Happy New Year, everyone! I apologize for the long delay. Due to a death in the family, my entire schedule was disrupted, and I was unable to publish this chapter. I'm back now and I'm doing okay. Now...let's continue!
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Characters:
Yukimo (OC)
Izuku Midoriya
Katsuki Bakugo
Tenya Iida
Ochaco Uraraka
Teacher;
Shota Aizawa
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Yukimo was extremely excited after hearing about her acceptance; she ran in the rain to tell Izuku and Nurse Hatsumi. In the end, Izuku wasn't home, and she told Katsuki first, whom she happened to bump into on her way to Nurse Hatsumi.
The rain poured down in rhythmic sheets as Yukimo raced through the streets, her heart beating as wildly as the storm around her. She could hardly believe it: she, Yukimo, a girl who had once doubted her own Quirk, was now accepted into the prestigious U.A. Academy. This was where heroes were born, where dreams became reality!
Clutching the acceptance letter like a precious gem, she dashed past puddles, letting the cool water splash up on her sneakers and feeling invincible. Her thoughts swirled with excitement and possibility: visions of herself in a hero uniform, fighting villains, honing her skills, and making friends with the next generation of heroes.
As she reached the hospital and burst through the door, the familiar scent of antiseptic and the sight of cheerful posters on the walls greeted her.
"Nurse Hatsumi!" she called, her voice bright and filled with excitement.
Nurse Hatsumi turned from the medicine cabinet, her eyes widening in surprise. "What are you doing here? Why are you completely drenched?"
"I got accepted!" Yukimo announced, ignoring all of the other questions.
"W-what?" nurse Hatsumi stared at her for a few seconds. Clearly seeing her eyes glowing with happiness and excitement, nurse Hatsumi knew this was real. She rushed over, enveloping Yukimo in a warm embrace. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"
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Time passed in a blur after that, and before Yukimo knew it, it was time to start her new life at U.A. Academy. After informing Nurse Hatsumi about her acceptance and receiving congratulations from her, Yukimo was immediately scolded for running in the rain and inside a hospital. After her shift, Nurse Hatsumi promised she would visit Yukimo so they could celebrate her acceptance together.
Back at home, Yukimo texted Izuku to share the news. Surprisingly, he texted her back, telling her that he had been accepted as well. She was happy to hear that he had the chance to chase his dreams, but she couldn't help but wonder how he had gotten accepted in the first place and how he would survive throughout the school years.
The teacher was also surprised to hear about Izuku's acceptance and congratulated all three of them. Katsuki, of course, threatened Izuku to drop out.
Yukimo was somewhat surprised that he only threatened Izuku. She was about to defend Izuku from Katsuki, but to her and Katsuki's surprise, Izuku actually stood up to Katsuki for the first time. Someone had told him that he could be a hero, and he stood his ground, saying he was going no matter what. She was really proud of Izuku for finally standing up for himself.
There was one thing Yukimo couldn't help but notice after they had gotten accepted: she felt like her relationship with both boys had become extremely distant instead of closer, unlike her bond with Nurse Hatsumi.
Katsuki stopped threatening Izuku about dropping out. This made her contact with Katsuki lessen since most of the time they had talked, it was when she defended Izuku. In fact, she could say it felt like he had completely ignored her; he wasn't pestering her at all.
The same went for Izuku. Even after many attempts, he had never once told her how he had gotten accepted into U.A. Academy. She asked him once, but he got all flustered and tried to change the subject. After that, she gave up and patiently waited for him to tell her himself.
It had gotten a lot worse after they graduated from junior high. She had not heard or seen Katsuki at all. As for Izuku? Whenever she tried to reach out to him, he was always busy training or doing something else—he was almost never home.
After a while, she stopped trying to contact Izuku and decided to focus on herself. She needed to prepare for high school while also enjoying her vacation. She even voluntarily helped Nurse Hatsumi at the hospital when needed. They once even went to a beach house together to enjoy some time away.
Honestly, Yukimo was somewhat thankful for what had happened with the sludge villain. If that incident hadn't occurred, she probably would not have met Nurse Hatsumi.
Nurse Hatsumi also tried to encourage Yukimo to train her teleportation from time to time, but Yukimo wasn't quite ready for that. She might attempt it during her school years, but for now, she wanted to focus mainly on telekinesis and, secondly, on her telepathy.
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Today was finally the day of her high school life. Yukimo could hardly contain her excitement as she lay in bed that night, picturing the grand halls of U.A. Academy. The vivid imagination within her spun tales of hero training and intense of Izuku filled her mind like stars twinkling in the night sky; he was no ordinary boy. His dreams of becoming the greatest hero were imbued with determination and grit, qualities that both inspired and puzzled her. How would he thrive in a place that demanded so much? Would they be in the same class?
