The next day would be Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda's first day of training with Class 1-A. Before they made their first appearance though, the trio made first for the design studio to pick up Zelgadis' sword and deliver their costume designs. After that Jun would take them to the 1-A classroom for introductions.

Despite Zelgadis and Michiru's eagerness to get their goals accomplished that morning, it was Emeralda who led, the other two uncharacteristically subdued. When they reached the large metal double doors of the studio, Emeralda reached for one of the large handles before pausing to look back, noting her two companions seemed to have stopped a good six feet away. The tan girl's raised eyebrow was meet with nervous smiles and a weak wave from Michiru.

More confused than ever, Emeralda pulled the doors open as the two behind her cringed. When nothing happened, Emeralda was sure she heard the two behind her let out audible breaths. Very strange. All three then entered to only the sounds of various monitors humming until they found Higari typing away on a computer. Stepping forward, glancing about as if on guard for an attack, Zelgadis greeted the crane-helmeted hero "Good Morning Power loader, I trust my sword is ready?"

Spinning around in his chair, the shirtless man smiled as he greeted the group "Good morning! Yes, I have your sword, Greywards-san." Then noting the uneasy look on two of the three lighters faces, added "If you're wondering where Hatsume is, she went for coffee, your safe."

Zelgadis and Michiru sighed in relief, Emeralda glancing between them in confusion. Chuckling to himself, Higari took a moment to greet Emeralda "Hello young lady! You the talented artist Kagemori-san mentioned yesterday?"

Raising an eyebrow and glancing at Michiru, who offered a smiling nod, Emeralda replied "I did what I could. I hope they are of some use to you."

Taken off guard by the cool answer from the greenette, Higari drawled out "Oookkkaayy, well, in the end, I'll be the judge so lets see what you got, Kasim-san."

Nodding, the tan girl offered the sketchbook she had been carrying under her arm. The red-haired teacher took the book and immediately opened it up to thumb through it. It only took a few moments for Higari to whistle in appreciation, a smirk playing on his face. Their curiosity piqued, Michiru and Zelgadis walked over to stand over Higari's shoulders to look at the work. Both their eyes bugged out of their heads.

What had been just one sketch of Michiru the night before was now a whole series of detailed sketches of all three of them, with notes about the kind of material to use down to the fine details of the pockets on Michiru's jacket. Wholly shocked, Michiru quickly came to a realization as she called out "Emmy! When did you have the time to do all of this? Its amazing!"

Shrugging as she tried to ignore the accusing stares of her friends, Emeralda simply stated "I recall saying I don't need much sleep. Its ok, it helps pass the time."

"Well, considering the sleep deprived ball of energy I call my student, I'm hardly one to talk about getting enough sleep." Higari started, his smirk having progressed to an impressed smile "What I will say though, Kasim-san, is that this work is damn impressive. Usually for students we get drawings a few notches above Kagemori over here, better if the student has some skill at drawing." Then turning and holding open a page detailing the design of the pendent design for Emeralda's costume, Higari added "This is professional level Kasim-san. We should have no trouble getting these produced for you in no time at all!"

Michiru followed up with a beaming smile and added "You've done an amazing job, thanks Emmy!" Zelgadis too offered an appreciative nod that Emeralda returned, a small smile threatening to make an appearance on her face.

Then, with a pat on his bare back, Michiru glanced at Higari and jokingly asked "So, did you find out anything about those nanomachines for the shoes I asked for?"

Zelgadis rolled his eyes, and knowing he would be out of the conversation, wandered off to look for his sword. Higari, for his part took the comment for what it was and laughed before answering "No, no, sorry Kagemori-san, no science fiction today. I did make some calls though and I think we can work something out. It'll take longer than the rest of your costume and we'll need to scan the forms you want but yeah, I think we can do it."

"Sweet! That's awesome, thanks Power Loader!" Michiru exclaimed as she turned to address her artistic friend "Emmy, that means we…can. Emmy? Are you ok?"

Said girl, whom only a few moments ago had been edging on happy now looked absolutely mortified, her hands held tightly in front of her. When she realized Michiru was talking to her, the greenette snapped to attention, her face going as emotionless as the tanuki girl had ever seen it. Before another word could be spoken by Higari or Michiru, Emeralda choked out "I…I am fine. I'm sorry to worry you. I, I just, I just get nervous when others see my work."

That was the worst lie Michiru had ever heard. Emeralda had been fine just a moment ago when they were admiring the sketchbook and the greenette had no issues the night before as she showed them her first draft. Something was seriously wrong, and Michiru was sure she looked as worried as she sounded when she reached out and nervously spoke "Emmy…"

The other girl was having none of it though, turning away as though the concerned tanuki girl and worried teacher didn't even exist. Instead, Emeralda opted for deflection, moving toward Zelgadis and asking "Have you found your sword yet, Zelgadis?"

Turning from a storage bin along the wall, entirely ignorant of what had just transpired, the chimera replied, a hint of frustration in his voice "No, not yet, you seen it Emeralda?"

