[Freja Helt]

If Freja thought the physical training a hero student had to go through every week was tough, it almost felt like nothing compared to the lectures and the homework that came after. That, or maybe it was just the combination of all these things and how they somehow had to juggle it all that left her brain fried. She wasn't a particularly athletic or impressive student physically, especially not seeing as she was quirkless and couldn't just rely on a power to 'cheat' her way through the physical exercise. She also wasn't gifted as book smart either. In fact, Freja was probably average at best and she felt it even more so sitting next to the geniuses of UA.

Like Miroru Rokuhane.

She hadn't noticed her at first, too wrapped up in her own mind battling her own insecurities to notice anyone else, but once she did see Miroru, she kept being impressed. Impressed by her insane work ethic, always taking notes, never getting tired, seemingly breezing her way through every class like some natural born genius. Of course Freja barely knew her yet, she only knew her name, but she wouldn't be surprised if it turned out Miroru had always been a straight A's student.

...Maybe she could ask her for help?

Yeah right, as if a smart and talented girl like Miroru would even spare a loser like Freja a single thought. Surely if she approached her she would just laugh her off and ridicule her. Freja had already gotten herself enough unwanted attention with that awkward question she asked at Leonid's orientation. Despite her negative thought spiral, as class was wrapping up she finally summoned up the courage to speak directly to Miroru.

''Eh-Excuse me? I'm.. Freja Helt, uh...'' She averted her gaze for a moment, hands clutching her bag strap as she thought of what to say next. How was it already awkward?! ''N-Nice to meet you! Uh, isn't it a great weather today?''

Miroru

[Miroru]

Rokuhane Miroru

Department of Heroes Freshman

Prism, the Spectrum Hero

@name | ### | notes

She found the redhead running around the dorms, exercising and pushing herself to make lap after lap. Freja caught her as she was taking a breather, bent over and soaked in sweat from the run. Getting approached wasn't what she'd expected, but it wasn't a problem either. She flashed a breathless smile and straightened, focusing for a moment. "Oh, hey. Hoo. How. Ah. How are ya? Yeah, weather is. Super nice. I'm Rokuhane Miroru, Helt-san. Pleasure to make your formal acquaintance." She tipped her head back and huffed, abruptly darkening as the sunlight around her partially refracted away, creating a pleasant haze of sparkles as she started to shade herself. "You warm? Do you want a little shade? I'm cooking, so I'm gonna cool down. What's on your mind? You seem... a little anxious. Is everything okay?"

I can pay no price too great for justice.

Template by: Monkey

[Freja Helt]

Even now Miroru was productive, making sure she used all the hours of the day on something useful to further her future career. Not like Freja who had been holed up in her room and working up the courage to talk to Miroru right now. ''Um- That's me!'' She chuckled nervously. ''Pl-Pleasure to formally make your acquaintance..'' She rubbed the back of her own neck with her hand. She hadn't been in Japan for long and was still learning all the formalities. It was like she had arrived at a completely different planet than where she was from. Freja blinked her eyes in disbelief. Were those... Sparkles?

''Huh? Warm? A little bit.. Where I'm from the climate is much colder.'' She froze up when Miroru asked her if anything was wrong. She had noticed Freja was anxious? She had noticed that much in such a short amount of time??? Was Freja that obvious????? How should she even reply to that, how could she not be anxious considering her situation. ''Uh... The truth is- I'm really embarrassed to ask you like this but..'' Freja put her hands together and bowed her head deeply at Miroru. ''I'm really struggling with class! A-And well, I see you always taking notes and stuff, c-could you give me any tips? I really lack a good work ethic!!'' If only Freja was talented enough to be able to slack off.

Miroru

[Miroru]

Rokuhane Miroru

Department of Heroes Freshman

Prism, the Spectrum Hero

Freja Helt | ### | notes

Miroru flashed a smile. "It IS," she reassured, as Freja called it a pleasure to meet. At the admission that things are much colder back home, much of the heat of the direct sunlight evaporated as the area shaded over, the pair surrounded by a fey twinkling of sparkling lights as she refracted the infrared light away to keep them from heating up. "Embarrassed..? It's okay, there's nothing to worry about. Say what's on your mind." At this point, the redhead was more curious than anything else.

What she didn't expect was such a simple request.

"Oh! Ah- well, sure. I'd be happy to help. I'm collecting most of the materials for myself as is. Is it just the materials you need, or do you need a study buddy, or..?" Miroru rubbed the back of her head, shuffling her floofy hair about. "I'm sorry, I don't really know much about you yet. Tell me a bit of what we're working with and what you're looking to improve on!"

