Fandom Born to Die (private)

[.Phantom.]

Alrighty Wynter, I think I am doing this correctly but if I am wrong, we will just need to double check and correct anything that needs to be corrected!

The Plot
The Beginning
The Kidnapping
The Sports Festival
The Dorms

Honestly at this time I have no idea what to put here so we can talk about it more later.
I had this up all day btw

Syrrith

 

[Syrrith]

Kai had announced that Ezra was going to UA out of the blue. He gave absolutely no warning that he was even planning something like that, so it was rather shocking to hear. Apparently, she would have to go to UA in order to bring back information that Kai would then use against them. Ezra had thought that he seemed pretty stable at the time meaning that the plan was probably pretty thought out, and she agreed to doing it. Not like she really had a choice. Even though there was a mix of emotions about having to be in a place swarming with heroes and brainwashed hero wannabes, she didn't actually get to decide whether she was going to do it or not. Kai only gave the illusion of choice.

At least she got a week to prepare.

Ezra knew what the campus had looked like before the first day, but actually seeing it in person was a different experience. It was a lot... more than she had expected. Bigger. Fancier. It was definitely not a place that she should be, and she knew this well.

It wasn't clear how Kai got her in, since she didn't technically really take the same exams that everyone else did, but here she was, walking toward the giant buildings. There was the chatter of students around her, excitement and stress making the air feel a bit electrified. Ezra recognized some of the other students from around the city, which was more off-putting than it probably should have. She was used to being hidden, not attracting attention unless she was in Kai's territory, and now she was out in the open during the day. Technically, she blended in as well as any one else, but it certainly didn't feel that way. So on she went to her class, ignoring the dozens of people she would never think of past their quirks.

----

Ezra chose the seat in the back, toward the window. Her teacher hadn't even looked up when she walked in, despite being the first one, which was a relief. Soon after, the first students began to come in. Three students came in at once, turning Ezra's head. They were pretty happy as they mulled over seats. Koi hair seemed to be the most excited out of them. They lost Ezra's interest shortly after and her attention turned back out the window.

Eventually, all of the students had taken their seats. There was a girl with blue hair next to Ez, and a guy who had nearly faceplanted into the ground after running into the classroom a mere second before the bell rang sat in front of her.

Their instructor gave a quick introduction, leaving out some information like his hero name and quirk, before announcing that they would be going outside as soon as hero training came around so that he could see how each of the quirks work. Apparently he had the files on each of their quirks, but wanted to see how they worked so he could come up with training plans easier. Ezra was fine with that. Kai had taken her out to train her quirk plenty of times. The way Novoa did it couldn't be any different since it was an emitter type quirk. After that, he gave a quick rundown of how things were going to work. He had hardly finished when it was time to go to the next class.

---

The hero course training came a little too quickly. The day had passed in a blur. Soon enough, Ezra was in the same seat as last time, only half listening to everything. Ren, the guy who sat in front of her, had to be called to attention several times and even after he was paying attention, he was still fidgeting. Everything seemed to be a distraction to him. His desk was clear but he was still studying lines in the wood, counting the lights in the room, or messing with his uniform. But luckily, they were out of the class soon enough. It was time for the assessment. They got changed into the UA gym uniform, which really wasn't the most comfortable of uniforms but was definitely a step up from the horror they had to wear throughout the day, and met out in the field.

It didn't look like Ezra was going to be at UA very long, considering that Novoa was giving Ezra a perfect opportunity to scout the new quirks. Kai didn't specify what type of quirk he was looking for, but he had a wide range of offensive quirks in his arsenal. If Ezra was to guess right, she would probably say that he was looking for either a balanced quirk or something a little more defensive. Either way, she would have to report all of them. Knowing what he wanted just allowed her to focus on those more than the others.

"You are just going to come up here when called, introduce yourself, and then explain and show your quirk off if possible. Today is the first day, so we will not be doing anything to strenuous." He paused, looking to each one of the students before beginning to call them up. "Miss Higurashi? You will be up first."

 

[.Phantom.]

Late. She was running late. It was so common that she really shouldn't have been surprised, but she honestly had been praying to whatever God may be above that she would refrain from her usual habit of falling down the stairs. As per usual, her wish was not granted, and she was forced to wait until the majority of her broken arm was back in to normal before she was allowed to leave the house. Breakfast was skipped, leaving her stomach grumbling in protest as she tugged on her shoe on her way out of the door, bag flapping against her back haphazardly. She finally understood the expression "like a bat out of hell".

"Please be on time, please be on time." She didn't have time to fake being impressed by the size of the campus. Her moment of awe and wonder had passed already when she'd been at the school with Rika for enrollment through recommendation. Her quirk wasn't necessarily suited for the Hero course in the traditional sense, but that didn't stop her from insisting on becoming a hero and proving herself capable. Still, she nearly got herself lost on her way to the classroom.

Her breath came in short bursts, eyes scanning desperately around the classroom, only to find that she wasn't late. Glancing to the clock on the wall, Kaiya deadpanned. Juno must have set my alarms back an hour! He probably foresaw her being late and did her a favor by setting her clocks back. While she thought she was extremely late, and was fully expecting to be punished by arriving at class late, she was about fifteen minutes early instead. A couple of students were already inside, but she opted for the one next to the pale haired girl in the back of the class. If she stayed near the rear, she wouldn't have as many eyes on her.

The training class started off a lot faster than she'd been expecting. Already they had to show off their quirk? What am I supposed to do about that? It would have to be something small. Rika had been very firm about that when they'd come to speak with the school directly about her situation. Nothing like breaking her arm, as she was already struggling to stifle the yawn from healing this morning. I could probably get away with a cut? She scanned the classroom, hoping to see- ah! His curly black mop was just as well-groomed as it could possibly be, little to no frizz amongst his ringlets to be found. Nagisa had always preferred to keep himself as rule-following as he could be, despite how often his hair tried to make him look messy. She was pretty sure his hair care routine could put some celebrities to shame.

"Nagi-" Mr. Novoa was already calling on one of their classmates to show off their quirk. Higurashi... she had heard of the name before somewhere, but she couldn't place exactly where. She was surprised when the blonde girl stepped forward, her curls pulled into a high ponytail at the top of her head, looking more as though she belonged in a magazine or on a building than among a class of heroes-in-training.

"Yes, sir." Even her voice was polite and proper. There was no slouch in her posture, no sign of the nerves that Kaiya felt worming their way in her own stomach. She watched in amazement as her new classmate took a breath in and began to - was she singing? Her voice was soft and perfectly in tune. Kaiya almost wanted to sway along to the melody, until suddenly her ears began to ring. Wincing, she held her hands up to block the high-pitched wailing that sounded as though it could shatter glass. Through squinted eyes she noticed Higurashi-san focused on a rock, watching in awe as it began to splinter, slowly cracking into two pieces. Seemingly satisfied with the result of the cracked boulder, she stopped her glass shattering pitch and turned to look at their teacher, waiting for his instruction without a shred of worry for his feedback creasing her made-up face.

 

[Syrrith]

Ezra was mulling over how she was going to show her own quirk. What exactly was he looking for? For her quirk, if it was already in the system, he should know that the only way to show it was to have it affect a person. To see what it did, he would have to be the one affected. Ez's attention focused more on the quirk being shown after the ringing started. It took quite a bit of willpower to not cover her ears, though toward the end she did take a step back. Definitely unpleasant. If Kai wanted that quirk, god help them all.

