Authors Note:

Ry: hello everyone, i hope you enjoy this! this particular song reminds me of azumi and her story (which you won't totally understand until later on, but you'll see!)

Song Recommendation: Death & Taxes by Daniel Caesar


Chapter 3: School Daze

Azumi's POV

Compared to the amount of physical activity and strain the class had been subjected to the day previous, everything felt —

"Which of English sentences is wrong?"

— incredibly normal.

I blankly stared at the letters written neatly on the chalkboard by Present Mic, our teacher for this class period. Undoubtedly, the rest of my peers harbored similar thoughts as me because the juxtaposition between Aizawa's tests and normal required classes was almost ridiculous. It was a relief that we were given a break from utilizing our Quirks, to be frank. Making so much contact with the afterlife in a single day had fatigued me in a way sleep couldn't remedy.

"Everybody, heads up!" Present Mic screeched in an attempt to stimulate us somehow. "Let's get this party started!" He raised a fist into the air with a triumphant grin, as if he'd actually achieved something.

My knowledge of the language wasn't terrible, so I could've answered the question if I wanted to. Judging by the literal two people who actually volunteered, I didn't think that was the best thing to do.

"Okay, Yaoyorozu, come on!"

The black haired female from yesterday was unsurprisingly confident as she correctly responded to the initial question. My gaze landed on her and I subconsciously scanned her, impressed by the evident drive to succeed she exuded. Even when faced with the medial task of P.E. exercises, she never faltered and it'd be impossible not to admire her a little bit.

Not to mention, Yaoyorozu had gotten into the school based on recommendation. I didn't know all the details; however, there was no doubt that she deserved it having looked at her from my perspective. Contemplation about my skill as it was in contrast to her unwavering motivation kept me occupied enough that the lesson had passed by in a flash, indicating the beginning of our lunch break.

The thought didn't occur to me until I was standing in line to buy my food made by the hero Lunch Rush himself, but I was struck with the question of who I was supposed to eat with. Aside from small introductions to a few members of 1-A and small talk with Ochaco, the amount of meaningful conversation I had with them was a solid zero. Even after I had a full tray in hand, the sight of a filled cafeteria made my fingers twitch nervously. I searched for my roommate, only to find her seated with the male I recognized to have engines for calves - Iida, I recalled - and Midoriya (who I silently referred to as Miracle Boy because of his performance the first day of classes).

Going through all my options, sitting with them would be easier than anyone else I was partially acquainted with. At the very least, Ochaco would be a saving grace if communication proved awkward, so I braced myself and approached them with that sole hope in mind.

"Azumi-chan!" the only voice I could recognize acknowledged me happily as I stood near the end of their table. "Sit here! We have a lot of space!"

I shot glances toward her male companions, one of whom regarded me with poise and the other who fumbled with his silverware upon sensing my appearance. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is! Right, Deku-kun?" Ochaco smiled at the greenette seated adjacent to her. I raised my brows. What kind of nickname was that?

Midoriya, or I guess Deku, nodded vigorously in response, "It's to-totally okay!"

Then, our mutual friend turned back to me as if to say 'see?' and I offered a tiny bow of my head as thanks before occupying the chair beside Midoriya. His nervousness puzzled me, but based on his reactions to Ochaco, I deduced that he simply wasn't good with girls.

"Your name is Sato-san, correct?" Iida peered at me with a weird twinkle in his eye. The only viable reaction I had was to hum in agreement. Something told me he had an agenda in mind. "Are you by any chance related to Sato Emiko? Otherwise known as-"

"Animare?" Midoriya butted in, one hand reaching towards his backpack as if to pull something out. Their excitement towards the topic made me want to lie and say I wasn't, yet I couldn't find it in me to deprive them of this.

"That's my mom," I informed them with a half-hearted laugh. The only thing stopping me from shoving food into my mouth to avoid conversation was my desire to make some decent friends.

"Wow, really?!" Ochaco gasped, looking genuinely amazed by the fact.

"Fascinating! My brother has worked with her once, right before she retired." Iida's hands were gesturing wildly to add to his point. "Other than your surnames, the similarity in your Quirks gave it away."

