? Chapter 21 ?
On their day back, Kimitsuki arrived at the school rather early in the morning but her first destination wasn't the 1-A Classroom but Recovery Girl's Clinic to discuss the issues she was facing. She had received the results of her CT scan early that morning so she brought them all for the nurse to see.

"There's nothing to worry about regarding your head," Recovery Girl assured the white-haired girl sitting on the stool in front of her. "You did well with getting these tests done,"

"Aizawa Sensei suggested me to do so," Kimitsuki admitted. "Um, the pain in my head and arms is gone... so I took off the bandages there. But I don't feel as comfortable with my ribs and legs,"

Recovery Girl motioned her to show her injuries and Kimitsuki got up, pulling her shirt out of her skirt and unbuttoning it to show her abdomen that was still purple and black with bruises. Once the nurse had inspected it, Kimitsuki dropped her shirt and then unwrapped bandages on her legs.

"We should've sent you to the hospital from the get-go," Recovery Girl said, inspecting her. "The injuries wouldn't have gotten this bad had you not continued to move so much,"

"I apologise," Kimitsuki said, bowing her head slightly. "It was a foolish decision but I didn't want to let my friends get hurt," Recovery Girl waved it off lightly.

"I'll give you some candies and a kiss, but you have to be careful with your legs," Recovery Girl said. "Get new bandages and take yourself a bit easy for the next few days,"

Nodding, Kimitsuki let Recovery Girl get some ointment on her bruised ribs, and bandages for her injuries before she was given a healing kiss. Kimitsuki was provided with some candies and sent on her way back to her class, though something told her that Recovery Girl knew she wouldn't rest.

"Thank you very much," Kimitsuki said, bowing lightly as to not strain her abdomen and popped the candies into her mouth, very used to medicines anyhow. "I'll try to come back healthier,"

Recovery Girl nodded at her with a smile and Kimitsuki closed the door behind her, leaving.

Again, rather than going to her classroom, Kimitsuki headed to the changing rooms and pulled out some tights to pull on so she could hide the bruising on her legs from the Nomu's fingers. She slipped her feet into her Uwabaki slippers before looking into the full-length mirror in there.

"I look horrible," Kimitsuki muttered to herself as she quickly fixed her shirt, tucking it strictly under her skirt – which she straightened out and she reached up to fix her silvery hair and the white bow.

Finally, once she was satisfied with how she looked, Kimitsuki grabbed her schoolbag and started her way toward her class. She walked slowly, aside from her injury, as the tiredness was setting in from healing that Recovery Girl had provided her. She stared out of the windows as she walked along.

"Ah, I almost forgot about checking in with the faculty room," Kimitsuki said and stopped halfway through the corridor to go and knock on the faculty room door, slipping inside with a small bow.

"Young Kuroyanagi!" All Might greeted her immediately, waving over at her excitedly and Kimitsuki shook her head at his excitement, unable to keep back a smile. "Is everything okay?"

He really seemed like a fatherly person.

"Yes, Sensei," Kimitsuki replied, bowing her head to him. "I'm just here to see if we'll be getting a substitute teacher as Aizawa Sensei –" She stopped as the door opened behind her.

It was Aizawa – his entire face still bandaged up as well as his arms, slung over his shoulders.

"I'm going to be taking your homeroom as per usual," Aizawa said as he shuffled into the room, glancing at the white-haired girl. "Is your head fixed?"

"Yes... but Sensei, are you sure...?" Kimitsuki inquired as she took in his appearance again, and added hesitantly, "You look like a mummy," Aizawa sighed. "I apologise,"

"I'm fine," Aizawa replied. "Head to your classroom, Kuroyanagi, I'll be there once I've looked at my schedule and notes for today," Kimitsuki nodded quickly.

"As you say, Sensei," Kimitsuki answered, bowing her head and walked out of the room, sliding the door shut behind her. "Whoa... Aizawa Sensei is diligent, too... or maybe he dislikes hospitals, too,"

Kimitsuki let out a sigh and held onto her schoolbag, trying to smile naturally as she walked back down the corridor and finally reaching her classroom. She gently slid the door open and peered inside to see that almost everyone was already there, except for Iida Tenya and Hagakure Toru.

"Kimitsuki-Chan, good morning!" Mina said loudly and cheerfully as she soon as she saw the white-haired girl enter the classroom, and caused everyone to turn and notice her, too.

