AN: Thanks for reading and leaving reviews everyone!

Himiko stepped off the train and quickly scanned the terminal. Spotting a familiar blue head of hair she began to wave as she chased down her friend.

"Morning 'Suko!" Himiko called out as she approached.

"Morning Himi!" Atsuko turned and paused, confused at the sight in front of her. "Why'd you cut your hair?"

Himiko felt her blush deepen as she touched her hair. Her hair, usually kept in braids or buns, was missing, replaced with a short pixie cut. She still wasn't sure if she liked it, but she knew it was only temporary until she regrew it. "It's because of my quirk. The support company is making me a bodysuit and a few outfits that'll survive when I transform! But they needed my hair to create the fabric?"

Atsuko made a gagging motion. "Wearing your hair? Sounds gross!"

Himiko swatted at her friend. "It's embarrassing when I come out of my transformation! I told you about the incident at the entrance exam! What if someone saw me? Besides! It's not literally my hair, they just use it as the foundation for the fabric they create!"

"Sorry," Atsuko gave her friend an apologetic look. "I'm glad there's a way around your quirk's drawback."

"Me too," Himiko sighed dramatically. "Sacrifices had to be made! But it'll grow back soon enough!"

"So, do you have any guesses who passed?" Atsuko asked as the pair left the station and began walking toward their school.

Himiko pressed an index finger to her lips as she thought about her group. "There was a pink-haired girl who had 60 points by the end? I don't remember anyone else's point totals. I just hope that polar bear guy didn't make it!"

"The one whose blood you drank?"

"Yep!" Himiko got a sick look on her face. "He was a real jerk!"

"My group was a little better, I think. I didn't meet anyone who acted like that, even though it was a competition."

"Lucky you."

The two descended into idle chatter as they traveled the short distance to school. Entering the mammoth building, they began searching for their classroom. Himiko was ecstatic when they received their room assignments and learned that they were going to be in 1-B together! While she was confident Vlad King would be her homeroom teacher, she was less sure about her best friend.

As they approached the doors to the classroom, they were surprised by the sheer size of them.

"Who needs doors that tall?!" Himiko asked in disbelief.

"The school's built to support all types. Better to have them so they don't need to worry later?"

"I bet if I asked Izu he'd give me a list of heroes who qualified," Himiko said as she grabbed the door handle and slid it open.

As they surveyed the classroom, the pair got their first taste of their future classmates. A few students were near the back of the room, talking in twos and threes, but what caught her attention was the voice coming from the front of the class. There, she saw a tall blond girl, her long hair tied back in a braid that ran past her shoulders and piercing blue eyes talking to another girl - and loudly.

"-m just saying! Since we're the recommendation students in the class we should team up! We'd be unstoppable!"

The other girl was a mousey-looking girl with short black hair, and she looked unimpressed by whatever the blonde girl was saying. Seconds later, she turned toward Himiko and Atsuko as if she knew they were approaching and gave them a small wave. "Hello there!"

The other girl folded her arms and shot a look at the second. "Think about my offer!"

"Did we interrupt something?" Atsuko asked as she looked between the two girls.

"It was nothing," The black-haired girl said. "We were just introducing ourselves. I am Tomoe Sakura, nice to meet you."

"I'm Emily Song!" The tall girl said proudly.

"I'm Atsuko Hotoko. It's nice to meet you."

"And I'm Himiko Midoriya," Himiko examined the two girls. "You two are the recommendation students?"

"Yep!" Emily declared. "My parents are the lead scientists at Windsong Industries! They're finally expanding from I-Island and America and opening a Japanese branch, so of course they jumped at the chance. I met with some heroes over winter break and they liked what they saw, and the recommendation exam was a piece of cake!" She finished smugly.

In contrast, Tomoe looked almost guilty as she explained her situation. "My quirk isn't particularly suited for combat, and my parents knew that. So they introduced me to some heroes last year. One thing led to another and I got in on the recommendation exam." She looked toward the back of the room. "I'm kind of glad too, I don't know what I would have done against robots."

"I'm sure you would have been fine!" Himiko said, smiling at the girl. "I don't have a combat quirk either, and I made it in!"

"Really?"

"Mhm!" Himiko bobbed her head. "Besides, if heroes were willing to vouch for you, that means they had to see something they liked, right?"

"I guess you're right," Tomoe's face brightened slightly. "There were just so many amazing students among the recommended students, and mine is just… simple."

"That just makes you getting in even more impressive!" Himiko assured her.

"That's what I've been trying to tell her!" Emily said, not bothering to hide her annoyance. "Considering who she went up against, the fact that she passed the recommendation exam shows how strong she is!"

