Chapter 4
"Keh!" A male with gray-blue hair spat as he landed on the ground. "How annoying!"
"Well, well, well," another male, this one with long red hair in a braid, commented. "Look who actually came back here in one piece."
"Shut up, pretty boy! As if you could do better!"
"You were so cocky when you first got your mission," a girl with light green hair in a pixie bob teased. "And now look at you."
The male gritted his teeth in anger and frustration. "It wasn't my fault! That bitch just caught me by surprise, that's all!"
"By surprise, huh?" The girl snorted. "You wouldn't have nearly died or been captured if you had just left the moment she found you."
"I should have gotten the mission," a fourth person scoffed, his teal hair covering his cold gaze. "I actually have self control."
The male with gray-blue hair had enough of the ridiculing. "Damn you, you imbeciles-!"
"Enough," a fifth voice interrupted.
The other four people stilled and looked at the final person in the room. She had long dirty blonde hair and wore a black mask with royal purple details that hid the rest of her features. Except for those dark, stormy gray eyes that seemed to stare deep into their souls. They commanded power and absolute obedience.
The girl turned towards the male with gray-blue hair, who averted his gaze. "Noah. I trusted this mission to you, because I believed you could handle it."
"A-and you were right to place your trust in me!" Noah insisted. "I did it, didn't I? The mission was to steal the item and come back!"
"You did," the leader conceded. "But you also nearly failed. Your pride was what brought you down. I told you that she was no easy opponent. She's considered one of the strongest for a reason. You underestimated her greatly. And that nearly cost you failure."
"W-well you said that her powers were telekinesis and energy manipulation, right?" Noah stuttered out. "I thought that my smoke would-"
"FOOL!" The blonde snapped.
The four others recoiled in fear at the sound of her voice. They knew each other well enough now. And when their leader raised her voice, it was a sign of impending doom.
"You were so focused on her abilities that you didn't try to cover up your own weaknesses! And even so, you shouldn't have engaged in battle with her! Your quirk wasn't meant for offense. It was the perfect power to sneak in, spy on others, that kind of thing. There was a reason why I picked you! All you had to do was steal the message and come back here! You hardly did what I said! And now they're going to be on guard from here on out!"
"It was the perfect opportunity!" Noah protested. "She was vulnerable and alone! I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that! Who knows when we'll get another one?"
"And did you think about the consequences?" The girl retorted sharply. "Her friends and family would search high and low for her killers! The Ratri clan has resources. Actual funding. Resources and funding we do not have! Eventually, we'll be found and disposed of! Yes, we need to take care of her eventually, but it's far too soon! We need to pick our battles. Do you understand why you were wrong? Answer me."
He shakily knelt down on one knee. "Yes... I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have strayed away from my mission. And for that, I ask for forgiveness."
"...You shall be pardoned this time," the leader decided. As Noah sighed in relief, she added, "But another slip up, and we'll have problems. Is. That. Clear?"
"Yes!" Noah nodded hastily.
"Now then… give me the disc."
As he handed it over to her, she scoffed. "What a ridiculous waste for something that would be thrown away five minutes later. No matter though."
"Why would we need to take it in the first place though?" The red haired male asked their leader. "All it says is whether you got in or not, right? We would have been able to find that out anyways."
"Idiot," the green haired girl drawled. "It's not just to find out whether she got in or not. It also tells us her score and her placement and gives us an idea of what we're facing. Although I'm sure Noah can tell us that," she added snarkily.
Noah looked at her with hateful eyes. "Another word, Seraphine…"
"I'm only telling the truth, aren't I?" Seraphine pointed out mockingly.
"That's enough," the teal haired male cut in sharply, planting himself between the two hostile individuals. "We don't have time for horseplay."
"Always the one to intervene, aren't you?" Noah snarled at the male. "Little emo brat…"
"Hey, don't judge my looks," the teal haired male replied coolly, knowing he was referring to his hair that covered his eyes.
"The other reason…" Their leader suddenly spoke, making them all turn to her. "...Is simple. We're at a huge disadvantage, because of our small numbers and lack of resources. How many people have we recruited?"
"About 15, including the ones that were already with you," the male with the red braid supplied in a crisp manner.
"Exactly. And I doubt that we'll be able to recruit more any time soon," their leader continued. "Which is why we need to get as many advantages as possible against our opponent. Can any of you guess what it is?"
"...Time," the teal haired male answered.
"Correct. We need to get a headstart and strike first, no, the first few times. Before they can even make their first strike. We'll gather up everything we know about them and have them keep guessing about our identities and location. They'll figure it out eventually. Some of them are smart enough to do that. This is our chance for a head start, and as of right now, the only way we can win. Now that we've established that, let's see that message."
The message played and all of them listened to it. All of them wrinkled their nose in disgust at the sound and sight of the chimera that was the principal. Each one of them eagerly drank in whatever information they could get from the chimera.
After Nezu signed off, although none of the others could see it, the dirty blonde girl had a sadistic smile creeping up on her face.
"Excellent. Just as we hoped and expected. She got into the school. Now we can monitor her and the others more closely. Let's move on to the next phase, shall we?"
~0~0~0~0~0~
The next day, the Ratri clan immediately sent a few of their men to the mansion for proper inspection. They questioned Scarlett and a few of the others about the events, much to their annoyance. The clan was so nosy these days. They hardly last a day without a demand for anything strange that happened. And the bodyguards are too happy to oblige to give a pristine report. They must be paid handsomely to be that willing. Or it was just drilled into their head hard enough to be loyal at all costs.
One of the men sighed. "There's no true guarantee of your safety. Perhaps it is best if you leave-"
"Out of the question," all of them said simultaneously.
"Leaving won't solve the problem," Ray scowled. "They'll just follow wherever we go. It'll put more people in danger if we move, and they know that."
"We're staying here," Norman finished firmly. "End of discussion."
"Why would they want your message though?" Emma questioned the ravenette.
"We can only guess," Scarlett muttered. "At least we didn't need it anymore. We got my results. I'm just worried as to why they needed something like that."
"For now," another one of the men interjected, "we'll continue to investigate."
"I don't want you going in my room," Scarlett snapped, glaring at them dangerously.
"But there could be evidence-"
"No," Scarlett interrupted. "We know they didn't leave anything behind of use to us. No DNA, no belongings, nothing. I don't want a bunch of people in my room 24/7. We have little privacy as it is."
"Are you kidding?!" Another person hissed. "We're helping you ungrateful brats and this is the treatment we get?!"
"The only reason you're helping us is because it concerns the cursed blood," Norman retorted. "That's all you care about."
"You have a debt to us too, remember?" Ray added, narrowing his eyes. "After what you did to not just us, but to every single human raised in those farms, you got a lot of atonement to do. You have to start somewhere, right?"
"You can do your investigation somewhere else," Emma said in a less hostile yet still stern manner. "There's no need for you to be here."
The leader of the group scoffed. "Very well. But do not come crawling to us when you realize that you were wrong." He and the others left.
"Tch!" Ray spat, his gaze smoldering. "The audacity of them!"
"It's not surprising though, is it?" Norman pointed out darkly. "A tiger doesn't change its stripes after all."
"What do we do now?" Emma asked worriedly. "How are we going to find them? We have so little to even work with."
"Until something comes up with them again, there isn't a lot," Norman admitted. "And besides, we're already busy with our enrollment. For now, we have to leave this issue in the clan's hands."
"Unfortunately," Scarlett added quietly.
"But there's a limit to how long I can wait," Norman uttered coldly. "If they don't have any leads or if those people attack again, I'm taking matters into our hands." His eyes turned steely as he spoke.
