The sun was still rising as Kiriyama shadow-boxed. He's recently gotten into the habit of waking up very early and leaving the apartment to train as soon as he got himself ready. After training, he would go back home, shower, put on his uniform, eat breakfast, go to school, wander the city after school, eat dinner at a diner, and return to the apartment he shared with Mustard, and now, Toga, when it gets dark. To end the day, he almost instantly falls asleep as his head hits the pillow on the couch that he now sleeps on because he insisted Toga take his room.
He finished up his shadow-boxing and grabbed a towel from inside his backpack that sat next to a tree. Then, he laid down on the cold patch of grass next to his backpack and the tree. He dried off the sweat that had accumulated on his head and his hair. His laid his head on top of his hands and the towel and he looked at the sky, it was still a little dim and the blue sky was highlighted with the orange and yellow sunrise. He raised his right hand and played with his bangs. He thought back to what had happened a week before, when Magne died and Toga helped comfort him. Toga... Why is she always on my mind? he thought.
After that night, he found himself thinking more and more about the blonde. And he's been avoiding her because of it. Even after I told her I wouldn't run away from her anymore, here I am...
He considered her as a very good friend, well, probably his best friend seeing as Kiriyama doesn't have many. He closed his eyes and her face appeared in his mind. Kiriyama thought she was very pretty, and he drifted off into unconsciousness.
/
He dreamed of what happened when they returned to the shared apartment after Magne's murder. Kiriyama told Toga to take his room as thanks for her being there to help him. Toga tried to refuse at first but after some insisting from Kiriyama, she gave in and flashed him a smile. Kiriyama was unable to sleep that night as he was still getting used to the uncomfortable, old couch and he feared that he would be plagued with nightmares of Overhaul.
He jumped out and made his way to the small kitchen to get a bottle of water. That's when he saw Toga opening the refridgerator. The orange light illuminated her and the room. Her blonde hair was not in its usual fashion of messy buns, it was let down and just a little past her shoulders. Though it was a little messy, it also also looked soft. She wasn't in her signature high school uniform either, with the exception of her black knee-socks. She was wearing one of Kiriyama's black hoodies. It was a little too big for Kiriyama so he never wore it, and as he could see, it was way too big on her. The sleeves were way past her hands and the bottom almost touched her knees.
Beautiful he thought. Huh? Beautiful? Where did that come from?
Kiriyama shook his head and looked back to Toga. She was also looking at him and the sudden eye contact made Kiriyama quickly avert his eyes out of embarrassment.
"Kiriyama-kun?"
"H-hey, Toga-chan" he coughed and tried to compose himself as he forced his eyes to meet her gaze. "Why're you wearing my hoodie?"
","
"Oh, I don't think we really have anything to drink in the fridge. We usually just grab a bottle of water in the back,"
"There aren't anymore, though..."
"What! Really? Damn, I was going to get some too,"
"I guess we should buy some tomorrow,"
"Yeah..."
The air gets heavier and neither teens speak. Their eyes were locked together, Kiriyama felt his heart race and his face heat up. She looked different. Not just the way she dressed or how her hair was styled. There was something about Toga's appearance that was making it hard for Kiriyama to keep his breath steady. Kiriyama remembered a similar feeling from just a few hours before, but it felt weaker then. Maybe he was just tired, he still hasn't slept yet.
Ah, I get it now... I'm-
A small clock on the kitchen counter beeped a few times to signal that they had entered a new hour and it snapped Kiriyama out of his trance-like state. He turned his head to look at the clock. It was five a.m. Kiriyama sighed, seemingly just remembering how tired he was.
"It's getting pretty late..." Toga pointed out.
"Actually, it's pretty early," Kiriyama replied, still looking at the clock, "Let's get some shut-eye, Toga-chan."
Kiriyama saw Toga nod from the corner of his eyes and he turned around to head to bed.
Tired... That's gotta be why I'm feeling strange. I'm just tired.
/
Kiriyama slowly opened his eyes and sighed as he stood up from the ground. He was fond of that memory but the feelings that came with it were something he would rather not remember. Kiriyama ruffled his hair around and squinted as the sun, that was now high up in the sky, shone its light into his eyes. Kiriyama took his phone out from his backpack and checked for the time. It was 8 o'clock, meaning he's slept for about 2 hours. School started at 9, so Kiriyama picked up his bag and sprinted home. He would've liked to just skip school but today was different. Shigaraki called him the day before to tell him that he's giving the public high school assignment to Nakamura while he's going to send Kiriyama to Shiketsu High School. The best Hero Academy in the West that can compete with U.A., which is the best in the East. He explained to Kiriyama that this was because they needed more people in the League, now that One for All is gone and Magne died. This initially shocked Kiriyama, and left him with many questions. But he eventually just concluded that All for One must have had deep connections, and that just like how he had a spy in U.A., he must also have a spy in Shiketsu.
