Gearing Up For Finals

Once Estelle got back from Endeavour's Hero Agency, she spent the day with Nona. Knowing that her words would be kept safe, they talked about her activities within the internship. Nona seemed to be rejuvenated since Estelle was finally back in her presence and filled her with fountains of tea. Estelle didn't complain; she missed Nona too. Due to this, Nona was eager to hear everything that happened.

"You healed him?! I'm so proud of you. I read about your statement in the papers. I think it was the right thing to do."

"Thank you, Nona."

Walking into class 1A, she listened to everyone talking about their internships. Bumping into Bakugo, she was startled to find a different look. Kirishima and Sero laughed rambunctiously in the background at Bakugo. "Stop laughing; I couldn't get it back to the way it was! I'll kill you both!" He growled before freezing at Estelle's chuckle behind him.

"Sorry. I almost didn't recognise you, pretty boy." Estelle taunted while the two boys laughed harder.

"What did you call me!?" Bakugo screamed out, fists raised alongside his reddening face. His hair poofed back to its usual form in his temper.

"It changed back!" They howled as they pointed, their merriment continuing.

Estelle chuckled again before ruffling his hair. "Don't worry, you're prettier this way, Ruby."

Before Bakugo could explode again, Estelle was already making her way to her seat. He grumbled slightly, his cheeks redder from her compliment and her laughter, which rung throughout his brain. To combat his strange feelings, he grabbed Kirishima and Sero's heads to bestow punishment.

Estelle sat down in her seat and watched the others. It seemed she wasn't the only one having crazy experiences. Estelle was surprised by Ochako; it appeared with her internship, Ochako had improved on her fighting abilities. She was glad to hear she was progressing. Her pondering was interrupted as Kaminari spoke up.

"Nobody has changed as much as those four!"

"Oh yeah, the hero killer", Sero responded.

Kirishima smiled and interjected, "I'm glad you guys made it back alive. Seriously."

"I was worried about you too," Yaoyorozu spoke up.

"You were lucky Endeavour showed up and saved you guys."

"So cool! Saved by the number two hero!" Hagakure exclaimed.

Todoroki looked down at his desk in thought before speaking up. "Yeah, that's right. He saved us."

"Did you hear what everyone is saying about the hero killer? Apparently, they are connected to the league of villains. Can you imagine if he was at the USJ?"

"He's scary, yeah, but did you see him in that weird video?" Kaminari asked in awe.

"I didn't even know there was a video?" Ojiro responded.

"It's all over the internet! Estelle is even in it as well, healing him!"

They looked over at her in question. Estelle simply deadpanned at them, "My statement still stands; just read the paper."

They all sweatdropped at her answer.

"He's pretty tenacious; it's almost cool, Y'know?" Kaminari continued once he realised that was all Estelle was going to say.

"Kaminari!" Midoriya reprimanded

"Oh, sorry!"

"You're right. Stain is tenacious. But killing cannot be condoned, no matter the reason. To keep anyone else from suffering like me. I promise! I will become the perfect hero!" Iida shouted.

"Yeah, let's do it!" Midoriya applauded behind him.

Estelle dramatically groaned in the background when Iida dived into his old disciplined self, shouting about rules and regulations.

Estelle and the class stood outside with All Might while he explained the training for the day. She zoned out from the moment he said, "Rescue training!"

'I wonder if I would be able to find a way into the quirk registry', Estelle thought with furrowed brows.

"Try to keep damage to the minimum", All Might finished with a smile.

"Why are you pointing at me..." Bakugo pouted. Estelle hid her smile at the blonde.

The first group was up in the race to find All Might. Estelle focused on the screen - more specifically on Midoriya. She had seen a glimpse of his improvement when they all encountered Stain. She was intrigued to know how much.

The class murmured around her with their own predictions on how the race would pan out. Estelle watched the group use their quirks in hopes of reaching All Might the fastest. She watched Midoriya use his quirk with no backlash with a satisfied look.

