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At the U.A. entrance exam, Elsa had failed at entering the hero course. But it hadn't been for lack of trying.

She had trained relentlessly, using every free moment to practice her quirk. She'd need to impress them, so she tried to make massive structures as quickly as possible; pillars for attack and thick walls for defense. She practiced close range and long range attacks, wanting to cover all her bases and show she could be versatile. She even took creative suggestions from her sister, trying to expand her arsenal and possible strategies. (Who also would suggest silly things to try to cheer up Elsa when she noticed her getting too stressed or nervous.)

The only thing she didn't practice was making snow. She felt that would be too much of a giveaway to her past, and wanted to avoid that if at all possible.

The day finally arrived, and Elsa was nervous, but confident.

'I can do this,' she told herself, hands squeezing inside her gloves. 'I know I'm strong. I belong here. I can do this!'

But of course, she couldn't be too strong and let anything leak now could she?

She took a deep breath. 'Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know.'

As the teacher went over the exam and requirements, Elsa felt the tension inside her release. When they had said 'mock battle' she assumed she'd be fighting against another hopeful student, or maybe a teacher pretending to be a villain. She had been practicing moves that immobilized or hindered people but obviously nothing deadly. But if she was going against robots, then she could go all out! No need to hold back.

She was assigned to battle center B, the same as the boy that had been called out in the lecture hall, and the boy that had called him out. But though the others were celebrating 'one less rival', all Elsa could see was how many other students would be in here with her. She knew a fight was a literal requirement, but seeing all the cocky, eager, or nervous faces here just cemented in the reality. She could very easily accidentally spear someone with her quirk. Even if the announcer hadn't mentioned that was off limits, Elsa would have been highly careful not to literally hurt anyone.

But if she lost control and trapped everyone in the center, then-

She shook her head of those thoughts, eyes turning to the gate. 'Don't think like that. You're not upset right now, and it's not going out of control. Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know.'

"START!"

The race was on. She let the crowd go a little ahead, keeping distance between them. Elsa knew she would be competing against people, but she hadn't realized they'd be right next to her. She had taken her gloves off for battle, and all she could think about was trying not to touch anybody.

Actually seeing the robots in action was another thing, something primal in her seizing up at the sight of them. She had never fought a student, let alone a villain, so having that killing intent facing her was jarring.

But the other students were faster, and she watched the robots being torn to pieces.

The students were eager and seemingly unaffected by the sight of them. And because Elsa had let them go on ahead, they could reach them first. Something about seeing them in action lighted something in her, and her determination returned. They may be "scary" but she was stronger, she could take them out easily!

Unfortunately, though Elsa could do long ranged attacks, she couldn't risk accidentally hitting a student, and every time she was about to fire, another student seemed to pop up out of nowhere right in front of her. All her power was effective if she let it loose, but now she was prevented from being able to attack properly.

'I have to go on ahead!' She realized. 'Try to get away from the others so I can move freely!'

So she ran down the street, sprinting as fast as she could go to try to get past the crowd. She was under a time limit, and the robots were dropping like flies. If she didn't hurry she wouldn't be able to get enough points.

As the teachers watched, this was being counted against her. "In battle, every split second counts. If you cannot attack first you run the risk of injuring yourself and putting others in danger. There's no room for hesitation in battle."

Of course, none of the teachers recognized her or knew her quirk, so didn't know why she was hesitating so much. But Aizawa Shota had been watching the exam from the back, and he recognized her the moment she ran on screen. His mouth thinned and his eyes grew harsh.

All Elsa could do was run, praying with every fiber of her being that she'd still be able to get enough points to pass. With most of the students behind her, at the first sign of a robot, Elsa finally let her power fly. It was no contest, the robot immobilized instantly. '1 point!'

Another soon after. '3 points!'

And one more. '5!'

She would have to catch up, she knew that, but…

She was so exhausted.

She was already panting, struggling as she tried to jog a little more to find more robots. 'I didn't know I'd have to do so much running!'

She wasn't bad in P.E. Her grades were just in the 'good' range, giving it an honest effort, but never focusing on that in her studies. After all, it hadn't been her focus.

And when thinking of being a 'hero' and 'battling', she had been focusing on trying to control her quirk. She hadn't bothered to train her body and stamina.

