I fidgeted in front of the Midoriya home's front door. The apartment was in a quaint little building in a nice part of town, with neatly maintained halls and white painted walls. I couldn't have felt more out of place. I'd never had friends homes to visit before. Was there a specific protocol? What if Miss Midoriya hated me? Would I get kicked out? My palms were sweaty as I reached out and rang the doorbell.

The door swung open almost immediately, and Ochako was standing there with a wide grin. "Come in!" she urged, grabbing my wrist and tugging me inside eagerly. I stumbled, the door slamming shut behind me as Ochako pulled me through the foyer, barely giving me enough time to kick off my shoes.

The Midoriya's had a small living room/kitchen area, with a full dining table already filled with bowls of chips and popcorn. Izuku was sitting at said table, hurriedly scrawling away on his notes.

"Izukun, Icchan's here!" Ochako declared, dragging me over to the table and pushing me into one of the chairs. I flopped down limply, unresisting, as Ochako took the seat next to me.

Izuku lifted his head, surprised. He smiled at me brightly. "Hey, Ichigo! You're just in time," he looked back down at his paper. "Uh... think you can help me with this?" he asked.

I shook my head, overcoming my fear enough to lean forward and peek at the paper. "What is it?" I questioned curiously, trying to read the problem.

"It's the one for the parabolas, finding the x coordinates," Izuku said. "The quadratic formula is difficult to remember…" he muttered, staring at the paper.

I grinned, glad his problem was something I could help with. I dragged my chair over to him, snatching the pencil out of his hand. "Okay, there is an easier way to do this. So, there's only two ways a parabola can be presented, 'y=ax^2+bx+c', and 'y=a(x-h)^2+k', right?" I started, writing down the specific formulas. "In this case, your equation is…" I glanced at the paper. "'y=(x-3)^2-4'. So you already have the vertex of the parabola, (3,4), or the (h,k). I did some research in the library and found a simplified version of the quadratic formula that uses (h,k) to calculate the x intercepts. It's x = h +/- the square root of -k/a," as I spoke, I wrote down the new formula. "Try that."

Izuku stared at me for a long moment, then took the pencil from my hands and entered the numbers into the equation. A few moments and the press of a calculator's buttons later, he blinked in surprise. "So x = 1 or 4?" Izuku read aloud, eyes wide. "But that's way easier - why didn't Mister Aizawa show this in class?" he wondered.

"It isn't educational standard," I informed him, sitting back. "Any more questions about quadratics?" I asked. Izuku shook his head, turning back to his paper and muttering under his breath as he tested the new formula I'd shown him.

Ochako grinned from across the table. "You're actually good at explaining things, Icchan," she observed.

I shook my head. "No, you guys already know most of this," I disagreed. "I'm just offering alternative methods for what you've already been taught."

"Speaking of which, how much research do you do?" Ochako asked, amused smile on her face. "You always seem to know little facts about everything."

I shrugged. "I don't have facts on everything…" I argued, watching Izuku's arithmetic out of the corner of my eye.

"I've seen your debates with Momo," Ochako deadpanned. "Don't start."

I laughed, surprised. I had information about a lot of things because I'd lived in a library for months with nothing better to do than read, but that wasn't an answer I could give. "I just remember the stuff I read," I said vaguely, leaning over to Izuku. "Are you done?" I asked, trying to redirect the conversation.

"One more problem," Izuku answered shortly, hyper-focused on his work.

An airy chuckle from behind me made me spin around. A short, plump woman with a kind, round face and familiar green hair stood there, an affectionate smile on her face. "Izuku has always been like this," Miss Midoriya told me. "Does he do this at school often?" I opened and closed my mouth, tugged on my braids nervously.

"Yeah," Ochako confirmed, taking the pressure to speak off of my shoulders. "You should've seen the first week of school - all he would do was take notes on our teachers!"

Izuku looked up from his work, cheeks flushed. "Th-that was a w-while a-ago!" he defended. "A-and I've g-gotten better s-since th-then!"

"Since when?" Ochako asked incredulously. "You zoned out on the way to school just a few days ago because of a villain fight!"

"It was r-right in front of m-me!" Izuku protested.

Miss Midoriya laughed, reaching out to ruffle Izuku's hair. "I'll be in the kitchen," she told him, before facing Ochako and I. "It's nice to meet my son's friends," she said with the exact same nervous smile as her son. "Ochako Uraraka and Ichigo Kurosaki, correct?"