Yukimo had trouble falling asleep because she was too nervous about the first day, and when she finally did fall asleep, she had a nightmare filled with every mean thing adults had told her. The nightmare haunted her, urging her to drop out of school while she still had the chance.
"You're a monster, and you don't belong there with the heroes-in-training," Yukimo woke with a start, the dream lingering in the corners of her mind like a shadow that refused to dissolve. She sat upright, gasping for breath as her heart raced. The echoes of the harsh words, 'you're not cut out for this,'-replaying in her head, threatening to pull her back into a spiral of self-doubt.
But as daylight filtered through her curtains, she felt a flicker of hope, battling against the nightmares. Today marked the beginning of a journey that could change everything.
"It was just a nightmare. It was just a nightmare," she tried to reassure herself.
As she made her way to the U.A. Academy, the nerves churned in her stomach like a flock of restless butterflies. Yukimo tried to brush off the memories of last night as she approached the U.A. Academy gates wearing her uniform. She wore a long-sleeve, button-up white shirt with a red tie and had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her outfit included a dark blue-green skirt, and instead of wearing her gray jacket with blue-green stripes, she had it tied around her waist. She also had her headphones around her neck along with a silver-blue bracelet on her left arm.
As usual, she wore her long bangs hanging slightly above her left eye, while her right eye was covered. One thing that had changed was that she had cut her long hair from hip length to shoulder length. Thinking her long hair might get in the way, she decided to shorten it a bit.
As Yukimo stepped onto the vibrant campus of U.A. Academy, the energy buzzing around her felt electric—students hurried past, laughter and excitement filling the air, bright banners celebrating a new school year rustled in the breeze, and the school building loomed majestically ahead like a beacon of hope.
Deep breaths, she reminded herself, trying to focus on the present rather than the shadows of her nightmare that lingered just beneath the surface.
"I've got this," she murmured under her breath, her heart racing in rhythm with her thoughts.
As she made her way to class and wondered what her classmates would be like—hopefully better than her last ones. She thought about Izuku and Katsuki; it wouldn't be that bad to sit with them again. She could somewhat protect Izuku and also use Katsuki to get stronger. He knew about her quirks and weaknesses, and she knew somewhat about his.
Something else made her curious about her classmates. Apparently, she had heard there were four people admitted through recommendations, while 36 were accepted through the regular exam. The 36 students were split into only two classes: 18 in 1-A and 18 in 1-B.
If the recommendations were also split in half, that would mean 20 people in A and 20 in B. Those were a lot of students.
Would she really be lucky enough to sit with both Izuku and Katsuki together? Should she even call that luck? The recommendations... How strong could they be?
As Yukimo approached the classroom designated for 1-A, anticipation bubbled within her like a fizzy drink waiting to be popped open. Her heart raced, both from the excitement of new beginnings and from the lingering fears she was fighting to quell. What if she wasn't good enough? What if the students in her class were unapproachable? But she steeled herself with the thought that she'd done this for a reason—to become a hero.
"That's a big door," Yukimo muttered as she looked up and down at the entrance. What was with this school and big doors? When she opened the door, only a few people were already sitting down. None of them talked to each other and simply minded their own business.
Using this peace and quiet, Yukimo took a random seat at the back and lay down on her desk to shut her eyes for a bit. She was still a little tired from the lack of sleep last night. She could hear more people entering the classroom, but all they did was take their seats and wait for class to start.
"Why are you sleeping?!" a voice yelled right next to her ear, making her jump up.
"B-Bakugo!" she stuttered as Katsuki took the seat next to her and rested his feet on top of his desk. He turned to her and smirked.
"You have a lot of nerve, Yukimo. Sleeping on your first day? You planning to drop out already?" He crossed his arms, a mixture of teasing and genuine challenge in his eyes.
Yukimo blinked, trying to shake off the grogginess. She sighed and sat up straight," Whatever. I just didn't sleep well last night, okay? I was...uh, excited!"
"Excited?" Katsuki leaned in, his intense gaze piercing through her uncertainty. "You're gonna need to be a lot more than excited if you want to keep up here."
She felt a flutter of anxiety at his words but chose to deflect. "Well, you're not exactly one to talk! How about focusing on not blasting everyone with your explosions first?"
Katsuki's smirk widened, a playful glint in his fiery eyes. "Maybe I'll think about that... if you can keep up with me."
