The Weight of Their Uniform

 Angel... A Quirk that has been around for decades now. For so long, our family inherited it, passing it from one generation to another. Following the teaching of our family, with our Quirk came the responsibility of truly upholding its name. Angels were for so long viewed as the messengers of god, who brought change and prosperity with them. And picking that name for our Quirk meant to stay true to it.

Our family had done social services for generations on end. It was their duty to look after people in need and help those who were suffering, though strangely enough, none of my ancestors had chosen the path of a Hero, all of whom chose another approach.

Now according to the notebook my Grandma lent me, our Quirk didn't start quite as Angel as we know it now. Rather, as a very rare and ambiguous Quirk that was called DNA Writer. It apparently allowed one to manipulate their, or anyone's else genes, at will. So far, so little was known about how it all started or why it even happened, but our very first ancestor, the very first Angel I daresay, had seen it fit to erase his Quirk. He had tinkered with his own genes, changed his appearance and even his Quirk, and made sure DNA Writer was never activated again. So, his original Quirk was forever lost and not to be retrieved. His new Quirk Angel however, which he created from overwriting so many Quirks into one, he made it dominant so for centuries to come, his flesh and blood carried it for long, along with his legacy of helping others in ways which didn't involve fighting. Sora posed, inspecting what she had written so far with her pencil pressed to her chin.

" Grandma had given me this notebook which she said was the diary kept by all of our ancestors to keep track of our Quirk. Even she and Dad had written down things here," she said skimming across the pages. " And I'm required to write in it too." With a heavy sigh, she laid her head down on her table, her eyes fixated on the small square of night sky visible through her balcony door. She again flipped the pages of the diary until she hit a certain one.

" Hardening," she read aloud. " One of the attributes of our Quirk that had been discovered years ago, it allows feathers to gain strength, solidifying and enabling them to act as sharp weapons. That's what happened down at the Studio," she murmured, her face sticking to the table before closing the notebook.

So far, there have been many interesting attributes other than the ones she already knew of. But apparently, all of them required reaching a certain threshold to be able to unlock them. And there was no telling if all attributes mentioned there would even manifest in one person. " What a hassle," she said pushing herself from the wooden surface and turning the pages till she had reached the very beginning of the diary.

There, she could see the remains of pages that had been forcefully ripped off. She ran her finger on the cut papers as though hoping she could somehow magically figure out what had been written on them.

However, considering their position at the very beginning, she thought they must have belonged to their very first ancestor, her great-great-great-grandfather, or something of that kind.

" Either way," she said hastily pushing the diary out of her sight now and pulling her phone, checking the date. " Our provisional license exam is approaching rather quickly and I have yet to control the hardening of my feathers. Not to mention..." She sulked just remembering the number of times she faked not being well so she just could have a break to escape having to transform in their training session.

" I just wish this old thing could have given me advice on how to control my transformation," she grumbled glaring back at the notebook as if trying to set it on fire. But there was no use getting angry at a piece of paper. " Might as well do as Grandma suggested and practice some meditation. "

So far, managing her feelings has helped her slow the process of the transformation, just like when she learned to control her fear with Endeavor. So meditation turned out as a good starting point for her. The longer she kept calm, the less she had to worry about her being identified as a villain on the battlefield.

It didn't pay off much at the beginning, Sora wasn't the kind of person who would fancy staying still for more than half an hour. Heck her grandmother said she had always been kicking and tossing around in her sleep. Having to sit still for hours on end, trying to clear her head seemed much like torture for her. But she wasn't going to give up soon.

Finally, the fruits of her training began to appear. The physical combat training with Ectoplasm and the meditation started to pay off. Her build stamina and her ability to keep calm helped a lot. She had also learned of another trick that would slow her transformation even more. It was the solidification of her feathers. Apparently, too much energy was sucked into them to keep them solid and strong, so the energy used to change her form was steered that way, giving her even more time.

" You have a good face now, Shirogane," said Ectoplasm upon seeing her putting up a very good fight against him.

" It's just like you teachers said," Sora smirked slightly, looking up at her teacher. " The fact that I finally found an ultimate move kind of fired me up!"

" I see. But then why focus on physical strength more then?"

Sora smiled. " For my stamina." Just knowing that was enough for the teacher.

She blinked when she saw clouds of smoke rising at the other end of the terrain where Yuu was supposed to be training. " Seems he is doing fine himself." She smiled to herself before having to duck out of the way as Ectoplasm ambushed her.

" I didn't say we have a break yet," he stated firmly, ready to move again.

" Sorry," was all Sora said before readying herself. Suddenly, Bakugo called out loudly, drawing their attention to him.

" Hey, look out!"

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as a chunk of cement fell off with All Might standing right beneath it.

" Watch out!" In a heartbeat, her wings were stretched out and she was swooping down from her terrain to the blond teacher. However, she was a split second slow. Midoriya was already by the rock, and with a kick that took everyone by surprise, he broke the chunk to pieces. Sora stopped midair, eyes wide as saucers. " His speed... increased slightly..."

