The next day Keralynn and Reika met up with Tokoyami and Koda in front of the 1-A classroom. Aizawa walks up to them and explains to Keralynn how he'll explain to the class how they will introduce themselves to her. He explained how she'll come in and write her name on the board when he calls her. Lastly he explains that they will test her quirk with the others in a simple Hide n Seek game for their afternoon training. "Don't worry Kera, We're here for you. You can teach us more about your quirk after school." Reika said before she and Tokoyami walked into the classroom.
Koda looks down at her, realizing how much taller he is compared to her. "If you ever get overwhelmed by anyone, You can always come find me." He said as he smiled at her.
"Thanks, Koda." She said as she smiled, making him blush. He turns and walks into the classroom.
He sat down in his seat and put his head on his desk. "Why did I say that to her?" He asked himself, his voice sounding muffled. 'What is going on with me? I just met her and yet, why do I feel so weird when I'm around her? I don't understand what's going on.' He thought. He sat up when he heard Aizawa walk in.
"Alright everyone, get to your seats. Before we begin today's classes, We have a special guest with us visiting from the United States. A friend of Miss Takami's. But before I introduce her to the class there are a few…things that Takami must go over with you all." Aizawa explained. Reika stood from her seat and walked to the front of the class.
"It's as Mr. Aizawa said, She is a dear friend of mine from the United States, who just arrived yesterday. We were Penpals for a long time so this is her first time in Japan. I hope that you will all make her feel welcomed as my brother and I have. There are a few things I'd like to ask you all, some to do and not to do, if you will. One is that she gets overwhelmed very easily, so I ask you all not to ask her too many questions about her or her quirk. Ask her too many questions all at once and she'll shut down. If that happens then she'll run off, trying to find somewhere safe. Two is that she'll often put herself down, thinking that everyone is better than her. This is due to her upbringing and because of it she has some depression. Last is her appearance. Knowing her, she'll most likely walk into this room hiding some key parts of her. She'll wear a hat to hide her ears and she'll hide her tail under her shirt, wrapping it around her stomach or lining it up with her spine underneath her shirt. She isn't too fond of being what she calls herself, a monster. But for us, she's a neko. Also, sure she's a little on the chubby side and knowing that, I know some of you are dying to poke her stomach. She doesn't mind people poking her stomach due to all the foreigners who visit the United States. But ask her before you start poking. It's rude not to ask for her permission." Reika explains in a serious tone. She stands up straight with her hands on her hips. "Can I count on all of you to abide by these things we ask of you and make her feel welcomed here in Japan?"
"Yes ma'am!" Everyone says.
She looks at them in slight annoyance. "Now that just made me feel old. Oh well, that's all I have to say." She said as she walked back to her seat.
"Now that everyone knows some of the more important things about her, I want everyone to be on your BEST behavior." Aizawa said. He looks towards the doorway, seeing her peeking into the room and motions her to come in.
Keralynn takes a deep breath and opens the door. She walks in, shuts the door, and walks towards Aizawa. She turns to the chalkboard, picks up a stick of chalk, and begins to write her name in Japanese kanji. She then writes her name in English underneath before turning around, bowing towards the class. "M-morning everyone. My name is Keralynn Mayson. I'm a first year student in National Hero Academy's Hero Support course. As of two days ago, NHA is on their summer vacation. When sessions start back up again in the fall, I will be a second year." She begins to speak in Japanese. She stands up straight as everyone sees her eyes. "I hope I get to know each and every one of you during my time here in Japan." She smiles cutely.
Koda blushes but hides it with his hand. 'There's that adorable smile of hers again. Wait, why do I think it's adorable?' He thought.
"Holy cow! She's a total hottie!" Mineta says as his eyes form into hearts.
'Of course he would say that. The perverted bastard.' He thought in annoyance. He glances towards Shoji, getting a strange feeling in his chest. He notices that Shoji was staring at Keralynn, eyes widened. Just like he did the day before. 'Why is he looking at her like that?' He looked back at Aizawa as he began to speak again.
"Today, she is here as a guest. As Miss Takami had explained, she gets overwhelmed easily. So ask your questions wisely and one at a time. But for now, She will sit with Miss Takami and class will start." He explained. Keralynn walks to Reika's seat and sits down in the spare chair.
During their study time between classes, Reika used two of her feathers to take Keralynn's hat off without her noticing. Once morning classes were over, All the girls crowded Reika's desk.
"Wow! A real American neko girl! Sooo cuuuute!" Hagakure said.
"How are you able to create your illusions?" Uraraka asked as she smiled.
