Mizuha stared at the envelope on her desk.

She had casually poked her hand in the mailbox after coming home. After she took out the mail, she started reading them out of boredom and nearly tripped over her feet on the way inside when she found a letter addressed to her. It was from U.A High School. It had her full name, address and everything. There was no mistake.

She left it in the living room so that she could distance herself from the letter while she changed out of her clothes after which she went to go get it and drop it on her desk.

A whole week had passed since the entrance exam. Although she was confident about the results for her written test, she wasn't sure if she felt a hundred percent the same about her practical exam. She was one of those few students who left the exam room early after finishing her test. While waiting outside for Byakuren, she couldn't help but replay the first test again and again and doubting herself a little. If her memory was correct, she would have accumulated forty-five points if she calculated well. Forty-five. She wasn't even sure that it was enough. The score could have been higher if she simply ran away from that walking disaster. But the thought of abandoning those girls just didn't sit right with her.

It would have made her doubt her goal to become a Hero.

Mizuha sighed heavily, it was time.

She actually took the time to open the letter by opening it where it was sealed close. Perhaps she was dragging the time by trying her best to open it as cleanly as possible. Her envelope looked a bit messy by the time she finally opened it.

She blinked when she looked inside.

There was a small device along with the official letter. She curiously pulled out the device and brought it close to her face. Her eyes examined the object carefully, looking over the edges and corners.

Is this one of those... projection thingies?

She shrugged and set it on her desk carefully to not break it if it was somewhat fragile. She went back at the envelope and stuck her thumb and index finger to grab the letter inside.

—FWOOSH!

All of a sudden, a huge projection shot up from the small device. Frozen in her seat, the girl paused and blinked several times before looking up at the projection while dropping the envelope. The projection was displaying an office setting where a small creature was seating behind a large brown desk.

"Greetings, Hyoumei Mizuha! Now please don't be alarmed, this is only a projection! I am Nezu, the principal of U.A High School, yes I know, my appearance is quite strange I get that a lot."

But I didn't say anything...

"I am going to inform you about your exam results. Now let's see..."

The humanoid mouse-like principal went through some papers that laid on its desk. It took her a moment to realize her heart was beating erratically from the suspense.

"Ah, here it is. Mizuha Hyoumei... your grade for the written exam is ninety percent. Very good. As for your results for the practical exam... you have a total of forty-five villains points. However, you should know that the practical exam was not just based solely on villain-points. We also evaluated you on another factor which is Rescue. Now, let's talk about your rescue-points. Please take a look at the footage we prepared."

The projection screen now displayed Mizuha pulling back someone by the shirt. It was that guy who called her fodder during the test. The bastard.

"Your quick thinking earned you seven points for that rescue." said the principal's voice. Then the image changed, this time it was the footage of Mizuha keeping the fourth faux villain at bay. She watched herself trying ask the girl for help and she saw how shocked and disappointed her face looked. The footage showed everything until the point where she and Kirishima ran away with the two girls on their backs.

"Now this rescue was the one that caught our attention. You, who still had the choice to run and continue on, had decided to stay and protect those two girls. We noticed how you were faced with a dilemma, you had figure out a way to save them while trying to keep away the fourth faux villain. You may not have succeeded on coming up with a solution, but you were able to buy some time until help arrived. You chose to be brave and face an overwhelming threat that could have no doubt destroyed you. You have the mark of someone who is willing to face danger for the sake of others. The mark of someone who will go against the worst odds for the sake of others. The mark of someone who is capable of self-sacrifice. That, my dear, is an important part of being a hero."

Self-sacrifice. Really? I don't really see myself like that... I mean, I hesitated...

"Therefore, you have received a total of twenty-five points from all of the judges!"The screen went back to the principal who gave her a smile. "That is after we took measure to avoid any bias from a certain teacher."

Mizuha blinked.

"Your score for Rescue is thirty-two points!"

Mizuha froze in her seat and stared at the projection screen with wide eyes.

