AN: Thanks for reading and all of the reviews!

Ricardo Valencia - no you have it right. Melissa is about 2 years older than Izuku, and is in the same class as Mirio, Tamaki and Nejire - so when Izuku is part of 1-A, she will be among the 3rd years.

SirTock - glad you're enjoying the fic so far!

Maximum Rhapsody - There will be time skips coming up yeah. I'm not going to cover all 2 years between now and when everyone shows up at UA, just the highlights. For the most part the Vigilante's manga has wrapped up at this point. As for the rest - I have some plans, and you'll see the future third years participating in some of the regular school activities.

As the class stood to greet the teacher, Bakugo's eyes glanced at the desk behind him. Deku missing the opening ceremony yesterday was strange, but not inherently suspicious by itself.

Deku missing the first day of class as well…

"Tch," Bakugo said as he sat down and listened as their homeroom teacher took attendance for the day. His ears perked up as the teacher approached the Ms in the roster.

"Naoto," The teacher called out.

"Here!" A voice called out from behind Katsuki.

Midoriya isn't on the roll either.

Damned nerd has been acting suspicious ever since that interview last semester. I bet this has to do with that.

Katsuki scowled and clenched his fist.

Where did you go, nerd?

Izuku felt much calmer as he walked through the halls of Chandrila to his homeroom, ready for his first day of class.

Sure, yesterday was simply the opening ceremony and not an actual day of classes, but Ochako was nice, and none of his classmates went out of their way to antagonize the rest of the class. He had almost expected someone to act like Katsuki and loudly assert their dominance over the rest of the class, but nobody did.

As he walked into the room he saw students talking in small groups of 2's and 3's, and quietly made his way to his desk. Sitting down, he opened his bag and pulled out his analysis notebook. He didn't get a chance to start analyzing all of his classmates' quirks the day before, but he was eager to get started and practice his skills!

He passed the time as he wrote down everything he could about one of his classmates with an insect mutation when he heard the door to the classroom open up again.

Looking up, he saw Ochako enter. Her eyes met his and she gave him a small wave. Izuku felt a small wave of panic as Ochako began to walk toward him, but then the door opened again to reveal the teacher.

"Good morning, class."

Ochako seemed almost disappointed as she diverted her path and continued to her desk, sitting down. She gave him one last glance before she opened her bag and pulled out her materials while Izuku turned his attention back to his notebook, the knot in his stomach easing.

Melissa stood in front of the door to her classroom and couldn't help but feel nervous. The last time she saw them, she had shattered her arm, until Tamaki rushed over and propped her arm with one of his squid tentacles and helped escort her to Recovery Girl's office.

"You really are just like him," Tamaki said as he helped her down the hallway.

Melissa focused on his words as a way to distract herself from the pain. "I meant to ask you about that! You said the same thing at the Entrance Exam, but I never got to ask who you were talking about because you ran off."

"S-sorry," Tamaki ducked his head. "I'm talking about my friend Mirio. Unfortunately, he's in 1-B, but you remind me a lot of him. You both have quirks that are really hard to control." He looked down at her arm. "Although his accidents are more embarrassing than painful." He looked up at her face before he quickly looked away. "You both have blonde hair, even."

"I'd like to meet him sometime."

"Y-yeah!" Tamaki said quickly. "I, um, think he'd like to meet you too."

The conversation did its job, and before she knew it they arrived at Recovery Girl's office. Once inside, the Youthful Heroine took one look at Melissa's arm before she scowled. "What happened?"

Looking down at her right hand, she saw some purple bruises lingering on her skin, a reminder of the previous day's events. Gathering her resolve, she opened the door.

The students in the classroom paused to look at her, and she felt her face heating as several shot her sympathetic or concerned glances. But one girl in particular - Yuyu Haya, quickly crossed the room to greet her.

"Hey Shield, we weren't really sure if you were going to come back."

"Why wouldn't I be back?"

"Nobody would have blamed you if you decided to transfer schools after what happened yesterday."

Melissa shook her head and smiled at the other girl. "You're not getting rid of me that easily! I know how risky my quirk is, but I made a promise, and I intend to keep it!"

Yuyu seemed stunned for a moment before she recovered and returned the smile. "Glad to hear it! With an attitude like that, I guess the rest of us are gonna have to fight to keep up with you."

"I don't think my attitude's anything special," Melissa admitted. "UA's the top school in Japan, after all."

"Hmm, maybe you're right," Yuyu said thoughtfully as she glanced around the room before her gaze returned to Melissa. "Hopefully today's less exciting, or maybe that's just our life for the next three years."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough."

