Disclaimer: My Hero Academia belongs to Horikoshi Kouhei! I'm just here for the fun.

- Chapter 5 -

Training Interlude

Two weeks until the Sports Festival.

Megumi had two weeks to whip herself and her quirk into shape. Enough to get her into the Top 42 during the obstacle race, in the least.

First thing she ought to be working on was stamina. Even without using her quirk, she tired out too fast. The Original had a habit of compensating for it with expensive tools and gadgets, but she really didn't want to carry around all that stuff and have it weigh her down. Ever since she had gone out to eat with Ashido and Asui, she had realized that going home by train and on foot was much less anxiety inducing than getting transported via a freaking limousine. She had called her chauffeur and let him know that he didn't need to pick her up today, but she was beginning to entertain the idea of just telling him to never pick her up again.

Jogging from home to school and back sounded like a nice exercise. The distance would be long enough to make her sweat, but not enough to make her collapse halfway.

What else did she need to work on? Megumi scrunched up her face, tapping her notebook with her pencil impatiently as she sat in her room. 'Oh right.' Strength training. Sure she was athletic, but not as athletic as she imagined a pro hero to be. Her built was lean and fit, but not muscly per-se. She was so light that even Recovery Girl would probably be able to lift her up without trouble. That needed to change… and she had just the right idea for what to do about it. Giggling madly to herself, she wrote down '100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 squats daily' in her notebook. There would just be something inherently funny about trying out Saitama's workout routine and having it actually work.

Lastly, and most importantly, she had to figure out some kind of quirk training that wouldn't leave her exhausted for days on end. After arriving home from her first day at UA and shoving aside the awkwardness of her day creeping up on her, she had sat down and made an honest to god mind-map about what she knew of her quirk so far. It was laughable, really. Nonetheless, as a former office worker, her organizational skills had been one of her only redeeming qualities. Having a piece of paper to take notes on assured her that she could still put those skills to use by creating and managing her own schedule.

Currently, the words 'energy drain' were circled urgently, right next to the estimated amount of time she could hold her quirk. When she had first come back from the hospital and nudged her quirk to activate in her room, the chains had shot off in all directions as if they weren't sure where to go or what to do. Megumi was pretty sure she had blacked out for a few seconds before coming back to her senses and realizing that the chains had started crumbling.

The ones she had let go off in her slight panic had lost their glow, turning to dust on the floor pitifully. Meanwhile the ones she held on to still stood proud and strong. She had felt another fainting spell incoming with the way they seemed to sap away her energy. Letting them go had been the only way to dispel them. It had made a strange sense of guilt and sadness well up within her, seeing her chains turn into ashes.

Now that she could think back to her experience and analyze what had happened, it made her burn with curiosity concerning why the energy she expended into those beautiful chains disappeared into thin air, never to be recovered again. She had been so exhausted that the weariness had carried through to the next day.

Somehow, it didn't sit well with her. It didn't feel right. In fact, her quirk gave off a sickly impression, draining more energy than it was supposed to. Trying to compensate in place of something that just wasn't there…

Grinding her teeth, she tried to fight off the festering unease. Dark and foreboding, it slinked and crawled in every corner, fretfully drowning her in a sea of trepidation.

Megumi took a deep breath, clearing her mind and focusing on her objective. The Sports Festival.

Realistically speaking, there was no way she could achieve a huge improvement in only two weeks. But nonetheless, if she played her cards right, she could work something out with what she had. So far she deemed it best to reserve quirk training for the end of the day when she was done with her daily exercises. She had a feeling if she messed around with her quirk right off the bat, she'd be unable to move her body.

What else could she do? Megumi thought long and hard about it. What else was she missing…

She snapped her fingers in realization. 'A training buddy!'

But where could she get one of those? All Sports Festival participants only had morning classes to attend until the fateful day arrived. They could do whatever they pleased with the rest of their days. No way would anyone want a training buddy when they were all going to be competing against each other. Megumi shook her head ruefully. 'Ashido and Asui will probably prefer individual training. Who do I know, who could potentially be my… oh, no. Maybe…? No way.'