She smiled softly at that, remembering their conversation with Hatsume the other day where the green head stated he was thinking of changing his fighting style. You've done it. With this, there is no more strain on your arm, Midoriya.

She floated down just as Ectoplasm followed her. " Seems the results of this whole training are starting to show up."

" Yeah, everyone is getting stronger by the day." She smiled brightly looking at the rest of her friends shedding sweats to perfect their ultimate moves.

" Even you've improved yourself."

His words took her by surprise. " No, I didn't improve that much at all."

" You didn't realize what you had just done did you." He said looking up at the highest hill so far, which was hers. " You've descended in a split second."

Sora stared absentmindedly and her wings shook slightly with excitement as she realized it. " My wings... are getting stronger as well..."

________________

After they left the ground for class B to train for the afternoon, they each were allowed some time for individual training before returning to their dorm. Sora was among the last ones to get back. She went almost immediately for the shower, dipping her tired bruised body in the hot water to relax.

Once she came out, all the girls gathered in the living. " Sora-chan, come and join us!" Ashido called out for her and Sora walked over to them, taking the vacant chair next to Yaoyorozu as the pinkette complained about their tough regiment.

" Even so, there's less than a week left before the provisional licensing exam," as the girl sitting next to her said those words, Sora felt her stomach lurch. Despite her intensive training, she was rather stressed out about the exam.

" Sora-chan?" She blinked when Hagakure called her name and looked back at her, puzzled. " How about your ultimate move?"

" Oh, I think I'm almost about to master it. Hopefully, I can do so before the exam."

" Sora-chan, you're working hard," Asui noted before Hagakure asked Uraraka who seemed as though asleep with her eyes open. She didn't snap out of it until Asui touched her and she jolted away.

" You seem tired," Asui told her as Uraraka looked back with a befuddled look as though trying to remember where she was although she denied at all being tired. It was until...

" Recently, my heart's been feeling all stirred up..." the brunette said and Sora had to hold herself back from ohing, recalling Uraraka's frequent glances towards Midoriya. About time.

" It's love!" Ashido shouted in ecstasy, making Uraraka jump on her couch in surprise. She flailed her hands around flustered. " Is it Midoriya, or Iida? You're always with them aren't you?"

Oh come on Mina-chan, we all know you know the answer. Sora stifled a laugh which morphed into utter surprise when Uraraka used her Quirk on herself and floated away of reach, still denying it.

" Who is it? Which one? Who is it?" Hagakure insisted even more to get an answer.

" Spit it out," Jiro added. " You'll get a lighter sentence if you confess."

" That's not it, really!" An upside-down Uraraka interjected, her face glowing redder by the time. " I really don't know anything about that stuff..."

" It's not good to force an investigation, you know," Asui piped in to defend her.

" Yeah." Yaoyorozu agreed as she stood up. " More importantly, we have an early start tomorrow, so we should turn in."

" What! No way! I want to hear more!" Ashido argued childishly. " Even if we don't talk about anything important, I want to force it to be about romance!"

As the argument continued on between the both of them, Sora's head twisted backwards to look at their floating friend, inclined on the window and looking out attentively. Sora needed not look outside to know who was there. Uraraka's aura betrayed her at that moment. It changed drastically, becoming calmer and lighter. Sora knew that aura very well. She had seen it time and time again all over her middle school years. Uraraka was undisputably in love, even if she tried to deny it.

" Well, come one Uraraka-san." Yaoyorozu snapped her out of her thoughts. " We better get to bed."

" I will give you a hand." Sora flew up to pull the girl back to the ground. " Also, don't fight it. It will make things harder."

" Huh?" With a smile, Sora left a befuddled Uraraka and turned in.

________________

Sora gulped as they stood in front of the large building extending before their eyes. She felt as though it was stretching threateningly. Yuu's face however turned blue as soon as he stepped out of the bus. " I think I'm gonna be sick."

" Oh no, you won't! There is no place for sick soldiers here! Only those who fight hard!" Whisper shouted at him. Sora however couldn't blame the boy at all. Standing there felt really unnerving.

" I wonder if I can get my provisional license..." She looked at Mineta who voiced the very thought they had been all thinking of.

" Mineta." Aizawa stepped to him, hunching over so his eyes met the boy. " It's not about whether or not you can. Go and get it!"

" Aizawa-sensei..." Yuu's eyes slightly narrowed at those words. He knew they weren't just meant for Mineta, but rather the whole of class A. " Whisper... I'm gonna do my best... If I shake hit me hard..."

" With pleasure! That's the spirit soldier!" The ghost cheered, giving him a pat on the back.

" If you can pass this test and get your provisional licenses, then you novice eggs will become chicks. You'll hatch into semi-pros. Do your best."

" All right," Kaminari shouted at the very front. " I'll become a chick!"

" Let's all call out the usual!" Kirishima added. " Ready, set! Plus-"

" Ultra!" An unfamiliar voice joined him and they all turned around to see a rather tall and strong build boy standing among them.

" Who is that?" Whisper inquired most curiously about the stranger joining their class.

