First Day

"Class 1A. 1A, 1A, 1A, 1A…" Mina was not having an easy time trying to find her class. Had she woken up earlier, she'd have more time to find the right class. But no, she was only a few minutes from being late; not the best look on the first day. "Aha! There it i- whoa!" It wasn't too common for her to trip over herself, being how much she dances and practices her footwork; first-day jitters must be getting to her.

But it wasn't all that bad, seeing as she was caught by a familiar voice. "A lovely girl like you should be more careful." Oh man.

"Why's that? It seems my prince charming is always here to catch my fall." She was going to have fun with this.

"I suppose there's no helping it then." He smiled and set her back down. "It seems luck brought us together once again. It was a good thing I found you at the right time." He was thinking about her?

"Awn. Were you worried about me?" she batted her eyelashes playfully.

"Mm; it was close to the start of class. Kirishima-san asked me to go look for you; he said you were never one for building navigation." Thanks Eijiro! She owed him one.

"Yeah, I had just found my class before gracefully tripping on my own feet." That made him chuckle.

"What class are you in?"

"1A! Now way they put me in the spare parts class."

"Don't discredit the efforts of those in 1B; I'm sure they put their all into the test. But it is fortunate that we are in the same class; I have the feeling I'll be saving you more than twice." YES! They were in the same class! "We should hurry; there's only a minute left for class to start."

"Great idea! Lets go!" they made there way into the classroom and took their seats (which were also next to each other; score). Everyone was chatting and she joined in with Eijiro and Ochako who were next to her. She looked around, a nice variety of people in this class. She'd always been used to normal looking people and feeling out of place. Most of the guys in her high school either called her exotic because of her pink skin and black sclera and horns. Nobody called her lovely until Jahaad, the most ordinary person she ever met. It was part of the reason she has a crush on him; His looks didn't hurt, either. Man, she had to get his number. "Hey, Jah-

The door to the classroom suddenly opened. Nobody was there, which was weird. But that's not what confused Mina; for the slightest fraction of a second the face of her crush contorted to something she never wished to see again: terror. She blinked and he was gone, appearing right next to the room's threshold; dark orbs of an indigo-black liquid constantly fluctuating around him. His now blank face stared down at what looked like a yellow sleeping bag, "Who are you?" He was a completely different person.

The entire class was silent.

"Stand down, kid." A gravely voice came from the yellow object, standing up to reveal… a hobo?

Instant recognition came across Jahaad as he dispersed the orbs and bowed, "I apologize for the unseemly display, sensei. I hadn't sensed your presence."

"it's quite alright; Yuri wasn't much different when I first met her. I will have to teach you more advanced methods of aura-sensing, as with Endorsi…" the hobo-sensei looked around, "who is not present."

"She had something to do today; she will be here tomorrow. I'll inform her of your hidden presence."

"Good." He turned to the class, "The rest of you, however, are already halfway to being expelled." Huh? Why?

"That's bullshit!" a short, purple -( haired?) kid shouted, "We haven't even done anything!"

"Exactly my point; none of you thought of the possible dangers I present or tried to back up Jahaad." He stared daggers at the small boy, "Had I been a villain, and Jahaad not been there, how many of you do you think I could kill?" No retort came from the boy. Content with himself, Mr. Hobo continued, "Now, onto business." He walked to the teachers' desk and brought out a box of blue exercise clothes, setting it on the desk. "Everybody head up to this desk and get a gym uniform that you fit in. Jahaad, being that you're already standing up, hand out the uniforms that the other students request."

Oh. Oh no. Mina flushed; why did things have to be this way? Eijiro leaned over to her, "That's rough." He snickered.

"Shut up! I bet you wish you were up there, instead."

"Huh?"

"You want to see how juicy Ochako's ass is huh? How indecent of you." She laughed at his light blush, a bit odd that he hadn't turned as red as his hair. Unless; "Or have you already done that." His face got significantly darker, "No way!" She giggled, "I knew you had it in you!"

"Shhhh! Why do you gotta be so loud all the time?" He glanced over to Ochako, who was already up and in line. He smiled.

