Chapter Six: Battle Trials and I Cannot Catch a Break

(Hnngggg, I'm so, so sorry it took me this long to update! I sort of fell out of writing for a while, I only managed to do half-done drabbles and GAH I'm so sorry. I hope you enjoy this chapter though! Don't be afraid to review, tehee!)

It took us a while but we had managed to tame the wild white thing in Inukai's arms and give it a proper bath. How Inukai managed to get the little scoundrel home, however, is what I don't know. I glare at the thing as it began roaming around the living room, eyeing everything with deep green eyes.

I then shift my glare over to the older wolf who stood beside me. "Fucking explain." I demanded, placing both of my fists on my hips to appear taller than Inukai. Alas, my 5'3" ass proved useless against his towering 6'11" figure. Inukai flinched anyway and tried to glare right back at me. "Language."

"Oho, no," I pointed at the cat, "you don't get to do that with me when you have brought a living, breathing kitten into this house. Now explain."

Inukai sighed and managed an uneasy smile. "I found him on the side of the road and y'know, he was staring at me like a— like a..." I cock an eyebrow. "A damn puppy?" I curtly offered. Inukai glared at me but nodded anyway.

"So, why is he in my house? Scratch that; why are both of you in my house?"

"Well," the white kitten had made his way towards Inukai and started playing with the wolf's giant paws, "your mother had asked me to watch over you from now on now that she's always at the hospital and who knows what would happen if you come home to an empty house with unspeakable injuries." Inukai smiled down at the kitten and started playing with him too. I felt a soft smile tug at my lips. "I just happened to find this little guy on the way."

"Where are you going to put him?"

Inukai froze at that. I deadpanned. His apartment complex had a strict 'No Pets' policy and he already had some beef with the landlord (some kind of alpha shit or something) so one wrong move and he'll get kicked out of the complex faster than you can say 'hairy devil baby'. I sighed in defeat and stood up.

"Fine. I'll take care of him," I grumbled and added, "I'm gonna go make dinner."

Inukai's face lit up at that. He stood up as well and grabbed me, pulling me into a bone crushing hug. I can see his tail wagging in the corner of my eye and a symphony of 'thank you's assaulted my eardrums. I patted his shoulder. "It's the least I could do for you. You did help me train after all."

I finally managed to push him away and I made my way to the kitchen to make some bomb-ass curry. Inukai moved into the room as well with the little kitten in tow. The cat blinked curiously at me and I blinked back, rolling up the sleeves of my uniform.

"I guess there are ingredients to make enough curry for the three of us. Mother included." I mumbled, mostly to myself.

"How's your first day of school by the way?"

"Awful. I got there super early and I already made, what, two enemies?" I pull the beef out of the freezer and moved to the side of the kitchen where the vegetables were usually stored. "Then we had a Quirk Apprehension Test and tomorrow, we're gonna be having hero training with..." I trailed off and slightly lower my hand currently clutching the potato.

Right. We're going to have hero training with him. I had been dreading this moment from the second I saw that hologram letter.

"Hero training with who?" Inukai asked while the kitten sat comfortably on his large paws. It purred as the wolf scratched its neck. I couldn't help but stare at the scene in front of me. A giant wolf and a small kitten. Who knew.

I exhaled through my nose and turned back around to finish getting the ingredients. "Nevermind," I place the ingredients on the island, "anyway, what are you gonna name him?" I asked, pulling a knife out of the drawer.

"I have no clue. I was partially hoping you would help me on that one, kid." I glanced up at the kitten again and I stared into its emerald green eyes. Its fur was white as snow, its cute pink nose was the only thing noticeable aside from the pine orbs. I smile a little.

"I guess Shiro's a fine name."

I shot up from my bed with wild, wide eyes. I whipped my head towards my alarm clock and practically screeched like a demon ascending from hell.

"FUCK MY ASS AND CONDEMN ME TO HELL."

On those nights where I don't get a single nightmare at all but a dreamless state of unconsciousness instead, I tend to relish the full 8 hours to make up for the past 3 to 4 hour bullshit. Then, those 8 hours would turn into 10 hours regardless of what's happening around me and, next thing you know, I am screwed.

