Chapter Text
When Izuku had met All Might, trained relentlessly, and then passed the entrance exam he’d been ecstatic. He’d be joining the ranks of the premier school for heroics in Japan, U.A Academy, in the male hero course. Why the ‘male’ you may be thinking? Well, that question dates back to the academy’s founding during the fourth generation of quirks.
Heroics was a relatively new profession, just off the heels of the so-called Age of Vigilantism, and most people still considered the then called ‘Meta Abilities’ to be dangerous rather than a ubiquitous part of life. The more subtle abilities, those that affected the mind and emotions, were particularly terrifying to the populace of Japan. Barely anyone allowed children out of the house when their peers could do all manner of deviancy without their knowing.
And so, when U.A was conceived, these fears were somewhat alleviated by two factors. First, a staff composed primarily of reputable vigilantes that would be able to curb any opportunists. They were experienced in dealing with mental tampering and could spot it in their students and colleagues with relative accuracy.
Second, the separation of the male and female classes. While it was somewhat contentious to segregate along that line alone, it was deemed a suitable compromise between public opinion and student life. After all, single-sex schools had existed for centuries before, having two separate courses didn’t seem too far out.
Eventually the fear of the now much less intimidating quirks had died down thanks to the quirk registry system and quirk danger scale, effectively prioritizing who needed special surveillance or quirk therapy. Children could play in the streets again, boys and girls no longer stayed together in protective cliques, and society returned to what it may have been if quirks had never existed in the first place by the sixth generation.
However, U.A’s charter was set in stone, and the two classes remained male and female. A few calls had been made to change it, but they usually went nowhere. It was tradition, and a pretty harmless one, so why bother?
Well, that was what Izuku thought as he stared up at his classroom door, 1-X. The other courses had returned to a Co-Ed situation, but Heroics remained separated. His acceptance letter, that had arrived with All Might’s rather poor videodisk, had given him the name of his classroom. He kept the letter in his pocket, both as a defense against anyone who might claim he was a trespasser (like many of his middle school bullies would) and as a small comfort to himself. He belonged here, he made it.
Which would probably be useful when he walked in and had to deal with Kacchan. There was no doubt in his mind that the boy made it in, he was too powerful and smart to let go, but that didn’t mean Izuku wasn’t dreading spending the next three years in his company when sanctioned combat happened every other day.
Taking a deep breath, he put his hand on the doorhandle that seemed larger than life, and pushed forward. This was his hero academia, he’d go in with his head held high and a smile on his face, just like All Might…
Which promptly folded when he found himself staring down about thirteen girls and their teacher, the Pro Heroine Ryukyu. They all blinked at his arrival, and Izuku let out a pointedly terrified squeak as he said. “S-Sorry, must have the wrong room!”
He made to leave, and subsequently run for the hills and possibly live as a hermit, before an amused voice called out from the front of the class. “No Midoriya, you have the right room.”
Izuku’s head turned like rusty clockwork before he stared at Ryukyu like she was speaking a foreign language. She wore a sort of welcoming, apologetic look on her face as she continued. “1-X right? Come in, you’re in seat seven.”
His feet moved like a toy-soldier as he instinctively obeyed her commands, not entirely sure why when he should be apologizing or demanding answers from God. The eyes on him followed him like laser-sights on a gun as he took his seat and stared at the front of the class like he was trying to spontaneously develop a teleportation quirk.
Ryukyu took a look around the class, assessing their reactions to her little experiment. None of them seemed particularly… Hostile per say, but it was obvious the lot of them considered this to be some kind of elaborate prank. The chatter that she’d permitted had all but died, turned to inquisitive whispers as Izuku head fell to the desk, and his shoulder began shaking as he obviously tried to control his nerves.
It wasn’t the worst outcome she could’ve expected, but it wasn’t the best either. The poor boy looked close to a nervous breakdown, but she could only hope that it was better than the alternative in 1-Y. Hell, she was on thin ice with Nezu and the rest of the staff already, if the kid had a panic attack on his first day he’d be sent straight to 1-Y and all that which she feared for him.
Deciding that now would be a pretty good time to get the boy to understand that she was looking out for him, she called out. “Midoriya, you’ve probably got questions. Want me to answer them before class starts?”