"Your actions also allowed Kirishima Eijiro to win twelve points for rescue too!"

Mizuha's jaw dropped open. She was keeping count of the points she was receiving and she added them to her forty-five villain points. She couldn't believe it, she couldn't have possibly scored that high!

Then a score board appeared in front of her.

1st place: Bakugo Katsuki (Villain: 77/Rescue: 0) and Hyōmei Mizuha (Villain: 45/Rescue: 32)
2nd place: Kirishima Eijiro (Villain: 39/Rescue: 35)
3rd Place: Ochaco Uraraka (Villain: 28/Rescue: 45)
4th Place: Ibara Shiozaki (Villain: 36/Rescue: 32)
5th Place: Itsuka Kendo (Villain: 25/Rescue: 40)
6th Place: Tenya Iida (Villain: 52/Rescue: 9)
7th Place: Izuku Midoriya (Villain: 0/Rescue: 60)
8th Place: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu (Villain: 49/Rescue: 10)
9th Place: Fumikage Tokoyami (Villain: 47/Rescue: 10)
10th Place: Yosetsu Awase (Villain: 50/Rescue: 6)

Mizuha jumped away from her seat and gaped at the score board. That's just not possible... I am in first place?! No, no, no, no they probably made a mistake!

"Congratulations, Hyoumei Mizuha. You pass. Welcome to U.A High School! We look forward to seeing you in spring!" With that, the projection video ended. Mizuha stayed rooted in her spot for what she felt was an eternity. When she snapped out of her daze, she immediately reached for her letter with shaky hands. She wanted to make absolutely sure she was accepted into the school. The formal written admission was the same as the projection. She made it in U.A High School.

When she read her acceptance letter five times reality began sinking in. She dropped her acceptance letter and raced for the home phone that was charging in the living room.

She dialed a number so fast that she might as well put any speed quirks to shame.

"Hello?" A voice picked up.

"Uncle Eijin! I need you to do me a favor!" She said rapidly with a huge grin on her face.

"Huh? What's going on-" He tried asking but he was cut off by his niece.

"Do me a favor and order some pants for me for my school uniform!" She almost shouted into the phone.

It took him a few seconds for the gears in his head to start moving. She heard him laugh loudly on the other line before he congratulated her. It made her sit on the living room floor like a little kid. As a congratulatory gift, he decided to try and bend the rules for her to wear school pants. Girls wearing pants to school were slowly becoming a thing due to possible complications that girls might have when it came to wearing skirts. For example, girls with tails at her middle school were permitted to wear pants in order to cover their undergarments that would no doubt have been flashed to others if they wore a skirt. Mizuha was aware that U.A High School was one of those schools that did this accommodation for female students.

Mizuha liked wearing pants better than skirts since she always hated the air touching the skin of her legs. That was why she wore either black or gray fitted shorts that reached mid-thigh under her skirts during middle school with her high knee socks. The more skin she covered, the better.

"You know, your brother would have been proud." Eijin said softly.

Mizuha's hand, which was holding the phone next to her ear, twitched. Her small smile on her face was slowly disappearing as her eyes casted downwards. She didn't reply right away. She simply stilled. A second later, she breathed in and gripped the phone tightly.

"Yeah, maybe." She said while trying to make her voice lighter with a small chuckle. However, her tone didn't match the dark look she had on her face.

Two weeks later, Byakuren and Mizuha made plans together to eat at a restaurant for lunch. They went to go eat at a pho restaurant that wasn't too far from where they lived. When Mizuha was eating her noodles, Byakuren casually told her he also got into U.A High School. He told her like it was no big deal. Apparently, he received his acceptance letter six days ago and he forgot to share the news. Mizuha gave him a dumbfounded look before choosing to ignore him for the rest of their meal.

Despite Byakuren's numerous attempts to try and make her talk, she kept her mouth shut until it was time to pay for their food. She took out her money and gave it to him without a word.