.
.
.
"A smoke person…" Mayumi muttered, the camera showing her deep in thought. "This is extremely concerning."
Scarlett stared back grimly. "It is for sure. But hopefully we'll be able to wash them out."
"That's the thing about rats," Mayumi responded. "Rats are meant to be discovered and disposed of. But the thing is, they always try their damn hardest to not be found. These people are no different. Although I have to wonder what they wanted with you."
"Yeah…" The ravenette trailed off. What did they want with her specifically? They went after her message for some reason. Not Emma's. And they clearly intended to go into her room. These guys weren't your run of the mill burglars. That's for sure. Perhaps the only thing that was truly certain as of now.
Scarlett decided to think about it later. "It's been a bit taxing here, but it hasn't been too much on me." The dream from the first day in Japan was the only one of its kind, so she assumed it was a one time thing.
"That's one good thing out of this," the therapist sighed. "But aside from your mental health, are you alright?"
"What do you mean?"
"This has nothing to do with your health. I'm talking about how you feel. With the whole situation going on, what are your feelings about it? And don't lie. I will know if you do."
Scarlett knew that very well. Almost nothing escaped from the woman's eyes and ears.
"I'm worried, Scarlett," she admitted. "But tell me truthfully. Do you feel guilt for what happened, and do you intend on going away?"
"What?" Scarlett didn't expect that to come out of her mouth.
"Don't question it," Mayumi ordered wearily. "Just answer honestly."
"...I suppose I feel a sort of responsibility," Scarlett conceded slowly. "The others could have gotten hurt because of me. But I also know that it can't be helped either. And no, I don't want to leave them. It would put them at less risk of being in danger, but they obviously would not allow that. Even if I leave without notice, they won't rest until they find me. I don't want to leave them either because then I can't protect them. And… it's really selfish, but… I don't want to be alone."
"That's not being selfish," Mayumi denied immediately. "That's called being human. It's normal and you have a right to feel that way."
"That's called being human, huh? I suppose at least a part of me still is human then," she joked halfheartedly. When Mayumi didn't respond, she added, "That… was a bad joke. Sorry. Jokes aren't my strong suit."
"No, no. It's not something to apologize for. You are human, Scarlett. Even if you have demon blood, that doesn't change your origins."
"That's true. …Humans are selfish. We always want more of something, even if it is for the good of others. That's how it is."
"Fair enough," the lavender haired woman muttered. "Will you be ok?"
Scarlett leaned back in her chair with a sigh. "I don't really know. So much has happened ever since we've moved here. And I got the feeling that this is just the beginning of something big."
~0~0~0~0~0~
It has been a few days since the incident. There were no hints about the smoke individual. Smoke related quirks were more on the rare side, but it didn't narrow it down too much. They couldn't rely on the police or government, otherwise it would attract unwanted attention and suspicion. If the public caught wind that one of the properties owned by the Ratri group, who are one of, if not the most powerful people in the world, had been attacked… No, it was best to keep this under wraps.
Scarlett sighed in exasperation as she looked at the clothes on the bed. A long-sleeved button-up white shirt, a light gray jacket with blue-green stripe accents, a dark blue-green skirt that would reach to the middle of her knees and hips, and a red tie. This was the UA uniform that came the other day.
She hated uniforms. To her, they are a sign of being controlled. Trapped. But there's nothing that can be done about it. They had to wear a uniform because of school policy. And using the clan's influence to bypass it would just be petty and useless.
Scarlett held the tie up gingerly. Then placed it back on the bed with a huff. If she didn't hurry up, they'd be late, so she stopped stalling and went to put it on.
Groaning in annoyance, Scarlett took off all her clothes until she was left in her undergarments. As she turned around and grabbed for the skirt, her hand froze as she saw something entirely different.
Rather than the standard UA uniform that should be there, she instead saw another white button-up shirt, a white skirt, and two green contacts lying there innocently.
"Gah!" Scarlett instinctively, lashed out at it, letting the clothes fall to the ground in a heap. She stepped back hastily and suddenly slipped and fell on her bottom with a thud. Breathing heavily, Scarlett looked back at the clothes and saw the UA uniform again.
'What the hell…'
That was the other reason why she hated uniforms. Because they reminded her of the one they wore all the time at Grace Field. But to be afraid of them to this extent…
"Get a grip!" Scarlett muttered to herself, picking up one of the clothing garments and smoothing it out again. 'This is just pathetic.'
She slowly put on the skirt, then the white shirt, buttoning all the buttons and tucking it in the skirt, tied her tie up neatly, and threw on the jacket, also buttoning it up. Going to her closet, she then pulled out a pair of dark blue socks, since it was also required to wear those. However, they didn't say anything about shoes… Scarlett decided on a pair of black and white sneakers to top the outfit off. After that, she put on the final two things.
The collar wasn't high enough to cover the numbers. Although that didn't matter since she was covering it with the skin colored substance anyways. She was no makeup artist like Gilda, but it was easy enough to blend in the stuff. Finally, she decided to leave her hair down but use the black hairpins to cover her blind eye. With that, her look was complete. Scarlett then looked at herself in the mirror.
Scarlett hated it. The damn uniform. It felt suffocating and restricting. But maybe she'll get used to it? A feeling of doubt passed through her at that statement.
Exhaling a breath, she grabbed her dark purple, almost black, backpack and slung it onto her shoulder. And with that, she opened her bedroom door and headed downstairs.
"Good morning!" Anna called out to her, also in the same uniform and her blonde hair in its usual down style with two smaller braids on each side of her head.
"Good morning," Scarlett uttered monotonously with a nod of acknowledgement.
"I'm so nervous," Anna admitted as the two of them walked to the kitchen. "This is our first time going to an actual school!"
Scarlett gave another nod in response. She too was nervous about that, but hid it on instinct. Her mind and body were far too used to hiding her emotions.
They soon arrived in the kitchen to get their breakfast. Emma, Norman, and Ray were already there in their uniforms.
"Took you long enough," Ray grumbled, taking a bite out of his sandwich. "We're running late, so eat breakfast on the way there."
"Good morning to you too," Scarlett replied sarcastically. She and Anna grabbed some toast and made peanut butter jelly sandwiches.
"How are we getting there?" Anna asked as she took a bite.
They started walking out of the kitchen to the front.
"The Ratri clan wanted us to take a car, but even they admitted that it would only attract more attention to us," Norman responded.
"As they should," Scarlett bit out. "It's like they don't know what privacy means."
"We're taking the train there, since it's not that far away and it's fast," Ray added.
"Ah, Scarlett," Emma said to her. "I forgot to ask you, with everything going on, but what is your class?"
"1A I think," Scarlett recalled from the letter they sent afterwards. "What about you?"
Emma had a sort of pout on her face. "I'm in the other class!" She wailed. Her arms flailed around, shocking Norman. "Why is the world so keen on separating us?!"
Scarlett had a look of disappointment on her face, having similar thoughts as the ginger. "I don't know…"
"Cheer up!" Anna encouraged them. "You'll see each other in the hallways and lunch, and you'll probably have some training classes together at least!"
"That's right," Ray agreed, chopping Emma on the head. "Quit whining, Emma. It's far too early to deal with your energy."
"What's that supposed to mean?" The ginger narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.
"Exactly what it means," Scarlett deadpanned.
After everyone had greeted them out the door, (it took quite a while due to Yuugo's nagging and Gilda's coddling), they had finally set off towards their first day of school.
