Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Anna’s face hurt.

The rest of her hurt as well, but it was her face that was giving her the most trouble.

Her eyes were swollen to the point that she couldn’t see; the weight of her own blood streaming down blurred the little light that made it through her shattered vision.

Her right hand was crushed. Nothing she did would let her move it. From the corner of her eye she saw it: bruised black and blue, fingers twisted at an unnatural angle. A sharp, throbbing pain in her right leg reminded her that she hadn’t escaped the explosion that one of these monsters had set off earlier. Every breath was a strangled gasp for air, as she was sure at least one of her lungs was crushed. And as her head was jerked back, her vision swam.

“Nothing to say, little girl?” the voice of the freak that was pinning her down slithered into her ear. His mouth, lined with too many teeth that were sharper than should be possible, stretched into a thin, wide grin as he leaned closer towards Anna’s face. His eyes, lacking any detail apart from the flat dark blue colour, shone with hate and malice.

His skin was a pale green, and all along it were large unnatural sharp growths that Anna knew hurt like a bitch to be impaled on.

Her unit had been called in the early hours of the morning to deal with the mutant freak and his friends, and from the beginning, it had been a nightmare.

One of the freaks must have known they were coming, and with all the bullshit things they were able to do, she couldn’t pin down which one it was.

Her unit had been picked off quickly when they engaged. Her commanding officer, who she'd served with for years now, had been the first to die, as the rest of her unit was scattered around the shipyard. The cargo containers in which the mutant freaks had been hiding turned the mission into a fucking nightmare of a maze.

The air of the shipyard had been thick with the smell of salt and oil when the arrived, but now the heavy scent of iron hung all around. A reminder to Anna of those who had come with her and lost their lives.

Anna’s heart pounded in her chest, the pain a drastic reminder of how little time she had left. Her mind screamed at her, demanding that her body move, to fight, to do something, but her limbs felt too heavy, as though they were dead at her side. If she could just muster the strength to reach for her gun, fallen just out of reach, she’d be able to survive this.

Her vision swam as the freak pressed down more firmly into her neck, cutting off her already laboured breaths. Her chest spasmed, desperate for one more gasp of air. I can’t afford to black out, not now! Anna thought, trying to force the last amount of her strength into her arms.

She had to do something; she wasn’t going to die at the hands of this mutant freak who hadn’t earned the right to life.

As if sensing her thoughts the mutant’s mouth split even wider, as he leaned down towards Anna’s face. “You’re going to die here you fascist piece of shit!”

The weight on her neck increased, as the freak began in earnest to choke her. In a haze of panic, Anna found strength to move her arms.

Not towards the gun, that was a lost cause now. But as the creature had been pressing down on her, she felt the sharp, cold press on something on her belt. 

With a final strained effort her hand reached down, brushing the pin of her last grenade.

Ji-soo woke before her alarm.

She always did. No matter how late she stayed up the night before, her eyes would always snap open in the brief silence before the world stirred.

Old habits: hard to kill.

For barely a second she remained curled up under the covers, her mind racing. Today was the entrance exam, and while she didn’t feel nervous, something else clawed tightly at her chest. Fear? No, she didn’t fear failing, and even if she did she didn’t anticipate failure today. 

Frowning slightly, Ji-soo raised her hand to her chest. Excitement. That’s what it was. It had been a while since she’d felt it this strongly.

Rolling onto her back, Ji-soo stared at her roof for a moment, looking at the long shadows that the faint light from the street lamp near her room created. They hung in the same position for an eternity, never moving. But sometimes, in the early morning before the day started, Ji-soo almost expected something to crawl out of them.

Something with sharp teeth, and hate in its eyes.

Breathing in slowly, Ji-soo pushed her blanket off and stood.

Outside of her room, she could hear her brother already moving around. His movements echoed softly. The slow, faint whistle of the kettle, the soft sizzle of eggs frying. The smell of fish wafted heavily into her room, as it did most mornings.

Her middle school uniform had been laid out the night before. The small exam packet- detailing when and where she needed to be- sat neatly on her desk. She had already memorized it, but leaving things to chance wasn’t something she was known for, so that would be slipped into her bag along with her sports gear.

She ran her fingers along the soft fabric. For a moment she could almost hear the sound of marching boots, the weight of responsibility she couldn't place, like a distant echo of something long gone. But it passed quickly, swallowed by the present.

Changing as quickly as she could, Ji-soo entered into the bathroom, flicking the light on and waiting for the room to flare to life.

Slowly going through her morning routine was calming. Every action - brushing her short, dyed brown hair, cleaning her teeth, washing her face, and applying her skin care- seemed to take up more time in her mind than it had any right to. Every motion was deliberate, calculated to be the most efficient and take as little time as possible. It was when Ji-soo was alone like this that she truly felt the weight of time on her shoulders. It seemed so very vast, almost endless.

It was meditative.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Ji-soo adjusted her blazer, straightening a wrinkle out. For a fraction of a second too long- but still feeling like an eternity- she stared at her face, frowning.

Ji-soo pressed her fingers against the cool porcelain of the sink. The weight of what today was lingered in the back of her mind. She had been awake for a long time now, and that excitement she’d woken with had been slowly evaporating as the seconds passed.

The entrance exam had been her idea, and while her brother himself was a pro-hero, he wasn’t as excited about the idea of her becoming one as well.

But the call for movement, for something new- it was too hard to resist. Even if apart of her knew that it would be much of the same as always. More fighting. More waiting.

She was calm. She was collected. She was ready.

But still, her fingers lingered at her collarbone for a moment too long, as if searching for something that wasn’t there. A scar. A mark. A memory. Something.

But there was nothing.

There never had been.

Down the hallway, in the small kitchen she shared with her brother, his voice rang out, steady and familair. “Ji-soo breakfast is ready.”

Blinking out of a trance, Ji-soo looked away.

Her brother was a reminder of the present. He never let her linger to long in the long ago.

“Coming!”

Chapter Text

Isaka Kai, Ji-soo’s brother, was tall, muscular, and shark-like. He had pale, blue grey skin, gills running along the side of his throat, sharp teeth, and soft greeny- blue hair, unstyled and gently falling around his face.

While the general public might have been in shock to see Same no Ha -Shark’s Tooth- dressed in casual sweatpants, and an oversize t-shirt, for Ji-soo this was most of her mornings.

At least when her brother was home.

While Ji-soo was usually impossible to hear, years of training ingrained into her very soul, her brother knew that soul like no one else.

“Morning Soo. You sleep okay?”

“Fine.”

Kai gave a quick glance towards the eye bags which clearly denoted a restless night’s sleep. For half a moment, a frown crossed his face. But it was gone before anyone could catch it.

But Ji-soo saw.

Still Kai said nothing, just grinned as he placed a serving of Tamagoyaki down.

He knew she wouldn’t answer. So he never pressed.

Sliding into the seat across from him, she picked up her chop-sticks, aiming straight for the Natto to spread across her rice.

The siblings ate in silence, but every few seconds, Ji-soo caught her brother sending her concerned looks.

There and gone in an instant.

“Just say it,” Ji-soo finally grit out, already feeling a headache coming on.

“.... It’s not too late Soo. You don’t have to go through with this.”

“I know. But it’s what I want. Why can’t you accept it?”

“I don’t want to lose you.”

Time stretched out between siblings, as Ji-soo took in every detail of her brother's face. The slight tensing of his jaw. His breath, more rugged than it should be, caught in his throat, just for a heartbeat. It was all laid out for Ji-soo. Sharp. Clear. “.....We all lose the people we love Kai-nii.”

The rest of breakfast dragged on in silence, neither sibling happy with the answer.

Finally finishing his food, Kai picked up his bowl, and reached for Ji-soo’s.

“I’ll walk you to the station,” Kai muttered, grabbing the house keys and heading to the door.

Ji-soo followed without being asked. As she laced her shoes, her brother looked at her again — that long, quiet look he did sometimes. Not like a guardian. Not like a sibling, exactly. Something older. Sadder. Like she reminded him of someone else entirely. But he said nothing. And Ji-soo didn’t ask. They stepped outside together, the door closing behind them with a soft click.

The walk to the train station wasn't long, and Kai didn't try to talk her out of it again. Instead he filled the silence with mundane chatter. But Ji-soo saw all his aborted movements, lips tightening before loosening, throat bobbing, hand clenching once in a while.

Ji-soo tried to ignore it, trying to focus on memorising the people who walked past, timing how long it took for a leaf to flutter gently to the ground, committing every license plate that drove past to memory. 

The short walk unfolded at a crawl. 

As they stopped at a crossing waiting for the light to change, Ji-soo caught sight of an old Tom cat who lived nearby. It was crouched low, eyes staring with intent at a pigeon that sat cleaning its wings. 

Ji-soo watched as the cat crawled closer, and saw as right when the cat pounced, the bird noticed. 

The Tom cat would go hungry today. 

“You good?” Kai said, following her gaze. 

“He's getting slower…. We should put out some food for him.”

Kai snorted quietly, the first real grin of the day appearing. “We can't feed every sad cat you see Soo.”

Ji-soo smiled softly at her brother. 

As they arrived at the train station Kai turned to face Ji-soo, towering over her small frame.

“Do your best.”

“I will.”

As she started to turn away Kai quickly reached out to catch her shoulder, turning Ji-soo back to him. He straightened out her uniform with a small, sad smile. 

“Have fun.”

Grinning, Ji-soo nodded before heading towards the train, leaving her brother standing there. 

U.A was the largest and most prestigious hero school in Japan. It was also close to a 2 hour train ride from Chiba to Tokyo.

Ji-soo had brought with her 2 books she wanted to finish before arriving in Tokyo, and another for the ride home. 

She didn't want to stress her head by taking in too much information before the exam. 

The first book she brought was Heroes of our age: U.A's shining influence. While U.A was known for putting out powerhouses like All Might and Endeavour, it had also had huge success with training underground heroes.

It was still early in the morning, and much of the train was empty.

As she flipped through the pages, the gentle rocking back and forth of the bullet train calmed her. Focusing on her book, eyes staying steady on the page, she could almost lose herself.

By the time the train finally arrived at Ji-soo’s stop, both her books were finished and tucked away in her bag.

Heaving a grunt as she swung her pack back on, Ji-soo started to follow the route she had memories towards U.A.

When Ji-soo had first decided on U.A she had scanned every interview, every book, every mention of the institute as a school. She knew how many students were accepted into it yearly- around 160 split across the 4 different branches of the school- the known staff, the current and past principals, and the values that had built the school into what it was now.

She had obsessed over gathering as much information as she could, much to the concern of her brother. 

She also happened to memorise all the different routes she could take to get there from the station. She knew which route to take if she wanted to get something to eat or drink in the morning, which routes were busier, which routes were calmer.

What she hadn’t really expected was the size.

U.A was crazily big. The pictures she had seen online, and the photos from the brochure did not do it justice, for the insanity that was its pure size. 

Taking a quick, deep breath, Ji-soo straightened her blazer, sure the train ride had wrinkled it somewhat. 