Byakuren eyed the money on the table. "What's this?"

She rolled her eyes, "A unicorn." She said sarcastically. "Go pay for me and I'll forgive you for not telling me." She scowled before putting away her black wallet.

The white haired male only laughed, "I think you already did, you're just using it as an excuse because you're too lazy to pay." He said with a smirk before grabbing her money and walking off to the counter to pay for their food.

Well, he wasn't wrong.

APRIL - SPRING

Mizuha slapped her hand on her phone as the alarm went off. She unplugged her phone from her charger and turned off her alarm, she yawned as she did so. Today was her first day at U.A High School. For some reason, she woke up ten minutes before her alarm. She was actually sitting up against the wall on her bed and she was staring blankly at the wall in front of her. While ninety-nine percent of her was glad and excited to start her first day, one percent of her being was still in the process of accepting everything.

She sighed heavily, she really was going to start attending the school she always wanted to attend. Her heart pounded fast as she thought about taking her first steps in that school. She had to admit, she was getting nervous... to the point where she felt like puking.

Thankfully, Byakuren actually agreed on waking up early on the first day of school, he would be going to school with her.

She looked at her desk chair next to her bed, her uniform was placed on top of the backrest neatly. When Mizuha goes to bed, she developed a habit of dragging her desk chair near her bed. In a way, it acted like a night table.

Mizuha inched herself closer to the edge of her bed until her feet were touching the floor. She stood up and took her uniform top from the chair. The colours of the uniform actually satisfied her taste. She set aside her top and reached out for the other half of her uniform. The pants. Eijin was actually able to convince the school to let his niece wear pants to school, it wasn't quite difficult for him to accomplish.

Mizuha grinned, she was just imagining the stares she would get. A female wearing something other than the school skirt. While the reactions did interest her, she would not hesitate to kick someone who would insult her for it.

At 6'o clock, Mizuha was already on her way to the bathroom to pee and to wash her face. Her mother was already awake and making breakfast in the kitchen along with her lunch. When Mizuha was done washing her face, she plugged in the hair straightener. There was something that Mizuha didn't really like about her hair... it was the fact that her hair tended to curl a little... It was very annoying. Straightening her hair was probably the only 'girly' thing that Mizuha always did in the morning.

Mizuha brushed her hair before straightening it. She carefully placed her bangs where they were supposed to be. She was glad she decided to cut them before school started because they were all the way to middle of her left cheek. Now, they were just above her eye.

When she was done with the bathroom, she went straight into her room and got dressed in her uniform. It took her a minute to get dressed and to fix her collar in front of the mirror. Before leaving her room, she grabbed her phone. Gotta get my daily dose of watching videos in the morning.

She took her seat at the table. Her mom made noodles for breakfast this time, her favorite type of food. Mizuha opened her phone and searched for a video to watch. She was in the mood for something funny. Once she found something, she placed her phone in front of her glass of apple juice. She grinned and grabbed her chopsticks to start eating. Her mother, who finished preparing her lunch, finally sat down at the table to also eat her breakfast. She eyed Mizuha, who was slurping on her noodles.

"So, how do you feel?" Her mother asked casually. Mizuha looked away from her screen and furrowed her eyebrows but then she understood what she meant. First day of school... first year in high school. Well, she figured she should be honest with her mom, it's not like she had any intention of lying.

"I feel like puking." Mizuha said with a small grin.

Her mother puffed out some air before rolling her eyes, "Why are you nervous?"

"Why do you think? First day of school—"

"This happens every year, you always get some type of anxiety." Her mother said while effectively cutting her off.

Mizuha pouted, "So? I can't help it." She grumbled.

At 7:33, Mizuha was ready to leave, all she had to do now was wait for Byakuren to knock at her door so that they could leave for school together. He told her that he was heading to her place at 7:28... funny how he wasn't there yet.

When he did arrive, he was punched on the arm for taking too long.