I can pay no price too great for justice.

Template by: Monkey

[Freja Helt]

Was she just going crazy or was it getting just a little bit colder around them? And there! The twinkling and sparkling lights again. ''Are you.. Is that?'' She wanted to ask if it was Miroru's quirk, but Freja didn't manage to get the entire sentence out. Maybe she really did look and act more anxious than she meant to.

''R-Really?'' She looked up, hands slowly parting from their praying gesture. She would even go as far as offer to be her study buddy? ''..I doubt you have anything to gain from that. I'm not really smart or anything.. Sorry. I know it's a very selfish request.'' Freja hadn't noticed until now, but Miroru's hair really was floofy. Had it always been like that? ''About me? I- uh, what do you want to know? I'm kind of working on everything. As in I need to get better at everything, studying, following classes, taking notes..'' Yep, Freja was a lost cause. Although the more she talked to Miroru and saw how friendly she was, the more she started to relax. It also made her feel an incredible amount of guilt. All those thoughts she had about how Miroru would laugh at her for trying to ask for help. How wrong she had been about the other student. Freja reluctantly bowed her head again as she muttered. ''I'm sorry for being so vain.'' As if that would offer up any context to Miroru.

''Your quirk is it... It's powerful, isn't it?''

Miroru

[Miroru]

Rokuhane Miroru

Department of Heroes Freshman

Prism, the Spectrum Hero

Freja Helt | 349 | notes

"Yep. It's not much- a little select-spectrum refraction to remove most of the energy in the light waves hitting our bodies. Like sunglasses for our skin, sorta," Miroru explained- er, well. Simplified. It was more complex than that, to keep the visible spectrums and weed out the bits that heat without lighting their vision, but she'd learned a long time ago that nobody else really cared about how complex what she's doing was.

"Yeah, really. We're heroes, you know? Or gonna be. Seems to me like helping my fellow students be the best they can be is one of the biggest impacts I'll ever have. Plus I'm good at studying. I can probably teach you some tricks so it's not so daunting," offered the redhead. "Heroism isn't about having something to gain. I've... seen. What people turn into when heroing is something that Gets Them Something. I don't... ever. Want to be like that."

She shook her head. "Not selfish. Just- embarrassing. I don't think it should be, but I understand why it is. So don't sweat it. I'm here to help everyone be the best heroes possible, not to- I dunno, show them all up and push them down. When we win, we win together. That's how we come out on top."

She frowned slightly as Freja shared where she was starting from. She read it less as "lost cause" and more of "Blank slate". She tilted her head. "You must be underestimating yourself here somewhere. You made it past the entrance exams, you're not just- a paper doll that needs dressed in a hero outfit. You just need help studying. That's okay. Like I said, I'm good at that."

The question about her quirk makes Miroru snort. "It's powerful if you're a flashlight. Or a dynamo. Or a microwave. It's -handy.- But unless it's a really sunny day and I have some reason to literally cook somebody alive, handy is ALL it is."

I can pay no price too great for justice.

Template by: Monkey

[Freja Helt]

''That's 'not much' to you?'' She didn't mean to sound mean or anything, she was just surprised at how casual it all was to Miroru. The whole using powers bit. Freja was really getting an insight into what Miroru thought of heroism too, and she kind of couldn't help but agree with everything she was saying. The last part sounded strangely personal, like Miroru hadn't just seen it, but felt the absolute worst of what heroism could bring. Freja wasn't about to pry though, that wasn't what she was here for.

''..I agree. Some students make fun of me for that, I-I mean it sounds so idealistic, right? ..But you would think that sort of drive is the reason why everyone is here, why everyone is trying to become a hero.'' The way Miroru was talking was so inspiring and uplifting that Freja was wondering why she had taken so long to approach her in the first place. That talk about being lifted, about everyone lifting everyone to the top, Freja hoped she could be a part of that. Not only getting lifted, but help lift others too. ''O-Oh sorry, I didn't mean to drag you into my negative spiral or anything like that- I know I probably do have some talents..''

Moving swiftly on she smiled at Miroru's next response. ''So it has more situational uses?'' It made sense, there were generalist quirks out there, but there was also more obscure or situational ones that were really powerful at that one specific thing they did. ''In that case.. Would you mind starting a study group? We could meet up at the library, or cafeteria or wherever you want.''