I literally jumped out of bed and raced towards the bathroom, accidentally waking the slumbering Shiro from his dreams. I barely managed a quick 'sorry' to the disgruntled cat before I disappeared into the bathroom, quickly brushing my teeth and reemerging, already fumbling for my uniform.

Breakfast can wait, I need to go! Buttoning up my blouse and slipping on the gray blazer in a hurry, I burst through my bedroom door and raced down the stairs, grabbing my bookbag in the process. At the foot of the steps was my mother, looking up at me curiously with tired eyes.

"Chiasa, wha—?"

I jump over the railing and landed clumsily on my feet, finally putting on my socks and racing to the front door. "SORRY, CAN'T TALK RIGHT NOW. RUNNING LATE." With that, I bolted towards the outside world, wondering why God so hated me. For some reason, I also wondered if He could hate me even more.

I quickly hopped off the train and sped past throngs of people, weaving through them with a string of rushed apologies escaping my mouth. I continue running until I catch sight of the unmistakable blue building and my eye sparkles in delight. I check my watch and discover that I still had around 10 minutes until the bell rings. With that in mind, I sped up, willing my legs to go faster.

I'm by the gates now and I turn the corner to enter, when I slam into a much taller person. I yelped and fell backwards, my bottom colliding with the cement and my book bag sliding two feet away. I groan in pain and scowled at the person in front of me. My eye widened when it locked with gray and turquoise eyes.

Todoroki stared at me with wide, mismatched eyes before they narrowed and his mouth pulled back into a subtle scowl. He turned around and continued to walk. Now, I am, by no means, immature. I like to think of myself as a person who has at least a shred of dignity left. So yeah.

He pissed me off.

"Hey!" I jump to my feet and grab my book bag, gripping the straps so tightly my knuckles turned white. "Hey, candy cane!" Is it just me or did he speed up?

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not, so goodbye."

I sputter and speedwalked to his side. He's taller than me, maybe six inches taller or something. My eye narrowed as I remembered how small I felt yesterday. "God, you're so rude. Why am I not surprised?" I heard him scoff at my statement. He continued to walk away and I stop entirely, completely and utterly fed up with this guy. I was about to call out to him again when he looked over his shoulder and the side of his face where his burn scar was located was now visible as he glared at me. I hesitated. And strangely, I felt my own scars ache, like they did yesterday. No! I shake my head. So, what if he has a scar? Like I care!

"Tch, what a jerk." I started walking again, this time silently passing the walking candy cane in just a few seconds. I already have a lot on my mind right now. A figure with bright blond hair flashed in my mind and I scowled. Yeah, I have a lot on my mind. I sling my book bag over my shoulder and threw my glance behind me, watching as the burning trashcan's son continued walking without a care in the world. I scoffed.

I don't need any more problems.

"I am..."

I glare at the blackboard with utter disdain. Oh God, he's here.

"COMING THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR NORMALLY!"

The rest of my classmates cheered in delight. Uraraka shrieked in excitement right beside me and I could see Midoriya almost collapsing in his seat. Everyone's so excited to see our country's Symbol of Peace, the No. 1 Hero. Everyone except for me.

I continue to glare at All Might's head, even when Uraraka is excitedly tugging at my sleeve, her eyes twinkling. "Ejiri-chan, look! It's All Might!" She shrieked. "Whoopie, I guess?" I awkwardly replied. What else was I supposed to say? Whoopie, I hope he hits his face on the doorframe on his way out?

…

Actually, that is what I should've said, dang it.

Uraraka's eyebrows immediately knitted together in concern as she looked at my stiff, disgruntled self. "Looks like All Might's not your favorite hero, huh?" She commented with a slight smile and my eye actually widened at that. Huh. I didn't think she'd get it that quickly. Usually, I'd have to snap at the person for bothering me with all their All Might nonsense and then I become the bad guy. "Uh, well, I'm not very fond of him." I awkwardly admitted. Uraraka proceeded to laugh at me and I blush a light tint of red. "That's alright, Ejiri-chan! Not liking All Might isn't a crime, y'know?" She giggled again and I sigh deeply. "If you've met the people I met, then it basically is." I muttered.

I snap my head towards the front when All Might started talking. "Good afternoon, you zygotes!" Zygotes? "As you may all know, I will be your teacher for Hero Training!"

