Gold Plating and Silver Lining

by Butterfly Chikage

Shinraikai Academy is a brand new hero school, open to all high schoolers aiming to be a legendary hero-but it also has a secret reform program for troubled children! As the two classes come to a head, the students with a gold plating and the students on a silver lining will have to learn to work together to defeat the villains Shinraikai has attracted! SYOC CLOSED

7. Entrance Exam IV

07 - Entrance Exam IV

---

Bang!

The loud echo of the door banging against the wall startled all of the occupants of the teacher's lounge. Haruko suppressed a sigh and buried her face in her hands, cradling her cup of coffee like it was her newborn. The lightbulb above Neon's head suddenly burst loudly, only leaving a small beam of light to briefly shine downward. It would have lit the table on fire if not for the sheen of silver that spread across the surface, extending from Kuguri's hand. He and Hijiri were the only ones who remained relatively unfazed, only turning to the door with two very different expressions. Meanwhile, Mari nearly face-planted into her bowl of cereal.

Without caring for the strands of hair that were thoroughly soaked in milk, she slammed to her feet and pointed at Ayu with an accusing finger before he could even open his mouth, "It is fucking six in the morning, what do you—no, why the fuck are you so chipper, that's fucking illegal, get that bright-ass smile off your face."

Ayu's smile only seemed to brighten as he responded, "It doesn't count as morning for me because I haven't slept, thank you."

"Fuck you."

"He really hasn't," Aina buzzed to life on the wall, her avatar taking the form of a sleepy chibi barely keeping her eyes open, dressed in her pajamas. "He was up all night analyzing the exam videos, and thanks to that I wasn't able to get any sleep either."

"You're an AI," Kuguri said blandly, "you don't need sleep."

"Excuse you!" Aina huffed, puffing up her cheeks. "This is AI abuse!"

"As always, you have no tact," Hijiri laughed at the silver-eyed man's clueless expression. "So? Did you come to make your report, then?"

Ayu nodded. "So I know I've said this a thousand times, but I'm going to say it again."

"Oh boy, here we go again." Mari groaned loudly, throwing her head backward.

The human-shaped puppet that had been standing behind her for less than twenty seconds shifted slightly to accommodate the new position. She was covered in a light green glow, giving her the appearance of a tree nymph, but one hand was made of soapy bubbles while the other emitted a constant warm air circling back and forth. She was carefully working to clean Mari's wet strands of hair, not seeming to mind her summoner's constant shift in motions. Neon saw this scene and remembered what Mari had said barely ten minutes ago when she'd asked her to summon a puppet to get a cup of coffee and sniffed, "I thought your Quirk was on cooldown." As expected, Mari didn't even spare her a glance as she flipped her two middle fingers. Neon sighed dramatically but didn't respond otherwise, having long been used to her behavior.

Ayu cleared his throat pointedly. "Haruko. Hijiri. This idea of yours is admirable in theory—"

"—'but it's an abomination in practice,'" the entire room chorused as one (excluding Kuguri), clearly having heard this lecture a thousand times over.

"Yes, exactly." Ayu looked nothing but pleased despite the snark directed at him. "I understand that you said that this was the only way to get the green light from the government, but well, we've all known that the government hardly cares about children's mental health and well-being. These are traumatized children who have seen too much—there's at least three coming out of a dissociative episode, five recovering from PTSD, countless struggling with emotional management, and at least four who are wholly underprepared for the program mentally. The best way for children to recover from mental trauma such as this is to ensure a safe environment for healing, and throwing them headfirst into an endlessly triggering situation such as hero training or combat is only going to make things a thousand times worse. They haven't had time to heal, and yet you're forcefully giving them new scars. Many of them possibly don't even want to be heroes, and yet you're taking away their choice of the future. If you really cared for these kids' rehabilitation, you should've provided them with a stable environment for recovery first before letting them choose whether they wanted to embark on a path as bloody as the hero one—"

"Ayu," Haruko interrupted. Everyone could hear the implication of 'you're ranting again' in her voice.

Hijiri, on the other hand, was as amused as he always was. "Was this in the twenty page paper you typed up for the government? What did they say?"

Ayu made a sour face. "It was at least thirty pages, actually. And they said they wouldn't be able to guarantee the success of the rehabilitation program without results, and that a positive contribution toward society was the best way to show it, especially with how many combat-oriented Quirks there were among the kids. Which is such utter fucking bullshit, but we're here now anyway."

"The government itself is bullshit," Mari grumbled as she dissolved her puppet with a wave of her hand, sniffing at her hair. "That's how society fucking is."

"Well, nothing I can do about it anymore, so I'll stop ranting now." Ayu flipped through the notes he had taken before speaking again. "My final results are that all fifteen of the students definitely have a potential for change, none of them are incorrigibly psychopathic from what I can see. Obviously some students have more trauma than others, and I'll have to speak more with Kuguri about the specifics later—"

"Why do you all insist on calling me that," Kuguri muttered.

"—but I'll need a few meetings before I can compile a complete list of triggers for each individual student. My priority for now is keeping an eye on the three with clear signs of dissociation, and if they aren't able to snap out of it before the first combat training class, I might have to excuse them. On that note, can we not do combat training in the first class? Or at all until I can get that list together? Would rescue or survival training be possible? By the way, I looked through your selection of students for the other classes as well out of curiosity, and I'm sorely tempted to recommend required therapy for those classes also—"

Haruko groaned. "Ayu. Slow down. At least let me finish my coffee before I pass out on the spot. The other teachers should be arriving soon as well, we can hold an emergency meeting at eight and discuss the details together then."

"Don't forget we have to send out the acceptance letters too," Hijiri added cheerfully.

Haruko lifted her head slowly to stare at him. "Didn't I tell you to do that yesterday? Right before I left for the interview?"

"…did you?"

"I'm going to murder you."

"Wait, no, did you really?! I don't remember—"

"Aina."

"Yes! I can pull up the recording from yesterday at 4:57 pm—"

"Fuck. Okay, this one was a genuine accident I swear, I'll go send them now—"

"They're always so lively in the morning," Ayu chirped. "Now do we have any caffeine left? I need at least six shots of espresso if I'm going to last until the end of the meeting."

---

"Um, did this go here? Does that look right? Jeez, it's been too long—yep, okay, that looks good—oh, is it on already? Hello, hello, everyone~ I'm back!"

Welcome to the live chat!

[OwO What's this]

[It's back!]

[Welcome back~]

[Where did you go?]

[You were gone for a week…I missed you…(teary emote)]

[Finallyyyy]

[Where were you?]

"Oh there's a lot of you today~! Where was I? I was taking entrance exams, I'm going to be in high school soon, can you believe it?"

[You're younger than me?!]

[I forgot Ayana was still a baby…]

"Hey, who said that?! I'm going to ban you! I'm not a baby, I'm fifteen years old!"

[Baby]

[Baby]

[Lol that's what all the babies say]

[You're baby]

"Ugh, stop that! Why are all of you like this?!"

[LOL I see bully Ayana time has started already]

[How did the exam go?]

[It's Ayana-chan, I'm sure she did fine]

[But wasn't Ayana-chan bad at studying?]

[Oh]

"Hey!"

[Are we wrong tho?]

[lololol]

[Aya-chin, where do you want to go?]

[Didn't Aya want to be a hero?]

Click, click, click.

With expert motions, the mouse moved across the screen at lightning speed, closing and opening several applications in succession before finally pulling up the loading screen for an application for what seemed to be a multiplayer action game.

Ayana's spring green eyes framed by long pink lashes flickered over to the chat log on the side of her screen as she waited, and she continued chattering away without delay.

"Yep, so I was preparing for the hero exams—eh?! Ex-fucking-scuse me?! All Might's teaching at UA?! No fucking waaayyyy, really?! That's not fair…no, I didn't know that! …No, I didn't apply to UA…why? No particular reason, it's just not my vibe I guess? …nonono, fuck that, I mean stop that, it's not that I don't like it—stop itttt you're just spreading nonsense now! I didn't say that! Slander, that's fucking slander and I'll sue you! Ugh, mou…you guys are impossible…"

The game finally loaded her in, and she returned half her attention to maneuvering her avatar across the screen as lol's filled the chat screen.

"Oh right, so school applications…I applied for the new school in the end, Shinraikai Academy! …why? Of course—ah hey, stop that, no shitting on my school of choice, here let me just…there. Banned. Anyway, Inazuma caught my attention first, but also, they're a hero school sponsored by that Anzen'naie, how fucking cool is that? You should've seen the inside of the school—god, that's literally a gamer's fucking dream house, there were screens everywhere, and the technology was just impeccable…oh, and then I actually got to meet only the most famous AI in existence, Ai-chan, which, holy fucking shit, how is she even programmed, it's so smooth—"

[Ayana's on a tech ramble again…]

[This technology nerd]

[Ayana I don't understand half of what you're saying anymore…please speak Japanese…]

[The game's starting, shouldn't you pay attention?]