Meanwhile, Michiru's concerned expression had turned to hurt as she watched her friend walk away from her. When a hand touched her shoulder, the tanuki girl turned to see Higari shaking his head as he spoke "I saw it too, kid. Try not to take it personally though, ok? Clearly something happened but if she isn't ready to talk, its best not to try and force it, ok? Best to be as supportive as you can."

Fighting to keep the tears welling up in her eyes from spilling over onto her furry cheeks, Michiru nodded as she turned back to watch the other two lighters continue the search. With Michiru's shaky agreement, Higari removed his hand and called out playfully "Oh, you were looking for the sword? Yeah, I got it over here in a secure unit behind me! Sorry about that."

The support gear teacher turned and input a code on a keypad behind him as Zelgadis grumbled as he stalked back over "How long were you going to let me dig around this madhouse?"

As he pulled out the sword from the locker that opened up from the wall, Higari replied "Yeah, sorry about that. Should of known that's what you were doing. Anyway, here it is. You shouldn't have any trouble sharpening it again whenever you get home, as promised."

Taking the offered weapon, Zelgadis pulled it from its scabbard and briefly examined it. Apparently pleased with the work, the sorcerer-swordsmen nodded as he offered "And I will get home, I promise you that. Thank you."

"Think nothing of it. Now shoo, before Hatsume gets back." Higari offered with a satisfied smile.

The trio needed no further prodding to take their leave and meet up with Jun at the front of the school.

(X)

Slumped forward in a show of exhaustion that was the underground hero's perpetual state of being, Shota addressed Class 1-A as they sat at their desks "You'll recall that your main focus this summer is obtaining provisional hero licenses."

There was a chorus of "Yes sir!" from the class.

Then, resting his hands at the edges of his lectern and leaning forward for emphasis, Shota continued "Do not take this lightly. A hero license means that you're responsible for human lives. You can imagine that the exam to receive one is very difficult, with only about fifty percent passing the test each year."

The grape-headed boy, Minoru, worriedly asked "Its that hard to get a provisional license?"

In response, Shota narrowed his eyes as he continued "In order to prepare, today you'll concentrate on creating something new." Then, the door to the classroom slide open, revealing three other teachers, Cementoss, Midnight and Ectoplasm as Shota finished "Two ultimate moves."

Several of the students made excited comments about how exams are usually boring schoolwork, but this being hero work. Others kept silent but smiled with antioption as well.

As the trio of teachers stepped into the classroom proper, Ectoplasm began to explain what they meant "When we say 'ultimate,' we mean a move that will ensure you win against your opponent."

Cementoss continued, one hand held up and a finger pointed upward to draw attention "An action so unique to your identity that no other person can hope to copy it. Simply put, you must learn to lean into your strengths."

Midnight finished explaining, one arm held above her head and the other pretending to frame her mask in an attempt to look dramatic "Your moves represent who you are. These days, most pro heroes have an ultimate move."

"This may sound abstract," Shota said "but we'll explain more as the day goes on. In a moment, change into your costumes and meet in Gym Gamma."

Then, openly and heavily sighing, the eraser hero added "But first," then motioning at the door, it slid open again and the three lighters, followed by Jun stepped into the room and lined up in front of the three teachers, who had stepped back. "Most of you are aware at this point that the three newest lighters will be joining you not just for your training these next two weeks but also for the exam itself."

Several smiles and waves were exchanged between Michiru and several of the class as she stood alongside her friends. Emeralda got some waves as well, but the quiet girl stood still, unmoving. After a moment, Shota spoke again "I know that several of you have met before but for everyone's benefit, I'd like each of you three to introduce yourself, then we can get moving."

Michiru was the first to step forward, bowing slightly before looking over the faces of 1-A, noting a mix of excitement and indifference to the outright hostility from the dirty blonde she realized was the wild boy from the festival the others had saved in Kamino. Smiling, the tanuki girl introduced herself "I'm Michiru Kagemori! Please just call me Michiru! I'm very excited to get to work with you all!"

Zelgadis was next, stepping forward with his arms crossed, not bothering to bow. Sounding like he wasn't in the least bit excited to be there, the chimera said "Zelgadis Greywards. Zelgadis is fine. I'm not here to make friends, just to get the job done." When he stepped back in line, Michiru couldn't help but glare at the chimera, who was doing his best to ignore the stares he was getting.

Several in the class were experiencing a sense of déjà vu about having another taciturn jackass in their class to fill the void Shoto had left when he calmed down after the sports festival.

Finally, Emeralda stepped forward, avoiding eye contact with the gathered students as she took a long breath to steady herself, something that didn't go unnoticed by the majority of the class. When she did speak, the tan girl was clear and loud enough but sounded very wooden as she said "I am Emeralda Kasim. I wish to be called Emeralda. I…will do the best I can. Thank you." Then, stepping back, Emeralda could tell all eyes were still on her and she did her best to look away.

