Beacon is a special place.

It is the birthplace of heroes.

The home of the huntsman.

There are many tales to tell within its wall.

These are some of those stories.

Beacon Academy Student Application Form

Personal Information

Full Name: Izuku Midoriya

Gender: Male

Birthday: July 15, XXXX

Blood Type: O

Height: 166 cm

Address: 77 Horikoshi St., Shizuoka District, Mountain Glenn

Phone Number: 101-2008

Scroll Number (if applicable): N/A

…

Primary Combat School Information (if applicable)

Name of Combat School: Birch Academy

Address: 120 Jump St., Niigata District, Mountain Glenn

Phone Number: 177-2014

…

Attached Final Report Card

Grading Scale:

A = Excellent

B = Above Average

C = Satisfactory/Average

D = Requires Improvement

F = Failing

Combat Scores:

Power: F

Endurance: F

Speed: D

Dexterity: F+

Hand to Hand Technique: B+

Firearms Skill (Focus: Scatterguns): B-

Aura Usage: N/A

Semblance Mastery: N/A

Other Fields:

History/Current Events: A+

Grimm Biology: A+

Weapon Engineering and Knowledge: C

Survivalism: A

Overall Assessment:

Despite having well-honed skills in basic hand-to-hand combat and close-ranged firearms usage, as well as a keen sense of battle awareness, Mr. Midoriya's inability to be awakened to aura usage means that he can never be a true threat to even the weakest of Grimm, and thus can never become a Huntsman. However, he would make a fine social studies teacher, and I believe he could thrive in even the top universities of Vale.

-Dr. Mantis Bloomsburg, Head Instructor of Birch Academy

Application Essay

Topic: What separates Toshinori Yagi and Enji Todoroki as the greatest and 2nd greatest Huntsman?

Toshinori Yagi and Enji Todoroki are the most legendary and well-known partners in huntsman history, both having had an impact on not only how huntsmen operate and their social standing but also on all four kingdoms as a whole in terms of expansion, culture, academic studies, and even their way of life. This can be seen in the accelerated rate of growth of all of these aspects in all four kingdoms after the graduation of their team from Beacon in the year of XXXX. However, there is a notable difference in their personal reputations when compared to each other, as Toshinori does not only have universally accepted moniker of the Symbol of Peace and Hope, but is also noted to have the highest ratings in most huntsman popularity polls for the past decade and a half*, while Enji, though reported having the highest number of successful missions and skirmishes against the Grimm, has a less universally accepted position of #2 huntsman according to his slightly more unstable position in popularity polls (though still often on the upper-end, and never leaving the top five rankings). One can trace back the specific date of the start of their popularity as even before Toshinori's legendary defense of Mountain Glenn, as stated according to a study conducted by….

…but Enji has a higher number of defences against Grimm, and arguably, according to Wyvern, a higher number of lives saved. Wyvern, as controversial as he is in promoting Enji as deserving more praise than Toshinori as a huntsman, makes a good number of fair points. Yet as seen here Toshinori has never had a recorded casualty during one of his missions as compared by….

…and both clearly show a decrease in Grimm attacks on major and minor settlements alike, yet according to Dr. Brine Toshinori Toshinori still manages to have a larger effect on the emotions of the population, decreasing overall negative emotions by an approximate amount of 63% based on succeeding researches conducted by…

…not even getting into the sales of merchandise and formation of tourist spots which furthers the economy of an area, as noted in the hundred-thousands by different cities. The island of Patch by itself contributes eye-boggling numbers of….

…Footnotes

*The only popularity polls where he doesn't have the highest ratings are polls which don't include him, as shown in the annual public records of the Huntsman Media Association (HMA) last December.

xXxXxXxXxXx

Ozpin paused after reaching the end of the first page of Izuku's essay, and quickly checked its length. Notably, the young man's application essay had somehow turned into full-on academic thesis of more than fifteen pages-all originating from a single guide question. 'Toshinori has certainly chosen someone extraordinary to be his successor,' he thought as he reminded himselfmade a mental note to limit the word counts of future essays.