Scarlett frowned as they walked down the street to the station. Nerves were starting to bundle up inside of her. This was her first time going to an actual school. How should she act? What if she does something that others find weird? What if she didn't like the people around her?
'Get a hold on yourself!' She scolded in her mind. 'Calm down. You've faced worse than this. Just take deep breaths and act like yourself. You can do this. You can do this…'
"So how are your classes going to work?" Emma queried Anna as they boarded the train and it started to move.
"Well, I'd mostly be training with Recovery Girl. I'll probably join your classes whenever you do any training as a standby medic," Anna mused. "As for regular classes though, I'll be joining the General Ed. class for that. The hero courses are too full for me to join."
Emma was fidgeting excitedly and nervously as the train continued to move. Plenty of people were staring at them because of their uniforms. They stopped though when their gaze locked with Scarlett's. She wasn't even trying to brush them off, used to being stared at by now, if not a little annoyed.
"I can't wait to see what we get to do!" Emma grinned. "Will we get to train and wear our costumes?"
"Since it's the first day, I highly doubt it," Norman pointed out. "The orientation is today, remember? All the classes are attending it."
Emma frowned at him, though it looked more like a cute pout. "Come on! Let your girlfriend dream!"
Ray smirked in amusement. "You'll get a chance eventually. If you can wait, that is."
That earned him a slowly blooming bruise on the back of his head due to Emma getting fed up with his unrelenting teasing.
They continued listening and talking with one another, while also ignoring the stares and whispers. Anna was visibly uncomfortable with them, especially the ones filled with spite and jealousy, but Scarlett made sure to give them a warning glance. She herself actually minded their stares, but it was a different story if they made one of the others uncomfortable.
Eventually, they made it to their stop and walked the rest of the way to the front of the school, looking the same in all of its gigantic glory and all. They probably weren't the only ones who were looking at the school in awe. At least, that's what they wanted to think. Who could blame them though?
"Wow!" Emma exclaimed, looking at the giant school building before them. "I knew that UA was considered the best hero school in Japan, but seeing it a second time is even more amazing than the first!"
"How much money was needed to build something of this magnitude?" Norman wondered, straightening his tie.
"I heard they get a lot of funding from the government as well as donations," Scarlett responded. Although she didn't show it, the place had impressed her quite a bit.
Anna's eyes had a look of awe and curiosity in them. "I wouldn't be surprised if people still get lost from time to time here."
"Norman, how can you stand wearing suits all the time," Ray muttered, pulling on his collar in irritation. "If only we didn't have to wear these stuffy things here."
Scarlett couldn't help but agree, but didn't state it out loud.
"Let's move it," Ray interjected. "We'll look weird if we stand around any longer. We're also running late."
"Right!" Norman agreed as they all speed-walked into the school.
"I suppose this is where we part," Emma sighed dramatically.
Scarlett looked faintly amused. "You act as if this is the last we'll see each other. It'll only be a few hours at most."
"We can meet up for lunch," Anna offered.
"Sounds good to us," Norman responded while smiling. "Until then, let's all get settled in with our new school."
"Emma, don't act like a ditz with the other students," Ray jabbed.
"Hey! I don't always act like that!" Emma denied in annoyance.
All of them deadpanned at her while saying, "Yes you do."
"You guys are just always against me, aren't you…" The ginger muttered mutinously.
After a bit more bickering, they all said goodbye and headed to their designated classrooms, or in Anna's case, the nurse office. Since Emma and Scarlett's classes were right next to each other, they were able to stick together for most of the way there. Both of them felt nervous, walking through the hallways with other students wearing the same uniform as them. It was different from the civilians' glances. Instead of envy or gossiping looks, they were ones of sizing them up. Their stances were stiff as they continued onward.
"Well," Emma breathed out once they reached their classrooms, "I suppose this is where we part for the day. I'll see you at lunch!"
Scarlett gave an almost non-interpretable nod in response.
As Emma entered her classroom all jittery, Scarlett looked at the door of her own classroom, having a giant 1A written on it in red.
'The door's huge…' Scarlett thought. 'Must be for people with quirks that can't fit through a regular door. That has to be a struggle for them. Not all public places accommodate for it. Of course, in a place like UA, it's expected.'
She felt the nerves starting up again, and slapped herself internally. 'Calm down! This is something you can't avoid. Sure, you've never gone to a regular school before, but just think of it like the daily exams at the orphanage! People are going to stare at you if you just stand here, so move!'
Taking a deep breath, Scarlett raised a hand and slowly slid open the classroom door.
Unfortunately, she was not the first one to arrive at the classroom. But she wasn't the last either. It looked as though only about 15 students, including herself, had arrived. There were a total of 20 students per class in the hero course, so after her, there should be another five.
She forced herself to have a neutral face as everyone turned their heads and stopped their conversations to look at her. This was what she hated about people. When you don't even do anything, they still turn to look at you and make you feel awkward. Do these people not know proper manners?
Scarlett ignored the stares as best as she could and looked around for her seat. She was apparently at seat 10, so her eye scanned for that. As it did so, someone bumped into her unexpectedly. If it weren't for her quick reflexes, Scarlett would have fallen flat on her face. Irritation bloomed inside of her at the thought of potentially embarrassing herself in front of these people. Who the hell-
"I'm so sorry!" The person who bumped into her apologized hastily. "Wait…"
As Scarlett turned around, all she saw was a floating girl uniform.
"You're that girl from the end of the entrance exam!" The invisible girl exclaimed.
"Oh…" Scarlett trailed off. She didn't expect to see the invisible girl here. Not only that but they were also in the same class. How…peculiar.
"Nice to meet you!" She greeted. "I'm Toru Hagakure! I never got your name…"
"Scarlett," the ravenette replied in a curt tone. "Scarlett Evans."
"Hm… that's not Japanese, right?" Hagakure thought out loud.
"Yeah. I'm from America."
"Ooh!" If she were visible, Hagakure would have sparkly eyes. "I've always wanted to go to America! Where are you from?"
"California," Scarlett replied, desperately looking for a way to get out of this awkward conversation for her.
"How interesting! Are your parents asian though? You definitely have some of those features…"
Scarlett never knew her mother, considering that after the events of taking over Grace Field, she shortly found out that her birth mother had died years ago. Although rather sad, she had no such connection to her, therefore there wasn't as much of an impact as Isabella's death did. "...My mother is Chinese, so that would explain it."
"Interesting! So should I call you Scarlett or Evans? We call each other by our last names usually."
"I am aware of that. Scarlett will do," she said, barely managing to keep a sigh out of her voice. "We mostly call each other by our first names back home."
"Weird! Ok, well it is strange to call you Scarlett…" Hagakure mused. "So you can just call me Toru, ok?"
"Um, I don't-"
"Nope!" Hagakure refused.
"Haga-"
"Toru!" She interjected stubbornly.
The amount of awkwardness she was feeling was over the roof. "Um, do you know anyone else here?"
Hagakure frowned at the painfully obvious change of subject, which just showed how bad her conversalizing skills were, but let it slide for now. It wouldn't do to make one of her classmates uncomfortable, right? As a good person, that is what she must do! "Nope! I think I'm the only person from my school that made it in. So this is the first time I'm seeing them."
"I suppose, but I should get to my seat-"
"Greetings!" A new voice announced. Scarlett felt her covered eye twitch in annoyance. What now?
"Who are you?" Hagakure asked.
Scarlett recognized him as the boy who had unrightfully called out that green haired boy at the entrance exams. 'Great. I'm supposed to spend the next three years dealing with this stuck-up guy?'