Some eyes were less innocent than others, Minoru chief among them, unable to contain himself, the boy said under his breath "Oh man, she's exotic and shy…awesome!" The comment drew glares from Fumikage, Momo and Hanta as well as nervous worry from Izuku right in front of the grape-haired boy.

Other students had more wholesome questions and proceeded to blurt them out, Mina first as she raised her hand "Oh, oh! What are your quirks? You didn't tell us when you were over!"

Toru followed up with "And what about hero names! Or are we going to just use your names in the exam?"

The flamboyant Yuga also offered "And what about your costumes? Surely you don't have anything to compare to my radiance?"

Raising his hand, Shota instantly quieted his students as he firmly said "We don't have time for any of this nonsense. You'll see their quirks in training. Their names and costumes are irrelevant to the training."

At that point Jun felt the need to interject, waving his hands apologetically "So sorry, Aizawa-san. I just thought I would mention that the three did, in fact, turn in their costume designs in before we came here. They'll be wearing them in a few days. For now, it'll be gym outfits."

Shota nodded and was about to dismiss everyone when Midnight spoke up, causing the eraser hero to cringe in annoyance as she said "What about hero names? Those are at least as important as your costume!"

The trio exchanged glances, Zelgadis and Emeralda shaking their heads in the negative, but Michiru offered "I…was thinking something like Anima. Something like the Fauna Hero: Anima!"

There was some murmuring amongst the class before Mashirao spoke up "Isn't that Koda's hero name?"

All eyes seemed to turn to the quiet Koji Koda, who shrank at the attention but managed to nod that Anima was indeed his chosen hero name.

Her ears sagging along with her shoulders in disappointment, Michiru glanced down for a moment before she looked up again, another idea popping into her head "What about Animalia then? Is that taken?"

Midnight put a hand on the tanuki girl's shoulder, which caused Michiru to look back at the X-rated hero as the older woman said approvingly "It's a fine name, Kagemori. I'll check to be sure its not in use, but I think you've got a winner!"

Michiru beamed a smile at the art history teacher before Shota loudly reasserted control as he said "if you're all quite finished, dismissed! You've got training to do!"

"Yes, sir!"

(X)

Michiru was feeling alittle under dressed compared to her new classmates, all decked out in their chosen hero costumes. If the other two lighters felt the same, they weren't showing it as they stood among the group of students gathered in the large Gym Gamma.

Cementoss proceeded to create various terrains and structures for the students to train as they saw fit, the whole facility being his idea. Ida took the opportunity to ask what the advantage of having ultimate moves for the exam even was, a question Zelgadis couldn't help but feel could have been asked sooner.

Shota, though, took the question in stride and explained the license exam would evaluate everything from combat prowess to information gathering, decision making, communication, co-operation and leadership. But while all of that was important, none of it would be of any use if you couldn't win a fight, which ultimate moves would greatly help with.

Ectoplasm further explained that an ultimate move didn't have to be an attack, using Ida's own Reciproburst, a sudden burst of speed from his leg engines, as an example. The stiff bi-speckled boy glowed with joy at being told he had been using an ultimate move all along.

With that answered, Shota further explained the training the class had been doing when they were attacked up in the mountains was meant to prep them for this training. The students were also told they were encouraged to modify their costumes now that they had a stronger understanding of their quirks.

Finally, the eraser hero finished by challenging his class "I expect each of you to go Plus Ultra. Do you have it in you?"

The students, clearly hyped up, responded with a firm "Yes, sir!"

Denki adding "I am so charged up for this!"

The lighters, standing toward the back and far to new to this world to be aware of the phrase, missed the cue and said nothing. Instead, Zelgadis whispered to Michiru "What the hell is 'Plus Ultra'?" which earned a giggle from Toru, who was standing nearby.

As the various members of 1-A began to scatter and find spots suited to their training, the lighters began to do the same when Shota grabbed Michiru by the shoulder and called out "Wait you three."

Zelgadis and Emeralda, having not been grabbed, pulled up short and turned to face their one-time proctor, confused. With the trio's attention, the shaggy-haired teacher, with Ectoplasm by his side said "Ectoplasm here will be serving as training partner for each of you. I've told him what I know of your powers." A hard glance over at Emeralda to remind her about her unexplained healing ability was met by a cold glare of her own before he continued "But he will need you to show him a bit of what you can do before you can progress in your training. I expect you to work just as hard as my students."

It seemed reasonable enough to Zelgadis, who nodded and said "Makes sense. Though beyond using some of my stronger spells, I can't really come up with a 'ultimate move' as you describe. I would like to work with my sword though if that's ok?"

Shota grumbled before answering "Fine, that will be fine for now but we'll re-evaluate as we go along.

Emeralda only starred at the teacher, before turning way and nodding, saying nothing. Michiru, on the other hand, eagerly exclaimed "I don't mind showing off what I can do! Lets do this!"

