"I'm not sure if I should do this."

"It's a little late for doubt, Katsu. School starts in almost an hour."

In the hotel room, Katsu popped the collar on his baby blue school blazer. The blazer's cotton fabric still stretched to hard on his biceps as he tried to stretch out his arms. It felt like a haphazardly installed straightjacket. The obsidian tie hanging around his neck in a double-windsor knot added to the sense of imprisonment.

He appeared to have a tough time sleeping the night before. His lengthy chestnut hair was tangled and mussed up at the ends that bunched up on his broad shoulders. The irises around his amber pupils had streaks of bloodlines around them. He even felt the tickle of a bead of sweat trickling down his taut jawline. Los Angeles was much hotter than Japan this time of year, and he certainly felt it this ealry in the morning.

He shook his head. Unbuttoning the blazer, he revealed the simple white undershirt that was as wrinkled as tissue paper.

"That doesn't look very proper," the deep voice crooned behind him.

Katsu spun around to face his criticizer. "I'm not worried about that, Shoto!"

Shoto Todoroki looked as proper as ever in his simple cerulean hero's costume. His bi-chromatic hair, one side ivory and the other a deep scarlet draped over his ears as he sniffed the air. The Pro-Hero examined the boy at eye-level, already tall for his age. Physically, the boy appeared to already be close to Pro-Hero status. Five years of training with him yielded good results.

"What are you worried about? Whether you can do this?" Shoto asked in a calm tone. "We've trained your body and your mind to be the best, and I know it will present itself that way in front of the other students."

Katsu slumped his shoulders and took a step towards Shoto. "No, Shoto. I know I can do this. It's whether I should. I know I can ace every test and every obstacle. I'm not worried about any of that. I'm strong and I'm capable. But I'm also representing you. Representing...them."

Shoto paused and licked his parched lips. "I thought you didn't care what they thought ab-."

"I know," Katsu said as he curled a few strands of his hair around one of his long fingers. "But deep down..."

Shoto nodded in an almost subconscious fashion, as if he were swatting away an annoying fly. The sunbeans peeking over the city skyline blinded him slightly from the rest of Katsu's sight. The room was drenched in the early-morning rays as honking horns and rumbling trains hummed outside on the street below.

"I can tell them to leave," Shoto said.

Katsu shook his head. "I can't do that. They came from Japan for this, too."

"It is an important day," Shoto said as he tried to plaster on a wiry smile. "Opening ceremonies. The first day of your Pro-Hero life. I know your parents and your brother are proud of you. Even if they don't say it, just showing up to this is important."

"But your dad never showed up to these things," Katsu said as he loosened the tie around his neck.

Shoto sat down on the bed behind him and stared out at the city skyline. "You're right. And things would have been much less complicated if he did. A lot less pain. A lot less loneliness. Remember what I've taught you, Katsu. About forgiveness. About friendship and family. If I learned these lessons at your age instead of taking the years I did to do so...I would have saved myself a lot of sadness."

The Pro-Hero remembered the stories in the newspapers and television networks. One of the largest explosions recorded in Japan in recent memory. Thankfully, none lived around the Muteki estate out in the countryside. It was an eruption that caused many press crushes as people crowded around the little boy, scared and confused. He felt the thin paper that painted the picture underneath the headlines; a wide-eyed boy with tears welling up as the media hounded the police car chasing away.

What made Shoto act were the comments left by his parents. Some fight occurred, jealousy over his younger brother that got more attention. A quirk that was awakened by anger and envy. A father that stated to reporters that he was ashamed of his son. That he would never be a hero. That he would rather let him rot in a juvenile jail cell forever than have him in his home again.

They were almost too alike, and Momo quickly warned him about training and caring for someone like that. Yet, Shoto still could not believe himself as he got up and visited the police station.

However, once he saw the boy's amber eyes widen in surprise and resolve at seeing him, he knew he was the one to be his protege.

Katsu noticed how empty Shoto's graphite eye looked as he stared at the window. That eye never betrayed any emotion. However, the dejected, almost whimsical look in the aqua eye on his left showed him all he needed. It was as if his memories were being replayed in front of him. He was thinking back to their journey together. In a way, it would end today. In a way, it was just beginning.

