At the kitchen table, Hyoumei Mizuha scooped up some of her cereal in her spoon and shoved it in her mouth while keeping her eyes fixated on her phone's screen that was playing a video for her. Her phone was tilted back against her glass. Her mother didn't mind as she as also doing the same thing.

Curious and alert about the time, Mizuha tapped the screen.

Mizuha set down her spoon in her bowl and moved her phone away from her drink. It didn't take her long to down the orange juice and get up from the table. She then continued her daily routine: brush her teeth, grab her lunch, put on her shoes.

While tying her shoes, her mother set her blue backpack that she had left near her door along with her black wireless headphones.

"Oh. Thanks." Mizuha said with a small sheepish grin.

"You made sure your lunch is in there?" Her mother asked with an eyebrow raised. It wouldn't be the first time she forgot her lunch. There were times were her mother would receive a text message from her daughter right after she got on the bus to tell her that she forgot her lunch in her room while she was packing her things for school.

Mizuha nodded with a thumbs up before standing up and patting away any dust that might have stuck on her. Mizuha picked up her headphones and placed them on her head.

"Bye mom." She said before throwing her bag on her back and walking out the door. She heard her mother reply with her own 'bye' before she closed the door.

Along the way to school, she already had music playing in her ears. Her mind didn't pay attention about where she was going since she was relying on her bodily memory to guide her on the right path. Three years of walking on the same path to school was capable of that. Mizuha had to take one form of transportation to school: the bus. The bus was one of the reasons as to why Mizuha would leave her house a little earlier than other students. If there was one thing she hated, it was being in a bus filled with students and being forced to endure a fifteen minute ride while being squished in between people. It's even worse when it's during the summer, heat everywhere.

Luckily, she was able to get a seat on the bus. The conductor was nice enough to wait a minute or two in case people came rushing towards the bus. Mizuha just sat by the window in silence and watched people walk and even run towards the bus. As her music reached reached the chorus, she felt an elbow brush against her headphones, ruining her vibe. With an irritated eye twitch, she narrowed her eyes and glanced at the person without turning her head. That was another thing that Mizuha hated when it came to taking the bus. Some people had no consideration about the personal space of those they were standing close to. The girl was happily chatting with her friend and panting while holding onto the pole of her seat. She must have just gotten on the bus.

Mizuha moved an inch closer to the window while letting out an irritated breath. Byakuren and herself didn't live too far from each other, they used to go to school together... until he got lazy and was against the idea of waking up early when he could sleep in a little more.

The bus finally began moving. Today's bus was slightly quiet. The small chatter in the back of the bus was loud enough for everyone to hear but not loud enough to bother the other passengers.

Thankfully, when they reached their stop, she didn't have to fight her way through other passengers who were standing up in the bus. The moment her foot touched the floor, she was relieved for being able to breathe in some fresh air. Her school permitted students to enter the school at 8:00 until the first bell which was at 8:30.

The first floor had two cafeterias since her school was quite big and was accommodating a large number of students. The students would usually gather there in the morning to sit and talk to pass the time. However, Mizuha wasn't a fan of sitting there in the morning, nor at lunch. She was lucky to have been on good terms with a specific teacher and this teacher usually had her classroom, that was located on the ground floor, open during both times. Mizuha always spent her time in that specific classroom. It was the perfect place to study and to do some school work. The school library was also an option... but students aren't allowed to eat there.

Like every morning, she sat down in the classroom and waited for the the 8:30 bell. Byakuren poked his head into the classroom with his typical smile at around 8:25.

Before lunch time, her homeroom teacher told Byakuren and her to see the principal in his office before heading down to lunch. Apparently it was about their applications to U.A High School.

She and Byakuren had done quite a good job on the mock test with the first doing exceptionally well.

Byakuren kept on a cheerful face as he walked next to Mizuha. The girl wrinkle her nose at his unusual disposition... he was a little too cheerful.

"Alright, what did you do?" Mizuha asked with her eyes narrowed at him. The male next to her simply gave her a close eyed smile as he waved his hand in front of him dismissively.

"Why, such accusations hurt, Mizu-chan." He feigned ignorance while she only sighed in annoyance. Mizuha glared at him for the particular nickname he had given her.

"Well, let's just say I gave a couple of students a piece of my mind." Byakuren said in a sing-song voice. "They wouldn't stop pestering me."

Their middle school was a bit of an outlier. The current school system had adjusted their curriculums to accommodate the Quirk Education Class. It was a class that focused on the testing and exploring students' Quirks in order to see how they would be helpful to society. Being a Hero was the only thing a Quirk could allow a person to do. The school that Mizuha and Byakuren attended inclined more towards the old-fashioned escalator system, meaning it prioritized the academics of school that didn't involve Quirks. The Quirk Education Class focused on the bare minimum of its course, it practically forced students to work on their Quirks on their own in secret.