With that, Yuyu went back to her desk as Melissa continued to her desk. Once she sat down, she began gathering her supplies until she heard the door slam open again. As she looked over she couldn't see anyone over the heads of her fellow students, but the silence told her all she needed to know. A few moments later, she saw Principal Nezu hop on top of the desk at the front of the room.

"Am I a dog, a mouse, or a bear? It doesn't matter, for I am your homeroom teacher, Nezu!"

As the bell rang for lunch, students began to file out of the classroom or gather with their friends. Izuku couldn't help but look around nervously to make sure nobody was coming to bother him. Sighing in relief, he reached down to his bag to retrieve his lunch and notebook.

Sitting back up, he jumped in surprise as he saw Ochako standing on the other side of his desk, a nervous smile plastered on her face. "Hi there!"

"Aaah!" Izuku rocked back in his chair, almost falling out of it before he caught himself.

"S-Sorry!" Ochako's permanent blush spread as she waved her hands in front of her defensively. "I didn't mean to startle you!"

"I-it's ok," Izuku said as he took a moment to calm himself. "I just wasn't expecting anyone."

"I get it," Ochako said. "Being new here means you don't know anyone."

"Yeah, exactly!" Izuku replied a little too quickly.

"I'm in the same boat," Ochako explained. "Which is why I came over! I um, would it be ok if I ate lunch with you?"

Izuku glanced around to make sure this wasn't some sort of trick. Someone was asking him to eat lunch with them? "S-sure."

"Great!" Ochako glanced at the door. "Umm, would you mind if we ate on the roof?"

"The roof?"

"Mhm!" Ochako bobbed her head rapidly. "After sitting in the classroom I thought it'd be a nice change of pace?"

"Okay," Izuku said with a nervous smile. Standing up, he gathered his notebook and lunch. "Lead the way."

"Oh wow, I didn't think anyone else would be up here," Ochako observed as she stepped onto the rooftop. Scattered across the building were several groups of students, each sitting on a different part of the ledge eating lunch together.

"There's a spot," Izuku said, pointing to an unclaimed space isolated from the other groups.

With a nod, Ochako walked over to the ledge and sat down, opening her bento box while Izuku got settled. "Classes sure seem like they'll be tough this year."

"Yeah," Izuku said softly as he found his lunch very interesting. "They've got to get us ready for entrance exams next year."

"Mhm," Ochako agreed as she chewed on a piece of food. Swallowing it, she turned toward her companion. "Where do you want to go to school?"

"UA," Izuku said reflexively. "I want to join the hero course!"

Just like All Might did. He silently appended.

"Really?" Ochako asked excitedly. "You want to be a hero too?"

"Wait," Izuku's eyes went wide as he turned to face the brown-haired girl. "You-"

"Yep!" Ochako replied cheerily. "I want to become a hero and help people!"

"You must have an amazing quirk!" Excitement filled Izuku's voice as he entered familiar territory. "What-" He stopped himself and rubbed the back of his head. "Umm, do you mind if I ask what it is?"

"Not at all!" Ochako said, holding up her hand to reveal the pads on her fingertips. "I can erase an object's gravity if I touch it with all five fingers!"

Izuku had already exchanged his meal for his notebook, now laying open on his lap as he looked at the girl. "That's really useful! Does it just float forever or is there a time limit?"

"I- don't know. If I was stronger maybe something could float forever?" Ochako said, unsure of herself. "But if I use my quirk for too long, I get sick," She admitted, her permanent blush spreading.

"So you can turn it off?" Izuku asked, his pen already going to work on the page.

"Mhm! If I put my hands together like this," Ochako demonstrated by touching the tips of her fingers together. "It turns my quirk off."

"You said there's a time limit, is there a weight limit as well?" Izuku continued.

Ochako giggled. "You really like quirks, don't you?"

The comment seemed to snap Izuku out of his zone as he looked at the girl, his face turning red from embarrassment. "S-sorry. Quirks are sort of my thing, especially since…" He trailed off.

"Since what?" Ochako asked curiously.

Izuku felt sweat forming on the back of his neck. Oh no! She's going to find out! How will she even react to my excuse?

He swallowed the lump in his throat. Better to just get it over with now.

"Since I thought I was quirkless for most of my life," Izuku admitted softly, before raising his hands defensively. "B-but I'm not! Not really! I um, we just recently went to a specialist and it turns out I'm what they call a late bloomer?"

"A late bloomer? What's that?" Ochako tilted her head curiously.