Well, she had been around him long enough to know what his answer would be. But on the other hand, it was worth a shot, right?

She pulled out her phone, scrolling through her contacts before tapping on the one nickname that had like 10 pulsing hearts around it. Bringing the phone to her ear, she waited in anticipation. He wouldn't be petty enough to ignore her call, right?

He picked up. She felt her heart jump. 'He actually picked up?!'

"Hey Todoroki! I was thinking-"

Click.

Lowering the phone from her ear, she stared at her screen blankly. "…he hung up."

So he was that petty. 'Maybe I should count myself lucky that he hasn't blocked me yet.'

She sighed, throwing her phone away and onto her bed. The rest of the night was spent scribbling in her notebook, the mind-map expanding into infinite branches.

Mina liked to think that she had finally succeeded in befriending 1-A's infamous snob, Megumi.

But the more she spent time with her, the more she was starting to think that the blonde didn't really deserve to be called a snob anymore.

Ever since that fateful afternoon when Megumi had extended a hand of friendship towards Tsuyu and Mina by suggesting they eat outside together, the three of them had established a routine of sorts. After their morning classes were over, they would go outside to eat somewhere before going off on their own ways to train for the upcoming Sports Festival.

To her glee, Megumi was surprisingly easy to talk to. She would nod along to Mina's stories and Tsuyu's quips, not contributing much to the conversation but going along with it nonetheless. Her aura had mellowed out somewhat, though she sometimes gave off an intense feeling when she fell too deep into her thoughts. They could tell that she had somewhat changed since the USJ Incident took place, but didn't want to pry too much considering the blonde would still flinch whenever anyone mentioned it.

It never failed to amaze her how Megumi had turned into such a silent yet determined individual all of a sudden. She felt like she was hanging out with a completely different girl!

Mina was a social person. She genuinely enjoyed helping and encouraging people. Her friendly and generally out-going attitude was something that came naturally to her. She loved making new friends and made it a mission to befriend even those who seemed introverted at first sight. So when she had first tried interacting with the Airashi and expected a greeting in return, she was in for a nasty surprise.

Megumi had sneered, snatching away her hand from Mina's and wiping it on her uniform. "Don't touch me, peasant. Actually, don't even talk to me. Not with that dreadful color on you."

It had been such a long while since anyone had ever made fun of how she looked that she had been frozen in place, totally caught off guard. Megumi had walked past her without a second glance, latching onto Todoroki's shoulder as he left the classroom.

To think that girl was the same as the one she now regularly ate lunch with was unthinkable. Thankfully, Mina wasn't someone who could hold grudges. Besides, she had heard worse insults before. Even if she tried, she couldn't hate the current Megumi.

The blonde would come into morning classes looking like she had run a marathon, going into the bathrooms to change out of her sweaty shirt half an hour before homeroom started. Whenever they went out for food, she would tell them to go ahead and that she would catch up, only to arrive 15 minutes late panting and out of breath. Mina knew that Megumi was taking her exercise for the Sports Festival seriously, but she hoped she wouldn't push herself to the brink of over exhaustion.

Then again, Tsuyu would come to class every day looking like she had spent the night in a garden pond. Sometimes she felt like her drive to succeed wildly differed from theirs.

Maybe she should be taking a page out of Megumi's book and make a workout plan of her own…

So far, Megumi's grueling training was going okay…ish.

The first few days were hell on earth. It was as if her lungs were being punctured by a hundred miniature needles. Her muscles and joints seemed to have the same consistency as rusty metal and she was starting to develop a horrible migraine, centered right at two distinct spots on her head. It would have been enough to make Colby give up- but Megumi needed to do this. If she couldn't deal with this much, then what was the point in trying to become a hero?

The pain lessened as her body started getting used to the exercises, though the massive headache would plague her incessantly every minute of every day.

It must have been noticeable, because one of the older maids had offered her a glass of water and some painkillers with an amicable smile on her face. Megumi had returned her smile, grabbing the painkillers but not opening them. After the maid had excused herself out of the room, Megumi had dropped her smile.

