The gleaming halls of U.A. High buzzed with nervous energy. Students in crisp uniforms shuffled in, eyes wide, hearts pounding.
"Okay," Yuki Takamine said as she stood in front of the classroom door labeled 1-A, bouncing on the balls of her feet, "moment of truth! Who wants to go in first?!"
Toma Nishida, hunched under the weight of both his backpack and sleep deprivation, muttered, "I vote you."
Yuki shot him a grin. "Alright! If there's a fire trap inside, I'll scream loud enough for everyone in Musutafu to hear!"
"Please don't," Shiro Hanabusa murmured from behind them, barely audible.
Shin Karasuma stood slightly apart from them, calm and unreadable. He glanced at the doorway with quiet confidence. His storm-emerald eyes briefly locked with Izuku Midoriya's as the green-haired boy approached.
"You ready?" Shin asked.
Midoriya nodded. "Y-Yeah. I think so." Then, after a beat: "I've… always dreamed about this classroom."
Yuki flung the door open dramatically. "Well, Deku, dream no more! We're here!"
---
Scene: Classroom 1-A
The classroom was massive—far more spacious than a typical middle school. Desks arranged in perfect order. Windows tall and wide, letting sunlight pour in.
Inside, a few students had already arrived.
At the back of the room, Katsuki Bakugou had his feet kicked up on his desk, looking thoroughly unimpressed. His sharp eyes snapped up when he saw Midoriya enter.
"Tch," Bakugou sneered. "Figures you'd worm your way in."
Midoriya's shoulders tensed—but before he could respond, Yuki leaned in with a wicked grin. "Ooh, Bakugou still didn't change huh! Mr. Anger Issues with the superiority complex?"
Bakugou shot her a death glare. "The hell did you say?!"
Toma slid into his seat lazily. "Can't believe you're already yelling, and it's not even second period."
Shiro quietly took a seat by the window without a word.
"Bakugou," Shin said coolly, "You got in, too. Guess we'll see if you're as good as you say."
Bakugou scoffed, sitting up straighter. "I'll be the number one hero. Don't forget that."
"Oh, we won't," Yuki chirped. "It's just funnier every time you say it."
The air crackled with tension before a sharp voice cut through the room.
Another voice chimed in. "How childish," said a tall girl with long black hair tied neatly into a ponytail. Her bearing was dignified, her gaze sharp. "We're here to become heroes, not to bicker."
"Momo Yaoyorozu," she added, bowing slightly. "It's a pleasure."
"I like her," Yuki said instantly. "Polite and scary."
Nearby, a boy with mismatched eyes and a cold presence leaned against the wall, silent and observant. Shoto Todoroki.
His gaze flicked across the room, lingering momentarily on Shin. Something unreadable passed between them—like two predators acknowledging each other.
Shiro noticed. "Hmm."
Midoriya's eyes widened. "Wait, is that Todoroki? As in Endeavor's son?"
Toma yawned, sliding into a chair. "Hope he's less intense than his dad."
"Doubt it," Yuki muttered, watching Todoroki with a mix of curiosity and caution.
"Everyone. Sit down."
A boy with glasses—Tenya Iida—stepped to the front of the class, adjusting his glasses with a stiff motion. "This is a place of higher learning. Let's not disgrace ourselves with bickering."
Yuki leaned toward Shin. "Did… did he just call us a disgrace?"
"I think that's his polite voice," Toma replied, yawning.
Midoriya laughed softly under his breath. Shin caught it and smiled faintly.
---
More Students Pour In
The door swung open again, revealing a girl with pink skin and yellow eyes. "Whoa! Everyone's so serious in here!"
"Not all of us," Shiro said softly.
"Hey, you're cool," the pink girl grinned. "I'm Mina Ashido!"
"Shiro Hanabusa," he replied with a nod.
The rest of Class 1-A began filling in, and soon, chatter broke out across the room.
Midoriya sat near Shin and whispered, "I didn't expect so many… strong personalities."
"It's U.A.," Shin said. "The best always stand out."
From behind them, a large boy laughed heartily. "Hahaha! What a fine classroom! So full of youth!"
"Hi, I'm Kirishima!" another student added. "Nice to meet ya!"
"Yuki Takamine, chaos incarnate," she declared with a grin.
"Shin Karasuma," Shin said simply.
"Midoriya," Izuku said, bowing slightly. "Nice to meet you!"
Yuki nudged Toma. "Say hi."
"Too tired," he replied, eyes closed.
"Dude, we're literally meeting our classmates for the next three years!"
"…That's future Toma's problem."
Shiro raised an eyebrow. "And present Toma's snoring."
---
The Sleeping Bag Surprise
Suddenly, something rolled in at the front of the classroom.
Fwoom.
A yellow sleeping bag flopped to the ground. Students froze. From inside the bag, a man with wild black hair and bloodshot eyes emerged.
"... Took you all eight seconds to start acting like kids," he said, voice completely deadpan.
Several students jumped.
"WHO—!?"
"I am your homeroom teacher," the man muttered. "Shota Aizawa. Get your uniforms. We're going outside."
"Wait, like, outside outside?" Yuki asked. "We just got here!"
"There's no time for pointless ceremonies. Heroes act. You'll be tested immediately."
"Already?" Midoriya said, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple.
Toma groaned. "I should've stayed in bed…"
Shin's eyes lit faintly with electricity. "So it begins."
---
As They Walked to the Field
The class filed out in lines, heading toward the training grounds. Students chatted amongst themselves.
"So," Yuki said, looping an arm around Midoriya and Shin, "I bet this is gonna be some kind of weird, ultra-dangerous hero P.E., right?"
Midoriya chuckled nervously. "I mean, this is U.A. after all…"
Toma, dragging behind them, muttered, "Why do I feel like I'm gonna be exploded by noon?"
"Because it's highly likely," Shiro replied matter-of-factly.
Midoriya looked over at Shin. "You're always calm, huh?"
"I've trained for this," Shin said. "Since I was four."
"You and me both," Midoriya said quietly. "Though I had… a late start."
Shin glanced at him, then nodded slowly. "You're catching up fast."
"Thanks to you," Midoriya said, smiling.
Yuki threw her hands up dramatically. "Okay, but real talk—does anyone else feel like this is a shonen anime intro? We've got the loud one, the quiet one, the sleepy one, the genius, the cinnamon roll…"
"I am not a cinnamon roll," Midoriya muttered.
"You are 100% cinnamon," Yuki smirked. "And Shin's the brooding OP main character who's secretly sweet."
Shin blinked. "I…"
"She's not wrong," Toma added, sipping from a juice box.
Shiro just smiled faintly.
---
As they reached the edge of the training field, the class stared in awe at the massive open space filled with various training zones, gadgets, and high-tech equipment.
"Welcome to hero training," Aizawa said, tugging the scarf around his neck.
The class fell silent.
Behind them, the wind blew softly across the field—and Shin felt it in his bones.
This is it, he thought. The true beginning.