"He's changed." Those were the thoughts of Inko Midoriya as she ate dinner. While she had expected her son to change after he had entered Beacon, she didn't expect for it to be that quick.

She could tell from his voice that he had much more self-confidence in himself. It still shocked her how much he had changed in two days… no, it would be more accurate to say how much he had changed when he had met Toshinori Yagi in person.

She still hadn't believed the results. While Inko never forget that fateful event and she would always be grateful for Toshinori choosing to fight a what was thought to be a hopeless battle, for being the reason why she and her son were still alive, never in a million years did she think that he would have a miraculous answer to Izuku's problems.

While she hadn't been aware of any of the details, Inko did know that he was the reason why Izuku had been working so hard, why Izuku regained hope that he could accomplish his dream, that despite everyone's words and beliefs he could become a huntsmen.

Ever since he could remember people praised Toshinori, so it was no surprise that Izuku became one of his fans as well. Living in Mountain Glenn had inflamed this feeling even further as the town adored Toshinori and many adults are very grateful for him saving their lives. Under those circumstances, Izuku wishing to be a Huntsman hadn't been a surprise but…

Even so she still couldn't believe it. When she had learned that her little boy had no aura and wouldn't be capable of fighting Grimm, the expression on his face crushed her. That expression was why she had never mustered the effort to convince her son that he should choose a different career path. Sure, she occasionally brought the option up but it was only a reminder at best. It was selfish but she hadn't wanted to destroy his hopes and dreams for good even if she were the best person (well except for Toshinori perhaps) to do so. If she had done so then her relationship with her son would've been permanently damaged. So against all common sense, in her heart, she had hoped that a miracle would occur. Luckily Toshinori answered the call once more.

She knew that being a huntsman was a very dangerous career with a high fatality rate but Izuku wanted to be one and Inko could tell that it had benefited him. He had gained some friends and some much-needed confidence. While she was still worried, she thought things should be fine. It was his first year at Beacon, as a student and a first year at that, Izuku shouldn't face much danger and while there may be a few bruises… he should be in good health. Still, it wouldn't hurt to be able to talk with him often just in case.

Izuku had gotten a message from Mei about his weapons being finished. As such, he informed his team and left his dorm room to pick up his newly repaired and modified weapons.

As he walked down the hall, he saw an odd combination. Ruby and Bakugo were together. Not team RSBR but just Ruby and Bakugo. Ruby was animatedly talking to Bakugo while the explosion user was visibly annoyed. Izuku knew from experience that it would be only a matter of time until-

"Shut up already, you little runt! I don't care about your shitty scythe thing!" Bakugo exploded, both literally and figuratively

Ruby flinched a bit and tears started to well up in her eyes. But it only lasted a moment. She hardened herself, stood up straight and puffed out her chest. Yet all that faded away the moment she saw Izuku.

"Oh, Izuku! I was just telling Katsuki about my baby, Cresent Rose, but he was meanie about it. Then he exploded and made me feel really really bad!" Ruby rattled on with a trace of tears still in her eyes.

Izuku wasn't sure how he could help Ruby with Bakugo. So he did the only thing he could think of. He patted her back and gave silent encouragement.

A small 'thank you' reached his ears before Ruby did a complete u-turn and return usual happy and excitable self.

"So, where are you going Izuku?" Ruby curiously asked while slightly tilting her head.

"Ah, my weapons have been repaired so I'm going to pick them up" Izuku responded.

Ruby eyes lit up at the mention of weapons but quickly changed to confusion.

"But shouldn't they have been repaired a while ago? A repair shouldn't take this long"

"Ah, that's because I asked them to be modified a bit"

Izuku swore that Ruby's eyes didn't just light up but beams of light came shooting out of them.

"Ooh, ooh. What did you get!? A new shotgun mechanic!? Change the metal alloy!? Can I come!? Please! Please! Please!" Ruby disappeared in a whorl of petals and reappeared extremely close to Izuku. Specifically, she was wrapped around his arm and animatedly jumping up and down.

