Hullo, beautiful people!

A bit of a disclaimer: Sometimes, I go back and edit previous chapters. It's usually grammatical stuff, but sometimes I go back and make small changes to plot mistakes that I noticed after the first edits. I will not, however, make giant changes to previous chapters, but if you see any small changes, it's probably because I read it back again and felt the need to nitpick.

Chapter posted on: February 24, 2019 (PHT)

Hikari Ria grew up in the theatre.

Literally. Ria would argue that for the first half of her life, she spent more time in her father's theatre than she had at home or at school. When she was a baby and her mother's maternity leave had ended, it was evident that Halley Comet—as strong-willed as she was and as much as it broke her heart—would be unable to care for her daughter while she was hunting down villains and bringing justice to the streets of Tokyo.

She would spend time with Ria the minute her shifts ended, of course. But for the most part, Ria's father was tasked with taking care of her.

This was something that brought him immense joy and fulfillment, and if he had to do it all over again, he was one hundred percent sure that he would do it in a heartbeat.

With that being said… Whenever he was asked which time in his career was the hardest and most stressful, Mr. Kaito "Kai" Hikari would consistently answer that it was the year his eldest child was born.

It painted a hilarious picture, really. As though being the owner of a theatre wasn't a hard enough job, he would soon find that being the owner of a theatre whilst caring for a baby was ten times worse.

He would often do his rounds with Ria strapped to his chest in a baby carrier, sporting perpetually mussed ginger hair and dark bags that hung under his eyes. In his hand, he almost always carried either a baby bottle or a cup of coffee. Or both. There were those days as well.

His assistant Kosei caught him putting the coffee in the baby bottle once, while the Ria's milk sat in a mug on the counter. Of course, Ria wouldn't know this. Furthermore, Kai made very sure that his wife hadn't heard about it either until at least a year later.

Many people had suggested that Ria be left at a daycare, but at the time, neither of her parents had ever once thought about hiring help. There was no shame in doing it, they knew.

"We just wanted to be there for all your first moments," her dad would tell her.

And it wasn't as though they were completely alone. Comet's niece, Aki, was an artist who worked from home a lot. Whenever Ria's parents were too busy with work, Aki was usually the first person that would volunteer to babysit. Also, many of the staff at the theatre adored having a tiny baby around, so no one really had a problem with checking in on Ria when needed. Kosei almost never passed on the opportunity.

One of the dressing rooms beside Kai's office had even been converted into a soundproof room that held Ria's crib, and as she grew older, many of the employees would fondly tell her stories of times when both that her dad and Kosei would run around with baby monitors strapped to their belts.

And as for Ria herself? She remained blissfully unaware of anything about the world.

It began with dancing.

Ria was five when she watched her first ballet. Swan Lake. It was an extremely busy night for the theatre, and her dad was running around the building to ensure that the show went on smoothly. He had given her a walkie-talkie in case she needed anything. The baby monitor was still there, but at that point in Ria's life, her father barely looked at the thing anymore.

She had been told to stay in her room for the night. As far as children went, Ria was a very obedient little girl and usually did what she was told. But, that night, she had grown bored with her toys and the four walls of her room. What's more, earlier that day, Kosei had told her the story of an adventurer girl named Nora the Explorer.

So really, it was Kosei's fault.

Filled with an abundance of childish curiosity, Ria's tiny head popped out of the room and remained unnoticed to everyone around her. Amidst the chaos of backstage, her grey eyes got one look at tutus, leotards, and ballet slippers.

And she fell in love.

So, before the curtains opened to the audience, she marched down from the stage entrance and climbed onto one of the empty orchestra seats. Many startled audience members stared at her in concern and probable confusion, but at that age, Ria didn't really care. Amongst the viewers, all dressed in their fancy dresses, suits, and jewelry, she sat in her elephant pajamas and fuzzy pink slippers.

The lights dimmed, then the curtains rose, and nothing else mattered.

No one paid enough attention to see how brightly her eyes lit up.

It was the middle of the intermission by the time her father finally found her. A breathless, sweaty, disheveled mess, he was much too glad to see her to be mad for long. His giant arms squeezed her so tight that she had to tell him that she couldn't breathe.

But, when he finally let her go, she beamed up at him with the biggest smile she'd ever given anyone.

"Papa! I want to take ballet lessons!"

And from then on, her world exploded into one of culture and art. Shows of various art forms were performed in her father's theatre, and Ria had various opportunities to watch anything she wanted. As long as her homework was done on time and as long as the content was appropriate for her age, her father let her watch any and every show. There were rare times he'd even direct some of the plays, and when those times came, she made sure that she always sat in her father's reserved seat in the front row.

At the same time, once she was enrolled in her ballet lessons, he'd go to her recitals or watch her at practices. It was a constant cycle for them to watch each other work and make their contributions to the world of art. Later on, Ria would switch from ballet dancing to contemporary, but her father was always her constant supporter in all things of the performing arts.

Never once did she ever want to be a hero.

It wasn't as though she thought anything bad about the job, of course. If anything, she was incredibly proud to call Halley Comet, the 25th ranking hero at the time, her mother. Kids at school often told her about how cool they thought her mom was, and Ria would grin and brag about it. Her mother would laugh whenever Ria came home from school and told her all the things they said.

And yet, she would always remind them, "Without my costume, I'm Mom, okay? Not Comet."

Still, sometimes Ria would see the pride shine in her mother's eyes any time she'd tell her about how cool some of her stories were. She and her sister usually huddled together on the couch on nights her mother didn't have evening patrol.

"Mama is so cool!" Her sister would persist, arms raising up as stones from her rock collection levitated and began to smolder. "I want to be a hero when I grow up too!"

"Hana, you're going to burn things," Ria would whine, ducking before one of the rocks got too close and singed her hair again.

Her mother simply laughed and placed her hands on both of their heads. "A hero and a dancer, huh? Your father and I are very lucky that we each have one of you that took after us. Both of those jobs are very hard though, so it's not too late to change them, okay?"