[(smirk emote)]

[You must be new…]

[?]

Click click click click click click.

Endless taps could barely be heard under Ayana's nonstop chatter, and on her computer screen, a combo kill counter started in the corner as headshots exploded around her.

"—and then the fucking simulation dome? Hello? I swear I stepped into an alternate reality, god—"

[...]

[Haha that's Ayana for you]

[Did you pass? How do you feel?]

"—my favorite was the electronic avenue simulation area, obviously—ah? Oh, we haven't gotten the results yet, they should be here soon. Today or tomorrow, I think. Am I nervous? Well, a little bit I guess…I probably failed the written portion, but I feel okay about the practical portion…oh, but one of my teammates was kind of annoying, I hope we're not in the same class, ugh…ah, I shouldn't have said that. Well, okay, he wasn't annoying, per se, maybe just a little bit intimidating? Anyway, I just don't know how to get along with a guy like that, personally, so nothing against him or anything…oh right, results. …okay fine, to be honest, I'm just trying really fucking hard not to think about it right now, okay?"

As if to express the sudden bite to her words, her taps against the keys grew louder, and a few more kills later, the screen darkened slightly and the word "WINNER" flashed across the screen, with a timestamp just under 3 minutes listed underneath.

[...]

[...]

[Ayana did you even see anything that happened in that game…]

[All hail Queen Ayana lol]

---

YOU DIED

Time: 2m 57sec

Nigarashi Monoka almost threw his newly acquired phone across the lounge at the words flashing across the screen. It had been too long since he'd last been allowed to even touch a phone, never mind play games freely; his fingers were unbelievably out of shape and this had been the fourth game in a row that he'd lost. Still, not even lasting three minutes was by far the shortest run he'd had, and he was only slightly consoled by the fact that he seemed to have been the last one to be killed, meaning that there was simply someone who was god-tier dominating the entire game.

Still, if I see this…what was the username…it's in English? PinkFoxxy? How lame. If I see you again, you better watch out.

"Um…"

Having been looking down and focusing on his game, his headband had slipped down further than was comfortable, and Monoka blew at the fringe covering his eyes at the shift of his head. Only the yellow part of his rainbow fringe moved at all, floating briefly before falling back down over his eyes. Stubbornly refusing to move it with his hands, he looked up through his hair instead, squinting in an attempt to see the face of the person speaking to him.

What does a girl want with me…oh wait, that was a guy's voice. A pretty boy then? What does a pretty boy want with me?

"Are you…Nigarashi-kun? Nigarashi Monoka-kun?"

Monoka reluctantly set his phone in his pocket and adjusted the headband that had slipped down, fixing his bangs so that he could see the person speaking to him.

Hm…this is not someone I've met this past week.

He took in the other boy's silky, golden, shoulder-length hair and smooth skin that couldn't be hidden by the signs of malnourishment across his body, and immediately determined, we should've been raised in similar environments. In that case, it wouldn't be surprising if the familiarity comes from way earlier on…

But unfortunately, I can't remember meeting you, sorry.

Still, perhaps it was for the better, since there was a clear distrust in the other's violet eyes. This wasn't a friendly greeting call, it was more of a feel out.

Unbothered, Monoka simply gave him a casual smile edged with the slightest hint of sharpness. "That's me. Who are you?"

The blond boy seemed even more dissatisfied at the admission. "No, but it can't be…why are you here?"

Something suddenly clicked in Monoka's mind. Oh wait. That's right, this kid is…

"Shouldn't that be my line? Nousagi Shouhei." The blond stiffened slightly, and Monoka knew that he'd hit the bullseye. So you can call me out but me calling you out makes you uncomfortable? With a mental eye roll but an unchanging outward appearance, he continued, "Still, I'm surprised you recognized me that quickly. I don't think we've ever actually met before."

Shouhei hadn't seemed to have recovered from his momentary shock as he stammered out, "It's—your—" His words faltered, and he resorted to miming pulling at imaginary bangs instead.

"Ah." Monoka threw his head back in a laugh at that. "Right. I forgot how big of a deal my parents made when I did that."

And in the wealthy family circles, everything was an open secret.

"Why are you—how did you end up here?" Shouhei asked again, flustered.

The distrustful gaze in the blond's eyes wasn't as sharp as it had been initially, but it was definitely still there. Monoka was extremely familiar with this kind of distrust—it was the same gaze used by those who were jealous or disgusted by the wealth his family liked to show off.

Don't know what happened to him, but he's probably been disillusioned with anyone in that social and financial circle…which, I get that, but that certainly doesn't give him the right to judge me.

"That's rude, we all have our reasons, and I'm not obligated to tell you mine," Monoka quipped.

Tension seeped through the air, thick enough to strangle someone. Monoka kept his expression relatively indifferent, but his eyes were sharp in challenge.

I came here so that I can finally be true to myself—and I'm damn well not going to let anyone change that. So fuck you.

"Well damn, it seems like popcorn is going to have to be the first thing on my shopping list when I'm allowed one, because this is the second time I've walked in on a dramatic spat in the living room."

Monoka glanced at the girl with gold-streaked hair standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, eyebrows creasing slightly at the interruption. A hint of aggression leaked out when he bit out, "What do you want?"

The girl stepped towards them calmly, shrugging, "This is a common area, you know, I'm allowed to come and go as you please. If you wanted your confrontation to be private, you should've taken it to a private area." Seeing Monoka's unimpressed expression and Shouhei's slightly nervous one, she sighed. "Jeez, you're so touchy. If you must know, Aina sent us a message, we're getting our results soon and we were all told to report here for starters, so everyone else should be coming shortly as well. Really, shouldn't you be thankful to me for giving you a heads up?"

---

"What kind of hero would you want to be, Setsuna?"

"Of course it's a hero like me, right Setsuna?"

"…Honey, I was asking Setsuna, not you."

"Isn't it the same thing? Don't tell me—do you not want to be a hero like your dad, Setsuna?!"

Yuuki Setsuna could only laugh at her parents' antics. "Of course I do."

Her mom, noticing her short response and the quietly sizzling energy around her, prodded gently, "Are you nervous?"

Setsuna hesitated, and then nodded, "Yeah…a little." It was more than a little, actually, but maybe lying to herself would make it true? "I just…would really like to make it into Shinraikai."

"Was the entrance exam that interesting?" Her father asked curiously, noting her pensive expression.

His surprise wasn't unwarranted. Shinraikai wasn't the only school she'd applied to, naturally, and it wasn't even the school that she had been most anticipating. She'd simply applied out of curiosity upon seeing Inazuma's interview, with some encouragement from her parents to simply feel it out, but she had come out of it singing an entirely different tune. In the course of the entrance exam alone, Shinraikai had become the school that she was most anticipating the results for, and now she could only sit nervously and hope that despite her slightly underprepared efforts for such an intensive exam and…more undesirable teammates, her strengths would still pull her through.

"It was…it was nothing like any of the other school exams," Setsuna said, practically vibrating with excited energy. "Like, there was a certain degree of similarity to UA's exams, since they both had point calculations and everything, but upon taking both of them, I think it became that much clearer how much more sophisticated Shinraikai's was. UA's appeared to be testing strength alone—well, there was a student who said something about the possibility of a different type of secret points testing the heroic spirit but I'm not really clear on that—either way, Shinraikai's clearly incorporated teamwork and support potential, tracking and searching abilities, on top of rescue and combat strengths, both of which make up the fundamentals for heroics. Although perhaps the execution could have been cleaner, especially with the shifting climates and specifics of the simulation dome, I think that it can be excused since it is their first year, and instead it really shows the spirit of the school and its future potential." It was only after she finished talking and paused to breathe that she remembered both of her parents were UA alumni and hurried to add, "Ah, but that's not to say that UA's exam was bad, I just think for me, personally, Shinraikai's happened to resonate with me more, that's all…"

Her mother laughed. "Don't worry, dear, we understand your excitement. And if I were able to, I would've chosen a school with such an exam also, I'm sure."

Setsuna deflated again in relief, but instantly tensed up again when her younger brother's voice rang out through the house, "Nee-san, it's here! The letter from the school you're waiting on! Oh, there's a package with it too."

She anxiously received the letter that Saiki passed her, setting the package to the side temporarily, comforted by the feeling of her family crowding around her to watch.

Saiki gave her a strange look as he watched her fiddle with the envelope, stalling. "Why are you so nervous, Nee-san? You're the daughter of Frost and Jokull, and they're a brand new hero school. If they don't accept you, then they're a scam school!"

Uh.

After a moment of awkward silence in which neither Setsuna nor her parents knew exactly how to respond to that, Setsuna finally let out a laugh. Well, he wasn't wrong.

She finally prepared to tear open the letter—

"Huh? There's another one here…Setsuna, are you sure that one's yours?"

Setsuna's fingers froze on the seal. Seeing the second, identical letter and package in her father's hand, she reluctantly tampered down on her restless energy and flipped the letter over first, her aquamarine eyes tracing over the name.