Keeping her head high, eyes jumping from person to person- a tall muscular boy who was carrying what looked to be a shopping bag, a girl with long green hair who was going to end up with back problems, and floating school uniform(?)- Ji-soo breathed evenly and slowly, keeping her heart rate even. 

A mop of green hair caught the corner of her eye, she saw his foot catch it slow motion, his body losing balance, and tripping. At the same time she watched a cute round faced girl reach out towards him. 

He would be fine. 

Reaching the entrance, she found a few employees handing out IDs and booklets. Smiling, she walked towards an older looking man, bowing lightly. 

“Isaka Ji-soo from Fukuta Junior High School here to take the entrance exam for the hero course.”

The man nodded his head, printing something off of the computer before handing it to her. 

Her eyes quickly jumped down, taking in the information before jumping up to the man.

Examinee 2031- exam grounds E.

“Here is your exam packet for the practical. It contains everything you need to know.”

“Actually, can I grab a second one?”

The examiner blinked slowly at Ji-soo, hesitantly reaching for another.

Smiling brightly, Ji-soo offered another, slightly deeper bow. “Thanks!”

“Written exam starts in 30 minutes, you need to head to hall C.”

Nodding, Ji-soo walked off, finding a quiet space to lay everything out.

Sitting down, Ji-soo got to work tearing the two booklets up, placing them neatly next to each other, so that all the different pages were placed in front of her.

Breathing in deeply, Ji-soo activated her quirk, slowing the already snail-like pace of the world into molasses.

A bird's wing, mid beat, hung still, conversation all around her, already dragging, halted mid syllable, the dust, floating gently in the air, frozen.

In one second there are one thousand milliseconds. In one minute there are sixty thousand.

Ji-soo's quirk allowed her to feel each of these milliseconds ticking by. To her one second felt like 16 minutes. 

960 minutes would pass for her before a minute had even passed for everyone else. 

In the span of 2 minutes, she would have lived a whole day.

Her quirk was always somewhat activated, everything moving at a slower pace, but when she focused, the world froze. 

Her quirk allowed her to observe everything, take as long as she wanted to understand the finer details. She saw every movement before it happened, absorbed books in a matter of seconds, dreaded every conversation as it took hours to finish.

But it also meant hours of frozen loneliness, trapped in her own mind.

Sitting quietly in the corner of U.A, the entrance doors in sight, Ji-Soo absorbed every detail of the booklets hundreds of times.

Ji-Soo fought back a yawn as she stared down at Present Mic. She knew the man was a teacher here, but seeing him in person had halted her mid-step for a moment. Hours had passed for her now, and the awe had long passed.

“What’s up U.A candidates? Thanks for tunin’ in to me, your school DJ! Come on and let me hear Ya!” Present Mic called out from the stage. Ji-Soo grinned crookedly as no-one followed it up with any noise, most likely all tired from the long exam they’d all just completed.

Present Mic didn’t seem to let it faze him though, “Keeping it mello, huh? That’s fine I’ll skip straight to the main show. Let’s talk about how this practical exam is going to go down, okay? ARE YOU READY? YEAH!”

Whatever awe Ji-soo had stilled had evaporated as Present Mic dragged out his speech. All the work Ji-Soo had done to not get a headache earlier in the day, gone.

“Like your application said, today you rockin’ boys and girls will be out there conducting ten-minute mock battles in super-hip urban settings. Gird your loins,” Gird your loins? Really? “my friends. After I drop the mic here, you'll head to your specified ground, sound good? Okay”

“Okay, okay, let's check out your targets. There are three types of faux villains in every battle center.”

Ji-Soo frowned. No, there were four different types of villains listed in the exam packet. She’d read through it multiple times, and could recite it from memory if asked.

Ji-Soo listened passively as Present Mic explained the purpose of the exam was to take out as many robots as possible, with each having a different score.

Thinking back on the heroes she had read about this morning, Ji-Soo was confused over how some of the underground heroes -Midnight, Eraserhead, Blank Page, Gray Matter- would have been able to pass this exam if it was just about brute strength.

In the row in front of her, Ji-Soo watched a hand raise up, as a tall boy stood slowly up. His uniform was nicely pressed, his hair styled casually. There was a formality about him that spoke of old money to Ji-Soo.

“Excuse me, sir, but I have a question.”

“Hit me!”

“On the printout, you've listed four types of villains. Not three.” Ah good , Ji-Soo thought, someone else is going to ask that.

“With all respect, if this is an error on official U.A materials, it is shameful. We are exemplary students. We expect the best from Japan's most notable school. A mistake such as this won't do. Additionally, you with the unkempt hair,” he turned and pointed at another student. Ji-Soo’s eyes tracked his movement, landing on the same boy she saw fall early. “You've been muttering this entire time. Stop that. If you can't bother to take this seriously, leave. You're distracting the rest of us,” the green haired boy muttered a soft apology as the people around him laughed.

Ji-Soo frowned. She saw the jittery movements the boy kept making. He couldn’t keep still. He, like many she had observed here, was obviously nervous, and it was rude for someone trying to be a hero to single him out amongst all others.

Present Mic quieted the crowd down, explaining that the 4th robot was a 0 pointer, and was worth nothing but rather an obstacle they would have to overcome.

It didn’t make sense to Ji-Soo that they would have a massive robot that was purely there for a distraction, but for the moment she couldn’t figure out U.A’s reasoning.

Behind her, Ji-Soo heard two boys comparing the exam to a video game. If U.A was setting this exam up like a video game, it didn’t feel right to her.

Most people saw being a hero as a flashy job. They saw the epic fights between hero and villain, collected the merch, watched the T.V shows, and adored the top 10.

Ji-Soo knew it was more than that.

An old phantom pain, something missing, something gone, rang through her.

People died being heroes.

“Good luck! Hope you practised more than just hitting books!”

Waiting a few seconds to make it seem natural, Ji-Soo stood and joined the crowd of students exiting the hall. She followed the flow of girls as they all headed towards a common change room.

All around her, girls were quietly chatting to one another. Middle school friends wishing one another luck, new acquaintances encouraging each other, rivals daring the other to fail.

It all felt so normal and mundane. And million miles away from the life Ji-Soo lived.

People were too slow to keep up with her, her mind having finished the conversation before it had started.

Only her brother had been able to put up with her, and for him, she’d learned to speed up somewhat so that they could have normal conversations.

As she exited the change rooms she caught sight of the green haired boy heading towards the same bus as the boy who had reprimanded him.

Tough break , she thought. It would shake his already anxious nerves to be in the same ground as him.

Getting onto bus E, Ji-Soo found an empty seat and started to plan.

Her quirk, Distorted Temporal Perception, wouldn’t allow her to take these robots down with physical force. Her body still reacted at the same speed as others without a speed quirk,  but she could see the micro movements before the movement happened, letting her react accordingly. Her mind didn’t actually process information faster than others, she just had individually more time.

She had read in the booklet handed out this morning that each robot had a hidden switch which would turn them off.

She wouldn’t need strength to pass, already her mind was planning.

As she sat quietly, a tall boy with unkempt lavender hair, and eye bags that put her own to shame came headed towards her seat.

“This taken?” He asked, reaching up to rub the back of his neck.

“No, all yours,” Ji-Soo said with a soft smile. Manners her brother's voice rang in her mind. “I’m Isaka Ji-soo.”

“Shinso Hitoshi.”

As Shinso sat down, Ji-Soo felt the quiet stretch.

“Are you nervous for the exam?” she asked, breaking the silence.

“Ah, yeah. My quirks not really good for fighting robots. You?”

Ji-Soo counted a few moments, trying to make the space between when he finished talking and she started up feel natural. “My quirk’s not good for this either… But I’m not nervous.”

“Oh? Why?”

Tilting her head to the side, Ji-Soo smiled. “Did you read the booklet? You don’t need to destroy them. Just stop them.”

Shinso frowned at that, reaching into his pocket to pull out a rolled up version of the booklet.

“Page 5. If it helps,” the whole booklet had been memorised this morning.

As Shinso read through the section about the off switches, Ji-Soo planned.

The bus ride took forever, but really it was less than 10. She’d spend more time in the battleground.

As the bus pulled to a stop, Shinsou got up first. “So these switches…. How do you plan on finding them? It says they’re different on each robot.”

Ji-Soo laughed quietly to herself. “I’ll need less than a moment to find it.”

Shinso made a sound in the back of his throat as they got off of the bus together.

“That's your Quirk?”

“Kind of. My Quirk lets me preserve time differently to others. It’s already been a very long day. What about you?”

“Ah, well it’s no use here, but it’s brainwashing,” Shinsou muttered quietly. She saw concern and fear flash across his face, before it settled back into its passive look.

“That would be useful for an underground hero. No chance of anyone getting hurt.”

Surprise flicked quickly over Shinso’s face, his tired eyes widening a fraction, before it was all swept away, hidden once again.

“Yeah I guess. Won’t help me here though. I’m planning on getting into general studies and transferring across.”

Shinso didn’t have the build of someone who had done any training leading up to the exam. He looked stringy and tired. If he was planning on transferring later in the year he would have to prove himself in more ways than those who got in from this exam.

“I wish you the best of luck, Shinsou.”

Again surprise flashed across Shinso’s face, but Ji-Soo had already moved on. The gate to the exam ground had shifted, just slightly, but enough for Ji-Soo to know it was opening up.

Without saying another word, she bolted for the gate, slipping in just when the gap was wide enough for her.

Chapter Text

Time stopped. Ji-soo was already five steps into the arena before anyone could blink. She entered alone.

Kai always told her that her Quirk was cool. Catching something mid air, dodging strikes as they came at her, and being able to answer any maths questions instantly. But Ji-soo hated her Quirk.

It isolated her.

Staring out at the large cityscape, Ji-soo took everything in. 

To the mundane eye it may look like a perfect replica of any major city block, but Ji-soo saw the lack of details. No street signs indicating where they were, no names on businesses, no trash littering the street, and a quick glance into a window revealed that the building was empty. 

The city was just an elaborate stage designed to be destroyed.

The first wave of robots had already been set up. A range of 1 and 2 pointers all focusing their attention on Ji-soo.

Sometimes it wasn't an advantage to be the first to move. 

“Fuck.”

She saw the micro movements of each robot, their attention all focused on her. Ji-soo’s eyes flickered left and right, before she ducked behind a building as the first wave of blasts were set off destroying the space she had just been standing. 

She needed to get behind the robots and away from their line of sight.

Most cities exist on a grid, and are easy to navigate after a few visits. The other examinees wouldn't have the time to become familiar with all the twists and turns of the arena, especially as it lacked any noticeable details.

Ji-soo had already mapped out the immediate area. 

Right. Left. Down a side street and she was behind the group of robots.

In the time it had taken for her to slip into the arena, be targeted by the robots, and maneuver behind them, the gates had fully opened. The fastest, stupidest, or bravest of the other examinees were only now racing in. 

The robots shifted. Their attention shifting from trying to locate Ji-soo, to locking on to new targets.