Without warning, an open notebook was shoved in front of my face and I could just barely make out that the writing on that specific page was statistics. On my mother. "Uh, Midoriya-san. What is this?"

"I tend to take notes on heroes' Quirks that I find interesting," he answered truthfully. Almost as if realizing how truly embarrassing revealing this to me was, he pulled the book away from me and coughed. "Sorry...I didn't think I'd ever get close to meeting her, so meeting her daughter is more than I anticipated."

"Don't worry about it. It's a little creepy, but I get what you mean." I patted his arm on instinct to comfort him, then jerked away since that might've been a tad too touchy. Maybe his fixation with heroes, namely my mom, was strange, but I appreciated the sentiment. It was good to know other people thought my mom was as much of a hero as I did. "Anyways, tell me more about your brother, Iida-san."

The sparkle reentered the boy's orbs tenfold as he launched into a monologue about his elder. Despite feeling like an outsider, the welcoming atmosphere of the trio eased some of my worries. Still, after the interrogation about my mom, I chose to stay relatively quiet throughout the time we spent together. While I was sure they didn't mind, Ochaco did look worried about me - even going so far as to direct some questions at me to get me to talk more.

By the end of the period, I had secured myself some more-than-acquaintances and felt proud that I'd overcome that hurdle. It just wasn't in my nature to be a social being. As sociable as I could come off to be, I valued solitude and silence quite a lot.

Returning to class and beginning our afternoon session signaled the beginning of Hero Basic Training. I was sure the day before was merely a formality to get a good handle of what we all could do, so I figured things wouldn't be so simple from that point forward.

While sitting in my assigned desk waiting for our instructor to arrive, I clutched the area near my heart. Mentally, I apologized to my chest and lungs for the pain they were inevitably going to endure as far as my Quirk was involved.

"I AM…" A sudden yell from the hallway reengaged me into the real world as the door slid open with a loud bang. "...coming through the door like a normal person!" In all his muscular glory, All Might busted through the doorway, cape billowing dramatically behind him.

My peers voiced some exclamations of wonder at the revelation of Japan's number one hero.

"It's All Might!" a boy who I thought was named Kaminari announced.

"Wow, he really is a teacher," a spiky haired redhead followed in suit. A frog-like female sitting near him mentioned something about the hero's costume being from the Silver Age and I could only watch as the man sauntered to the front podium with pride in his step.

I wasn't one to admit to it, but I highly respected All Might as the symbol of peace. Having him stand right in front of me only reinforced the utter magnificence of the situation.

"I teach Basic Hero Training. It is a subject where you train in different ways to learn the basics of being a hero," All Might proclaimed, his large fists pressed to each hip. "You'll take the most units of this subject!" He then bent his body in a ridiculous pose that showed off his inhuman back and arm muscles before continuing, "Let's get right into it! This is what we'll do today…" with a grand turn, he held out a card in his hand that read 'Battle' in a bold red font, "...combat training!"

My nerves spiked at the mention of combat. Using my Quirk was one thing, using it on an actual person was a co mpletely separate idea. Both unsettled me to an extent, yet the latter was much worse in my opinion. How some people - namely the explosive ash blonde sitting near the front of the room - could be excited for this without a bit of unease baffled me.

"And to go with that are these!" All Might pointed towards the wall to his right, where panels began to slide out of the surface to reveal numbered suitcases. "Costumes based on your Quirk registrations and requests you sent in before school started."

Another elated cheer filled the air. Having sent in my costume ideas a few months prior, I couldn't remember the specifics of what I'd asked for; nonetheless, I was eager to see what the school produced. One by one, we received our respective suitcases with the instructions to meet in Ground Beta after changing.

It wasn't until I stood near the entrance of the tunnel leading into our meeting area, dressed in my new form fitting and comfortable attire, that I let myself feel even an ounce of confidence. Because for once, it felt like my goal was right within my reach.


Author's Note: Ry - all might is so extra and i aspire to be half the person he is LMAO please leave a review with any suggestions or comments you have! 3