Yuu's eyes darted to the symbol he had on his hat as more people with the same uniform as him joined them. " You shouldn't just barge in on other people's huddles, Inasa."

" Oh no! I'm very extremely sorry!" He pressed his arms to his sides tightly and flung forward in a very low bow his head hit the concrete of the street.

" Another weirdo! Why is it that your class always attracts guys like him!" Whisper grasped Iida's collar and started shaking him while the latter didn't take his eyes off the boy now known as Inasa.

" Wait, that uniform...!" Jiro exclaimed.

" It's from that famous school in western Japan..." Kirishima pondered.

" Shiketsu..." Yuu muttered, eyeing the newcomers carefully.

" UA in the east, Shiketsu in the west..." Added Bakugo.

Inasa continued to babble about how he liked UA and how he was honored he was competing against them, not the slightest care about blood running profusely from where he had hit his head against the floor.

" Inasa, you ought to be more careful," A feminine voice chimed as its owner approached him with a handkerchief in her hand. " Geez, you get carried too far when you're excited."

" Thank you, Hakuja," he said accepting the handkerchief.

" Hakuja?" Whisper repeated, feeling he heard that name before. Before he knew it, Sora left their side and threw herself on the girl as soon as she turned around.

" Yumei!"

" Sora!" The girl wore a mixture of joy and bewilderment at seeing her friend there.

" You said you were doing fine, but you never said you'd been accepted in Shiketsu!" Sora's eyes sparkled in awe.

" Is she an acquaintance of yours?" Midoriya asked the purple head by his side. To which he nodded.

" She had been a classmate of us since elementary."

Yumei returned Sora's hug with a warm smile before finally deciding to ask her." Sora... what are you doing here? Only second-year students are allowed to take the exam?"

" Well, our school wanted us to get our provisional licenses pretty early this year. What about you? You're a first-year yourself!"

" She had special permission to take the exam." A man, or rather a boy seeing that he was wearing the same uniform joined in. He had very long hair, a beard, and mustaches it was very hard to glimpse any part of his face except one eye popping through the overlapping mass of hair. " Shiketsu usually gives the top three of the first years a chance at getting their provisional licenses early."

" Yumei you're one of the top three! You're awesome! Nothing else expected from you!" Sora cheered happily.

" Thank you," she said before taking a step back and turning to join her group. " We'll meet down there." She waved at her. But she didn't retreat without throwing a glance in Yuu's direction. One he felt it burned through his skull.

As Shiketsu marched on to the building, Aizawa announced to all of them that Inasa Yoarashi, Inasa' full name, was a very strong student who had earned top scores of those admitted through recommendations, but for some reason, he had turned down his acceptance.

Sora blinked as she heard that and turned back to Todoroki who had an indifferent face about the whole subject. However, her eyes then caught a very unusual thing. Their teacher flinched. He did so just as a woman's voice called for him. Interesting. She thought as a green-haired lady marched to them, waving her hand with a radiant grin across her face.

" Aizawa-sensei's face..." Yuu blinked upon seeing their teacher's reaction when she approached them. Even he couldn't curb his curiosity and astonishment.

" Who is this woman?" Whisper questioned him. From her attire, it was certain she was some Hero too.

"... Smile Hero: Ms.Joke!" Midoriya beamed with enthusiasm as he started blabbing everything he had ever known about her.

" Are you an encyclopedia or what?" Whisper huffed tiredly while Sora's attention went to Ashido who was murmuring among the girls who were listening avidly. Don't tell me... She had already shipped them... A bead of sweat dropped down the back of her head.

What she didn't expect however, was that the woman was soon followed by a group of students in a grey uniform which appeared to be her class from Ketsubutsu Academy.

The tall boy with short black hair who introduced himself as Shindo insisted on greeting them, taking their hands one by one as he talked about what UA had been through for the past year. So far he seemed so polite until he made the mistake of bringing the Camino incident to Bakugo, only for the latter to slap away his hand.

" Woah! That delinquent has no respect whatsoever for his senior! He is a second year you know!" Whisper shouted.

" He is right though." Sora's eyes narrowed as Shindo turned his back on them and went along with his class to the building while they proceeded on their own as well. " He seemed polite, but his aura was a raging fire of rivalry." She looked back at Yuu. " You do understand right, what being the top school means."

Yuu nodded, his eyes narrowed as he heard Kaminari jabbering about being famous." You don't need to tell me. We've seen it first hand in the sports festival, right?" He recalled the cavalry battle and how all the students had chosen to attack Midoriya's team all at once, being at the top of the ranks. " The problem is, we're at a disadvantage here."

He said taking a look at all the students gathering there, with different uniforms tethered around the ground it was rather hard to hold back one's bemusement. However, theirs was the one that stood out the most. Everyone stopped and stared at them, eyes flashing with burning passion. It was the first time Yuu realized how heavy the uniform he was wearing truly was.

" We'll be pitted against all of them," he said turning his eyes to his friend, and they weren't those sagging scared ones which he usually had once realizing he had been surrounded by so many people, rather, they were blazing with ambitions. " We've got to work together, all of us, if we ever want to make it."