[Raiomaru Toshigawa]

I got something deep inside of me
Courage is the thing that keeps us free

A few days had passed since orientation, and there had been a handful of the things said and done during the event that had stuck with Leonid. There had been the curiosity and excitement of the students, the... Oddly personal questioning of him that some of them had engaged with in a way that had unnerved him at the time, but, more than either of those, there was also the things that he himself had thought. The veteran had sworn to be better than what he had been this time around, to do right by the lessons that he imparted on the next generation, and yet...

Sure quirkless folks can be heroes, if you're hoping to be a C- or D-lister or something. Hey don't sweat it, parking lots need patrolling too, meanwhile the rest of us with actual talent will handle the real work-

It wouldn't stop bothering him. Just how easily that snide, abusive voice had made its way back into his mind, how it had rested on his tongue. How easily he simply could have followed his impulses and mocked a young girl who had done nothing wrong and was simply coming to him for affirmation, for support from an established name in the industry.

No matter how hard he tried, he simply could not restrain himself from being scum, it seemed.

He had to undo that impulse somehow. Granted, he had not actually acted on it, he had managed to restrain that, but the fact that it would have been so very easy to do simply proved to him that he still had a long way to go before he could consider himself improved. After taking the time to think about it proper, he had decided that a solid first step on that journey would be to offer support instead, where his first instinct had been to ridicule and destroy. And so, he had elected to message his new student.

Miss Helt, this is Leonid. I would like to see you by the support laboratories this evening, if you have the time. Consider it seeing to your education.

At the same time, he had also made sure to contact one of the brightest within the support division, one Miss Borovsky, to also see him at the support labs. Granted, he wasn't at those labs just yet, but rather waiting for Freja a small pace away from them, standing by the doors leading into the support portion of the facilities, keeping his eyes open for any signs of the freshman. He wanted to have a short, private conversation with her first, just to make sure that she did not misunderstand anything. Then, the two could converge with Miss Borovsky. Just covering his bases here.

---

 Freja Helt  Ana Borovsky

template by punki of adoxography 

[Freja Helt]

School was so much tougher than she had imagined. Through the back breaking training and the long lectures that seemed to drag on and on, Freja couldn't help but wonder if she had chosen wrong by applying for the Department of Heroes. General Education would probably have been easier and she could technically still say she went to UA uni if she had taken that route. Not that it mattered in the end, her promise was to become a hero. A real hero who could do some real good, someone like Leonid-sensei.

Speaking of, Freja was moping alone in her bed, both of her roommates out and about doing their own things when she received that message from her teacher. Sitting up immediately she read it through a few times to confirm she understood the contents of his text. By the support laboratories? Why did he want to talk there of all places? She continued to mull it over as she got dressed and ready to head out. Maybe it was just the most convenient place for him? Or maybe he wanted to help her get in touch with a support student! No, that was too optimistic. What if he had seen how terrible Freja's performance was, and now they were shifting her into being a support student instead! But she didn't even know how to make gear or any kind of support equipment!!

She blinked her eyes as the appearance of Leonid brought her back to reality, she had really been on autopilot, processing a dozen different scenarios while she was making her way over here. ''Sen-Sensei! Uh you wanted to see me?'' She smiled, secretly bracing herself for the blow, bracing herself for being transferred out of the Department of Heroes.

Raiomaru Toshigawa
Ana Borovsky

[Raiomaru Toshigawa]

I got something deep inside of me
Courage is the thing that keeps us free

There she was. All in all, the wait had not been terribly long, and as soon as Freja began approaching him, Leonid had turned her way with that expression of his that... Remained difficult to read, owing to its inhuman nature, but it was intended as a smile if nothing else. "Ah, miss Helt. Thank you for making it on such a short notice."

"Now..." The lion hesitated for a moment. Gods, he really should have prepared this, rather than simply going with the first thing that came to mind. Most of his hero career had just been winging it, but that did not mean that his educator career could be the same. "I am sure that you are wondering why I called you. Well, I want to preface it first of all with, well... I believe that I owe you an apology."