He nodded judderingly, and it looked like the rest of the girls were a little relieved by the subtext to her words. He was just as confused as they were, this wasn’t some rich boy getting put with his own personal harem from a bribe. She began walking for the storage room next to the classroom, and he damn near sprinted after her in an attempt to escape the classroom.
She opened the door for him, smiling comfortingly as he stepped inside. The room was a little warm, mostly thanks to the charging laptops used for a few classes, but it was spacious enough to allow for personal space. Closing the door behind the both of them, she crossed her arms and leaned on the door. “I know this is probably a surprise to you, but before anything, I’d like to explain why I asked for you personally.”
Izuku’s face ran through a gamut of emotions from confusion, to a little bit of pride, to the sickly green nausea he felt when he was sitting in the classroom. After he’d taken a moment to calm himself, he nodded for her to continue.
She smiled encouragingly as she began. “Well, my thought process was less about having you in my class and more about not having you in 1-Y. The teacher there, Aizawa, is… Intense, and very pragmatic yet a little short sighted. He was very against your acceptance in the first place, and I have no doubt he was planning on singling you out in his class. He’s very trigger happy when it comes to expulsions as well, and while I don’t want to cast aspersions on a colleague, I think he’d replace you with his choice before the first day was out.”
Now, she wasn’t prone to the usual trappings of cuteness, but she just wanted to squeeze the disappointed boy in a hug when she saw the look on his face. “But I do think you have potential, a lot of it. I’m not going to lie, I saw a little of my younger self in you during the entrance exam.” Izuku looked up in surprise to see her smiling down at him nostalgically. “A quirk more powerful than yourself, and more than your helping of difficulties controlling it. I think I have more to teach you than Aizawa, and I’m looking forward to helping you grow.”
That bright smile would be the death of her. She’d always had a soft spot for the more affectionate, emotionally bright members of her classes. The ones that were unafraid of seeing her as a friend. “Y-Yes Miss! Thank you!”
She grinned back before her expression dimmed again. The other half of her reasoning was… Less palatable, that was saying a lot. “My second reason… Katsuki Bakugo.”
Izuku stopped in his tracks, and he looked down ashamedly. She could tell what was going through his head with a single look, embarrassment. Years of being the victim could make anyone think it was happening for a reason, and now he thought that he was causing a bother for his teachers. She hesitated for a moment before she reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, and he looked up with a few frustrated tears in his eyes. “I’m not going to pretend to know how that all feels, but during our background checks I discovered… A little of what went on. But I didn’t feel right sending you to 1-Y with him there and I thought you might appreciate his absence, at least until you’re feeling more confident.”
His expression became unreadable, and she thought that she may have stepped over a line. Nobody liked having a dark spot in their past brought to light and acted upon, she knew that more than anyone, and even if he was her student- “M-Miss Ryukyu? Thank you, thank you so much…”
A few tears were dropping from his face and splashing against the floor, but she knew that it wasn’t sadness. It was relief, relief knowing that his torment wouldn’t follow him to U.A as well. She patted his shoulder another few times as she said comfortingly. “Hey, don’t sweat it. You take a few minutes to calm down and then come back in. I’ll smooth over things with your new classmates. I can’t promise they’ll be friendly, but I’ll be damned if I find a prospective hero giving you hell.”
Izuku nodded a few times, but she couldn’t know that what she’d offered were the best sounding years of education in his lifetime. She made her way out into the corridor and back into the class and found 19 pairs of eyes looking at her. A girl with orange hair, who seemed to be the center of orbit for a good number of the girls, asked her. “Miss? Is he coming back or…?”
Ryukyu took a second as she went to sit back down at her desk before she began. “Alright, I’m putting down a few ground rules for all of you in regards to your… Other classmate. First of all, I will not hear of any bullying, scathing remarks or even a passing comment about him ‘not belonging’ in this classroom. This is my class, and I choose my students.”
Let it never be said that she was any less intimidating than Aizawa. A few of the girls looked a little guilty at her warning, obviously having made some comments already. Ryukyu let it set in for a second before she sighed and calmed down a little. “Second, and most of all, he is a student here just like the rest of you. I can’t ask you to include him in every little outing or study group, but don’t treat him like he’s some anomaly. He’s a hero in training, just like you.”
