Chapter Two: The Day It Begins

"SHOUTA!"

Buried beneath a behemoth of blankets, Shouta loudly cursed and grumbled. It had been a decade, and not a day went by that he didn't curse himself for taking in that damn brat.

He could hear her calling his name between the loud crashes of her fists against his door. Shouta knew that he was safe from her intruding— Koharu had only had to walk in on him sleeping naked once before she learned to never let herself into the sleeping man's room. That didn't mean that she wasn't capable of irritating him out of hiding, though.

"Shouta, come on!" She was whining now, her abuse against his door quieting just enough so that she could properly portray her pitifulness. "My first day starts in an hour! You promised that you would make me breakfast!"

Shouta did vaguely remember such a promise, but that didn't change how little he wanted to get out of bed. There was a small pause in the racket, presumably as Koharu gave him a chance to get up. And then—

"HEY BASTARD, YOU PROMISED!"

The banging grew suddenly louder. Shouta was pretty sure that she was using her feet now, that goddamn brat.

"Fuck! Fine!" Shouta shouted as he threw off his blankets, hearing them thwump to the floor. Cursing the brat and everything she stood for, Shouta quickly got himself dressed with his usual lack of care. Koharu was still waiting for him when he swung open his door.

Time had changed a lot about Koharu, but certainly not how obnoxious she was. Therefore, Shouta wasn't surprised to see that Koharu's hair was now purple. He heaved a heavy sigh. "Watch your fucking language, brat," he scolded as he gently shoved past the short teenager. She was quick to start following on his heels like a hungry puppy. To be polite, Shouta asked, "What's up with the hair?"

"I want to make a good impression on the class!" She chirped, and Shouta didn't have to look behind him to know that she would be messing up her hair as she said it. If there was something they had in common, it was their disheveled hair.

Breakfast was all but ready in the kitchen, prepped and waiting to be cooked. Shouta side-eyed Koharu, and swatted at her head as he half-heartedly grumbled about her having already done the work and not needing to wake him up. Koharu made them both coffee to drink as Shouta fried up the fish for their breakfast, and the two with the same peaceful pace as always, Koharu oversharing about her dreams between bites of food and Shouta grunting intervally. This morning was different, however— today was Koharu's first day at U.A..

"Koharu," Shouta interrupted the teenager as she rambled about some cat-collecting game she'd been playing. To her credit, she quieted in an instant. "When we're at school, I'm going to treat you like any other student, and I expect that you treat me as you would any other teacher."

The girl nodded, her messy hair falling from its tuck behind her ear as she did. She was quick to tuck it back as she responded, "Yeah, I already figured that out! But y'know, people are probably gonna notice we're related. I don't think they'll be that dumb."

Shouta shoved a spoonful of rice into his mouth. "Questionable," he said, a grain of rice falling from his lips. "But you're right, there's no hiding that we're related. That said, this is my place of work. And you're a student. So just don't be a little shit at school."

"So I can take that as you giving me permission to be a little shit at home?"

Shouta expertly tossed a pickled plum her way, and smirked as it hit right on target.

"Ugh, you bastard! Now I'm going to be late!" Koharu cried as she shot up, undoubtedly headed to the bathroom to clear her hair of the side-dish.

Shouta only snickered as he kicked his feet up, keen to enjoy the rest of his breakfast in peace.

~ o ~

For all her bravado, by the time Koharu was standing in front of the door to room 1-A, her stomach was so knotted that she thought she just might upend the breakfast that Shouta had so lovingly made for her.

The two had walked together to U.A., as their apartment was only a leisurely ten minute stroll away. Shouta left her quickly at the gates, walking off to do whatever it was teachers did in the morning with his usual slumped posture. He hadn't given her the slightest hint where to go, not that that surprised Koharu. Shouta had never been the 'helpful' sort of hero.

