Chapter Eight

It was a well-founded belief that UA held their student body — hero, general, support, and business courses alike — to very high standards. The school was considered the best of the best because it expected the best from its students and staff. One such way was their six-day school week, with only Sundays off.

Unusual for Japan, but then much of UA's curriculum was unusual.

After their first academic week capped by their first bout of rescue training, Class 1-A was more than ready to take a day to decompress. Some chose to get unfinished homework out of the way, while others who had finished it during the week or decided to further procrastinate practiced their hobbies, trained their Quirks, or reinforced connections with other students to cultivate new friendships.

Amongst all of that were calls to family. High schoolers or not, the students were still minors, and many took the time to check in with their parents or siblings.

"So it's all been going well?" Mahoro asked.

"Yeah," Katsuma replied, his breathing a bit heavy as he jogged along the sidewalks of UA campus, speaking into the earbud connected to his phone. "It's more than I could have ever dreamed."

"Have you done anything cool yet?"

"We had a Quirk test to judge our current level and creativity on the very first day," Katsuma laughed. "Then the next day we had this two-on-two battle training. My partner and I were the heroes and we won the scenario! Then it was mostly covering hero laws and stuff before we had rescue training at the USJ facility yesterday!"

"Seriously?! All that in the first freakin' week?!"

"UA's not called the best of the best for nothing," Katsuma commented.

"Jeez, I guess so." Mahoro paused before her voice grew teasing. "Seen any high-up heroes yet? I'll bet the classic Class A have all dropped by, huh?"

"Well, Earphone Jack is our teacher's assistant," Katsuma said. "And Mr. Deku taught us the battle trial day! Mr. Aizawa even said he'll be a recurring guest instructor!" He knew he was fanboying, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Especially not with Mahoro — his sister knew him better than anyone. He chuckled between heavy breaths, wiping the sweat from his brow, and offered in his own teasing tone, "If you want to hear about Bakugo, you'll have to come visit for yourself."

"What?! I mean-! W-Who mentioned Bakugo? You're being weird, Katsuma!"

Katsuma did nothing to hold back his laughter. As Mahoro knew him, he knew her just as well. It was plain to see that Mahoro had harbored a childhood crush on the Explosive Hero since he'd saved her from Nine, almost certainly her first crush ever. It had even influenced her early sense of attraction, leaning her toward the bad-boy types who had tried to treat her poorly, only to be whipped into shape by her confident spitfire self or Katsuma's growing competence at hand-to-hand fighting.

"Anyway, we haven't seen any more of the old class yet. But one of my new friends is actually Froppy's little sister. Can you believe that?"

"Weird," Mahoro agreed. "And by weird, I mean you actually having a friend," she added heavily. There was teasing there … but also something like relief or even pride. Katsuma's lips twisted in a faint grimace. Despite being well-liked in school, he'd never really had close friends. He'd been friendly with most everyone, but he'd been far too focused on his preparations for UA to commit to strong friendships. He'd had his dad and Mahoro, as well as his martial arts instructor Mr. Morita, and that had been enough.

But Mahoro had on occasion urged him to relax and make friends his own age. He'd never committed to that, but … he had to admit that having promisingly close friends was fulfilling in a way he'd never really experienced. It had only been a week and he was happy to have them all.

"So, is it just Asui's sister, or have you finally made more friends?" Mahoro asked.

"There's three," Katsuma said with pride of his own.

"Three?! Wow, talk about a quick turnaround!"

"First is Eri. She's the girl I told you about from the exam." He need not say more. He'd told his family the story once, and Mahoro had badgered it out of him a few more times. She was very much an "in love with love" type, though she tried to hide it. Hence her many boyfriends. "She's just as sweet as I thought. And she's really tough on the inside, too."

"Ooh, I can hear you smiling, Katsuma. Does someone have a crush?"

"No!" Katsuma denied, though he felt his cheeks pinken and his heart flutter. And he belatedly realized that he was indeed smiling. How odd — Mahoro had teased him about crushes many times over the years to try and get a rise out of him or encourage him out of his shell and it had never affected him quite like that. Could it be-? No! Nope, nope, nope! Not gonna go there!

"Then there's Satsuki, Froppy's sister," he said, moving on from that topic. "She's really calm all the time and has a great poker face. She doesn't really sugarcoat things, but she's careful not to be mean."