There was a general call of assent from the class before they went back to their muttering. That went pretty well as far as she was concerned, even if a few of the girls still seemed unconvinced by her speech. No matter, she’d be keeping a strong eye out for all her hatchlings, no matter if one of them was a little different than usual.
Eventually, Izuku returned about a minute before the bell, still looking down at the ground but significantly calmer than before. He shot Ryukyu a small smile, and she returned it with a nod before a voice called out excitedly. “Hey, it’s you! The boy who saved me at the entrance exam!”
Izuku looked up in shock to see a familiar brunette waving to him as she rushed over from where she’d been talking to the rest of the class. “Oh, I remember you! W-Well, you saved me just as much when I was falling, h-heh…”
She smiled as she came to a stop, extending her hand with a sparkly look in her eyes. “Name’s Ochako Uraraka, it’s nice to meetcha!”
Izuku returned it robotically, the realization that he was actually shaking hands with a girl crashing around him before it ended as soon as it started. She giggled at his reaction as she asked curiously. “Say, so what’s with you being in 1-X? I don’t mean to be rude but it’s a little weird, right?”
She didn’t notice the warning look that Ryukyu was giving her from the front, or the whispering from the assembled girls behind her, but Izuku seemed to be a teensy bit more confident talking to her. “Miss Ryukyu thought I’d learn more with her than with the 1-Y teacher. You remember what happened with my q-quirk, with the…?”
Learning how to keep All Might’s secret had taught him a little improvisational lying skill, and Ochako seemed willing to accept that reasoning. “Ooh, that makes sense! I’d wanna stop breaking my bones ASAP too.”
Izuku winced and was about to reply before the bell rang, and Ryukyu stood up and called out. “In your seats everyone, you can finish your conversations at break.”
They all did so pretty quickly, rushing to their seats. Once they were all settled, Ryukyu extended her index finger and began writing out her name on the interactive whiteboard at the front. “I am Ryuko Tatsuma, Hero Name Ryukyu. Some of you may remember me from my days with the Saint Agency. You can all call me Ms Tatsuma.” Her finger dropped, and she began outlining a schedule for the day. “Now, we’ve got an hour for orientation, but I don’t think that’ll be necessary. After all you’ve all got reliable upperclassmen to give you directions, and U.A isn’t exactly a maze.”
She turned around and clapped her hands together once. “So, I think we’ll begin with a quick ‘Getting to Know You’, hmm? Number one, how about you introduce yourself. Just your name and something about you for now please.”
The girl in the first chair, with a near expressionless look on her face, stood up and began. “Yui Kodai, and I like boys.”
There was a moment of silence before Izuku felt his head hit the table, and a peal of laughter echoed through the class as Tatsuma crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow. “Well, far be it from me to judge. Number two?”
“The name’s Eiko Kirishima, and I love boxing!”
“Mina Ashido, and I’m a total movie buff!”
“I’m Hana Sero, my Mom’s Korean and my Dad’s Japanese.”
“I go by Ibara Shiozaki, and I am in my church’s choir.”
“Name’s Ochako Uraraka, and I come from Kansai!”
It came to Izuku, and he nervously stood up as the others had done as he gave a jerky bow and said. “I-Izuku Midoriya, and I l-like working out. It’s nice to meet you all!”
He sat down as fast as he’d stood up. It had been so long since he’d done one of these things that he didn’t know what to say, but his training had encompassed so much of his time and he didn’t think ‘Hero Fanboy’ would earn him any points- “Yo dude, that’s awesome! What’s your max bench?”
He yelped as he turned to Eiko, who was giving him a sort of shark-like grin that made him feel pretty at ease despite his nerves. “Oh, somewhere around… 225Kg, I-I think?”
She gaped before she said excitedly. “That’s super manly! We need to compare at some point man!”
Izuku gave her a sort of wobbly smile as Tatsuma continued. “Alright you two, you can measure your muscles some other time. Number eight?”
There was a rippling of laughter before the next girl stood up. “Itsuka Kendo, and I do martial arts. I may join you both.”
