Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was no easy way to do this.

Noriko waited outside her new classroom, just down the hall from 1-B. “Let me go in and introduce you,” Aizawa muttered as he passed her. He opened the door and slipped inside, settling his class down.

Heart fluttering with nerves, Noriko focused solely on breathing evenly. It didn’t matter what he was saying, really. The outcome would be the same.

She had been the target of hate in her previous class, and it would be the same in this class. Changing rooms didn’t make a difference. Her last name didn’t change, after all, just the room in which she got her education.

What did matter was that 1-A was more experienced and had more talent than the combined forces of 1-B. That was why she’d done what she did. In 1-B she wouldn’t have become a hero, even if everyone liked her and they got along. In 1-A, she knew she’d be able to challenge herself. She could grow from her peers, even if they hated her. That was why she’d requested, or rather, demanded the transfer. She could deal with the hate, the same way she’d already dealt with it for the last month. Numbing herself had become nearly second-nature; she’d been doing it for most of her life, after all.

Aizawa was motioning for her to come in, so she did, stepping over the threshold of the classroom to be greeted by the twenty looks of surprise on her new classmates’ faces. Her own cheeks burned with the embarrassment of attention, but Noriko pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. “-I believe some of you met her during the sports festival,” Aizawa said, Noriko caught the words as she moved to the desk at the very back of the classroom. The only one that was empty. Hers.

“But Mr. Aizawa,” one of the students began, hand raised. Momo Yaoyorozu; she’d made it to the battle tournament of the sports festival. “It’s the middle of the semester. What’s the reason for her transfer?”

Aizawa paused a beat too long. Noriko sat, keeping her gaze on her desk, only glancing up once he spoke. “Administrative error.”

The expressions that her new classmates wore told Noriko that not one believed that for a moment. And really, they shouldn’t. It was a weak excuse at best, but it was the best that the principal had come up with. Actually, he had come up with better, but it had been too complicated to be practical. “Administrative error” simplified it. Besides, she couldn’t tell them the truth. It was too shameful.

“But never mind that,” Aizawa changed the subject, moving on swiftly. “Today we’ve got Hero Informatics class, and a special one at that. You’ll be coming up with your hero aliases-”

The class didn’t even let the man finish before they erupted in an uproar. He immediately used his quirk, negating theirs to nothing to settle them.

Oh yes, class 1-A was sure to be at least a little more interesting than 1-B.

Aizawa was saying something about hero agencies picking them and showing interest. The internships would be coming up fast now that the sports festival was over. Of course, looking at the board, half the class didn’t even register. Or maybe agencies just hadn’t been interested in them? Monoma was always going on about how 1-A was hyped up. Was he right?

Still, Aizawa didn’t linger on the subject with Midnight coming in instead and getting class started on the name-choosing.

“What future do you see for yourself?” Aizawa asked rhetorically as he took his sleeping bag with him to the corner of the room. “The name you choose will bring you ever closer to cementing a certain image because names are capable of reflecting one’s true character.”

Midnight gave them fifteen minutes initially, the class finally quiet to the point that a pin could have dropped and it would have been heard down the hall.

Noriko had at least chosen a good day to transfer. Or rather, the school had. Name-choosing day meant that no one would be focused on her.

Still, trying to focus with the remaining embarrassment in the back of her mind was nigh impossible. And tapping her marker on her desk only earned a new reason for them to look at her.

Noriko gripped the marker in her hand so tightly she was sure it would leave marks, her nerves transferring to her leg instead, bouncing it quietly beneath the desk.

No, she needed to focus. She couldn’t let her new class dictate what she could focus on.

Trying to breathe evenly, Aizawa’s words came back to her. A name reflecting one’s true character. An image to project.

Over the years she’d written out the names she would come up with in her sketchbook, only to leave the pages shredded in trashcans at the mall or at her school, or somewhere else that no one would ever think to find. If she’d been born with a fire quirk, she would have burned the pages to ash. As it were, she’d left them shredded.

The first of her classmates was called to the front.

Noriko had thought of several names over the years, but none of them ever had the right ring to them.

With all the betrayal and the despair she’d inflicted on herself, only one name came to mind, but did she dare claim it for herself? It was flashy and called attention to itself. She would be in the spotlight with it. People would judge her with it.

Of course, she would be judged anyway. That had always been her life.

“The Rainy Season Hero: Froppy!” the girl at the front of the class announced, the third one to announce her name, holding up her name board proudly. Midnight loved it. It was cute, Noriko could admit.

Okay, so she had a name… in theory. Did she have a hero tag?

“The Sturdy Hero: Red Riot!” Another classmate announced his, proudly. He was the guy that had gone up against Tetsutetsu.

The villainous hero… the darkness hero… the shadow hero… But all the tags that came to mind were everything that she wanted to get away from. Everything she’d spent her entire life battling against. Even her quirk wasn’t “hero” enough. It never had been. How could she hope to embody anything except darkness and despair?

More of her classmates took to the front of the class, announcing what they’d come up with, one after another. Every so often Midnight would offer her suggestions, but for the most part the class was student-run.

“You’re all doing great,” Midnight exclaimed after half the class had gone. “Let’s keep ‘em coming! Matsuda? Your turn!” Her name caught Noriko’s attention, and the entire class seemed to still. There it was again; she was an outsider.

Still, Noriko stood, her chosen name written on her name board. Even through her doubts, a small flame of determination gripped her heart. She’d fought for this for years. Even Dai had believed she could become a hero. She’d earned her place at UA, and Principal Nezu hadn’t expelled her on the spot for offering the terms for the information she had.