With a burst of speed, Ji-soo slipped out from one of the side streets. She'd located the hidden switch on a few of the robots when she'd first locked eyes on them. They weren’t obvious, nothing like a big glowing red button, but they were by no means impossible to spot if one was looking hard enough. 

Now, getting a view from behind, she saw several more.

Ji-soo’s body was far slower than her mind. It was the nature of her Quirk; her mind racing a million miles ahead while her body staggered behind. But she knew that. Her brother, even though he prayed she’d change her mind, also knew that Ji-soo’s body wasn’t built for destruction. It was with that in mind that she had been trained.

Slipping under one of the large scorpion-like 2 pointers, she used the momentum she had built up to launch herself at its leg, springboarding off of it to grab hold of some of the plating on its underbelly.

It was a good grip. She’d planned the angle perfectly, but it was still smooth, polished metal. Hard to cling to.

The fingers of her left-hand strained as her right hand let go and reached out towards the off switch- a lever. With a sharp breath in, her right-hand wrapped around it and jerked backwards.

Instantly she felt the shift. The robot was off. Nothing was keeping it up.

Dropping down, she used the force of her fall to hit the ground and roll, just in time as a second after she was in the clear, the robot came crashing down.

2 points.

Behind her, the first wave of other examinees finally engaged with the robots. She saw a boy, a few inches taller than her, his body a glittering silver, crash through 2 of the 2 pointers. No plan, no strategy. Just raw strength.

He grinned.

She didn’t.

Not enough.

Her eyes jumped from examinee to examinee. Too many, too few robots. If she stayed here she’d lose points to those with strength based quirks.

Pivoting around, Ji-Soo raced further into the city, ignoring the other students.

Shinso hadn’t been in the group. 

She hoped he was okay.

Racing further into the city, Ji-soo could faintly hear the mechanic whirling of robots. She couldn’t compete with physical quirks, so she would need to get to the robots before others.

This unfortunately meant that she would be the sole target of attack.

Something that became very clear, very quickly to Ji-soo is that the robots were not smart.

Ji-soo ran, behind her a 2 pointer followed in close pursuit, in front of her a large, tank-like 3 pointer blocked the way.

Ji-soo didn’t slow down, didn’t change course, didn’t hesitate. She ran straight at the 3 pointer.

A sizzling sound, indicating the 2 point was about to shoot its laser, started up. She needed to time this down to the millisecond if she didn’t want to get hit.

The tiniest twitch of her lips accompanied Ji-soo as she jumped on top of the 3 pointer, and started running down its back.

The metal was hard and slippery, her feet almost losing their balance as she raced across its solid casing.

The laser whirled. Ji-soo dived to the side at the last second, the searing heat of the lazer close enough to feel.

But the 3 pointer was dead. That was what was important.

25 points.

Better, Ji-soo thought, but I can do more.

Not taking a moment to rest, Ji-soo raced towards the 2 pointer.  It had been luck that allowed her to stumble across the 2 pointer with the most obvious, most easy to reach off switch.

She’d been leading it around, staying just out of reach of it as it took down its robotic comrades in arms. All the hard work was simplified.

It had 10 seconds before it was able to fire its laser again. Plenty of time for Ji-soo to duck between its legs, grab the off switch and shut it down.

As she raced towards it she thought about the interaction she’d had before stumbling upon her new robotic friend.

A girl, a little taller than her, whose Quirk seemed to let her stretch her limbs to ridiculous lengths. She’d been scared, hiding from two 1 pointers as they closed in on her.

Instinct, born and trained in another life had kicked in. It had cost her time, and only rewarded her with 2 points, but the smile on the girl's face as Ji-soo directed her back to the entrance had been reward enough.

The memory of the girl's relieved smile as she was saved, and the fear and the gratitude that had warred on her face, fueled Ji-soo as she grabbed the lever and yanked, leaving the 2 pointer useless. 

As the 2 point shut down, crumbling to the floor, Ji-soo dodged out of the way. 

27.

Bending over, Ji-soo breathed deeply as she gripped her knees, and made the calculated decision to take a few moments to catch her breath.

She needed a physical moment, just a second to rest. Ji-soo would give anything to be able to just close her eyes for a minute and stop the constant sensory input. But she couldn’t afford it.

As she breathed deeply in through her nose, she could just make out the sounds of other students catching up to this area.

Gritting her teeth, Ji-soo stood and spun around, heading further into the city. She’d covered a few blocks, and everytime she caught sight of other examinees, she would change course, heading deeper and deeper. She didn’t have time to compete with them.

The exam had already been going on for 8 minutes. Ji-soo had 2 more before the timer was called, and so far there had been no appearance of the 0 pointer.

She still couldn’t figure the exam out. Heroes weren’t just pure strength-see-how-many-things-you-can-destroy. They had strategy, and thought. Rarely would they come across villains where they would need to go all out brute strength. Not to mention there was nothing that indicated rescue, negotiation, or critical thinking.

Shiketsu had a more in depth exam process, looking at multiple different factors. Maybe it would be the better choice.

As the last few minutes ticked by, Ji-soo slowly found herself heading back towards the entrance of the exam.

The other examinees had spread out, heading down different streets and alleys in an effort to avoid one another, not wanting to lose any points.

This had led to the unfortunate circumstance of Ji-soo being only a block away from the entrance when the 0 pointer arrived.

It was huge. Larger than the tallest buildings in the mock city, with a head that vaguely resembled a gun, and 7 glowing sensors.

Looking up at the monstrosity, Ji-soo’s body actually stopped for a full 5 seconds as she watched the gargantuan robot press down into the sides of buildings, shattering them.

Is U.A. trying to kill someone? Ji-soo thought in shock, her eyes jumping to the debris that started to fall.

She caught sight of someone standing directly in line of the rubble. If they didn’t move they would die.

Fuck.

Having already wasted precise milliseconds, Ji-soo’s body acted. Pushing everything she had left into her legs, Ji-soo bolted across the short space between her and the other examinee, slamming into his body hard enough to force the two of them to crash into the ground. Behind them she heard the crash as the building rubble hit the space they had only just left.

“You okay?” She asked, staring down into the wide, frightened eyes of the boy she had just saved.

He didn’t speak, just nodded his head quickly and silently.

“We need to move,” she said, scrambling off of the boy and pulling him to his feet.

He nodded again, racing off without looking back. “Okay, rude,” Ji-soo muttered to herself.

She’d wasted her own time escaping to help the boy, and the 0 pointer had started advancing.

If i die here, at least Kai can sue and live the rest of his life in comfort, Ji-soo though, darting off in the same direction as the boy she had saved.

All around her people were panicking. The 1-3 pointers had been big, but doable. They hadn’t stared down at the examinees as if they were god gazing at ants. This thing was Zeus here to slay the petty mortals under his foot.

As the crowd raced to safety, Ji-soo caught out of the corner of her eye a mass of wild lavender curls.

Shinso.

He looked tired, sweat making his uniform cling to him, dirt covering his face, and a streak of crimson on his face indicated he’d been hurt.

He was slower than the others. Nothing about him screaming that he had done any training for today.

No-one else would be fast enough to see it, but Ji-soo was. His eyes scrambling left to right in fear, his mind obviously not paying attention to his surroundings. She saw it before it happened, the uneven, destroyed ground, his legs not used to this intense exercise, his mind distracted. He would fall in a matter of moments.

Ji-soo had already course corrected, darting over.

As soon as his leg hit an unnatural angel and his body started to crumble, Ji-soo scooped him up, throwing him over her shoulder fire-man style– it was the most effective way to carry someone in a disaster– and darted off to the side.

Her arms and legs strained with the effort of keeping up the intense pace with the added weight, but she wouldn’t stop.

Finally, the alarm blasted, and the robots froze.

The exam was over.

Coming to a slow halt, not wanting to trip or fling Shinso from her arms, Ji-soo took deep, laboured breaths, before gently putting Shinso down, and bending over.

For a full minute she didn’t look at him, her eyes closed to block everything out. Time still passed slowly when she did this, but the lack of visual input did wonders for her throbbing head.

Her body and her mind were tired. She hadn’t been hit by anything, too fast for anything to land, but her muscles were tired. She’d gone beyond what her body was capable of today, and she’d be paying the price for the next few days.

She’d done everything she could, coming in at 34 points in total. It felt like a lot, but because she’d been avoiding people the whole time she couldn’t be sure if it really was.

Ji-soo just wanted to go home, take something for the pain in her head, and sleep. But she had to get home first.

Finally, her heart starting to calm down, Ji-soo, still bent over, asked, “You good?”

“Uh, yeah… I’m okay, thanks…. You?”

A strange, painful laugh escaped from Ji-soo bent over form. “I feel like I'm going to puke and have a headache so bad I think my brain is going to start leaking out my ear, but yeah. I’m good. Did you get any points?”

“Ah yeah, one or two.”

Finally standing up, she caught Shinso’s wide eyes. 

Ji-soo nodded her head, a grave expression on her face, her voice dry. “Everything has an off switch.”

“Now Harada Ji-soo, where are we putting her?” Midnight asked, staring at the screen as the official middle school photo of the girl was displayed.

She didn’t look like much, Midnight thought, especially not compared to her brother.

Tired brown eyes with deep under eye bags, short brown hair that hung loosely around her round face which made her look more like a boy then a girl, and a barely perceptible smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Other than that her face was devoid of any expression, her blank eyes staring off into the distance.

Compared to her lovely exotic older brother, Shark’s tooth, she was boring.

But Midnight had seen her in the exam. Under her baggy clothing the girl was packing nothing but strong, built muscles. The type that was only made through dedication and hard work. This didn’t even mention the tactical aspects of her. In a few years with the right training, she would be dangerous.

“Judging by her non-combative mental Quirk it would be only logical she went with Shota,” Snipe said, his voice taking on a mocking mimicry of Eraserhead’s.

Said man only curled deeper into his sleeping bag, staring at the image on the screen.

“Harada already has a good handle on her quirk. Every movement was planned and took the least amount of time and energy,” Eraserhead droned. 

“She earned an impressive amount of villain points for someone without a combat quirk, and the rescue points she racked up are also very impressive,” Vlad said.

Midnight hummed. That was true, Harada had earned 34 villain points in total, using a combination of tactical planning, quick thinking, and even quicker reflexes. 

When she had first started luring the 2 pointer around and crawling all over the other robots, Midnight had been surprised. Considering that Harada didn’t have a destructive Quirk, or any weapons, it was a brilliant move to use the robots' own weapons against each other.

Her heroics had also been noted, with Harada jumping in several times to help out others, with the most notable being when the 0 pointer had attacked.

She rescued not one, but two students, even going as far to throw one across her shoulder and carry him to safety. Her steps hadn’t faltered for a moment.

“Harada-Chan is an interesting case. Her application came with an addendum by her brother,” Nezu said, before taking a sip of his tea and offering the teachers a smile.

“Oh? What sort of addendum did Kai have?” Midnight asked, leaning in. Her mind flashed to Harada Kai, he was a wonderful hero, but more importantly, he was amazing eye candy.