The new student decided to cheer up his mentor, so he decided throwing a balled-up grey towel from the nightstand behind him would do the trick.

Shoto remained unmoved as the towel flopped onto the side of his head.

"Lighten up, coach!" Katsu said with a snicker. "I just needed a little boost. I didn't think you'd get depressed over your whole life over it."

Shoto breathed hard from his nose and turned back towards Katsu. "I'm not depressed, I'm just reminiscing. About all of this. About graduating from U.A. Meeting you."

"Wish it was under better circumstances," Katsu said.

Shoto nodded and flicked off the towel. He rose to his feet and grabbed the room keys from the cocobolo nightstand next to Katsu. As he thrusted the keys into his pocket, he paused right at Katsu's side. He sniffed again.

"That's Momo's brand of perfume, isn't it? The one she wears out on the town?"

Katsu gave off a nervous chuckle. "She told me it was men's perfume."

Shoto rolled his eyes. If his mentee was supposed to be the next great Pro-Hero, the star student of this new school, then they were all in trouble. He shuffled his student out the door and then slammed it shut.

Hydraulic joints hissed as the bus door swung open.

Despite the small fender bender, Izuku's morning had been pleasant. The bus had rumbled to a halt, and he bounded onto the pavement as press and families rolled into the overloaded parking lot. The glare from the sky caused him to raise up an arm and shroud a shadow across his vision. Based off the size of it, he was stopping at an amusement park. Citizens lined up the walkways and shuffled towards the entrance gates like ants scurrying towards their hill. However, once Izuku's eyes adjusted to the early morning California sun, he lowered his hand and gasped.

Just in front of massive golden gates, a giant marble building loomed over the people criss-crossing up the ivory steps into the entrance hall. The building had a bright shine to it as the building had large pillars in front of it's entrance. It reminded Izuku of the Acropolis in Greece as statues of heroes lined the walkway up to the entrance staircase. Beyond the marble entranceway was the actual building; a tall glass structure that wrapped transparent windows around the entire tower.

Izuku noticed that the glass tower was the center of the marble square that ran around the perimeter of the tower as if it were protecting it. It was the foundation of the building with the glass tower jutting upward about five stories into the sky. A giant concrete wall ran along the edges of the campus boxed in the land of the new school. Beyond the tower was a large clearing that Izuku could barely see over the concrete wall. Beyond that was a deep drop-off that cascaded into the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean.

"Beautiful," Izuku muttered to himself. He walked forward over the marble flooring as he joined the mob of people heading into the entrance hall.

In his awe at the new school, Izuku did not notice the boy in the headphones.

They bumped into each other. With Izuku's timid nature outside of hero work, he did not brace himself and fell onto his back. The fall did not hurt, but he shot back up to his feet worried that an attack of some kind was about to occur.

The well-built boy, somewhat tall for his age, was clean-shaven save for his shoulder-length brown hair that parted in the middle. He adjusted his circle-framed glasses and pulled off his headphones from his ears. He turned around with a can of soda in his hand and looked down at Izuku. With his wide-open blazer revealing a black t-shirt with the letters "ACDC" on them, his tie conspicuously absent; he seemed more ready for a party than an entrance exam.

His dull green eyes flickered down at Izuku's, and he barked out a laugh.

"Sorry about that, bud," he said as he reached down and pulled Izuku up by his shoulder.

Without another word, he turned and left behind a shocked and silent man that would soon be his homeroom teacher.

Abel Chevelle thought it was best to not wallow on awkward moments like that one. As long as nobody was dying, he was not worried about anything. He slid back on his headphones, the speakers blaring out a hard rock song from the 1970's. He especially loved the live versions of songs the best. Hearing the crowds cheering as the guitars wailed in the background made his heart soar.

Soon, crowds would be cheering for him in that way.

The conference hall built into the side of the entrance atrium was surprisingly normal for a flashy school like this one. Simply a large auditorium with black walls and rows of stadium seating. At the pit of the hall was a large stage with a long marble table of individuals seated behind it. A golden podium was placed in the center, a giant spotlight blaring down on it. The rest of the room was unlit, leading to much shuffling and tangled feet stamping on each other.