It did not come easy to him, still. At his core, Leonid was a proud creature, even asking for forgiveness in a small form such as this, it was... Well, unusual to him. Yet another thing that he would have to get used to, he supposed.

"I answered your question during the orientation, and I believe that I may not have been entirely honest to you. I did mean what I said, I do believe that you have all of the qualities that you need for heroism. Had you not had them, you would not be here today, you would not have been approved for your class. However..." There was another pause. He really had to choose his words carefully, here. "However, the truth of the matter is that you are quirkless. You do not have the capacities that your peers do, and I am sure that you are aware of as much. Simply put, you will need to work harder than they do if you wish to keep up with them. That is unfair, but it is the truth. What they take for granted, you will need to earn, you will need help to bridge the gap where sheer work ethic cannot."

"And that." He motioned beside him, around him. "Is why we are here today. Would you come with me, please?" And... Without really waiting for a confirmation, he turned towards the support labs proper, the sliding doors opening up as he did.

  

---

 Freja Helt , Ana Borovsky

  template by punki of adoxography

[Freja Helt]

Was he happy to see her, or angry? She hated herself for doubting her intuition that he was smiling, but she just couldn't tell for sure. Not until he spoke. ''O-Of course..'' She bowed her head politely, her movement a little stiff. She was still learning the social customs of Japan and very clearly didn't want to accidentally offend him.

An apology? She didn't really get it. Was it something he had said, or done? Her mind was swiftly taken back to the orientation. Was it because of how he answered, or because it got some of the other students laughing? If anything, she should be the one to apologize for putting him on the spot and asking a question like that in the first place. She listened to him, even stayed silent through his pause as she anticipated what he was going to say next.

''Yeah, you're right..'' She didn't like to admit it but Leonid was right. She had felt it during her entrance exam, during training. Heck, even when they were Elias, back then when Freja had her fire quirk, Elias had Curse, but it didn't show itself until the day he died, so for all intents and purposes he had been effectively quirkless since birth. ''It's the reality we live in.'' A reality where quirks conquered all. ''Here?'' She looked at the door he was motioning towards. ''The support labs?'' She asked following after him.

Was she actually getting transferred??? Leonid-sensei was going to be majorly disappointed with her lack of inventing skills.

Raiomaru Toshigawa
Ana Borovsky

[Raiomaru Toshigawa]

I got something deep inside of me
Courage is the thing that keeps us free

The two entered the support side of the U.A. facilities, Leonid striding through the halls, scanning workshop after workshop. For once despite having spent most of his time in these buildings for the last two years, the old lion was relying on room numbers and maps to find his way. He had never been one to spend much time in the support labs and it showed, Still, it did not take him overly long to find the support lab that he had asked Borovsky to meet him in. Now, hopefully she should already be there, then again from what he understood from his Department of Support colleagues, this one was hardly known for her tardiness. A safe bet, more likely than not.

Turning back to Freja for a moment, he gave the girl a quick nod. "There is someone that I would like you to meet." A simple notion really, and that was also the only explanation that he offered before moving forward, letting the doors to the lab slide open and stepping inside, expecting his new student to follow behind him. Right then, the only matter left now was to get everyone introduced to one another, and to explain the idea that he had been toying with...
   

---

 Freja Helt , Ana Borovsky

  template by punki of adoxography

[Ana Borovsky]

IT'S ME! HI!

I'M THE PROBLEM! IT'S ME!

Ana felt out of place. She was in a lab room, yes, but it wasn’t her lab room. The same laboratory she had sequestered herself in every day during freshman year. It wouldn’t matter so much to most people. Each of the non-specialized work spaces were given the same furniture laid out in the exact same way and standard supplies. They felt identical until students or teachers modified them for their own use though each had been reset at the end of the previous year. There hadn’t been enough time in the few days that had elapsed post-orientations for Ana to arrange her favored lab yet to her liking and while it still looked exactly the same as the one she waited in now, Ana knew it was wrong because it mattered to her. She was far from most people.

