Prologue

 "Come on, Rei. Get your head together." 

Rei Setsuko stood on the balcony connected to her bedroom and flexed her narrow fingers painfully, sucking in a breath every time they stretched out and reeled back in. The wind tossed her raven braid around, chilling her through her fuzzy blue pajamas. Her other hand rested on the neck of her violin. Her deep brown eyes fell on a  sheet of unfinished music that lay on the small table she had for when she wanted to have a cup of tea on the balcony.

"You have to get in. It's what Papa would want. You have to make him proud." Rei winced as memories flooded her mind.

"Papa, Look! I got my quirk! It's like my mama's!" A young Rei barrelled into her grandfather's arms, playing a small whistle.

The older man smiled at the child. "Really? Tell me everything."

Rei's eyes seemed to shimmer with giddiness. "I sat down at Mama's piano and just started playing. And guess what? The little dots on the paper all made sense! Then Mama came into our music room. She looked so surprised to see me!"

"That sounds like a pretty cool quirk," Papa said. "Maybe you'll get another one and be super powerful."

"Even more powerful than you? Or All Might?"

Papa shrugged. "Possibly. I don't have a future-seeing quirk, mi crescendo."

"Ha-ha! Oh, Papa, you're so funny!"

Rei picked up her bow, gently laying it on the strings. She heard the notes in her head before she even played them. With a soft breath, she slid the bow across the strings, the melody flowing through the night air. Her fingers flew gracefully, piecing together runs and trills. 

"I have a gift for you, mi crescendo." Papa brought a large guitar-shaped case from behind his back, opening it to reveal...

"Your violin?" Rei questioned, peering up at the older man with a confused look on her face. Sure, she could play the violin, but she already had one at home.

"Not just a violin," Papa said, taking the violin out of the case. "This violin is very special. I had it made to withstand anything."

"Anything?"

"Fire, water, acid...you name it, this baby can take it."

Rei took the violin happily, putting it down before tackling him in a hug. "Wow, that's amazing! Thank you, Papa!"

As she played, she felt a knot tighten in her stomach, but she kept playing. She had to get control, or she would never pass the recommendation exam. Breathing deeply, she felt the knot simmer down.

Rei ignored the strings' sharp cuts into her fingers as she readied herself for the big finale. She had to get this. A long descending run that fell into a sustained note at the end. Rei finally released the knot in her gut, and a spark of blue energy seeped from her hands.

"Papa! Papa! Don't hurt him! Please!"

"Rei, run..."

"Papa!"

As the power inside her escaped into the night air, Rei's energy plummeted, and she fell into the chair on her balcony. Panting softly, she laid her violin and bow on the table. 'Papa, I swear on my life, the ones who killed you will pay.' 

"Rei!" her mom called, poking her head into Rei's room. "Are you up here?"

Rei whirled at the sound of her mom's voice. "Yeah, I'm here. What's up?" Rei grabbed her violin and shut the balcony door.

Her mom sat on the edge of her bed, patting the space next to her. Rei perched beside her. "I know how hard you've been working for this chance to get into U.A." She turned to look at her daughter, reminding herself this wasn't the little girl who used to beg her for another song. Rei was becoming quite the young lady. "Your grandfather would be so proud of you."

Rei's fists clenched subconsciously. "I just wish he could've been here to see me, to cheer me on."

Rei's mom's eyes began to water. She pulled Rei close, holding her and telling herself not to cry for Rei's sake. "Rei, your grandfather loved you so much. He wanted so much to see you get into his alma mater. Don’t make yourself fall short of what you can accomplish just because he’s not with us right now. Do you think he'd want that?"

"No." Rei felt hot tears sliding down her cheeks. "But it doesn't keep me from missing him. It doesn’t keep me from feeling like there was more I could’ve done."

"Oh, Rei, I wish I could help you. I feel like the only person qualified to train you was your grandfather since you have nearly the same quirk." Rei's mom felt so worthless to Rei at that moment. “I don’t know how to help you control the power within you, but I’ll offer this advice: never let fear keep you from all you can accomplish. I know how scared you are, trying to take this next step, but don’t let that hold you back during the test. Find out what you can do and cut free once in a while. Sometimes the best therapy is just doing what has to be done.”

Rei clung to her mother a while longer. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll keep that in mind tomorrow.”

As they sat there, holding each other, Rei’s mom couldn’t help but smile. “On that note, I think it’s best if you went to bed. Busy, hectic day tomorrow.” She got up and started to leave. She halted. “Rei, I expect you to do your best, and that’s all that matters.”

“Alright, Mom. I’ll try.” Rei’s mom bid her goodnight, and Rei sat down with the sheet music she’d been looking at on her balcony. She reached for her pencil, but as soon as she held the tip of the graphite over the page, a wave of exhaustion washed over her. “I guess I’ll have to work on this tomorrow.”

