Author's note:

Wow, it's been a while since the last chapter. Apologies to everyone for that. A bunch of life events piled up at once and kept me from making much progress on this story. Hopefully the next chapter will come a little more quickly.


The harsh buzzing of his alarm jolted Izuku awake. He groaned in disappointment as the last vestiges of sleep were torn away from him. He'd been having an excellent dream involving a picnic in the park with Katsuki and Uraraka. He spent a few moments futilely chasing the memories of the warm sun and pleasant company, but found them irritatingly elusive.

"Izuku, dear, time to wake up!" his mother called from the kitchen. Despite her soft-spoken demeanor, she somehow managed to make herself heard from across the apartment with little effort. "If you don't get up soon, you won't have time to eat before school!"

He sighed. He knew she meant well, but it was hard for him to be enthusiastic on a school day, when all he had to look forward to was—

He froze as his sleep-addled brain caught up to reality. He wasn't being forced to return to his least favorite place on the planet again. He didn't have to prepare himself for another day of torment.

He was going to learn how to be a hero from actual pro heroes. He was going to eat lunch with Katsuki and Uraraka without having to look out for spitballs or people trying to trip him. He was going to UA!

A wide smile crossed his face at the realization. He leapt out of bed and sped through his morning routine in half the time it normally took.

When he made it the kitchen, he froze in surprise. Katsuki was seated at the dining table, casual as could be despite the fact that it had been more than a year since he'd eaten breakfast at Izuku's house.

"What are you looking at, nerd?"

Izuku stood frozen for a moment, gaping like a fish. Finally, he managed to put his thoughts in order and respond.

"I… nothing. I'm just… surprised to see you."

Katsuki clicked his tongue. "I just dropped in because my mom made me leave super early, and this place was on the way to school. Don't get used to it."

Katsuki's house was actually closer to UA than Izuku's was, but he decided not to comment on that fact. He'd learned long ago that trying to make Katsuki admit he was being nice only made him deny it more fervently.

Instead, he sat down across from his friend and tucked in. As luck would have it, his mother had made extra that morning, so there was more than enough food to go around, even with Izuku and Katsuki's generous appetites.

"I'm so glad the two of you are friends again!" Inko said, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

"Mom!" Izuku hissed in embarrassment.

"Oh, I know you're teenagers now and it's embarrassing to be friendly in front of us old people, but it does my heart good to see you two so close. When you drifted apart I was worried that it would be permanent."

Katsuki snorted. "Nah. It'd take more than that to get this nerd to leave me alone."

"K-Kacchan!" Izuku whined, taken aback at suddenly being ganged up on.

"You know I'm right. Who else is gonna sit through your hour-long hero lectures?"

"Uraraka might," Izuku said, somewhat petulantly.

Inko and Katsuki immediately perked up at that.

"Who the hell is Uraraka?" Katsuki asked, seeming genuinely unaware of who Izuku was referring to.

Izuku could only sigh. He should have realized that Katsuki wouldn't remember their classmate's names, at least not until they really met his approval. This wasn't the first time this had happened though, so Izuku had gotten used to having to reintroduce people. He had just assumed Katsuki would put in a little more effort now that they were attending UA.

"She's one of our new classmates who I met at the entrance exam. She's a little shorter than me, with brown hair and pink cheeks, and pink pads on her fingertips because of her Quirk. Very enthusiastic." He didn't see any spark of realization in his friend's eyes, so he tried one last time. "She was the one who beat your score on the ball toss yesterday."

"Ohhhh. You mean Round Face."

The nickname wasn't bad really. Especially when compared to some of the other ones Katsuki had come up with in the past for people who irritated him. Still, Izuku hoped that Uraraka never heard it. Or that he was able to explain a little bit about Katsuki's behavior before she did.

"Um… Yes. We're… we're kinda friends. Since the entrance exam."

Katsuki blinked in surprise, while Inko began to weep openly with happiness.

"I'm so happy for you!" she said, dabbing futilely at her eyes with her napkin. "You're going to the school you've always wanted to, and now you're making friends! And with girls too!"

Izuku flushed at the implication, waving his hands in front of him. "It… it's not like that! I mean, she's pretty and nice, but we're just friends!"

"My little boy is growing up!" she proudly proclaimed, drawing Izuku into a tight hug.

Before he could protest any further Katsuki cut in.

"Izuku, you sure she's actually nice?"

He nodded. When they were younger, a few of their classmates had made a bet on whether they could get Izuku to think they were friends, only to leave him sobbing in front of the class when they couldn't be bothered to keep up the charade any more. The teacher had needed to physically restrain Katsuki to keep him from attacking the ringleaders.

It had taken Izuku a long time to recover from that incident. To him, the bond of trust between friends was sacred, and not something to be used to hurt other people, no matter the circumstances.

"I'm sure." he replied, "She seemed like she wanted to be friends just as much as I did. And she helped me out at the entrance exam."

Katsuki's eyes widened in realization. "Wait, Round Face is the one who saved your dumb ass from falling to your death?"

"SHE SAVED HIM FROM WHAT?" Inko shrieked.

Izuku and Katsuki both froze. After the entrance exam, they had come to a mutual agreement that neither would mention exactly what had taken place to his mother. Part of this was to spare her from stress, and part was to preserve their own hides.

Inko may have abandoned her delinquent persona after graduating high school, unlike Mitsuki, but it had a tendency to emerge when her son was in danger. Both Izuku and Katsuki remembered the time she had taken down a rabid dog in a single hit when it had tried to bite Izuku. Time, age, and a rich diet may have dulled her physique, but Inko Midoriya's spirit was as sharp as ever. Neither of the boys wanted her thinking they had been reckless or negligent when it came to Izuku's safety.

Katsuki bolted from his seat, followed shortly by Izuku. In no time, the pair had grabbed their bags and were at the apartment door. Neither had finished eating, but in that moment hunger seemed much preferable to the alternative.

"Need to grab the train!" Katsuki called back into the apartment. "Nice to see you, Auntie Inko!"

"Bye Mom!"

"We're talking about this when you get home!" Inko called after them "Have a good—and safe!— day at school!"

"I'll do my best!"

Inko sighed as the door slammed shut behind the boys.

"That's what I'm afraid of."


Hissing with irritation, Katsuki spun on his heels, eyes scanning the surrounding buildings wildly. When he couldn't find anything, he cursed vehemently. It was the third time he had done this since they had left Izuku's house just a few minutes ago.