(X)

Ectoplasm almost seemed tailor-made for serving as a training dummy and mentor for quirk development. Each student got their own Ectoplasm clone to offer suggestions and to be defeated as the student saw fit. Some were asking questions and taking advice, like Mina, who learned to shoot what had been a weak fountain of acid more like a hose with a suggestion from the cloning hero. Others, like the fiery Katsuki, were more than happy to go all out and use the clone as a practice dummy for moves he was testing out.

Most, however, took a moment or two to glance at the three temporary newcomers to their ranks. From Minoru's leers to curious glances from the likes of Ida, Kyoka and Momo, most everyone in the class wanted to know what the lighters could do. Midoriya, known for his obsession with quirks, was intensely curious, which torn at the poor boy as he struggled to decide how he was even going to train at the same time.

The lighter trio did not disappoint. Ectoplasm put each of them through their paces, as each showed off their "quirks" and gave the rather creepy looking hero a good sense of what they could do. With a baseline set, each of the three could begin training in earnest.

For Zelgadis, this meant practicing channeling spells into his sword and practicing his swordsmanship with an eye toward a more non-lethal style. It…wasn't going well. Although the infusion of magic into his sword seemed to work well enough, the chimera was having a hard time not killing his clone. After his fifth lethal blow, the next clone suggested with a sigh that Zelgadis was trying to hard and needed to go back to basics. There were few swordsmen out there for him to fight so it made more sense to think about what its like to attack someone who was unarmed or using a gun. After a couple more murders, the rock-encrusted sorcerer was able to focus on blows to the hands and legs without crippling his opponent.

With a wide array of spells of varying strength at his disposal, Zelgadis felt he already had what the teachers deemed a "ultimate move" so instead, when he wasn't working with his sword, the chimera spent time practicing rapid casting, reducing time to cast and how long he could hold a spell, like his wind barriers.

Michiru was another story. Having less combat experience and less time with her powers than the other two, she was closer to the 1-A students in terms of learning what she could do. At least she had an ultimate move down, being able to take any of her transformations up to eleven if she pushed them. When Ectoplasm asked for a demonstration, Michiru had at first shifted her arms into those of a gorilla before focusing and yelling as she enlarged the arms to truly insane proportions, larger than her own body before proceeding to crush the poor clone with her two massive fists.

The crushing attack had also caused a considerable impact crater, sending debris everywhere, and unfortunately, some of the chucks flew Katsuki's way, pelleting the dirty blonde with pebbles and dust. Incensed, the grenade-gauntleted boy turned and snarled "HEY! Flea-bag! Watch it over there or I'll call animal control!"

Michiru was completely stunned by the insults hurled at her as her limbs returned to normal. Her eyes wide, she looked about to see if anyone else heard what was just said. With everyone else training, and with various loud sounds from attacks all around, the tanuki girl couldn't even be sure if anyone else could have heard it. One thing was for sure, no one acted on what was said, including Ectoplasm, or at least his clone, which was still forming from silver goo as the exchange took place. Not getting a reaction from Michiru, Katsuki just grunted and returned to attacking his own Ectoplasm clone.

When Michiru's clone fully formed, he saw the look of hurt and confusion on her face and immediately asked "Is everything ok, Kagemori-san? Did you injure yourself in that last attack?"

Realizing no one else witnessed/cared what had just happened, Michiru tried to shake the distressed look from her face as she replied "No, I'm fine Ectoplasm! I think I just went alittle overboard, that's all!"

If the clone doubted her explanation, there was no way to know as the cloning hero's face was unmoving and impossible to read. After a pause, Ectoplasm spoke again "Fair enough, it may be a good idea in the coming days to practice that to refine your control. Before that though, I'm curious, have you ever tried holding multiple forms at once?"

Arching an eyebrow in confusion, the tanuki girl replied "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, have you tried expressing characteristics from different animals at the same time? Like your enlarged arms along with claws or something like that?" the cloaked cloner suggested.

Taking a moment to think on the question, Michiru answered "Honestly, no, I haven't. I always just went to the form I needed at the time." Thinking back, Nezuna, who Michiru thought was better at morphing than she was, had been able to grow wings from her back instead of shifting her arms. The fox girl was even able to change into a smaller copy of the silver wolf! One thing Michiru's best friend had never tried to do though, was combining like Ectoplasm was suggesting.

"Well then," said the clone "I think we have a goal in mind. It looks like you can shift from one form to another quickly so aside from the control I mentioned earlier, I think you should try to see if you can fuse some of your forms."

"Sounds like a plan, thanks Ectoplasm!" Michiru replied, mustering as much enthusiasm as she could.

Meanwhile, Emeralda found herself with a teacher who seemed to have little to teach. Ectoplasm was having a hard time finding something to critique with the tan girl. Emeralda displayed excellent control, a diverse use of her quirk and had a skill set she could use outside of her powers as well as incorporating those skills in the form of her martial arts. When the cloning hero had challenged her to come up with longer range applications of her skills, Emeralda had demonstrated what she called her Grand Arm technique that she had used on those escaped villains at the police headquarters rooftop. The sudden piercing stab from below caught the poor clone completely by surprise before he turned to goo.