"Well, it seems you're happy, I'm glad for you. I expect all the details later, though."

"Yep! Now all that's left is you and your crush." Eijiro smirked; he'd probably been waiting for this kind of payback. "I don't think he would care about your size anyway; you're fairly fit."

"Yeah, I guess. It's just the policy of the matter." She sighed.

"Yeah, yeah; whatever. Let's go." They walked over to the line. It didn't take much to get her uniform, which she was much less nervous about after thinking it over a few times. Why would he care about her size? And if he did, he probably wasn't that great of a guy anyway. But instead, he was very cordial with everyone; that aura of professionalism practically dripped off his tongue when he spoke. They shared some lighthearted banter before she followed the rest of the girls to the females' locker room.

--0--

On the other side, Eijiro had nearly finished changing when the door opened with Jahaad entering. "Ah, what's up man?" from what Eijiro knew, he was a cool guy; not to mention Mina's future boyfriend. He smirked; all was worth it now.

"Mm, good morning Kirishima-san. We have only 10 minutes left to be out at Ground Zulu for a quirk strength and endurance test, but I believe that is plenty of time." As odd as his vocabulary was, Jahaad was always friendly and pleasant to be around.

"Did you tell the girls?"

"One of them has a hearing quirk; I was loud enough so she could hear across the wall. Jirou-san, were you able to attain the information I have provided?" After a second, he gave a gentle smile, "Do not worry, I am able to hear you loud and clear." Another pause. "Yes, Ground Zulu; if the ladies wish, we can all go as a class. That way, nobody would be lost.

--0--

Ochako looked around the locker room, hoping she had changed fast enough to hide the dark spot just below her collar bone. She joined the rest of the girls, noticing Mina at the center of attention. She had probably the most toned body out of them; she heard from Ei-kun that she did dance in her off time. She also noticed the purplette, Jirou if she remembered correctly, sitting on a bench and taking to herself. "Hey Jirou, whatcha doing?"

The purplette looked at her and stood up, walking to the group. "Hey, that Jahaad kid said that we have about 10ish minutes to finish up and head to Ground Zulu. He asked if we all wanted to go together as a class to not leave anyone behind." Huh? How was she talking to him?

"How were you talking to him?" a forest-green haired girl, Asui, asked.

"Well I have super hearing, so it was no problem for me. I guess he does, too." But he had that magic stuff last week; is he able to enhance his senses with it as well?

"So you mean he can hear us?"

After a second, Jirou nodded. "He said yes."

"If that's the case…" Ochako sneaked up behind Mina. The pink girl didn't know, but Ei-kun told her about the little crush. A small prank wouldn't hurt anyone. "Ha!" She latched on to Mina's undressed figure, groping at her chest and making her yelp in surprise.

"Ochako!" she squeaked, "W-what are you doing!?" It was honestly adorable, and payback felt great.

"Karma~" she sung, letting the now purple-skinned girl go. She got up close to her ear for a whisper, "I bet Jahaad enjoyed hearing that."

"A-anyway, what are we choosing." Jirou looked just as uncomfortable about the situation as everyone else, but Ochako didn't care. "I'm in."

"I think it's a decent idea." The tall, black-hair girl responded. It was Yaororo, right?

"Same." Asui didn't seem much for words

"Yeah! It sounds like more bonding time." The invisible girl, Toru, seemed like the complete opposite. She had already befriended almost everyone in the class. She also insisted on everyone using her first name for more friendship points.

"I don't know…" Mina mumbled; the lilac still evident on her face.

"I don't really care, so I guess it's majority win; sorry Mina." Jirou relayed the message to Jahaad. "He says the boys agree. He also said to please refrain from harassing anyone else, Uraraka." She smirked towards Mina, "Though he did seem quite invested in you, Mina."

Said girl put her hands over her face and balled herself up. "I can't believe you guys." She whined, picking herself back up to get dressed.

"Hey Uraraka; do those two know each other?" Toru seemed oblivious to what was going on.

"Something like that; me, her, and a couple others met him at the entrance exams. They seem to have taken a liking to each other though."