Izuku paused and blinked, not expecting that reaction. "Um well, it's a rare condition that means my quirk hasn't manifested yet. You see I'm- my quirk is so strong it would hurt me right now, so my body keeps it suppressed. Sort of like a safety mechanism?"

"Oh!" Ochako said, a thoughtful look appearing on her face. "I think I get it. My counselor said me getting sick was my quirk warning me that it was hurting my body, and if I kept going I could actually hurt myself."

"Yeah! Just like that!" Izuku said a little too enthusiastically. "So until I'm stronger, I'm um, essentially quirkless?"

Ochako's eyes went wide. "You don't even know what your quirk is and you want to be a hero?!" She practically shouted.

"Y-yeah," Izuku felt his face heating up and he turned away from her.

Here it comes. He closed his eyes and braced himself for her to tell him how stupid he was.

"You're- that's- incredible!" Ochako said.

"Really?" Izuku whipped his head around to look at the brown-haired girl, her eyes sparkling through her glasses.

"Mhm!" Ochako bobbed her head. "I mean, being a hero is risky right? It means using your quirk to help people and stop villains, so people who don't have a strong quirk generally don't try becoming heroes. And you- you don't even know what your quirk is yet! But you still want to be a hero!"

Izuku felt his face heating up for an entirely different reason as he looked at her. "You- you don't think I'm weird?"

"Nope!" Ochako shook her head.

"T-thank you," Izuku said as he looked down at his half-finished notes.

"So what kind of training are you doing then?" Ochako asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm um, cleaning a beach?"

"That's it?"

"It's not as easy as it sounds!" Izuku admitted. "Junkyard may be a more appropriate term for the place right now," He sighed. "I'm going to be spending the better part of the next year trying to clean as much as I can and hopefully somewhere along the way my quirk will manifest."

"If that's how hard you're training, I'm going to have to train just as hard!" Ochako declared, punching her open palm, before deflating. "Once I figure something out."

"You haven't been training at all?"

"I used to run around the construction sites when my parents were working, but I'm not sure I can do that with their new contract," Ochako admitted. "And I can't really afford a gym membership." She turned to Izuku and forced a smile onto her face. "It's ok though! I'll figure something out!"

"If you want, you can help me clean the beach."

Izuku's eyes went wide the moment the words left his mouth as he realized what he had said.

"Really?" Ochako asks, a hopeful note in her voice.

Izuku took a moment to think about it. It would be risky, to have her near Melissa and All Might. But she was so nice! And she wanted to be a hero too!

"Y-yeah."

"Thank you so much!" Ochako gave him a bright smile. "I'll have to ask my parents, but it shouldn't be a problem!" She grabbed her bag and pulled out an old-style flip phone. "What's your number so I can text you after school?"

Izuku felt his nerve leaving him as he reached for his phone, suddenly realizing that meant that he was going to be spending time with her outside of school! Sure he was already spending time with Melissa, but she was different!

Speaking of Melissa - he'd have to warn her and All Might about having someone else join them. They'd have to be careful not to talk about One For All, or the fact that Melissa had a second copy through means that even he didn't fully understand.

Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat as he carefully entered Ochako's number into his phone.

As the lunch period ended and the students returned to their classrooms, Melissa could feel the excitement in the air.

It was time for their first Heroics lesson!

And rumor had it that they had a new teacher this year. Melissa had a good idea who it was, but she didn't want to join in on the speculation, in case she was wrong.

"I'm coming through the door… like a normal person!"

The class all looked at the doorway as they heard a voice on the other side of it, just in time to see the door slam open, revealing All Might standing behind it, dressed in a classic costume. Melissa felt the smile tugging at her lips.

"Good afternoon class!" All Might said as he crossed the room to stand behind the desk. "I am here! As your heroics teacher!" The class sat in rapt anticipation as he flashed his signature smile. "Today we're going to begin by testing your quirks in combat!" All Might looked around the room before he continued. "I've prepared Gym Gamma to provide a safe location where you will be sparring against your classmates to give you a feel for fighting using your quirks and fighting against opponents using your quirks."

Excited murmurs began to fill the classroom as students couldn't wait to begin their first lesson. All Might smiled as he recalled the lessons from his 'Teaching for Dummies,' handbook. This is easier than I thought!

Clearing his throat, All Might raised a remote in his hand. "And of course, since this is a heroics lesson, you need to dress the part!" Pushing the button on the remote, a section of the wall slid away, revealing twenty cases. "Today will also serve as a costume check! Where we ensure that everything meets your, and the school's, standards!"

