I used to say I wanna die before Im old (but because of you I might think twice)

Chapter 13: That One Annoying Bitch

Suki stared up at the towering door before them, their heart beating erratically. They could hear the commotion of their classmates inside and could already feel themself dreading what was to come. Suki hesitantly pushed open the huge door and stepped inside. They crossed their arms and hunched over, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. Instead, however, a familiar blonde sauntered up to them.

"Hey! You're the person who saved me at the entrance exam right?" He said, sticking out his hand, "Monoma Neito, and you are?"

"Oh, I uh...I'm Akiko Satsuki," They replied, cringing at their awkwardness. The blonde either ignored it or didn't notice (Suki wasn't sure which).

"Thanks by the way...You know...For saving me- That doesn't mean you're better than me, though. Got it?!" He retorted. Suki just nodded, taking the opportunity to slip past him and find a seat. They found an empty spot in the back left corner and sat down. Much to their surprise, the obnoxious blonde made his way over and sat himself down in the seat beside them, earning him an eye-roll and an exhausted sigh. Unfortunately for Suki, the blonde didn't notice and tried to start a conversation about what pro hero he thought would be their teacher. Suki just zoned out and stared at the chalkboard. ' He's probably just trying to get close to me for blackmail...I shouldn't trust him...' their thoughts helpfully supplied.

Thankfully, the one-sided conversation was interrupted as a large burly man strode into the classroom, a cheerful grin on his face. "All right, QUIET!" He shouted over the noise and the classroom went silent at once. "I'd like to believe you all recognise me," he quipped, "but since that is unlikely, I'm Vlad King and I'll be your homeroom teacher!" He beamed. "It's great to see so many enthusiastic faces!." His eyes scanned around the room before he spoke again. "We will be heading to the hall now for the opening ceremony, follow me," He stated, pivoting on his heel and walking out of the classroom, leaving the class to trail behind him in quiet awe at their new teacher's friendliness.

The Opening ceremony was a bore and Suki just spent the whole time zoned out, thinking about what Okami and Emika were doing. They were confused as to why their friends' class, 1A, wasn't there.

As class 1B slowly made their way back to the classroom, Monoma strode over to where Suki was quietly minding their own business. "Hey, you've hardly said a word this whole time, what's up? Don't like speaking much?" His words bounced around inside Suki's head and they suddenly felt sick as past memories flooded back to them. Memories of their elementary and junior high classmates, and Gomi, of course, and the pain that came with not answering them (not that answering yielded much better results).

Suki shut their eyes, bracing for the impact of a punch or a slap. When nothing came, they looked around to see Monoma glancing back at them with... 'Concern?! Surely I'm imagining this, right? No one's been truly worried about me since... well, since Okami and Emika'. They immediately dismissed the hopeful thought.

Hope was dangerous. Hope meant being let down and lied to.

Monoma, unsure of how to respond, simply took hold of their sleeve and pulled them further ahead towards the the rest of their class.

As soon as the recess bell rang, Suki spared no time exiting the classroom, hoping to find Okami and Emika in the cafeteria.

Suki found the two class 1A students walking side by side, laughing at something. Emika was the first to spot them. Suki had to hold in a chuckle as they saw Emika's face visibly pale.

"OMG! SUKI!" She yelled, launching herself at Suki, embracing them in a tight hug. "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING HERE! OMG! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US YOU TRIED OUT FOR UA! OR THAT YOU GOT IN!" Suki shrunk out of the hug and stepped to the side in an attempt to avoid a hug from Okami completely.