"Man, I'm beat!" Itsuki flopped down into his chair. Putting his arms on his desk and laying his head down on them.

Class 1-A was slowly filing back into the classroom. The bouts of combat had tired most of them out. Plenty of students had bruises, were sore in several places or just plain exhausted from the training. Kikai, Shiryoku and Tsume were the only ones that didn't look tired, the latter two because they didn't really fight at all. Sure, they were going to be heroes one day, but they were only starting their school career. Kirishima found this kind of training on their first day to be excessive. And of course he had to fight a classmates with possibly one of the strongest Quirk among them. Saotama was a nice guy, very friendly even for someone he only met a few hours ago, but his Quirk sounded like it had incredible versatility. Not only did he become stronger, he could become faster or smarter or better at plenty of other things.

"Couldn't I get someone like Denkyuu? I wouldn't be so sore now then." He said to himself.

"Hey, I heard that! I could've fought you. You didn't get Saotama to the ground in one punch yourself. You maybe would've won your match yourself if you could do that. Maybe."

Denkyuu had just walked into the room. His nose was no longer bleeding and his boisterous attitude had returned. Apparently he wouldn't be kept in low spirits for long.

"Yeah, I'm sure you would've fared so much better against Saotama. I bet he wouldn't even have had to activate his Quirk against you." Itsuki got out of his seat to stand at eye level with Teiden, a fist raised. He may be sore and exhausted, but he wasn't gonna be talked down to like that.

"He wouldn't be able to. 'Cause I'd've fried his phone the moment I knew what he was doing." Denkyuu walked up to Itsuki, a smug look on his face as he did. The two students shot daggers at each other, waiting for the other to do or say something.

"Alright, kids. That's enough from both of you. We're training to be heroes here, not to see who the biggest schoolyard bully is." Tora grabbed the heads of both antagonists and pushed them down, forcing both them to make an awkward bow. "And calm down, it was one fight with a total stranger. None of us knew anything about each other, and we still don't, so instead of trying to one up each other, why don't we get to know each other. We're gonna be in this class together for at least the next year. Won't help if you start fighting already."

"Yeah, ya big palookas"

Tora's eyes grew wide and his head snapped to the door when he heard the all too familiar, and intimidating voice. Kaira and the other girls had entered the classroom as well. Tsuchioru and Suramu were chatting away happily, Kikai was, as was becoming very clear was just her way of being, staring at the floor and trying to avoid any eye contact and Tobuga, Tsume and Taoshima were talking about the latter's living hair.

Tora's attention, however, was fully focused on the first girl that had entered the classroom. Kaira was looking at him with an angry, but knowing look in her eyes. She knew. She beckoned Tora to come to her, out of immediate earshot of their classmates. Tora, who was still holding the heads of his two fellow students, let them go and walked towards her. He didn't have much of a choice. He'd been found out, all because of a dumb word he had picked up somewhere. He had to hear her out before she made a scene in class.

"You and I are gonna talk after class. No more lies. You're coming clean and explaining yourself. Got it?" Kaira poked Tora's chest. Her voice was calmer than before, but there was still a lot of anger hiding behind it.

Tora knew there was no way he was getting out of this now. Unless he managed to disappear or developed an invisibility Quirk, he was going to have this talk whether he wanted to or not. He gave a quick, panicked nod. Satisfied, Kaira turned and walked back to the other girls. The girls were getting along swimmingly, only Kikai sitting by herself.

Tora walked back to the bickering boys. They weren't yelling at each other anymore, but daggers were still flying between the two. Hoping to change the subject, Tora spoke to Itsuki.

"Kirishima, I've been meaning to ask: Why didn't you use your Quirk in our battle? With how you explained it, you could've beaten me easily."

Itsuki's gaze softened, a flash of guilt visible in his eyes. "I don't really have good control over it." He rubbed the back of his pink-haired head. "I can't control the acidity of my shards, so they just eat through everything they touch. It wouldn't be a good start of my hero career if I drilled a hole through your chest on my first day, now would it?" Kirishima joked, but it was clear he was frustrated about it.

"Hey man, that's why we're here right. I know I am." Denkyuu had put a hand on Itsuki's shoulder, his previous animosity replaced with sympathy.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll show you. Hold your phone close to me."

Itsuki pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it out close to Denkyuu. When it got within a few inches of him, the screen started flickering. He quickly pulled it away again, not wanting to damage his phone.

"Unless I concentrate to suppress it, I constantly emit a small aura that scrambles electronics within a few inches of me." He pulled his own phone out of his pocket, which was stored in a special case. "My phone and anything else has to be kept in these special cases, else their circuitry is fried within minutes."

"That's rough. Like everything? Your laptop and TV break down too?"

Denkyuu shrugged. "I've learned to live with it. I'm more worried about other people. If I rescue someone with a pacemaker installed, I could kill them by carrying them to safety. I want to control my Quirk or at least make it less exhausting to suppress the field. U.A. is famous for giving exercises specifically for your Quirk, so I can learn that here."

"Oh, they're famous for that too?! Man, is there something this school doesn't provide?" Itsuki's frustration was gone. He sounded enthusiastic again, even more than before.

