Chapter Text
“Some might not be as welcoming to you,” Aizawa warned as we walked along the path before the dorms. “One of their classmates decided not to continue this year, and it’s taken a toll on some of them.” We walked at a slow pace as he used a crutch to assist him. He had said that he lost his leg and eye during his last mission – the same mission that caused mass upheaval across the country – and led my mom to haul us all back to Japan to help.
“That’s totally understandable.” I scanned my homeroom teacher’s face. I had only met the man once prior, but the usual frown he wore deepened. Just who was this kid, and why did he decide not to return? We approached the 1-A dorm from a wide walkway. The large dormitory loomed overhead; how many kids were in this class? I opened the door for Aizawa; he entered while I followed. A large crowd of students lounged in the common area. The dorm was massive. A large kitchen stood in front of us, set with tables that sat everyone. Kitty corner to that was a spacious communal social space with a TV. To the left were two sets of elevators – where were the stairs?
“Welcome back to another year at UA. As you all know, things will be quite different this year. The school is being utilized as a shelter for all your families and local civilians. Since we have an open seat in this class, Wylde will be joining you while her parents are here assisting us.” Aizawa motioned to me with a jerk of his head. My new classmates frowned as they took in this information. I raised my hand to wave and introduce myself on my own terms but was interrupted by a blonde boy on the other side of the room.
“She can’t replace shitty Deku.” The blonde spat with rage dripping off every word.
I puffed out my cheeks and let my head bounce a few times as my hand fell. “Nice to meet you all, too. I’ll get unpacked and then head out – which room is mine?”
Aizawa sighed, “second floor, first door. Take the elevator on the left.” I nodded and headed to the elevator, pressing the button with a manicured finger. We all stood in an awkward silence, waiting for the ding of the elevator to whisk me away. I stood with my back to everyone as the doors parted. I stepped inside, pressed the second-floor button, and turned to face the doors as they closed. Everyone’s eyes were either trained on me, or on our teacher.
I exited the elevator after moving a measly floor and stood in front of my door. They had put my entire name on the plaque. I pulled open my door, leaving it ajar. My two suitcases sat beside my bed, with my hero suit in the third smaller case. The school had supplied a simple set of light blue sheets for my use due to the limit on things I could bring. I sighed, opened my closet, removed all the hangers, and threw them onto my bed. I opened a suitcase and began to hang up my clothes the mundane way. My mother would have a cow and call me lazy if I used my quirk for such a simple task. Once I was done putting away my clothes, I decorated my room with the one poster I had brought and the few nick-nacks I had wrapped in my clothes. I closed my door and opened my case. I slipped out of my clothes, tossed them into the provided hamper, and pulled on my hero suit. Apparently, Power Loader could help modify my suit if needed, but I doubt I would be taking that offer. I did not plan on staying that long. I shrugged on my blood-red leather jacket and walked into my bathroom. My jacket sat open, exposing my black extra-small crop top. I wore black pants with large pockets and buckles, which matched the buckles on my jacket. The pants hung high on my hips but dipped low in the front. My short dark hair was styled into a long bob, the back so short it blended into my undercut. I tucked the shock of white hair behind my ear. My boots were clunky combat boots. I slipped on my red-tinged glasses before leaving my interim bedroom, texting my parents that I would meet them at the front of the school. I took a vinyl sticker from my pocket of my hero name and slammed it over the rest of the letters in my first name so ‘Ray’ was only visible. I took the elevator down one floor – I needed to find the damn stairs!
Everyone was still in the common space with Aizawa when the elevator doors opened. Everyone looked as if they had been in a heated debate. I waved again and went to exit the dorms. “Hold it, Wylde. Did your temporary license come in?”
I flipped the pocket over my left breast and pulled out the Japanese card that the consulate in New York had issued for me. “Can I go now?”
“Be back before midnight,” Aizawa dismissed me with a limp wave of his hand. I spun on my heel, put my license away, and stalked out of the dorms, meeting my parents at the gate to the school. My mother, Katana, wore a skintight leather suit with a zipper down the front that was always open about mid-breast. She had two katanas on her back and a utility belt fitted with dozens of other blades. Her dark hair was pulled back and pinned up with two knives.
My father, Bullseye, had a quiver on his back and a bow at his hip. He wore just a simple grey turtleneck and pants just like mine, but they sat lower on his hips. His quirk was precision – he could hit anything. Even though my mother had blades herself, her quirk was ferrokinetics. She could manipulate metal and could use her swords from a vast distance.
“Ready,” my mother asked, eyeing me up and down. “How did it go meeting your classmates?”