“Setsuna Tokage, but you can all call me Setsuna. I’m a fossilhead, I love me some dinos!”
“I am Reiko Yanagi, a dedicated student of the Occult.”
“I’m Tsuyu Asui, but call me Tsu ribbit. I like the rainy season.”
“Tooru Hagakure, and I’m about all things fashion!”
“Pony Tsunotori! And I’m a horse girl in more ways than one! Sorry everyone, I’m still learning Japanese.”
At that, Izuku let out a small grin though the English was lost on most of the class. He’d been a pretty avid student of English even before meeting All Might, but even that was so he could listen to most of his speeches and feel inspired. “Kinoko Komori, and I think mushrooms are shroomper!”
“A pleasure to meet you all. I’m Momo Yaoyorozu, and I quite enjoy tea.”
“… Shoko Todoroki.”
The class waited for a follow-up to that, but none came. After a moment, Tatsuma nodded to the next girl, knowing they wouldn’t get anything else out of her. “Um, Kyoka Jirou, and I play bass guitar.”
“Rika Sato, I work at my parent’s bakery sometimes.”
“Futako Tokoyami, and I prefer the dark.”
“K-Koko Koji… I like animals…”
Tatsuma nodded to the shy girl at the back encouragingly before she turned to the class again with a smile. “I suppose I’d best share something as well, I’m a massive sucker for those old Kaiju movies. Now-“
The window rattled, and she sighed as she walked over to it as the class chattered among themselves. Looking down at the field, she saw a big dust cloud and 1-Y in their gym uniforms. “Well, guess we aren’t getting the field for a while.” Sighing, she turned back to the class and began. “I’ll take you all out to the field after lunch so we can get started on what this course is named for, but for now, I think it’s best that we begin explaining your classes and their role in heroics.”
There were a few groans, but she ignored them as she put the names Maths, English, Modern Literature, Modern Hero Art, General Science and Heroics on the board. “So, can anyone tell me what Modern Hero Art entails?”
A few hands raised, but Izuku’s stayed down pointedly. Well, that wouldn’t do. “Midoriya? Any clue?”
He yelped before he responded nervously, unsure of his answer. “The practices, rules and laws surrounding heroism?”
Tatsuma nodded as she leaned back against the wall, noting the students who took out their notebooks. “Yep. While Heroics deals with combat training, rescue practices and even surveillance and investigation, MHA is the framework that’s all built on.” She pointed to the other four names. “The other courses are all designed with heroics in mind, especially English and Modern Literature. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to why we might need these?”
The usual suspects raised their hands, but in keeping with her instinct, she called upon Yui. The girl looked expressionless for a second before she offered lamely. “To… Write better speeches?”
There was a moment of laughter before Tatsuma asked flatly. “What’s so funny?”
The laughers fell silent as their teacher stood up and explained. “When you are out on the job, your presence is everything. You think All Might comes up with those speeches out of nowhere? No, he’s spent years devising just what’ll embolden those he’s saying and what’ll make a villain think twice before they even step inside a jewelry store.” She turned to Yui and nodded her head once. “That’s the correct answer, but there’re more layers even beyond that.”
Turning back to the board, she began putting down a boggling number of facets of heroism beneath Modern Literature. “While heroism is about saving people from villains and disasters, it’s equally important to inspire others to be the best they can be. Hell, if a hero inspired you to aim for this course, you’ve experienced it first hand.”
At that Izuku sat up a bit taller from where he’d been taking notes. While he had a pretty intimate understanding of heroes, hearing it directly from one’s mouth was different. Finishing up his notes, he looked up to see her turning to Maths, English and General Science. “Now, that’s all well and good, but a hero needs to be competent above everything else. There is never a situation where a civilian should know more about you in an everyday situation, because if they find out you don’t understand basic arithmetic or physics, they’ll never feel confident putting their safety in your hands.” She crossed her arms as some of the class let out unhappy grumbles. “But, I know that you all have the competency required for such. You all passed the written exam after all.”
She went to sit back down at her desk as she snapped her fingers, clearing the whiteboard. “So, I want you all to stretch your thought processes a bit. Four columns in front of me. Kodai’s column is on Maths, Kirishima’s on English, Ashido’s on ModLit and Sero’s on Science. As a group try and think up no less than five reasons as to how that subject might apply to heroism. We’ll reconvene fifteen minutes before the hour and do some sharing. Just gather around someone’s desk, don’t need anything fancy.”
