Taketsu Akane- Big, dark haired girl with red eyes and sharp teeth, kind but sarcastic, quirk is blood manipulation

Patrick Takamitsu- Tall, Japanese-American boy with glowing green eyes, energetic and sweet, quirk is glow

Korudo Dan- Short, stocky blond boy with brown eyes, brash but with good intentions, quirk is thermoregulation

Motome Ayame- Purple haired girl with no irises, friendly but nosy, quirk is ability to see 1 hr into past of anyone she touches

For the first time in a very, very long time, Izuku was actually excited for school. It's only the second day but he already feels energized. Maybe it was because there were people there he liked and who seemed to like him in return. He'd been basically friendless since his diagnosis but now it was like none of that ever happened.

It was nicer, easier, to pretend that there didn't exist a time when he would eat his lunches alone in an unused classroom. Izuku had his mom as always, but now he also had his grumpy but supportive master, his slightly scary homeroom teacher and maybe now some friends.

It seemed nothing could bring him down, or so Izuku thought when he gets to homeroom and finds a note on his desk. The message is simple, neatly written on a notecard and taped down to ensure it didn't get knocked away. 'The quirkless don't belong here', short and sweet.

Izuku should have crumpled it up and thrown it away without a second thought but instead he shoves it into his bag. Shame burns in his throat, making him unable to meet his friends' eyes when they walk in. His palms sweat as he clenches and unclenches his fists in an attempt to stop feeling so small.

"Izu-kun, is something the matter? Your emotions have been down in the dumps this morning," Kyoshi asks when he once again drops out of a conversation. Izuku shakes his head, homeroom would be starting any minute and this wasn't something that involved them. It's not like he wasn't used to this kind of thing.

Unfortunately, the decision isn't left up to him. Chiura-sensei comes and begins preparing himself for homeroom. Patrick leans over to tell him one last thing before class began and accidentally knocks over Izuku's bag. And of course, the half crumpled note was one of the things to fall out. Korudo starts to pick up the spilled things before Izuku can stop him. The other boy's eyes darken as he reads the message. His hand goes into the air.

"Korudo just drop it," Izuku whispers harshly as he swipes back the note and piles his things back into his bag. "It's not that big of a deal honestly. It's nothing I haven't seen before." Which was apparently the wrong thing because now Korudo looks even angrier.

"Chiura-sensei, I'd like to report harassment," Korudo says, loud enough to demand everyone's attention.

"Oh?" Sensei challenges softly, stepping around his desk and walking towards Korudo.

"Midoriya was given an offensive note," Izuku wants to die right now as he shrinks into his seat. "I can only speak for myself but I did not come to the Yuuei to watch people be bullied for things beyond their control."

"Is this true, Midoriya?" Chiura-sensei turns his intimidating gaze onto him.

"R-really, it's not that important, I don't-" Izuku gulps, feeling the pressure of the entire class staring him down.

"That's not what I asked, Midoriya."

"Yes, it's true," Izuku whispers quietly, "I-I found it on my desk this morning. But it's not-"

"May I see the note?" Sensei asks in a voice that would almost be gentle if it weren't for the low growl. Izuku was sure the word may was intentional. Sensei wouldn't force it out of him but at this point it seemed a bigger issue to hide it. Izuku pulls it from his bag and deposits it into his teacher's mangled hand. Sensei looks it over briefly before frowning and stalking back to the front. The note went into the waste bin near his desk.

"I believe I made it clear yesterday that I would not tolerate this sort of behavior. If there's anyone who doesn't belong here is the person who wrote that note." His gaze could have melted steel. "This had better be the last incident I hear of, if not, we have plenty of quirks in this school who can locate the perpetrator and have them removed from this school entirely." Silence. "If there's nothing more, I'll begin homeroom."