"Good morning, Kuroyanagi-Chan!"

Everyone greeted her happily and excitedly, and it was the smiles on their faces that really warmed Kimitsuki's heart. She really had, finally, a place where she had real friends who liked her as who she was.

"Good morning, I hope you're all doing well," Kimitsuki greeted them back with a wide smile, bowing her head lightly. "It's really nice to see you all smiling and well,"

Kimitsuki's eyes strayed over to where Katsuki was and wasn't surprised to see his sore expression.

"Izu-Chan, Ka-Chan," Kimitsuki said as she reached her desk between the two boys, and greeted them as per usual, "Good morning to you both as well,"

"Good morning, Tsuki-Chan," Izuku replied with a wide smile as he watched his best friend put her schoolbag down and settle down in her desk. "Are you doing okay now?"

Katsuki ignored both of them, as per usual, looking away at Kimitsuki's greeting.

"Yes, thank you," Kimitsuki answered, giving him a small smile as she turned her chair slightly so she could face him. "I checked in with Recovery Girl just now... and I got a CT scan yesterday,"

They were distracted by Hanta, who was sitting on the desk to Kimitsuki's right.

"You were pretty good, Kuroyanagi-Chan!" Hanta said. "The way you came to help Aizawa Sensei against the villains! It was like an entrance from a comic book!"

"Her swordsmanship was so good!" Eijirou added from behind Hanta. "When the warp villain sent Sniper's bullets at us, she went like bam, bam, bam, bam! And they were all gone!"

"It's not that hard with my eyes," Kimitsuki replied, pointing at her eyes and blushing as she watched Eijirou wave around an imaginary sword. "With my Quirk, I find things moving 'slow',"

"Hey, did you watch the news last night?"

Everyone turned around to see Hagakure Toru enter the classroom excitedly, heading straight to the last row where her desk was located in front of Katsuki's. Kimitsuki nodded along with the others. She had seen it, too, and had seen all of her classmates there, except for her and Izuku, of course.

"Yeah," Mashirao answered.

"Did you see how everyone in class was on-screen for a second?" Toru asked as she sat down, putting away her schoolbag. "I didn't stand out at all..." It sounded like she was pouting.

"That's true," Mezo replied quietly.

"It's hard to stand out looking like that, huh?" Mashirao inquired as he sweat-dropped, referring to the fact that Toru was invisible, and even more so in her hero 'costume'.

"But man, all the channels made a big deal out of it," Denki spoke up as he leaned back in his chair, his arms folded behind his head as he looked at Eijirou.

"I was surprised," Eijirou agreed, who sat right behind the Electric Hero.

"Can you blame them?" Kyoka asked rather dismissively as she waved her hand around. "The hero course that keeps pumping out pro heroes was attacked,"

"Who knows what would've happened if the teachers hadn't come when they did," Hanta said as he leaned over onto his desk, setting his head onto his arms. Kimitsuki nodded in agreement.

"Stop that, Sero!" Minoru screeched from behind Izuku, freaking out, and Kimitsuki winced at how loud he was. "Just thinking about it is making me wet myself –"

"Shut up!" Katsuki screamed at the Pop-Off Hero from in front of Kimitsuki, making her jump as he looked over his shoulder. "Be quiet, scum!"

"Ka-Chan!" Kimitsuki exclaimed. "Please don't be so loud," She spun her seat around to face Minoru, even though she disliked interacting with him. "Mineta-Kun, please avoid freaking out like this. Do you want to be excused to the Recovery Girl for analysis in case of a trauma?"

"Are you accusing me of hiding mental trauma?!" Minoru shouted, getting even more freaked out as his eyes filled up with tears. "I'm not going crazy! I'm not!"

"Shut up!" Katsuki shouted back at him and Minoru cowered behind his desk quickly. Kimitsuki met eyes with Katsuki as he turned to face her. "Stop humouring him, damn it!"

"You must calm down, too, Ka-Chan," Kimitsuki reminded him, pursing her lips as she looked away from him, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms over her chest.

"But man, All Might was great," Rikido spoke up approvingly as he punched the air excitedly. "He pushed back those crazy strong villains!"

"Yes, his strength is worth wondering at," Fumikage agreed sagely.

"Everyone!" Tenya exclaimed and Kimitsuki watched as he came rushing into the class. "Morning homeroom is about to start! Stop talking and take your seats!"