"Yes ma'am!" Ochako said, giving a mock salute.

I nodded, hands clutching my skirt anxiously. "That's right," I confirmed quietly.

"Tell me if you need anything, okay?" Miss Midoriya said sweetly, ruffling Izuku's hair one more time as she walked towards the kitchen.

As soon as she was gone, Ochako looked at me with concern. "What's up with you?" she wondered. "It was like you had a relapse or something."

"I didn't stutter at all," I mumbled defensively, cheeks red. "I've just never been to a friend's house before..." my voice grew quieter and less comprehensible with every word.

"Seriously?" Ochako said disbelievingly. My face heated up further in embarrassment, and as I ducked my head she held her hands up in surrender. "I don't mean it like that, Icchan! It's just - you've never been to a friends house before?" she asked.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah…" I said quietly.

Izuku's mouth was set in a grim line. "It's fine," he said. "I haven't had friends over in about a decade, so we're in the same boat." I grinned at him sheepishly, somehow comforted by the fact I wasn't the only one new to this.

Ochako stared at us both with wide eyes and a slack jaw. "What childhood did you two have…?" she said breathlessly. I wondered how she'd react if she knew Shouto's story as well. "We're coming back here again!" she declared firmly, holding up a fist with determined eyes. "And we'll watch movies, and go to the mall, and play video games!" Ochako stood up, slamming one hand onto the table and pointing at mine and Izuku's stunned faces with the other. "You will have a childhood if it's the last thing I do!" she announced.

There was a long, awkward silence after that. Then, I couldn't manage to hold back my giggles anymore. As soon as I started laughing, Ochako did as well, and then Izuku snapped too. We all sat at the table laughing until our sides hurt, ignoring the fact we were supposed to be studying.

From the kitchen, Miss Midoriya watched us with shining eyes. Her son had friends now.

I came running off of the bus the day of the exams feeling ready for whatever would come my way. I knew the academic tests would last three days, so I hadn't bothered to drink my coffee this morning. I was prepared for a long day of napping.

Spotting Shouto's unique head of hair, I weaved my way through the bus stop crowd. I waved at my friends, grinning. "Hey guys!" I called, stopping between Momo and Shouto.

Ochako smiled at me. "Morning, Icchan! Thanks for not ambushing me today," she greeted teasingly.

"You guys ready for this?" I asked, holding up my clenched fists with an excited grin.

"Yes," Shouto said bluntly, expression calm.

Izuku gulped. "D-does it matter?" he asked, visibly sweating. Despite all our studying, it was obvious Izuku still felt nervous.

Ochako laughed next to him. "No," she answered frankly, patting Izuku on the shoulder without sympathy.

Momo frowned. "If you don't feel prepared, it could affect your performance," she said thoughtfully. "Studies have shown how confidence can affect test scores."

"Oh," Izuku said in a small voice, eyes wide. Ochako busted out into a new wave of laughter beside him.

"We're going to be late," Shouto pointed out bluntly, interrupting the conversation.

Ochako wiped her eyes, straightening up with a grave expression. "To Yuuei!" she announced, finger jousting the air. She then marched forward dramatically, Izuku on her heels muttering under his breath.

Momo chuckled, glancing down at me. "You believe you're ready?" she asked, following after Ochako and Izuku.

"I could've passed this test before school started," I said dismissively. I didn't like bragging, but Momo wouldn't judge me for my intellectual accomplishments. Mostly because at any point in time she could wipe the floor with me in chemistry (unless it was organic or biological chemistry, then I won).

Momo grinned. "Then may the best woman win," she said. "I will aim for the top score this time."

"Never," I disagreed, grinning up at her teasingly.

"I'm here," Shouto said tonelessly, almost-complaining-but-not-really. Momo and I looked over to stare at him blankly for several long moments, before giggling in unison at his deadpanned expression.

As I walked through the classroom door, trailing after Momo and Shouto (damn tall people, both of them), I pondered what would be the best method of falling asleep after I finished the test. Closing the door behind myself politely, I turned towards my desk. My eyes widened in shock.

Tenya was standing near his desk rigidly, with our classmates crowded around him asking about his vacation. Where had he gone? What did he do? Was it fun? Why was it so long? Tenya was answering the questions in his usual lecture style, long explanations, using hand gestures to emphasize his words.

I took a deep breath, and strode forwards, ignoring the nervous roiling of my stomach that made me want to vomit (or run away). I stopped behind Tenya, who was eagerly chopping his arms through the air while describing his journeys with his brother. "Good morning, Tenya!" I chirped with false confidence, pasting a smile on my face. "Nice to see you're back!"