"What's going on, Kacchan?" Izuku asked.

"Feels like someone's watching me. It's fucking creepy." Katsuki said, adjusting his bag on his shoulder before he continued walking. His slouch was even more pronounced than it had been a moment before. It was only when they were away from people that Katsuki seemed to really relax and let his carefully affected image slip away. When he was this worked up, he looked like a delinquent straight out of the movies.

Izuku hummed as he considered the situation. "Hmmmmm. Maybe you have a secret admirer?"

Katsuki scoffed. "Hope not. I've got enough shit to deal with without some idiot throwing themselves at me. 'Sides, no one around here would be caught dead trying to flirt with me."

Izuku had to agree. Even putting Katsuki's undeserved reputation aside, his general demeanor didn't exactly invite people to spend time with him. Izuku was probably the only person his own age that Katsuki had spent more than an hour talking to without it devolving into a fight since elementary school.

"Maybe it's our uniforms?" Izuku mused. "There aren't a lot of UA students who live out this way, so that might be why."

Katsuki shrugged noncommittally. "Maybe. But it feels slimier than that."

Izuku grinned. "Maybe another of your mom's friends is thinking about how 'handsome' and 'muscular' you are."

Katsuki shuddered for a moment, likely reliving his traumatic memory. Then his palms began to spark as he glared at Izuku.

"I thought I told you never to bring that up again," he hissed.

"Just thought I should bring up the possibility," Izuku said glibly.

Katsuki opened his mouth to respond, then decided against it. Instead, he shot one last look behind him, then picked up his pace. "Whatever. Let's just get going. Don't want Aizawa getting on our case about attendance or some shit.

Izuku had to agree, though he was surprised to hear Katsuki using Aizawa's name. He'd never shown respect for any teacher before this point, so it was nice to see the change. It looked like UA was going to be good for both of them.


Aizawa slid into the classroom a second before the first bell rang. Most of the class were still out their seats, though once they noticed their teacher had arrived they practically leapt for their desks. No one wanted to get any further on their teacher's bad side than they already were.

It was hard to tell, but Izuku thought he could see a faint smirk cross on the man's face at the reaction.

"Would you look at that." he said, tone as deadpan as ever. "You can be taught."

He dropped a small packet of papers onto the sparkly blond boy's desk. "That's the attendance sheet. Make sure everyone signs it. Announcements are on the podium. You can have someone read it out or you can pass it around too, I don't really care." With that, he pulled out his apparently ever-present sleeping bag and zipped himself into it.

The class stared in disbelief. Yesterday had been one thing, with Aizawa being dismissive of their abilities and efforts, but this was different. At least then he'd been acting like a teacher.

"Sir, are you not going to lead homeroom?" Iida asked, sounding scandalized.

"No I am not," Aizawa replied. "You're heroes in training now. You don't need me to announce everything to you. Or at least, you shouldn't." he gave the class a significant look that had several of them shrinking in their seats.

Aizawa sighed. "Look, I'd do away with homeroom in favor of something more useful if I could, but the principal says I have to let you 'settle in' before I change up the curriculum too much. So just… deal with it for now. We'll get to something better soon."

Izuku found himself surprisingly mollified by the explanation. He didn't quite agree with Aizawa's hands-off approach to class, but he did understand the reasoning behind it. Homeroom was a bit of dead air when compared to the rest of the school day, especially if there weren't many announcements to make.

Apparently, the rest of the class felt similarly. There was some general muttering, but they organized quickly to pass the role sheet around. Iida volunteered to read the announcements in the meantime, all of which were either irrelevant to them or general information that was pretty self evident, in Izuku's opinion.

With the announcements done, Iida took advantage of his position at the front of the class to launch into a mini lecture about respecting the school and its equipment. He didn't name any names, but everyone knew who the lecture was directed at. Thankfully, Katsuki didn't do much more than glower at Iida, though Izuku had no doubt he was burning the bespectacled boy in effigy in his mind. The rest of the class merely rolled their eyes and zoned out, hoping Iida would wear himself out.

Finally, Iida finished his talk, giving a small bow despite the lack of applause, and took his seat once more. As he did, the pink girl with the Acid Quirk, whose name Izuku was fairly certain was Ashido, hopped to her feet. She looked like she wanted to say something to the class, but she never got the chance.

"Good morning listeners!" Present Mic said, literally sliding into the room. "How are you all doing today?"

Ashido looked extremely put out at having lost her chance to talk to everyone, but she took her seat as dutifully as everyone else. After getting to know Aizawa, they were all wary of the rest of the staff, waiting to see if his attitude was an anomaly or a feature.

Their worries proved to be unfounded, however. Present Mic led his class with the same enthusiasm that he hosted his radio show with. He seemed overjoyed when people asked questions or participated in discussions with him, a fact the less academically minded of the class immediately took notice of. They managed to lead him onto two different tangents before class was over, and Izuku could tell that it would become a trend.

Still, he found that he actually enjoyed the class. Present Mic was much more enthusiastic than Izuku's old teacher at Aldera, and he was much more comfortable with deviating from the lecture to discuss important points. Izuku could tell that his knowledge came from experience, rather than just from a textbook. His tangents were interesting, too, even if they weren't always related directly to the material.

He came away from the class hopeful. Present Mic's area of expertise seemed to be in conversational English, which was the area Izuku was weakest in by far. Many of the early works on Quirk theory that Izuku had studied were written in English, so he had a basic grasp of the written language, but he'd barely had a chance to speak it with anyone.

He did have an excellent stock of English curses thanks to Katsuki though.

Their next class was modern literature, and going between the two gave Izuku a sense of whiplash. Cementoss was almost the exact opposite of Present Mic, calm, quiet and collected at all times. He had a set of lecture notes that he stuck to religiously, only taking questions at specific intervals, and finished just a few moments before the bell rang.

He was an excellent teacher though. He kept a measured pace that was easy to follow, taking his time to explain each concept thoroughly so that everyone understood. It was obvious that he had been teaching for a long time, and his style had evolved from his experience. He wasn't as stiff as his appearance would imply either. He showed a particular penchant for slipping puns into his lectures that left several members of the class laughing, and the rest groaning.

It was nice, though, to have time to relax after the whirlwind that was Present Mic. Izuku enjoyed being able to sit back and take notes at his own pace, rather than trying to keep up with the energetic hero. Unfortunately for some, Cementoss's voice proved a little too relaxing. Izuku could see a few heads lolling up and down and what sounded faintly like snoring coming from the far side of the classroom.

