Summer vacation has just started, so typically the classrooms in U.A. should be empty. However, today, 1-A class seems to be as lively as it is during the school days.
"I can't believe the teachers asked us to come here during holiday," Sero groans, propping his chin up with one hand on his table.
"You could choose not to come," a crow-headed boy behind him speaks with a serious tone. "Today's class is not obligatory."
"I don't know about you, Tokoyami, but I can't not be curious about the new student! Others probably feel the same too, seeing that everyone came, including Bakugou."
"Fuck off, Soy Sauce Face!"
"Geez, why are you so irritable in this early morning..."
Deku lets out a light chuckle at the friendly-hostile banter between his classmates. "I also think it is strange to have a transfer student at this time of the year."
"Maybe it's a special case, like by recommendation. Does anyone in this class actually know something about it? Maybe Todoroki or Yaoyorozu?"
Kyoka Jirou shifts on her seat, turning so she can join in their conversation. "Yao-momo said she has no idea about it."
Well, actually she also said that Todoroki might have a clue about it, though. But, it's hard to tell what he really thinks about.
"I saw her with Aizawa-sensei and Principal Nezu in the hallway earlier!" Mineta slaps his table loudly, his expression brimming with pure excitement. Recognizing the suspicious redness on his puffy cheeks, Sero dares to bet all his wealth on the grape boy's imagination being perverted. "Finally, a new female addition!"
"What is she like?" As innocent as Deku's question may be, of course Mineta has to translate it as a permission to spout a stream of his unneeded observations.
"Ah I see, you're a man of culture as well." he smugly taps Deku's shoulders, who looks confused. "Too bad I only got a glimpse of her back, but according to my keen eyes, her build is pretty much the same as Tsuyu-chan. She's a little slimmer though—and not in a good way! Girls need to have some fat to stay curvy—"
"Oh my All Might, look at what you have done, Midoriya!" Sero gripes to his desk neighbor as the green-haired boy throws him an apologetic grin. "His dam is broken and his dirty thoughts are flooding out!"
Behind them, Tokoyami is wearing his usual poker face, trying to tune out Mineta's detailed descriptions.
"— She also has a ponytail like Yaoyorozu that's not as high and grand, but cute nonetheless! It begins at the center of her head and flows down to her back—"
The grape boy doesn't have the chance of continuing because a certain ash blond slams his desk, the force sending slight trembles around them. Bakugou doesn't know what he is expecting by coming to this impromptu class, but he sure didn't sign up for this perverted bullshit.
"Shut the fuck up, Grape Balls!" Bakugou's angry yell booms, diffusing the idle chatter of his friends in the class. "One more word, and I'll make you eat your own shit with dynamite."
On the other side of the class, Mina is whispering to both Kaminari and Kirishima, "Bakugou-kun seems pretty interested in this too, doesn't he?"
"Knowing Bakubro, I think he wants to see if the newcomer is strong enough to compete with him or not. Especially when she got admitted in an unordinary way."
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Aizawa opens their introduction session with an explanation about U.A.'s experimental charity, which goes by the Good Will program. It is brief and succinct with a lot of glossing over on the details.
The only thing 1-A students know for sure is that the new student—Arata Shirayuki—was admitted through this program. Shoto suspects there is more to the program than meets the eye, but he supposes it is not that important at the moment.
He has to admit, his first guess that U.A. would limit the details of Arata's identity to strictly U.A. faculty members couldn't be more wrong. Aizawa lets 1-A students know the gist of her background with Hanakiri and the Shirayuki. Not to mention, Aizawa's and his involvement in her case.
"So, you're kind of her hero, Todoroki-kun?" Yaoyorozu mutters curiously next to him, still listening to Aizawa's explanation with rapt attention.
"I suppose so."
An almost silent "that's so cool!" passes through his ears, however he isn't of the same mind with her. "Not really," Shoto answers, turning his focus back to their teacher.
Looking objectively, Aizawa deserves that title more than him. After all, the man had permanently altered a major part of his life solely to help Arata, unlike him who didn't really sacrifice anything.
But then, Shoto recalls how Arata's bright green eyes lit up when he told her he wanted to be her friend. It makes him think that perhaps, it isn't the magnitude of the sacrifice that determines how worthy one's help is.
Maybe. I'm not quite sure yet. Only one thing is certain, Shoto crosses his arms on the table, fists clutched. There wasn't much I could do for Ara without Aizawa-sensei's interference. It shows how far mere good intentions could go without abilities to back them up.
If I want to make a significant difference next time, my skills, my knowledge, my competence—they all need to improve. I have to work harder to be the hero I aspire to be.
"— I think that more or less concludes all," Aizawa says in a monotone voice, then gives a silent cue to the dark-haired girl next to him. "Let's move on to the introduction."
"Um... Hi." Arata grips the fabric of her dark blue skirt tighter, her green eyes shyly peeking behind dark eyelashes before flicking to the floor again. "My name is Arata, and um, my quirk is Praying Mantis. I can transform both my hands to mantis' claws. I'm— I'm pretty new to this, so... any help would be appreciated."
Huh... Not a bad attempt, but it's obvious that she memorized those lines, Aizawa thinks as he gestures to the students in front of him. "Is there any question for Arata before we move on?"
A hand immediately shoots up from the back corner of the room.
"Yes, Uraraka?"
"What would you prefer to be called?"
"Anything is okay, except my last name."
A laugh, as light and bubbly as Uraraka herself, escapes her lips, causing the corners of her brown eyes to crinkle merrily. She claps her hands together, the sound ringing with enthusiasm. "Arata-chan, welcome to 1-A! I can already tell that we're going to be great friends."