Korudo looks proud of himself and gives Izuku a thumbs up but he can't look at his friend just now. While a part of him is touched that Korudo felt the issue was worth addressing; he's also angry to have such a stupid thing dragged out in front of everyone. Izuku tries to let it go, he really does, but Korudo's annoyance over Izuku's lack of gratitude only serves to keep him silently steaming throughout morning classes.

"I don't see what you're so mad about," Korudo says over lunch trying, unsuccessfully, to get Izuku to at least look at him. Frankly, if he didn't stop soon, Izuku was going to throttle him. "In fact, I can't see why you didn't report the incident yourself. You don't deserve that and the scum wrote that doesn't deserve to get away with it."

"Korudo, just let it go," Taketsu hisses from across the table. "It was Midoriya's decision to keep it quiet and you totally blew past that even with the best intentions at heart." Patrick just sits there, shoveling food in his mouth. He pauses every now and again, as if he had something to say, before thinking better of it and burying any potential words with more rice. Motome and, more likely, Kiyoshi had probably sensed Izuku's rotten mood and were eating at another table. Whether it was to give him some space or to be as far away from the inevitable explosion is up for debate.

"Heroes don't just let things go Taketsu and they don't take this kind of crap either," Korudo continues. "We could have worked this, Motome could have used her Past Vision to have found who planted the note or I'm sure Sensei could have gotten the jerk to crack with a little more pressure. I don't even want them expelled, I just want them to know that we don't accept this kind of thing at Yuuei. We shouldn't have to deal with this sort of thing." A fist slams on the table and was his and Izuku doesn't even remember doing it.

"There isn't any we here, Korudo, this is about me; these kinds of things have always been about me ever since my quirk failed to appear. Now I'm so sorry someone writing me a mean note offends your sense of justice but, for me, it's just reality." Izuku says harshly, doing his best to keep his voice at a reasonable volume so the whole cafeteria doesn't hear.

"I don't need you to defend me and I'm not some poor, pitiful quirkless person who needs every problem solved by you. There are some things I want to handle on my own and in my own way. If you can't deal with that then I don't think we can be friends." Izuku huffs before going back to his meal, trying Patrick's method of trying to eat away his feelings. He didn't really want to stop being friends but at the same point, Izuku couldn't get along with someone who didn't respect him. No friends were better than mean friends, Kacchan had taught him that.

"Yeah, ok, sorry. I was just trying to help," Korudo sulks and the table descended into uncomfortable silence.

"I don't know if it matters to you, but I heard it was that Shinsou kid," a meek voice says from the table across from theirs. Izuku looked up to see Mifune, the nervous orange haired kid, he was a very weak psychic if Izuku remembered. Mifune looks around anxiously before leaning forward.

"He hasn't talked to anyone since class started, plus you know he's pretty suspicious with his quirk and all," Mifune shrugs uncomfortably, pushing up his glasses. "I just thought you should know, in case he decides to do something again." While Korudo turns around to interrogate a now thoroughly terrorized Mifune, Izuku exchanges confused glances with Patrick and Taketsu.

"Shinsou is the kid with purple hair, the one with the brainwashing quirk, right?" Taketsu whispers.

"Yeah," Patrick garbles through a mouthful of food, "he said he was going for Heroics during the introductions. I tried to talk with him yesterday, to see if he was interested in hanging out with us but he kind of brushed me off. I don't want to bad talk about someone I don't know but he does come across as a bit rude and creepy to boot."

"That's not nice to say," Izuku mutters even as he cranes his neck up to see where his classmate was. Izuku found him on the far end of the cafeteria near the exit. Shinsou was sitting at a table with a few other students but it was clear he wasn't actually sitting with them as he was quietly eating his meal. As if sensing that someone was watching him, Shinsou looks around suspiciously while Izuku ducks his head. "Look, please can we just drop this? I didn't want to make this a big deal in the first place and I especially don't want to blame some kid who might not have even done anything."