Miroru

[Miroru]

Rokuhane Miroru

Department of Heroes Freshman

Prism, the Spectrum Hero

@name | ### | notes

"I'm from an entire family of people that are walking power stations. They have an easier time frying somebody from across the room than they do holding a conversation. So- yeah, to me it's "not much." It's great for every day life- I can use my phone without touching it, I never need a TV remote, I always tan perfectly and I only lose body heat if I feel like it- but when it comes to heroics, it's just not that useful. I can make it go dark or disappear but that's about as good as it gets unless I'm fighting directly beneath a live thunderstorm or a power station."

"Yeah, well, some students can catch those hands," Miroru said simply. "Most of the time it's insecure idiots that waste their time pushing others down. The sort of guys that'll body build instead of exercise, more scared of LOOKING weak than BEING weak. Kick a few asses and people will stop insulting you for what you don't have and get curious about what you DO."

The idea of getting dragged into Freja's negative spiral made Miroru laugh, and she shook her head. "You didn't unload nearly enough baggage to knock me off course, Helt-san. Don't go apologizing for something that didn't happen. And- yeah, you got it, situational. Against a few super specific sorts of threats it's really great, but usually, it's just smoke and mirrors."

The redhead tilted her head in consideration. "You sure you wanna do all this studying somewhere public? I don't think we're gonna have that many people swarming us to study at my wise and knowledgable freshman feet, we could do this pretty much anyplace."

I can pay no price too great for justice.

Template by: Monkey

[Freja Helt]

That all sounded like heaven to Freja. Not that she was going to come out and admit that here. She got that it wasn't exactly useful for heroics, but a quirk like that still sounded so convenient. ''I see. So lots of folks in your family have quirks?'' She didn't really want to pry or anything, it seemed like a pretty sore topic for the fox girl. Not that she could blame her, pretty much the last thing Freja wanted to think or talk about was family.

''H-Huh? I'm not looking to kick any asses-'' Truth be told, she was still terrified of her peers. Terrified of sparring others and terrified that she might be treated differently for being quirkless. ''In fact it would be great if I could just.. Get along with everyone?'' She was relieved she hadn't trauma dumped as much as she thought. ''Even smoke and mirrors can be really powerful. Especially if people are underestimating it.'' Freja as a quirkless student, knew all about being underestimated. She might be an anxious wreck of a person, but that came more from her current life circumstance than anything else. Elias, the consciousness in control inside of Freja, used to try to join a gang after all.

''I-I mean, I figured we'd both go to public spaces and-.. Well we could study in my room too sometimes I'd just have to ask my roommates about it first. But anyplace is fine!! Did you have somewhere in mind?'' She looked at Miroru, somehow feeling shorter than her even though she was 5'11.

Miroru

[Miroru]

Rokuhane Miroru

Department of Heroes Freshman

Prism, the Spectrum Hero

Freja Helt | ### | notes

"Mmm. My father's quirk is very prominent. I'm the only kid that didn't get it." Very matter of fact. Very much already moving on to new topics. It clearly wasn't something Miroru liked talking about unless contextually necessary.

"I- look, I get that, but you're going to need combat practice. A lot of it. That's going to mean beating more than a few asses in the process, Helt-san. If the process of doing so also insulates you against prejudiced bullshit like I heard at orientation, then all the better. You can get along with people AND deliver ass kickings in generous portions. People love a badass," the redhead pointed out. "Smoke and mirrors are great, but they make solutions easier. They don't really provide them. So at the end of the day, when it comes to stopping villains, outside of some very specific combinations, we're basically on the same playing field, you and I."

"Either way is fine. I just wanted to make sure you'd thought about the advantages of a private study space before we posted up someplace anybody can just waltz up and interrupt." She was much shorter than Freja's 5'11" as it happened, nearly a whole foot shorter, but somehow she was the one at the helm here. "What do you want to try first? Contacting your roommate? Or roll the dice with the library?"

I can pay no price too great for justice.

Template by: Monkey

[Freja Helt]

The only one? Oof. That sounded kind of relatable. Even if she wasn't from a big hero family. ''Sorry to hear that.'' But that was where she left it since it would be uncomfortable for her to dig around in Miroru's past as well.

''I-I have a good amount of combat practice already, it's just that everything is moving fast at the school and, you know, it takes some getting used to?'' Her smile dropped a bit to a more neutral expression when she brought up the orientation. ''That? I'm not bothered by that, Rokuhane-san, people laugh, they always have. It's the norm in our society to laugh at people like me. No hard feelings.'' It was defeatist, but in her mind it was also very much true. Why let it get to her when there was nothing she could do to improve her situation anyway? ''Don't get me wrong, I love a good badass too.'' She shrugged, ''but I'm not it.''