"Oh, Iida-Kun," Kimitsuki said, slightly amused as she watched him. "Everyone is already in their seats right now... in fact... you're the only one who isn't in his,"

"Shoot!" Tenya said, his cheeks turning pink as he walked over quickly to his desk and sat down as well. "When did you come by, Kuroyanagi-Kun? You weren't here earlier,"

"I went to visit Recovery Girl and check in at the faculty room," Kimitsuki answered gently as she placed her hands on her desk. "I arrived in the classroom just a few minutes ago,"

"Did you go to the faculty room, Kimitsuki-Chan?" Mina asked as she leaned back in her own seat, almost falling over but Tsuyu caught her from behind. "Do you know who is going to teach homeroom today?"

"Yes," Kimitsuki replied as she looked over at them. "We're going to –"

The classroom door slid open to reveal the mummified Aizawa, "Morning," Everyone stared at the appearance of their homeroom teacher and Kimitsuki stifled her reaction at their reaction.

"Aizawa Sensei, you're back too soon!"

Kimitsuki chuckled as the class chorused at their teacher. She was glad to see that she wasn't the only one surprised by Aizawa's behaviour. She was sure she wouldn't have minded if he rested a bit.

"You're too much of a pro!" Denki exclaimed.

"Sensei!" Tenya said as he raised his arm up so he could be called on. Aizawa glanced over at him. "So, you're all right?!"

"Can you really call that 'all right'?" Ochaco asked in response.

Aizawa overlooked his students' concerns as he sluggishly walked over to the teacher's desk in the front, and Kimitsuki wondered if she looked like that when she walked slowly, too. It was absurd.

"My well-being doesn't matter," Aizawa responded finally as he faced them. Kimitsuki pursed her lips. "More importantly, the fight is not yet over,"

"Fight?" Katsuki asked, one of his eyebrows raised at the teacher.

"Don't tell me..." Izuku breathed, fearful of what it meant.

"The villains again...?!" Minoru screamed loudly.

"The U. A. sports festival is drawing near," Aizawa said finally, finishing with the long drawl that had alighted such fear in their hearts. Kimitsuki stared at him.

"The sports festival!"

"That's a super normal school event –" Eijirou started in excitement but he was quickly silenced by Denki, who pushed his face away quickly.

"Wait a minute," Denki told him, and turned to look at Aizawa.

"Is it okay to have a sports festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?" Kyoka questioned. Kimitsuki was wondering the same thing.

"What if they attack us again or something...?" Mashirao asked, concerned.

Kimitsuki suddenly understood why Recovery Girl looked so doubtful that the student would abide by her promise that she'll take care of her health. How can she do that with a festival coming up?

"Apparently, they think of it as U. A. showing that our crisis management system is solid as a rock by holding the event," Aizawa replied. "Security will also be strengthened to five times that of previous years. Above all, our sports festival is a huge chance. It's not an event to be cancelled because of a few villains,"

"But that's a good reason, isn't it?" Minoru asked, his small body filled to the brim with fear and horror. "It's just a festival of sports,"

"Mineta-Kun, you've never seen the U. A. sports festival?" Izuku asked, turning to look at him.

"Of course, I have," Minoru replied. "That's not what I meant!"

"Our sports festival is one of Japan's biggest events," Aizawa said. "In the past, the Olympics were called a festival of sports, and the whole country was crazy about them. As you know, with reductions in scale and population, they're now a shell of their former glory. And now, for Japan, what has taken the place of those Olympics is the U. A. sports festival,"

"Of course, all the top heroes around the country will be watching," Momo added to Minoru knowledgeably. "For scouting purposes!"

"I know that," Minoru replied.

"After we graduate, it's typical to join a pro agency as a sidekick," Denki said excitedly.

"A lot of people miss their chance to become independent after that and become eternal sidekicks, though," Kyoka said dismissively. "Kaminari, I feel like you'd be one of them – since you're dumb,"

"Of course, joining a famous hero agency will get you more experience and popularity," Aizawa informed. "Time is limited. If you expect to go pro, then the path to your future will open up at this event. One chance a year – a total of just three chances. No aspiring heroes can afford to miss this event. If you understand that, then don't slack off on your preparations!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Homeroom is dismissed," Aizawa replied, and Kimitsuki looked down at her hands, unsure what to do as he left the classroom so they could start with their classes for the day.

