Chapter 3

Daichi just barely remembers the trek to the bus, as it begins to descend into the city and leaves his home, miles away in the dust. Unlike most mornings, Deji had been there, while his parents cooked and prepared themselves for the day. Daichi only remembers Deji sliding the cold gray U.A. jacket onto his shoulders, rolling the ends up to just above his wrist, before lightly tugging his white collar up and meeting Daichi's eyes with a warm smile.

"You're a Daichi in name, but a Yuri in spirit. And you know what we are? Heroes."

Then, before he knew it. The navy-haired boy was sent off, with lightly ruffled hair – now only lighting kissing his shoulders – and kisses from parents, and his brother by his side. But now, the only thing Daichi can remember is the toil in his stomach, as the U.A. building slowly comes into view, even from seven stops away. Every time Daichi grew tired of the nerves from the school, he'd see their letter or see some report on the news about the school and its inability to accept failure, and Daichi would fall victim to the nerves all over again.

But on the surface, he prided himself on being calm and confidence. Sitting in his clean, newly purchased and ironed uniform, that fit his slim figure nicely, with his hair washed, clipped, and laying against the back of his neck cooly, he couldn't help but feel more put together than ever. Daichi didn't consider himself the most handsome man, or the biggest man, but he knew where his strengths where. And his attitude would always be one of them. Even if he was throwing up from nerves on the inside, on the outside, he'd always be okay. That was part of the job, keeping cool in a crisis. He didn't have to learn that from the U.A.

U.A. Stop Approaching!

The bus terminal rang from the driver's seat. Rising from his bench, Daichi quickly moved from the back of the bus to the exit, where the doors opened and deposited him before he could even blink. And just like that, he was on his own. Though he couldn't deny the small smile that graced his face as he began his trek towards the school – as nervous as he was, he was still grateful for the opportunity to join. It was a rarity he refused to ignore.

The walk to the school wasn't nearly as crowded as the first time, in fact, it was safe to stay there was no one else heading in his same direction, besides random drifters and local residents. He couldn't even see another uniform. For a moment, he wondered if he was insanely late, but his watch disagreed. So he was fine, a bit paranoid maybe, but ultimately fine.

Reaching the overarching U.A. sign, Daichi sent a small, respectful nod its way, almost thanking whatever spirits watched over it for the opportunity they granted him. The boy with an illegal quirk, how ironically kind they were. Reaching the double doors, Daichi momentarily drew out the school schedule in his pocket, referring back to the direction he had already printed on the back, Daichi confirmed his location before heading up the stairs and making a right down the hallway.

Again, the hallway wasn't insanely crowded, and even then, no one looked to be his age. It was actually mainly the faculty and older student, but none slowed down enough for Daichi to catch a good look at them. Which was comforting in a way, it meant everyone had something to do, everyone had a purpose. There was never any harm in that.

Reaching the 1-A classroom, Daichi stopped before making the turn through the doorway and took a deep breath, which nearly shook his head against his lungs and back. He earned his way to this doorway, he earned his way into this program. He was a good fighter, he was a fast thinker, a good person, a hero at heart. That was worth more than anything. He had to believe that. Daichi held his dreams, his goals, over anything. Over his fear and doubt and any reserves. Not only was it expected him, it was expected of anyone working to put their life on the line for the public.

That's not to say heroes can't have reserves, but they couldn't stand in the way of their job. Of justice. So Daichi wouldn't let it. Daichi's hands formed fists for a moment, the marking of his palms serving as a reminder to himself, a bittersweet reminder, Daichi took another breath, before pulling his posture up, raising his gaze straight ahead and turning into the doorway.

The classroom was only half full, with several students hanging out by the desks closest to the door – Daichi's luck. The first thing Daichi saw was a bright blonde boy with the world's biggest scowl pointed his way, followed by curious red eyes & spiky hair. Next to the two was a smaller, green-haired girl with a small, hanging tongue, and another girl with pink skin, gray eyes, and two horns. In a funny way, they already looked like heroes, they were just in the making. Dad's marketing department would love them.