'No,' she internally cursed when she had to support herself on her knees to catch her breath. 'I'm going to fall behind! I'm not going to-'

There was a rumble on the ground, a shake that startled her out of her thoughts. As she looked around she saw the looming shadow, and looked up in horror.

The 0 point enemy had arrived.

The battles stopped, every single hopeful student gaping in terror at the monstrosity before them. The thing was so enormous, it had grabbed the corner of the multistory building in front of it, demolishing the top half and darkening the sky with debris and smoke. It's mechanical lens honed in on the crowd below, targeting systems booting up. Everyone watching took one look at it, and made the smart decision, turning tail and running.

But Elsa remained rooted on the spot, her heart stopping for an entirely different reason as a new feeling hit her.

Exhaustion forgotten, she took off, going against the crowd and barreling toward the behemoth.

"Oh-ho, how interesting!" The principle marveled. "A change of attitude. Perhaps she's forgotten it's zero points and is desperate to pass?"

'No,' Aizawa mused, eyes watching her as she ran. 'She's just doing the one thing she knows she can.'

'I can beat it.' She concluded mentally. 'I can take it down! I have enough power, it would be easy!'

As it was, she didn't have enough points. But if she could show them what she could do, if she could let them see the power she had behind her, surely they would still let her in, right?

They had to! She belonged here, she knew it!

She raced passed a student that had fallen to the ground in frozen shock, not paying him any heed. She slid to a stop at a decent range, finally bringing her arms back to prepare her first blow. A row of massive spires to the 'feet' to stop it, then a blast of ice to the rest of it. A two-hit system that was bound to immobilize it, and get her noticed.

Finally, she could just-

'Let it-

NO!'

The smoke had cleared. There was a girl there, trapped under some rubble that had fallen onto the street. Elsa stopped herself just in time, preventing herself from firing. Had she released it, the girl would have been caught in the ice blast, either frozen solid or trapped. Elsa couldn't fire.

'What do I do? If I try something, she'll get caught in it! What do I-'

Someone else thought faster than her- that boy she had run past suddenly leapt into the air with a strength that defied all expectations. Despite herself, Elsa was shocked, gaping at the display. True, her powers were strong, but that was-

In a single blow, the boy took out the villain, sending it falling back into the street. No one could have expected it, and hardly anyone could believe it.

But, more than that-

'Everyone's… going to notice him.'

She cursed at herself, and her luck, realizing her chance was gone. There wasn't any way to show off, there wasn't another way to demonstrate her abilities- any chance she'd had of getting by without any points was gone.

She was… just…

… why was he falling like that?

Even in her self-pity, she noticed something off about his position. It wasn't poised or controlled. He was free falling, and he was holding his shoulder. Had he broken his arm in the punch? But even so, why-

'He can't land!' She realized in horror. 'He can jump, but he can't land!' She put her hands out, trying to map out the rough area where he'd fall. 'I have to cushion his-'

Then she stopped, her entire body growing cold as realization hit her. The only thing that would cushion him was snow. But if she made it, people would catch on to who she was, and then-

'I can't believe she froze over the whole school!'

"They had to bring in so many pro heroes because of her-"

"Look at her, the Ice Princess.

'Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know,' she mentally chanted, brain going blank, but heart pounding as she tried to reel it in. 'Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know-!'

There was a slap suddenly, and she jumped, seeing that the girl that was trapped before had gotten free, and had slapped the boy as he fell. 'What-?'

But then she understood, when he floated harmlessly just a few feet above the ground. The girl released her quirk, and they both fell to the ground, exhausted.

Elsa was breathing hard, her hands trembling. She looked to the ground fearfully and froze when here fears were confirmed. A large patch of ice had bloomed from under her in her panic, and she noticed the air around her had gotten cold. In horror, she saw a single snowflake forming by her face. She dashed away, running down a side street to try to find a doorway to duck into. 'Conceal don't feel don't let them know. Conceal don't feel, don't let them know-!'

"TIME'S UP!" Present Mic announced.

From the judge's room, Aizawa Shoto narrowed his eyes, before shifting from his spot to head out.

Elsa had been able to duck into a doorway. Though it wasn't a real city, the academy had at least given them basic features, meaning you could at least go inside the building. Elsa retreated inside, closing the door behind her before falling to the ground. She clasped her hands and focused on her breathing, trying to clear her mind and steady her heart. 'Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know...'

