The school year only started a mere 2 months ago, and already the girls of Class 2A were fed up. Of course, it wasn't hard to understand why they were fed up. The prejudice of their male (and male presenting) classmates hadn't diminished from the previous year. They were all still unknowingly spewing bullshit that made the girls of the class' blood boil. And it wasn't just class 2A, it was also class 2B. Both classes were full of casual sexism (as well as other forms of discrimination) that were never brought to the teacher's attention. 

"I'm getting tired of the boys saying shit about us, whether intentional or not!" Kyoka grumbled scathingly one evening. The female students of both class A and B were sat under the shade of a weeping willow tree as the sky was painted dusty hues of purple and pink. 

"Then..." Ochako hummed, "Why don't we... I don't know, teach them? You know teach them not to be dicks?"

"That sounds like a good idea, but what about we put a bit of a twist on this," the smirk on Mina's face and the exuberant light that glistened in her eyes should have forewarned the other girls that Mina was up to something, but they didn't want to question her too much. As long as they were getting revenge on the boys because of their unjust treatment, who were they to push down Mina's mischievous spirit.

"And how do you plan on teaching our classmates a lesson?" Setsuna Tokage mused. She was leaning heavily against Itsuka, the two of them were snuggled together, the sight made Kyoka and Tsuyu's hearts ache. They wanted to admit their feelings to their respective crushes, but gathering the courage to do so was proving difficult. 

"We could do any number of things," Momo mused, "Although, we shouldn't do anything we are well aware that they would uncomfortable with. If we are to teach our classmates a lesson, we shouldn't sink as far down as to degrade or assault them, we don't like it when they do it to us, so we shouldn't do it to them."

"Uh. You're right Yaomomo," Toru sighed, as much as she may have wanted to direct the boys scathing and downright terrible words back at them, morally, as a hero in training, she didn't think she could.

"Simply educating them should be enough, right?" Yui whispered.

"Yes. I believe that we should forgive and forget, they simply need to be exposed to the light so that they can atone for their actions." Ibara preached. Somehow, it seemed as though the waning light of dusk agreed with her proclamation. Light breached the canopy above her and shone down upon her like a spotlight from the heavens. That seemed to happen around Ibara a lot.

"How about this," Tsu started in a level tone, "We could simply tell the teacher about this behaviour, seeing as it appears as though they are unaware. Once we directly tell the teachers about this, they are sure to do their best to solve this situation. We needn't do anything drastic."

Tsu levelled a look at Mina, Kyoka, Ochako and Itsuka, all of which seemed to be working themselves up into a vengeful frenzy. At Tsu's look, the four girls calmed down a bit, though there was still a fire burning bright in their eyes. 

"I think this is a good idea," Pony smiled, "If they're still dickheads after the teachers do something, then we can beat them up!"

"No, we're not beating anybody up, Pony," Reiko sighed in her usual tired manner. 

"Yes, we shouldn't beat anybody up, that won't fix anything," Kinoko giggled. She wasn't at all convincing in her statement. 

"Let's not talk about beating anybody up just yet," Itsuka laughed, "How about we all just head back to our dorms now, it's getting dark and the teachers will want us back. I'll talk to Vlad King about what we've spoken about and... Momo can talk to Aizawa. Maybe they'll actually do something about all of this."

Murmurs and nods circulated around the group. Farewells were exchanged as the girls of Classes 2A and 2B made their way back to their dorms, hope had been ignited in their chests. Maybe, just maybe, the casual sexism that they had been exposed to would finally end. 

As soon as Momo arrived back at Heights' Alliance, she split off from her friends and made her way directly to Aizawa's quarters. She always found it a bit awkward to talk to the teachers after school hours, especially in the evenings, she always felt like she was going to be a bother. Nevertheless, this was a matter of the utmost importance, and she couldn't let her slight fear of socialising with people older than her inhibit her.

"Hey, Momo, do you want me to come with you?" Momo couldn't help but smile when she heard Kyoka's voice. Their voice was soothing, as was to be expected from such an amazing singer, she could listen to them all day. 

"Thank you, Kyoka," Momo said graciously. 

"No problem! I know that you can get nervous. Plus, and this is gonna sound selfish and a bit weird, but I wanna see what Aizawa's reaction is. I know that he'd protect us with his own life, but... You know..." Kyoka trailed off, apparently unable to finish their sentence, but Momo understood well enough. Kyoka wanted to know if Aizawa would protect the girls from their own classmates, they wanted to know if Aizawa could be trusted. 

