Yumi

---

I walked down the sunlit corridor, holding my bag straps tighter with every passing step. After turning around a corner, I spotted the familiar, well-combed dark indigo hair just a little further down the hallway. I quickened my pace as I caught up with Teijo. He was engrossed in a book, so much so that he hadn't noticed his glasses sitting lopsided on the bridge of his nose.

"Teijo!" I called, waving my hand gleefully as a greeting. He stopped walking and turned to face me, adjusting his glasses as he closed the book with an imperceptible slam.

"Ah, Yumi! Good morning!" he bowed, smiling. "How are you today?"

I smiled somewhat nervously. Truth be told, I was anxious, anxious for the day ahead.

"I'm fine. How 'bout you?"

Teijo nodded his head in content. "I'm doing splendidly."

"Guys! Hey! Wait up!"

Teijo and I looked back to see Saika run towards the two of us, her broad smile plain for all to see.

"Good morning Saika!" Teijo greeted, bowing for the second time today. Saika pushed past him, instead approaching me, wrapping her arms around my back as she pulled me in for a hug.

"Saika! That was very rude of you! You must learn how to be more polite," Teijo said, lecturing her on how to have good manners. Again.

"Yeah yeah, I know Teijo. I know," Saika rolled her eyes, a small smile forming on her lips. Her eyes shone with excitement as the three of us continued to walk down the hallway.

"So Yumi, how was your weekend trip? You went to Okinawa with your family didn't you?" Teijo asked politely, raising his arms in his odd robot position.

"I bet you only packed hero figurines and merch," Saika chuckled at the mere thought.

I stomped my foot on the floor as I huffed in annoyance.

"I did not! I don't do that...anymore..."

"Anymore?" Saika smirked, covering her mouth with her hand as she started laughing.

"Oh yeah, really funny," I replied blankly.

"So Teijo, where did you say you went on the weekend?" Saika questioned, smiling up at him.

"I went to the library of course."

"...Of course..." Saika gave him a look of pity as if she were thinking that he led the most boring life.

As Saika and Teijo were busy conversing, I had my eyes focused on the doors that we were passing by. And there it was, right up ahead. My trio stopped in front of the large door, staring at the equally large wording and numbers on it. This was it. This was our new class.

Class 1-A.

I stepped forward, opening the door.

---

"Is this...the right class?" I blinked, a bit concerned with the behaviour of our new classmates. It was a mystery to me as to why a yellow-haired boy was dancing on the table alongside a boy with blue skin.

"You barbarians! Get off at once!" Teijo yelled, chopping the air with his arms as he made his way over to the two.

"Well, at least this should be an interesting year," Saika said, staring blankly at a girl who was trying to slap a basketball out of another girl's hands. Saika started to edge inside slowly, but began sprinting towards a brunette sitting by himself once she noticed his hunched figure.

"This is ridiculous."

I stared at the person who was standing at my side, in shock from his sudden appearance. Satoshi squinted his eyes, looking very displeased as he heaved out a sigh. "I think I'll just wait for the teacher..." he placed his bag on the floor and put his earbuds in, scrolling through his phone. His gaze shifted over to me.

"Oh hi, by the way."

Before I could reply, a loud cry came from down the hall. Eitaro was running at full speed towards us, eyes filled with tears and a large grin on his face. "Satoshi!!!"

"Oh god no. I think I'll go inside." Satoshi quickly heaved his bag over his shoulder and rushed into the classroom, brushing past people in a hurry to hide. His eyes searched the room desperately, and then he lunged towards the place where our teacher would be in a few minutes' time. Satoshi began to crouch down, but immediately jumped back in surprise, eyes widening.

"Holy crap! It's a dead body!" he yelled, jumping backwards. I hesitantly approached Satoshi and peered downwards. The stranger had short ivory hair that stuck out in different directions, and his eyes were shut tightly as he lay on the floor, hands covering his ears as he quaked with what I assumed to be fear. Satoshi blinked, regaining his composure. Trembling, he reached out slowly, lifting up a single finger and poking the strange man. His eyes shot open once Satoshi gave him a poke, and he screamed, causing Satoshi and I to back off. The class had stopped talking; instead making their way over to see what all the commotion was about.

"Please move aside everyone!" Teijo yelled, separating the crowd that had gathered. We all watched as the mysterious man slowly rose from his position, still shaking in the process. "Um...hello" he muttered, his blue eyes showing fear.

"Who are you and what business do you have with Class 1-A?" Teijo asked, chopping the air.