"Oh. This…did she also…?"

---

Shinohara Mio could have sworn that this was the way to the common area. So exactly how did he end up in the training room again?

"Um…"

He closed the door again, a befuddled expression on his face. He retraced his tracks as best as he could, hoping to catch sight of anything familiar—

"Waaah, we had a rec room?!" Mio's blue eyes lit up and he rushed forward to examine the pool table in the middle of the room. He was disappointed upon being unable to find any semblance of a cue near the table, so he wandered over to examine the selection of board games along the shelves instead. As he headed over, he noticed another door in the back of the room. Curiosity piqued, he opened it and immediately exclaimed, "There's even a theater room! That's amazing! This is way better than that empty prison cell—I wonder what else we have here—"

He froze suddenly and then let out a cry before rushing out of the room.

"Nonono, I was looking for the common area for a meeting! Hmm…I don't recognize any of these places at all…" Mio sulked as he ran down the hallway, examining the pool and indoor gymnasium that he was passing by with sparkling eyes. He had to force himself to keep moving and not get sidetracked by admiring them. "Why can't we use our Quirks normally…I wouldn't be having this problem if we could…"

He came to a stop.

"Another dead end!"

Mio stamped his foot in frustration, pulling open the library door blocking his path out of spite. Just as he was preparing to slam it shut again just for the sake of it, he caught sight of something in the corner and made his way over.

The library was a grand, spacious room, packed with shelves of books stretching two floors high, and in the corner was a comfortable sitting area. There was a girl curled up on one of the leather couches, bundled in an incredibly fluffy white fur blanket, her head resting on a similar fur pillow, dozing away. She looked extremely peaceful and Mio hated to disturb her, but he figured that he should wake her up for the meeting in case they got into trouble.

"Um…" After a moment's hesitation, Mio reached out and shook her shoulder gently.

The girl's gray eyes blinked open slowly, and the moment they came in contact with Mio's own pale blue ones, she sat up, the movement slightly sluggish. Her brown hair was sticking up in an ahoge above her head and her head drooped slightly every so seconds in an adorable manner. Her voice nearly disappeared as she whispered, "Yes?"

Mio was consumed by guilt at disturbing such a peaceful scene. Helplessly, he said, "Ai-chan called us for a meeting in the common area."

"Okay," The girl gave no arguments, simply pushing the blanket off of her and rising to her feet calmly. Mio's heart nearly stopped when she stumbled slightly, but thankfully she caught herself just as quickly and looked up at him expectantly with large eyes.

"Um, okay, follow me!" Mio turned and rushed out of the library again, walking slower this time so that the girl could keep up. "Oh right, I don't think we've talked before? I'm Shinohara Mio! What's your name?"

"Kayo. Koge…Kayo."

Her voice lilted halfway through, and Mio swore it was going to die for a moment.

"That's a cute name! Can I call you Kayo-chi?"

"Yes."

"Yay! Kayo-chi, you can call me Mio too!"

"Okay."

Mio quickly realized that Kayo wasn't much of a talker, although some of it may have been attributed to her drowsy state upon having just woken up from her nap, but that was fine, he certainly talked enough for the two of them. They walked for about ten minutes before Mio remembered that he was still completely and utterly lost. Almost about to cry at this point, Mio turned to the nearest passageway, muttering to himself, "Is this one the right way then? Someone please tell me if it is…"

"It's not."

"…Kayo-chi?"

Kayo had smoothed down her hair at some point, and she wore a gentle smile, but she didn't respond again.

"Kayo-chi…do you know how to get to the living room, by any chance?"

"Yes."

"!?" A series of indecipherable noises of shock left Mio's mouth. "How?!"

"You passed the hallway four times."

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

Kayo's smile didn't change in the slightest, not even losing the calming aura to it, but there was the slightest hint of confusion in her gray eyes if Mio looked closely enough. "You told me to follow you."

"You—I mean yes, but I—" At this point, Mio wanted to perform a verbal keyboard smash of frustration but wasn't sure how, so he whined instead. "Kayo-chiiiiii, I'm sorry, I was wrong, please get me out of hereeee~"

Kayo blinked and then answered benevolently, "Okay." Then, without another word, she turned and started back the way they came. Mio followed her closely, all while internally fuming at his inability to use his Quirk. Along the way, Mio's cries of surprise echoed loudly in the hallway—

"But I've been down this hallway before…"

"Eh? There was a door here?"

"EH?! WHY ARE WE GOING UP? WHEN DID I GO DOWN STAIRS?! I DON'T REMEMBER THAT!"

—still, Kayo peacefully led them to the correct location in under a minute, and Mio started to shed actual tears of relief, clasping her hands and crying, "Kayo-chiiiiii you're a godsenddddd~"

"I see you've finally made it."

Mio screeched in surprise at the sudden movement that was the door opening, ducking to hide behind Kayo despite the fact that she was at least two inches shorter than him.

Hijiri-sensei laughed as he beckoned them inside. "Come, you're just in time. I'll pass out the results shortly and then try to keep it short, since the bigger part of this meeting is…"

He let the silence hang in the room dramatically for a few moments, and then gave them a soft smile.

"A majority of you have family here to visit you."

---

Dear Hachiwara Riku,

Thank you for your interest in Shinraikai Academy.

After careful consideration, we are regretful to inform you that you were not selected to be a part of our hero program at this time…

Kishi stared at the rejection letter in shock, paper crinkling under her tense fingers. "No…why?"

Her childhood friend only shrugged helplessly, looking much too calm for someone who had just been rejected from the hero school he'd wanted to attend so badly. "I guess I'm just not hero material?"

"That's not—" Kishi protested loudly, but then stopped herself, startled. She placed a hand to her throat and swallowed nervously; she hadn't been this vocal about something in…many years now, most likely.

"I'm not like you, Kishi," Riku said casually, picking up her own acceptance letter and holding it up for her to see. "See, didn't I always say you would be a perfect hero?"

"Stop that." Kishi frowned and tugged the letter lightly from his grasp, folding it neatly and setting it underneath the package to the side. She'd throw it in the recycling later. "You know I can't."

"Why not? This is the perfect opportunity—"

"Riku, stop—"

"No, Kishi, listen to me," Riku interrupted, a rare serious edge to his tone. "What's stopping you? You know that I can take care of Asahi. This is your chance to experience your life for yourself, and I know you've always looked up to heroes. Don't look at me like that, you might not have said it, but I'm your best friend, I can tell."

"I…I can't." Kishi shook her head. "Being here with you and Asahi is my life, Riku. I don't need anything more than that. I can't…I can't attend a hero school, and especially not one with a mandatory dormitory."

The introduction letter from Shinraikai had stated that students were allowed to opt out of living on campus provided with a valid reason, so perhaps it wasn't technically mandatory, but…Kishi clenched her hands on her skirt tighter. But there was nothing that she could say to them. No, in that case, it may as well have been mandatory, and that was unacceptable.

Riku knew this, so why was he pushing so hard?

"Kishi—"

"You should go."

Both teenagers startled at the new voice, turning to see a younger redhead standing in the doorway, yellow snake eyes wide as they focused on Kishi.

"Asahi? When did you wake up?" Kishi rushed over to her younger brother, wrapping him in a slightly anxious embrace before she could stop herself. To her surprise, her brother didn't even squirm. Keeping her tone calm and even, she asked gently, "Are you hungry? I can make you something—"

"Nee-san," Asahi interrupted, determination set in his jaw. "You should go. To Shinraikai."

A wave of helplessness washed over Kishi, and she could only shake her head again, curling a tentacle around her wrist when it reached forward. "I…but you…"

"I can take care of myself now," Asahi said. "And Riku-nii-san will be here too."

"Our parents…"

Asahi only scoffed at that, a noise Kishi didn't think she'd ever heard him make around her before. "What about them? They're adults, they should be able to take care of themselves without you anyway."

"D-Don't…" Kishi could only helplessly shake her head. "Don't say that…"

"I can look after them as well, so you rest assured," Riku appeased.

The situation was quickly spiraling out of her control. Truthfully, she didn't even understand how it had gotten to this point to begin with. In the first place, she had only gone to take the exam at all because Riku had wanted to, and he'd insisted that she accompany him. She had been fully prepared to support him from afar when he passed, but she had never expected it to turn out the other way around—that she would be accepted, while he was rejected.

She may have admired heroes, as Riku said, but she originally had no intention of becoming one. Heroics was a serious commitment, and she simply did not have enough time to dedicate to the career. She hadn't entertained the idea even once before, there was no way she could now—

Wait…

A realization suddenly dawned on her, and she turned slowly to her childhood friend, whose expression became guilty the moment he noticed hers.

"Riku…you've never mentioned wanting to be a hero before now."

She definitely would have remembered if he had. Then…this was…

"Did you…trick me—?"

Crash!