Himiko could already tell she was going to hate this other girl. Narrowing her eyes, she glared at the blonde. "I see where her attitude went, you hogged it all for yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

Rather than answering, Himiko turned back to Tomoe. "If you don't mind me asking, what's your quirk? It can't be that simple, can it?"

"I don't mind," Tomoe shook her head. "It's a rather unique mix of my parents' quirks. I can enhance my senses to superhuman levels," She held up her hand as she continued explaining. "On top of that, I can enhance someone else's senses the same way with physical contact."

"That doesn't sound simple at all," Atsuko said, looking impressed. "And perfect for search and rescue work!"

"Or investigative," Himiko added.

"That's what I'm trying to tell her!" Emily looked at Tomoe. "We just need to get you the right support gear and you'd be the best partner in the world! Everyone would want you backing them up!"

Himiko rolled her eyes. "Yes, because everyone who comes to UA is looking to just be someone's backup or a sidekick to another hero. She deserves better than that!"

"Thank you," Tomoe smiled at Himiko. "And you also guessed correctly. I'm hoping to focus on investigations - like Sir Nighteye does in Tokyo. His agency is more like a detective agency. If he uncovers something he can handle he takes care of it with his sidekicks, and if it's something too big for them to take on he calls in heroes more suited for the job."

"That sounds kind of fun," Himiko admitted. "I'm going underground because of my quirk, but you'd be the first person I'd call if I needed help!"

"Hey! I already proposed we team up! Get in line!"

"I swear Song, at this rate I'm going to stab you," Himiko didn't even try to hide her exasperation as she glared at the other girl.

Emily laughed. "You're funny Midoriya."

Atsuko quickly slid to Himiko's side. "Himi, how many knives is UA letting you carry around?"

Himiko gave her friend a predatory smile. "Three."

Emily let out a strangled cry, causing Himiko and Atsuko to break down laughing. "How!? Why are they letting you do that?"

Himiko took way too much satisfaction from the mixture of horror and confusion on the American girl's face. "If you were paying attention earlier, it's because I don't have a combat quirk! Don't worry, I've been trained and everything!"

Himiko heard a few snickers around the classroom as people watched the display. Emily looked extremely uncomfortable as she examined Himiko, trying to find where she kept her knives. Taking some measure of pity on the girl she swayed her hips, causing her skirt to rise just enough to reveal the pair of knives strapped to her thighs.

She'd let Emily try and find the third on her own.

Unfortunately for Himiko, the tension was broken when another familiar voice ran out behind them.

"Hey, it looks like we all made it in after all!"

Everyone turned and Himiko spotted the familiar African-Japanese student from the exams. Next to her, she saw Atsuko offering him a nervous smile. "Yep! My stunt got me a lot of extra points so I made the cutoff."

"That's great!" The man held out his hand. "Sorry I didn't introduce myself back at the entrance exam. Name's Habiki. Habiki Hideo."

"Nice to meet you Hideo," Atsuko said as she shook his hand. "I'm Atsuko Hotoko, and this is my friend Himiko Midoriya."

The students took turns introducing themselves before Habiki spoke again. "I guess we've got some real powerhouses in our class, don't we?"

"Obviously!" Emily scoffed. "This is UA! We're the best of the best in Japan!"

Himiko was gearing up to argue with the girl - again! - only to be interrupted by the door opening.

"Take your seats, everyone!" Their teacher, Vlad King, called from the doorway. Crossing the room, he stood behind his desk and set down a pile of papers. "I have a few things to go over before we attend the opening ceremonies."

Himiko was surprised by how conventional Kan's announcements were. For being a hero school, she was expecting something more. It wasn't until Kan warned everyone about Vigilante laws and explained UA's rules on quirk usage on school grounds that she noticed anything different.

All and all, it was almost disappointing.

Once he was done, Kan dismissed the students. Rising from her seat, Himiko looked across the room to where Atsuko stood when Kan called out to them. "Little Midoriya, Hotoko, could you wait for a moment."

Both shot one final glance at each other before they turned toward their teacher and bobbed their heads. Crossing the room, they waited in front of his desk.

"What is it, Kan-Sensei?" Himiko asked.

"I wanted to congratulate the two of you for making it in," Kan had a smile of pride on his face as he crossed his arms. "I knew you could do it!"

"Thank you," Atsuko bowed. "It was thanks to your training. I'm not sure what I would have done without it."

Vlad chuckled. "I merely gave you the tools you needed. The rest was all on you. However! I will warn you that I will not play favorites in the classroom, and your real training begins now!"

Himiko gave a fierce smile in return. "I'm ready!"

I won't let you or Izuku down!