I need to get better as soon as possible.

Following their Modern Literature class with Cementoss, the class was finally free for their lunch time. Kimitsuki closed her textbooks and put them away in her schoolbag, leaning back in her seat to relax herself and wrapped her arm over her stomach, hoping her injuries will heal before then.

Kimitsuki looked up when she saw Hanta get up from his desk and followed his movements as he walked over to the back of the class where Eijirou, Fumikage and Rikido were standing.

"Even though all that stuff happened, I'm getting really excited!" Eijirou exclaimed excitedly, fully pumped up for the upcoming festival. Kimitsuki smiled slightly.

"If we put on a good show and stand out," Hanta said in agreement as he elbowed Eijirou slightly in the shoulder, grinning. "We'll have taken the first step to becoming a pro!"

"It was worth coming to U. A.!" Rikido agreed, turning around his seat to face them behind his desk and punching his palm.

"We will only receive a few chances," Fumikage said and Kimitsuki noticed that he was sitting over their lockers but she didn't scold him for it since it was lunch time. "We cannot afford to miss this,"

"Ojiro-Kun, I'm getting kind of nervous now!" Toru exclaimed. "I need to stand out at the sports festival! – Hip, hip, hooray!"

"Y-Yeah..." Mashirao replied, a bit flustered. Kimitsuki figured that he was a shy person, too. "But the pros might not notice you unless you try really hard..."

"Oh dear, what'll I do?" Yuga said dramatically as if he was being persecuted. "I stand out just by standing still, so the scouts won't be able to stop looking at me, right? Right?"

"And he's the strange one," Kimitsuki muttered as she watched Yuga harass Koda Koji until Koji finally nodded, scared of his reaction.

"You're lucky, Shoji," Denki said to Mezo as the blond sat on top of a desk so he could hold a conversation with him, Kyoka and Momo. "Your brawn stands out on its own,"

"There's no point if I cannot show them my usefulness," Mezo replied.

"I think you'll stand out, too," Kyoka said to Denki, making an expression similar to how the blond made whenever he used a bit too much of his Quirk and went 'dumb'.

Kimitsuki pushed herself out of her desk and glanced at Katsuki – who was leaving the classroom. But rather than following him or anything, she walked over to where Izuku was with Tenya at the latter's desk which was right in front of Ochaco's. She smiled slightly at them as she came to a stop.

"Everyone's so into it," Izuku breathed, watching everyone.

"You're not?" Tenya asked, standing up to face Kimitsuki and Izuku. "We have enrolled here to become heroes, so of course we would get fired up!" He moved his hips side to side.

"Iida-Kun, you have a unique way of getting fired up," Tsuyu said, noticing Tenya's actions, too, and Kimitsuki tried to stifle her chuckles. "It's weird,"

"What do you think, Kuroyanagi-Kun?" Tenya asked the white-haired girl and Kimitsuki nodded lightly. "Midoriya-Kun, you don't feel the same?"

"Of course, I do," Izuku answered. "But something's –"

"Deku-Kun, Kimitsuki-Chan, Iida-Kun..." Ochaco interjected in a raspy voice as she appeared out of nowhere, fired up. Kimitsuki was surprised. "Let's do our best at the sports festival,"

"U-Uraraka-San, your face...!" Izuku stammered at the crazed brunette, just as surprised as his best friend. Kimitsuki tried to process this, too. "It's..."

"What's the matter?" Mina questioned from the back. "You don't look carefree at all, even though that's what your name means,"

"PM –" Minoru started, blushing, but Tsuyu slapped him shut with a strike of her tongue.

"Everyone, I'm gonna do my best!" Ochaco told Kimitsuki, Izuku, Tenya, Tsuyu and Mina, as she posed dramatically in front of them and Kimitsuki nodded slowly.

"Yeah!" the five of them cheered for her gladly.

"I'm gonna do my best!" Ochaco repeated, now turning to look at Hanta, Eijirou, Fumikage and Rikido, raising her fist once again. Kimitsuki chuckled at the brunette.

"Y-Yeah...!" the four of them cheered for her reluctantly.

"What's wrong?" Hanta asked Ochaco. "Your personality's all over the place,"

"However, it's rather adorable, isn't it?" Kimitsuki asked quietly as she crossed her arms over her chest, smiling at Ochaco's actions. "She's usually very reserved... and this energy is rather contagious," Hanta looked down at her, his cheeks turning pink.