No one could sleep through their next class however. Midnight's appearance kept several of the male students' attention firmly fixed upon her, and Izuku could hear heavy breathing coming from behind him whenever the heroine dropped her chalk, which was a frequent occurrence. Those who weren't captivated by her looks found her hard to ignore for other reasons. She made liberal use of the riding crop she carried in her left hand whenever she felt their minds or eyes starting to wander away from her, something she seemed to have an instinctive knack for.

That all said, Izuku quickly realized she wasn't the walking bimbo the media often portrayed her as. She was wickedly smart, picking apart any poorly-phrased answers she received in seconds. She seemed to be the kind of teacher who put her best effort into every class and demanded that her students put forth the same.

He just wished she'd tone down the innuendos.


Katsuki let out a sigh of relief when the slutty teacher finally let them out for lunch. The entire day had been nothing but review for him, and he was intensely bored. It looked like he was going to keep being bored as well. Their foundational heroics class was being replaced with a meet and greet session for their class, supposedly to make up for not getting to know each other the day before.

It sounded like a massive waste of time to Katsuki, but he couldn't think of a way to get out of it without pissing off the faculty, something he wanted to avoid as best he could. He already knew that between his Quirk and his appearance, none of the teachers would be friendly towards him. Any overt acts of disrespect or rebellion were liable to turn them fully against him. No, his best bet was to toe the line until his grades and skills earned him some respect. It would bite the hairy bag, but Katsuki was prepared to stow his pride while he established himself.

That willingness didn't extend to his fellow students, however.

"What's up bro?" A red-haired boy asked when Katsuki exited the lunch line.

He spared a moment to look the boy up and down. He was muscular and seemed proud of it, keeping his uniform sleeves rolled up to his biceps. His hair was so obviously dyed that Katsuki almost sniggered. It was obvious that he'd done it himself too. The color was uneven, and he'd missed a few of his roots.

It reminded Katsuki a lot of the time his mother had tried to get him to dye his own hair black to stand out less. He'd struggled the whole time and the dye job had ended up choppy and incomplete. Not that it would have changed anyone's opinion of him even if it had gone perfectly. That had been set in stone since he was a child.

"What do you want?" he asked, treating the boy to one of his signature glares.

"Me and my friends have an empty seat at our table, and we were wondering if you wanted to eat lunch with us." He indicated a nearby table where a blond boy with a black streak in his hair and a bright pink girl were waving at them.

Katsuki had seen their kind before. They were gathering their little clique and pretty soon they'd be laughing with each other about everyone else who wasn't 'cool' enough to join them.

"Not interested," he said, turning away to look for where Izuku had ended up.

Thankfully, he spotted the mop of distinctive green hair almost immediately. Izuku had claimed a medium sized table on the far side of the cafeteria and was glancing around at the surrounding students nervously.

"We'll catch you later then!" The shitty-haired boy called from behind Katsuki.

"Piss off, Shitty Hair!" Katsuki called back, not bothering to turn around. He didn't see the wounded look that crossed Kirishima's face at the words.

Katsuki made his way across the lunch room, pushing his way past people who didn't get out of his way fast enough. As he walked, he decided that he and Izuku were going to lay claim to a table that was closer to the entrance so that he didn't have to trek halfway to China to eat his lunch.

When he finally reached the table he was further dismayed to see that Izuku wasn't alone. Izuku hadn't been kidding about being friends with Round Face, apparently. The two were chatting animatedly about one of the ridiculous tangents that the Cockatoo teacher had gone on earlier. On the opposite side of the table, directly across from Izuku, was Four Eyes. He was nodding along with the conversation, looking a lot less robotic than he had previously.

He dropped into the open seat next to Four Eyes with a thump that caused both of the extras to jump. Izuku just smiled at his arrival.

"Hey Kacchan. Enjoying classes so far?"

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Fuck no. I'm bored out of my skull. And not looking forward to whatever BS activities they're gonna make us do later."

Izuku nodded sympathetically, but the other two glared at him.

Four eyes spoke up first. "Perhaps if you payed attention instead of staring out the window for the entire class you might find the lectures more engaging."

Katsuki scoffed. "I'll start paying attention when they start teaching stuff, instead of just pointlessly reviewing shit we already know."

"Wait, your school covered this stuff?" Round Face said, only to be drowned out by Four Eyes.

"Review is an important step in the memorization process! Besides, paying attention to our teachers is a matter of respect! Furthermore—"

"I think what Kacchan is trying to say," Izuku cut in before Four Eyes could get rolling on his lecture, "is that since he's studied ahead of the curriculum, the classes now feel slower than he was hoping for, and it's made him feel a little disappointed."

It definitely wasn't how Katsuki would have put it, but the explanation seemed to mollify Four Eyes, so he let it go.

"You studied ahead?" Round Face asked, surprise clearly written on her face.

"Yeah. Got something to say about that?" Katsuki asked. Lunch was already a quarter of the way through and he hadn't gotten the chance to touch his food yet. He hated when people tried to engage him when he was doing shit. That was the nice thing about Izuku. Once he got going, he needed very little input, leaving Katsuki free to do whatever he wanted.

"No, I'm just… surprised." she said.

Izuku nodded understandingly. "I know he doesn't look like it, but Kacchan is a really good student. And a good friend."

Katsuki would never admit how much Izuku's statement meant to him. Even after all these years, he never changed his opinion, never turned his back on Katsuki. It was nice to have someone who believed in him.

"It appears I have let my impressions cloud my thinking yet again." Four Eyes seemed to deflate as he spoke. For a brief moment, Katsuki felt like he could see past the stiff demeanor and awkward attitude and catch a glimpse of someone underneath, someone who reminded him strangely of Izuku. A second later and the moment was over. Four Eyes offered his hand to Katsuki. "My apologies, Bakugou, for judging you unfairly. I hope that you can forgive my blunder."

"Whatever." Katsuki said, digging into his food. If they were going to keep talking to him for the whole period, he might as well get some nutrition out of the deal. "You're forgiven and shit. Maybe lay off the lectures though."

He looked a bit taken aback at the response, but recovered quickly. "I… thank you. I will… endeavor to comply with your request. Though, might I ask you to tone down your language in exchange?"

"Mind not using your glasses in class?"

Four Eyes frowned at the question. "I require my glasses to function properly in class."

