AN: void - Monoma's actually on the list, he just needs some time to chill out with his animosity towards 1-A before he gets invited. Interesting idea though, I could see serious benefits if UA just expanded quirk analysis to something everyone has to comprehend on a basic level.

Aizawa arrived early at UA with a groan. He already wasn't a morning person, and the injuries he was recovering from only made it worse. Honestly, if it wasn't for Emi he may have been late, but her seemingly endless energy was always helpful on days like today.

He just hoped whatever Nezu wanted him for was quick so he could take a nap before class.

Not even caring about formality, Aizawa deposited his sleeping bag in one of the chairs as he sat down in the principal's office, a not-so-subtle reminder to Nezu of what he is missing right now.

"Ah, Aizawa, right on time!"

"Spare me the formalities, what do you want?"

"I will get right to the point then." Nezu hopped out of his chair and walked over to Aizawa, handing him a student's file. "Recently, it has come to my attention that there is a student in general studies who would be ideally suited for the hero course, but his quirk was a poor fit for our entrance exam."

Aizawa sighed. "If you wanted me to lecture you on how unfair our entrance exam is, again, couldn't this have waited until later in the day?"

"While I could have waited, I feel this matter is time-sensitive. You see, I am starting to come around to your arguments, and so I have a proposition for you."

The admission caught Aizawa off-guard, but he found himself suddenly feeling more awake. "What kind of proposition?"

"I have become open to the idea that our concept of hero score is not enough of a counter-weight in the entrance exam. However, to properly push back against the HPSC, I will need evidence showing how we are missing promising young heroes due to the structure of our exam. This is where you come in. If you can show that this student deserves to be in the hero course, we can transfer him over next semester and use him in our case to modify the entrance exam."

"And if this succeeds?"

"Well, then we would begin exploring ways to update our entrance exam, of course. Of course, if you assist me in this matter, I would ensure you were on the committee to revise our exam. As the most vocal opponent of the current system, your input would be invaluable in helping reshape it."

Aizawa thought about that - there were already several students on thin ice in his class, so he wouldn't be surprised if he had new students after summer break. There are definite advantages to grooming someone for his class ahead of time, even if it meant extra work for him. There was also the matter of the entrance exam itself.

After reviewing his options, he opened the file to see the student in question.

Hitoshi Shinso, Quirk: Brainwashing.

"Well I can immediately see the problem with his quirk when it comes to our entrance exam." Aizawa quickly scanned over his file. "And I agree with you that his quirk sounds incredibly useful. He could be an amazing underground hero if he had a chance at it."

"Indeed! Which is why, when Midoriya brought him to my attention yesterday, my first thought was to refer him to you. After all, there would be no better teacher for this assignment."

This elicited a groan from Aizawa. "Of course, Midoriya had to be involved in this. Can I at least speak to him before I make a decision?"

"Of course! That is why I called you here early. In fact, he is already waiting for us."

Nezu returned to his desk and pushed a button. A few moments later, his secretary let Hitoshi into the office. Aizawa took one look at him, and couldn't help but smile when he saw that Hitoshi seemed to be just as annoyed about being there early as he was.

"I think we're going to get along nicely."

In classroom 1-A, the students were sitting there nervously, wondering where their teacher was. Their normally punctual teacher was actually late this morning, with no news as to where he was.

Several minutes after homeroom was supposed to start they finally heard the door open, and Aizawa shuffled in, already out of his sleeping bag. He quickly deposited the bag behind his desk and looked at his class.

"Midoriya, what have you done?" He asked, staring at Izuku.

Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat and returned the look with a nervous glance. He could only guess this was related to the conversations from yesterday.

"J-Just putting your lessons into action, sensei!"

"Hmph." Aizawa was glad for the bandages covering his face, since it let him display a satisfied smile without his students seeing it. "Well, I am going to have extra work now, so that means I am going to be pushing all of you harder as well."

This elicited a groan from his class, and earned Izuku several glares from his classmates. Aizawa, meanwhile, was already busy crawling into his sleeping bag. He still had some time before homeroom was over, and planned to use the time to catch up on a few minutes of sleep.

Himiko found herself quickly eating lunch, before excusing herself early. She had hoped she could track down Kan-sensei earlier, but the week had gotten away from her!