"I never will," Ria would say stubbornly.

"Me too!"

Then, a few years later, musical theatre worked its way into Ria's life.

It had always been there. She'd seen many plays and had enjoyed many songs and stories. It only became a really big part of her life when one of her classes at school decided to hold a play. Ria had never fancied herself an actress. She was an even worse singer.

But, her father encouraged her to try auditioning for a part, as opposed to being in the background or doing production work. Always curious and eager to try different forms of performing, Ria agreed.

She didn't get the main role, but she did get to play a fairy that had one scene and two lines in a song.

And it was enough. In the flurry of rehearsals, costume fittings, and singing practices, Ria fell in love once again. Her dad watched it happen with fondness.

Every time Ria would come to him in the theatre, she would pester Kaito to run lines with her or play the song she was to perform on the piano. He'd tell her that he was busy or that she had to finish her homework first, but at some point in the night, he would always relent.

He'd go down to the orchestra pit when all the performers and staff had gone home, and he'd play her the song. In the echoing theatre, slightly out of tune and without a microphone, Ria and her father would sing the entire song together save for the two lines she would be performing. She sang those alone.

The night of the play eventually came, and her family sat in the audience of their small school auditorium. Her mother had begged a sidekick to switch her evening patrol with her, and her father had given Hana a coloring book to entertain herself with before the play had started.

When Ria finally came out on stage, she was dressed in a silver dress, some strap-on butterfly wings and an obscene amount of body glitter. She was wheeled in on a cart during her speaking scene to simulate flying, then brought back to stage later on to sing during the finale. When the play finally ended and they were in the midst of a curtain call, she heard applause.

Years later, Ria would remember that feeling well. The warmth and happiness that filled her chest when she saw people smiling for their show, when she saw her mother and father cheering the loudest for her. Pride filled her up like she'd never felt before.

Performing art was her entire life.

From then on, her life had become a whirlwind. She'd take dance classes, singing lessons, and acting workshops at least once a week. Her parents had told her that as long as she kept her grades up, did her chores, and slept at a reasonable hour, she would be allowed to take all her classes. During the summers, she would be allowed to audition in plays or perform in recitals. At this point, her mom had gotten a bit lower in her hero rankings, but she was still high enough to make a decent living. Her father's theatre, however, continued to thrive. Pretty soon, Ria would often have to go up to the backstage lighting fixtures to watch shows because Kaito usually sat in the reserved seat and because the rest of the theatre was sold out.

Looking back, Ria would call this the happiest period in her life. Surrounded with art and a loving family, she could want for nothing.

In her fourteen years of life, Ria Hikari had never once thought of becoming a hero.

Then one day, on her little sister's sixth birthday, she did.

The dreams attacked her every night. Sometimes, she'd wake up screaming. On most days, however, she was paralyzed in fearful silence. But they always came.

Her eyes fluttered opened, mouth gasping for breath as the fairy lights hanging from her ceiling came into view.

It was Kanazawa-sensei this time. They were back at Natsukashii's campus, and Ria was unearthing her homeroom teacher from the rubble. Except, this time, Kanazawa-sensei was alive—begging Ria to save her, cursing her for being weak. An arm, amputated from its elbow reached out to Ria, and… and…

Her trembling hand reached up to touch her sweaty forehead, eyes squinting shut. Ria shuddered, shaking the thought out of her mind. It was just a nightmare, she reminded herself. That's all it was.

Wearily, she reached out to grab her phone, eyes narrowing in frustration. She sighed. It was early, but not nearly enough for her to fall back asleep. As if I could do that anyway. A low groan rumbled in the back of her throat in frustration. Tiredly, she got up from bed and made it up again. There was about a half hour left until the sun came up, and for a while, she contemplated what she would do with her time.

Making up her mind, she went over to her closet to grab her uniform and tiptoed out the door and down the elevator to shower.

She returned a few minutes later, clad in her uniform. By then, the sun was beginning to rise, and she began to gather sunlight into her body as she tied a black ribbon in her hair. Deciding that it would be best to leave before everyone got up, she grabbed a water bottle and an egg sandwich she'd gotten at the convenience store, placing them in her bag before picking it up and heading out the door.

"Good morning, Hikari!"

As she exited the elevator, her eyes drifted over to and caught sight to a familiar head of blue hair as her class representativeve walked out of the common area. "Good morning, Iida." She offered him a friendly smile. "You're up early."

"Oh, Hikari! You're awake too?" Midoriya chimed in, walking out of the kitchen with a broom. "I guess you're an early riser as well."

"Midoriya," she acknowledged in mild surprise, "Why are you awake so early? I thought your house arrest was not finished for another two days. "

He flashed her a sheepish grin, reaching to scratch the back of his head. "We figured that we could get work done earlier this way. I'll get to study and train around the dorm afterwards."

"Oh," Ria nodded to herself. No time to waste and relax, huh? "Well, that's very nice. Do your best."

He grinned back at her, nodding. "I will!"

"Would you extras quiet down already?" A snarl came from farther into the living room. Grey eyes met with crimson as Bakugou scoffed at the sight of her. "Figures New Girl and Deku would be out here."

"Bakugou," she said in acknowledgment.

"It's too fucking early for this shit." His palms crackled threateningly, and Ria's eyes narrowed as her gaze locked onto them. "Either shut up, or I'll give you some real noise."

"I see you're not a morning person," she commented dryly, earning a scowl from him. He pointed a feather duster at her threateningly.

"You've got something to say?"

Iida held his hands out in robotic gestures. "Bakugou! Please refrain from getting into any more fights during your house arrest!"

"She's the one that started it, Four Eyes!"

"It's alright," she sighed. It really was much too early for this kind of commotion. "I was just on my way out."

Midoriya tilted his head in curiosity. "Where are you going, Hikari?"

