"Today is the day UA welcomes 24 new students into their gates. The four recommendation students are already causing quite the stir. Kannouji Kyouichi is the only son of the famous Kannouji hospital director, Aoki Akane is already renowned for her marksmanship, Takami Keigo has had pros keeping a close eye on him for years and this point, and finally Kazeshita Ururu is a dark horse among them having been scouted from the countryside! We also need to look out for the top scorer in the entrance exam: Sesaki Hazumu, who-!"

"Next stop: Musutafu station." Pocketing her phone, Sae turns to grab the shoulder of the person beside her but quickly drops her hand and tightens her grip on the handrail after seeing an unfamiliar face. I know I said we should act like strangers when at school but I didn't think that would include traveling there alone too...

Sae darts through the doors the second they open, avoiding the horde behind her nearly knocking each other over. Already droves of people watch the lucky few wearing those famous grey and blue uniforms. A girl with snow white rabbit ears, a surprisingly timid looking boy with a blue rattail. Of course, there was also that brown haired boy behind her. He has a gentle smile when she looks back but those golden eyes take too much joy seeing her irritated.

Leaving the station just makes the gazes even worse: what should be a leisurely ten minute walk descends into a half an hour of chaos and congestion. The crowd hovered around anyone in uniform and those with recognizable faces had little hope to arrive on time. The boy with crimson wings kept darting around one group just to be stopped by another. The other kid with a golden and elegant braid seemed to enjoy the attention and easily make his way through the crowd.

Even a few blocks away all the students can see the sudden glint in the sky as the sun reflects off their school for the next three years. That silent awe turns into gasps and squeals when the first handful reach the gates and only grow louder when they pass the threshold and it finally hits: they are students of UA's hero course.

Sae has a much more muted response though, never looking up at the towering building before her or to the ground like many of her worried and teary-eyed peers. She wasn't going to waste her time gawking; not when class started in only fifteen minutes and especially not when she's already managed to get lost.

"I've been here before haven't I? Wait, this the second year hallway, did I go upstairs?" Turning back for the nearest staircase, Sae darts down the stairs into an empty hallway. There are only three minutes left. In mazes the best practice is to hug a wall, so I should eventually find room 1-B by that logic. Ah but eventually won't cut it within three minutes!

"Hey, are you alright? You're clinging to the wall pretty tightly..."

A person! Sae smiles and watches the blue and pink haired girl twirl a strand of her ponytail between her fingers. She almost forgets she's hugging a wall out of desperation on her orientation day. A witness!

She dusts her skirt rapidly and straightens her back, giving her potential savior a meticulous curtsy. "It's a pleasure to meet you nonetheless. I'm Yamada Sae and, judging by your uniform and being on the first floor, you must be a new student here as well, right?"

"Oh, yes! I'm Aoki Akane, I'll be in class 1-B starting today. Do you... need help finding the class? You seemed to be struggling for a sec-"

"Oh don't trouble yourself trying to help, I'm just fine on my own."

"But the wall hug-"

"Absolutely nothing happened, maybe this summer heat is getting to you?"

"It's spring..."

"Let's just move on from your silly talk of spring and I'll be on my way. You should hurry too so you're not late to class." Sae bows slightly and heads back up the stairs. Aoki stutters and flails her hands until she grabs the hem of Sae's shirt.

"You said you're a first year student! Why are you going up?"

A pause. Slowly turning her head back like the hand of a clock, she smiles at Aoki and robotically uncurls her hands from her shirt. "Well if you really want company, should we go to class together? We will be classmates for the next three years if neither of us are murdered on the battlefield! Hahahaha!"

"That's a little grim, isn't it?" Aoki steps back when Sae gracefully returns to the center of the hall but she soon freezes. "Um, what are you waiting for--"

"You want company, right?" Aoki watches Sae for a moment but soon heads towards class while glancing back.

"Well, we don't want to be late." Stiff in expression, walk, and voice but Aoki keeps going nonetheless.

"Now that I think of it, Aoki Akane... you're one of the recommendation students, correct? I've heard you have quite the aim, it's hard for people to train their quirks without money, connections, or hero courses."

