Koto's POV

I pull on my new gloves and take a look at myself in the mirror. Today's the day we begin training in our new winter costumes. Admittedly, I didn't change much about mine, just requested thicker fabrics.

My new bodysuit is made of a thicker material that should keep me toasty and warm, and it extends all the way up my neck. My coat probably got the biggest upgrade, extending down to my knees with (faux) fur trim along all the hems. The only true addition are some nice warm gloves.

Ochaco takes me by the hand and pulls me out of the locker rooms to follow the rest of the class to Field Gamma.

"This is exciting!" Toru chirps from ahead of us.

Shoji gives her an apprehensive glance. "Hagakure, aren't you cold?"

"Yup, incredibly!"

"You've got grit..."

Mina hops forward as everyone begins to stretch, cheering, "I think our winter gear is so cool!"

"It looks like everyone's costumes have changed quite a bit since the beginning of the school year," Iida observes.

Sato nudges the boy. "I'm impressed that you handled the summer heat with yours, Iida.

"Kacchan, you changed yours, too!" Midoriya exclaims. I have to keep myself from groaning as he begins babbling about specific changes the two of them made despite Bakugo's obvious seething.

My ears perk up, however, when I hear him mention the new gloves he had Mei Hatsume of the support department make for him. Ochaco tenses beside me, eyes growing distant.

"Go away!" She exclaims, squeezing her eyes shut.

I know her thoughts get the better of her sometimes, so I put my arm around her and rub her shoulder. Someone has to keep her grounded in the present and not free to roam the anxious thoughts of her mind.

"Sheesh, got a nice party atmosphere goin' here, don't we?" A voice calls from the opposite end of the thoroughfare. This time, I do groan aloud. "You guys aren't looking down on us, are you?"

Class 1-B precesses up the path, decked out in their winter costumes as well. Monoma leads the group, strutting around in his costume that is annoyingly similar to mine.

Eijiro perks up from where he's sitting on the ground, stretching. "Oh! You're here! Nope, we're not lookin' down on ya! We're just excited!"

Monoma gives a poor impression of a sane smile. "Haha, I see...but too bad. The tides are surely in our favor this time. Let's settle this rivalry once and for all!" The boy flourishes a sheet of paper. "Take a look at this survey! It's from the cultural festival! Check out which people liked better between your live show and our super high quality drama theater performance!"

I tune out his prattling until Aizawa comes over and cuts him off with his capture scarf. And not a moment too soon, I think in exasperation. "Quiet," our teacher grumbles.

"Monoma!" One of his classmates cries out. Aizawa releases the student with a warning glare.

The 1-B teacher, Vlad King, comes forward, leading two people to the training grounds. "We have some special guests today."

"Try not to look stupid in front of them," Aizawa adds.

The air becomes energized between the two classes, but maybe I only feel that because I'm standing next to Kaminari. We shuffle around, trying to get better looks at the approaching figures.

Standing on my toes, I glimpse a familiar head of messy purple hair.

Our teacher gestures to the two students. "This is Hitoshi Shinso, from Class C of the department of Education. He's applying to transfer to the heroics department."

A ripple of shock passes over the assembled classes.

"If you talk to him, you'll be brainwashed, n'est pas?"

"If you've never seen it before, you're done for."

"But what about Midoriya? He got caught in it. But he was able to cancel it out."

The boy in question becomes pensive as every eye turns to look at him. "Honestly, that was nothing but a fluke."

"Go ahead and greet everyone," Aizawa says, trying to regain some control.

The boy tilts his head and blinks his lavender eyes impassively. He shoves his hands into his generic UA gym uniform pockets. "I know I've already encountered many of you at the Sports Festival, but you won't catch me thinking that we're all buddies now that we've exchanged blows. I'm not some good-natured person trying to tout a superficial sense of sportsmanship. The fact of the matter is, I've gotten a late start, and I've already been left in the dust by hundreds of steps by you all. I'm sorry, but I'm desperate." At this, Shinso's eyebrows pitch down, and his gaze becomes hardened with determination. "I will become a great hero so that I can use my quirk to help others. All of you here today are obstacles that I must overcome. I have no intention of making friends."

I find myself glancing in Midoriya's direction. Shinso has already denied his friendship once before. Was that my fault? Could things have gone better had I let things be? Not for the first time, it occurs to me I should have let him make his own friends rather than trying to push him into a group. Is this coldness directed towards me?

The teachers gesture for the blonde girl beside him to take her turn. She steps forward, already bedecked in a hero costume. Her face slopes down into a slight muzzle, horns poke out of her blonde hair, and her curved legs end in hooves. "Hi!" She immediately chirps. "I'm Pony Tsunotori, but for this you can call me Rocketti! My quirk allows me to use my horns like cannons. I went to a hero school in America and hope to pick up where I left off."

I greet her with the rest of the class, giving her a small wave.

Aizawa clears his throat. "Alright, let's get right down to it then."

"Combat Exercises!" Vlad exclaims.

"Teams will be competing to capture the opposing team," our teacher explains. "You will treat your opposite team as the villains. You must neutralize the entire team and place them in your respective cages in order to win."

"The time limit is twenty minutes. After that time, whichever team has captured the most opponents will have won. This time around, it's a battle between Class A vs. Class B! And the stage will be this section of Training Field Gamma! Each side will split up into groups of four, and one team from each will battle it out at a time!"