"I'm just going for a walk," she answered. Holding her palm up, Midoriya watched as an orb of light manifested itself from the sunlight streaming in from the window. It floated into Ria's palm, and she closed her fingers over it. "I usually go out early to recharge my quirk. It's cheaper and more eco-friendly to get it from natural sources."

"Wow!" Midoriya said, eyes lighting up. He rested his free hand on his chin in thought. "I guess that means that you can kill birds with one stone; train your quirk to absorb more and more every day and recharge it every morning just in case. Though, now that I think about it, you can also train your quirk to convert the energy faster and more efficiently so that in battle, you could take less time to absorb light energy and therefore are able to attack faster. All of this is speculative, of course, since I have yet to see you fight and your battle strategies and ultimate moves are still unknown. If your small battle with Kacchan last night is any indication, you seem to be partial to blinding people with your abilities. Your reflexes are also pretty fast, now that I think about it—"

"Shut the fuck up, Deku!" Bakugou yelled, "Nobody has time for your damn muttering today."

Midoriya jumped, his long tangent coming to a halt. "O-oh! Sorry!"

"You seem to do that quite a bit," Ria observed, slightly amused.

"I-it's just a habit that I do," Midoriya said, laughing shyly, "I really like studying quirks."

"I think it's a very valuable skill to have," she commented honestly, "You did give some very valid points in your just analysis now. The one last night too."

Midoriya flushed slightly at the praise. "Thanks! I think your quirk is really interesting."

"Thank you."

Bakugou grunted. "I thought you were going to fucking leave already, New Girl. Are you that stupid that you can't even do what you just said you'd fucking do?"

"Right," she responded coolly, flashing him a smile. He glared at her. "I'll get going."

"I shall leave with you!" Iida chimed in, and Ria spared him a curious glance.

"Where are you going this morning, Iida?" she asked walking towards the entrance and fishing out her school shoes from their container.

He followed behind her and began stuffing his feet into his shoes as well. "To the classroom! As the class representative, it is imperative for me to ensure that our facility for studying is in top condition before our lessons!"

She tipped her head at him. "We had cleaning duty yesterday, though, didn't we?"

"Just as well!" He said loudly, making more robotic hand gestures. "It is still important to check that all things are in order."

"I wonder if I ever sounded like that…"

"What was that?"

She shook her head at him. "Nothing." As her hand grasped the doorknob, she turned back to Midoriya who had been sweeping a fair distance away from them. "Bye, Midoriya!"

"Bye guys! See you tonight!"

"Goodbye, Bakugou."

"Just fucking leave already."

"You will find that U.A. has many facilities that can be used for training, exercise, or simply walking. This can only be done before and after curfew hours, of course. Some places, such as the Unforeseen Joint Facility, may only be used during hero classes. Others, such as the pool, can be used any time but need special permission," Iida explained, "We had a very refreshing training session there once."

They had taken a much longer way to the campus that morning, Iida showing her various spots around the school. Ria had already seen some of U.A. during her tour with Hound Dog, but that morning was not nearly enough time for her to go through the entirety of the massive school. She found that she still had a lot to discover.

Something caught her eyes in one of the nearby training fields. That one seemed to be open to all students, considering that there were no signs on the high chain link fence. Many martial arts dummies were lined across the ground. Her eyes squinted to get a better look.

Iida followed her gaze. "Ah! I see you've noticed the Basics Martial Arts field!" he said proudly, "I have heard that it provides a sufficient starting point to many people in the hero department that wish to practice more close combat fighting styles."

"I think someone is training there now, actually," Ria noted, walking a bit nearer to the fence.

She spotted a boy on one of the farthest sides of the field from them, wearing his gym uniform. Unruly purple hair blew in the wind as palms collided with parts of the training dummy in front of him. Huge bags shadowed underneath his eyes, which narrowed with the effort.

"Ah, good morning Shinso!" Iida called, giving a robotic salute to him. Finally noticing them, the boy regarded them both with a slightly annoyed, if not completely blank expression. His eyes landed on her and lingered for a moment before he nodded and continued to train.

"He does not seem to be too happy to see us," Ria said.

"Keep up the good work!" Iida said again before they began to walk away. "That was Shinso Hitoshi. He's from the general department, but he has stated an interest in joining the hero department!"

"Well, he seems to be working hard," she commented thoughtfully, "Everyone seems to be working hard here."

"Of course!" Iida said with a proud grin on his face. "We are students of U.A! It is our sacred duty not to waste the educational opportunities that we are offered and to maintain the standards and image of the school."

"One day, we will make our school known to the world…" A voice in the back of her head said.

Ria smiled, looking away from him. "You're quite impressive, Iida."

He paused, looking confused. But Iida nodded all the same. "Thank you very much, Hikari!"

Sometime later, she and Iida parted ways, and Ria was left to wander around U.A.'s grounds once again. It was very quiet that morning, and there was hardly anyone around.

U.A, as she found out, had a lot of quieter spots to hang around in. Once she had walked enough, she went to sit down at a fairly secluded part of the school. It was close enough that she could see the school building but far enough that she edged towards the forest. Along this path, there was a series of benches that were lined up and led to other areas. She had perched herself on one of them.

Ria stuffed the wrappings of her now-finished sandwich back into her bag and checked the time. There were a few minutes left before she needed to head to class, so she allowed herself a moment to just sit.

This place was quite beautiful, she decided. Behind her was the school building, but in front of her stretched out trees as far as her eyes could see. She doubted that the forest in front of her was as big as it appeared, but to her, it looked like it stretched on forever.

In the quiet of the morning, she allowed her mind to go blank. Ria had never really given much thought into meditating, but as her head focused on the trees, the grass, or the sunlight that she absorbed in her body, she understood why people did it.

Almost hesitantly, she pulled a notebook out of her bag. It was black and had constellations decorating its cover, but it was also slightly worn now. Someone had given her that notebook a few years ago, and it had remained perfectly untouched until around two weeks ago. Opening it, she went past the pages she had already written on and stopped at an empty one.

