Welcome to UA

Alissa has been M.I.A since we came to UA and I haven't seen her around the dorm in the four days before classes officially start. So when she appears in my room Monday morning I'm a bit surprised she still exists. She's smiling as she most often is and makes no effort to tell me where she was for all those days and I don't even think to ask, because I can imagine the things she got up to. Being the explorative and excessively inquisitive person she is, she could have been scouring every single building on campus, and scaring the living hell out of random students. She could also have disappeared to her friend, Hatsume, in the support course dorms. See, I had always known that she had somehow befriended Hatsume and I hope beyond hope that I don't run into the both of them at once. But I know for sure that the chances of running into them are high. The thing is, Hatsume is very touchy when she needs to help someone, as seen when she shamefully groped a poor Izuku. Pair her with Alissa and I don't think I can survive, not with their minds combined and all the things they would likely want to use me for - or do to me. I've been a lab rat more times than I like to admit.

When I'm dressed it's seven-thirty, just a half-hour before class officially starts so I have more than enough time. Since I had gotten both the pants and the skirt of the uniform, I'm more than happy to wear pants today. My tie is perfect, as it should be, since my father had taken the time to teach me how the thing works. He loved dressing me in suits when we went out together and I was not complaining. I like suits quite a bit - makes me feel sophisticated.

Fun thing about the pants is that we can have them in any style we want, as long as it's modest. So, simply put, I could wear sweatpants if I wanted to and I'm pretty sure that's what Israel wears.

I opted for high-waisted trousers. And today I have paired it with a longed sleeve dress shirt and the school vest because I was serious about loving the vest.

"Done?"

Alissa's offering me my backpack expectantly, evidently excited about day one.

"Yeah, let's go" One last glance in the mirror and I'm gone with a warning to Kurama, who's too invested in his food to care. I stop at the door and go check on Orochi, just to make sure she's still in her habitat, because she somehow always manages to escape. Luckily, she's still present and content in her home. Hopefully, it stays that way until I get back.

Our walk is filled with idle conversation on Alissa's part because she always has something to tell me about and she does bring up some nice questions. What are we doing on day one? How does the joined courses thing work? What about hero costumes? The questions go on until we meet up with Mina, who's practically dragging Eijiro by the tie while the boy focuses on tying his hair. Heh, he opted for a bun today as well, nice. Now we match in hairstyles and that undercut looks incredibly good on him, just as I had suspected.

"Yo" Alissa waves when we catch up to them and she seems quite amused with Eijiro's struggle.

"Morning" A greeting that earns me a fist bump from Eijiro and a wave from Mina who finally releases poor Eijiro.

"One of you knows how to get to our class, right?" Mina asks hopefully. "Because this place is massive and I've gotten lost four times already"

Yeah, that explains her absence yesterday.

"Oh yeah," Alissa's chipper. "I know the way to almost everything on this campus"

I would expect nothing less from this kid.

We get to class 1A easily enough and approaching us from down the hall is none other than Israel. He only wears his assigned sweats and a dress shirt and offers a nod as greeting because he's too cool to wave.

"Lunch" Is all he says to me. No good morning, good luck, how's it going - just straight to business.

Now I don't feel like giving it to him.

"You know, that's no way to ask for the food I took the time to prepare for my older cousin who I love so very much" as innocently as I say it, he does not look amused and simply raises a brow. "Geez man, at least a good morning"

"I got kicked in the back this morning and almost fell down a flight of stairs," He says rather abruptly, and I ignore Alissa who's on the verge of laughing. "This is not a good morning"

Understandable.

"Damn" I can't help my smirk and he rolls his eyes. "I wish you the best"

"Should be saying that to you" And there's finally some amusement in his voice and his expression when he says this. "After all, you have Mr. Aizawa, and he doesn't like foxes"

And who's fault is that?

Sighing I hand over his lunch bag. At the very least he does thank me before taking his leave.

"Do I get lunch?" A curious and almost hopeful Alissa inquires.

"Of course you do, I doubt you even thought about making your own food" If I don't feed her, who will?

And she's happy if that grin is anything go by, but that grin almost drops entirely when Mina pushes the door open and we come face to face with a rather familiar scene on my part. Alissa groans in anguish and practically trudges into the classroom and claims her assigned seat, thumping her head on her desk in her sorrow.

"Don't put your legs on the desk!" The and the only, Tenya Iida stands right in front of me, scolding an indifferent Katsuki who hardly acknowledges him. It's amusing how the mere sight of Tenya changed Alissa's entire mood. She never got along with him, despite having went to school with him for three years. Those two always seem to be on opposing ends with Alissa's nonchalance towards school rules and such and Tenya's .... Well, Tenya is Tenya.

"Day one" Mina snickers near me and moves to find her assigned seat. We're seating according to numbers and those are assigned alphabetically. Since Alissa and I have the same name I'm seated behind her. The class seems bigger than I remember. Of course, it could just be because I'm only now personally present, but after a quick count, I found there are twenty-four desks, so it would make sense for the classroom to be bigger than what I had expected. There are four rows of six which puts me at the last seat of the first row.

