Chapter 2: starting class

Akane stood at the front of class 1A beside Mr Aizawa, facing a room full of big-eyed heroes in training. He sighed, already exhausted by their eagerness and, if he was being honest, worried about her safety in the spotlight like this.

"Meet Akane Aiz—I mean, Akane Sato. Your new classmate."

A one very simultaneously enthusiastic and stern Tenya Ida shot his hand up into the air. "Mr Aizawa sir!"

Aizawa resisted a groan. "What is it?"

"I do not recognize Akane Sato from the entrance exams. How did she —?"

"Me neither." Bakugou snarled. "What's your quirk, dumb newbie?"

Akane snuck a quick, desperate glance at Aizawa. Almost instantly, he reacted, snapping his annoyed response. "She got in on recommendation. My recommendation. Anyone got a problem with that?"

Silence. Even Bakugou sunk into a solemn and angry quiet, slumped in his desk chair with a short scoff. The rest of the class ogled Akane, even more intrigued than before. A student enrolled in U.A from Aizawa's recommendation? She had to be good, whatever her quirk was. Not to mention scary, with her deep-set red eyes, her black leather gloves, and a distinct battle scar across the length of her face.

"As for her quirk," Aizawa continued, "I suppose you'll have to figure that much out on your own." He turned to Akane. "Welcome to class 1A. Take your seat."

With a wordless nod, Akane found an empty desk in the back row and seated herself behind Tsuyu and next to Bakugou. Tsuyu gave her an unsettling, but friendly, smile, while Bakugou shot her a sideways glare, asserting dominance as subtly as possible (likely in fear of pissing Aizawa off again).

The rest of the class was fairly uneventful. Akane pretended not to notice the subtle and not-so-subtle glances directed her way, everyone curious about this mysterious new student and her untold quirk. What could she do? Where was she from? How did she know Mr Aizawa?

But then there was Izuku Midoria, who couldn't help but keep his eyes on Akane for just a couple seconds too long. There was an uncomfortable frown on his face, and a glimmer of half-recognition in his big eyes. Something about his look made Akane's fists tighten in her gloves, her knuckles stinging under the gauze. When she couldn't take it any longer, she finally returned his look and arched an eyebrow as if to say, problem?

Immediately, Midoria blushed. He turned away, practically shaking in his seat.

From the front of the classroom, Aizawa noticed this uncomfortable exchange, and had to hide his worry. Did Midoria recognize her? Her face hadn't been in the papers for a couple years, not since her time with the villains, and he'd made sure to help her change her look since then. Keep her past identity safe. But if anyone was going to figure it out, it'd be Midoria, the fanboy nerd, always on top of hero/villain coverage.

Their next class was hero training with All Might. The number one hero, like the rest of U.A staff, knew the whole situation with Aizawa's adopted daughter. They had agreed, of course, to keep it all under wraps for her protection, from the press, the villains, and her fellow class mates.

"Today's training will entail hand-to-hand combat. Let's play a couple rounds without quirks, and then we'll step things up a notch. Your partners will be assigned randomly."

Everyone chatted among themselves, eagerly waiting to receive their partners. Akane stood alone, seemingly unbothered. First round without quirks? She'd be fine. But later…that could be an issue.

"Hey, dumb newbie."

Akane turned, seeing one very pissed-off looking Bakugou with his arms folded. He scowled, even more fiercely than before.

"You're with me, so don't be lame. Give me all you got."

Akane couldn't help it. Excitement sparked in her chest. She was ready to knock this angry prick down a notch or two.

"Understood."

Each pair went one at a time, the whole class taking notes on each fight. Without their quirks, it was clear the class struggled. Akane noticed their fighting technique was sloppy. They needed a lot more training if they were ever going to fight quirkless.

Breathing hard, Kirishima and Sero left the ring, fist-bumping to commemorate their hard work. The class debriefed, talking about the fighters' strengths and weaknesses, before All Might called up the next pair.

"Alright. Katsuki Bakugou and Akane Sato. You're up."

The pair approached the ring, unspeaking. The rest of the class straightened to attention, not hiding their concern. Poor girl, paired up to fight with Bakugou on her very first day. Why did All Might possibly think this was a good idea?

Little did they know, All Might had seen Akane fight hand-to-hand. He'd watched her fight alongside the villains and train with Aizawa. He knew how hard she worked, day and night, at her punching bag. He'd be willing to bet that under those trademark gloves of hers were some pretty scarred fists. Even without using her quirk, Bakugou would be wise not to underestimate the new girl.

Akane and Bakugou faced each other across the ring, bodies poised to fight. The whole class held their breath.

All Might blew a whistle. "Fight!"

Unsurprisingly, Bakugou attacked first, charging at her head-on with a roar. Akane dodged like it was nothing and counter-attacked seamlessly before he knew what hit him. Bakugou smacked the floor, coughing loudly.

"What the hell?" He growled.

He tried to get up, but too slowly, with Akane slamming him back down before kicking him right across the ring.

Kirishima jumped up from the audience. "Hey! I thought you said no quirks!"

Midoria shook his head. "I don't think that was a quirk."

Kirishima's eyes popped. "What, she's just that strong?!"

Bakugou rose shakily onto his hands and knees, groaning and coughing.

