I made it into fourth place.

I accomplished my first job as a pawn.

I don't feel happy about it.

I limp back to the classroom, and sure enough, there are copies of the curriculum on the center desk. Taking one, I limp my way to the locker rooms to change. I wished to be there first to reduce my chances of encountering anyone and said anyone seeing my bandages and scars. Especially seeing my back wounds. Most importantly, I wish to suffer the pain from my arthritis when no one is around. My joints ache like bloody hell but they haven't flared yet, and that concerns me very much. I'm not that lucky, though.

By the time I reach the ladies' locker room, most of the other girls from the class are there. They're chatting about today's test. Hoping not to bring attention to myself, I grab my bag from my locker and quietly find an empty bathroom stall.

Once there, I wince in pain and carefully unravel my bandages. Everyone displayed their quirk today. Including Bakugou-san, Midoriya-san, and Aizawa-sensei, 18 other people demonstrated their quirks. That's 21 people altogether.

21 quirks.

21 wounds, minimum.

I stare at each laceration. Save for the ones on my back, they're each a few millimeters deep. However, the ones on my back are about two centimeters deep. I'm going to have to stitch them. Simply healing them won't be enough. Some have already clotted and some are oozing. Activating my healing ability while taking out a packet of cotton balls and a bottle of rubbing alcohol, I begin to clean my wounds.

I think back to the Quirk Apprehension Test and try to reassure myself that no one noticed that I was in pain. That my years of suppressing any signs of pain have paid off again today. I also realize that Todoroki-san had another quirk, a fire quirk. A quirk he did not use at the entrance exam. He used it very briefly, but one of my lacerations must be from absorbing his fire quirk.

As I clean my wounds, I hear snatches of conversation outside the stall.

"Hi! I'm Ashido Mina!" I hear one voice exclaim in excitement.

"Ribbit! I'm Asui Tsuyu."

Another voice just as energetic as the first one shrieks, "Hey! I'm Hagakure Tooru!"

"Jirou Kyouka."

"Nice to meet all of you. My name is Yaoyorozu Momo."

"I'm Uraraka Ochako."

"I'm so excited. We get to train to become heroes. HEROES! It's been my childhood dream to become one," the girl named Ashido Mina chatters.

"Same here. I've admired them from watching TV. It was watching heroes on TV that actually made me want to become one too," the other energetic one replies.

The other girls say similar things. They form friendships with each other. By the time I have finished cleaning, healing, bandaging the small wounds, and started stitching the back wounds, the girls have exchanged phone numbers.

I feel my arthritis flare and I stifle a gasp. Sitting on the toilet seat, I start massaging my joints and silently cry. This combined with bleeding, I'm in a terrible condition. What's more? Falling unconscious?

Then, as if my luck couldn't get any worse, one of the girls declares, "Wait. There's another girl in our classroom. Where is she?"

"Oh yeah. The one with a cane," someone replies. I think it's that girl, Uraraka Ochako.

Thank you for that kind description, I think in irritation.

"I didn't see her after the results came out. She just vanished. Why do you think she walks with a cane?"

Why do you think someone would walk with a cane? Just for the fun of it? It should be obvious that I have difficulty walking.

Thankfully, the girl named Yaoyorozu Momo answers her question with much more patience than I am feeling right now. At least there's one girl here who has a brain.

"It should be obvious why she carries a cane. She can't walk without one. Walking without one is difficult for her. And there's no reason to treat her differently because of that. She may have a disability but she was in the U.A. entrance exam for recommended students and got admitted. Not to mention, she ranked fourth in the Quirk Apprehension Test."

"Yeah, you're right. She's here to become a hero like the rest of us. Let's talk to her when we see her, alright?"

I freeze. Talk to me. ME. That doesn't bode well for me. If they talk to me, they will ask questions. If they ask questions, they will definitely ask the story behind my cane. If they ask for the story behind my cane, pieces of my past will be revealed. I don't want that to happen. I can't allow that to happen. I-

Stop. Calm down. You're at a prestigious school. Others are bound to talk to you. If they try to talk to you, keep the conversation as light as possible. Divert the conversation from the past at any cost. Make them your acquaintances, not your friends. You're already taking a risk by befriending Todoroki-san, and you don't know his intentions clearly. Your priority is persuading the top heroes here and amassing support for the Hanada Group of Companies. That itself is a risk. Don't take any more.

Don't hurt yourself any more than you have to.