And now onwards to the Sports Festival Arc!

Suri has another dream. Her classmates learn more about Suri, whether she wants to or not. And Class 1-A faces a mob of students looking to size up the competition.

How do you start your usual day off?

A shower, some breakfast, maybe an early morning jog?

That answer would have been appealing, really appealing, to Suri.

Instead, she awoke in a cold sweat and a jolt upwards in her bed. She stared wide eyed at the foot of her bed, heaving and panting wildly on the verge of hyperventilating. Her body and, subsequently, her bed were damp with sweat. Then a shiver building upwards along her spine from her still burning core told her it wasn't just sweat. And why not? With that dream she just had? Sure, there was a part of her that wasn't scared shitless of what she had just witnessed and experienced in dreamland and found the event very very satisfying. Funny thing is, her dream had plopped right into the middle of what was happening. After she had showered and said goodnight to her grandmother, the beast girl had flopped onto her bed and promptly passed out as soon as her head hit her pillow.

In her dream, her eyes had fluttered open, rolling themselves back down from having been rolled back. She felt full, like something had inhabited an emptiness she had forgotten about. She felt absolutely amazing as she felt something stroke back and forth against a spot inside her. And that feeling, that wonderful feeling, kept making her breath hitch and she gasped with throaty growls and moans of delight.

That delight clouded her mind from what she had seen at first as her body kept rocking back and forth. Then she saw it. A mop of messy emerald hair, a rasp filled gasp of a voice she recognized but never thought she'd hear making those sounds, and finally the face of Izuku. His eyes clenched shut, sweat pouring from his brow, his teeth clenched from strain. Her mind had made real the want of having Izuku holding her after she had piggybacked on him. She had wanted to feel his grip on her thighs again and gods did he ever as she realized he had her spread wide and she felt strong, calloused hands holding her inner thighs tight, nails digging into her flesh. The feeling only made her gut tighten with desire from the delicious touch. Then her eyes drifted from his hands holding her down a picture perfect sculpted body, licking her lips as her eyes traced over his chest and abdomen until…

No! Bad Suri!

She had been about to turn away when she felt arms around her and felt her back pressing into the front of someone. She could tell that someone was a woman by the feel of the small, soft mounds pressing into her shoulder blades. The two of them with Suri between them made her feel so warm. She groaned softly and bit her lip and had to fight rolling her eyes again as the woman's hands gripped her chest, kneading and rolling her heavy, supple flesh with delicate… pink and white scaled hands…

She knew those hands!

Suri had been startled and craned her neck upwards towards her captor before she watched as a snake lunged at her. She had clenched her eyes, waiting for the strike and pain that would follow but instead she found a soft touch of lips. It was nearly impossible not to give into that kiss from her serpentine lover, nearly every ounce of her being wanted it. The part of her that enjoyed and longed for that kiss was loving what Izuku was doing to her. She moaned loudly in a long throaty sound of pleasure as her lips rolled and worked against the other girl's in a wonderful wrestling match of soft flesh. She growled softly as she nipped and bit at Yumei's lips, tugging the flesh before crashing into her again thanks to Izuku's force. Then she felt the girl's longer and slimmer tongue push into her mouth and wrap around her own, massaging the powerful muscle and making the beast girl whimper in need.

She wanted this.

Wanted it to last.

Then when she was released from Yumei's lips her eyes caught glimpses of her friends surrounding her with Tooru and Yutogame on her right, close enough to touch, and then Mina and Uraraka to her left. The group was huddled all together, practically cuddling while the main trio went at it in the center. All of them were nude with utter desire and anticipation in their eyes, happily awaiting their turns. Waiting to worship their queen.

That thought.

The entire premise of that thought made her bolt.

She growled. Letting it rumble in her throat before she let out a full force scream of frustration, nerves, and a hint of fear. Suri wasn't a stranger to sex and sexual fantasies in general, she loved it and was never shy about being sexually open. She wasn't a stranger to dreams of wild romps in the throes of heated passion and lust. She normally enjoyed her dreams of sex like anyone else. She absolutely loved them. Loved waking up feeling completely rested, relaxed, and oh so satisfied. But lately? Lately they were hitting too close to home per say. They were no longer celebrity or pro hero crushes and the who's who of guys and girls that any teenage girl her age were dreaming of taking to pound town. These were her friends. Platonic friends.