“It didn’t,” I replied, leaving the school grounds with them. Katana used her quirk to manipulate the iron plates in all our shoes, sending us flying across the sky. I could do this myself. I am taking the spot of some kid who didn’t come back for a second year or whatever. Their classmates are not happy about that and haven’t said more than one sentence around me. That was what I wanted to say. “They weren’t around.”
“You’ll meet them soon; classes start tomorrow after all.” My father said as he flew beside me. “Was it section thirty-nine they were having trouble maintaining?” I touched the arm on my glasses – a display activating. A small map popped in the upper left corner of my vision while a rotating cast of villains that needed to be captured sat in my upper right.
“Forty-three, dear.” My mother eyed her husband before we started our descent. We landed on the top of an old building; the upper floors had been destroyed.
“I’m going out alone,” I stated, walking to the edge. My feet stuck to the ground, refusing to move forward. “I can handle myself!”
“I know you can, but this is your first time in Japan as a hero. Maybe next time you can go wandering off on your own.” Katana stated, letting my feet move. I frowned, walking behind my parents as we trenched through a barren part of town strewn with rubble. A boulder hurtled in our direction. My father quickly took out one of his explosive arrows and shot it at the rock, exploding it into hundreds of pieces. I raised my hand, stopping the rubble from exploding farther out before letting it drop to the ground. We took off running. A large villain jumped into the air, aiming straight for us. I took off to the left while Bullseye banked right, and Katana ran forward, unsheathing a sword. He soared above Mom, landing above her. Her sword made direct contact with him, and he was not harmed. I chuckled – it looked like my parents would have to leave this one to me.
The mug shots of the villains stopped moving, the one for this villain enlarging. Shiro Tanaka – Quirk Strength. He must be extra durable as well. Mom’s katanas just bounced off him. He picked up a large piece of rubble and threw it at me. I threw my right hand in front of me and stopped the boulder a few feet in front of me. I dropped my arm, turned my body to the side and kicked the debris back at the villain. It gained momentum and hit him right in the chest. I raised my arms up from my sides, and debris around us began to float. I threw my arms forward, the stone piling on top of the villain, pinning him to the ground. “I said I could take care of myself.”
My mom sighed as she called back her katanas. “Fine, just call us if you get lost.” Bullseye distanced himself from us as he called the authorities for pick-up. I gave them the peace sign as I turned and walked off.
-America-
I stood behind the sofa as a group of my classmates watched the morning news. “Pro Hero: Katana has returned to Japan after graduating from UA almost twenty years ago. Katana moved to America shortly after graduating and began working for the famed Avengers in New York. While Katana was gone, she married American Hero: Bullseye. Katana and Bullseye are in Japan assisting with the state of emergency here – and are accompanied by their hero-in-training daughter, Rogue.” The voice-over played with clips of our battle yesterday. I smirked; they had gotten a good shot of me stopping and kicking the boulder yesterday.
“I knew I recognized her,” the boy with very chunky elbows laughed, “she’s the telekinetic sidekick for Spiderman.” I let out a laugh – Parker had fanboys wherever you went. The group turned around to face me, their smile instantly fading when they saw me.
“Hey,” I offered, but they stared at me without offering anything back. “See you in class.” I rolled my eyes and left the dorm. What was their problem? There was no language barrier – I spoke Japanese. Did I need to rip out whatever collective stick was up their asses? I cracked my neck, walking past all the housing units to the school. It took me a few minutes past the bell to locate my class.
Aizawa stood at the front, his eye twitching, “what are you wearing, Wylde?”
“Your ugly ass uniform,” I stated. He pointed to my legs. “Oh. Well, you said I couldn’t wear pants.”
“So, you chose fishnets.” Aizawa sighed, dropping his head into his hand. “Just introduce yourself properly.”
I stood at the front of the room, sweeping my gaze over everyone. Not a single smile in the bunch. Cool. “I’m Ray Wylde - Rogue, I go to UA’s sister school in New York. I’m telekinetic. Hopefully, I’m not here for that long.” I strolled across the room, sitting in the only empty seat. The blonde boy who spoke yesterday sat in front of me, hunched over his desk.
Aizawa looked over the class, calling the roll before starting class. “Since you all have provisional licenses, you’ll be expected to help in the clean up efforts. Over ten thousand villains were released from several prisons, and very few have been apprehended again. Since All Might is on sabbatical this semester, those patrols will replace your hero training course.