"Would you shut up!" Katsuki, finally tired of Tenya's never-ending scolding, reveals his loud nature just as Izuku steps into class.

He takes one glance at the scene and dismisses it as quickly as that. He's in the third row, far away from Katsuki, who sadly sits just two seats in front of me. I'll have to suffer his shouting for the rest of the year - how wonderful. Izuku does spot me and offers a genuine smile, contrary to the pensive frown he wore before.

Mina is seat number two, just behind Aoyama and close enough to me that she engages in mental conversation while she searches through her bag for one thing or another. Eijiro is currently in conversation with Denki and Sero, probably forming a quick friendship there. He is a bit anxious about talking to them because, like me, he does not actively interact with others outside our small group of friends. Mineta still ended up in this class and that does not seem fair in the slightest. But oh well, what's done is done, I suppose. But there are twenty-four seats, Alissa and I make twenty-two, so who are twenty-three and four?

Just as I'm wondering this, the doors to class slide open once more, and in comes a tired-looking Shinso. Huh, okay, he marks twenty-three then, that leaves one last person. Good to know Shinso made it into the hero course, I'm excited to see how this goes.

Looking around, small groups have formed as our classmates converse amongst themselves and amongst the clusters, I spot a head of black hair that I had not noticed before. How did I not notice him before? He's sitting right in front of me. I have no idea who this guy is, or maybe I do and I just can't remember. I don't stare because he's sure to feel it and that would be weird, so all I know is that he has smooth black hair that is styled neatly yet somehow appears acceptably messy. He has his chin resting in one hand and from this angle that's all I can make out so I make do with his thoughts.

Or that's what I normally would do if someone else hadn't caught my attention. Aizawa is practically dragging himself into the room, which is still far better than slithering in wrapped in that sleeping bag he always has on him. He's not even wearing that dark outfit I'm so used to, instead appearing before the class in sweats and a sweater and hair just absolutely a mess on his head. His scarf still rests around his shoulders and he still looks like he'd rather die than teach a class. With his appearance, silence befalls the class and our teacher simply appraises the classroom, silent and judging as he scans the sacrifices before him.

"Welcome to the department of heroics" He speaks, his voice almost hoarse and lacking any sort of enthusiasm or emotion for that matter. He produces some odd packet that he proceeds to suck on while he leans on his desk. "I am your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota and you will only refer to me as Mr. Aizawa or sensei"

Immediately after those words, Alissa has the dumb urge to directly address him by his first name and a kick to her chair ends that before she can make things worse for us.

"Number one" He drawls carelessly and looks at Aoyama, the boy staring right back at him with that smile he always wears and answering with some French word. "Number two"

And it goes on until number twenty-four. Apparently, he was checking to make sure we're familiar with our assigned numbers and seating and this - at least - seems to please him just a little.

"Good, you're not completely terrible," He says with this amused smirk. "Now then, first order of business; combat"

Combat? No apprehension test? Well, that's interesting.

"Behind you, there are compartments with your assigned numbers, in them, you'll find your gym clothes" He informs with a slow gesture. "I assume you all know where the changing rooms are, if not, then that's your problem, but I need you all changed in ten minutes and gathered in combat room one. If your late, well, don't be late"

I'm almost tempted to take my time, just to see what sort of punishment he would deal out.

~~~~~~~~~

"Our teacher looks like death," says Mina when we enter the changing room and her words earn sounds of agreement from the other girls present. I'm pretty sure I bumped into Toru on the way to a locker.

"I'm pretty sure that's Eraserhead" Alissa comments near the end of the room, shirt halfway on and almost falling when she tries to wear her pants.

"Yeah he is Eraserhead" I confirm

"Who is Eraserhead?"

"I think the real question here is why is he named Eraserhead of all things" Jiro adds to Momo's question with this tiny smile on her face. "The ridiculousness of that name does not match his appearance or attitude"

"Maybe he has a sense of humor?" Uraraka wonders.

Oh, he does, just not the type you're hoping for.

I'm fully dressed before most of my classmates and linger at the door in wait for the others. We still have five minutes left and combat room one is a three-minute walk. Everyone needs to be dressed in the next two minutes or they risk punishment. And I doubt most of them are as reckless and eager as I am about possible punishment.

"Combat" Mina sighs, approaching me. "First period Monday, why?"

"Why not?" I retort and earn a very pointed look.

"It's eight in the morning"

"It's always good to get some exercise in before the day starts" I shrug.

"This is combat in a hero school" Mina clarifies. "This is no exercise"

"Welp"

"I'm gonna kick some ass!" Alissa exclaims all of a sudden, energy renewed now she's nowhere near Tenya. "They better let me fight Mr. Engine. I've been needing an acceptable reason to fight him. I've got a bone to pick with him, I'll break his dumb engine, I swear. That no good, four eyes, rule abiding, smart ass, stuck up, ugly ass, dumb eyebrows, d-"

Almost all eyes are on her as she spills out a list of unsavory names for Tenya and I have to watch in slight fascination because Alissa really seems determined to beat his ass. I realize she doesn't like him much and they don't get along, but the way she has a never-ending list of insults for him really puts things into perspective.

"Would you calm down?" I have to drag her out of the changing room and she's still ranting about Tenya, it's amazing.

"What's her deal?" Curious, Jiro falls into step with me.

"She has a history with one of our classmates," Mina says casually.

"Not a very pleasant history, it seems" Momo sounds almost disbelieving when she hears the things leaving Alissa's mouth. "All that anger in such a small body "

"I am not small!"

Sensitive issue, Momo.

"You're as short as me," Tsuyu's says, her words broken in that familiar way. And she is correct because Alissa stands at her height, maybe an inch or two taller. "You're small"

Alissa is too stunned to even reply and she looks at Tsuyu for a long moment, staring right into those vacant eyes before she sighs - defeated.

"At least I'm not the only small one"

"Hey, at least you're both taller than that purple kid," Toru says in realization. "It's kinda weird how short he is"

She has a point there. I seriously wonder how he has remained that short.

