It was fun to write this one.

Chapter 12 Should be the last one before the Sports Festival. I'll probably even start it on that chapter.

Anyway.

Enjoy.

~1-A Classroom~

'My head hurts… I need a distraction,' Her talk with the principal left her mentally exhausted. How can one individual be able to make her suffer so much? This is abuse! 'He is cute, though'

True True.

'Maybe I should ask the gang to help me? It's already too late to back out, so I should start preparing soon… And there's also the festival itself… I'm pretty sure we can use most of the facilities if we have permission, maybe I should organize something with them to train, It's not like we do not know each other's quirks already.' Getting the other students to participate in the training would be really hard, especially the more competitive ones. 'Maybe Yaoyorozu would join us? I'm sure she would get along well with Yui, especially because of their fondness for Matryoshka dolls.'

Loud chatter could be heard from outside the classroom, exacerbating Kei's migraine. "What's going on?!" Uraraka yelled in surprise and confusion. The outside of the classroom was mobbed with students of different classes, mostly first-year students.

'I feel… like Bakugo is going to do something stupid' Her meta-knowledge is useful in the stupidest ways.

"Scoping out the competition, duh. Cuz we're the kids who survived a villain attack." Bakugo said. Kei hastily approached Bakugo. "No point, though. Move aside ext-" Kei slaps Bakugo on the back of the head. "WHAT THE FUCK, FOXY?!" He yelled, angered.

"First of all, that nickname is really unoriginal. Second of all, don't call people "Extras.", it's disrespectful and is going to make all of them hate us. I feel like I can talk for all of 1-A that we don't want to deal with the animosity of all of the first years. Though if you want them to hate you, that's your problem, just don't drag us down with you." Kei said, earning an agreeing hum from the class, though Midoriya seemed to be panicking.

Bakugo seemed like he wanted to snap back, but he could not argue with what she said… so… "Tch…" He just turned around and left the classroom, shoving aside some students on his way.

"I guess not everyone is like that guy in the hero course." A voice coming from the mob said.

'Hm? Is that?'

"I gotta say, I feel both glad and bad about it. If they were all like him, I wouldn't feel bad about taking their place on the hero course" A youth with messy, indigo-colored hair and perpetually tired eyes said in a stoic voice.

'It is him! Shinso!' Another one of Kei's favorite characters from the show, along with Monoma. 'He is supposed to have a decently important role in the festival, right? Hopefully, nothing changes.'

"Did you know that? If we not in the hero course do good in the festival, they might consider the possibility of transferring us to it, possibly replacing someone not up to standard." He said… But his eyes seemed to be wandering somewhere… somewhere behind…

'... Is he… looking at my tail?' A sudden idea came to her mind. "I see what you mean." She started talking with a mix of a teasing and challenging voice. "You are declaring war on the hero course. I'm sure you know we are not the only ones, right? There's also 1-B to take into account, they are no slouches. Right?" The last part she said raising her voice, clearly calling to the 1-B students hiding between the mob.

"Yes. Sadly, the entrance exam was not made for people without firepower like me, the same, I'm sure, could be said for some of us present." Shinso said, earning approving nods from the present. "That's why this is an opportunity, an opportunity to knock you hero students off your pedestal." He said. He remained using his stoic voice, but he did sound the littlest bit more determined. It seemed like this was important for him.

"Hmm… Ok, we accept." She said, earning a confused "Huh?!" from her class.

"A-Are you sure this is a good idea, Kei?" Uraraka asked.

"I don't see why not. We are trying to become heroes, and this is a great opportunity to motivate us to train and be prepared for what's to come. Also, it sounds fun." She said.

'It sounds fun?!' Most of 1-A thought in unison.

"Anyway, yeah, we accept… But I have a proposition for you…" Here it comes.

"What is it?" He said, curious.

"I saw how you were looking at my tail. You are one of those who like fluffy things, aren't you? I bet you have lots of cats," She said with a teasing smile. He should have been more careful, he does have a lot of cats, those fluffy, mostly grumpy, cute things. He loves them. "Well… If you can beat me or…" She looked around the classroom, and then her sights zeroed in on Midoriya "Green hair over there,"

'Why me?!' Midoriya screamed inside his mind.

"Or you get a higher place than me, then I'll let you touch my tail." She said the last part while swaying her tail from left to right, as if seducing him.

That got his attention. He has always been curious about how the tails of people with animal traits felt, and hers instantly caught his attention. It just looked… so fluffy! He bet it worked as an amazing pillow. He envies the person who gets to touch it every day, if there's any. "Then?" Kei asked.

"... I accept." He said, determined.