She grabbed to her left and pulled the plump, round, stuffed fuzziness that was Mr. Squeak to her, smashing the fluffy penguin in her grip. She clutched him tight, hugged him to her and buried her face into the back of his neck. She let out a snarl and then looked up.

"What in the living fuck was that?" she barked angrily into the room at no one in particular.

"Sating some of our fantasies, of course," came the answer from deep within her, emphasizing the our.

"Not with them!"

There was a deep, sultry laugh that came from that place inside her that was full of amusement.

"Oh please, little one. Wasn't it you that wanted him to, how did you say… smash you?"

"Oh fuck you!"

"Is that an offer?"

Suri growled and screamed again while her inner beast let out another hearty laugh that boiled up from a snicker after her host's cry of internal agony. She buried her face into her stuffed penguin companion and tried to bury all emotion. She failed of course and swallowed the growing lump in her throat as she felt a presence making its way to her door. She felt her grandma's wafting energy on the other side of the door and waited for the inevitable question.

"Suri, dear, are you all right?"

And there it was.

Suri debated on a lie. Grandma Kuroyashi though, would know. The heartbeat, the tone of voice, the nuances of body language, the fact that the old leopard woman could literally taste a lie. Lying though, no matter how convenient, always made things worse.

"No…"

"Wanna talk about it?" She asked, slowly opening Suri's door and peeking inside.

"Not… no, not really."

"Oh, sweetie," she sighed seeing the girl's condition and the state of her bed. "Bad dream?"

The answer came with two voices and opposite answers. Suri answered yes, her beast, on the other hand, answered no. Suri scowled harder and clutched her defenseless penguin stuffy tighter.

"Ahh, I think I see now," her grandmother shook her head and stepped inside the room. She took a deep breath and then asked, "which hunger were you trying to feed? Blood or?"

"The blood ones scare me too. This one," Suri let out a whine. "I'm just being…"

"Your friends made an appearance then."

Suri shot a startled look at her grandmother. It all but confirmed the older woman's suspicions.

"Asuka plagued me with them when I was your age as well. It usually means that you haven't fed in a while."

"I ate last night, I don't… shit."

Grandma Kuroyashi smirked.

Of course the girl had forgotten.

"Our beasts are an extension of ourselves. They are the most primal and powerful versions of who we are. And just like we need to eat, sleep, and maintain our human sides-"

"So must we maintain the needs of our beast to ensure the balance within ourselves. Only in that balance of man and beast can we house a sound soul," Suri finished her grandmother's sentence in a bored, nearly monotone voice. Of course grandma made the answer seem so easy and obvious which made Suri curse herself for being so stupid.

Though, she knew she wasn't actually stupid and was just taking out frustrations on herself.

"I'm amused by you being able to recite mine and your father's teachings but memorizing those lectures only goes so far. So, how do you feed and when was the last feeding?"

"Our beasts are our most primal instincts. They basically live off of E-F-M-S."

"Mhmm."

Her grandmother gave Suri a look which basically said 'and?'

"Eat. Fight. Mate. Sleep. Or, if you're asking Mathias; Eat. Fight. Fuck. Sleep."

Grandma Kuroyashi made a voila gesture.

"We feed our beasts through blood or meat, violence and fighting, or sex. But you can't solely rely on one form or the other. It's essentially a well rounded diet," her grandmother lectured.

"But I have fed her!" Suri shouted defensively. "I've had sparring matches multiple times a week, we have the Lupanar hunts. Hell, we faced real villains yesterday! I got my ass handed to me, but there! Violence, fighting, meat, and blood! That's a full meal!"

"Is it?"

"Yes!"

"Suri…"

Suri grumbled and screamed into Mr. Squeak's back. She knew what was being alluded to but she just couldn't. Why? She had never been scared of sex, she was a wide open book in that aspect. She had no problems teasing and flirting so why get hung up now?

"I can't. Not with them."

"And what about members of our pard?"

"I… I've tried. Gods, no offense, but there's a couple leopards I'd happily take to bed and fuck the ever living shit out of. But… I'm an outsider. I know. I'm your granddaughter, I'm basically the princess of your pard but… I'm… I'm an undesirable mutt."

"You let the words of a select few cloud your mind, my dear."