''You think so?'' She crossed her arms as she looked down at Miroru. ''That's very self-deprecating, you haven't seen how terrible I am.'' Honestly, no matter what quirk she had it just couldn't compare to being quirkless. That was a reality Freja refused to face for whatever reason. Maybe she wasn't strong enough yet, or maybe she was just denying a lot of things about herself deep down. When she asked her what she wanted to try first, her brain immediately went to the library. That would be less of a hassle than contacting her roommates and Freja was already anxious about texting and calling as is. ''Let's check out the library? I'll text them and find out later.''

Miroru

[Miroru]

Rokuhane Miroru

Department of Heroes Freshman

Prism, the Spectrum Hero

Freja Helt | ### | notes

"Yeah. Me too." That was all Miroru seemed willing to say on that front.

"I'm sure you do, you made it in. My point is there's gonna be more, and a lot of it, and you'll be saving yourself some time and effort if you make a point to show your skills to the jerks that need to see it to believe you belong here. That's all," Miroru clarified.

"You oughtta be bothered by it. You might have skin thick enough to handle it, but if they're picking on you, they're picking on others. It's not about whether you can take what they're dishing out, it's about stopping them from dishing it in the first place. Does that track?"

Freja replied, and Miroru's response was stark, stepping around to cut Freja off and stare right up at her in the eyes.

"Fuck the norm, then."

Her tone was biting, as the breeze tossed the fluff of her hair with every word. "If that's the norm, the norm's wrong, and it deserves to break into pieces. NOBODY deserves to get shit on for being who they are. You do something stupid? Sure, that might merit some giggles, but you. Are not. A joke. You're throwing yourself into the line of fire, and that deserves a little fucking respect." She turned and started to jog again. "If you won't put their faces into the dirt for being prejudiced little assholes, I'll do it myself. So if you really want everyone to get along, show them why you're here so they shut up before I deal with them."

She glanced at Freja, and smirked crookedly. "Don't believe you. You're here despite ridicule and every disadvantage you could have. That isn't terrible."

A nod. "Library works. What do you wanna study first?"

I can pay no price too great for justice.

Template by: Monkey

[Freja Helt]

''I'm telling you I don't have that skill. I might have had something that got me in, but it's nothing special compared to all of you. I don't have a quirk, I have what I'm good at. That's it. I guess somehow the teachers thought that was worth giving me a chance.'' At least she hoped so, she couldn't stand the thought that she might have been accepted into the program as part of some kind of diversity clause. Although that wouldn't make sense because as far as Freja was aware she was one of the only openly quirkless students in the school.

''It tracks, but I'm not that person. I'm not the kind of person who brings about that kind of change. I'm not bothered by it because I can't change it. This is the world we live in, I was unfortunate, it's bad luck, that's all it is.'' Miroru was weirdly persistent on this. Almost like the stereotypical hero types, the types that Freja thought about when she heard the word hero. It was nice, but also Freja herself just wasn't that kind of person. Didn't have that kind of confidence, wasn't that comfortable in her body, or rather the body she had inherited...

Her eyes had gradually moved to look down at the floor rather than Miroru, only looking back up when she told 'the norm' what she did. Freja got what she was going for, she just, she didn't know what to say. ''Wait, please don't fight people on my behalf..'' What if they ended up getting mad at Freja? What if someone came up and openly challenged her?

''I guess not.. Well I-'' She hesitated, caught herself. Was it a good idea to say this? She looked at Miroru, then looked off to the side. ''I wasn't always quirkless. It's a sort of recent thing, I guess you could say.'' With a defeated smile she looked back at the fox girl. ''It's complicated.''

When she asked her what she wanted to study first she let out a small sigh. ''Okay this is probably nothing to you but Japanese is so hard! You do not want to see how terrible my kanji is.''

Miroru

[Miroru]

Rokuhane Miroru

Department of Heroes Freshman

Prism, the Spectrum Hero

Freja Helt | 305 | notes

"And I'm telling you that there's something in there the admissions team wanted to see thrive. Heroism is not a black and white measure of quirk functionality. You have what you're good at, yeah, but you're also HERE. You stood up with what you have, brought it to the entrance exams, and PASSED. I don't know if what they saw was a refusal to give up, or a deep commitment to what's right, or- if- I don't know, you tripped and gave the judges just the world's most amazing panty flash and you're here because they know that's one way to keep morale up, but unlike everyone else here, you HAVE TO BE special somehow."