?
? Chapter 22 ?
Following their conversation in their classroom, Kimitsuki joined Izuku, Tenya and Ochaco to make their way down to Luch Rush's Eatery for lunch. Kimitsuki tried to keep her pace up with her three friends and not make it obvious that she was walking slowly or strangely like Aizawa earlier.

As they had been a bit late to leave the classroom, the corridors were filled with all sorts of students from Year 1 as they hung out with each and chatted. Kimitsuki didn't let her eyes linger on anyone.

"Uraraka-San," Izuku said suddenly. "Why did you decide to come to U. A. and become a pro hero?"

"Huh?" Ochaco asked, surprised by the question. Kimitsuki glanced over at ther to see that the brunette was turning red with embarrassment. "Um... because... of the payment..."

"For money?!" Izuku repeated, surprised. "You want to become a hero for money?"

"To boil it down simply, yes..." Ochaco said as she rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Sorry, it's such an unwholesome reason. You three have such admirable motivations, it's embarrassing..."

"Why?" Tenya said rather dramatically and Kimitsuki continued to eye Ochaco curiously. "How is having a goal to support your livelihood not admirable?"

"Right," Izuku agreed. "But it's unexpected,"

"My family owns a construction company," Ochaco confessed. "But we haven't gotten any work at all, so we're flat broke. This isn't really something to tell other people, though..."

"Construction..." Tenya said as he thought about it.

"With her Quirk, if she gets licensed, then it'd bring costs way down, right?" Izuku spoke up, looking at Kimitsuki and Tenya.

"She could make any raw material float," Tenya replied. "They wouldn't need any heavy equipment,"

"Right?" Ochaco said. "That's what I told Dad when I was little! But... my father wants me to achieve my own dream instead... I'll definitely become a hero and make money and let my parents take it easy,"

"You shouldn't be embarrassed in that case," Kimitsuki said gently. "To care for your parents is a heroic thing to do as well. It's not like you want money just for the sake of it,"

"Bravo!" Tenya cheered up, clapping his hands. "Uraraka-Kun, Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! Uraraka-Kun!" Ochaco blushed at her friends and their support.

Despite being poor most of her life, until only recently, Kimitsuki didn't know how it would feel if she had someone depending on her. She didn't have any parents or siblings to be monetarily worried about. She disliked heroes who had no passion for hero-work and only cared for money or fame.

But here, Ochaco wasn't like that. She wanted to earn money but she wanted to do so by and for her parents. Kimitsuki felt a new respect for the brunette arise in her heart and she smiled slightly.

However, before she could say anything further, Kimitsuki was interrupted by a loud laugh.

"Young Kuroyanagi and Young Midoriya are here!" All Might shouted as he appeared out of seemingly nowhere, pointing at the white-haired girl and green-haired boy.

"All Might?" Kimitsuki asked as those around her all stared at the Pro-Hero with their jaws dropped. "Is everything okay... Sensei?"

"Lunch!" All Might said as he held out a bento wrapped up in a bunny cloth. "Wanna eat together? How about it?" Kimitsuki and Izuku looked at their friends to get permission.

"We'd love to," Izuku said when Tenya nodded at them with a smile, and the two of them walked off to join All Might for lunch.

Lounge:

Kimitsuki stared at All Might as he made her and Izuku some tea and revealed the real reason why he had asked the two students to come along with him. All Might had gotten himself checked out by Recovery Girl and then went out to see how long he could last in his muscle form, which was –

"Only about fifty minutes?!"

"Yeah..." All Might replied. "That's the limit to how long I can use my power now. I overdid it too many times. That Nomu was also a tough opponent. And it hurt... I can just barely maintain muscle form for 1.5 hours now,"

"About that..." Izuku said. "Sorr –" But the was cut off when All Might suddenly laughed. Kimitsuki's eyes widened when he started spraying blood all over the place.

"All Might!" Kimitsuki exclaimed.

"Sorry about that, Young Kuroyanagi," All Might said before looking at Izuku. "You don't have to apologise! Man, we really are alike, you and me. Have some tea,"

"Thank you," Kimitsuki said as she received the cup of tea but didn't drink it, looking at All Might. "Um, whenever I look at All Might in this form... I can't see much of your Quirk,"

"Don't worry about it, it's okay because I gave Young Midoriya my Quirk," All Might assured her. "More importantly, about the sports festival," He looked at Izuku. "You still can't regulate One for All, can you? What'll you do?"