While Byakuren apologized with a smirk, he noticed Mizuha's mom walking towards the front door. "Oh! Hello auntie~!" He greeted with a close eyed smile while waving his hand.

Mizuha's mother smiled, "Hi Byakuren." She greeted back.

The two didn't have much to say since Mizuha was getting impatient to leave for school. She ushered Byakuren to start walking as she said 'bye' to her mom, Byakuren did the same thing.

The two of them walked side by side while talking about random things, mostly about how they were preparing what they needed for school before going to bed. They had just gotten their student I.D cards in the mail since the entrance of the school had a security gate. This gate would automatically close if someone does not have a student I.D card or a Special Entry Permission I.D. Apparently, Byakuren misplaced it and he had to go ask his mother for help to find it. After all, no one knows how to find things better than one's own mother. She ended up scolding him throughout the entire search while he sheepishly nodded and apologized.

When they reached the bus stop, the two of them were listening to music. Mizuha was more of a wireless headphone type since her and wires don't really get along. She has a bad history of always having to buy new earphones. If breaking earphones was a crime then she'd be in jail with a death sentence by now. Byakuren on the other hand had a better relationship with wires.

Once they got on the bus, they both made a beeline for available seats. Mizuha sat next to the window on her left while Byakuren sat next to her on her right. Mizuha kept her eyes glued on the window for the majority of the ride to school. She just watched everything pass by with immense boredom. She didn't even realize how much time had passed considering that when Byakuren tapped her shoulder, it only felt like four minutes had passed. She followed him out of the bus and then they both walked silently. They were both engrossed with either their music or their phone.

Mizuha pulled her phone from her pocket to check the time. It was exactly 8 o' clock, and if she remembered correctly then class would start at 8:50. Mizuha hummed with a nodded before putting away her phone, she was satisfied by the amount of extra time she had.

Eventually, after a short walk, they made it to the school. Once again, Mizuha was amazed by the structure of the school. She probably would always look up and stare while walking for at least a week. It was just that impressive.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, what class are you in?" Byakuren asked curiously as they approached the doors. Mizuha was able to hear him through her music despite her noise cancelling headphones. She slid them down her head and let it rest around her neck.

Mizuha pulled out her student I.D card from her wallet and showed it to him without a word. With her free hand, she pulled the door open as he kept looking at her card. Then as they entered the building, she put away her card back in wallet. Byakuren hummed and nodded, then he pulled out his own I.D and checked his class.

"Looks like we're in the same class this year. Class 1-A." Byakuren said with a close eyed smile. He then threw an arm around her shoulders as they looked for their class. "Will you try and make friends?" He asked while keeping his eyes in front of him but he knew that she was staring at him the moment he asked her that question.

Mizuha narrowed her eyes at him, "No." She affirmed before looking back in front of her. He sighed and she felt his weight on her shoulders when he heaved down his chest. It was kind of unnerving how he would always try to encourage her in some form or another to befriend other students her age despite knowing perfectly well how uneasy she was about the subject. Friendship, trust and emotional attachments to people could be dangerous for a person.

"Mizuhaaa, you're going to die alone with some cats!" he whined.

She looked at Byakuren with an apathetic expression. "The hell?"

After a while of searching, they finally found the door to their classroom. Byakuren, who still had his arm around her shoulders, gaped at the size of the door. Mizuha's eyes were wide as she looked up. They thought the height of the door was quite an exaggeration along with the giant 1-A written on it. Mizuha glanced towards her left and she spotted the next door class' door. Class 1-B's door was just as huge as Class 1-A's.

"You think the door is for giant students?" Mizuha asked flatly.

"God, if there are giant students... how are we going to fit in there?"

"We won't, obviously."

The white haired boy looked at her with a grin and pointed at the door, "Shall we go in?" he asked without expecting a reply from her. He slipped off his arm while she simply tuned out everything by putting her headphones on her head again.