“You may have noticed that our east wing has been repurposed. We have turned that into a temporary school for those who have evacuated to UA. Please be on your best behaviour this time, as you will all be living with the public for the foreseeable future.” Aizawa eyed the boy in front of me. He scoffed, leaning back in his chair. I suffered through class, waiting for the famous lunch rush meal that Mom had been so excited about. I hurriedly left the class at the lunch bell, following the crowd. We exited into a large cafeteria, all moving swiftly in a line to the front.
“Ray?”
I turned to face the voice, seeing my horned friend. “Pony? You’re still here?” She smiled, dragging a few of her friends to stand in line with us. Man, was it good to have someone here who wasn’t making a point to ignore me.
She nodded. “I decided to stay and help. But why are you here?” Her friends looked at us, confused, as we spoke in English. Pony probably wasn’t too confident in her Japanese skills yet despite being here for a year already, or was she using English since she was unsure of my competency?
I switched to Japanese as the line moved. “My parents came back to help and brought me here with them. Katana graduated from UA too.”
“Right,” Pony lit up. “Guys, this is Ray Wylder – she’s a friend from America.” I gave the group a wave.
“I’m Manga Fukidashi.” The taller male with a speech bubble for a head spoke.
The silver-haired boy thrust his thumb into his chest, “Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu.” He was going to be a tongue twister.
“I’m Itsuka Kendo, class rep for class B!” The ginger smiled, “are you here in the hero course too?”
“Yeah – they slotted me into class A since a student didn’t come back this year,” I affirmed, moving up in line with them.
“Right,” Tetsutetsu crossed his arms, “did he even come out of the hospital?” Was this kid in a coma? Why were they mad about a kid in a coma not returning to school yet?
“Anyway,” Pony hummed, “have you tried Lunch Rush’s food yet?”
I shook my head, “not yet. Mom couldn’t stop talking about it on the flight over. My expectations are high.” I watched over Kendo’s shoulder as my classmates entered the cafeteria. We continued to chat until we got to the front. I picked up tofu yakisoba and joined Pony with the rest of her class. She excitedly introduced me to every single person, and they were just as eager to meet me. What the hell was wrong with class A? Monoma had no issue bad-mouthing class A, either. We walked back to class together – the crispy and light tofu with the delectable soba was delicious. Pony gave me a hug before she scurried off to her class beside ours. Everyone was already in their seats, staring at their books or Aizawa, dead silent. I rolled my eyes, crossing the class to my seat. And that was how the week went – being ostracized like a leper by my new classmates. Every single day in our classroom, the cafeteria, the halls, or our dorms – not a fucking word.
I was getting sick and tired of this shit. I went out every day after class to give them all space and apprehended more villains, and my classmates could not even spare a ‘fuck off’. I sat at my desk, my heel tapping the ground incessantly.
“Everyone, get into groups of three.” Aizawa clicked his remote, and the details for a group project appeared on the blackboard. The project was about maximizing battle strategies for a team of three utilizing the quirks in your group. The class quickly grouped themselves for the project. I sat at my desk, eyeing the room. Everyone averted my eyes.
“Who can take Wylde in their group?” Aizawa looked over the class. They all avoided his gaze.
“I’ve had it,” I growled, standing up swiftly in my chair. No one turned their gaze to me, “I’m only here until these issues are resolved. Once that’s done, I’m out of here, and your friend can ‘hopefully’ come back. Until then, you’re all just going to have to fucking deal with it. Aizawa – I don’t need a group; I can do the project myself.” I stalked across the classroom to the door.
“If you leave –“ Aizawa started, turning his head to me.
I spun on the spot and threw my arms out to the side, “what! Expel me? Go, the fuck, ahead.” I turned and slammed the door behind me. I heard the class's textbooks and papers slam against the door after me. Oops – maybe a little too much oomph had been put into that exit. I quickly exited the school, returning to my room. I pulled out my case, changing into my hero suit. I waved my hand in my periphery, opening the option to call Parker. He picked it up on the last ring.
“Rogue, why are you calling me at one in the morning?” He was in his Spider suit, sitting on top of a building. From the view, it looked like a bridge as the river ran directly behind him.
“Please tell me that some shit is going down in New York, and you need me back there as soon as possible,” I begged, jumping off my balcony and into the air.
He laughed, taking his mask off. “Not liking Japan?”
“Japan’s fine – my temporary classmates are a whole different story.”
“Mmmm. You’re too strong for them, eh?”
“I don’t even know. I don’t know their quirks or their names. None of them will say one word to me. One of them was fanboying about you, and they stopped as soon as they saw me.”
“Maybe wear those specs to class later. See if my interface will scan them.”