Class 1-A was gathered in Aizawa's class waiting for him to arrive. Normally Tenya would have quieted them down, but they were now excitedly chattering away in anticipation of the exchange student's introduction.
"I wonder if it's someone nice," Uraraka voiced.
"I don't think so. Aizawa said all the kids in OCH are total creeps! I bet they sent us a vampire or something!" Mineta said shakily.
"Nah, they wouldn't send us a vampire… Would they?" Izuku said in a mostly courageous tone.
"It's obviously a total loser." Katsuki said plainly. "This kid couldn't get into UA so it's gotta be some useless nobody with an even lamer quirk."
"We can't say that for certain." Todoroki defended. "The real reason this student doesn't attend UA is because they live abroad."
Finally Aizawa appeared in the doorway with the exchange student in tow. He walked in and sat down at his desk while the student presented herself to the class. She looked unexpectedly plain for someone from a school of "creeps". Her hair was dark brown, her skin had more colour than one would expect of a typical ghoul, and her clothes were surprisingly ordinary.
"I'd like to introduce the exchange student from OCH. This is Baanetto Erisabessu. Is there anything you'd like to say to the class before you take your seat?"
Elizabeth Burnet cringed at the Japanese pronunciation of her name. "You can all call me Bessie! I am very excited to work with all of you!" She stuck her hands up into the air and there was a moment's pause. Everyone looked at her quizzically and her smile faded.
Aizawa finally spoke up: "Did you mean to use your quirk in front of the class for an exciting first impression? I expected as much and took the liberty of erasing it. Please refrain from using your quirk in class unless instructed to do so by a teacher. Take your seat."
Bessie blushed and awkwardly made for her desk, feeling like a multitude of eyes were drilling into her. Should have kept it simple, she thought, somewhat upset with herself. She took her seat in the front row at the rightmost desk. Behind her sat a blond-haired boy with an intimidating stare and to her left a boy with a strange looking body shape. He kept most of his face hidden.
Her ears still felt hot as she put her bag on the floor and pulled in her chair. Just then she heard a voice by her ear.
"Don't worry about it. Aizawa-sensei's actually pretty cool. You'll come to appreciate his methods." It whispered.
She turned her head, but there was no one there. She noticed the strange looking boy had a pair of lips at the end of his… was it an arm? The lips were smiling at her. She shuddered. Was that thing near my ear?? Still, taking to heart what the boy told her she couldn't help but see her new teacher in a better light. She found it refreshing that he did not try to force happiness onto his students. The students were perfectly capable of maintaining their feelings naturally. Some of them were angry – like the boy behind her. Some of them were levelheaded – like the boy next to her. On the far side an odd-looking girl who radiated approachability and friendliness stuck out like a sore pink thumb, and behind this girl sat a wide-eyed girl with dark green hair whose expression told Bessie nothing. The whole spectrum was here and it was beautiful.
Eventually the bell sounded and before the class stood up to leave Aizawa raised a hand and most of them quieted down to listen.
"Your last class for the day is with All Might, but he's not here today." He said in his usual toneless voice. "Since Bessie is new here she can decide what to do with the free period."
Bessie could hardly believe her luck. I'm starting to like this guy already!
"Please come up to the front and tell us what you'd like to do, Bessie-san."
"Seeing as I will be spending the week with most of you I'd love to get to know you all better." She began.
"She's going to suggest a forced social interaction!" the class chorused in disappointed unison.
"I've always wanted to be in one of those one-on-one battles like you guys had in your sports festival tournament. I saw it on TV and it was so cool! I'd like to take on each of you!" she continued.
"It totally doesn't suck!" The class reacted as one.
"You don't get to do this sort of thing back home?" Jiro asked later in the changeroom as everyone was changing into their hero outfits.
"Nope." Bessie answered, tying her shoelace. "For one thing, most of our quirks are too dangerous. For another, we don't have a nurse like the famous Recovery Girl. Ours only does basic First Aid"
Since Bessie did not have a hero costume she had to resort to her gym clothes. Her measurements had been taken earlier that morning and she hoped to have a fully functional suit later in the week.
"What are the boys here like?" Bessie asked, since she was among girls only.
"Watch out for Mineta." Yaoyorozu answered immediately. "He's… a perv."
"And Bakugo's got a bit of a temper." Uraraka cautioned.
"Other than that the rest of them are all… well… boys." Tsuyu continued. Except for Aoyama. We think he might be-"
Outside Tenya blew on a whistle. "Everybody finish up!" he called toward the changerooms.
"We should get moving," the other class rep pointed out. There were a few last minute costume adjustments and the girls poured out of the change room and assembled on the field where most of the boys were waiting.
"As Bessie requested," Aizawa recapped, "You'll each get a chance to meet her in combat. She's new to this so hold back a little at first. She's also unfamiliar with most of your quirks, so give her an idea of what you can do before you go for the victory. As with the sports festival the object is to get your opponent out of the circle, immobilize them or get them to say 'I give up'. Look sharp and keep it clean."