The encounter over break had bothered her enough that she wanted to talk to him about it. After all, he was a professional hero, so he would have better ideas of how to handle fans - both the good and the bad kind. While she didn't feel any malice from the lady, she still didn't know how she was supposed to feel about the whole situation.

Luckily, when she arrived at the faculty office she saw her old teacher sitting at his desk, doing some work. She couldn't help but smile seeing her mentor, and walked up to him.

"Kan-Sensei!"

Kan spun around in his chair, a smile on his face. "Little Midoriya! Did you miss your old teacher so much that you couldn't go a week without seeing me?"

Himiko shook her head. "N-no! I actually." She took a deep breath. "Something happened over the break that I've been meaning to ask you about."

"Is it serious?" Kan's face immediately shifted into a look of concern.

"I don't know." Himiko admitted. "I don't think so? But it's weird enough I'd like some advice. I just - I'm not sure if it's a problem, but I don't know what I should do."

"Come, let's go find someplace more comfortable to talk." Standing up, Kan led Himiko to the teacher's lounge, where they sat down across from each other. "Now then, what happened?"

"I met someone over break." Himiko began. "A lady. She claims to be a fan of mine. I actually first saw her in Tipoca when I was interning with Mr. Brave, but over break I actually ran into her right here in Mustafu.

"On the surface there doesn't seem to be any issue, it could just be a coincidence. But something tells me there is more to this. Where in Mustafu did you run into her?"

"Right outside of Tatooin Station, so it could entirely be coincidence." Himiko admitted. "In Tipoca she looked like she was simply out jogging while we were on patrol, but when I saw her here in Mustafu she actually approached me."

"And how did you feel during these encounters? Obviously you felt like something was off, otherwise you wouldn't be coming to me about it."

"It was unsettling." Himiko admitted. "Not so much like I was being threatened, but like I was being judged?"

Kan looked thoughtful. "That is an odd way to describe things. What gave you that impression?"

Himiko looked down as she recalled her piercing gaze and her words. "Well, first it was her look, and then it was what she said to me. First she said that she claimed to be a fan of mine, praising my quirk, and then she asked me to remember what's important about being a hero."

Kan thought over her words. "Well that part at least makes some sense. I wonder if this woman was a fan of a former hero that turned to villainy."

That confused Himiko. "Heroes can be bad?"

Kan merely laughed and gave Himiko a sad smile, before pulling out his phone and searching for something. Finding what he wanted, he offered the phone to Himiko. "This may explain it. It's a lesson I wish I didn't have to teach someone as young as you, but in this era of peace there are those who want to use their title of hero for personal gain."

Himiko took the device and saw the article title.

Agent Ice arrested due to ties with Trigger smuggling ring.

"That article was dated around six months ago." Kan explained as Himiko began reading the article.

Over the past year the drug Trigger was being smuggled into Japan from South-East Asia through the ports in Tipoca City, and the villains were skilled enough to stay one step ahead of the police. Due to the severity of the situation, a team of heroes was called in to work alongside the police to root out the criminals operating inside Japan. One of the heroes on the investigation team was Agent Ice, due to having an established agency in Tipoca.

However, in a recent battle with villains there was an incident where his ice powers went out of control, in ways consistent with Trigger usage. In the investigation that followed, the drug Trigger was found in his bloodstream. Further investigation led to the discovery that he had been acting as an informant, feeding the smugglers information which allowed them to avoid the other heroes of Topica City in exchange for a regular supply of Trigger.

He used this supply of Trigger to fight villains that were previously out of his league. When questioned, he admitted that he was hoping to fight higher ranking villains in a bid to increase his own hero ranking.

Due to the nature of his crime, he was stripped of his hero ranking and reclassified as a B-Rank villain, and is currently serving out his sentence.

When she was done reading, Himiko handed the phone back to Kan.

"I am sorry, little Midoriya."

Himiko shook her head. "It's sad, to take people's trust and break it like that. So you think that this woman may have been a fan of Agent Ice?"

"If not him, then another hero who has similarly descended into villainy. If she happened to be a fan of yours, and she just so happened to spot you, perhaps she wanted assurance that her trust wouldn't be broken again?"

Himiko found the idea frustrating. "But I'm just a student! I don't even have my provisional license yet! How could I have done anything?"

"While your quirk is not one that would be traditionally seen as heroic, that doesn't mean it is not incredibly powerful in its own way. Think about all of the havoc you could cause if you put your mind to it, and had the right samples of blood."