"I'm-I'm your teacher."

It was silent for the next few moments, before the class screamed "WHAT!" in comical unison.

"I'm Kazugo Kaeshio, or Swapper, and I'm your homeroom teacher."

"Oh oh! I know him!" I blurted out. "Swapper, the Changing Hero! But...he's always seemed to be such a serious and confident person..."

"Are you sure he doesn't have a twin...? Because this guy seems to be everything but loud and confident." Saika's heterochromatic eyes scanned the man wearily, not convinced that this mysterious person was, in fact, our homeroom teacher.

"I refuse to believe that U.A. left this weirdo in charge of our class. He's not acting like a leader in the slightest." A girl with blue-silver hair tied in two low twin drills narrowed her cerise eyes at our teacher, scoffing while letting her hands rest on her hips. She was the same girl trying to slap the basketball out of the other girl's hands earlier, I recalled.

Teijo furiously chopped his arm at her, earning a look that showed she was unimpressed. "How dare you speak so horribly of this man! If he is in fact our homeroom teacher, then you are displaying disrespect that cannot be tolerated!"

"I think the real question is... why is he under there?" The brunette that Saika had been conversing with earlier spoke up, sceptically observing the male that had yet to leave his hiding spot. "I mean, there really isn't any logical explanation for his actions other than he's shy. Like, really shy. And even so, how would he get admittance into U.A. if he had no purpose? Not anyone can just waltz in here like they own the place."

"I think he'd be crawling in here rather than waltzing..." Saika exhaled loudly. "But he does have a point."

I nodded in agreement with my best friend. It was obvious to me that this man was a pro hero (I recognised him right away!), but there was no telling what was going through his mind that made him believe hiding was the best answer. Wasn't he supposed to be preparing for the lesson?

"Ah! It's moving!!" A boy with blue skin (who I recalled had been vigorously dancing on the table earlier) exclaimed, pointing at our teacher.

Everyone watched carefully as Mr. Kaeshio slowly pushed himself off the floor, keeping his gaze trained on the floor as he dusted off his pants. Clearing his throat, his meek voice reached our ears, "Everyone...please take a seat..."

We all silently obliged, shuffling over to the rows of desks to claim the seat that would be ours for the rest of the year. I snuck a glance at Mr. Kaeshio, who was tightly gripping onto the edge of the lectern, his knuckles turning white as his head was lowered.

"N-now...we...we..." I strained my ears in an effort to hear the words he was practically whispering.

I untucked my chair and sat down, pulling my bag closer to me as I did so. The class remained in the calm, undisturbed tranquillity of silence, until Mr. Kaeshio cleared his throat and briskly walked over to a confident-looking girl. She had golden blonde hair that went down her back in elegant ringlets, and sparkling dark violet eyes that seemed to gleam with pride. He towered over her and stared down for a couple of excruciating moments, until the girl's smug face melted away. As the teacher walked off with a new-found pride, the girl shrunk down in her seat, using her hands to cover her face as she shied away from us all.

Mr. Kaeshio put his hands on the side of the lectern and beamed, his eyes sparkling.

"Okay class!" he exclaimed loudly, showing off his sudden burst of confidence. His bipolar attitude came as a shock to me, but I managed to suppress a shocked squeak. "The entrance ceremony will commence soon, so we must hurry along before the crowd arrives!" As if he was putting on an act for us, he swiftly turned around and proudly marched to reach for the door. It opened from the other side, as someone entered. The woman had silky, lavender hair that just went a bit past her shoulders, and kind, yellow eyes that reflected an inner warmth. She had a very gentle and elegant air about her. She seemed a bit surprised at Mr. Kaeshio's extravagant behaviour, but her face soon broke into a smile.

"I guess you have it under control then, Mr. Kaeshio. I wasn't sure if you'd be too shy to even speak," the woman giggled softly.

Mr. Kaeshio laughed, as if the very thought of being too shy amused him greatly. He did some kind of extravagant pose, then spoke as sparkles surrounded him.

"What an amusing thing to say! Come now Ms. Yumeno, let's go!"

Silence enveloped the confused class as the two teachers left, our homeroom teacher forgetting that he left his class behind. I glanced over at the girl who continued to shyly shield her face. Suddenly, Teijo hopped up and chopped his arm towards the door, his voice booming authoritatively.

"Come now, everyone! We cannot keep our teacher waiting any longer!" He ordered, ushering everyone out the door. It took Saika's harsh glare and whack across his head to shut him up, until he eventually disciplined her in a loud 'whisper'.