Novoa looked a bit surprised, but nodded to dismiss her. That was... an interesting start. Not what he had originally planned, but with Aiko's quirk, there probably wasn't a lot of other options in order to show it off. Fair enough.

"Moiul?" The next student stepped forward. Ezra had noticed when she first stepped in that she thought of herself as higher than the rest. There didn't seem to be a particular reason, especially since she seemed rather nice in her actions, and Ezra had instantly stopped caring about the pink haired student. Not that Ezra cared in the first place. These were heroes in training after all. Ezra watched as the student stepped forward, looking back to everyone. "Just introduce yourself, quirk, and show me something about it."

There was no answer for a second. Ezra instantly noticed a couple things. Her skin started turning into a more orangish yellow, and it looked like her eyes got quite a bit lighter. From where Ezra was, it was a bit hard to tell.

"Ally Moiul. Got in on recommendations," Oh so she liked to brag. "My quirk is Solar. Basically I can turn the sun's energy into heat." Novoa looked mildly interested, then dismissed her. Ally looked a bit disturbed as she walked back. With the brag that she included in her introduction right away, plus the "better than you" air she had to her, Ezra figured that she was only disturbed that she didn't get praise or more attention for her quirk. The quirk itself could be strong, even more so in the summer months, but was it really something that Kai had wanted?

"Next is... Hirai." And that made Ezra next. At least she would get it over quicker...

 

[.Phantom.]

Kaiya was rather impressed when the kid stepped forward. His hair was the color of the night sky, pulled back into a ponytail that gave him a small little tuft behind his head. "My name is Chaiko Hirai, my quirk is familiar." She'd heard of those before. Nagisa had explained them once when they were watching a movie she'd thought looked cool from the trailer. They were kind of like servant creatures, but a lot of times they were more like pets from what she could tell. The shadowy figure was larger than she was expecting, but she supposed that showing off their quirks meant showing them the better side, trying to impress the teacher. If she really wanted to go big or go home, she'd probably make a good portion of the class panic.

Hirai-kun lacked the flare that Moiul-san has been showing off with. Unlike the pink haired girl, he didn't hold his head high and proud about his quirk. She noticed the way he almost shrunk into himself as a couple of classmates began to whisper about his quirk. I don't think he likes the attention. She realized. He hadn't seemed shy the entire morning in class before, she'd seen him talking with Nagisa with a fairly relaxed posture, but now he seemed tense and on edge. Perhaps he had that one thing that Nagisa had explained to her before... stage... fear?

"I summon familiars, but it takes energy. For the sake of showing you my quirk they're tangible. They don't have to be." He shrugged his shoulders, the shadowy creature disappearing into thin air as his shoulders moved downwards. He seemed quite unexcited about showing off his quirk, but it looked rather cool to Kaiya. Having something like that... she would trade hers in a heartbeat for any one of the quirks presented to the class. How amazing would it be just to feel like she belonged to the group she stood with. Instead, she was here to be monitored. Watched very closely by the Pro Heroes located around the school, with so many different quirks that it would be easy to subdue her should they ever feel the need to do so.

"That's really cool, Hirai-kun!" She hoped it would help him feel a little better to not be the center of attention, though she didn't want to take any of the attention to herself much either. His lavender colored gaze met hers, blinking in surprise before returning her smile with the tiniest of twitches of his mouth. Though it didn't seem to make him completely relax, she was glad that he looked less uneasy as he returned to the group of classmates.

Nagisa gave him a pat on the back. "I told you that you didn't have much to worry about." Hirai's cheeks flushed, mumbling something that Kaiya couldn't hear despite being close to them. Her curly-haired friend turned to look at her, and he must have noticed her confusion because he pointed his chin toward their classmate. "I went to elementary school with Chaiko. He moved right before middle school started." Oh. That made a lot of sense, then, the way they'd been talking excitedly earlier in class. "This is the friend I was telling you about," he told the boy. "She's the one who has officially taken the title of clumsiest person I know from you." Her cheeks burned, causing Nagisa to laugh softly. It was such a nice laugh. How embarrassing, to have thought she had a crush on him not too long ago. Though he was such a gentleman, the kind of guy that you just always wanted to be aroun- wait.

"Nagi, is he..." The way Nagisa's eyes flashed in panic answered her questions immediately. She smiled, silently telling him that he didn't need to worry. "He's the one you were talking about in middle school then, every time you compared me to someone you knew in elementary." Kaiya was about to say more when Novoa shushed them, reminding them all to be paying attention to their classmates as he called out the name of the girl she sat next to in class. Kroell-san.

 

[Syrrith]

Kai wouldn't like familiars. The man despised any animals around him, throwing a fit when someone had brought in a kitten for a day. Ezra never found out what happened after he found it, but she never got the chance to see the cat. So that promptly crossed out Chaiko's quirk as a contender. That was fine. It was her turn to go up anyway.

Ezra introduced herself with her first name only, and ended up correcting Novoa when he tacked on the usual honorifics. It made things feel too formal and formalities were certainly not a thing Ezra took part in. The surprise that he felt was normal, and Ezra paid no mind to it. After the small introduction, she explained her quirk. Just a little bit. Probably gave less details than the instructor wanted, but during the rather short introduction, which was awfully on track with her entire personality, Ezra had decided on just letting it affect all of the students and teacher equally. She just focused on letting the feeling radiate. Ezra had decided on that horrible suspenseful fear that you get in horror movies as soon as the lights flicker. As soon as the last word left her mouth, the feeling disappeared altogether, as if she had flipped a switch.

Novoa was quick to call up the next one.

----

Kameko was up after a couple students had showed. Ezra had instantly noticed the increase in fear and... honestly wasn't surprised that no one else felt it. With it, she felt like it should be apparent to other people. Kameko had glanced at Ezra as soon as she stood in front of the class, fear instantly skyrocketing. Was it Ezra's quirk or just her attitude? Ezra didn't really care. It was obvious that Kameko was a little more than uncomfortable with the attention.

"Kameko Nishika. I can manipulate and control wax." Her hands opened up in front of her to show a little wax figurine. It was small, but it rose to the sky and did a few things before dropping back into her palms. "The figurines can be bigger, but this is just a little demonstration."

----

Katsumi was called right after Kameko. Katsumi was obviously more upbeat.

"I'm Katsumi Fukuda! My quirk can pull color from anything I'm touching and converts it into energy. I can decide how much to take. Each color is a different element, though sometimes their mixed or just gets converted into pure energy without the element. It's pretty cool!" Katsumi touched the edge of the uniform and sure enough, it looked a little sun bleached a moment later. Little bits of frozen air swirled around their hands. One point at the ground and the grass flattened out before it froze over, the grass encased by the blue tinged ice. One soft kick and it all came crumbling apart. "It works a little bit like that! Like Kameko-san said, it's more powerful but that was a small demonstration. I can also use it on myself if I need to."

Interesting. That was one that Ezra would report.

----

Naoko went after Nagisa. She was a mixed of Kameko and Katsumi. A little nervous, but not too badly.

"My quirk just allows me to make my energy tangible. I can use it as whatever I want, in whatever form I want. It be be used as a shield or a weapon, as long as I have a shape in mind. Longer weapons don't work that well because the further it is away, the less powerful it is which really sucks. Uhm..." Naoko paused for a moment, the energy that she had been modeling with disappearing. "Oh, and I'm Naoko Higashino." That concluded her introduction. A well rounded quirk, Ezra would assume. Depending on how strong it was, it was a possible maybe.