"I've tried not to. The leopards," Suri sighed deeply, "I love them. I really do. They'll fight me, sure, if not to prove they're better than the wolves but I'm off the mating menu. Not that it's better back in the States. I'm only on the menu so they can check off the 'fuck the Ulfric's daughter' box."

"But your friends and classmates, the kids at your school, they don't care about those things. Do they?"

"No. They don't. I mean, they voted me as Class Representative for Gods' sakes."

"Oh? I'm pleased to hear that. I'm proud of-"

"We claimed them," rose the voice of Suri's beast, with a tone that was self satisfied and overly proud of herself..

"Ahh, now it makes even more sense," Grandma Kuroyashi sighed and shook her head. "You do enjoy making everything complicated. Don't you?"

"No," Suri replied in a small, innocent voice that did a terrible job of hiding the truth.

"From my own experience, dear, there's no shame in taking that leap of faith. Fifty years later and I'm still friends with those first steamy romps I had bac-"

"Grandma!"

Grandma Kuroyashi and her inner beast, Asuka shared a laugh and a wide grin filled with fangs.

"You can continue to hide from your needs," Asuka spoke. "Or you can feed them. Whether you want your desires filled on one night flings or whether you want them to be ongoing and blossom into more. That's for you to decide. Just stop running, little one. It only makes it worse in the end, we should know."

There was a long moment of silence and Suri mulled over everything said. She then looked up to her grandma, seeing Asuka resting just behind her eyes and took a deep breath. Smiled. And then nodded.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome, my child. And I'm sorry the pard has not been as welcoming as we had hoped."

"It's not your fault, you can't force them into… ya know…"

"True. But we are sorry nonetheless. Now," Grandma Kuroyashi perked up to change the subject. "Shower and get dressed. You faced real villains and you're the class rep. Lunch is on me."

"Deal!"

The leopard queen grinned happily and turned to walk out the door before Suri called after her. She then paused and hung her head back into the doorway.

"Yes, child?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, my dearest Kitpup."

They shared a smile and the older woman dipped her head out the door only to poke it back in a second later.

"So who's first on your menu? The cute pink one with the pretty eyes and cute hair or the adorable invisible one with the wonderful personality?"

"GRANDMA!"

The rest of the day with her grandmother was mostly uneventful. After their lunch at the cafe the older woman frequented, she had eventually told her what the dream had been about. Suri was tinged bright red the entire time. Her grandmother didn't bat an eye. Instead her grandmother told her about the dream that scared her that much when she had been her age and what had been worse was that it had taken place at a friend's sleepover and her dream participants had all been the same girls in the room. Suri prayed, literally, to every god she knew that that didn't happen to her.

Tooru had texted about going shopping the same time they had left. Suri was saddened by the fact that, yet again, she missed out with her friend. Tooru seemed to like to make plans right after Suri had just booked her own. She'd fix that some day. Though she did enjoy the pics the invisible girl had sent of her trying on various outfits and asking Suri's opinion. Then later in the day the two shared pics of each other relaxing and playing with camera phone filters. Suri had a long bout of laughing as Tooru kept putting emoji faces in place of her own. It was enjoyable and Suri loved that her and Tooru could just talk and enjoy each other's company even when they weren't next to each other.

The pics triggered another dream that night, though by the grace of the gods it hadn't been as steamy. Instead it had been her and Tooru laying together, much more relaxed and lazy, sharing a soft touch of lips while Suri played her fingers around the invisible girl's stomach. All the while dream Tooru's fingers happily danced along the beast girl's arms and shoulders. Just the touch alone was enough to make both girls happily sigh and hum as their lips lazily and happily melded over and over again.

In her dream, Tooru was more solid, looking closer to a pale apparition than the usual blur of distorted light and reality that made her normal shadowy shape. Her facial features and hair were still mostly a mystery and Suri wondered if it was what her brain had been trying to piece together since their first meeting. If her brain had pieced together this image of a lithe girl, nicely toned from moderate exercise with shapely hips and thighs that led to long toned legs, a supple and perky chest, and lightly muscled arms. In short, her brain liked what it had pieced together.

The thought of kissing Tooru was still fresh in her mind when she had startled the beast girl in her seat. Suri blinked rapidly and looked around with an edge of panic. Oh, she was in class? Right, she'd taken an earlier train and came to sit in class long before school. Suri took an extra deep breath and looked upwards to the blurred, barely visible mass where Tooru's head would be and smiled softly.

