Alternative Title: Snot-Nosed, Good-for-Nothing Turkeys

Above is normally a link to my own quick art of what Atsuko is wearing in this chapter, but I'm still a bit iffy on how to upload pictures into the story! This'll be her training and one of her casual outfits for the story once I find out how to.

Atsuko's P.O.V

-Location: 'U.A High School Hero Course - Battle Centre E'-

"Maan, U.A. really go all out for orientation, don't they? I wonder what the actual course is like.." I murmured as I tried to scan the top of the buildings protruding from the centre. It looked to be a normal replica of an urban setting, how would all of those faux villains fit in there?

I searched the crowds instead of bouncing on the tips of my toes, catching purple, black, red and even patterned hair. Wow, everyone really goes all out for this, they even brought their own gear!

My little pack was filled to the brim with sugar cubes and sweets so I could keep my energy up and every inch of my burned skin was covered to protect it from even more damage. I had to keep my healing hands free though, I couldn't spread enough wax with just my wings and that would just ruin my whole plan.

My eyes caught onto one of the more lilac shades of hair I spotted, the boy it belonged to having heavy bags under his eyes and an unsure grimace on his face.

He didn't look too strong physically, but maybe his quirk compensated for that. I took a few steps towards him so I could try to reassure him about the exam when a callused hand tapped me hesitantly on the shoulder.

"U-uh, excuse me? Sorry to uhm, bother you but, could you help me tie my hair back? I forgot my hair ties and it'll only uh, get in the way, and I s-saw you had some around your wrist.." A timid voice called out from the source, a black haired boy with a scar on his right eyelid and sharp looking teeth.

He definitely needed to tie his hair back; it hung over his eyes in bangs and covered his eyesight from the sides too, not a good combination when you needed to watch out for villains. I checked my wrist and indeed found multiple hair ties dangling from it, both loosely and clinging onto me. This boy clearly needed them more than I did.

"Of course, no need to be nervous to ask! Do you just want it up in a ponytail or do you want it spiked up?" I asked with a smile, already pulling a tie from my wrist to settle on my spread fingers. He furrowed his eyebrows in a way that made him look adorable.

"I-I don't mind really, just as long as it's out the way?" He muttered, probably wondering how I could get it spiked up with no gel on hand. I slid the tie back down and decided to go with the latter.

"Okay! Just relax and don't freak out if it feels really warm, okay?" I asked and received a nod before I got to work. The wax on my hands was malleable enough to almost drip, running my fingers through his hair to spike it forwards. This guy seemed like he would suit a rugged, intimidating style despite his obviously cinnamon roll personality, though I changed it slightly by adding two little horns of hair at his hairline to tone down the aggressive look.

"There! That wasn't too long, was it? I'd uh, show you what it looks like but I left all my stuff in the lockers so it wouldn't get damaged.." I laughed it off nervously before an idea sprung to mind. "Maybe some of the buildings will have really reflective windows! You could look then, right?"

The boy nodded with a little more confidence than before, his fists hardening as he raised them. 'His quirk must have something to do with hardening his skin,' I chimed in my head as I took one of his fists and ran my hands along the jagged skin that felt closer to bark than actual flesh.

"Woaah! Your skin feels rock solid! That's so cool, you can just use your quirk at anytime and then boom! You're indestructible! You're like Crimson Riot or something!" I continued to run my waxen hands along the grooves as I made an explosive sound, even as they softened suddenly. Oh well, his skin was really well kept despite his quirk. I looked up to see his face drenched with a colour akin to blood.

"Pawlright, get started!" A gruff voice barked out from the tower behind us, causing everyone to freeze in confusion. Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of alarm for us to start?

"What? Stop lookin' at me with those puppy dog eyes and -ruff- get those paws a-movin'! Villains ain't gonna wait while your tail's a'tween yer legs!" A bulky man with a muzzle covering his snout and a mess of a blondish-orange mane continued to growl with his arms crossed.

'NO WAY THAT'S HOUND DOG. HE'S WAY MORE FRIENDLY IN INTERVIEWS!'

