Rule #3: Don't believe what you're told. Double check.
APRIL
"…Thunder, ah/thunder ah/thunder ah/thunder ah/thunder ah/thunder ah/thunder ah/thunder ah/thunder ah/thunder ah…" Toru's grandfather swung around the kitchen waving the egg encrusted spatula as he sung and danced along to the song. The song that crackled from the rickety old boombox was from some western rock 'n roll band from the 80s that both she and her grandfather greatly enjoyed.
"Oh would you turn that racket down?" Her grandmother groused, shuffling passed the happy pair to the kitchen, curlers in her hair. Although both Toru and her grandfather enjoyed the music, her grandmother…not so much. No, she preferred the more traditional music that you usually heard at the shrine.
"Toru, are you all set?" Grandmother asked as Toru hopped towards the door as she tried to put on her shoes.
"Yep" She replied, swaying slightly as she switched to put on the other shoe.
"Are ya sure, brat? Ya didn't just pack that killer stuff?" Grandfather added his own two cents.
"Yeah Gramps" Toru sighed, swinging her school bag over her shoulder and straightened out her new uniform. "And it's assassination tools not killer stuff"
Her new uniform consisted of a white blouse with green epaulettes and a blood red necktie, paired with a basil green pleated skirt that fell to mid-thigh and black knee-high socks. Overtop it all sat a grey blazer, embroidered with stripes of matching green dotted here and there. The black tabi shoes she wore, were her own.
"Now, I've gotta go. I don't wanna miss the train" Toru yanked open the door, already cloaked in invisibility and annoyance at her grandparents hovering. She was not a morning person even on a good day and their hovering wasn't exactly helping.
"Toru?" Grandmother spoke up.
"What?" Toru snapped, her annoyance slipping into her tone.
"Have fun at school, dear"
"…Thanks, Grammy. I'll see you later" Toru smiled, heading out the door and up towards the rooftop.
Instead of taking the streets to the train station as she would have normally done, Toru chose to free-run, hoping to make it to the station before the next train came and went. Laden with books for the new school year, Toru felt a grin grow on her face as she flew over the gap between their apartment building and the next.
After the acceptance letter had been sent out, she had also received a list of supplies and her class list. Jumping from Class 3-E during junior high to Class 1-A during high school was definitely a change from what she was used to. From bottom to top, assassination to hero.
Times sure were changing.
Today, high school at UA begins.
Toru grasped tightly onto the straps of her backpack as she stared up at the looming building of UA High with nerves coursing through her. From where she stood down here in the courtyard, the large glass exterior of the main campus seemed to sway against the blue sky; mirroring her emotions. This was no mountaintop classroom.
The acceptance rate that year was just as small as it had always been: one in every three hundred.
Traipsing through the long winding corridors and hallways, Toru eventually found the right classroom (after getting turned around and pointed in the right direction). With cheeks still tinted red (not that anyone else knew that), Toru stared up at the large door towering over her.
Four people got in through recommendations, thirty-six in through the regular exams.
Just what kind of people even attended UA? Who would need a door so big? Toru wondered staring up at the large door that stood before her. The door ran from floor to ceiling and was imprinted with the large red letters of the class' number, 1-A.
We were split into classes of around twenty students each, more or less.
With her hand on the tiny doorknob, Toru heaved a sigh and made to open the door, only for a shout from a familiar voice sounding off to her left. "Hey! Hagakure!" Shiro waved, jogging over to the small brunette.
"Oh! Hi, Uraraka! It's good to see you!" Toru smiled, taking her hand off of the doorknob as she turned to face the advancing brunette.
"Ah, just call me Shiro, it'll be too confusing when my sister rocks up too" Shiro replied, rubbing the back of his neck as he smiled.
"Okay Shiro, then call me Toru!"
"Cool! Well, it looks like we're in the same class this year. That'll be fun!"
"Yeah! Wait! Did you say you had a sister?"
"Yeah, she stopped to get breakfast, so she'll be a little late. Do you wanna head in and find a seat?"
"Sure" This time, the conversation between the pair seemed to flow more easily now that nerves weren't getting in the way.
However as soon as the door slid open, the quiet of the hallway was soon shattered by the loud commotion emanating from the classroom. It seemed that the outspoken candidate from the exams was in their class and he appeared to be a stickler for the rules, if his current…'conversation' was anything to go by.