Izuku's face went bright red as he spluttered words that even he himself didn't understand. All he could do was look for someone else to help him. Sadly, the only other person here was Bakugo.

Their eyes met. It was only a second but never before has there been such an understanding between them. For that brief moment, they both understood each other's pain. But that quickly ended as Bakugo smirked.

"She's your problem now, Deku" Bakugo proclaimed and sauntered away.

'I can't believe this!'

Weiss was busy unpacking her many...many suitcases. Each was filled to the brim with things she thought she'd need for her time at Beacon. One was filled with her clothes, with an outfit for every occasion she had thought of. One was for her toiletries and accessories, from her hair care products to her...lady products. Then there were a few others for things like her study materials, her musical pursuits, and her day to day operations.

She was also busy fuming. She had nearly torn one of her two formal dresses in her hands as frustration once again wormed its way out of the back of her mind.

'First, I find that the way that the great Beacon Academy assigns it's student's their team is by simple random chance...,' She stuffed the dress into her closet, just barely managing to make sure it was in there neatly.

'Then, in that random encounter, who do I encounter, but THE SINGLE WORST PERSON I COULD HAVE POSSIBLY BEEN PAIRED UP WITH,' she looked over at Nora. The orange haired girl had simply smashed her clothes, messily into her closet in a wad, all the while talking in a stream of non-stop syllables at Pyrrha, who was nodding desperately, at times offering up a few words, only to be completely talked out of the conversation by the shorter girl. If Weiss did not already know how bad Nora's choice in clothing was, she'd have felt bad for the crumpled up pieces of cloth.

'And then,' Weiss continued to seethe, finishing putting her shoes, including combat heels, directly in their neatest possible position at the bottom of the closet, 'I'm put under a stuttering mess of a boy who is so gullible that he literally rushes out into a room half naked at the mere sound of someone calling for help,' she just shook her head, 'and Nora didn't sound sincere at all.'

'I should have been made leader,' Weiss finished with the suitcase for her clothes, and placed it under the bed. She moved towards the next closest of her suitcases and nodded in recognition. That was the suitcase containing her dust, the very fuel her fighting style ran on. There was Ice Dust, Lightning Dust, Fire Dust, and several other different varieties, all allowing her a level of versatility that would be a terror for any opponent.

'I mean, I'm clearly responsible and careful enough to be made Team Leader,' she continued, opening the suitcase, 'I'd never put my teammate in dan-'

At the bottom of the suitcase, Weiss saw a small pile of red dust.

The world went still. A second later, Weiss picked up a vial that's top had not been properly screwed in.

'Form: powder, type: fire, quality: rank 2,' she recited almost clinically in her head as she examined the material, 'It is much lower rank from what I normally use but there are situations where it is better to use low rank dust,' she felt sweat begin to pour down the back of her neck.

'And one of the reasons why one would use this type of dust is that it is easier to activate than more complex qualities, in case of an emergency.'

'One bad shake, one bad run in...'

'...'

'I could have set the whole dorm on fire.'

'...'

"You're sweating a lot there, Partner" Nora spoke up from the side. Weiss nearly jumped out of her skin, before turning to Nora.

"It's just hot in here, that's all!" She rebutted, Nora just cocked her head to her side, and out of the corner of her eye, Weiss could see Izuku and Pyrrha beginning to bring their attention to her.

"Huh? It's not that hot-"

"How is Ren?" Weiss interrupted. Once that name was said, and once both Pyrrha and Izuku heard that name they quickly looked away as Nora's eyes widened in utter joy.

'Like an animal...chewing off my own leg to get out of the trap.'

"Ren!? He's the best! We're the bestest friend and always together, but not together-together..."

With the entire conversation now off of her, Weiss simply nodded along with Nora's words. At the same time, Weiss's hand daintily picked up the pile of dust and returned it to the vile it had spilled out of, corralling the dangerous material.

'My team can never know.'

'Neeeeeeeevvvvvveeeerrrrrrrr.'