~~~~~~~~

When we arrive at combat room one we're met with the entirety of class B, Aizawa, Sekojiro, an apparent teacher I'm not familiar with, and... I'm pretty sure Toga's standing right in front of me.

Uhuh.

This is fine.

"1A meet 1B" The teacher I'm unfamiliar with says with a clap and a grin as she steps forward. She's dressed for combat and those boots look particularly deadly. Those are steel tips and they look sharp enough to pierce flesh. "You'll get to know each other better as the days come, so don't worry about that"

Good to know. It looks like A and B will be training together more often, which is great. There were some kids in this class that caught my attention and I wouldn't mind being around them.

"This is combat class and I am your teacher, Ms. Kuma"

She talks about this and that and I simply observe. First thing that I noticed are the green eyes. Nothing special about them, I just like the shade of green that they are is all. Her hair is a greyish blue and tied into a bun atop her head revealing shaved temples. She's as tall as Aizawa, but unlike him, she does not hide behind baggy clothes and I'm sure I caught the end of Mineta's perverted thought about this woman. She wears a black sleeveless turtle neck revealing muscles that make my mind travel to Mirko and all the times I've had to face her incredible strength and now I'm starting to think that this woman would beat the hell out of me without breaking a sweat.

It's Monday so hopefully it does not come to that.

"My friend over here is Toga Himiko" She gestures to the blonde, who had been silent the entire time. Having been introduced, Toga smiles, revealing sharp teeth and it's different than what I'm used to. It's just simply because she's less crazed, more grounded, calm, normal. There are no bags under her eyes, her smile isn't manic, her hair isn't up in messy buns. Yes, she has the buns but they're just not messy. Her smile is kind, almost reassuring actually and her stance is relaxed, with hands resting in her pants pockets.

"Second-year heroics and one of my best fighters," Kuma says this with no hidden amount of pride. "For that reason, she'll be my assistant for the day as well as your teacher. Anything she says, you do without question, understand?"

The room fills with differing sounds of agreement

"Splendid" joyous, she starts to pace up and down the room, soundless and swift. "It's obvious enough what we're gonna do here, so I'd like to get an understanding of how much you lot know"

And so she comes to a stop in front of us once more with Toga lingering at her side.

"You'll split off into groups of two, but before that" She pauses, for dramatic effects of course. "Who'd like to try their luck against Toga, hmm?"

I practically feel Alissa perk up nearby and when I glance in her direction she's already looking at me.

"Remember, she's one of my best fighters" Kuma warns when someone almost took a step forward. "She's skilled enough to fight a trained hero"

Oh, well, I like the sound of that.

I step forward just as I notice Alissa's interest pique. Better luck next time dear cousin, but I'll have my fun first. I'm surprised Katsuki hasn't stepped forward. I had truly expected him to talk shit about being the greatest and the best.

"I offer myself as tribute"

My words draw out a very delighted laugh from our combat teacher and Toga has her attention on me now, brows raised in interest and appearing just a tiny bit impressed.

Nearby I hear Aizawa sigh and mumble something to himself and I'm sure I hear the words "fox" and "problem".

"You're name?" Kuma wheezes out.

Her amusement is a great show of her confidence in Toga, meaning I'm gonna be on my toes.

"Fox Zena"

"Fox!?" She grins. "Haha, Fox, of course"

Israel truly does have a reputation.

"This should be entertaining," Kuma says to herself as she motions for me to step on the mat in the middle of the room. Toga follows suit, standing opposite me a moment later. She's changed her stance now, hands out of her pockets and more alert when she faces me.

"Fox" She repeats as well with a small smile. "Are you as good as a fighter?"

"I'd like to think so" Seeing as I've trained most of my life.

"I guess we'll find out then"

"I guess we will" I'm either about to get my ass beat in front of two classes, or I'm about to impress everyone here. Perhaps both.

"Alright people, the rules are simple" Kuma acts as referee for the match. "Hand to hand, no quirks, and the last man standing is the victor"

Oh, so it's that type of match.

"And don't even think Toga's going to hold back because you're her junior" I get a pat on the back with those words.

"And you" She looks at Toga. "Don't underestimate because she's your junior"

With that out of the way, Kuma retreats from the makeshift ring and signals the start of this battle.

Welcome to UA, I guess