All three of them flinched at the sudden noise coming from the back room. Kishi turned towards the sound apprehensively, missing the way both boys' eyes darkened behind her.

"Kishi! Where the fuck are you, get over here—"

She hesitated, but calmed herself quickly and gave Riku a stern glance, murmuring, "We'll continue this later," before rushing off to answer her mother's call.

---

The moment the meeting ended, the living room became a mess of people as they scattered. Shadows fell over Mitsuki as people passed by, and he was pulled out of his faint daze by the feeling of people looming over him as they walked by, intruding on his comfort zone. His gold eyes flickered across the room anxiously, and then before he could even process his own actions, he'd moved nimbly across the room, carefully maintaining at least an arm span and a half of distance between himself and every person he passed, and then ducked behind the only comforting figure that he could locate in the room.

He took in his first real breath in almost thirty minutes (which was how long the meeting had run), and it was only after five deep inhales and exhales that he realized what he had done. He snapped his head up in alarm to meet Tooka's onyx eyes, and he immediately backed away several steps to allow himself space to bow 90 degrees while apologizing instinctively, "S-sorry, I…I didn't mean…"

"Don't worry about it," Tooka said, her tone unexpectedly soft. Even she herself seemed startled by it, jolting slightly and then quickly glancing around to check who was still in the room.

Mitsuki fidgeted slightly, and then bowed again before moving to make a hasty escape—

"Ah, wait, Mitsuki—"

His arm was grabbed, and his knee-jerk instinct was to freeze and protect his head with his other arm. They froze that way awkwardly for a few moments, with Mitsuki stubbornly keeping his eyes on the floor even as he realized his mistake, trying and failing to force his muscles to unclench.

"I—"

"I'm sorry!"

"No, it's fine—don't apologize, I was just…" Tooka removed her arm as she trailed off, but then pressed on, "It's almost lunch time actually, are you hungry? We can go grab something to eat together, maybe?"

Mitsuki stared at her in mild bewilderment. Was that…a genuine question? Or a rhetorical one? He couldn't tell sometimes, and he hated it when people didn't make it clear enough. Strictly speaking, he technically wasn't hungry, although he supposed enough time had passed since he'd last eaten that he was supposed to be hungry, so perhaps that was the correct answer? But then, it wasn't as if so much time passed that he needed to eat…In any case, the second question certainly sounded more like…an invitation than anything else, so perhaps…but then, he was clearly making her awkward, so maybe it was just an extended courtesy and she wasn't really asking? In that case, he'd hate to intrude, but in the case that it happened to be a demand…even if he didn't think she seemed like the type to do such a thing…well, you could never tell, with people…

His head was starting to throb from all the overthinking he was doing. Honestly, he would have preferred an order instead—

"Mitsuki," Tooka snapped her fingers a respectable distance away from his face, successfully snapping him out of his thoughts without intruding on his personal space. "Let me rephrase that. Would you feel comfortable having lunch with me?"

Oh. In that case…

Mitsuki nodded slowly, whispering, "Please…"

Tooka smiled at him. "All right, let's get some food then."

He followed her through the hallways, silently marveling at his surroundings. He'd been down the hallway before, but only a minimal number of times and never with enough of a peace of mind to actually see what he was passing through. When he heard footsteps behind him, he startled and reflexively stepped closer to Tooka. Two people passed by them, chatting amicably, and the short brunette closest to them turned to give them a gentle smile. Mitsuki carefully avoided eye contact, hiding his vision further behind Tooka's body, and thankfully, she left without saying anything more. He breathed quietly with her departure.

There was only about a third of the class in the cafeteria, but it was still an amount that made him regret his decision immediately. As if sensing his tension, Tooka turned slightly and, keeping her movement slow, patted him on the head, murmuring, "Don't be afraid."

Her hand was warm against his hair, the weight unfamiliar but not unwelcome, and Mitsuki only hesitated for another moment before nodding with determination. Carefully avoiding all of their classmates' gazes, he trotted quietly and closely behind Tooka, simply grabbing whatever she did. His heart, which had been beating like a jackrabbit throughout the entire process, finally slowed down when Tooka led him towards an empty table in the corner of the room, the most isolated one in the entire cafeteria.

As they started to eat (or in Mitsuki's case, pick slowly at his food), Tooka cast a scrutinizing gaze throughout the room and murmured, "Are these all the people who don't have family visits then?"

Mitsuki blinked. Was he supposed to answer that…? He hesitated, and then answered quietly, "P-Probably?"

Tooka nodded to him. "And you? You don't have any family to visit you either?"

Mitsuki's fork froze on its way to the next piece of lettuce.

She didn't…know?

His heart that had just slowed down to its resting rate for the first time in many days picked back up again, and he swallowed nervously before simply shaking his head in response to prevent her from waiting too long. As he did so, he vaguely remembered that he had dodged giving her his full name on their first meeting, although he would have assumed that she would've heard it already…

There was a silence still hanging in the air, and the longer it stretched, the more he wondered if he was supposed to continue the conversation. Finally, he mustered up his voice and said quietly, "I…my parents are…" His voice caught in his throat, and he shook his head again.

Still, Tooka seemed to get the message, as she murmured, "I see." After a few more moments of not-so-awkward silence, she ventured quietly, "I…had a brother. Obi. He…he was my only family." Catching Mitsuki's expression of mild panic, she gave him a reassuring look, continuing, "You remind me of him. A little."

"I-I…I'm sorry—"

"No, don't apologize," Tooka interrupted quickly. "You don't need to apologize for everything, Mitsuki. Things like this aren't your fault…actually, it's never your fault, okay? So…don't apologize. At least…not to me."

"I…" 'm sorry. Mitsuki reluctantly swallowed down the words, using a piece of lettuce to fill his mouth instead, suddenly at a loss of words. He searched desperately for something else to follow up the conversation with, and was suddenly hit by a faint memory. "I think…I think T-Tooka…san…also reminds me…of my mother…?"

Tooka smiled a little at that. "Oh? What was your mother like?"

Mitsuki frowned in concentration, but the feeling was gone as fast as it had hit. "I…don't remember…b-but the feeling was…similar…somehow…I don't know, I'm sorry…"

"Hey, no apologizing, remember? Don't worry about it, it's not your fault."

(Unbeknownst to him, as Tooka reached over the table to gently pat his head again, she swore to herself to protect the innocent, anxiety-ridden child in the way that she wasn't able to protect her brother.)

---

"YES! I DID IT! I GOT INTO KETSUBUTSU ACADEMY!"

Dokei Hina smiled at her younger sister, pride beaming across her face. "Daria~! Congratulations, I knew you could do it!"

"I got one of the highest mentions too, look," Daria said excitedly as she pressed the letter towards her sister's hands. "Aren't I amazing? Hah! Beat that, Daigi!"

"Don't call me that!" Doki snapped at her, nearly crumpling the letter in his hand. Hina noticed, and she reached out to pry it from his grip. When he tightened his grip, she frowned slightly and forced his fingers off, making him hiss in mild pain.

"It's your turn now, Doki," Hina chirped, smirking slightly at him. "If you're not going to open it, then I will~"

"Open it, open it!" Daria chanted, pushing into Hina to see the letter. "You applied to that newbie no-name school, didn't you? The one Inazuma started? I bet all the people going there are total weaklings. Of course, that includes you too~"

"Oh, shut it!" Doki snapped, snatching the letter back from his older sister. "I'll open it, okay?!"

Hina and Daria both cheered. Doki rolled his eyes slightly but smiled at their antics before tearing the seal off the envelope.

Dear Dokei Daigutso,

Congratulations! You have been accepted into Shinraikai Academy's hero course…

The words of approval flashed through his vision, and he'd already expected the admission so he wasn't surprised by it. Instead, he was rather…disappointed even, to find that it was an incredibly normal acceptance letter. There wasn't even a mention of his scores or exam commentary as there had been on Daria's.

"Heh, as expected, a newbie hero school would be lackluster," Daria snickered. "Are you sure you didn't make the wrong choice, Daigi?"

"Shut it," Doki muttered halfheartedly, his eyes catching on a section at the bottom of the letter.

A welcome gift has been provided to all accepted students. Should you choose to reject our offer, we would ask that you mail the provided package back within a week along with your rejection letter.

"A welcome gift?" Doki's brows furrowed.

"Oh, yes, there was a package that came with it!" Hina clapped her hands and moved to the kitchen to grab a box off the counter. "I wasn't expecting one so I wasn't sure if it was yours or if it just got mixed in, but this should be it?"

Foregoing pleasantries, Doki grabbed the package from her and ripped it open to find a familiar-looking electronic device.

Daria, on the other hand, gasped. "Isn't that Anzen'naie's newest smart watch release? Fuck, is Shinraikai providing every student with one of those?! What the fuck for?!"

Before Doki could respond, the screen of the smart watch flickered on by itself, and a projection exploded out of it.