She had ended up flushing both the water and the pills down the toilet. Everyone in the mansion was undoubtedly working for that woman: one could never be too careful.

The '100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 squats daily' thing had went absolutely terrible at first. She felt like her tendons were going to snap like string cheese or her humerus bones would rip straight through her elbows whenever she made it to number 30. How was she supposed to do 100 of all these daily when she couldn't even handle 30? 'Bold of me to assume I could handle One Punch Man's daily workout.' She resigned herself to doing only 30 of each until she got used to the burning sensation and added rope climbing to her plan instead. There was something she really wanted to try, but couldn't until her grip strength was strong enough.

Her quirk training was a lot less intense in comparison, since most of it consisted of her theorizing about how she could use her chains most effectively. Although, she would still end up on the floor having drained every last bit of her energy. Strangely enough her time limit seemed to climb up bit by bit the worse her headache got. Recently she'd been working on altering the shape and size of her chains to a suitable degree. The smaller and thinner they were, the more she could keep using her quirk until eventually tiring out.

Before going to bed, Megumi made sure to try some yoga moves she still remembered doing as Colby. Anything to lessen the pain in her muscles.

'A week and a half left- I need to keep going.'

Momo stared out of the window from her seat in the library, watching in rapt attention as Airashi completed her 4th lap around the school.

Wheezing and stumbling, the blonde continued jogging onwards for another lap without breaks in-between. Surely that couldn't be healthy? Momo found herself losing focus on the stacks of chemistry books on her table every time she caught a glimpse of wavy blonde hair passing by. It was, quite honestly, a disconcerting sight to behold.

The Airashi she knew would have never in a billion years spent her time training of all things.

The first few times she had seen her jogging around nearby, Momo had thought she was starting to hallucinate. Had Airashi finally gone off the deep end? Especially after that thorough scolding she had given that general studies student, her words sounding like a lecture shockingly similar to that of a disappointed parent's (well, until the cursing started). The Incident at USJ seemed to have unlocked some kind of hidden potential within her, the roaring dedication she exuded towards her training routine burning hotter than the sun. While walking by a jogging Iida, who was presumably training for the Sports Festival as well, she had briefly mentioned Airashi during their talk to make sure she wasn't actually seeing things.

Iida had taken a big swig from his water bottle before cheerfully replying, "Indeed! It is very admirable of Airashi-san to train so hard for this year's Sports Festival with such conviction! But in a battle of speed, I shall not lose." And he had sped off with his engine legs, as if his determination had somehow been renewed by that revelation.

Momo's own preparation consisted of reading and memorizing every single useful chemical and atomic compound she could find within the UA library's science books. The notes she had taken filled up 5 whole folders so far with no end to it. And she had even more of them to look into back home. It was a necessary evil if she planned on using her quirk the smartest way she could. After all, despite her quirk's flexibility, there was a limit to how many creations she could make before she ran out of fat lipids to break down into other material. Her way of training was wildly different from other people considering she had to maintain her body fat in order to use her abilities.

She was also aware that Airashi had never bothered with physical training either, due to her quirk being a long-range one. She was quite similar to Sero in that aspect, both of them displaying impressive gymnastic moves and capturing their opponent with their tape and chains respectively. Compared to Sero, Airashi would tire out a lot sooner and the glowing capture weapons she created out of thin air weren't permanent unlike his tape. That was a huge reason as to why she tended to sit back on the sidelines and stay passive in emergency situations until she was required to use her quirk: not that Momo understood how she could just do nothing in the face of danger.

Then again, Airashi had saved Midoriya from possibly becoming a mere stain on the pavement without any hesitation. Her chains had greatly suppressed the impact of the Nomu's punch.

