Aside from Aizawa’s unique opening to our school, the half day was dedicated to nothing other than us students getting acquainted with the school’s specific rules, our teachers, the facilities, and other basic stuff that didn’t require much attention. Which allowed my mind to run wild throughout class.

Midoriya, in the seat to my left, both of us at the very back of the classroom, was at the forefront for obvious reasons. Other than the fact that he was practically shaking in his shoes due to the glare from Bakugo, who was on other side of him, he definitely had One For All. Dropping him some advice and maybe even outright training with him sounded like a good idea if done right.

Todoroki, dead silent compared to everyone else, caught my eye but not for very long, Iida quickly snatching it up for the rest of the day. Maybe not him specifically but the possible soon to be connection between us.

Stain and Ingenium.

Brrrring!

The playing of the school bell brought a sweeping change across the classroom once our teacher let us be after some parting words, conversation breaking out between those who already knew each other or introductions coming from those outgoing enough to start them.

“You damn nerd!” Pulling my eyes from Iida packing up his stuff, the guy having been taking notes on things few others bothered with, I watched Bakugo slam his hands down onto Midoriya’s desk, already out of his seat and looming over the jumpy boy. He launched into an interrogation or rather a one sided slew of insults, accusations, and assumptions, no room for any answers to be given.

Midoriya really looked more like some frightened kid sitting there taking it rather than the successor of the number one hero.

“Hey.” I called out, instantly put on the opposite end of Bakugo’s glare. It’s not like I wanted to be on bad terms with him, but could I say anything that wouldn’t result in that? Probably not. Did I care enough to try that hard to find those words? Definitely not. “Lay off him.”

“Stay out of this, extra.” He retorted.

Extra huh? A bit ironic.

“Didn’t I score higher than you on mister Aizawa’s test?” I asked.

That got him to leave Midoriya alone, Bakugo jumping over to my desk. “The hell did you say to me?”

With him looming over my desk the same way he did Midoriya, rather than shrinking away, I raised a brow, meeting his glare head on. That only made him angrier, his glare growing sharper.

“Might I remind you that we now represent U.A?” Iida, approaching with his satchel around his torso, inserted himself into the conversation, a straightened out hand cutting between the both of us. “Such rude behavior is unbecoming of students of this prestigious institution. We-“

“Tsk.” Bakugo didn’t care to wait around listening to starting lecture, reluctantly backing off. After one more glare at me, a far longer one for Midoriya, he grabbed his stuff from his desk and took off ahead of everyone else, not bothering to take part in any of the conversations going on.

Iida to the rescue, I guess. I should’ve held off on that smart comment, but Bakugo was just begging for it talking like that. Either way, even if I didn’t exactly care much about being friends with the guy, arguing with him wasn’t something I cared much for either.

“How deplorable.” Iida said, adjusting his glasses. “If that is how he chooses to act here of all places I can only imagine how problematic he must’ve been in whatever school he attended beforehand.”

“Kacchan isn’t as bad as he seems.” Midoriya muttered. “He’s just surprised is all.” I held back a snort, letting him and Iida talk after waving off the former’s embarrassed thanks.

They reminded me of a much tamer version of Sasuke and Naruto to some degree. I’d been all for Naruto chasing after and defending his buddy right up until he put a hole in his chest; I genuinely had no idea what kind of mindset someone had to have to call someone a friend after something like that. Just like I didn’t understand why Midoriya cared enough to try and defend Bakugo after years of bullying.

To each their own.

“Akaguro.” I turned to my other desk mate, Yaoyorozu to my right and finishing off our row. “How are you finding the school so far?”

“Fine. I’ll probably have a real answer once classes actually start.” I said. “Aizawa seems like he’ll make for an interesting homeroom teacher though.”

“His approach did strike me as a bit unorthodox.” Finished packing up the binder she’d had out, Yaoyorozu stood. “I can’t say I’m completely sure what to expect from him but I’m sure as U.A. students we’ll be able to handle any challenge.”

Grabbing my bag, I followed her lead, looking to the front of the class.

Himiko, a carefree smile in place that showed off her teeth, had turned in her seat, in the middle of a conversation with Tsu, the person in the seat behind them eventually joining their conversation. Good to see she was making friends that she didn’t have to be so conscious of herself around. I assumed we’d be walking back together but if she left with them, I wouldn’t go insert myself into things.

Catching my eye, her smile grew as she waved at me, Tsu doing the same when their newly formed group looked my way. I returned the wave.

“I actually had a bit of request for you if aren’t busy.” Yaoyorozu said and I looked back to her, curiosity peaked.

XOXO

If the dictionary had a picture to go along with the word curiosity, Yaoyorozu was embodying it.

Looking up and down the compartment we were in, she was analyzing each and every person alongside anything within it that stood out to her. The other half of the time she was turning to get a look outside, particularly interested in the direction we were all going while paying rapt attention to any announcement made over the intercoms.

“You’ve really never been on a train before?” I questioned, still a little taken aback by her childlike curiosity about the whole mundane thing.

“I’ve always had a personal driver take me everywhere. I realize that isn’t the norm but is it really that strange?” She asked, refocusing on me. Very but that’s money for you. With enough of it you could live in an entirely different world compared to those without.  “I always heard that each car would be packed with people. It doesn’t seem as busy as I imagined.”