For that reason, when the word got out that Byakuren and Mizuha were one of the very few that applied to U.A. it caused for undesirable attention since they became outliers. Applying to U.A? That was quite a ballsy move for students. Two good students that did well academically and got recognition for it was going to study at an institution that helped grow Heroes when they barely worked on their Quirks? What show offs.

They should be applying for a low-class type of Hero school. It seemed logical.

The two were pestered about their application. That included bombarding questions of curiosity of their Quirks as well as a few derogatory insults here and there to mock their attempts. As tempted as Mizuha was to fight back and attack them with her Quirk to shut them up, she knew had a good grip on her self control, allowing her to be quite patient and apathetic. She didn't know about Byakuren though, he couldn't possibly have the patience of a saint either.

Mizuha found it weird that they thought it was weird. U.A High School had their own general education department. It was an excellent place to study considering that their program was top-notch for those who wish to study other things. Oh well.

Soon enough, they both arrived at the principal's office. Byakuren knocked the door for the both of them and opened it once they heard the principla's gruffy voice grant them entrance.

"Ah Hyoumei and Kyoran. I've been expecting you two. It won't be long." The principal said before opening one of his desk drawers. The two friends looked at each other with question marks in their eyes. They found no answer and merely shrugged to each other and looked back in front of them.

"I only need to hand you these forms. U.A High School sent them here this morning for those who applied there." He said before getting up from his desk chair and handing them both each a paper.

Byakuren smiled at him. "Thank you, sir."

Mizuha took her paper and glanced her at friend. He seemed quite happy about getting the paper on time. He really didn't like getting things late when he should have gotten them earlier and on time.

The principal smiled and then leaned back against his brown mahogany desk. "Are you both sure you want to go to U.A High School?"

The two looked at him silently.

"There is so much you could do to help this society grow." he said with a hand gesture. Then he put a hand under his chin thoughtfully. "Recently, students have been so enamored with being Heroes instead of working like us adults. I mean it's wonderful and all, but it's such a shame for society. Hyoumei, with your talent in arts, you could easily get into art and designs."

Mizuha quirked a brow.

Byakuren resisted the urge to scoff.

"U.A seems like quite a risky choice, don't you think? Shouldn't you two put down another school just in case? The Quirk Education classes here were not quite as good as other schools."

Mizuha stared at the principal apathetically. Yeah, she never really liked this man. He was odd. Was he seriously trying to discourage them from doing what they wanted? What kind of old era adult was this guy? The nerve of him. It was thanks to Heroes that people like him get to do their jobs safely nowadays.

While suppressing an annoyed tone, she blinked with a shrug. "No thanks." she simply said.

Byakuren's hand shot up to his mouth and he hid his laugh with a cough. Mizuha wanted to laugh with him for his reaction alone.

The two could see the flicker of surprise on his face as she nonchalantly turned down his suggestion without hesitation. His lips formed a thin line as he watched Mizuha's uninterested gaze turn to some random shelf in the office. She was tuning him out.

Byakuren ruffled the back of his white hair and put a hand on her shoulder and did a close eyed smile. "Our Quirks have been well practiced thanks to Mizuha's uncle. He's a teacher at U.A High School, you know? He was literally the perfect Quirk Education class we could ask for." He opened his eyes. "I can't say the same about the rest of the students here who applied to U.A. though."

The principal, who looked unsure, nodded slowly. "Ah yes, I forgot about that. Hmm, well, if you two are absolutely sure. I guess we can leave it at that. Good luck." he said with a gentle smile. "Alright, you may go to lunch now."

Byakuren grinned while Mizuha nodded. They both thanked him for the forms and quickly left the office before that geezer could shoot another excuse out of his mouth.

As soon as they left however, Mizuha made the most annoyed expression.

Seeing how it was pretty nice outside, Byakuren managed to drag his friend outside to eat for a change. As much as Mizuha protested against his attempts, she figured she could go outside for once and take a break from studying and to actually eat in peace. There was a nice breeze at least. They both ate their lunches outside at a table that was shadowed by a tree. While eating, Byakuren was reading the forms that he had just received. Mizuha on the other hand was enjoying the breeze and watching the other students play soccer outside while she ate.

"Simple enough to fill out. We have to send these before next Friday." Byakuren said to himself while nodding.

Mizuha, who heard him, added her own piece of information, "And then we'll be taking the written and practical exam in ten months. Should be easy enough. Honestly, if we attended a school that wasn't so focused on regular studies we probably could have gotten some type of recommendation. I heard that with a recommendation you can skip the practical exam... or even both." She stated before taking a bite of her waffle.