Izuku didn’t even get the chance to stand up before he found himself staring directly into a pair of black sclera. Mina Ashido, the front of their column, just turned around in her seat and stared at him with a hint of wonder in her eyes.
He gulped as the scraping of chairs announced the movement of the rest of the class. “U-Um… H-Hi?”
She blinked before she grinned, reaching out to poke his cheek teasingly. “Hi yourself.” Sitting back up, she slapped her hands against his table rhythmically as she cut straight to the chase. “So what’re ya doing with us girls? Wanna be one? Or like, do you have some kind of dark backstory? Ooh will you be changing with us?”
Izuku had never been on the receiving end of a line of questioning, but he could tell now why people got so freaked whenever he asked them questions about his quirk. Before he could reply, Momo from the fourth row spoke up disapprovingly. “Ashido, that’s an incredibly personal question.” She blushed slightly as she looked at Izuku. “O-Oh, my apologies, was I out of line too?”
He gave her a small, grateful grin as he replied. “It’s no problem. A-As for your questions, I’m definitely a boy. My backstory’s kinda dull, a-and I think I’ll just use the boy’s changing room.”
She pouted as she replied petulantly. “Aww! I totally thought you had like, some kind of super allergic reaction to guys or Miss Tatsuma was your bodyguard godmother or-“
Momo sighed as she cut in, the rest of their column having gravitated to them. “I’m certain you can continue questioning Midoriya later Ashido.” Clearing her throat, she sat down on one of the free seats and said. “Well, shall we get to our task? Midoriya, could I ask you to take notes since you already have the equipment out?”
Izuku yelped and nodded, quickly writing down their names and the task at hand. Looking back up, he saw that most of the girls were still looking pointedly at him, and he gulped as he offered. “W-Well, a lot of villains are inspired by books, like the Raven Villain: Nevermore. A strong understanding of culture may lead to insights into their specific skillset?”
He was a little more confident talking about something he knew, namely the history of heroes and villains, and Momo nodded thoughtfully in agreement. “Very true, I recall a few instances in history of such.”
Jotting it down, Izuku found his eyes drawn to Futako as he wrote the suggestion in it’s entirety down. They were pretty different in appearance, but he could see the sadness behind her eyes. “U-Um, Tokoyami? Is everything…?”
She blinked as she looked back up at him. “Oh, never mind me. I had harbored fantasies of donning the moniker Nevermore as a heroine, but to know it has been used for evil casts shadows on it’s potential.”
He grinned back sheepishly, rubbing the back of his hair. “W-Well, it’s not uncommon for names to be shared between heroes and villains, especially if the villain styles themselves as the ‘evil’ version of a pre-existing hero. I think it would be very noble to try and replace the villain with the heroine in people’s memories.”
It was then that he realized that the others were, again, looking at him in confusion. Dipping his head in embarrassment, he suddenly winced as Tooru spoke up in shock. “Dude that was like… Whoa. You’re like some hero guru or something!”
He turned to her with a sheepish smile, and neither of them noticed the appreciative glance Futako gave him. After a moment, Tsuyu spoke up thoughtfully. “Maybe ModLit helps with finding your style ribbit? Like Midoriya said, but for heroes.”
Izuku nodded, jotting the idea down before the rest continued to give their suggestions. It got a little harder to find one on the fifth suggestion, but not impossible, and by the time Tatsuma gave the signal for them to stop they had a solid seven on the page. Tearing the page out, he offered it to Mina, who was looking a bit shocked by the gesture. “Dude, it was like, you and Tsu who gave most of them. Shouldn’t you say em?”
He shook his head, replying nervously. “U-Um, I’m not g-great with public speaking. B-But you seem really confident, so I thought…”
She plucked it from his fingers and said with a grin. “No problem! You can count on me!”
He smiled shyly back, but in the back of his mind, couldn’t help but wonder if she thought he was just a wuss. The others made their way back to their seats, and soon enough it was time for Mina to go up and do their lot. What surprised Izuku, however, was the obvious understanding of their points.
