*000000*

Chapter 13 : "And you'd have to wear this, of course, ne?"​

I wouldn't quite say that the girls and I, almost fashionably late as we were, made a stylish entrance, but we certainly made an impression if the gaping looks most of the boys threw at us were anything to go by when we finally reached Ground B.

Since we were still waiting for the exercise to start properly, I wasn't trying too hard, but my heels did give me a very hypnotic sway that drew most of the looks toward me, which made me preen a little under the attention.

God, I was such an attention whore now, it isn't even funny.

"You think you're going to a party or what, you shitty gyaru-extra?" Bakugou an unruly dog barks as soon as we get close enough, prompting me to aloofly ignore it in favor of giving a little wink to Kirishima Eijiro, who's alternatively looking between Mina and I with his mouth wide open.

"Yo, girls!" he finally reconnects enough brain cells to give all of us a bright and friendly smile, preempting his next statement with a thumbs up, "You all look absolutely man-, erh stunning!"

The girls and I giggle at his timely save, his verbal tic already well known among the 1-A, Mina's smile turning a little bashful.

Right, she did have a thing for the guy in the source material if I remember correctly.

"En, you think so?" the pink-skinned girl awkwardly asks.

"Ara, of course he does, ne?" I 'helpfully' confirm while sweeping the cutie in a friendly glomp, 'accidentally' making her face landing very, very close to my cleavage, "We all told you, like, the same thing," -even if she can only benefit from wearing something more protective and I'm going to pester her about it as soon as this period is over-, "Eijiro-kun just has good tastes, ne?"

As the friendly redhead gym-bro sputters a bit at my bold use of his first name and Mina blushes, before slowly hugging me back -ah! I knew she'd crack soon enough!-, I focus my attention back on him.

"After all, he clearly took inspiration from 'Crimson Riot' for his own costume, ne?" I 'guess', even if I'm just using foreknowledge.

Eijiro honest-to-god freezes at my words, before blushing a bit, one of his hands coming to rub the back of his head bashfully.

"Yeah…Yeah, he's kind of my role model, I hope I can be just as heroic and manly as him one day." the redhead slowly starts at first, before gaining in assurance and clenching his fist in front of him as he ends his sentence.

"Ara, you totally can, ne?" I beam a smile at him, which makes him laugh a little, "You'll just have to work hard enough, think you can do that, ne?"

As I challenge him lightly, an eyebrow raised above my sunglasses, he gives me a proud glare before booming out "Yo, of course!".

Mina, still hugging me back, and I trade a look, before giggling together.

"Ara, well…"/"En, we'll cheer you on then!" the both of us end up telling him in concert.

If the guy wasn't motivated before, you'd think we just lit a fire under his ass with that little stunt.

I hum lightly as I pan my looks around, watching the heroes in training mingle with each other while my still clutched pink cutie starts to babble to her childhood friend without making any conscious effort to leave my embrace.

Now, I know I didn't really need to push the redhead further than in canon, the guy is clearly motivated considering what he managed to pull of his ass multiple times, but it cost me absolutely nothing to make sure he works just as hard and consequently increases his chance of survival.

That, and I'm a bit less 'Miss-steal-your-girl' that way, too.

I'm still going to try since Mina is a really good hugger and you never have enough hugs in your life, but still!

I am wrenched out of my idle fantasies as All-Might dashes in our midst once more, provoking two different kinds of reactions from the students as he suddenly lands with the sounds of displaced air.

The major part of the class startles, takes a gander, then processes to excitedly chatter after relaxing, while a few minutely shifts into combat stances, a fact that tells me they actually got some combat training of sorts and sunk no small amount of hours learning proper martial arts or getting trained by professionals.

I'm not entirely surprised that Shoto is included in that midst, it'd be stranger if he wasn't, nor am I by Ida's, Momo's or explody-prick's reactions, but I do note that Eijiro has some good instincts since he also reacted accordingly, Mashiaro Ojiro obviously instantly rose his guard and Shoji Mezo's multiple arms shifted into what I can pretty much guess is his 'ready for everything' configuration.