"Another girl, hmm?" Mahoro teased.

"Do you think about anything else?" Katsuma complained dryly. A small part of him noted that he didn't really rise to her bait that time … "Ugh, this gap year will never end, will it?"

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm enrolled in an online university," Mahoro snapped. "I'm taking my basics first until I figure out what I want to do." From her tone, Katsuma could easily picture her crossing her arms and lifting her nose in a haughty expression. Man, he knew her too well.

"Anyway, Eri and Satsuki have another long-time friend from before UA. His name is Kota and he was raised by the Wild, Wild Pussycats. He's kind of, uh …" Katsuma thought for a moment for a descriptor that would give the right impression without being mean. "He's kind of grumpy and doesn't really seem to like anyone else, but he's definitely loyal to them. I really hope he warms up — I bet he'd be a really good friend."

"Well, at least you're being sociable for once, little brother," Mahoro commented. "Just let me know if I have to come and smash some heads or whatever."

"That probably wouldn't help," Katsuma laughed nervously. "But I appreciate it, Mahoro. Anyway, I'm closing back in on the dorm building. Gotta let you go."

"Alright, then. Talk next Sunday, 'kay?"

"You got it," Katsuma replied and hung up just as he climbed the steps to the building and began some cooldown stretches.

For her first free morning at UA, Satsuki was having the time of her life.

She croaked and chirped in her throat, the wind flying through her long, untied hair and batted at her tight workout clothes as she bound between buildings of Musutafu without a care in the world. Well, one care: keeping up with her dear older sister who led the way.

A rule of being in the dorms, even nine years after the defeat of the League of Villains, was that any hero student who left campus must be escorted by a licensed hero. Generally, that meant a member of the staff, and so requests had to be filled out in advance and approved. It also often meant that these excursions were made into group events so that the staff could fulfill the requests faster.

But the school could also commission heroes from outside the staff to act as these escorts, should multiple requests be submitted within a short window. Heroes were also permitted to apply for a shortlist of these contacts, which was the perfect opportunity to charge the famed and trusted heroine and UA alumna Froppy for escorting a student for an off-campus excursion.

Even, and perhaps especially, since that excursion was for family bonding and training.

"Come on, Satsuki," Tsuyu called, leaping between two buildings to land securely on the other side. "You've gotta keep up!"

Satsuki laughed and made the leap herself, but gasped as she began to fall short of the roof. She flailed for a moment before regaining her wits and landing against the wall of the building, her fingers securing against the glass and halting her fall. She took a moment to catch her breath, and felt something long and strong wrap around her waist. She breathed a sigh of relief and let her sister haul her up with her tongue.

When Tsuyu let her go on the roof of the building, her usual neutral expression was the same as ever. But to Satsuki, who knew her so well, Tsuyu's eyes were full of compassion. "How about we take a break?" she suggested.

"If you insist," Satsuki said, trying to drum up just a bit of bravado. She took control of her breathing to slow her pounding heart. She fell backward onto her bottom and continued her deep breathing. She looked up as Tsuyu settled down next to her with a warm smile.

"There's no need to feel ashamed," she said. Tsuyu had always had a knack for cutting right to the heart of a problem.

"I'm not ashamed," she replied. "I'm-" She tried to order her thoughts and her emotions, looking away from Tsuyu and down at her knees. "I guess I'm worried that I won't measure up."

"To who, kero?" Tsuyu asked. "To me, or to the rest of society?"

"To both," Satsuki replied.

"For the record, it's healthy to feel that pressure to do well," Tsuyu said. "As long as you don't let it consume you." Satsuki looked up at her again. "What you are feeling is a good way to motivate yourself. In training and in hero work. And the best of us never really lose that sense of purpose. Just ask All Might sometime about the drive to be the best."

"But?" Satsuki asked.

"But if you let it cut too deep, you'll burn yourself out or freeze under the pressure when things get really bad," Tsuyu said. "It's a tough line to walk, but …" She trailed off and chuckled, then stood up and walked to the edge of the building to stand with her toes curling over the precipice, then lifting one foot to rise above her head. "Balance, little sister," she said. "Balance in all things. Understand?"

"Yes, Tsuyu," Satsuki said, her eyes shining. She stood to her feet and shook her limbs out. "Let's keep going!"

"You sure?" Tsuyu asked, tilting her head in question.

