Another MHA project. This time a multichapter story to be both a prequel and sequel of my Oneshot "Look At Me".

For you that haven't read it, this is a gender bender ship fic with the pairing of Midoriya x Fem! Shinsou.

I made the art for the cover, but Fem! Shinsou (Hitomi) appearance is based on nita1234's fanart.

Finally, I must give my utmost appreciation to "EndlessChains" for beta-reading this story!

Now, thank you for your time and enjoy!

Chapter 1: Enter Shinsou Hitomi, Brainwashing User.

"Hey, man. Isn't that the girl from the Sports Festival…?" A random guy with multicolored-hair pointed his finger at her as she passed by.

"Ah… Yeah. Shinsou Hitomi, I think." The other guy answered his friend.

Hitomi kept walking, maintaining her tired eyes in front of her while trying to ignore the whispers around her. A pity that didn't help at all.

"...villain's Quirk... scary..."

"...creepy… General Department student..."

"...Cavalry's second place… Endeavor's son..."

"...Kind of cool… pity she lost..."

Hitomi hurried her steps, trying to maintain her cool. If she got more annoyed, she was going to do something that would ruin her already low reputation.

She sighed. Was everyone in the school that damn nosy? Or was she even now still too sensitive to other people talking about her behind her back...?

Maybe both.

It was the second school day after her completely and devastating defeat against Endeavor's brat and people were still gossiping about it.

And yeah, surprisingly enough, most of them were impressed about her performance, after all she was the first General Department student, who knows how much time passed, to reach the Sports Festival's final round.

And she managed to win her first fight versus that 1-A sparkling guy, before going in her very second fight versus Todoroki Shouto, the guy who was considered as one of the top candidates for future Number°1 Hero of her generation.

And yeah, it was nice to be recognized and having other people starting to accept the potential of her brainwashing ability beyond just being labeled as a 'Villain's Quirk'.

What wasn't nice at all was the dark twisted feeling in her gut that yelled she deserved nothing of that praise.

Because even though she didn't cower or doubted her Quirk's strengths, it didn't change the fact that Todoroki still turned her into a popsicle, just a couple of seconds after their fight started. She barely had time to make an off-handed comment about Endeavor and then the fight was over.

'Sorry' He said, his eyes cold and sharp like daggers, before walking away letting her still encased in the ice block.

He didn't seem sorry at all.

It was completely frustrating. And yeah, deep inside she always knew she had a low chance to win against someone like him, but she expected to have at least a tiny chance to brainwash him or punch that bastard's stupid handsome face even once before being frozen...

BUT NO.

And she felt like she could do nothing but blame herself about it because from the start she only had her Quirk and mind to compete against Todoroki. And that was great… But not enough.

For her stupidity and obstination, trying to show the people who despised and feared her that a showy Quirk wasn't everything, she never tried to actively train her physical strength and fighting abilities. She let her excessive confidence in her Quirk and hate for people born with raw talent, strength and luck, like Todoroki, blind her. She didn't prepare enough for fighting in the case that her Quirk was somehow disabled or rendered useless. So the moment she was incapable to get an answer out from Todoroki during those first couple of seconds of the fight, it was already her defeat. Because she didn't have anything to counter his ice attack.

And It was all because she never saw the necessity to go far beyond... To go Plus Ultra… So was she really worth the praise? Or maybe she was overthinking it? Maybe she just never had a chance...? But thinking that way, would be just plain sad and depressing, and not her style at all.

So she accepted that it was her fault and no one else.

Hitomi had passed all weekend searching without much success for a decent martial arts class. Using the rest of her time to roam around her neighborhood on her bike until her legs hurt, as a way to vent her frustration and train if even a little. After which she laid tired in her bed watching old hero documentaries on the TV while petting her Siamese cat.

In those moments Hitomi decided that she was going to do her best to get stronger and overcome her shortcomings.

But that didn't stop her from feeling she was missing something important. Maybe there was something else she could do instead of only focusing on physical training?

She entered her classroom at the same time as her homeroom teacher, and sat in the back part of the room. The class hour passed fast, her mind completely in her own thoughts and problems.

"Remember, those of you who aren't in a club already have until this weekend to find one by yourselves, or I'll add you into any clubs needing members." Said the teacher before dismissing them. Then she put her things in her bag and exited the room, feeling somewhat annoyed.

...It was simply perfect; even more problems… She just didn't have time to waste in clubs. Not if she wanted to be a hero. Unfortunately for her, it was mandatory for the General Department students.

"Whatever, I still have the whole week to look for a solution." She murmured and started walking towards the exit of the building.

It was then she heard something that caught her attention.

"-So he tells me I should be careful not to keep frying my brain or I could, like, end up becoming permanently stupid or something." Said a blonde guy with a black thunder-like lock of hair, who she recognized as a 1-A student.

...What was he doing in the General Department building?

"You mean more stupid than usual?" Asked a girl with earphone jacks hanging from her earlobes, a smirk on her face. She was one of the first-year girls from the Hero Course that did that embarrassing cheering thing during the Sports Festival if Hitomi wasn't wrong.

"D-Don't make fun of it. It's damn scary to think about THAT being permanent." He said with a shudder while the earphone-girl was trying to not laugh her ass off at whatever 'that' was supposed to be. In her frustration, post-defeat, Hitomi didn't watch the fight of the electric guy against the vine-girl, so she had no idea. "Anyway, the point is this guy helped me a lot to understand some things about my Quirk that I wasn't sure about." Hitomi stopped walking. "He even gives me some ideas for training and support items."

"All that in just a couple of hours…?" Asked the girl incredulously.

"I think he had info about my Quirk from even before the Sports Festival." He said with a slightly worried expression. "He is like a huge hero nerd or something. I mean, he is literally the president of a club about studying Quirks, so yeah... The little guy is a bit of a weirdo but smart as hell..." It was then Hitomi decided to walk towards the two students.

"Hey, you." She said casually, interrupting the conversation. "Can you tell me more about that guy you were talking about..."

Okay that's it for the first chapter. I expect to have portrayed all the characters correctly. In any case I'm waiting for your opinion.

Also, I'll try to always finish chapters with one of those anime previews with the characters talking about random stuff. No reason, just for fun.

Let your reviews, follow and favorite!

And if you want support me you can donate to my Ko-Fi, you'll find the link at my profile.

Hitomi: Those damn freckles are cute as heck!

Izuku: W-W-What?!

Hitomi: I said, "gooses are reckless and rude as heck".

Izuku: T-That doesn't make sense.

Hitomi: You being that attractive doesn't make sense.

Next Chapter: Enter: Midoriya Izuku, Quirk Analyst - Hitomi will meet one of the dorkiest Club Presidents in UA.

Izuku: W-Wait, what d-did you say?!

Hitomi: Nothing.