"Con~grat~ulations~!" Digital confetti popped in the projection as Aina appeared on screen, beaming. "Applicant number 42, Dokei Daigutso, you have passed the Shinraikai Academy entrance exam! Should you choose so, we will humbly welcome you into our growing hero program."

"No way…" Hina whispered. "Isn't that the famous AI from back then, Ai-chan?!"

"Tehe~!" Aina winked in Hina's direction, but quickly turned back to face Doki. "Dokei-kun…if I remember correctly, you prefer to be called Doki? Would you mind if I call you that?"

Doki grunted in approval.

"Very well then, Doki-kun! I'm here, as you have probably guessed, to review your entrance exam scores with you!"

With a spin, her avatar minimized into one corner, pulling up a video recording. As Daria, Hina, and Doki all watched, scenes from the entrance exam were played one after another, showcasing a selection of highlights of his battles.

"Your team scored a total of 67 points, with 42 villain points and 25 rescue points. This puts you in second place in the ranking of all the teams!"

The words didn't seem to process properly for a moment.

Second…?

"Second?" He growled, his voice coming out raspy. He could see Daria holding back a laugh off to the side, and he had all kinds of things he could say about her exam results also, but he refrained, directing all his attention on the AI in front of him instead. "How?"

"Ah, erm, this time it really was much more of a result of luck!" Aina explained quickly, the scene switching to briefly show snippets of another battle featuring a familiar figure. "The first place team received a total of 113 points, with 50 of their villain points being allotted for their encounter with the Puppet Master—that is, pro hero Marionna~"

"Tch," Doki clicked his tongue but forced his anger to drain. There was really nothing he could've done about that then, even if it still pissed him off.

"As for your individual scores, you received 33 of your team's original 67 points, making you the highest contributor by far! Congratulations! Moments that we as the staff found most commendable included your control in the situation of having undesirable teammates—" The video switched accordingly as Aina spoke, showing the scene of his confrontation with an exam taker in their team whose name he couldn't remember for not doing his part of the work and trying to leech off of them for the vast majority of the exam instead. Aina paused long enough to let the majority of the scene play out and then switched it, showing a scene recorded during the technical malfunction. "—and your strength and dedication even during unexpected occurrences. It was this push through at the end that solidified your team ranking as second place—"

"What about the individual ranking?" Doki interrupted.

"I apologize, it was decided that individual points are for an individual's judgement and were not put into a public ranking for students to review." Aina bowed.

Probably to prevent future arguments within accepted students who were in the same team, regarding contribution proportions or some shit, Doki guessed sourly. He understood, but that certainly didn't mean he had to like it. He'd been hoping to at least come first on one of the rankings, and he'd been more confident in the individual one than the team one anyway.

"Um, so where was I…" Aina thought, and then a light bulb appeared above her head. "Oh, yes! With that being said, should you choose to accept Shinraikai's invitation, your placement will be in Class 1-1, or what we refer to as the 'Gold Class,' for the best ranking students in the entrance exam. You will be allowed to move into our newly built dormitory anytime before March 29th, and the first day of school will be on April 2. If you require a move-in extension for any reason, you may request one before March 28th." The calendar dates flashed clearly across the projection as she spoke. "We will kindly ask for you to make your decision within three days, and to do so you may report it to me at any time—"

"Of course I'm going to fucking go."

Aina paused, blinked twice, and then chirped, "Then I will pass the message onto our headmasters! Thank you very much, and we look forward to having you, Doki-kun~! And do keep in mind that when the school session starts, I will have to begin scolding you for language hehe~"

And with that, the projection turned off again.

The three Dokei siblings stood in the room in silence for a long stretch of time, slightly dumbfounded, before Doki turned to Dari with a shark-like smirk, "Still think Shinraikai's the 'dumbest hero school in existence' and 'doomed to fail before it even starts'?"

Daria sniffed. "Whatever, it's still not better than Ketsubutsu! We'll have more resources and it won't be long before I leave you in the dust—"

"Dream on, as if I'm losing to you—"

Or anyone else in that school, for that matter, Doki thought even as he continued his usual quarreling with his twin sister. I'm going to be number one, and then I'll be the one to bring Shinraikai Academy to glory. Just wait, by the end of the year, I'll make you thankful that you were able to attend the same school as the great Dokei Daigutso.

---

"Ah! Onii-chan! Mama, mama, look, it's onii-chan!"

Akiyama Murai heard his little sister's voice for the first time in almost a year and wanted to cry.

"Karin!" He rushed forward and sweeped the girl into a hug, Karin giggling happily as he did so. Still clinging tightly to his precious baby sister, he looked over her head to see that his mother was already shedding tears, and he couldn't help but smile as he invited her into the embrace as well. "I didn't think you'd be able to visit…"

"I didn't think so either," His mother murmured, patting his head fiercely. "When I heard about what happened with…with that Institute…God, I was so worried. Then all we heard was that you were transferred, but they didn't tell us where…the heroes, your headmasters only messaged us this morning, and you have no idea how relieved I was to hear that you were all right…"

"I thought all of this was supposed to be a secret though, do you have to keep it secret too?" Murai asked worriedly.

His mother nodded. "We signed a confidentiality contract before we were allowed to come; it seemed to be Quirk enforced too. They said that it'll be harder to visit after the school session starts and the regular students start moving in…"

"Mmf!" Karin squirmed then, and they both hurried to release her. The first thing she did was breathe, and then she gave Murai an accusatory glare that was honestly nothing except adorable, especially with how her cheeks puffed up. "You missed my birthday again, Onii-chan!"

Oh, right. Last time I saw her, I…

"I'll be there for your next birthday, okay, Karin? And then I'll buy you all the presents you want!"

…rashly promised such a thing. I still hadn't realized the truth yet at that time…

Murai could only smile wryly at his own naivety, and focused on apologizing to Karin.

"I'm sorry, er…some things happened…"

Karin kept her angry face on for a few moments longer before she tossed her head and said in a magnanimous tone, "All right, I'll forgive you this time then! But you better not miss it this year!"

Lord, he had missed her.

"Yes, all right. How was it though? Did you have fun?"

Karin's face immediately brightened. "Yeah! I had a party, Onii-chan, a party! There were so many balloons and streamers, and all of my friends came over to our house to play! And and and—it was just so much fun!"

"I'm glad."

I'm glad that you finally got to have a proper birthday party, Karin.

"Ne ne," Karin continued excitedly, not letting their mother get a word in at all. "I heard you're going to be a hero, onii-chan! Does that mean you're going to be on TV?!"

"Um…probably." Murai decided to dodge the topic of underground heroes for the time being. "Will you cheer for me, Karin?"

"Yeah! Karin will cheer you on!"

Murai and his mother exchanged a look above Karin's head, one that showed their mutual relief and endearment at Karin's peppy personality.

The thirty minutes that they were allowed seemed to fly by in no time, filled primarily with Karin's enthusiastic chattering, but with some updates between Murai and his mother here and there. Murai was relieved to find that his mother was doing very well since…well, everything. His heart panged as the time came for them to leave, but he reassured them again that he was fine and would schedule another visit as soon as possible. Once they had left, he finally turned reluctantly to head in the direction of the cafeteria.

He'd barely walked a few steps when someone fell in step next to him, and he gave the boy a sharp glare.

The black-haired boy didn't seem fazed at all, even smiling amicably. "Going to lunch? Mind if I join you?"

Yes.

Murai swallowed down his instinctive response and grunted neutrally instead. The other, somewhat annoyingly, seemed to take that as an agreement.

"Your name was…Akiyama-kun, correct?"

Murai had no idea where the other had gotten his name from given the very limited number of people he'd talked to in the past week, but he nodded nonetheless.

"I'm Mahou Sagi, nice to meet you," Sagi smiled. "Your sister is very cute."

"…"

"Ah, sorry, I don't mean to overstep. It's just…I don't have any siblings myself, so I've always envied people who do. But I'll change the subject. Hm…are you looking forward to the upcoming school year, then?"

"I guess."

"Not one for conversation? Would you mind if I talked, or would you prefer I just went somewhere else altogether once we get to the cafeteria?"

That's blunt, Murai noted. Somehow, he hadn't been expecting it from Sagi's originally carefree disposition. He thought about it—did he want to talk to the other? Not particularly. He wasn't really sure how that would go. But did he mind listening? Well, they'd be classmates in the future, and if he had to say, he couldn't say that he hated the idea.

He shrugged, the movement a bit jerky—another neutral response. But Sagi seemed to get the answer from that action alone.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting Sagi to talk about, but it definitely wasn't what came out of his mouth.

"I think this whole secrecy thing is going to backfire sooner or later." Sagi noticed the surprise in his gaze at the statement and simply shrugged casually. "It's a logical expectation, isn't it? The whole thing just screams shady, and those things almost never work out in the grand scheme of things in society. I think the headmasters can tell too, that's why they're as lenient as they have been so far. It makes me wonder how much will change when the…well, quote unquote, 'normal' students move in. Which is another suspicious factor in and of itself—isn't it interesting how they chose a mandatory dormitory system for all students even though it would be much easier to keep us a secret if all the students went home at night? I wonder why that is…"

It was intriguing, Murai reluctantly admitted to himself, somewhat impressed by Sagi's sharp analysis.