Reaching the front of the class, Noriko turned the board toward the class. They didn’t know her quirk. Class 1-B barely had; she’d made sure of that, so the looks of confusion on their faces was something to be expected. Midnight was the only one who looked remotely amused.

“Divinity,” Noriko announced quietly, the word rolling off her tongue before she could re-think her decision.

“No Hero tag?” Midnight quirked a brow.

Noriko shook her head, ginger waves bouncing. “Just Divinity.”

Noriko could feel the stares of her new classmates follow her back to her seat, but it didn’t last long as the rest of her class took to the front to announce what they’d chosen.

 The class finished quickly after that and Aizawa unzipped his sleeping bag, clamoring out slowly. Was he always like this?

“Alright, now that everyone’s decided on their hero names,” Aizawa began, “we’ll go back to talking about the internships. They will last for a week. As for where you’ll have them, those who had offers from pros will be given your own lists, so you can choose from those yourself. Those who didn’t have offers will choose from among forty agencies around the country that will be accepting our interns. They all work in different places and have different specialties.”

As he spoke, Midnight passed out the papers to the students who had had offers, and then the papers that listed the forty agencies. She continued from where he left off. “For example, Thirteen would be focused on rescues from accidents and disasters more than fighting villains.”

“Think carefully before you choose,” Aizawa said as he headed for the door. “Be sure to turn it in before the end of the week.”

“Just two days?” Kirishima complained loudly, but no one seemed to mind him. Everyone was studying their respective papers.

Noriko had taken the page with the forty agencies. No one had extended an invitation to her. And why would they? She didn’t even pass the first event of the festival.

Bending the corner of the page back and forth, she scanned the list. It was divided into sections based on the type of work each did. There was the coastal agencies, rescue agencies, urban agencies, rural agencies, intelligence agencies, and then within each they were divided again based on any specialties.

She knew she’d always wanted to fight crime in an urban area, but at the same time, as long as she got on with a good agency it didn’t really matter where she was. As long as she could use her quirk to stop villains.

Even villains like her family.

The thought was sobering, but true. When Dai had asked her that very question all those years ago, she never would have thought the choice would be so hard. Now? Now, she was on the other side. And she was sure it had been the worst thing she had ever done. She had no confusion on whether or not it had been the right thing to do, but it had been hard.

At any rate, she would have to go through the list of agencies that night when she got back to her room. Do some research on them and figure it out that way.

Most of her classmates seemed to have the same idea as they read over their respective lists, talking to each other. Some stood, stretching, and meandered to their friends’ desks. Noriko carefully watched them, using her hair falling over her shoulder as a cover, suddenly finding herself with too much free time and nothing to keep herself occupied with.

 “Noriko Matsuda, huh? I don’t think I met you in the sports festival,” Yaoyorozu said, turning around in her desk to face Noriko suddenly, making the new girl jump. A smile played on her lips. Incredulous that anyone was even talking to her, Noriko could only find herself gaping like a fish, trying to find words in her blanked-out mind. No one talked to her. At least not in 1-B. 1-A was proving themselves to be very odd, indeed.

“I, uh,” Noriko finally found her voice as two other girls stepped closer. Uraraka and another, with earphones hanging from her ears. Had she said her name was Earphone Jack before? “I didn’t make it very far,” Noriko admitted. It wasn’t like it was a secret. The entire festival had been broad casted to the nation. “I didn’t make it past the first event. But you both did amazing-” Noriko began, looking between Yaoyorozu and Uraraka before cutting herself off.

Don ’t seem too eager. They’ll think you’re up to something.

Noriko instead leaned back in her seat, disengaging, but none of them seemed to notice. “Well, thanks,” Uraraka replied cheerfully. Watching her fight against Bakugo had been inspiring, but Noriko held her tongue. If she said anything there was a good chance Uraraka would think Noriko was trying to cozy up to her. 1-B had, at least.

Uraraka continued, not noticing Noriko’s discomfort. “My guess is you know about most of us, but what about you?”

“Yeah, it’s odd that you would be transferred halfway through the semester,” Earphone Jack said.

Noriko shrugged, trying to shut down the subject like Dai could. She was a natural at it. “All I know is it was an administrative-”

“Error, yeah,” Yaoyorozu finished for her, but she wasn’t harsh about it, just curious. “It’s just odd, is all.”

“I agree,” Noriko said, trailing off, but not volunteering any more information. Didn’t they realize that she was a Matsuda?

An awkward silence fell between them for a brief moment, but Uraraka wasn’t one to be deterred. “What’s your quirk?”

Noriko had seen the sports festival. She’d been part of it, too, until she hadn’t made it back to the arena with the first forty two kids. If things had been different, she might have had a fighting chance at winning the thing, or at least making it to the battle tournament. But as it was, she’d watched the battles, and knew of everyone’s quirks in this class - her class. The entire world knew. But she had also seen the boy who had a sentient shadow within him, and knew what would likely happen when she named her quirk. She named it anyway.

“I can manipulate and solidify shadows,” she said, lifting her gaze to his momentarily. Tokoyami. He was sitting on his desk, talking with another of the students - the one with six arms. She caught his eye before glancing away again. 

Likely no one else noticed, since as soon as she spoke, Uraraka exclaimed, “Oh, wow! That’s kind of similar to Tokoyami.” She turned, then, to the boy.

“That is a coincidence,” he mused, catching her gaze again. Of course Uraraka would comment on it. She was smart, and they all knew each other.

Kicking herself, Noriko fought the flush that rose to her cheeks. Of course attention would now be directed to her.