It wasn’t in him to stereotype people, but from what he remembered of middle school, there were a good few students who would leech during a group project and not remember a lick of it afterwards. And during their talks, she’d been less than forthcoming with suggestions, at most agreeing with some of them.
But it seemed as if that she had been listening, and could carry the presentation part with gusto. She even gave credit where credit was due to every idea. Eventually she sat back down, and Tatsuma nodded in acceptance. “Very good. Though I notice that you didn’t give any suggestions yourself Ashido?”
The girl stiffened in her seat, and Izuku felt his heart go out to her before their teacher said with an understanding nod. “This was a pretty unorthodox exercise, especially since you haven’t started the class yet. We’ll work on it.”
She sagged in relief, and Izuku couldn’t help but let out his own breath of relief. The final column did their relatively easy subject of science in heroics before Tatsuma stood up again and clapped her hands twice. “Very good everyone, I hope you all took notes on what was said, ‘cause they’ll be what you’re working towards this year. Now, we’ve got another few minutes before your first class, so just take a breather and get ready.”
As she made for the door, she continued. “We’ll do your physical test after lunch, so I’ll see you all then. Study hard, and welcome to U.A.”
Izuku very quickly got out the book he’d been preparing for Maths, their first class of the day. The rest of the class began talking among themselves or following his lead, but Izuku didn’t mind not talking. He was never one for casual conversation anyways, preferring to focus on what was on his mind.
Soon enough Ectoplasm walked in, and Izuku had to suppress his excitement as the Multiplying Hero began taking register. Maths was… Maths, nothing special, though they had to take a quick refresher pop-quiz to make sure they remembered everything from their entrance examination.
It was obvious that a number of students struggled, but Izuku kept his head down and got on with it. By the time they were done and ready for lunch, a good few groans echoed through the class as the more studious smiled at their marks. It turned out Ectoplasm could mark every paper in the room simultaneously with his quirk, who knew?”
Izuku stood up, more than ready for lunch and a little bit of drawing in his notebook. After all, he just got an up-close look at both Ryukyu and Ectoplasm, who wouldn’t be excited? He didn’t notice that the girls behind him had already begun forming their natural cliques, though Ochako and Mina did watch him go with a hint of regret before they turned their attention back to the rest of their group.
Getting down to the cafeteria wasn’t too hard, especially since he could follow the parade down, and after giving up his space to a few belligerent upperclassmen he found himself standing next to one Pony Tsunotori. She seemed to be off in her own little world, humming as she looked over the menu on one of the automated ordering screens.
That was when he realized she seemed to having a little trouble with the language. It wasn’t really surprising, Lunch Rush apparently liked to name his dishes theatrically rather than pragmatically, and considering what she’d said in her introduction that may lead to an inedible lunch. “U-Um, Tsunotori?”
She hummed and looked to him curiously, her nose scrunching as she scrounged up her Japanese. “Hello… Midoriya? How can I… Help you?”
He gulped before motioning to the little leaf symbol at the top right of the screen, explaining nervously. “S-Sorry, but t-that shows the vegetarian options. I-I thought you might not know so-“
She gasped before tapping the button quickly, grinning as the UI was replaced with a green colouration. “Whoa, thanks Midoriya! Didn’t know you spoke English, and is that some American accenting I hear?”
She quickly tapped her choice, holding her I.D to the reader to pay her fee. From the discontented muttering behind him, Izuku could tell that he was holding up the line. Quickly tapping a choice, he did much the same and got out of the way before realizing that Pony was still looking up at him curiously. “O-Oh! U-Um, a little? I learned English from All Might videos, and my Dad works in America so I thought it’d be cool to learn the language with him. We send letters in English most of the time.”
Pony nodded in understanding as she replied with a hint of relief. “Well I’ll tell ya, I’m glad you do! I expected to be holding a dictionary in one hand for every conversation, lookin’ like a librarian!”
Izuku laughed at the image before asking nervously, looking around. “U-Um, where are you sitting? The drones will take our food to us.”