Rei put aside the sheet music and her pencil, getting up to turn off the overhead light. Flipping on her lamp, she grabbed her prayer cross and whispered a quiet petition to her Lord.

“Father, I know you listen to every prayer your child makes. I know you have the power to ease pain and to comfort those who need comforting. I need both right now, Lord. I ask that you watch over me and guide me as I take my test tomorrow. Give me your strength, give me your wisdom, and give me your compassion. Help me to do well, to honor my family, and to honor my grandfather. Help me make him proud. By the way, God, if Papa’s up there with you, tell him how much I love and miss him? You’re amazing, Father. Amen.”

With those words, Rei turned off her lamp, allowing the darkness of the room to softly lull her to sleep.

Chapter 1

Rei stepped onto the dusty track, her tennis skirt swaying gently in the soft breeze. The written test almost seemed too easy. ‘Who was the #1 hero before All Might? Please, if someone doesn’t know that, they need to read into their hero history more.’

Rei held her violin loosely by the neck as she waited for her instructions. She knew the basis of this section. Everyone would be split into groups of six, then each group would run a three-kilometer obstacle course. Rei wasn't necessarily sure why they were being graded since they all got here through the recommendation of a pro-hero. But, who was she to question the way U.A. did things? They ran their classes however they wanted, according to their list of policies. (And yes, she took the time to read that. She wasn't about to enter a situation without knowing the ins and outs first.)

Present Mic would monitor this exam. Great. Rei rubbed her forehead with her free hand. 'I'm going to have the headache of a lifetime after this.'

“Hey, are you alright?” Rei glanced up at the owner of the voice: a teenage girl with a black ponytail and a slender, curvy build. She wore a rusty red sweatsuit.

Rei sighed. “I’m fine. Thank you.” She switched her violin to her other hand and began to stretch her fingers. Quickly becoming bored with simply stretching, Rei decided to make small talk. “What’s your quirk, ponytail?”

The girl frowned a little at the nickname, but she replied, “Creation. I can create any inanimate object as long as I understand the composition of it.”

With a crud-eating grin, Rei asked, “Could you make a set of earplugs? Mr. Loudmouth over there might blow our ears if we don’t use them,” and pointed over to the stands, where the pro-hero was gathering his papers and preparing for the first race.

Covering her mouth, the girl tried to stifle a small snicker, but she failed. She laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

"...Rei Setsuko, Momo Yaoyorozu! Your race will begin shortly!" Present Mic yelled from his place in the stands.

Rei glanced at her opponent. "So, your name is Yaoyorozu? I think I've heard that name in the upper-class community."

Yaoyorozu blushed a little, the tips of her ears going red. "Yes, that's me. I can't say I recognize your name, however. Who recommended you?"

"Someone…" Rei's voice broke as she fought to keep her emotions in check. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Someone very special to me did."

Yaoyorozu noticed the sudden sadness that barely crept into Rei's voice and wondered what happened to the poor girl to cause so much pain.

Rei shook her head to clear her mind. "It's not important." She stuck her hand out in a sportsmanlike gesture. "See you at the finish line."

"Not if I get there first," Yaoyorozu said, taking Rei's hand and giving it a firm shake.

"We'll see." 

"Group C! TO THE STARTING LINE!" Present Mic boomed.

With a nod to Yaoyorozu, Rei stretched her fingers a bit more as she approached her mark at the starting line. She offered a silent prayer to the Lord who brought her to that moment, 'Lord, if You would help me do well today, that'd be really cool. But not my will, Father. Let Yours be done today.'

As Present Mic provided/screeched the general layout of the course, Rei put in her headphones. They weren't necessary for her quirk, but she did enjoy thinking she had an entire band backing her up instead of just playing by herself. Besides, they blocked out the worst of Mic's screaming.

Finally, the stands erupted with a loud "GO!!!!"

Everyone burst from the starting line, headed straight for the first obstacle.

That is, everyone except Rei. 

Rei drew her bow across her violin strings and started to dance. She immediately dropped into a plie before jumping back up to trod the ground. Planting her feet together, she sank into a deep backbend. As she danced and played her instrument, she could feel the air around her start to crackle with the gathering energy.

“What the hell is going on down there?!” Present Mic shouted, the confusion evident in his voice. “Setsuko isn’t running! It looks like she's… dancing?!”

'Yeah, I'm dancing. Got a problem with that, you outdated jukebox?' Rei thought.

She fell into a knee spin, kicked to her feet, then pirouetted. Rei leaned into the dance moves as though they were a physical extension of her body. 