In the end, all Ectoplasm could do regarding combat was suggest Emeralda try thinking of new forms to morph into, both to expand her combat effectiveness and help in recues. It was on the subject of recues that Ectoplasm warned that her cold and distant barring would hurt her in the coming exam. When the green-haired morpher sought clarification, the trenchcoated clone explained the value of being comforting in a tense situation. Emeralda was…less than confident in her ability to do so.

Among those 1-A students who took the time to study the lighters as they trained, the tailed Mashirao took perhaps the most interest in Emeralda. His classmates may not have noticed or cared but the blonde martial artist knew a true practitioner of the art when he saw one and he was determined to talk to her about it at the end of the session.

(X)

As it turned out, Gym Gamma was being shared between the two first year classes at UA. Class 1-B also intended to take the license exam as their homeroom teacher Vlad King was determined that his class stay on par with Shota's 1-A. As such, 1-A would get the gym in the morning and 1-B in the afternoon. So it was that while training was still in full swing, Vlad burst into the gym, his students in tow, demanding to be allowed to start since it was their turn.

Sounding slightly exacerbated, Shota turned to meet his co-worker, explosions and other loud noises still filling the air around them "Vlad, your early. We'll use this space until its our actual time to leave."

So, with 1-B filing in and watching, 1-A finished up their training for the day, the two classes having a moment to interact before switching. It was a smug looking blond boy in what looked to be a double-breasted, long tailed combat dress suit that was the first to speak, loud enough to be heard by all "I see Class 1-A has a few new faces. Were you so unsure you would pass that you needed some ringers? After all, the exam has a fifty percent pass rate. That means your entire class may fail! HAHAHAHA!"

Michiru, like the rest of 1-A, was left to stare at what seemed to her to be a pointlessly mean comment from a follow hero-in-training. As the spiteful boy continued laughing, the tanuki girl turned and asked the nearest non-lighter, the freckled Midoriya "Hey, what's up with this guy? He kinda seems to hate you."

A bit nervous at the close proximity of the furry girl, Midoriya nonetheless answered "It's a rivalry thing. Vlad King-sensei has nurtured a rivalry between the first-year classes and Monoma-san here really, um, takes it seriously."

This was the first time the two classes were seeing each other in their hero costumes and the electricity using Denki couldn't help but ask, stifling a giggle "Wait. Is that his hero costume?"

The other members of 1-B had already started moving further into the gym and had begun mingling with 1-A so the rival class's rep, the orange-haired Itsuka Kendo explained "Well, since his quirk is Copy, he said he didn't need anything too eccentric. Just that."

Denki replied, echoing pretty much everyone else's thought "That's him toned down?"

As 1-B's resident instigator finally began winding down, Fumikage felt the need to point out grimly, "Unfortunately, Monoma's observations are correct. If we're taking the same exam, then we'll crush each other. That's the hand fate has dealt us."

The bird-headed boy's observation gave Shota an opportunity to point out as Vlad King approached him "And that is why we won't be in the same location. Our classes applied to different spots." Monoma, finally finishing his laughter, seemed to look relived at that news.

His teacher continued after Shota "There are two test dates. In June and in September. And each time the tests are held in three different places. We don't want students from the same place fighting so we split you up. Each school has at most one class at a single location."

With the details explained, the dress-suited boy turned on a dime and exclaimed "How sad we won't be able to face each other directly!" Before launching into another round of manic laughter.

His arms crossed, Zelgadis had already seen enough from the blonde, declaring "This guy is clearly insane. How did he make it among your ranks, exactly?"

A young man with light green skin, darker green mohawked hair and two hooked blades protruding from his head and extending in front of his mouth and wearing a tattered looking dark green top simply explained "The same way most of us did. He passed the exam. Togaru Kamakiri by the way."

"Zelgadis Greywards. And Fair enough, I suppose. But still…" the chimera finished, his eyebrows arched in concern at the mentality of a supposed hero to be.

Rolling his shoulder to try and get the tightness out from constant using of his tape quirk, Hanta added to the larger conversation "If we're not going up against each other than we'll be going up against a bunch of other schools then, won't we?"

That's right." Shota answered, reasserting control of the discussion. "You'll be going up against students from many other schools, most of which will have another year of experience than you all. Expect to encounter powerful quirks as well that you'll know nothing about. So be ready."

"Aaannndddd…" Michiru prodded when their dower teacher didn't say anything else.

When the students looked between the tanuki girl and their teacher, Shota felt compelled despite himself to ask "And what? You have something to add, Kagemori?"

The combined gazes of all of UA's first year hero students then fell upon Michiru and she almost took a step back from the weight of it. She didn't, however, back down, confidently replying "Aaannnddd that won't be true for the other students, right?"

"What do you mean?" Mina asked, a bit of worry creeping into her voice.

Midoriya's eyes, in the meantime, began to widen as he realized what the tanuki girl was saying. The freckled boy began to tremble at the prospect and a few beads of sweat formed on his brow as he whispered "Oh, no…"

"Well," Michiru answered her pink classmate "You've all been on TV, haven't you? In the Sports Festival? Wouldn't that mean everyone else has a much higher chance of knowing what you can do even as you know nothing of them?"