Tora gave both a pat on the back, a big smile graced his face. He was happy he had managed to change the subject so swiftly and give the boys some common ground. Maybe not the most jovial of topics, but it did its job.

"It's the best school in the world for a reason."


When the last bell rung, everyone slowly filed out of class, happily chatting. Several groups of friends had already formed. While Kaira was antagonistic towards Tora and Kikai preferred to keep to herself, everyone seemed to get along on their first day.

The afternoon had been calm. Like Sero had said, he didn't return for the rest of the day, other teachers checking on them to see if they behaved. All the students got to know each other, Tora had organised an impromptu circle where everyone got to introduce themselves, without a battle that just happened still occupying their mind. Denkyuu made use of the opportunity to warn everyone about his Quirk, Kikai took some pushing, but stutteringly managed to introduce herself and Tobuga had to convince everyone several time that she was not of noble descent. The fact that she lived in Chiyoda ward of Tokyo did not help the confusion.

That had been a few hours ago. Right now, Tora was sitting alone in the classroom thinking about what he was gonna say to Netsuka. He had told Teiden and Itsuki – it didn't take long for them to decide they would address each other by their first names – who he had spent most of the afternoon with, that he had some more things to do and that they could go on ahead. He knew why he'd told Netsuka he wasn't the guy who saved her during the entrance exam, but he wasn't sure how to explain it. It was in the back of his mind the entire afternoon, but he tried not to think about it, focusing on the rest of the class instead, getting to know everyone.

"You wanna talk here then?"

Tora looked at the classroom door, where the source of his worries was leaning against the door frame.

"I-I was going to return to the dorms. I just... needed some time to think about what I was going to say."

Kaira walked towards Tora, grabbed the chair of the desk in front of him and sat on it backwards, placing her arms on the backrest and her chin on her arms.

"Well, too bad. I wanna get this over with as quickly as possible."

She looked at him with a mix of curiosity and frustration. She'd been keeping an eye on Saotama this afternoon to gauge what he was like. He seemed like a gentle person, incredibly so. He had taken time to have a word with everyone in class he hadn't talked to yet. Even Kikai was more at ease around him than with just about everyone else. Only Kagaku got more out of her than Tora did and those two seemed to have made a strong connection after their fight.

So why did he lie to Kaira? From what she could gather, he wouldn't lie to not have to associate with her. Maybe he just was a compulsive liar and most of what he'd told so far was made up.

"So… Why did you lie about the entrance exam?" Kaira broke the silence that had hung in the air as both of them were lost in thought for a few seconds.

Tora sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure how to properly explain it. It's gonna sound weird, but I didn't want you to feel like you owed me."

"That's it?" Surprise overly clear in Kaira's voice. "That's why you lied to me? You didn't want to feel like I owed you?!"

Kaira's frustration only grew. Was it really something that simple? Did he have to go to such lengths just so he didn't have to feel guilty? That only made him sound self-serving. He knew she disliked him lying. She had made that abundantly clear. He knew for two weeks and still insisted on keeping the lie going so he didn't have to feel bad about himself.

Kaira jumped out of her chair, anger again burned in her eyes. "Well, then I have good news for you. You've been lying to me for two weeks. I don't owe you anything. You got your wish. You happy now?"

"I-I'm sorry. It was a spur of the moment decision and I wanted to-"

"You had TWO WEEKS to tell me and yet you kept ignoring me and lying to me." The blue girl was yelling now. Her chest glowing as her voice rose. "Screw your spur of the moment! You had plenty of time to tell me everything. Everyone else seems to like you, but I know what you are. You lie as soon as it works out better for you. You're terrible!"

With that last bombshell, Kaira turned around and stormed out of the classroom. Here she thought he looked like a stand up guy and there had been some misunderstanding. Instead it turned out he had just lied for himself. He didn't want her to get in his way trying to repay her debt. She'd made clear what she thought of that. It felt good to yell at him, but the way he looked was still bothering her. He looked guilt-ridden.


Tora stared at his desk. He had just let Kaira yell. It felt like the correct thing to do. She was right after all. He had lied to her to make himself feel better just as much as he wanted her to feel debt-free. He had felt bad about lying to her from the start and in the end it had backfired anyway. Kaira was angry at him, justifiably, and it was all his fault. He'd kept quiet and had tried to avoid her for two weeks. Like she said, he'd had plenty of time to out himself to her, instead he'd just pretended nothing was wrong and kept the lie going. In hindsight, it was such a stupid decision.

He let his head fall on his desk in a vain attempt to let the pain atone for what he'd done. He wanted to make up for this, but he didn't know how. Even if he knew how, it was gonna take time to win her trust back. No, he still had to earn it for the first time. He'd opened up with a lie. He never had her trust to begin with.

Tora swung his backpack over his shoulder and trudged back to his dorm. He was so caught up in his thoughts he collided with Tobuga upon exiting the classroom.

"Oh, my apologies, Saotama. I didn't… Are you alright?" Tobuga had worry written all over her face. "You look positively crushed."