Soon enough, we arrived at the auditorium, and waited outside the large doors to enter. I could sense a few hostile glares from the class standing next to us, and from my parents' experience, I could only assume them to be Class 1-B, the people who were 'supposedly' our rivals.

Inside, we could hear the auditorium buzzing with life, the other classes having already gone in beforehand, making the noise level rise with every student that populated the auditorium. Upon Mr. Kaeshio's command, we shyly entered the auditorium, most of us (including myself) ducking our heads when we felt the older years' eyes on us.

I took a seat next to Saika, whose gaze was intently focused on the stage. She seemed eager to hear what the orientation assembly was about, and even more excited to meet U.A.'s new principal. I fidgeted nervously in my seat, wondering whether our principal would be as quirky as dad's previous principal, Principal Nezu.

As if on cue with my curious thoughts, the entire auditorium fell silent at the sound of ear-piercing feedback, followed by the lights switching off, with the only source being the large spotlight focused on the lectern placed on the centre of the stage.

The light clicking of heels echoed around the large auditorium as a silhouette walked across the stage. Everyone's attention was on the figure, and everyone unconsciously leaned forward in their seats with anticipation. The most noticeable thing about her was the horn growing on the right side of her forehead, followed by the pale blue-grey hair that flowed elegantly behind her. Large and gentle red eyes gazed over the entire school with exhilaration, a large smile painted on her lips. She cleared her throat, and when she opened her mouth to speak, her voice sounded oddly calming.

"Welcome, everyone, to a new year at U.A." She turned to face the audience, but more specifically to us first years. "I would especially like to give a warm welcome to our new students, who I'm certain will exceed in their hero studies throughout the course of this year." She brushed her pale locks behind her shoulder and gripped the edge of the lectern like Mr. Kaeshio had done, except she displayed a calm composure, rather than Mr. Kaeshio's nervous one.

"I'd like to first introduce myself," she continued, pausing briefly. "I am your principal. You may call me Principal Eri, and I will do anything and everything in my power to ensure my staff and students' safety." Her wandering eyes finally came to a stop. Her words held so much truth that it felt as though she was talking to each and every one of us individually, her glowing smile filling everyone up with warmth. I gasped softly in realisation after she mentioned her name. How had I not recognised her sooner?

"Are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost," Saika commented, looking over at me with an amused smirk. I closed my mouth, not realising I had left it agape.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just, um, thinking."

"As per usual," Saika added before turning away to face the stage.

She continued to talk about the school's rules, policies and general outline for this year's courses. The longer she talked for, the more familiar she became. Her soft voice had a hint of fragility to it, and her soft gaze made her complexion all the more welcoming. She seemed like a kind person, and the smile on her face never left. It reminded me of a brief moment of the words my father had always told me, which was to keep smiling, no matter how tough the situation was. After a while, she had concluded her speech, and gave us the brightest smile she had made that whole day to finish it off.

Loud applause echoed inside the large auditorium as our principal took a quick bow. I watched her shyly walk off the stage, sending one last smile to the school, before finally disappearing backstage. Another teacher walked onto the stage and started announcing other information that I didn't really pay attention to. All I could focus on was who my principal was, and how silly I was for not recognising her sooner. And, the growing excitement for what this year held in store for me.

---

"Saika, sit up properly when eating!" Teijo yelled, instructing Saika, who had slumped down in her chair, to sit up straight. Saika didn't respond, her dull expression unfazed by Teijo's harsh tone of voice. She turned to me, sighing.

"I think I've been slacking on my training. I never would've thought Mr. Kaeshio would be the type to work us to the bone...I mean, I didn't expect to have a P.E. lesson right after the assembly" she murmured, lazily sipping her drink.

"Don't be lazy."

Saika jumped in surprise from the sudden voice that spoke out, causing her to let go of her cup. Her hands caught it right before the object smashed onto the surface below, but small droplets of water inevitably spilled onto the table. Saika whipped her head around, clearly annoyed.

"What's your problem..." her voice became quieter and her sentence trailed off as she saw who it was, a sudden realisation of who the voice belonged to overcoming her. She scowled. "I almost made a mess because of you, you know," she stated sharply, huffing. Makoto shrugged.

"If you weren't able to react with calmness, it just proves you had no idea I was there. Stay sharp," he said in a calm, clear voice.