Almost as one, the two classes cried "WHAAATTT!?" followed by a wave of accusatory stares being leveled at the two homeroom teachers. The tension was palpable for the three otherworlders, though esecially for the accidental instigator herself. Michiru could feel Shota's ire burning into her when he briefly glanced her way.

After a few more moments of glaring, students began pelting the two instructors with cries of "How could you?" and "When were you going to tell us?"

However, aside from his glare at Michiru, Shota showed no signs of being bothered by his class's or 1-B's righteous indignation. Instead, the dower teacher calmly, if louder to get attention, explained "We didn't tell you because, frankly, we didn't think it mattered. You all have training, its true but you have something far more valuable: experience. Your ready for everything those other schools have to throw at you. Or at least you will once you've developed your ultimate moves."

The silence that fell in the gym at Shota's honest admission spoke volumes. It was so rare to get any praise from the exhausted teacher that to hear such an appraisal left everyone speechless. It was left to Vlad King to shock the first years back to reality as he bellowed "NOW GET MOVING! We're wasting precious training time! 1-A, get out of here!"

That got everyone moving in a hurried frenzy, students darting in opposite directions, 1-A finally making their way out of the gym. Before Michiru could exit though, a firm hand landed on her shoulder as a chilling voice whispered in her ear "Don't you dare ever make me do that again, you understand?"

Stiffing, her fur standing on end, Michiru slowly nodded, not caring to look back at what was surely a pair of blood shot daggers boring into her. The voice continued "Good. Now that we understand each other, enjoy the evening, I'll see you tomorrow."

The hand now gone, Michiru couldn't have moved faster out of the door short of morphing her legs if she tried.

(X)

Turns out that, aside from their teachers shocking admission a moment ago, the lighters were the talk of the class. It seemed like almost everyone was either talking about or talking to one of the three newcomers to 1-A. It was hard not to hear the conversations as the group of students made their way back to the locker rooms. Michiru, flanked by Mina and Ochaco was being pressed for more details about her quirk. Mina exclaiming "So you can transform parts of your body into other animals?! That's so cool!"

"I'm so jealous" Ochaco added excitedly "I saw you flying when I was practicing my floating. I can make anything weightless, but I can't actually fly! It must feel amazing!"

Nervously laughing at the attention, Michiru replied with a blush of embarrassment "Yeah, flying is kind of the best. But you two are really cool too! I can't shoot acid or make anything I touch defy gravity!"

As the three girls continued to chat and laugh, Ochaco came around to asking about the other female lighter in the class "Hey Michiru, can you tell me a little about Emeralda? When I talked to her the other night, she seemed kinda down on herself."

Glancing over at her tan fellow morpher, Michiru watched as Emeralda walked alone, off and to the side of everyone else, her signature scarf flowing behind her, an ill match for her UA gym uniform. It made sense. Not only did Emeralda clearly have many friends she was missing back home but she also bore the perceived failure at Kamino and loss of Xellos. The greenette was so much different than Michiru that the tanuki girl sometimes had a hard time figuring her out. Indeed, in this moment there was no telling if leaving her alone was best or if reaching out with more people would help her more?

As Michiru's contemplation drew out, the other two girls grew concerned, Mina going so far as to say "Michiru? You still there?"

Pulling her attention back to her new friends, Michiru smiled apologetically "Sorry, your right Uraraka. Emeralda's on the quiet side and she was hit pretty hard being away from her home and our screw up in Kamino. Sorry if she worried you."

Ochaco nodded in sympathy, asking "Is there anything we can do to help? What about you, Michiru, I didn't think to ask how you're holding up."

Michiru waved the brunnette's concerns off "I'm fine. Honestly, I love it here, aside from what that spikey-haired jackass said to me earlier…"

The other two girls followed Michiru's gaze over to the strutting Katsuki, Eijiro talking with him to his side. Neither girl was surprised, and Mina quickly understood, saying "Ah, already had your first run in with Mr. Personality over there, huh? Sorry about Bakugo, he's-"

"An asshole?" Michiru helpfully finished.

The two 1-A students burst out in giggles at their new friends blunt, if accurate, assessment of the fiery dirty blonde. Michiru's worry about the name calling began to fade away as the laughter continued, as she came to realize she was hardly alone in Katsuki's harassment.

Once the laughter died down, Mina brought things back to Emeralda, saying "We should totally have a girl's night and include Emeralda! What do you think, Michiru?"

The tanuki girl looked skeptical as she replied "I don't know…I did say she's pretty quiet. I don't know that she really likes to be around a lot of people."

Her excitement building with each passing step, Mina quickly answered "Oh, come on, it'll only be us and the other girls of 1-A! That can't be too many people, can it?"

Sighing, Michiru partly relented, answering "I guess there's only one way to find out. Let's ask her." Then, looking over at her fellow lighter again, Michiru was shocked to see the blonde tailed boy, Mashirao, approaching Emeralda.