"My name is Tenya Iida!" The strict male introduced while making a bunch of hand chops for whatever reason. "You!" He gasped in recognition at Scarlett. "You're the one at the exam!"
"Ah… yes." Scarlett gave an awkward nod in response.
He suddenly bowed, making a perfect 90 degree angle, shocking the other two. "I apologize for my behavior then! Before, I did not think before I spoke! You were right. It was not my place to ridicule someone in such an inappropriate way as well as decide who should be there or not! Please accept my apology!"
'Well, at least he admits it. Maybe it won't be so bad.' "Sure. I accept it. But I'm not the one you need to apologize to."
Iida bowed his head once again in acknowledgement. "I am aware of that! I will apologize to that boy when I see him again!"
The ravenette figured he was a man of his word. "I'm Scarlett Evans. Call me Scarlett since that's how everyone calls me."
"I-I cannot! Such a thing is far too inappropriate for people who have just met!" Iida denied, stunned at the casual response.
"It's not inappropriate for someone like me," Scarlett replied, closing her eyes in aggravation. "It's part of my culture. Would it not be inappropriate if you did not call me by my first name in that case? Wouldn't you be insulting my customs?" 'Not only that, but it just feels wrong for people to call me by a fake name, even if they don't know that.'
Iida looked as though he was lost for words while Hagakure giggled.
"Very well then!" Iida consented after recovering. "Scarlett it is!" He abruptly took her hand and shook it rather vigorously.
'Damn he has a tight grip,' Scarlett sighed as she massaged her hand.
"Woah, you guys look cool!" Yet another person intervened.
'...I just want to go to my seat…'
"I'm Mina Ashido!" The pink girl announced in a bubbly tone. "I remember you! We were in the same testing area!"
"Nice to meet you," Scarlett greeted, vaguely remembering the alien looking person. "Your quirk melts things, right?"
"Yeah!" Ashido said. "My quirk is called Acid! It melts things and it's super fun to slide on as well! What's your quirk?"
"Crimson Aura," Scarlett responded, giving the name she came up with.
"Wow!" Hagakure gushed. "Sounds really cool! It looked really cool as well!"
"What does it do?" Ashido asked curiously, leaning a bit too forward for Scarlett's liking.
The ravenette opened her mouth to give a brief explanation of her quirk when a spiky blonde kid suddenly busted the door open with his foot, glaring at all of them. She recognized this person as the one at the sludge villain incident as well as the kid next to the green haired one at the exams.
"What? Quit staring," the blonde demanded, red eyes filled with anger. His uniform wasn't even proper, with the top buttons of his white shirt undone, a lack of a tie, and his pants sagging down. In short, he looked like a delinquent. Maybe he is one, although Scarlett never expected to see one at a hero school, especially at UA. He walked over and sat at his seat, putting his feet on the desk as though he owned the place.
As the uptight person he was, Iida immediately stormed over there in all of his strict glory and started telling the blonde off.
Ashido laughed. "Looks like they're having some fun! Maybe we should go over there!"
'I don't think you know what fun means,' Scarlett deadpanned as they watched Iida scold the blonde, while said person told him to piss off.
'Tch! This stupid blue haired idiot won't leave me alone!' Bakugo scowled deeply. He was already in a bad mood.
Hagakure jumped up and down, bringing the attention back to her. "I'm Toru Hagakure! Let's be good friends!"
"For sure!" Ashido replied back in a good manner.
"Ne, ne, Scarlett!" Hagakure looked at her excitedly. "We can be friends too!"
"Um…"
"Ok, it's settled!" Hagakure declared, not waiting for an answer.
"Man, I love being a hero in training!" A voice with a lisp whispered nearby.
The three girls turned to see some… midget with what looked to be grapes on his head. And his face was the definition of pervy and one of someone up to no good.
"Yes… yes!" The grapehead continued to mutter. "Energetic cute girls are always up there… Those boobs on the invisible girl are also amazing… the antennas are off putting but also adds a cute factor… and the last girl! Oh… she's the best one! Her legs are perfectly chiseled and long… Her straight and long black hair makes her more sexy and that gaze with one eye gives her such a seductive look! And her own boobs have to be a C cu-!"
He was silenced abruptly as Scarlett was holding him in the air by the head, her hands crushing both sides. Her gaze grew more dangerous as she crushed his head even more, making him squeak.
"Finish that sentence and I'll squeeze you into grape juice," Scarlett hissed.
The grapehead nodded vigorously, his eyes bulging out of his head. After that, Scarlett set him back onto the ground and kicked him to the other side of the room like a soccer ball. She sighed in irritation, not able to hide it anymore. 'So in short, we got two bubbly and hyper girls who suck out all of your energy, an uptight know-it-all, an angry porcupine, and a pervert as classmates. And I'm supposed to be with these guys for three years. Joy. Absolute joy.'
The ravenette suddenly felt a tingling sensation that instantly put her on edge. Her head quickly turned to find the source of it. She stared at Hagakure, who she was almost certain was the source of the feeling. But what exactly was it? Disgust? Anger? Or was it even bloodlust? Scarlett was very good at reading people, but with Hagakure being how she is… it's not exactly easy to read expressions or body language, is it?
It somewhat made her wary, but with that grapehead's words, Hagakure's feelings weren't exactly unwarranted. Besides, everyone was staring at her again, much to her annoyance and dismay.
"That was… intense," Ashido commented slowly. "But also amazing!"
The three of them continued to talk for a few more minutes, during which Scarlett had attempted to go to her seat quietly. Every single time however, they always manage to pull her back into their conversation. This feeling… was so different than what she was used to. Yes, she dealt with energetic and rowdy people before. Take Thoma and Lannion for example. But these people completely exhausted her. Not only that but unlike the two kids, her new classmates can't seem to take a hint.
It hit her hard with the realization that she had to be with new people. Sure, she's met many people when they escaped Grace Field, but they were added to the group she grew up with. This time however, it was a whole new group of people.
'This is going to take some getting used to,' Scarlett sighed internally.
Iida continued pestering the angry looking blonde. "For the last time, don't put your feet on the desk!"
As he said this, the door opened again and a familiar green haired boy walked in nervously. Luckily for him though, most people were too focused on the argument between Iida and the angry person. Scarlett did look at him for a few moments.
'I swear, this green haired kid is going to haunt me for the rest of my life…'
"HAH?" Bakugo was smirking, although some annoyance crept through due to Iida's non-stop scolding rampage.
"Don't you think that's rude to UA's upperclassmen and the people who made the desk?" Iida demanded as he pointed to the object.
"I don't!" Bakugo retorted blatantly as Iida gaped at his forwardness. "What junior high did you go to, you side character!?"
"I attended Somei Private Academy!" Iida responded, putting a hand on his chest while his other did some hand chops. "And my name is Tenya Iida! Not Side Character!"
"Somei?" Bakugo scoffed, the evil smirk still present on his face. "You're a damn elite, huh? Looks like I'll have fun crushing you!"
"C-Crushing?!" Iida exclaimed, stepping back. "You're terrible! Are you truly aiming to be a hero with that attitude?!"
"Keh!" Bakugo spat. "Like I need your opinion, rich boy!"
However, their argument caught off as they both looked at the green haired kid simultaneously, after said person made a rather loud squeak with his red sneakers.
"You're…" Iida said quietly.
Immediately, everyone else turned to stare at the green haired kid, who jumped in surprise and awkwardly stared back.
"U-um…" The kid didn't make eye contact with anyone, blushing.
