I fled from the testing-grounds in a blur. I was choking down my tears and pumping my arms as I ran as fast I could. It wasn't much of a surprise when I found myself curled up against the wall on the bathroom floor in the same corner as before. A few small sobs escaped me, but for the most part I just tried to hold my breath and hid my face in my knees, feeling my back press against the cold tiles of the wall.

I didn't notice when Mister Aizawa entered the bathroom, until I felt someone's eyes on me. I peeked up to see my mentor's face, and hiccuped in surprise. Mister Aizawa looked grave and somber, and I ducked my head down again, unwilling to see the disappointment in his eyes.

"M-Mister Aizawa… I'm sorry…" I whispered thickly, refusing to lift my eyes. "I w-wasted y-your time." I swallowed, eyes watering as I considered how much time and effort I'd spent training, only to send it all down the drain with this one, stupid test.

"You wasted nothing," Mister Aizawa said gruffly, and I blinked in surprise, tears halting as I scrambled to understand. While I thought, Mister Aizawa crouched down to my level. "Ichigo, lift your head," he ordered. I sniffled, looking up just barely enough to meet Mister Aizawa's gaze, sure that my own eyes were red and puffy. "You aren't going to lose your scholarship, Ichigo. You aren't even going to fail the grade."

I stared at him in bewilderment, too confused to cry. "I'm n-not?" I asked, stunned.

"Ichigo, do remember how much the the exams weighed?" Mister Aizawa inquired patiently, voice level.

I frowned thoughtfully. "Thirty percent," I answered, reciting the information from memory and temporarily being distracted from my failure. "But each exam splits up between classes, so the english final is only worth thirty percent of the english grade, the math final is worth thirty only for math class, and so on…"

"And how do you think you did on the academic portion?" Mister Aizawa continued, guiding my thought process.

I bit my lip. "Over ninety percent accuracy," I estimated, deciding to be conservative.

"The lowest score you recieved was a ninety-four," Mister Aizawa said, and I couldn't find it in me to be surprised. "The practical exam only affects your Basic Hero Studies grade, which was previously a ninety-three. You received a sixty-five on your final, what does that make your score?" he questioned.

I did the math in my head, the bathroom absolutely silent as I calculated. "An eighty-four - actually, no, an eighty-five percent," I corrected, accounting for the decimal being rounded up.

"And what does that make your final GPA?" Mister Aizawa finished, having fully calmed me down from my panic (not that I realized until later what he'd done).

I only took a few moments to think it through. "A 3.8," I concluded, reaching up to wipe me eyes automatically.

Mister Aizawa nodded in agreement. "And do you really think that Yuuei is going to drop your scholarship when you have a 3.8 GPA?" he questioned rhetorically. I didn't get a chance to respond before he continued, "The agency might be concerned, but you've already proved your worth, Ichigo. The publicity from the Hero Killer incident means you aren't going to leave the program any time soon," he pointed out.

My eyes widened. "Oh," I said softly. "So… I'm not in trouble…?" I wondered, internally lambasting myself for not realizing this sooner. I'd allowed my emotions to interfere with my thinking, a mistake that Mister Aizawa had told me to avoid in my first week of training.

"You're still going to be punished," Mister Aizawa corrected, giving a familiar Cheshire-cat grin. "Just not by the agency or the school."

I deflated, realizing what that meant. "My training is going to be increased?" I guessed, which was a very big mistake. Never ever guess a punishment, because then it just gets worse.

"No," Mister Aizawa said, sounding very amused. "What have we learned from this exercise?"

"That I'm a bad teammate?" I responded self-deprecatingly.

Mister Aizawa's smile didn't fall. "No, that you need to improve your leadership skills. You mentioned a student that wanted to train with us - Hitoshi Shinsou, correct?" I nodded slowly, wondering where he was going with this. "I'm placing you in charge of his training. You have until the end of the summer to prepare him, and when school starts I'm going to test his abilities."

My mouth fell open, eyes the size of dinner plates. "W-what?! You want me to train someone else?!" I shrieked in surprise, then slapped my hands over my mouth. Mister Aizawa hated people yelling in his face, or just in his general vicinity.

"Yeah," Mister Aizawa affirmed bluntly, standing up straight and offering me a hand. "Now that you've calmed down, are you ready to leave? Your friends are waiting for you," he said, and I winced guiltily. Ochako and Izuku were probably panicking as much as I was earlier, they were like that.

