Disclaimer: I do not own Boku no Hero Academia.

Spring; the start of a new school year.

The sound of laughter and chatter reached her ears as teenagers exited U.A. High School. Long, brown locks blew in the wind as lilac eyes closed itself from the world. She clutched onto the nekomata in her arms; light, weightless, and imaginary.

It was the end of the first day and yet for Ayame, she wished it was the end of the year already.

Sasaki Ayame was not the type to dwell in her frustrations. She walked with her head held high and a smile on her face. Others assumed she was childish with the way she laughs at the most inane things. Her teachers had high expectations of her because of who she was related to. Ayame never cared much about them—she moved at her own pace.

And currently, she was running through the hallway of the first year's building. Her light brown hair was pulled back into braids and bun, fringes flying around her face from the movement as she turned the corner. The plate outside the classroom read '1-A' and that was all the confirmation she needed to reach out and slam the door open, shouting—

"Oji-san!"

Lilac eyes blinked slowly at the empty classroom, not a single person in sight as her hand fell from the door. Ayame walked in, nostalgia washing over her as she studied the clock hanging on the wall.

"Ah, am I early?" She asked no one in particular, noticing the time was twenty minutes before class begins.

With careful strides and a small smile, Ayame walked around the empty classroom. Her fingers traced over the metal surface of the desks yet she had a destination in mind, focusing on the last desk in the third row.

It had been one year already since she attended U.A. High School. Her first year as a student felt like a blur—everything had already came and gone by and now in her second year, Ayame was ready for more of the serious Hero training. Still, she cannot help but feel nostalgic as she reached the last desk, taking a seat on the chair she had used for one year before advancing.

Seat 15.

Ayame hummed, resting her head over the metal top and closed her eyes. Fatigue had weighed heavy on her since morning. She had woken up especially early to play with her hair, pulling the long locks into braids and looping them on her head into a neat bun. It was an effort Ayame never cared about until yesterday—not until the words of the teacher acknowledging her introduction.

"Sasaki Ayame…younger sister of Sasaki Yume, correct? She was a brilliant student here. I hope you can match up with your sister."

Ayame had laughed then, answering with a rehearsed 'I'll try my best' before the teacher continued with attendance. Throughout the whole day, similar comments were made her way—from the most prestigious achievements her sister had accomplished during her time in U.A. to how similar Ayame looked with her long hair to the Hero 'LullaCry'.

It should not come as a surprise to her. Ayame was used to being compared to her renowned sister. In fact, Ayame was proud of Yume because she was the best older sister anyone can ask for. It was the whispering behind her back—the thoughtless comments from the older generation—did Ayame feel the familiar spike of pain within her chest at her own shortcoming.

She knew she was not as smart as her sister. She knew her Quirk was nothing like her sisters'. Ayame knew she was not as gentle or kind or—anything wholeheartedly good as Yume. And Ayame doesn't hate her sister for it—because it was not Yume's fault for her own self-deprecation.

Yume was who Ayame strived to be and yet…why does she always seem to fall short?

It may have been a little childish on her part to style her hair completely. Even though Ayame knew the criticisms were to happen, she still tried whatever she can to stop the critiques. It does not happen often—she knew how to block them out—but sometimes, Ayame wished others would stop comparing her to Yume and see her for who she really is.

"Excuse me."

Her eyes opened, lost in her musing and memories of yesterday to not realize someone had came into the classroom.

"You're in my seat."

Ayame jolted upwards from the desk, lilac eyes meeting heterochromia ones of grey and blue. She blinked at the boy in front of her, eyes drifting up to stare at the white and red hair split perfectly down in the middle. If she wasn't so distracted in the moment, Ayame would have made a comment on his unusual features but—she had seen weirder Quirks.

"Sorry!" She bolted up, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I got lost in the moment. I'm here to look for Aizawa-sensei!"

Todoroki studied her quietly. She was not in the classroom during the first day yesterday and based on everyone's introduction, she should not be a student in Class 1-A. It made no sense to him for this girl to be here—and was in his seat no less.

"He should be in the teacher's lounge," Todoroki replied nonchalantly; it was the most obvious place for him to be at.

Ayame gasped, nearly slapping her head in the process for skipping over the simple fact. Of course! She mentally yelled at herself, Shouta-oji is never early!

"My mistake," Ayame laughed nervously. Her eyes glanced at the clock again, noting that five minutes had gone by since she first appeared and smiled at the boy. "I'll be on my way now! Thanks—um?"