“Kai-Kun wanted to have an interview with myself before they accepted U.A. He didn’t go into much details, but it was clear that Ji-soo would only be attending if this was met. He was more insistent than usual about this. I’ve already arranged to have the siblings in the day after acceptance letters arrive,” Nezu explained. Midnight caught his tail twitching; whatever the siblings wanted to talk about excited the deranged animal.

It didn’t escape her notice that Nezu hadn’t actually said what the addendum was about, or if he knew why the siblings wanted a meeting. And judging from the dry look Eraserhead was giving their principal, he had caught that as well.

“Should we wait to place Harada-Chan until after your meeting then?” Vlad asked.

“No, I think not. Shota-Kun will be her teacher, pending her acceptance. If she and her brother decide to go elsewhere, Koda Koji will take her spot. I think that's acceptable.” 

Vlad nodded as her file was placed in a stack of the other 1-A students.

“Now onto the next student…..”

Chapter Text

“Are you sure I look okay Kai?” Ji-soo asked as she once again fiddled with her brown jacket’s hem.

Rolling his eyes, Kai replied, “We’re already standing in U.A now, Soo. If you had wanted to change that time is long gone.”

“I know that, but I just feel so informal for meeting principal Nezu.”

Ji-soo had gotten her acceptance letter into U.A yesterday, and with a staggering 34 villain points combined with an impressive 30 rescue points, she’d scored high enough to make it into the top 10.

Actually at 64 points she’d gotten 6th place, just 1 point of tying for 5th. Something that Kai hadn’t stopped gushing about.

He’d been obsessive since Ji-soo had dragged her aching body back from the exam, hovering like a mother duck.

Everytime Ji-soo had turned around he’d been there, staring with big, concerned eyes as he piled blankets onto her, pushed food and drink into her hands, and ushered her back into her room and to bed.

It had been nice the day after, but after a week it was suffocating.

Along with her acceptance letter, Principal Nezu had included an invitation to the school to have a one-on-one meeting with him, regarding the addendum to her accepting the enrollment.

It had been Ji-soo’s idea to set the meeting up, and even though Kai knew what it was about, he was still nervous. What she wanted to explain to Principal Nezu was….delicate, to say the least. If this conversation went sideways, there might be no way to fix it.

U.A was quiet for early March. The school year hadn’t let up yet for high school, and there should still be classes in session, but as Ji-soo and Kai walked the empty halls they heard nothing.

The silence was only broken by Kai, his voice tight. “Hey…..” Ji-soo’s eyes flickered to him, taking in his apprehension. “You know you’re not doing this alone, yeah?”

Ji-soo sat with that for a few moments- to her, the milliseconds ticking away. Since she’d come back into Kai’s life, he’d always been hovering. Constant reassurances that he would always be there for her, that she wasn’t alone. He did his best.

But Ji-soo’s soul always felt so devastatingly alone.

She loved Kai. He was her brother. But she wasn’t his sister.

She could never be her.

“I know Kai. Thanks.”

Standing at Principal Nezu’s door, simply labeled Principal , Ji-soo straightened her back, and once again fixed her jacket.

Kai reached out, his hand itching slowly towards her shoulder. She let it connect.

“No matter what happens today, I’ve got your back,” Kai said, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“I know…. But on the off chance this goes bad, I say we flee to Korea. I miss Kimchi.”

“We had Kimchi last week.”

“I meant good Kimchi.”

Kai barked a laugh, as Ji-soo’s hand reached out for the door, knocking lightly.

“Come in!”

One last moment to calm her nerves, Ji-soo opened the door and stepped in.

Principal Nezu’s office was large and simple.

There were two large stone grey couches sat facing each other with a coffee table between them, a pot of what smelled like some sort of tea, and a few mugs set up. There was also a large desk with 2 chairs sat in front of a large window.

Bookcases lined the walls, all filled with what Ji-soo could see were academic texts. Most were written in Japanese, and few in Mandarin, a large section in English, and scattered through she caught glimpses of other languages. French, German, a few in Arabic. Principal Nezu spoke many languages.

“Ah! Kai-Kun, Isaka-Chan! Thank you for coming!” Principal Nezu said, his voice high pitched and cheery. Nezu sat behind the large desk, elevated on his chair.

Ji-soo would never admit it, but it was a little funny seeing his tiny spot of white behind the size of the desk.

“Thank you for making the time to see us, and so quickly after the exam,” Ji-soo replied, bowing rigidly and formally. Her voice sounded stiff and distante to her own ears. She hoped the Principal didn’t pick up on it, but knowing his advanced intellect, it was likely he saw more than even she did.

“I must say I was very intrigued to see Kai-Kun’s request for a meeting. There was not a shred of doubt from him that you wouldn’t make it in, only the acknowledgement that you wouldn’t be attending if this meeting didn’t take place. That’s not the kind of faith one gives out lightly,” Principal Nezu said, hopping off of his chair and coming around in front of the desk. “It truly warmed my heart to see one of our former students so confident in his sister's abilities. Tea?” he asked, as he headed towards the couches.

“Yes please,” Ji-soo said quietly, as she took the unspoken prompt to sit.

Kai followed slowly behind her.

“Ji-soo’s always been smart, so I never doubted she’d pass the written exam, and she’s well trained in how to deal with things larger and more dangerous than her,” Kai said as he took the offered cup.

“I’m sure coming from her sort of background would instill the importance of being prepared,” Nezu said mildly as he sipped his tea, either unaware-unlikely- or not caring-more likely- for the way that Kai’s shoulders siffend.

Ji-soo blinked. He’d done a background check.

“I’ll admit to being very curious about the circumstances that led to you flying out to South-Korea several years ago and returning with Isaka-Chan here. But it’s not my place to judge how families are made,” Nezu continued in that same mild, yet somehow pleasant, tone.

“That’s what we would like to talk to you about, sir,” Ji-soo said, forcing her eyes not to flicker off of Nezu’s face.

“I admit I thought it might have something to do with your past Isaka-Chan.”

“It is.”

“Well, don’t let me keep you then. What would you like to discuss?”

“My Quirk.”

Nezu hummed lightly, “Distorted Temporal Perception, a bit of a mouthful isn’t it? But a lovely Quirk. What about it?”

“I told her to call it timeslip,” Kai muttered next to her, trying to relieve some tension. Ji-soo ignored him.

“No. Not Distorted Temporal Perception.”

At that Nezu’s head tilted to the side slightly, his eyes narrowing the tiniest amount.

“You are only registered to have one Quirk, Isaka-Chan.”

“Yes…. I learned a long time ago not to register my other Quirk. Didn’t end well for me.”

Nezu sat and stared at Ji-soo, and she swore she could see him thinking as small pieces of the conversation started to form a picture in his head.

“I think of Distorted Temporal Perception as my second Quirk. My first….. My first is called reincarnation.”

“Reincarnation?”

“Yes sir. This isn’t the first life I’ve lived. It’s actually my 8th. The reason Kai flew out to South-Korea seven years ago was because in my last life I was Isaka Ami. His sister.”

Ji-soo’s eyes didn’t leave Nezu as he processed this information, but she heard the sharp inhale from Kai sitting next to her. He both loved and hated being reminded of the sister who had died so young.

Nezu didn’t flinch under Ji-soo’s gaze. The only indication that he was surprised, if that’s what it was, was the slight raising of his eyebrows, as he lifted his cup of tea and took a slow, measured sip.

“Fascinating.”

It was one simple word, but Ji-soo’s tense muscles loosened. She knew of Nezu’s history, and while he had been unlikely to throw her in a lab and run test after test on her, she hadn’t ruled it out.

“And at what age did you become aware of your Quirk?”

“Usually around 2-5 I start to get memories of who I was before. I was about 3 in this life when they started to return to me. It’s fractured and confusing at first, but as the brian continues to develop, so do the memories.”

“Oh? It’s not the same in every life?”

“No,” Ji-soo said, shaking her head. “Every brain works differently. I have memories of being other people, but I’m not the same person every life. I’ve been angry, I’ve been smart, I’ve been dumb, I’ve been kind. Different chemicals within the brain, different pathways, different genetics. They all make up who I will be. Kai can attest that I’m not Ami.”

Again, Kai flinched.

“This is fascinating, and so unprecedented! You said you no longer register your Quirk, why is that?”

Here, Ji-soo fought back a flinch of her own. Memories of her life as Elijah were generally pleasant, right up till the last week of it.

“One of my past lives, my third in fact, they were the first to connect what was happening to me as a Quirk. I said I’d been smart before, and I can’t compare the way I thought as Elijah- their name- to the way I think now. It’s like comparing a supercomputer to an abacus.”

Elijah had been brilliant. She’d been kind, funny, and charming when she’d worn that name and face. And smart. So incredibly smart. She wished she’d had more time with them.

“This was only about 50 years after the luminescent baby was born, so Quirks were still new. I registered my Quirk as reincarnation with the Canadian government. A week later I was fleeing for my life. I died maybe 10 days after the registration. I haven’t registered it since then.”

Nezu gently placed his cup down, staring at Ji-soo with soft eyes, but behind that softness Ji-soo saw a quiet calculating look. “I am very sorry to hear that Isaka-Chan. You have my promise that you will never know fear like that within U.A,” he said softly, and Ji-soo believed him.

It had been a main concern of her’s for years, persistent into each new life.

“I understand why you have not registered your Quirk, or spoken about it to others. Am I correct in assuming that Kai-Kun is the only person to know about it?”

“Besides Kai I’ve told nobody about it for 25 years, I think. I haven’t told anyone in this life or when I was Ami, and only one person from the life before her.”

“It must be a terrible lonely existence to lead Isaka-Chan.”

“...It can be.”

“And I’m guessing your Temporal Quirk doesn’t help either.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“You were correct to do what you've done Isaka-Chan, and I don't believe you should register your Quirk now, but I would like your permission to inform your teachers about it, so that they may help you in the best way possible.”

“...I told you about my ability to reincarnate today because I know the danger secrets like this can have. If I didn’t want to be a hero, it would have stayed with me till the grave. I trust you, and this institute to make me into the best hero I can be….But will they still see me as me? Or will they look at me and see someone playing at being a child?”

“Do you think of yourself as a child Isaka-Chan? It wouldn’t be unreasonable to see yourself as something more, you have the experience of people older than yourself, do you not?”

“Yes, but they’re not my experience. I’m 14. Not 14 plus the 10 years I was Ami plus everyone else. I’m 14, and I want to try to be my age.”

“I can assure you, your teachers will treat you the same as your other peers Isaka-Chan.”

“Then, if you think it is the right action, then yes. You may inform my teachers.”

“I think only your homeroom teacher needs to know. They will be the one in charge of you, and helping to mold you into the hero you will one day be.”

“Of course, Principal Nezu.”

“Now, if you do not mind, I have many questions I am dying to ask.”

“Of course. Ask away, but I hold the right to refuse.”

Chapter Text

Ji-soo looked at her school-uniform, squinting her eyes as she tilted her head side to side.

Nope, she thought, no matter that angle I look at it from, I still don’t look like a hero.

The blazer sat stiffly on her shoulders, a size too big. The skirt was a little too short for comfort.