Miroru nodded to herself as Freja again insisted she wasn't that sort of person. "And maybe you're not. But not only do you not deserve to be treated that way, but moreover, we don't need "heroes" like that aiming toxicity in that magnitude at the up and coming generation of heroes. If it's not in you to take them to task, then I have no problem kicking all their asses without my quirk just to prove a point. That shit's not okay, and whether you're okay with it or not, I won't let it stand."

Hearing the quirklessness was a new development made Miroru stop dead. Blink. Stare a little. "I-... but how did your quirk just... vanish? That's... not something that can happen... is it?"

Complicated sure was right.

"Oh! Don't feel bad! It's really complex stuff! You know it's bad when you look at the English alphabet and think "man imagine only needing 26 characters to write everything." I can definitely help with that!"

I can pay no price too great for justice.

Template by: Monkey

[Freja Helt]

Freja furrowed her brow, Miroru was really persistent. Like so persistent that Freja didn't even know what to say. Part of her could see where Miroru was coming from, but her own upbringing was also so deeply flawed that it would take a while for her to understand that people with quirks could struggle too. ''P-Panty flash?!'' She blushed and let out a half chuckle just at how absurd that was. ''I-I didn't! That's not what happened!'' Why did she even feel the need to defend herself over something so silly? With a sigh and a smile, she eventually spoke up again. ''You might be the first person I've ever met who is more stubborn than me.''

''I guess we don't, but they seek out the hero job anyway, right? You would think every hero-to-be does it for a good cause, but some just want power over others.'' More of Freja's pessimism shining through. She brushed past it quickly though, as she leaned against the wall and sat down in the middle of the hallway. Her knees pushed into her chest with her arms hooked around her legs. ''It's a bit of a long story.. Do you have time?''

With a deep breath, she decided to tell Miroru. She seemed trustworthy and Freja would have to come to terms with her circumstances eventually anyway.

''For starters, I'm a guy.'' She braced for a moment, was she going to laugh at her? Either way it was the truth.

''The woman you see in front of you is my twin sister, but the person in here.'' She pointed to her temple. ''Is me, Freja's twin brother. Me and my sister grew up together, she had a fire quirk and I was thought to be quirkless my entire life. Even in readings or tests, they couldn't trace anything in my body.'' She looked down at the floor, as if it would give her more focus for the next part. ''Freja always wanted to be a hero, specifically, she wanted to study at UAU. I practiced Japanese with her because even though I was a delinquent, a bad brother and a worse son, I wanted to see my sister succeed where I couldn't.''

''It was here in Japan we were both killed. Caught in some kind of villain attack, is my best guess. My memory is hazy, I remember bleeding out surrounded by flames next to my sister.'' It was tough to talk about, but somehow becoming easier. Easier than Freja had imagined it would be. ''When I woke up I was immediately concerned for her. She's the good one of us, you know, the successful sibling who could do it at all. It wasn't until I saw my own reflection that the shock set in. I hadn't just lost my sister, I was trapped inside of her.'' She looked over at Miroru for the first time in a while. Pausing for her to react if she had anything to say. Not that she was expecting her to. ''My family, everyone, thought that I died, that Freja was the one who survived. Elias was cremated and I attended my own funeral.'' There was another, somber moment of silence. ''I'm not fully sure how it happened, but here's my best theory so far. Elias, or rather, I had a quirk that activated when I died, which propelled my consciousness, my memories, my spirit, if you will, into Freja's body. I know because I have the memories of Elias, even memories Freja never knew about. I also have the memories of Freja. Her hair was black...'' She ran a hand through a lock of her hair so that it was splayed in her palm. ''After the incident, Freja's, or my hair grew back as gray.'' She smiled somberly. ''So, how do I know for sure that I'm Elias? I guess I don't. Somedays I think I do, other days everything is a blur. One thing is for sure, though. My quirk, I named it 'Curse' after the fact, and Curse is no longer here. I also can't use Freja's fire. I am effectively quirkless.'' She let out a small sigh and stretched her arms. ''There, that's my little sob story. Sorry for the hold up.''

''Right? I'm not even natively English either, but it was so much easier to learn English because it's closer to my native language.'' She chuckled. Hopefully Miroru wouldn't mind the trauma dumping.

Miroru