The pen she brought out stilled on the page.

Dear Hibiki, she eventually wrote, It's my second day in U.A today. You'd love it here. It is really big, bigger than I thought possible. And you were right. It is everything you dreamed of and more. I have my first hero informatics class and my first free-time training session in a few hours.

She went on about how her days were going, how her new homeroom teacher carried a sleeping bag everywhere, how she was slowly adjusting to staying in a dorm. All things positive about her days so far.

Eventually, she checked the time on her phone and found it was around time to head to class.

She paused, conflicting thoughts plaguing her mind as she wrote down a few last words.

I wish you were here.

"We missed you at breakfast this morning, Hikari-chan," Yaoyorozu said as Ria sat down beside her.

"Yeah!" Kaminari added, some leftover toast hanging in his mouth. "Where did you go?"

Ria smiled back, bringing the appropriate notebook and pens out for the first class. "I take walks every morning to recharge my quirk."

"Come to think about it," Sero said, hands resting on the back of his neck, "Didn't Iida leave early this morning too?"

Tsuyu chimed in, "He did. I guess you two must have run into each other this morning."

"Mm," Ria hummed absently, nodding to the bespectacled boy in acknowledgment. He caught her gaze and offered her a half smile before loudly telling Uraraka to hurry and sit down. "Iida was kind enough to show me some parts of the school today."

A beat of silence followed, and Ria scanned some of her notes to review a few of the lessons that were taught yesterday. English isn't too bad. I need to brush up on Hero Ethics and History though…

She heard a loud slam and looked up just in time to see Kaminari and Mineta jump out of their seats and rush to Iida, who berated them to sit down. They each grasped one of his shoulders and pulled him back and forth, Iida's head bobbing violently at the movement. At some point, dark blue hair hit the window as the two dragged their class representative out of his seat and pinned him to the opposite wall.

They whispered angrily to him. "You were out with Hikari before school hours alone?" Kaminari said.

"No one would be walking around campus that early in the morning!" Mineta said, chewing on the end of his necktie in obvious envy, "What the hell did you two do?"

"I simply showed her the various facilities of U.A!" Iida protested, "And sit down, you two!"

"Oh no, you are not going to tell us what to do right now," Kaminari said, jabbing a finger really close to Iida's glasses, "And that smile you just gave her! That's not good at all, Iida! Our class president can't be a perv!"

"I-I'm not!"

"You and Midoriya are the same, dammit!"

Ria tilted her head at the group in interest. She couldn't make out much of what they were saying, as most of it seemed like angry murmuring, but both Kaminari and Mineta seemed to be mad at Iida for reasons she couldn't understand.

"They seem to be very energetic this morning," she observed in confusion. Beside her, Yaoyorozu pressed a hand to her cheek in embarrassment, despite not being able to hear the conversation either.

"Oh dear."

"It's too early for this," Ojiro grumbled from his seat in the front.

Kirishima and Sero laughed sheepishly, seeming to hear the entire argument that was taking place. Sato waved a big hand at her in dismissal. "Don't worry about it," he assured her as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "It's stupid."

"Stupid isn't even the half of it," Ria's eyes darted to the front of the class where she saw floating scarves and a sinister-looking Aizawa at the doorway, "Especially if they can't even get to their seats in time for class."

"I-I apologize!" Iida exclaimed, looking aghast. He grabbed the other two boys by their collars. "Both of you! To your seats now, please!" This time, there were no protests as all of them ran to their respective desks.

Aizawa sighed, already feeling tired. "Now that everyone's paying attention," he said gruffly, "We're going to be talking about what's going to be happening at today's training session."

Ria perked up, back straightening in interest. She had been anticipating this for some time now. My first time training with U.A. students, she thought, I wonder how different their training regimen is.

"The decision on your internships hasn't been made yet," Aizawa continued, "But if we decide to push through with allowing you first years to participate, then we'll need to prepare for that as soon as possible."

He looked down at a few notes on his desk. "Today's informatics class is going to talk about the different protocols that you'll have to face when you're out there on the field. We'll be going through various rescue scenarios and strategies. In later classes, we'll be incorporating this further into physical training exercises."

Aizawa looked gazed over at them. "But for today, your training is solely going to focus on improvement. Think about the areas that you might need more work in. When you're out on the field, these could be the difference between saving someone and putting them in harm's way."

And didn't she know it. Ria nodded stiffly, eyes flashing. Aizawa glanced at her thoughtfully before turning back to the rest of the class.

"Any questions?"

"Hikari!" Kirishima called out when he spotted a familiar head of ginger hair. Ria stopped walking, lunch tray in her hands. She offered him a small smile as grey eyes landed on him, and he grinned back at her in return.

He gestured to his table where Sero and Kaminari had already been sitting. "Wanna sit with us? I can share some of my food with you!"

"Yeah!" Sero said, "It'll be fun!"

But Ria shook her head at them, an apologetic look on her face. "I'm actually looking for a few other people, but maybe tomorrow?"

"Aww, well alright," Kirishima said, but he called out a second later having gotten an idea, "How about you be my training partner later today then? Mine is on house arrest right now."

Ria blinked, slightly taken aback by the request. But she nodded all the same. "Alright then."

He flashed her another grin as she began to walk away. Kaminari looked at him, unimpressed. "I thought I was supposed to be your training partner today."

Kirishima raised an eyebrow at his friend. "You didn't tell me that."

"It was implied!"

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Ria watched as three people snapped their gazes to her. Immediately, she saw the apprehension fade in each of her tour group members' eyes when they realized it was her that had spoken to them. A look of unspoken understanding seemed to pass through their faces. Inoue seemed to snap out of it first. Tucking a stray strand of purple hair behind her ear, she smiled sheepishly at Ria.

"Of course," Inoue said, gesturing to the empty seat beside her.

Ria placed her tray onto the table and sat down. "Thank you."