"Great! Anyway, give me your number." She said, taking out her phone.

"... Why?"

"Because we are gonna train together, duh."

"Actu-"

"You don't get a choice. You are going to train with me. Honestly, if you think you can beat any of the students in the hero course with just a quirk alone, then you are oh so wrong. Since we entered U.A., most of us have been training our asses off. Now give me your number." She said. Shinso did not protest. Honestly, she really wanted to finish this conversation soon, her social anxiety was about to start showing. She did not think this through.

She still had one more thing to say, though. "The same goes for the rest of you. I know a lot of you are itching to take our place on the hero course, but I'm sure many have not put in the time to train enough. The facilities in U.A. are free to use, only some of them require permission first. Use them. This is the best opportunity you'll have to enter the hero course now that the exams have passed." A lot of the students who came had thoughtful faces, and for a lot of them, what she said was true. The fact that they got into U.A. was enough of an achievement, and they were already getting one of the best educations in the country, but the hero course was a different monster. Only the best could get in, and even then, your stay was not guaranteed. That was clear from last year's controversial story about a whole class being expelled.

'Hopefully, that motivates them a little… Maybe there'll be one or two more students not on the hero course who get past the first game? I'm pretty sure Shinso was one of the only ones.'

The crowd dispersed—newfound determination in the minds of the students. But will it be enough?

As the crowd thinned, only a couple of people remained, mainly 1-B students… And one very angry Yui. 'Ah… I'm dead' She took a step back; Yui took a step forward. "W-Well… It was nice meeting you, Shinso! I'll shoot you a message to start coordinating later. Gotta run!" She said, before bolting out of the classroom. She did not get far though, as the angry Yui grabbed her by the tail. "Gyahhh?! Y-Yui?! You know I don't like it when you grab my tail like that!" She tried to deflect the incoming, but couldn't.

"What was that about letting that guy touch your tail?" She asked, doning her classic emotionless face. This time though, it was terrifying. One wrong word, and she would be consumed. And not in a good way.

"Well… It's only if he wins… Also, he seems nice." Kei could not explain her reasoning better than that, at the risk of revealing her tiny amount of Meta-Knowledge.

Yui narrowed her eyes at Kei, looking for any signs of lying… "... Ok… But you know what we'll do later," She said.

"Tail pillow, got it."

"You'll also let me touch your ears as much as I want."

'Uh… That one is…' She liked it, but the way it left her at the end was… "Uhh…. ok…"

"Hn, that's a promise." That was extortion.

Back with the rest of 1-A, 1-B, and Shinso, who had just watched the scene… "Was that?..." Kendo asked

"Yep." Setsuna said.

"Are they…?" This time it was Rin.

"Yes. And also, infuriatingly, they are not dating." Monoma said, looking tired.

"How…?!" Kendo exclaimed, baffled.

Both Setsuna and Monoma shrugged, already used to this.

~Kei's Room~

Today was the first day of group training. Predictively, not everyone wanted to train together, either because they needed specific gear for their training, or they didn't want to reveal their quirk to possible rivals—a fair reason.

For the next two weeks, classes will be reduced to let students get their training before the festival.

'We have no classes today… I'm glad I got access to one of the battle centers, U.S.J. will only be available next week.' She wanted to use U.S.J. for training, but it was still not repaired.

"We want to make sure U.S.J. is as safe as possible before opening it again.' Is what Principal Nezu said to her.

'Where's my phone? Phone phone phone…' She felt around the bed, looking for her phone. 'Here it is,' She turned it on… at maximum brightness. "Ughhaaa…. My eyes!"

'I still have… two hours' She opened the messaging app, then opened the chat group.

/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\

"Training Montage"

(PerpetuallyTired): [Photo of a chimera cat. Left side orange, right side black]

("Raccoon Eyes"): Cute cat!

(PerpetuallyTired): She is a spoiled princess, she doesn't even accept the kibble anymore. I have to prepare her food myself.

(PerpetuallyTired): I forgive her though.

(Elekid): How did you even get a Mainecoon man?!

(PerpetuallyTired): Trade secret.

/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\

'He… got along with them faster than I thought… Is it maybe the cats?' It is. 'At least he isn't directly confrontational'

/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\

(Kei): Have you guys been awake the whole night? At least now I know where you got those dark eye bags, Shinso.

(PerpetuallyTired): It's part of my brand now I guess.

(Kei): Makeup is an option. I was thinking of adding some red eyeliner on my hero costume, but I always wear a mask so I don't see the point.

(CCMWHH): I think you would look great with the red eyeliner! It kind of fits with you being, you know, a fox.

