret identity helps you hone a lot of the skills a Hero will need. Ingenuity, thinking on your feet, and planning are all major elements of keeping your secret safe. Those of you who fail at keeping your secret... well, let's just say that fail was the operative word there." There was no laughter at Dean Blaine's joke, not that he had expected any. That was a joke just for him.

"Of course, there are always extenuating circumstances, but let's just say you should do your best to keep the fact that you're a HCP student close to the vest. If you need to show off, work out, or just get the powers pumping, then you are always welcome down here" Dean Blaine reassured them.

"Lovely," Momo said with a smile. She had opted to sit alone near the top of the tiered auditorium. She loved that sort of spot because it allowed her a vantage point above all the others, observing and noting their behavior.

She hadn't been surprised when Ibara joined her. "With that settled, let's go over today's activities, shall we?" Dean Blaine asked rhetorically.

"Since above ground classes don't start until tomorrow, we'll be using today to do our combat ranking. For those of you who don't know, we do rankings among the classes at the beginning of this and end of every other year. This is so we can get a sense of where you're starting from based on the previous test, and how much you've grown by the end. We won't just be taking into account who wins each fight; we'll be looking at how they use their abilities, bodies, and brains to make the most of every situation. Today's will be a single elimination tournament, so the more you win, the more you fight, the better a chance you have to showcase what you can do."

Izuku felt his heart sink. He still had next to zero control, he was hoping they would do some training before going into the one on one fights,he was at a big disadvantage. It was really his own fault; Mr. Transport had warned them there would be combat. He'd even had a passing thought about it. There was still a nagging voice in the back of his brain telling him that he would lose control and brake a limb or kill someone.

"I'd like all of you to come down now and meet the professors who will be overseeing the first battle of your college careers, the freshmen combat coaches: Coach Kan and Coach Kayama!" Dean Blaine announced, gesturing to the side of the stage where a pair of people, both wearing sweats, walked on and joined up with the dean in the center.

The man had white-haired, tall and muscular. The woman, on the other hand, had long black hair, lean, curvy, and just plain sexy. She looked like she wouldn't be able to take on a sack of potatoes, let alone watch over heros in combat. Not that that really mattered to the men in the audience, who were staring unabashedly, with only a few exceptions.

Dex was certainly not one of those exceptions. "Look at the tits on her," he said as he and Izuku rose from their seats and began making their way to the stage with the rest of their class. "You better hope she doesn't have enhanced hearing,"Izuku mumbled trying to calm the blush that came to his face as they descended. "What? Like she doesn't know she had amazing tits? I mean, we can see them through a sweatshirt, I seriously doubt me saying this would result in a groundbreaking realization for her," Dex defended.

"No, but it could be a skull-breaking one for you. The woman teaches heros how to fight, I can't imagine she's as frail as her form looks," Izuku said. "You have a point," Dex agreed.

"On the other hand, though... Yowza." Fortunately for Izuku, at that point they reached the stage and even Dex wasn't dumb enough to keep chatting about their coach's breasts with her in human earshot. At least, he hoped Dex wasn't that dumb.

Once all the students were together, Coach Kan stepped forward and addressed them. "Good morning, new meat," he said with a grin that was far more believable than the one the dean still had shellacked onto his face. "To the upper classman I'm a professor, but you haven't earned that right yet, so to you my name is Coach Kan, and by the end of the year you are going to curse me, my mother for birthing me, and God for allowing me to exist. I am going to work every last one of you down to the bone. I am going to break you apart until you have no concept of what you can or can't do, because I want each of you to end this year doing things you never thought possible. You will all hate me for the rest of your life, but if you are very skilled and very lucky, you will live long enough to come back here and thank me one day. You will thank me for making you strong enough to survive."

Coach Kan stepped back, and Coach Kayama stepped forward. "First off, yes, eyes up at my face, gentlemen. Secondly, I'm going to be training you as well, though while my brutish counterpart will be teaching your bodies how to endure combat, I will be educating your minds. You will use your powers in new ways you never would have imagined before, and you will do it because the only options I am going to hand you are to find a way or suffer bodily harm. You should know that Coach Kan and I are the harshest instructors in this academy, because we have to be. This is where you are torn down and built up correctly with the building blocks that will enable you to survive the years to follow. If we do not think you can survive, we will fail you. So work hard and learn fast, or you'll wash out and be no better than Quirkless."

The students winced visibly at that, the idea of being compared to Quirkless kicking them into gear and setting their determination not to wash out firmly into place. Which, of course, was exactly what Coach Kayama had been aiming for.

"All right," said Dean Blaine. "So, before we pair off for the first round of combat, does anyone have any questions so far?" No hands came up, so Dean Blaine continued. "Fantastic; then I want the girls to go to Coach Kayama and the boys to go to Coach Kan so they can pair you up."

"Isn't that sexist?" The question came from a girl near the front of the crowd with dirty blonde hair. Izuku looked at her, and realized with pleasant surprise that the girl with the orange side ponytail hair from the dining hall yesterday was standing next to the question asker. "And what is your name, miss?" Dean Blaine asked in response.

"Julia," the girl replied. "Let me guess, Julia; you're a women's studies major, right?" Dean Blaine asked. "Um... yes," Julia replied. "There's always one," Dean Blaine said with a sigh. "We go over this every year, so I'll tell you the same thing, Julia. The point of this test is to get an idea of how you fight against an opponent when you are at relatively equal footing. Both you and your opponent will have an ability, so the only other difference is your physique, and sadly, boys are usually stronger than girls. This means that getting an accurate assessment requires us to pair you with people who have similar body types. If it makes you feel better, though, this is only the case for freshman year. Once you become sophomores and have been trained by Kan here, we'll be setting you against anyone, regardless of sex."

"I guess that makes sense," Julia conceded. "Great," Dean Blaine said. "Okay, everyone, now report to your respective coach and get ready for a good old-fashioned tussle."