Katsuki shrugged. "And I need to swear to function. Same difference."

"It is hardly the same thing! And furthermore, I object to your implication that I…"

Katsuki sighed internally while the other two snickered. It had probably been too much to hope that Four Eyes would actually tone it down that much. He settled in for a long lunch, and an even longer afternoon.


The last ten minutes of math class seemed to drag on forever for Mina. Not that she ever really found math class exciting, but today was especially bad. She'd been going over her plan for the class party since last night, and couldn't wait to pitch it to everyone. She'd already brought it up to the few friends she'd made so far, and they had all thought it sounded great.

By the time Ectoplasm packed up his papers and promised to "get into the fun stuff" starting the next day, Mina was practically bouncing in her seat. Not even the threat of looming algebra could get her down.

What did curb her enthusiasm a small amount was Aizawa walking back through the classroom door instead of a new teacher. Mina had a lot riding on who their last teacher was, and she was a little disappointed not to find out. She and Kirishima were playing pro-hero bingo with their teachers. If it was Number Thirteen, like she thought, Mina stood to win an extra large soda from the convenience store near her old school. Kirishima was holding out for Vlad King, the poor fool.

There hadn't been many conversations running before Aizawa had shown up, but all of them ceased instantly when he came into view. Mina, for her part, felt her back go ram-rod stiff as he cast his gaze over the class. Memories of yesterday's "assessment" rose unbidden to her mind and made her shiver.

"You know, if you all had just gone home then I could have skipped too," Aizawa said, sighing heavily.

Mina was surprised by how much she liked Aizawa. After the first day, she had thought he was a total hard-ass and a bully. After today, though, she found that she had a grudging appreciation for the hero. He spoke his mind, and he definitely wasn't one to mince his words. It probably rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, but Mina could see how having someone like him around could be good for the faculty and students alike.

She still wasn't entirely comfortable with him though, especially after his stunt on the first day. Even if it had been an act, he had totally crossed the line, and Mina wasn't ready to forgive and forget just yet.

Plus, his glares freaked her out. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like to lose access to her Quirk, even if it was just temporarily.

"Alright," Aizawa grabbed a chair and spun it around so that he could lean over the back of it to face the class. "Here's the deal. The Principal gave me a list of icebreakers I'm supposed to have you complete. Once we're done with those, however, the rest of the 'activities' are up to me. So, we're going to go through this as quickly as we can, and then I'll let you go. If anyone wants to stay after that and mingle, you're welcome to. Sound fair?"

Enough people nodded that he apparently felt satisfied with the answer.

"Okay. First up is a basic introduction," he said, reading directly off a sheet of paper and somehow managing to sound even more deadpan and monotone than normal. "Stand up, say your name, Quirk, an interesting fact about yourself, and what kind of hero you want to be." He shook his head dismissively as he finished, and Mina was pretty sure she heard him mutter something disparaging about school traditions.

As stiff and formal as it was, Mina was thankful for the introduction. One of her main goals for this week had been getting to know as many of her classmates as she could, and this helped a bunch. She had already known a few of her classmates' names, but this let her get the rest of them down pat, especially since their 'interesting fact' helped them stick in her mind.

A lot of it played out like she expected. Most people were stiff or awkward, keeping their introductions as short as possible. There were a few standouts though.

They had not one, but two foreign people in their class. The rather fabulous boy who sat in front of her, Yuga Aoyama, was apparently French and extremely proud of it. Despite going first, his introduction ended up being one of the longest in the class. It was filled with references to his beauty and talent, which Mina had some trouble believing considering how low he had ranked in the tests the day before.

The other foreign student, Pony Tsunotori, didn't have quite the same grasp on Japanese as Aoyama, but she made up for her broken speech with her charm. She seemed a little bit on the shy side, though it was hard to tell if that was really due to her personality or just a lack of confidence with her Japanese. She was absolutely adorable though, and Mina resolved right then and there that they were going to be good friends.

Midoriya didn't look like he was letting the assessment fiasco hang over his head, which Mina supposed was a good thing. However, he did look like he wanted to be anywhere but presenting to the class. She got the impression that he wasn't exactly the most social person. He seemed nice enough though. As he spoke, she reminded herself that she still wanted to talk to him about Aizawa and make sure he knew there were other people in the class he could go to if he felt bullied.

Then again, he might be used to people with abrasive personalities, considering that he seemed to get along with Bakugou. Mina wasn't quite sure what to think of the blond boy. His appearance and attitude screamed delinquent, but something about the assessment felt off to Mina. Even so, Mina didn't get the feeling he was there to make friends. He glared at anyone who came near him, as if he expected someone to want to throw hands at any time. It was more than a little off-putting.

Last, and most certainly least, the purple cretin named Mineta had made a decidedly negative impression with his goal of being a hero to get women and his none too subtle looks at the female students in the class. Mina was thankful she had only noticed his looks after she had presented. Knowing he was looking her up and down while she spoke would have made the experience infinitely worse.

Mina was pretty disappointed by the rest of the icebreaker activities. The introduction section had been the most informative, making the rest seem pointless and often downright ridiculous. If it weren't for Aizawa glaring at them, Mina would have been sorely tempted to skip out on a few of the worst ones. As it was, she put her best smile on and mingled with everyone as she filled out a bingo card of her classmate's favorite fruits.

"What, exactly, is the point of this, sir?" Yaoyorozu asked as the group finished sorting themselves into a line based on their favorite colors.

"Nedzu likes his data." was all Aizawa said in response.


"Finally!" Mina said with relief, collapsing back into her chair.

Their last "icebreaker" had involved the class grabbing each other's hands to form a human knot, then trying to undo themselves without letting go.

It had taken much longer than it should have since no one could agree on how best to go about the task. Yaoyorozu had tried to take charge, but she had been misled by a couple of the guys—including Kaminari, to Mina's irritation—who had just been trying to set things up so they rubbed up against as many of the girls as possible. Bakugou hadn't made it easy either, shouting down anyone who disagreed with his instructions.

Thankfully, Midoriya had somehow been able to talk him into working with the group instead of just shouting at them. The blond had then proceeded to headbutt Kaminari and Mineta into submission without letting go of anyone's hands in a rather impressive display of flexibility.