"There's only one way to find out," Korudo says, standing up with a bright look in his eye, "I say we-"

"I think you've said enough, Korudo," Taketsu interrupts in a low, threatening voice. "Maybe this time you should ask Midoriya what he wants to do, seeing as he's the one involved in all this." Korudo twists his mouth like he'd just tasted something sour before sitting himself back down.

"Right, sorry, I'm just so mad someone would treat you this way and I want to make sure it doesn't happen again," Izuku's mouth twitched into a half smile. Korudo was a hot-head, a bit ignorant too, but his heart was in the right place and Izuku couldn't really stay mad at him for that.

"Let's just let it lie for now, Chiura-sensei probably scared off whoever did it so it's probably over." Korudo nods but he looks unhappy about it, "but how about I promise to tell you guys if anything happens again. We'll talk, quietly, to Sensei and work something out, alright?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." Korudo smiles and most of the tension leeches out of the air. "Here, let me cool down your soda for you, to make up for blowing this whole thing up." He adds, grabbing Izuku's soda can and willing his temperature down to colder levels.

"I think Midoriya wants to finish that soda before last period ends," Taketsu says with a cheeky smile that exposes her sharpened teeth. "There's not enough time left in lunch to wait on your slow moving quirk. I'm sure you could find Endeavor's boy and ask him to do it lickity split." Patrick spits out his rice and cackles as he slaps the table.

"And Taketsu gets off a good one yet again! Way to go girl, remind me not to get on your bad side." Patrick hoots even as Korudo's face begins to heat up with anger meaning that Izuku's soda is all but lost. But at least his friendships are intact and that's more important anyway.

XxX

Chiura Hiro likes being able to monitor his homeroom students' gym class. It was the only time he really felt he could see his students as they were. Nothing brings out a person's true feelings like a good old fashioned spar. Hiro watches the students and marvels, not for the first time, how each new class always seems to fall into the same catagories.

For example, there are the small groups who were pretending to fight but were really just gossiping. They were mostly good kids, confident and a bit flighty, but they didn't see the value of the activity and thus didn't put any effort towards it. They'd pass their classes, just barely, and go on to live good but ultimately normal lives.

At least they're better than the ones who aren't even trying to participate and were standing silently on the sidelines. They came from wealthy families, were undoubtedly brilliant but were arrogant and dismissive. They'd excel at Yuuei and go onto fantastic careers without learning a drop of humanity.

Most of the students are hesitantly engaging in the sessions, unsure of themselves and afraid of hurting people but trying none the less. They were the ones with dreams beyond heroes and quirks and would work hard for their individual goals. They'd do well and graduate Yuuei to achieve their dreams and lead happy, fulfilling lives.

Then there are the handful of students who were giving the training more aggression than they needed to. They were the outcasts, the ones held back from their full potential by their own poor attitude. Hiro would be keeping an eye on them in the hopes that structure and guidance can help straighten them out.

Hiro appraises the last group with interest. Every year, the prospective hero students would somehow fall together. Takamitsu hits the ground first with a loud groan. He was a friendly boy, loud and obnoxious, but his dreams of heroism were half-baked at best, more likely a product of his American upbringing. The boy would likely drop his ambitions by the end of the semester.

Korudo falls next with a frustrated grunt. Another boy from a distinguished family who'd probably been told that his quirk, and his family's influence, would see him through only to realize he didn't have the drive and strength to excel like he had in middle school. He was a good kid; he just needed to understand a little bit more about the way the world worked.

Taketsu stumbles but quickly finds her footing again. Hiro hasn't quite figured out her motives yet. She was both strong and fragile at the same time; she had the brains and stubbornness to see her through but not the direction so far as he could tell.

But of all the students in his class, it's Midoriya who has interested him the most by refusing to fit into any one category. Right now, he appears nothing like the boy who'd looked like he wanted to melt into his seat this morning. The young man before him is strong, his well-toned muscles visible through his gym uniform as he parries, dodges and counters every attack thrown his way.