Melissa couldn't help but smile as she saw the cases appear. While she had seen the design specs that her dad had sent her, he refused to send her pictures of the finished equipment, telling her it was a surprise. She stood up and followed her classmates to where their cases were stored, found hers, and pulled it out of its housing, surprised by how heavy the case was.

"What do you have in there, bricks?" One of her classmates asked.

Melissa just turned to him and smiled. "You'll see soon!"

In the locker room, Melissa placed the case on the bench and cracked the seals, gasping in delight as she opened the case for the first time. Inside was her suit of armor, painted metallic silver, with the raised parts all painted metallic blue. While she knew the material itself wasn't metal, she liked the imagery of power-armored heroes from ancient comic books and was hoping to evoke that same imagery with her support equipment.

Carefully setting the pieces on the bench, she quickly changed into a black bodysuit before she started putting the armor on, watching in satisfaction as each piece sealed itself properly when she placed it against her body and the parts linked together. With each piece she flexed her arm or leg and smiled as everything worked properly, giving her full freedom of movement.

"That's a fancy toy you have there Shield," Her white-haired classmate, Rika Akari, called out, a playful grin on her face.

"It's so much more than that," Melissa said, flexing a gauntlet.

"I hope you don't plan on giving us another demonstration like you did yesterday."

Melissa frowned and shook her head. "No, this is specifically designed to help with that." Holding her hand up, she sent tendrils of One For All's power down her arm and watched as blue energy lines appeared along the armor as it began to absorb feedback. "It bleeds off the excess energy and is designed to break before I do."

"Good! I'd hate to see you break yourself like that regularly!" With a wave, the white-haired girl departed the locker room.

"Me too," Melissa said softly as she watched the other girls begin filing out. Holding her arm up, she pressed a button in her gauntlet and brought up a holographic status indicator. Everything was operating at peak condition.

"Thanks, dad, I love it."

Melissa followed her classmates out, ready to see what she could do.

In the gym, Melissa saw her Uncle Might standing there with a clipboard, and a box sitting on a stool next to him. Behind him, she saw ten large circles drawn onto the ground in chalk.

"Welcome to Gym Gamma!" All Might announced. "A reinforced building that is the perfect place to test out your quirks."

He pointed to a chalk circle drawn on the ground approximately ten meters in diameter. "For today, the rules are simple. You and your opponent are to experiment with your quirks and try to get a feel for using them in combat, while trying to force your opponent out of the ring."

All Might looked down at his clipboard and reviewed his notes. "I know not all of your quirks are suitable for direct combat. However! There are times when your opponent won't give you a choice in the matter, and you will be forced to face a villain head-on. It's always good to know what you are capable of when the situation arises!"

Melissa looked around and saw several students visibly relax at Uncle Might's speech before he continued. "Now then, today you will each be sparring against three opponents. For the first round…" All Might flipped the page on his clipboard and began pairing off classmates.

Melissa watched her classmates find their partners and begin walking to their designated circles until she finally heard her name.

"Melissa Shield, you will be facing Rika Akari."

Melissa looked over at the white-haired girl who threw her a fierce smile. "Looks like you're my warm-up!"

"I'm not so sure about that," Melissa shot back, giving her a soft smile in return.

They walked out to a training circle and Melissa looked over at her partner. Rika's hero costume consisted of a white bodysuit that she accessorized with a black vest, a pair of black combat boots, and black fingerless gloves. "Your outfit's very monochrome," Melissa observed as she wrapped herself in One For All's power and watched the energy lines on her armor line up, glowing bright blue.

"You're not the only one who uses her quirk to add color," Rika said as she began to concentrate. The end of her hair once again turned a bright red and Melissa could see it begin to shimmer as if it was on fire before she saw her boots wreathed in a blue flame. "Do I need to hold back, or do you think your armor can take the heat?"

Melissa suddenly realized why her Uncle Might had paired them up first. Thinking back to her armor's specifications, it should be able to hold up against the heat. She nodded to her opponent.

"Yes!" Rika held her hands out and as Melissa watched, white fire shot out from her fingertips, coalescing into two short blades.

Melissa dropped into a rudimentary combat stance, suddenly wishing she had opted for a helmet. "Ready whenever you are."

"Here I come!"

With a roar Rika charged forward, closing the gap much faster than Melissa expected. She barely got her arm up in time and felt the two blades connect with her armor, both quite solid despite being made out of fire. She tried to respond with a wild kick, forcing Rika back.

