Chapter 7: Big Sis Kendo!

Chapter 7: Big Sis Kendo!

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The last thing Lee expected outside of the gates of school was the press. The mob of people in slightly ruffled suits and skirts with microphones and cameras was so numerous he couldn't even see the gates of the school! They had the energy of one at least with all the clamoring and yelling about All Might. They weren't inside the school, though, so that was a good thing Lee thinks. They were blocking the way inside, though, so if Lee wanted to get within the safety of the school walls, he would have to go through them.

He tightened the straps to his satchel. Well, here goes nothing.

Lee elbowed and shoved his way through the frenzied press, admiring the ability of the guy with the glasses to stand in front of all those people without freaking out or being overwhelmed by the tide of the press looking for a story to sell. Lee was popped out of the crowd and stumbled into the front gates. He was almost home free until a microphone was shoved in his face. Suddenly there was a slightly sweaty man all in his personal space, a man with a camera hanging right over his shoulder.

"Kid, are you in the hero course? Have you seen All Might? Can you tell us where he is?!" The man asked rapidly, pushing the microphone almost into his chest. The man's leering look made him look almost zombie-like with the dark circles under his eyes. His breath smelled like a coffee shop and mints, and Lee had to lean away from all of that.

Yet, the man followed him and put the mic right back in Lee's face. He wheeled away, uncomfortable with the attention and weird man, but the guy kept pushing the mic closer and closer with an unrepentant, plastic smile on his face. Maybe if Lee answered one of the questions, the man would stop bothering him?

What was the first question the man asked if he was in the Hero Course?

"Yes, I am in the hero course," He finally turned and answered. The man perked up, hungrily latching onto Lee's answer and pushing the mic even closer. The cameraman followed. "I'm in class 1-B, and-"

"What? 1-B?" The man's smile dropped and got an offended look on his face like Lee had made him smell something he didn't like. The man scoffed and, thankfully, lowered his microphone. "I'm looking for kids from 1-A, not the substitute class."

Wait, what? Now, that wasn't nice. His class was not a 'substitute' to 1-A.

Feeling the need to defend his class and classmates, Lee readied to counter the rude man.

Before he could get started in telling that man how un-youthful his words and actions have been, something grabbed around the back of his uniform and dragged him away from the crowd and through the front gates of the school.

"Gotcha, Lee!" a friendly voice called from behind him.

Lee turned around and his day just became great before it even started.

"Mina!" He cried out. Before he even realized he was doing it, he swooped in and gave her a hug. Here was his first friend! She passed the exam! Wait.

He pulled back from the hug. "You passed the exam!" He burst out. She had done it. She had made it in too! Why hadn't he seen her around until today, though?

"Yeah, I passed!" Mine beamed, pink cheeks stretched far thanks to her wide smile. "Got into 1-A! Oh, yea!" She cheered and flashed him a 1 with one hand.

Before he could continue with his friend, another voice cut in.

"Oh, you all in 1-A must think you're so much cooler than us in 1-B, huh?" Monoma asked in a rude voice. "Just because you're in 1-A don't think you armmpfh!"

Itsuka's hand had covered Monoma's mouth, but from the angry muffled noises, he wasn't letting it stop him.

"Sorry about him," Itsuka apologized as she maneuvered their classmate into the school. "I'll just get him to class, Lee. See you in there," She said and dragged a struggling Monoma behind her.

"Mmmfphgh!"

"You won't embarrass us, Monoma! Settle your issues some other time!"

"Mmfummuhu!"

"Oh, just be quiet and be dragged away with some class!"

They passed through the front doors with more muffled anger and dragging.

Mina and Lee both couldn't not giggle and laugh at the duo's antics.

"So those were your classmates, huh? The girl seems the responsible type," Mina noted.

Lee nodded. Itsuka did seem the responsible type, and this just proved it. Plus, introducing herself to everybody in the class on the first day was pretty responsible.

He remembered the boy with the glasses speaking to the press. He probably was in 1-A if what the guy who had harassed him was telling the truth.

"Let's walk and talk. I know our classrooms are in the same direction, right?" She asked him.

He nodded and they started walking through the front doors of the school. The classrooms were on the same path. 1-B was just further down around the corner by the support department while 1-A was closer to the nurse's office.

"What do you think of your class so far, Mina? Is Shoji in your class too? I don't know if he passed or not," Lee said.

He really didn't know who was all in 1-A besides Mina and the guy with the glasses(probably). It'd be a good thing to learn about his sister's class.

Mina perked up and answered, "Yeah, Shoji passed and is in class with me. He's a pretty cool guy. Strong too!"