'Ah, so it seems he did figure it out. Good boy'.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Bakugo, who was seething from the display.

'Ah, Midoriya was inspired by his moves.'

"I would take it as a compliment Ruby, he clearly looks up to you."

"Tch."

Once Midoriya's group came back to the class, Estelle stepped up to the green-headed boy.

"So, I see you figured it out."

Midoriya held a startled look and rubbed the back of the neck. "Yeah, I figured out what you and Gran Torino were trying to tell me. Honestly, thank you! It was such a great help."

"It's no problem. Just keep working on it."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Estelle chuckled. At this point, it almost seemed like he was doing it on purpose. Just to hear her amusement. Unbeknownst to her, he really was.

'She's actually talking to Midoriya?' Everyone thought while they side-eyed the two.

Estelle was slowly getting changed with the rest of the girls. The girls had come to respect Estelle's personal bubble and usually tended to leave her alone. Estelle was thankful; she liked her bubbles.

Estelle was not amused when she heard Mineta's voice across the wall. It seems he found a hole and decided to announce it to the world. Idiot. If he was going to be a perv, then at least do it right- with shame.

Mineta's rambling was cut short by Kyoka's earphones, jabbing him in the eye. Estelle gave an evil leer at his sounds of pain. Walking up to the girls surrounding the hole, Estelle lifted her arm to elevate Mineta into the air within his changing room. The girls looked wide-eyed at the subdued girl when she violently bashed Mineta into the roof and into the ground. Repeatedly.

When she figured that was enough, she let the vexatious male go and dropped him to the floor, leaving a loud thud. Using her earth bending, she sealed the hole in the wall and walked back to her spot to continue getting changed.

'Did she really just do that?' The boys and girls collectively thought with a sweatdrop.

Yaoyorozu spoke up timidly, "You didn't need to go that far, but we appreciate it, Estelle."

"How else would he learn his lesson?" Estelle questioned back with confusion.

The girls sweatdropped at her.

"Hey, Estelle!" Ashido shouted loudly, letting the boys hear in the next room.

"What?"

"You've been talking to us more! Does this make us all friends?"

The boys craned their ears for her answer.

"No."

They all fell to the ground in disappointment.

"Aw, come on! Why not? Your friends with that general studies student, are you not?"

"Hmm, not really."

"What! you totally are!"

"Can't hear you..."

"Yes, you can!"

"You're breaking up."

"What? Hey! Where are you going? Estelle!"

"All right, that's it for class today. There's only one week left before your final exams begin. I'm sure you're all studying consistently, right? Don't forget to keep training, the written exams are only one element. There's also the practical portion to worry about. Good luck," Aizawa stated whilst he left the classroom.

Estelle ignored the class's dread about their midterm results.

"It's pretty hard to fail if you just pay attention in class", Todoroki deadpanned.

"I'll say, I didn't even need to be here most of the time to beat most of you. How disappointing." Estelle piped up just to be annoying.

Kaminari and Ashido fall down to the ground at the verbal hit they just took from the pair.

Yaoyorozu offered to tutor most of the class whilst Estelle gathered up her bag. She was caught off guard at the fact Kirishima was at her desk with an apprehensive grin. He internally sweated at the lifeless look on her face.

"Hey, I was just wondering if you could tutor me?"

Before Estelle could respond, Bakugo had already made his way to the two with a hostile expression, "I'll just beat it into your skull!"

Estelle gave a slight smirk to Bakugo since his anger was starting to become humorous to her. "It looks like you already have one Kirishima, but if you get fed up of loudmouth over here. I'll be working at The Beanery all week; you can stop by whenever you need help - as long as it's quiet."

Kirishima gave off a wide grin, completely surprised he wasn't shot down and nodded. "Yeah, sure! Sounds like a plan!"

Bakugo snarled behind him before grabbing the redhead, "You won't need to because I'll be the best goddamn tutor you'll ever have!"