She was happy to see him after such a long time and also that they were classmates again. Knowing Katsuki well, it would be wise not to say that out loud, or he would just yell and say the opposite. Instead, she wanted to ask him if he was excited but was interrupted by a loud, very familiar voice who was calling either her or Katsuki.
Both Katsuki and Yukimo turned their heads to see the person Yukimo immediately recognized. It was the goody-two-shoes who had yelled at Izuku for muttering.
"Don't put your feet on the desk!" he started to yell."Don't you think that's rude to the upperclassmen and the people who made the desk?"
'Annoying,' thought Yukimo as she rolled her eyes.
"I don't! What junior high did you go to, you side character?!" Katsuki retorted. Seeing that the goody-two-shoes were only paying attention to Katsuki, Yukimo wanted to quietly lean down on her desk once more, but the goody-two-shoes had another thing on his mind.
"You!" he yelled, looking at her. Yukimo sighed and sat up straight to face him, "What's with your uniform?! You can't wear it like that!"
'Oh, give me a break!' she unintentionally communicated through telepathy to Katsuki while maintaining her usual poker face. He smirked upon hearing this and looked at her. She waited for him to continue complaining, but when he saw how unfazed she was by his complaint, he stopped.
"You're also the girl," he muttered and stood before her. "I would like to apologize for the other day. You were right about the whole distraction thing. I'm Iida Tenya."
"Whatever," she replied without introducing herself.
"I never thought someone would be more annoying than you, Bakugo," she continued, looking at Katsuki with a smirk.
Before Katsuki could argue back, the door opened once more, and the classroom immediately fell quiet. Yukimo spotted Izuku, his bright green hair unmistakable as he scanned the room. Their eyes met, and for a moment, she felt the world fade around her. She felt lucky to have them both in the same class again, but also felt somewhat unlucky to have the goody-two-shoes.
"Deku," Katsuki hissed, staring at Izuku.
"You!" Tenya began, and once again everyone's attention shifted to Izuku. Apparently, they were at the same battle location during the exam. Yukimo couldn't help but smile as she stared at Izuku. It had been a long time since they had seen each other.
Her smile faded immediately when a girl appeared behind him and praised Izuku for his performance. The same short brown-haired girl whom Izuku had been talking to before the presentation. Seeing Izuku all flustered again, Yukimo grabbed the edge of her desk.
'She looks good in a uniform,' thought Izuku.
'Stupid Izuku...' she thought. She also noticed Katsuki glaring at Izuku.
'How dare he defy me? Something's definitely up!' She heard his thoughts, which was something even she had to admit was kind of true. How did he get accepted?
"Go somewhere else if you want to play at being friends," she heard someone say. She noticed Izuku and the others were staring outside the door, watching someone emerge from a yellow sleeping bag. He had messy, shoulder-length black hair that practically hung in front of his face and had half-opened black eyes. He wore a ragged black long-sleeve shirt and black pants that were tucked into his boots, along with a belt and a wrap scarf.
"Okay, it took eight seconds before you were quiet," he continued."Time is limited. You kids are not rational enough."
"I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa," he introduced himself. The entire class stayed quiet as they looked at their new teacher, trying to gauge their first impressions of him.
"It's kind of sudden, but put this on and go out onto the field."Teacher Aizawa then started digging inside his sleeping bag and pulled out a gym uniform.
'I have to test their quirks,' she heard his thoughts. After seeing no one was making a move, she stood up and grabbed the first gym uniform, prompting everyone else to follow suit.
One by one, the girls entered the changing room to get dressed in their gym uniforms. Yukimo felt a little self-conscious while the other girls easily shrugged into their uniforms without any problem.
Meanwhile, the girls chattered to get to know each other a bit before meeting the rest of their class. Yukimo quickly changed into her gym uniform and shut her locker door. She hadn't said a word to them, and neither had anyone said anything to her. Not that she minded or anything. That was another thing that hadn't changed since junior high; she wasn't very social.
Once ready, Yukimo stepped outside with her classmates, adjusting her gym uniform with a nervous flutter of anticipation. The school's courtyard was sprawling and vibrant, the perfect backdrop for what lay ahead. Aizawa's presence loomed over them like a dark cloud, his dishevelled appearance seeming to suck the laughter and chatter right out of the air. Yukimo couldn't shake the feeling that the real test was about to begin.
"Yuki-chan!" Izuku called out to her as he approached. It seemed like he had finally noticed her.
Yukimo felt her heart skip a beat at the sound of Izuku's familiar voice. As he approached her, the nervous energy that had been swelling in her chest started to dissolve, replaced by a warm sense of familiarity. No matter how much time passed or how distant they had become, he still felt like home to her.