"I think so," I agreed, reaching out and grabbing his hand. Mister Aizawa yanked me to my feet, and I smiled softly up at him. "Thanks, Mister Aizawa," I said, wrapping my arms around his waist (because that was as high as I could reach) and hugging him tightly. Mister Aizawa tensed, obviously surprised by my sudden action, but I didn't let go immediately. Finally, he laid his hand on my head, not reciprocating the hug, but accepting my affection. I stepped back, grinned up at him, and then rushed out the bathroom doors, leaving him in the dust as I booked it for the testing facility's exit.

Rushing through halls, slamming through doors, and bounding over several staircases, it only took me a few minutes to find my friends, who were idling just outside the school. I grinned, spotting Izuku and Ochako spazzing out together, anxiously talking back and forth with wide, worried eyes.

"Hey guys!" I shouted, jumping over the last six steps of the descending stairs and landing right between Izuku and Ochako. "Thanks for waiting for me!"

Ochako gasped, and then lunged forward. I didn't even flinch when she pinned my arms against my sides in a tight hug. "Icchan! You had me so worried!" she declared, tucking her face into the top of my head.

"I'm glad you look better. Did you find out about your test?" Izuku asked nervously, looking slightly relieved by my not-in-tears state.

I wiggled in Ochako's grip just enough to peek my face out and see him. I smiled brightly. "Yep! I did well enough on the academic portions, so this won't hurt my GPA too much. Actually, I'm still going to pass the grade," I explained happily.

"That's good," Izuku sighed, shoulders slumping in relief.

Momo suddenly appeared in my field of view, eyes bright with excitement. "I'm very happy for you," she informed me, smiling joyfully. "It would be very disappointing if you weren't part of our class next year."

Ochako loosened her grip on me, straightening up. She held up her fist, one hand on my shoulder. "Right!" she agreed with Momo, before leaning in towards me with a severe expression. "If you ever scare me like that again you'll regret it," she said intensely.

I leaned away from her, eyes wide. "Sure thing," I agreed, taking a step back. I turned towards Tenya, hoping to distract Ochako away from me. "So, Tenya, think you're ready for the summer camp I won't be going to?" I questioned jokingly.

Tenya chopped his hand down, glasses shining. "I am prepared, and I am also sure that we can discuss your participation in the summer camp with the Yuuei Administration. As a scholarship student, you cannot afford to slacken your training schedule over the summer!" he declared enthusiastically, and I giggled at his zealousness.

"Ichigo?" A familiar voice cut in, and I froze. I didn't turn around immediately, knowing exactly who was there.

Ochako glanced at me. "Do you want to…?" she whispered, clearly ready to interfere if necessary.

I bit my lip. "No, it's fine. You guys go on ahead, I'll walk to the bus stop with you if you don't mind waiting a few minutes," I decided, clenching my fists and gathering together my determination.

Ochako nodded reluctantly, obviously unsure about my decision. "Alright," she agreed quietly, before stepping away. "Guys, lets go on ahead and give them a moment," she said, grabbing Izuku's wrist and pulling him along with Momo and Tenya.

I took a deep breath and turned around to face Shouto. "Hey," I said calmly.

Shouto looked nervous, in the most subtle way possible. After months of interaction, I knew better than to think he was apathetic. I picked up on the minor details, the tightness of his shoulders, and way his hands were half curled into fists and how his chin was slightly lower than usual. "I wanted to apologize. During the test, I ran ahead, despite what we had discussed. It was wrong of me," he said. His apology was well articulated, and I knew he had probably picked out each word carefully before approaching me.

I straightened my spine, and tried to emotionally remove myself from the situation. I was going to be mature about this, so I could avoid a repeat of the Sports Festival. "Shouto, you're my friend, and I don't want to lose that friendship. I understand that you're sorry, but…" I paused, not quite sure how to continue. "I have a bad habit of holding grudges. I'm not sure if I'm ready to forgive you quite yet," I tried to ignore how Shouto's jaw tightened in response. "I'm going to ask you to be patient with me, please. I think… I think I'll get over it soon," I clenched my fists, resolving myself. "At the very least, I'm going to try. You weren't the only one at fault there. Bakago and I screwed up as well."

Shouto nodded curtly, looking frustrated. I couldn't find it in me to be sorry. "I understand," he agreed.