Thankfully, she was spared any more embarrassment as the door slid open and Present Mic entered with an energetic, “Yo - Yo - Yo! Look alive!” to begin English class.

As soon as the morning classes let out and lunch began, Uraraka glommed onto Noriko’s arm and didn’t let go. “You want to eat with us, Matsuda?” she asked as they walked. Noriko became very aware of Midoriya behind them, as well as Asui.

Wait. Did they actually want to eat lunch with her? As soon as 1-B had learned of her last name, they had seemingly decided as a class that she wasn’t welcome. 1-A so far had had no such rejection. As much as she wanted to believe in that: that things would be different this time around, hesitation held on. 

1-B had actually been the anomaly. In middle school she’d had her friends, Aika and Fujiko. Aika had decided she could only hang out with them after she saw Noriko’s house, however, but it wasn’t as if she hadn’t had friends. She just had them quietly and without fanfare. Her parents, as loving as they were, put their foot down when it came to after school activities. If she wasn’t at home, or training with Dai, she was at school and vice versa. It had been a miracle that Dai had found her her job last summer. That job was really the only real reason she’d made it into UA. The recommendation that Safeguard had given her after that summer had been a blessing.

But she’d so far had few friends. Did she dare to trust Uraraka’s excitement?

Still, it was tempting, and a small smile wormed itself past her lips, even though she meant to keep it at bay.

“I’d like that,” she replied. This time would be different. 1-A was a fresh start. “Let me run to the bathroom really quick, though. I’ll meet you there?”

Uraraka and Asui nodded and followed Midoriya on to Lunch Rush as Noriko turned to head to the girl’s room.

Was she really so lucky? Uraraka was strong, there was no doubt about that. And she seemed to be as excited to be friends with Noriko as Noriko was to be friends with her. Did Uraraka really not care? Or did she just not know and would toss Noriko out with the trash as soon as she put two and two together?

Hesitation gnawed at her heart. Clenching her teeth to distract herself, Noriko tried to push past the thoughts. Cautiously optimistic, she decided. That’s all she could hope for at this point.

Of course, she was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn’t see a certain blonde-haired boy approaching.

As they passed, he spoke, “Just because you switched classes doesn’t mean you’ll ever be a hero.”

His words shot ice through her veins, and she froze mid-stride. No, she’d made it this far. She’d make it the full way. She’d become a hero no matter what.

Turning, she opened her mouth to reply, only to find the hallway empty behind her.

Monoma was already gone. Besides. What could she have said? Especially after being the instrument in her family’s downfall? No, she wasn’t a hero. She was just a fake. Try as she might, she would never be a hero; he was right.

But… if that was the case, then Dai’s sacrifice, and her own sacrifices would be for naught. Everything she’d fought for, all the tears and agony she’d endured, it would all be for nothing.

And besides, she’d only done it because that was the only tool she still had in her bag of tricks. It was the only thing she knew to do.

And it had worked. That had to mean something.

No. Monoma was wrong. She’d be a hero. 

Chapter Text

"Matsuda?"

The whisperings that had started when Midnight slid open the door to 1-B stilled as Vlad King called my name. I knew what it was, of course. What it always was. Why they had to call me out in front of everyone, though, I didn 't know.

Stomach twisting, it felt like I couldn 't take a deep breath.  Not again . But I remembered my plan in my back pocket. The one I would only present if Nezu brought it up. I couldn 't keep doing this. Not with Monoma watching with that superior glint in his eye and that smirk on his face. Not with Monoma's lackeys making my life a living hell. Not if I wanted to be a hero. Kendo supported me where she could, but when she looked away, I always saw an apprehensive expression cross her face. Not only did I realize I needed to stand on my own, but there was only so much she wanted to do for me, too, especially when she didn't trust me completely.

"Matsuda." Vlad called again. Best not to make him call a third time. Standing, I passed between the desks, stumbling as someone stuck their foot out. Whirling on them, they were only smiles and snickers behind their hands.

"What are you going to do?" Someone whispered; a challenge. What could I do? I had to be perfect all the time. If I showed any violence, I was automatically branded as that "violent villain girl". Whereas now I was just that "villain girl."

It wasn 't worth it anyway. Neither Vlad nor Midnight seemed to have seen the act, so I merely straightened my shirt and tie, pride burning, and left the class with Midnight.

"Who wants to bet she gets expelled this time?" I heard right as the door slid shut.

The walk with Midnight all the way up to Nezu 's office was a quiet one. Midnight, of course, tried to lessen my worries - "Don't listen to them. Principal Nezu only wants to ask you a few questions!" - but I knew that. Twice a week for the last two and a half he'd called me to his office to speak with Candor, the truthful hero. At first it had only started with one visit since the League of Villains had attacked 1-A at the USJ, but even though I hadn't known anything then, and didn't know anything since, I was still called.

"Don't look so worried, Matsuda! You'll be fine," Midnight gushed as we walked. I made sure to keep my eyes downcast. The last thing I needed was them thinking I was plotting, and then questions would come, and there's no way to prove a negative.

When I started all this I didn 't think I'd be the trump card of knowledge any time there was a villain attack.

"Matsuda!" Principal Nezu greeted as we walked through his office doors. "You remember Candor, don't you?"

Of course I remembered. How could I forget his cold hands wrapping around mine? His probing questions? The look of distrust in his eye? I nodded, anyway.

"There's been a… development that we wanted to see if you could help us with," he said. What he didn't say was that one of the Matsuda Corporation's trucks was likely spotted at the scene of a crime. The truck was probably reported as stolen, even if it wasn't, but that couldn't be proved where the police had jurisdiction. Especially since Mother always made sure the paperwork lined up.