/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\

"Hmm… She does have a point. And it's not like I'm going to be wearing the mask all the time. It could be a nice detail for the more observant." Maybe in the future, she could consider adding it. It's not like makeup is prohibited. "Maybe some type of ring at the base of my tail? It could be an interesting look… Guess I didn't think of everything while making my costume." She made a mental note to consider a possible redesign in the future.

/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\

(Kei): I'll consider it in the future.

(Engine): I already arrived!

(Elekid): You are two hours early man

(Engine): It's no worries, the staff gave me access to the battle center early.

(Kei): Cool. I'll be there shortly.

(Gyaru): Did you just wake up, Kei?

(Kei): Yes.

(Kei): … Nothing else to say?

(Gyaru): Hehe.

/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\

"What do you mean "Hehe"!" Setsuna definitely meant something by that, but was not going to tell her. She knew how to perfectly push Kei's buttons. "Hahh… Anyway, let's prepare to go. I already said I would arrive early."

She did not arrive early.

I really enjoyed writing that first part, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. It also gave me the perfect opportunity to lead up to something I want to do for the festival and the rest of the fanfiction. You'll know when the time comes.

The names in the chat portion are the contact names she put on them.

CCMWHH (Could crush me with her hand)= Kendo.

"Raccoon Eyes"= Ashido

PerpetuallyTired= Shinso

Elekid= Denki

Engine= Ida

Gyaru= Tokage

Anyway, Shinso is really cool… That's it, the coolest character.

Do I have a bias for characters not in the main class? Well, first of all, it's rude to assume things about people…

Second of all, yes.

I mean, what's the deal with Horikoshi and making the best characters and not giving them enough screen time?! 1-B is a fucking graveyard of badass characters that do not get enough love! LOOK AT KAMAKIRI DAMMIT!

I was re-watching a part of the anime that I'm looking forward to getting to in this fic, and noticed something…

Something that I was thinking of doing with a character, already happens to another! Like literally the same thing. In my defense, I didn't remember it happened anyway.

Now I have to think of either making it so that thing never actually happens, or just making it happen twice.

God I'm so pissed… But now that I think about it, taking into account certain things about that character, It could make for something interesting…

~Declaration Of War (Yui's Side)~ ~Omake~

"Hmm… Ok, we accept." Kei said, confidently. This was a side of hers that Yui rarely saw, so this was a great opportunity.

Just after classes, Setsuna dragged her to their "Rival" class's classroom. Apparently, "Something funny was happening". She doesn't regret coming to see it.

She honestly loved this side of Kei, It truly fit what one would think of a fox-girl: Sly, cunning, teasy, flirty—basically what Setsuna is most of the time.

If she had to describe this side of hers in one word, it would be "Hot".

Because, of course, she would think that.

"Anyway, yeah, we accept… But I have a proposition for you…" Kei said, her smile widening.

'A proposition? I wonder what it is…'

"I saw how you were looking at my tail. You are one of those who like fluffy things, aren't you? I bet you have lots of cats,"

'... What? This definitely not going where I think it's going… right?'

"Well… If you can beat me or… green hair over there, or you get a higher place than me, then I'll let you touch my tail."

Something broke inside Yui's mind. Jealousy welled up inside her. How could she?! They just met, and she is already giving him a chance to touch her tail? '... It took me so long to get that opportunity… and she just gives it away to some random guy?!' The rest of the conversation went unheard by her. Setsuna noticed this and decided to stealthily retreat; she did not want any part in what was coming.

The crowd slowly dispersed, leaving only some students talking between each other and the two hero classes. Kei instantly noticed Yui's presence and aura. "W-Well… It was nice meeting you, Shinso! I'll shoot you a message to start coordinating later, gotta run!"

'Message? Him?' She expertly caught Kei's tail as she was retreating, making her yelp.

"Y-Yui?! You know I don't like it when you grab my tail like that!"

"What was that about letting that guy touch your tail?" The response to this question would decide her fate.

"Well… It's only if he wins… Also, he seems nice." Vague…

With her mind clearer, she thought for a moment. She definitely did that for a reason. Maybe she saw something in that guy and wanted to motivate him to enter the hero course? Whatever the reason was, she knew she did not have any say in it, It's not like they were dating… 'Yet'

That didn't mean she couldn't take advantage of this. "... Ok… But you know what we'll do later," She said.

"Tail pillow, got it."

She could still push for a bit more. "You'll also let me touch your ears as much as I want."

"Uhh…. ok…"

"Hn, that's a promise." Extortion completed.

Kei was a drooling mess by the end.