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I watch all the students leave the school and pass through the gate while chatting to their friends about trivial things that I don't care to know about. With a sigh, I adjust my earbuds before crossing my arms and lean my back on the far side of the gate.

While waiting for Midoriya to show up, I'm just listening to some of my favorite songs since I don't have anything better to do anyway. After a song ends or two, I open my phone for a moment just to see what time it is before closing it again and pocketing it.

I didn't mind waiting since Midoriya did say that he's going to stay for a while to hand our teacher his handout for his future plans and all that. I ended up writing, "go to U.A and be a hero." because I honestly don't know what I'm even gonna do in the future besides going to U.A and hopefully, be a hero.

It's just simple and there's nothing else to it.

Just as I was about to grab my phone from my pocket to check the time, my eyes caught a spiky haired boy walking towards the gate with a slouched posture and his hands tucked inside his pockets.

Bakugo glared at me with his crimson red eyes as he kept nearing towards me. I could only stare back at him with half-lidded eyes and tired expression since I don't want to deal with Bakugo right now.

"Hey, shrimp," Bakugo stopped in his tracks, just as he was about to pass through the gate completely. "Give up on trying to get into U.A." He said, making me narrow my eyes slightly at him.

"No offense, Bakugo but I don't think that there's anything you can do about Midoriya-san and I's decision to go to U.A." I told Bakugo while opening my phone to check the time. I squint at how slightly late it is and it made me question of Midoriya's whereabouts, especially since Bakugo left the school before him.

"You can't do anything if you're quirkless," Bakugo gritted his teeth in annoyance, "give. up."

I lift my eyes up from my phone, tucking it inside my pockets as Bakugo said those words. While staring at the ash blonde haired boy, I slightly narrow my (E/C) eyes and giving him a small challenging look.

"And who said that I am quirkless?" My question made Bakugo's eyes widen for a while. He seemed to be taken aback from my question but he immediately softened his expression back into his usual angry one.

"Prove it." He said, pursing his lips into an angry pout.

I stare at him emotionlessly for a moment before sighing softly and lifting my finger to the small shrub of grass beside me. I frown slightly at the shrub for a moment, apologizing at the plant before shooting a small amount of lava out of my finger.

The spot of where I had shot the shrub began to melt and sizzle as it began to spread around the spot for a moment. The fiery red and orange color of the lava began to cool down but the leaves were still sizzling and melting. Some of the lava began to drip on the grass, but it wasn't as bad as it just sizzled the small patch of grass and left a bald, charcoal spot.

"Are you happy now?" I tore my eyes away from the shrub that I just ruined and towards Bakugo, who looks surprised to say the least.

"You-" He seemed to stumble on his own words for a moment before taking a deep angry breath through his nose. "I'm going to be number one. You won't stand a chance against me, you weird rooster hair!" Bakugo exclaimed, pointing accusingly at me while grimacing at my fiery scarlet red hair with bright orange tips at the end.

My hair was (H/C) at first, inheriting it from my mother. My hair transformed into red and orange at the age of 5 while lava just kept spilling out of my fingertips. I remember being so frightened when I first got my quirk because I didn't know how to control it.

Thanks to my mother, I managed to control it by stabilizing my breathing and feeling the "flow" of my lava trail through my fingers gently, as if it's water.

However, I didn't get her yellowish eyes though and instead, I got my (E/C) eyes from my father.

Specifically, the man that my mother had an affair with.

When my 'father' found out about this, his treatment towards me as the oldest child of the Hanamichi family has changed drastically. His physical training with me became more rough and tougher than before, he doesn't even spare me a quick glance whenever I'm tired from training.

He's a nice man, I know that.

But even a father would find it hard to believe that his own wife was cheating on him and had a child that isn't even his. You wouldn't even consider that child to be your own, would you?

"Mhm... okay." I could only nod before picking my phone up from my pocket to choose another song to listen to.

"Damn it, are you looking down on me!?" I felt my earphones being yanked away from my ears, which surprised me and look up at Bakugo's furious face, sending him the harshest death glare that I could manage to muster for now.

"Gh..." He flinched for a moment before dropping my earphones over my shoulder and taking a step away from me.

"Don't compare yourself to me, Bakugo. It's humiliating." I hiss at the spiky haired boy, making him grit his teeth and his face fuming in red.

"Tch, whatever. You're just another shitty extra that doesn't have a chance against me." He turned his back on me, making me soften my eyes back into their usual half-lidded and tired ones. My shoulders loosened as I grab my earphones and insert them in my ears.