Ren had been quite shocked by the outcome of initiation. He was sure that Nora would somehow find a way to get them to be together, she always did. But this time, not only were they not partners, but they were on different teams.

They had never been so separated before. They'd been together ever since they were kids. Ah, not together-together as Nora would say it.

Honestly, Ren was quite fine with his team. His partner, Shoto was much like himself when it comes to socialising so they quite easily understood each other.

Ruby was the kind of person that Ren was most familiar with. A bundle of energy with no end in sight. The fact that she shared that trait with Nora brought a smile to his lips.

Katsuki on the other hand, was a bit more difficult. He seemed to be perpetually angry at all times. The fact the he frowned even in his sleep was really fascinating to Ren. But Ren believed that he was not a bad person, just someone who had a hard time expressing themselves. In a way, he was the exact opposite of Nora so he was kind of like an anti-Nora. Either way, if he got to out of hand then Ren could always use his semblance to calm him down, even if he hated manipulating someone's emotions like that.

But what worried him wasn't his team but Nora's. He knew that some people didn't handle Nora's… personality very well. It had gotten her into some trouble in the past but Ren was always there to sort it out and make sure she never got hurt. But he couldn't do that there.

What if her team hated her? What if they ostracized her? What if they bullied her? Then there was her team leader, a male. What if he tried to make a move on her or tried to coerce her into doing something she didn't want to do? Nora could be a bit too trusting like that. That was not something Ren could allow.

xXxXxXxXx

Izuku was walking back to his dorm room when he was suddenly pulled to the side. The person that pulled him to the side was someone he knew a lot about yet never actually talked to.

"Izuku Midoriya, right?" Ren said sharply as he narrowed his eyes.

"Ah, umm, y-yes!"

"Good. Tell me, what do you think of Nora"

"Eh? N-Nora? Umm, she can be a bit too excitable and I don't really understand what she says half the time" Ren's eyes narrowed even further. "but she's always knows how to lighten the mood and is always thinking of her friends! ...I think that I'm really lucky to have someone like Nora as a teammate and as a friend" Izuku stated while looking back into Ren's eyes.

"I see" Ren said with a nod and walked off, leaving a confused Izuku.

xXxXxXxXx

Pyrrha got pulled aside by a fellow student. She put on the fake smile that she did whenever she had to interact with fans and prepared to sign whatever it was the boy wanted her to sign.

"Hello" Pyrrha said with her smile as fake as ever.

"Pyrrha Nikos, right?" the boy said sharply as he narrowed his eyes.

That was when Pyrrha noticed when something was wrong. That he wasn't some fan but someone who sought her out for a specific reason. A person that sees her as a rival, perhaps?

"Yes, that's me" Her smile turned a bit more genuine knowing that she was not dealing with a fan. Now that she properly looked at the boy, he looked a bit familiar. The strip of pink in his hair was definitely triggering some memories. Then it clicked. "You're Lie Ren, right? Nora talks a lot about you"

Ren's eyes widened slightly at being recognised but quickly recovered to their previous narrowed state. "So I've been told. Tell me, what do you think of Nora?"

Pyrrha didn't even need to think about the answer. Nora was someone who never brought up her fame even when she was well aware of it. She'd even say that Nora didn't even care about her fame.

"I hope to be great friends with her" That time, her smile was 100% genuine. A rare thing indeed.

"I see" Ren nodded and walked off.

xXxXxXxXx

Weiss got pulled to the side by a fellow student. She swore, that if it turned out to be another guy trying to get a way into the Schnee family, she was going to lose it.

"Weiss Schnee, right?" the boy said sharply as he narrowed his eyes.

'Oh great. He must be one of the faunus right protesters who always accuse my family of doing things they've never done. Just because my family hire a lot of faunus, does not mean we are enslaving them. I wish they'd realise their human workers get paid exactly the same as their faunus workers for doing the same job.'

"I am. You are?" Weiss replied with equal amount of sharpness in her voice.