"Uh. I-I sing." She said as she looked at all the girls.
"You can sing?! I'd love to hear your singing sometime! I'm sure we all do." Jiro said as she looked around as the guys started to crowd around Reika's desk. Tokoyami, Koda, and Shoji Stood behind Reika and Keralynn.
"I sent her the video that the twins and Principal Nezu took of the school festival's performance and she knows that song by heart after just a week." Reika said.
"I-I'm not that good, really. I never had the training that Jiro had for her singing." Keralynn said.
"Please sing for us sometime! I'd love to hear you sing my song along with me." She asked as her eyes sparkled.
"Alright, I will." Keralynn said as she smiled.
"You said that you were in the Hero support course at NHA, but why are you in Hero Support if your quirk is so powerful that your illusions can become real and cause major damage to the enemies?" Yaorouzu asked. She looks away in sadness, refusing to answer.
"That wasn't my quirk in the video that went viral. It was a monster's. Sure those 'Things' captured the villains that were causing trouble in the city that night. But what everyone never saw in that video, was that there were also a lot of casualties caused by those illusions…no…they weren't illusions anymore. They were monsters created by a monster, and those monsters injured so many people, so many civilians. So many lives ruined, so many lives that could have been lost, because of me." She explained in a sad tone, her voice getting quieter as she spoke.
"Alright everyone, I think that's enough questions for now. Why don't we all get some lunch." Reika explained as she wrapped her arm around her shoulders. Koda and Shoji look at her with sadness in their eyes.
Koda tries to put his hand on her shoulder, but hesitates. Shoji places his hand on her shoulder instead. "But your quirk is amazing, Mayson! I'm sure that we can figure out how your illusions become real and we can all help you train so that you can learn to control that power up of yours." He explained.
"We could request to borrow the training room on our day off to help her." Tokoyami suggested. "Reika, Koda and I are going to research about her quirk after school, see if we can figure something out that way."
"Hold on? How does Koda know Mayson already?" Mineta asked as he glared at Koda. He took a small step back.
"He met her yesterday when we brought her home from the airport. Him and Fumi were getting her room ready for her arrival." Reika half lied to them.
"Reika! Why didn't you tell us that you had a friend from out of the country?!" Mina asked.
"It was never brought up." She said as she shrugged.
Keralynn giggled before she started to yawn. Her yawn was similar to a cat's, but she had no fangs. Koda and Shoji both blushed at her yawn. Koda a little more than Shoji. "Sorry guys. My body isn't used to the time change yet." She said tiredly. The girls giggled.
'So cute.' Shoji thought.
'So adorable!' Koda thought.
'Looks like these two, show some interest in Mayson.' Tokoyami thought as he glanced at Koda, then at Shoji then back at Koda, noticing him blushing more than Shoji. 'Well now, this will prove to be an interesting couple of weeks.' He smiled.
"What are you smiling about?" Shoji asked.
He smirked. "Nothing." He simply said.
Everyone sees Keralynn yawn again. "So cute!" All the girls said at the same time.
"Looks like Mayson here needs a cat nap." Sero said.
Once lunch was over the afternoon classes started up. Everyone was asked to change into their uniforms and meet Aizawa in Training Area Gamma, which was an open area surrounded by a large forest. "Today, you will all train against Mayson's illusions. I'm sure all of you have watched the video of her quirk at least once. You will all be split up into teams of four, much like the training you all did with Class B and Shinzo. Since there are twenty-one of you, Reika will be on all of your teams as the fifth member. Your teams will be determined by the number you pull. The goal for every team is the same. Find Mayson. If you haven't found her by the time she stops singing, you fail. You can choose to either fight her illusions or try and dodge them from attacking you." He explained as he held out a box that had the letter A on it. Everyone picked a number between one through five from the box as Keralynn wrote down the songs she sings in each match.
Team 1: Sero, Mineta, Shoji, and Todoroki. Song: Let It Go, from Frozen. (((Demi Levato version)))
Team 2: Aoyama, Yaoyorozu, Bakugo, and Ojiro. Song: Strangers Like Me, From Tarzan.
Team 3: Tokoyami, Uraraka, Hagakure, and Kirishima. Song: Angel of Darkness, by Alex C Feat. Yasmin K.
Team 4: Midoriya, Kaminari, Ashido, and Sato. Song: Electric, By Katy Perry.
Team 5: Asui, Koda, Jiro, and Iida. Song: A Million Miles Away (English Version) From Belle.