"…Todoroki Shoto."

"Todoroki-kun, eh? I'm Sasaki Ayame! I'll see you around!"

He watched as she ran out the classroom, giving him one last wave before disappearing around the corner. Todoroki eyed the light shade of her brown hair and thoughtlessly wondered where he had seen that before.

"Oji-san!" Ayame called out again, pulling the door back from the teacher's lounge to reveal the bundle of yellow. Her eyes zeroed in on her uncle and rushed in, eyes wide and watery as she kneeled down to his sleeping form. "You never told me All Might was going to teach here!"

"You're too loud," Aizawa groaned from his sleeping bag, forcing himself upwards to stare at the girl in annoyance, "And it's 'sensei' to you."

"But no one is here," Ayame smiled innocently, grinning even more when the older man was forced to sit up. "Anyways—can you get me an autograph from him?"

"Ask him yourself."

"I can't!" Ayame whined, "They said he is going to teach the first years exclusively! How is that even fair—I should have been held back a grade if I knew that was to happen—ow!"

Ayame flinched from the flick on her forehead, rubbing the tender spot with a pout at her uncle. The elder man did not even crack a smile at her antics.

"Don't say that. Your mother would send me into a coma she knew you were failing," Aizawa sighed again, thinking back to his older sister and her personality.

Aizawa Shiko, now as 'Sasaki Shiko', was always brazen and rowdy in her younger years, often dragging Shouta along her schemes of heroism when seen fit. As she aged and settled down with a family, her rash personality had turned refined but—Shouta knew firsthand what it would be like to incur her wrath.

Sometimes, he sees his older sister in Ayame.

Ayame grinned again, not put off by her uncle's personality and shoved a notebook towards him. "Here! This is my Hero's signature collection! Please, please, please have All Might sign it. I promise I'll be good this year!"

She bowed her head and offered the purple notebook to him in a prayer. Truthfully, she knew Aizawa would not deny her request. Her uncle always did have a soft spot for her and her sisters. Ayame figured Aizawa wanted to keep their family bonds as a secret and she thought it would be the most fitting plan. There was no prize in playing favorites with the teachers—she was here to become a Hero by her own skills.

"You should strive to be good every year," he deadpanned but took the notebook regardless, stuffing it somewhere within his sleeping bag and turned around. "Now go away, I still have ten more minutes before the bell rings."

"Yes, yes~" Ayame sung, happy to have her request be taken and stood up. "I'll see you later, sensei!"

Right before Ayame closed the door, she heard his quiet reply.

"Don't be late for your introduction later."

Ayame reached her classroom with time to spare, entering the room marked '2-A' simply with a smile. Fellow classmates greeted her as she entered and she returned them with a wave. She took her usual spot in seat 15, turning to the side to greet her shy friend.

"Morning, Hotaru-chan!"

Bright gold eyes returned her gaze; a small smile gracing her lips as Hotaru quietly returned the greeting.

"Morning, Ayame-chan." Hotaru brushed back her black hair from her eyes, blinking at the sudden change in hairstyle from her friend and tilted her head. "You cut your hair?"

Ayame brought one hand up to her braids, smiling and shaking her head. "No…just wanted to test out some new hairstyles. Does it look weird?" Her face scrunched up, nose wrinkling in displeasure at that thought.

"N-no! I-I didn't mean that!" Hotaru waved her hands quickly, cheeks tinting red and the freckles on her cheeks began to glow, "Y-you look different—that's all! S-still cute, of course!"

Ayame let out a bright laugh, finding her friend's fumbling to be adorable. Hotaru's tendency to ramble and stutter when nervous was a cute trait; Ayame knew her friend meant no harm to the simple comment.

"Thanks, Hotaru-chan~ 'Different' was what I aimed for."

Hotaru blinked again, glancing at the braided hair then to the distant look in Ayame's eyes. Being friends for over a year now had given Hotaru a chance to learn about Ayame better—and she knew of the girl's insecurities to being compared to her sister. Though Ayame would never admit it out loud, Hotaru wondered if this change in hairstyle was relating to it.

"Alright, settle down everyone."

Soharu Ume walked in at that time, long dark tresses pulled back into a bun on top of her head and vibrant plum eyes regarded the class sternly.

"It's the second day only and you guys are so hyper."

"Because we can finally begin even more serious Hero training! What will we be doing today, Soharu-sensei?"

She merely smiled, raising a file of folder and sat in her chair.