Tenya froze, and I clenched my fists against my sides to hide my shaking hands. He turned around, looking down at me with an indiscernable expression. "Ichigo," he started. "I'm glad to have returned to Yuuei as well."

I tightened my smile, shutting my eyes so I wouldn't have to see his controlled expression. Was he mad at me? "You're just in time for the final exams too!" I said, all the while internally panicking. Had I lost a friend for the first time? What was I going to do now? Avoid him like the plague? Apologize? Switch classes and pretend we'd never met?!

"Yes, it's fortunate," Tenya agreed. There was a long, awkward pause, and then he added, "... Would you be willing to meet with me after school today? Along with Todoroki and Izuku?"

I nodded, opening my eyes. "Sure thing," I said. "Good luck with the exams, Tenya," I finished, turning on my heel and walking over to my desk robotically. I sat down heavily, mind whirring as I tried to puzzle together why Tenya would want to meet with Shouto, Izuku, and I. It was clearly related to the Hero Killer incident. Was he upset that we had taken credit for it?

I bit my lip, burning holes into my desk with my eyes. Nevermind napping during the test, I'd be lucky to focus on the questions for more than ten minutes.

Mailbox

ZeQueenOfCards: Geez! You totally binge read this! And thank you, Aizawa is one of my favorite characters in BNHA and his relationship with Ichigo and is a joy to write. Plus I associate with him on a spiritual level XD

Kyuubi Kuroba: The team assignments will be very entertaining... for me. They will not be fun for Ichigo (I already gave out a hint). As for who she will be facing, I pose you this question: why did Izuku face All Might?

GreenDrkness: Yes, Aizawa is the best XD If he can pass off work, he will, and now he has this wonderful, willing little minion who is more than happy to be helpful.

Wylla: Ichigo really does come across as a Mary Sue, I know. I'm hoping this arc will be her most humanizing ones because everyone does make mistakes (hint hint). Ichigo has succeeded so far, largely due to luck and good circumstances. She's had enough time to plan, her quirk is a perfect second-try, and she's always had cooperative teammates. Having her fail where it counts will probably be the best place to show that. As for character development, I have to (politely) disagree with you. Ichigo does develop over time. As she learns how to fight and gains confidence in her identity with her friends, she stops stuttering and becomes more vocal about her opinions. She still has a long way to go, but if I completed her character arc during the first few chapters, why continue? And I'm not sure where the misunderstanding was, but she doesn't heal her grandmother. One of the biggest points she makes to Shouto is that even if she did, her grandmother would still never recover. Finally, it really does seem like she handles everything so well, doesn't it? It'd be really bad if I just happened... maybe... to add a little bit more to her plate.

Edit: About the perfect scores. Once someone's IQ exceeds about 140 regular schooling becomes a joke, and Ichigo has an IQ I'd put somewhere between 160-170. So Ichigo not studying and making A's is actually pretty realistic. As long as she pays attention in class, she'll excel with little to no effort. One of the things I probably need to highlight in the story is that there are different types of genius. Izuku, Bakugo, and Momo all display different types of intelligence. Izuku is analytical. For Bakugo, its innovative. Momo and Ichigo represent a more conventional type of genius, so they excel academically, but they aren't built for combat like Izuku or Bakugo. Fortunately, Momo has been trained since she was young about how to think tactically. Ichigo is mostly running on talent, so once that gives out, she'll come crashing down. And Momo will hopefully have more of a place to shine in this next arc as well. I've changed every single team match-up, and Momo has become (in my opinion) a serious bad-ass after her time with Gunhead. If it seems like Momo really isn't in the spotlight for the "smartest student", its because Ichigo really is more intelligent. The difference is that Momo is a much more diligent student, so as time moves on Momo will eventually overtake Ichigo on an academic level, because Ichigo doesn't know how to/never actually does study.

Ceralyn: Yeah, Momo's confidence did take a heavy hit during the Sports Festival. Luckily, she should cope better this time around because of her apprenticeship with Gunhead. This is Momo's chance to be badass!

Xenocanaan: I'm glad you appreciate her reasons! Ichigo isn't someone who has a solid understanding of what "justice" is. While her moral compass is still skewed on very straight, "justice" isn't a good enough motivator for her. She needs a clear line of duty, where her help is clearly important. The connection of those troubled kids to her own childhood helps as well.