With the troublemakers dealt with, they were finally free to be productive. Midoriya again proved quite adept at figuring out the knot, though he devolved into a useless stuttering mess when Yaoyorozu ended up pressed against his back. Thankfully, Mina was able to pick up the slack. She managed to slip through a few tight squeezes since she was one of the more flexible members of the class, simplifying the knot immensely. In short order, they were all untangled and more than a little relieved to be done with the exercise.

"That was misery to watch." Aizawa informed them. He hadn't budged from his chair at the front of the class during any of the exercises. It had seemed like he had fallen asleep up there, but apparently that wasn't the case. It was a bit of a shame. He really looked like he could have used a nap.

"If you think that's bad, you should have tried doing it." Kaminari replied. He apparently hadn't learned his lesson about mouthing off to Aizawa. That, or he was too burned out to care.

"I did." Aizawa said, raising his head slightly to glare at them. "Nedzu made all the teachers do the activities after school yesterday. Said it was so we could be sure we were 'administering them properly'. So, I've been where you're at, and I was there with both Midnight and Present Mic."

The entire class hissed in sympathy.

"Exactly," he said, rising from his seat. "Anyways, that's all for today. Tomorrow we'll have your first foundational heroics class, so come prepared. Don't be late." With that, he stalked out of class.

A groan rippled through the students at the prospect of more surprises coming the following day. None of them had missed the fact that Aizawa hadn't told them what to be prepared for.

"This totally sucks!" Mineta whined. "I thought the first week was supposed to be easy!"

"I shudder to think it," Yaoyorozu said, "But I wonder if this is them taking it easy on us. Our first week is only three days long, and two of those days have involved releasing us early. It is possible that things will only get harder from here on."

That was a sobering thought, one that could have easily turned the class's mood sour. Thankfully, Kirishima cut in before they could all sink too low.

"Man, sounds like it's gonna be stressful!" he said in a tone that was so overacted that Mina wanted to slap him upside the head. "If only there were a way we could relieve that stress and get to know each other at the same time!" He finished with a theatrical wink in Mina's direction.

She sighed at his antics, but pushed forward. It was an awkward segway, but she could make it work.

"Kirishima makes an excellent point." she said, standing to address the class. "This week has been super crazy, and I don't know about you guys, but I didn't really get to know anyone today."

A few people nodded at her statement, which was reassuring.

"So, I was thinking that we should throw a party this weekend. Nothing fancy, just a little get together to hang out and get to know each other when we don't have a pissed-off insomniac glaring at us."

She let a moment pass while people chuckled and surveyed the room. Only a couple of people looked sold on the idea so far, but it was a start. She already knew that Kirishima and Kaminari were on board, since she'd talked to them at lunch. She also knew Hagakure would be on board, since the invisible girl had been thinking about a similar event and had just lacked the logistical skills to make it happen. If she included herself, that was almost a quarter of the class who were already in. If she could get the majority of the class on board, the rest would be that much easier to convince.

"I found a karaoke place near here that's open late and relatively cheap without being sleazy." She continued. "If we all chip in, it would only end up being a few hundred yen apiece. And, since I was the one who proposed this whole thing, I'll buy a round of drinks for everyone." It would eat into her savings, and she'd have to hope no one ordered anything too expensive, but she was willing to make that sacrifice to get people to come.

The mood in the room had changed from one of skepticism to cautious excitement. There were still a few hold outs, including Jirou, Bakugou, Midoriya, and Satou (and possible Tokoyami. Mina wasn't quite sure how to read his avian expressions) but they were in the minority. A few of them were even converted a moment later when Yaoyorozu chimed in.

"That sounds like a lovely idea, Ashido. I would love to attend, and would be happy to purchase snacks for everyone as well."

Mina was surprised. She had expected Yaoyorozu to be one of the holdouts, given the rich girl aura she gave off. Like Mina had said, the place they were going wasn't exactly sleazy, but it wasn't particularly high class either, and it definitely wasn't the kind of place a girl like Yaoyorozu usually hung out. Then again, she supposed, that was the entire point of this party. To get to know their classmates in ways they normally wouldn't.

With Yaoyorozu' s statement, the class was sold. Some were coming for the party itself, some were coming for the promise of free snacks, some from social pressure, and a few by the promise of Yaoyorozu's presence, but Mina didn't really care what their reason was. Wrangling them all had been the hard part, and now that it was over, it would be smooth sailing from here on out. She just had to throw a good party, which was something she was great at.

By the end of Friday, everyone would be having an excellent time, no matter what the next day of class brought upon them, and that was a Mina Ashido guarantee!


"Hey Midoriya, do you want to walk to the train together?" Uraraka asked.

With Aizawa gone and their tasks for the day done, most of the class had decided to head home. A few were still in the process of writing their contact details down for Ashido, who was going to start a group chat so that everyone knew where to go and what time the party was starting, but the classroom was nearly empty by this point.

"Yes!" he said, smiling at the girl. "Are you ready to go, Kacchan?"

"Not going. Got shit to do," came the curt reply.

"Oh. All right." Izuku said, his mood falling a little. A part of him had been hoping that they could all walk home together like he'd seen friends at his last school do. He'd always been a bit jealous of them. Walking home while discussing heroes with Katsuki was nice, but sometimes Izuku longed for a group instead of just a duo.

"Mind if I tag along instead?" a new voice said from behind them.

Ashido had finished collecting everyone's info and had made her way over to them. Izuku had to admire her confidence. Trying to talk to people he didn't know always made his mouth dry up and his hands shake with nerves. Ashido, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at ease, even with Katsuki glaring at her suspiciously.

"What do you want?" the blond asked, gaze unwavering.

Mina did look a bit taken aback at the naked hostility in his voice, but her surprise didn't last for long. "I wanted to get to know you guys a little better before the party. After all, a party's way more fun when you know the people there, instead of them all being strangers."

She hesitated a moment, then continued when Katsuki's glare didn't relent. "And I've got something I want to chat with Midoriya about outside of school."

Katsuki glanced at Izuku, who could only shrug. He had no idea why Ashido would want to talk to him. They hadn't talked a lot, and what words they had exchanged had been totally innocuous. He'd asked her a bit about her Quirk the day before when everyone had been crowding around him at the end of the physical assessment, but that was it.

"Umm, what did you want to talk about?" Izuku asked, turning back to the pink girl.

"Nothing bad," Mina said quickly, "Just some… friendly conversation, I guess?"

Katsuki still looked unconvinced, but Izuku was sold and Uraraka nodded her acceptance when he turned to check with her.

"That sounds fine," Izuku said, addressing Ashido once more.