During each match, only one or two students were able to hear her sing. But very few classmates found where she was hiding. Reika was the only one who knew where exactly she was hiding with every team but never told anyone. For Team 1: Only Shoji could hear her. For Team 2: Aoyama and Bakugo. Team 3: Tokoyami. Shoji and Mineta were the only ones able to find where Keralynn was hiding from Team 1. Team 2 Lost.
Tokoyami watched the first two matches before his training began. He watched Shoji closely, to see how he acts during his training. 'I may not quite understand the lyrics and I don't think Shoji is paying attention to them, but he looks determined enough to find her.' He thought. He looks over to Koda, who was mesmerized by her singing, not even paying attention to the training. 'You may have a formidable rival, Koda.' He looks to the live feed of Reika, trying to keep herself from laughing while dodging the illusions of giant ice golems and demonic snowmen. He smiles. 'Looks like my Dove is having fun. I wonder what she's laughing about? I'll have to ask her about it during my training.' During the second team's turn Keralynn created animals, such as gorillas and cheetahs. When it was time for the third team's turn. They all met up in the clearing.
"I wonder what she'll throw at us?" Uraraka asked.
"I don't know but I'm excited." Hagakure said.
"I'm getting pumped up! Let's get this game rolling!" Kirishima said.
"I noticed that you were trying not to laugh in the first round, Dove. Why was that?" Tokoyami asked as he looked at Reika.
"Oh. The song she sang was sorta meant for Todoroki to use his fire. The movie it's originally from basically has a character that has ice powers like him, so I thought she was pranking him. Anyway, I just hope she doesn't sing…This song." Reika said as the sky became black as night with stars shining brightly. They look towards the forest as they see a woman wearing a long black dress with a stun gun in one hand and a black thorned halo in the other. The woman opens her blue eyes and flies into the air with pitch black wings. "Oh no…Kera please no…Why couldn't it have been Friends on the Other Side, or even the stupid Raining Tacos song? Any song but this one. " She says to herself.
"What's wrong, Dove?" Tokoyami asked.
"Fumi, are you still able to control Dark Shadow comfortably right now?" She asks.
"Yes, Why? What's wrong?" He asks again in a worried tone.
"I guess she thought that this song would be better for Dark Shadow and I. But this one isn't the best of songs for her." She explained. "Everyone! Leave the angel of darkness to me! For now your only goal is to find Kera! Hagakure, please be prepared to shed light onto Fumi if Dark Shadow goes out of control! Keep a close eye on the stars, once the stars start to die, Fumi will start to lose control of Shadow. Also keep a lookout for dark creatures in the forest. This angel isn't alone." She explained as she flew into the air and started fighting the angel of darkness.
"Since I have the face of a bird, I also have the hearing of a bird. I will be the one to find Mayson. Hagakure, Kirishima, you're with me, Uraraka, please help Reika with the angel." He said. They all agreed. During their game Hagakure and Kirishima got separated from Tokoyami but he found Keralynn just before he lost control of Dark Shadow.
As Koda and Shoji watched the game, Shoji was mesmerized by her song and the illusions she made, but Koda felt that something was wrong. He thinks back to the night before when they were talking about her quirk and remembers something important, his eyes widened. "If I sing for more than ten minutes straight, then I become weak and sickly. That's the downside to my quirk." He hears her voice ring in his head.
"Mr. Aizawa, How long has it been since Mayson started singing for the first round?" He asked in a worried tone. Aizawa looks down at his watch.
"I'd say about fifteen minutes, give or take the time to get everyone situated." He said.
His eyes widened more. "This round has to stop, right now!" He said in a growing worried tone.
"But why, their match just started?" Kaminari asked.
"I noticed that she put her hat on and hid her face during the second round." Shoji said. He looks towards Koda. "Do you think she's hiding something from us?"
Aizawa looks down in thought then talks into an earpiece. "Takami, do you copy?" He asked into the earpiece.
"Loud and clear Mr Aizawa but I can't talk now." Reika's voice was heard as sharp feathers clashed with shocks and a metal hoop.
"Is there a downside to Mayson's Quirk?" He asked.
"I think her downside is laryngitis for a couple of days, nothing major." She replied.
Aizawa looks at Koda as his phone goes off, indicating a text message from Keralynn. "Tell Mr. Aizawa I'll be alright. I can handle my downside for a long period of time. But after everyone's training is over, I won't be able to speak for a few days. I could but I would sound like an old lady with strep throat." She texted him.
"Why would she lie about her downside? Koda, do you know what her real downside is?" He asked. He nodded his head.
"If she sings for more than a period of time then she becomes very weak and sickly. She also won't be able to speak for a few days. I'm surprised as to why she would lie to Takami about it." He said worriedly.