"I'm so glad to see you here!" Izuku exclaimed, his wide green eyes sparkling with excitement and determination. "We're finally classmates again. Can you believe it?"
Yukimo smiled, her nervousness easing as she nodded. "Yeah, it's great to see you! I wasn't sure if we'd ever end up in the same class."
"Y-you cut your hair!" he said, looking all flustered. Yukimo twirled a strand of hair with her finger and nodded. Before they could continue speaking, all the girls had finally gathered together. Ochaco spotted Izuku and purposely stood next to him.
Noticing Ochaco's movement, Yukimo felt a twinge of something she couldn't quite name. After seeing how crowded the area became, Yukimo backed away and stood a little apart from everyone else, where another boy stood alone.
He had neck-length hair with bangs, parted twice so as not to obscure his vision. His hair was evenly split between two colors: white on his right and crimson red on his left. Not only were his hair colors different, but so were his eyes. That was what Yukimo immediately recognized—his eyes. Just like her, he had two different eye colors; his left eye was turquoise while his right was a dark gray.
She considered speaking to him, but he seemed like the type to keep to himself, so she brushed off the idea. However, seeing him casually standing there made her rethink her decision to hide her right eye.
"Alright, now that everyone is here," Aizawa-sensei began, "today we will have a quirk apprehension test."
"A QUIRK APPREHENSION TEST?!" the class yelled in unison, making Yukimo immediately cover her ears.
"So damn loud..." she muttered.
"What about the ceremony?! And the guidance counselor meeting?!" Ochaco protested, but Aizawa-sensei easily brushed it off by bluntly stating that teachers were allowed to run their classes however they liked. He also mentioned that if they wanted to be heroes, they wouldn't have time for such things.
He then showed his phone to them, which had eight separate tests listed on the screen: softball pitch, standing long jump, 50-meter dash, endurance running, grip strength, sustained sideways jumps, upper body exercise, and finally seated toe-touches. He explained that the test would evaluate their quirks, since they weren't allowed to use them in middle school, mentioning how the country was still trying to pretend everyone was created equal by not letting those with the most power excel.
"Bakugo, you finished at the top of the practical exam, right?" Aizawa-sensei looked at Katsuki, "In junior high, how far could you throw a softball?"
"Sixty-seven meters," he answered almost immediately.
"Now try it using your quirk," Aizawa-sensei replied, tossing a softball at him. "As long as you don't exit the circle, anything you do is fine. Don't hold back."
"You got it," he replied, starting to stretch his arms as soon as he got into the circle. Yukimo knew all too well that he would gladly take this opportunity to show the rest of the class that he wasn't someone they should mess with.
"Die!" he yelled as soon as he activated his quirk, and with an explosion, the ball soared away into the sky. The sudden blast not only caught everyone's attention but shocked everyone due to what he had exclaimed.
Yukimo wanted to burst out laughing but did her best to hold it in. She knew he would make a big deal out of it, and it was wise not to rile him up. She had to conserve her energy for the tests, especially since she hadn't slept well the night before.
Aizawa-sensei turned his phone around to show everyone the total distance the ball travelled: 705.2 meters.
Everyone gasped as Katsuki turned to look at Yukimo. He couldn't figure out what she was thinking because she was wearing her usual poker face. For some reason, that pissed him off.
"705 meters, for real?" she heard someone whisper.
"Awesome! That looks so fun!" someone exclaimed, making Yukimo flinch.
'Hey! That's a major red flag!' she thought, starting to feel a sense of dread. Aizawa was displeased by their reactions and then established a new rule.
"The student who ranks last in total points will be judged to have no potential and expelled instantly."
"Huh?!"The announcement made some of the students jolt nervously.
"We are allowed to run our classroom however we want, which means we can also expel students as we please," Aizawa continued. "Welcome to U.A.'s hero course!"
All kinds of different emotions flowed through the students. Some were unfazed, some nervous and scared, some excited, and some prepared themselves for the test.
Yukimo felt a mix of excitement and worry. She was fit enough for these tests, but almost all of them were without the use of her quirk, which meant she couldn't surpass her previous results. That put her at a disadvantage because other students could use their quirks to achieve better results than before.
The only test where she could surpass her previous result was the softball pitch. She could use her telekinesis to increase the distance, and on the bright side, that would be the last test. She could use all her physical strength before it got drained by her quirk.
"Last place will be expelled, but it's the first day of school!" Ochaco protested, expressing how unfair the rule was. Aizawa replied that the world was unfair, and it was a hero's job to combat that unfairness.
"I expect you to overcome these trials and climb to the top," he concluded, and with that, the test began.
*-* To Be Continued *-*
Next chapter; January 11 2025