"Great! I'll go grab my stuff. Won't be a second!" she replied, dashing to her desk.

Once she had left Katsuki stood up from his desk and grabbed his own bag.

"My shit's not gonna take long. I'll meet you at the station." He leveled a significant look at Izuku. "If shit goes down, call me and I'll blow her the hell away."

"K-Kacchan it's not like that!"

He snorted dismissively, "Sure it isn't. Just like it wasn't last time. Or the one before it"

"I feel like I'm missing something here," Uraraka chimed in.

"Just reminding Izuku that people are assholes." With that Katsuki stormed off, letting the classroom door slam shut behind him.

"What's got him in such a bad mood?" Ashido asked, making her way back up to Izuku and Uraraka.

"Bad memories," Izuku said with a sigh, "You might want to get used to it though. He's… prickly until he warms up to you."

"That sounds like the understatement of the century," Ashido said, shooting one last look at the door. "But enough about the world's angriest Pomeranian! Let's get moving before we end up stuck at school all night!"

Izuku smiled slightly at the image of Katsuki as a small, fluffy dog barking at anyone who came near, but was secretly happy to be petted. The boy in question would have raged at the comparison, but Izuku thought it was surprisingly apt.


Still smiling to himself he grabbed his bag and followed the two girls out of the classroom.

"So, Midoriya, are you doing okay?" Ashido asked after they had been walking for several minutes. They were a few blocks from UA at that point which she apparently deemed sufficient for whatever she wanted to talk to him about.

"Ummm, yes? Why do you ask?" he replied, cocking his head in confusion.

"Because Aizawa was laying into you pretty hard yesterday, and I wanted to make sure you weren't taking it too hard."

He felt a small sense of relief at the question. It wasn't exactly a comfortable topic, but it was far better than a few of the scenarios his mind had conjured up during the walk. He could deal with this.

"I'm fine." he replied. "It wasn't that bad."

"It looked pretty bad," Uraraka chimed in, "I couldn't hear what he was saying, but it looked like he was really laying into you. It—" she didn't finish her sentence, but Izuku could fill in the blanks. He'd looked like he'd been about to cry. Probably because he almost had.

"It—it was tough," he admitted, "I mean, no one likes to hear that they're useless, even if it's true. But he was right, and—" he stopped when he realized that neither Uraraka or Ashido was standing next to him. They had stopped where they were and both were staring at him with looks of shock and horror.

"Midoriya, you're not useless!" Uraraka cried.

"Yeah!" Ashido agreed immediately, "Aizawa was way out of line! I should have let Ura beat him up!" Uraraka nodded vigorously in agreement with the statement.

Izuku, however, was taken aback. "A-Ashido!"

"I'm not apologizing," she said, crossing her arms, "He was being mean for no reason."

"It… it wasn't for no reason." Izuku said, gazing at his hand. You could hardly tell he'd broken one of his fingers just the day before. The only evidence of the break was a thin white scar that ran along the inside edge of his finger from where his fingernail started down to the knuckle.

"One for— Super Power is dangerous. For me and for anyone I fight. If I'm going to be a Hero, then I need more control. And Aizawa… he pushed me towards that. He probably could have been gentler, but I don't think he was trying to be mean. Not really. I've been called useless for almost as long as I can remember, but the way he said it didn't seem like an insult, but like a challenge. Like he was daring me to do better. So please, don't be mad at him."

There was a long pause, during which Ashido eyed him curiously before letting out a long breath.

"Fiiiiiiine," she said grudgingly, "But if he does anything like that again, I'm going to douse his shoes in acid. No one bullies my friends!"

Izuku felt his heart leap into his throat. "F-friend?" he managed to squeak out.

"Of course!" Ashido said brightly, "We're hanging out after school and offering to help each other with our problems. I'd say that makes us friends!"

"O-oh!" Izuku said softly, "I… um, thank you Ashido. I-I'm glad to have you as a friend."

"Awwwww," Ashido said, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him into a side hug, much to his embarrassment, "I'm glad to have you as a friend too. You too Uraraka! Get over here!"

Uraraka obliged, letting Ashido draw her into the group hug. The pink girl held them both for a moment, squeezing just tightly enough to be friendly without crossing into painful territory.

Izuku flushed at the close contact. His face was pressed right up against Ashido's, with Uraraka not much further away, and he couldn't help but smell their perfume. It was a fruity cocktail that proved to be very distracting for the boy who had spent almost no time around girls his own age since he was a child. He quickly devolved into a blushing mess, unable to marshal his thoughts or construct a sentence.

He slipped out of the embrace to preserve his own sanity. Ashido laughed openly at his reaction while Uraraka shot him a sympathetic smile. In spite of his embarrassment, Izuku felt a smile of his own creep across his face.

With their moods lightened considerably, the three made their way to the station once more. Izuku walked in the center, with Ashido on his left and Uraraka on his right, enjoying their company immensely. It was like walking home with Katuski, but even better. Their warm presence soothed him in a way he couldn't articulate. Even when he couldn't see them out of the corner of his eye, he imagined he could feel them, as though they were connected to him by an invisible string.

It only took them a few minutes to reach their destination. Mercifully, their earlier conversation had made them just late enough that they missed the after-school rush. The station was mostly empty, with just a few clusters of students and some haggard businessmen minding their own business while they waited for the next train to arrive.

Mina had been keeping up a steady stream of questions, anecdotes, and amusing stories since their talk. It made for an easy conversation, but it was hard to get a word in edgewise at times, especially for someone as polite as Uraraka or Izuku.

"Midoriya, can I ask you something?" Uraraka asked when there was finally a lull in the conversation.

"Of course," he said without hesitation.

"Ummm, earlier you said that people called you useless for a long time. But I can't really picture that. I mean, your Quirk is dangerous, but it's crazy strong too. That doesn't seem like something people would call useless."

"I was kinda wondering that too," Ashido admitted.

He sighed. He had known that the topic of One for All would come up eventually. It was why he and All Might had come up with a ready excuse for it. Still, he hated lying to his new friends, even if it was to protect All Might's secret.

"It's because, for a long time, I couldn't use my Quirk. Because my body couldn't handle the backlash, it wouldn't activate. The only reason I can use it now is because of all the training I did. But when I was younger, no one knew about that. The doctors diagnosed me with an invisible Quirk when I didn't show any abilities."

