Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Thirteen and fourteen are a peculiar age boundary. Despite only a year's difference, thirteen still feels like childhood, while fourteen can be straightforwardly called youth.

The girl, Kirisame, stood before the full-length mirror at home, cheerfully examining the reflection staring back at her. A gray-and-green uniform was the first school outfit she had ever worn in her life. Kirisame touched the tie knot on her collar, brushed her slightly crooked hair forward, and smiled at the mirror.

"Good morning."

The girl said this silently in her heart.

This phrase was meant for Chōgitai, who had always helped her with household chores she wasn't good at. In the past, she never knew how to say it or to whom. Now that she could finally sense their existence, Kirisame was delighted to be able to say it.

Chōgitai, held in Kirisame's hands, nearly shed tears from behind her.

The first "good morning" in ten years—if those guys heard this, they'd be beside themselves.

"Good morning, my Lady. Today, too, we'll stride into a brand new day with full vigor."

Aizawa Kirisame.

Villain elimination points: 103. Special rescue points: 2. Total score: 105. First place in the practical exam.

That pitifully low rescue score once left the designated Present Mic at a loss for words, especially since the examiners nearly argued over whether her actions counted as stealing kills or actual rescues. But since it was rare for a student to be singled out by All Might himself, and since the Aizawa girl had shown him that "hey" moment during the briefing, Present Mic decided to give her a rock version of her score announcement.

Kirisame was quite fond of Present Mic, mainly because his somewhat Western features, trendy attire, and radio-host persona gave her a very HL feel, much like the radio announcers she used to listen to.

So during the exam briefing, when this teacher cheerfully struck a pose and urged everyone to get hyped, Kirisame joyfully shouted along.

...And then she realized she was the only one who shouted.

For a moment, Kirisame thought she heard her new friend Uraraka Ochako let out a stifled "pfft, haha!"

Under the teacher's "This listener's got good taste!" expression, Kirisame nonchalantly wiped her face, pretending she couldn't see everyone's peculiar stares.

Even after such an awkward moment, when she actually heard Present Mic's "Hey little girl!! Welcome to UA!!" Kirisame was genuinely happy.

So noisy but so cool!

Decision made! She'd get his autograph on the first day of school!

Since it was her first time attending school, Kirisame followed Leo's advice and arrived half an hour early. There were still very few people at the school.

UA's

campus was impressive. From the main gate, a very wide brick road led straight to the teaching building. The path was easy to find, lined with round sculptures resembling some kind of animal and beautifully shaped streetlamps.

At the base of the teaching building were three arched entrances, each marked with an ornate golden relief reading one, two, and three—likely separate passages for different grades. The school was built on relatively high ground. Kirisame entered through the one marked "1." Through the floor-to-ceiling windows along the hallway, she could see layers of clouds in the distance and rooftops of various styles below.

It looked absolutely amazing!

She pulled open the ridiculously oversized classroom door, and found a few students already seated inside.

There was the crow-headed boy whose kill she'd stolen during the practical; a girl who looked a bit spacey, like a little frog; and a boy with half-red, half-white hair and heterochromatic eyes. The three were seated in an L-shape, leaving an empty spot behind the girl. No one spoke.

The atmosphere was heavy.

When Kirisame walked in, three pairs of eyes silently locked onto her.

Kirisame was at a loss.

Luckily, the frog-girl saved her.

"I'm Tsuyu Asui. We were in the same exam venue during the practical," the green-haired girl tilted her head. "Just call me Meiyu, ribbit."

[Oh my god, she's so cute—she says "ribbit"!!]

Kirisame sat behind her: "I'm Aizawa Kirisame. Morning, Meiyu!"

Back in HL, Kirisame didn't have many friends her own age. The twin siblings from the Macbeth family counted as two, along with a few sorcerer and heteromorph friends, and the girl at the burger joint, too.

After Xiaobai disappeared, female friends became even rarer.

Kirisame had never really had "girl talk" with sweet nicknames like "-chan." She repeated it happily.

Little Kirisame seemed to be having this kind of social interaction for the first time...

The frog-girl looked puzzled but good-naturedly responded again, even helping Kirisame straighten her slightly messy tie.

Then Kirisame felt something poke her in the back.

A dark shadow crept over from the corner diagonally behind her and poked her. Kirisame waved at it: "Hey, long time no see!"

The shadow instantly perked up.

"Tokoyami Fumikage," the crow-headed boy said briefly. Then he pressed down on the shadow's head: "This is my Quirk: Dark Shadow."

Dark Shadow waved a claw and said, "Hi!"

"...Shoto Todoroki."

The two-toned boy behind her spoke coldly.

Kirisame blinked: "Aizawa Kirisame."

"...I know you. Nice to meet you." New classmate Shoto Todoroki replied with this, then he immediately lowered his head again, showing no inclination to continue the conversation.

For some reason, Kirisame got the vague sense he wasn't too happy.

But—

"Likewise, nice to meet you."

With that, Kirisame turned back around and went back to playing with the frog-girl.

Dark Shadow occasionally circled around, looking quite cheerful.

Tokoyami covered his face and said nothing.

Who cares about him anyway!

Students trickled in one by one, and for quite a long time, the classroom was filled with enthusiastic self-introductions.