Hiro has seen many boys and girls come through his class, dreaming of heroism, but he's not sure he's ever seen any want it as badly as Midoriya Izuku did. The boy's quirklessness makes his application more difficult, but watching him now, Hiro wouldn't say it's impossible just quite yet.

"Midoriya!" Hiro shouts, grabbing everyone's attention. The boy in question winces and drops out of his stance, as if hearing his name reminded him that he should be timid and meek. Hiro would give anything to have a word with the boy's previous teachers who'd clearly ingrained in him a sense of worthlessness. "Please demonstrate that last move again for the class; that was a very simple but effective takedown, one that would be useful in a variety of situations."

Korudo sighs as he gets back to his feet and repeats his earlier punch. As he had before, Midoriya dodges the initial attack and lunges forward to grab Korudo by the forearm and, bracing his other arm, perform an elegant shoulder toss. Despite knowing what to expect, there wasn't much Korudo could do but hit the mat hard. However, Korudo was barely on the floor before Midoriya is bursting forward with apologies as he helps his friend to his feet.

Strong, smart and kind to a fault, yes, he'd be watching Midoriya's progress with great interest.

"Did you all see what he did? When most people dodge a punch, they leap away to get out of range. But Midoriya went towards his attacker, he made his defense his offense and using it to neutralize his opponent." Hiro nods in the boy's direction, "good work, your martial arts master should be proud." Midoriya flushes but is interrupted before he could launch into any denials.

"Jeez that was incredible, where'd you learn to do that?" Fuyuko asks, jogging over to greet the small group, most of the other students weren't far behind.

"O-oh well I've been training in martial arts for the last year; my master is pretty tough so I had to learn pretty quickly," Midoriya mutters with a shy smile.

"No need to be modest, Midoriya has some kickass Judo moves over here," Takamitsu says as he nearly knocked his friend over with an enthusiastic clap on the back.

"Actually it's Jeet Kune Do with some Aikido mixed in," the green haired boy corrects quietly but it was hard to hear over the mob of students now surrounding him.

Hiro looks at the clock; it's almost time to dismiss the students for the day. Hiro could, probably should, make everyone go back to their partners but he figures a little attention would do Midoriya well. He was skilled and smart enough but confidence was the only Midoriya lacked in his desire to be a hero, especially given the mess during homeroom.

"Alright, let's have a little challenge," Hiro announces, "you all have nice quirks. Who wants to take on Midoriya one on one? He's the only one here with actual training experience despite his lack of a quirk." He grins as several of the students back up and shake their heads. "Your apprehension is understandable in the face of an experienced fighter; that sort of discipline should be respected."

"I'll go," Shinsou says, stepping forward, just as Hiro suspected he would. Hiro could already tell that Shinsou and Midoriya were the two with the greatest ambition, and the ones most likely suited, for Heroics. They could do great things together if Shinsou could get past his deep-seated bitterness and Midoriya could let go of insecurities. A friendly spar might help them bridge that gap.

"I," Midoriya begins nervously before settling more confidently into his stance. "Alright, I'm ready when you are."

"You better be," Shinsou says as he rushes forward aggressively. It was an uncoordinated attack, the result of pent-up frustration. Midoriya was easily able to duck underneath his opponent's wild swing and pop up behind him. He lightly tags Shinsou in the back, more to demonstrate the other boy's weak defenses than to hurt.

"Try being more purposeful with your attack," Midoriya suggests genially. "Also never let your opponent see your back, always keep your weak points guarded."

"I don't need advice from you," Shinsou says through gritted teeth as he runs forward again. This time, his movements are more precise but, again, Midoriya steps around the attack and uses Shinsou's momentum against him, causing the boy to crash into the floor. Shinsou hisses as he pushes himself back up. A few of the students are cheering and Hiro frowns at the dark look on Shinsou's face. This was supposed to be a friendly spar, not a public humiliation.