----

The boy who couldn't stop fidgeting was super excited to introduce himself. He had carried that happy, out-going energy all day so Ezra wasn't surprised. There were quite a few people in the class who were... to happy for Ezra. Just so excited all of the time. They didn't find it exhausting?

"I'm Ren!" At least Ezra had a name to the face now. "With a single touch, I can blind you. You'll be down for two minutes before your vision returns." ...Ezra was kind of disappointed for some reason. With such an attitude, she expected a... flashier quirk. How did that even get him in? "I can't demonstrate it right now, but I'm sure in the future, you'll be able to see it plenty." There was a hint of mischievousness in his voice which instantly rose alarms in Ezra's mind. For her, as long as she wasn't surrounded by people like she was now, that would be no problem for her. It was still going to be unpleasant though. That wasn't a quirk she'd like to go against.

----

The next boy was one that Ezra figured that if she were allowed or wanted any friends, he'd be the one to go to. He seemed like Ti in a very odd way. Ryuko wasn't as laid back, nor did he seem like he'd let them, as in her and Sienna, get away with as much as they do with Ti, but he still seemed like he could be fun.

"Ryuko Mihara. Quirk is Migraine. When active your sense get messed up like you have a migraine. A bit is returned to me so I can't use it for too long. Not goin' to show off that." His voice seemed oddly familiar? Hmm.

Kai's health was already shit. That would probably only make it worse.

----

Ezra was glad to see two left. Saori was one of the ones who came in earlier and talked with Koi Hair and Katsumi. Koi hair left, so she figured that he was part of a different class. She also seemed very emotional, instantly labeling her as a person to stay away from.

"Hello! I'm Saori Suzumori. My quirk is actually a bit dangerous for me to use," Ezra noted as she hid her arms behind her back, "but once I get my support gear in, that shouldn't be a problem. I crystallize my own blood, whether it's in or out of my body. It always sharpens at the top, so it can, uhm, go through my skin quite easily." Ren shuddered, no doubt seeing how painful that could be. Ezra knew quite a few people with malfunctioning quirks. It was never pleasant to see. At least she seemed chipper about the whole thing. No doubt that hero society would force her to drop out and become ashamed of such a quirk. Ezra found it quite amazing that she made it this far.

----

Last but not least, Yoshio. The boy talked at a million words a minute. Ren seemed to keep up with him just fine, able to hold an entire conversation with him with ease, but it always took Ezra to understand at first.

"Yoshio Araki here. I love video games, but I'm looking forward to becoming a hero." Useless information. Ezra was already done with him before he really started talking. "My brain slows things down for me. People told me that every one second for you is like two or three for you, but I don't know if that's true. All I know is that you guys move and talk real slow." Yoshio certainly didn't care that he was in front of... 17? 18? other students. "You have to be super fast if you wanna combat me effectively!"

Ezra was relieved when she realized that everyone had gone through their turns. Just judging by the personalities that they displayed, Ezra knew that this was going to be an interesting couple of weeks. She considered herself lucky that she wouldn't have to put up with them and their regurgitation of all of the brainwash and propaganda that had been shoved down their throats. Kai would've burned the school down to the ground by then. Just a couple weeks...

 

[.Phantom.]

Fuji attempted to shake off the suspense he still felt after Kroell-san had showcased her quirk. He cleared his throat, looking among his fellow classmates. Introductions weren't his strong suit. "Hello, my name is Fuji Sakamoto." His voice was soft, but he really tried to make himself be heard. "My quirk is Snake. I can do most things a snake can do, including having enhanced strength and agility." There was a comment among the class about if he could do the thing where they unhinge their jaws, but he chose to pretend like he did not hear that. If they saw it, they'd probably scream. "I have to constantly shoot my venom into little vials," he pulled one out of his pocket, "because if anyone got injected with it they'd die. Right now experts are working on an antidote with the samples I provide."

- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -

So it was her turn? She sighed, walking up to give an introduction. "My name is Hina Suzumori. My quirk is Teleport. I can teleport things to and from my location." Her eyes landed on the clipboard in their teacher's hand and focused on it. Naturally it settled into her own hands, without her moving at all. She returned the clipboard immediately. "I have to see it to just teleport it to me or from me right now, but I've already been able to exchange objects from another room if they are the same weight or made of similar matter." She returned to her place next to Hiro, but he was already walking up with a huge smile on his face. He winked out of existence and appeared in front of the class.

"Hello to all, I am the amazing Hiro Suzumori!" He bowed, chuckling to himself. "Now, now, hold your applause. I know I'm amazing." He moved again, taking a step and popping up next to their teacher. "My quirk is Jump. I can only go about 10 feet away from my current location and I have to be able to see where I am going, so at night the distance I can teleport is much shorter if there isn't a lot of light or my eyes aren't adjusted enough." He "jumped" himself back into the group of his classmates. "I know it's impressive, please don't be too moved." It was a joke, but he heard a soft giggle and looked over, blinking in surprise at the blue haired female who was beginning to take her own steps forward into the front of the class.

--- - -- -- - -- -- - -- -- - -

It's just minor. I can do this. She didn't know what she was supposed to do in order to show off her quirk yet. It wasn't anything flashy like the others who had gone before her. "Hi, I'm Kaiya Izumi." She didn't even know what she was supposed to call her quirk, since saying it's true nature was forbidden. A quick nervous glance to Mr. Novoa for any sign of what she was supposed to do or say resulted in a less than ideal response. He couldn't show that he already knew she was in a pickle and couldn't really offer much help. It was up to her to figure it out. She cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders. "My quirk isn't anything special or flashy." She spotted a pointed branch and picked it up, stabbing it into her hand with minimal flinching. Pain was something she was used to by now, even as enhanced as it was. She pulled it out and held her hand up to show everyone as the wound already began to close itself up. "I can heal. It takes energy, so it makes me tired, but even bigger wounds can heal." That was simple enough, right? She looked to their sensei once more and then returned to the class. Hiro, the boy before her, had immediately picked up her hand to examine it, touching and poking the healed area curiously.

- - --- -- -- - -- -- -- -- -- - -- --

Nagisa was right after Katsumi, and had minimal problems with introducing himself and his quirk of illusions. He put on quite a show, making a couple of clones of people he knew well, and creating an extremely realistic-looking illusion of the Pro-Hero "The Lioness". She was far too easy to create, since he knew the woman well. He explained that the more people believed in his illusions as the truth, the more power they had. But if they knew that they were illusions, and could convince their brain that what their eyes were seeing to be fake, then they lost that power. However, he did say that sometimes even if you knew it was fake, if your brain wasn't convinced then it could still be your downfall.

- - -- - -- -- -- --- -- - _ _- __ - _- - -

The nerves budded up within her, but she knew she could do this. She slowly passed by Nagisa and introduced herself to the class, explaining her quirk more than showing it off. As she didn't want to go into a frenzy, she opted for showing the class her cosmos orbs, explaining what they did and why she was reluctant to show them at this time, seeing as it was a show and tell type of training day, and if they had other things to do then she didn't want to go into a frenzy. Every time she did go into a frenzy, she mostly relied on instinct and could hardly focus on much else. She knew what she needed to do but she hardly had any control, as it always felt like something else was taking over and making it hard to think straight.