"But there was one time...!" Izuku said as Kimitsuki turned to look at him as well. "When I aimed a smash at that brain villain, there was no backlash,"

"Oh yeah, you mentioned that!" All Might realised out loud. "What was different?"

"Different..." Izuku said. "The biggest difference between that and the One for All that I'd been using was... It was the first time... I tried to use this power on a person... and to protect Tsuki-Chan..."

"Hmm..." All Might said. "Looks like you succeeded in putting on the brakes unconsciously. Anyway, that's progress. I'm glad. Now, drink up, both of you,"

"Oh, thank you," Izuku said and took a sip of the tea. Kimitsuki slowly took a sip as well.

"Are your injuries healed?" All Might inquired from Kimitsuki, who looked over at him in surprise. "Recovery Girl mentioned you came by to visit regarding your injuries,"

"Um, yes," Kimitsuki replied, cradling the warm teacup in her hands as she looked down at it. "It's nothing that serious... The Nomu really was very strong... my injuries aren't as bad as yours,"

"On the mention of that, frankly, I don't have much time left as the Symbol of Peace," All Might said as he stood up and walked over to the windows in the lounge.

"No way..." Izuku said as he and Kimitsuki stared at the Number One Hero.

"And some of those with built-up villainous intent are starting to realise," All Might went on. "I granted you my power because I want you to succeed me. You still feel the same as you did back then, don't you?"

"Yes," Izuku answered.

"Then, the time has come for you to show that," All Mighy said. "The U. A. sports festival is something pro heroes – no, the whole country – is watching closely. A big event! That is what I brought you here to talk about! The next All Might... the fledgling Symbol of Peace... Midoriya Izuku. I want you to tell the world 'I am here!'"

"I am here..." Izuku repeated uncertainly. "But how...?"

"You know the sports festival system, right?" All Might asked.

"Yes, of course!" Izuku replied. "The support, business, general studies, and hero courses come together and fight through preliminary games of different types by class year. The students who make it through face off in the finals. It's a round-robin tournament divided by grade,"

"That's right!" All Might said as he back down on the couch. "In other words, you can sell yourself with everything you've got!"

"Right..." Izuku said, and Kimitsuki's eyes widened when All Might fell back along with the entire couch. "I mean, what you say is absolutely correct!"

"Um, are you okay, All Might?" Kimitsuki inquired, peeking over to see where he had fallen.

"But honestly, it's kind of hard to get completely into it right after what just happened..." Izuku continued with his muttering. "Besides, All Might is already teaching me, so I'm not as motivated to stand out at the sports festival... In the first place, I don't think I can stand out in my current state, and I did terribly in the fitness tests..."

"Hey... Izu-Chan..." Kimitsuki trailed off, sweat-dropping at the way he muttered uncontrollably.

"No one's better at spouting nonsense than you!" All Might shouted.

"Nonsense?" Izuku asked.

"Those who are always aiming for the top, and those who aren't," All Might said. "That slight difference in attitudes will have a big impact once you go out into society. I understand how you feel, and this is more for me than for you. I won't force you. However, I hope you won't forget how you felt back at the beach park,"

Later that Day:

The bell indicating the end of the school rang and Kimitsuki gently got up to pack up her bag properly so she could join her friends on the train to their homes. She glanced to her right and watched Katsuki roughly throw his stuff into his own bag, not a care in the world about the books.

Of course, it wasn't a new behaviour by the ash-blond male. He didn't care about his books back in middle school either. She felt like she had a lot of stuff to say to him but she bit her tongue back.

"Tsuki-Chan!" Izuku called out to her, waving her over from the front of the class. "Let's go home together!" Kimitsuki smiled at him and nodded lightly.

"I'm coming, Izu-Chan," Kimitsuki replied softly as she pulled the strap of her schoolbag over her shoulder. "See you tomorrow, Ka-Chan," She walked past him to head to her friends.

Katsuki huffed at her words and ignored her, though it didn't take long for his eyes to stray toward her back. He eyed the way she walked to see if she had gotten better but it seemed like she was still walking slowly. His red eyes went further down her back to see that she was wearing black tights over her pale as hell legs.