"Awn! I totally ship it!"

"Ship?"

"Yeah, like relationship."

"Ah; got it." She really had to catch up on the city's slang. She only caught onto a few since moving here a few years ago.

"Alright everyone, we only got about 5 minutes left. Let's get moving." Jirou decided to take charge and get everybody out, else they deal with their teacher's wrath.

It didn't take long for the group to find the training ground; even though it was the farthest from the main campus, Jahaad seemed to know all of the shortcuts. They made it just in time, thankfully.

"Cutting it close, are we?" The ragged teacher didn't look impressed by their on-time arrival. "I don't like to wait. What if there was an emergency here and I needed backup?"

"If there was any kind of emergency, I don't think trusting us as students to be of much help, sensei." Jahaad easily defended the group.

"I don't like that you can see right through me." Sensei-san sighed.

"Chiyo sensei was kind enough to let me know about you and your habits." Ah, the healer lady from the exams. That reminded her about the tail boy, who was actually also in her class. While quiet, he was strong enough to earn the points to join. Same with Shinzo-san, who she had greeted earlier that morning. They both looked to have made a full recovery; she was glad.

"That woman is such a killjoy."

"Please refrain from speaking ill of her, sensei." His voice wasn't exactly cold, but it carried meaning. Ochako questioned what the deal was; between Jahaad's defense of Mrs. Chiyo, to his sister's ominous words.

"Mm, right; I apologize." It wasn't exactly heartfelt, but she was amazed that the teacher gave in that quickly. "Anyway, Jahaad, being that you got the highest score in the exams, throw this ball." Well, Ochako can't say she surprised by his ranking. Though, someone else seemed to disagree with the scoring.

"Huh?! What kind of bullshit is this?! I'm the one who should be number one!" some blond kid yelled from the back. Who the hell was this guy? Hearing the exasperated sigh coming from Mina, she assumed they met before. "Who the hell are you, thinking you're better than me!"

"Bakugou Katsuki; explosion quirk and a rough attitude." Sensei-san sighed, "I seem to gave sorely underestimated your ability to get on one's nerves." He stared at him, burning holes into his soul. "You may think you're the best, but it's better to get it through your thick skull now; everyone here was the best. You are now just like everyone else, just another number." He turned away, "Even without the recommendation students, you only managed to squeeze into fifth place." He walked over to a board, turning it on to display the names of all the students in the class; each with the score they had at the exams. Her eyes widened; not only had she been able to make it in the top three, but the top two scores easily dwarfed any that followed.

1st: 503 - Jahaad I.

2nd: 416 - Jahaad E.

3rd: 194 - Uraraka O.

4th: 182 - Shinzo H.

5th: 179 - Bakugou K.

6th: 178 - Ashido M.

7Th: 172 - Shouji M.

8th: 168 - Kirishima E.

9Th: 166 - Sero H.

10th: 161 - Asui T.

11th: 157 - Sato R.

12th: 150 - Tokoyami F.

13th: 145 - Kaminari D.

14th: 139 - Ojiro M.

15th: 132 - Jirou K.

16th: 126 - Koda K.

17th: 117 - Hagakure T.

18th: 112 - Aoyama Y.

19th: 104 - Mineta M.

Ignoring the students' muttering, the teacher explained. "These are the scores for the class. Yaoyorozu, Iida, Todoroki, you three were not part of the practical exam, therefore exempt from the scoreboard. The rest of you; I expect those lower on the list to look up to those higher as the standard. And to those higher on the scoreboard, I expect you to keep growing and setting that standard; this isn't the time to be complacent, for any of you." He held out a tennis ball, "Now back to what we came out here for. I will be putting you each through a series of physical tests to determine your quirks' strengths. For those of you that do not have physically enhancing quirks, I still expect you to put forth everything into these tests; you are all training to be heroes." He tossed the ball to Jahaad, who caught it and started to the platform.

"If I may ask," Yaoyorozu began, "how is the scoring system set for there to be such and enormous gap?"