"You all right, Pres? I didn't scare you super bad did I?" The floating uniform waved frantically, letting her know how apologetic she was aside from her shaky voice.

"No!" Suri answered a little too loud. "No. You're good, Tooru. Just… haven't slept very well the last couple nights."

"Oh! Yeah, samsies. You've had bad dreams too? I didn't think you ever got those."

'Not necessarily bad,' Suri's beast whispered inside.

"Not really bad just really… weird," Suri answered aloud then paused. "Why wouldn't I have bad dreams like everyone else?"

"Oh umm cause ya know," Tooru was fidgeting nervously. "You're a badass. You rushed into danger, you put your life on the line for us. You weren't…"

"Tooru, you okay?" Suri focused hard to try and meet the girl's eyes.

"You weren't useless," the invisible girl spoke in a near silent voice. Suri felt Tooru's gaze and heard her breath catch. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You're, like, one of the only people that look me in the eyes. You're always watching me and looking at me but," Tooru paused her quiet voice. "Can you?"

"See you? Sort of… Like I can't see details but my eyes pick up that there's a mass, a shape, something should be in clear view but not. There's like a kind of shadow where most of your body would be but the edges… It's kind of like," Suri paused, catching herself as she drifted two fingers along Tooru's forearm. She caught herself because Tooru shuddered. And not in a bad way. "It's kind of like looking through a magnifying glass that doesn't actually magnify it just sorta bends the light a little."

"Oh," Tooru answered shakily and Suri felt the girl present more of her arm to her.

Suri continued to dance her fingers along Tooru's arm until they heard the classroom door slide open. It startled both of them and made both of them lean back like nothing had happened. Looking up again, Suri could feel her friend's gaze and could sense a heat radiating from her. It hit Suri then.

"I was going to apologize but I think you'd be offended if I did," Suri smirked ever so lightly.

"Y-yes."

"Okay. Then I won't."

"G-good."

"Anyway," Suri tried to push the allure out of her voice and breathed. "I owe you what, four shopping trip dates now?"

"Yeah, heh, something like that," Tooru said in the same breath, trying to push the shaking tone away. "Wait, d-date?"

"Hey guys~"

"Hey, hun, how you doing," Suri had gone completely back to normal as their pinkette friend entered the room and pushed herself onto Suri's desk. Mostly normal anyway, because hormones and her beast had her eyes trailing down to her friend's thighs, which she'd long known were extremely nice and toned. Now she was fighting the urge to run her fingers along Mina's skin just like she had to Tooru a few seconds ago.

"I'm still riding the adrenaline from a couple days ago!" Mina happily bounced and Suri tried very hard not to stare at what she had right in front of her gold green eyes. Bouncy indeed. "That was so scary, but also really cool!"

"Right? Ribbit."

Tsu had followed in behind Mina and walked to her desk to sit down. Suri then watched as, one by one, the rest of their classmates drifted in. Everyone caught up with everyone's day off and they were buzzing with adrenaline, fear, and excitement from what had happened. Everyone except for Todoroki. He had been silent and simply taken his seat. The rise in commotion and people flooding in gave her the much needed excuse to push her thoughts and desires back down into the recesses of her mind, much to her beast's displeasure.

"So who do you think will teach our class today and whatchu think we're gonna do?" Mina asked excitedly, giving the beast girl yet another welcome distraction to focus on. Suri smiled at her friend, about to answer, then heard the bell to start class.

"Guess we'll find out," she shrugged with a reply and then stood and readied for her presidential duties. First of which was getting everyone in line. "All right, butts in seats everybody, get ready for class!"

"Yes, ma'am," most of the class answered in unison.

Everyone watched the door nervously, attention drawn instantly as it slid open to reveal Mr. Aizawa wrapped head to toe in bandages and his right arm slung into a cast.

"Mr. Aizawa! What are you doing here?" everyone, literally everyone, shouted in surprise.

Suri and Iida shared a concerned glance before Suri stood up from her seat and peered at the man with the full weight of hers and her classmates' worry in her voice.

"Sir, with all due respect, I think I speak for everyone when I say; why the hell aren't you resting?" The class all nodded in unison. "You took a goddamn beating, you shouldn't be up walking around, let alone teaching us."

"Kuroyashi is right," Iida joined in. "Your priority should be a full and speedy recovery."