"Lie Ren"

"Ah" Weiss' eyes widened at the familiar name. How could she not know that name with her partner not being able to go an hour without saying it? "I apologize, I thought you were one of those people who have an issue with my family"

That time, it was Ren's turn to widen his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend"

"You're Nora's friend, right? She talks about you a lot" Weiss said with a bit of annoyance at the end.

"About that, what do you think of Nora?" His eyes narrowed once again.

"She can be a handful but I believe she will make a good partner in time" Weiss stated as if a matter of fact.

"I see" Ren nodded and walked off.

xXxXxXxXx

After talking to all three members of Nora's team, he had the results.

First, the leader, Izuku Midoriya. He showed that he was well aware of Nora's unique personality yet despite that, he accepted it with both the good and the bad. He even stated that he was lucky to be her friend which was surprising. Still, Ren would have to watch the leader in case he got a bit too friendly.

Second, Pyrrha Nikos. She stated that she wanted to be friends with Nora but there was a possibility that she'd been putting up a facade. Her fame was definitely something that would give her the opportunity to build up a good facade. He'll have to watch her a bit more to see if she was genuine.

Lastly, Nora's partner, Weiss Schnee. That one was the one that worried him the most. She was the only one that didn't mention anything about being Nora's friend but instead mentioned her ability as a partner. It almost sounded like she was talking about Nora as if she was some sort of tool. A tool, like how people say that the Schnee family treated faunus. he'd have to keep watch over her the most.

In conclusion, he'd watch all of them for now but if they made one wrong move then he was going to tear them away from Nora, even if it meant leaving Beacon.

'This is...ah!' Yang internally growled as she stared at the ceiling.

Yang mainly became a Hunter in training because she saw it as fun and exciting. A way to travel across Remnant and seek thrills, living life on the edge. Fighting was damned fun and a good fight always gave her a rush, whether it was fighting Grimm or fighting others in school. Her Semblance reflected that quite well really, she wanted to fight all out and keep dishing out bigger hits while taking some in return to fuel it. A Battle Nut she was not, but an Adrenaline Junkie she sorta was.

When Ruby got bumped up two years and said she was going to Beacon along with Yang another reason was easily added for becoming a Hunter and it was to keep her safe and to make sure she made it back from every mission. Only natural for a mother hen lik Yang.

Simple and selfish reasons were what brought Yang to Beacon. Helping others while kicking ass was just an important side benefit really. She was still her Mother's Daughter after all and even if they had never truly met, Raven Branwen had left a wide mark.

Yang had thought that she had it figured it out...

...Because to become a Huntsman, to be a hero, it's my dream! So I have to give it my all and then some, just to catch up. I have to work three times harder and take every chance I can if I'm going to prove that I belong here. Every opportunity that I have to learn, even if it's dangerous, I need to grasp it. I mean... I took such a big risk just getting here, just being accepted so I thought... what's one more?"

She was used to declarations of promise. Ruby had been doing it ever since she was four about being a Hero, a Huntress. As the scarlet reaper grew older her statements of being a Hero only grew more determined. Yang had nodded along because she knew she would never be deterred no matter the argument or the evidence in front of her. Ruby had grown on Statements like that for years... Yet why did Izuku's seem so much heavier? Why did it make Yang's own reasons seem so much weaker now in the face of that?

Yang just stared at the ceiling on top of her, 'What do I do now?'

"Do you feel the burn!?" shouted Yang.

"Y-Yes!" answered Izuku shakily.

"Then keep going!"

The blonde Huntress grinned in clear amusement as Izuku kept lifting.

Messing with him was way too fun, and the faces he made when she started teasing him were priceless! When Izuku had asked her to help him with his training she hadn't expected to have so much fun!

Yang's smile widened as she watched her gym buddy struggling to lift his weights. Another nice bonus to helping her new friend train was the great view she had while he was exercising. His now soaked tank top that wasn't able to cover his bulging muscles, the movement of his powerful arms as he completed each set of exercises and the wonderful shape of his rear end as he squatted.

'Damn.'

Regardless of anything else she was just glad to finally be able to get to know the green eyed Hunter a bit better.