It took her a little while, but the lack of people around calmed her panic and let her finally relax. No one had gotten hurt. She was still in control.

The icing wasn't that bad this time. A thick sheet of frost engulfed the room, and snowflakes floated harmlessly around her, but nothing had iced over solidly, and she was still able to push open the door. She called that a win.

Once she was steady again, she reemerged from her hiding spot, and headed back to the main street where the others had gathered. There was another face there, a short old woman speaking to the students. She seemed finished, however, as she turned to leave, and the students followed. Elsa was in no hurry to catch up, eyes on the road as she followed everyone back to the entrance gates.

She was going to have to face everyone at home and admit the truth. All her training was for nothing. She'd been a fool to think she could possibly get enough practice in just a few months, while everyone else here had been allowed to train their wholes lives. Even gifted with a powerful quirk like hers, it still wasn't enough to bridge that gap.

So focused on the road, she hadn't notice how far behind she was the other students, until she looked up to face the gate and realize how far everyone was. But that wasn't what surprised her- for between her and the gaggle of students was a very familiar figure.

"Eraser Head!" She gaped at him in astonishment for a moment, too shocked at the sight of him to do much else. When she gathered her wits, she finally managed to get out: "What are you doing here?"

"I came in case you lost control again," He informed plainly. "I would have needed to stop you before it became a hassle."

She pressed her lips together, trying to mentally rebuff the sting. "I did, but, I calmed myself down. I can reign it in once I'm alone. But how did you know I was here?"

"I work here."

She blinked at him. "You… work here?"

"Why did you apply here?"

She blinked again, not sure why his intense scare startled her. "Well, U.A is the best hero school there is. If I want to be a good hero, then-"

"That's not what I'm asking," he said sharply, eyes narrowing down at her. "Why did you suddenly decide to be a hero?"

Internally, she began to panic. ("They had to bring in so many pro heroes because of her-" "What a villain-") She clenched her hands in front of her, and took a quick breath. "I-I wanted to be a hero when I was younger. It was my dream. But my father said I needed to run the company, so, I studied. But, when Endeavor said that to me, I thought-"

"So you receive one compliment on your quirk and decide you have what it takes to be a hero?"

"What?" She breathed. "No, no, that's not what I-"

"You're a liability," he cut in. "We can't predict what will set you off, or how much damage you'll cause when you do. Having you on the field will be a bigger hassle than a help."

"No, no!" She argued, but it was more out of desperation than actual disagreement. "I can control it, I've been practicing." She gestured quickly with her hands, "you don't have to worry about that with me, it won't happen again, I-"

His eyes flashed red. The black locks rose like a stringy specter, the strips around his neck lifting menacingly like coiled snakes. One end of the strips snatched one of her wrists with one end and craned it up to eye level, though he never broke eye contact with her. "You want to tell me that, when you can't even hold it steady in a conversation?"

Because there, right on her palms and fingers was a thin sheet of frost, sparkling and freezing the air around it.

"I-I..." Her words were dying in her throat, panic and terror making her seize up.

"You're a ticking time bomb," He cut in sharply. "Too much stress, or too much panic and we have an unexpected snowstorm on our hands. We can't keep looking after you and expect to keep the public safe."

She could have argued against him. She could have said that she wore gloves for this reason and that she never expected anyone to "look after her". She wanted to do this herself, and she was trying to learn to control this quirk so that would never happen again.

But she forgot those arguments under his harsh gaze. She just wanted away from him, to forget what happened today and try again later. "I...I know," she said instead. "I know I'm dangerous, I just… I just want do good."

"Then you should know being a hero isn't for you." He said, finally releasing her and blinking to stop the erasure. His hair, and the strips fell back into place, giving him a more neutral disposition. "The students accepted will be put through the most grueling training of their lives. Our goal is to eventually release them into the most dangerous of situations with the tools they need to come out the other end. It's no place for someone who needs a quiet place to calm down."

She flinched, hating the harsh truth of his words. Because she really did have to run off on her own to calm herself down and keep from going out of control. The presence of people always worried her, too afraid of accidentally freezing them. So she had to get away from them to assure herself and calm herself down.

And now that she thought about it, that was impossible in a battle field.

He turned away, finally heading back. "I assume you already had planned to apply to other hero schools if this didn't work out. I'm telling you not to. The other schools won't have the means to stop you peacefully if something goes wrong," he argued, "I don't want to have to be brought in again just because you wanted to live out a childhood fantasy."