With her thinking cap on, it didn't take long for Koharu to navigate her way through the high-ceilinged halls of the academy and find herself at her classroom. She spared a quick glance around the hallway, and lightly pressed her ear against the door. She couldn't hear anyone in the room, but that didn't mean that no one was there. If someone was early, they would probably be doing a silent activity.

Leaning back, Koharu took a deep breath to calm her nerves and thought 'happy thoughts'. In a quick motion, she slid open the door to reveal an empty classroom. Oh, she thought, How anticlimactic. I really am first. And then, How boring.

Koharu gripped the straps of her backpack and shuffled her feet. Sitting alone in the classroom didn't sound nearly as fun as wandering the halls. Decision swiftly made, Koharu turned around.

And crashed right into a rather firm chest.

"Oh, shi—" Koharu only just managed to stop herself from swearing as she windmilled backwards, eager to reclaim her personal space, as well as the stranger's space which she had invaded. Not that they hadn't invaded hers first, she thought. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize that you were behind me, y'know."

The stranger was tall, with a broad chest and arms, and spectacles framing his dark eyes. His smile was so immediate and bright that Koharu wanted to flinch. "It's no problem! I should not have stood so close. I thought that you were going inside the classroom," he said, his sentence ending with an unasked question that Koharu quickly understood.

Koharu blushed, and rubbed a hand against the back of her neck. "No, yeah, I was…" she started, and cleared her throat when she thought about how awkward she was being. She promptly stepped into the classroom. "Honestly, I just didn't want to be the first person here, and look too eager."

Shit, wasn't she just calling him too eager? He was there at the same time as her, after all. She hoped that she wasn't being rude. It was hard to tell after after weeks of predominantly socializing with her crude brother...

"But, uh—" Koharu stammered, and wished that she could backtrack to breakfast when she poured herself a coffee rather than a calming cup of tea. "It's fine if we're both here, right? So we won't have to sit alone."

A hand was thrust close to her face. "I would be happy to wait with you for our classmates! My name is Tenya Iida," the boy introduced himself, his expression surprisingly serious and his posture rigid.

Koharu's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't hesitate to smile. "My name's Koharu Aizawa."

Right away, she could see a problem. "But," she said as realization hit her with a resounding slap. "But if you don't mind, Iida-san, you can call me by Koharu."

Inwardly, she was grumbling. She had always gone by 'Aizawa'. However, by virtue of being a teacher, Shouta automatically won that title in this setting. It would only be bothersome to refer to her by her last name around him, especially if he didn't want to make a big deal about their relationship.

"Koharu-san," Iida agreed, and his expression melted to something less rigid. He said nothing else.

Her next problem became instantly apparent. Koharu Aizawa was not good at small talk, and she was guessing that Iida wasn't either. Fuuuck. Even knowing it would be rude to leave now that she had said she would wait with her new classmate, Koharu quickly said, "Uh, y'know— I actually should go to the bathroom first. If you would please excuse me?"

She didn't wait for a response, and fled the room. Ah, Koharu. You have the social elegance of a wet napkin.

She could see another presumably future classmate coming down the hall towards her, and so she booked it the opposite direction. She was aiming for 'casual', but it was hard for her to tell what level of social panic she was outwardly portraying.

Walking the halls of U.A., Koharu was so lost in awe that she nearly ran out of time to make it back to the classroom. This time when she returned, she was met with a familiar sight: someone standing in front of the door, looking too nervous to enter and mumbling to himself. Did I look that dorky, too?

"Hey," Koharu chirped, catching the attention of the green-haired boy so violently that he jumped. Both hands raising to pacify, Koharu laughed a small, "Woah, sorry! Didn't mean to scare you."

"N-no, it's alright! I shouldn't be standing in front of the door!" His freckled cheeks split into a nervous smile, and Koharu noticed how nicely his emerald eyes matched his hair. Koharu wondered if he was like her and coloured his hair, and tried not to be envious as she spied his matching eyebrows to deem his colour natural. Some people had all the luck- she was born with black hair and black eyes, which hardly made her stand out in a crowd.