As Mashirao got near the contemplative greenette, he waved, calling out "Kasim-san? Mind if I speak to you?"

That act brought the attention of many in the class to the pair. Eijiro, apparently forgetting who he was talking to, blurted out "Check out Ojiro!"

Denki looked crestfallen as he lamented "I can't believe I didn't go over and talk to her first…"

Toru giggled and jabbed her invisible elbow into poor Kyoka's ribcage as Momo said "Oh my…" as she covered he hand with her mouth.

Katsuki rolled his eyes and muttered "Idiots."

The commotion caught Ida's attention as he walked with Midoriya. When the stern looking boy glanced over and saw what all the commotion was, he was torn between intervening and letting the two speak. Before the bi-spectacled class rep could turn to move though, Midoriya caught him still facing forward as the freckled boy said "Let them go Ida, let them talk."

All of this went completely missed by the two objects of most everyone else's attention as Mashirao caught up and starting walking beside Emeralda. The greenette glanced over and addressed the taller blonde "Was there something I could help with Oijiro-san?"

His nervousness plain on his face as he scratched the back of his head, Mashirao replied "You remembered my name? Wow, um, yeah Kasim-san. I couldn't help but notice in training today you were using some pretty advanced martial arts. I was wondering how long you've been training?"

The amber-eyed girl regarded her gi-wearing temporary classmate with curiosity. His dress would suggest he practiced the art as well but his demeanor was uncomfortably familiar. Trying to ignore the warning signs, Emeralda replied honestly "A little over a year."

That caused Mashirao to sputter out as he stopped walking "A, A year!? I've been training my whole life and I can't pull off some of what I saw you do today. Who is your master?"

Stopping a few feet ahead and looking back at the blonde boy, her hair and scarf briefly caught in the wind, Emeralda answered vaguely "Someone I'm close to but while I'm here he is out of my reach. I recently was accepted by another master while I am here in Japan."

Caught by the beauty of the gurl before him, despite her stoic bearing, Mashirao struggled to start walking again, but with some effort, he was able to put one foot in front of the other as he asked "Who is your new master? I probably know them, I'm pretty familiar with the martial arts scene in Japan."

Once the tailed martial artist caught up to her, Emeralda resumed walking as she answered simply "Ranma Saotome-sensei."

"Saotome-sensei!?" Mashirao repeated, utter shock in his voice as his eyes seemed to bulge out of his head. "Trainer of heroes, Ranma Saotome? Considered far and wide to be the best martial artist the world over. That Ranma Saotome?"

"I don't understand, is there another Ranma out there whom practices martial arts?" The greenette replied, missing the blonde's questioning as just shock at the news.

Regaining his composure, Mashirao clarified "Its just that, the guy's a legend to people like me is all. He was the only student at UA to ever make it to the finals of the sports festival from the business course. And he did it with nothing but the art, since his sex-changing quirk was mostly of no help in combat."

"He is notably faster in his feminine form" Emeralda pointed out.

"Really? Man, I'd love to meet him!" Mashirao answered excitedly, his tail starting to wag a bit despite himself. Clenching his fists, the blonde martial artist jumped in front of Emeralda and bowed, deeply, bringing the girl up short as he pleaded "Please, it would be an honor to train with you, Kasim-san!"

A slight frown played on the tan girl's lips as she starred down at the prostrate form in front of her. It was at that moment the girl became aware of the nagging feeling of being watched and shot her head up to look about. Despite her speed, Emeralda missed pretty much everyone swerving their heads away to look literally anywhere else, except Katsuki and Shoto who weren't watching to begin with.

After a few more glances about to be sure she hadn't missed something, Emeralda finally replied "I could do that. Saotome-sensei can only visit so often, a sparring partner would be appropriate."

Standing up, Mashirao smiled briefly before his face took on a more somber tone when he saw Emeralda's. Bowing again, this time only slightly, the blonde replied respectfully "I'm honored that you would have me, Kasim-san. I hope I can be worth your time in our training together. I usually train after dinner each night. Would…seven, in front of the 1-A dorms work for you?"

"It would. Also, if I know Saotome-sensei will be visiting, I will endeavor to let you know. I can't promise he will be willing to take you on but you can at least meet him." Emeralda said, her voice betraying no emotion but there was a hint of excitement in her amber orbs.

"Thank you again, Kasim-san. After all the pointers Ectoplasm gave me today, I really need to train! I'll see you tonight!" With a wave, the tailed boy bounded ahead, an uncharacteristically large smile on his face.

Minoru, who had learned to keep his distance from the shy emerald-haired beauty from two nights prior, watched in astonishment as the strait-laced Mashirao appeared to have just successfully asked Emeralda out on a date. Desperate to know for sure, the grape-haired pervert ran after the blonde as fast as his tiny little legs could carry him.

Minoru caught up once they had each entered the locker rooms, followed by several other guys from the class. Panting heavily, the sticky-haired hero-in-training belted out as if declaring one of the great injustices in the world "HOW!? HOW OJIRO?! How could you do that!"