"That's Hound Dog! Oh my gosh, he's so cool but he looks so intimidat- Oh gOD THEY'RE LEAVING WITHOUT US!" I began to fangirl over the hero before I noticed the crowd beginning to move frantically, trying to squeeze themselves through the large doors. I got dragged away before I was able to grab the black haired boy's hand and opted to start running lest I get trampled.

"See you in the hero course, Crow-kun!" I called back and laughed loudly when I heard his obvious confusion at the nickname. It's not my fault I didn't get his name, nor that he had black hair that resembled a crow's.

My white pupils thinned to slits when I spotted the first two-pointer, its shielded legs flush against its metallic body and red eyes zoning in on me. My feet ran as fast as they could before my wings began to flutter, the little pushes gradually turning into strong gusts that left my fellow examinees in the dust.

I dodged it's shield attacks with ease thanks to its lacking speed, swiping my dripping hand across its visor, quickly blinding it as it freaked out.

It rammed its shield into its eye to try and scrape the cooling wax off but only managed to get the shield stuck in its head, putting it out of commission. Thank God my wax was thick or else that wouldn't have worked.

I jumped off it's shoulders, where I noticed a bright red switch that's light dimmed as it shut down. So there's another way of getting rid of them other than destroying them. Smart for people who didn't have offensive quirks.

I continued to run around with my clammy hands, munching on a sugar cube when I felt tired or too hot. I mainly aimed for two-pointer villains when I could but occasionally switched off a three-pointer or got it to smash it's own circuits to pieces.

I was sat on twenty-eight or so points from destroying the bots, helping out a few other candidates when I could so they didn't get smashed. Of course I only blinded their bots so I didn't steal their kill, which left a majority of them grateful.

A large three-pointer was in front of me, focused on something below it. 'Another student? Why aren't they running?' I thought and pushed my wings to go faster towards the examinee.

"HEY, METAL-HEAD!" I yelled to get its attention, not finding a switch in the usual place between it's shoulder blades. It turned it's red gaze to me with guns smoking. Spinning in mid air, I smacked my wing into its visor, blinding it and causing it to fall from the force.

Crack!

My wing fractured beneath the plethora of wax meant to protect it, causing me to bite my tongue to keep in the screams. God, that never got old. Mum's gonna kill me when I come back with another broken wing for the third time this year.

It fell in a plume of smoke and I took it's downfall to run towards the lilac-haired boy who was staring at the faux villain in shock. His face was a sickly white, drained of all colour as his bags stood out in a purple harsher than his hair.

'It's the guy from the gates! Jeez, he really does look pale compared to then.' I held my hand out in front of his face. It took him a few seconds to register it was even there, making my heart ache for the boy. He didn't seem ready before the exam and now look he looked ready to vomit right onto the pavement.

"Come on! We've gotta get outta the limelight before another one catches up with us!" I urged, pulling him up by his hand the second it touched my fingers; wrapping my arms around him and lifting off from the ground with a push.

My wing ached as I carried us both, throbbed even. His weight wouldn't have been a problem if my wings were fully functional but I caught myself nearly dropping us both from the sky a few times, causing his anxiety to skyrocket even more.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" I apologised profusely before I sat us down on a rooftop, pulling my hands away hesitantly. What if he was hurt and I just made it worse? I should've asked, I should've known-

"It-it's fine! Just-just gimme a second, please.." He pleaded quietly after he got my attention, setting his head in his palms with his elbows against his knees. I sat back with my own knees to my chest, chin hiding behind them as I watched him quietly with nervous eyes.

He took a deep breath and I straightened my back, eager to see if he was actually okay. Maybe the air up here was getting to him. I didn't even think about that before I set us down.

"Than-thanks for saving me back there..I'd have been toast if you hadn't come along when you did.." He spoke up with a hand reaching to scratch at the nape of his neck.

"I'm just glad I caught you! U.A. might be smart but that was a really dangerous three-pointer! I wonder why it had real guns on it? Maybe a little Easter egg or something.." I murmured, still feeling like his current state was my fault.