"Oh, it's busier here than I expected. Well, I guess a lot of us did just have family visits, so…" Sagi mused as they stepped into the cafeteria, then sent Murai another kind smile. "Should we go find a seat together?"

Murai was slightly caught off guard by the offer and reflexively responded a bit awkwardly, "You don't mind?"

"Mind? Why should I? We're technically classmates now, so let's get along, Akiyama-kun~ Besides, I can do enough talking for the two of us anyway."

---

"Nii-chan!" Riri skidded to a stop outside of her brother's room, yelping when her socks dragged her across the slippery floor more than she had expected. "Nii-chan, help! You're in college, right?!"

"Don't just come in without—" Kazuya paused and looked up from where he had been drawing something on his tablet, blue eyes narrowing in accusation. "Is that a question you're seriously asking?"

"Right, obviously, so you have your own dorm room right?!" Riri flopped on his bed, ignoring his noises of protest. "How big are they?! What should I bring?!"

"Well one thing's for sure," Kazuya sighed. He put down his drawing pen and shoved his sister out of his room and back towards her own as he talked, shutting the door behind him. "You can bring maybe half your closet."

As expected, Riri squawked indignantly. "Half?! No way! What am I going to wear?!"

"What are you—you're literally going to be in your school uniform like 90% of the time anyway! What are you even going to do with that mountain of extra clothes of yours in your room?!"

"Wear them, obviously!" Riri threw open her closet door to show off her colorful, neatly organized clothes filling the walk-in closet to the point where it was almost physically impossible to walk inside. "You wouldn't understand, Nii-chan; I have style unlike you! Mou, Wakana-chan would understand!"

"You—" Kazuya sighed. "Anyway, pick your favorite outfits and nothing more—"

"As if I have favorites—"

"Riri-chan!"

Both siblings blinked at the sudden interruption. Riri raised her wrist to glance at the new smart watch on her wrist. "Ai-chan?"

"Um…" Aina produced a thinking bubble above her head as she turned on a minuscule camera on the side of the watch to scan the room and then brightened, a light bulb replacing the pink bubble. "I think it should be fine! For this much, it might be cutting it close, but the dorm rooms and closets are big enough that you should be able to fit it all if you try!"

"Really?! Oh thank goodness, I didn't know what I was going to do if I actually had to pick from them—that's like asking me to pick between my parents! So ha, take that—oomph!" Riri toppled when a fluffy pink pillow collided with her face. "Ow, my hair! What was that for?!"

"You having a better room than me as a high schooler, that's what!" Kazuya's voice yelled from down the hallway as he returned back to his room. "Frickin hero schools—"

"SUCKS!"

"STOP YELLING AT EACH OTHER FROM ACROSS THE HOUSE!"

"SORRY DAD!"

"NII-CHAN STARTED IT!"

"OI YOU LITTLE RASCAL, COME HERE—"

---

"Oh, hello again, Nadeshiko."

Otome Nadeshiko perked up at the sound of her name, glancing up just in time to see a familiar girl sliding onto the couch next to her. "Ara, Shizu-chi! Did you also just finish your visits and lunch?"

"Mm," Hira Shizuka nodded. "…I see you were finally able to go shopping like you wanted."

"Oh, this?" Nadeshiko held up the light pink nail polish she was using to paint her nails. "Hehe~ Do you like it? I debated between this one and a really pretty blue one that matched my eyes better, but I thought the pink looked better in the end, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I agree," Shizuka smiled.

"Oh, but I went ahead and bought both anyway since Haruko-sensei said I could," Nadeshiko continued cheerily as she pulled out a second bottle from a bag resting on the couch next to her. "I might do a two tone somewhere…I heard it's a common trend to paint the thumb and ring finger a different color nowadays? I don't really get it, but well, I'm open to trying anything at this point~ Would you like to join me, Shizu-chi? We have almost two weeks until we start class, so at least they won't chip too fast!"

"Hm…" Shizuka eyed the two colors pensively, and then shifted to kneel on the floor in front of Nadeshiko. "Do you mind if I try doing yours instead?"

"Of course, feel free!"

Shizuka examined the brush of the nail polish critically and very carefully scraped a layer of excess paint off on the edge of the bottle. Then, keeping her movements extremely slow and cautious, she began to move it across Nadeshiko's nail.

Nadeshiko bubbled with anticipation, and she tried not to look at Shizuka, picking a topic of conversation at random instead. "We haven't really had the chance to speak since the entrance exam, have we?"

"Not since you carried us through the entire exam, no," Shizuka commented lightly.

"Mou, you're exaggerating now, you and Kayo did a great job too! It was a group effort!"

Shizuka laughed, a clear, slightly airy sound. "Yes, all right, whatever you say~"

"Speaking of which, I haven't really seen Kayo around recently either…I hope she's doing all right. I mean, she…" Nadeshiko's voice trailed off, but upon sharing a glance with Shizuka, she knew the other girl was thinking the same thing.

That girl's personality is a bit worrisome.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs before they could continue the line of conversation, and Nadeshiko brightened at the sight of the gray-haired girl passing by them. "Kana-chan, over here!"

"Oh, Nadeshiko…hello," Kaname mumbled, bowing slightly.

Nadeshiko carefully toned down some of her energy immediately, giving the shy girl a reassuring smile. "We're painting nails, would you like to join us? I think this pink would look great on you, see? But if you were going somewhere else, then I wouldn't want to bother you~"

"Um…" Kaname's eyes darted, and then she nodded hesitantly. "I…can…"

Nadeshiko beamed and gently patted the seat next to her on the couch, Shizuka shifting slightly to make room. She couldn't help but notice how the girl still sat at the very edge of the couch, her entire body as taut as a bowstring.

Hm…how can I make her feel more comfortable…?

"I'm done," Shizuka announced before she could find her next line of conversation.

Nadeshiko drew her gaze back to her thumb nail and let out a delighted gasp at the far too detailed blue butterfly painted on. "Waaah~ It's beautiful, how did you do that? You didn't even use a different brush, that one is so thick…waah~ Thank you, Shizu-chi~"

"Of course," Shizuka smiled. "It was a fun challenge for me too."

Nadeshiko noted the way Kaname's pink eyes were fixed on her nail and brought it closer for the other girl to see, excited. "Do you like it, Kana-chan? Shizu-chi did a great job, didn't she? It's so cute~"

"Yes," Kaname said quietly, but she was still wide-eyed in awe.

"Do you like art too, Naito-san?" Shizuka asked knowingly, preparing to start on Nadeshiko's other hand.

"Oh, um…you can also just call me Kana…if you like…"

"Then, Kana. You can call me Shizu too."

"Um, okay, thank you? Oh, uh, I do…like art. I like to draw."

"We should find some time to draw together sometime," Shizuka offered.

"I think…I'd like that."

"Aah, did someone mention art~?"

"Kyaa!" Nadeshiko startled at the new voice, and she felt the moment that Shizuka's nail polish brush ran off. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, Shizu-chi—I bought some remover too, let me get it for you—"

"Oh? I'm impressed that they let you buy that stuff~" Akeno commented lightly, as if she didn't just pop out of nowhere and scare the living daylights out of both Nadeshiko and Kaname. Only Shizuka remained relatively unfazed, which came as somewhat of a surprise to Nadeshiko. She wondered then if she'd ever seen the girl be anything other than calm and collected. The albino continued, "I wanted to buy some paints, but they put so many limitations on it that I was barely able to get anything in the end! Jeez, I can't paint like this, you know?"

"I knooooow, they wouldn't let me get a sewing machine, either," Nadeshiko pouted. "But yes, Haruko-sensei said that this much was fine for now, although she did ask that I give it to a staff for safekeeping when I'm not using it, and that Ai-chan would be supervising when I was using it." As if on cue, the screen lining the wall in front of them flickered on and the AI appeared to blow them an animated heart kiss before disappearing again. "She also mentioned that the restrictions would be easened up with time, so hopefully we'll be able to get everything we want soon!"

"Well that's kind of dumb, what are we going to do with nail polish, chug it?" Akeno scoffed. "Aren't we all here because we don't have a death wish?"

"Um…" Even Nadeshiko wasn't quite sure how to respond to that one.

"Aiya, sorry, sorry, I think I'm a little salty, that's all. Don't mind it~ So you were talking about art?"

"Yes! It seems you all here are all artists!" Nadeshiko said excitedly.

"Don't you draw as well?" Shizuka commented, looking up from her work as she let the first layer dry. "You mentioned outfit designing during our exam, I believe."

