Hey, Luna here! I meant to put this at the end of the opening prologue, but I forgot. My apologies! So for this story, it will flip between third person, and first person(through Leinei as well as some other characters I deem necessary to see their views). I'll also be dropping music suggestions here and there for you guys to listen to because I think it meshes well with the story and how Lei perceives herself and everything around her. Thank you so much for reading! 3

Please listen to:

Brutal by Negative 25

I Don't Like Me by Negative 25

I sighed softly, patting my chest over my rapidly beating heart as I stood outside the gates of UA. Students were walking past me, talking amongst themselves as they entered the gates. And here I was, frozen in front of the entrance as others walked in without a concern in the world. Every inch of me was alert, panicking, terrified that it would be another Shiketsu Incident, as Reina so lovingly began to call what happened.

Maybe this is a mistake.

This is definitely a mistake.

Is it too late to be homeschooled? That worked so well for Reina and Keigo.

Yeah that's a good-

"Hi there! Is everything okay?"

Someone saw me. Great. Can't abort now.

"H-hi," I manage to say, turning and smiling at a boy with dark green hair and green eyes, a spattering of freckles on his face and a big smile that met his eyes. Upon a little look down, he wore the same uniform as me, just the male version. "Yo-you go here too?"

"Yup," he responds, nodding his head once as he holds the straps of his bag. "Class 1-A in the Hero Course! You must be in general studies or new? I haven't seen you before."

Perceptive kid. But anyone could tell I was new. You're picking up on body language, but you are in the Hero Course. That's the first thing the Commission taught us.

"Something like that," I reply, tilting my head and chuckling to myself nervously. "Is it...a good class?"

"It's a little difficult sometimes, but it's everything we need to become Pros," he affirms, straightening his back. "And everything I need to become the Number One hero and symbol of peace!"

Symbol of peace huh? Good luck...you have a lot to overcome for that.

"D'you go around announcing that to everyone?" I ask, covering my smile with my hand as a light pink blush comes across his face and he starts poking his index fingers together over and over again. This kid wants to be the symbol of peace and he can't even hold a conversation. Reina would eat him alive. "Well..I-I hope you make it," I added, seeing him light up again.

"M-me too! Oh, my name is Izu-"

As he was saying that, the bell rang and panic fell over his face. My stomach clenched seeing how fast that switch flipped, remembering the faces of everyone at Shiketsu my quirk hit. The anxiety came back tenfold as he started hopping foot to foot. He was watching the other students starting to file in, before looking back at me with a rushed smile.

"I'm so sorry, I'm going to be late, it was very nice to meet you," he says, the words almost jumbled together before he bowed and ran off to the main building. My shoulders slump a little, watching as the last few stragglers headed inside. I took a deep breath, holding it until the count of four, before exhaling until the count of eight. I started to walk as I did it, not wanting to be too terribly late before my second first day of class.

The teacher's lounge wasn't too terribly hard to find; so many of the teachers and pros working here were pleasant enough to talk to. They each had a smile and even pointed out the directions on a campus directory. It settled my nerves a bit, but not enough for them to be completely gone. I still hadn't met Mr. Aizawa.

I knocked twice on the lounge's door. I heard someone gruffly tell me to come in. Well they sound exhausted, I thought to myself as I opened the door and walked in. There was no one there, just a...large yellow sleeping bag sitting in a chair. I looked around the room, confused as to who told me to come in.

"Who are you and why are you here?"

I jumped a bit as I heard the voice come from the sleeping bag, a person covered in bandages with their eyes peeking through and poking their head out of the large hole at the top of the bag. They gave an exasperated sigh, the same gruff tone repeating the question.

"Ah," I say as I process what's happening. "I-I'm Leinei Salinsa, the ne-new hero course stu-student. I'm..looking for Shouta Aizawa, he's supposed to be m-my homeroom teacher."

"The Shiketsu problem student?" they remark. When I nod my head slowly, they sigh again. "I'm Shouta Aizawa. You kept me waiting for six minutes."

"I-I'm sorry, sir, I-I got a little lost and asked for help…" This mummy is my teacher?

"Memorize the directory before coming to school tomorrow," he orders me, unzipping the bag and stepping out of it before folding it up and tucking it under his arm. "Follow me this way."

He walks around the desks and out of the door in front of me. I couldn't help but notice he was covered in bandages, and wondered what had happened, or if it was just part of his quirk. A large part of me prayed it was just part of his quirk.