"Sorry, bud. Sorry," Abel shouted to people as he scooted through the people towards his assigned seat for first years. Some covered their ears since Abel decided to compensate for the loud song playing in his head by speaking over it.

Eventually, he reached the first year's section and noticed his name on one of the chair in his row. He flung himself over the remaining person and plopped himself into the plush leather chair. He sighed in relief as he looked around at the people before him. Parents seated in a section away from them, he saw the faces of his new classmates. Specifically, one next to him that was extremely hard to miss.

"Holy shit," Abel shouted. "Dude, you're huge!"

Sure enough, a boy at least four inches taller than Abel looked over with the slightest blush on his face. Not only was he tall, but he was built like a Pro-Hero with bulky muscle rippling underneath his uniform. Over the sleeves of his uniform were green rubber gauntlets that hugged his forearms as if they were taking his blood pressure. His short, dirty blonde hair gave him a sense of seriousness, while his day-glo orange eyes seemed to widen in surprise at the outburst.

They boy adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "Thanks, I guess."

"Are you in my class? 1-A?"

"Yes," the boy said in a quiet tone.

"Hell, yes," Abel said. "Dude, people are gonna run away when they face you in battle! I mean, in a good way. Not saying your ugly or nothing. I'm Abel by the way. I'm from around here, so it's not much of a trek for me. Santa Monica. You seem like a Minnesota guy. Like a quiet lumberjack."

The boy stared down at Abel. "I'm from Kansas."

"I heard the President was coming for this," Abel said, completely ignoring the boy. "It's a big deal and all. Most of the American Pro-Heroes are here for the dedication. I even heard..."

Abel looked around and leaned up to his neighbor's ear.

"Batman might be coming."

A pause. Was this crazy kid serious, the boy thought to himself.

Before the boy could do anything else, Abel let out a river of laughter. "Yeah, right. Batman doesn't have a quirk, so he technically isn't a Pro-Hero. Isn't that so dumb, by the way? How the government gets to define what makes a Pro-Hero? Whatever, I guess we gotta play the game now."

The boy preferred if this hyper guy would leave him alone. Sure, he would like to make friends, but the crazy energy from the guy was making him tired. He would be too tired for the first battle training exercise. It was a long flight, and his four siblings were sure to keep him up pestering him with questions about what his life would be like. He did notice right off the bat that a burger was about four dollars more expensive here than in Kansas. Thankfully, the cafeteria was free.

"...So speaking of which, you have a name?"

He snapped his gaze back at Abel. "Oh, right. I'm Austin."

"Hey, Austin," Abel said. "Our first exercise, it's gotta be you and me if we can pick. You're like a tank, so you can charge in, and then I can pounce. I gotta quirk that will shake you all night long if you get what I mean."

"Uh-huh."

"You know! The 'AC-DC' song!"

A loud whine from the auditorium speakers made everybody clutch their ears in pain. The feedback even caused Abel to shut off his headphones for once and pay attention the the pit at the bottom of the floor.

At the podium stood one of the weirdest looking men anyone had ever seen. It was a tall man with shaggy black hair that shined from grease underneath the spotlight. The thick locks rained down to the small of his back as the wrinkles on his forehead traversed over his strange face. His sunglasses were perched over his crooked nose as he chucked out a lackadaisical stammer of laughter.

"Oh, hi everybody," the man said in a thick, eastern European accent. "I'm Professor Tommy, and I am your Principal. Hi doggie."

More people! What do you all think of these characters!

So we have:

Austin Bordette- pingly187

Abel Chevelle- Nick Foolery

Katsu Muteki- Jayfeathers Friend

Please review, even if you are just stopping by! Reviewing is very important to me, and you're active viewership may effect how your characters are doing (uh-oh)!

Thank you so much, and let me know what you think! What about the characters? Tell me if you like or dislike them? Not enough personality? Too much? Did you expect or not expect something? Was a particular moment good or bad? Let me know.

Also, bonus points if you get who Professor Tommy is. I'm still not sure if he is entirely a human bean or not (spelling error intentional).

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