"Anything I can help with," I said. "Anything to make this end," I didn't say.

Nezu took Candor and I to an empty classroom and left us there. He would likely watch through a window, but at the moment, his attention didn 't hold mine.

I was focused on Candor. He was a small man. Looked like one of the police detectives in a suit and bow tie. Some stubble peppered his jaw.  "You know how this works," He muttered, tossing me a brief glance before opening his briefcase and pulling out a pen and paper. Extending his left hand, I took it, his grasp firm and cold, as always.

"What is your name, for the record?"

His voice was the only one in the classroom. The only noise. For a moment, I couldn 't speak, the pressure weighing down so heavy I was sure I'd never draw another breath.

His grip became harder.  "What is your name?" He asked, forcefully. I once overheard him say that he didn't trust me. Thought I was hiding something. He didn't know that I had been outside Principal Nezu's office when he said that. He also didn't realize how right he'd been, though, his suspicions were far off the mark.

"Noriko Matsuda," I gasped. "Please, you're hurting me."

His grip relaxed immediately. Likely, he could feel Principal Nezu 's stare as much as I could.

He chuckled once, without humor, but didn 't let me take my hand back. Not yet. "We can't have that, now can we?" He glanced to his notes for just a moment before beginning the session. "Do you know of the incident that occurred today?"

I didn 't know anything. But even if I told him that, he would still have to ask me these questions. His quirk was in deciphering the truth. 'I didn't know anything' was too vague a statement. I might not know anything about the weather, or how to ride a bike. What 'anything' referred to, he had to ask to find out. And so he asked me the questions he needed to know. Specific, yes or no questions. What felt like a hundred of them, time stretching forever. By the time he was done, he let go of my hand, packed up his briefcase of the two items he took from it, and walked briskly to the door. It opened, of course, and Midnight led him away. Nezu, however, came in for me.

"Thank you for your help today," he said, hands clasped behind his back. "I hope you'll be able to help us in the future as well. Midnight will take you back to class. " It was what he said every time.

My head snapped up, right as he was turning to leave. Yes, I would help, but on my terms.

"Principal Nezu?" His name caught his attention, and he turned to face me, again, brow raised. Before coming to UA, if someone told me I would be bargaining with a mouse that had become principal I would have laughed. Now, it was the norm. "So far I've kept my head down at home, hoping I wouldn't overhear anything that might incriminate me, but I have a proposition." He continued waiting while the words I hadn't yet spoken burned within me. But I needed to do this to survive, so I would gladly speak them. "If I get you information on my family's activities, I want to be transferred to class 1-A."

Legs burning, lungs screaming for air, sweat dripping off her body, Noriko pushed herself harder, picking up the pace of her run, the stars twinkling above her beyond the city lights. At this time of the morning, everyone was still sleeping. The only other beings awake were the crickets and frogs, creating a symphony beyond her labored breaths.

This was heaven. Pushing her body as hard as it would go. Alternating between jogging and sprinting through the grounds of UA. Not even the teachers had made their way to the school. And the sun hadn't even thought about peeking over the horizon.

She passed her dorm on the right for the fourth time. Mile four. She'd do five, then go in for a shower and to get ready for the day. Trying to get any more shut eye wouldn't be worth it. She hadn't been able to get more than four hours of sleep since everything went down. And four hours had already been gotten for the night.

To say that UA was a dorm school was wrong. It wasn't a school with a dorm system. It was a school that had one dorm for their students whose families lived more than two hours away. Or had other extenuating circumstances. Like the employees of the students' parents wanting to kill them.

That was how Noriko had found herself living on the UA campus. Here, no one could slice her neck while she slept. No one could pitch her in front of the train on the way to class. Whether the order came directly from her parents or their second-in-charge, Yoshiro, didn't matter. There was a hit out on Noriko, and just the whisperings of an idea of one was all it took for UA to bring her onto campus. Especially with the information that had been delivered on the Matsuda Corporation. UA had at least been smart about it and brought her onto campus before the take down had occurred.

It wasn't like living at home; it was so much better.

First, she was safe. Second, even while living at home, it wasn't as if anyone actually spoke to her since she told them she would be attending UA. So, not having anyone to talk to at UA hadn't been much of a change. At least living in the dorm was a less-hostile situation.

It was divided with girls on one side, boys on the other, but only maybe a dozen kids lived in the dorm. Three other first years - one other from class A, two from class B, six second years, and two third years. No one really hung out in the common areas; no one really knew each other or talked. And everyone being from different departments only created a further divide. And even if they did, it wasn't like she was invited.

So she kept to herself, which was for the better, really. She could focus on what she needed to. She didn't have anyone sniffing into her business.

Still, it was lonely. But it was just as well.

She even ran alone. Most of the dorm kept in shape, with half the dorm going out for their daily run or exercise in the morning, and half in the evening. She was always first one out in the mornings. Father had instilled that habit in her by the time she was eleven. Run before sunrise, train before school, go to school and get an education, then return home and do homework. These days, it was a different habit. Run in the morning, finish any schoolwork from the night before. Go to class. Return to the dorm and complete her homework. Of course, she still worked out. On her hero training days, she didn't bother with trying to also get in a physical work-out. If the class hit the gym, she made use of her time to make up for an evening workout. If neither was happening, she made sure to hit the gym before it closed in the evening.

It was a cycle she hadn't broken yet, even with her newfound freedom.