"The exam was set for two ways to earn points; one was the regular method of destroying robots. A lot of you simply went that way and did well enough to get into the school. The other, however, took selflessness to find; by saving other contestants, whether it be by destroying other robots or moving them out of the line of danger, you can collect sixty rescue points from each save. People like Shinzo and Hagakure, who didn't have enhancing quirks used that to pass. The top three decided to step it up a notch, using both methods to collect more points in total. Jahaad, Uraraka, and Shinzo specifically were able to save young Ojiro by working together against the Zero-pointer. The fact they saved him from certain death earned them bonus points simply for their bravery and quick thinking."

"And of the top two? They got the highest points for the exam in the past few years, maybe even set a new record."

"Just see for yourself" Sensei-san motioned for the class to watch as Jahaad started… dripping?

Well not dripping; the inky magic she had seen before creeped through his veins, leaking out onto his skin and falling down and up in little drops. It was like he had too much power than his body could hold. He gripped the ball and tossed it in the air. After a second, the boy launched into the air, twisting his body into a reverse-back kick. The ball instantly disappeared from sight.

Sensei held up a range indicator, supposedly connected to the ball. "I'm glad I brought a few balls with me." He twisted the device to face the group; everybody's jaws dropped. "Low orbit; it's good, but I expected better from the siblings of Yuri Jahaad."

"I had meant to keep it low enough to return and be reused."

"Hmm. I did say to put your all into this, yes?"

"You did, sensei."

"I'll let you off this time, but don't make it a habit." He turned to face the class, "You are to take part in these tests to determine your physical condition to preform acts of heroism. Does anyone not understand?" No answer, "Good; silence is compliance. Everybody line up single file and we can get started."

--0--

"I can't believe it!" a bundle of pink exclaimed on the way back to class. Mina had been prepared to be somewhere in the middle with the tests; her quirk did nothing to boost her strength. But this was kinda embarrassing. "Thirteenth?!"

"It's not that bad, Mina." Eijiro tried to comfort her, "There's a lot of really strong guys in this class."

"Yeah, but I'm still in the lower half of the class. I'm below average."

"That simply means that you have room to grow, correct?" A handsome face sat next to them; Jahaad was here to save her again. "Imagine what you can do once you get there. I believe you will be someone the next generation will look up to as a hero."

"Awn, how sweet of you, Mr. Top Scorer."

"I simply speak the truth; you are already very strong as of now." He chuckled, "And as for my score, had my sister been here, she would've blown me out the water."

"Really?"

"Yes. The only reason I had been able to score higher than her in the exams was because of the Zero-pointer incident. Otherwise, she would have beat me easily."

"How is she so strong?" Eijiro seemed quite interested; he always was when it came to strength. He'll, she's surprised he hasn't made a fan club for the two yet. "That's really awesome of her! So manly!" he shed a tear.

"Manly?" Jahaad quirked a brow, "I don't believe I'm familiar with your use of vocabulary."

Mina rolled her eyes, "It's a metaphor; he thinks it's a good thing to be strong and manly."

"Hmm. I suppose, in more ways than one, she is very strong. As for your question of how she came to be so strong; our family trains our members differently depending on our strengths and weaknesses. Shinsu is a very versatile substance that can strengthen us internally as much as be used externally." He waved his hand around; inky magic swirling like he was in water. "We are all taught the basics of each 'position'. Fishermen are the ones with the most physical strength and are further trained that way. Light Bearers use a 'lighthouse' to observe the battlefield and provide information and direct movement. Spear Bearers use long-ranged weapons to take out opposing targets. Scouts have incredible speed and use that to collect information of opposing positions and for backup to the fishers. Finally, the Wave Controller is a jack position; capable of doing multiple tasks from different positions. It takes a significant amount of external shinsu control."

"I take it you're a wave control guy?"

The boy nodded, smiling, "You're very intuitive, Ashido-san. And my sister is a fisher." God damn, his voice was like honey.

"So what's with all of these positions and such?" Eijiro asked.

"Our family has had a long history; we were originally monks who had protected our land from malicious spiritual entities. We have had a connection to shinsu long before the dawn of quirks. Now, we simply have a more direct influence on it, and it on us."