Estelle snorted at the two before walking away.

It had been two days since then, and Estelle was working at The Beanery. She was clearing the table when she heard the door chime and turned to greet the new customers. She was startled to find Kirishima and Bakugo standing at the door awkwardly as if they weren't sure what to do. They pointedly avoided eye contact while Estelle made her way to the boys.

"Hey, I'm guessing you guys are studying here? Follow me" She finished once they nodded. After taking them to a table and providing them with drinks, she spoke up once more, "I'll be hanging around; if you have any questions - I'll be here. Leave me alone when I'm serving customers, though."

The two boys just quietly nodded. That's odd. Estelle ignored it.

The two didn't call out for Estelle for the first hour but watched when she served her customers. They were surprised to find a slightly different Estelle than what they were used to. They figured it made sense since being her usual self would probably drive people away, but it was still strange.

"Hello, pretty girl, how is Nona?" They heard one man ask while he slurped his tea.

Bakugo and Kirishima nearly ejected their drink when they heard Estelle's response. She laughed before saying, "Oh, don't flatter me, old man; Nona is doing well as usual. Drink up before it gets cold."

"Okie dokie, pretty lady."

They chuckled when she raspberried the man once he left; clearly, this was a regular. After some time had passed, Kirishima decided to call on Estelle.

"Estelle, I can't wrap my head around Bakugo's explanation. Can you try?"

Estelle walked up to her classmates and flipped a tablecloth over her shoulder. Leaning over the redhead, she studied the paper to find quadratic formulas.

After describing her way to reach the solution, she left once again to continue working. The noise of Bakugo's magazine hitting Kirishima's head was a constant in the background; Estelle found it entertaining to listen in on Bakugo's excellent teaching.

By excellent, she actually meant aggressive.

This continued throughout the day, working with customers and occasionally with the studying boys. Estelle actually thought it was pleasant having people fill the silence when it was quiet; it prevented her from falling into her thoughts.

"Okay, we'll stop here, lets head back for dinner."

"You got it, bro! Hey, Estelle! Thanks for having us! it was fun!"

"Anytime, I'll see you around," Estelle affirmed as she waved briefly from the counter.

She was shocked to find that they had arrived again the next day. She did say anytime but... not every time. She allowed them into the cafe nevertheless.

"You really do work here a lot!" Kirishima noted as Estelle wiped down more tables.

"Yeah, Nona is getting old. She can't do it all on her own anymore. It's why my schedule is different."

"That's nice of you."

"Midoriya said the same thing, I do what I can."

"Deku was here?!" Bakugo questioned. It was the first time he had spoken to her in the last two days.

"Yeah, he needed some advice a while back. Why?!"

Bakugo didn't respond but sat back in his seat with his arms folded and a pout on his face. Estelle just shrugged at his odd answer and didn't comment. Luckily, the two males gave her space while she worked, only occasionally called by a bashful Kirishima.

"Do you guys want anything to eat?"

"Uh, we don't have any more money."

Estelle waved Kirishima's worries away before stating, "It's on the house; what do you both want?"

After giving them their lunches, she was alarmed when Kirishima grabbed her arm before she was about to leave. He quickly let go once he saw her wince and muttered out a quick sorry.

"Don't worry about it. Do you need help with a question?" Estelle suggested.

Kirishima blushed again and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "No, I just thought that you could sit with us? Just while we eat."

Estelle was a little perplexed at why he would request such a thing, but clearly, he was embarrassed by it, so she took a seat to make him feel better.

He smiled widely when he saw her accept; he was ready to melt in his seat if she refused. It was quiet while they ate. Estelle picked at her fingernails in the silence.

Thankfully, Kirishima broke the silence, who asked, "So why do you stay with Mrs Nona?"

Estelle was pretty blunt with her answer, causing the redhead to choke on his sandwich, "Because I have nobody else."

Understanding the implications of what his classmate was telling him, he timidly asked, "So, your parents?"

"Dead."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's alright; I never knew them."