Really, it didn't feel like freedom. Not with the memory of their expressions when she told them about UA. Not with the memory of finding their forgery and plans. Her family had been in the villain business for longer than she could remember, and she had trained to become a villain and take over the company someday, but finding that information was... soul crushing. And then on top of everything else, Dai had thrown away everything. Her promise to come back. To keep Noriko safe. What bullshit.

Anger roared, fast and furious. Legs on fire, she pushed harder. Fucking Dai. She'd just thrown everything away; she hadn't even tried to fight. She just… disappeared.

So much for Dai calling Noriko her daughter. It was a lie. All of it. She had wanted to quit the Matsuda family and had used Noriko as a way out.

A scream wrangled itself out of Noriko, and she stumbled to a halt next to the trees. Stepping off the path, Noriko pitched her head back, focused on her breathing, and tried to catch her breath; trying to calm the storm inside of her. Dai had just abandoned her. All those years saying she was her ally and her godmother meant nothing. At the time she needed Dai most, Dai decided her skin was worth more.

Alone. She only had herself now. As much as it hurt, it was for the best, really. With just herself to count on, no one else could disappoint her. No one else could let her down.

Slowly, the anger subdued, leaving her numbness in its wake, so Noriko stepped back onto the path and started at a jog again, focusing on the burn and her breathing. This wouldn't get the better of her. She had worked too hard to get here.

The mile finished slowly. Not her best performance, but she'd finished, and that was what mattered. As she slipped through the front door of the dorm, she nearly ran into six-arms from class.

"Are you alright?" He asked, side-stepping her lithely, even though he towered over her by nearly a foot. Beyond that, he was large like a tank. He could probably bench-press the tank. Even going out for his morning run - or whatever it was he did - he still wore his mask. No telling what was under there, and not like he'd tell her if she asked.

She should probably say something, honestly, especially now that they were classmates, but all she managed was a quiet, "Sorry," before passing him and heading straight to her room.

Noriko had been training since she was a child. By the time she was eleven she started officially learning hand-to-hand combat from her father and quirk-training from Dai. By age thirteen, it was obvious she had definition in her body that the other girls her age didn't have. And after the summer of her fourteenth birthday, when she returned to school and had gained strength and muscle every day of that long, hot summer, Aika had made sure she was aware that she was different from everyone else. Since, then, Noriko had been changing for gym class in the bathroom stalls.

Starting UA hadn't managed to break that habit, yet, either.

"Matsuda?" Uraraka called through the girl's locker room. "Where did she go?" She asked someone else, softer. It had barely been two minutes since Noriko had slipped away.

"I think I saw her go to the bathroom?" Yaoyorozu muttered, barely audible from where Noriko pulled her combat clothing on.

"I'll be out in a minute!" Noriko called, shimmying her skirt off next.

She could barely hear the other girls from all the way in the back, but it didn't really matter anyway. They were talking about the internships. The forms were due tomorrow, and honestly, Noriko had forgotten all about the forms they needed to turn in. Annoyance bit at her. On top of her normal assignments, she needed to research the agencies that night, and go get dinner with Safeguard, who had requested to see her out of nowhere. He'd said it had something to do with the internships, so she had to see him before she turned the form in. Which, tonight was the only night she had before the internship forms were due. On top of all that, Aizawa had wanted to do some kind of physical benchmark after her hero training.

Huffing a sigh, Noriko did the math for everything in her head. She wouldn't get to bed until after midnight at this rate.

She'd saved her boots to put on outside. Switching out shoes wouldn't call too much attention to her physique. She'd get comments on her costume, as she had even with class 1-B, but she'd avoid the unwanted attention to her body. She wasn't like the others, and it was glaringly obvious. She just had to blend in as much as possible.

Taking a steadying breath, Noriko unlatched the bathroom stall and slipped back out to where the girls were changing at their locker.

"Look at you, all ready to go!" Mina exclaimed, pulling on her jacket with the fur collar.

"I thought I'd go ahead while I was back there," Noriko muttered, pushing her school uniform shoes off with her toe to her heel.

"Okay, so you've got to explain your costume," Uraraka said, looking Noriko over once. Their first day of hero training after the sports festival had happened two days ago, but even while everyone else was in their hero costumes, someone had forgotten to take Noriko's hero costume from the 1-B safes and put it with the 1-A, so she'd been left to train in her gym uniform. It wasn't the end of the world, but no one else had gotten a chance to see it, yet.

Looking at the girls in front of her, with Yaoyorozu in her skin-tight leotard that dipped to her navel and the skin-tight jumpsuits of Asui and Uraraka, and even Mina, Noriko wasn't quite sure they'd understand. Jiro might, but even Hagakure… wait, was Hagakure even wearing clothes?

Blushing and turning away to put her shoes in her locker, Noriko tried to form words. "Well, you know I control shadows, so I needed something where I could blend in with my surroundings," she began, finding the words came easier as she spoke. "And I asked for the cut I did because it's what I'm used to wearing while training. Beyond that," she said, pulling her boots on as she spoke, "the boots have deadener on their soles, so my opponent can't hear when I'm moving. These," she motioned to the goggles that hung from the latch on her locker, "Are a tool similar to night-vision goggles, but can handle bright light, too. And these here," she pointed to the three small ball-like objects on the left side of her belt, "are flash bombs."

"And that?" Hagakure asked, one of her gloves pointing to the small cylindrical object attached to her belt on her right side.

Careful not to look too long at Hagakure, Noriko glanced down. It wasn't like she was suddenly going to see anything she shouldn't, but still. "Oh, that's my baton. If I'm fighting hand-to-hand, I like to be able to use something as a weapon, if I need to. It can even extend to over six feet!"