Byakuren effortlessly slid the door open just enough for the two of them to enter together. Byakuren was the one to take the first steps into the classroom while Mizuha was following him closely behind. Her eyes darted around the classroom to see if anyone was there. There were already a few.

There was actually five people inside the classroom. She saw a guy with blond hair who had a black lightning streak in his hair, a girl with pink hair and purplish skin, a girl with dark purple hair sitting alone with ears that had plug-like earlobes. The two other people were also sitting alone, a girl with long dark green hair and some guy with red spiky hair. No one was speaking. It must have been the first day awkwardness after all.

When they heard the door open, they all looked in their direction. Mizuha kept her gaze on the ground as she followed Byakuren into the classroom, ignoring everyone. Byakuren was different. He greeted everyone in a friendly manner by waving like a good princely character with a close eyed smile.

Suddenly, an authority-type-like voice was heard loudly from the back of the classroom. Obviously, Mizuha looked up from the floor to look at whoever was loud in the morning. She squinted an eye and furrowed a brow at the sight of the person. A guy with dark blue hair was marching over to them in an odd manner. It reminded her of a robot. He reminded her of one with how square-looking his appearance was.

"I am from Somei Private Academy! My name is Iida Tenya! I will be your classmate this year." Iida introduced himself with weird hand gestures that reminded them of a robot as he walked towards them.

Byakuren and Mizuha sweat dropped at the sight of him.

Private Academy, huh? Must be a rich kid.

The way he spoke, his posture and his rectangular half-rimmed glasses just screamed the word serious. The white haired male then grinned, "I'm Kyouran Byakuren, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance Iida." He said after choosing his words carefully to make sure he sounded as nice as possible.

Mizuha wanted to snicker at his behavior. Underneath that kind cheerfulness was a demeanor that portrayed his malicious, cunning and calculating ways. She honestly had no idea how he turned out like this. It must have started around the time he was eleven which was when he started getting into tactical games. If she was the brains in the academic field then he was the brains when it came to the field of battle. Developing his mind of a tactician seemed to have that effect on his personality as they grew up.

Byakuren slid her headphones down to her neck and placed his hand on top of her head. Mizuha looked at him with a disapproving frown. Oh, how she missed the days when she was the taller one.

"And this is Hyoumei Mizuha. We come from the same middle school." He introduced her to Iida, Mizuha sighed in annoyance. She could of done her own introduction or... just walk away.

Iida looked at her with a nod. "It's nice to meet you two. I hope we get along this year!" He said seriously, which made Mizuha mentally roll her eyes. But she knew better than to show such a rude gesture to someone who hadn't done anything to her.

Yet.

She watched as Iida's eyebrows shot up, his eyes seemed to be staring at her legs.

"Hyoumei, I think you've made a mistake. You seem to be wearing the male's uniform pants and not the female's uniform skirt." He explained while moving his hands again. Mizuha raised her eyebrow at him. He was probably not aware of the pants for girls thing. At least he didn't insult her like she predicted. "You should probably get the correct uniform." He advised with no ill intent.

Mizuha shook her head, "No, I know what I am wearing." She replied with an uninterested tone. Her eyes looked away and they landed on the teacher's desk.

Byakuren laughed lightly, "Ah, don't worry about it, Iida~" He said in a sing song voice. Mizuha then took that as her cue to leave the two and to go ahead and claim a seat. She heard him explain how she received permission to wear pants by the school.

Mizuha always preferred to sit at the front of the class. It was the best place for her since she didn't like always moving around in her seat to see the black board when she had to write down notes, especially when a tree-student sat in front of her. She also wanted to sit somewhere that was close to the door that way when the bell rings she can just head straight for the door and leave the classroom.

Her eyes laser focused on a suitable spot and approached it to drop her bag on the desk. She walked around it and pulled back the blue chair to finally relax and sit so she could wait for the day to start. She took out her phone to check the time. It was now 8:25 AM. No doubt that more students that belonged to 1-A would soon be arriving.

