Chapter Text
As class 1-A at UA High began to fill for the first semester of the year, nobody was silent. Whispers of excitement whipped through the air, and the students bounced with anticipation.
UA High, the premier Dance Academy in Japan, took only the best of the best. Twenty students made up this class, and twenty more made up class 1-B and so on and so forth. But this year, 1-A was staffed by none other than Aizawa Shouta.
Aizawa Shouta, world renowned ballerino, and a teacher. He left no room for error in his students, and had a habit of expelling those he deemed unworthy. There were many of them. As he rolled into class, just after the bell, he gazed over his newest batch of dancers. He entered the room in a yellow sleeping bag, strands of hair stuck to his face from his most recent nap.
Aizawa heard a few snickers, but shrugged them off. They would not last long if that was the attitude they took to his class with.
He pulled himself up to stand at the podium, to give his first, and only, orientation speech.
“Welcome to UA Dance Academy. If you are here, that means you passed all of the principal’s standards, demands, and monetary requirements. Let me tell you,
“That is nowhere near enough to succeed here.”
An unnatural hush fell over the students. He saw all kinds of expressions over the years, and this class was no different. Fear, determination, arrogance. None he didn’t know how to deal with.
“In this class, I will push you to your very limits. Beyond. And then even farther. I will break you down to your very bones and build you up to be the best dancer you could possibly be. If you wash out, it falls on your shoulders. Do not disappoint me.
“Now, we are gonna head to the studio. You are all going to show me what you’ve got. And the person who comes in last will be expelled.”
With that, Aizawa swept out of the room, leaving a few students exchanging glances and shrugs in his wake.
Deku was having a fantastic first day of school so far. He got into his dream academy by recommendation from his idol despite his tragically flat feet, and even excelled in the entrance exam past that. His childhood friend and rival was sorted into his class, and he even made a new friend on day one!
All of which came crashing down when he saw who walked in the door last.
Todoroki Shoto.
Deku immediately soured, interrupting his conversation with Uraraka Ochacko, the nice girl he’d become friends with since the exam.
The two boys locked eyes, a silent understanding passing between them. I am going to ignore you if it kills me.
Todoroki turned his nose up in Deku’s direction, and walked over to the furthest chair possible from Deku’s current position. If he was going to play it that way, Deku was more than happy to oblige.
Before he could return to his conversation with Uraraka, who looked endlessly confused, the teacher rolled in. Literally. Rolled.
Next thing Deku knew, he was following the rest of his class to one of the many dance studios that populated the campus. All the girls had changed into grey leotards with shorts, thin white ballet tights, and dark teal leg warmers over their standard ballet flats. Boys wore similar uniforms, but instead of leg warmers they wore arm warmers.
As everyone lined up in front of the bar, Deku and Todoroki occupying the front and back of the line, Aizawa began his next instruction.
“Here, you are going to show us all your stuff. Remember the stakes, dance your best. I will run you through a routine, and you are all to repeat it for the class without mistake. If you falter, if you trip, that will count against you. I will only teach the best of the best. Prove you are worthy, and you can stay.”
Aizawa was terrifying. Deku had studied up on all the teachers who would be at UA, and he had hoped to all the dancing gods that he wouldn’t get him as his teacher.
Aizawa was most well known for his precise movements, ability to learn complex routines in under 24 hours, and give the meanest stink eye under the sun. Needless to say, Deku was nervous.
Uraraka must have noticed, since she took his hand and gave him a reassuring smile in the mirror. Deku smiled back, albeit a little shakily. Then Aizawa began the routine.
It didn’t occur to Deku until about halfway through the quadruple Pirouette during his personal showcase that he hadn’t warmed up. He silently hoped he wasn’t the only one, simultaneously regretting the sore muscles he’d have afterward for forgetting.
As he transitioned into the last Petit Jeté to Grand Jeté, he felt nothing but a sense of accomplishment. Deku wasn’t anywhere near the best dancer in the world, but he would do his absolute best to live up to and exceed Yagi’s expectations for him, and now Aizawa’s.
With a bow, he walked back to the bar with the rest of the class.
Next was Todoroki’s turn, who gave Izuku a side eye, then launched into a precise reenactment of the routine Aizawa showed. His movements were sure, but stiff. Precise, but lacked flow. He was technical, but he didn’t look like he enjoyed what he was doing, so much as he was just getting it over with.
Deku, of course, knew exactly why that was. He’d seen first hand how harsh Todoroki’s father could be, constantly pressuring him to become an even better dancer despite Todoroki’s natural talent. None of that mattered to Deku anymore, the chapter of his life in which he walked on eggshells to appease that man was over.
Todoroki made sure of that when they broke up.
After Todoroki was Bakugo Katsuki, who was just as technically proficient, but lacked restraint. His movements were explosive and sweeping, though it lacked edge. Though Deku knew how hard he pushed himself to be better. For a time, he and Bakugo had stopped being friends, but they’d become friendly again after the breakup. They’d even developed a healthy rivalry, and Bakugo helped Deku push away all of his feelings for Todoroki in the span of a single summer. Now, Deku was solely focused and Bakugo was too.
At the end of it all, a purple haired kid named Shinso Hitoshi ultimately came in last, but he didn’t seem too torn up about it. He just shrugged and began his walk out of the studio, though not before Aizawa called his attention.
“If you walk out that door, I will expel you.”
“I thought I was already expelled?” Shinso’s voice was low and droning, he sounded as nonchalant as he looked, and he sported huge bags under his eyes like he hadn’t slept since the day he was born.