She wasn't wearing those when I saw her leave for school.

These were some of the many obvious signs to Katsuki that the white-haired idiot was still injured. And he knew that annoyingly enough, she was still going to participate in the upcoming festival.

Clearly, Deku's idiocy rubs off on people.

As far as Katsuki knew, and he knew well enough, Kimitsuki didn't usually wear tights with her uniform. She always preferred to wear thigh-high socks ever since they started their middle school.

"Wh – Wh-What's going on?"

Ochaco's yelp made Kimitsuki look up ahead to see where the brunette had barely reached the door to slide it open when it was pulled open by the huge great crowd that was gathered right outside.

"What business do you have with Class A?" Tenya asked, his arms moving all over the place.

"We can't get out!" Minoru shouted and Kimitsuki shook her head at his loud and whiny voice. "What'd you come here for, anyway?"

However, before Kimitsuki could even say anything to the Pop-Off student (whether to ask him to quieten down or to ask him if he wanted to reconsider not going to Recovery Girl for a possible trauma), she felt someone brush past her and she turned to look over to see that it was Katsuki.

"Scouting out the enemy, small fry," Katsuki said, annoyed at Minoru. "We're the ones who made it out of the villains' attack. They probably wanna check us out before the sports festival,"

"That's Ka-Chan in neutral," Izuku told Minoru quietly as the small boy was pointing at the ash-blond with tearful eyes, trembling in fear.

"There's no point in doing stuff like that," Katsuki grimaced as he reached the crowd, his hands stuffed into his pockets. "Out of my way, extras!"

"Ka-Chan..." Kimitsuki trailed off, sighing at his behaviour. She stared at the back of his head wearily, too tired to argue with him right now. "... right now isn't the time,"

But then, Kimitsuki walked over to Katsuki and bowed her head in apology to the students outside.

"I apologise for his words," Kimitsuki told them gently, and turned her head to Katsuki next to her. "Please, Ka-Chan, stop calling people 'extras' just because you don't know them, that is rude,"

Katsuki rolled his eyes and turned to retort to the white-haired girl as a murmur went through the crowd, clearly now realising who they were seeing – Kuroyanagi Kimitsuki, the girl who supposedly killed her family and was praised by none other than the Number One Hero himself, All Might.

"I came to see what the famous Class A was like, but you seem pretty arrogant, not to mention having a girl apologise for your sake. Are all the students in the hero course like this? Seeing something like this makes me disillusioned,"

Kimitsuki looked back at the crowd as Shinsou Hitoshi pushed his way to the front of them all. She took in his strangely messy and gravity-defying, tufty indigo hair. His eyes were also purple but they were shadowed by very dark eyebags beneath them. She wondered why he looked so... indolent...?

"I wasn't apologising for his sake," Kimitsuki said, more to Katsuki than to the boy in front of her. She was herself slightly irked by this. "It is for my own conscience as the Class Representative,"

"You take me wrong," Hitoshi said to the female, amused by her scrunched-up nose. He turned to look at Katsuki next. "There are quite a few people who enrolled in general studies or other courses because they didn't make it into the hero course.

"Did you know that? The school has left those of us a chance. Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course. And it seems they may also transfer people out. Scouting out the enemy? I, at least, came to say that even if you're in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll sweep your feet out from under you. I came with a declaration of war,"

Surprised by this sudden declaration of war, Kimitsuki could only stare at him. She blinked when she noticed that the colour of his eyes was the same as hers whenever she activated her visual Quirk. She realised that Hitoshi was looking back down at her lilac eyes, and felt her cheeks turn pink.

"Hey, hey! I'm from Class B next door! I heard you fought against villains, so I came to hear 'bout it! Don't get so full of yourself! If you bark too much, it'll be embarrassing for you durin' the real fight!"

Yet another voice interrupted them and Kimitsuki looked over to see another boy, now with long and messy grey hair and dark eyes with peculiar thick, jagged, tan-coloured substance for eyebrows.

"Um," Kimitsuki said, surprised by these strange students, but remembered what Aizawa had told her – be assertive. "Excuse me, stop crowd-surfing, you're going to get hurt and hurt others, that is dangerous,"

"Hey! Hey..." Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu trailed off when he noticed who had scolded him, and Kimitsuki watched as his cheeks turned bright red. "What's your name?"