She tilted her head in a thoughtful expression. "Now that I think about, everybody in my class is pretty strong. There's a guy who can shoot explosions out of his hands and-and a kid who is strong like All Might and we have Endeavor's son too! My class is kind of stacked," she murmured at the end, shoulders slumping a bit. She looked disheartened.

Did she not think she could compete with them? That was just ridiculous to Lee. Mina was excellent. If anybody couldn't compete it was him. He was the one without a Quirk. He sighed internally as he realized that. Lee would have to tell her the truth soon, but, right now, he had to set her head straight before the day started. Gai-sensei said having the right mindset was half the battle.

"Mina," he started and continued after her eyes peeked at him through dark eyelashes. Her eyes were so cool. "you've made it to U.A. into the Hero Course. That's a splendid achievement. Everyone here is strong in their own way, and that means you too," he told her earnestly.

U.A. was the top hero school in the country for a reason. Not many people made the cut because the bar was set so high. So, for Mina to make it means she was strong enough. It meant Lee was strong enough too since he was right here with her.

Wow, okay, motivational thought. He'd remember that one.

He looked over at Mina who seemed to be mulling over his words as they walked. She wasn't slumped over anymore, but she still seemed down. Maybe he could try something else? He knew exactly how she was feeling. Gai-sensei's words of wisdom wouldn't do here.

They were close to 1-A now; Lee could hear the voices as they approached. They stopped outside the classroom, and Lee turned to a quiet Mina chewing on her lip in thought. He resolved to leave her with some of his own personal wisdom he acquired.

"You'll never be happy comparing yourself to others, Mina," he told her. She focused on him and Lee knew he had her full attention. "But, that doesn't mean you can't find happiness with yourself and your own abilities. Be the best Mina that you can be because there isn't anybody like you in the world," he finished.

She didn't say anything for a moment, and a part of Lee was worried he said too much. Was it rude of him to assume she needed advice in the first place? Maybe she already had things figured out, and here he comes thinking he knew better.

Lee's thoughts were interrupted as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. He staggered back half a step before he realized what she was doing.

She squeezed him and murmured in his ear, "Thank you, Lee."

He smiled and hugged her back. Just as he was about wave her thanks off, a lazy sounding voice interrupted the moment and scared the both of them. They

"Class is to start soon, so I think you two should wrap up whatever this is," the tired sounding voice said.

They jumped away from each other and Lee looked to see who had spoken up.

A tall, thin man with shoulder-length hair and bags under his bloodshot eyes stood there by the classroom door with his hand on the handle. Was he 1-A's sensei?

"Aizawa- sensei!" Mina squeaked. Oh, well that answered his question.

"Mina," her sense greeted tiredly, eyes never leaving Lee. It unnerved him a tiny bit. The bloodshot eyes and bags made his face look kind of scary. Did the man get any sleep at all before coming to school? He looked ready to fall asleep on his feet. It wasn't very responsible of him to not get any sleep before coming to teach. Unless maybe it had to do with his Quirk?

Mina turned to him. "Thank you for walking with me back to class, Lee. Maybe we can meet up at lunch?" She asked hopefully.

Was it even a question?

"Of course, Mina!" He answered right back. He hadn't seen her the previous times they had lunch, but he blamed that more so on how many people there were than anything else. Lee was just glad he'd get some more time with his friend.

She nodded with a bright smile and her sensei, Aizawa-sensei, opened the door just as she turned to enter. Her sensei stood outside still, eyes glued to Lee. Lee wasn't even sure the man had blinked yet.

When Mina was gone and it was just him and her sensei, Lee quickly grew a little uncomfortable under the man's stare. It was weirding him out a little, but Lee wouldn't speak badly about him. He was teaching one of the Hero courses at U.A. There had to be more to him than someone who didn't get enough sleep. He'd figure it out later. Lee had to get to class.

"Ah," He began awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. "Uhm, have a good class, Aizawa-sensei," He said as he turned around to head to his own class. He'd apologize later if his abruptness offended him. Lee just needed to get to class before he missed anything.

Oddly, though, as he walked towards his own homeroom and sensei who definitely got a full night of sleep, he felt Mina's sensei's eyes on him until he turned the corner.

How odd.

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Lee plopped himself down his seat with a wave to Pony and Itsuka. He got a nod from Tetsu and Kuroiro as well, which helped settle some of the anxiety he held about yesterday's Battle Trial. He luckily still had a few minutes before class started, so he decided to mentally review the feedback he'd gotten from yesterday.