"Whether it's you or that damn nerd, I'll bring anyone down if they're in my way." Bakugo said before walking away from me completely and disappearing in the distance, blending in with the other students who were on their way home as well.

I stare at Bakugo's retreating form for a moment while thinking about the words that he said just a second ago and how I just revealed my quirk, for the first time, to someone like him.

When I turned around to look at the slightly destroyed shrub of grass, the painful protests of my childhood friends echoed in my mind that my face began to scrunch up uncomfortably. The memory of me, activating my quirk as I placed my hands on my friends' shoulders and arms, immediately made me snap back into reality.

The screams and the unforgettable sizzling sounds that came from my quirk eventually vanished, making my face soften back into their normal emotionless one.

"Hanamichi-san!" I raise my head to see Midoriya walking up to me while gripping the handles of his yellow bag. I remove my earbuds and place them inside my pocket while turning my music off. 

The boy was smiling but for some unknown reason, I could tell that he's just forcing it as I did see a small strain on the corner of his smile.

"Were you able to turn in your handout without any problems?" I slightly tilt my head to the side, watching the green haired boy stop in front of me as he flinched visibly at my question. His smile faltered for a moment but covered it with a grin.

"Yes, though I did think about my answer for quite a while since I wasn't so sure yet if being a hero is my only goal." Midoriya's emerald green eyes softened as he started to look a bit flustered and shy.

"What do you mean? You do want to be a hero more than anything, right?" I ask.

"Well of course, I do! I-I just think that there are also t-things that I want to do too and n-not just being a hero." Midoriya answered as a blush started to creep up on his cheek, "B-But don't get me wrong, b-being a hero is still m-my number one g-goal so...!"

"Don't worry, Midoriya-san." I assure him with a nod while feeling myself give him the smallest smile that I could give anyone else. "I get what you mean."

Midoriya's blush deepened until he turned his head around and covered his mouth with his hand. On a closer inspection, even his ears are red. I wonder what's gotten into him lately.

Is he this flustered when he talks to girls?

"We-Well, then...! S-Should we get g-going?" Midoriya kept his gaze downwards, almost as if he's avoiding looking at me directly. I internally panicked since I might've done something wrong or made him uncomfortable.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked while watching him start to walk away from me. Midoriya stopped before taking another step away from me, flustered and surprised at the sudden question.

"No, of course not! I-It's just..." He tore his eyes away from me again as his words trailed off. I tilt my head to the side curiously, keeping my tired (E/C) eyes on his trembling form, almost as if he's scared of telling me the wrong answer.

"...y-you don't smile often so s-seeing you smiling is just o-overwhelming." Midoriya explained, making me feel a bit worse for making someone like him feel that way.

Maybe I shouldn't just smile, after all?

"I'm sorry. I won't smile anymore if it makes you uncomfortable." I put my head down in shame while walking up towards the green haired boy in order to catch up to him.

"N-No! It's not making me uncomfortable at all!" Midoriya reassured me while waving his seemingly soft hands around. "In fact, you should do it more often!"

Midoriya grinned wider, showing his small dimples in order to compliment his smile that's full of child pureness.

"You look way better when you smile, after all!"

I stare at the green eyed boy for a moment with my same deadpan expression, almost making Midoriya tremble and his grin faltering into a crooked nervous smile.

"...are you saying that I always look ugly?"

"H-Hanamichi-san...! You know that's not what I meant!" Midoriya was taken aback from my question as we began to walk out of the school, talking about certain things that we want to do and what plans we have for the future after we graduate out of Aldera Junior High.

• • •

I waved goodbye to Midoriya, parting ways in a crossroad in our neighborhood. I hadn't known that he lived near me which was a bit surprising but more convienient to Midoriya's part, judging from the way his face lit up when I mentioned that I live just a few blocks away from him.

I honestly thought that he was going to be distraught and disappointed when I told him that since no one really wants to talk nor interact with me.

Not that I care, I prefer being alone anyway.

After seeing my two-story house in the distance, I immediately walk over to it, climbing up to our patio and placing my hands over to the doorknob. I can smell the faint scent of fried chicken and sautéed vegetable from here, which made me smile a little bit.

"I'm home..." I mumble as I open the door to my house and taking my school shoes off before neatly placing them on the side.

"(Y/N), is that you?" Mom called out from somewhere around the house, presumably in the kitchen, since I do hear some plates and a few pans clattering around.