Daichi looked past the group and throughout the entire classroom, scanning the open seats, before moving towards the left most window and turning to enter the aisle – only to suddenly finding himself scattered face first on the floor, with a small shriek of surprise emitting from the desk against the wall. Pulling himself up on his elbows, Daichi shook the blue hair from his face and turned to look at what tripped him only to spot a small black shoe hovering in the air with no body attached.

Confused, the boy stared for a few, long moments. Then it clicked. There was someone invisible, that's who he must've fallen over. Daichi quickly shuffled to his feet, "I am so sorry, I didn't see you there. That was my fault, I should've been paying more attention –"

"Ah, it's okay, it happens a lot," A female voice responded, meekly, which only caused Daichi to shake his head furiously. "It's no excuse, I apologize. My name is Toshitomo Daichi, I hope you can forgive me, ma'am"

The girl almost shrieked in surprise when Daichi bowed to what he could now see was a girl's uniform sitting beside the large desk. "It's okay, Daichi, it's okay,"

Daichi nodded and rose to full position before turning to the row beside hers against the wall, and gesturing to the second seat, behind the first. "Is anyone sitting here?"

She could've shaken her head, but he wouldn't have known, so he waited, "No, it's available."

Daichi nodded again, sending out a quick thanks, before pulling his passenger bag over his shoulder and onto the floor under his seat, and sitting down.

"I never got to introduce myself, my name is –"

"Hagakure, are you okay? I saw you fall from your seat before, but I had trouble getting through," A deep voice called out from behind Daichi, causing him to turn, only to meet abdomen. Then several pairs of arms. With wide navy eyes, Daichi looked up to spot a boy with faded white, combed over two sharp eyes and even sharper jaw, covered by a blue mask. Out of the corner of his eye, Dai could see a mouth coming from limbs.

Daichi nearly turned back to apologize once more, not even realizing the girl fell, only for the girl to quickly wave her hands in front of her. "I'm fine, Shoji. Daichi took a heavier fall then I did, and he apologized, even though he really didn't have to.."

"It's polite, I would've done it either way." Daichi quickly interjected before looking to the tall Shoji behind him. "I apologize again if I concerned you –"

"Nonsense, no need to make such a small thing serious. But I appreciate it," The tall boy moved to sit in the seat in front of Daichi, by directly adjacent to Hagakure. The boy soon turned to face Daichi. "My name is Mezo Shoji,"

"And I'm Toru Hagakure." The girl quickly added, Daichi sent a small, polite smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you two, I'm sure you will make great heroes,"

Shoji met Daichi's eyes slowly. "How can you be sure?"

Daichi shrugged lightly as if it was the simplest things in the world. "You're genuine."

And with that, a quiet hush fell over the room as a man with shaggy black hair entered the room. Shoji looked a bit surprised but didn't hesitate to turn forward. Hagakure didn't move initially – it's possible she was blushing, but Daichi would never know – and she turned forward as well. Soon students rushed to their seats, leaving the angry blonde boy to Daichi's right, a girl with long earlobes behind Daichi, and the very excitable electric boy from tryouts to his right.

The man with long black went by Aiwaza-sensei, also known as Eraserhead: a famous alumnus of the U.A. He was their assigned homeroom teacher. But he didn't stick to introduction antics for long, or at all actually. He wanted to get straight into another physical examination: a Quirk assessment.

Immediately, Daichi felt his throat cease up, but instead of swallowing his wad of spit or squirming, Daichi simply combed back fallen wavy hairs and kept his gaze straight ahead, which was admittedly a little hard when Shoji was at least 6'2''.

"Head to the lockers room, change into your gym uniform and meet me out back, in front of the exit, where I'll explain the examination." And with that, Aiwaza-sensei somehow summoned a sleeping back and fell right back asleep on the floor.

For a moment, the boy wondered how his teacher would gonna make it to the field, but as his class quickly swept out the door to change, Daichi didn't wait to find out. Following the boys to the bathroom, Daichi began to peel off the layers of uniform, while his uniform hung from his locker's hook. The boys around Daichi were certainly..developed.

