I woke up the next morning resenting school. I still felt residual shame and embarrassment from my encounter with Shouto the day before. I forced myself out of bed and got ready for the day. For once our father was still home as I was getting organised. When encountering him the kitchen I took note of his pale, fatigued face. He didn't look well. Neither of us seemed to have the energy or will to quip. We settled for ignoring each other as we got ready for work and school respectively.
I made the trip in, arriving early. I was in a foul mood. However I decided I wouldn't give Shouto the benefit of seeing me upset. If he want's to be an isolated, friendless, elitist idiot then so be it. I on the other hand wouldn't subject myself to such a dumb way of being.
As I reached the 1A classroom I forced a smile onto my face. If Shouto didn't want to be my friend, I'd get to know the other students in our class. I slid open the door.
"Mornin'" I sung as I entered the room. There were a few students already inside who looked up as I entered. Shouto was nowhere to be seen. I walked to my desk, hanging by bag on the hook on the side.
"Good morning... uh..." the boy who sat a few places in front of me spoke up in response. He was a boy with sharp features and a particularly toothy grin. His red hair was spiked upwards. He laughed nervously trying to remember my name.
"My name is Kazama Yume," I say, returning his smile.
"Ah right. It's nice to meet you Kazama-chan. I'm Kirishima Eijiro," he replied. I was grateful for his self introduction. He rubbed the back of his neck. I pulled my chair forward, closer to his desk.
"It's nice to meet you too, Kirishima-kun. How'd you find our first day of classes?" I ask. I force the conversation along. Luckily, Kirishima was a fairly outgoing guy. He carried the conversation well.
Students trickled in. The boy who sat next to Kirishima, Sero Hanto, joined us after some time. I got chatting with the two boys. Shouto also eventually entered. I made a point of ignoring him.
Soon it was time for class to begin. I pulled my chair back to my desk. I briefly shared a glance with Shouto but quickly averted my gaze. I felt my face flush.
Our morning classes proceeded. They were just normal subjects in the morning. Japanese, Math, history and such. Even with the standard nature of these classes, something about being taught by pro heroes was surreal. As the daughter of a pro hero it's not like I wasn't used to meeting other heroes. However there is something strange about them teaching us normal school subjects. I tried to imagine what it would be like if someone like my father tried teaching. The idea was somewhat amusing, albeit mildly disturbing.
For lunch Kirishima and Sero invited my to sit with them. We were also joined by a pink skinned girl who I learnt was named Ashido Mina and a boy with an electric quirk called Kaminari Denki. While chatting over lunch, I learnt that Ashido and Kirishima had gone to middle school together.
"It's interesting to hear that. With a course as competitive as UA's course it's amazing that two people from the same middle school made it in," I say as I poke at my noodles.
"You think so? I noticed you were hanging out with Todoroki-kun yesterday. It seemed that you guys know each other," Ashido commented. I nodded.
"You're not wrong. We didn't go to middle school together but our fathers know each other," I explain as nonchalantly as I could.
"Should we have invited him to sit with us as well?" Kirishima said, placing his spoon down. I shook my head.
"Nah, he's a pretty introverted kind of guy..." I said. I debated telling them about my encounter with him yesterday.
"... he kind of made it clear that he wasn't really interested in making friends," I expanded. Ashido hummed.
"He did seem kind of... cold?" she replied. I scoffed.
"Tell me about it," I replied. The topic of the conversation changed back to our hero studies. I continued eating my noodles, chatting with the other three for our lunch. I learnt that Ashido had an acid quick. Kirishima could harden his body making it resistant to physical attacks. Sero could produce tape from his elbows. I really had only ever invested in learning about fire quirks. I found it interesting to learn how they use theirs.
After lunch we head back to class. Now that it was the afternoon it was time for our hero training. I felt excitement build up inside me. Ashido had said there was rumour that All Might would be taking our class today. Even with my exposure to pro heroes I was still exited. Shortly before class started, the remaining students entered. Among them was Shouto.