She shifted left and right, watching as the fabric moved. Each second lasted longer than it should. 

Ji-soo wasn’t a big fan of skirts, and would rather have bought the boys uniform. Pants were so much more comfortable.

Ami had loved skirts. She was frilly and bright and very feminine. Sometimes Kai forgot that she and Ami didn’t like the same things.

Downstairs Kai was making breakfast. Considering that he hadn’t really wanted her to become a hero, he had been in a surprisingly good mood since their conversation with Nezu.

Fiddling with her tie, Ji-soo walked into the kitchen.

“Morning sleeping beauty,” Kai said with a grin, as he loaded his plate with fish. “You excited for today?”

“Yeah. I want to see what kind of Quirks my classmates have.”

“I wonder if you have any classmates with mental Quirks. We didn’t in my year level….” Kai muttered.

Shrugging, Ji-soo reached for her rice.

Glaring, Kai pushed more food towards her. “You need to have a bigger breakfast. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you skipping the last few days.”

Ji-soo smiled as she indulged Kai. He was more nervous about today than she was.

“Text me if you’re planning on going out with your new classmates and will be late, okay?” Kai said as she slipped her shoes on.

“I doubt I’ll do anything but head straight home, but sure. On the off chance I decide to socialise, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you.”

Ji-soo smiled at Kai, trying to convey a sense of calm she didn’t think she was feeling. She took a breath, letting it draw out. The world felt more sluggish than usual today.

Maybe she was nervous.

She’d been to many different schools in her multitude of lives, so this wasn’t anything really new.

“Have fun.”

“I’ll try.”

U.A hadn’t gotten any smaller since Ji-soo had last been there.

The buildings still loomed, large and impressive as Ji-soo entered in through the gate. Around her other students stood in small groups, catching up after their short reprieve of school.

They all looked older, second years at least.

Most of the first years, like herself, would have already headed to their classrooms. It was unlikely, considering how hard it was to get into U.A, that many people from the same middle school would end up together.

New friendships would need to be forged.

As she headed into the building, she dodged out of the way of an upperclassmen who ran past her laughing, his shoes hitting the ground in a slow rhythmic beat.

“Sorry ‘bout that!” he called as he continued on his way.

He continued on, crashing into the back of a girl with what looked like dragonfly wings, as the pair laughed together. 

Ji-soo exhaled. She didn’t feel nervous….just aware.

There was so much to do today. So many things to learn.

As she walked by the pair she kept her head up, her eyes darting around as she walked. Clocking everything.

When she found her classroom, class 1-A, she found it to already be mostly full. 

As she stepped into her classroom, Ji-soo let go of the constant control she had on her quirk. The world which was already incredibly slow ground close to a halt as the door opened. Her eyes flickered to every person in the room, catching their micro expressions, cataloging their body language.

Some people stood chatting to one another, some sat at their desks fidgeting with something.

Stepping into the room, Ji-soo spotted the boy from the exam who had asked about the 0 pointer, yelling at another student for having his feet on the desk.

Bakugo Katsuki.

He was the highest ranked student at 70 villain points– and not a single rescue one.

Joy.

Eyes flicking towards the chalkboard, Ji-soo saw her name next to a seat number– 4. Nice, she was just one row off the back. She’d be able to zone out during lessons.

Putting her backpack away, Ji-soo sat down at her seat.

In front of her was a girl with green hair- the same one she’d seen on exam day. With bad posture. The seating plan said her name was Asui Tsuyu.

The seat behind her was empty at the moment.

The boy sitting next to her turned with a huge grin. “Hey! I’m Kirishima Eijiro, looks like we’re going to be neighbours for the year!” Kirishima greeted with loud enthusiasm.

Oh no, he was full of energy. Hope of having a nice, quiet year was slowly evaporating.

“Hi. I’m Isaka Ji-soo.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Isaka! You pumped to finally be here!? This place is so manly!”

Manly?

“I’m excited, yes.”

“I can’t wait to get my hero costume!”

“Yes, that’s exciting.”

“You’re kind of quiet aren’t you?”

“I suppose so.”

“Alright I get it, I’ll leave you to bask in the awesomeness that is U.A. Let me know if you need anything, alright desk buddy?”

Quiet overcame Ji-soo for a moment, her Quirk stretching it out.

The door opened.

“It’s him,” the boy who asked the question in the exam–Tenya Iida– said, drawing everyone's attention to the door.

Standing in the doorway was a plain faced, green haired boy. His tie was tied weirdly, and he looked like he suddenly wanted to die as everyone's attention zoned in on him.

Ji-soo smiled internally as she saw the faint movement of brown hair as another face came into view.

The cute round-faced girl she’d seen on the exam day.

Good for both of them.

Ji-soo let the conversation roll over her, only focusing back in when she caught a glimpse of– a caterpillar?

What?

Laying on the floor behind the trio was a long, yellow shaped bag, with a tired face peeking out.

Instantly Ji-soo was on guard. Time slowed, her body tensed in preparation for action, but she didn’t move, just made eye contact with the man.

The grin he gave her wasn’t reassuring. It was flat and lifeless.

“If you're just here to make friends then you can pack up your stuff now.”

Suddenly, everyone's attention had shifted–catching up to what she’d already seen.

“Welcome to U.A.’s hero course,” he said, unzipping his sleeping bag, and sucking down what looked to be a jelly pouch.

“Only one of you had the situational awareness to notice me, the rest took eight seconds before you all shut up. That’s not gonna work. Time is precious. Rational students would understand that,” he said as he stood up and unzipped the rest of his sleeping bag, stepping out of it.

“Hello, I’m  Aizawa Shouta… your teacher.”

Aizawa, Aizawa, why didn’t that ring a bell?

“Right, let’s get to it. Put these on and head outside.” Aizawa-Sensei said as he pulled out what looked to be gym uniforms.

Ji-soo hoped he hadn’t been crawling around on the floor with their uniforms.

Gross.

As Ji-soo and the other girls got changed, conversation naturally arose.

“I’m quite curious about what Aizawa-Sensei wants us to do. Don't we have orientation?” A tall, slender girl, with a high dark ponytail said.

She had introduced herself as Yaoyorozu Momo, but had requested the class call her Yaomomo. She seemed nice so far, respectable as well. Definitely less energy than the pink girl, Ashido Mina.

“Not sure, but it’ll have to be something important,” Jiro said, as she zipped up her sports uniform.

“Hey Ji-soo what do you think? You were the student that caught Aizawa-sensei weren’t you?” Ashido asked.

“I’m not sure. I’d assume it’s something that we’ll end up sweating doing, judging by Aizawa-sensei having us change. Maybe sparing? Possible combat drills?”

“Oh that would be so cool!” Hagakure, who was invisible, said. The sleeve part of her floating gym uniform shot out, as if she was punching something in the air. “I’d love to show off my sick moves.”

Finishing getting dressed, Ji-soo ignored the other girls as they made their way over to a massive sports field, where Aizawa-Sensei was waiting for them.

The field where they met Aizawa-Sensei was huge. Lined by trees all around, a large gym to the left, and an empty space in the middle, it looked like the kind of field that her middle school had had sports festivals in.

As the boys and girls slowly trickled out, Ji-soo kept her eyes shifting from person to person, taking in their nervousness.

Aizawa-Sensei stood in the middle, tired eyes taking in each student as they made their way over.

“Alright, since we’re all here I’ll let you know what you’ll be doing today. We’re going to be having a Quirk assessment,” Aizawa drawled, lazily staring at the class.

Ji-soo internally frowned, not putting the effort into the actual action. That made sense. The exam had shown who was capable of using their Quirk in an effective way. But they would still need to have a range of pre-assessed data to showcase growth quirk over the year. A little odd they were doing it first thing, though.

The rest of her class did not come to the same conclusion. “What?! A Quirk assessment test?!” several said in unison.

Uraraka even hesitantly protested, bringing up Yaomomo’s same concern from earlier. “But orientation… We’re gonna miss it.”

Aizawa-Sensei turned around, not facing the class as he droned. “If you really wanna make the big leagues, you can’t waste time on pointless ceremonies. Ahh… Here at U.A., we’re not tethered to traditions. That means that I get to run my class however I see fit.”

Aizawa turned around, now blandly staring at the class. “You’ve been taking standardized tests most of your lives… but you never got to use your Quirks in physical exams before. The country’s still trying to pretend we’re all created equal by not letting those with the most power excel. It’s not rational. One day, the Ministry of Education will learn.”

A heavy tension hung over the students at Aizawa’s words. 

Ji-soo didn’t agree with him per se, Quirks had many physical applications to them that offered some individuals a natural advantage. But understanding the body’s physical capabilities and limits without Quirks was vital. Still, she appreciated Aizawa’s directness.

“Bakugou, you managed to get the most points on the entrance exam. What was your farthest distance throw with a softball when you were in junior high?”

“67 meters, I think,” Bakugo answered.

“Right. Try doing it with your Quirk. Anything goes. Just stay in the circle,” Aizawa prompted. Bakugo took the soft ball from their sensei, lightly throwing it in the air as he walked towards the centre of the circle.

“Go on. You’re wasting our time.”

“All right, man. You asked for it,” Bakugo sneered, he stretched out his arm for a moment before pulling it back.

Ji-soo watched it in slow motion, the arm pulled back, the muscles tensing, the slow drop of seat that accumulated on his hands.

She saw the faintest flicker of light, and then watched it slowly expand as Bakugo’s arm jerked forward.

Explosions.

“DIE!” Bakugo screamed as the ball rocketed into the sky in a streak of flame and smoke.

The ball went, and went, and went. Flying through the sky. It was a good throw, and Ji-soo knew she wouldn’t get anything close to what Bakugo would end up with.

“All of you need to know your maximum capabilities. It’s the most rational way of figuring out your potential as a pro hero,” Aizawa-Sensei said as the ball began to arc downwards.

He turned around to reveal the screen of his device. 705.2M.

That is impressive, Ji-soo thought to herself, as her classmates began to get excited, but I don’t like how smug Bakugo looks.

Bakugo was grinning ear to ear, holding his body high. To Ji-soo, his body-language shouted ‘Look how awesome I am, you don’t even come close.’ Ji-soo had the desire to clench her jaw at that, the smugness rubbing her the wrong way. It felt like a challenge. One she wouldn’t lose.

“So this looks fun, huh?” Ji-soo’s head snapped away from looking at Bakugo at that, something ancient within her screaming danger. “You have three years here to become a hero. You think it’s all gonna be games and playtime?”

An instinct, born during a diiferent life, screamed danger. Ji-soo’s muscles tensed as her mind demanded she reach for her waist and pull out a gun that no longer existed. The instinct was there, but she fought it back, knowing it was just a memory now. There was no gun. Nor any blade. The only weapon she had was her body and mind.

Still, Aizawa-Sensei was giving off a foul energy.

“Idiots. Today you’ll compete in eight physical tests to gauge your potential. Whoever comes in last has none and will be expelled immediately.”

Around her her classmates broke out in protests, outraged at the prospect of being sent home on the first day. Uraraka in particular seemed the most upset.