As someone who tended to devise plans and strategies beforehand, Momo liked to consider not only the quirks and abilities but also the individual personalities of her classmates in case they were required to work as a team. Airashi had never expressed interest in being a team player, which was particularly perplexing considering she would most likely be a support or rescue type hero more than anything. Power types such as Todoroki, Bakugou or Kirishima could undoubtedly go solo without problems, but Airashi could only hold on to her opponent for a limited time. She would need a partner who could neutralize the target before she exhausted her quirk. To Momo's appreciation, Airashi had grown a lot more approachable in the past few days. The same couldn't be said about Todoroki, but she supposed that he was an entirely different matter.

Momo looked up from her books once again, setting down her pencil to see what was happening down below. Airashi stood in her UA gym uniform, a towel thrown around her shoulders and expressing a friendly smile as she talked with the group of girls who had gathered around her. Raising an eyebrow, Momo observed as they offered her food and drinks with blushing faces.

'Aren't they general studies students?'

Shaking her head in disbelief, Momo went back to studying her books with restored enthusiasm. Now she understood how Iida had felt seeing the once arrogant princess work harder than ever.

Trying to climb up a rope was a lot more difficult than it looked.

Army soldiers and Special Forces in movies made it look super easy, but Megumi's noodle arms could barely lift her 5m off the ground before she unceremoniously plummeted back onto the gym mattress down below. The Original had been pretty flexible due to the ballet and gymnastics classes she had undertaken as a kid: Megumi found that she could do cartwheels, handstands and splits with frightening ease. However, simple flexibility did little to aid her in exercises requiring actual physical strength.

UA's gym was unlike anything she had ever seen before. First of all, it was separate from other buildings and was absolutely gigantic. There were smaller outdoors training areas right outside, where she had seen a few students using the space for their own workout sessions. The inside of the gym was filled to the brim with every single equipment in existence and as Kirishima would so eloquently put it, they oozed with manliness. She had first found her way here when a lazy thought went through her mind around the time she had first started jogging for exercise. What if she utilized a treadmill instead of running laps around the school and town like a crazed fitness fanatic?

Unfortunately for her, despite the abundance of tools and equipments, there was not a single treadmill anywhere in sight. But there were many other useful things she could put to use.

She still had more than a week to train for the Festival and jogging had helped her adjust to her new routine immensely. Every day she would increase the running distance just a little more, and every day she could feel herself having less side stitches and higher tolerance for the burning in her lungs.

The only problem now was that her leg game was stronger than her arm game. That would just not do.

Her experience with the pull-up bars had went something like this: she had jumped up to grasp on to the metal bar with both hands, feet dangling above the ground uselessly. Then, she had strained to bend her elbows to pull herself up- before a loud POP noise alerted her to the fact that maybe the pull-up bars shouldn't be her first choice if she wanted to keep her arms intact.

Rope climbing was definitely better and had not much of a risk of dislocating her shoulders. Though, her bare hands tended to end up red and swollen from the friction burns she received while sliding back down.

Biting her lip and staring at the rope in annoyance, Megumi wiped away some sweat on her temple. After catching her breath, she stood before the rope again, trying to calculate its distance to the wall across from her.

Then, she proceeded to grab the rope firmly before taking a running jump at the wall.

With both feet planted firmly on the wall's surface, she kicked herself off. At the same time, she let go of the rope only to capture it once again, this time at a higher point. She continued climbing higher with that method, sliding back down when she lost her momentum.

The pain of blisters on her hand was nothing compared to the pride she felt at having climbed double the height she normally could.

'A momentum. That's all I need.' Her quirk quivered shyly, the energy excitedly pulsating just underneath her skin. The chains didn't materialize, yet they diligently followed her every thought and movement like students taking notes from a teacher.

Purple eyes narrowed in suspicion.

She didn't so much as acknowledge the wariness he gave off, sitting down on the bench next to him.

He avoided looking at her. Didn't even ask what she was here for. It was safe to assume that she had come here to get back at him for his declaration of war on 1-A, wasn't it? If that was the case, he had no intentions of taking it back. Hitoshi would show those arrogant pricks in the hero course that they weren't any better than anyone else just because they happened to have flashy quirks.

Airashi might have fooled everyone else with her recent behavior, but he knew that deep down she was still the same as those smug idiots.