"…the consumption of food within the classroom is strictly forbidden!" Decreed the ravenette.
"Hmm?" Hummed the nonchalant blonde that Toru recognised as Lee Tamaki, the teleporter from the exams.
"It's the first day and you're already disrespecting the academy by dirtying the school property!"
"Seriously? What crawled up your ass and died?"
"…!" The ravenette looked very much like he wanted to shout and scream at the girl, but superior habits overrode him from doing so. Still that didn't stop him from huffing a sigh through clenched teeth as he continued, "Let's try this again, my name is Iida Tenya from the Soumei Academy"
"Soumei huh? Well, that explains a lot"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Before Tamaki could reply any further, Shiro stepped into the classroom and in turn, the conversation. "Gettin' into trouble a little early today, aren't 'cha Tamaki?" Smirked Shiro as he made his way over to a spare seat nearby with Toru not far behind.
"Well, y'know me, I aim to please" Tamaki grinned back, rolling her head around to look over at her longtime friend and new classmate, in doing so, ignoring the spluttering boy standing over her, "And you must be Hagakure! I understand I have you to thank for that save in the exams"
"Uh, well, y'know it was more of a team effort" Toru mumbled, rubbing her nape in embarrassment as she sat in the empty seat behind Tamaki.
"Not the way I hear it, Shiro says you got 'im to throw you like a softball. That musta been fun" Tamaki grinned as she turned in her chair to talk to the invisible girl.
"Uh, I guess…"
"Oh! I'm Lee Tamaki, by the way, from Yakima Junior High"
"Oh, uh, I'm Hagakure Toru, from Kunugigaoka Junior High"
"Kunugigaoka, huh? That's the one that's been in the news right?" Interjected Shiro.
"Uh, yeah" Mumbled Toru.
"Wasn't it shut down?" Tamaki added.
"Uh, yeah, they didn't tell us much about why though" Toru lied through her teeth, so glad that she was invisible.
"I heard it was something about questionable ethics on the principal's part" Said Shiro.
"Uh…yeah, something like that…"
"You don't talk much, do you?" Tamaki suddenly piped up.
"Uh…"
"That's okay, I like ya! You're kinda like a cat, don'tcha think, Shiro?" Tamaki turned to Shiro who sat to the right of her.
"A cat? Why a cat?" Shiro asked.
"I dunno, maybe it's the way she moves, real quiet like, y'know? Like that pink cat from the western fairytale; y'know the one with the rabbit and the red queen?"
"The Wonderland one?"
"Yeah! That one! Not that that's a bad thing, o' course"
"Uh thanks?" Replied Toru, a little unsure as to how easily the conversation had changed from introductions to gratitude to her likeness to a fantastical cat.
"Anyway, if you're here then where's Yuna?" Shiro asked, turning in his seat to face the two girls across from him.
"Hm? Oh, she's in the General Studies course" Tamaki replied.
"Really?"
"Yeah, she just missed the cut-off for the Hero course. Apparently, it was only due to all the positions being filled in this course that she ended up in that one"
"Ooh"
"Yeah, she's still a bit pissy about that, 'specially since I got in"
"But don't the General Studies students still take some of the Hero classes?" Toru interjected, "So it's not like she'll miss out on everything"
"Yeah, I guess. But that doesn't really soften the blow" Tamaki sighed. By this point several other students had filed into the classroom and had taken up the other seats that lined the room.
Glancing around, Toru noticed that most of her new classmates appeared to have either Mutation or Emitter-type Quirks. Like the blonde with the large tail who sat by the door or the pink girl who appeared almost alien-like. Then there was the blonde who looked like he had been electrocuted or something and the boy at the back of the room who looked like he had been dip-dyed in red and white with a permanent deadpan on his face.
She also recognised a few faces as well, like the dark-haired boy off to the side who she remembered had fired tape from his elbows; and the tall girl with the large mop of dark hair piled atop her head that sat behind her and held herself like a lady.
Her musings (plus all other conversations) were soon cut off by Iida's remark (from where he had moved onto to berate the next blonde in the row) as the large door to the classroom slid open. "It's him" As one, everyone turned to look at the short green-haired male who stood clutching to the yellow straps of his backpack.
"Uh…hi!" Panicked the boy, staring off into space so he didn't have to look at all the pairs of eyes staring at him. Toru knew that feeling well.