And she noticed quite a bit.

The first thing she noticed was that Izuku had zero experience when it came to girls, and it was painfully obvious. As time went on and her clothes became more and more drenched in sweat her companion's speech pattern became progressively more erratic and strained, though it was more cute than annoying. She'd even seen him stare a few times when she'd given him a particularly good angle at her girls. After all, they were quite amazing if she could say so herself.

The second thing that she noticed was that no matter what kind of exercise he did he put as much effort as he could into every movement he performed, or to quote Izuku himself 'He put three times the effort of anybody else', which was a bit too much in her opinion. After all, from what she had seen till now, he deserved his place in Beacon more than most.

The third thing she noticed made her previously mirthful smile hard to maintain. At the beginning of their work out Izuku flinched slightly every time she came too close to him or started talking, as he got more comfortable with her presence he stopped but what she had seen wasn't good at all. It was almost like he expected to be yelled at or for someone to come out of nowhere just to hit him.

Yang clenched her fists and, unseen by the still training Izuku, her smile became a frown.

Yang already knew who to blame for Izuku's skittishness.

Her sister's partner, Bakugo.

She sighed, Yang knew more than anybody else that she was unsuited to stealth and subtleties, and whatever the problem between Izuku and Bakugo was it couldn't be resolved with bluntness or force.

The purple eyed girl shook her head and smiled. The best she could do to help Izuku was being a good friend and continue helping him train.

"Faster maggot!"

"Y-Yes ma'am!"

Her previous grin returned.

But that didn't mean that she couldn't have some fun!

It's almost kinda funny, Yang thought to herself, making her grin all the more at her sister's excited talking.

It first started with her asking Tenya about sitting with her sister. He hemmed and hawed, but she was pretty sure it was an act when he let her go. Shortly after, Nora practically pounced on that Ren guy, though for some reason she constantly said they weren't 'together-together'. As tempted as she was to poke a few holes in that, something much more interesting was going on.

After Tenya's little announcement of a leader powwow, team division to pretty much dissolved and left a nebulous and shifting mass of twelve huntsman in training that kinda sat where they pleased for various chitchat. Sometimes Weiss would sit with Iida and talk about Dust or his armor's mechanisms, or Bakugo would sit somewhere and glare at Midoriya until he pretty much moved as far away as he could and Ruby would move so she could yell at him for being a jerk. Just seeing that made something in her heart warm up, her baby sister growing up without her watching like a hawk.

And then Bakugo would talk, and she'd want to punch him in the face until he crapped out his teeth.

But today was a great day! She had Ruby on one side, going a mile a minute about some mechashift ideas that put her brain into overdrive. And on the other was Izuku, who she could put into overdrive with a wink and a lean in his direction. Oh he never leered at her like so many boys did, but he did turn a cute shade of red, glance a little bit her way, and then stare into his food like he was trying to broil it with a stare. It was really one of the things she liked about him, being adorably shy and polite a lot of the time. Then there were the times they got to see what she knew was really underneath it all, aside from supposedly great abs. His eyes would take on this intense stare, his back would straighten, and that cute stutter would just give way to a kind of conviction she was actually kinda envious of.

Even though they'd talked, and he'd given her a bit of an insight into his conviction, she still couldn't really wrap her head around it. Was that really it for him? Being a symbol of hope and saving lives?

Ruby ate it up, obviously, and every now and again she'd take on a tone that sounded a lot like his. The way they would sometimes sit together and just talk about being heroes made her feel kinda... hollow to be honest. Her baby sister was growing up without her, had her own great big mission, and met someone here that actually shared it. Encouraged it even. And her? Her own wants of just 'enjoying life and being free' just crumbled away and left her feeling adrift. Yeah, he said his reason wasn't the end-all/be-all, but it left her wondering what she could grab for. Maybe her heart just wasn't big enough to be heroic like them. She'd worked hard for her own selfish reasons, and now the taste of freedom was ashy in her mouth, causing her to grab her drink for a quick sip to distract her thoughts.