“That was a logical ruse. If there were no stakes, none of you would try. Unfortunately for me, I see potential in each and every one of you. Shower up and meet me back in the homeroom after lunch. Until then, you are free to explore the campus, familiarize yourself with the studios, start a feud with class 1-B, I don’t care. I better not see any of you in my classroom until after the lunch bell rings.” and with that he was gone. The class was silent for a few moments, but then burst into chatter, flooding out of the studio towards the showers.
Bakugo Katsuki was determined. He would not leave this campus until he was ready, or until he was forced off. He didn’t even need to leave to sleep, the dorms that he’d moved into the weekend before school made it so he never had to go anywhere else.
Technically everyone in his class had moved into the dorms. Something something, school rivalry, something something prank war, Bakugo really didn’t care. All he wanted was to become the best. So he would.
In addition to deku, he’d even managed to get swooped up by some sunshiney loser with bad hair who was far too excitable for his own good. Of course, shitty haired Kirishima had to have a whole group of friends, and between the time it took for the students to leave the showers and enter the lunch room, they’d formed a squad. A ‘Bakusquad.’
Kaminari, the electrifyingly friendly blonde, had come up with the name purely to annoy him, and the name stuck because his whole squad had a disgusting sense of humor. All they needed now was some disgusting teenage drama and they’d have the whole high school kit and caboodle. Not that Bakugo was interested in gossip. It was nothing but a distraction. Besides, who would he even tell, his mom? Even so, he chose to sit with the squad at lunch.
“Did you see that look Greenie and Peppermint gave each other this morning?” Mina, a curly haired girl who was already stuffing her face with sour candy asked.
“Greenie?” Kaminari asked, clearly interested. “You mean Midoriya?”
“The very same.” Bakugo’s ears perked up. How could they not? Greenie and Peppermint? He knew exactly what was going on. “There is some history there I can tell, now I just need to find out…” A Cheshire grin spread on her face as she turned to Bakugo. “Bakugo, you’re friends with him, right?”
Bakugo frowned in response. “Which him?”
“Midoriya! We saw you chatting earlier!”
“Sure. Why?" Bakugo just wanted to shut this conversation down.
“You haveee to know the tea, pleaseeeeeee!” Mina clapped her hands together loud enough to echo off the walls of the cafeteria.
He gave her a skeptical look, and was about to respond when she was interrupted by Sero sitting down. His tray was absolutely piled with food. “Yo, what’s popping?”
Mina opened her mouth, but Kaminari snuck in. “Bakugo knows the tea between Midoriya and Peppermint and we want to know too!”
“Peppermint… you mean Todoroki? I talked to him. He’s hot.” Sero said as though that was the most normal thing in the world to say. Bakugo mentally facepalmed as he saw Mina begin to buzz.
“Oooooh, Sero! A crush on day one, I raised you right!” Mina ate a sour gummy worm to emphasize her statement, then remembered what the conversation was originally about.
“Bakugo! Tea! Now!”
He’d really hoped Mina would forget him.
“Yeah, we want to knowwwww!” Kaminari whined, but Kirishima butted in for the first time.
“Guys, maybe he doesn’t want to share? It’s perfectly fine for him to not want to spread rumours.” Kirishima gave Bakugo a wide smile. “Besides, you’ll tell us when you’re ready!”
That didn’t sound like a request.
“Was that a threat, Shitty Hair?” Bakugo had to hold himself back from snarling, but it managed to squeeze through. “Cause even if it is, why would I tell you? Last thing we need is some sort of Gossip Girl.” Fine. Bakugo loved shitty 2000s era tv dramas. Who doesn’t? It wasn’t like he was going to admit it in front of his whole friend group. “And sure, I guess they have history, but like, it’s not my place to say. It’s their shitty petty ass drama.”
That was the end of that conversation. And lunch.
The bell rang, everyone dropped their lunch trays, and Class 1-A made their way back to the classroom. Bakugo spied Deku with his own squad, consisting of round cheeks, the girl that looked like a frog, and the super fast kid with the crazy hands. Even eyebags followed at a distance. Sero had broken off a while ago to talk to Todoroki, and by the time the class made it back to their homeroom, the two were already seated. Bakugo decided to take a seat near Sero, causing the rest of the squad to take up the surrounding space.
Aizawa walked in last, just like he did this morning minus the sleeping bag, holding a jar of popsicle sticks and a devious expression.
“Well, it seems you’ve all made it back on time. Good. Punctuality will serve you well in this class. What I have in my hand is a jar of popsicle sticks, each with one of your names written on it. Starting next week, every Monday I will pull a popsicle stick and that student will choreograph a song of their choice to showcase to the class on the following Friday. Each of you will have a chance to showcase, and it will be random. You will also not be excused from usual schoolwork for this project, it will have to be on your own time.”
“This will be so fun!” Mina whisper-shouted, clearly not trying to be discreet.
Unfortunately, Aizawa did not take kindly to this. He zeroed in on her like a hawk on a field mouse. “If you think this will be all fun and games, you are sorely mistaken. This showcase is a privilege, and if I catch you working on it outside your designated week, you will not be allowed to participate. Trust me when I say, you want to participate. This showcase will have an impact on your grades and futures.
“Don’t worry, I won’t throw you into the shark pit yet. I will not draw the first dancer until next week. Starting tomorrow, we will be working on technique before lunch, then schoolwork with other teachers after lunch. Today, I encourage you to think very hard about what kind of dancer you want to be, your motivations, why you are here doing this. Today is the only day I will allow you to do this, so make some friends for the rest of class. You’ll need anchors and allies.
“This is grueling work, and after all, misery loves company.”