Himiko buried her face in her hands. "I'd prefer not thinking about that, if I can help it." She was reminded of the numerous nightmares she had, lasting even into her early days at UA, where she would hear about a villain in the news and then that night she would dream that she was that villain, committing the crimes that she had heard about. It made her shudder.

"I know this isn't an easy conversation." Kan offered. "And I know you would never do something like that. But if someone merely knows about you from the Sports Festival and your internship, they wouldn't know that yet."

"I don't exactly like telling people what I've been through." Himiko sighed and pulled out her phone, staring at her lock screen. The image of her and a little girl both giving toothy grins a happy reminder that she was already doing good in the world. "Besides, if I did something like that, that would mean my birth parents were right about me."

Kan gently puts a hand on his shoulder. "While you and I know that, it is up to you to prove that to the public at large. That is your motivation for becoming a hero, after all!"

Himiko found herself nodding in agreement. "You're right! I guess I just need to show this lady that I'm not going to turn out like that, huh?"

"Exactly! She is a good reminder of the path you are on."

However, even with Kan's assurances, something still tugged at the back of Himiko's mind. "And if it turns out she is following me for a more sinister reason?"

Kan's face took a much more serious tone. "Well, if you have another run-in with her that worries you, let me know. As much as I would prefer this to be a case of a worried fan, after the events of this week we are all on edge. As an upcoming hero you are expected to be able to handle yourself, but as a student under our care for two more years, we will protect you with all of our resources at our disposal."

"Thanks, sensei." Himiko felt reassured by her mentor. "If she turns out to be some creep I'll just have to let you destroy them for me!"

That earned a laugh from Kan. "Now, now, hopefully it doesn't come to that!"

"I hope so too. But knowing that you're there for me does make me feel better."

With everything that happened since the year began, Amaya and Rin decided that their get-together was even more important. And so as the first school week drew to a close the fourteen girls of class two had plans to meet up after school and go out to dinner to celebrate the new school year.

At the end of the school day Himiko packed her bag and waited for her friends. As had become tradition among her group, a get-together meant that the four of them would all head to Atsuko's apartment to change and hang out before heading out for the evening. When everyone was ready they left the school, meeting up with Izuku and his friends in the courtyard.

Unfortunately for Himiko, just like she was able to read Izuku well, he also had developed an almost uncanny ability to tell when something is off. When their two groups met up, she saw his look of concern immediately. As the seven of them left the school and began walking towards the station, she felt his hand tugging on her arm, and the pair fell back from the rest of their group.

"Is everything ok?" Izuku asked quietly.

Himiko looked at her brother. "I just had an interesting conversation with Kan-sensei today. Why didn't you ever tell me heroes could become villains?"

Izuku's face heated up. "I don't really like those stories, and I don't think you would either. Why?"

"I just found out about them today. I'll tell you all about it when I get home, ok?" Himiko gave a reassuring smile to her brother.

Izuku nodded. "I'm holding you to that!"

"You'd better!"

Himiko couldn't help but smile as the two finished their conversation and hurried to catch up with their friends. Sometimes it was good to be reminded that Izuku had her back as much as she had his.

When they got to the train station, Ochako waved at Izuku. "See you on Monday, Deku!"

"Wait, Uraraka isn't coming over tonight?" Himiko asked.

"N-no! I promised my parents that I would video call them today! They want to know all about how my first week went."

"Uraraka told me last night." Izuku admitted.

"N-not that I don't appreciate everything your mom is doing for me! It's actually been nice having dinner with you guys! But I can't let the food I already have go to waste, either!"

Himiko gave Ochako a pouty look. "Aww, but you could have had a nice evening with just mom and Izu!"

This caused both of the first year students to start blushing, causing Himiko and Atsuko to laugh.

"I-I really should get going." Ochako squeaked out.

"I'll see you on Monday, Uraraka! And I'll see you when you get home Himi!" Izuku said before turning and practically running down the stairs into the terminal.

Sakura could only smile at her friends' antics before turning to Ochako. "You know, tonight is just going to be the second years, but you should come along when it's just the four of us."

"M-maybe, that could be fun!" Ochako said, starting to recover.

"And you can bring friends too, the more the merrier!" Emily added.

Ochako smiled and nodded at the second years, before the group split up.