The girl with the scaly armor from Class 1-B crosses her arms with a sharp-toothed smile. "Four to a team, eh? Sounds fun!"

The boy with shaggy fur covering his body puts a hand to his chin. "Including Shinso and Pony, there's 41 of us. How're they gonna deal with that odd number?"

Aizawa gestures to the two students. "Today, two teams will be given an additional member. Shinso will be placed on a random team from Class B, and Pony will be placed on the team from Class A with only three members. In other words, out of five matches, one of them will be 5 vs. 4."

"But that means the team with five will have a clear advantage!" Toru whines.

"Trying to integrate Shinso, who has next to no experience, into a team of four will likely be a bigger disadvantage. It's true that the team of five has a numerical advantage, but they'll still have a handicap. Not to mention, the opposing team still only needs to capture four out of the five members of that team to win."

"What about the team with Pony?" Sero asks. "We've never worked with her before, so we don't know how to integrate her quirk and fighting style. And she isn't fluent in Japanese."

"We know enough English to accomplish this," Iida protests, crossing his arms with a satisfied nod.

"The fact she is being considered for this very prestigious position means that she is more than equipped to handle what is thrown her way," Vlad explains. "Not to mention, she has had plenty of experience.

"Alright then," Aizawa says, presenting a box with "Class A" written on it.

The other teacher raises a similar box for Class B. "Time to draw lots."

I follow the line of my classmates and reach into the box. My hand closes around a smooth ball and I pull it out to see the number 4 painted on. I move aside and crane my neck to see Ochaco's. She holds up a ball with the number 5 on it and shrugs. Her team is already assembled around her, so I set off to find my own.

Shoji extends an eye above the crowd and waves me over. I smile and head his way. "Are you group four?"

"Yup, along with the new girl," he confirms, glancing across the group at her. "Since she doesn't really understand Japanese that well, I figured you'd be the best one to go greet her. My English is a little rusty."

I perk up at the idea. "Yeah, I can do that," I say, heading off to approach her.

The girl's big blue eyes glance around warily, trying to catch a glimpse of the teams. I try to catch her eye as I approach. "Hey there!" I call.

She blinks in surprise and centers her gaze on me, nearly crumpling with relief when I show her my team. "Oh good," she sighs.

"I'm Koto Yamada, but for this, you can call me Maestro."

"I know who you are," she says, shaking her head. A tinge of worry hits me, but then she breaks out into a dazzling grin. "You're everywhere! I've watched your performances like fifty times! And now we're teammates! This is super cool."

I feel my cheeks heat up at such praise. "Wow, yeah it is pret-pretty cool. Um, we should go check in with our team."

"You speak like a local," she observes, head tilted as I lead her over to Shoji. "Well, local where I'm from."

I adjust my gloves and give her a grin. "Well I am from Missouri."

Her eyes seem to sparkle. "I'm from Texas! Oh, I bet we'll be good friends." I smile as we come to a stop by Shoji.

"Oh, so we got the new girl," a voice growls, and I whip my head around to see Bakugo leering at her.

She shrinks back ever so slightly before cheering, "I look forward to being on your team!"

Bakugo's eyes find mine, a dangerous look passing over his face. "Alright Horns, just leave the planning to me."

"My hero name is Rocketti," she clarifies, probably thinking Bakugo misunderstands.

"Whatever," he groans, following the rest of the class to the viewing stage.

Pony turns to me with large eyes. "Is he always like that?"

"Only every day. Don't worry," I assure her. "He won't hurt you, he's too determined to win to risk hurting his team. We'll all get a say in strategizing, I'm sure."

"Okay..." The girl sends a wary look at the retreating backs of the two boys. She drops her voice to a covert whisper. "What about the freaky octopus?"

"Shoji?" I catch a glimpse of the boy in question turning an ear away from our conversation. "He's really nice. I'm sure you two will get along. Kinda makes up for all of Bakugo's rudeness."

I giggle, but her wary expression doesn't change. "I don't think I want to. He's kinda gross."

I nearly stumble over my feet. "Hey, that's out of line. He's really cool."

"Maybe, but his quirk is an eyesore."

I stop in my tracks and fix her with the iciest look I can manage. "Then get over it. He's my friend."

She gives me a conspiratorial grin. "Well good for him, I bet he doesn't have many."

My jaw drops at her statement and I clench my fists in their new gloves. How upset would Aizawa be if I gave her a concussion before the training even started?

I'm not given much time to think on the matter because Bakugo calls out to us from where he's lounging. "Hey Curly! Stop gossiping with your new friend! Get a move on!"

I turn away from the blonde, hoping my curls whip her in the face as I hasten to the viewing platform. I settle down next to Bakugo and prop my elbows on my legs.

"Now that everyone is here," Aizawa drones with a pointed look towards me. I sulk and look to where Pony has situated herself on the furthest side of the platform from Shoji. I glare at the back of her head. "You'll start in your own areas. The time limit is 20 minutes. If you're unable to finish the match in that amount of time, the team with more members remaining wins." I let his words fade to the background, simmering with anger.

"What's with the face, Curly? You might strain somethin'."

"What are the chances you can work a human sacrifice into your plan?" I grumble.