"That's alright," she started as she mirrored his stance, her hands gripping onto the straps of her backpack in a grip looser than his own. "It's a good standing spot. I got spooked there myself about twenty minutes ago." Koharu shrugged, and then nodded her head towards the door. "Did you want to keep ruminating here for a while, or should we go inside?"

His face turned bright red, and Koharu instantly felt bad— did he think that she was teasing him? Eager to not look like an asshole in front of a second classmate that morning, Koharu gave the boy a big smile before he could respond. "I'm Koharu, by the way!"

Oof. If she thought he was red before… "Oh, um! I'm Midoriya!" Either way, his smile in return was just as bright as her own, if not moreso. "It's nice to meet you!"

"You too, Midoriya. Shall we?" She gave him a moment to breathe before they opened the door, this time sliding to reveal a full classroom aiming their attention at the new arrivals. Koharu's heart stuttered. She gave Midoriya a quick side-eye; was he already popular or something?

"Good morning!" Was called from across the room, and none other than Iida came striding towards them. He wore the same serious expression from introducing himself to Koharu; it made her think that she was starting to understand his character a bit more. "I am from Somei Private Academy. My name is Iida Tenya!"

Midoriya responded with a nervous, close-eyed smile. "I'm Midoriya. Nice to meet you, Iida."

"Midoriya," Iida said, arms held stiffly at his sides. "You realized that there was something more to that practical exam, didn't you?" Beside her, Midoriya let out a small sound of confusion. "I had no idea… I misjudged you!" Now Iida was gritting his teeth as he turned away, looking ashamed of himself as he held his hands up in a stiff gesture. "I hate to admit it, but you are better than me."

Oh shit, thought Koharu. Midoriya was popular.

"Sorry… I didn't actually realize anything," Midoriya was mumbling as another student came up behind them, her steps bouncy and her voice loud.

"Oh, that curly hair! You're the plain looking one!" The girl, a puffy-cheeked brunette, said to Midoriya. Despite her words, which made even Koharu blanch, her eyes were wide with admiration. "You passed, just like Present Mic said! Though of course you did, your punch was amazing!" She gave the air a good few punches for emphasis, and Koharu decided promptly that she liked the girl.

However, as Midoriya began to turn red and stammer out his response, Koharu sensed that she wasn't particularly needed there. Based on the seating chart written on the chalkboard, Koharu smoothly made her way to Seat 18. She was in the fourth row, second from the back, and directly next to the window, which would prove to be terrible for her daydreaming. The seat in front of hers was still empty, but a boy with a bird's face was seated next to her, and a girl with a tall black ponytail sat behind her.

Koharu sat down, and smiled first to her right-handed neighbour. "Hey," she greeted with a pleasant smile. "I'm Koharu."

He didn't return her grin, but the boy did offer her a curt nod as he responded with his name: Fumikage Tokoyami. Surprisingly, his voice was far from birdlike. Koharu thought his voice was actually quite deep, and matched the shadowy figure he presented.

Before she could introduce herself to the classmate behind her, the class was struck with a startled silence. All eyes were on the front door, staring at something that Koharu couldn't quite make out from her position. It wasn't hard to guess, however; her brother tended to make quite the impression.

When he stepped into view in a yellow sleeping bag, Koharu wasn't entirely surprised to learn that the "teacher shit" that Shouta had left for earlier was simply an excuse for a nap. "Okay, it took eight seconds before you were quiet," he said then as he pulled apart his makeshift cocoon to step out of. "Time is limited. You kids are not rational enough."

His eyes scanned the classroom, and skimmed right past Koharu without a beat. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Shouta Aizawa." His face was complete neutral as he finished with a bland, "Nice to meet you."

"It's kind of sudden," he continued as he began to rustle through his sleeping bag. To their surprise, he pulled out a gym uniform. "But put these on, and go out onto the field."

Koharu felt her stomach twist. So there was no easing into it, huh?

Hero training started today.