- -- -- -- - - -- - --- - - -- - - - - - - -

Sadao gave the class a smile as he introduced himself, offering a brief explanation of his quirk. "So essentially, although I can turn into a cloud of sorts, you can still do damage when I am in that form. It just helps me move a lot faster, and some physical attacks don't hurt, like throwing punches." He offered a demonstration, turning into a cloud of mist before the eyes of his classmates, zipping around the small area to show off his speed. As he returned to his normal form, he stretched out. "I can't do much attacking myself in that form, though. It's mostly good for getting out of harms way and getting back into a safe distance. A defensive type of thing more than an offensive quirk."

 

[Syrrith]

They'd die? Well, it was definitely one to suggest. Kai didn't seem like he'd want the quirk itself but those little vials were a different story. If they would really kill people as Fuji had said, then that could prove useful. It would be easy to take out any competition or any high rankers, especially ones that would otherwise be hard to get to or proved to be dangerous. Ezra stored away the knowledge, holding back a smile. Kai would be proud, for certain. And Mae-! It was really a shame that Mae wasn't out to see everything happening. Though, little vials weren't something one could put a lot of trust into...

Hiro had a more defensive quirk, as did Sadao, but Kaiya's certainly caught her attention. The girl seemed to have either a high pain tolerance or the inability to feel pain altogether with the little stunt she pulled in front of everyone. Being able to do that without hesitation suggested that she either did it a lot, or the other two things that Ezra had thought of before. That was defensive, in it's own sort of way. Plus Kai was constantly worn down from carrying and switching out Quirks. Surely it would be better for him to have something like this instead of having to use Imogen's blood constantly? It seemed like she would have to keep an eye on them. Fuji already seemed nervous, and she wasn't about to let the snake know that she was a threat.

The rest didn't interest her.

Novoa had taken notes on the little displays. There would need some with further demonstration, like Rini's and Saori's but seeing them in action definitely did help the analysis. It would help with pairing them together for their up coming Battle Sim. Though from his minimal interactions with this class, he knew that no matter the pairings, the outcome would be interesting. So many clashing personalities, especially when it came to... anyone around Ezra. The girl could become the next Endeavor, though not as high up in the ranks with a Quirk like that. Which was probably for the best considering it didn't seem like she would get along with a single person. On the other hand, Kaiya. He was well informed on her... situation, but the display had still come as a surprise. Not to mention Ren's lack of being able to focus, Ally's upstuck attitude, Aiko's desire to have everything proper, and two shy and anxious students... It would be an interesting year indeed.

It was time to give them the second speech of the day. It would just ensure that they knew what was coming with the hero course, how it was one of the hardest and most dangerous jobs a person could have, along with all of the little stuff that came along with the course.

---

It wasn't that Ezra hated school. It was just that Ezra much preferred to not go. The school was packed with people, which was tiring considering her quirk and made her even bitchier than normal, and the classes she was in was filled with people training to be part of the ones who ruin everything. How would they teach them about the corruption that hero society had? Would any of them stand against it? Or would they comfort themselves with lies and say that they'd change it from the inside? Whatever the reason, Ezra was just glad when the weekend rolled around and she could be away from everyone. Like expected, Kai did take interest in Fuji's quirk and was mildly interested in Kaiya's, though he had claimed that he needed more information before moving in on it. And afterwards, her reward was being allowed to do whatever she wanted to do.

Ezra's choice was a little outside market. There were more people than Ezra was really comfortable with, all of their fleeting and clashing emotions making the air thick, but she would grab her dessert sweets and go to the near empty hideout again. All she wanted were the sweets. Just the little pastel colored sugar filled treats. Ezra had not wanted to see another student from UA waiting outside of the cafe. There were options now.

The first was easy. Ezra could pretend like she had never seen the blue haired girl, leave immediately and ditch the mochi that she was craving.

The second was not so easy. Ezra would have to go be sociable, put on a half friendly front in order to not chase her off, and endure however long the talk was with someone the white hair girl wanted nothing to do with. If they talked, it would possibly get her points with Kaiya, which could help in the future. After a moment, Ezra looked back. A second, Kaiya had seen her as well, which instantly made things a lot easier.

With quick steps, Ezra made her way to Kaiya, a small fake smile plastered on the invisible mask that the girl wore. Kaiya was alone, but she seemed to be waiting? Perhaps the girl was on a quest quite like Ezra's. At the thought, the brightly colored cupcakes and cakes seemed to call louder. Everything was so cutesy, or... girly. Sienna would probably love it there. Too bad that Ezra had denied Sienna when the shorter girl invited herself.

"Kaiya." Came the greeting, followed by a slight nod. "Waiting for someone?"

//writing ha r d. I'm just going to say that this is bad because it's 3am, not because my writing sucks :>

 

[.Phantom.]

It was quite a surprise to see someone outside of class that wasn't Nagisa. While they had plans for later on in the evening, she had never even considered bumping into a classmate that didn't have curly black hair. A smile turned the corners of her lips upwards, waving at the girl. "Good afternoon, Kroell-san!" Her gaze darted towards the little shop, hoping that he wouldn't come out and cause problems immediately. The boy she was indeed waiting for could be a little rough around the edges. "I'm waiting for Juno-kun."

"Oi," The chime of the shop's door caught her attention right before Juno shoved the bag of treats into her arms. "Stop forgetting the right order. My mom's already in a grouchy mood because of that inciden-" Golden cat-like eyes peered at Ezra, narrowing slightly. He thought he'd seen her somewhere before, but he didn't really care much to sit around and chat. He had only thirty minutes to cross town and meet up with Koga before the guy decided to rip out his ears from his skill and use them as a decoration.

"Juno-kun, this is Kroell-san. We sit next to each other in class." She noticed the way his eyes darted to the clock on his phone. "Am I keeping you too long? I'm sorry, go ahead. I can handle it on my own from here. Thank you for your help!"

Her adopted brother grumbled something under his breath about her being annoying, and was halfway down the street before she could say anything else. She watched his ears twitch, signaling his usual irritation. That wasn't anything new for her to deal with, but did he need to be so rude in front of her classmate? "Sorry about him. He's been in a bad mood all morning. He usually tries to have better manners." Sometimes. There were a lot of times when Rika had to glare him down into not being rude to any of her Pro Hero colleagues.

 

[Syrrith]

Ezra didn't know who Juno was, nor did she care. Being called by her last name with an honorific tacked on was certainly... uncomfortable though. Ezra didn't get a chance to correct her on the name when the golden haired boy came out. Ezra picked up on the irritation, instantly narrowing her eyes back at him. Juno didn't greet her so Ezra didn't bother with it either, shifting her attention to Kaiya and acted as if he weren't there. Kaiya apologized on behalf of her... friend? They didn't look related and Ezra had caught the way that Juno had said "my mother" instead of "ours". Though Juno didn't exactly act like a friend. That irritation felt genuine, and he didn't even hesitate to leave. Hmm.

"You didn't react to it, so it seems like a pretty usual occurrence." Ezra shrugged a little, acting as if she didn't care about his attitude. She couldn't be that bothered by it considering her own behavior. "Is he a friend?" He looked somewhat familiar. She had seen him... somewhere. Kaiya was training to be a hero, so Ezra doubted that Juno would be anywhere like Ezra or her friends. So where else...? It felt like it was on the tip of her tongue, as if her brain already knew but wasn't saying it. It was entirely possible that Ezra had just seen him in passing, but if it had just been once, why was Ezra able to remember him?