Aoki blushes and turns away. "Ah yeah, I have been training pretty hard the past few years with a few instructors."

It was a remarkably short walk to class 1-B, which made Sae's smile ever so slightly twitch.

"So why were you wandering the halls Aoki-san? Trying to scout people out?"

"No!" Aoki jolts back at her own shout and covers her mouth. "Sorry, I'm just a little on edge meeting everyone so I just needed to calm my nerves."

Sae stares but soon smirks and grabs the handle, "guess I'll be quiet about your silly jitters if the wall hugging is never mentioned again."

She seems confused but smiles along with Sae soon enough. "So you admit it then!"

"There is nothing to admit! We both happened to explore and we both happened to meet up. Nothing more, nothing less." Sae slams open the door and walks to her seat without waiting for Aoki's response.

"Guess that's a fair price for my dignity..." Aoki sighs and follows behind, taking her assigned seat to the front right.

Sae on the other hand had her desk in the very opposite corner, furthest from the front. Most students were already seated but a few were introducing themselves and having meaningless small talk. Surprisingly the red winged boy was on time and already surrounded by a handful of other kids: the girl with rabbit ears and white hair, a rather loud guy with slicked back red hair and a few black strands falling just above his eye, and finally an exceptionally plain girl with short brown hair and a large satchel around her shoulder.

Our heroine doesn't seem too interested in them, even when the bird-boy's gaze follows her until she sits down and offers a lazy wave.

Ignoring him, she scans the room for a specific curly haired traitor. Feeling her burning a hole into him, he forces a smile and begins talking to his neighbor and avoids acknowledging Sae. Atsu, you're enjoying this 'pretend to be strangers' plan far too much! I was almost late and you don't care! No matter how you look at it, ignoring people is...

Freezing, she slowly looks for the bird-boy, sweating while forcing a robotic smile. He's laughing as the red boy makes numerous hand gestures and the girl dramatically points towards his head. His feathers ruffle after a moment and he looks back to see Sae frantically waving.

He hurriedly covers his mouth with his hand as he tries, and fails, to stifle his laughter. 'Rabbit' hits him, rather hard, on the back and laughs along while 'Red' looks quite proud and 'Plain' is rather confused.

Putting her gloved hand down before she draws too much attention to herself, Sae notices the desk to the right of her is empty.

Sighing, Sae checks the clock. Already time for orientation but we only have 11 students here and no teacher. Almost to spite her, the 12th student and her neighbor--a boy with messy snow white hair--throws his bag to the floor beside his desk and rests his head in his arms. Don't acknowledge me, that's fine.

His sudden appearance causes the four students talking in the middle of the room to settle down, most fanning out for their own desks aside for bird-boy and Red taking a seat right where they are in the front.
When Rabbit finally takes her seat the lights shut off.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"Real funny, turn 'em back on!"

A chorus of students get up or yell or some even whispering to their neighbors.

"Huh? Is this smoke?" Soon enough, once one girl yells and, presumably, her chair falls to the floor in panic, Sae herself feels a slow wisp of air pass her shoulders. Not that she could see well enough to identify it. Using her quirk, Sae summons a flashlight out of thin air, pointing it to the front of the room.

"Oh sweet, a light quirk!"

"Who the hell's moving up front?" The rabbit girl and 'Red' charge forward towards the dark figure. Wait, isn't this smoke just from a fog machine? So then this is...

"Everyone, this must be part of the orientation! Don't recklessly attack people!" Atsu beats Sae to the punch, grabbing 'Rabbit's' arm, the faint smoke around them slowly dissipating as Red desperately grabs one of the front desks to slow down. "There was a machine in one of the back vents producing smoke, there must be a few more scattered around the room."

"Then who's the freak in the front?!"

"There were some rumors that UA was hiring a new teacher but they seemed to be a no-name--"

"No Name? What foolishness!" The voice echoes from every corner of the room. Speakers to go along with the smoke machines, A+ for theatrics. We can all see him but he's trying. How did that girl know about the new teacher though? Papa never mentioned it to me and he's the most likely to run his mouth.

"So if you're the teacher, mind going over what all this is?" 'Wings' steps a bit closer to the front but ensures he stays in the light. My hand is cramping but I can't give myself a migraine just to make it float.