Mizuha liked to eat something that was easy to for lunch. She knew a waffle wasn't the best choice but she liked it either way. In her defense, she had like two waffles cut in squares to fit in her container.

Byakuren shrugged, "But anyway, those exams will be having so many students taking it and in the end-"

Mizuha cut him off and continued, "Only 1 out of 300 applicants gets in each year or even less."

Ten months to prepare for the entrance exams. Mizuha finished the last piece of her waffle before closing her container and grabbing her juice box. She thought that it was plenty of time to practice her Quirk even more.

Silently, she raised her right hand and stared at it.

She and Byakuren were both Emitter types. They were also perfect in combat if it ever came down to it. She narrowed her dark eyes as she recalled her performance in training a week ago. She was quite good at it but she still felt like she could release a much larger volume of it.

Mizuha suddenly felt a blast of wind hit her face. With eyes wide open, she looked at Byakuren with a surprised expression. He merely looked at her with a frown and a raised eyebrow. "It's getting cold. Stop using your Quirk." He said flatly while pointing at his own juice box. She looked closely and saw how it had some frost on the sides.

Mizuha leaned away from his juice box and let out a small chuckle. "Sorry." She said halfheartedly.

...

...

...

Mizuha sighed in annoyance, "Geez, what's taking him so long? He said he needed to buy a new notebook... he's taking way too long for just a simple notebook." She groaned, she bet her left eye that he was buying something else too. Dang liar.

Suddenly she saw a bottle fly towards a pole that was a couple of feet away from her. She scowled in disgust as the liquid inside was released from the impact. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as she saw the person who did it. He was taller than her, he had ash blonde hair with red eyes and a face that could make any baby cry without fail. Not wanting to be on the receiving end of anything else he might kick, she retreated into the store where Byakuren was in.

He was currently waiting in line... a long line. Mizuha's jaw dropped at the sight of it. When he saw her, he smiled apologetically while waving the notebook in hand. The people before him had carts filled with a bunch of stuff. She rolled her eyes, why couldn't he have tried to ask to go first? He was clearly going to be done before any of those other customers!

Mizuha walked over to him with a frown and grabbed the notebook.

"Hey-!" He exclaimed in surprise, he tried reaching for it but she quickly spun around on her heel and went to the front. She was just in time, the next customer was about to start putting their articles on the counter.

Mizuha put on an innocent and apologetic expression, "Sorry, but can he go first?" She asked nicely while holding up the notebook.

The customer looked at the object in her hand before nodding with a smile, "Oh, sure! No problem!" The lady said while motioning for Mizuha to go first.

Mizuha thanked the lady before calling her friend over to the counter. Obviously, it didn't take them too long since they were out of the store in just a few seconds.

When they both finally got outside, a sudden boom was heard above them and a huge sign was falling down on them.

They both gasped and quickly jumped away from the sign. Another boom was heard and part of a building was crashing down towards them. Byakuren clicked his tongue in annoyance. He brought Mizuha close to his chest before swing his arm above them. She knew exactly what he was doing, so she hid her face as he hid his in her shoulder. He created a powerful tornado above them that was strong enough to tear apart the building and to reduce it into smaller fragments.

Once it was safe, Byakuren released her and looked behind them. Mizuha looked back as well and was surprised to see the same guy who kicked that bottle earlier. He was currently struggling and failing to get out of the grip of some sludge villain. He was yelling angrily and using his Quirk to try and escape from the villain. That's probably what must have been what caused those falling debris, an Explosion Quirk.

Before they could do anything, they were immediately told to move away from the scene by Death Arms.

Both of them had watched a green haired boy rush into the scene to try and help the other student. Judging from the uniforms Mizuha saw on the victim and on the one that tried to save him... probably from the same middle school. It was a good thing All Might showed up when he did, that green haired student almost got hurt.

After that whole incident, they went straight home.

...

...

...

The both of them were currently hanging in Mizuha's living room. They had just finished school for the day and for the week. Byakuren was busy surfing the web on his phone while Mizuha was busy playing on her PS4. Byakuren was the only one still clad in his uniform considering he didn't have any casual clothes at her house.

The two of them were pretty close. Byakuren's parents knew Mizuha's parents, and since they didn't live too far from each other, his and her parents would let Byakuren stay at Mizuha's place until 11:00 PM. Fortunately the walk from her house to his was literally five minutes away.

Mizuha growled at the screen and jammed her thumb on the circle button of her controller. "Damn it! Freaking Daemon! Noctis kill it!" She said in a loud voice.

Byakuren looked up from his phone and looked at the flat screen in the room. She was apparently struggling against a giant monster and her character was limping around the screen with low health. All her teammates in the game had their health bar on zero. Soon enough, Mizuha's character was hit by an attack and the game ended. The girl groaned in frustration before tossing her controller next to her.