"This is where you'll be learning the basics of becoming a hero!" I scoff at this. He can teach us hero basics? "This is also the subject that has the most units!"

"Now, to get right to it, we're going to be starting with," All Might reached behind his back and pulled out a flashcard (from his pocket, I guess?), posing while doing so, "BATTLE TRIALS!"

Battle Trials, I thought, right off the bat?

"Also, with your hero training, comes this!" Just as he finished his sentence, the wall to his right began shifting, revealing cases with numbers on them. My gaze widened. I have a hunch what those are.

I shield my eyes from the blinding sunlight as we emerged from the dark tunnel. Blinking, I realized that it looked like one of the centers we used for the Entrance Exams. Are we going to fight robots again? I hope to God not. I've seen enough of those red beady eyed freaks to last a damn lifetime. I'm sick of them. "Uwah! Ejiri-chan!" I turn my head only to see Uraraka in her costume, along with a blushing Midoriya. Huh, Iida's nowhere in sight. Weird. "Hey, Uraraka, Midoriya." I greeted, placing my hands on my hips. "Nice hero costumes."

"Thank you! Yours looks amazing too!" The brunette commented and I blush a faint red. To be honest, I didn't think they'd be able to do a well enough job on my costume. Color me surprised when I finally tried it on; the people who made it got everything right down to the tiniest detail. I even liked the colors; pinks, maroons, oranges, and yellows. I'll just see if they installed the coolants when I use my quirk. I rub the back of my neck. "I hope it does. My pseudo-uncle was the one who designed most of it." I muttered, earning a laugh from the brunette. Inukai practically broke down when I showed him my first draft of the costume and proceeded to throw it out the window. You wear decent casual clothing, kid, how can you be such a fashion disaster?! He said. I snap out of my daze when All Might began speaking.

"Alright, let's begin—"

"Sir!" Is that Iida? I turn my head to the mecha-looking guy standing beside with his hand raised. Woah, he looks awesome!

"Is this going to be anything like the Entrance Exams?" All Might shook his head and lifted a finger, his grin growing slightly bigger. "No, no, Young Iida, we're going to go beyond that!"

"As you all know, we mostly see villain attacks that were done outside. But, if the numbers are added up, we'd see that actually most villain attacks happen indoors." I cast my gaze on my feet. That's true.

My classmates began sending a flurry of questions at our teacher. He actually looks flustered from all of this. So flustered to the point where All Might pulled a cheat sheet from one of his pockets and I deadpan. The hell…?

He explained the mechanics and then we were grouped. I stood beside my friends as we waited for the first ones to compete.

All Might reached into both boxes with his hands, feeling around the containers until he pulls out two balls, a black and a white one. "First up, Team B, as the Hero Team, versus Team I, as the Villain Team!" He announces, lifting the balls in the air for everyone to see. I blinked and scrunched my nose. Am I on Team I? Who were my teammates again? Jesus Christ, I can't even locate my teammates—

"Hello!"

I yelp and looked around the place. That's strange. I thought I heard someone say hello—

"Tehee! I told you, Ojiro-kun," I yelp and jump away, finally catching sight of the floating pair of light blue gloves and the slightly flustered blond with a large tail standing mere feet away. "This costume is perfect!"

"Oh, come on, Hagakure-chan, don't scare her like that." The blond chastised the one wearing the floating gloves and my gaze flitted alternately between the pair. Tail Guy looked at me with apologetic eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry for that. I'm Ojiro Mashirao, and the invisible girl is Hagakure Tooru." He holds out a hand. I straightened up and took his hand in a handshake. "Ejiri… Chiasa." Ojiro smiled. "Well, Ejiri-chan," I hear Hagakure exclaim beside me, "welcome to Team I!" I blink and let a small smile creep up my face. "A pleasure to be on Team I."

"So, who's on the hero team?" I asked. We were called by All Might and we followed him to the building, while our other classmates were led somewhere else.

"Oh! Isn't it Endeavor's son? Todoroki-kun, was it?" Hagakure's answer made my blood run cold. "Yeah, and that guy with those extra limbs, Shoji-san." Ojiro added. Huh. So we're up against him. "Ojiro, Hagakure," the two turned toward me and froze at my expression. The dark glint in my eye never leaves my gaze, "let's do our best, okay?"

They gulped and mumbled a "yes, ma'am".