"Good morning!" Called Iida as he marched over to the door, "My name is Iida Tenya…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know…Uh, I'm Midoriya Izuku, it's super nice to meet you" Midoriya smiled.
"Midoriya, you realised that there was something more to the practical exam, didn't you? You must be very preceptive, I completely misjudged you. I admit, that as a student, you are far superior to me"
Toru had to hide a grin behind her hand (not that it was necessary) as she watched the scene play out. It seemed that that comment seemed to physically pain Iida to admit. The expression on Midoriya's face just made it all the better.
"Hey! I recognise that messy hair!" Chirped a feminine voice as the person drew closer. Next to her, Shiro let his head fall onto his desk with a groan at the arrival of the girl.
"Do you know her, Shiro?" Toru asked the brunette.
"Yeah" He pulled his head up just enough to rest his chin on his folded arms, "That's Ochako, my older sister"
"Older? Really?"
"Yeah, that's not the first time he's heard that" Tamaki smirked.
"I can see why" Toru tilted her head slightly as her gaze moved from the happy brunette in the doorway to the lump on the ground behind her.
"Huh? What is it?" Tamaki shivered when she felt Toru's breath down the back of her neck.
"Is it just me, or is there a big caterpillar on the floor out there?" Toru asked, trying to get a better look from her seat,
"Huh?" Tamaki rose from her seat a little to try and see around the pair in the doorway.
"How did we miss that?" Shiro muttered spotting the creature in question. Although he received no verbal replies from the girls, he would soon be answered by the creature himself.
"…What do ya think we're doing today besides orientation?" Ochako rambled, "I wonder what our teachers are like! I can't wait to meet everyone!"
"If you're just here to make friends, then you can pack up your stuff now" Interjected the caterpillar from the floor, much to everyone's surprise.
"Oh my God! It talks!" Tamaki gushed.
"Welcome to UA's Hero course" The zipper on the yellow sleeping bag came down just enough for a juice box to emerge, "It took exactly eight-seconds before you all shut up, that's not gonna cut it. Time it precious, rational students would understand that"
Just who is this guy? Toru thought as she studied the man before her. He was rather tall, but slouched like he was perpetually tired and the dark baggy clothes and dirty white scarf he wore, further pushed the idea of a lazy or tired man.
If he's here, then he's gotta be some kind of pro; but he looks so…dead. What's his deal? Her gaze roved over his tired expression frame by the mop of dark stringy hair, Maybe he's like Bitch-Sensei? Dress to impress? Or…unimpress in this case.
"Hello, I'm Aizawa Shota, your teacher" Drawled Aizawa. The entire class seemed to blanch at that introduction, "Right, let's get to it. Put on your PE uniform and head outside" The uniform in question was one they had received prior to their first day; along with the rest of their uniform.
It consisted of a matching blue, white and red patterned tracksuit. The white pattern on the tracksuit appeared to mimic the initials of UA across the front of the tracksuit shirt and pants, and small accents of red were dotted here and there. All in all, it wasn't the worst PE uniform out there.
Once dressed in the new PE uniform, 1-A gathered outside on the field for a Quirk assessment test, much to their collective surprise. "But orientation…we're gonna miss it" Ochako complained.
"If you really wanna make the big leagues, you can't waste time on pointless ceremonies. Here at UA, we're not tethered to traditions, that means I get to run my class however I see fit" Aizawa-Sensei replied.
"You've been taking standardised tests for most of your lives, but you never got to use your Quirks in physical exams before" Aizawa-Sensei turned to face the class with a list of tests that we was going to put them through. "The country's still trying to pretend that we're all created equal, by not letting those with the most power excel. It's not rational and one day the ministry of education will learn"
Oh my God! He's just like Koro-Sensei! Toru grinned.
"Bakugo, you managed to get the most points in the entrance exam" Aizawa-Sensei turned to the angry-looking blonde in front, "What was the farthest distance through with the softball when you were in junior high?"
"67m, I think" Bakugo replied.
"Try doing it with your Quirk" Bakugo moved to stand in one of the shot-put ranges "Anything goes, just stay in the circle. Go on, you're wasting our time"
"Alright man, you asked for it" Replied Bakugo, stretching out his arms before taking a stance and -quite literally-fired off the electronic softball off into the air. Toru could only stare on, open-mouthed at the plumes of smoke drifting lazily through the air in the wake of softball.