Satsuki replied by turning and racing away, leaping to the next building and landing with a roll to end up on her feet and facing Tsuyu from across the gap, smiling widely. Tsuyu chuckled and sprinted to follow, clearing the gap between the buildings with room to spare, sailing over Satsuki's head to do so and landing in a perfect froggy crouch, as she often did when on-duty. The cameras loved that unique pose of hers.

As they continued their run, Satsuki asked, "Is this okay, Tsu?" Tsuyu hummed in response, a wordless request to elaborate. "You training me. Is that allowed? Or fair?"

Tsuyu laughed, touched by her sister's concern for fairness.

"Was it wrong for Tenya to receive training from his brother or parents?" she asked rhetorically. "They were, after all, the best suited to help him with his Quirk, as they all had similar engines."

"Well, sure," Satsuki said, "but I'm at school now. Am I allowed to accept help from family?"

"I'm guessing Mr. Aizawa," — though he had spent years requesting that his students call him Eraserhead when on duty, they continued to call him by his name in private — "has already given you the whole 'the world is not fair; heroes are meant to fix that' speech?" Satsuki croaked an affirmative. "Well, to be the best, and therefore do the best, you need to do what you can. When you start getting internship offers, I'd be more than happy to take you on." She chuckled. "But don't feel pressured to learn from me, Satsuki. There's plenty of great heroes that could teach you different things than me."

"Right. Yes, Tsuyu," she replied thoughtfully. She knew logically that her sister was right. Mr. Todoroki had learned under his father, Endeavor, after all. She also knew logically that there were heroes who could teach her things Tsuyu could not, though her heart had trouble accepting that.

Tsuyu, to her, would always be the best hero of all.

"Let's make another round before we head back," Tsuyu said.

"Isn't it your day off?" Satsuki asked.

"Yes, but I still have some errands to run," Tsuyu replied, running her hands through Satsuki's hair. "And you need to take some time to relax, too. I remember UA's workload, and you'll thank me later."

"Yes, big sister," Satsuki said. Then they turned in perfect sync and continued their run back toward UA.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Aunt Shino," Kota said, sitting on his bed with the phone on speaker, a book in his lap. "Figured I'd check in."

"Kota? Oh, that's so sweet. I was actually going to call later, but you beat me to it." Her voice was warm and soothing, just as it always had been, and Kota felt himself relax. He would never admit it to anyone outside his friends, but he honestly saw Mandalay as his second mother after all she had done for him. "So? How's your first week been? I hear Midoriya was a guest teacher."

"Like you haven't had Aizawa giving you updates," Kota said dryly.

"It does pay to have a husband in education," Shino laughed.

Kota smirked to himself about how his aunt and Eri's uncle-figure had gotten together. They'd naturally been aware of each other in a professional sense for several years even before the UA training camp that was attacked by the League of Villains. After Kota and Eri had become close, Shino and Aizawa had spent more time together as the children did and had grown closer themselves. In time, sparks had kindled and they'd ended up happily married within a couple of years.

"I still want to hear it from you, Kota," his aunt said. "How do you feel after your first week? Was it worth all of the work?"

"Definitely," Kota said. "Our classes have been tough, but manageable. Eri and Suki have settled in nicely. I-" His words hitched as the faintest shame settled in his belly. "Aizawa probably told you that Suki and I lost our first real-time training."

"He told me it was really close and that you worked well with Satsuki," Shino said firmly. "And that you did very well. You cooperated with your teammate and used your Quirk strategically."

"Didn't stop Shimano from snatching the win," he grumbled.

"You're all learning," she said, her tone just as firm. "And I'm certain you still learned something from that experience, which is the whole point of it. There will be plenty of other chances to test your mettle in the next three years, after all."

"Yeah, I guess," Kota sighed, the sound full of teen angst.

"So, who's Shimano?" she asked. "I honestly thought you would take a few weeks to get anyone's name but Eri and Satsuki."

"Eri's kind of …" He gestured helplessly, even if his aunt couldn't see him. "Kind of adopted him into the group," he finished lamely. "He admires Deku, too. Apparently he and his sister were involved in some crazy business on his home island back when Deku's class was sent out there to keep an eye on things as a training experience. Eri and Suki seem to really like him."

"And you don't?" Shino asked.