Arata's breath catches in her throat at the sincere welcome. Acceptance has always been a foreign concept to her, and Uraraka's kindness takes her by surprise. Her fingers fidget nervously, her eyes widening as she takes in the genuineness of Uraraka's smile, a smile that holds no judgment or malice.
She called me by my name, Arata's heart does a little leap of joy at the realization. She wants to be my friend, even after she knows about my background! Aizawa-san, Shoto-san, did you hear it too?
For a moment, Arata is at a loss for words, but slowly, when she replies, her voice is awkwardly oscillating and small, but Aizawa knows from her tone that she is genuinely grateful, "Thank you. I'll do my best to be a good friend."
"Anyone else?"
With a newfound vigor, a boy with a grape-like head stands up, his face steaming like a dumpling. "What about her seating arrangement? Where is Arata-chan going to sit?"
"At the corner, next to Yaoyorozu."
"Can she sit next to me instead? Please let me sit next to a girl!"
This boy always gets excited for the wrong reasons, Aizawa rolls his eyes, a hint of irritation creeping into his expression. At this point, he should be used to Mineta's disgusting antics, but they always prove to be more severe than his expectation. It is somewhat worrisome, honestly.
"Overruled. I think you can continue the introduction yourselves, so let's just wrap this up."
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It seems the introduction has gone off without a hitch after Aizawa left their classroom. Most of the 1-A students are swarming around Arata's desk, eager to get to know their new addition.
"Hey, Arata-chan! My name is—"
"Ow, stop elbowing me!"
"Sorry, guys, but ladies first!"
"— Not all at once! Class, you're going to overwhelm her—"
"Come on, Iida! This isn't a formal class, just loosen up!"
"Get in the line if you want to talk to her!"
And, the little ruckus ensues. Shoto chooses to stay put on his desk, because well, Arata and he have already known each other. It's better for her to use this opportunity to get acquainted with other people apart from Aizawa and him.
"Finally, it's my turn! I'm Minoru Mineta!" the grape boy declares, proudly puffing out his chest, hands ready to squeeze something.
"Hi, Mineta-kun," Arata replies with a hesitant smile as he prepares to launch himself at her. "Um, what are you doing?"
"I'm here to give you a pat-down! Our tradition to ensure security— Ouch!"
"That's our local pervert, Arata-chan! You'd be better off without him, trust me." Mina Ashido already has one arm circling Arata's shoulders, her other hand chucking away Mineta. An easy-going grin is plastered on her pink face like always.
"Hell yeah, Mina-chan!" A pair of gloves are floating around both of them, clapping loudly. "That's one hell of a good slap!"
"Um, thanks a lot, Mina-chan, Toru-chan... But, is he okay, though?"
"Mineta? Sheesh, don't mind him! He's as persistent as a cockroach."
"Girls like us gotta have each other's back, especially in the face of a common enemy!"
"All right, those who want to greet Arata-chan, who's next?" Mina asks in a singsong voice, her knuckles drumming on the desk like a playful roll call.
"It's me." A tall, bulky boy steps forwards, the majority of his face covered by pale-colored hair and a blue mask. One of his arms is forming a mouth to speak, while he raises another one to shake hands. "I'm Mezou Shoji. Nice to meet you, Arata-san."
Arata tries her best to hide her flinch, but there is practically no chance that Mina, who is half-embracing her, doesn't notice.
"Hey, it's okay!" Mina chirps. "He's only as big as his heart! Don't let his appearance blow your mind."
"No, um... it's not that..."
"Really, then what—"
"Pale grey." All of a sudden, Shoto rises from his seat and joins them. His grey-cyan eyes are looking right into Arata's as he gestures to their tentacled friend. "Shoji's hair is pale grey, not white, Ara."
"Shoto-san! Oh, you're right... Um, nice to meet you too, Shoji-san."
Shoji doesn't know which one surprises him more, the fact that Todoroki manages to discern the source of Arata's distress based on such a small gesture, or the fact that they have nicknames for each other.
Their hero-victim relationship aside, Shoji wasn't expecting to see the aloof Todoroki on such friendly terms with someone outside their class. Judging by Ashido's raised brows and Hagakure's audible gasp, he isn't the only one surprised.
"Huh, you're on a first-name basis with him? What's your secret to cracking Todoroki's shell, Arata-chan?"
"Well—"
"What shell? I'm not a turtle, Ashido."
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"Yo, Bakubro!" Kirishima calls out as his ash blond friend strides towards the door, away from the chatter at the back of the classroom. "Where are you going?"
"Home. This is just a waste of my time," Bakugou grumbles, not breaking his pace.
"You're not going to talk to her? Arata-chan seems pretty chill, you know. Iida, Deku, and the others are planning to show her around U.A. after this."
Bakugou scoffs, clearly unimpressed. He doesn't understand what the other students are getting worked up for. The new girl is a freaking letdown. An infamous villain's blood is running through her veins, yet she has never utilized her quirk. To top it off, despite being so incompetent, she just waltzed in to the freaking 1-A at U.A.—the hero course they all got in only after training through hell and back.
Forget rescuing people, he isn't even convinced she would be able to protect herself from Grape Balls if Raccoon Eyes wasn't there. And, as much as he has heard earlier, either Icy-Hot or their teacher was always there to help her face her problems.
Besides being a proof that the half-and-half bastard has successfully saved someone, what is she even good for? She doesn't deserve to be a hero in more ways than one. This class doesn't need a dead weight like her to tie them all down, they obviously have better things to do than babysitting a lost case.
"She's a fucking extra," Bakugou snarls, loud enough for Kirishima to hear, then slams the door with more force than necessary. Why did he even expect her to be a potential competitor? "I don't give a fucking damn for someone who's so useless."