"Look, I appreciate the concern but my recovery is none of yours," Aizawa answered back with a little more rasp in his voice than usual. "You kids have something bigger to worry about because you're about to be in the fight of your lives."

"No way, are there more villains?" Kirishima asked, nervousness on the edge of his own voice.

"No. It's time for the UA Sports Festival," he replied.

There was a short moment of silence and then the room erupted with excited cheering and shouting. The entire mood of the room changed in an instant. Suri herself couldn't contain the excitement as she joined with a loud 'oh hell yeah' from the back of the room.

This was one of the things Xavier back in America didn't have, in fact, no matter how many schools tried to replicate it, the UA Sports Festival was one of the biggest selling points to attend the school in the first place. Her father had told about the experience, had stories of the event, and had even come in third place in his first and third years, right behind Endeavor and All Might.

She could do better than her old man.

No, she would do better.

"Um, sir," Tsu had raised her hand and held her left index finger against her chin. "Are you sure this is a good idea after the villain attack a couple of days ago?"

"The school administrators think this is the best response to that," Aizawa sighed and it clicked to Suri why that would be.

"It's like a big middle finger to the bad guys," she spoke aloud. "It says not only did you fail, but you also didn't scare us. You just went and wasted so much time and energy and got nothing to show for it."

"Dude, that's super ballsy when you put it that way," Kaminari added. "Kinda badass."

"It's a show of solidarity and undying strength in the face of uncertainty. Quite the display indeed," said Tokoyami.

"Quiet down," Aizawa interjected impatiently. He waited for silence and then let his shoulders sag a little. "As most of you know, the UA Sports Festival is a big deal. Before Quirks, the Olympics was the biggest televised sporting event in the world, after Quirks showed up and we turned into a superpowered society, the viewership plummeted. Now, the Sports Festival dwarfs the viewership the Olympics had at its peak. More than just the world, all pro heroes, hero agencies, and hero driven industries watch it. It's the best way to be scouted and ensure a path to being top heroes. It's true that joining a top hero agency is a great way to garner greater experience and popularity but any aspiring hero needs to be seen in this festival. This only happens once a year, and only three times in an entire lifetime, so it's not an opportunity any of you can afford to miss."

He did have a point.

"So," he continued. "I better not see any of you slacking off on your training. Understand?"

"Yes sir!"

The rest of the day went as usual though there was an edge of excitement in everyone's demeanors. The festival was only a week away, only a week to train, hardly time to get that much better at anything really. Suri felt a little anxious at the thought. What could she improve in a week? How much stronger could she get in that amount of time? Hell, what kind of event should she even train for?

That was an unnerving question. The last few fights she'd gone into, the USJ villain attack most prominently in her memory, she had been wiped across the floor. A fight she didn't know she was going to get into had been the reason she fled to Japan. Was she a control freak or just liked the feeling of being in control of something?

After the hero class with All Might they had all returned to their class room, put their costume briefcases away and were headed out the door when something made her freeze. Her nose flared as she scented something bearing down on them, pressing against the doors. And then she heard Uraraka shriek and she turned her attention to the startled brunette.

"W-why the heck are you all here?"

"Do you have some sort of business with our class?"

Suri could feel some of the anger swelling from the crowd. She also felt a mix of nervousness, anticipation, eagerness. It was the same wash of emotions she had moments ago thinking about how to train for something she didn't know how to train for. Then she caught the sense of several who had an air of arrogance to them, she knew that feeling.

"No," she and Bakugou said in unison, making them scowl at each other. But there was an understanding between them. She came to walk next to the blonde up to the door.

"They're sizing us up," Suri spoke nonchalantly, eyeing some in the crowd. "Window shopping the competition they're gonna have to go against."

"We're the class that survived a real villain attack. They wanna see us with their own eyes," Bakugou huffed as he stopped face to face with several people and looked at the crowd with a bored look. "At least now they know what a future pro looks like. Now, out of my way, extras!"

"Ignore him and his grumpy ass," Suri scowled hard at Bakugou.

"Shut it, Mohawk!"

"Keep disrespecting me, Katsuki. I will bury you," she hissed back at him. The display probably was not a good show for the rest of the school. Maybe it was. Hell, it was probably really entertaining to everyone watching.

"Wow, is everyone in this class a bunch of asses or is it just you two?"

