Red and White, Black and Blue

Chapter 7: A New Challenge

The morning after that, it's thankfully back to business as usual at UA.

Hagakure spins around in her chair to face the others, excitedly waving her arms. "You guys! Did you watch the news last night?"

Ojiro shifts in his seat, trying to find a comfortable position for his tail, and nods to her. "Yeah."

She gestures back with one hand. "It was so cool that we got a few seconds of screen time!" Her excitement quickly melts away though, as she slumps forward, laying a hand on her chest as if wounded. "Though I bet nobody noticed me hanging out in the background..."

"Probably not." Shoji responds flatly.

Ojiro puts on a somewhat embarrassed smile, pointing toward the ceiling. "It is difficult to stand out when you're just gloves."

"And boots!" Hagakure argues – just from her tone it's easy to imagine her making an endearingly pouty face.

Kaminari leans back in his seat with his hands folded behind his head, crowding into Kirishima's desk space. "We're totally big deals. Those news channels love us - we're basically celebrities."

Kirishima doesn't seem to mind losing half of his desk though, as he grins at the boy in front of him. "Yeah, it's kinda crazy, right?"

Jiro looks up from her phone and stops twirling her ear jack around her finger, interrupting and waving a hand at the two boys. "Get over yourselves. The hero course that pumps out pros was attacked, and that's what they care about."

"Who knows what woulda happened to us if the teachers hadn't shown up." Sero nods and leans into his desk, resting his head on his folded arms.

Midoriya mumbles softly, shooting a worried glance at Sero. "Why even say that...?"

"Oh, shut up and grow a pair, loser! We woulda been just fine." Bakugo shouts at Midoriya, causing him to cower.

Ryumi drops the pen she's been fiddling with at the sudden yelling, barely catching it before it rolls to the floor. She frowns intensely at Bakugo and lets out a low growl.

Sato raises a fist and grins. "Did you guys see All Might fighting the bird guy? That dude was super strong, and he still destroyed him!" He throws a few playful punches into the air, and Koda leans fearfully away from him.

Tokoyami briefly cocks his head to the side at the description of the villain. He crosses his arms, closing his eyes thoughtfully. "Yes. His strength is truly a thing of wonder."

The clock ticks over to 8:24. Almost time for class.

Iida jolts up at the sound of the clock and rushes for the front of the room, gesturing for everyone to sit. "Attention, everyone! Morning homeroom is about to begin. Everyone, stop talking and take your seats!"

Kirishima stares confused at Iida, who is still up by the podium with arms spread wide. "Uh, we're all sitting."

"Yeah, you're the only one standing." Sero adds with a sly smile.

Iida dejectedly sits back in his seat, trembling, and making Koda nervous. "Dang it!"

Uraraka makes a placating gesture toward Iida. "Don't sweat it."

"Hey Tsu." Ignoring Iida's instructions to be quiet, Ashido leans way back in her chair and nearly falls over before Tsu calmly catches the chair and pushes it back into balance. Ashido gives a good-natured chuckle and a smile at that. "So... who do you think's gonna teach class today?"

"No idea." Tsu takes one hand off Ashido's chair to tap her chin as she thinks. "Aizawa sensei's still in the hospital recovering from his injuries."

As if on cue, the classroom door slides open drawing everyone's eyes and Aizawa walks in covered in bandages, both of his arms in casts. "Morning, class."