The park wasn't far from their building, and the younger kids would oftentimes get the older kids or the few adults in the complex-usually those who'd escaped the demon world while being trained as a Sister or Mama-to take them by at various points of the day.

That's where they were headed currently, the air having grown warmer as the time between school semesters passed by and the first days of the new year drew closer, late afternoon sun shining hot against their backs.

Two small hands were clutched tightly in Emma's own as they walked down the busy street, Phil and Sherry held close at her side as the children spoke excitedly about their day.

The elementary school the Grace Field children were now attending had started the new year a week prior to UA, and so far the kids had been fine with their teachers and classmates.

She'd initially been worried about how other children would react to the quirkless statuses of most of the younger kids, since almost all of the cattle children never developed any quirks, but her fears had been quickly diminished as time went on. The school they were attending was a nice, private one-and the Ratri clan had a lot of influence on it. Any bullying was promptly shut down and dealt with.

"Can we ride the train today?" Phil asked suddenly, and Emma smiled, looking down at the boy.

The park had a small passenger train that took people on rides around the property, a brightly colored and tiny thing that didn't travel much faster than a leisurely paced bike ride. Phil loved it.

"Of course! They sell ice cream at the station, we can get some to eat on the ride."

Phil smiled at that, looking over to Sherry and giving the girl a smile as the brightly colored butterfly wings on his back fluttered.

Thank god we reforged the promise when we did, Emma couldn't help but think, gazing upon the small boy's mutant quirk.

Mutants never seemed to last very long on the farms. She thought it had something to do with demon biology, and how they took on the features of what they consumed. One thing that was for certain was that mutant types rarely lasted past age six.

Phil was different, though. Knowing how high his test scores were, he'd definitely last a few years longer.

She still hadn't wanted to take any risks.

"So, how was school today?" Emma asked, smiling as the two kids began to ramble on about their homeroom teacher and the other students in their class.

It was strangely quiet on the streets that day, with the normal bustle of pedestrians and the occasional passing pro-hero dwindling in numbers. It gave them a clear view of all the store fronts, littered with various convenience stores and local shops.

There was a small electronics store near the end of the street, one that often played a constant stream of hero news on the monitors displayed in the front windows. She glanced at the screens as she passed, curious to see what various villain fights might've been going on during a quiet Monday afternoon.

It was an image of a newswoman, standing solemnly in front of a brightly lit elementary school, eerily quiet for a Monday.

6-year-old Sana Arima reported missing after disappearing during school hours.

A chill shot down Emma's spine as she glanced over the on-screen text.

Her mind immediately drifted back to the children she helped care for. Dalia, Vivian, Nalia… they were all around that age.

Even Phil and Sherry weren't that much older than the child.

It was in another prefecture, though. The Grace Field kids currently lived in one of the most heavily hero-populated areas in Japan. She'd saved countless children when reforging the promise. The heroes were handling this case. That little girl would be fine.

She couldn't help but hold the hands of Phil and Sherry just the slightest bit tighter.

The UA uniform was an thick, stiff material. White button-down shirt and pleated green skirt feeling far too similar to the clothing she grew up wearing. The jacket hung heavily over her shoulders, itchy and uncomfortable. It restricted movement, the carefully pressed fabric reminding her moreso of the stuffy and stuck-up businessmen she'd seen on tv dramas.

It was a school uniform, though. She had to wear it.

"Are you ready to go, Emma?" Ray called out from the kitchen, where he was helping Gilda clean up the leftover dishes from breakfast.

"Yeah," Emma replied, forcing down her distaste for the stiff uniform and heading out into the hall, closing the door to her room as she held her backpack tightly.

Ray put away what appeared to be the last plate, closing the cabinet door and grabbing his own bag from where it sat on the table just as Norman appeared through the door that led to their own, separate apartment.

They bid their own farewells to Gilda, Anna, and Don, and made their way out into the hall. The early hour brought a strange silence to the normally loud and joyous building.

The trip to UA was short, with the train ride being only a few minutes. Despite that, the time seemed to pass for an eternity as apprehension and excitement built up within her.

"So, class 1-A is on the first floor, right?" Emma asked as they walked through the large, looming gates of UA High School.

"It should be," Norman replied, "I believe the hero department is separate from the rest of the classrooms though, so I'll see you two later."