Makoto Todoroki was Saika's older brother and was in the same class as Goru. His black hair stuck out at different angles, and his dark grey eyes looked at Saika with a sense of disappointment reflected in them.

"I'm alert when I want to be. I'm just...tired." Saika let out a frustrated sigh from her brother's small lecture.

"A true hero is always alert, no matter what the circumstances are," Makoto countered in a matter-of-factly tone, annoying Saika even further. Their sibling rivalry was evident in their conversation, yet there was a hint of amusement that proved their relationship didn't completely consist of a need to outshine the other.

"Saika, your dear brother is correct," Teijo added with his usual chopping motion, looking at Makoto with the eyes of a proud mother. Makoto immediately shifted his gaze back towards his sister.

Saika turned to Teijo with a slightly amused look before sighing heavily. "Teijo, don't side with this thing."

"It's upsetting to me that my own sister would say that," Makoto scoffed.

"Geez you two, why are you both so mean to each other?" Goru asked, popping up next to me, seemingly out of the blue. "You guys should learn from us!" Goru cheered, slapping me on the back so hard that I almost face-planted into my food.

"You just abused your sister, I really don't think you're the best role model," Makoto pointed out, a blank expression on his features as he stared at his best friend with a face devoid of any emotion but boredom.

Goru, horribly offended with the mere thought that anyone could think he would be cruel to his younger sister, went to go sulk under the table.

"Come on Goru, you're a U.A. student, aren't you? Stop being such a baby," Makoto sighed, rolling his eyes. Goru reluctantly got out from underneath the table and waddled over to me, pulling me into a hug as he sat there being miserable.

"My gosh, I swear Yumi acts more mature than you and she's younger," Makoto said blankly, attempting to pry him off of me.

"It's okay Makoto," I said, smiling brightly up at Saika's older brother. He stepped back a bit, slightly surprised with my answer.

"Are you sur-"

"After all, Goru knows what will happen if he doesn't stop bothering me," I said, still smiling, though the vibe I was giving off had taken a drastic turn. My older brother immediately jumped away.

'You wouldn't dare,' His eyes seemed to convey.

'Yes, I would,' I smirked back.

Sighing heavily, Goru slumped over to his best friend, grabbed Makoto's shoulder, and heaved him away from Saika, as well as the argument that had ensued. Before leaving, he turned around and waved, as the two of them disappeared around a corner.

---

"Hey Saika! You finished yet?" I asked, going into her dorm room. She sighed heavily. 

"Almost...I'm just waiting for the moving van to get here..." she said, twirling a strand of her pink hair around her finger. I blinked at her.

"MOVING VAN?!"

"I'm just messing with you!" Saika laughed. "I've already been told how small this room is."

As Saika's laughter subsided, a knock came from her door. The both of us turned around to see a girl enter Saika's dorm, smiling brightly.

"Oh, um, you're Miki, right? Miki Kirishima?" I asked. She nodded gleefully. She and her mother looked very similar - the same golden eyes, same pinkish skin, same horns. The only noticeable difference was that Miki's hair colour was a great shade darker than that of her mother's. It was quite clear that despite being twins, Miki and Eitaro looked nothing alike.

"Hey, you guys should come down to the common area!" Miki said, letting herself in and pulling me and Saika's wrists. Saika and I exchanged glances.

"What for?" Saika questioned the happy pink girl, attempting to get out of her grasp.

"I'm tryna convince everyone to get together and know each other better! I mean we are a class now after all" Miki smiled, successfully pulling us out of the door. Sighing, Saika agreed, and dragged me downstairs as Miki cheerfully skipped over to the other side of the level. 

When we arrived at the common area, it was surprising to see that almost everyone had agreed to join this little get together. The only people that were missing were the boys on our dorm level, the ones Miki had just gone to ask. As I looked up to say something to my best friend, I found her eyes transfixed in two people. The brunette boy and the girl with twin drills. They were in the corner of the room, with the girl looking rather annoyed with something. The boy seemed kind of confused, but that expression soon began to melt away into one of agreement as the girl kept talking. I felt Saika leave my side as she walked towards the two.

"Kou-"

"Alright guys!" Miki said as she and the remainder of our classmates entered the space. I was genuinely surprised to see Satoshi lingering at the back of the crowd. I hadn't expected him to listen to her. He didn't seem like the type to enjoy these events.

Miki plopped herself down on the couch, grinning broadly.

"Well, since we're a class now, we should get to know each other better!"