And yet she still waited there in spite of her discomfort.

That was what you did when one of the educators at UA singled you out for your services — at least if you wanted to stay at UA. Which Ana did. Partly because Mama insisted and partly because it was one of the best institutions for Ana to pursue the sciences. Especially Quirk research given Akihiro Koizumi was the Head of Quirkology in the Department of Support. There were few better to learn from in that regard.

It wasn’t Professor Koizumi that had summoned Ana though. Leonid, a teacher from the Hero side of UA University had reached out. Details were limited. He had simply asked her to meet with him, but few met with Ana unless they wanted something made or something/someone dissected. Ana pondered which was the case as she paced across the lab, her anxiety over the wrongness kept from a frenzy by curiosity. Though few would likely ever know the former existed behind the seemingly perpetual smile and odd wide eyes that she greeted the pair with as they opened the door and crossed the threshold because few would ever want to push past the facade given her personality. Mama had always said the best thing to do with feelings that got in the way was to bury them down deep until they were silenced then choose how to feel. Ana did her best whenever she could for Mama. Otherwise…

“Hi!” :)

Notes & Tags: Freja Helt Raiomaru Toshigawa | Wearing UA uniform w/ short lab coat. | Ears and tail hidden.

[Freja Helt]

Getting lost in the support side of the buildings was more than a little awkward. Since it was Freja's first time here too she couldn't even offer her teacher much help in navigating past all the numbered rooms. So ultimately, she decided to just not get involved and instead stress about the destination. Where they were going and what was going to happen to her. In a way she was actually happy her and Leonid got lost for a little bit. It might not seem like much, but to someone like Freja, Leonid was like a living legend, practically a demi god walking the earth. To see him get a room number wrong or having to backtrack? It made him just a little bit more human to her.

She looked up at him, less fear on her face, clearly still a bit anxious. Someone? Who was she meeting? Maybe she would have an idea if she had actually socialized more with the support students.. Or was it another teacher? Either way, following behind Leonid, Freja braced herself for whatever unknown she would have to face.

For a split second her eyes met Ana's and she couldn't gauge why, but her smile frightened her. ''H-Hi!'' She managed to stammer out, deer in headlights that she was. Could it be that Ana's quirk was some kind of menacing aura that was making the air in this room feel heavier than it was? ''Uh- I'm..'' She glanced up at Leonid, then looked back to Ana. ''I'm Freja Helt.'' Her introduction sounded more like a plea for mercy than a greeting.

Raiomaru Toshigawa
Ana Borovsky

[Raiomaru Toshigawa]

I got something deep inside of me
Courage is the thing that keeps us free

The two of them entered the agreed-upon support lab and, to Leonid's relief to a certain degree, he found that Borovsky was already present. Excellent, this would make things far easier, then. He watched the two students as they exchanged greetings, nodding along slowly and... Well, Borovsky was certainly an odd duck, he had already heard as much from the Department of Support, had already experienced it at the odd times than their paths had crossed in the past. Still, her talent could not be denied and that was the main point of today.

"Well then." He spoke up, interjecting into the greetings to... Well, explain himself, more than anything else. Good as time as any. "Miss Borovsky, thanking you for taking the time. This is one of the new freshmen in the Department of Heroics, Miss Helt." He then turned to Freja in turn. "Miss Helt, this is Miss Borovsky. A sophomore of the Department of Support and one of the most talented support engineers that I have ever had the pleasure to stand alongside, and I say that as someone who has spent time around a lot of support agencies since the industry's infancy. You will have to see it to believe it, she is a genius."

"Now," With the proper introductions out of the way, he would turn back towards Borovsky, continuing his explanation for the day. "The reason that I have asked you both here today is simply that I would like you to get acquainted with one another, and for a synergetic project between our two departments. Miss Helt here," He would begin to explain, motioning towards the hero student but maintaining his gaze on Ana. "Is quirkless, you see. Certainly promising, promising enough to pass our practical exams despite her condition. However, if she is to continue with her education here, especially once our practical exercises in the Department of Heroes begin, I believe that she would benefit from a way to make up for those shortcomings. Even the playing field, if you would." He paused to look Freja's way for a moment, giving her another of his half-grimaces-that-happen-when-a-lion-smiles, before turning back to the support student once more.