Out of obligation – more to himself than anything – Daichi kept his gaze straight ahead, as he pulled his white shirt off before quickly pulling the form-fitting top on. Doing the same with his pants and his shoes, Daichi found the silence of the locker, okay silence minus Bakugo's or "Kacchan" as Midoriya or "Deku" called him, but Daichi didn't think that'd fly, comforting. It gave him time to think.

There were no applications to his Quirk, none that the quirk center detected, none that he could personally think of. So how could he use that in a Quirk examination? The only thing he'd think of is using that on an animal, but even that was inhumane, and it'd serve no purpose than proving that it killed. So what next? Maybe Daichi could test everything but his quirk. His quick thinking, his running, his fighting. He'd love to spar for training, even pick up a new fighting style. He always wanted to get into boxing, wrestling too. It was so American, but it was a definite exercise. It'd only make him stronger.

Pulling his hair back into a hair ponytail with the band around his wrist, Daichi moved past the boys waiting in the hallway and made his way to the exit that Aiwaza-sensei wanted them to wait at. Standing outside were a few girls, which Daichi didn't have the immediate gull to just approach, so instead, he stood to the side where a blonde boy stood with a large, emasculate tail. Daichi momentarily stared in awe, before the boy looked over to Daichi and gave a smile.

"Are you as nervous as I am?"

For the first time since getting his letter, Daichi felt relief sweep through his body. He knew he wasn't alone, even before today, but it felt to know that one of his peers felt the same. Daichi nodded quickly. "Absolutely, I have no idea what to expect. But what are you worried about, your tail looks stronger than anyone else's."

"Well, considering I'm the only one who has one, I'd hope so," The blonde boy chuckled. Daichi realized his mistake and burned a hot red before the boy laughed a bit harder. "Aren't you humble.." Daichi countered, before clearing his throat, "But you know what I mean, you look strong,"

"We all do."

"We all do, you're right. More reason to believe in yourself."

"What makes you think I look strong?"

Daichi paused for a moment to collect his words, before looking to the tail. "Are you a fighter?" The boy's eyebrows raised before nodding. "I've been doing martial arts all my life."

Daichi stopped, mind crawling to a slow for a moment before a light bulb went off. "So have I! Well, only since I was seven or so, but I can't remember a time without it. It saved me!" Daichi quickly popped out, before turning red again at his outburst, before clearing his throat and lowering his voice to a murmur. "I probably shouldn't be so loud, but again, you get my point," The blonde boy nodded, before shooting him a bright smile, "I feel the same. I don't know who I'd be without it,"

The two boys exchanged warm grins before Daichi held out a hand. "I'm Toshitomo Daichi, who's the humble tail-holder I'm speaking to?"

The handsome blonde boy rolled his eyes. "It's Mashirao Ojiro. I don't actually think I have the best tail, like, ever."

Daichi sweatdropped. "But you're the only one with a tail here, right? Doesn't that make you the best?" In return, Ojiro sweat-dropped. "I meant in general!"

"You should clarify that,"

"Okay, Mr. Oblivious," Ojiro teased before exhaling a small sigh, relaxing a bit. "But seriously, you'll be okay, it's just the first day. It can't be much worse than the Entrance Exam."

"It can and will be much worse, Daichi, don't doubt that." A voice murmured behind the navy haired boy, causing him to jump and land next to Ojiro. Standing there was a disturbed Aiwaza-sensei with a glare, before waving the other students over.

Daichi hoped his ears didn't burn as brightly as his cheeks. He wasn't used to be in such an unusually submissive position before. School had always been an easy thing for him in the last couple of years, so being in a position of inferiority and open embarrassment was mortifying for Daichi. Ojiro sent a small, apologetic glance. Comforting at it's simplest level. Daichi was already thankful.

The Quirk assessment test was made to see how well-trained their Quirks were. It wasn't enough for them to be strong, they were like muscles – how useful was a strong heart, lungs, or even senses, if you could only really use them once, maybe twice, in an emergency. Aiwaza-sensei's philosophy was simple, while others would feel bad for not thinking of it themselves, Daichi's admiration for the man sprung, he nodded along with the group and waited for further instruction.

