A Twisted Wonderland cross where Fem Izuku is Malleus' younger sister through her father.
Kiseki was still in shock over the fact that the magical realms existed, but at the same time was rather glad her father had apparently made a typo of some sort when filling out the paperwork regarding her birth year.
The first week was rather tense, as it became clear her father had enrolled her in a boy's only school.
Her housewarden, upon discovering that there was a female student, had immediately adjusted the room assignments so that she had her own room.
She still didn't know how she ended up in an all boy's school, but all the headmage would tell her was that she fit the very, very narrow technicality that allowed such things.
Pomefiore was a bit different, but it lacked the sheer amount of general toxicity that she experienced at home.
Then again, it had taken a bit for her to realize that quirks weren't as predominant here...if at all. The status that had given her so much grief didn't exist here, and she was now the same as everyone else.
It was so strange to go from an implied second-class citizen to the same as everyone else. It was strangely freeing.
Another plus was that the school store sold plenty of her favorite supplies, and she was able to enjoy her favorite hobby of drawing without fear of her work being destroyed by that asshole Bakugo.
Having an actual model for a housewarden was pretty interesting, because she began to use him as her base model for her designs.
Though to avoid invading his privacy, and since he was pretty clear he didn't want people taking pictures of him, she looked up some old magazine articles so she could sketch his face properly without being creepy about it. It had taken her a bit, but fortunately most of the first year classes were filled with theory.
She still had some issue with the face proportions, but it was still recognizably Vil.
Realizing she had run out of her favorite pencil, which she would need if she was going to drawn the right shade of purple for the hair, she sighed and put her sketchpad into her bag along with marking the magazine page she had been using for a reference.
Unnoticed, a certain blond picked up the sketchpad she dropped while she went to get more supplies.
A bit later...
Vil looked at the sketches with some interest. It was clear that the freshman was using him as the model base, but it was the outfit that really caught his attention.
He had no issue with the sketches...they took effort and were unlikely to be posted to the internet.
He skimmed the older pictures and noticed how some of them looked...scorched. Almost like they had been close to a potions blast. The thing that bugged him was the fact that the blast in question looked almost like a handprint.
Kiseki came back, and was clearly looking for her sketchpad. The dejected posture said volumes of how she didn't believe she would be able to locate it.
When she returned to the dorm, Vil handed her the book back.
"You dropped this earlier. The drawings are good, but the proportions are off," he said.
"I know, but the magazines are a bit expensive and I still can't get MagiCam to work on my phone," said Kiseki calmly. She was clearly surprised and relieved to have her book back. Undamaged even.
Vil had taken a professional look at the drawings. They were rather good, and it was clear she had a real knack for it. Very few people could sketch a person's face freehand while only using a magazine for reference.
"I don't mind being used as a base for your drawings, however if you ever plan to post them online you will need to run them by me first."
Kiseki blinked under her bangs.
"You're not mad?" she asked.
"They're surprisingly good for someone your age," he replied. "Have you ever taken classes?"
Kiseki shook her head.
"I tried, but they were too expensive and sometimes I was unable to show my work due to outside interference."
Bakugo always seemed to know whenever she planned to submit her better drawings and would deliberately go out of his way to destroy any of her sketchbooks just to be a bastard.
Vil eyed her for a moment.
"If you're going to continue using me as a base, then you should have something to work with," said Vil. Getting copies of magazines that features articles from him was easy.
He could only imagine how wide her eyes were when he left a good sized box just inside the door of her private room containing old fashion magazines.
Vil was rather pleased when he saw her actually studying the magazines. Rook had been keeping tabs on the 'duckling' as Vil had taken to calling her, and it was clear she was using the now outdated fashions as a reference for her own drawing.
In all honesty, he was not surprised when Kiseki chose two of the lower-key clubs to join, rather than anything like the Spell drive club or the Equestrian club.
He knew she would be fine in the Pop Music Club and the board games club.
"So your phone is too old to handle MagiCam? That sucks," said Cater sympathetically.
"I have no idea who to talk to about fixing the issue. But I don't mind that much," said Kiseki.
"Have you considered asking someone from Ignihyde? They're pretty good at technology, especially their housewarden," said Lilia.
"Ignihyde?" said Kiseki.
"I think their housewarden is in the board game club," said Cater.
"...Flaming blue hair, golden eyes, nervous nature?" she asked.
"Sounds about right. The guy sends his tablet to class all the time from what I heard," said Cater. "So how are you liking Night Raven? Can't be easy being the only girl here."
"...Actually, I like it better than I ever did my old school. Here, no one brags about their quirks or even care."
"Quirks?" said Lilia.
Kiseki perked up and went into a lecture mode.
"It all started with a child that was born quite literally glowing in China..." she started.
Cater, Lilia and Kalim stared at how...animated...she became talking about quirks and how they worked. It was pretty clear she had done a lot of studying into the subject.