Her body shimmered with built-up energy. Through the shimmering energy, she noticed a small ripple in the dirt in front of her. With a few more runs on her violin, the ripple burst into a wall.

Rei wasn’t sure what it was, but she remembered what her mother told her. ‘Find out what you can do and cut free once in a while.’ 

"Find out what I can do, hm?"

Trusting her gut, she leaped into the wall of dirt, willing herself somewhere, although she wasn't entirely sure where. Her body felt lighter the second she touched the wall, and the world went dark for a split-second as she squeezed her eyes shut. 

Rei launched from the dirt and tucked into a roll. Skidding to a stop, she opened her eyes. ‘The end of the track? I just…teleported?'

“OH, MY GOD!! AN INCREDIBLE DISPLAY OF POWER FROM SETSUKO, NOW IN THE LEAD!! SHE WAS PLANNING THIS ALL ALONG!!” 

‘No, I really wasn’t.’

The thudding of footsteps and the shouts of rabid teenage boys alerted Rei to the fact the race was still underway. ‘I don’t know what in the world just happened, but I’m using this to my advantage.’

Rei took off, sprinting for the finish line, violin still in hand. She could win this!

“Out of my way, loser!” Rei whirled at the voice of one of her male opponents. Just out of the corner of her eye, she watched as the blonde harshly barreled into the girl in front of him. The girl hit the ground hard, landing on her shoulder. Rei seethed.

‘Yaoyorozu.’

Rei couldn’t decide. Possibly lose first place to help someone, or take first place and don’t help. ‘What should I do, Papa?’

‘Oh, screw it.’

Rei dropped her violin and bow and lunged back toward her competitors. The boy who knocked down Yaoyorozu roared, “WHERE ARE YOU GOING, IDIOT?!”

“Move it, moron!” Rei jumped up and roundhouse kicked him square in the jaw. He fell the second her foot impacted his head. “Jerks like you should never be heroes, anyway.” Rei skidded to a stop in front of the creation girl. “Where does it hurt? We have about thirty seconds before someone overtakes us.”

Yaoyorozu winced. “I hit my shoulder really hard. It could be dislocated.”

“You can get up, though.”

“Yeah, I think so.” 

Rei pulled Yaoyorozu to her feet. “Come on, hurry! We can tie for first!”

The girls bolted for the finish, hand in hand. Rei slid on her knees to grab her violin and bow. “Let’s go!” 

Even though she was panting her lungs out, Rei wouldn't give up. She'd make her grandfather proud of her. His recommendation wouldn't go to waste.

With a quick leap, the girls crossed the finish line, holding their linked hands high for everyone to see. 

"AND IT'S A TIE!!! SETSUKO AND YAOYOROZU HAVE TIED FOR FIRST PLACE!!!" 

Rei really was glad for the race to be over. She was tired of listening to Present Mic's screaming. She turned to Yaoyorozu. "How's your shoulder?"

Wincing a bit, the girl said, "Honestly? It could be better, but I'll be fine."

"I have some spare energy left from using my quirk. Let me look."

Yaoyorozu tilted her head in confusion but unzipped the top part of her sweats jacket to reveal her shoulder. She figured she could trust this girl, the one who came back for her. 

That seemed odd to Yaoyorozu.

As Rei inspected Yaoyorozu's shoulder, she noticed how small the teen's body was compared to hers. Now, Rei wasn't necessarily one to compare waist sizes, but this time didn't really seem much like comparing. The girl's body was tiny next to Rei's. It almost didn't look healthy. 

"Your shoulder isn't dislocated, thank goodness, but it is badly bruised," Rei noted. She laid her hand on Yaoyorozu's shoulder. "This might tingle a little."

Rei channeled what little energy remained from her quirk into Yaoyorozu's shoulder. Yaoyorozu tensed from the feeling. 

Rei was right. It did tingle, like little tendrils of static electricity running around her shoulder. "Ooh, that feels weird."

"I know, sorry." In a few moments, Rei had finished. She wobbled tiredly a little bit from the over-expenditure of her quirk, but that could be fixed with a nap. "Try stretching it."

Yaoyorozu rotated her shoulder, working it back and forth to test for pain. "No pain. That's amazing."

"I wouldn't call it amazing, but it's definitely useful." Rei turned to leave. "The next team will need the track. We'd better move."

Yaoyorozu quickly caught up with Rei, picking up a couple of water bottles as she passed the cooler and handing one to the musician. "So, your quirk. It's entirely based on your energy?"

"Yeah. It's a pain. Lots of sleep, lots of caffeine, lots of practice. But, hey, I can do whatever with the energy I gather when I play an instrument, so that's a plus, I guess," Rei explained.