"Very well, I shall illuminate the darkness plaguing your minds. But be warned! My knowledge may collapse your petty sense of reality!" With that exclamation, the teacher makes a dramatic motion, all the lights flickering to life. There he stands: clad in a pitch black costume with an exceptionally high collar, an eyepatch partially covered by styled blonde hair that frames his face and covers the gap between his eyes.

"I, the one born from the eternal darkness of mankind, am Odd Eye: The Chuni Hero! The ignorant lack the holy eye to peer into the darkness of my name and power, but know my power serves as shackles keeping the knowledge of damnation in place! Hahaha!" His laugh bounces around the room as the students seem at a loss for words. Not from awe or anything so kind. A mix of pity and confusion is shown in different ratios between most of their eyes. Sae was... except from this disappointment. Such confidence, as expected from a hero!

"You mean to say you have a hand in the Hero Network then, Odd Ball-san?" Sae asks, long having stored her flashlight in her pocket dimension again.

"Haha--huh? Oh, so you are a child of the chosen as well then? Though it is Odd Eye."

"Moving on to things that matter, when will we have a proper orientation?"

"Gah! A viper among my flock! Well, I'll appease your monstrous spirit for now and explain for such mortal fiends."

"Your orientation will start..." He pauses while walking closer to the front row, "When you escape my grasp. I will hunt you all down until you reach Ground Zeta. As long as you can escape you will have a chance, albeit slim."

"Hehe, slim?" Red watches Odd Eye with excitement, pulling both arms back he charges. "If we just take you out then everyone can get by safely!"
"You idiot, he's a pro!" The plain girl with a satchel desperately tries to grab Red's blazer but he's long out of reach.

"Oshigami Eikyo, you're a spirited mortal--" Odd Eye grabs Oshigami by his forehead and Oshigami freezes, screaming and foaming at the mouth until he finally collapses. "But a mortal nonetheless."

The class is frozen. Before anyone moves to help Oshigami, a screen lights up the front of the class revealing two familiar score boards. The results of the entrance exam.

"To finish my explanation: you all find a way to Ground Zeta before I call upon your heart's darkness. My hidden power digs into the depths of your soul, forcing you to reveal your folly and die from shame or refuse and just die, like Oshigami here."
I knew the names and scores for the first chart but to just reveal everyone's scores. Wait, we have to find our way?

Sae finds Aoki slowly reaching for her hair and outstretching her right arm. She's fast but Odd Eye is faster, reaching for Aoki's arm before she can raise it. Unfortunately for you Odd Ball-san, I need her to get to Ground Zeta.

Summoning two small knives near Aoki, Sae aims them under Aoki's blazer and forcefully drags her back towards the windows.

"What?!"

"We just have to escape first, let's go Aoki-san!" Sae opens the nearest window and jumps out, Aoki unwillingly following after her. When Aoki hurls out the window Sae is nowhere to be seen but after she's dragged to the ground, Sae is right behind her, using a handkerchief to wipe her bleeding nose.

"Where did you go? No, what did you do to me?"

"I helped. Now let's head out before the backup shows up."

"Back up?"

Part of the wall besides them is blown off as a dozen small robots drive forward.

"Yamada Sae, must capture. Aoki Akane, must capture."

Aoki sighs, tearing off a chunk of hair as her right arm shifts into an ornate and fleshy rifle. "Point taken. I owe it to you to get you there." Filling the 'barrel' of her arm, she fires and hits the largest robot straight through its head, knocking it over along with those behind it. Before Sae can even ask, Aoki is firing again and again, taking out about half the robots before her arm reverts and she lightly cradles it. It's bruised.

"Quite serious aren't you? What happened to the bashful Aoki-san?"
"This is how I usually am! Nevermind, just take down what's left. I need to rest my arm since the kickback has left it a bit..."

Aoki stares as one by one, the six robots closest to Sae all vanish into thin air until only a handful remain.
"Sore... What did you do to them?"
"I think the better question is what I'll do with them next, hehe." Sae laughs and brings her hand to her face, framing the left of her wide, polite, and far too joyous grin.