"You have natural strength and strong drive but you're fighting emotionally," Midoriya says gently. "Try coming at me again, I promise I won't move this time." Hiro understands the sentiment but he suspects that someone as prideful and insecure as Shinsou would not appreciate the well-intentioned comment.

"Stop acting like you're better than me," Shinsou says as he steps forward with his fist raised. Midoriya's frowns with determination and, true to his word, doesn't dodge the punch. Instead, the green haired boy catches the fist easily and twists Shinsou's arm until he falls to one knee in pain.

"Don't leave yourself so open, your punches should be quick, unannounced and then held back at your core to avoid them being used against you," Midoriya says, gently, but firmly. Shinsou struggles valiantly to get out of the hold but Midoriya has a good grip on him. There's still a few minutes left in class but this spar is going to get worse before it gets better.

"Alright boys, that's enough, good work to both of you," Chirura-sensei says, stepping forward. Izuku is more than glad for the opportunity to stop the fight as he quickly releases Shinsou. He didn't want to hurt the other boy but he also didn't want to come across as weak. If he wanted to get anywhere at Yuuei, he couldn't let people think they could walk all over him because he was quirkless. "You are dismissed for the day, I saw some good effort out there today but I expect more in the future. Have a good afternoon, I will see you in the morning."

"Awesome job Midoriya!" One of his classmates says as the group begins to shuffle towards the exit. He catches a few others wave to him as they leave and it makes Izuku feel a bit better; it seems not everyone is out to get him. Shinsou is still on his knees, stretching out the arm Izuku had twisted. Izuku puts out his hand to help him up.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, I just wanted people to know that I'm serious in my intentions to transfer over to Heroics." Izuku pauses, "I know you're hoping to transfer too. I think we got off to a bad start but I'd like to try and be friends." Even if you did leave a derogatory note on my desk, Izuku thinks bitterly. But he didn't have any proof that Shinsou did that and, besides, heroes were supposed to be better than their emotions.

"Don't be stupid," Shinsou says angrily, ignoring Izuku's outstretched hand to stand up on his own.

"It's not stu-" Izuku freezes, his muscles lock up and a fog comes over his mind. He tries to move, to do anything but he can't so much as twitch his fingers.

"Listen here," Shinsou says, getting close. "Just because you have the advantage right now with your martial arts doesn't mean that you're better qualified to be a hero than me. I've waited a long time for this opportunity and I'm not going to let anyone stand in my way. I'm not looking for friends, if you're really serious about transferring then that makes us rivals. You'd do well to remember that."

"Hey! What's going on over here?" Korudo says, stomping over, causing Shinsou to take a few steps back. Izuku is still stuck in his uncomfortable position, Patrick waves a hand in front of Izuku's face but he can't move. "You think it's funny to use your power on some quirkless kid? I'm sure Sensei would love to hear about your unauthorized quirk use."

Shinsou glares at Korudo for the blatant threat but Korudo is glaring back just as fiercely. The effect was somewhat diminished by the fact that Korudo was so short that he has to stand on his toes just to be eye level with Shinsou. Izuku blinks and comes back to himself, he shakes his head as he's given back control over his body again. He glances over at Shinsou warily who still looks annoyed but not as angry as before.

"We were just talking," Shinsou says before frowning. "I shouldn't have used my quirk though, I do apologize for that. It won't happen again, I promise."

"It's…" Izuku begins, unsure of what to say next because it really wasn't fine but at the same time, he understands that he may have been provoking the other boy. Izuku wasn't the only one with something to prove.

"Oh great, an apology, that means a lot," Korudo says angrily. "While you're at it, why don't you apologize for leaving that note on Midoriya's desk this morning? Let's see you smooth talk your way out of that one." Shinsou's glare darkens.

"Hey, let's all calm down," Taketsu says with a frown as she steps in-between Shinsou and Korudo, presumably before Korudo does something stupid. Izuku looks around to see that there are a few other stragglers hanging out and watching the confrontation. This is so humiliating, it's only the second day of school and twice today he's been defended by his friends for stupid, petty things.