Both scowls turned from each other to a taller teen with messy lavender colored hair, a tired voice, and a pair of cold, bored eyes that rivaled Mr. Aizawa's own empty look and demeanor. He looked bored beyond belief and the arrogant nature of him just seemed to roll off of his skin. But more than that, Suri felt her beast lower herself inside that place inside her mind, tail raised stiffly and hair standing on end. She was cautious of him. That couldn't be a good sign.

"Maybe some of my peers here are scouting the competition but I'm not. You see, I wanted to be in the hero course too but I didn't make it the first time. Such is life, right? But now," there was an arrogant smirk that curled on one side of his lips. "This festival gives me a second chance. If we can show the teachers that we deserve to be in the hero course, we can transfer in but some of you will have to be transferred out to make room. I'm not window shopping," he looked directly at Suri with that comment. "If you don't bring your A game, I'm gonna take your spot out from under you."

And just like that Suri's beast narrowed her eyes and began pacing behind Suri's eyes, making sure everyone, including this stranger, could see the danger lurking there. He had issued the declaration of war, and the crowd of students presented a challenge. Suri's beast rose and spoke in a low growl.

"Fine, we get it now."

"U-um, K-Kuroyashi?" Izuku and Uraraka asked together, full of nervousness and fear.

"You know what," a curl rolled onto her lips and her eyes took in every face staring them down. "For once, Bakugou's not a complete ass. Shit, he's right."

"THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

"Hold up! What are you saying, Pres? And what's with your voice?" Kaminari asked, gripping his desk in a panic.

"Look, I'm sorry you didn't cut it the first time around," she got in the boy's face, her nose less than an inch from his. "It sucks, but if you think you can just walk up, talk shit, and make a challenge of power? You better know how to back it up."

Suri shifted unconsciously, one second completely human, the next she was in the early stages of power. She was completely unaware of the audible gasps both from some in the crowd in front of her and from her friends behind her as her tail just suddenly slipped from above her skirt and her ears and fangs sharpened.

"Every person you see behind me earned their place in this pack two days ago. We're not the ones who have to bring our A game because we're already there. It's you," Suri prodded a finger into his chest. "You have to bring it."

"Hey! Don't think you can just talk and sit there thinking you're better than us!"

This from an angry boy with silver white hair and large bushy eyebrows. He yelled something about being from 1-B next door. Something else about not believing her class had actually faced villains. And some more utter nonsense. Suri kept glaring at the boy with the dead eyes and purple hair.

"I don't think I'm better than you because I know I am. I'm gonna beat all of you extras," Bakugou barked at him and forced his way through the crowd but not before shooting a look back toward Suri.

She caught it out of the corner of her eye. Curious. She couldn't really read what emotion was there or what it meant. It was still his usual angry scowl but there was something else there. Was that a sign of respect from him?

Had she earned his respect?

Maybe he always had in his own way.

She'd worry about that later.

"Now," Suri moved her eyes from the boy in front of her to the crowd in her peripherals. "If you guys are done trying to get into a dick sizing match, I kindly ask that you. Move. The fuck. Out of our way. Please," she emphasized each syllable and briefly heard Iida and Yaoyorozu stiffen their breathing behind her. "You're creating a fire hazard."

The crowd began slowly backing away, all but a small handful of students anyway. Suri stood her ground and stared death and bitter anger into the dead eyes of the boy in front of her. He stood for a few more long moments before huffing, another smirk on his lips as he turned, placed his hands into his pockets and calmly walked away. He was the last to leave and still Suri held her ground for another long moment. She took a deep breath, held it, closed her eyes and rolled her head backwards. She then began letting it out slowly and rolled her head down until her chin touched her collar. Only then did she softly open her eyes and then turn around to look at her remaining classmates.

Tokoyami simply smiled and bowed his head. Shoji nodded to her as well while Koda gave her a small, nervous smile of his own. Yaoyorozu had her hand over her mouth in shock and Jirou was on the verge of laughing at her oh so innocent display. Mineta and Kaminari were pale, shocked, and looked like they had seen a ghost. Tooru was… well, Suri couldn't tell, which made her a little sad that even after all this time, she would need to rely on her friend's facial expressions to read her. Mina, of course, had her fists clenched with wide excited eyes like she had seen the coolest thing ever. Suri wasn't that cool, was she? Kirishima looked a little defeated and she heard him mutter something about something being so manly. Sero was consoling him. Tsu looked slightly amused. And then there was Izuku, Uraraka, and Iida who were flabbergasted at what had just happened, unable to comprehend everything that was said but not as fearful as Mineta and Kaminari were. A second look washed over Deku's face, something of understanding as he watched the display Suri and Bakugou had put on.