My good mood faltered momentarily. He gave me a small nod. I frowned, averting my gaze. I'm aware I'm being petty. I don't care though. My moment of annoyance soon passed as I heard footsteps approach the classroom.
"I AM HERE..." a voice rumbled from beyond the classroom door. I sat up straight in my chair. The door to the room slid open revealing the number one hero.
"...entering like a normal person!" All Might said. Excited murmuring rippled through the class. I side eyed Shouto, taking note of his stern expression.
All Might made his way to the front of the room. I took note of his enormous presence. TV doesn't do him justice. Seeing him in person is a completely different experience.
"Lets jump straight into it shall we. Up for today is Combat Training," he explained. I felt my stomach flutter with excitement. Combat Training? Will we be fighting each other?
"For that you'll need these!" he boomed. Out from the walls shelves expanded containing rows of briefcases, all labeled with our student numbers.
"Our hero gear!" Kirishima exclaimed. I grinned, looking for my number.
Each of us retrieve our own costumes and head down to get changed. Today we're visiting a training area called ground beta. It's a training ground that emulates a urban area. It has many apartment building type of structures for us to practice in.
I meet the other girls in the change rooms. I find myself a locker for my school uniform. My classmates begin opening their hero briefcases. I follow in suit, clicking open the latches. My heart swells upon seeing my costume. I pull it out.
It's a fires resistant, white body suit with gold accents. I'd chosen the colours to match my golden eyes and hair. I had an aesthetic I was pushing for and the designers had captured my vision well. I changed into the body suit, finishing by pulling on a pair of matching gold boots, belt and a visor. In the pockets of the briefcase there were several other accessories items, including several lighters and two knives for extra defense.
I look over to Ashido who had also finished getting changed. She was clad in a funky, multicoloured body suit and mask. I grinned. It suited her vivacious personality.
We head out of the change rooms together, meeting up with Kirsihima, Kaminari and Sero. Their costumes also seemed to suit them well.
All Might called for our attention as the last of our class arrives out from the changing rooms.
"For this combat test, you will be fighting in an indoor, two on two team battle," All Might says. He explains that there will be a villain team and a hero team. The villain team will be defending a fake bomb. The Hero team have 10 minutes to touch, aka capture, the bomb or wrap a tape around the villains wrists to emulate capturing them. If the hero team is unsuccessful in capturing the bomb in that 10 minutes, the villain teams win.
"To choose the pairs, we will use a lottery!" All Might declares, pulling out a box. I look around at my class nervously. It makes sense. In real life we never know who we will be teamed with.
"Team A will be... Uraraka Ochako and... Midoriya Izuku," All Might says. I glance in the direction of the green haired boy and see that's he's been paired with the round faced girl. He's visibly flustered. All Might puts his hand into he box again.
"Team B will be ... Todoroki Shouto..." he starts. My eyes briefly land on Shouto. I don't care who I get paired with, so long as it's not him. All Might reaches into the box.
"... And Kazama Yume," he announces. I recoil internally. Unbelievable.
"Shit," I murmur quietly. What terrible luck. This will be uncomfortable. I look up, making eye contact with Shouto.
I guess I'll need to make the best of a shitty situation. I step over to him slowly, making my way to his side.
"Ahah, lets work well together..." I say, trailing off.
"Mm," he replies. His face is expressionless. I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't want to be here. He honestly seems ambivalent. The rest of the teams are called.
It's announced that Shouto and I will be facing off against Team I, Ojirou and Hagakure. We're acting as the hero team. I look at Team I, the villains. Hagakure was one of the girls in our glass. Her quirk was invisibility. Ojirou is a tall boy with a large tail. Honestly neither of their quirks seemed that flashy but then again, I didn't want to underestimate them. For all I know they could be hiding other abilities.
While I spent the time leading up to our match analysing our opponents, Shouto didn't even spare them a glance. I consider his actions. I don't get the feeling Shouto is malicious in his ambivalence. I think he's just truly very self absorbed.