"Good morning!" Iida immediately marched over to him in scarily even strides. "I am from Somei Private Academy! My name is-"
The kid put his hands up nervously. "I-I heard earlier!" Sweatdropping, he then said, "I'm Midoriya. Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you, Iida."
'I finally got a name to put to that face, after like what, meeting him for the 4th time?' Scarlett thought wryly.
Putting his arms stiffly to his sides, Iida then continued, saying, "Midoriya, you realized there was something more to that practical exam, didn't you?"
'Something more? Does he mean the rescue points?' Scarlett guessed.
"Eh?" Midoriya looked at him in confusion. 'There was something more?'
"I had no idea…" Iida looked down a bit. His arms were positioned like a robot's. "I misjudged you greatly! As much as I hate to admit it, you are better than me!"
Midoriya sweatdropped again at his straightforwardness. 'Sorry. I didn't realize anything…'
"Oh!" A new girl exclaimed from behind him. It was the brunette with pink cheeks. "Aha! That curly hair! You're that plain looking kid!"
Scarlett had to suppress a snort at that. It really wasn't the best thing to be called. 'Well, there are worse names out there,' she remarked wryly. The reminder of the name she had been called in the demon world was one. Crimson Slasher, really? In other parts, she was known as the Red Reaper, which wasn't a lot better.
Midoriya and Iida looked at her, with the former blushing at how cute she was in the uniform. 'I-it's the nice person! She looks good in a uniform!'
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize her saying, "You passed, just like Present Mic said! Of course you did!" She kept punching the air. "Your punch was amazing! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break!"
Midoriya was now as red as a tomato as he looked to the side bashfully and covered his face. "Oh, well, um, it was thanks to you that I got to speak with him directly that I um…"
'What is with these people?' Scarlett was beyond confused as to how she felt.
Ashido grinned mischievously. "Ohoho… we got some interesting people here!" 'Interesting people for me to get to match up!'
"Huh?" The brunette stopped her fist pumping when Midoriya said that. "How did you know about that?"
"Oh!" Midoriya appeared even more flustered, if possible. "That's because… um…"
The spiky haired blonde was glaring at the stuttering boy. He was in a bad mood for several reasons. He had gotten into UA, sure, but so did that damn Deku! He was supposed to be the only one that gets into UA! How the hell did Deku get in anyways? He was a quirkless loser! And yet he had the audacity to stand up to him like that! What was that all about? And not only that… but he had gotten 2nd place. 2ND PLACE! The message did not include the placements of the other students, in fact, he only knew Deku got in because the principal congratulated both of them. Who the hell had gotten more points than him? Well, it didn't matter. Because he's gonna show them who the next number one hero is going to be! He'll show them all! They're just extras! Extras that he'll step on the way to the top!
A devious grin slowly formed on his face. He can hardly wait to show all of them who's the best. They'll know soon.
"I wonder if today's just the entrance ceremony and orientation?" The cute brunette girl wondered out loud as Midoriya was still just as red. "I wonder what our teacher's like? Aren't you nervous?"
'S-so close!' Midoriya continued to cover his face.
"Go somewhere else if you want to play at being friends," a tired voice droned.
Scarlett nearly gaped at what she saw behind the two students. 'A… caterpillar? A rather horrifying one at that…'
Midoriya looked behind the brunette at the caterpillar man and opened his mouth wide in shock and fear. Iida too had a similar reaction but more…Iida like, if that made sense.
The brunette with them was confused and then slowly turned around to see the same thing, her eyes wide and terrified.
"This is the hero course," the caterpillar man continued, uncaring about the looks he received. He unzipped his yellow sleeping bag a bit to get his hand out to drink some juice, making a loud slurping noise.
"GAH!" The three students at the door continued looking at him in horror.
The caterpillar man stood up and fully unzipped his bag, revealing him in his black outfit with an interesting looking gray scarf. His hair was unkempt and his eyes were tired and bloodshot as well as his face unshaved. "It took you all eight seconds before you were quiet. Time is limited and invaluable. You kids are not rational enough."
'Ok, that might be for the three of them, but don't lump the rest of us with them,' Scarlett thought irritatedly but kept it to herself. It would probably be best to not talk back to who was clearly… a staff member of sorts, on the first day.
'Is this… a teacher?' Midoriya wondered. 'So that means he's a pro hero too? But I've never seen a hero that worn out before…'
The teacher scanned the entire room with his bloodshot eyes, recognizing some more than others. 'Hm. As expected, these kids still have that naive look. But from their scores, plenty appear to have promise. But let's see how they do with my test.' The black haired girl with hair covering one of her red eyes caught his attention as the one who scored highest on the entrance exam and got a perfect score on the written one. Her gaze was wary and also scrutinizing. Interesting. Perhaps she has a bit of potential.
"I'm your homeroom teacher. Shota Aizawa. Nice to meet you."
'...T-TEACHER?!'
Immediately, everyone had varying degrees of shock on their faces. And no one could really blame them. This was supposed to be the teacher that helps them be pro heroes?
Aizawa either appeared to not have noticed their stares or just ignored them as he reached into his bag and pulled out a UA gym uniform out of it. "It's a bit sudden, but we're already behind schedule. Put this on in the locker rooms and go out to the field."
As all of them were expecting to get ready to go to the entrance ceremony, they were all confused as to why they needed to put them on. But he was their... teacher, so they all complied and headed to the locker rooms to change.
Scarlett blinked heavily as she looked down in dismay. 'I didn't even get to sit down…'
~0~0~0~0~0~
All the girls were in their locker room changing into their gym uniforms, which were in their designated lockers. Scarlett wrinkled her nose slightly at having to wear yet another uniform but she sucked it up. She only hoped that she wouldn't have another freakout like with her regular UA uniform. It would be quite hard to explain that. Not to mention embarrassing to boot.
"Hello!" Hagakure greeted. "I'm Toru Hagakure! I know you're Scarlett Evans, and you're Mina Ashido! But what about the rest of you?"
The other black haired girl who had her hair up in a ponytail smiled as she took off her white shirt. "My name is Momo Yaoyorozu. It's a great pleasure to meet you all!"
Scarlett recognized that last name. 'Isn't the Yaoyorozu group one of the biggest leading business-oriented groups in the world? Annnnd it looks like no one else realizes that,' she added to herself when no one made a comment on her last name.
Ashido had a devious smile as she gestured to the rich girl's generous chest. "That's not the only 'great' thing here."
Yaoyorozu looked confused until she realized where Ashido was looking. A bright red blush sported on her cheeks, while also turning away from the pink girl. "T-that's not appropriate in this environment! It's also highly unnerving to comment on one's appearance in such a scandalous way!"
Ashido giggled. "I'm just messing with you, Yao-Momo!"
"Yao-Momo?"
"I like it!" The brunette girl with pink cheeks said. "It's a bit tedious to say your entire last name, so can I call you that as well?"
"W-well," Yaoyorozu stuttered, "of course!" 'I have never been addressed in such a way before, but it's certainly not unwelcome!'
The frog-like girl then introduced herself. "I'm Asui Tsuyu. But call me Tsu, ribbit."
'Ribbit…' Scarlett sweatdropped at that.
"Tsu!" Hagakure exclaimed. "How cute! I like it!"
The brunette girl then said her name as well. "My name is Ochako Uraraka! Let's be good friends and classmates!"
"Nice to meet you, Uraraka," Yaoyorozu greeted with a smile.
Scarlett mumbled a greeting after her as she went to zip up her gym jacket. Before she could do that though, a gasp stopped her.
"Woah!" The last girl, a purple haired female, exclaimed. "Is that a six pack?!"