Suri had to break the awkward silence.

"Well," she half chuckled and brought a hand up to scratch the back of her head. "Now that I've gone and pissed off the rest of the first years. Don't you slack on your training," she said with a sing-song voice full of sarcasm and an obviously forced joyous tone.

"Seriously! What was that? Why'd you go and have to paint a giant target on our backs! We're all gonna die now," Mineta screamed and panicked. He was promptly smacked on the back of the head by his electric user friend who gave him his own nervous look.

"Honestly, I'd be more scared of her than the rest of the school."

Ouch. That kind of stung.

"Actually, Kuroyashi, I've been curious," Uraraka questioned. "Is the voice thing part of your Quirk or what is that exactly? And what's a pack?"

Shit.

"Umm yeah," she answered nervously. It would be better to lie and just say yes and give her a half truth on the rest but…

"Do you trust them?" her inner beast asked quietly.

Did she? Well yeah… for the most part. Suri didn't think they were ready for the full truth so maybe she could ease them into it?

Her eyes then met Tokoyami's and there was a deep look of understanding in his eyes. She realized then that, yeah, if anyone would understand the whole duality thing, it would be him. She took a deep breath and sighed it out.

"My Quirk, Inner Beast, lets me shift from human to… not so much, as you can see," she motioned to herself. "My beast, as I call her, is like another living breathing thing inside me and we happen to share a body. She has a personality and will of her own and what you see when I shift is basically lettering her have more of the driver's seat. If that makes sense."

"So you're like us," came a raspy voice and everyone turned to see a shadowy figure poking itself up from Tokoyami's shoulder.

"That would explain some of your peculiar mannerisms," the raven boy added.

"Yeah, we're not dissimilar," Suri nodded. "The main difference is that with my Quirk, we have large groups who share the same Quirk or something similar. Inner beasts can take the form of a lot of different animals and those that end up with the same animal tend to be drawn together and create communities of their own. Back home, aside from being a pro hero, my dad, along with my brothers, head a massive community of wolves. We affectionately call it a pack. Here, on my mother's side of the family, my grandma heads a community of leopards. They call themselves a pard. There's a lot of packs and pards and other names all over the world depending on which beast you take after. Me, I'm a hybrid beast, half wolf, half leopard."

"Interesting," Iida spoke up, cupping his chin thoughtfully. "I have never heard of such a thing but truly, it would make a lot of sense for people with similar Quirks to bond in such a way."

"I agree," Tsu added. "Though, I don't understand why we would be a 'pack' in that regard. We all have different Quirks. Wouldn't it make more sense to group with others that have the same ability as yours?"

"Normally that would be the case but, truthfully, because I'm a hybrid, I'm looked down upon. I don't really fit with my family's groups. So here, with you guys, even though we've only known each other for a really short time. I uh… we," Suri placed a hand over her chest. "We feel at home here and we umm…"

Suri looked nervously over her classmates.

"K-Kurouyashi?" Deku questioned, looking at her with a quiet 'are you sure this is a good idea' look in his eyes.

She hadn't spilled the big secret yet, so this? This was fine.

"We, my beast and I…" her eyes then fell onto Tooru, arguably her best friend right now and could almost see a knowing look from the invisible girl. And that was what she needed. "We kind of claimed you as ours."

There was a moment of silence where no one said a word and no one moved a muscle. This wasn't awkward at all. Nope, not one bit.

"So what does that mean exactly?" Jirou spoke, being the one brave enough to finally break the awkward silence.

"Wait!" Mineta screamed and everyone turned to look at him, wide eyed, excited and drooling from some thought that crossed his mind. Oh joy. "Are you saying we're gonna be in your giant personal harem? Are you gonna dress us up in-"

"No! Nothing like that," Suri interrupted, shaking her head furiously and putting her hands up defensively. 'Though there are a few that I'd like that with' her beast purred with a wicked grin inside her. Suri internally scowled at the giant creature. "Mostly it's my beast going on a power trip and letting the whole Class Representative thing go to her head."

"Awww, so you're not asking us all out," Mina faked a distraught whine and pout.