Both Ashido and Uraraka's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't blame them. The story was pretty fantastical as it was, even without the absolute bomb that was an inheritable Quirk.

"Some… some of my classmates didn't like me because I was friends with Kacchan. They bullied us. One of them, Shindo, was a lot worse than all the others. He started calling me 'Deku', because he thought I was just being lazy and not learning to use my Quirk." He chuckled dryly. "I guess, in a way, he was right."

The sudden blow to his head wasn't hard, and it didn't really hurt, but it did take Izuku completely by surprise. He looked up to see Ashido glaring at him, looking positively ferocious.

"They were so wrong, it's not even funny. I've known you for, like, two days, but I can already tell that you're smart, kind, and a great friend. Anyone who can't see that after years of knowing you is a total moron."

"A-Ashido…"

"Why 'Deku'?" Uraraka asked, "It doesn't really sound like an insult."

"It's from my name," Izuku explained. "A combination of 'useless' and 'Izuku'. To be fair, Shindo came up with it when we were four."

Uraraka hummed for a moment before nodding a little grudgingly. "I guess I can see that. But it doesn't sound like 'useless' to me. It sounds more like 'dekiru'. You know, like 'You can do it!' That's why I was confused. It sounds more like a compliment to me."

Izuku was stunned. The nickname had hounded him since he was little. He hated it with every fiber of his being, the way it made him feel small, the way it reminded him of one of the worst days in both his and Katsuki's life every time he heard it. But hearing Uraraka's explanation, hearing her say it, none of that was true. It felt like an entirely different nickname, one that would inspire him to rise to it.

One that he would be proud to wear.

It reminded him of a time a few years ago where Katsuki had brought up the idea of Izuku embracing the nickname.

"Because fuck 'em. If they're gonna try and use it to beat you down, you turn that shit back around and wear it out of spite. Then they can't use it to hurt you."

In the end, he hadn't been able to go through with it. The name just hurt too much, came with too many memories of rejected friendship. But this was different. This wasn't turning the name against his tormentors, or using it to hurt them. This was building something new to replace a legacy of pain.

"Y-you're right Uraraka," he said after a moment of silence. "I never thought of it that way before. And I… I think I'd like it if you called me Deku."

"Just like that? Are you sure?" she asked, concern clearly written on her face. It was only when he nodded his consent that she smiled softly. "Okay. I'm glad I could help, Deku."

Hearing it a second time wasn't as much of a shock, but it did send a little burst of warmth through him to have his friend giving him a nickname, even if it wasn't a new one.

Ashido hummed thoughtfully. "It's not terrible as nicknames go. Could be better though. Plus, I'm not one to re-use nicknames. So I think I'll go with… Midori!"

"Huh?" Izuku said, confused by her sudden assertion.

"Well, if you two are exchanging nicknames, I don't want to be left out of the loop."

"We weren't really exchanging nicknames," Uraraka replied.

Ashido shrugged, "Guess I'm ahead of the curve then." Just then, the train entered the station, causing her to sigh. "Phooey. That's me. Glad I could hang out with you guys though. See you at school tomorrow?"

"Definitely" Izuku and Uraraka said in unison, causing Ashido to chuckle as she left, waving to them both.

With Ashido gone, the pair found themselves in a bit of an awkward situation. Neither was very good at small talk at the best of times, and they found themselves at a complete loss when dealing with a member of the opposite sex.

It was Uraraka who eventually broke the silence.

"Thanks for waiting with me Mido— er, Deku."

"Of course," he said, smiling softly.

Uraraka's train pulled into the station a few moments later. Izuku was about to say goodbye when she pulled him into a tight hug. It didn't last for longer than a few seconds, but to Izuku timed seemed to slow down. He couldn't remember the last time someone other than his mother had given him a real hug. The closest Katsuki came to showing affection was the occasional slap on the back he would give Izuku after they both passed a test.

She skipped back after letting him go, giving him a bright smile.

"See you tomorrow, Deku!" she called, giving him a happy wave.

Before he could respond, an incoherent cry of rage rang through the station, accompanied by the crackling sound of small explosions.


Between the pointless day of class and the inane errand his mother had given him, Katsuki was already in a foul mood when he reached the station. The only consolation was that he had made good enough time that he might just be able to catch Izuku before his friend caught the train home. Izuku's hero monologues could be a bit hard to follow, but at least he would feel like he'd learned a little something about heroics today.

He arrived just in time to see Round Face pulling away from Izuku, leaving the boy looking ridiculously happy. Then, she said the last thing he expected to hear from her.

"See you tomorrow, Deku!" she said with a malicious smile.

Katsuki saw red. He'd known this was how it was going to go from the first time Izuku had mentioned his new "friend", but he'd let Izuku talk him into complacency even though he knew his friend was easy to dupe when it came to such offers.

He wouldn't make the same mistake again. He was going to set the record straight here and now, so no one would have the balls to try a stunt like this ever again.

Stalking forward, Katsuki let explosions dance along his palms, the smoke curling around his face in a move he had spent more time practicing then he would ever admit. It made him look extremely menacing, and he had no doubt that it would strike fear into the hearts of any criminals he encountered when he was a hero.

The pair's heads swung to look at him as he called out to them. He'd intended to tell Round Face off but his shout came out as more of a roar. It got the point across though.

"K-Kacchan it's not—"

Before Izuku could finish Katsuki thrust himself between the two and began treating Round Face to the best death glare he could manage. From the way she swallowed reflexively and took a step back, he knew it was a good one.

"Does it make you feel good?" he hissed, "Picking on a guy who just wants to believe the best in people? Building up his confidence just so you can shatter it?"

"It… it's not like that!" Izuku protested futilely. Katsuki was long past the point of listening to any arguments. He was firmly in his battle mindset.

"You know what's funny?" he asked, not a single trace of humor in his voice. "The fact that you're using that name says way more about you than him. Because even though bitches like you tried to tear him down for years, called him useless at every chance they had, he's still standing here. And he will always be better than you."

To Katsuki's surprise, after her initial fear response Round Face's demeanor changed. Her shoulders squared and her jaw set in a show of defiance.

"Maybe you should try listening if you're really friends. Midoriya said it was okay if I called him Deku." Uraraka crossed her arms and did her best to glare him down.

"Izuku is too nice for his own good. You could pour soup in his lap and he'd apologize if he thought it meant you could be friends."

"Hey!" Izuku protested.