"Really?!" Ashido and Hagakure rushed over to the ravenette to see for themselves, the girl in question suppressing a flustered blush at being scrutinized in such a way.
"You weren't lying!" Hagakure marveled in awe. "She does have one! It's the first time I've seen a girl have one!"
"In fact, your entire body looks to be in great shape!" Ashido added. "What a perfectly chiseled body you got! What's your training regimen? I'd love to know that!"
Scarlett had a faint hint of amusement in her eyes, the first new emotion any of them had seen so far from the stoic girl.
'If they knew or even tried it, I wonder how long it would take for them to quit? You had to be Emma levels of stubborn to stick to it.'
"You wouldn't want to know. It took years for my body to be like this and for me to be able to properly discipline myself to stick to it," Scarlett explained as she zipped her jacket up and went to tie her hair in a tall ponytail.
"Oh," the purple haired girl realized as Ashido pouted. "I never introduced myself to you guys, right? I'm Kyoka Jiro."
Scarlett turned towards her to say a greeting in reply when she froze, getting a proper look at the girl. Her appearance was normal for the most part. But she definitely had a mutation quirk. Because there were earjacks attached to her ears.
"Woah!" Uraraka noticed them too. "Are you a music person by any chance?"
Jiro laughed sheepishly. "Yeah. I'm a complete music maniac. My parents are musicians and taught me all sorts of instruments."
"That's wonderful!" Yaoyorozu complimented, clasping her hands together happily. "Personally, I play the piano!"
Scarlett was frozen, staring at Jiro uncertainly. 'I have got to have the worst luck in the world! What's the chance that one of my classmates is literally revolved around music? I never wanted to hear music again. Not after what happened. So now what? Do I seriously have to deal with this on top of the other things going on?'
Jiro noticed her stare, being slightly unnerved with how impassive it was. "Um… is there something wrong, Scarlett?"
Snapping out of it, she shook her head. "Nothing. I was just spacing out." She turned away from the earphone jack girl.
"That's a very pretty ring," Yaoyorozu commented, looking at her silver jewelry. "Shouldn't you take it off?"
"It's fine," Scarlett brushed off coolly. 'I don't go anywhere without my ring.'
Most of the other girls noticed the strange scar on the same hand from where she bit herself years ago. They kept quiet about it though. But curiosity was still present.
"Well, we better get to the field, ribbit," Asui interrupted. "I get the feeling that Aizawa sensei is an impatient person."
"Yeah." Scarlett was the first to walk out, her hands stiff at her sides.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Ray looked forward with the rest of the class to look at his new teacher. He had only met a few of his classmates properly. They seemed nice though, if a bit nerdy or a know-it-all. But then again, he apparently can be at times as well. Or so everyone else says… he definitely does not act like one.
'I wonder how Scarlett and the others are doing?' Ray wondered. He hoped that they were able to settle in fine. It didn't miss him how nervous Emma and Scarlett were. If there were bullies or harassers in their classes though, he'll beat the crap out of them, quirkless or not. He knew that those two should be the last ones to worry about, strength wise, but he still can't help but worry about them, as a sibling, and as a boyfriend.
Since it was too risky to give more people cursed blood and that they didn't need powers for their classes, Ray was registered as quirkless. Although Norman is as well, they decided to give him an simple IQ quirk similar to the principal's. After all, the white haired male was the smartest out of all of them. And it would cause less discrimination. Scarlett had protested when he insisted on being registered as quirkless, but he didn't care. So what if people stared at him? They can shove off. He was also perfectly able to handle himself. Scarlett wasn't the only one with excellent fighting skills, nor brains.
"Hello, everyone!" Their teacher said. "I'm Power Loader, your teacher for Support Class 1-H! Nice to meet you all! As you probably already know, the point of our class is to create support items for pro heroes and sidekicks! You'll even be designing their costumes! That is the entire goal of this class. However! That does not mean that you can neglect the necessary parts of a regular education either!"
Ray heard humming nearby and turned to his neighbor. It was a salmon-pink haired girl who styled her hair into dreadlocks. She also had a steampunk appearance with the goggles on her head. The girl seemed to be paying zero attention to their teacher as they were tinkering with something.
"Hey," Ray whispered to her. "I don't think you should be doing that right now."
"Eh?" The pink haired girl stopped her humming and barely took a glance at him before going back to her gadget. "Why not?"
Ray deadpanned at her. "Because there's a specific time for that kind of thing?"
"What do you mean?" The girl laughed. "There's always time for working on these beauties! Now… put this wire here and move this one here…"
Ray sighed, giving up on her. If she gets in trouble, it's not his problem. Although he at least can understand where she was coming from. He wanted to start making stuff too...
"Now then, about the entrance ceremony-" Power Loader suddenly paused in his explanation when he and the rest of the students heard a high pitch whistle-like sound. "What is that?"
Ray slowly looked towards his neighbor and her gadget that was clearly overheating. The whistle sound was only getting louder and louder. But the girl was too immersed in her work to even notice it.
"OI!" Ray shouted at her. "It's going to blow, idiot!"
"Huh?" The girl responded carelessly, still tinkering with the thing. "What do you mean? This baby is going to be spectacular! I know it!"
"HIT THE DECCCKKKK!" One of the students yelled, going underneath his desk.
Several others, including Ray, did the same thing.
It was inevitable that the device exploded, black smoke spreading everywhere and the room filled with coughing sounds.
"HATSUME!" Power Loader shouted, hacking from the smoke.
"WOAH!" Hatsume exclaimed, now just realizing what happened. Her salmon pink hair had some burnt ends and her face and uniform were completely covered in black particles. "Aw… my poor baby!"
'She calls them… babies…' Ray was absolutely bewildered by this girl, staring at her incredulously. 'And I have to be her neighbor? What, am I going to have to duck under my desk every class?' He desperately hoped not.
"Hatsume!" Their teacher yelled angrily. "This is exactly why we don't build or craft stuff without supervision or a proper workspace! In fact, we're not even doing that right now! You should be paying attention to me, your teacher!"
Hatsume giggled, not affected by his scolding whatsoever. "Oh well! Guess I'll just build another one! No biggie!"
Power Loader slowly put his head on his desk in exhaustion and knowing pain. 'I hope I don't have to deal with this for another three years…'
Ray stared at Hatsume with wide eyes. 'She's like Emma on steroids… and that's terrifying to think about. Actually, pretty much anyone I know on steroids is concerning, come to think about it. Please tell me the others are doing better...'
~0~0~0~0~0~
Emma looked around at her new classmates with a feeling of nerves and excitement. Although none of them were familiar, it also means new people she can be friends with, right? They were going to be together for three years after all. She wondered how Scarlett was doing though.
'Knowing her, everyone probably feels threatened by her,' Emma sweatdropped, already guessing everyone's first impression about the ravenette. 'It doesn't even matter if she's doing nothing. Her aura can be intense. I remember all those years ago when we thought she didn't talk with anyone because she was a cool and aloof person. Well she is but the real reason why was because Scarlett was afraid of us not accepting her or looking down on her. In other words… She's the most antisocial and awkward girl you can meet, but doesn't appear that way at first glance. Hopefully she can make some friends too.'
"Emma?" A familiar voice called out.
The ginger turned and saw another ginger that she met before. Eyes shining, she exclaimed, "Kendo! Are you in class 1-B too?"
The other ginger nodded happily. "Yeah! I'm glad we're in the same class! We make a great team, so I wanted us to work together more."
"I agree!" Emma grinned. "Let's do our best!"