As the legendary freshman who "wielded a forty-meter blade and took down a zero-pointer robot," Kirisame received a very warm reception from her new classmates.

So when Midoriya walked in, he saw his lucky-to-meet-again fellow comrade drowning in a sea of classmates, shooting him a desperate "rescue me" look.

"Move out of the way."

Just as he was wondering if he should do something,

Katsuki Bakugo passed by Midoriya and entered the classroom.

That Katsu!! He actually carried his schoolbag and sat down next to Kirisame!!

The balance tipped sharply, and the friendship went down the drain in an instant.

...Midoriya, the angel who had no idea why he hadn't been picked on, gave a dry laugh and stepped back a couple of steps, deciding not to get involved in this mess.

The boy with the pale blonde spiky hair hadn't tied his tie, and through his loose collar a small patch of skin was vaguely visible. In a "classic delinquent pose," he propped his legs on the desk and, squinting, watched the entire silent exchange between Kirisame and Midoriya before letting out a snicker.

Kirisame was actually quite puzzled as to why Katsuki Bakugo, who had always seemed to dislike her, would willingly sit next to her. But she had to admit, his "strangers keep away or I'll bite" aura helped ward off many classmates.

Of course, there were exceptions—those bold enough to try.

Kirisame watched helplessly as a bespectacled classmate making weird hand gestures fearlessly approached to correct Bakugo's sitting posture, and silently lit a candle for him.

Sure enough, treating it as a challenge, Bakugo immediately broke into a grin. Without even bothering about Midoriya anymore, he said a few words in full delinquent mode, and that classmate Iida was no match for him.

Kirisame was amazed, for the first time thinking that there was someone in this world who spoke even more infuriatingly than Zapp.

Midoriya at the doorway seemed to have fallen into some social predicament, but given that he had just done nothing to help her, Kirisame decided to ignore him.

"Hey, you all. If you want to make friends, go somewhere else."

Under the horrified gazes of the entire class, Shota Aizawa squirmed a couple of times and emerged from his sleeping bag.

"I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Nice to meet you."

Midoriya was so shocked he couldn't speak.

That disheveled adult man he had seen at the hospital during the injury inspection looked so familiar!

Isn't this Kirisame's guardian?! He's a Pro Hero?! And a teacher at UA?!

"Aizawa..."

A portion of the class who had already exchanged names with Kirisame savored this surname and, in tacit unison, turned their heads to look at Kirisame.

Kirisame responded with a look of utmost innocence.

The homeroom teacher, who seemed to have a familial connection with the new student, didn't give them time to gossip. With a brief glance at Midoriya, he pulled out a gym uniform from his sleeping bag.

"Put this on and gather at the training ground."

As it turned out, no matter where you are, "start-of-term tests" always top the list of "most terrifying things." Before the new students could even wonder about Kirisame's relationship with the teacher, they were completely captivated by the sudden test.

A group of them cried out in unison: "What about the entrance ceremony? What about the school orientation?!"

Confused, Kirisame nudged little Tsuyu beside her and whispered, "Is that a thing?"

Tsuyu Asui was also surprised: "Kirisame's old school didn't have them?"

Kirisame shook her head: "I never went to school."

Asui, along with Kaminari, Tokoyami, Uraraka, and Midoriya who were secretly eavesdropping: "...!!"

"No way!!"

"The first place in the practical test, Aizawa Kirisame... never went to junior high," Shota Aizawa sighed, his head aching. "Second place, Katsuki Bakugo, come on up."

"How far could you throw a softball in junior high?"

"Sixty-seven meters."

"Try using your Quirk."

Bakugo gathered power, and with a mind-blowing explosion and an ambiguous "DIE!!!" he threw the ball 705.2 meters.

Under the stunned eyes of the surrounding classmates, he withdrew his hand and flashed a provocative, twisted smirk at Kirisame.

Kirisame furrowed her brow.

She felt that the intensity of his power was a bit greater than when she saw him in the practical test... Was she imagining it?

When Kirisame was thinking, her eyes lacked focus and appeared empty. To the onlookers, it looked like the one being provoked, with a blank look, completely ignored Bakugo, who had just thrown an amazing score.

"Who the hell do you think you're looking down on?!!" Bakugo, who already had a grudge, instantly bristled. But in the next second, he was restrained by Teacher Aizawa and forced himself to stay quiet, returning to the team without a word.

The Class 1-A new students who had witnessed the whole process were speechless.

Hadn't these two been in the same exam venue?

They thought the relationship between the first and second place in the practical test was kinda awkward...

The somewhat delicate atmosphere was quickly swept away by the next tests.

"A test where we can use our Quirks freely sounds fun!!"

Kirisame, who had never participated in a physical test, figured it might be fun even without quirks.

"Fun, huh..." the homeroom teacher grinned.

There it was again, that expression. With a pained expression, Kirisame covered her face, recalling the fear of being controlled by plausible hypocrisy.

"Very well, then I'll treat the last place overall as having no potential and expel them."

...Just as expected.

Under Midoriya's terrified gaze, Kirisame, unaware that the boy had already obtained a Quirk, patted her companion's shoulder and gave him a piece of insider advice:

"You need to take this seriously. I accidentally saw his personal file, and Teacher Aizawa's record of expelling students is 154."