"You seem pretty well informed on the subject," said Cater tactfully.
"So what's your ability?" asked Kalim.
Kiseki slumped.
"I don't have one," she said slumping. It was clear from her tone and the way she said this that it was a sore subject for her. "My mom took me to a doctor to find out why nothing had manifested, and he said that because of some missing toe joint I'll never have one."
Cater was the first to connect the dots.
"Let me guess...because of how prevalent these quirks are, people harassed you because you didn't have one?"
Her silence was particularly damning. Kalim gave her a one armed hug, which she gladly accepted.
"Aside from the expected comments about my gender, it's a lot nicer here than it ever was at home. Even if I haven't been able to contact my mother because my laptop has trouble connecting to back home."
"Yeah, I'd really ask the Ignihyde housewarden for help," said Cater. "The guy is seriously smart when it comes to that sort of stuff."
Kiseki kept that in mind for the next time the club had a meeting.
In the board game club...
Idia was incredibly nervous (she could relate) but was interested about the issues she was having with her phone and laptop. The only real issue was that she didn't have enough money to pay him.
"I can look at it, but if it needs any parts to fix the issue it won't be cheap," said Idia.
Kiseki looked disappointed.
"Perhaps I can be of assistance then," said another freshman. Kiseki turned to him. "I'm planning to start up a restaurant in my dorm, and I'll need people to work."
She perked up at that. She had been having trouble affording her art supplies lately.
"What's the base pay and how often?" she asked seriously. "Also, I want to make it clear that in no way will I agree to 'service' any customers outside of acting as a waitress at most."
As she hammered out the details with the older male (his name was Azul), his estimation of the lone female student went up. She had intelligence and was smart enough to ask the right questions.
Idia sat quietly while they hammered out the details.
"I'll write up a contract later tonight," said Azul.
"Is it alright if I ask my housewarden to look it over?" she asked. "I'm not familiar with professional contracts, and I would rather not have anyone breathing down my neck because I signed the wrong spot."
Azul's estimation of her went up again.
"By all means," he agreed, as that was rather sensible.
"Sorry we were ignoring you for so long, Shroud-sempai," said Kiseki apolegetically.
"It's fine," said Idia calmly. "In any case, do you want me to start working on the laptop and phone now, or after the contract is signed?"
"It might be better to wait until I've signed the contract and received my first check. That way I'll know how much I have to save up in case the issue requires I replace either device entirely."
Vil later examined and approved the contract, with a stern warning that Kiseki not allow it to impact her grades.
In the Monstro Lounge
Kiseki loved the underwater theme. It was absolutely beautiful and enchanting.
"I can see why you had it set here! The view is amazing!" she said enthusiastically.
"I'm glad you approve," said Azul, smiling. "Now, about the menus and promotional material..."
"What exactly are you planning to sell for your grand opening, and what is the theme of the restaurant? I can tell it's underwater, but not much more than that."
Azul's smirk never left his face as he outlined the general theme, as well as the starting menu for the soon to be opened restaurant.
"What's this? Tako-chan brought back a baby dolphin?" asked one of the tweels. It took her a second to register this was likely Floyd, the more eccentric twin.
Kiseki observed him for a moment before cautiously asking "You're Floyd-san, right?"
The tweel smirked at her.
"I'm impressed you recognized him. Most people have trouble telling us apart."
Kiseki almost jumped, but turned to face the other twin.
"You're Jade-san, correct? I don't see why people have such issue telling you apart," said Kiseki honestly. "For one thing, while both of you are superficially different, you're personalities are almost nothing alike."
Seeing she had not only the tweel's interest, but Azul as well, she continued.
"Floyd-san holds himself in a more relaxed fashion, is more likely to wear his outfit loosely and his personality is somewhat mercurial from what Cater-sempai has told me. On the other hand, Jade-san is as well dressed as Azul-san, and holds himself in a more composed, calculating matter. While everyone is watching for what Floyd-san will do, it's Jade-san who strikes from an angle no one sees coming," she explained.
The lounge was silent, but Floyd was the first to break it. He was grinning broadly at the fact she had picked it up so fast despite having next to no contact with them previously.
Kiseki didn't squeak when Floyd threw a loose arm around her shoulders, but it was a near thing.
"Little dolphin is a lot smarter and more observant than people expect," he cackled.
"Agreed. Very few people register Jade as an actual threat until it's too late, as they're too busy watching for Floyd's mercurial nature," said Azul with genuine respect. "It's one thing to be able to tell them apart...it's another to recognize Jade as equally dangerous."
With how often she spent watching hero versus villain videos or observing them directly, she'd be an idiot not to pick up on it.
Floyd was a threat, of course...however she had noticed the way Jade would slink around while his brother drew everyone's attention and would observe the situation with an expression that made her incredibly wary.
On the plus side, she had gained the approval of the trio.