Emma nodded, following the two boys into the building and carefully finding the locations of their lockers to change into their issued indoor shoes.

"You're class 1-I, right?" Emma asked, "If there's enough time, we might be able to help find your classroom before heading to ours."

"Emma, it'd probably be best to find our own classroom first, so we don't get lost," Ray cut in, "it's the first day, and from what I hear our teacher is one of the stricter heroes on staff. We can go with Norman another day."

She frowned at that, but agreed nonetheless, reluctantly bidding farewell to Norman and following Ray down the hallway opposite to the one Norman disappeared down.

It was surprisingly easy to find the hallway for their classroom. The large, looming walls painted with tall print that displayed the classroom numbers and leaving little room for confusion.

"Are there people who are really that tall?" Emma asked, staring at the extremely large door with 1-A scrawled across the front.

"It's probably for people with mutant quirks," Ray responded, moving to enter the classroom.

Emma hadn't been quite so certain on what to expect upon their arrival. She'd seen a high school setting in movies before, despite never having set foot in a real classroom, but this was… different.

When they'd taken the entrance exams, they'd been sent to auditorium-esq testing rooms, with a pro-hero monitoring the hundreds of students from the front. This was much smaller, with only twenty seats and a front podium for the teacher. The desks were unlike the ones seen in media, with large tables and chairs that definitely fit the "elite school" aesthetic.

Someone was yelling, spewing profanities as another student asked him to take his feet off of the desk. Emma could recognize the spiky blonde hair of the explosion boy she'd seen at the entrance exams.

"Come on, let's go find our seats," she whispered to Ray, making a deliberate point to avoid the said "explosion-boy".

She really needed to start learning everyone's names.

Her eyes glazed over the room as she sat down near the back, Ray taking the seat behind her and quietly observing alongside her.

There were several people in their class with super obvious mutant quirks. Someone had a bird head, another had a large tail draped over their shoulder, etc. Even without the obvious mutations, she could overhear other people talking and socializing with their new classmates, asking about their quirks and excitedly gushing about how they were in UA!

Emma had the sudden realization that she had no idea how she was meant to socialize with these people.

It'd never really been a problem back at Grace Field, with the only new faces ever being small, one-year-old children. When she'd arrived at Goldy Pond she'd been too focused on trying to help everyone to survive to really worry about making friends of all things. Researching The Seven Walls, fleeing the bunker and heading to William Minerva after…

There was something with a camera… that was funny. She couldn't quite remember why they'd left their "safe spot" immediately to search for "Minerva".

She pushed the concern that arose with the gap in her memory away, dragging her anxiety about school back to the front of her head.

Every interaction she'd had with people her age had been based around shared-trauma and simply trying to escape the demon world. Now, she wasn't even allowed to mention her time in that world to those who weren't already informed.

This is hero school, she tried to remind herself. If socializing normally didn't work, she could always bond with people during training exercises. She could make friends that way.

If all else failed, she still had Ray in her class. This would be fine.

She was dragged out of her thoughts by the appearance of their teacher, the chatter around them dwindling into nothing as a scruffy, dark-haired man emerged from a bright yellow sleeping bag. He shuffled around within the plush fabric, dragging out a blue and white gym uniform as he introduced himself as Shouta Aizawa, their teacher.

"Put these on and meet outside," he said, his gaze drifting over the class slowly, observing them with a look of disinterest. Then, his gaze caught onto Ray and Emma. "Except you two, Emma and Ray Ratri. Stay behind for a few moments."

That small statement created an influx of confused whispers as the students stood, carefully lining up and obtaining their gym uniforms before quickly funneling out the door.

Emma could hear the chatter start up again in the hall, as soon as the students thought they were out of ear shot. Emma stood slowly, looking back at Ray. He didn't move from his desk, a bored expression on his face as he leaned his chin onto his hand, staring straight ahead as their teacher approached them.

"I wanted to speak with the two of you about a few things," Aizawa began.

Emma let a wide smile spread across her face, moving to stand beside Ray's desk, "Yes, of course!"

"Nezu told me to inform you that I am currently provided with confidential information-information that has been deemed necessary knowledge for those teaching you."

Ray shifted in his seat, "So you know that we were cattle children?"