"Oh! so where were you before you stayed with Nona."

"I was homeless."

"Oh..."

Estelle decided it was time to change the topic; she could see that Bakugo was holding in the fact he was dying inside. "How are you feeling in terms of the final?"

Kirishima sighed in relief and answered, "I'm feeling better than before since I've had yours and Bakugo's help! I appreciate it, guys! I'm a little worried for the practical, though."

"Hah. Good! I told you I was great at teaching. You better pass with flying colours, you hear?!" Bakugo piped up again.

"Yeah yeah, I got it, man. Thanks!" Kirishima returned while he waved his hands defensively.

"What about you, Ruby? How are you feeling?" Estelle invited.

"Tch, I'm feeling great! I'm going to ace it all. I'll show you!"

"Good, that's what I like to hear."

"Tch! By the way, how did you know I like spicy food?"

"I guessed; you seem like a guy who does. I don't blame you; spicy is good."

"Hah! Who would've guessed, Lioness? I would have thought you would like that sweet crap."

"Hmm. I can enjoy both, can I not?"

"Tch, sure, whatever."

The conversation was cut short as another customer walked into the cafe. Estelle sighed tiredly when she saw who it was. It was a man who seemed like they were in their mid-fifties and as if he had never attended a shower in his long life. He walked to a table with a wobble in his step, evidently indicating that he was drunk.

The man growled at Estelle when she asked him what he would like to order.

"Shut up kid, I wanna look at the menu first."

Estelle nodded and went back to the counter to allow the man a few minutes to decide. When she looked up, she realised the man was still looking at the booklet and held off. When more than enough time had passed, Estelle strolled up to the guy once again.

"Anything suit your fancy?"

The man growled again and threw the laminated booklet at Estelle's feet.

"I just told you I wanted a minute to look! You asked me just a few seconds ago! What kind of service is this!?"

Estelle sighed at the ground before looking up at the man who now stood towering over her. "It's been ten minutes."

"Don't talk back at me, young lady; I'll show you who's boss."

Estelle wrinkled her nose at the alcohol in his breath. She glared up at the vermin in front of her. Bakugo and Kirishima watched the encounter, half stood to intervene if needed.

Estelle raised her hand in a stop sign towards her classmates when they started to advance their way to her. This was due to the man now seizing her elbow violently.

"I request that you let go of me, sir, before I put you in your place", she declared, her hair over her eyes which shielded her fury.

The man barked out a laugh while he leered down at her, breaking the last of her patience. Grabbing his arm that was still holding her elbow, Estelle did a side turn and held onto his shoulder, flipping him onto his rear. Growling, she placed her boot on his face and squished him to the floor. His wrath rung out in the room as Estelle pushed her weight down, slamming him further into the ground, causing cracks to slowly rise on the tiles.

"I gave you a warning, and you didn't listen. I'll give you one more. If you so much as look at this place again, I'll hunt you down and rip out your intestines. If you so much as touch another girl, I'll feed your balls to the pigeons. You got it? Good."

"I'll report you! I will! I'll get this place shut down for good!"

"Hah! Do you really think anybody would listen to a drunk? Boohoo, a teenager hurt me because I touched her inappropriately. I have witnesses to the event. You can't do shit. So, take my warning and scram!"

He nodded quickly once Estelle took her foot off his face. Immediately getting up, the man ran to the exit with his wobble. Estelle used her air bending to push him along whilst he made his exit. When he was assuredly gone from sight, Estelle slumped with her eyes closed and gave an exhausted exhale. Opening her eyes, she found Kirishima looking wide-eyed at her and Bakugo watching with an almost proud grin.

"Does that happen a lot?" Kirishima asked quietly. Estelle shook her head in response.

"No, it doesn't. Sorry about that. You can continue." She stated smoothly while she left the front to head to the back room. They silently observed.

Estelle took multiple deep breaths to pull herself together in the backroom before coming back out with a cup of calming tea.