Lee wasn't sure what to think. He had gotten the grade after he was cleared from the nurse's office, while it wasn't the grade he was hoping for it wasn't as bad as some of the others. He couldn't stop the glance back at the timid girl with the long brown front bangs that covered her eyes. Her trial did not go that well.

Lee's recovery in the nurse's office didn't take long, but he had missed his own peer-reviewed report. Vlad-sensei had given him the notes and recording to take home and listen to, which he did. His peers and sensei made several points while some didn't make sense to him.

The plan worked, so he didn't understand why it was marked in the negative. So he got knocked out. That was more his own fault then their collective fault, right? Gai-sensei always said that he had to fight his own battles because others weren't going to fight them for him and Lee couldn't agree more. It was why he was training so hard in the first place. If he lost, that was on his shoulders. End of discussion. He just had to get better for next time and push himself even harder. When he suggested upping his training, though, Gai-sensei told him he'd have to ask Vlad-sensei since that's who Lee would be seeing for the majority of his time nowadays.

Lee didn't see the sense in that, though. From what he's seen from the clips on the internet, Vlad-sensei's fighting style was really grappler based. He got up close and personal and subdued the villains with his overwhelming strength. Lee was built for speed and the speed helped boost the power behind his attacks. He would be better off asking Edgeshot for help or Mirko, but that's a wild dream he didn't see being realized ever actually.

Another thing that was colored red for 'needs improvement' was his 'recklessness' and fighting tactics. Lee knew how to fight and he knew how to win. The note said something about how he shouldn't have fought Tetsu one on one due to his Quirk making him almost impossible to defeat in hand to hand. It said 'look to debilitate instead of fight head-on', but wasn't that...un-youthful? It wouldn't have been fair to use un-youthful tactics in a fight.

A couple of good things that were noted, but nothing substantial. Good wasn't good enough here, and he knew that. Not in his case at least. Good might be enough for those with quirks, but he didn't have the privilege.

"You okay?" Pony's voice cut through his thoughts and Lee was back in the classroom.

Why was she asking if he was okay?

"Your hands, Lee. You're making fists," she noted, a look of clear concern written all over her face. She reached out and her hand fell softly over his.

Lee looked down at his hands and immediately unclenched them. He hadn't even realized. If it wasn't for Pony placing her actually really warm hands on his he'd-

Wait...

Lee looked down at their joined hands on top of his desk. After he unclenched them, his and Pony's hands were almost intertwined. Like, like how he'd seen in those romance movies Gai-sensei watched when it was his choice to pick. When the two people were boyfriend and girlfriend.

He felt his face warm up. Was, was Pony trying to tell him something?

As if she could read his mind, Pony gripped his hand a little tighter and gave him a smile that made him feel all weird inside.

"You can talk to me if anything's bothering you, Lee. I'm your friend," she said.

Something softened in his chest that he didn't even know was there and left him feeling all warm and gooey inside like hot fudge.

He didn't really know what to say to something like that. He wasn't sure anyone his age had "Thank you, Pony," he told her with the utmost sincerity. "I'm glad we're friends."

Those seemed to be the right words, as Pont smiled softly but meaningfully at him. The sound of movement at the front of the classroom pulled his and Pony's attention. It was, a looking well-rested, Vlad-sensei standing tall in front of the class. Lee hoped he'd grow to be that tall someday.

"Today we are going to be electing a class representative," Vlad revealed. Immediately everyone began to mutter amongst themselves. Becoming class representative of a Hero course in U.A. your first year? That was a big deal. Vlad continued, halting everyone as they listened attentively. "Those of you willing to take on the responsibility, raise your hands," he said and everyone's hand shot up.

Vlad-sensei sighed and shook his head while muttering something under his breath about knowing this would happen. "You all can't be the class representative," He said dryly.

Everyone's hands dropped and they began talking amongst themselves. Well, that certainly changed things. How were they going to choose a class representative then?

Itsuka's arm flew straight into the air like it was shot out of a cannon and Vlad-sensei wasted no time in calling on her.

"Why don't we hold a vote?" Itsuka suggested. "The person with the most votes would obviously be the best choice since they would be picked by their own classmates."

Vlad-sensei hummed but didn't say anything else. He was waiting for one of us to say something. Vlad-sensei liked letting us voice our thoughts in class. He said they would have to start thinking for themselves sometimes, so they might as well here.

His patience bore fruit because another hand flew up. It was a boy with a long, single black braid going down his back, Hiryu Rin, and Vlad-sensei indicated for him to speak.

"Are we allowed to vote for ourselves? What happens if everyone votes for themselves?" He asked. His voice was cool and steady, bearing none of the voice cracks his peers sometimes let out.