Other than the suspicious absence of class 1-A, orientation felt mundane. Boring even. Even though Himiko was grateful for everything Nezu has done for her, she had a hard time suppressing her disappointment enough to pay attention to the speech.

This wasn't what she expected out of a hero school.

Once they were done, the class returned to homeroom, where a folder was already set out on her desk filled with her schedule along with resources available to her. Himiko felt relief wash over her when she saw how the school operated - half of the day was spent taking normal high school classes, and then they had a lunch break before the entire afternoon was dedicated to hero training.

The class sat through a brief introduction to both the school's quirk counselor as well as the head of the support department. Even though the counselor looked nice, Himiko already had one who had worked with her through her recovery and didn't feel the need to switch. Support equipment, on the other hand… Himiko looked down at the sample form in front of her. She'd have to ask Izuku about that later.

Once they were dismissed for the day, Himiko quickly shoved her things into her bag and rushed over to Tomoe's desk.

"Hey Sakura, want to walk to the train station with 'Suko and me?"

Sakura's eyes darted to the side before she looked at Himiko. "Sure."

"Hey! I wanted to talk to her more," Emily protested.

"Be faster next time," Himiko said, sticking her tongue out at the blonde girl.

"Sorry, maybe next time?" Tomoe apologized before packing her bag. "Shall we get going?"

"Yep!" Himiko turned to her friend. "Ready Suko?"

"Yeah," Atsuko bobbed her head.

Tomoe stood up and joined the other girls as they left. "Thank you for that."

"Of course!" Himiko said before she sighed. "I can't believe we have to put up with her for the next three years."

"Maybe she'll be better once you get to know her?" Atsuko suggested.

Himiko laughed. "I doubt it."

Tomoe examined the two as she walked, the ghost of a smile on her face. "You two are pretty close, aren't you?"

"We are," Atsuko confirmed. "Himi transferred to my school last year and we've become besties ever since." She smiled at her friend. "She even insisted I apply to UA so we could attend the same school together."

"I told you we could do it!"

The smile on Tomoe's face widened. "You two are lucky to have each other."

"What about your friends?" Atsuko asked.

"Most of them live on the other side of Japan," Tomoe admitted, a hint of sadness in her voice. "They ended up going to a local hero school together. But when I got the chance to go to UA, I had to take it."

"Don't worry, we'll be your friends!" Atsuko responded.

"Yeah!" Himiko agreed. "Besides, you've got a non-combat quirk, we've got to prove to everyone that we deserve to be heroes too!"

"That reminds me, you never told me what your quirk was."

Himiko opened her mouth and pointed at her fangs. "If I drink someone's blood, I can transform into them!"

Tomoe's eyes went wide. "A shapeshifting quirk? Aren't those extremely rare?"

"Yep!"

"No wonder you want to go underground…"

They talked all the way to the train station, where they said their goodbyes. Smiling as she descended to her platform, Himiko was happy to have made a new friend - and the school year hadn't even started yet!

The next day school started in earnest, and the morning classes were as boring as Himiko expected them to be. After lunch, where she was delighted by the school's ability to cater to her need for blood, it was time for the exciting part of her day!

She could practically feel the excitement as she walked from the cafeteria to the locker room with Atsuko and Tomoe. There, the three girls changed into their gym uniforms and proceeded to one of the training fields, where their classmates were gathering around Kan.

"Good afternoon class!" Kan bellowed. "Today, we're going to perform a quirk assessment test."

"What's that?" One of Himiko's classmates asked.

Silently surveying the class, Kan's gaze settled on one student. "Hideo, can you come here?"

Habiki walked over to the teacher, who offered him a ball. "Do you remember the ball toss from middle school?"

"Of course! I was one of the best in my class!" Habiki said proudly.

"With or without your quirk?"

"Without, of course! We can't use our quirks for those tests."

"That changes today," Kan said with a proud smile on his face. "Now try tossing the ball, but feel free to use your quirk to help."

Hideo stood there thoughtfully before he nodded. Dropping the ball, he rapidly clapped his hands together until he nodded in satisfaction. Retrieving the ball, he tossed it straight up in the air and pulled back for a punch. As the ball descended he swung his fist, and when he made contact with the ball it launched away with far more force than anyone was expecting.

The ball disappeared behind the treeline before the class turned toward their teacher. Kan observed the device in his hand until the counter stopped moving and held it up, displaying the ball traveled a distance of 500 meters.

"There are two goals for these tests. First: we want to establish a baseline level for your quirk. After all, most of you haven't had formal training, and never really had a chance to fully test your quirks. And second: It will force you to think about how to use your quirk more creatively. While you may think your quirk is limited, the real answer is you just haven't had a chance to experiment and discover what you can really do."