There was silence as she finished speaking, the other girls watching her with brows raised, and she realized how excited she must have sounded.

Turning away from them, Noriko took a deep breath, reaching for her hair tie and pulling her long hair up off her shoulders. She couldn't seem too eager. Who would want to be around her? Beyond that, she'd shown how knowledgeable she was about hand-to-hand. She shouldn't have done that. The other girls would surely cast her aside now; she was dangerous.

Shame flooded her cheeks, hot and overwhelming. Really, her costume had been the thing she'd been most excited about. None of it was overly tight-fitting. It seemed that all the female heroes out there felt like they had to wear the most revealing clothing, and she'd decided she wouldn't fall into that standard. She'd asked for black pants that could withstand rough usage, and a black top. While it was tight-fitting enough for her to be able to move freely in battle, it wasn't skin-tight. It didn't show her body the way other female heroes' did. It was also made out of a material that could hold up. It was sleeveless to a point. Her left arm was uncovered, but her right was covered in a long-sleeve. She wore fingerless gloves, and a lightweight, sleeveless hooded cardigan, for times when she needed to do stealth work.

She'd been proud of it, but really it showed how far beyond she was compared to everyone else. Even if she pretended to be normal, her training refused to let her be.

"Those flash bombs are a really good idea," Earphone Jack - Jirou, Noriko had learned her name was - said, painting red teardrops onto her cheeks, and using the mirror inside her locker. She caught Noriko's gaze in the mirror. "Don't those make really dark shadows?"

Her acceptance stilled Noriko in her tracks, chasing away the dark thoughts. When Noriko didn't say anything - too shocked to form words - the chatter started up again, Mina wondering aloud what they would be doing for their hero training. It had been nearly five days since the sports festival. Five days since everything had gone down. Maybe she could survive this.

"Hey, Matsuda?" Uraraka called as the girls filed out of the locker room, fully dressed and ready for training. Noriko paused a step for Uraraka to catch up. "I was wondering… you said you were good at hand-to-hand combat?" Noriko nodded, hesitant to where this new inquiry might lead.

"I've been training since I was little, yeah," She said.

The other girl smiled. "Will you show me a few things after class?" Uraraka whispered the question, like it might be forbidden.

Noriko was about to jump on the opportunity, but she stopped herself, Aizawa's request coming to mind. "I'd love to, but I can't. Mr. Aizawa wants me to do some kind of physical. Maybe tomorrow?"

Uraraka groaned. "Oh, that!" she laughed, sparing a glance at the rest of the class as they joined the others. The others were gathered at the far end of a very large room. With high ceilings and computer monitors at the far end, they showed different angles of a very large arena that kept several trees and boulders, as well as a large clear field. Noriko had been in the room several times previously, but always with 1-B. It was the simulation room where they could watch their friend's match-ups and learn from the failures and successes of others, and have their own match-up recorded to review later. "He made all of us do that, too, first day," Uraraka continued. "It's not too terrible, and I'm sure you'll do fine!" Noriko barely caught Uraraka's eyes tracing the shape of Noriko's arm beneath her clothing.

Uncomfortable, Noriko shifted, and edged closer to the class, stopping just on the edge. It was her normal place that she always stood near the back: out of sight and away from attention.

However, she wasn't out of sight. Even leaning against the wall, Uraraka followed her anyway and stood next to her, bracing her lower back with her hands against the wall. Another was already there as well - the six-arms from her dorm. His visible eye watched them as they approached, but he didn't say anything.

All Might, however, was having none of the spread-out-ness. "Come on, now! Get closer! We don't want to be spread out and miss something, now do we?"

The class gathered closer as a result, and Uraraka inched down the wall, Noriko following, as did six-arms.

She'd seen him once, along with Tokoyami, after the sports festival. She'd just moved into the dorms three days prior, and the sports festival had just ended. The two were leaving as she was returning, and she'd wanted to tell them both how great she thought they had both done, but they were talking about something, and she'd passed them by the time she worked up the nerve to say something. Just as she was about to pull open the dorm's heavy front doors, she turned, lips working, but six-arms and Tokoyami had already turned a corner.

Now, he towered over her again, and even though she wanted to say, again, how great she thought they both did, the words died on her tongue as his gaze found hers again. A blush rose to her cheeks as Noriko quickly looked away. Of course he'd catch her staring!

"You're the girl from the dorm," He said quietly, as All Might began explaining the day's exercise. Noriko immediately went on defense, listening for Uraraka asking about the dorm, but she was intently listening to their teacher. "I'm Mezo Shouji."

As she realized he'd spoken again, her attention returned, and her mouth gaped - What had he just said?

He caught on quickly though. "Mezo Shouji," he repeated, kindly.

"Oh!" She bowed, the best she could without drawing attention to their side-conversation. "Noriko Matsuda!" As she came up, she began, "Y-You did-"

"Matsuda! Since you're talking, why don't you go first?" All Might cut her off, and jabbed his thumb toward a black screen behind him. Well, two black screens. The first had Tokoyami's name written on it.

Tokoyami.

He wanted her to fight against Tokoyami?

"And you'll need you use your quirk this time, or I'll have to fail your midterms," he said more seriously, his grin turning toward a scowl. Eyes turned toward her.

"What're you like Deku or something?" Bakugo asked, eyeing her with barely-perceived interest.

"You haven't used your quirk yet?" Uraraka whispered from her side.