Itsuka moved to answer, but stopped and looked to Vlad-sensei. He gave her a nod of permission to answer.

"Yes, we would be allowed to vote for ourselves, and yes, that is a possibility, but we as future Pro-heroes have a responsibility to pick someone we think could do the job right," She responded.

Another hand, this time a girl with a well-maintained, black bob cut hairstyle, Yui Kodai, shot up and was called on.

"We don't know each other that well, it hasn't been that long since school started, so how can we expect to make the right choice?" She asked, her voice was kind of soft but it carried well as there were some murmurs of agreement from even the people farthest away from her.

It was a good enough question to leave Itsuka hesitant for the barest of moments before she rallied and answered in a firm voice, "Then we'll spend the rest of the time we have getting to know each other if that is alright with Vlad-sensei," she added at the end with a look over at the observing Pro-hero.

He nodded and leaned back against his desk with a creak. "You have until the end of homeroom after lunch. We do have things to do today," he said to the slight excitement of the class.

Itsuka nodded at that and continued. "Okay, see? We have until the end of homeroom to decide, so even if things don't go right the first time, we can try again until we get it right," She declared to the whole class. Every pair of eyes were on her as she spoke, "Being Class representative goes beyond the classroom. It is a promise to your peers that you will work in their best interests and represent them the best you can when the time calls for it. Like a hero."

"This is sounding a lot like a 'vote for me' speech more and more as you go on," Monoma quipped from where he leaned back in his chair. He tipped forward and his chair legs clacked against the ground. "I say we get on with the vote before our 'big sister' Itsuka has to make another speech," he smirked. The nickname garnered a few chuckles from the class, and Itsuka's brow twitched agitatedly until a smug smile grew on her face.

"Well then," she said slyly. "After you, 'little brother'," she said with extra emphasis on the word little. The class 'oooud' as a collective, and Monoma didn't have a chance to make a comeback as Vlad-sensei began handing out strips of paper for them to write down who they wanted to vote for.

In no time the votes were collected and counted. The results were in.

"Introducing your new class representative, Itsuka Kendo," Vlad-sensei announced to them.

Itsuka blinked confusedly in her seat as Setsuna playfully nudged her shoulder and the rest of the class clapped for her.

"W-what?" her face was the very definition of confusion as her eyes went from the results to the class to their sensei repeatedly in that order. "M-me? But, I said vote for who you all think would do the job right!" She insisted.

Setsuna scooted over and threw an arm over her friends' shoulders to grab her attention. "And we did, class rep," She said and pointed a finger at Itsuka's face. "And we picked you."

"Yeah," Tetsutetsu added from his own seat and Itsuka turned to listen. "You're the only one who can get Monoma to close his mouth," he joked.

"You were the one to come up with the idea in the first place, Itsuka," Lee chimed in and gave her a reassuring smile. "Your flames of youth burn bright!"

The class nodded and agreed as one. Itsuka's eyes filtered from face to face, each of them giving her a nod of confidence.

"The Lord shines his light on you," Ibara said loftily.

"Your name was the only one I actually remembered," Nirengeki Shoda, a short boy with extremely light blue, almost white, hair murmured just loud enough for Itsuka to hear.

Finally, her eyes landed on Monoma who shrugged easily and said, "Don't make me regret my vote, 'big sis," he teased with a taunting smirk, but Itsuka paid it no mind. She only nodded decisively, determination shining in her eyes.

She got up from her seat, sliding off Setsuna's arm, and bowed at the waist. "Thank you all so much for your support! I promise to not let any of you down as your class representative!" She promised with as much conviction as possible. Unseen, she didn't see the proud smile flash across her sensei's face.

(End Chapter 5)

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AN: Read/Review if you want to. Hope everyone is staying safe and if you are protesting please be smart and stay safe. Rubber bullets hurt and the police aren't shooting them properly. I don't see why they're shooting them at all, but I mean...So does pepper spray and tear gas. Hurt, I mean. Not a fun combination, so I'd say figure out ways to protect yourself and your fellow protestors from them as best as possible. Also, protect small businesses. They're the most vulnerable spots as their ability to bounce back from a looting are is not as high as the store fronts of big corporations. If you aren't in the streets, there are still other ways to support such as donating, speaking up, helping spread factual news around and checking those that are trying to take away from the movement. I just want police brutality to stop and the perpetrators held accountable but even that seems too big an ask.

If you have something negative to say, save it. It's not my job to educate you when we live in the same country with the same access to Google. There are countless resources online to educate yourself if you are willing, and, if you're not, then there's no helping you and you can go somewhere else. Property can be replaced and fixed, lives and families cannot.

Rip George Floyd and the countless others.