Emma immediately stiffened at the mention of the farm children. It had been drilled into their heads by the Ratri-any and all information about the farms and demon world was to be withheld from those outside the cattle children and Ratri clan.

Hearing Ray say that so casually to a stranger was unnerving, to say the least.

"I was not given all of the details, just that you were raised on a farm and managed to escape to the human world," the man spoke, his voice tired and strained, as if he hadn't had a full night of sleep for weeks. "If anything happens to arise due to your background, if any problems appear, please know that you can come to me about it."

Emma nodded, trying her hardest not to let her smile waver, "Of course, Mr. Aizawa."

"Sure," Ray stood, pushing himself out of his seat and moving in front of Emma so that he stood directly in front of Emma, "But for the love of god, don't use 'Ratri' when referring to us. Just 'Ray', and 'Emma'."

"Ray," Emma shot a look at her friend, biting her lip. She was relatively sure that you weren't meant to speak with authority figures-or teachers-so casually. She turned to face Aizawa. "But, if it isn't any trouble, we really would prefer to just be called by our first names."

Aizawa paused at that, sifting over the two of them as he processed their request, "Alright, then. Ray, Emma, go get changed into your gym uniforms and meet outside."

By the time Emma reached the locker room, most of the other girls were already out and waiting by the field. The locker room was smaller than she'd expected, although she guessed it was due to the fact that it was for first-year hero students. There were only two classes, so there wasn't any need for more than a few dozen lockers. There'd been a small note attached to her uniform, citing both her locker number and the code needed to open it. She made her way quietly to the side, where her locker was nestled against a wall.

She looked down at the code, the neat print on the paper crinkled slightly from being held.

How were you meant to open these locks?

Emma began fiddling with the mechanism. It was a three-code lock, so there was probably a pattern she had to complete in order to open it?

How funny. UA could afford large and extravagant amenities for their students, and yet they still stuck with classic school lockers.

Apparently her struggle didn't go unnoticed by one of the other girls, because she'd barely started her second attempt to open the lock when she was interrupted.

"Do you need any help?"

Emma halted her fiddling with the circular knob, turning to face the girl who approached her. Short purple hair framed her face, barely concealing what appeared to be two headphone jacks that fell from her ears.

"Yeah, if you don't mind."

Emma stepped back, showing her code briefly. The girl opened the locker easily, letting Emma watch how to enter the code before pulling the locker door open.

"Didn't you learn how to open these in middle school?" she asked.

"Oh, no. I was homeschooled."

"Cool," the girl replied, "I'm Kyoka Jiro, by the way."

"I'm Emma. Just Emma."

Jiro nodded, waving an arm at her in farewell as she made her way to the locker room's exit, "'Kay the, 'just Emma'. See you on the field."

With Jiro gone, she was officially the last girl in the locker room.

Emma immediately started to change out of her uniform and into her gym clothes, trying to ignore the way the large, knotted scars spread across her stomach.

They'd be entirely visible if I were to change in front of the other girls, she realized.

The original injuries from Goldy Pond had punctured straight through her body, narrowly avoiding any major arteries or organs. She didn't really remember much from the end of that fight, or a portion of time after waking up.

There was a large, gaping hole in her memory from when she'd been stuck in a coma for a month. The scars just so happened to be a painful, ugly reminder of what she'd survived.

Emma pulled the shirt of her gym uniform over her head, and flashed a single look into the mirror of the bathroom connected to the locker room, double checking to make sure her hair covered up the absence of her ear and at least partially obscured the 63194 that was printed neatly across her neck.

Thankfully, she wasn't the last person to arrive out onto the field, quietly making her way to stand beside Ray, who greeted her with a small nod of his head. As it would turn out, there were several more boys in their class than girls-a statistic she felt as though she should be vaguely concerned about.

Aizawa stood before them, and as soon as the final student emerged onto the field, he began to speak.

They'd be doing a quirk apprehension test.

Emma felt her heart drop as the words left their teacher's mouth. Immediately a confused flurry of questions emerged.

What about the entrance ceremony?

What about orientation?

It would appear that they weren't going to be seeing Norman there.