She said nothing, eyes to the ground. It was true, she had created back up plans. After all, U.A wasn't the only hero school. She had simply applied here first since it was the number one school. And from a young age, she had been taught to always strive for perfection.

But now… it seemed like even the others weren't an option.

"I can't stop you from doing what you want. But for the public's benefit, I say you consider my warning. Things won't go so well for you once you're no longer a minor."

It was like a punch to the gut. It was a reminder of everything she was trying to avoid and forget. But he was right, and she couldn't argue, knowing she only brought this upon herself.

'I wish I was never born with this quirk,' she thought to herself, looking at her, for now, plain and un-iced hands. 'My life would've been so much easier without it.'

But there was nothing she could do about it now. She could only trudge back to the school, bracing herself to get the day over with.

She took the written exam, simply because she did not wish to go home early. She knew she would receive high marks, but that was hardly helpful to her now. It was the first time she actually 'zoned out' over a test, Eraser Head's warnings replaying in her head over and over again.

Her heart was heavy as she headed home. She was so sure she would get in, and now she'd have to admit her failure, and accept her father's deal. Back into academics she went.

More studying… more business… more expectations…

The greeting she got when she finally did get home just made her feel worse.

"There she is!" Anna squealed when she walked through the door. She was bouncing on her feet, grinning in excitement. "How'd it go, did you get in?"

Despite herself, she huffed out a laugh. "They don't announce it right away, Anna. It'll take at least a week."

"Oh I know that, but you must've blown away all the teachers, right?!" She swung her arm emphatically, declaring her confidence. "That's my sister alright- a shoe-in for U.A's hero course!"

And here, her expression finally fell as the truth came out. "Well, actually..."

As she explained what happened, and her conversation with Eraser Head, Anna's face fell, gasping with horror. "What? No, no, that's not true! You can control it now! The only reason that happened was because you left the window open- you didn't know your ice was spreading!"

"I know!" Elsa argued, and she looked like she was about to cry. "But hero work is outside! I'm always going to be out in the open, risking my quirk going out of control. I can't run into a room to calm myself down when I'm in the middle of fighting a villain! How can I hope to protect anyone when I panic at the first sign of danger?"

She had a point, and Anna hated to agree- but a hero's work was stressful and dangerous. It was part of why their father had discouraged her dreams in the first place- he simply loved her too much to think of his little girl getting hurt.

"Leave it to All Might, Elsa," He had said. "He'll protect us. You'll be safe here, with us."

And oh how the tables had turned. Now she was too scared to even be near them for too long, afraid of accidentally hurting them.

"B-but…" Anna argued, trying desperately to think of anything to refute her claims, or just encourage her.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Anna. I tried, but it wasn't enough. I just..." She squeezed her eyes shut, hugging herself as she felt her emotions tumbling. "I just need to be alone for a while!"

She raced past her, sparkling ice and snowflakes trailing behind her as she headed for the back so she could get to the shed outside. It was the one "cheap" thing at their estate, their parents having bought it by emergency once everything happened. It was the only way she could let her emotions out and keep from hurting anyone else. Anna could only look after her, her heart breaking in two.

Which was why she sought out Gerda, one of their staff members, as she was cleaning the kitchen.

"Gerda?" She asked the plump woman. "Look, when you see Elsa's letter from U.A, could you give it to me first?"

The older woman stared at her, slightly confused, but sympathetic. "I don't think Miss Bradt would appreciate you going through her mail, Anna."

"I know, but she's just so upset about everything," she argued. "If she doesn't get in, I want to lay it on her gently."

The older woman sighed. She loved both girls dearly, and after everything that happened, she could understand the younger's desire to soften the blow for her sister. "Very well. But if she's upset, I won't defend you."

"Yes! Thank you Gerda!" She squealed, hugging the woman eagerly. "You're the best!" she declared, darting back to her room to get back to her last minute cramming.

Aaaaaaaaaaand here we go! Chapter two of My Frozen Academia! Has someone done this before? Pretty sure not because it's such a weird idea...

Lol, ANYWAY thanks so much for reading! Want to support me? Commission me here: aspiringcommissions. tumblr post / 665225620714815488 / writing-commissions

It would really help me a lot and keep me motivated~