"You are about a month behind from what I understand," he tells me as we walk. "As I am in charge of your extra training, I will also be tutoring you to ensure you catch up efficiently and quickly with minimal issues. Any objections?"

"No sir," I tell him, holding the strap of my bag tighter as I pick my pace up to match his. "D-Do the other students know-"

"About your little murder spree?" he says irritably. "No they do not. And it will not be common information to be shared unless deemed necessary."

So mean…

"Yes sir."

He stopped in front of a tall door, pointing up to the sign above it. I looked up at it, and saw the 1-A engraved onto the placard.

"We're full of problem children, so you should fit in fine. You aren't here to make friends, so if you say sickening crap like that introducing yourself, your extra lessons will start immediately and with running laps around the track until you puke. Am I understood?"

"Ye-yes sir.." Scary!

He opens the door, slamming it against the frame in a way that makes any noise stop inside the room. He sighs and walks to the podium in the front of the room, setting his sleeping bag down on it. All I could hear was breathing from the room, and even then it was faint. Not even the classrooms at Shiketsu quieted down anywhere near this quickly, nor stayed this quiet.

"Good morning, class," he greets. "You may have heard a few rumors yesterday regarding a transfer student, and the Sports Festival. I'm putting both of those to rest immediately, starting with the transfer student. Come in please."

But I was frozen, my heart going a million miles a minute. So many possibilities played in my head, me losing control of my quirk again, them being bigger bullies than the ones at Shiketsu, me not being good enough-

"Come in please, or your extra training starts now with the running continuing after you throw up."

Mean and scary…

I took a deep breath before stepping into the room. I walked over to stand next to the podium, my legs shaking as I pulled my black sleeves down over my hands and clenched the extra fabric in my palms. Squeezing it made my pulse slow the ever tiniest bit down.

They all looked normal. Well mostly normal, one of them having a crow's head, a girl that was pink with horns, and...does that boy have a tail? Wait, why is that the most surprising thing here? It's the Hero Course, they probably have a variety of strong quirks.

"What are you waiting for, fanfare? Introduce yourself and take a seat," Mr. Aizawa sighs.

"O-Oh, right," I say, looking at him as I nod. I take a deep breath and look back at the others, giving a big smile like Reina told me to.

'No one will be scared of you if you smile. You have a gorgeous smile, just like me and Keigo. Don't be afraid to use it.'

"My name is Leinei Salinsa," I tell them, my voice breaking and an ashen blond boy chuckling after it. My face burns a bit as I clear my throat.

'And tell them you transferred based on recommendations from Keigo and I. The teachers and I agreed they don't need to be privy to the Shiketsu Incident unless needed. It'll freak them out more.'

"I transferred here from Shiketsu High. It's a pleasure to meet you all and-" My eyes darted to Mr. Aizawa, a dark glint coming from the peep holes in his mummification. "I-I hope we can all work hard and become heroes."

"Tch, like we needed any more extras," the blond pipes up again, rolling his eyes. "Go back to Shiketsu, ya damn weakling."

I shrink back a bit, surprised by the less than gentle greeting. The bundle of nerves was back, intertangling through my intestines and pulling up. I could taste my breakfast in my mouth, but it wasn't very good the second time. Reina's cooking never is.

"Bakugo, pipe down," Mr. Aizawa scolds. "Take the seat next to the window and listen up."

I nod, walking over to the one desk out by its lonesome. The back of the chair faced the window, the front of the desk facing the door so I'd have to turn my head to see the whiteboard. I place my bag on the hook and sit in the seat. I could feel a few pairs of eyes on me, making my skin crawl. I felt my knee starting to bounce.

"Now, in regards to the Sports Festival," he begins, drawing the attention away from me. "Some parents voiced their concerns when we were deciding to continue on with it. After a few lengthy conversations, and the shutting of several parents down, we have decided to continue on with it. If there's any complaints having to do with this, be sure to stop by the office and let them know you're terminating your role here in the Hero Course and go home. Real Pros deal with situations such as the USJ on a daily basis, and if you can't hack it now, then you don't belong here. Understand?"

"Yes sir," the class affirms in unison. I was stunned by the looks on each of their faces, the determination, the resolution. They were each here for a different reason, whereas me? Yeah I want to be a hero, but...I wanted to get into school based on merit, not because my sister groveled and the Commission paid for my slot. I don't deserve this chance.

"The festival is in four days. I'll be giving you those few days to prepare and train so you don't absolutely embarrass yourselves on national TV. Don't make me regret it. Salinsa, your extra classes will begin after lunch. If you'll excuse me, I need a nap."