"Has anyone seen Tsuyu? I'm certain she should have gotten her food by now." Iida's pleasing voice drew her attention to the present, smirking as he turned to look at the lunch line. While he wasn't as much fun to poke at as Midoriya, Iida was an interesting nut to try and crack. Cute, but really serious, the challenge in him was trying to get him to relax a little, which her partner was actually an advocate of. According to Asui, 'Being too serious is bad for your health. Ribbit.'. Sure Blake seemed to be almost as against fun, well until she noticed the kind of literature she liked. She considered teasing her more about it, but was threatened she wouldn't share her 1st edition 'Ninjas of Love' if she did.

"She had to go back to the room to grab something. I'll go check on her." She was already moving to get up when she thought she heard Tsuyu's voice, turned, and suddenly lost her good humor. There she was, near the front entryway, trying to get her wrist out of Cardin Winchester's grip. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but the sneer told her what she needed to know. And from how the entire team table went dead silent, it seemed they knew too. No one else in the room seemed to even care, which only stoked her growing anger, but Midoriya was starting to stand so he could dispense justice.

No.

Yang placed her hand on his shoulder, drawing all eyes on her. She offered a smile that was more teeth then happiness, able to see the red glint of her eyes reflected in his own. "Leave this to me, slugger." She squeezed gently and moved to her feet to walk towards her partner. As much as she enjoyed putting some swing to her hips and swagger in her step, that time there was none of it. There was only a hunter, and all she could see was right in front of her, their voices getting louder as she drew closer.

"Look, just leave me alone, ribbit. I haven't done anything to you. Just leave me alone!"

"And let more of your kind just slink around our school? Doing whatever the hell you feel like?"

"I'm a student, just like you!"

"No you're not! You're a faunus. You should be grateful to even talk to people, you freak."

"Why not talk to me instead?"

They both looked at her, Tsuyu frowning and looking away in embarrassment while Cardin just snarled even more.

"This doesn't concern you, Xiao Long. Buzz off!" His chest puffed in a way his boyfriend probably thought was intimidating.

Yang had seen more impressive stares, and kept walking until there was barely a fist's distance between them. She could feel Tsuyu watching her. Her sister watching her. Her team watching her. The whole cafeteria watching her. She didn't give a damn. "Actually I don't think you should call me Xiao Long." She offered a smile of teeth and spite, a hand resting on her hip.

"I think you should call me sir!"

Her other hand moved like a snake, lashing out and grabbing his family jewels, his snarl of defiance turning into a whimper several octaves much higher. His expression went blank and his grip went slack, allowing the frog faunus to slip from his hold and move beside her teammate. Just to twist the knife, Yang twisted her wrist and pulled a little higher, forcing him onto his tiptoes before she spoke. "Let's get something straight. I've never gotten the whole 'faunus hate' thing. I don't know why you hate 'em, and I don't care. If I see you, or the rest of your girl band giving anyone here any trouble, you'll be crying it off with the nurse." She grabbed him by the tie with her free hand and pulled him to eye level. "And if you EVER touch my partner again, your last meal will be roasted nuts. Am I clear?"

"Yea-" Ker-squeeze! "Y-Yes...sir." He practically spat at her, the two continuing their stare down before Yang let him go, Cardin stumbling back and rubbing at his neck. "I should've known you'd side with the faunus."

Her response was an eye roll and a dismissive hair flip. "I'm a huntress. We should be focused on saving humans AND faunus." With that she turned her back to him, making sure Tsuyu was willing to go before she firing a parting shot. "I guess that's just another way you come up short." With that she began to strut away, adding that familiar pop to her hips while keeping pace with her shorter partner.

"...I could've taken him." She heard Tsuyu mutter, looking over and smiling softly.

"I could tell, but that'd just given him the excuse he was looking for." Yang snorted loudly. "Losers like him just want a chance to prove their right. It's kinda sad really." Her shoulder finally began to untense when they made it to the table, rubbing the back of her neck. Her lilac gaze slowly swept over their assemblage, and she was unable to help her embarrassment when she saw their expressions.