He arrived at the shared apartment and ran to his room to grab his new uniform. Then, he took a shower and got ready. He opened the front door hastily and saw Toga. He stood still and stiff, shocked at the hat Toga wore. It was similar to, no, it was exactly like his Shiketsu hat that was required to be worn with his uniform. It was a navy blue hat with a red band and an amber-colored S logo on the front.
She smiled at his shock and latched onto his arm. "Come on! We're running late, Kiriyama-kun!"
/
Kiriyama stood outside of his new classroom, waiting for his teacher to announce to his class that they were getting a new classmate. Kiriyama shifted his gaze to the sign next to the door, it read, 'CLASS 2-C'. He was posing as a second year student, one year ahead of what Kiriyama would actually be. Shigaraki decided that he should go to this specific classroom because this was where the strongest of the Shiketsu students would be. He told him to watch out for Utsushimi Camie and Seiji Shishikura, 2 of the 4 Shiketsu students that tested for the Provisional Hero License.
Kiriyama sighed. In the public school, he just lazed about since he knew there weren't any promising people to recruit. But now he was in Shiketsu, one of the best Hero Academies in Japan. He actually had to befriend and recruit these hero-hopefuls into becoming villains. I guess the business of asking thugs and petty criminals to join the group has gotten a little slow. Though, it was understandable seeing as Kiriyama can remember overhearing his old classmates talk about how there are some small-time crooks being burnt to death by a black haired man with distinct purple, wrinkled, and stapled skin.
"Before we start, I have to announce the arrival of a new student of Shiketsu High School, and your new classmate: Kiriyama Ken-san," he heard the teacher say. Kiriyama opened the door and entered the classroom. There wasn't really anything special about the room, it looked like a normal high school classroom. There were 26 students and the desks were arranged in 5 rows, with 6 desks in each row. Half the students were boys that sighed at the new student being revealed to be male and the other half being girls that actually paid attention to Kiriyama.
"Please introduce yourself, Kiriyama-san." said the teacher, a sweaty, nervous looking man with bulging eyes and black hair swept to the left.
"Thank you, Yamato-sensei. My name is Kiriyama Ken as you heard from our teacher. 'Kiriyama-kun' is fine by me. And my quirk is Blood Manipulation, meaning I can solidify, move, shape, and even blast or shoot my own blood like a gun. Kinda creepy, right?" said Kiriyama, with an uncharacteristic smile to come off as friendly. No one laughed but everyone seemed to be at least a little interested. He scanned the room and saw a purple haired boy scowling at him. 'Have I already made an enemy out of my target in just a minute or two?'
"Please take a seat by Natsuki-san, the young lady with pink hair, in the fourth row." said Yamato-sensei.
/
LUNCH
Kiriyama was going to reach for his bag and take out his lunch, when his classmates crowded around him.
"So Kiriyama-kun, where are ya from?"
"How'd you get in Shiketsu?"
"Did you transfer from U.A.?"
"No way, he'd do that! U.A. is way better!"
Kiriyama was getting overwhelmed by all the questions but to his shock, the questions came to a halt after the purple-haired boy that scowled at him from earlier and a yellowish-brown-haired girl walked over.
"Hello, Kiriyama-san. I am the class rep, Shishikura Seiji. It's a pleasure to have you attend the greatest, and yes, regardless of what some foolish people may thin, I do mean the greatest Hero Academy in all of Japan," said the boy, raising his hand, inviting Kiriyama to shake it. He had straight purple hair that covered one of his pair of slanted black eyes. Kiriyama hesitated with a stutter at first, a little baffled, seeing as Kiriyama expected Shishikura to dislike him. But he then accepted and replied after, "Uh, y-yeah! Nice to meet you and nice to be here, Shishikura-san,"
"So, Ken-chan, would it be cool if I put my digits in your phone, fam?" asked the fawn-haired girl. She was a very pretty girl with long hair that reached just a little past her shoulders, dark brown eyes, full and glossy lips, and a curvaceous figure that made Kiriyama struggle a bit to not let his eyes wander over it.
"Your digits? Like your phone number or something?" asked Kiriyama.
"Yeah, man! You seem pretty chill, I wanna hit you up sometime, is that aight?" she said.
"Yeah. Sure, go ahead," Kiriyama answered, giving her his unlocked phone. The girl then entered her contact information and handed his phone back in an instant. That was probably the fastest Kiriyama has seen somebody type.
"Aight, I'll hit you up after school, aight?"
"Uh, yeah. 'Aight',"
Shishikura and the girl left after that and Kiriyama was then bombarded with questions by the rest of his classmates for the duration of lunch.
/
After School
Kiriyama was quickly walking back home from school, trying to dodge any invites to hang out after school. He failed however after he dropped his hat and his eyes met with a familiar girl's, who picked up his hat for him.
"Thanks, um, what was it again? Sorry, I'm still getting used to names."
"Utsushimi Camie. Call me Camie,"