The first fight was up. It was Midoriya and Uraraka against Bakugo and Iida. I felt a bit sorry for Iida. Bakugo seemed completely uninterested in cooperating with him at all. It ended up being a brutal fight. From the basement of the building we looked on at the fight on the screens in front of us. Bakugo went after Midoriya relentlessly. Although we couldn't hear what he was saying, from how they were interacting I was able to further confirm the two of them had some sort of history together. Several times I glanced towards Shouto for his reaction. He watched the screens, appearing almost bored.
Ultimately I decided to push Shouto out of mind. Even if he wasn't going to take this seriously I would. These fights will be valuable experience. Truth be told, I was beginning to get hyped. I'd never had a chance to fight against another person except for Yuta. This was a good chance to see how I measured up against other people.
The first fight ends with the Hero teams success. Bakugo's explosions continued to leave me in awe. What was unexpected though was just how much of a fight Midoriya put up. It would have been easy to disregard him. After all, he'd come last in our quirk assessments yesterday. However he could pack a punch like none other. It was powerful but at the expense of his body. Further to that, upon analysing his move set it was easy to see he had decent reflexes. I was impressed.
Soon it became mine and Shouto's turn. I stretched out my arms as we got close to the location of our battle. My stomach began to flutter with excitement. I push my annoyance at Shouto aside. I want to take advantage of this opportunity. We wait for All Mights signal to begin.
"Go!" All Might announces the beginning of the combat. I grin, looking at Shouto.
"Okay let's do this! How do you want to approach them?" I ask Shouto keenly as we approach the building. He looks straight ahead at, his expression still stony. It doesn't look like he's paying attention to what I asked.
"Stand back, Yume-chan," he says. I look up him curiously. He steps forward sending out a rush of ice up the building. It's an impressive display but I immediately felt my stomach drop. Soon the whole building was covered.
I saw red. I stare at Shouto who appears nonchalant.
"Shouto-kun! What the hell are you thinking?!" I shout. He looked at me taken aback at my sudden anger. I hadn't even had a chance to do anything! Did he not even think that I'd want to contribute!?
"I was just taking them out as efficiently as possible," he says. I glare at him. I knew he was self centered but is he really that dumb? I wanted to fight but he just had to go end things straight away.
"For fucks sake! We don't have to be friends but that doesn't mean you should be so god damn self centred," I say harshly. What's done is done though. I push past him into the building. He reaches out to grab my arm. I shrug him off.
"I'm pissed off Shouto-kun. Let's just find the bomb and be done with it," I say coldly. Shouto watches me confused. We walk through the building. Eventually we find the room containing the bomb. Ojirou-kun is stood in front of it with his feet frozen to the ground.
"Don't move Ojirou-kun unless you want to lose the skin on your feet," I say walking past him, Shouto walks apprehensively behind. I touch the bomb securing our win.
"The hero team have won!" All Might announces. I look back at Shouto and Ojirou. Shouto crouches down to melt the ice at his feet, revealing his flame quirk. Shouto doesn't have complex control over his flame structure so he's cautious. He's not getting too close to Ojirou's feet. I feel impatient. Letting him do this will be a slow process. I pull in his fire towards me. I take a deep breath and push it down, letting a low flame spread across the floor, melting the ice and releasing Ojirou from his confines instantly. Shouto looks at me surprised.
"Lets get out of here," I say, still fuming. I keep the two boys at a distance letting the flames divide us.
"What did you do?" I hear Ojirou murmur to Shouto.
"I... I don't know," Shouto replied. I grit my teeth but remain silent. We make our way back through the hallways. I find Hagakure still shivering. Her feet are frozen to the ground. I let a low flame spread across the ground near her, freeing her. Her teeth chatter. I suppose she is naked. I split up a few floating flame balls above her for warmth.
"Thank you, Kazama-chan," she says. We walk out together with the two boys.
"No problem. I do my best to be considerate of those around me," I say, sending Shouto a bitter glance. He looks back at me blankly.
We make our way back to the monitor room for our critique. I hear murmurs from those around us. All Might gives us encouraging smile. I'm having trouble embracing the motivation.
'Todoroki is on a whole other level, huh'
'How are we supposed to compete with that?'