"I would like you, if willing, to work alongside Miss Helt to develop a fitting arsenal of support equipment to allow her to coexist with her quirked peers. The two of you will converse about this, and I expect you to cooperate to figure out exactly what it is that she needs. Though, obviously, your experience within support development should very much be applied to this undertaking." He paused again, Ana this time being the one to get one of his not-smiles. "Naturally, I will talk this over with your professors to ensure that this project counts towards your academic credit."

---

 Freja Helt, Ana Borovsky

  template by punki of adoxography

[Ana Borovsky]

IT'S ME! HI!

I'M THE PROBLEM! IT'S ME!

As Freja and Leonid underwent introductions and explanations, Ana was silent. Absolutely and utterly silent. Still too. So still she did not blink even once nor move her eyes after giving a once over to Freja and moving on to do the same to the educator before locking dead center upon his face. Only the subtle rise and fall of her chest from breathing gave away that she was human. Or at least something human like doing a good job mimicking breathing. Almost as good as Leonid did at smiling.

When he finished his mini-speech, Ana’s eyes shifted back to Freja. Her head tilted to the side for just a moment or two before righting itself as if the smile that bloomed ever further across her lips as if anchoring her back to a level point. Her strange behavior had nothing on the words she unleashed in response to the request made though.

“How unique and remarkable for a human’s baseline potential to overcome comparatively genetic uselessness!”

She clapped her hands together in delight that was likely not shared by the subject in question. How could she not? Even the statement itself was novel as it straddled the thin line between being an oxymoron.

“It’s certainly a fascinating project to undertake! A case study into whether or not ingenuity and skill can overcome the ever widening gap between the Quirkless and Quirked! The results of which might even begin to form a foundation for how to handle or prevent the possibility of Quirk Singularity in the future! Though that’s purely a leap in conjecture based on hypotheticals! Such as scaling back on Quirk reliance now to prevent the need for rapid evolution to survive the Quirks of others!”

Blunt though she was and obviously prone to trips down scientific rabbit holes, Ana was clearly passionate and willing. Academic credit on the line or not. Her earlier anxiety over location was even sufficiently suffocated beneath her enthusiasm over the potential project for the time being. Perhaps more importantly than anything else, however, Ana was capable of what Leonid was asking of her. If Freja could both keep up with the strain of school as well as the testing of gear and not wither beneath Ana's strong personality in the meantime.

“I’ll do it!”

Notes & Tags: Freja Helt Raiomaru Toshigawa | Ears and tail hidden.

[Freja Helt]

This girl was just a sophomore and she was already one of the most talented support engineers Leonid had met?? That was saying something. Was Freja really worthy of getting help from someone that legendary? How was it UAU kept finding students like this? Never mind that they were in completely different courses, but how could Freja possibly have made it into the school with people like this applying alongside her?

Oof. 'Despite her condition'? That kind of stung, but it wasn't anything new to her either. This was just how discourse around quirklessness was. Wait a minute, he was referring to her being quirkless, right? She looked up at the lion hero, trying her best to get a read on his face, even though she couldn't for the life of her. If he wasn't referring to her being quirkless, maybe he knew about Curse and the body swap? When he looked down and half-grimace smiled at her she blinked her eyes and quickly smiled back, before turning her attention to the genius. Either way, it was all going to come down to what Ana thought. ''It's not that rare, right? There's other students in this school who are quirkless?'' She looked up at Leonid for confirmation.

Because honestly, the odds here had to be slim. How much work would Ana how to do, what would she have to create to even the playing field for Freja like Leonid was talking about? She could only imagine how daunting the workload was and it would probably be with very little pay off for Ana. Quirkless loser tries, but fails to keep up with her peers? Not exactly the best advertisement for your support gear. She also couldn't help but notice that the other student was blinking. Like, at all. It was incredibly unnerving to say the least. Like they had come to negotiate with some kind of astral, higher being of the realm and said higher being was looking her over, judging her every move. Freja felt her shoulders tense when Ana tilted her head to the side.