She shrugged and continued to walk alongside him, obviously too happy with the fact that she found another English speaker so soon to care about the looks some were giving them. “No idea, couldn’t keep up with the other girls so ah just came on down for some grub.” She blinked, before asking very deliberately. “Oh, sorry, should I speak without… Voice shape?”
Izuku waved her off as he replied, acutely aware that this was the longest conversation he’d ever had with a girl. And considering how she asked him how she should talk, she wanted to speak more, and that was a fact his teenage brain couldn’t handle. “If you mean accent, n-no, it’s okay. This lets me practice English too, so win-win?”
She giggled and nodded with a bounce in her step. There were a few extra tables by the window, but they only had two seats a piece, but she didn’t seem to have any hang-ups about sitting with him as she took a seat and looked up at him expectantly.
Izuku gulped before taking the seat opposite, still wondering if this was all some kind of dream. Pony looked around before speaking again. “This place is great! It’s like a fancy restaurant, y’know? Is this what it’s like everywhere?”
He scratched the side of his cheek as he responded. “Well, not really. I’ve heard U.A is one of the richest schools in the world.”
Pony nodded, watching curiously as the drones delivering food or returning to the kitchen rolled next to their table. “Huh. Oh, by the way, don’t you think it’s weird that you’re the only boy in our class?”
He looked at her as if she were joking before realizing that, if she wasn’t familiar with U.A, it wasn’t unlikely she didn’t actually know how things usually worked. Clearing his throat, he began nervously. “U-Um, Tsunotori, you know U.A usually keeps the boys and girls separate for hero classes right?”
She blinked, looking between him and the boys that were milling around before tilting her head. “Wait, really? That’s a lil’ weird, in America it’s a free-for-all.”
Izuku just shrugged lamely, not sure how to respond to that. Eventually she just shook her head and replied with a bouncy nod. “Well, whatever the reason, I sure am glad you’re with us gals. Hey, maybe it’s ‘cause you can speak English that you’re with us! Like my own little helper? But why wouldn’t they tell me?”
He knew lying through omission was bad, but having a girl actually think his presence was helpful was a nice feeling. Eventually he responded with a slight grin. “Heh, maybe it’s just a happy coincidence?”
She grinned back before a drone delivered their meals, and Izuku hummed in delight as he took in the warm smell of his chicken fried rice with bacon and egg. Pony turned up her nose at his meal as she took the first bite of her own salad. “I dunno how you lot can stand that stuff. It looks so… Chewy!”
Izuku pouted as he responded, feeling a little more comfortable in her company. “It’s great! I don’t know how you like… Crunchy water!”
Pony looked at him like he’d grown a second head before she broke down in laughs, and Izuku followed suit. Soon enough, they were eating, poking intermittent fun at the other’s choice of meal before a new explosion of noise entered the cafeteria. Both turned to see a bunch of boys walking in, laughing and joking among themselves. “Man, I’m glad you’re not with them. Look like trouble with a capital T.”
He wanted to disagree with her, but he was too busy hiding himself from the blond at the front of the pack. Sure, he could escape him in class, but that meant nothing during break periods. Eventually Pony noticed him trying to hide his expression and looked between him and the group, before realizing exactly what was going on as her expression turned sour. “I get it, one of those guys is a real piece of work ain’t he?”
Izuku winced before he nodded, muttering dejectedly. This was the point she realized he wasn’t worth it, he just knew it. It’d go like every attempt his mother made to find him a friend that wasn’t Bakugo. “Y-Yeah, the blond at the front, Kacchan…”
Pony huffed and crossed her arms, replying with a slight animalistic undertone in her voice. “Then he can get right back to whatever sty he crawled outta! Reckon you’d have to be a right stinker to have a pop at a sweetie like you.”
Izuku felt the blush crawl up his neck before he responded. “He’s not that bad, honest! He’s just a little…”
Pony stuck up her nose with an emphasised ‘Hmpf!’, and Izuku sighed as he gave up on defending him. She shook her head and said with conviction in her voice. “Look, ahm a stranger in these parts, but don’t you think we ain’t got bullies in the states. He gives ya trouble, ah’ll show ‘im how bad a horn in the jacksie hurts, y’hear?”
Izuku grinned back at her, laughing a little as she nodded with determination. Maybe 1-X wouldn’t be as bad as he thought…