Those have obviously trained some with the focus to go pro-hero, the rest -and, most tellingly, almost every one of the girls- will need to play catch up, then.

As I muse about the degree of preparation the 1-A students have or haven't gone through, a booming voice brings me back to the class.

"-Ban-shoujo!" the murica-expy hero energetically says.

"Ara, yes, All-Might-sensei, ne?" I answer quizzically, my 'ditzy gyaru look' number seven showing in all its majesty on my face.

"Come take your shot and find out who your partner is." he 'reminds' me, clearly knowing I was one hundred percent elsewhere while he was giving the details of the exercise.

"Aye-aye, sensei~." I easily answer, letting go of Mina, who makes a little sad noise, not too dissimilar from a kicked puppy, as my hands leave the small of her back, which wrenches a giggle out of me.

I saunter toward the front of the group, the rhythmic clacks of my heels following me as the students part around me.

Without hesitation, I plunge my hands through the urn, and pull out a ball with a stenciled C written on it.

I show it to All-Might, then do the same for the class.

"Ten teams, ten letters." the blond hero says while gesturing towards me, "Now, you're going to make a line in an orderly fashion and come pick a team at random. In the field, you won't have the choice of who you're partnered with everytime, after all, so consider it a valuable lesson."

I guess I can see where he is going with this, but it is definitely a bit abrupt for an introductory course, which, understandable, the guy is a pro hero, not a teacher.

Still, he could've asked around for some help, notably Aizawa's since he was instructing 1-A's Hero Basic the previous years from what I learned.

A motion catches my optics as someone comes through the tunnel leading to Ground B, and I focus on them.

I blink.

Wait, isn't that Aizawa?

"Ara, All-Might-sensei, ne?" I hazard, prompting the behemoth to look in my direction curiously, "I think Aizawa-sensei's coming this way, ne?"

The towering man looks towards the ground's entrance, before nodding.

"You're right, Ban-shoujo." he acquiesces while giving me a little nod, which, duh, I know, I literally have him on camera, but that's adults for you sometimes, "I wonder what he wants?" he muses aloud while the others keep getting assigned to a team.

It doesn't take long for the unkempt and sleep deprived man to reach us with his familiar slouch, looking a smidgen annoyed.

"All-Might, Ban-san." he greets the top hero before acknowledging my presence since I'm right next to him, "Don't mind me, I'm just tagging along for today."

Then it suddenly hits me and I have to smother a giggle.

"Eraserhead," All-Might greets him back cautiously, "May I know why you showed up to my class?"

Ah, right, they probably had some words about the QAT yesterday, I remember that being a thing in canon.

"Well, someone," he grits out, throwing me a little glare as he does so, "Had a big 'dramatic reveal' planned conjointly with Midnight," I struggle not to laugh, "And since she wasn't able to be there personally, Nemuri asked me to record it myself."

"I…see," All-Might answers, obviously not seeing it, "Then I shall allow it as long as you do not take the classes' reins."

I barely resist the urge to eyeroll, Aizawa very noticeably not doing so.

Talk about misplaced pride, he's almost as bad as his successor.

"Don't worry, I'm perfectly happy to leave you with this kind of headache." Aizawa drawls, a hand scratching his chin idly.

"Alright," the blond behemoth gives him a final nod before turning to face the rest of the class, "Did everybody pull for a team?"

A chorus of 'yes, All-Might-sensei' and a little bit of shuffling later, and I realize that my partner for today is apparently Momo, which makes me do a little double-take on the inside.

Apparently, I did not just kick out Mineta, I apparently also took his place in this event.

Uh, I wonder if it's going to keep happening or not as times go by.

"Mo-chan!" I happily call as I step next to her, "I'm, like, so happy to be teamed with you, ne?"

The taller girl gives me a kind little smile, before nodding back to me, all elegant and proper-like.

"And I as well, Ban-san." she politely answers, ignoring my pout at her because she's being way too formal for my taste, "But I do fear that our team will be more than a little unfair for those we end up facing, resulting in a poor showing for them."

"Ara, are you telling this because of the results of the QAT, ne?" I conversationally ask.