Melissa tried to press her advantage by closing the gap and throwing a punch aimed at the other girl's stomach. She brought up her dagger to stop it but the dagger shattered, sending her stumbling backward. "How strong are you?!"

"By running an energy current through my body, I'm already at superhuman speed and strength," Melissa admitted.

"Don't get hit, got it," Rika said. "Guess I'll have to see how fast you really are!"

As her boots flared, Rika started running much faster than she had been before, dashing toward Melissa's side. She was surprised by the sudden movement, and by the time she had started to turn her head to find her opponent Melissa felt a kick to her back. Even with her armor absorbing most of the impact, she felt herself stumbling forward.

"Don't tell me you're tough too!" Rika complained.

"Sorry, but this suit's designed to bleed off my excess power so I don't have a repeat of yesterday," Melissa explained as she recovered her balance and turned around. "As a side effect, it's pretty durable."

"That just means I've got my work cut out for me!" Rika charged again, and this time Melissa was ready. As the girl approached she threw a punch. As she expected, the other girl began to dodge in the other direction, and she held out her arm, catching Rika and sending the other girl to the ground.

Melissa went to pick her up and throw her out of the arena, but Rika's foot shot out, catching her ankle and causing her to lose her balance, sending her down to one knee. Rather than press the advantage, Rika rolled backward, giving herself space to stand.

"I think you might be faster than me," Melissa admitted. "You're using your fire manipulation to control the air pressure around your feet, aren't you?"

"Got it in one," Rika grinned proudly. "My Fire Creation doesn't let me pull off the feats Endeavor does, but I refuse to let that stop me!"

"I'm glad," Melissa said before she stood up and reset her stance. "But I won't go down so easily either!"

The pair charged and exchanged a flurry of blows. Melissa knew she was at a speed disadvantage, but she could end the fight if she could land a solid blow. All she needed was an opening.

With a roar, Rika summoned a bat made out of fire and swung it at Melissa. Taking a chance, Melissa threw her arm out to intercept the bat in mid-air. The force of the blow impact rattled both girls, but Melissa recovered first. Gritting her teeth, she launched her counterattack, throwing a knee at her opponent and knocking her back. The fire around Rika's feet flared, leaving two black marks in her wake as she managed to halt herself just inside the ring.

"Impressive, both of you!" All Might said from the edge of the arena, causing both girls to look at him.

"All Might! How long were you standing there?" Rika asked.

"I just got here," He admitted. "I've been making the rounds to check in on all of your classmates. I must say Young Akari, that was an impressive demonstration of what you were capable of. And you as well, Mel- err Young Shield. Your defense is impressive!"

"Still not good enough to stop me," Rika smirked.

"Give me time," Melissa smiled back. "I'm still trying to figure all of this out."

"And I've got to think of new ways to use my quirk!"

"Indeed! Your ability to create weapons and tools is quite impressive. While it does force you to hold back against some opponents, I chose Young Shield as your partner specifically because you can use your quirk without worry!"

"Thanks for warning me," Melissa said as she crossed her arms and pouted. It almost worked and she saw the guilt flash across her Uncle Might's eyes until Rika spoke up.

"I appreciate it!" Rika gave him a bright grin. "There aren't many people I can really go all out against," She turned toward Melissa. "Looks like you and I are gonna be best friends!"

All Might chuckled in relief. "Well, since everything seems to be alright here, carry on!"

The two watched as All Might moved to the next sparring circle before they turned to face each other.

"Ready for round two?" Melissa asked.

"Bring it on!"

At the end of the day, Izuku hurried out of the classroom, spurred by the habits that he had developed to evade Katsuki. He quickly made it to the shoe lockers and was changing into his red sneakers when he heard a voice calling out to him.

"Midoriya!"

"Uraraka-san?" Izuku said, turning to see the brown-haired girl coming down the hallway.

"Are you alright? You left the class in a hurry!"

"Y-yeah," Izuku rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, it's a bad habit of mine."

"Well," Ochako began as she folded her hands behind her back. "I wanted to ask if you wanted to walk to the train station together?"

"You want to walk to the station with me?"

"Of course!" Ochako smiled at him. "After all, we're friends, right?"

"F-friends?" Izuku was stunned at the label. He hadn't heard anyone say that to him in a long time, and yet here Ochako was, offering her friendship with such ease.

"I mean if you want to be!" Ochako suddenly held her hands in front of herself defensively. "I don't want to be presumptuous and all but-"

"You're right!" Izuku offered her a bright smile, feeling the tears threatening to spill. "We can walk to the station together."