"I think he'll believe us and do all that he can to aid us. He's like a parental figure for us." Momo hummed. 

"Yeah," Kyoka murmured. 

The two girls (both of which unknowingly pined after the other) arrived at the door to their teacher's suite and shared a look before Kyoka stepped up and knocked on their teacher's door. From within, Kyoka could hear the sound of Aizawa grumbling and Eri's excited chattering. Footsteps got closer and closer to the door, though Aizawa's voice stayed stationary.

"Present Mic is going to open the door," Kyoka hummed to Momo. 

"How do you know?" Momo asked in a surprised tone.

"I could tell that there were three people in there from the faint sound of their heartbeats, since I haven't plugged my earphone jacks into the wall, it's a bit harder to hear. I can hear Eri talking about the Tv show they're watching, I can hear Aizawa grumbling about students disturbing him, and he's staying where he is. Present Mic walks in a certain way that I can recognise easily, so I can tell that he's the one coming to the door." Kyoka explained, she finished just as the door opened. 

"That's some pretty good quirk use, Little Listener!" Present Mic praised, "What's up? Do you need to speak to Sho- ah, I mean Aizawa?" 

Present Mic's little slip up was ignored by Kyoka and Momo, it happened all of the time. The teachers were supposed to maintain a level of professionalism whilst around students, though nobody really cared, least of all the students.

"Yes, we were hoping to talk to Aizawa Sensei about something." Momo hummed, "Would that be possible?" 

"Of course!" Present Mic enthused. 

The girls didn't get any forewarning before Present Mic turned around and shouted into the rooms behind him, "Shota! Yaoyorozu and Jiro want to talk to you!" 

Kyoka winced and rubbed their earphone jacks whilst Momo chuckled nervously. Grumbles came from the rooms within as Aizawa came shuffling out to face his students.

"What is it?" Aizawa yawned.

"Can we talk to you about something, in private? It's something that the two of us and the other girls think is of the utmost importance." Momo said politely. 

Maybe her tone spoke of urgency, or maybe Aizawa simply saw the serious light that shone in both Momo and Kyoka's eyes, because his posture straightened a bit and he nodded his head.

"Ok, we can talk in my office, this way." 

And with that, Aizawa led Kyoka and Momo to his office so that they could talk. 

Safely confined to Aizawa's office, Momo and Kyoka stood in front of their teacher. Finally bringing the boys' behaviour to Aizawa's attention was nerve-wracking, to say the least. Momo was eternally glad that Kyoka had decided to come with her, she doubted she would have gathered the courage to speak to Aizawa properly if her closest friend hadn't been right there beside her. 

"So, what did the two of you want to talk about?" Aizawa asked. His perpetually tired tone was still prevalent in his voice, but his eyes spoke of attentiveness. 

"Right!" Momo's nerves sky-rocketed. She fiddled with her fingers and shot a desperate look at Kyoka. Kyoka shrugged and nodded in encouragement, their words were silent, but every single one of their mannerisms was screaming "You can do it!"

"Umm... Well, I and the rest of the girls have noticed that... whether it be intentional or not, most of the boys can say and do some really misogynistic and sexist stuff towards us. I'm sure that they don't mean anything by it, but it's starting to affect us negatively. It's been like this since our first year, and we all stayed quiet about it because we didn't think we would be taken seriously. Also, we all thought that complaining to an authority figure would have made us seem weak and unworthy of being heroes. It's not just our class but Class 2B as well. We all love being in the hero course and we don't believe our classmates are bad people but sometimes they say things that can come off wrong and we simply believe that they need to be educated!" Momo rushed out, bowing her head quickly as she finished. 

Silence reigned supreme in the office for a minute. Momo stayed with her head bowed, Kyoka stood with their arms crossed, looking anywhere but at Aizawa and Aizawa sat in his seat brows furrowed and a look of deep contemplation on his face. 

"So... You feel as though this problem had been happening since your first year at UA and you were worried about coming to us due to being perceived as weak or whinny?" Aizawa intoned slowly. 

Knowing that Momo was most likely too nervous to answer properly, Kyoka answered, "Yes. That is correct. We know that UA does its best to support its students, but past experiences and encounters have made me and the rest of the girls weary to seek help from authority figures. We are usually dismissed, or the teachers tell us they will do something, but then don't."

Aizawa nodded, eyes gaining a contemplative look once again. "Ok. I will talk to Vlad King and the rest of the teachers so that we can all keep an eye out for this behaviour. Also, I'll see if a lesson can be prepared about sexism, it would be beneficial for your hero studies. You may go now, I'll be sure to do my best to resolve this situation."