I clench my fists. Damn this pisses me off. He just has to take all the thunder for himself, doesn't he? As I fume over Shouto I carefully lower the intensity of my flame now that there are more people around. I stand between Shouto and Hagakure in a line at the front. I look over to Hagakure's invisible form.
"Are you warmed up Hagakure-chan? I can keep burning if you're still cold," I say. I let the flames softly flicker above her.
"Can you keep them going for a bit longer? If it's not too much trouble..." she asks. I notice Ojirou shift beside her. He must still be feeling the chill as well. I extend the flames above him. He gives me a weak smile.
"Ah, well that was a short match. That was very effective display of your ice quirk, Young Todoroki," All Might says scratching his cheek. I cross my arms. I got nothing out of this.
"Ah. The gap between us was too big," Shouto says with his typical indifference. I glare at him.
"Effective but inconsiderate," I murmur. All Might catches what I said.
"Would you care to expand on that, Young Kazama?" All Might asks. I nod.
"This was a team activity but Shouto-kun completely neglected any communication with me about his intentions. Sure, he took out the bomb quickly and safely but if we were heroes this experience would make me reluctant to work with him again. How am I supposed to trust someone who doesn't talk to me?" I say bluntly. Shouto stares at me with a cool expression.
"Sorry, Yume-chan," he says. I can only assume it's genuine.
"On a more personal level it just pissed me off because this is a training activity and you hoarded all the action to yourself. You're not the only one trying to be a hero," I say bitterly. Ojirou and Hagakure shift uncomfortably. All Might grins and shows us a thumbs up.
"That in itself was a great demonstration of effective communication, young Kazama. Thank you," he said. It sounded forced. I mutter a 'whatever' in response.
We observe the remaining fights. After two significant matches everyone was really pumped up. I let myself cool down during this time. I try to remind myself that Shouto and I were both ambitious, much like many of the students in our class. He's selfish and distant but he's taking this seriously. He aims to be the best and is clearly happy to step on those around him to get there. I don't have it in me to act the same way but knowing he has Endeavour as a father I can at least appreciate where he gets the attitude from.
Still, I wish I was strong enough to prove a similar point. If only I could show him up in the same way he has shown up me. I guess that's the difference between us.
By the time the school day ended I was still annoyed with him but I was at least feeling calmer. I sat in our classroom with the other students. Bakugo immediately stands up with the sound of the bell, storming out of the classroom. I guess he's still feeling bitter about his fight with Midoriya.
Speaking of which, Midoriya still hadn't returned from seeing Recovery Girl from his earlier. I hoped he hadn't been too injured. Bakugo had truly done a number on him. It was unfortunate given it's only the second day at school. I began packing up my things when Shouto looks over to me.
"Yume-chan, do you want to leave together?" He asks lowly. I'm surprised by the question. I shoot him a sour expression.
"I was actually planning on sticking around to see how Midoriya-kun is," I say dryly. Shouto nods.
"I'll wait too then," he says. He tucks his books into his bag. I tilt my head, looking away from him.
"Do whatever you want. Nothing's seems to stop you otherwise," I huff. Okay, that might been unnecessary of me.
"Sorry," he says softly. I let the silence sit with us for a few moments. I groan internally, folding my arms in front of myself. I rest my head on them.
What am I even doing? Am I lashing out at him because I'm bitter about being weak? I told him to be more considerate after our combat training. I should practice what I preach. I shift my head slightly so I can see him.
"No, that was unnecessary of me to say. I'm sorry," I say. He considers my response. At that moment the door slides open. In comes Midoriya whose arms is a sling. I stand up out of my seat. He's bombarded immediately by Kirishima and Ashido.
"That was an amazing fight Midoriya-kun. You dodged like a champ!" Kirishima exclaims.
"That punch was amazing. You were really fearless," Ashido says. Midoriya looks overwhelmed. I step over, pulling Kirishima and Ashido back.
"Give him some space guys," I say grinning. Kirishima flashes me a smile. He turns back to Midoriya.