G-Genetic uselessness? Was she getting actual help or was this just a roasting session? She jumped slightly when Ana clapped her hands together, stopping herself from taking an instinctive step back. She didn't fully get what she was talking about next, stuff like a potential Quirk Singularity, but she got the gist of it. It was going to come down to quirked vs quirkless, and how big of a role support gear could play in that narrative.

''..You will?'' She blurted out, shocked that a genius like Ana was willing to give her the time of day.

She could already feel her muscles grow sore from the thought of having to up her workload even more to try and catch up to her peers. ''Is this a good idea? I mean- there's no guarantee it will even work..''

Raiomaru Toshigawa
Ana Borovsky

[Raiomaru Toshigawa]

I got something deep inside of me
Courage is the thing that keeps us free

Borovsky began to go over her... Many thoughts and theories on the matter that Leonid had proposed, and for a moment, the old lion's mind glazed over. He had never been the scholarly type, he had made it through his education and career through sheer physical excellence, athletic gifts and charisma that gave him all the tools that he had needed to succeed as a pro hero, all of this... Bookish stuff, well that was other people's concern as far as he cared. Well, the important part was that it sounded like she was agreeing to the proposition, he had gotten that much out of it.

Turning Helt's way on her question, the veteran gave a small shrug. "Quirkless students? Certainly, they are frequent enough. Quirkless hero students however, that is something else. Owing to the practical exams and physical demands for our Department of Heroics, it is quite the rare thing for quirkless applicants to outshine their quirked counterparts enough to qualify for our courses." With another as his ambigious smiles, Leonid reached out and let a large hand clap down to land on Freja's shoulder, a single pat, followed by a soft squeeze. "You are something extra, lass. Take pride in this."

Turning back to face the both of them again, Leonid's brow did furrow slightly at Freja's continued questioning. What was this now, he had gone out of his way to assist her, really more than what fell under his duties as educator, and she was still hesitating on the starting line? What was this, why had she even signed up for the course, let alone made it this far, if she had no drive? He did his best to dispel the moment of irritation, but really now. What was with the insistent self-doubt of youth these days..? He worried for the future, if this wishy-washy attitude was to be the norm. "It is as good an idea as any, I would say. As I said, you clearly have enough of a natural edge to be here, and if anyone is capable of bringing that to the forefront, it would be Miss Borovsky here."

---

Freja Helt, Ana Borovsky

template by punki of adoxography

[Ana Borovsky]

IT'S ME! HI!

I'M THE PROBLEM! IT'S ME!

Leonid’s annoyance was not the only thing kindled by Freja’s doubt. Ana took a step toward the other young woman after the Hero had addressed her. Though the shortest of the trio, Ana was still taller than average and her single long-legged stride stripped a decent amount of distance that had been between them previously.

“Lucky for you, I believe in my capability more than you believe in yours!”

Another step forward.

“Because you better not be doubting mine!”

Confidence and ambition in her own field were not something that Ana lacked. To the point where she fully believed she could bridge Freja’s deficiency gaps — even without knowing the full extent of said deficiencies beyond being Quirkless. Irritated though Ana was that her skill might have been called into question by Freja, whether intentionally or not, her enthusiasm still ran high. This project had the chance to be her collegiate magnum opus and should Freja truly prove lacking to keep up with the physical demands due to the meagerness of mortal limitations, Ana could always replace her piece by piece with cybernetics until nothing human remained.

Now wouldn’t that be something? :)

Ana looked back and forth between the two. Leonid was not spared from her obvious evaluations. If anything her interest was just as keen as that designated to Freja. Perhaps it had something to do with the feline ears and tail hidden beneath Ana's hair and clothing. The task at hand was sufficient enough to keep from probing the Panthera leo with questions about his Quirk and anatomy though. Her unsettling gaze returned fully upon Freja after only a few seconds.