"Electing class representatives. Get to it~"

Ayame watched as the class erupted loudly, hands shooting upwards to volunteer for the spot. She glanced away, ignoring the rest of them by staring at the falling leaves from the window. Being class representative was not something she cared to fight for—not when Ayame had seen firsthand of the stress it led to by her sister.

Lunchtime came relatively fast after the class elected the representatives. Soon after, normal lessons were taught (much to the classes' disappointment) and when the bell rang for lunch, Ayame bolted from her spot.

It was not long before she was sitting with a tray of warm food, smiling in happiness at the udon in front of her and in a blink, Hotaru appeared. Her glowing freckles dimmed slowly, an aftereffect of using her Quirk.

The two girls talked amongst themselves, catching up with each other during the break time from school before the conversation led to the election earlier. Ayame resisted the urge to flinch from the sudden memory as words floated in her mind once more.

"You know, Yume was class president all three years of high school. Why don't you try it too, Ayame?"

Ayame smiled, swallowing her noodles before answering Hotaru's question.

"I'm not interested in becoming class president," she shrugged, "I figured they might have chosen the same person as last year, anyways."

"Yeah…Takarada-kun was elected as president again," Hotaru answered.

It did not come as a surprise to either of them. Takarada Noeru came from a prestigious family with a powerful Quirk. His drive to become the best was renown throughout the whole second year—yet his personality was cold enough to keep others away. But—he was dependable, something everyone in Class 2-A begrudgingly agreed upon.

Though, Ayame preferred to steer the topic away from their capable class representative. Takarada and Ayame never did get along.

Ayame tilted her chopsticks in her friend's direction. "Why didn't you volunteer, Hotaru-chan? You're smart enough for the role."

Her freckles glowed again, bright yellow filling her cheeks as Hotaru nearly choked on her food. Ayame forced back a laugh, silently apologizing for always teasing the girl.

"I-I c-cannot! I-I don't w-want to b-be the center of a-attention—a-and the o-others are r-responsible! I-I d-don't—"

A large alarm sound through the building, cutting Hotaru's words and causing the girls to startle.

"There has been a Level Three security breach. All students please evacuate outdoors promptly."

The robotic voice said through the intercom, erupting shouts of chaos and panic around them as they looked around. The second years had already been informed of the security levels and precautions in the event of a disaster—but U.A. had always been safe with their protocols and security. There had never been a breach during Yume's time in high school and Ayame quickly snapped her head towards Hotaru.

"Hotaru-chan—you can get outside the fastest. You should go see what the cause for the alarm is."

"B-but what about you? Will you be okay?"

Ayame grinned. "Don't worry! I'll get out along with the rest of them!"

Hotaru nodded her head and in a blink, she was gone. Ayame stood up from her seat, trying to avoid the mass of people making the same way to the exit.

They said to stay calm in these situations—what is with all this pushing? Ayame grimaced as someone shoved her against another, piles of bodies trying to make their way to the exit. There was enough confusion and shouting to disturb her own thoughts but Ayame was pleased Hotaru did not need to go through this panic. The poor girl was already anxious enough—she does not need dozens of people pushing up against her.

"Stop shoving!" Ayame shouted—only to be ignored again as she was pushed to the side.

Someone was pushing against her back and she could feel herself leaning on someone's back from the amount of pressure. The swarm of people was barely making progress out but with the way everyone was moving, Ayame was carried through the crowd.

"Iida-kun!"

She turned to see a short girl reaching out; her hand connecting with another boy and suddenly—that boy was floating above the crowd. Her eyes widen at the use of their Quirks as he flew through the air but before Ayame can focus on him, she was shoved to the side again.

"Ow!"

Ayame grimaced again as she crashed into another body, looking down slightly to see the same brown haired girl that made the guy float. Wide brown eyes returned the gaze and Ayame put a hand out, shielding the girl to create some space for her.

"Sorry—are you okay?" Ayame apologized before turning her head to the crowd of people again, "You're hurting people here! Calm down!"

And again, no one listened to her shouts as she was pushed to the side. Her frustration was growing by the second, black smoke starting to surround her as she imagined something to take her somewhere faraway.

"I'm okay," Uraraka replied and eyed the black smoke nervously, "But are you?"

"Huh?" Ayame blinked, not realizing that her Quirk was activating subconsciously, "Ah—yeah. I'm just annoyed. There's a better way to get out than this."

The younger girl nodded her head, watching the black smoke starting to die down in curiosity. Another shout echoed the hall, one that Uraraka recognized as Iida slammed above the exit door.