He had addressed her in particular that day, hoping to demonstrate to everyone how being in the hero course didn't mean they were inherently good people. Of course he knew that UA staff couldn't be bribed with money nor prestige. Anyone who had tried had ended up mocked and ridiculed on the corner of magazine pages due to information leaks, UA making sure to show that attempting bribery would have its consequences. Despite that, he couldn't possibly fathom how they could have allowed such a stupid floozy into the hero course when she wasn't even capable of common human decency.

What he hadn't expected was for her to lash out at him with such intensity. His full name coming out of her mouth had made him take a step back, apprehensive that she actually knew his full name despite them never interacting with each other before. Under the pressure of those teal eyes (had they been glowing? Hitoshi had felt something in him shrinking back in alarm), he had felt like a kid getting admonished in front of all those people. Maybe it would have been a humiliating experience, if it weren't for the fact that he could care less about what anyone thought of him.

He had always been avoided due to the nature of his quirk. It wasn't anything new.

Airashi bent forward, elbows on her knees as she stared at the same spot he was looking at. Trying to see what was so interesting about it that it had him staring for so long. "I asked a few people where you go during your lunch breaks, if you're wondering."

His brows furrowed. Some of his classmates had been getting unnecessarily friendly with the Airashi.

She cleared her throat. "I came here to apologize. For what happened a week and a half ago. I shouldn't have said all those things without considering the time and place. I'm sorry."

He turned his head, finally looking at her. She was in her gym uniform, sweaty and red in the face with her hair sticking out everywhere, despite the high ponytail she had wrangled it into. The bandages around her head were gone. Her skin had turned slightly darker and sunburnt, a big contrast to its previously pale and unblemished appearance.

Now that she finally had his attention, she also turned to look at him straight in the eyes. "I know it's a bit late for that now, but I wanted to do this before we face off against each other during the Sports Festival. I let my emotions get the best of me. I assure you the same won't happen during the Festival."

Hitoshi zeroed in on the implications in that sentence. Could it be…?

Airashi stood up, draping her towel back onto her shoulder and grabbing her water bottle. "Anyway, that's all I came here for. See you at the Sports Festival."

He stood up as well, teeth grinding in vexation. What was she playing at? Who had put her up to this- her classmates? Her precious crush? Were they getting a kick out of this too? He had seen all kinds of people acting nice to him while simultaneously shit-talking behind his back. Was she making fun of him for even daring to challenge the oh so strong class 1-A? Giving him her heartfelt apologies, as if he had been the villain in that situation- it made him sick.

"I don't need your apology. I meant what I said. I'm going to knock you all off of your high horses."

She eyed him up and down, scrutinizing his expression as if searching for something. Her lips twitched upwards slightly. "I'll be looking forward to it then."

Even after she left, Hitoshi continued standing and drilling holes into the spot she had been sitting on. He was seething in annoyance, something not many managed to do. Her mere presence put him on edge- parading around like she was a better person now, as if she hadn't been the most disliked person in UA's entire First Year classes. How could people forget the way she had been treating others? Did being in the hero course automatically entitle her to that right?

Or was it because her quirk wasn't villainous, unlike his?

He couldn't deny that he was jealous. What made it worse was that despite the jealousy, he also couldn't deny the appreciation somewhere in his heart. Her unwavering stare, telling him upfront that she wouldn't let emotions get the best of her- the hidden threat that she would be taking him dead serious if they happened to be opponents.

Only a few days left until the Sports Festival. She was already shaking with both fear and excitement.

Throughout the two weeks they were given, she had trained until she vomited. Megumi was aware that if she wanted to improve even more, she would have to continue her exercises even after the Sports Festival: and if that meant getting more acquainted with her quirk, there was hardly any reason not to.

Flexing her hands, she contemplated the thin chains hanging from the tips of her fingers.

To her massive convenience, her room was enormous. There wasn't much restricting her from moving around and she was provided with enough space to use her quirk. The pounding headache was something she had gradually gotten used to, although it still bothered her that painkillers she got from the pharmacy didn't seem to have any effects on it. She had an idea as to why it wouldn't go away, but she couldn't be sure yet…

Her chains had once again created a maze inside her room- however, this time, she was in control.