"Oh, I can doodle a little bit, but certainly not enough to be called an artist…"

"All of us? Even Kanakana?" Akeno interjected with some surprise. "Hm, somehow I didn't expect that…that's cool though, we should definitely all draw together sometime~"

Nadeshiko's gaze caught on Kaname at the mention of her name, and her brows furrowed with concern. Kaname had become even stiffer, her hands clenched tightly in her lap, and there was a slight haze in her eyes. Nadeshiko remembered witnessing the same look in their first meeting as well, when they had been on the car ride to school, and she didn't know exactly what the girl was thinking about, but she didn't like it.

Careful of her wet nails, she gently reached over to shake Kaname's shoulder. "Kana-chan? Are you all right?"

Kaname startled instantly and violently, as if being ripped out of a dream. She shot to her feet, bowing and mumbling, "Sorry, I think…I'm going to go…" before nervously leaving their dorm lounge and heading back down the hallway. A few moments later, there was the sound of a door clicking shut.

"I hope she's all right…" Nadeshiko murmured to herself, worried. She vowed to check up on the girl again later in the night, perhaps during dinner. She had to make sure Kaname actually ate too; if not, then she'd have to bring some food up for her.

"We can check up on her later," Shizuka said, echoing Nadeshiko's own thoughts. She picked up the blue nail polish again and got to work on the nail art for Nadeshiko's other thumb, glancing at Akeno as she did so. "Would you like your nails painted too?"

"I wouuuuuld, but I don't think those colors work with my style." Akeno gestured at her blended white Victorian-style outfit. "So, maybe another time! Shizu, was it? What do you draw?"

"A lot of nature…I'm a bit of a biology nerd, you see."

"Oh, we're exact opposites then! I do a lot of scenery paintings; the cityscape is the prettiest, in my opinion. We should totally paint together sometime! Well, whenever we're allowed real paints, that is~ Do you have any favorite artists?"

The conversation quickly spun out of a scope that Nadeshiko could follow. She didn't mind, however, simply letting the conversation wash over her and relishing in the feeling of having people around her again. It was a good thing that she had yet to write her letter for the day, because she would definitely have to include this moment in it.

As the conversation continued, however, she couldn't help but feel that something had changed in Shizuka's voice. She frowned on the inside, careful to keep her outward expression the same, and listened closely. Shizuka's tone of voice and demeanor all seemed the same as she remembered, but…still, the aura surrounding her that had definitely changed—the warmth that she had radiated since they first met had notably dimmed.

Before she could think too much about it, Akeno suddenly perked up and called out, "Aah, it's Kayo-chan! I'm gonna go say hi~! Kayo-chaaan~"

And like a whirlwind, she disappeared as fast as she had come.

Nadeshiko giggled to herself as she watched the other girl round the corner—

"Nadeshiko, what do you think about Nijima?"

"Huh?" Nadeshiko blinked in surprise at Shizuka's sudden quiet voice almost directly against her ear. "Well, she's…interesting, I guess?"

Shizuka frowned slightly. "Interesting is…one way of putting it, I suppose."

"Is something the matter with Nijima?"

"Well, if you ask me if something's the matter with her, strictly speaking the answer would be no, but…still, I think you should be careful around her. I can't explain it to you very well, but she gives me a very bad feeling."

---

The small store was bustling with chatter, customers flitting in between racks like moths between lamps. The intercom played the store's own advertisements on repeat, but it could barely be heard in the buzz of the shop. And yet, the store drew to a hushed silence with a single loud declaration—

"Behold, the perfect gear for a future hero! I have been searching from the high heavens through the depths of hell for a worthy artifact capable of enduring the mighty spirit of a hero, and at last, I have found it! Just look at the quality of the material and the aesthetics of the design—yes, this is the one! I must have this before I begin my arduous journey onto the shining path of a top hero!"

Gorudo Kyosuta stood in the middle of the store, his bright yellow eyes sparkling with vivid excitement, hand raised and holding up…

…a graphic T-shirt.

Humming cheerily, Kyo hung the T-shirt on his arm and continued sifting through the shirt rack, acknowledging the fact that basically everyone in the shop was staring at him but disregarding it entirely. After all, it was only expected that people stare at such a shining existence as he was. Perhaps they could sense his aura as a future hero?

A loud cackle suddenly interrupted the silence of the store, and as if watching a tennis game, everyone's head turned as one to its source, Kyo included. A girl in the corner of the store was bent over herself, howling with laughter, releasing ugly, sharp cackles that resembled that of a villainess in a Disney movie.

Kyo frowned to himself, wondering who could possibly have such a hideous laugh—

The girl's long, auburn hair parted slightly, revealing some of her face, and Kyo's eyes flickered with realization.

He was stepping forward before he even realized it, yelling out, "Halt, villain! So you have revealed your true self! It is a shame, for I, the hero, am here to stop you and save the day!"

The customers seemed to become uneasy at the declaration, some even leaving the store altogether, but the girl's teal eyes only showed mirth as she gave a careless glance around the store before stepping in front of Kyo and declaring loudly and melodramatically, "Oh no, you caught me! Whatever shall I do? You left me no choice, I'll have to use my secret weapon—one that may destroy the universe if not careful—"

"HEY! What are you kids playing at?! You're disturbing the customers! OUT!"

"Hyaah—oof!"

"Wait, let me at least buy the shirt first—!"

"You should have thought of that before you started making a ruckus!"

Bang!

With those parting words, the doors mercilessly slid shut on the two teenagers that had been thrown outside. Kyo hung his head sadly. "Alas, trials are but a given for all heroes, for what is victory without struggle?"

He would have continued his melodramatic monologue, but he was afraid that the girl next to him would stop breathing soon from how hard she was laughing, so he chose to address her directly instead. "Greetings, old comrade! It must be fate that we are to meet again so soon! How fares you since our last meeting?"

"Oh my god, I can't believe that actually just happened." The brunette wiped a tear from her eye, struggling to get her laughter under control. "I thought it was funny enough during the exam, but I didn't expect that you were like that on a daily basis, too! Holy shit that's hilarious. Like no offense or anything, but that's fucking hilarious."

Kyo frowned. She was making fun of him, wasn't she?

"Kyo! Did you find what you were looking for? " His mother's voice called out before he could ask. She paused upon reaching them, noticing the girl standing next to him. "Oh my, who's this?"

"A past comrade, the royal healer, who fought valiantly with me back to back, where we overcame many trials together and successfully vanquished the evil foe!"

His mother only looked confused, and the girl coughed mildly. "He means we were on the same team in Shinraikai Academy's entrance exam. My name is Ikari Tori, ma'am, it's nice to meet you."

"Oh, well, you should have just said so!" Gorudo Kazanga glared pointedly at her son and then, ignoring his pout, turned to Tori. "You must be the one with the healing Quirk? Kyo told me about you! I should thank you for helping to look after this reckless son of mine…"

"Mom!" Kyo exclaimed, a bit embarrassed.

"Oh uh no, it was nothing," Tori mumbled awkwardly, a far cry from her earlier self. It was as if she wasn't sure what to do with the attention.

"Were you accepted as well? Kyo here is in Class 1-1, how about you? How do you feel about going to live on your own in the dormitories?"

"Mooooom…"

Kazanga finally took pity on Kyo, laughing as she said, "All right, all right, I'll leave you kids alone…then I'll meet you at the food court whenever you're finished, all right, Kyo? Call me if you need me! Have fun!"

"Okay, thanks Mom."

Kyo and Tori stood in silence for a moment, before Tori finally gave him a sly smirk. "So you can speak normally after all—"

"You saw nothing."

"…"

"Perish the thought, thy eyes have observed naught for there is naught to be observed. Should you insist on continuing to peer into the abyss, you may find yourself with regrets in the future."

Tori snorted with laughter. "Don't worry, theater boy, I won't tell anyone your secret. Anyway, it seems like we're gonna be in the same class; you shopping for dorm stuff too?"

"I am searching for the proper accessories imbued with heroic spirit to decorate my abode, that is correct," Kyo responded succinctly.

"…you literally could've just said yes, but okay."

"We are the selected future heroes, and we will be attending the very hero school that saw through the beacon of light shining upon me, the chosen one! We cannot settle for mediocrity; a grandiose hero school as such requires nothing but the best! And thus, I too cannot be idle!"

Tori was pensive for a few moments, but just as Kyo was about to elaborate further, she suddenly snapped her fingers, her teal eyes lighting up. "I got it! Filtering out all of that bullshit, in short, you're excited, aren't you?"

"…in the most basic sense, that would be correct," Kyo begrudgingly admitted.

"Hell yeah!" She pumped a fist in the air. "I get that though, I haven't been this excited about something in a long time either. I was almost certain—ooh, hang on, pause, let's go check this store out."

"Why—"

"Shhhh." Tori grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him inside with her. "Thou doth protest too much, theater boy."

"Cease your baseless slander, I have not—"

"—okay, maybe that wasn't quite the right phrase to use, but the point is we'll be in and out quickly so you may as well tag along, future classmate~"

It took Kyo less than a minute to realize that the reason he'd been dragged in was to be used as a human clothes rack.