 

[.Phantom.]

A small, nervous chuckle left her lips. "He is always like that to me, but to other people he usually has better manners. Juno-kun isn't a big fan of me. His mother adopted me and he was an only child, so Rika told me that he probably just needs time to adjust. It hasn't been long since I've been there." It wasn't that big of a deal. She had gotten used to his brash behavior, and he was still a little upset with her because she'd told him that he couldn't take another blood sample. She didn't want to be poked with a needle, and she wasn't sure why he needed it anyways. "So that kind of makes him my adopted brother, if you want to say that." She glanced around the area. "So what are you doing around here? If you're not busy... do you want to walk with me? I need to go take these to Rika. She was supposed to be here, but she had other things to do and left. Now I have to deliver it."

It was a nice day, she'd say. She wasn't too concerned about classes at this time. If Mr. Novoa was informed of her situation, then he should know that she couldn't do certain things. She fell asleep in class after using her quirk, and often was tired when going into class due to her horrible habit of tripping over nothing when going down the stairs. I'm surprised Kroell-san is saying hi, though. Usually she kind of stays to herself. She glanced down to the bag of goodies Juno had given her.

 

[Syrrith]

That definitely explained it. Kaiya probably felt unwelcome then because of Juno's actions, but that wasn't Ezra's problem. She wasn't about to go digging in that family business. It didn't answer where she knew Juno from either. It would probably come back to her in the middle of the night anyway.

Kaiya so kindly asked if Ezra wanted to walk with her and to be quite frank, no, she really didn't. Saying hi was just for those couple of brownie points, wanting to follow Kai's rules about not being rude despite her really wanting to. The rule made sense, but god was it irritating sometimes. Ezra hated these people, she didn't want to show them the slightest bit of kindness. When had the heroes shown them any sort of kindness? Curse Kai's rules. At least he had some sort of plan that made things easier. And being "nice" would help in the long run considering it could possibly make her leave earlier.

"As long as it's not far. There a couple things I need to pick up as well." It wasn't needed, but it was certainly wanted. Sienna wouldn't be happy if Ezra didn't bring back gifts after telling Sienna that she couldn't come along. Plus she didn't want to stay out here too long. She much rather be back in familiar territory. There were so many people here. The name did ring a bell though. She knew a Rika with a son named Juno.

Now she was stuck helping a hero's child. It didn't matter if Kaiya was adopted or refrained from calling the Lioness her mother. All that mattered was that this was a hero in training living under another hero's roof. They were complete opposites. Ezra hated this more every minute. At least now everything was coming together. Juno looked familiar because he was the Lioness' son. Of course the feelings of irritation and borderline hatred weren't broadcasted, but there were definitely there still.

"Which way are we going?" Ezra prompted, wanting to get this over with. Her tone was still lighter than what her feelings were.

 

[.Phantom.]

"Oh! If you have places to be I don't want to impose." Kaiya felt the heat in her cheeks rising. She hadn't meant to just assume that Ezra had nothing to do. She was just used to having someone accompany her on her route, and had invited her out of sheer impulse. But if Ezra had more things that she needed to do, then it was rude to invite her and drag her away? Oh but she already agreed! You're so stupid, Kaiya! She could feel her own frustration with herself growing. Why was she always being so awkward all of the time? This was why her only friend in Middle School was Nagisa. That and he was probably the only one who could handle her lack of knowledge about the most basic things.

She rubbed the back of her neck, offering an awkward smile. "I'd love it if you came. I don't really like being by myself for too long... but if you have other things I really don't mind. I don't want you to agree because you feel like you had to. I'd much rather you do what you want to do!" Kaiya knew she was beginning to ramble, as she sometimes found herself doing. Either when she got extremely awkward and nervous or when she was passionate and angry about things.

"I'm headed towards the less popular side of town. Rika was supposed to meet me around here, but she got caught up in something with another person. I guess they were robbing a bank and she was nearby so she got distracted. I'll have to go deliver it to her in that neighborhood, but she always tells me to never go there alone and Juno-kun left..." She trailed off.

 

[Syrrith]

Ezra didn't even know how to respond to what Kaiya said. The white haired girl had already agreed to going along with her... Kaiya genuinely seemed like she wanted Ez to come along, for some reason considering Kaiya literally knew nothing about Ezra, but that little bit of frustration came up after she replied made Ezra wonder. Well, if Kaiya didn't want Ezra to come along, then she shouldn't have extended the invitation. It was Kaiya's own fault now. Unless she spoke up against it, Ezra was going along.

"I don't have to get it right away." Ezra responded, unsure of what else to say. Really, she just wanted this to be over with. But yep, the earlier realization about this being the child of a Pro Hero was correct with that little information snippet. The girl briefly wondered if it was someone that she knew. It wasn't someone close to her, that was for sure, but it still brought along that question. "Is that all you have to grab then? If you're all set, you can take the lead." It seemed a bit rude to comment that Juno only left because Kaiya said that she could take it on her own. Had Kaiya known that from the start or was she just now realizing that she technically wasn't allowed there alone? Either way, it seemed like a "good" thing that Ezra wasn't too set on breaking Kai's rules. Otherwise the girl really would have been walking alone. With her quirk, the hero wannabe would be fine even if Ezra did flake out on her.

 

[.Phantom.]

"Oh, okay!" If Ezra was okay with going, she was glad to have her along. She'd forgotten about Rika's rule when she told Juno she could go alone. It wasn't until she'd brought up going to the Lioness that she remembered what would happen if she showed up by herself in the area she was absolutely not to go by herself. If she did, who knew what could happen? Really, she knew that the woman wasn't concerned about her dying there. She wasn't worried that she would get attacked and injured because of being in a neighborhood known to have frequent criminals and villains. She doesn't want me making friends with bad people. But I don't know anyone who is bad, and I think I have a good judge of character.

Kaiya headed in the direction of the infamous neighborhood, not worried in the slightest. The only concern she had was upsetting Ezra by asking her to come with her. "Sorry, I forgot that I wasn't allowed to go by myself. Rika would have my head if I did." Probably quite literally, if she didn't have school. She shuddered at the thought, reaching for her neck. It wasn't a nice feeling. "Thank you for coming with me!" Kaiya beamed, glancing over to the fair haired classmate. "We don't really get to talk a lot in school. You always seem really distant." She noted aloud, and then flushed. "Oh! I don't mean that in a bad way! I just thought that... you might be a bit lonely..." She knew the feeling all too well.

 

[Syrrith]

So Kaiya simply forgot. That could be forgiven, despite Ezra itching to leave. This encounter certainly didn't play out the way that she thought it would. It better pay off in the end or Ezra and Kai would both be pissed.

Kaiya decided to point out that Ezra was distant. Then it was played off as Kaiya simply thinking that Ezra may be lonely. Ezra distanced herself for certain, but it was unnerving that Kaiya had picked up on it that quickly. Looks like she already failed in the friendly department. The thought of her failing the mission the first week nearly sent shivers down her spine. That simply couldn't happen.

"I'm not lonely. I just don't hang out with anyone in the class." For multiple reasons that would not be disclosed. At least Kaiya had said thank you before hitting her with the whole "distant and lonely" observation. "Did you invite me on this trip just because I seemed lonely?" Ezra looked to Kaiya, actually a little curious about this. It seemed like an awfully Kaiya thing to do. Ezra had only known her for a couple days though, so it's possible that Ezra was completely wrong, but she doubted it. Kaiya seemed to be rather friendly and inviting someone out just because they didn't seem to have any friends in the one class they shared tracked.