Megumi took deep breaths, her control still shaky. The chains wobbled and continued snaking around gleefully, like children who had been let out to play outside. She was reminded once again that her quirk gave off a distinctly immature feeling. It lashed out whenever she tried to prod at it too forcefully, yet it still clung to her knowing it had nowhere else to go. Like a wounded animal, it would shy away from her until she managed to coax it into materializing. It made her often wonder how the Original had ever gotten anything done with such a willful quirk, the chains crying out in protest whenever she had to let them go.

But at times like this, when she simply just let them explore their surroundings… it was the most peaceful she would ever be since finding herself in an entirely different dimension.

These chains had been with her since the day she had arrived. They were her closest friends and allies.

She felt incredibly stupid when she thought about it. Quirks were a part of people, not things they could casually befriend. And yet, Megumi couldn't think of them as mindless powers. Not when the chains snaking up her arms and playfully caressing her hair felt so alive.

The door to her room creaked open the tiniest bit. Megumi had her eyes closed concentrating on her chains, not giving any indication as to having noticed the noise.

Ringlets of blonde hair peeked out, big blue eyes shining in awe. A small chubby hand nervously reached out to one of the chains, only to retract when they shivered. Megumi smirked in amusement, holding back from laughing. She had noticed that she had earned herself a peeping tom whenever she trained with her quirk and it delighted her to no end.

She cracked her eyes open. Teal met blue.

Her younger sister's face flushed beet red before she hurriedly scampered off. Megumi laughed uncontrollably, her chains closing the door with a twitch of her fingers. The chains tittered and chortled, finding as much entertainment in the girl's reactions as she did. One would think that after being caught countless times, she'd be more subtle with her curiosity.

Megumi sobered up right after, a twinge in her heart.

'I never had any siblings before. It's… unusual.'

She was beginning to get used to life as Megumi. It should have made her happy, really. Ashido and Asui were wonderful people who had made space for her in their friend group. Nobody in class 1-A was particularly rude to her, not counting the cautious looks she received sometimes. General studies students generally went out of their way to avoid her, yet Komachi and her friends never forgot to greet her when they saw each other. She could evade her parents easily since they weren't home most of the time.

However, she still couldn't shake away the loneliness that took hold of her every now and then.

'I'm the only one who knows…'

She was the only one who knew that the Original was gone. That the Megumi who stood before them was an imposter in her shell. Was she deceiving them? She didn't like to think of it that way. There had been no other choice. The Original hadn't even existed in the My Hero Academia she had read and watched. There was no point in trying to preserve a plot that had already been altered by one little difference. Besides, how much would she be changing anyway? She wasn't a main character and as long as she didn't mess with main character business, everything would be fine.

The people she interacted with on a daily basis didn't feel like mere characters anymore. Perhaps that was why the worry incessantly gnawing at her subconscious became unbearable. One single mistake during a fight against villains and it might very well cost someone's life.

Everything happening to her was real. Her every action could have repercussions. She would rather not think about that.

'One thing at a time. I have a Sports Festival to survive through.'

A/N:

Hello friends. I actually have no idea how this chapter turned out, it's double the world count I usually write. XD

Thank you for all your lovely reviews! They put a smile on my face.

I'm going to be writing this story based on the manga. But I might also make a chapter or two based on the movies in the future, hehe. I'm a bit disappointed that I couldn't sneak Bakugou into this chapter, but the manga had like one panel showing 1-A's training weeks before the Sports Festival so I had to improvise hard lmao. Basically the reason this chapter turned out so long is because I wanted to show that everything is happening within a 2 week span.

Megumi's gonna be meeting a lot of characters during the Festival. And I hope I can fit in a Todoroki POV somewhere in the next chapters cuz he's still gonna be our favorite edgelord until Midoriya punches some sense into him. :D Also yes, this 'font' is basically everyone thinking the same thing simultaneously.