that's just how it works [REWRITING]

Chapter Sixteen - Isn't That the Idea, Ochaco?

. . .

   As soon as you walked into the classroom on Monday, you were crowded by some of your classmates. They all wanted to know if you were alright, and if it was okay for you to be back from the hospital so soon. You wave them off, stumbling to your seat. You drop down on it, your back flush up against the seat. You sigh. 

   Your ribs weren't fully healed but you had demanded to be let out so you could go back to school, so here you are. But you were starting to regret it. You could feel their eyes...

   "Ugh." You lean forward, resting your head on the desk. It's a Monday for sure. Uraraka bounded over to your side, a sympathetic expression adorning her flushed face. "(Y/n)! Were they giving you a hard time?" You laugh slightly, shaking your head. "No, it's fine."

   Her worried gaze sweeped across your figure, biting her lip gently. "Are you still hurt? If so, you should be in the hospital still! What if you get even more injured?!" You sigh, reaching up to press a finger against her lips, silencing her. Her cheeks erupt with a wild blush, and she stares at you with wide eyes. You smile calmly. "Calm down, I'll be fine. As long as I don't go barreling down a hill, I won't get hurt."

   "Still... You should let yourself heal." She pouts, looking down at you. "Tch, you're so kind. Really, I'll be fine." She huffs. "Fine... But don't think you're off the hook! If you feel so much as a spark of pain, you're going home." 

   "Yes, ma'am." You watch her go to her seat with a little grin. You have great friends. But still, you just wanted to go back home. You decided to tune into what the other students were saying. They had calmed down, and were sitting at their desks, talking to each other. 

   "...Who knows what would've happened if the teachers hadn't come when they did." Sero was saying, but was crudely interrupted by some short boy with dark purple balls in place of hair. 'Who's that?' 

   The grape midget exclaimed, "Stop that Sero! Just thinking about it's making me wet myself--" "Shut up! Be quiet scum!" Bakugou yelled, looking back at the boy in the seat behind you. You sigh, leaning forward to poke Midoriya's shoulder. He looked back, a soft blush coating his cheeks, "Hmm? What is it, (Y/n)?" "Do you think we could hang out after school together? We could invite Ochaco and Iida too." 

   He blushes brightly, "E-Eh? W-Well, I mean, o-only if you w-want to-" "Shut the hell up, Deku." Midoriya flinches at Bakugou's words. You glare at Bakugou, "Please don't interrupt Izuku, and don't listen in on other people's conversations, Bakugou-Kun."

   The blonde scoffs, turning to look at the front of the room. Midoriya quietly looks back at you again and nods, smiling. You grin, about to discuss the details of the hangout when Iida's voice rings out across the room. "Everyone! Morning Homeroom is about to begin! Stop talking and take your seats!" 

   "We're already in our seats."

   "You're the only one who's not." 

   Iida frowns, going over to his seat, sulking quietly. You sigh. 'Wait... Isn't Aizawa-Sensei in the hospital healing?' You learn forward, poking Midoriya again and voicing your thought. Midoriya nods, "Yeah... But the question is who's gonna teach us... huh?" The door slides open, and you gasp, seeing Aizawa-Sensei wrapped in bandages. 

   "Morning."

   "Aizawa-Sensei, you're back too soon!" "You're too much of a pro!" 

   Iida raises his hand, concern lacing his voice, "So you're all right, Aizawa-Sensei?" Aizawa-Sensei limps over to the stand in the front, facing the class. "My well-being doesn't matter. More importantly, the fight is not yet over."

   His words makes the whole class uneasy, you included. 'Fight? Don't tell me...' Aizawa-Sensei peers at everyone through his bandages. "The U.A. sports festival is drawing near."

   "That's a super normal school event!"

   You smile, seeing how excited this made everyone. Sometimes, you forgot this was a real school. Kirishima was probably the most hyped up, about to exclaim something, but Kaminari pushed him down. "Wait a minute." The girl sitting next to Kaminari, you recall her name being Jirou, spoke, "Is it okay to have a sports festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?"

   From the front of the room, Ojiro asked, "What if they attack us again, or something...?"

   Aizawa-Sensei simply answered with, "Apparently, they think of it as U.A. showing that our crisis management system is solid as a rock by holding the event. Security will also be strenghtened to five times that of previous years. Above all, our sports festival is a huge chance. It's not an event to be cancelled because of a few villains."

   The grape midget seated behind you quietly spoke up, more so to himself than the others. "But that's a good reason, isn't it? It's just a festival of sports." You turn around, looking at him with wide eyes. "You've never seen the U.A. sports festival?" "Of course I have. That's not what I meant!" You raise an eyebrow, but turn back to Aizawa-Sensei as he continues speaking.

   "Our sports festival is one of Japan's biggest events. In the past, the Olympics were called a festival of sports, and the whole country was crazy about them. As you know, with reductions in scale and population, they're now a shell of their former glory. And now, for Japan, what has taken the place of those Olympics is the U.A. sports festival!"

    Behind the grape midget, Momo starts speaking. "Of course, all the top heroes around the country will be watching. For scouting purposes!" "I know that..." The grape midget quietly mumbles, and across the room, Kaminari starts talking. "After we graduate, it's typical to join a pro agencry as a sidekick." "A lot of people miss their chance to become independent after that," Jirou says, "and become eternal sidekicks, though. Kaminari, I feel like you'd be one of them. Since you're dumb." You laugh quietly, adverting your eyes to Aizawai-Sensei.

   "Of course, joining a famous hero agency will get you more experience and popularity. Time is limited. If you expect to go pro, then the path to your future will open up at this event. Once chance a year-- a total of three chances. No aspiring heroes can afford to miss this event. If you understand that, then don't slack off on your preparations!" "Yes, sir!" "Homeroom is dismissed."

   This got you thinking. You would be given two weeks to prepare for the event. Two weeks of training. Throughout your morning classes, you were off in your thoughts, brainstorming. Maybe, you could convince some of your friends to train with you? Hmm, possibly. By the time lunch rolled around, you had a solid plan in your mind. The lunch bell rang, and you stood, making your way over to Kirishima. You planned to ask him first, seeing as you had a bond with him that couldn't be explained well with words. 

   "Even though all that stuff happened, I'm getting really excited!" Kirishima was hyped up for it, you could tell. Sero walked over, "If we put on a good show and stand out, we'll have taken the first steps to becoming a pro!" "It was worth coming to U.A.!" 'Who's that guy?' "We will only receive a few chances. We cannot afford to miss this." You smile at Tokoyami, raising an eyebrow at his words. "Ah, let loose a little, Tokoyami-Kun. You don't need to be so serious all the time, you know?" You walk over to him, poking at his shoulder. He looks at you for a second before turning to look away. 'Tch, typical cold shoulder.'

   You remind yourself of your task and turn to Kirishima. "Eiji-Kun! What do you say about training together one day?" He blinks, pondering your question for a second before smiling. "Sure! I could use a training partner like you, (Y/n)-Chan!"

   Sero sighs, looking at Kirishima. "Lucky... It's not everyday a cute girl is willing to hang out with you."

   You blink, blushing softly, "Eh?" Uraraka bounds over, gripping your arm and shooting a glare at Sero. "Don't call (Y/n) cute! She's adorable!" Your blush deepens, as you try to shake off Uraraka. "Ocha..."

   'Yep, I love my friends.'

. . .

To be continued