 

[.Phantom.]

"Hmm?" She'd been almost off in her own little world again, distracted by the haunting memories of her childhood, ones filled with loneliness and brimming with hopes and desires. "That is one reason," she admitted. "Though it's not the only one. I would get into a lot of trouble with Rika if I came out alone." She repeated her earlier statement with a shudder at the thought of the murderous glint she'd see in the blonde Pro Hero's eyes should she arrive alone. "Juno knows that, which is why he left. He was asking me about my classes and what we have done, so I got distracted and forgot all about it." Really, it was an error on her part. She had simply forgotten where she was going and to whom she was delivering the goods to. Even so, it was nothing but sheer luck that Ezra had happened to be passing by, and she'd been blessed by whatever gods may reign above that her aloof classmate had agreed to come with her on her mini adventure.

They passed by the alleyway she'd never forget in her entire life. It was narrow and cramped, and she would bet that most Pro Heroes wouldn't be able to move with much freedom if they'd tried to enter. Even though it'd been awhile, she could still remember the pale haired boy she'd met. The haunting look in his eyes, deep oasis filled with stories of the horrors he had lived through, that he had survived. She recognized the look all too well, in her own eyes every morning before she slapped on a smile and reminded herself that she had no choice but to appreciate life and her time with those she loved. She couldn't spend a single second being unappreciative of the time that she had.

"It's just up here." Kaiya said, making a turn down a street that she'd never bothered to learn the name of. Her ability to navigate the streets in this neighborhood was by land markers she'd chosen for herself. That alley way was one of them. She should be... Amidst the sounds of traffic and chattering passerbys, she spotted the fierce-looking hero. She stood tall among those surrounding her for an autograph, the pride of a lion shining around her like a halo of light. "Rika!" She called out, waving her arm. "I have your snacks!"

The twitch of her rounded ear was her only indicator that she'd been acknowledged. It was a few moments still, before Rika managed to escape the masses and usher Kaiya back towards the less crowded area, sparing Ezra a quick glance. "Thank you, dear." She took the goodie bag from Kaiya, opening it up. "Where is that son of mine? Hmm?"

Kaiya stiffened. Would she be upset if she knew that he just ran off? She likely would be, and if he got into trouble because of her, it would definitely result in something unpleasant. "Oh, Juno had something important come up for class he remembered last minute. I ran into a classmate, so I asked her to come with me instead so I wouldn't come alone." She offered a smile as a sacrifice to soothe the anger of the lioness.

She attempted not to show any signs of panic while Rika studied her. The woman could quite literally smell fear, and the changes the body made to different chemical reactions. "Fine. You still came with someone, so it's not a big deal." She sighed, letting her arms drop at her sides. "Go ahead. You can leave. Thank you for my lunch."

 

[Syrrith]

Kaiya repeated what she had said earlier, though Ezra didn't sense any irritation. Ezra figured that the response was fair. It had been a rather stupid question honestly, since Kaiya literally just told her why. Whatever though. Though the way Kaiya worded it this time... it made it sound like Juno was trying to get Kaiya in trouble. With the small bit of attitude Ez observed, she wouldn't put it past him. It didn't seem to be any sort of jealousy either, so that was most likely not it. She wasn't going to pry anymore though.

While Ezra had kept by Kaiya's side most of the time, only slightly behind to allow her to lead, the student had fallen behind as soon as the Lioness came into view. She seemed innocent enough, just doing her job as a pro. But Ezra wasn't going to be tricked. The woman was known to be feisty and Ezra was known to give the same attitude back. They probably wouldn't be a good match. So Kaiya went on ahead, giving her the bag, while Ezra hung back. Not too far, but definitely out of the way. Luckily, Rika seemed to take the hint and didn't acknowledge Ezra aside from the first glance. Or Rika didn't care enough from the start, which seemed a bit odd considering Kaiya wasn't allowed out here alone. Kaiya could've lied so easily about who Ez was, just as she was lying to her mother's face right then. Either the Lioness didn't care or she trusted Kaiya to tell the truth.

Now with Kaiya done with her errand, Ezra was happy to get back to her own. There was no way that she could just... dump Kaiya somewhere, but there's no way that Ezra would ever take her back to meet the others. At least not as a friend. So the logical thing to do was probably to head back out of the neighborhood, then excuse herself? Sienna was bound to call anyway, so that would help Ez escape.

"I have to run errands. Are you going back around the same place?" Ez inquired once Kaiya met back up with her. It didn't seem likely that Kaiya would go back to the same place, but Ez wanted to know how long they would be walking together.

 

[.Phantom.]

With her task complete, Kaiya felt relieved to no longer be under the scrutinizing gaze of Rika. "Hmm?" She blinked, looking over towards Ezra as they walked. "Oh!" She registered her question a couple of seconds too late. "No. I don't really have anything to do except for go hang out with Sho-Sho. We have a movie night planned and I don't want to keep him waiting." His parents wouldn't be home, and despite how often he claimed he was used to it, she knew that being alone made him feel lonely. The boy was a very outgoing person, and he liked to converse with others.

"Thanks for going with me, by the way." It wasn't the first time she'd thanked her, but now that it was over she felt it would only be proper. "If I showed up alone, Rika probably would have thought that I was up to no good." Most of the time Kaiya was out and about in this side of town she was always suspected of doing something illegal or hanging around villains. Sometimes she was bothered by the fact that Rika studied her under a microscope despite the lack of suspicious behavior, but never thought twice about Juno being out all of the time and never at home.

Once more she found herself glancing at the familiar alleyway. I need to snap out of it or Sho-Sho will know something is wrong. And if they got to talking about the fair haired ghost of her past, then she'd end up crying for the rest of the night. Kaiya swallowed back the rising emotion by thinking of cute things, like kittens and unicorns, and the cute little kid who always rode their tricycle down the road leaving little painted rocks with encouraging words sloppily written on them for each house. Her shoulders relaxed, breathing even.

 

[Syrrith]

Ezra was relieved. Thank whoever "Sho-sho" was because they gave Ez the perfect opportunity to slip away without being too rude. Kaiya wasn't quite ready to leave, thanking Ezra once again. The light haired girl only gave a nod, not sure how to respond without some sort of lie. Then the glance toward the alleyway happened. It seemed to be an old alleyway in it's appearance, one of hundreds or thousands in a place like this, yet last time the emotions had changed too. Something had happened there. Ezra wasn't interested. With how Kaiya tried to avoid it, Ezra probably wouldn't want to know anyway. But it was kind of interesting, especially with how Kaiya carried herself.

Earlier, when her mother studied her for a moment, Kaiya was obviously tense. She had allowed for some of her emotions to show then. Now, passing by, Kaiya once again hid everything, keeping everything under control. Ezra had noticed it during their class a couple times, being the one sitting next to her. That was something a bit more interesting than any old alleyway, but it could easily be explained away. They were training to be heroes after all.

"I'm going to go now so I'm not late. See you in class." Ezra said after a moment, when she had to turn back toward the little market. It wasn't long before school would start back up and Ezra's time would have to be devoted to learning the useless material and keeping silent when they preached their false information. So right now Ezra was going to grab a sweet or two, go back to the worn down place she called home, and hope that Kai wouldn't give anyone any jobs to do so the atmosphere.