"Sorry, hun, I don't think I could date this many people. I only do small dance cards," Suri joked back. Mina gave a sort of knowing raise of the eyebrow with that comment.

"Okay, so what does what you said mean then?"

This from Uraraka who stared at Suri curiously.

"I mean it when I say I feel at home here. Even with the villain attacks, I feel safe in this group right now. I don't have to hide all of myself. I feel like this class is the tribe I was meant to be a part of all along. I know that sounds crazy as fuck but…" she breathed in deep, held it and then let it out slowly. "Where I come from, if one of my kind, someone who has my same Quirk, if we stake claims in someone then they become family. And if you're my family, I am duty and honor bound to give you everything I have. My friendship. My trust. My love and affection. My blood, sweat, and tears. And most importantly; my protection."

A roll of power trickled across Suri's skin, making her shudder and roll her head with the almost pleasurable feel of it making a wave through her body. A couple of her classmates, she didn't know which ones, made a barely audible gasp. Apparently some of her friends were sensitive to psychic and metaphysical stuff. Good to know.

The little speech made Kirishima smile and shake his head with a soft chuckle.

"Damn Kuroyashi, I didn't know a chick could be so much more manly than a lot of guys try to be. Has anyone ever told you you're a badass?"

"Only girl in a family full of guys," Suri shrugged. "I got used to trying to measure up to and out macho a lot of guys when I was tiny. My brothers always told me," she deepened her voice to imitate her oldest brother, Mathias. "Don't back down. Don't take shit from anybody. And don't ever make a check your ass can't cash."

"Those are fine lessons your family taught you, Kuroyashi. Granted, I personally would rather something less vulgar."

"I sort of agree. One person with harsh language is quite different for me, but to have two, has been quite the learning curve for me."

Iida and Yaoyorozu shared a nod and looked sternly at their class rep. She sunk for a moment and then shrugged.

"Sorry, though my brothers don't take all of the credit for what comes out my mouth. You'll have to thank my mom for that," she snickered and grinned wide.

With that, Suri reached above her head, stretched herself long, and then let out a pleasant sigh as she slung her bag over her shoulder and gave a half salute to her classmates.

"Anyway, we got a week to train before we take on the whole school. Let's get out of here and get started all right?"

"Yes ma'am!" her class happily yelled in unison as they broke off into groups and started leaving to head home a head start.

Suri found herself in a group walking towards the train station with Mina, Tooru, and Tsu on her left and Izuku, Uraraka, and Iida on her right. They had been talking about ideas for training, what they could try to focus on for their individual talents and Quirks - Izuku had far more insight into the subject than anyone could have guessed - and what challenges they could face. It was when they had brought up the possibility of team challenges that Suri's words came back to haunt her and the group.

"Hey, Kuroyashi, I've been curious?" Tsu asked as they were waiting for their separate trains. "How many people have you dated at once? Ribbit."

The trio of Izuku, Uraraka, and Iida began freaking out with Izuku and Uraraka going bright red and Iida doing his robot arm chop yelling about the inappropriateness of the question. Mina and Tooru were both horrified by the initial question and then were incredibly curious by the possible answer. And Suri? Suri just stared into Tsu's big, thoughtful eyes.

"What makes you ask that?"

"I just found it curious that you had to specify the amount of people you would date."

"Oh. Well, yeah, I guess you're right." Suri let a long sigh out and dipped her head. "One of the side effects of my Quirk goes beyond just natural and combat abilities and makes our 'mating practices' different from a lot of people. I don't want you guys to think less of me because of this. Gods know a lot of people do, but… it's kind of rare for my kind to practice monogamy. And to answer your question, I've been in a couple triads but my longest relationship ended when I got on a plane and flew here. We were a happy foursome and then poof, no word from my boyfriends and girlfriend."

"Boyfriends and girlfriend!" they all shouted in unison.

Suri gave a meek smile, backed onto her train with Tooru in tow, and watched the doors close to leave her friends all with a look of shock and expectation in their eyes. There was so much shock and nervousness floating around all of them, especially Tooru. The invisible girl spent the entire train ride feeling like she wanted to say something or wanted to asking something. And since Suri didn't want to push, prod, or force her into an even more uncomfortable situation, Suri and her friend never said a word on the ride home. Other than a quiet goodbye when they got to Tooru's stop, they were both silent.

And then.

Suri was alone.

Again.