Iida's face was calm, but he did give her a reassuring nod when she looked his way.

Blake was practically beaming with pride.

Nora looked like she was about to rocket out of her seat and hug them, and thankfully Ren was there to hold her back. But that didn't stop the small smile that curled his lips.

Shoto seemed actually impressed with how she handled that, eyes wider then she was used to seeing, while for once Bakugo didn't look constipated.

Weiss had been looking at Cardin with open disgust, which turned into a gleam of schadenfreude-eque amusement when she and Yang locked eyes. Pyrrha looked like she was trying not to feel the same, but the flash in her eyes said it all.

As for Midoriya and Ruby?

The sheer awe they were radiating was blinding. Yang almost wished she had her sunglasses on to help stand it. With a terrifying unison they were on their feet, their excited voices mixing together like a pair of excited chipmunks. "Yangthatwassoawesome!"

"IthoughtyouweregoingtoknockhisheadoffthenWHAM!"

"Itwasfunnyandhorribleandpainfulbutyoulookedsocool!"

She had no doubt there was more they were going to say, but she silenced them by holding out her hands. "Whoa, whoa. Breathe, you two. If you both pass out, I can only give one of you mouth-to-mouth." The blonde grinned as Izuku's mouth snapped shut with the speed of a steel trap, blushing as red as Ruby's dress while her adorable sister fumed and pouted. "Aaanyway, move over so my partner can sit." She made a shooing motion for her sister to move, letting her sit down with her sister on one side and a space open on the other for her partner.

As she sat and idly dug her fork into her food, she took a breath and basked in the moment. Maybe it was ok not to have the answers yet. It was great to have all that conviction, but it didn't mean she was useless. She didn't think she could care about the whole world, and maybe it was a little greedy to only worry about what was in her arms' reach. But she liked that kind of greediness. She liked protecting what was hers, and maybe protecting however much of the world her arms could reach while she was at it. If it let her have little moments like that, where her baby sister could still admire her, then that was good enough.

Just as conversation finally began to return to normal, Tsuyu finally made her way back over to the table, quietly sat down beside Yang, and stared at her food. "...thank you." She said softly, taking up her fork to start eating.

Yang grinned and put an arm around her shoulders. "Like I'd leave my partner in the lurch like that. But I have to admit, I was a little worried." She grinned more as several people looked at her. "Afterall, it was...touch and go for a second there. Eh? Ehhh?"

"...Ribbit."

*THWIIIP-WHACK!*

"OW!"

E/N: A chapter called "Tales from Beacon" and the second one takes place in mountain glenn. Aren't we good at our job?

Anyway in order we have; "Beacon Academy Student Application Form" by Ambit, "A Mother's Thoughts" by Supa, "A Rosey Predicament" by thebebb, "Avoided Dust Problems" which was also written by thebebb then heavily edited by Wind, "Ren's Investigation" by, once again thebebb, "Yang's Challenged Mindset" by Lucker 13, "Work Out" by Mr. Lemonader and Finally "In Arms' Reach" by Preventer Squall.

Fun-Fact: With 32+ canon and 68+ non-canon Outtakes, thebebb is the second most prolific writer regarding content inside the thread, behind only the author himself who sits at 292 story posts.

-Shovern

We did have to make a few edits. The one that was most changed was "Avoided Dust Problem", mostly because it felt just a bit undercooked. The idea was great, we just needed to expand it a bit more to get it to really feel like it was ready for prime time. So we kept what we could, but rewrote the general details around it to get it to fit in.

Also...shipping war. As whenever Izuku is around a bunch of girls, a bunch of different people began writing for their best girls to end up with Izuku. You can probably guess which one of these was the most shippy of the ones included, and we had to tone that down a bit to make it slightly less...enthusiastic.

Also, the main pairing has been decided, and if you don't want to be spoiled, please don't go to the Spacebattles thread or the TV tropes page. Most people seem happy about it, but spoilers abound.

-Wind-Waker