"Alright, you zygotes," I snap my head towards All Might, my gaze hardening as his grin widens, "Let's begin."

I whistle lowly as I looked up at the giant decoy weapon. It's bigger than I expected, almost like the real thing. I rap my fingers against it, the rich metal clangs meeting my ears. It's actually made of metal, cool! I turn to Ojiro and Hagakure, my face set in determination. "Alright, here's the plan! Hagakure can go on the offensive, she can ambush the two of them when they enter the building."

"All by herself? Shouldn't one of us go with her?" Ojiro asked, his tail twitching on his shoulder. "We need to defend the weapon if bad goes to worst. Besides, she won't be going alone; I can just create a clone and spy on whatever's going on." I explained.

"A clone?" Ojiro asked, raising an eyebrow.

I nod.

Hagakure made a noise to catch our attention. "But wouldn't Shoji-kun notice?" She asked. "I think he can enhance his hearing by making another ear, and I think it would be suspicious if he heard four sets of footsteps." I blink and brought a hand to my chin, looking down in thought. "Damn, I didn't think of that."

Ojiro suddenly hits his fist over his palm, an idea popping into his head. "You can sit on my shoulders!" He suggested. "That way, you won't have to risk making noise walking around here." I beam at him. "That actually sounds good, Ojiro." I immediately go back to determined mode, fixing my posture as well as hardening my eye. "Are you guys ready?"

They both nodded (at least, I think Hagakure did) and I nod back. I watch as Hagakure proceeds to slip off her light blue gloves. Amazing, it's really as if there was no one there! "That's incredible, Hagakure! I can barely tell where you are." I exclaimed. Hagakure giggled and handed her gloves to me, which I safely tuck by the sash on my hip. "Thank you, Ejiri-chan!"

I nod and closed my eyes, feeling my body growing hotter and hotter by the second. I activate my calcination at level 5 and slowly release the porcelain copy from my back. I open my eyes and I turn around, staring at the copy and smiling. I turned to Ojiro and Hagakure and gave them a thumbs up. "Alright, I'm off!" Hagakure exclaimed. "Be careful!" Ojiro called out. We watch as the invisible girl and my clone exit the room and soon it was only Ojiro and I.

"Hagakure-chan's quirk is amazing." Ojiro commented and I nod. "Yeah, it is." I said in agreement.

"I just have some concerns with her costume. Or rather, lack thereof."

I snort. "Oh, come on, it's not like Hagakure's completely naked!"

Silence.

"There… is some invisible material there, right?"

More silence.

"Right?"

Soon, the match started and I close my right eye. I can't see Hagakure but I know she must be there in front of my clone somewhere. They're close to the entrance, I think. I pressed my fingers against my earpiece. "Hagakure, you there?" I hear a noise from the other side and then I hear her voice.

"I'm here. I haven't seen Todoroki nor Shoji yet."

Ojiro furrowed his eyebrows underneath me, as did I. The round already began; what could they be doing? "You think they're planning something?" Ojiro tilted his head up as I look down at him. "I'm not sure." I answer. "We should just keep our guard up—"

I hear a yelp through my earpiece and I close my right eye again. I can't move my clone. Why can't I move my clone? I make the doll look down and my breath hitched as I see glass covering my doll's feet. No. Not glass.

Ice.

"Hagakure!" I shout. I can only hear her grunting through the earpiece. Shit, shit, shit!

I noticed the ice crawling into the room at the very last second. It was fast, it's already making its way towards us. Ojiro grunted and wrapped his tail around my waist. I gasp as I was flung to the side upwards, my hands easily finding a beam to latch onto. The blond's feet were easily encased in ice as well and he grunts as he struggled to break free of it. "Ojiro!" I jump down from the beam and ran towards him, activating my quirk at level four and heating up my body. I couldn't get to him, however; a wall of ice flew past me in a flurry and I jump back in surprise. I growled and snap my head towards the door. There he was, ice encasing the entirety of his right side. He glared at me, huffing out a foggy breath. I narrow my eyes at him.

Todoroki Shouto.

END OF CHAPTER SIX

(Author's Note: Chiasa and Todoroki's match comes first and after that it would be Midoriya and Bakugou's! I hope you enjoyed and, again, don't be afraid to review!)