"We're heading back now. Fumi found her before he lost control of Shadow." Reika said as she panted.
All Might walks up the stairs of the waiting area, feeling a worrying aura around Koda. "I've gotta go talk to her!" He said as he tried to leave but Aizawa stopped him.
"No one is going anywhere. I will go get Recovery Girl while teams four and five start strategizing. We're gonna take a thirty minute break for her to recover. Your teams know the names of the songs she chose for your matches." He said as he ran off and team three returned. "All Might. Watch the students for me!"
"What's going on?" Reika asked.
"The downside she told you about is only half of what it truly is." Koda said before he saw her slowly walking up the stairs with pale skin and sunken green eyes. "KERALYNN!" He and Shoji both ran to her.
"Mayson, are you alright?" He asked.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me. I need to go find a hiding spot before Team 4 starts their-" She said in a tired tone before falling into Koda's arms.
"You are obviously NOT fine, Kera. Why didn't you tell me about THIS part of your downside? This would have been helpful and we would have known if you needed any breaks between matches." Reika lectured.
"I didn't want to worry anyone." She said as Koda picked her up. He hugs her close.
"I should have noticed it sooner that you needed a rest before the third match began. I'm sorry, Keralynn." Koda said in a sad tone.
"Don't worry. A few minutes of rest and I'll be good as new." She said as she smiled weakly. She hears his heartbeat as it lulls her into a gentle sleep. The other two teams would have to do their training when she is fully healed.
It was finally time to begin the mission to save the animals from the HPSC. Tokoyami, Keralynn, and Koda met with Lionzo. Koda noticed that Keralynn still looked a little sickly. Lionzo explained the plan as Koda relayed it to Tokoyami and Keralynn. The boys noticed something about Keralynn, she talked and asked questions to Lionzo as if she could understand him. Reika was at home with the twins and Yukihime setting up the cameras on Tokoyami and Koda's shoulders. "There's no doubt that the three of you will need to split up. Kera, you're staying with Koda, you're safer with him than Fumi with your condition." Reika explained.
"I won't let her leave my side." Koda said.
"From the intel that we received from Links, all of the animals work together to create the mechs. One creates the body, one creates the A.I., and the last one uses its telekinetic ability to hold the body together while the humans weld them." Lionzo said.
"It's most likely that all four of them are in three different areas of the base, so we'll have to be very sneaky when getting in. That being said, I'm sure that they take the tigress away from her kit when they need her to make the mechs, so they might be in four different places instead of three." Keralynn said as she looked down in thought.
"Which is where this thing comes in." Lionzo said as he held Yuki in his mouth by the scruff. "She escaped their grasp a couple years ago when her quirk awakened." All three of them looked at Yuki with eyes widened.
"Yuki? What are you doing here, you should be at home." Koda said as he gently took her from Lionzo. Once he took her from Lionzo, she hops out of his arms and into Keralynn's, cuddling her cheek. She giggles.
"Oh no little one. I'm not gonna explain it to him 'bunny'. That's all on you." She said.
"How do you know what she's saying?" Tokoyami asked.
"Ummm…I guess I can just tell?" She said in a questionable way.
Reika giggled. "I'll tell you later, Fumi. She'll tell Koda when she's ready." She said.
They successfully infiltrated the base an hour later. They split up into teams to find each animal. Tokoyami and Lionzo searched for the tigress and her kit while Koda and Keralynn searched for the rabbit and the dog. It took a couple more hours, but they finally rescued the animals. Koda used his quirk to keep the animals calm and to follow them. Keralynn held the black rabbit, while Koda held Yuki, and the dog, a three month old white shepherd, pointer mix, followed them. "Once we meet up with Tsukuyomi, Yuki should be able to warp us out." He said.
She looks at him in slight confusion before realizing that Tsukuyomi is Tokoyami's hero name. "If I remember correctly, yours is Anima, right?" She asked. He looks at her and smiles as a red blush appears on his cheeks, hidden from the mask.
"That's right. H-How did you know that?" He asked. She smiles at him.
"Reika has told me all about Class 1-A. But she told me about you and Toko- Tsukuyomi the most. So out of all of your classmates, you and Tsukuyomi were the ones I was most excited to meet in person. Plus I wanted to see what sort of person my best friend's boyfriend is and see why she trusts him so much. From the way she described you got me curious about who you were as a person. And I'm glad I'm getting to know more and more about you because of it. You are a really interesting person." She explained.
"Y-You think so?" He asked shyly.