"Indeed! We must all do our best!" A new voice interrupted.
"Huh?" The two gingers turned to see one of their classmates. A rather smug looking blonde was grinning almost evilly.
"Hello!" Emma greeted. "I'm Emma Williams! Nice to-"
"What's your score on the entrance exam?" The blonde suddenly demanded.
Emma paused, tilting her head to one side. "Um… why do you want to know?"
"Yeah!" Kendo frowned, crossing her arms. "That's very rude of you! There is a reason why UA gives you your score in secret. We're privy to a bit of privacy, no?"
The blonde laughed in a snobbish way. "Well, I've been asking around the class! You see, so far I have questioned everyone else in this class! However! The highest score I have discovered was Shiozaki's, who was 5th place!"
Kendo deadpanned at the blonde. 'I wonder what he did to get his answers…'
"So, what are your places?" The blonde questioned in a pressing way.
Emma shrugged, putting on a small smile. "Well, how about proper introductions first? I'm Emma Williams! This is Itsuka Kendo! What about you?"
The blonde gaped at how she changed the subject. "N-Neito Monoma. But anyways! Tell me what your scores are!"
Emma frowned as she stared at Monoma. He was being rather rude. If Isabella had raised him, he definitely wouldn't be so demanding. "I'll tell you… if you say please!"
"...EH?!" Monoma exclaimed. "What are you talking about?! This isn't kindergarten!"
"Exactly!" Emma replied. "Which means you should properly know your manners by now!" 'And here I thought that the Japanese were mostly polite. Then again, he's the only outlier we've seen so far. Other than that other blonde that's in Scarlett's class.'
Kendo smirked. "What's wrong, Monoma? Won't you be polite? If not…" Her expression became cold and threatening. "...I'll knock some proper manners into you. You wouldn't want that, right?"
Monoma gulped as he stared at the two gingers. 'What the hell is up with these two?!' But his want for answers is stronger than his pride right now, so… "Fine. PLEASE tell me about your scores. Happy?"
Emma leaned forward. "That wasn't so hard, right? In the written exam, I got a perfect score and I came in 3rd in the practical."
Monoma let out a sound of triumph as he leaned back so incredibly far that both gingers thought he would hit the floor.
'Is his back ok?!' Emma freaked out internally.
"AHAHAHA!" Monoma cackled. "With you, we can prove that we're better than that wretched class 1-A!"
Kendo looked at Emma with wide eyes, having ignored Monoma for now. "A perfect score?! And 3rd on the practical?! That's amazing!"
Emma laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Well I wouldn't have gotten so far on the practical if it weren't for my friend. She and I trained together." A shiver went up her spine at the reminder of that hellish training. 'Mike…you have raised an absolute beast…'
"Who's your friend?" Kendo queried curiously.
"Scarlett Evans!" Emma responded. "She's in the other class."
"The other class, huh?" Monoma remarked spitefully. "We're gonna crush that class! We are going to prove we're better!"
"Hey, why are you being so competitive?" Emma asked with a disapproving look. "This is a school where we learn to be heroes! There's no need for this rivalry!"
"It's fine if there's a little bit," Kendo conceded. "But… Monoma is taking it too far."
"KENDO! What's your score?" Monoma demanded.
She gave him a pointed look, at which he sighed. "Please tell me your score…"
"I got a 94% on the written and 6th on the practical," Kendo revealed.
Monoma grinned once again. "Not bad! With this, it's possible! Although the 1st or 2nd place scorers aren't in this class so they have to be in the other one… whatever! We'll crush them too and we'll be the top class! AHAHAHA-"
Kendo finally had enough of his antics and gave him a swift chop at the back of his neck. Immediately, he fell down, unconscious.
Emma flinched in surprise at the action. 'So fast!'
As Emma sweatdropped nervously at her, Kendo sighed in relief. "Whew! That's much better! Anyone know where his seat is?"
'...Don't get on her bad side ever,' Emma thought shakily as a silver haired student was showing Kendo his spot.
~0~0~0~0~0~
"HUH?! A QUIRK ASSESSMENT TEST?!"
"What about the entrance ceremony?!" Uraraka panicked. "The orientation? We can't just skip them, can we?!"
Aizawa's back was turned to them as he answered. "If you're going to become a hero, you don't have time for such leisurely events." As everyone gasped at his statement, he continued, turning his head to them. "UA's selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are. That's also how the teachers run their classes."
'He's right,' Scarlett admitted. 'Just because you're a hero, doesn't mean that you can bathe in glory all the time. You're always on call to help and save others. Maybe he won't be such a bad teacher, despite the strange introduction. He seems to know what he's talking about.'
"You all have been doing this since junior high school, right?" Aizawa questioned, holding up a screen with different events. "Physical tests where you weren't allowed to use your quirks. The country still takes averages from students not using their quirks. It's not rational. Well, the Ministry of Education is procrastinating. So, we're going to do a test, but this time, you can use your quirks."
Excited whispering broke out within the class at the prospect of using their quirks to train as heroes for the first time in the school.
Ashido squealed happily, clasping her hands together. "Interesting! It sounds like so much fun! I can't wait until it's my turn!"
"We can use our quirks as much as we want!" Sero added. "As expected of the hero course! This is going to be great!"
"I can't wait until we can beat up some baddies!" Hagakure said excitedly.
"We're going for the top!" Kirishima shouted. "Man, this is going to be easy!"
As Aizawa was about to open his mouth to give them a proper lecturing, a wave of animosity washed over all of them. They all turned to see Scarlett, her visible eye narrowed and glaring at all of them. A shiver went through all their spines, and even the most aloof students felt it.
"...Fun, you say?" Scarlett uttered quietly, yet somehow loudly at the same time. "Do you think this is just some game? You guys think that pro-heroes have fun all the time? Don't be naive that being pro-heroes means that you are just surrounded in glory and fame. Pro-heroes are meant to save lives. Help people. Are you deluding yourself of the real danger that they face? The things you see them do on TV are different than in reality. Each day they are on duty, they put their lives on the line. Someday, we have to do that too. Did you ever consider that? Saving lives isn't some game or competition."
"Not only that…" Scarlett crossed her arms. "There's a big difference from using your quirks to play with your friends than using them to train as pro-heroes. The life of a pro-hero is no joke. We've barely even stepped one foot forward. All you've done is gain entry to UA. Yes, it's one of the top schools, but do you really think that's it? This is just the start. You've passed the exam. Now you have to make sure you stay in the school. So when the time comes for you to do your proper job or you get kicked out of here for whatever reason, keep on thinking you're hot shit. That you're going to be at the top. Reality… doesn't play around."
Silence followed after her statement as most of the students were gaping at her or at least showing some form of shock. Especially Iida and Yaoyorozu at her language near the end of her statement.
Aizawa scrutinized her even more than before. 'Hm. She's an interesting one. Perhaps her potential has gone up just a tad. But we will see if she can match up to her words. The way she speaks about reality… what did you have to face in order to be so jaded? To be much more mature than the average teen?' A part of him was wary of her. But she hadn't done anything wrong. Not to mention that doing a background check was an invasion of privacy that not even he as a pro-hero can violate. Not that he would do so willingly. Unless she does something that warrants it of course. 'I'll keep an eye on her and see what she'll do and achieve.'
He also noted she said pro-heroes instead of just heroes. From his perspective, it meant that she appreciates what they do, but she doesn't see them as true heroes. It made sense. Many in the profession seem to be more focused on the fame and attention and money it got them rather than the actual job. Very few fit the bill as an actual hero. A certain number one hero popped into his mind.