"That's why he has me. Because someone has to call people like you out on your bullshit. And to tell you that anyone who hurts him like this again is getting blown to hell, regardless of the consequences."

"Kacchan, it's really okay!" Izuku protested once more.

"Shhh. You're not involved in this!" he hissed.

"He should be!" Round Face snapped, taking a small step forward. "Considering we're both saying the same thing, but you just won't listen. The only one making a problem here is you!"

Katsuki did the same, willing the small explosions cracking in his palms to grow larger and brighter as more sweat poured into his palms. In response, Round Face pushed her sleeves up to reveal surprisingly toned arms.

When they were just a step apart, however, something even more surprising happened.

"Stop," Izuku said firmly, stepping between the two with his arms spread wide. Instead of the usual anxiety, his eyes were clear and sharp, staring at Katsuki determinedly. "I don't want you two to fight over this. Kacchan, Uraraka's right. I asked her to call me Deku because when she says it, it feels different. Like something I want to be called. And Uraraka? I know Kacchan seems like he's just being mean, but he's a good guy. He's just worried about me because of some of the stuff I told you about."

There was a tense moment where nobody moved and Katsuki was fairly certain that Izuku was holding his breath. That was proof, if nothing else, that Izuku was committed to this course of action. If Katsuki did anything now, even if he turned out to be right in the end, Izuku would be upset for weeks, if not months.

Growling in frustration, Katsuki stepped back and turned his back on Round Face. His instincts, honed from years of expecting ambushes, screamed at him for doing it, but he knew he wouldn't be able to look at her and remain civil.

She apparently felt the same. They stayed on either side of Izuku, pointedly looking away from each other while they waited for the next train to arrive. Twice Izuku attempted to break the silence, only to be cowed into submission by their glares. Neither was in the mood to talk with the other around, even to Izuku.

After what felt like an age, Izuku and Katsuki's train pulled into the station. Round Face had missed hers during their confrontation, and now had to wait at least fifteen minutes for the next one. Katsuki had to admit that the inconvenience made him more than a little happy.

Izuku hung back while Katsuki boarded the train, no doubt apologizing for him as usual. It was bullshit, but Katsuki was used to it at this point. Katsuki fought and Izuku tried to smooth shit over, even if he didn't need to.

The train ride was equally quiet. Katsuki's 'villain' reputation preceded him and the conductor was watching the two from the moment they got on. Any disruption or perceived threat was likely to result in them having to walk home, something Katsuki was firmly not in the mood for.

Instead, Katsuki stewed in his irritation at the pink cheeked brunette. He pictured multiple ways to get back at her, none of which were liable to occur, but the exercise kept him occupied for the entire ride.

"Ummm, Kacchan I—" Izuku started once they stepped off the train.

Katsuki held up a hand to stop him before he could finish.

"No. I'm not listening to you give another speech about how people are really good and I might like them if I only gave someone a chance. You want to be friends with Round Face? Fine. But I'm not getting involved anymore, and when she does end up stabbing you in the back? I'm going to laugh my ass off at how right I was before I beat her to a pulp. Clear?"

Izuku looked stunned, but he didn't object, which was enough for Katsuki. He spun on his heel and stomped away, leaving Izuku looking forlorn and slightly defeated.

Fucking hell. Katsuki thought to himself. Today was miserable. School is boring, Izuku's emotional, and I still didn't get to fight anyone. He turned his gaze up to the sky and put his hands together in a mockery of a prayer. Hey, if anyone up there is listening, do me a favor and let me fight someone tomorrow.

And if it could be Round Face, well, that would just be perfect.


"Well today was miserable" Aizawa said, dropping into his favorite chair in the teacher's lounge.

"Come on Shota," Midnight teased, "You can't complain about teaching them the day after you committed to doing it. You need to wait at least a week."

"The kids aren't the problem," he replied with a glare, "Not in this case. I just resent having to spend almost half a day while watching them perform the stupidest tasks known to man. At this point, I want to take whoever invented the term 'icebreaker' and strangle them."

"You know Vlad had to do the same thing, right?" she shot back.

"So I should be happy that someone else is miserable with me, instead of annoyed that two pro heroes have to spend their time uselessly babysitting a bunch of know-nothing brats?"

"I would hardly call your efforts useless," Nedzu cut in, stepping into the teacher's lounge, "And your assistance proved most valuable today, Shota."

"Glad I could help, Nedzu," Aizawa said through gritted teeth.

Nedzu stepped over to the beleaguered man and patted him gently on the knee. "I mean what I say. Your assistance today was quite helpful, even if you feel it was a waste of time. Your presence kept the students focused on their tasks, which in turn allowed me to collect all of the data I needed in just one session."

"That's a relief," Aizawa said with a sigh. He relaxed further into his chair, doing an impressive imitation of a boneless corpse.

"Quite," Nedzu replied with a smile, "The lineup for tomorrow's battle trail should be arriving any moment. Be sure to look over it with All Might before you both head home. Additionally, I would recommend you attend the trial itself, even though you are not required to. It may prove to be quite informative for you."

As he spoke the printer in the lounge hummed to life and began to spit a few sheets out. Nedzu had timed his statement perfectly, reminding everyone yet again of how versatile and fearsome his Quirk could be when it was applied.

With another smile and a small bow, the diminutive principal stepped out of the lounge leaving everyone wondering what exactly he meant.

Midnight stepped over to the printer and lifted the top sheet up to see it. She frowned slightly as she read its contents.

"Well, Nedzu was right. This is certainly going to be interesting."


Author's Note:

And there we go. A little bit of a break before we jump into the action again. I always kind of wondered what regular classes would be like at UA given the strange personalities of the teachers.

Next up is the battle trial, which leaves me with a question for you all. I've re-balanced the teams, which means things are going to play out differently than usual. There are going to be three fights with no "Main" characters in them. Would you like to see a full perspective of the battle from the participant's view, a breakdown of the fights as an "except from Izuku's Hero journal", or just skip past them in favor of keeping the story moving? Let me know what you guys think!

On a different note, if you've taken a look at the story on AO3, you might have noticed that I had originally planned to put Ibara in 1A. However, just before the last chapter updated, I realized that would put 1B at a disadvantage in terms of combat power. As such, Pony Tsunatori has replaced Ojiro, while Shinso has taken her slot in 1B. Apologies to any Ojiro fans, but I'd rather have a character who's personality trait isn't "Is really boring".

Thank you to Raef Darksbane for editing this chapter. You're a shining golden god.