"That, and also because of the fact that we are the two most able to improvise an adequate answer depending on the team we end up facing." she reasons.

I give the heiress a calculative glance.

"Ara, you caught on to that, did you, ne?" I smile coyly back at her.

"It is more like a basic and logical deduction." Momo answers back at me a bit confusedly.

"For you? Maybe. For everyone else? I wouldn't be so sure, ne?" I give her a little wink atop my sunglasses.

***​

I was 'Very Much Not Amused™' when the first battle of the day concluded.

Like in canon, Ochako and Izuku ended up facing Katsuki and Ida.

And, just like in canon, it ended up being a shitshow of epic proportion, Izuku obviously not succeeding in mastering baby's first full cowling in less than twenty-four hours and shattering his arms to 'prove to Kachan that he can do it too!'.

Fucking dumbass.

As the class as a whole try their best to ignore that Izuku is taken away on a stretcher, a sullen -and quite shell-shocked- Bakugo enters the observation room, closely followed by Ida as he anxiously hover over Ochako, still very much green at the gills.

All-Might, clearly wanting nothing more than to go hover his own charge like an anxious mother-hen, still soldier through and tells the class at large why Ida ended up being the only one whose performance was without reproach, and I do not pipe a word when Momo systemically demolish the three others showing.

That is, I remained silent until she finished her reasoning.

"Ara, there's one more thing, actually." I comment idly, prompting everyone to give me a look.

Which made them realize another thing.

Leaning against the wall lazily, my arms crossed under my bust and my head slightly tilted, I look every inch the warrior queen I'm pretending to be.

I, also, am not smiling.

At all.

"Izuku-kun got quite blinded from the forest by the tree here." I point out, earning myself a few puzzled blinks and exclamations before I explain further, "He forgot that this was supposed to be an exercise, the very first of the year, I might add, ne? But, apparently, it was enough of a reason for him to badly break his arm, again, when the stakes weren't worth it in the least. No proper training should result in those kinds of injuries."

That got a no small amount of 1-A students starting to properly think about what just happened.

"Izuku-kun was already warned against his self-destructive and sacrificing tendencies no later than yesterday," I stress out while jerking my head in Aizawa's direction, the guy himself leaning against the wall too as he watches the happenings like a hawk, "Yet, he still used a trump-card whose blowback he cannot properly handle for the sake of winning something as inane as a school exercise, with a side-dish of unresolved tension between two male teenagers. The cost simply wasn't worth it, and he should have used his head better."

As I go silent, All-Might momentarily looks poleaxed by my harsh -yet truthful- criticism.

In the corner of my eye, I watch Aizawa give me a little nod of thanks, the guy probably relieved that I did the lambasting in his place, avoiding him having to butt heads with Toshinori once more.

It's only due to my optics that I catch the almost imperceptible clenching of the towering blonde's fists, the guy probably only realizing now how badly he fucked up and got his pseudo-heir injured in the process.

"Yaoyorozu-shoujo and… Ban-shoujo, are both right." the behemoth ends up saying through slightly gritted teeth amid his permanently affixed smile, "They might have been a bit harsh, but their reasoning were correct."

I barely resist the urge to scoff at Toshinori's words even as Momo slightly preen under the validation.

Soon enough, the second battle starts, and our first Hero Basic period continues.

But not without vowing to myself to go have a word with a certain green-haired protagonist to stop being an absolute moron.

***​

"And for the next battle, we will have…" All-Might trails as he draws a ball, before showing it to us, "Team G, Jiro-shoujo and Kaminari-shounen, for the 'Hero' team against…" he trails a second time, "Team C," which makes me both perk up and smile widely, "Yaoyorozu-shoujo and Ban-shoujo, for the 'Villain' team."

Next to me, Momo hums contemplatively as she registers what the hero said, and I chance a glance at Kyoka and Denki.

And while the walking-dynamo appears slightly nonplussed, Kyoka is absolutely aghast.

I giggle, before giving her a little wave.

The dark-purple haired girl double-facepalm, an anxious whine escaping her lips, making her impromptu teammate look at her in askance.