Surprised, and possibly a bit terrified, the tailed blonde turned to meet his accuser "Wha, what are you talking about Mineta?"

As the exchange was heating up, Zelgadis made his way into the room, followed behind by Fumikage. The two moved to the side and silently watched as the weird little boy continued.

Pointing back toward the door, Minoru wailed "The tan goddess! You totally asked her out, didn't you? Didn't even give any of the rest of us a chance! That whole honorable martial artist schtick just an angle you were waiting to spring on someone?"

With a raised eyebrow, the raven-headed Fumikage turned and looked at the only lighter in the room and asked "Seriously? You think Mineta's right?"

The rock-encrusted chimera wasted no time in denying Minoru's account "Hardly. Emeralda is just as focused on our goal as myself or Michiru. I seriously doubt she'd entertain such an idea."

Realizing the attention of every other male in the room was on the two of them, Mashirao connected the dots and knew that he had had an audience when he was speaking to Emeralda earlier and began to blush hard. Minoru saw it immediately and turned his accusing digit squarely on the other boy "There! Caught red-faced! Its true, don't try to deny your theft!"

Zelgadis couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"No!" Mashirao finally shot back, some of the red fading away as he turned his focus to explaining "A, all I did was ask her to train with me! She's an amazing martial artist, or didn't any of you notice?"

Mashirao's answer seemed to deflate Minoru as the small pervert froze in response to the rebuttal. The pause was enough for Ida to step forward "I see! Kasim-san did indeed display superb martial prowess today! I am relived to hear you've sought to improve yourself! This can only strengthen our bonds for the exam as well! I apologize as I, too, assumed you were engaging in propositioning Kasim-san."

Several in the now crowded boy's locker room wondered to themselves who still used 'propositioning' when asking for a date?

Giving the blonde boy a friendly jab in the arm, Eijiro said with a toothy grin "Good on you man! Its cool you have someone else to practice with!"

Clearly embarrassed by the whole misunderstanding, Mashirao nervously laughed as he rubbed the back of his head "Yeah, I honestly can't believe she said yes. She seems so cold and distant, but you can't know unless you ask, right?"

Off to the side, Midoriya heard those words and began to wonder about the night he met his new temporary classmates. Some of the things they said didn't make a lot of sense and the way Zelgadis had just spoken seemed off as well. Why didn't he just say being heroes instead of goal? Silently, the freckled successor to the number one hero swore he would ask them as he starred at the blue lighter out of the corner of his eye.

(X)

Over on the girl's side, there was notably less drama as Michiru came up to Emeralda, Ochaco and Mina in tow, to ask her friend what she already suspected "So, Emmy, did that tailed guy ask you to train with him?"

Immediately, the girl's of 1-A all at once looked deflated as Mina blurted out "Seriously? That's what that whole thing was about? Training? How BORING!"

Toru's gloved hand patted the pink girl's shoulder trying to consul her "Its ok Mina, we all thought it was juicer too…"

Having raised an eyebrow at the dramatic response, Emeralda turned back to Michiru and said "You are correct. Did you use your enhanced hearing to listen in?"

Waving her hand dismissively, Michiru replied, a hint of pride in her voice "When we were training, I saw him doing some martial arts from my bird's eye view up high. When we met a couple of days ago he seemed like the serious type so I already had a pretty good idea before he talked to you. Watching your reaction, I was sure. So, he coming to the training hall?"

"No, I will be meeting him outside of the 1-A dorms, though we could use the hall at a later date." Emeralda replied.

"There! She said date!" Mina injected jokingly.

"Ashido, please…" Momo admonished

Mina briefly stuck out her tongue before offering an apology "Right, sorry Emeralda!"

The tan girl accepted with a simple nod as they all began to get back into their uniforms to head home for the day.

As Michiru walked back to the dorm wing of UA, she watched as the other students talked and joked with each other. Emeralda had someone other than lighters to talk to as she walked with the tailed boy and even grumpy Zelgadis was talking with the guy with the bird head. Even though it was a hot sunny day, the fur covered tanuki girl had a big smile on her face as she thought about the costumes they'd get soon along with getting to see Terra in a day or two. There was even going to be a party coming up! With the license exam around the corner, for the first time since coming here, Michiru truly felt like she was in a good place, heading in the right direction.

Fate had thrown so much their way, Michiru felt the universe owned them a break, at least for a little while.

(X)

I seriously didn't think that with less than half my normal turnaround time that I'd actually produce a normal length chapter. Not the most exciting chapter, I know but hey, not everything can be epic battles to the death and intense training sessions I suppose. I hope I didn't spoil you with two chapters this past month because there is no way I can do this on a regular basis, much as I wish I could.

Still, its been a great year and I'm proud to have you all enjoy this little ride I've started. I very much look forward to where we'll be going for the next year and I hope your excited too! As always, thank you for sticking around, I greatly appreciate it and I very much hope you continue to enjoy the story!