"Spirits? Like ghosts?" Eijiro was never really one for the horror genre. Mina always laughed at how scared he would get.

"I suppose so, yes." He watched as the redhead started shivering, "Be not afraid, my friend; these events happened a long time ago. You do not have to believe this story."

"Cool! I'd rather not."

As the main building started coming into view, the class gave a collective sigh of relief; the sun was already starting to go down and they hadn't gotten lunch. Mina was starving.

"One last thing before you are released for the day." The teacher sure had a way of being ominous. "In the next couple weeks, you will all be placed into a dormitory system here on campus. I'm sure you had already known about this from the email sent to each of you by the school, but I can't guarantee all of you read it." Well, he wasn't wrong, Mina thought. She didn't even know there was an email to read.

"Other than that, you are dismissed."

"Wait, what about all of our bags in the classroom?" Yaomomo (was that her name?) asked.

"The classroom is unlocked, you can get what belongings you left in there. I am going home; or do you supposed adults need a babysitter?" No response; the scraggly man walked over to a blacked out SUV, getting in and driving off. "Tomorrow I expect everyone to be present and on time." And he was gone.

"Ah, well, let's get going." Yaomomo took responsibility of the class. "Those of you who don't have stuff, I do not believe you are required to come with us. I wish you a safe trip to your homes." She turned heel and made her way to the main building; some of the class followed her in a small group.

"I suppose not many of us were prepared for a class, today." Jahaad remarked the large percent of students moving toward the gate.

"Don't you also count as one of us irresponsible people?" Mina joked, "And here I thought you would have been the most prepared; shame on you."

He laughed; she liked his laugh. She liked that he enjoyed her jokes. "Yes, I suppose I do look a little underprepared, don't I?" Extending his hand, the same magic liquid, this time a little lighter shade, appeared in front. He reached in, pulling out a bag; one similar to her own. The look of surprise on her face must have been apparent, because he once again chuckled. "I had already told you, shinsu is very versatile. It can be used to power the muscles and brain; it can heal and save; it can change one's characteristics."

"And apparently, it can be used as a storage tank." Ochako commented, "Wish I had that. Instead I'm stuck with hauling it myself."

"What about me?" Eijiro asked, feigning betrayal, "Have I not done enough?"

"Oh shut up. I can do it myself; I just want to complain. But, if you're so inclined, can you carry it home just for today?"

"Yeah, sure; that's all you two're gonna do." Mina loved her strong wit. The two flushed pink, but not for long. Instead, as they were heading out, Ochako looked back at her and winked. What was going on.

It only took her a little bit of looking around to understand what she meant; everyone was gone, except Jahaad. He was probably waiting for his ride or something. Well, no time like the present; his ride can wait. "Hey Jahaad, it's getting dark; you wouldn't let a girl walk alone at night, would you?"

He laughed, "It would be a crime to leave such a lovely lady alone." He held out his hand.

Despite her blush, Mina wasn't going to let this opportunity slip by her. "My, what a gentleman." She grabbed his hand and made a beeline for the gate.

The walk home was a quiet one; neither Eijiro or Ochako were there to carry the conversation and Jahaad wasn't overly conversable anyway. So they spent the walk in mostly peaceful silence, every so often they exchanged compliments about each other's accomplishments that day. Eventually, they got to the Ashido family house and Mina had to, reluctantly, let go of Jahaad's hand.

"I do hope my silence was not displeasing on our walk, Ashido-san." Jahaad did a slight bow.

"Mina."

"Hmm? I didn't catch that."

"Mina. I don't care much for the formal-name-calling thing. Besides, I'm going to have to start calling you Izuku tomorrow anyway; it'd be weird for you to call me by my last name." She thought her reasoning was pretty sound; it made sense.

"That's not necessarily true; many people do that for names that are difficult to pronounce." Curse his rational thinking! "But, I don't think it would be kind of me to deny your request. Besides, I think Mina rolls off the tongue better."