Just as Ezra went out of sight, the familiar feeling of someone looping their arm with hers, nearly made her stop. But instead Ezra simply rolled her eyes, immediately knowing who it is. It was no longer unnerving that Ezra couldn't pick up on someone approaching, but that's probably why Sienna chose the place she did to appear. People around would smother emotions and any noise that she made would blend into the rest of the general buzz.

"I thought you were staying." Ez looked over to the smiling girl, a sharper edge to her voice. Despite the aggressiveness, Sienna didn't seem the least bit fazed.

"Ti went to take a nap and it's awfully easy to slip by the rest of them. Who was that though?" Ezra could feel the jealousy now. God, Sienna didn't know what was happening and she was getting jealous. This girl needed some help.

"Not a friend. Someone from class who needed help." Sienna hummed in relief, pulling Ez toward a shop that Ezra hadn't made plans to go in. Helping Kaiya was almost easier than this.

 

[.Phantom.]

The silence that surrounded her with the lack of Ezra's presence was disappointing. Being alone with her thoughts had never done her any good. The memories that would pop up at random to remind her of all of the things that had happened and furthering her belief of her title as a freak of nature, even among those with quirks. Now is not the time to pity yourself. She tried to push back the thoughts, but more often than not she couldn't repress the feelings threatening to overwhelm her.

She continued on her way, taking short-cuts that no sane person would dare take. The alleyways were known to be crawling with villains, but she had nothing to fear from them. If they wanted to kill her, they'd do so. Though usually they were all big pushovers. Only the occasional rough and tough guy got pushy with her, and somehow she managed to talk her way out of it every time. How many times had she stared down a pushy guy and watched his eyes grow wide before apologizing profusely? They sometimes said weird things, though. "I'm sorry sir I-I didn't know-" Those things weren't important, though. Since the guy left her alone, no one else dared to bother her as she wandered through the alleys.

And Rika is always nagging on me about how dangerous it is. I never get bothered by anyone. Really, the way some of the guys acted was almost pitiful. She wasn't scary, but they seemed to be scared by her presence. Perhaps they knew something of her quirk? The sheer thought sent chills down her spine, navigating the old alleyways. Nagisa's house wasn't far from hers, but it was a long trip to get from one side of town to the other without taking the subway train - and she preferred to walk.

"...give me access to the machine and we will know more." Oh, was that where Juno had run off to? She peeked around the corner, spotting the familiar head of wild blond locks and the annoyed twitch of cat-like ears. "I already told you that she won't show you to prove it so you just have to take my word for it."

There were no more than three other boys with Juno, hidden in the shadows of the alleyway. Two stood there quietly, eyes glancing around the place - keeping watch, then. This was a conversation that they didn't want anyone to overhear. Their beat up clothes and dark colored hoodies were enough to classify them as the typical kind of person who hide in these alleyways. Probably up to no good. Juno was friends with a lot of guys like these, so it was to no surprise to her.

"The boss wants proof. He's spending a lot of money on your research but there's nothing to prove you're not lying, Cat-boy." The leader of the group had curly orange hair, as though someone took a box of ribbon and stapled it to his head. Out of the three talking with Juno, the middle one looked the best dressed with a brand new hoodie with a band logo she didn't recognize on it. "He wants you to bring her to him so he can see it for himself."

Juno's shoulders stiffened. "I can't do that." There was something she'd never heard in his voice before, but she couldn't take the time to pinpoint it now.

Kaiya knew that she often missed the point of conversations and their topics, but she was aware that Juno was talking about her. He had the same annoyed expression he always had when he was forced to talk with her. "Sorry boys," If she stayed in hiding for too long it would be suspicious. "You're kind of in my way. I need to get through." She recognized the one in the middle. He'd been one of the ones messing with her about not passing through until one day he just stopped. "Juno, your mother is around here somewhere. I wouldn't hang out for too long. You know she can pick out your voice and smell before anything else." Thankfully they didn't try to stop her from passing through, and she was on her way.

"Oi! Don't tell me what to do you pain in the ass!" He growled in return, but she ignored him. Annoying girl.

- -

Juno crossed his arms, raising a brow at the horrified stares sent his way. "What're you looking at me like that for?"

"You know that girl?" Dealing with Hitoshi was a pain in the ass on a good day. The way his scent suddenly changed though - did the blue haired freak really make them all that on edge? He glanced behind them to where she'd disappeared, chuckling softly. It did nothing to ease their growing discomfort, and he was enjoying watching the pompous ass get fidgety.

"What if I do?" His brow quirked, lazy grin forming on his lips. Maybe the blueberry was more useful than he'd originally thought.

"He hasn't come to burn you to ashes when you talk to her like that?" All three of them were scanning the area, voices dropping their volume considerably. Whoever this guy was, he must not be very good news if they were that afraid of him. It's just like that idiot to make friends with someone that powerful and not ever use it to her advantage.

"No clue who you're talking about." Juno replied, using a sharp nail to pick out his teeth. "But since you're already here I might as well let you know that even more now than ever, you're never going to experiment on the freak." He let out a sigh. He was just going to have to find another way to do his research if Hitoshi and his pair of morons wouldn't be of any use.

"Hah?" The worried expression was replaced with anger, radiating off of him. The steam leaving his body due to the activation of his quirk. Juno waved a hand to simmer him down, rolling his eyes. "Why not? Cat." Juno bristled at the insult. He was a lion. He was not some domestic kitten.

"Because," Juno got in the older boy's face, snarl on his lips. "That girl that you're so afraid to piss off is Izumi Kaiya." He shoved his way past them. "So unless you want to piss off whoever you're so scared of, you're going to have to leave her to me."

 

[Syrrith]

School was once again upon them. Ezra had considered skipping until the realization of what would happen occurred to her. Skipping couldn't and wouldn't happen. With a sigh, she went through the day as if on some sort of autopilot. Everything was a drag. She was used to being as free as she wanted, only stopped when Kai expected something. Here, she was being watched constantly and wasn't allowed to do anything. Sit still in a classroom for hours, eat, more sitting in a classroom, and then the hero course which was actually becoming her favorite time of the day. At least she got to move around a bit. Plus the familiar ache of training was nice and allowed her to push away most of the boredom.

Today was going to be a different though. Last night, they had discussed a small attack. It was needed for reasons that Kai wouldn't say, but apparently in return he would get information he wanted. The manner of the information was omitted as well. So basically, they just had to follow him blind once more. If they won, he was a genius. If they lost, it was their fault that they didn't have enough information or didn't do it well enough. Got it, sounded easy and like a win-win.

As if on autopilot, Ez arrived in the homeroom class. Most of the class was already chatting, Ren and Yoshio talking about something in front of Hiro's desk while Ryoku leaned on the desk across from it. Ezra wasn't sure when they had become friends, but everyone seemed like they were creating their own little groups now. Sure made her miss her own group. But she would be seeing them later. Ezra kept quiet, just listening to the conversation around the classroom. Class was called not longer after that. Novoa went over the usual greetings before finally getting to what he wanted to say.

"Today you, as a whole, will decide on the class president." Seemed normal enough actually. "Everyone will vote. Whoever gets second will be vice-president." Slips of perfectly cut paper strips went down the rows. Ez stared it blankly for a second before letting it drop to the desk. Normal enough, but it really didn't matter who was the president. It didn't really affect school life. Though Nagisa seemed like a fair choice considering it seemed like he had the ability to keep everything under control. For the most part that is.