"All of you need to know your limits. It's the most rational way of figuring out your potential as a pro-hero" Aizawa continued, turning to show the rest of the class Bakugo's score of 705.2m.
"Woah 705m! Are you kidding me?"
"I wanna go! That's looks like fun!"
"This is what I'm talking about! Using our Quirks as much as we want!"
"So this looks fun, huh?" Aizawa-Sensei soon cut through the exclamations of the class, "You have three years here to become a hero. You think it's all gonna be games and playtime? Idiots. Today you'll compete in several physical tests to gage your potential; whomever comes in last has none and will be expelled immediately"
Nope! Definitely not like Koro-Sensei!
The tests soon began in earnest, the class having been split up into groups and rotating through the different tests already set up. There was the 50m dash that Toru felt she did okay in; (having been training against a teacher that went at mach 20 for a year, would do that to ya).
She had raced against Tamaki who had used her Quirk to teleport in short bursts down the track. In turn, Toru had switched to the balls of her feet as she ran; pushing enough solar light to her feet to use as small boosters but still keeping her footsteps light and fleet.
After the 50m dash, there was the grip strength test where they were given a tool that measured how strong they were. Toru's results were less than satisfying, but she had always known that pure strength was never her strong suit.
The third-seventh tests (long jump, repeated side-steps, sit-ups, seated toe-touch & long-distance running respectively), were once again, more of a test of skill than of her Quirk. At least in Toru's case; but it was always going to hard to measure a Quirk that wasn't based on pure power or raw strength.
The final test was the ball throw. This is it, my last chance. Toru thought as she stepped up to the plate after receiving quiet well wishes from both Tamaki and Shiro as she went. Rolling the softball around in her sweaty hands, Toru quickly ran through what she could do to boost her score.
Only one thing really came time to mind. Taking a deep breath, Toru allowed the solar lights to build up in her forearms, growing from a soft dull glow to a shiny light that was almost blinding, even through her skin.
With a quick glance over at Aizawa-Sensei (who gave a bored nod), Toru took her stance and fired off the softball with a grunt. The concentrated beam of light that shot out from her palm rocketed the ball up into the air much like Bakugo's had done; only the ball only got about 300m before the beam became too much and split the ball clean in two.
Toru could only watch sheepishly as the two halves fell to the ground like rubbery leaves not far from where she stood. It was a good thing there were spares.
"Oops"
When the tests were finally complete, the group of tired sweaty teenagers regathered back out on the field to receive their results. "Alright, time to give you your results. I've ranked you all from best to worst. You probably have a good idea of where you're standing already, so I'll just pull up the whole list instead of going over everyone's individual score" Said Aizawa-Sensei, pressing a button and revealing the holographic list.
The last ranked person is gonna be expelled! Toru worriedly bit her lower lip, And the only tests I was good in were the 50m dash and the softball throw! Can I scrape by on those scores alone? Fiddling with her hands, Toru let her gaze rove over the names listed in front of her until she found her own.
1) Yaoyorozu Momo 2) Todoroki Shoto
3) Bakugo Katskui 4) Iida Tenya
5) Tokoyami Fumikage 6) Shoji Mezo
7) Ojiro Mashirao 8) Uraraka Shiro
9) Kirishima Eijiro 10) Ashido Mina
11) Uraraka Ochako 12) Lee Tamaki
13) Koda Koji 14) Sato Rikido
15) Asui Tsuyu 16) Aoyami Yuga
17) Sero Hanta 18) Kaminari Denki
19) Jiro Kyoka 20) Hagakure Toru
21) Mineta Minoru 22) Midoriya Izuku
Aizawa-Sensei let the class antagonise or crow over their individual scores before he spoke up again. "…And I was lying, no one's going home. That was just a rational deception to make sure you gave it your all in the tests" He grinned.
What? Toru gaped.
"I'm surprised the rest of you didn't figure that out" Commented Yaoyorozu,"I'm sorry, I guess I probably should have said something"
No shit, Sherlock. Toru groused.
"That's it, we're done for the day. Pick up a syllabus from the classroom and read it over before tomorrow morning" Aizawa-Sensei dismissed.
I made it! Through the first day at least! Toru cheered, But there's so much more I need to improve on! I guess I should be used to the being at the bottom by now, but still… She followed her classmates back to the locker rooms to change, I guess there's nowhere else to go from here but up! I can do this!