We promptly all start to make our way outside under the encouragement of our peers, Kyoka still looking two seconds away from running away from the class and never looking back, when a very big hand lands on my shoulder, halting in my tracks.

"Ban-shoujo," All-Might starts while his hand leaves my shoulder, and I arch an eyebrow in his direction, which, rude, but he kinda started it by directly stopping me, "I trust you not to overdo it too much."

"Sensei?" I answer, slightly puzzled.

"I saw the videos during the exam," he explains and I make a little 'oh' of understanding, "Your physical capabilities are impressive, to say the least, but, can you hold them back?"

Alright, I should probably be upset to get asked that particular question after what Izuku pulled off, but at least he is trying now, so I'm not going to give in to my shit-stirrer tendencies.

"Ara, I can, but I, like, so won't need to, ne?" I answer with an impish smile, "You read my file, I imagine."

"Of course, Ban-shoujo." he assures me with a slow nod.

"Then you know why, ne?" I give him a wink as my index meets my lips 'cutely'.

Then, the hero does something I would have never guessed he'd ever did once in his life.

He gulps.

"...Again, don't overdo it?" he tries.

I giggle as I make my way outside.

"A woman has to leave an impression, All-Might-sensei, ne?" I throw over my shoulder.

In a matter of seconds, I step next to Momo's right, who gives me a questioning look.

"Sensei asked me not to go too overboard, ne?" I succinctly explain, and the heiress gives me a nod of acknowledgement as I put off my sunglasses before sending them in my [Pocket Space], "So, how do you wanna do this, Mo-chan?"

"Something tells me you already have an idea, Ban-san." she says while curiously looking at my left pupil as we start to walk inside our designated building.

"Ara, I do, ne?" I easily answer as a metallic hiss resonates from my lower back.

Seconds later, littles, one inch long ovoid-shaped drones are released and start to fly ahead of us.

"Denki-kun is an indiscriminate electrokinetic, so we'll need something, like, maybe twenty, five feet tall steel poles to neutralize his attack." I explain to a gaping Momo, still watching the drones flowing out of the low of my back, "Think you can take care of that, Mo-chan?"

"How-Yes! Yes, I can take care of that, easily." she answers after I wrench her out of her fugue.

"Ara, explanations about my weirdnesses can come later, Mo-chan," I 'tut' at her, before giggling, "I have Kyo-Kyo-chan handled, trust me on that, but how partial are you about some, let's say, method acting, ne?"

"What do you have in mind?" the heiress puzzledly asks.

"Ara, I quite liked Ida's little 'I'm a big bad villain' impression, it was endearingly cute, so, wanna trump that, ne?" I propose innocently.

"...And how would we do that exactly?" she asks, intrigued.

"Well, we're going to need the gaudiest lean-to you can craft, a desert, a glass crystal and a classy-looking wine bottle -empty or not, it doesn't matter-, I can manage the rest, like, easily, ne?" I happily tell her, before 'realizing' something and making an item appear in my hands, "Oh! And you'd have to wear this, of course, ne?"

The taller girl takes one good look at what I have in my hands and promptly flushes, stopping in her tracks.

"A-Absolutely not!" she stutters, red-faced.

"Ara~ Ara~, really, Mo-chan? Not even to get into character, ne?" I ask, audibly 'sad'.

I shake the item a little, and professionalism war against shame on her face.

Before she can reject the idea, I turn myself fully and look her straight in the eyes, a coy smile on my lips.

She immediately clamps.

"Ara, I promise, Mo-chan, it is going to be fun~." I purr at her.

Momentarily under my not-quite-thrall, it doesn't take a lot of cajoling for her to cave.

[AN : Get cliffed nerdz, ahah!

We talked with Eijiro for the first time! I quite like the guy, to be honest, he's honest and straightforward without being an ass about it, not like a certain discount speedster. Guy's a genuinely friendly gym-bro.

The HvsV battles starts, close-enough-to-canon happens, and Hebi-chan roasts both Izuku shit decision making and Toshinori's 'don't mind me, I'm flying by the seat of my pants here' style of teaching.

Now, how is Hebi-chan going to introduce herself and her quirk to the class, I wonder?

Hope you enjoy, xoxo]