A hero must face endless trials before victory, he repeated to himself again, trying not to focus his eyes anywhere in particular. This is merely part of my duty as a hero, to support my comrades in any way possible, to prepare myself as a contributor of society—

"Hey hey hey hey hey," Tori called out suddenly, and then turned to face him, a devilish smirk on her face. "What do you think about this?"

A black lace panty hung between her fingers.

"Wha—I—you—you fiend!" Kyo sputtered. He could feel his face combusting as he spun around immediately, staring resolutely at the TV on the wall and nothing else.

Tori cackled, tossing the panties back on the shelf. It landed halfway off the edge, but she didn't seem to care. "Your face—you should've seen your face—"

"A she-demon," Kyo muttered to himself sourly, "I have had the misfortune of meeting a she-demon in disguise. But I will not give in, for none can break my spirit as a hero, as a protector of justice—"

"Oh, have we moved on to soliloquies now?" Tori asked nonchalantly, even as she tossed another shirt at Kyo and continued sifting through the clothes racks. She paused briefly only to mutter to herself, "That is the right word, isn't it? I don't fucking know theater terms—"

"And now for what you've all been waiting for—it's time for some hero news!"

Kyo startled when the TV he was staring at switched scenes, suddenly showing a picture of UA on one side, and their own future school on the other, captions lining the bottom. Tori moved to watch with him, her interest piqued.

"As high school entrance exams come and go, naturally, our focus will be on the progress of hero school entrance exams. Recently, there has been a stir on the Internet about the different set-ups between entrance exams of different schools. Surprisingly, the school that sparked this debate was none other than the brand new hero school started by Inazuma and Tempest this year, Shinraikai Academy.

"An anonymous poster wrote on the hero forum two weeks ago: 'I happened to take both UA and Shinraikai's entrance exams, and I was surprised by the disparity I observed between them. To make things clearer for those who have no knowledge on either: UA's exam was a point-based battle against robots. The more points you get, the more likely you are to pass. As someone with a mental Quirk, this was extremely disheartening for me. On the other hand, Shinraikai's exam featured a mix of villain and rescue points, and although my Quirk still didn't work on the puppets provided, I still felt that there was a chance for me as a current non-combat-focused student to succeed than in UA's brute-force centered exam. UA, is it time to step up your game?'

"Although the public opinion is divided, the consensus seems to favor UA still, a majority quoting UA's use of secret rescue points in their exam. Some have even claimed that this was clearly an insider post, and that it was Shinraikai's strategy to gain attention…"

"This is blasphemy!" Kyo thundered out suddenly, shocking everyone in the store.

Tori scoffed, rolling her eyes and continuing to flip through the clothes. "Ignore them, people will never stop doing stupid things. Have you seen all the hate Shinraikai's been getting? I don't get it, they nitpick over the tiniest things and get offended about everything, it's so fucking stupid. I saw an article earlier today that pretty much just straight out called Inazuma a liar—like, that's a pro hero who has never lied in her entire career before, and you are who? Here, look at this…"

Tori pulled out her phone, but before she could even turn it on, the smart watch on her wrist lit up in a projection, an article displayed on screen. "Would you be referring to this article, by any chance?" Aina asked brightly from the corner.

Tori stared at her, dumbfounded. "Uh, yeah—"

"Very well, I will go ahead and forward it to Kyo-kun for your reading convenience!" Aina chirped, before shutting the projection off and vanishing again. Milliseconds later—

"Sparkling with justice, the Stellar Hero: Sirius is here to put an end to your evil deeds! May you suffer the wrath of the stars!"

"What is that, a Glitter Squad catchphrase?" Tori asked skeptically.

"Of course not!" Kyo exclaimed, even as he shuffled awkwardly around the pile of clothes in his arms to fumble for the phone in his pockets. Tori took pity on him and lifted the top half off, which…well, it helped a bit, sure. Still, Kyo continued his excited rambling without pause, "That is the catchphrase of my glorious grandmother, who was undoubtedly the best hero of her time. I strive to become a hero just like her one day—"

"Hold the fuck up, that's your message ringtone?!" Tori said incredulously upon seeing the notification on his phone screen.

"Naturally! Is there a problem?"

"…no no no, no problem, you do you man."

She's clearly trying really hard not to laugh though…

But before he could comment further, he caught sight of the article title and frowned, the words sucking him in—

A few moments later, he was speechless, fumbling for the right words to describe his outrage, "This—This is—blasphemy!"

"I know right—wait, is it just me, or is the shop keeper coming this way, fuck—"

"Dear guests…you're disturbing the other customers—"

Standing in front of the store with mild bewilderment, Tori finally spun around to face Kyo. "Does this happen to you often?"

---

Shinraikai Academy Entrance Exam Failure

With All Might having been announced to teach at UA this year, more students are applying for hero schools than ever. Of all the hero schools, the newly founded Shinraikai Academy has been attracting the most attention behind UA.

The headmaster of Shinraikai, Renjou Haruko, had announced their collaboration with globally renown data and tech company Anzen'naie a month back. In the same interview, she had repeatedly stressed the importance of safety and security of their future students.

Now with the entrance exams newly completed, various students who attended Shinraikai's entrance exam reported that the school alarmingly experienced a technology malfunction in the middle of the exam. Smoke emissions and moving floors were all active during this technology malfunction, bringing the school's credibility into question.

"There were no issues with the system, but we were negligent in the control of possible Quirk influence," Renjou said calmly when asked. "We will continue to cooperate with Anzen'naie and further minimize the risk factor, but we cannot guarantee another malfunction will not occur. In this case, we can only ask that you trust in our ability as heroes to conduct efficient damage control so that the students will not be harmed."

Renjou has refused to provide the name or Quirk of the student in question, stating it to be a breach of privacy, only further drawing doubt to the credibility of the claim…

---

"No…no, no, no. Why would you do this? Why, why, why…you weren't supposed to do this. This wasn't the plan at all…! …heh, well…they always were unpredictable…especially Hi-kun…"

A fire roared to life in the fireplace, and then a crackling sound echoed in the quiet room as the red-hot flames tore mercilessly into the newspaper.

"Time to change plans then, I suppose…"

Beep-bop-boop.

Brrrriiing.

"Hiya, it's Genesis~ How can I help you today? Any fresh prey for lil ol' me~?"

"Kou."

"…oh, what, it's you. Well? What do you want?"

"I'm calling in a favor."

"Again? Sheesh, fine. You found a new mission then? What is it this time?"

"I'm going to destroy Shinraikai Academy."

"Ohh, that dumb hero thing that was in the news? Why bother? If you leave it alone, it seems like it'll collapse on its own sooner or later."

"No…I know Haru-chan and Hi-kun well enough to know that if I want it to fall, then I have to tear it down myself."

"Well okaaaayyyy then, what does that have to do with me?"

"Isn't it obvious? I need you to get me into the Alliance."

"Sure, whatever, but I have to remind you that the Alliance doesn't care about personal motivations, you know."

"Oh don't worry. I have my ways."

---

A/N: I know I said I open villain submissions this chapter, but uh, there are some things I still need to figure out for plot before I make the form, and I'm going on vacation starting tomorrow so I really won't have time to look at them. I wanted to post this before leaving since it was done, that's' all~ So that'll have to be another time, sorry~

That aside…(eyes this chapter) Do you understand why I stressed the importance of details on family members also now? This chapter's alternate title is Family FeaturesTM, probably.

So yeah! Family aside, this chapter features 20/30 roster characters (with 6 names being entirely new mentions and 11 family members) and honestly I'm kind of proud of that. Also I wrote 10 of these 14 sections in literally two days; I don't know what kind of inspiration high I was on but I hope it stays OTL.

Some chapter commentary I had while writing:

- All hail Ayu, the only one in possession of a functioning brain cell in the entire staff lmao. Well, Haruko has one also, but it is rarely functioning when she has to put up with these Idiots 24/7

- Hope Ayana's section was okay to read, I know it was formatted kinda strangely; I clearly have been too into streamer AUs recently XD

- Mio and Kayo are baby. And I have successfully given Kayo all the uwus because she deserves them all

- Mitsuki makes a mess out of my planning lmao, he and Tooka were supposed to talk about more things than what they did but that just Did Not Happen because they didn't even clear the first stage (getting lunch) until 2 whole pages later because endless Internal Panicking had to happen OTL

- Riri's section was pre-written way back when, I think it was back before Entrance Exam II even

- So the girls in Nadeshiko's section were also supposed to talk about Important Things. They decided to have a girls talk instead, which, all right, sure, who am I to stop them? XD

- Kyo is a riot to write and I love him, but boy if he also isn't a struggle to write lmao I swear I got stuck every time his dialogue came up rip

- Villain interlude was also pre-written way back when (side-eyes)

And with that, the entrance exam arc has ended~!

But yeah, all in all, this chapter was a blast to write, so I hope you all enjoyed it too~ That's really all from me, peace uwu

Until next time~

Chi