"I'm fine. Just tired from our first day, y'know." Tora forced a smile, but it was clearly not convincing. Tobuga's worried look did not relent. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were going home."

"I was talking with Tsuchioru and Tsume when I noticed I had forgotten something, but you shouldn't try to change the subject like that. If you don't want to tell me, that's okay. I understand. I won't press you." She gave Tora a warm smile before she fluttered to her desk, rummaging through it to find what she'd forgotten.

He was lying again. Why did he have this need to lie when he felt he was inconveniencing others? He'd never done this at home. Why was he starting now? He'd already made an enemy out if Netsuka. Would Tobuga feel the same when she found out he'd lied to her? He didn't want to risk it.

"Well, I've found what I came for. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Actually… Tobuga?"

Tobuga turned around to Tora, her hand on the door frame as she was rounding it. She gave him a quizzical, but gentle look, inviting him to go on.

"I'm not so alright as I said. I… Ummm… I had a bit of a fight with Netsuka and it's got me down. I just… I don't feel I should bother you with my mistakes."

Her eyes warmed as he spoke. "I understand your apprehension, but it's quite alright. I would be happy to hear you out and help where I can. We're setting up to become heroes, are we not? Helping others is our job."

Tora felt a weight lift from his shoulders. It felt good to talk. He let a sigh escape his mouth.

Tobuga took a few steps back and let her wings carry her to the windowsill in the hallway. She motioned Tora to join her. "So tell me, what has happened between you and Netsuka?"

"Well… I guess… it started at the entrance exam..." Tora walked up to his classmate and let himself slide down the wall, sitting on the floor next to her.


"I see…" Tobuga had been quiet while Tora explained everything, only nodding every now and then to show that she was listening. "I understand where you're coming from, but I have my doubts about keeping up appearances for two weeks. Which is why I understand why Netsuka was angered by your deception, though I do believe she overreacted."

Tora let out an exasperated sigh. It felt good to get these problems of his chest, but he was no closer to making up with Netsuka. He still felt guilty and he didn't want to be on anyone's bad side, let alone on the first day of school.

"What do you think I should do?"

"I'm afraid I don't know Netsuka well enough to give specific advice."

Tora let his head hang in defeat.

"But…" Tobuga quickly added, "I can give you some general advice."

Tora's head perked up again.

"Just show her that you regret deceiving her and treat her nice. You both live in the dorms, correct? You should have plenty of opportunities to let her know and I have yet to meet a girl who does not like being treated a little extra kindly."

Tora jumped to his feet, fists pumped into the air. He had a plan. It was a vague and simple plan, but a plan nonetheless.

"Thanks Tobuga! You're a lifesaver!"

"I wouldn't go that far, but you're welcome." Tobuga giggled. Saotama's sudden change in mood and hyperbole were entertaining to behold and she was happy she'd been able to help him. "I wish you the best of luck, Saotama. I'm sure Netsuka will come around."

"I'll do my best! I'm gonna go now. Gonna have to plan this out." Tora grabbed his bag off the floor and started to run through the hallway, but quickly skidded to a halt again. "Oh, by the way, you can call me Tora." His grin grew wider.

"A-Are you sure? That sounds awfully forward." A small blush spread across Tobuga's pale cheeks.

"Very sure! You saved Itsuki, took care of him and me after our fight and now you really helped me out here. We're friends now and friends call each other by their first name."

"Well, if you insist… But you have to call me Yui too then!"

"You got it! Yui it is." Tora gave her a thumbs up while he started to run off, not fully turning his body to give Yui a reassuring smile. His awkward body position caused him to almost tumble down the stairs. He, thankfully, managed to right himself before he completely lost his balance, but not before he made Yui laugh with his struggle against gravity. He didn't mind though. He imagined it made for a funny sight. Besides, he had to get back to his dorm room. He needed to make specifics on the plan to get on Netsuka's good side.

Yui looked on as Tora ran across the schoolyard, a new pep in his step. He was an odd boy. He had quickly taken on a leadership role in class that day, getting everyone to introduce themselves and going out of his way to have some words with everyone. He reminded her of the stereotype of a caring, older brother. Yet, at the same time it looked like he was wrecked with self-doubt like everyone else. He was wondering if he was doing the right thing. Sometimes he failed to do that, felt the consequences and had to change his approach. It was a new environment for everyone, sure. They were all sure they wanted to be Heroes and they'd shown that, at the very least, they had the potential to be one during the entrance exams, but there were so many more questions that he and Yui shared with the rest of the class.

Yet, Tora hadn't shown those doubts in class. When some of the students, during their introduction, showed doubts if they or their Quirk were strong enough to make it through the coming three years, Tora was the first to pipe up and reassure them. Even on the first day, now that Yui knew he was harbouring those same problems everyone else had, she thought she began to understand him, if only a little. And with that understanding came respect. He put others before himself, that much was clear. Sometimes in ways that backfired, like with Netsuka, but Yui didn't believe Tora had done that with ill intent. With time, she was sure he would find his balance and he would make a great Hero once he did.


Now that introductions are done, we can start working on the actual plot!

For some context: Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo is where the Imperial palace is located and the Royal family lives.