I fidgeted there for a moment, before turning around. "The others are ahead of us," I said. "We should probably go join them." It was probably the closest we'd get to a truce for now.

Shouto started walking forward, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Alright," he said. After a few seconds, I shook my head and followed after him.

I was going to be mature about this. I would be.

From: Kurosaki [July 18, 13:18]

To: Shinsou

Hey Shinsou,

Remember how I said that you might be able to train with my teacher and I when you asked? I talked to Mister Aizawa, and what he said was that he was going to make it my responsibility to train you over the summer. If you agree, I'll do my best to prepare you over the break, and when school starts Mister Aizawa will test how you've improved. If he approves of your abilities, you'll get to train with us from then on, and I'll have proved my capabilities as a leader. Sorry for taking over a week to get you an answer.

Thanks,

Ichigo Kurosaki

| Re: From: Shinsou [July 18, 13:25]

To: Kurosaki

Kurosaki,

Are you serious? There's no need to apologize, I'm glad I got a response at all. I'd like it if you could tell me more about the "test" when school starts again, but otherwise I'm all in. Thanks for the opportunity.

Hitoshi Shinsou

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AllisBlanche: I'm glad my story improved your day. It makes me super happy to hear that! And yeah, I can see how Ichigo would relate to people who are smart, but less outgoing. I'm one of those people, so its understandable that it would bleed into my characters. As for getting uncooperative group mates, I've been there before, and it really sucks :( Fortunately, I've always been very good at beating people over the head until the cooperate with me, so I've never experienced what you're talking about. Apparently I scare people.

animefairy299: Ichigo should be fine... eventually. There will be many lasting repercussions from this incident. Ichigo's self-esteem is fragile as is. And yes, Ichigo could survive getting her heart ripped out. Technically, because her quirk is Mitotic Regeneration, aka regeneration on a cellular level, Ichigo could revive from anything so long as a single healthy cell of her was left. So you could rip out one of her hairs and then utterly destroy her body, and she would still come back. The issue is that if she uses her quirk for too long without cooling down, she dies.

castielris: Things usually do work out in stories, that's part of why I wanted to rip the rug out from under Ichigo's (and the readers) feet here. I'm glad Ichigo's emotions came across so clearly as well. She is terrified of disappointing Aizawa, especially since he was the first person to truly believe in her. She is constantly in fear of being abandoned, and Ichigo is more accustomed to being hurt than being helped by people she cares about. Some of Ichigo's relationships will suffer because of her failure, but it will be a point of growth to see her learn to repair them again.

GreenDrkness: Yeah, Ichigo has won her previous battles because she got lucky enough to have favorable conditions and cooperative teammates. Take that away, and she fumbles miserably. Without that, she isn't quite so "OP" anymore. She's a scared kid with a lot of power and intelligence, but fear and anxiety can fuck people up. Especially if they lack the confidence to confront that fear.

Guest: Thank you! The one shot was far more appreciated than I thought it would be. Honestly, when I finished that I thought it was terrible, but now that its been awhile I realize I had edited it so many times, I became sick of my own writing XD There will be a Part 2, and its more focused on Shouto than Ichigo, so you'll definitely see the repercussions of everything covered in Part 1.

Katr5432: Yeah, Ichigo's gotten lucky so far, but no more. She'll need true skill and courage if she wants to make it further as a hero. :(

Prince: Thank you! And it really was a slap upside the head. If fights aren't your main priority and you're still reading this, I suppose my character interactions must be doing pretty well. Thanks!

xenocanaan: "We learn more from our failures than our successes." Ichigo's biggest lesson comes from this screw up, and she only has room to grow from here. I'd like to think that if she had lost her scholarship, another agency would've scooped her up, or another hero academy (like Shiketsu). Bakugo would probably feel guilty, but he'd cover it up by hating her guts. Aizawa would've taken Ichigo's failure the hardest, since she was his personal student. He probably would've remained her mentor, and offered her a place as his sidekick once she graduated from Shiketsu; however, their relationship would've never been the same. Idk if I'll do an AU about it, but it could be fun! I figure once this story reaches 500 faves (or some other arbitrary number) I'll do an open request board for oneshots/aus, like I did on Quotev. Thank you for the compliment!

ZeQueenOfCards: Here is your sentimental bonding chapter (you totally nailed it!)