She breathed in deeply before letting out a heavy breath. Everything was fine so far, nothing to worry about. She should use this time to calm her nerves and just wait patiently for class to start. She watched from the corner of her eye and followed Byakuren's figure that was walking past her to find himself a seat. Unlike her, he didn't care about where his seat was and wasn't a fan of sitting in the front.

She heard a chair scratch against the floor followed by walking footsteps. She was putting her bag underneath her desk but then she started feeling alarmed when she heard the footsteps approaching her from behind. She even sensed someone walking towards her. She narrowed her eyes, if she remembered correctly then the student with spiky red hair was sitting somewhere behind her that was closer to her seat.

"Hey there."

Mizuha instantly frowned but quickly made it disappear when she turned to look at the person talking to her. She knit her eyebrows when she saw their face. He looked very familiar and the little scar above his right eye was enough to somewhat hint who he was. The only thing that threw her off was his spiky red hair.

I thought he had black hair?

"Um, hi." Mizuha replied with an unsure tone. She decided to ask, "K...Kirishima?" She said slowly, she desperately hoped she was right.

His face lit up and he smiled, "Yeah that's me! I'm surprised you remembered! We sat next to each other during the entrance exams, remember?"

She wanted to ask about his hair, but that wasn't any of her business. Now that she got a good look at him, Mizuha had to admit that he looked cool with his hair up. Maybe because she could clearly see his face now? She wasn't sure.

"I didn't really get your name back then, what's yours?"

She hesitated, "Hyoumei. Hyoumei Mizuha."

He grinned at her and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, Hyoumei I just wanted to say that the way you protect those girls during the practical exam... You were really brave when you went up against that fourth villain. " He said then pulled his hand away from his neck. He smiled at her and leaned back against a desk behind him.

"I was so moved by your heroic act that I couldn't help but do the same! I was even able to earn more rescue points because of you!" He explained. This wasn't news to her at all, now that she thought about it she did want to tell him something too. It was important for her to say it since she was very disappointed with what she witnessed that day.

"Kirishima, you deserved those points. When people ran away, you stayed behind and actually helped people who were in danger. Without your help, three people would have probably been in danger. You were actually the only other hero there who was willing to help me and them." She simple told him while looking at her desk and drumming her fingers against it. "So, thanks." She finished with a mumble before looking back at him. It felt so weird to thank him for helping her.

Kirishima's face looked shocked. Mizuha suddenly felt deflated since she thought she might have said something wrong. If that was the case, she'll probably just keep her mouth shut for the rest of the year. However, she was proven wrong when he gave her a toothy grin.

"Thanks Hyoumei! You know, you're pretty cool!"

Mizuha flinched. "H-Huh?"

"Like, seriously! Your Quirk and your heroic acts I saw that day were so cool! I thought—"

Mizuha blinked dumbly as he kept on talking. Her mind was having a hard time processing after what he said mere seconds ago. The girl felt anxious. She stared at him as he kept talking but all she could think about is that she was doing the opposite of what she was supposed to be doing. She was supposed keep her distance when it came to her new classmates. This conversation she was having was like as if it was the key to becoming friends or something. She was mentally panicking.

"-weird to say but you were manlier than those guys-"

Damn it, I'm in trouble. What do I do?! He's really acting like we just became friends...

WHAT DO I DO?!

Suddenly she saw Byakuren casually walking behind Kirishima. He shot her a smirk and chuckled at her predicament when he kept walking.

Bastard.

Mizuha was not the kind of person who would act like, for the lack of a better word, a bitch when it came to pushing people away. Her methods were more... subtle. Her ways involved keeping her distance and avoiding them as much as possible while still being respectful. There was no need to get all mean to people she wanted nothing to do with. They just needed to get the message slowly.

... Honestly, it's been a while since she's had to use this strategy.

Thank you for your review DrVelmaFraud ! I really appreciate it (I've been so anxious for a review)!