Noriko clenched her teeth, keeping her expression passive. "Fine," she said instead, letting her battle-mask settle in. She'd been able to get by with just sticking with hand-to-hand up until that point, which hadn't been a problem, really. Not seeing her quirk hadn't done anything to quell the incessant bullying that 1-B had directed toward her, but it still felt safer to keep her quirk hidden. It wasn't anything to be proud of. Even though she'd wanted her hero name for years, a hero named Divinity with a shadow quirk? What a joke.

But she didn't let any of her inner thoughts leak out. Her gaze found Tokoyami's and she turned, heading toward the blast doors across from her. The ones that lead to the arena. Tokoyami followed her, neither saying a word until they exited the blast doors, and made their way a good distance from the walls of the arena to the center of the field.

"Just from watching you at the festival, I know that Dark Shadow is sensitive to light," she finally said, turning to face him.

"Very observant of you."

"Which, means, if I'm to assume correctly, darkness makes him stronger. What a match-up we are." He didn't say anything, but surely he could only feel confidence right then. "But I also know that you fight long-range. Which means we'll have to get a bit closer."

Dai used to say that Noriko had her obvious strengths, and her less-obvious ones. Obviously, she was talented with hand-to-hand combat. It was what she'd worked on and perfected and trained with since she was a young child. It was a way she could be powerful and strong without using her quirk. While she excelled at hand-to-hand combat, her quirk allowed her to fight at long-range. The balance of fighting styles made her strong on the battlefield, but the skill that she'd learned while training from Dai was one that was more often than not looked over. It was a skill that as soon as she'd learned, she'd attached herself to it. It was the surprise in people who saw her use it that fueled her excitement.

The skill of analyzing combat, and then using that to feed her competitive nature.

Noriko suppressed a grin as she lowered her night vision goggles, watching Tokoyami. He didn't give away much at all. Nothing in his gaze at least. But looking at his body language, he was tense. It was apparent even through his cloak. One foot back, he rested his weight on it, as if he meant to run from the memory of his fight with Bakugo. But that was also precisely why she'd brought it up: to see his reaction to it. His reaction to her mention of the fight was everything she needed to know. Long-range fighting was his forte, which was why after Bakugo had managed to weaken Dark Shadow, he was able to get so close to Tokoyami.

Of course, mentioning it put him on alarm, and it gave away her plan, but it would make the match-up more interesting. All Might wanted them to show their weaknesses at least.

You'll need you use your quirk this time, or I'll have to fail your midterms. Fine. She'd use it. She'd likely become the outsider of her class, but it wasn't like she'd been accepted immediately by everyone. It was exactly what she'd been through in 1-B, even though they'd never seen her fully use her quirk. At least now everyone would know exactly what she was.

Over before it even began. Who was she kidding? Noriko would always be the outsider in this world.

"No holding back, yeah?" She asked aloud, and Tokoyami nodded, tensing further.

Something she'd learned from her father, from Dai, even from her mother when she was around for more than five minutes, was to attack in a manner that the enemy wouldn't expect. If your opponent was expecting an attack from the front, you'd have to give them an attack from behind. Finish the fight quickly. Escape with your life.

If you were training, same rules applied. The trick to living to the next day was to size up your opponent and finish the battle quickly.

Noriko followed that advice, pulling a wave of darkness from behind Tokoyami like a tidal wave, crashing down upon him.

"Dark Shadow!" She barely heard as she took off running toward him, her power singing through her veins.

Yeah, she probably should finish the battle quickly, but it felt so good to use her quirk. And knowing that Dark Shadow could probably handle it increased the euphoria tenfold.

And he did. Dark Shadow burst from Tokoyami's body, blocking the shadow attack with an explosion of power as he collided with it, and doubling in size. Noriko felt as the shadows were absorbed into him.

So it was like that, then?

Within fifty feet, Noriko aimed another attack at his side, swooping low and rising quickly, the shadows smoky but precise. Dark Shadow, again, blocked the attack, doubling in size, again. The force of Dark Shadow hitting her attack created a whirlwind of force, threatening to knock her back.

She needed to finish this quickly, or she'd be too exhausted to continue, but one look at Tokoyami and it was obvious he was starting to feel some of the strain that a more powerful Dark Shadow put on his body, too.

As Dark Shadow blocked the attack, she changed directions, heading to Tokoyami's other side. He was on the defense. As long as it stayed like that, she could win this easily. Still-

"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami cried out, and the next attack wasn't from her. Dark Shadow lunged at Noriko, right as she threw up another wave of darkness.

Dark Shadow hit it and didn't even pause. He grew more powerful again, not deterring from his course. He collided with her, his power throwing her a hundred feet back and skidding across the ground until she collided with one of the boulders. Her right hip screamed at her, as she struggled back to her feet. Pain laced up her side, likely from a broken rib or two. Noriko tested her right leg. It burned with sharp pain, but she'd been through worse. If she hadn't thrown up her shadows right when she did, she would be looking at more than a couple of broken ribs. She'd also be looking at a broken leg and a lost battle.

Her outfit, though a little dirty, was unscathed.

Gritting her teeth against the pain she realized this was going to be harder than she thought.

Dark Shadow hovered next to Tokoyami. "Is that all you have, little shadow girl?" He laughed, the sound deep and reverberating through the training room.

Her shadows were easy enough to manipulate. Beyond just what humans saw, she and Dai had been able to figure out that it wasn't just shadows and darkness. All light had energy within it, even shadows. It was the electromagnetic force that existed within light, and therefore shadows that she used to create barriers and attacks. It was enough to knock back even the strongest fighters, at least those that she had fought so far. And Dark Shadow wasn't just taking her attacks, but he was growing stronger because of them.