Her eyes took a brief scan at the occupants of their table. Across from her, Maeda and Kimura had already begun to ignore her—and each other, for that matter. Their hulking figures seemed to struggle to share their side of the table, and Ria wondered if they had chosen to sit beside each other on purpose.

Kimura's food was piled high on his tray, and his chopsticks looked tiny in his pudgy hand. Meanwhile, Maeda seemed to simply pick at his food, messy brown hair casting over his eyes. His mouth was twisted into what seemed like a permanent scowl. Inoue looked to be the most at ease among the three, though she remained silent all the same.

"How has school been for you all?" Ria asked, picking up some of her chicken, "Where's Chiba?"

Maeda scoffed in reply but nudged his head in a direction in answer, and Ria's eyes drifted until she caught sight of a familiar enough head of hot pink hair. A few tables away, Chiba—the last of their transfer group—seemed to be having a good enough time with whomever she was sitting with; she was laughing, at least. It's not real, Ria knew. But that was fine. At least she was putting herself out there.

Inoue rested her chin on her hand, her gaze traveling to the same person before turning back to Ria thoughtfully. "The classes are a bit harder than I thought they would be, but so far, things aren't so bad," she answered.

"She means except for the fact that everyone looks at us like fucking aliens," Maeda spat. For a moment, he lifted his head and shot her a conflicting glare. "We're the talk of the town." His voice took on an exaggerated enthusiasm. Especially you, he seemed to imply.

"Ignore him," Inoue said, rolling her eyes. Kimura raised his head but said nothing.

But Ria nodded in understanding. She could feel the eyes around them, could hear some of the hushed sounds that people made in an attempt to hide the words from them. This was not new.

She'd felt like this her whole life and was used to the stares. Whether it was because she was on stage, or because her mom was in the news, or because kids in her middle school class had found out about her sister's death, or because she had been on the news for defending a blown up high school, Ria was used to being watched.

It didn't mean that the rest of them were.

"It's only the second day," Inoue said, though she didn't seem fully convinced at her own words. "It'll go away."

"Yeah, right."

The purple haired 3rd year ignored him entirely this time, sending Ria a reassuring glance. "Feel free to sit with us at lunch when you want to. We don't talk much, but we're here."

Maeda scoffed, muttering under his breath. "She looks like she's doing pretty fucking fine to me."

Ria pretended not to hear him. She gave her senpai a small smile and thanked her, but as they spent the rest of their lunch period simply eating in silence, she was certain that all of them knew she would not be sitting there again tomorrow.

"It's a nice suit, Ria-chan" Asui said, and Ria blinked. Realizing she'd been staring, she turned back to Asui and smiled. Around her, the other girls were changing out of their uniforms and into their hero costumes, the chatter lilting around her. Ria stepped away from the mirror to allow other people to use it, hands going into her dark amber hair to braid it.

"It's actually my first time wearing it," she explained, making sure to keep her braid tight as she weaved it, "U.A. offered to make me a new one." Also, my old one was destroyed.

As far as costumes went though, this one was very different from her old one. Whereas her previous one used to be white and somewhat looser on her body, her new suit was black and snug on her. It was made of much sturdier material as well, and a lot of her equipment was far more advanced than it had been before. U.A must have a bigger budget for these sort of things. White electroluminescent panels stuck seemlessly to both the front and back of her short sleeved top and on the sides of her shorts.

Finally finished with her braid, she picked up the belt she'd been given and with it, the bag, small weapons, and equipment that were attached to it. She tugged at it slightly to make sure nothing came off when she was moving around. Satisfied, she opened a zipper and brought out a bottle of sunscreen.

"You're putting on quite a lot," Yaoyorozu observed as Ria slathered it onto the exposed areas in her body.

"It's just a precaution," Ria answered as she finished. She walked around to dry her arms and legs, hoping that it would settle into her skin soon. Kneeling down, she went to tighten the laces on her combat boots, as they didn't seem to be as snug as she wanted at first. "I've already applied some during lunch, but it is very easy to get sunburned with my quirk, so I'm reapplying."

"I guess that makes sense," Jiro said, shrugging her jacket on, "Considering you're literally attracting the sun to you."

"What's that thing on your back though?" Uraraka had asked, and Ria glanced at the mirror over her shoulder seeing the folded black weapon that was securely attached to a plate on her back. Reaching behind her, she pulled it from its notch. She still marveled at how light it was in her hands and how compact it was to be able to just attach to her top. Clicking a button, she blinked as it unfolded itself in seconds. An excited glint flashed through her eyes.

"It's a bow," Ashido said in awe, watching as Ria looked into the sight and tugged at the string experimentally.

"There are some situations that occur wherein it is smarter not to use my quirk," Ria explained, eyes still trained on the bow in her hands. She held it out to the rest of the girls to see, who had come closer by then. "Stealth attacks in the dark, for example. Having something like this helps turn the tides a little."

"No arrows though?" Ochako inquired, confused. Ria hummed to herself and pushed a button on the left side of her belt. Immediately, arrows shot out from her belt where her hip was. Taking one off, she examined it in amazement and pressed on a part of the shaft, below the arrowhead. In a second, the arrow had collapsed itself into what almost looked like a sniper bullet with black fledgling.

"And I didn't think it was possible," Ria breathed out, "U.A. is amazing."

"That looks badass!" Jiro exclaimed, "Please tell me you're good at shooting that thing."

"I've trained at it," Ria answered, though she pressed a few buttons again and retracted the arrows on her belt, as well as folding her bow back into its compact form. She returned it to its place on her back. "It's mostly a last resort though. My quirk is still my main weapon, so I usually don't have to use this much."

"Weapons are very interesting to me," Yaoroyozu commented, resuming her task of retying her hair up. "I use them often, but many heroes don't use them a lot, unless their quirk is not very suitable for combat or unless they have a glaring weakness."

"They do seem really useful though," Ochako commented, "I've always wondered if I should have a sword or something."