But Ji-soo understood the dangers of this life. Aizawa-sensei probably didn’t want to have any dead kids on his conscience, and by sending home those who couldn’t cut it, he was protecting them.

“It’s a hero’s job to try to combat that unfairness. If you want to be a pro, you’re gonna have to push yourself to the brink. For the next three years, U.A. will throw one terrible hardship after another at you. So go beyond. Plus Ultra style. Show me it’s no mistake that you’re here.”

The grin Awizawa-Sensei gave them as he stared them down still made Ji-soo uneasy.

Chapter Text

50 meter dash. Grip strength. Standing long jump. Repeated side step. Ball throw. Distance run. Sit ups. Seated toe touch.

These were the tests that Aizawa had planned for his class of hero-hopefuls. He knew that if they actually tried most of them would get a good score in one or two of these tests. There were some students whose Quirk would do nothing for them.

Midoriya was one such case. The fact that he had been allowed into the school was illogical. What type of hero could he be if he broke his body everytime he used his Quirk? The examiners made a mistake letting him in.

He at the very least would be going home, if not the whole class.

Hagakure and Mineta he also didn’t have high hopes for, but at least their Quirks worked.

Despite her relatively simple appearance Isaka Ji-soo was a student he was interested in.

Nezu had filled him in somewhat on the conversation with the Isaka siblings. 

Reincarnation.

An impossible concept. Or so Aizawa had thought. But watching the way Isaka moved, the way she reacted…. Yeah, he could see it. If he hadn’t been told he might have chalked it up to her Quirk, but there was something more behind her eye.

They looked old. And tired.

What could be swimming in that girl's mind was interesting, and Aizawa found himself almost hoping that she wouldn’t be sent home today. He had had trouble wrapping his mind around the possibility originally, but after watching how she acted he was starting to come to terms with it.

She reacted quickly, which was to be expected with her Distorted Temporal Perception Quirk–what a mouthful– but what stood out more was her restraint. She had been the first–and only– student to see him, and while he’d seen her tense, she hadn’t made a move towards him.

Just stared.

Just assessed. Her eyes scanning and determining his threat level.

Her Temporal Quirk had no physical advantages to any of these tests, but he’d seen the footage of her exam. She knew how to control her body. Knew how to act.

Even now she didn’t seem phased, standing to the side and stretching as her classmates lined up for the 50 meter dash. While they all seemed resolved to do well, Aizawa could still see their nervousness. There was a deliberate calmness to her movements– unhurried, unconcerned.

Isaka’s body language gave nothing away.

She was methodical in the way she moved, every action taking the least amount of effort for the greatest result.

There was more than training there.

Still, even if she had experience, she still had to prove herself.

She had wanted to be treated as a regular student, hadn't she?

So far, Ji-soo didn’t feel like she was doing incredible.

She was a fair runner, so she came in at 5.51 second on the 50 meter dash.

Her grip strength wasn’t horrible, but it was also nowhere near Shoji’s insane power.

Standing long jump was an okay score. A few of her classmates had cleared the sand pit, but she’d done well for not having a physical Quirk.

If Ji-soo had to place herself in the rankings so far, her consistent above average scores would land her in about 10th place. She was doing, generally, better across the board then her classmates, but she didn’t have any stand out result.

They were not doing great.

Still her ball toss was better than most.

Asui, who appeared to have a frog-like quirk, had used her tongue to propel the ball, getting just over 100 meters.

Ojiro had hit it with his tail, landing at about 80 meters.

Mineta, Mina, Jiro, Hagakure, and Kaminari had all done worse than her.

Ji-soo had felt rather smug when her throw had landed at a respectable 72.2.

She’d felt amazing in fact.

Bakugou, who was turning out to be the worst kind of asshole, needed his Quirk to get the kind of score he got. She beat him in terms of pure, physical power.

A small victory. But a victory nonetheless.

It was currently Midoriya's turn to throw the ball, and judging by his posture, he was a moment away from having an anxiety attack.

Ji-soo was standing on the side, staring at him. So far Midoriya hadn’t shown anything off. He’d done…..fine-ish. Not great, but okay in most of the tests. Worse than Ji-soo, but about average for a 15 year old boy.

Did he possibly have a mental Quirk? Ji-soo thought to herself. 

“If Midoriya doesn’t shape up soon, he’s the one going home,” Iida said, standing not too far from Ji-soo. Unfortunately, Ji-soo agreed with him. Midoriya had shown no aptitude to be a hero. Yet.

“Huh? Of course he is! He’s a Quirkless loser!” Bakugou barked.

Quirkless? Ji-soo frowned at that. The Quirkless population was at an all time low, the complete reverse of her first life, when Quirks were just emerging.

While it wouldn’t be impossible for Midoriya to be Quirkless, it was statistically improbable. Even more unlikely for him to have gotten into the hero course.

“Erk… He has a Quirk!” Iida refuted, uncrossing his arms as he turned to face Bakugou. “Did you not hear about what he did in the entrance exam?”

“Huh?”

“It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t have a Quirk,” Ji-soo said, staring at Midoriya. “What matters is impressing Aizawa-sensei and doing well. Midoriya has done neither.”

“Tch, what the hell do you know? You haven’t even used your Quirk for any of these stupid tests. I bet it’s something useless isn’t it?” Bakugou sneered.

“Yes,” Ji-soo replied, eyes never leaving Midoriya, as he pulled his arm back. His arm was tense, stiffer than the rest of his body. It was like he was bracing for something unpleasant to come. “My Quirk isn’t of any use for any of these tests. Every score I've gotten has been my pure physical ability.”

“I’m not sure either of you fully understand, but Midoriya has the heart of a hero! What matters is effort, not just the results of these tests!”

“Not according to Aizawa-Sensei,” Ji-soo muttered, as the ball finally left Midoriya’s hand.

It was quick, even for Ji-soo, but the tension, the energy that had been slowly building in Midoriya’s hand, disappeared.

Ji-soo blinked, frowning as the ball sailed softly through the air.

46 meters.

Midoriya looked in shock, staring at his hands. Ji-soo could see that something had clearly happened, and he obviously felt it.

Breaking contact with Midoriya for a moment, Ji-soo’s eyes scanned around. Something was not sitting right with her.

It wasn’t hard to see, as Aizawa-Sensei wasn't particularly discrete.

Around him, his hair floated, as if gravity had been nullified. The old, grey scarf Aizawa wore around his neck flared out in multiple directions. While Ji-soo couldn’t see his face, his hunched over posture, and by the energy he was giving off, he was most definitely glaring at Midoriya.

Aizawa said something, but he was too far away to hear. Whatever he said must have shocked Midoriya, as he stared wide eyed at their Sensei, before lifting his hand and yelling, “You’re the erasure hero! Eraser Head!

Eraser Head. Underground hero. Quirk: Erasure, he could nullify the quirks of people in his line of sight. Ji-soo had read about him somewhat in her research on U.A, but there had never been a picture tied to him. He was credited for being efficient and practical. Looking at him now she could understand why he was so well respected.

Ji-soo watched, as with remarkably precise control, Aizawa-Sensei shot out his scarf, trapping Midoriya and pulling him.

The class couldn’t see what Aizawa said to Midoriya, but Ji-soo got the feeling that it wasn’t anything kind.

After a few seconds Aizawa-Sensei’s hair returned to normal, and he walked away from Midoriya. Said boy was slumped over, shoulders drooping. Yes, definitely not nice.

Midoriya looked like he was broken-hearted, and for a second, Ji-soo felt for him. It couldn’t have been easy having worked so hard, passed all the right tests, only to have your dreams snatched out from under you.

Turning away, Midoriya walked out to retrieve the fallen ball.

“I wonder if our teacher gave him some advice,” Iida asked, frowning.

“Probably told him to start packing,” Bakugou muttered.

“You are most likely correct, Bakugou. Aizawa-Sensei doesn't seem to be the sentimental type.”

Again Midoriya pulled back his arm. And again Ji-soo saw the gathering of energy and tension along the arm.

But something was different. The tension seemed more concentrated, not flowing through his whole arm, but purely in his hand.

Huh.

With a shout, Midoriya sent the ball flying.

It flew through the air with a burst of power so strong that it ruffled Ji-soo’s hair from where she was standing.

Okay. Not a mental Quirk, she thought, watching as the ball arched higher and higher into the air, before slowly descending to the ground.

Midoriya stood there, body trembling in what looked like pain.

“Mr. Aizawa…” Midoriya said, heaving his shoulders. Oh yes, he was definitely hurt. “Ngh… Ngh… You see? I’m still standing…”

Ji-soo had to admit, it was an impressive throw. But the trade off, his finger looking bent at an odd angle and purple–something old flinched inside of Ji-soo. Cold and calculating, it hated looking at that finger, pain echoing back in a hand that had long rotted away by now–didn’t seem worth it.

“He threw it over 700 meters!” Kaminari, a boy with bright blond yellow hair and what appeared to be an electrical quirk, exclaimed.

“Nice, he's finally showing us his true power!” Uraraka cheered.

“But his finger appears to be broken now. Just like in the exam. This Quirk is very odd,” Iida pondered.

“Bakugou,” Ji-soo said, eyes still locked on Midoriya’s finger. “You said that Midoriya didn’t have a Quirk correct.”

Bakugou didn’t react, appearing not to have heard Ji-soo. Small pops of explosion slowly built in his hand, before he exploded towards Midoriya.

Ji-soo internally sighed. This year was going to be a long one.

In the end, Ji-soo ended up in 9th place.

Considering she was going up against some insane Quirks–Todoroki and Yaomomo specifically– that was a perfectly respectable score.

If they hadn't been using their Quirks Ji-soo was confident she’d be in at least the top 3. If not 1st place.

Midoriya, unsurprisingly, came in last. Ji-soo wasn’t happy about him going home, but it was better to end it early than have him waste years clawing for a goal out of reach.

She hoped he’d be okay.

When Aizawa-sensei revealed that expelling the last place student had been a ‘logical ruse’ Ji-soo didn’t believe it.

During her research on U.A, she’d found that last year an entire class of 1st years had been expelled. The class had not stopped complaining about it on their social media accounts for months.

Ji-soo kindly kept the fact that they might have all been sent home today to herself.

No need to worry her classmates.

The rest of the day was relatively standard for high-school first days. Getting familiar with the school, meeting their new teachers and going over the syllabus.

Boring and predictable.

Ji-soo let the day roll over her.

She sat alone at lunch, did her best to avoid all conversations, and was the first student out of the classroom.

Her head was killing her. Every frame of the world as it ticked by sending sharp, throbbing spike of pain straight into her brain. All Ji-soo wanted to do was go home, curl into bed, and turn the lights off.

And if Aizawa-Sensei’s indication of tomorrow being worse than today was anything to go off of, Ji-soo’s head wasn’t going to get a rest anytime soon.

Chapter Text

Ji-soo was correct. The next day wasn’t any better.

It turned out that All Might was to be their teacher for Hero basic training. According to the syllabus, basic training consists of hand-to-hand combat, survival training, rescue training, teamwork exercises, and generally Quirk usage.