"Young Bakugou," All Might boomed, "do you concede defeat?"

Bakugou growled, but he couldn't seem to stand. "No."

Practically the whole class rolled their eyes.

All Might blew his whistle again, ending the match.

Akane relaxed. Bakugou fumed.

"Hey!" He roared. "I'm not done here!"

But Akane was already leaving the ring, without even having broken a sweat. She rejoined the rest of the class, expressionless, seemingly completely unfazed by her stunning victory. The other students couldn't help but ogle, impressed but terrified. She'd knocked down their strongest peer in a matter of seconds without using a quirk. Who was this girl?

Finally, Bakugou managed to get up and exit the ring. Still hoarse, he shouted, "You just wait for round two when I get to use my quirk on you, you dumb newbie!"

Sure enough, the next round, Akane did not get by quite so easily. She was deft enough to avoid Bakugou's blasts, but without an appropriate quirk to counter-attack, she was at a major disadvantage. She'd run out of energy just defending herself before she ever got a chance to knock him down.

All Might watched tensely, suddenly very much regretting his decision to pair these two up. He should've spoken to Aizawa about Akane's quirk before class. He just assumed she'd have found another application for it by now, but she didn't once move to remove those gloves. It was clear very quickly that she had no intention of tapping into her quirk in any capacity. Not today.

Finally, after Bakugou's second searing hit on Akane, singing through her uniform and leaving distinct burns on her skin, All Might blew the whistle. That was enough.

He pursed his lips. Aizawa is going to kill me.

"What?" Bakugou snapped to attention. "We can't stop, she hasn't even used her damn quirk on me yet!"

"That's enough, young Bakugou," All Might asserted. "The match is over."

"I don't think so!"

"You win," Akane said, finally out of breath. "Congratulations."

"Hey!" Bakugou seized her uniform by the collar. "Asshole! You said you wouldn't hold back! What, I'm not good enough for you or something?!"

In his fury, Bakugou's fist fired up, burning straight through Akane's chest. She hissed, landing a hard kick directly to his sternum. Bakugou stumbled back, winded, while Akane's skin sizzled.

All Might's face dropped. Now Aizawa's really going to kill me.

He raced toward Bakugou and held the boy back, ignoring him as he thrashed around wildly. All Might looked at Akane, who had already been swarmed by several of her new classmates.

"Are you alright, young Akane?"

Jaw tight, she nodded.

Unsatisfied, All Might turned to Tenya Ida and Izuku Midoria. "You two, escort her to Recovery Girl. I'll give you all a pass to be late for next period. As for you." He held Bakugou tighter. "I'll let Mr Aizawa decide how to handle a student who doesn't respect the whistle."

Immediately, Tenya Ida charged through the small crowd and approached Akane. Midoria was already at her side.

"As class rep," Ida asserted, "it is my duty to see your injuries are properly treated. Allow me to carry you to the infirmary."

Akane recoiled. "I'm good. Just point me in the general direction."

"Here," Midoria chirped, "we'll show you."

With that, she followed the boys off the training field and into the building, not looking back at All Might or the still-seething Bakugou.

"It's a pretty long walk to Recovery Girl from here," Midoria said. He gestured to Akane's leg, which had been seared by one of Bakugou's blasts. "Are you sure we can't give you a hand?"

"All Might has entrusted us with your safe passage," Ida added, "please, allow us to —"

"I'm fine. Thanks."

There were several beats of silence as the boys led Akane through the school, exchanging curious and uncomfortable glances over her head. They had a million questions to ask and Akane knew it, especially with the way Midoria kept weirdly staring at her in faint recognition, but she was in no mood to engage.

Finally, Midoria said, "You were amazing, you know."

"Indeed," Ida said. "We've never seen anyone take on Bakugou with your poise and efficacy."

Akane frowned. "I mean, he beat me."

"He did," Ida conceded, "but there is no doubt in my mind who is the more skilled fighter."

"He's right, Akane," Midoria said. "It's your first day and you've gotta be the best in 1A by far."

"If I may ask…" Ida said, "why did you refrain from using your quirk?"

At that, Akane fell dead silent, her fists clenching tight in her gloves. She glared ahead, refusing to answer.

Once again, Midoria and Ida shared a look. Clearly this was not a topic she wished to be pressed.

"Whatever the reason," Ida continued, gently, "we are very glad to have you."

Midoria nodded eagerly. "Mm-hm."

As they continued walking, Akane could feel her leg giving in, the pain overwhelming her balance. She grit her teeth, trying to hide the limp, when eventually she tripped. Midoria rushed to catch her, but the second he got too close for comfort, Akane flinched away, her eyes burning.

Midoria stopped. "Sorry, I…just thought —"

"Don't."

Midoria blinked. Slowly, he nodded. "Sure thing."

The three of them made it the rest of the way to Recovery Girl, Ida and Midoria keeping a close eye on Akane in case she tripped again — not that either of them would dare try to touch her after that last warning. It was becoming increasingly clear to the both of them that something wasn't quite right with this girl. The gloves she refused to take off, the quirk she refused to use, the way she took down Bakugou with such ease.

Someone, or something, might have imbued her with those crazy fighting skills, but not without causing some serious damage.