"If you're going to become a hero, you don't have time for such leisurely events," Aizawa explained, and Emma caught sight of what appeared to be a sort of baseball in his hand, "The teachers at UA have been given the freedom to teach as they see fit."

Low murmurs spread throughout the crowd of students, creating an empty fuzz of noise. She could feel Ray's eyes on her, no doubt thinking about the fact that this was a "quirk apprehension test", and she herself was quirkless.

Aizawa went on to explain how the tests would work, calling up the explosion boy-Bakugou-and getting him to use his quirk as an example.

"The student with the lowest scores will be expelled."

Right. Because that was fair.

The cries of protest were almost immediate. Emma could feel Ray's hand wrap around her own as his voice rose out along with those of other students.

They were silenced by a cheerful, "Welcome to UA's hero course!"

The first test was the 50-meter dash.

Emma forced her heartbeat to slow. This was, at the end of the day, just a test.

Just another test to determine their future.

There was no way he was actually serious, right? But even if he was, she'd always been known for her athletic abilities. These were just tests. Fitness tests. If she could pass the entrance exam without a quirk, she could certainly do this.

The other students were already using their quirks to assist themselves. A girl with pink skin was able to secrete a sort of… acid? and slide across the distance. Bakugou used his explosions to propel himself forwards.

"Hey, Ray."

"Hm?"

"You remember that one show Phil got us to watch?" Emma asked, "The american cartoon where people had elemental quirks?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Do you think your fire would work like in the show? The boy with the explosion quirk could propel himself forwards. The fire people in the show could use their fire to do the same thing."

"I could try."

Ray and Emma's turn came too quickly, and Ray used his fire.

His time was 5.2 seconds.

And Emma…

6.83 seconds.

At least it was better than the others who couldn't use their quirks during that round.

The rest of the tests seemed to pass in a blur. There was the consistent, ebbing fear that lingered at the back of her head as she completed each task to the best of her abilities.

These were apparently normal school activities, used to test the fitness of students across the country.

The only thing that really stood out was the ball toss-where a green-haired boy broke his finger, and Bakugou attacked him.

Then, the tests finally ended and Aizawa showed them the results.

17- Emma Ratri

Thank god.

"By the way, I'm not expelling anyone. That was just a logical ruse."

Emma couldn't find it in herself to care.

Changing back into her uniform was awkward, to say the least. She entered the locker room with all of the other girls this time, so it wasn't as thought she could particularly avoid them.

At least there were only five girls in their class. She didn't have to worry about literally everyone pestering her about the scars. Still, she couldn't help but linger quietly in the corner for far longer than necessary, the cloth of her uniform bunched into her hands.

In the end, she simply crept back into a toilet stall to change, pointedly avoiding the gross floor of the locker room showers. It was easier that way.

Ray was waiting for her outside, leaning against the hallway wall. He pushed himself to his feet when he saw her, slipping his hands into the pockets of his uniform.

They'd been released from school for the day, since they were technically only there for the orientation, and their teacher had opted to do his little "test" instead.

"Ready to go meet Norman?" he asked, "He texted us a few minutes ago saying he was at the nurse's office."

"I thought we weren't meant to bring our phones with us?"

"What are they gonna do, expel me?" Ray asked, his tone bordering on teasing as a smirk stretched across his lips, "Come on, we still have to get our things from the classroom."

The walk back to the classroom and to the nurse's office was quiet, filled with idle chatter. What Ray was planning to make for dinner, possible other ways to use his quirk, etc.

"Endeavor is the number 2 hero, right? He had a fire quirk, if I remember correctly. There should be a bunch of videos online you could look at," Emma suggested.

"Yeah, but he's infamous for destroying everything around him in his fights. I'm not sure it'd be that useful when one of my biggest problems is control."

"True."

The nurse's office was near the front of the school, conveniently placed in the same hall as the principal and every other service seen at the front office of a normal school. The only difference was how large and over-the-top it was.

They sat outside the office for a few minutes, before the door opened and Norman emerged. He smiled when he saw them.

Emma was immediately hit with the scent of a hospital. It made sense. This was technically an infirmary.

She could see into the room from where she stood, catching a glimpse of the nurse, an old woman that Emma recognized as Recovery Girl-a hero with a healing quirk.

Like Anna.

And with that, their first day at UA was officially over.

She couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of excitement for the next.