"If that really was all you wanted to do, then I'm leaving" the twin-drill girl (as I had dubbed her) snarled, making a displeased and scowling face at Miki. Before Miki could even reply, she continued.

"We're not here to make friends. There's no point in this stupid meeting" the girl spat.

"If you didn't want to be here then why come?" Satoshi murmured from the back.

"Because, I wanted to see if you 'pro-hero parents' kids would act all cocky" she sighed in irritation, as if we were the ones who started this.

"Miki literally only said that we should get to know each other. What in the world is your minuscule brain thinking to come to the conclusion that we're acting arrogant?" Satoshi said calmly, unfazed by the girl's angry stare.

"Well! I-I knew..." the girl seemed to be at a loss for words. "It was obvious that eventually, you'd all start looking down on us and think more highly of yourselves, and I'm just here to say that you're not as good as you think you are. Don't think that just because you guys are the ones with pro-hero parents, that you're better than the rest of us! Right Kousuke?" she shouted, enraged for some odd reason. When she looked at the brunette - Kousuke - he turned away, looking conflicted. Saika stared at him from across the room, a look of betrayal clearly evident.

"...Who even are you?" Satoshi asked, a look of displeasure on his face as he stared at the twin-drill girl blankly.

"Kimika Hokori-"

"Well then Kimika, do you think you could take you and your delusional thoughts elsewhere " Satoshi raised an eyebrow. Having been cut off mid-sentence seemed to rile up Kimika even more. 

"You know-"

"I hope you know that I don't care."

The interaction between the two caused the blue dancing boy to snort. Kimika turned to him sharply, throwing a nearby cushion at his face before snapping her head back to face Satoshi. 

"I can tell just by looking at you. You're just like your father, that arrogant scum. You're both so full of yourselves. Maybe that's why your mum left you."

The room went silent. Everyone had a rough idea about the situation with Satoshi's mum, but no one dared to mention it after Satoshi's dad had made it very clear that he didn't want anyone, especially the media, to talk about it. Eitaro immediately sprung up from his seat and rushed over to his former best friend. 

"Hey man, ple-"

"Shut up" Satoshi smacked away the hand Eitaro had placed on his shoulder.

Eitaro backed away from his friend, still looking worried. Satoshi was trembling with anger, his fists tightly clenched, his breathing rigid and teeth gritted. He looked ready to explode. He glared intensely at Kimika, his eyes so full of hatred and face twisted into what seemed like one of anguish, that the mere sight of him made Kimika keep her lips sealed tightly as she edged away, fearing that if one more word spilled out of her mouth, it would be enough to provoke him to totally lash out. After what felt like an eternity of silence and heavy tension, Satoshi regained some of his composure and retreated back to his room, still appearing to be in a fit of rage. It looked as if he was going to say something, but kept his mouth shut as he disappeared around the corner. The tension in the atmosphere evaporated as his overbearing presence faded into the depths of the corridor, and it seemed as if everyone had let out a sigh of relief when he was finally out of sight. Eitaro then approached Kimika, a rather sympathetic look on his face, though it seemed to be mixed with anger.

"What you did wasn't right. You should apologise" he stated, not breaking eye contact. Kimika tensed up.

"As if I would. Besides, are you really that stupid or did you not see what just transpired. If I go anywhere near that guy he's probably going to murder me...not that he could anyway..." she added, annoyed.

"You said we were the ones being conceited, but you're acting like this" Eitaro's voice rose, eyes narrowing as his usual happy self all but vanished. Kimika only sighed in response and stormed away, not looking back once.

---

"I have to admit, I kinda wanted to get to know everyone and have that weird meet-and-greet thingo or whatever you want to call it" Saika muttered. 

"It was way too awkward to do that anyway after what happened though..." I replied, shrugging. Kimika's random outburst and Satoshi's terrifying demeanour still had a lingering presence over the whole class, which made talking casually with one another seem out of place. 

"Anyways, I'm excited for today! Your hero costume looks really cool, by the way!" I cheered. Today was our first Hero Basic Training class, and I was definitely looking forward to it. When our whole class had finally gathered, we heard a loud, enthusiastic voice as our Heroics teacher finally came into view.

-

Sorry for the late update! School has been busy oof ^^' As always, if you find any grammatical, punctuation, spelling mistakes etc., please let me know so I can fix them! :P

I just like to say that I hope everyone stays safe during this time. Please help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect yourself and your loved ones by following the procedures given.

Anyways, things are starting to get more exciting (and fun to write) so I hope you read the next chapter! :3