He picks up the sleeping bag and slinks out of the room, slamming the door behind him. As soon as the edge of the door hits the frame, the class erupted, excitedly talking about the upcoming festival.

"I thought for sure they were going to cancel it," the blond with a lightning bolt in his hair says, letting out a sigh of relief. "It would have been so sucky if they had."

"Definitely," the red haired boy with shark teeth agreed, laughing as he rubbed the back of his head. I was concerned he was going to stab himself on his hair if he wasn't careful. "But now we get a chance to show them why we're here. This is going to be so manly!"

"I just hope they're able to see me," a voice says from the clothes sitting at the desk in front of the ashen haired boy who spoke so rudely before.

"I..don't think they will," an indigo haired girl with earphone jacks hanging from her earlobes remarked, twirling one around her fingers. "Unless you wore something that really covered you up, but that would restrict mobility."

"You're the girl from the front of the school earlier," a familiar voice says, prompting me to look up. My face burns as I see the green haired boy from earlier, who was smiling at me. "Don't mind Kacchan, he's always mean like that. Don't take it personally."

"Ri-right," I say, surprised he had approached me again. I tried to remember what he had told me his name was. "Izu, right?"

"Aha...well my name is technically Izuku, but I guess since I ran off earlier that's all you heard, huh?" He says, rubbing the back of his head. "Which I am so sorry about! I am normally not that rude, if I had known you were in our class, I would not have left you, I am so sorry."

"It-it's fine," I say quickly, waving my hands in front of myself to make him stop apologizing. "I-I had to go to the teacher's lounge before class to meet Mr. Aizawa. Ca-can I ask you something about him?"

"Of course!"

"Is he...always bandaged up like that?"

"No, not usually," he replies. "But there was a villain attack here at the school, specifically at the USJ where we were supposed to be doing disaster training, but he got attacked by one of the villains trying to save us."

"So..it's not part of his quirk?"

"Nope! His quirk is actually one called Erase. He can erase anyone's quirk while he's looking at them, however it only lasts if he doesn't blink, which can lead to some serious dry eye for him, and maybe even some headaches; I haven't had a chance to ask about that yet, and he's a pretty strict yet lenient teacher if that makes sense. He definitely pushes us as hard as he think we need to go-"

"Midoriya, I doubt she wants her ears rambled off," a round-faced girl with a brown bob says, coming over with a smile. "Hi, I'm Ocacho Uraraka! It's very nice to meet you, Leinei!"

"H-hello…"

"And I am Tenya Iida," a tall boy with blue hair says, coming over as he fixes his glasses. "I'm the class representative and I wanted to personally welcome you to our class. If you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask."

Wow, they're actually..really nice.

"Th-thank you for that," I say, trying to keep my surprise out of my voice. My cheeks were burning a bit as I looked away, scratching my cheek with my index finger. "S-So, this Sports Festival, what do we do in it?"

"You've never seen any videos of the UA Sports Festival?" Izuku gasps. "Not even on youtube?"

"N-Not really," I reply, shaking my head. "I wasn't really allowed to be online unless it was for school purposes."

Or the occasional video chat with Reina and Keigo when I still lived at the Commission.

"Well, it's really a way for us to show ourselves off to potential agencies," Ochaco says, pressing the pads of her fingers together. "It's supposed to be really fun."

"It's split into three different events decided at random," Iida says, fixing his glasses. "And we compete against each other. From what I heard, they also use this to discover any more possible introductions to the Hero Course should someone from Classes A or B fail to perform up to par."

I'm going to be kicked out. I just started and I'm going to be kicked out. Reina's gonna kill me!

"Re-really?" I chuckle nervously, my knee bouncing faster. "Well I ho-hope we all do well in it."

"Salinsa, are you alright? You look like Midoriya when Bakugo starts yelling at him," Ochaco tells me, her smile falling a bit. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Huh? Ah..ye-yeah. Just, um...I'm...going to go use the restroom."

"Alright…"

I got up, hurrying past the three of them and out of the door before they could realize how bad I was shaking. I had to lean against the wall, curling my fingers in and out of fists as I did the stupid breathing exercise. I pulled the sleeves back down over my hands again, closing my eyes as I dug my fingers into the balled up fabric in my palms.

What would Keigo do here? He'd smile and pretend everything was okay until he was alone. Reina? She'd massively overcompensate, she'd be at that Bakugo kid's throat until the side of the school was blown out.

And me? I'm out here having a fucking anxiety attack because everything is just crumbling before I can-

"Are you alright?"