"Everyone, everything's fine!" They turned towards the sound of the voice, watching him cling nervously onto the pipes above. "It is just the media! There is nothing to panic about. Everything's fine!"

The cause for commotion paused as everyone directed to his booming voice. Ayame was finally given time to breathe and think, relaxing her shoulders once she felt no one pushing against her.

"This is U.A.! Let us act in a way befitting the best of the best!"

Slowly, the students calmed down with his words and someone noticed police cars arriving. Ayame let out a sigh of relief, turning towards the brunette with a smile.

"Your friend sure is amazing. I wouldn't have thought that would work."

Uraraka grinned, nodding her head in agreement. "Un! Iida-kun is!"

"Uraraka-san!" Someone ran towards them at that time, a head of moss green hair entered her vision and wide green eyes met their gaze as the boy came towards them. "Are you alright?"

Ayame smiled at the two. "Looks like your friend is here to check up on you! I need to find mine too. See you!"

Hotaru appeared in a blink after the commotion ended, cheeks red and freckles glowing from being flustered and exhausted. She had been the only one who made it outside safely and some reporters had taken notice of her. The poor girl was almost mobbed by them until she quickly teleported away, returning back to Ayame's side rather than the group of strangers.

Ayame had laughed lightly and told Hotaru about the chaos in the lunchroom, personally relieved that Hotaru did not suffer like her during the confusion. They spent the rest of the lunchtime chatting with each other and once it was time to return back to the classroom, Ayame bid a farewell to Hotaru. There was another destination in mind for the brunette and she made her way towards the first year's building.

Although she remembered the layout by heart already, having gone through the same hallways the year prior, Ayame still felt nervous in opening the classroom to '1-A'. It would be a completely different class with different students. She can only hope she would not make a fool of herself.

With a deep breath, Ayame opened the door right as Midoriya shouted—

"I-I nominate Iida-kun for class representative!"

Ayame blinked at the two students standing in front of the classroom then to the classroom of students staring at her sudden entrance. No one else said anything at her appearance and she felt her mouth drop open at what she walked in. Aizawa looked up at that time, lazy eyes boring into her figure and sighed.

"You're late."

That snapped Ayame out of her trance. Immediately a grin was on her face, trying to contain the nervous laughter bubbling within her stomach at the attention.

"Oops? Sorry, sensei! I hope I wasn't interrupting something important!" Ayame bowed, knowing full well her uncle was reprimanding her within his mind. She looked up again, catching the gaze of the same, green haired boy from lunchtime staring at her. Ayame straightened up and waved, glancing at the rest of the classroom and noticed the two others student she encountered saw lunch.

"Um…Aizawa-sensei? Who is that?" Kirishima raised his hand in question, red eyes boring into hers like the rest of the students.

"Well, introduce yourself." Aizawa merely instructed and Ayame hopped right in, closing the door behind her quietly and took the spot next to Yaoyorozu.

"Hello! I'll be Aizawa-sensei's teacher assistant for the year! Sasaki Ayame from Class 2-A, at your service! Please call me Ayame-senpai~" She bowed politely, smiling widely at the group of students.

Immediately, the class cheered at the new addition to the roster. Ayame can nearly see heart eyes coming from the shortest boy with purple hair yet somehow the feeling was uncomfortable coming from him. Her eyes connected with brown ones, smiling at Uraraka and the younger girl's face lit up momentarily.

"Senpai! What course are you studying?" A pink haired girl, Ashido, asked, nearly bouncing out of her seat in excitement.

Ayame pumped up a fist. "Hero!"

Another chorus of 'ohhhs' rang in the classroom and a boy with spiky blonde hair raised his hand.

"Ayame-senpai! Are you single?!"

She blinked at Kaminari, laughing at the silly question right as the girl next to him, Jirou, hit him over the head with her earphone jack.

"Yup but I don't think you'll have a chance with this~"

Half of the class snickered at Kaminari's agape expression and another boy shot out of his desk—the same one Ayame had an odd feeling about.

"Senpai! What are you three measurements?!"

"M-mineta-kun! That's not appropriate!" Midoriya said nervously as Ayame gawked at the one in question.

"Shut up! You're all so noisy!" Bakugo shouted yet no one paid mind to him.

Aizawa, having enough of the rowdiness, stood up with a stern glare directed to the class.

"Oi, she's not here to entertain you guys." He threw her a file of papers and Ayame caught it clumsily, recovering from her shock at the question. "She's here to make copies for me. Now, go."