Okay, so what did this tell her?

Light attacks weakened him. Shadow attacks strengthened him. So against Dark Shadow she couldn't use her shadow quirk as readily as she might otherwise. Even if exhaustion wasn't clawing at her. She could feel it, creeping up, the exhaustion gripping her body, even so quickly after beginning the fight. If it was anyone other than Tokoyami she wouldn't be so exhausted so easily. Usually she had at least half an hour to her! Still, this was no time to just give in; she had to focus.

Not for the first time, she wished she had her brother's quirk to move through shadows. Dark Shadow would see her coming from this far back and keep her at bay.

Still, she still had all of her flash bombs. That was three opportunities to win this. Checking for her baton, it was gone - likely knocked off when she'd gotten that hit from Dark Shadow.

She couldn't remove the electromagnetic energy from her shadows, so there was no way to use her quirk without inadvertently making Dark Shadow stronger.

This was one hell of a fight.

If she stood around for much longer though, she'd collapse in exhaustion. As long as she could get close, she could win.

Her next move would take a lot out of her, so she had to finish this quickly. She drew the shadows of the arena up, careful to keep a tight bubble around Tokoyami and Dark Shadow where they didn't touch. Drenching the arena in total darkness, Noriko moved swiftly, biting back a yell for the pain scorching up her side. With her goggles, she could see them both confused and watching the area on high-alert. So did that mean that Dark Shadow couldn't see through darkness, or just not total darkness?

Weakness settled into her body, fighting with her to sleep. Not yet!

Just inches from the edge of the smoky darkness, Noriko let the shadows drop, restoring energy to her mind, and Dark Shadow spotted her just as she took off toward Tokoyami at a sprint. He attacked. Right where she wanted him, Noriko lunged, at the same time her hand closed around one of the flash bombs and she detonated it.

Blinding light filled the arena, pushing Dark Shadow back in a cry of pain. Tokoyami grunted, stumbling back. Noriko ran toward Tokoyami. She just had to get close.

She didn't try to call on her shadows, but instead sprinted toward Tokoyami, making him stumble with a punch to the gut.

Noriko launched a barrage of attacks against Tokoyami as the light from the flash bomb was dying. Even if she couldn't use her shadows, she had been trained to be a weapon, anyway. She instinctively knew that Dark Shadow had recovered and was launching himself at her from behind.

In a last-ditch effort, as the light was dying, she pulled the darkest shadows that had been created from the flash bomb to her fist. As she was hauling back for a punch, Tokoyami's scarlet eyes finding hers, her grandmother's voice drifted across her thoughts unbidden, from a memory she'd tried to bury. "She'll make the perfect villain someday."

She was right.

Look at her; Noriko was someone to be feared. Doing this much just for a mock-battle? She was supposed to be a hero; who was she kidding?

Unlike Noriko, Dark Shadow didn't hesitate in his attack, knocking her back with such force. She let the attack come, the breath knocking out of her lungs as her body connected with the far wall.

The fight knocked out of her, leg twisted, and ribs screaming in pain, she raised her hand in surrender.

Dark Shadow retreated back into Tokoyami, who started walking toward her, closing the distance between them.

No, she wouldn't let him pity her.

Steeling her mind, Noriko tried to stand, careful not to put any weight on her right leg, but she stumbled, catching herself on the wall.

"I thought you said we shouldn't hold back?" Tokoyami muttered at he got closer. It was obvious he meant it to be a humorous jab, but all Noriko could think about were her grandmother's words.

"Not even a scratch on you," she replied instead, trying to change the subject. "You and Dark Shadow make a good team."

Tokoyami merely tsk'd, and moved to wrap one of Noriko's arms around his shoulders. Neither said another word as they walked back to the blast doors that they'd come through. Some of Recovery Girl's medical bots met them there, helping Noriko onto a stretcher so that she wouldn't need to walk on her leg. So much for Aizawa wanting her to go through her physical today. Maybe she'd have to put it off until tomorrow.

And of course after that display of power, it was unlikely that Uraraka or Mina would want to keep her company. She was nothing but the daughter of a villain. And that didn't show any brighter than when she used her quirk as she had.

She caught Tokoyami's gaze before the medical bots hurried her off. If he saw anything in her expression, however, he didn't say it. "It was a good fight. See you back in class," he said instead.

Chapter Text

My dear readers,

I wish I could have finished writing this. I’ve known for awhile that I wouldn’t, but it’s still taken me months after coming to this realization to post this adoption notice. I held out hope for a long time that I might change my mind, but at this point, I know I won’t.

So, it’s official: Kings Into the Night is up for adoption. I’ve posted this on both AO3 and FFnet.

Anyone who wants to pick this story up, please comment that you do. If I have multiple offers, I’ll put all the names in a hat on November 9 and draw out the lucky winner. If, by November 9 only one person has stepped up to the plate, they’ll get to adopt Kings. If no one does by November 9, the adoption offer will remain open and active.

I can give you whatever you want. Ideas I was planning, characterizations, details, plot, etc. Or, if you want to take it and strip it down to it's bones and turn it into your own, you can do that, too. Whoever adopts Kings, I want to read what you do with it, whatever that is.

For those who joined me while I was writing this, thank you for your support and comments and favorites and love. I would often go back to your comments and re-read them. Your comments and support were what kept me motivated to work on this. I didn’t want to disappoint you, but I crafted this story too close to my heart, and crafted Noriko too close to my own character and experiences, and every time I started writing, it hurt more than I could bear.

Thank you so much for reading this fic of mine.

Yours,

Dragon