"Ah sorry," he says. Midoriya scratches the back of his head.
"H-hey is Kacchan still here?" He asks. I tilt my head slightly. 'Kacchan'?
"Do you mean Bakugo-kun? He left a few minutes ago," I say. Midoriya is immediately back out the door again. Ashido, Kirishima and I watch after him curiously.
"Do those two have some sort of history together?" Kirishima asks. Ashido rubs her chin.
"Looks like it," I reply shrugging. It definitely seemed they new each other but clearly they weren't friends.
After Midoriya having left so quickly I go back to my seat to collect my bag. Shouto steadily stands up. I wave at Ashido and Kirishima as I leave.
"See you tomorrow guys," I say. They wave me out.
Shouto follows me out of the class room and down the hall. He remained silent which rubbed me the wrong way. Why had he purposefully waited to leave with me if he wasn't going to talk? I glanced at him to get a read but his expression was blank, as was typical.
When we exited the building to the front yard of the school he still hadn't said anything. I gave up with a large sigh.
"Shouto-kun, did you have something you wanted to say to me?" I asked him looking up at him. He rotated his head slightly, looking away. This was the only evidence of any discomfort.
"... I don't want you to be angry with me," he said. I frowned.
"Why do you care? I thought you didn't want any friends," I say sharply.
"I don't want friends... but I don't want you to dislike me either," he replied. I groaned internally and think about what he's saying. I find myself rubbing my temples.
"... I don't dislike you Shouto-kun," I say finally. Small indications of confusion showed on his face.
"You don't?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.
"I don't. It just really pisses me off that you disregarded me completely today" I relied.
"Ah," he replied simply. I frowned. It wasn't exactly the remorseful response I would have liked. Then again it is Shouto and he never has been expressive. I crossed my arms in front of myself.
"Just know that you're not the only one with ambitions," I explain. We reach the school gates where we stand off to the side. Students around us continue to exit the grounds while we finish out discussion.
"What are your ambitions?" Shouto asks after a short pause. I laughed dryly at the question.
"Nothing quite as extreme as yours, I'm sure. In short, Knightfire doesn't believe I can become a hero with a quirk like mine. I just want to prove him wrong," I reply. I pull on the sleeves of my school jumper nervously.
"I think that will be easy for you," Shouto responded. I felt my face flush unexpectedly. For someone so cold, he sure is unfiltered when he does speak. He really believed I could become a hero?
"Ah... well thanks," I replied. I'm not sure if he realised how meaningful such a statement was for me. Only Yuta had ever said such a thing. Even with our similar circumstances going up, I'm sure my feelings of inadequacy wouldn't be something he could relate to. After all, Endeavour had been building him up to be the ultimate hero his entire life. It was emphasised that Shouto was a prodigy with a powerful quirk.
It occurred to me then that there must be something I'm misunderstanding about Shouto as well. I had accepted that he was ambitious and that he was aiming for something high but I didn't know what that was. It was no secret Shouto hated his father and hated the way he was forced to train. But then why was he working so hard at UA?
"Um... Shouto-kun? I'm kind of curious though. You're already pretty strong... so I was wondering, is there something specific you're aiming for? You don't have to tell me..." I started to ramble. Shouto's expression tensed ever so slightly.
"I'm intending to become the number one Hero... but I want to do so without using his quirk," Shouto explained. I considered the response for several moments. Then, I found myself smiling. I covered my mouth but my chuckling betrayed me.
Honestly, when I think about, Shouto only using his ice quirk is hilariously ironic. It's a very fitting goal to get back at Endeavour, who'd gone to such lengths to have a child with an ice and fire quirk. Shouto shot me a questioning look.
"I... I'm sorry for laughing. It's just that would be such a massive 'fuck you' to Endeavour, huh?" I say. Shouto stared at me wordlessly, seemingly unable to comprehend my amusement. I pulled on the straps of my backpack and turned to leave.
"Well, you've got my full support at least. I get the train home, so I'll see you tomorrow," I said with a small wave. He simply nodded before he headed off in the other direction.