 

[.Phantom.]

Class President? That was an easy choice. She'd had to choose one in the past, and she knew that no one suited the role better than her straight and narrow best friend. While it could seem biased because of their close relationship, there was no way she'd write down Nagisa's name unless she knew he would fit the role well. For a second she had to correct her mistake, having almost written, 'Sho-Sho' on her paper. She could only imagine attempting to explain that one to their teacher. He likely would only give her a stare, and remind her to use his proper name.

To be honest, Nagisa was such a straight and narrow student that she was certain the boy didn't even write his own name on the paper, despite it being obvious that he was the best option to keep the class in line. He followed the rules and he was serious about becoming a hero. As the one who would represent the class, he would be the wise choice. If they had someone like Ren, she could only imagine the pranks the guy might try to pull on Novoa and land them into trouble. Still, she wondered if she was the only one who thought the best choice was the curly haired male.

She passed up her filled out slip of paper, tapping her fingers along the top of her desk. It really shouldn't be that big of a deal, but she could only hope that no one thought that she should be the class president. Such a position would put her in the crosshairs of Pro Heroes and other students. Being in such a position was far from what she needed, which was to stay in the back and stay out of sight. No one needed to be looking in her direction. No one needed to wonder what her quirk was or what kind of hero that she would become. The only thing that mattered was being under the radar of all of the teachers. Mr. Novoa already was keeping an eye on her like he was supposed to, though he thankfully didn't treat her much differently than the other students. It was a nice change from the usual response Kaiya had begun to accept as the new normal.

 

[Syrrith]

The little slips were quickly collected and counted up. Novoa really didn't want to waste time with this. Soon enough, he was announcing the winners, jotting down the names on the board.

"The votes show that Nagisa Sho is now class president. Aiko Higurashi has been elected vice president. Are there any complaints?" Novoa waited a moment, and then began to continue with class. Not exactly the formal swearing in that Ezra had expected from the man, but she was kinda glad. She didn't want to have sit through speeches accepting that they were now mini teachers. And with little else, class moved on.

----

Training for that day was going to be simple. Well... there was going to be an interruption so not as simple as everyone thought, but honestly, the interruption seemed more fun that the training itself. They were already slowly being paired up so they could do some weird fake heroes vs. villains face off thing, but as soon as they got toward the end of the list for the teams, Ezra felt the familiar twisted amusement near her. A soft touch on her arm alerted her to where Sienna was exactly. Ezra wanted to glance over or say something, motion to talk to the girl beside her, but she couldn't do that. Especially because Sienna was already on the move, trying to pick her way up to the front. Sienna came from the direction of the school though which meant-

UA's alarm went off. There was a steep increase of anxiety, making Ezra take a step backwards. Aside from Sienna, there didn't seem to be anyone yet. Sienna wouldn't go alone to something like this. Strangely enough, Ezra felt silly. Here she was, in some school uniform, waiting for her friend to make the first strike. It really was a silly situation. Especially when she heard the familiar inhuman growl that didn't sound quite canine either. Closer to horror movie demon than an average dog. Sure enough, the beast came lumbering out while Novoa was trying to contact coworkers. A smile nearly appeared on Ezra's face. Ah, her friends were here. Finally.

Chaos broke out shortly after, a handful of villains taking to the clearing. There weren't very many, more a distraction than anything. Ez took a step back, mind instantly working to see where she could disappear to. Her classmates didn't seem to be on the same wavelength. For example, Saori had begun the process of making armor for herself, wincing with every new crystallized spike. Kameko's little figures were hanging in the air, and so much fear came off of her. Ren seemed uneasy, but he seemed determined in a sense.

-

Sienna picked someone at random. Not entirely random actually. She had heard the descriptions from Ezra. This was the one who sat next to Ezra. They didn't seem to hang out much, but Ezra had shown little interest in her and though the orders were to distract rather than kill, Sienna was tempted. Kai would kill her for it though. Still, that didn't stop anyone from playing with them. If anything went wrong, Ti would back her up.

A cruel smile playing on her lips, Sienna went behind the blue haired girl, waiting for that first step forward. As soon as it happened, her hand shot out to grab the long hair to yanking it back nearly as hard as she could. Sienna wasn't sure if she could pull hard enough to snap a neck like that, but now was not the time to find that out.

"Hero~!" Sienna was aware what the girl's quirk was, but that just meant that Sienna didn't have to play as nice. The blade was flipped out as she backed right out of hitting distance (hopefully), ready to counter whatever Kaiya had for her. There was also some screwdriver that was picked up on the way there, but right now, the other weapon seemed a bit more intimidating.

 

[.Phantom.]

The meaning behind the alarms of the school failed to alert her to the obvious - they were under attack. She glanced around, noting the fear and confusion that lined most of her classmates faces into frowns or wide-eyed stares. It wasn't until the sound of a growl that sounded like it belonged in one of the movies she would watch with Nagisa, that she truly understood what was happening. Her attention landed over the large beast, everything from the sharp canine's to the way it's hair blew in the breeze. "Oh wow." Her breath hitched. "He's beautiful."

What are you thinking, you idiot! She slapped her cheeks with both of her hands. "Focus." This was the time to prove herself. This was the time that she would be under careful watch if any of the Pros showed up and noticed her presence. They'd be concerned, of course, that she had something to do with it. While it was nothing but pure nonsense, it would be her who would be questioned first, of that she was certain. For now, though, she looked for Nagisa, who was already heading in her direction.

"Kaiya are you okay?" His concern laced through his voice, honey colored eyes scanning the area. "I-" A cry of pain caught their attention, and Nagisa cursed under his breath before telling Kaiya to stay put, rushing over to their already wounded classmate. She shouldn't be surprised, the class President trying to do his job to help his classmates. He really shouldn't be wasting his time worrying about her, anyways. She was the most safe out of everyone on the field at the moment.

Nearby she saw their class princess with clenched fists, trembling in her fear. No one knew why they were being attacked, or if they were about to all be slaughtered. Right... I should be scared. How do I show fear? Was she supposed to cry? Maybe she should attempt to run away? Would either of those really do her any good if her classmates got hurt because she was too focused on being like her classmates, most of whom were nervous and afraid? Even then, it seemed as though that would do her little good.

Aiko's high-pitched cry could shatter glass, the soundwaves physically visible as they shoved one of her attackers flying away from her. Judging from the way her hands trembled more, it was more likely a natural reaction to scream than to have meant to be an attack. Still, Kaiya was distracted by the way the pampered blonde crouched, ready to fight.

Not but 50 feet away was Nagisa, who was now back to back with Hirai-kun facing a mask-wearing man who appeared to have multiple wispy arms. She moved to step forward, stopped quickly by a hard yank to her hair. "Hero~" The sing-song voice alerted her to the presence of the girl who'd grabbed her by the hair. It was uncomfortable, but minor in terms of pain.

"Hair pulling? What are you, five?" Kaiya taunted immediately, sending an elbow back quickly in an attempt to get the girl to back off. She turned to face her attacker, eyes alight with amusement. "Did you have to come today of all days?" She had fallen down the stairs that morning, and was already feeling the fatigue of not having taken a nap before classes had started. "I was hoping to get some beauty sleep." Kaiya stepped forward, sending three quick strikes in her direction, moving much like a boxer with fast and hard strikes. She didn't have to worry about the pain it would cause for her fist to connect to skin. It would heal immediately even if she broke a finger.