There had been a collective gasp within the class when he burst through the door. Even Ji-soo’s eyes had widened, not having expected him.

All Might was how Japan had defined a hero for years now, even when Ji-soo lived as Ami, All Might had been the first thing everyone thought of when they thought of a hero. Most heroes today, including Kai, had been inspired by him. Heroics wouldn’t be as popular, respected, or profitable without All Might.

Most of the day so far had been basic high school classes. English, Maths, Modern literature. Ji-soo had seen the disappointment and boredom on some of her classmates faces’. She didn’t know what they expected, to have constant training at all times of the day and neglect the fundamentals of education?

….Probably.

Combat training though was something that got everyone in class excited.

Before school had started each student had to fill out a form for their hero costume.

Ji-soo was planning on going underground after graduation. Her Quirk wasn’t designed to be the type of hero All Might was. Her costume reflected that.

The outfit was simple, being composed of mainly black and dark greys, with a few hints of dark blue. It consisted of a long-sleeve undershirt made of a durable material that would be resistant to slashing or piercing, as well as offering some resistance to physical blows. It had a higher neck than most shirts, cutting off a few centimeters of her neck. On the chest of her shirt there were some dark blue patterns that framed the centre of her chest.

Branding was important for heroes, even those who went underground. There was a reason Aizawa-Sensei continued to have bright, yellow glasses even though he didn’t work in the limelight.

In the centre of Ji-soo’s chest, denoted in a dark blue colour, was a stylised hourglass. It was quiet. Subdued even. But it was a consistent reminder of who she was, and how she had all the time in the world.

Her pants weren’t skin tight, but neither were they loose. They hugged her closely while remaining comfortable, and were tucked into a pair of dark black combat boots. 

The last item of clothing she had was a simple black crop jacket with a hood.

There were times when you needed to blend into the crowd, and if Ji-soo zipped her jacket up and flipped the hood, she would be nearly indistinguishable.

And then there were all the weapons. 

Throwing knives tucked discreetly in her boots, caltrops sealed away in small pouches on her belt, smoke pellets just a little bigger than a coin tucked away, grappling wires coiled tightly inside a brace on each of her wrists. Everything was designed to be easily reachable and useful.

The one piece that felt maybe a little like flair– and Ji-soo’s personal favorite– was the meteor-hammer. It currently rested on her hip, the rope coiled tightly, and the large metal piece that made it so dangerous, attached to her belt. It was sleek and elegant, requiring perfect timing to wield, and almost impossible to fight head on.

It was hers.

“Wow! You look so cool and professional!” Uraraka gushed, looking at Ji-soo with her already wide eyes blown larger.

“Thank you,” Ji-soo said, putting the time in to actually smile. It felt awkward and stiff, far to practiced to be anything natural. Still, Uraraka returned her own, blooming grin. “Your costume is very cute.”

“Aww you think? I love the colours, but I feel like I should have been more descriptive. Yours looks more like what I wanted, this thing is skin tight.”

“My brother made sure to add a large note on how skin tight it should be.”

“That was kind of him! Next costume I’ll be sure to do the same thing.”

A majority of her female classmates had bright, visual costumes. Jiro seemed to be the only other with a more subdued costume, looking more like casual wear than a hero's costume.

As Ji-soo left the changing rooms with the other girls, she saw the boys already gathered.

Their costumes, much like her female classmates, were also rather bright. Tokoyami, with a large dark cape covering a majority of his body, was the only other person who had gone for a more muted look.

All Might explained that today they were going to be doing battle trials, with each person being paired with a classmate, and needing to go against another pair. Heroes Vs villains.

Privately Ji-soo agreed with Uraraka, that this seemed to advance for their first lesson. Who knew if her classmates knew how to throw a punch? Or, more importantly, dodge one?

But Ji-soo wasn’t going to challenge All Might. He was the pinnacle of heroes. Surely he must know what he was doing.

Ji-soo was wrong. All Might was an idiot.

It was the only explanation for how long he had allowed Midoriya and Bakugo to keep fighting, to the point that both of them looked like they were only one harsh breath away from death.

He was an idiot. All the awe she had for him, that had been built up in this life as she saw Kai strive to be as successful, as Ami, where she watched him on the news, the truest form of hero, and when she’d worn the name and face of a woman named Angela, All Might only just being talked about in the states, all of that vanished.

Idiot.

But it wasn’t just disappointment that rang through her. It was the knowledge that the number 1 hero for 2 of her lives was useless. How the world had survived this far was a terrifying mystery.

Midoriya was sent off to Recovery Girl, his arms that same dark broken purple colour as the day before. What had his life been like before now, that his body had such a harsh reaction to his Quirk?

The three remaining students had been led back to the observation deck by All Might. Bakugo had refused to make eye contact with anyone, though Ji-soo felt it wasn’t a conscious decision. He had just sort of been staring blankly ahead.

The way he had hunted Midoriya screamed of deep seated hatred. The boy had been an animal, forgetting his objective, his partner, his common decency. He couldn’t be trusted, and Ji-soo was glad she was learning that now.

He was a rabid animal with only the singular goal of killing.

Ji-soo doubted he would last long as a hero.

Yaoyorozu, on the other hand, was going to go far.

The level of detail and thought she showcased as she went over the pros and cons of each of their classmates' decisions in their test was astonishing. She was quick and thoughtful as she laid out the strengths and weaknesses.

Ji-soo wished she was partnered up with Yaoyorozu, what they could do with their minds combined….

Or even better, facing off against her. Ji-soo wanted to see who would come out on top in a fight of intellect.

Unfortunately, Ji-soo thought, eyeing Kaminari, her partner for today, today is not that day.

So far, Ji-soo didn’t think much of Kaminari Denki. His Quirk was electric based, she knew that from yesterday’s Quirk assessment. She’d heard him talking to some of the boys in class claiming that he was a ‘walking generator.’

But he hadn’t used his Quirk much yesterday, and his pure physical abilities weren’t anything spectacular either.

Ji-soo kept her distance as he excitedly talked with some of the other boys in their class. In the background of her mind she was keeping track of his mannerisms, creating and discarding possible strategies.

The second match was much calmer, but then again, everything was calmer compared to Bakugo’s.

Heroes: Todoroki & Shoji Vs Villains: Sero & Sato.

Ji-soo learned a lot watching Todoroki.

His Quirk was insanely powerful, and he knew how to wield it well. Shoji located Sero and Sato, who had set up a trap, easily. After that everyone felt a bit useless. Todoroki had frozen the whole building, walking in calmly.

He was precise and effective. The perfect soldier.

He had been trained. He had been trained well, and for a long time.

Frontal assaults on him wouldn’t work. Sneak attacks and rapid, quick fire assaults where he had no time to think, would be the best option against him.

From the corner of her eye Ji-soo saw Bakugo’s lip tremble.

He had most likely been a big fish in a little pond at middle school. U.A was the sea, and he might still be a big fish, but the school was filled with sharks. 

This might be the first time in his life he was out matched.

It would almost be sad, if he hadn't shown himself to be rabid.

For a moment he looked up, most likely sensing someone watching him.

Ji-soo met his eyes and didn’t blink. She wasn’t scared of him.

Match 3 was maybe the first match that met All Might’s expectations. Heroes: Yaoyorozu & Jiro Vs Villains: Aoyama & Hagakure.

Ji-soo was correct in her original thinking. Yaoyorozu was a brilliant tactician.

You won as a villain by either capturing the heroes or waiting out the clock. Yaoyorozu barricaded herself and Jiro in, and just waited for the timer to run out.

Brilliant and simple.

But Ji-soo also saw how she set Jiro in position, her earphone jacks stabbed into the building, giving Yaoyorozu updates as Aoyama and Hagakure moved around.

The fourth match? That was her’s. 

Heroes: Asui  & Mineta V.s Villains: Kaminari & Ji-soo.

Internally, Ji-soo smiled.

Brilliant.

Denki didn’t know what to think of this partner.

Isaka Ji-soo had seemed even more detached from everything than Todoroki.

She’d maybe said four sentences yesterday, and even less today. And while she hadn’t said anything, Denki got the distinct impression she was unimpressed with him.

Ouch.

It wasn’t like she was anything super impressive, Denki thought. Isaka stood a few centimeters shorter than him and nothing about her screamed hero. Her posture was good, her hair was a dark brown that was cut shorter than his own, and she had deep bags under her glaring eyes. 

Actually no, they weren’t glaring. Glaring required an emotion. Isaka had simply been staring at everything with droopy dead eyes.

He’d tried to crack a joke as they made their way over to their assigned building, trying to test the waters with her. Nothing. Not a smile, not a twitch of her lips, not even an eye roll! She’d acted like she hadn’t even heard him. She just ... .stared. Eyes locked ahead of them.

It was honestly creepy.

He had kept rambling as they made their way into the building and up the stairs, and the whole time Isaka didn’t say anything, her eyes flicking left to right constantly.

They were just getting onto the second floor–their fake bomb being located on the third– when Isaka took a sharp turn.

“Ah hey Isaka? That’s not the way to the bomb!” 

Isaka didn’t stop or indicate she had heard him at all, she just continued on.

Head snapping from her direction to the direction they were supposed to be going, Denki made a split second decision and raced after her. It was better to fail together that alone, he guessed.

“Come on Isaka, All Might said we only had 5 minutes to get to the bomb before the other group came in! Please, please tell me what you’re doing?” Denki practically begged, keeping pace with the shorter girl.

“....What happens when you get wet?” 

Finally! She talked!....wait, what?

“What!?”

“Like if you went swimming. What would happen to the water? Your Quirk is electrification based correct?”

“....Yeah, it is. Um, well usually nothing, but like I can electrify the water I guess.”

“So, if, in theory, this building flooded, would you be able to electrify the water?”

“I mean yeah, but you’d get shocked as well.”

“Only if I’m touching the water.”

“Where are we even going to get enough water to flood the building? It’s not like there is a dam nearby!”

“Did you not look at the map we were shown? It had a working plumbing system. We’re just going to burst the pipes.”

Huh. “That’s not actually a bad plan.”

“We could win like Yaoyorozu and just wait for the other team out, but I’d personally rather have a clear victory. Wouldn’t you?”

“I mean I just want to win.”

Something soft left Isaka’s throat at that, could have been a laugh, could have been a sigh. Denki was claiming it as a win either way.

Isaka led him down different hallways, never stopping for a moment to think. Every move she made held a determination that Denki hadn’t seen before.

Eventually she led him into a large room, filled with pipes.

“The map showed 2 rooms like this. One on the second floor, and one on the forth. We can unleash the water here as a distraction to keep Asui  and Mineta busy, as well as the one on the fourth to actually cover the room we’ll be in. There is always the possibility of the other team deciding to scale the building, but we’ll keep the bomb out of view of the window to decrease the chances of them seeing it.”

“You are like, crazy smart.”

“It’s a simple plan Kaminari.”

“Yeah no. I don’t think anyone else could have come up with something that insane in such a short amount of time.”

Isaka’s lips twitched at that.