Himiko could feel the excitement in the air as students began talking amongst themselves until her eyes fell on Tomoe. She saw how nervous she was. Offering her a reassuring smile, she whipped around to look at their teacher.

"Kan-sensei! What about me?"

"Oho. Little Midoriya, are you implying that you can't think of a way to use Transform for this test?"

"I can!" Himiko insisted. "It's just… some of us can't use our quirks for these exams!"

Kan hummed as he thought about how to respond before he spoke. "Not every quirk is suited to every task, Little Midoriya," Kan's gaze swept across the class. "But it's still important to recognize what you can do with the tools you have available. As a hero, you're never guaranteed to have all of your support equipment on hand, but you'll always be able to rely on your quirk. This is your first lesson on the road to becoming a hero."

Himiko thought it over before her face hardened in determination. "I'll do my best!"

"Now then, let's begin!" Kan clapped his hands and led the students toward the first test site.

As they were walking, Himiko felt Tomoe fall in line alongside her. "Are you really nervous?"

"...maybe a little bit," Himiko admitted. "How about you?"

"You already know the answer, don't you?"

"Yes, but I wanted to know if you'd admit it," Himiko gave the other girl a mischievous look.

"Of course I am. My quirk doesn't do anything to help with these tests."

"You'll just have to show everyone you don't need a fancy quirk to do well!"

Tomoe smiled at her. "Just have to show them that our best is good enough, right?"

"Yep!"

By the time they reached the first test location, Himiko had already eliminated most of her classmates as options for her quirk. While she could use her own natural speed and agility for many of the tests there were some, such as the grip strength test, where she could benefit from transforming into someone with a bit more muscle mass to them.

That narrowed her options down to two people, Oda and Ryo.

Himiko knew Ryo's quirk was a regeneration quirk, and therefore he would be the least affected by her taking a little bit of blood, he was her first option. Walking over to where he was standing, she tapped him on the arm.

"This is going to sound weird, but can I borrow some of your blood?"

Ryo looked surprised for a moment, but as she watched Himiko could see the gears turning in his head before his face lit up in recognition. "This is for your Transform quirk, isn't it?"

"Yep!" Himiko pointed to her fangs.

Ryo shrugged. "I don't see why not. As long as you don't hurt me too badly," From the tone of his voice, it was clear that he didn't think Himiko could actually do that.

"Don't worry, it wouldn't hurt even if you didn't have a regeneration quirk," Himiko said as she reached down to her holster and produced a medical syringe. Ryo held out his arm and Himiko inserted the needle, taking a small vial of blood before pulling it out. Her eyes went wide as she saw how quickly the wound closed.

"That all you need?"

"Y-yeah," Himiko recovered and flashed him a wide grin. "Thanks!"

"Happy to help a classmate," Ryo smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder.

The tests began in earnest, and the class quickly got into it as everyone watched their classmates experimenting with their quirks. Sometimes they led to spectacular failures, but more often than not, people figured out how to gain an advantage with their quirk. Even Himiko found herself being pulled in, shouting encouragement to her classmates and transforming into Ryo when she faced the grip strength test and the ball toss.

Before they knew it the tests were done, and the students once again gathered around Kan. Holding the device, Kan pressed a new button and it projected a hologram, showing the compiled results. Himiko wasn't surprised to see Habiki at the top of the class and began looking further down to see where she was. When she got to the bottom half of the list, she saw she came in 11th, and poor Tomoe was down in last place.

"It looks like I've got a long way to go," Tomoe said wistfully.

"It's ok," Himiko tried to assure her. "I put myself through a serious workout these last six months, and look at where that got me! You've just gotta start training!"

"You're right," Tomoe smiled at the other girl. "Thanks for all the encouragement today."

"Of course, that's what friends are for!" Himiko beamed back. "And soon we'll have a chance to show off how awesome our quirks are!"

"Yeah!"

After the tests were concluded, the students returned to the classroom to pack up for the day. As Himiko opened the door, she saw Emily had a tablet and was furiously making notes on it.

"Ryo!" Emily called out as her head snapped up. "Can I ask you a few questions?"

Crossing the room, she heard a hauntingly familiar set of questions drifting across the room as Emily sat on Ryo's desk, going over the details of his regeneration quirk. Atsuko caught it too and smirked as she walked over to where Emily was sitting.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking notes! I need to start profiling everyone's quirk if I want to help out with support gear."

Himiko let out a pained wail. "Why?"

"You can't escape Himiko," Atsuko said before she started laughing.

"Escape what?" Ryo asked in confusion.

"Song is a quirk enthusiast."

AN: Time to start (re-)assembling the Himisquad!