"I still think it's better to focus on our quirks," Ria shrugged, "I just…want to be prepared."

"Nothing wrong with a back-up plan, I guess," Jiro said.

Putting the rest of her things inside her locker, Ria glanced over at the clock on the wall. "We should get going," she noted, "We don't want to be late."

"There's still time," Tsuyu assured her, and Ochako giggled.

"You sound a little like Iida," she said.

Ria offered a sideways grin. "I like rules."

For the past few months, the fact that Natsukashii High School's hero program was considerably smaller than most schools had not really crossed Ria's mind as often as it used to. U.A. had always been a standard that they all tried to achieve, but in recent months, Ria had forgotten all about it. There were achievements made, and she had always looked ahead, working harder to push herself each day. Before long, she found herself at the top of the class, in both her class scores and training scores.

It was very evident now that she no longer held that title.

If you're the strongest in the room, she thought as she fired a blast at Kirishima, find another room.

The heel of her boot collided hard with his chest, and she winced as pain shot through her foot. He shot her a sharp-toothed grin as he made to lunge at her. She spun out of the way fast enough to get behind him and fire a blast to his shoulder.

Her eyes narrowed when she found that it barely left a scratch on him.

But she smirked. U.A. students are something else.

His sharpened arm swung back to karate chop her in the face. Ria dropped down quickly, her knees sliding forward in the dirt so that she was in front of him again. Jumping back to avoid the knee that flew towards her face, she distanced herself slightly as he barraged her with attacks. She dodged each one carefully.

Holding both her hands out, a powerful blast ripped itself out of her palms and shot straight into him. Kirishima placed his arms in front of him and took it on headfirst, slowly pushing back against it. Ria grit her teeth as she put more force into the blast, watching as his body began to smoke up against her attack.

More, Ria thought as he began pushing farther.

"You're pretty strong," Kirishima grunted from behind his guarding arms, "So it's a good thing I make an awesome shield."

And then he began moving faster, until he was almost running at her. Ria's brows furrowed in concentration, pushing even more power into the blast of light that erupted from her palms. Her whole body began to push back, almost like he was physically shoving her. Feet that had been planted firmly on the ground started to move, creating small trails in the dirt.

"Shields break too," she ground out. And she could see it as well—the edges of his arms began to soften and curve back into normal flesh. Kirshima grunted, shooting her a wry grin. With an indignant cry, he barreled forward, cutting through her light as his quirk began to lose steam.

Finally reaching her, he reached forward and snatched her wrists. Ria stepped away, her huge blast gone and spent by now. She managed to turn away fast enough to release her hands from his grasp, but she brought an arm up to shield herself as he tried to slam his fist into the side of her head. Pain shot up her arm. For a split second, Kirishima paused, a look of confusion passing through his face. However, it was gone only a moment later. She watched as he brought down a sharpened hand onto her. Immediately, her own hand shot up, an orb of light attached to it.

At the last second before impact, she stopped. He did as well. They stood together then, panting. He held her throat in his hardened hand, ready to crush it, while she held a burning orb that was ready to explode against his.

Kirishima beamed at her as he released her neck from his grip, panting with effort. Ria stepped back as well. "That…was so manly!" he exclaimed, holding two hardened fists in front of him.

"You've got a pretty awesome quirk if you can dish out that much firepower," he continued, though the look of confusion on his face returned when he brought up the hand he had used to grab at her. "Why is your skin so cold though? It's like ice!"

"It's a side effect to my quirk," Ria explained in between pants of air, "When I let out large amounts of light, the heat from my body escapes with the blast. The opposite happens when I absorb light though."

"Must suck during winters. Couldn't you freeze to death or something?"

Ria shrugged. "I've gotten used to it." She reached up to wipe the sweat off her forehead, smiling back at him. "Your quirk is very strong as well. I did not have many defensive measures apart from avoiding your attacks, so the very fact that you can just take my attacks is an advantage for you."

"You dodge pretty well though," Kirishima said, "Your fighting style is kind of different."

"Different?"

"Yeah, it's kind of flowy…" he rubbed his chin in thought, thinking of a proper word. "It's really manly!"

"Um, thank you?" she said.

He went on to rub the back of his neck in thought. "I think I need to work on my speed," he said thoughtfully, "I might be a good shield, but I should avoid direct hits like that if I can."

"And I need to improve on more powerful attacks," Ria said, peering down at the bruising spot on her arm from when she caught his punch. "Both with my quirk and with close combat. Hitting you hurts."

He laughed heartily. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Stretching the aches out of her arms, Ria looked around the area. As she expected, U.A's training fields were huge, bigger than she anticipated it would be. Scanning around the room, she took note of everyone as they trained, watched as Tokoyami clawed at Shoji with Dark Shadow, as Jiro avoided a spray of acid that Ashido shot at her, and how Yaoyorozu conjured multiple swords from her stomach to attack Todoroki with. From a distance away, Aoyama shot a laser that would have sent him into a wall had he not turned his body abruptly.

It was almost surreal to see the events before her. For a long time, U.A. had seemed like a distant dream to her, like the hero students that went there were so far away. It was not that she put the school on a pedestal, but she could not deny the results it has made to affect their society. Ria liked to study. She researched the faces around her and had seen them on TV, in articles, or in internet videos.

Seeing them all train around her now… It did not feel real.

Whether or not that was a good thing, she was not sure.

"You Class A Students are amazing," she said breathlessly, eyes widening as she saw Todoroki conjure a trail of flame from his arm unexpectedly.

"What are you talking about?" Kirishima said in confusion. "You're in Class A too! That means you're one of us now."

She turned to him then, facing him with surprise on her face. He grinned at her. Ria's breath caught in her throat, and suddenly, she felt like all the air had left her lungs. Her lips parted to speak, but she found that no words came out.

Kirishima held out a fist for her to bump, and she simply looked at it as a dull pain began to bloom in her chest.

"I—"

"Alright!" Aizawa said, catching their attention. "That's enough for today. Everyone come over here."