The white haired male chuckled in amusement, "Having fun?" He teased.

Mizuha shot him a pissed look before going on her phone, probably to look up some information on how to beat the enemy in her game.

"By the way, when do we meet up next week?" Byakuren asked as he resumed surfing the internet. Mizuha looked up from her phone and cocked her head to the side, "What, for the entrance exams for U.A High School?"

"Yup." Byakuren replied before closing his phone and setting it down next to him.

Mizuha shrugged, she turned around and laid her body across the couch. "I don't know, but you already know that I'm going there early. I can't stand the thought of being late for something." She said lazily while keeping her eyes fixed on the white ceiling.

Byakuren nodded, "But wouldn't you rather go together? That way we can easily find each other and maybe help each other in the practical exam."

Mizuha let out a laugh, "Don't kid yourself, I'm not helping you." She scoffed with a smirk, "Besides, we can't help each other. My uncle told me that they separate the students from the same school to prevent something like that from happening." She explained.

"Way to disappoint me before the exams..." Byakuren muttered with a roll of his eyes.

The next week came pretty fast.

FEBRUARY 26. 5:45 AM

Mizuha's phone, that was sitting on top of her headboard while being charged, suddenly rang loudly.

It didn't take her too long to move and reach for her phone. Her arm shot out from underneath the comforter and immediately touched the screen with her index. She already knew where touch since she had been doing it every morning for the past three years.

She skillfully unplugged her device from its charger and quickly brought her hand back under the blanket. She groaned in annoyance and decided to curl into a ball and cover her head with the soft material. She wasn't annoyed about walking up early, she was more annoyed about being exposed to the cool air in her room. Even though she slept with a sweater on, she still felt it. It was winter after all.

She gave herself until 6 o' clock to finally start moving. For now, she decided to use her phone for a while to keep herself awake.

By the time it was time to leave, she double checked her bag. For the entrance exam, she prepared a set of clothes that would be much easier to maneuver around in (a light blue t-shirt and navy blue sweatpants). She also brought along her pencil case for the written exam.

Her mother wished her luck as she announced that she was leaving her house. She was glad that she actually took the time to actually go to the school during a weekend to see how to get there. She didn't exactly like the idea of panicking on the first day about how to get there. She realized that she could actually walk home instead of taking the bus, which was nice since it would help her avoid getting squished in the bus during summer. She made it to U.A High School in only twenty or twenty-five minutes.

As soon as Mizuha got past the entrance, she kept walking while looking up. Apart from to lower part of the school, the rest was just blue. Giant glass windows that reflected the color of the sky. It was pretty much a sight to behold. A little, just a little... Mizuha found herself smiling at the thought of actually being one of U.A's students.

The school looks nice, that's for sure... I wonder what the view looks like from one of those-

Mizuha suddenly walked into someone's back. She was so startled by it that she almost fell backwards. She wasn't dumb enough to keep her eyes glued on the school's structure and not pay attention to where she was going. No, she was paying attention. It's just that the person in front of her decided to just stop walking to admire the school!

"Ah geez, I'm sorry! I didn't know someone was behind me!" The person in front of her apologized, it was a guy. She hadn't even looked up yet since she was still looking at the floor. She was a little irritated at that point as she wasn't in the mood to deal with problems before an important exam. Even with how confident she was, she could still be a little on edge. Just a little.

She looked up and immediately saw a pair of red eyes.

... Geez, what's with the red eyes lately.

This guy had long black hair that framed his face and above his right eye... there was a little scar. He was probably taller than her by at least ten centimeters. She was probably staring at him a little longer than she expected, since he started waving his hand in front of her. Mizuha jolted and took a step back. She apologized for staring at him and reassured him that it was no big deal. He sighed in relief while muttering something about how it wouldn't be manly of him to scare a girl before an important entrance exam. What, did he think she was scared of him?

He smiled at her, "Well, good luck to the both of us." He said with a thumbs up.

Mizuha honestly didn't know how to reply to that. She was aware that if she were to walk away without any type of reply... it would have been rude. Should she nod and just get on with her life or just stand there until he turns around and leaves?

... She decided to copy him.

She awkwardly put out her own thumbs up, "Y-Yeah...good luck." She repeated with a small weird grin. Apparently, he seemed satisfied with her reply since he gave her a toothy grin.

With that, Mizuha walked right past him and made a beeline for the U.A High School doors.

Gah, that was so weird... AND a waste of time. I should have just left without saying anything. It's not like I'm going to talk to him if he ends up getting into the same class as me. How troublesome. ... Damn it, if the possibility of that happening does come true... he'll think we can be friends. God what have I done?! I'm just creating problems for myself before I even get into the school!