Kyoka and Momo both thanked their teacher before hurrying from the room and bolting towards the stairs. Aizawa wasn't somebody who usually stoked nerves and fear in the two students, but despite that, they were terrified. This wasn't the first time Kyoka had made a complaint along these lines in their life. But maybe, just maybe, something would be done about it this time. 

The girls of the hero course waited with bated breath for something to be done. They waited for the teachers to bring their complaints up to the others. It turns out they didn't need to wait too long because a mere three days after they spoke to the teachers, Classes 2A and 2B were herded into the same room when they were supposed to be having their hero's ethics class. 

"You may be wondering why you are all in here together," Vlad King started without a preamble, "And that's a question that is easily answered."

"Some students have come to both me and Vlad King with concerns of sexism within the hero course," Aizawa explained sleepily, immediately there were exclamations of denial, though they were silenced by Aizawa's steely gaze, "Whether intentional or not, a number of people have said things that have upset others. So for today's hero's ethics class, we will be talking about sexism, against all genders and how to recognise it." 

Listening to the presentation that Vlad King, Aizawa and Midnight directed, Mina felt a warm sense of acceptance growing in her stomach. They were very direct in their words, they didn't invalidate anyone, and spoke not just about the issues and discrimination female-presenting people face, but also issues that male presenting people also face.

"We live in an age where the majority of heroes are men, which makes way for some workplace sexism, whether it be implicit or explicit," Midnight explained patiently, "Knowing the things that we are now telling you may help you create a more welcoming and inclusive place for future generations, and maybe more people who present as women or more people whose gender identities don't fall into the binary will feel more comfortable becoming heroes." Midnight explained patiently. Mina was hooked onto her every word, though the same couldn't be said about some of her classmates. Mina elected to just ignore them, they weren't worth her time. 

"As we've already established, we live in a patriarchal society that benefits men and does little to condemn those who act out against women, but this patriarchal system doesn't just negatively affect women," Vlad King explained, "Men are told to hide their emotions, which leads to a build-up of emotions that could possibly lead to mental health issues. Additionally, men are less likely to seek help for both physical and mental issues, this is due to the rhetoric pushed onto men that they are stronger than everyone else and seeking help is weak. This idea is untrue, seeking help is not a bad thing."

"Furthermore, the fact that certain things are deemed feminine drives men away from them, creating a gender divide that doesn't need to exist. Something that must be remembered is that men, and people who look like them, are just as affected by sexism as well." Aizawa sighed.

"The current societal system, whilst it has improved over the last 100 years, still puts men in a high position of power. This position of power allows men, speaking generally, to violate women easier, and in some cases get away with it because their testimony is valued over a woman's." Midnight explained, "Also, as hard as this may be to hear, even if you don't personally go out and prey on women, even if you treat women respectfully, if you sit back and allow your friends to say dehumanizing things about women, or allow them to joke about attacking one, you are also part of the problem. Complacency can lead to any number of things, from harassment or rape or even murder." 

The lesson finished after two hours, Ochako didn't think that two hours could fully encompass everything that people experienced in their fucked up world, but even so, the teachers did a very good job. 

"I'm glad that they actually listened to us," Toru hummed as the girls walked down the hall, heading towards the dorms.

"Yeah, I've had teachers who have completely ignore me in the past," Kyoka sighed.

"Same! It's so infuriating-" Mina started with her usual passion in her voice, but she was cut off, rather rudely, by Monoma. 

"Oh, so it was you who subjected us to that dreary lecture?" he drawled.

Around them, everybody came to a halt, Tsu could tell that something was going to go horribly wrong. The air was thick with tension, and it felt like there was some sort of electricity that buzzed around them.

"Yeah, so what if we were?" Ochako said, her voice held a certain level of animosity. It wasn't easy for others to detect, but the likes of Tsu, Midoriya and Iida noticed the dangerous spark in her voice nearly immediately. 

"Hey, how about we all calm down and talk about this civilly?" Midoriya offered, eyes flickering between the infuriatingly calm stance of Monoma and the tense posture of Ochako.

"Yes, let's talk about this civilly," Monoma sneered, "I'll start off, why would you subject us to that boring lesson when there's no sort of discrimination occurring within the hero course? It sounds like you're simply desperate for attention." 

No matter how calm of a person Tsu was, anger boiled within her chest and threatened to spill over from within her, it appeared as though her friends were dealing no better, even Momo's cheeks gained an angry flush. 