Ria let out a small breath of relief as Kirishima lowered his fist. Together, they began to walk up to where everyone had gathered. She gasped softly when she saw a familiar figure enter through the doorway to stand by Aizawa.

"All Might!" Kirishima exclaimed from beside her, waving at him. The blonde hero held up his own hand in greeting.

"Hello, young students!"

Japan's no. 1—former no.1 hero, she thought with a measure of recognition and awe. It was still a little strange to see him in a much smaller, weaker-looking form, but she knew it was him. The whole world knew it was him, now that he retired. That's Japan's former symbol of peace.

"I think a lot of us looked the same way you did when we saw him for the first time," Kirishima chuckled at her.

"Eh?" Kaminari said in a teasing tone, "I guess you're a big fan?"

"Who isn't a fan of All Might?" Ria answered with a small smile.

Kaminari grinned, "Fair enough."

"You three, quiet," Aizawa said to them. He began to list a few last minute announcements about classes and went on to talk about a few observations he made on all of them, as well as feedback. All Might, who had apparently been watching them from a different room, gave a few comments on each one of them as well, providing insight where it was needed. "Don't depend too much on dodging, or you'll just tire yourself out. Train your quirk to deflect different types of attacks," they had told her. She nodded, storing their notes in her head for later, and they moved on to the next student.

"That's it for today," Aizawa said as he finished talking to Mineta, "You are all dismissed for today. See you all tomorrow." They all chorused their goodbyes to their homeroom teacher as he left, clipboard and yellow sleeping bag bundled under his arm.

All Might remained, and a few students gathered around him. Some people simply said their hellos and went straight to the locker rooms to shower. Ria hung back a little to introduce herself, and soon enough, All Might's gaze landed on her. He smiled at her.

Noticing this, Uraraka pushed Ria forward enthusiastically, practically shoving Iida and Todoroki to the sides. "All Might! This is our new classmate."

"Yes, I've heard quite a lot about you!" He said in a booming voice that almost betrayed the image of his skinny body. "Very nice to meet you, Young Hikari!"

"The pleasure is all mine," Ria said, smiling back easily. "I've watched your videos since I was a child. It is very nice to meet you in person."

A few pleasantries were exchanged, and their small group conversed for a few minutes before Iida chimed in, "Shall we head to the locker rooms then?" He proposed.

Todoroki nodded. "Okay."

"Sounds good!" Uraraka said, "Ria-chan, some of the girls and I we are thinking about going to a café today. Do you want to come with us?"

Ria waited three seconds, hoping that she did not seem too put off by the idea. "Actually, I was hoping to finish unpacking today, so I don't think I'll be able to go."

"Aww," Uraraka pouted, "Come on, it'll be fun! I can help you unpack afterwards if you want."

Ria smiled. "That's very nice of you, but you don't have to do that. You guys go ahead. I'll go to the next one."

"I'm going to hold you to that," Uraraka said, grinning. "Alright, should we go and change then?"

"Actually, Young Hikari," All Might interjected, "I was hoping I could see you in my office after you change back into your uniform."

"Oh, is something wrong?" Ria asked in confusion.

"Not at all!" All Might said with a laugh, "But it is my sworn duty as a teacher of U.A. to check up on students, especially new transfers in the hero department."

Transfer, he means. But Ria simply nodded, smiling. "Of course."

"It should not take too much time," All Might assured. He held a hand up to wave goodbye before he began to walk off. "Have a good day, students!"

"Are you sure you don't want us to wait for you, Ria-chan?" Uraraka asked her, Iida and Todoroki by her side. Ria shook her head slowly, her lips quirking up in a serene smile.

"I don't want to keep you," she said gently, "You still have to meet the girls to go to that café."

"All Might said it wouldn't take long," Todoroki said coolly.

Uraraka bounced slightly. "He's right!"

"It should not be any trouble at all!" Iida said, holding a robotic hand in the air.

"I'll be fine," she persisted, waving her hands out in front of her in what she hoped was reassurance, "I'll see you all at the dorms."

"Alright then," Uraraka finally agreed, "I'm not going to forget about that outing you promised though. We can go out with everyone."

"We shall see you back at Heights Alliance then!" Iida exclaimed, and Ria nodded back at Todoroki as he regarded her for a moment.

"See you then."

She waved at them as they turned their backs to leave her, letting out a small sigh. The smile from her lips faded as she walked towards the teacher's lounge. As she was about to knock, the door opened to reveal another person.

"Figures that you'd be here too," a voice said roughly. Ria's looked up to see angry brown orbs as Maeda stared down at her scornfully. She blinked in surprise. He was not as angry during lunch time.

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"You're the hero transfer, aren't you?" he said, shoving past her to get through the door, "It makes sense that they want to make sure you're doing well."

She watched with narrow eyes and a thoughtful expression as he walks down the hall, away from her. What was that about?

"Young Hikari!" The door next to the teacher's lounge opened, revealing All Might. "Come in please." His smile was wide and friendly as he invited her inside. He sat at a table that had two cups and a tea pot and began pouring drinks for both of them.

"You wanted to see me?" Ria said after thanking him for the tea.

"This is simply a check-in," All Might answered, "I have been assigned to ensure that you are transitioning smoothly into student life at U.A."

Wouldn't it be more likely for Aizawa-sensei to be assigned this task? She thought skeptically, but she nodded all the same. "Thank you for your concern."

He let out a hearty laugh. "My pleasure!" he said, "How are you finding U.A. so far?"

"It's very impressive," she answered honestly, "The hero classes have exceeded my expectations so far, and it's nice that there are a lot of facilities to train in."

"I'm glad to hear it!" All Might exclaimed, "And your classmates?"

Ria nodded, flashes of spiky red hair during training, glasses glinting in the morning light of her walk before school, and a hopeful smile from a certain round-faced girl—among other things—coming to mind. "They've all been very kind and welcoming."