"Of course I do." She said.
He blushed more as he felt his heart skip a beat. 'What is this feeling I have, and why does it make me feel so…so happy right now?' He thought to himself as he looked down at Yuki staring up at him.
"It's only been a couple of days and already you're crushing on her. Why am I not surprised?" He hears Reika's voice through the ear piece.
"Wh-What do you mean Takami?" He stuttered to ask.
"How are you talking to Reika, Koda? I don't hear her." She asks as she looks at him.
"Only you can hear me, Koda. I'm wondering if the image you had of her, before you met her, was a sign." She explained.
"A sign…How so?" He asks. She giggles.
"Let's give this new feeling of your's some more time. After a few more days, I think you'll figure out what you're feeling. Fumi and I will gladly lend an ear or two if you ever want to talk about it." She said.
After fighting off some of the commission members in mechs, they finally escaped the HPSC base. A few days later, Keralynn was back to normal and Class 1-A resumed their training. But for the past few days, Koda had been coming to school wearing bandages on his head. He tries to pay attention to ectoplasm's math lecture but to no avail. 'It's no use! No matter how hard I try, I can't get her out of my head. What is wrong with me?' He thinks to himself. He looks to Shoji, who stares at Keralynn working on the assignment for fun. 'And why does Shoji keep looking at her like that? It makes me feel really mad for some reason. And he's been spending more time with her. Every time I try to talk to her, he jumps in and talks to her before I get the chance!'
He looks down and notices Dark Shadow place a note on his desk. It only said for him to talk to Tokoyami during Team 4's training. After their math class was over, teams 4 and 5 got into their uniforms while teams 1-3 got into their gym clothes and went to Training area beta. Team 4 started their match as Tokoyami walked up to him. "You've been hitting your head against the walls of your room haven't you, Koda? Not only that but you appear to be thinking of other things, rather than the lectures." He said as he sat down next to him.
"Is it that obvious, Tokoyami? I don't know what's wrong with me, but whenever I see Shoji looking at Keralynn the way he does. Talking to her before I get a chance to even open my mouth, really pisses me off and I don't know why." He explains.
"Sounds like you're jealous of him. We're not surprised that you would be. Both you and Shoji like the same person." He said.
"Of course we like her, she's an amazing friend to all of us. It's going to be hard on us when she goes back to her country. For a lot of us, things will go back to normal, but-..." He began to say. He looks down in sadness.
"You don't want her to go, do you." Tokoyami finished. He nodded his head.
"I don't know why but whenever I think about her, I always get this weird feeling in my chest. And I get really happy when I talk to her." He said.
"What you're feeling towards her, is the same feeling as what I feel towards Rei. Just on a weaker scale. But if you give it until she leaves. It just may grow to be just as strong, if not stronger as to what I feel for Rei." He explained.
"But doesn't Shoji like her too?" He asked.
"The both of you may have a crush on her now, yes, but it appears to me that you are the one that is starting to fall for her." He said.
"Fall for her?" He asks himself. "What do you mean by that? You're not talking about love, are you? That's impossible. She's only been here for about a week." He turns his head towards Tokoyami.
He smiles. "If you still feel the way you do by the time she leaves. Then it is proof that you are falling in love. Who knows, maybe she'll become the most precious person in your life, someday." He said as he stood up and walked back to his team.
He blushes madly. "Wh-What's THAT supposed to mean, Tokoyami?" He asked. He just chuckles and looks at him from over his shoulder.
"You will have to figure that out on your own, just as I did." He said.
Shoji walks up to Koda. "Isn't Mayson's singing amazing, Koda?" He asked him.
"H-Huh? Oh…..Y-Yeah, it's beautiful. She's just as talented as Jiro." He said as he watched the live feed of Team 4, running out of time. "I should start getting ready for our training." He said as he stood up and started walking towards the stairs.
"Are you alright, Koda? You've been acting strange since Mayson came to Japan." Shoji asked in a worried tone.
"I'm fine, Shoji. I just have a lot I need to figure out right now." He said, not making eye contact with him.
"It's about Mayson, isn't it? You like her too, don't you?" He asks.
"I don't know yet. That's what I'm going to figure out during my training today. You say you like her, yet you didn't even notice that she was suffering from her quirk the other day. You only paid attention to her singing, rather than her health. In your own match, you didn't even pay attention to her singing. You were too determined to find her that you only did by pure chance. This is a training session where we have to use our eyes and ears, something you and Jiro know a lot about. And yet you didn't use your ears. Only your eyes." He explained in a serious, almost angered tone that was very out of character for even him.