She could. Mina had to control herself to not blurt that out loud; lilac just barely appeared on her cheeks. "Well, it's settled, then. I'll see you tomorrow, Izuku." She ran to the front door and opened it. "Night!" closing the door, she faced towards the hallway; she froze in her tracks as a tall lady stood in the middle, arms crossed and a evil smirk on her face. "Mom!?"

"Hello sweetie." The older Ashido was taller than average; even without the antelope horns adorning her head, she still clocked in at about 6' 3". The two feet of horns made to which the entire house was built to accommodate her. Still, she was an absolutely stunning woman, definitely where Mina got her looks from; well, besides the pink. How did Dad even bag that? "Who was that boy you were with?" Oh no.

"You were spying on me?"

"No, I had been walking down the stairs and noticed a pink fluffball outside. I couldn't help but be interested on what was holding you from making a beeline to your bed. Now I know; he was quite the looker~"

"Nope! You have Dad; this one's mine."

"He's got you that bad, huh?" She smiled, "You better hurry up, though; guys like him don't last long."

"I'm working on it. Besides, nobody can escape my charm."

"Is that what you call it?"

"Hey!"

Despite throwing jabs at each other, the Ashido's had a deep love for one another. They were so proud of Mina the day she got her letter of acceptance.

"Anyway, I already made dinner a while ago, but I take it you're tired. If you want some, you can have it. The others are asleep, so the rest is yours."

"I'll probably take it to UA for lunch tomorrow. Imma put it in the fridge."

"Ok. Good night."

"Night!" Mina put the leftover food away; Ramen didn't sound too bad for a lunch. Once she was done downstairs, she bolted to her room and collapsed into the bed. She didn't even bother to change or shower; she'd do that in the morning.

--0--

Izuku watched as Mina closed the door behind her; it really was a lovely name, quite fitting for her.

A crow landed beside him, cawing. He had sensed its shinsu flow for a while now; his family had learned the partnership with animals centuries ago. The bird dropped a small paper and stared at Izuku curiously. Sighing, Izuku reached into his pocket and pulled out a strip of dried meat, giving it to the grateful bird. Picking up the note, he read the message.

Dear Izuku,

I'm so proud of you and Endorsi to make it into such a wonderful place. I pray for your safety and success as heroes in training.

Yuri.

His sister was the greatest. She's the reason that he and Endorsi even thought of being heroes; they wanted to be just like her.

"I should visit sometime." He said to himself, pulling a sheet of paper out of his now present bag and writing a message back to his sister.

Dear Yuri,

I am grateful for the words of confidence. I will always put forth my best efforts to follow your footsteps. We are required to be placed in dorms within the coming weeks, so I will be away from the compound for the remainder of my time in UA. I do hope you visit sometime, we all miss you.

May this message find you peace, Izuku.

Folding the paper up, he handed it to the crow, who grabbed it with its claw. After the bird took flight, Izuku remained for a second, thinking on the day's events. It was nice to be near so many motivated people, he discovered; everyone collected together for one reason: to save others. Whether it be for the money to support family, for fame, or simply the opportunity to help the community, his peers decided to put their lives behind others in the hopes to save them. It was an honor to once again be part of such a group-

The sound of screeching halted his thoughts; he knew this sound all too well. Kamaitachi were probably hunting the back alleys for victims. He knelt to the ground and extended his range of shinsu influence; two kilometers out, near an alley. They were following someone, a male around his age; speed quirk. "Lighthouse, open arms inventory." At the command, a small, glowing cube appeared, along with a semicircular board. The hand-crafted board was shaped like a large sliver with holes in them. Almost each hole held a weapon, with a large variety for different combat scenarios. Izuku grabbed two khopesh-like swords; releasing them from their resting place emitted a deep purple light. "Dismissed. Alert fellow members of a disturbance in the area, approximately two kilometers northwest of my location." With that, the lighthouse and arms inventory dispersed once again into nothing. Izuku jumped to a nearby rooftop, quickly hopping across the small neighborhood towards the point of disturbance.

--0--

Ok. Another chapter done. I'm already working on the next one. This isn't a full-time thing, but I try to work on it whenever I have downtime.