“I’ll need a baseline to inform where we should start! So what are you good at now? I suspect it is a short list so I shouldn’t need to take notes, but correct me if I’m wrong!”

Was she though?

Notes & Tags: Freja Helt Raiomaru Toshigawa

[Freja Helt]

She somehow had a hard time coping with the reality. That someone without powers really had been accepted into the hero course. Other students had complimented her when they found out, saying that it took guts, or was impressive to pass without a quirk. Others had laughed at her and was doing all they could to make her time at school hell. It wasn't until Leonid gave her shoulder a pat that it really dawned on her. She wasn't just here out of pity, or because the school wanted to politicize her existence and say even ordinary people could become heroes. She was here because she had something. There was at least one thing about her that was above average.

''N-No! Not at all, I don't doubt your capabilities.'' Yiiikes, it could totally be seen that way couldn't it? What a tumultuous start to their potential project and partnership. She needed to get over herself and just accept that others were willing to help her. She looked up at Leonid for a moment. If he said she could have pride in herself, then she had to try harder! She looked back at Ana, a little more reassured in the face of the terrifying sophomore student. ''I can fight. Give me a weapon, any blunt weapon and I can fight really well with it. I prefer baseball bats, but anything, a pipe, a stick, anything would do.'' She said that with the most confidence she had managed to muster up in weeks. If she had been picked for any reason to pass the entrance exam, it had to be for her technical fighting skill. ''That's... About it. But I'm making up for it by training a lot.''

Raiomaru Toshigawa
Ana Borovsky

[Raiomaru Toshigawa]

I got something deep inside of me
Courage is the thing that keeps us free

Well, it seems like the two were already getting on well enough! Or, well, 'getting on' might be a tad too generous, to be entirely honest Leonid did not even know if Borovsky had friends - as noted, an odd duck, she was - but at the very least they were already getting to work figuring out exactly what it was that Helt needed for her future work in the Department of Heroes. Feeling that he was quickly growing rather redundant in this conversation, Leonid would turn and walk to the side of the support lab, finding a chair to sink his sizeable frame into, watching the two speak now. 

Well, they were going over strengths and weaknesses, potential gear that could be made. All of that was very good, even if it was immediately obvious to the veteran that Helt did not know exactly what to ask for. That was understandable, she had no true experience in these matters, and also had no context for what kind of capabilities she was likely to lack - quirklesness was her 'normal' after all, it was most likely quite easy to forget such things that most of her peers (or even Leonid himself) would take for granted.

"A weapon is all well and good, lass." Leonid spoke up from his new seated position, before quickly adding. "But you might want to look at something for your physical abilities, first and foremost. Armor, exoskeleton, something to let you keep up with the athleticism of your peers. Several of your classmates are mutants, and even the ones that are not often have some way to apply their quirk to enhance or improve their body's capabilities. Naturally, this is between you and Miss Borovsky, but my personal recommendation would be to begin with something that lets you keep up so that bat of yours can actually connect, then you can look into improving the weapon itself."

---

Freja Helt, Ana Borovsky

template by punki of adoxography

[Ana Borovsky]

IT'S ME! HI!

I'M THE PROBLEM! IT'S ME!

Ana had been right. To the surprise of no one in her opinion. The list was very short. But at least there was a list! Leonid had also been right though. If Freja had no skill or potential at all, she wouldn’t have gotten into UAU in the first place. Still, what Ana was given to work with was basically a girl that hit things with sticks and stick adjacent things and… that was it.

Perfect!

She loved a challenge.

Of course, Leonid was correct on a second matter. There were other avenues to explore that made as much sense. It all came down to Freja’s preference because Ana had the skill to meet the demands of either route.

“Your choice is essentially to pick capitalizing on your existing strengths or begin to cover your extensive weaknesses! I have heard a saying relevant to the situation! Offense can be the best defense! Gen has described characters in games we play that fit that idea as glass cannons! However, live combat is not my area of expertise so I don’t have an opinion on which route you opt for!”

Notes & Tags: Freja Helt