"God, I'd be a terrible hero. I didn't even ask if you were okay down there. What if you were hurt and I moved you, and like, I hurt you more? That's like, the first rule of first aid!" I rambled and covered my face with my hands with a loud groan.

"You're uh, you're fine. You didn't know and acted uhm, quickly? I didn't get hurt so you did well.." He tried to comfort me with a gentle hand on my shoulder. I peeked through my fingers to see him looking down at the decreasing number of enemies, quirks flying all over the place to destroy as many as possible.

"What's your quirk, if you don't mind me asking? Have you gotten any points so far?" I enquired cautiously, counting my own points in my head. I was definitely above thirty so I had no room to relax unless they graded a sort of rescue point.

"..." He grumbled beneath his breath with his head dropping and looking to the side, away from me.

"What was that? 'Brainwashing'?" I asked, unsure if my enhanced hearing heard him right. He flinched and moved away as if I was going to throw him off the building. Nodding meekly, he kept his gaze on the concrete.

"That's so cool! You could make a villain give up a hostage by just talking to them! You could even talk someone down from a building if they wanted to jump! No need for a rescue team or anything! Your quirk is so cool, little Martin-kun!" I cooed with my hands pressing into my cheeks. He looked like a purple martin, or maybe a victoria-crowned pigeon because of his crest- haiR, I MEANT HAIR.

He looked up, obviously shocked with furrowed eyebrows. He stopped trying to move away and froze still, shoulders squaring as he started to leave fight or flight mode.

"C-cool? How is it cool? It's-it's villainous!" He insisted like he'd been told that his entire life. I tilted my head with narrowed eyes and a frown, did he just say villainous?

"There's no such thing as a villainous quirk, only villainous actions. Who told you that? I'll knock their feathers off for making you think that way!" I punched a fist into my palm, angry with whatever buck-beaked vulture picked at him until he was nothing but bones.

"Bu-but-"

"Nuh-uh! We're going down there to show everyone that you can be a hero just as much as them! Right now." I insisted and stood, my hands under his elbows to lift him with me. He hesitantly followed.

"I'll distract the villains while you sneak behind them. There's a bright red switch on their backs, I think it counts as destroying them if you switch 'em off. I'll keep those snot-nosed, good-for-nothing turkeys off your back as well, everyone needs to shake their tail feathers at some point before they roost!" My plan was foolproof as I wrapped my arms around his midsection again, disregarding the ache in my wing as I spread them out for take-off.

"T-turkeys?!"

I didn't hear the exclamation over the rushing of wind in my ears and hair. I yelled out a joyous laugh as I dove down with the purple-haired boy, who was clutching tighter on me the faster we descended.

I slammed my feet into one of the heads of a two-pointer, detaching it from its metal neck while the other head spun around trying to find what happened. The boy was dropped close to the ground and I swiped my hand across the villain's visor as usual, but tugged on its head with both hands to distract it as it swung around. 'Oh God, it's like a snake, ew-ew-ewwww.'

"Get to work, little Martin! You can do it!" I cheered on as I wrangled the head beneath my arm, trying to pull it closer to the ground in case I had to smash it against the concrete. A few people around us stopped their onslaught against their own villains, though it was probably because I was laughing maniacally and being thrown around like a bull-rider.

I couldn't tell where the lilac-haired boy had left to; I could only hope he didn't chicken out or get swatted by the bot's tail, and almost lost my grip on the villain when it stilled and froze its joints. The harsh light that burned into my eyes had begun to dim until they were an empty pit of mechanics. I stayed still for a moment before I dangled myself from its neck, two pairs of hands holding my waist, one more shaky than the other as they avoided the base of my wings.

I was sat down on the ground by the hands, catching the purple hair with a sigh of reassurance. The other boy who grabbed me was a pale blonde, a similar shade to mine, with a large tail hanging behind him. It seemed bruised and filled with cuts, probably used against the shells of the villains.

"Whoooweee! That was something, wasn't it? It was all wriggly like a plump, slimy worm~" I grinned and turned around to greet my helpers. "Nice to meet you both, though I know little Martin over here already!" I held my hand out.

"My name is Takanashi Atsuko, though you can call me whatever you like! What's yours?"