“That’s during rush hours.” Thanks to our short day, U.A. clearly on a unique schedule if the lack of any other students was anything to go off of. The two of us had no issue getting seats, Yaoyorozu in the corner beside one of the doors while I was beside her, our belongings on our laps. “TV’s probably exaggerated it a bit but it can be pretty crowded around the time most people are starting or ending their day.”

“Interesting.” She said, looking around once more, adjusting herself in place. “It’s not as comfortable as what I’m used to but-“

The P.A. system came to life, announcing the next stop.

“That’s my stop.” Far too eager for her own good, Yaoyorozu carelessly rose up despite the train not even beginning to slow yet, her balance quickly lost without any kind of handhold. I raised a hand before she could fall back onto me, propping her up by the small of her back. A bit of smile taking shape, I pointed at one of the one of the poles that she quickly took hold of. “Thank you.”

I waved off her thanks and, only once the train began to come to a stop, I rose to join her. Together, we left the station behind, Yaoyorozu leading the way with her phone’s GPS, clearly just as unacquainted with navigating the streets herself.

Soon we stopped in front of a tall gate, my head craned back.

“This is your home?” On the corner of a street full of fancy houses, many with their own tall private gating and taller than the norm stone walls surrounding their property, we stood in front of what might’ve been fanciest one among them. It might’ve only been two stories, but he could already tell from the sheer space of the yard that there was plenty to it, all hidden from the eyes of any who didn’t belong.

“No, this is just the house my parents use when they have business in this prefecture.” She said as if it were the most normal thing in the world. The rest of the student body, including me, were either dealing with long commutes or making do with small affordable apartments nearby if they didn’t happen to live in the city.

And then there was Yaoyorozu. A whole ass house to spend the school year going to and from. A whole different world indeed.

“Thank you for taking the time to accompany me.” Yaoyorozu said, bowing to me slightly. “I think I’ll be favoring my private driver but if you ever want to take the train together, I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”

“Same to you.” I said, giving her a nod. With a smile and a wave, she headed on in, leaving me to keep admiring the whole neighborhood.

Getting rich definitely just jumped in priority on the list of things to do.

[Feat Accomplished!

Become friends with Yaoyorozu.

+1 Bronze Familiar Gacha Ticket]

And I got a ticket out of this trip. Cool.

XOXO

“You’re really going all the way back to Aichi?”

“I need to look after my little brother and sister, ribbit.”

“You won’t be able to hang out at all, will you?”

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s not like that’s your fault.” Himiko sighed, she and Tsu walking side by side at their way to the station the latter needed to get to. She’d been hoping to see more of Musutafu with her and Katsu but there was no way that was happening. Commuting to and from Aichi every day? Tsu whole year sounded like it was going to be schoolwork and watching her siblings.

She shouldn’t be the one being so down about it when Tsu had all that on her plate.

“Well whatever, it’s not like we don’t have any time together.” Himiko said. “We’ll just have to hang out as much as we can at school and our way to the station.”

“You don’t have to do that if you don’t want to.”

“I wouldn’t.” Himiko said, smiling as she bumped shoulders with her. “Even if it’s just walking, we can find plenty of things to do on the way. We just need to get creative.”

Tsu returned the smile and Himiko found herself unconsciously licking her teeth. She’d been able to ignore and put it off. She still was. But after seeing Tsu give up her blood to Katsu during that assessment, her craving, growing stronger with every conversation they had, was demanding attention.

“So, you’ve given Katsu blood before?”

“Once. Ribbit.” Tsu said, poking the corner of her mouth. “He asked last year when we first started working out together. I thought it was strange, but he didn’t seem bad to me.”

Himiko couldn’t but laugh a little. “And you just went with it?” She asked, Tsu nodding. “Ha, I like your style. Katsu would probably say you shouldn’t be going along with something you think is weird though.” Tsu gave her look that told her that’s exactly what he did. “You don’t mind doing that?”

“It’s for his quirk.” Tsu shrugged.

There was the main difference between her and Katsu. They both used blood for their quirks, but she was the one who drunk it beyond that. That didn’t bother Katsu but so far he looked like the exception not the rule.

“We-“ She would be seen as a freak. That would bring down Katsu. Make it harder for him to make friends and maybe even affect how the teachers treated him. “We should grab something to eat.” Himiko quickly followed up, pointing out a small Takoyaki stand that ran along some other stores and wasn’t too busy despite the many students passing. Tsu nodded, the both of them changing directions.

Dammit. She silently cursed to herself, trying to ignore and suppress that craving like she always did.

She was supposed to be doing things differently here not falling into old habits.

In end though, she watched Tsu get on to a train headed back to Aichi before heading off herself and getting onto a local line headed towards Katsu’s neighborhood, gazing at her reflection in one of the many windows.

Change was difficult. She knew that. There was no reason that wouldn’t apply to her no matter how determined she felt, so hesitation was natural. She just needed to try again tomorrow.

And make sure she didn’t make the same mistake with Katsu tonight.

XOXO

(A/N: Himiko is truly trying to enter her new era. She's probably, most definitely, going to bring that R18 tag to life in the next couple of chapters without everything back in Aichi to hold her back. Let's see how that goes.)