He pointed towards the door with his finger, causing Ayame to pout at the stack of work already.

"Yes, yes~" Ayame began to march off, pausing at the door when she remembered the discussion she had interrupted. "Oh! Before I forget, I nominate Iida-kun for class president too!"

The boy in question sat up in surprise, dark eyes wide in shock as Ayame sent a grin his way.

"He displayed great guidance during the lunchroom chaos and was able to calm down all the students easily." She gave him a thumbs up, "Keep it up, Emergency Exit~"

Tears were nearly falling from Iida's eyes at the recommendation from his senior, bowing his head repeatedly as Kirishima and Kaminari agreed. Ayame left before she can hear Midoriya reaffirm her statement, smiling to herself at the new class of people.

Already, she thought her kouhais were cute. They were still young and cheerful with the same excitement and pride she felt to be in the Hero course. Even though Ayame was only one year older—she felt the sense of duty to become a good role model for them.

Giggling to herself, Ayame hopped over to the teacher's lounge where the copy machine would be.

The second day of school ended on a better note for Ayame than she hoped. She had planned to introduce herself to the class on the first day but Aizawa had rescheduled it to later as the girl adjusted to her schedule.

Being a teacher assistant was a new program U.A. High School had implemented and originally, Ayame did not plan on taking on the role. From what she heard, it was more added work on top of the student's regular workload; balancing between missing one class period (possibly more) and their own schedule. They would be relearning along with the first year of the basic course material—something that was rudimentary and unnecessary for the second years.

If it wasn't for Soharu-sensei's recommendation, Ayame would have passed on the opportunity to someone else. She wondered if she was failing as a hero—that was why she was picked to be the assistant.

"It would be like a year-long intern experience." Ume had explained and Ayame caved, accepting the job with a small sigh at her teacher.

Ayame stretched, leaning back on her chair from studying the small sheets of flashcards on her desk. The clock read 10PM at night and although she had finished all of her homework for the day, she decided to study the students of Class 1-A. She read over their names and tried to memorize their faces, feeling proud of herself to remember at least half of the class.

"Aya-neechan?"

She blinked, turning towards the entrance of her room to see a small figure peek in. Large, violet eyes returned her gaze and Ayame smiled at her younger sister. "Hey kiddo, what's up?"

Sasaki Suzume shuffled in quietly, small arms wrapped around the stuffed black cat. The brunette took notice of the wet tears on her cheeks, eyes softening once she realized the cause for her sister's distress.

"C-can I sleep with you?" Suzume asked shyly, black hair in disarray from her usual pigtails.

Ayame glanced at the student sheets again, deciding she can study that tomorrow morning and nodded her head. She motioned towards her bed as an invitation for Suzume and the child perked up, hopping over to the bed.

"Did you get another nightmare?" Ayame asked quietly, slipping into the covers as soon as Suzume settled.

The younger girl nodded her head, cuddling the cat closer to her body and closed her eyes. Ayame stroked Suzume's wavy hair, wondering what she could do to ease her mind. Suzume's Quirk was a powerful—yet dangerous one. Her ability to see through the people's heart and make their nightmares come to life through the mind was a double-edge sword—for she could also see the same terrors. For a child so young to have this Quirk, their family worried for Suzume's mental state as Suzume was unable to control what she sees.

Since Suzume spent the most time with their mother during the day, it was unfortunate for her to be able to glimpse into their mother's own fears.

"Suzume, look."

Ayame waved her hand and a ghostly black outline appeared. Slowly, the smoke intertwined and weaved together, taking a form of a small cat with two tails as it bounced around the room. Large, violet eyes gazed at the ghostly figure in amazement and a smile finally graced Suzume's lips as the ghostly nekomata danced around to Ayame's will.

The child began to drift off to sleep again, snuggling against the stuffed doll in contentment and a whispered 'thank you' to her sister. Once Suzume was fast asleep, Ayame let her summon disappear and followed her sister to dream world.

A/N:

Nekomata: A Japanese cat yokai with two tails

The cover art is drawn by me! I have drawn a character profile sheet for Ayame and Yume on my Tumblr (toomuchpineapples) along with her Hero costume and explanation of her Quirk! Expect a lot of shippy art too~

This story will showcase a lot of different OCs created by me and my friends. Feel free to recommend your own and I may use them in Class 2-A! But, the main focus in the story will still be centered around Ayame and Class 1-A.

Yume is 20 years old, Ayame is 16, and Suzume is 10 years old.

Reviews are much loved! Let me know what you think!