All Might seemed happy enough with her response, a glint of affection passing through his face. A wide-toothed grin spread across his face. "I expected nothing less. I hope you all form tight bonds of friendship!"

Ria paused at that, eyes trailing down to the tea in her hands. Careful not to let the small smile on her face falter, she picked it up tentatively and took a sip. She hummed in response but otherwise said nothing.

All Might seemed to watch her reaction thoughtfully for a moment before he turned his gaze to the side, towards the window.

A beat of silence passed between them, one that really didn't last long at all, and yet it felt endless to her. She folded her hands in her lap and observed the man in front of her. The affection had long gone from his expression, replaced now with something that she didn't think she could ever understand. A million different things seemed to go through his head then, and at that moment, she could see the image of the no.1 hero in him. Ria had been amazed when she first met him; she remembered the videos of him in his muscular form, saving thousands of people at a time. But this looks more like the real thing.

A sigh escaped All Might, though he didn't look at her. Ria straightened slightly in anticipation.

"I'll be honest and say that many of us at U.A were surprised to get any applicants at all when we announced that we would be accepting new students for the semester. Two months is not a lot of time to mourn," All Might started, "Many of us were skeptical of recruiting anymore hero transfers at all, but after much deliberation, it was decided that anyone who still wished to become a hero after such circumstances should be given a chance to at least take the test."

"I'm glad you did," Ria found herself saying. I don't know what I would have done if... "I think it provided some people with the opportunity to remember why we wanted to be heroes in the first place. I'm sure it gave some people hope to see many schools reach out, U.A. especially."

All Might seemed to consider this answer. "I suppose that's all we can do for now as a school," he said, "It was a great tragedy, what happened to you all. I am deeply sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," Ria responded genuinely, though the answer had become second nature to her by now.

"As heroes, losses of comrades are all too common in our line of work," he continued, though Ria's hands clasped tighter together in her lap. She tried to fight the indignant flare in her chest, the one that made her want to ignore talking about this topic. He is just trying to help, she reminded herself.

"I understand—"

"—But you are not a hero," All Might interjected quickly, "Not yet, anyway."

Ria stayed silent, and blue eyes the color of the sky stared her down. "For heroes, more common than sadness is often the frustration in not having been able to save people, regardless of whether there was anything we could have done."

Please, she thought to herself, though she didn't look away. Please stop.

"This grief and anger often makes us do things we later regret," All Might continued.

Ria tipped her head back slightly. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I think you need to hear it," was her teacher's simple response. He seemed to consider his next words. "When I was around your age, I had the privilege of having someone to tell me these words."

You had the privilege…she repeated to herself slowly, before realization flickered through her brain. "You lost someone," she stated finally. It wasn't a question, and she could not even bring herself to feel surprised. It was a way of life, regardless of whether or not one was a hero.

He nodded, offering her half a smile in reassurance. "Quite a few people in this life of mine, actually. Being old will do that to you."

"You aren't old, All Might."

He laughed cheerfully at that, the sound bellowing around the room. "That's very nice of you to say."

"I'm sorry you lost people," Ria said quietly, seriously.

"Thank you. It was a long time ago, Young Hikari."

"That doesn't matter."

"I was very lucky," He said slowly, a careful edge to his voice, "I had people around me that supported me."

So that's what it is. Ria turned her eyes away, picking up her tea once again to busy herself with the action.

"I don't think I'm doing anything I'll regret," she deflected immediately, "I think I'm trying my best to be careful, actually."

"Perhaps too careful."

Ria's brows furrowed slightly in confusion. "Pardon?"

And when she looked up again, she found him gazing sternly back at her. "It is not a sin to get closer to people while you are in mourning."

But it is. She stared dumbly back at her teacher, feeling numb. Suddenly, a lump seemed to form in her throat. Ria cleared it immediately. "It is also not a sin to want to be alone," she reasoned.

"That is true," All Might acquiesced, "But do you? Want to be alone, that is."

"Hikari-chan, aren't you proud of us?"

Her lips parted to say something, but they closed just the same. Ria glanced away again, head bowing to allow dark amber hair to fall past grey eyes that flashed with a deep pain. All Might said nothing, and she was much too pre-occupied to notice him lean back in his seat, arms crossing against his chest. Ria could not see the look of understanding and mild satisfaction that formed on his face.

And for a moment, they simply sat there in each other's presence. He was not the former symbol of peace or the former no.1 hero of Japan. She was not the new hero transfer student at U.A. High School. At that moment, they were simply two people who understood what it meant to lose people they cared about.

She walked back to the dorms a little later, her body feeling heavier than it had ever been that day, even after training. All Might's words rang in her head.

"Do you want to be alone?" she asked herself in a faint whisper.

And she thought about them, all their faces, tried to remember them when they weren't all in coffins that lay sleeping in front of her. She tried to remember them as they were and not as they are. A few images came to mind, wisps of laughter and picnics and training…only to be replaced by mangled bodies and ghastly pale faces. Ria shoved the thoughts to the back of her mind.

She shook her head slowly. It's better this way.

But she also thinks of others, a spiky ponytail whose wearer offers to help her with all school-related aspects, apple juice from a boy with eyes the color of rumbling clouds and cool seafoam, another boy with unkempt green hair and scarred arms that stretched out to carry garbage bags, laughter and warmth that she felt absolutely detached from.

Do you want to be alone?

Ria rubbed an invisible chill in her arms, trying to sooth down goosebumps.

She reached the dorm and absently pulled the front door open.

"Hikari!" a voice said as Ria was taking her shoes off. Midoriya looked back at her, Yaoyorozu and Sero near him. "You're back."

"Yes," she says almost stiffly, her lips turning up into a tight smile.

"Welcome back," Yaoyorozu said, beaming back pleasantly.

"Thank you."

Do you want to be alone?

And for just one second, Ria allowed herself to think that maybe, just maybe, she didn't know the answer to that question.

Thank you for reading!

I do not own BnHA