"Monoma, I suggest you zip your lips this instance," Itsuka snarled as she stepped out from the crowd with the girls of class 2B in tow. The seven of them also appeared to be hanging onto their anger, though barely.

"Why should I, Class President? I'm simply making an observation. None of the students here has sexually assaulted anyone, so why are you calling wolf? And aside from that, I haven't seen one instance where a female student has been discriminated against or harassed for being female." Monoma sneered, "I'm sure many of the boys here agree with me."

Momo's eyes flickered around to the gathered 28 boys, a majority of whom were shifting uncomfortably, or avoiding eye contact. 

"I must disagree," Tokoyami began, "I have seen several instances of discrimination based purely on gender. I'm guilty of staying silent, but I don't plan on doing so anymore."

Tokyami spoke clearly, they looked down at the floor as they spoke, but otherwise, they seemed confident in their response.

"Yeah, I gotta agree, with my bro Tokoyami," Kirishima sighed, "There have been some messed up things said and done."

"Even if, theoretically, this wasn't an issue within the hero course, this is still a vital lesson to learn so that was can become the best heroes possible," Iida asserted firmly. 

Some boys nodded in agreement, whilst others stayed firmly silent, their opinions on the matter not being voiced. 

"Whatever," Mineta's lispy voice sneered, "Why do you think there are more male heroes? It's because women are too sensitive, weak and whiny." 

Kyoka's fist twitched, what she would do just about anything to be given the chance to sucker punch him in the face at that moment. 

"I mean, take Ashido for example," Mineta drawled. 

At those words alone, bile worked its way up Mina's throat, the world went blurry and she wasn't sure if she could stay upright properly. Curious looks were thrown her way in the second pause that Mineta took to continued to speak, maybe he was pausing for dramatic effect, he was the sort of scumbag who would do that.

"One guy steps a bit too close to her and suddenly she-" Mineta falls silent, though not by choice. 

A crack resounded around the hallways as Bakugo slammed the smaller boy against a nearby wall with enough force to dent it, a thin trail of blood dripped from Mineta's head. Behind Bakugo, Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero all glared at Mineta with enough venom to make him tremble in place. 

"If you ever," Bakugo growled, "say a word about that again, they won't be able to able to find your body. The world won't miss a shitheaded bastard like you anyway. I dare you to speak one more word, we'll see what happens." 

Silence. That was all there was. Silence. Mina had crumbled to the floor, eyes glazed and breathing rate rapid. Ochako and Kyoka, the two who stood closest to her, had knelt beside her guiding her through breathing activities. The whole scene was a spectacle.

"I think," Momo said in a wobbly voice, "we should all go our separate ways for the time being. Whether you found the lesson beneficial or not, whether you believe that there is a serious problem here or not, now isn't the time to argue over it. Now, if you would all make your way to the dorms."

Everyone nodded and quickly went their separate ways. The Class 2B girls offered Mina a sympathetic look but ultimately moved along. The boys of the self-dubbed Bakusquad hauled Mineta away with stormy looks on their faces. Everyone else left, leaving Tsu, Ochako, Toru, Momo, Kyoka and Aoyama with Mina.

"Hey, Mina, everyone is gone now, do you want us to take you to a teacher?" Momo hummed soothingly.

"Yes," Mina replied shortly.

Looks were exchanged until it was ultimately decided that Ochako and Toru would take Mina back to their classroom in hopes that some of the teachers still remained there. 

Once the three girls were gone, the remaining students silently boiled in their anger and disgust. 

"I'm not sure what to say," Aoyama sneered, she was usually a very joyful and energetic person, but there was no way to feel such a way when one of your closest friends was just driven towards the cusp of a panic attack.

"I think we got our answer about whether we should teach the boys a lesson," Kyoka scoffed.

"I believe many of them are genuinely remorseful and have learnt from the lesson we just had. I doubt we need to teach them a lesson, Kyoka," Momo tried to placate.

Surprisingly, it was Tsu who opposed Momo, "No, Momo. Too many of them were complacent, letting Monoma speak all manners of rubbish. Just like Midnight said, complacency will only lead to further issues, we need to teach them a lesson."

"I must say, I feel guilty," Aoyama sighed, "I should have stood up to him and said something,"

"You can in the future, as long as you challenge the words others say, then you will be making a difference." Kyoka sighed, "We better get to the dorms, it's Tsu's turn to cook tonight." 

Thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are.