Himiko collapses on the couch in Atsuko's living room, having already changed out of her school uniform into a pair of simple black leggings and a t-shirt, with an oversized cardigan thrown on top. Atsuko sat down next, having changed into a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt in her own room.

"It's been quite a week, hasn't it?" Atsuko asked.

"It has been worse for some of us than others." Tomoe added.

"Being a big sister is hard, none of you understand." Himiko made sure that her tone sounded as painful as possible.

"As if you wouldn't do anything for Izuku." Atsuko teased.

Himiko responded by glaring at her friend. "That's it, our friendship is over. I have decided that Uraraka's my new best friend."

That caused Atsuko to laugh, and eventually Himiko broke and began laughing as well.

"Who would have thought Izuku would have been such a trouble magnet?"

Himiko just gave Atsuko a look. "Have you met him?"

Her friend laughed in response. "Ok, fair!"

"But it's the weekend now! Your brother can handle himself for one night, it's time to relax!" Emily exclaimed.

"Yes!" Himiko cheered. "He's probably going to be sitting at home, just working on his notebook."

That seemed to excite Emily as she reached for her bag. "Oh! Speaking of that, Nezu's going to be holding special lessons for us starting next week!"

Himiko rolled her eyes. "Of course Izu would get you into that."

Emily stuck her tongue out at Himiko. "He also recommended Yaoyorozu, so it wasn't just me!"

"That poor girl, isn't she going to be lost?" Atsuko asked.

"She can handle it! She's super smart, she'll catch up!"

"She just has to survive getting tossed into the deep end with you two?"

"Exactly!"

Tomoe sighed wistfully. "I almost wish that I had something like that to look forward to."

"Maybe you will!" Himiko offered. "Izu said there's more courses coming, this is just the first course of its type, and they will have more soon?"

That caused Tomoe to smile. "Hopefully, that would be nice."

"You're also super smart, it wouldn't be fair if we were the only ones getting lessons because nobody else cares about quirks the way we do!"

The answer seemed to satisfy Tomoe as she stood up to change. "I guess we'll see, won't we?"

"Yep!" Emily finally pulled the folder out of her bag and set it on the table, going through the papers and talking to herself about the materials Nezu provided her.

"Looks like we're going to hear about this even if we don't want to." Himiko complained dramatically.

"Aww, don't be like that! You love us and you know it."

"I already cut ties with Suko earlier, don't make me find more friends from Izu's class."

Himiko was confused by the expression on Emily's face, lasting only a brief moment before she returned to her usual self. "Oh please, none of them are as lovely as we are!"

Himiko responded by sticking out her tongue, causing Emily to laugh.

Tomoe came back in a pair of patterned gray-and-black leggings and a green t-shirt, sitting back down on the couch as Emily grabbed her bag and left.

"So what is the plan afterwards?"

"Arcade?"

"Works for me!"

A few minutes later Emily returned, having dressed up compared to her friends. She was now wearing pink leggings with a nice white skirt over top, and a white dress shirt that hugged her figure. The most significant feature however, was the crimson lipstick she was wearing, her lips painted a deep red.

Himiko couldn't help but find it distracting. It wasn't the color of blood, of course, but it was close enough to grab her attention. After her earlier confusion this week, she found this new addition wasn't helping at all. It was doing quite the opposite in fact, as despite her best efforts, Himiko was finding her eyes drawn towards Emily's face.

"P-Pretty." She stammered out, without realizing it.

"Looks like you're out to impress someone." Tomoe said pointedly.

The attention caused Emily to blush. "S-shut up!"

"She just wants to one-up her rival." Atsuko said, smirking. "Since Fuwa's going to be there, of course Emily has to go all out."

Himiko finally managed to achieve some level of composure, shoving the traitorous thoughts away for her to figure out later. "That's our Emmy, always trying to one up everyone."

Emily crossed her arms. "It's not a crime if I want to look cute sometimes!"

"We're just teasing." Tomoe said, before glancing at the others in the room. "Although you do look good, right?"

"Yep!"

"Y-yeah!"

Emily sat back down and continued going through the papers, while the rest of the girls continued to chat about the upcoming school year until it was time to leave and meet up with Amaya, Rin, and the other girls.

AN: I promise I didn't forget about Himiko's plotline! It just is slow going until after the sports festival.