"I don't know what to think," Kota admitted. "I mean, Shimano seems like a nice guy." He grimaced and mumbled, "Too nice, sometimes." He muttered under his breath and rubbed his eyes. "It's always been me, Eri, and Suki. Adding someone else feels .. weird."

"Well, you never have liked change," Shino commented, a smile in her words.

"Aunt Shino," he grumbled, "I'm serious."

"So am I," she said, the levity gone and replaced with a frankness very reminiscent of Satsuki. "You also tend toward disliking people before they prove themselves." The levity returned. "Need I remind you of the day you met-"

"Don't say it!" Kota snapped, his metaphorical hackles raised. God, no one would ever let that go!

"-Satsuki," she finished pointedly. "The day you met Satsuki, you made her cry when Eri called her a best friend. What was it you called her, again?"

"A baby tadpole," Kota said morosely.

"No, the other one," Shino said.

"That she stares like a creepy old doll," Kota said, his stomach turning with very old guilt.

"No, that's still not it," Shino mused. "Oh, I got it! Something like a 'softie who doesn't know what fear is' and that she'll 'never be a hero like Tsuyu.' That's the one."

"What's your point?!" Kota snapped exasperatedly.

"That you didn't seem to like Satsuki at first, and now you're the best of friends. And you say this Shimano boy admires Deku. And he's been through some stuff that can help him relate to all of you. It sounds to me like Eri has made you a great catch in the friend department."

"I guess …" Kota groaned, decidedly not pouting. Heroes didn't pout.

"Good," Shino said brightly. "I'll tell you that good friends are a make-or-break for great heroes. And I'm sure Deku would agree, especially for your sake." She paused and the teasing tone was back. "Even after that incident when you first met."

"There it is …!" Kota snarled. "Did you call just to lecture me?"

"Actually, if you'll recall, you called me," Shino reminded him happily. "And I'm still so glad you did. It means I can tell you I love you and that we all miss you."

"Is that Kota?!" Ragdoll's voice said, more quietly but just as energetically, clearly far from the receiver but as loud as ever on their end. "Tell him I said hi!"

"You called Kota?" Pixie-Bob, this time. "Without telling us?!"

"Actually, he called," Shino told them delightedly.

"Tell him we said hello," Tiger called. "And that he'd better be keeping his nose clean. No funny business with the other students."

"I promise," Kota sighed, squeezing the bridge of his nose against a rising headache. "I gotta go, you guys. I'll call sometime this week."

"You'd better, Kota," Shino said fondly. "I'll leave that up to you from now on."

"But you just called," Ragdoll cried. "We miss you, Kota! We love you!"

"Love you too, ladies and Tiger," Kota said quickly and hung up. He groaned and closed his book, laying back to clear his headache. He did love them, even if they were often exhausting, exasperating, or both. Aunt Shino, at least, understood that.

Given that, maybe he should give Shimano a real chance …

Eri kept her head back as she gargled saltwater, keeping a long count of twenty in her mind before spitting it into a bowl. She coughed against the sting in her throat and sighed, settling down onto a bench by an electronic keyboard.

"How do you feel?" Kyoka asked.

"About the same as usual after a lesson," Eri rasped.

"Better than you were when we started," Kyoka chuckled.

Kyoka had been giving Eri singing lessons since the girl was quite young. Eri had declared to Midoriya that she dreamed of making people happy with singing, just as Class A had done for her at the cultural festival, before he and everyone else had gone to bring down the League of Villains once and for all. After the dust had settled and everyone had recovered as much as they could, Kyoka had quietly offered Eri lessons.

As she'd grown and she'd gained control of her Quirk — her horn making a full recovery after what she had done to help Deku — she'd wanted in her heart to be a hero Deku and Lemillion's way, too. Spending time with Recovery Girl in her nurse's office had only reinforced that wish, as the kindly old woman deserved a quiet retirement after her decades of service to the school.

When she had expressed concerns about two conflicting dreams to Satsuki, her friend had asked plainly why they conflicted. Could Eri not pursue heroics and music, just as Jiro did?

That had been a wonderful revelation, and Eri had thrown herself into her lessons in music, fighting, and piano — as she had requested learning an instrument too, which Kyoka had been happy to oblige. With Kyoka having moved to the faculty dormitories as a teaching assistant, she'd decided that they would continue the lessons here at her new home. A quick walk from Heights Alliance.