Denki helped her release the water valves into the room, the water pouring out in a large jet. His pants were getting wet, but oh well.

“Fourth floor?” Kaminiar asked, watching the water rise.

“We have just under 3 minutes, so we’ll need to hurry there.”

Nodding, Denki followed Isaka out as she raced through the building, not stopping or seeming to run out of breath.

Like on the second floor, she maneuvered through the hallways with a practiced ease, as if she knew every route of the building.

They made it to the room with their fake bomb with about a minute to spare.

Holding his knees to catch his break, Denki looked up at his partner, still looking as cool as ever. “Okay, I’ve got to ask. What is your Quirk?”

“My Quirk?” Isaka asked, eyes snapping to Denki for a moment before fluttering away.

“Yeah I mean you know what I’ve got,” he said, electricity crackling in his hand. Try as he might, Denki couldn’t seem to pin down her Quirk. Her costume was geared towards stealth, all dark colours and simple items, but the dark blue hourglass he had spotted had confused him. 

“But what about you? I can’t pin it down.”

Isaka was silent for a moment, fiddling with something in the arm braces she wore.

Then softly: “I experience time differently.”

Denki blinked. He hadn’t expected that. “What, like time travel?”

“No,” Isaka said, clipping something in her brace back. “I experience seconds as if they are milliseconds. A second to you is minutes for me. Before you can count to 5 I’ve lived through an hour.”

Denki started. “Wait, what?”

Isaka didn’t flinch, just rolled her shoulders back, her eyes darting to the roof; scanning.

“My Quirk gives me more time than others. Everything moves slower. I can see what others don’t have the time for. Micro-movements, breathing patterns, the way people move. With that I can plan, adjust, and predict what people will do.”

“So like super slow-mo?”

That actually did get a laugh from Isaka, short, but there. “That’s what my brother wanted to call it. Slow-mo. I went with Distorted Temporal Perception. Rolls off the tongue better.”

It absolutely did not. “....Sure. Still, that's a super cool Quirk.”

“It’s not as fun as it sounds. Imagine watching paint dry all day. Or waiting for a screen to load one pixel at a time.”

“Oh,” Denki said. No wonder she was so unresponsive to his jokes. By the time he caught up to her, hours had passed. “That actually kind of sucks.”

“A little. Timers are going to go off in ten seconds, be ready.”

Something shot out of Isaka’s bracers, and Denki heard a quiet thunk in the roof above, before she disappeared. “Wait what?”

A blaring alarm went off. Great.

The possibility of Asui and Mineta deciding to scale the building was slim, but not nonexistent.

Asui ’s Quirk, Frog, would be perfect for an alternative entrance approach, but Mineta was ... .Ji-soo couldn’t find a kind word for it. Disgusting. Mineta was disgusting. 

The likelihood of Asui  having the patience to scale the building with him was slim. So a frontal assault, like they’d seen in the other battle trials, was the most likely.

Ji-soo sat comfortably, concealed from view, among the exposed beams of the roof. The building looked half done, but Ji-soo could see the intention of it. Everything had a place.

While she was comfortable sitting above everything, the pipes were smooth and creaky. Even small adjustments made noise and threatened to send her falling to the ground.

As long as she remained above the water she wasn’t at risk of Kaminari’s Quirk, which even from here, she could hear faintly buzzing. Stepping into the water now was impossible.

That was okay, Ji-soo had other plans for any attack that might get past Kaminari.

15 minutes was how long the ‘heroes’ had to locate Ji-soo and Kaminari. Neither Mineta or Asui  had any sort of Quirk that would help them locate where the bomb was, but neither did Uraraka and Midoriya, and look how that turned out.

Attention snapping away from Kaminari, who was currently pacing and sending looks above every few seconds, Ji-soo sat and listened.

She could hear the faint splash of water above and below spilling out into the building. The water moving around Kaminari as he paced, the faint buzz of his Quirk.

Minutes ticked by, each one drawn out into hours.

Finally, the sounds changed. Whispered conversation.

Softly, Ji-soo called out, “They’re here,” down to Kaminari.

Instantly, the soft buzzing increased, and Ji-soo could see the electricity flashing through the water.

In order to flood the room, the door was left open. In order to hide the bomb from the window view, it had been moved. This, unfortunately, meant that it was in direct eyesight of the door.

“There it is!” Mineta yelled, his footsteps hurrying, the water moving around him as he raced forward.

“I don’t trust this, Mineta-kun, Kero,” Asui  said. Her voice was higher than Mineta’s, most likely crawling across the walls or roof. 

“Ah don’t be such a worry wart, we haven't seen a single sign of either Kaminari or Isaka. Probably too scared to face me.” Calling Asui  a ‘worry wart’ felt like a microaggression.

As soon as Mineta made it past the door, the world exploded in motion. Kaminari yelled as electricity covered his body, the water lightening up as it raced outwards. 

It would have been such a nice and clean takedown, if Asui ’s tongue didn’t shoot out and wrap around Mineta right before the shock hit him.

Fighting back a frown, Ji-soo risked moving, getting a peek at what was happening.

Kaminari had stepped out of the pillar he was behind, staring with confusion as Asui crawled into the room, her long tongue wrapped around Mineta’s body.

“Kero, that was a close one Kaminari-Kun.”

“Ah what!” Kaminari yelled, staring upwards at the pair.

“I don’t know what Isaka-Chan’s Quirk is Kero, but once I saw the water, I figured she was involved.”

As Asui  talked, Ji-soo’s hand slipped between her boot and pulled out a single throwing dagger. Ji-soo didn’t actually want to hurt anyone, but she also wasn’t happy her plan had been foiled.

Time stretched out before her, and with sniper-like accuracy, the dagger launched from her hand and shot through the air, stabbing into Asui ’s tongue.

The sharp pain made Asui automatically recoil her tongue. Mineta forgotten.

Ji-soo watched him fall in slow motion. The look of shock on his face was something she’d be keeping close to her heart for a while.

Firing out one of her grappling wires, Ji-soo shot towards Asui , using the moment of surprise to grapple the other girl.

“Kero!” Asui gasped, as Ji-soo hooked her leg behind Asui and pushed her towards the water.

If Ji-soo’s dagger hadn't hurt Asui ’s tongue so badly, Ji-soo doubted that would have worked, as it stood, Asui  plummeted into the still electrified water.

Ji-soo’s free hand shot upwards, the other grappling hook hitting into the roof above to keep her suspended in air.

“....That was fun.”

“VILLAIN TEAM! WINS!” All might yelled over the speaker.

From the ground Kaminari was staring up at Ji-soo, mouth hanging open.

“Kaminari? You can stop electrifying the water now.”

“What? Oh! Right”

Kaminari was still reeling.

The moment he had stopped electrifying the water, Ji-soo had dropped down, landing neatly on her feet in the puddles.

When Ji-soo had landed there had still been a faint zap to the water, but she thought, staring at the unconscious form of Asui  slung over her shoulder in a fire-man's carry, it could have been far, far worse.

“How did you move that fast? I didn’t even see you move! And where did that dagger come from? Do you have more on you? Oh man that was so sick!”

“Quirk, Kaminari,” Ji-soo replied. “The world feels slower to me, so when I move, it tends to look faster.”

She flashed him a sharp smile, teeth on full display. “And yes, I do have other daggers on me” 

She watched with mild amusement as he went pale, eyes flickering around Ji-soo’s body before he seemed to realise what he was doing, and they darted back to staring straight ahead.

“Welcome back returning victors!” All Might’s loud voice called, as Ji-soo and Kaminari entered the observation room. “Ah! I see you have brought your fallen combatants safely back! What a shining display of heroics!”

The toothy grin and thumbs up had far too much energy for Ji-soo. It seemed she was doomed to be surrounded by people with energy.

“Yes, All Might-sensei. They were a little shocked. I think they’ll be fine in a few minutes, Kaminari didn’t have the voltage especially high, but if you think it’s better to send them to see Recovery Girl ....” 

“Not at all young Isaka! Please place young Asui  and young Mineta just against the wall!”

It would probably still be a better idea to send them to see Recovery Girl, but Ji-soo just gently placed Asui  against the wall, far away from where Kaminari was dropping Mineta.

“Now! Let us review!”

Instantly there were several images scattered across the multiple screens of Ji-soo.

Internally, Ji-soo grimaced as her face appeared. No-one needed to see their own face from so many different angles.

“Young Isaka is our VIP for this round! Anyone want to take a guess of why?”

Instantly, Iida’s hand shot up. “Sir! Is it because of her strategic planning and hand-to-hand skills!?”

“YES! Young Isaka worked out a plan that brilliantly worked in her teammate’s Quirk, as well as kept herself safely above the dangerous currents! And let’s have a look at those moves again!”

One of the monitors, which had shown Asui  clinging to the wall, Mineta in her tongue, started playing.

In slow motion, Ji-soo watched her knife soar through the air, Asui drop Mineta, and her own body came rocketing out of hiding, all within a few seconds.

It was impressive.

“Man Isaka! That was so manly!” Kirishima said, pumping his fist.

Ji-soo blinked at him, then shrugged. “Thanks.”

Manly was better than creepy.

“Where’d you learn to throw like that? The knife came out of nowhere,” Sero, another classmate of hers, asked.

“Practice.”

Truthfully it was half practice, half her Quirk. Hours of training spent honing the exact movements she would need to hit a target. Targets pinned to trees, makeshift ranges in her living room. As well as the memory of cold nights and silent focus came to mind– it wasn’t Ji-soo’s memory, but it was still hers.

A steady hand, born from constant practice that had carried over into this life. 

Wide-eyed, Ashido’s head kept snapping from the screen to Ji-soo. “Did you use real knives!?”

“....yes?” It felt like the wrong answer, and as she watched her classmates eyes widen minutely, Ji-soo was sure of it. “I mean, I was safe doing it. My brother kept an eye on me so I didn’t stab myself.”

“Are you sure you’re not a ninja?” Kaminari asked, recovering from his earlier fright.

“You totally move like a ninja, Isaka! So cool!” Ashido said, her grin a little feral.

Ji-soo plastered on a fake smile, stepping to the side as All Might brought up different sections of their trial. He showed a few more images of her and Kaminari highlighting how well they worked together, as well as noting how Ji-soo hadn't shared her plan originally, before swapping over to Asui  and Mineta, and praising Asui  for her quick reaction times.

As the focus shifted off of Ji-soo, she caught Bakugo staring, his red eyes blazing.

Ji-soo couldn’t tell what emotion was playing out on his face, but she would put it most likely in the negatives.

“Let’s give one more round of applause to our VIP and her team!” All Might said, attention instantly returning to Ji-soo.

Another fake smile, and a little ducking of her head made the class quickly move on. Ji-soo had learned long ago the best ways to get people to stop looking at her.

As Ji-soo’s face relaxed back into her blank stare, Kaminari stepped to her side, eyeing Bakugo. “He kinda scares me.”

Ji-soo’s eyes flickered, first to Kaminari, then back to Bakugo before returning to the screens. “He should.”

“But not you though?”

“I’ve seen worse.”