The smell of food grew stronger, making my stomach growl loudly and realize that I haven't really eaten any good meal his lunch. I ended up eating two ham sandwiches and an orange juice this lunch and I forgot to get myself one of those takoyaki that I always buy on my way home.

I was with Midoriya so it completely crossed my mind, much to my dismay.

"Yes, mom." I call out, walking over towards the stairs so I can go up and change my clothes before partaking into any meal. However, before I can fully reach the second floor, mom peeked out of the kitchen's doorway with a smile.

"Welcome back, dear. Why don't you come down and help me set the table? Dinner is almost ready." She smiles, the folds in her yellow eyes wrinkling as she did so. I could only nod in response before continuing to walk up to my room.

"Ah, welcome home, (Y/N)-nee! What took you so long?" A shrill and small annoying voice called out from one of the doorways in the second hall. I look up to see Satou, my little sister, leaning against the doorway of her pink-infested room with a smug smirk on her face.

"Father was looking for you, you know! You're late on your daily after classes training!" She skips happily towards me with her (H/C) hair bouncing behind her. "He'll be angry, that's for sure." Satou's purple eyes glinted for a moment as amusement began to show on her face.

She's always enthusiastic when it comes to father scolding me and bringing his anger towards me because she knows that she won't be involved.

Satou Hanamichi

Quirk: Sweet Dream

- allows Satou to bring her target into a sleep-like state and make them dream of their heart's deepest desire for 5 minutes, at most, when she touches them with three fingers. This ability will be more potent the more Satou eats sweets (aka. the target hallucinates longer by 10 minutes and lessens the side effects of overusing the quirk)

- Satou cannot bring more than one person to sleep as this greatly exhausts her and decreases the time of the targets hallucinating to one minute. Continuous use of quirk will lead to nausea, head aches, lose of consciousness and might lead to migraines.

"I have an explanation for that, Satou. Anyway, aren't you supposed to prepare for the entrance exams?" I brush past her, making my way towards my room while trying my hardest to not let my sister get under my skin.

"Unlike you, I'm way more prepared. I think I'll ace the entrance exams, even!" She flips her (H/C) hair while following me from behind.

"Mhm... Good luck, then." I say, twisting the doorknob to my room open before entering and leaving my little sister in the hallway of the second floor alone.

"Oh, stop it with the emotionless act sister. We both know that I'm going to be in 1-A because my quirk is way better than yours!" Satou exclaimed from the other side of the door while I just rolled my eyes and threw my bag over to the bed before plopping myself on it, staring up at the cream white ceiling of my room.

Thinking of what Satou said a second ago, I couldn't help but sigh and twist my body to the side. I couldn't help but think that my little sister's quirk is better than mine, mostly because it doesn't destroy the area of where her quirk was used.

Her quirk is useful for immobilizing enemies, throwing them off guard and isn't easy to be figured out right away.

Mine is only used to hurt other people, intentionally or not. I've never learned to embrace this quirk as my own. In fact, I loathe it to the point that I want it to disappear and I wouldn't even mind if I was quirkless.

Midoriya has it lucky; he doesn't have to worry about quirks' dangerous advantages.

"Oi, (Y/N)-nee! Mother is calling for you downstairs!" Satou yelled, making me sigh once more and hop out of my comfy bed, sliding my black uniform skirt down to my knees in order to change into my home attire.

"Coming." I say in a loud voice before walking over towards my wardrobe and grabbing an All Might shirt that I bought from a Hero store that I stumbled into a few months ago with Satou and mom while walking around town.

She got a Mt. Lady t-shirt and keychain while mom just got an All Might keychain. Satou is a big fan of Mt. Lady, saying that her quirk is so unique and special. I didn't see anything special about Mt. Lady's quirk, to be honest. But, I do idolize All Might, just as how much mom and Midoriya does.

I admire how All Might can manage to save people with a smile and even if his quirk is very powerful and can easily defeat opponents in a flash, he could still manage to use it for good.

I wonder... if I can be just like All Might too.

I wonder if I can flash everyone a smile of hope while using my powers for the sake of goodness.

Grabbing a random jogging pants from my wardrobe, I quickly pull it up to my waist before walking out of my room with a slight feeling of dread and realization that father was going to be home tonight.

Sighing, I ignore Satou's insults as I help mother, all while thinking of how things would be different once I did pass the U.A entrance exams and how Satou will definitely use father's presence tonight at the dinner table to torment me.