"So, I gotta ask," Kyoka said, tuning an acoustic guitar that she had used to accompany Eri on the piano, "how have things been going?"

"You've been in class," Eri chirped. Or tried to, as her throat was still a bit sore. It would clear up in an hour or two.

"But that doesn't mean I don't wanna hear it from you," Kyoka pointed out.

"Class has been just fine," Eri said happily. "It's more than I could have hoped for." Her smile wavered as she continued, "Though I feel like the class hasn't really come together like it could have."

"Hey, my class didn't come together from the start, either," Kyoka cautioned. "The USJ sped it up with the whole 'forged in fire' thing, but we all had to take time to find who we were most comfortable with. And given you guys haven't had something like the USJ — thank God for that, because it sucked big-time — you'll have to find your feet."

"I know. That's what Kota keeps saying," Eri said. "I just-" Eri took a deep breath. "I have such good memories of your class and how you all seemed like one big family. A family that helped each other through the darkest times, and still does. Even Class B from your time was like that. I just really want that for all of us."

"Then start small," Kyoka said. She laughed quietly to herself. "Wanna know one way we all got so close?" Eri looked up at her, her eyes wide and shining. "Mina and Toru. They made a huge effort in bringing us girls together. Not that the guys didn't have their friendships, but the girls getting along really helped act as mortar for the whole class dynamic."

Eri turned that over in her mind, going back to her conversation with Tategami at the USJ. "So you're saying I should get the girls of our class together and then work from there?"

"It wouldn't be a bad start," Kyoka said, strumming her guitar. "You've already got Satsuki, and a group of five between the two of you would be a lot easier to befriend than sixteen."

"Yeah, I guess it would," Eri said quietly. She smiled at the thought of sleepovers with the girls of Class 1-A. "And they all seem like they'd be fun. Maybe I should talk to Ms. Mina about ideas for sleepovers."

"All she'll say is boy talk," Kyoka said, rolling her eyes. "Well, maybe she'll suggest some games, but trust me. It always leads to boy talk with her and Toru." She grinned, the present tense very much intentional. "Maybe Satsuki could talk to Tsu about it, huh?"

"Yeah!" Eri said happily.

"There's that smile we all love," Kyoka giggled, then gestured at the keyboard Eri had been using. "Now, come on! You still have some keystrokes in you for today."

Eri nodded and flipped through a book of sheet music, matching her music to Kyoka's. So focused on the piano keys, she didn't notice the thoughtful look in Kyoka's eyes … Or the unsettling turn of her lips as a new idea for training began to form.

Eri hummed to herself as she entered Heights Alliance after her lesson. As exhausting as they could be, she loved her two-hour lessons. Not just for learning to sing, but spending time with Kyoka.

"Maybe I should find out what Suki's up to," she mused as she removed her shoes. "See if we can have some girl time."

"Room for two more?" asked a boy's voice, and Eri looked up and over to the couches to find Satsuki, Kota, and Katsuma waiting for her, all smiling.

"What's going on?" Eri asked.

"Suki gathered us up," Katsuma said brightly. "Said we should have some friend time on our day off."

Eri's eyes shimmered as she looked on at her friends. "I'd like that," she whispered gratefully.

Chapter eight, and a character driven one!

*UA's one-day weekend is actually canon, according to the first data book. Japan's school week is generally the same five-day on, two-day off much like in the USA, but I guess fictional schools have some leeway.

*The "gap year" line from Katsuma was lifted directly from Disney/Pixar's "Onward." That line's always made me laugh.

*The idea of heroes being able to escort students to see their families comes from Aizawa escorting Todoroki for family dinner in Ch. 192/Season 5. Honestly, it was also an excuse for sisterly bonding. Satsuki remains a main character, and her relationship with Tsu remains something I want to give some genuine focus to throughout.

*Aizawa and Mandalay's relationship was not something I had planned for this. I was actually in the middle of writing this very chapter when I stumbled upon some good, short fan stories about the pairing and realized how much they would click. Then it was all over but for the writing.

*I had some real fun offering insight into Kota and Satsuki's past relationship here. Those two haven't gotten much, if any, one-on-one time yet. If I have my way, and my muse is cooperative, that will soon change.

As always, I hope it was a fun read! Please leave a review if you've liked it! And may your own works be inspired and entertaining!