"There's no need to go throwing around false accusations," Taketsu says to Korudo before turning coolly to Shinsou, "unless you have something you'd like to say."

"I don't know why you would think I did that," Shinsou says icily.

"That's a lie," says another voice nearby which shatters the tension between Korudo and Shinsou. Korudo drops back to his feet and Shinsou puts some space between them. One of the students in his class, Nakadai, was standing by the gym door, watching them with narrowed eyes.

Izuku hasn't seen or heard much of him so far, he comes across as being stiff and uncompromising. He was about Izuku's height, maybe a little taller with a shaved head and a skinny build. If Izuku remembers correctly from yesterday; his quirk was the ability to detect lies. Izuku blinks at this realization as his earlier statement becomes clear. He glances in Shinsou's direction who has his face twisted unhappily.

"I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble but I wanted you know that I'm in this to win. I don't intend to lose to some kid who thinks he can become a hero without a quirk." With that said, Shinsou turns and stalks out of the gym giving a brief glare to Nakadai before leaving.

"It's unfortunate to see that Yuuei has dropped its standards to allow a brute such as him to be accepted," Nakadai says to no one in particular before giving Izuku a level glance. "I hold no stake in this; I just despise seeing people use their lies and quirks without consequence. I would watch yourself if I were you," Nakadai nods before leaving the gym himself.

"Jeez," Patrick says, running his hand across his face, "why do we have so many weird, intense people in our class?" Taketsu and Izuku smile a little at that, appreciating his attempt to lighten the mood. Korudo is still tense as he glares at the door where Shinsou and Nakadai had left. "Kourdo, man, let it go. Besides, school is over, we should be out doing something fun. What do you say? Anyone up for ice cream sundaes? There's a great place by my dad's house."

"I don't know if I'm really up for that right now," Izuku says softly, still uncomfortable about what had just happened. Just when he thinks he's moving forward it seems someone is trying to keep him down, from Kaachan to Shinsou.

"You're okay though, right?" Taketsu asks with a frown. "He didn't hurt you or anything, did he?"

"No, of course not," Izuku says with a shake of his head. Shinsou really hadn't done anything to him but Korudo, once again, had blown things out of proportion. He kind of wants to say something about but he knows Korudo won't understand and will only take offense. Having friends is hard, he thinks as he rubs at his eyes. "I'm fine really, I just think I should head home now. It's been a crazy day and all."

"Yeah man, whatever you need to do," Patrick grins, giving him a thumbs up. "We do gotta hang out one of these days though."

"Agreed," Korudo says, "we need to forget all this ugliness happened and move on. We still have to find time to train together too," he steps forwards and gives Izuku a friendly shoulder pat. "Have a good night and, remember, you promised to let us know if Shinsou or anyone one starts bothering you again."

"I," don't need your protection or to be treated like a child who can't handle their own problems, "will," Izuku finishes lamely feeling strangely tired. Yesterday had been so good but now Izuku is feeling like he's back in middle school again, eternally stuck being the quirkless loser. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," he says dully as he walks out of the gym.

Izuku changes back into his normal uniform and leaves the school feeling despondent. He hikes his backpack up on his shoulders and picks up his pace. And to think he'd started this day filled with excitement and optimism. Well, day two wasn't the best but not every day could be a winner right? Tomorrow would be better, it had to be.

And here we have the start of a beautiful rivalry. For all that the fans love Shinsou (as do I) his appearances so far have painted him as a bitter, closed off character which I did my best to portray. Not much else to say other than Korudo is a complex character I enjoyed writing, that friend who is brash and thinks they know best even though they have the best of intentions. Please stick around for more development from canon and original characters! Also, I've decided since I'm on break and all the chapters are literally done, I'll do twice a week posting until school starts. That should get us through a lot of the early bits and get into the real meat of the story. Thank you so much for the reviews! They've really given me confidence in my story!