Katsuki rolled his eyes at the behaviour of boys on the mere sight of Kimitsuki, and moved to leave.

"Hey, you ignorin' me, bastard?!" Tetsutetsu shouted at the ash-blond as he brushed past Kimitsuki and into the crowd, pushing people away roughly with his shoulders.

"Wait a minute, Bakugo!" Eijirou interjected as he rushed to the front of the classroom. "What are you gonna do about all this? It's your fault that everyone's hating on us!"

"It doesn't matter," Katsuki responded. "It doesn't matter as long as you rise to the top," Kimitsuki met eyes with his red pair as he glanced over at her but she couldn't see what he was feeling.

And then, Katsuki simply left the classroom with a huff at her, his back slouched and hands in his pockets. Kimitsuki shook her head slightly as he disappeared off behind the crowd. She wanted to follow behind him quickly with Izuku and others so they could catch the same train back home.

"Damnit, you bastard!" Tetsutetsu shouted behind the ash-blond, fired-up. Kimitsuki let out a small sigh and crossed her arms over her chest, noticing the way people were staring at her.

"That's so simple and manly!" Eijirou said, distraught at how cool Katsuki had appeared in front of everyone, tears in his eyes. Kimitsuki sweat-dropped at his reaction.

"Huh?" Denki asked, confused.

"You said it," Rikido said as he agreed with the redhead.

"Huh?" Denki repeated, bewildered.

"The top, huh?" Fumikage spoke up rather thoughtfully. "There is truth in that,"

"Hang on, don't be tricked!" Denki interjected at the three boys, shocked by their perspective. "He just made more pointless enemies!"

"That's right!" Minoru agreed with the blond, tearing up for the umpteenth time and Kimitsuki winced at how loud he was being. "We'll just be at a disadvantage at the sports festival!"

"Everyone is going to target us anyhow," Kimitsuki said as she turned to look at her class. "I wouldn't be surprised if people want to prove themselves stronger than Class 1-A. Ka-Chan just gave them a justification to do so,"

Hitoshi raised his eyebrows at the white-haired girl as she glanced back at him when he snorted at her words.

"Kuroyanagi-Chan is right," Hanta pitched in as he walked to the front of the class. "It's inevitable for the hero course to be targeted. We did fight against actual villains after all,"

"We should all head home now," Kimitsuki said. She glanced at the crowd in the doorway. "I apologise, but you need to move aside to let us out. We're not animals in a zoo, after all,"

Kimitsuki turned to Izuku, Tenya and Ochaco.

"Let's go home, Izu-Chan, Iida-Kun, Uraraka-Chan," Kimitsuki said. "We cannot afford to miss the train. We have a lot of homework today and we need to start training, too... see you all later, take care," She bowed her head to her class.

"You're right, Kuroyanagi-Chan!" Tenya exclaimed, getting out of his shock and his announcement brought Izuku and Ochaco back around as well. "We must head out immediately!"

"Excuse me," Kimitsuki said to the students as she held onto the strap of her bag and gave them a polite smile. "Please give us way, thank you,"

The students parted out to make a way for them and Kimitsuki bowed as deeply as she could without straining her abdomen and walked through, avoiding looking at Hitoshi again. Somehow, something about him made her feel rather shy and self-conscious. She wished she could see what his Quirk was. She dared to glance at him over her shoulder anyhow and met eyes with him briefly.

"Are you okay, Kimitsuki-Chan?" Ochaco asked as she, Izuku and Tenya joined her out in the corridor. "You look like you're catching a cold!"

"I'm fine, thank you, Uraraka-Chan," Kimitsuki replied quickly and quietly as she looked away from Hitoshi and back ahead of where she heading down the corridor. "Everything's okay,"

Kimitsuki's smile dropped away into a frown as she stared at the sinking sun outside the windows. She wrapped her arms over her stomach and wondered how she'll be able to train with this. Maybe she shouldn't have worked up so much that day and tried to play the hero. This is the real world.

The real world had a lot more injuries and deaths than she could imagine. She had seen the way it had impacted All Might, the way it had impacted Aizawa, and the way it was already impacting her.

The real world of the heroes was no longer hidden safely behind a screen. This wasn't something she could watch from afar with childish glee. This was the real world that so many professional heroes dealt with as their day-to-day reality in this world. This strange world was now her reality, too.

This isn't an illusion anymore.

?