"I can agree with that," Yaoyorozu said. "My quirk takes the lipids in my body and converts them into whatever I need as long as I know its structure. It requires a bit of energy, I won't lie."

"Sounds delicious."

Rei could have sworn Yaoyorozu almost spat her water before bursting into laughter. Rei deadpanned, "No, I'm completely serious. You get to eat all the time because you need to replenish your lipid count. That sounds wonderful."

Rei finally laughed along to the point she wasn't watching where she was going. She suddenly plowed into something solid enough to be a wall. “Oof.”

A pair of heterochromatic eyes glowered down at her. Rei met the boy's gaze before peering at the ground. "Excuse me." Eyes still on the ground, she focused on simply passing him by and imagining something interesting on the ground.

"Wait." Rei frowned. 'Great. Just, great.'

She turned to face the boy with red and white hair. "You're the girl with the music quirk, right?”

"Yes, why?"

"You should have been more careful. Waiting to teleport was reckless; it could have cost you the race. If you want to make it into U.A, you can't make rash decisions like that," he scolded, a little bit harshly, in Rei's opinion.

Rei wanted to be mad, but she also knew he was right. Counting to ten to defuse her building anger, she said, "Thank you for your criticism. I understand."

"Good." The boy turned to head out onto the track.

"However," Rei continued, watching as he stopped and turned at her words, "I also understand that my quirk takes more time than others to activate. It was a risky move, but when are there not risks in heroism. If you're not willing to take a risk to save someone in time, then why are you here?"

She only received a sharp glare in response.

"What's your name, half-n-half?" Rei asked.

His voice was almost as cold as his eyes. "Shoto Todoroki."

"Well, Todoroki, I'd wish you good luck on the race, but I don't think you'll need it since you're so amazing you're critiquing your opponent to her face." Rei turned on her heel and waved dismissively, ignoring the heated stare that burned into her back. "Buh-bye, half-n-half."

Yaoyorozu, who had stood there and watched the whole thing, cocked a brow in question. "What was that about?"

Rei glared at Todoroki from over her shoulder. "I don't like prejudicial people. Anyone with the attitude to judge someone without empathizing with the other first is a coward.” She shook her head to clear it and sighed. “I shouldn’t blame him. I’d be a hypocrite if I criticized him for looking at me like that. Everyone has their own personal hell to walk through, so I shouldn’t judge him for seeming heartless.”

“You’re very wise,” complimented Yaoyorozu. This girl truly stunned the creation-wielder. One minute frustrated, the next calm and excusing the wrongdoer’s actions like they never happened. “I don’t understand something about you, Setsuko. Why would you let something that bothers you go just like that?” Yaoyorozu snapped her fingers to prove her point.

Rei tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean? Doesn’t everyone forgive someone’s ignorance that fast?”

Yaoyorozu shook her head ‘no.’ “Not much anymore. I think it’s a mental block.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I believe the Father would want me to forgive him. I want to follow His will, so I want to forgive just as He forgave me.”

“The Father? You mean like God?”

“Yeah.” Rei let a soft smile grace her lips as she handled the small cross pendant around her neck. 

“How interesting. I haven’t read a lot into Christianity. Would you tell me about it?”

Rei stopped in front of the stands. “Sure, but I’ll have to go to my interview soon.”

The girls sat in the stands and talked, from Scriptures to superheroes, until Rei had to go to her interview since they were being called in alphabetical order. With a small wave 'goodbye', Rei walked away from the stands, a small smile on her face. 

"Rei, hold on!" Yaoyorozu waved her down one more time.

Rei watched curiously as the girl wrote something on a scrap of paper. Passing it to her, Yaoyorozu beamed.

"We're friends now. Text me when you get the chance, okay? I hope I see you this school year!"

"Likewise!" Rei smiled, taking the paper. "See you later, Yaoyorozu!"

Yaoyorozu giggled. "Please, call me Momo."

"Alright, Momo. I have to go. Bye!" Rei gave her a closed-eye smile before leaving the stands. She couldn't help the warm feeling in her chest. That had been the fastest she'd made friends with someone ever since she was a little girl.

Everything feeling right in the world, Rei practically skipped to her interview with Principal Nezu.

_______________________________________________

3,553 words. This is only the first part of an MHA fanfiction I'm working on, and I personally think it could be better.

Also, I do not own My Hero Academia, its plot, or its characters. I only own pieces of the plot that are not in either the anime or the movie and my OC, Rei.

Rei's information is in the photo. I could honestly write her bio out as a chapter, but I'm too lazy for that. This picture is something I asked a close friend, WarriorBlessedstar, to draw, but I traced it and colored it, and I think it turned out good.

So, here you go, TeruTategami. Hit me with your worst. I can take it.