The first battle was against Koda, and took place on the field where they had assembled. Once they had each taken a place within the circle Tenya blew on his borrowed whistle and the fight started.
"Swarm her!" Koda called out and before Bessie could ready an attack she found herself rushed by a mass of birds. There were gulls, pigeons, Ibises, plovers, and some less common birds. They gathered around Bessie, smashing their small bodies against her in rapid succession, thereby making her unable to focus. She swatted at them, trying to get them out of the way but they kept returning and she was unable to get serious.
"That's enough showing off. Take her out of the circle." Koda said firmly.
The swarm assembled behind Bessie and used their talons to grip her clothes. As more birds took hold and flapped their wings they gradually pulled her into the air and out of the battlefield.
"Hey! No! Put me down!" she grunted as she fought to free herself from the chaos of air and feathers. The next moment she realized that because the birds were now dragging her out of the battlefield they were no longer bombarding her and she could finally get serious. She pointed two palms at the hostile creatures and there was a flare of heat and smoke. Everyone watched in astonishment as the birds that were dragging Bessie a moment ago dropped to the ground. Their feathers singed, they turned around and fled the battle on foot.
Bessie
Quirk: Fireball
She can form fireballs on the palms of her hands and shoot them at her foes. She is able to control the size and heat of the fireball but careless or repeated use can result in burned palms.
Bessie landed stylishly mere inches from the edge of the battlefield and turned a malicious smile toward Koda. She straightened up and readied another fireball.
I give up! Koda signed with his hands and ran out of the battlefield just in case it wasn't clear.
"Koda surrenders. Bessie wins the first round!" Tenya announced as impromptu referee.
So Bessie's quirk creates fire. She's able to shoot fire from her hands but she can't shoot bigger or hotter blasts instantaneously: she needs time to form the ball of fire on her palm before she shoots it out. What's the limit to the intensity of her attack? There's also the Fire Triangle: To maintain a fire you need heat, fuel and oxygen. Does her quirk provide all three of these or just the heat and fuel?
"Deku, you're muttering." Ochaco said kindly.
The second battle was ready to begin. The circle was drawn on the partially sunken replica ship in the shipwreck zone of USJ (Battlefields were chosen randomly). Bessie stood at one side of the circle and Tsuyu Asui at the other.
"Looks like Tsu lucked out with the draw," Mina observed
"This place has some unpleasant memories for three of us, though," Mineta pointed out.
There was the sound of a whistle and the combatants sprang into action. Literally in Tsuyu's case. She launched herself with a mighty jump dodging Bessie's opening fireball. In mid-air she shot out her powerful tongue which Bessie dodged with a sideways leap. Tsuyu's tongue struck the unstable floor causing it to shake.
Bessie steadied herself and began to power up a bigger fireball. Another lash of Tsuyu's tongue sent her dodging again, but this time as she landed on the shaking boat she rolled on the floor and focused her momentum into her arm, using it to point her charged ball of flame at her opponent and send it forward.
The floor shook again as Tsuyu's slender yet powerful legs propelled her petite body into the air once more. Again her tongue slammed down at Bessie who dodged it. With each beating the terrain received it shook a little more.
"This fight looks like a stalemate." Mina pointed out. "Neither of them is able to land a hit on the other. It's probably coming down to who can hold out the longest."
Midoriya's observation skills were more practiced, however, and he was able to see more of the picture.
"That's not it." He said. "Tsu-chan is playing a different game. Each time the battlefield takes a pounding it loses some stability."
Bessie was now blowing on her palms in-between blasts. The next moment Asui dropped her façade and rapidly and wrecklessly crashed her weight and tongue into the floor. She struck at the battlefield again and again, all the while taking care to avoid fire from her opponent. Finally her strategy paid off and the support structures underneath gave out. The battlefield sank into the water and Tsuyu vanished from Bessie's sight.
Bessie nervously stayed afloat and composed herself. She raised a hand above the water's surface. Steam rose up from her palm before the fireball formed. She was scanning the water below for a sign of her opponent when something curled around her ankle and dragged her under. Once her hand was submerged the fireball disappeared.
Thankfully Tsuyu did not keep Bessie submerged for long. She only pulled her outside the circle before returning her to the surface. The shrill whistle rang through the air and Tsuyu was declared the winner.
"Tsuyu was clever." Tokoyami observed. "She kept a level head and focused on flipping the battle in her favour without being too transparent."
Iida looked at the crudely-drawn chart in his hand and announced the next battle in the typical fashion that made him the effective Class Rep that he was.
"Next battle is with Midoriya Izuku! Everyone please proceed to the stadium!"
- Next Chapter Monday pt 2: Vs Midoriya, Yaoyorozu, Mineta and Iida