"Indeed," the tired man droned out loud. "You have three years of training to be a hero. Will you all have that same attitude the entire time… or once you leave the school?"
The excited air around them had long since dissipated as all of them looked nervously at one another, not sure what to do. They felt as though any move they made would make them immediately get expelled.
Then, for the first time since they met, Aizawa had a smile on his face. But it was not a friendly one by far. It was devious and perhaps a bit sadistic. "All right. Since all of you need a wake up call… whoever comes in last place after taking all eight tests will be deemed to have no potential… and will be punished with expulsion."
"HUH?!" The entire class cried out.
Even Scarlett was a bit shocked by that statement. 'Ok, I still don't like being lumped in with these people… but expulsion?! Even that seems a bit too harsh! It's only the first day! Although… Maybe this is the push everyone else needs. And I'm sure I'll be fine. Why should I care about the others? I shouldn't! There's no need to...'
'P-punished with expulsion?!' Midoriya quivered like a leaf. 'This is bad… in all eight tests?' He looked down at his hand and clutched its wrist with the other hand. 'I can only use One for All at zero or 100 percent! I can't control it yet…'
"We're free to do what we want about the circumstances of our students," Aizawa revealed. "Welcome to UA's hero course!"
"But last place will be expelled?!" Uraraka exclaimed. "But it's only the first day of school! No… even if it wasn't, this still isn't fair!"
"Natural disasters, big accidents, and selfish villains," Aizawa counted off. "These are things that could occur at any time, anywhere. It's nearly impossible to predict them. Japan is covered with unfairness. The entire world is."
'The world is unfair,' Scarlett thought to herself as a fist clenched unintentionally. 'Life is cruel. No one is equal. These are all lessons I have learned. And it looks as though Aizawa intends to teach it to everyone else too.'
"Our job as heroes is to reverse those situations," the teacher continued. "If you wanted to talk with your friends at Mickey D's after school, too bad. For the next three years, UA will do all it can to give you one hardship after another. Go beyond. Plus Ultra. So overcome it with all you got."
All of them admittedly got at least a bit pumped up as they prepared for the test. But the idea of expulsion still weighed heavily on their minds. Especially for Midoriya.
'This is too serious to be hazing,' Iida thought as he took a sip of orange juice. 'However, this is the best of the best. I have to do it.'
'Let's just do this!' Bakugo smirked as he warmed his arm up.
Aizawa's expression turned amused. 'Let's give them a bit more motivation.' He looked over at Scarlett, who was stretching her legs. "Scarlett Evans, right?"
She gave a single terse nod in response.
He suddenly tossed her a softball, which she only managed to catch due to her reflexes. 'Huh? What am I supposed to do with this?'
"How far were you able to throw a softball back in junior high?" Aizawa questioned.
"I don't know," Scarlett replied. "I was homeschooled so I never did any tests like this. And I think American students do somewhat different tests."
'Homeschooled?!' All the students exclaimed internally. 'And a transfer as well!'
"I see," Aizawa said. "Well I suppose that's fine. Throw that ball as far as you can with your quirk." He pointed to a circle on the ground about ten yards away. "Don't hold back on it. As long as you stay in that circle, anything goes."
"Alright," Scarlett conceded, walking to said circle with the ball. She managed to walk normally as the feeling of several eyes looking at her back nearly overwhelmed her.
All of them, except for one blonde exception, were mainly curious as to what she can do. Almost no one knew what her quirk was yet and that talk she gave to them earlier still rang in their minds clearly.
Scarlett stepped into the circle and massaged her right arm that had the ball. The feeling of annoyance and frustration at the other students' ignorance still lingered. 'Tch. Dammit, I shouldn't let this get to me. But I can't help it. It's like they're trying to stay in the dark about the reality we're in. Don't they know how much people struggle? How things are actually harder than they look?! No, calm down. There's no point in burning yourself up over this. Of course they wouldn't know. Up until now, their lives have been peaceful for the most part. But these feelings are still pent up inside of me. So I'll give this throw all I got! It's time to show them what a former member of the human resistance against the demon race can do.'
"Anything goes, huh? Then I suppose it wouldn't be against the rules if I do this." Her whole body glowed red and her hair turned red, signifying that her powers were on.
All of the others gasped at it, but the ravenette ignored them, now in the zone.
'Wait…' Midoriya thought. 'Red hair?' He recalled the girl from that day. The day when the sludge villain attacked as well as the day of the entrance exam.
'Don't tell me…' Bakugo fumed silently. He was starting to form the same conclusion.
'Is it… the same girl?' Midoriya was gaping at the ravenette. 'She was also the one who stood up for me…'
'So… this was where you were,' Bakugo snarled. 'I didn't need your saving!'
Scarlett then levitated the ball and raised it high up in the air. 'Ok, that should be good. And… launch!' With all her might, she threw the ball with her telekinesis as far as she could. A strong gust of wind blew in everyone's faces from the impact.
Aizawa looked with the rest of the class as the ball went further and further. "You see that, everyone?" He queried at all of them in a low voice so that the girl didn't hear. "That's the power of the person you should want to surpass the most right now. You won't even be able to hold a candle to someone like All Might at your current level, so don't even think about it."
"What do you mean by that?" Kaminari asked hesitantly.
Aizawa let out a small scoff before turning to them with a smirk. "Scarlett Evans…an American transfer student who got a perfect score on the written exam…and placed first on the practical. Even compared to other first placers in previous years, she stands out. You already have a lot on your plates with someone like her in your class. All Might should be far from your minds as of right now."
Yaoyorozu froze. 'A perfect score… and first place?! Is such a thing possible?'
'This bitch… was the one who surpassed me?' Bakugo's anger was even more fueled.
The ball landed somewhere far and their teacher showed them her score on his phone screen. It read 833 meters.
'833 meters?!' Midoriya had to keep himself from gaping once more. 'Can even Kacchan beat that high of a score?!'
'Who… who is she?' Everyone thought as the top scorer turned towards them, her gaze cool and unaffected by the impact she has just caused.
Author's Note:
Sorry for the late update! And here I said I was going to come back with another chapter next week haha. At the time, finals were coming up and I was really busy with studying and all of that. Having a personal life is something to take priority of course. In the end, I also decided to take a break during the holidays cause I figured I should use that time to create more chapters and give myself a bit of a breather. This chapter was supposed to go up yesterday but after reading through it, there was some stuff I wanted to change such as the first part you've read. I figured you guys would prefer a slightly later chapter that was improved instead of the other option.
Each of these chapters are 30+ pages each as well as over 11k words for one of them and it's not easy typing it all out. As of right now, I'm working on the eighth chapter as well as a side special. Honestly, I'm debating if I should post chapters more sparingly or make the chapters shorter from now on. Let me know in the reviews as to what I should do!
(Spoilers for the manga, skip to next paragraph if wanted) I've also been reading the manga, and wow did they throw me off with that plot twist! Poor Aoyama, right? We're getting closer and closer to the end, and it makes me excited. Yes, I agree this final arc is definitely being a bit too rushed for my liking, but it's still really fun to read.
As I've mentioned before, Hagakure is having a bigger role in this story as well as some other characters in 1-A that didn't have that much screen time in the original story. I hope you'll enjoy what I've come up with. You've also met some of the completely original villains that I've created! As of right now, they're a mysterious group, but you'll uncover more and more about them as the story progresses. I'm still working out the kinks with their story as well as some other ideas I want to implement. Hopefully I will get them worked out. Once again, thank you for reading, and I'll see you (for sure this time!) Next week!