To prove his theory, Aiwaza-sensei gave Bakugo a baseball and asked him to launch it as far as he could. The blonde boy, eager to prove his might, easily launched it into the near atmosphere before it fell back down several meters out. The crowd quickly awed, Daichi silently included. It was impressive, no doubt, but was that level of power consistent? Could he launch something that far a thousand times over? Then another thousand times again, if another villain emerged from the wreckage.

Aiwaza-sensei must've not been impressed, because last minute, he changed the rules, and suddenly, their game of show & tell was now a race. And whoever came last would be kicked out, indefinitely.

Daichi's eyebrows pulled together, as a frown set, but he didn't move. He was liable to be kicked out, no doubt, but he couldn't help but wonder just how active the other students were and if that'd be an advantage for him. While many could use their Quirks to succeed, there were a few who didn't seem as lucky. Daichi was not the only one at a disadvantage – so he couldn't act like he was.

Taking the stunned silence as silent consent, Aiwaza-sensei turned towards the track and commanded the students to enter a row individually. Walking alongside an equally focused Ojiro, Daichi stood towards the second-to-last row, furthest away from Aiwaza-sensei. But the navy-haired boy knew he could see every single one of them, down to the wiggle of his shoes.

As the students prepared to run, Daichi took a moment to roll his neck and sink his arms forward, kneeling into a runner's pose. Closing his eyes for a fraction of second, Daichi thought back to his middle school days of track & field, where Coach would walk by each & every one of them, and without a word, start the meeting. Daichi remembers the cool feeling of adrenaline running through his veins before he zoned it on the end-zone and only the end-zone.

Aiwaza-sensei commenced the assessment, and Daichi took off down the field. The only thing the navy-haired boy felt was the cool whipping of air across his body, keeping up just behind Ojiro, before crossing the line in a quick 5.01 seconds. Turning his heels and sliding to a stop, Daichi took a deep breath before heading to the side.

The exams following were the same. He wasn't wrong when he noticed he wouldn't be the only one at a disadvantage. In fact, if he had to say someone was the most disadvantaged, it was the green-haired boy – Midoriya, if Daichi heard right.

That was until they had reached the final portion, the Pitch. The usual suspects go: Bakugo clears it, and the various others follow. Shoji threw it so far, Daichi wondered if they could've gone to the Championship in middle school if Shoji was on the team. When it was Daichi's turn to go, he quickly rolled his wrist and turned his right heel back before swinging forward and launching it out.

Nowhere near close to Bakugo's but further than at least three previous throws: Daichi's wasn't last. Both Shoji and Ojiro sent him grins, as Hagakure shot a thumbs up. When Aiwaza-sensei only gave a small, affirmative noise, Daichi took that as a win and sheepishly made his way back to Ojiro's side where his two classmates waited, as well.

"Did you play in middle school?" Hagakure quickly asked, which Daichi nodded, "You must've been great, that's one throw!"

"And you didn't even use your Quirk. You beat mine and I hit with my tail," Ojiro sheepishly added, in which Daichi patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sure you just need practice hitting such a small target. If it'd be a kickball, you'd be a winner for sure."

"What is your Quirk, Daichi?" Shoji suddenly asked, causing Daichi to stop in hesitation, so caught up in the moment, he had forgotten there were those who didn't know and would want to. So what did he do with that?

Thankfully, it was that moment that Midoriya stepped up and prepared to launch the ball. Then it happened.

A bright flash of red and suddenly, Aiwaza-sensei was next to Midoriya, glaring down at him. He was speaking lowly, but it was still just loud enough for Daichi to catch the end of his words. Midoriya's power wouldn't let him be a hero, he'd be a nuisance.

Daichi felt a chord strike in him, and for a moment, he wondered if Midoriya would walk away and if Daichi would let him. They didn't even know each other, but suddenly, Daichi didn't want Midoriya to back down. This was about more than himself.

And Midoriya must've felt the same because, in the next moment, he was launching the ball with the power of a beast. The throw made the air recoil, sending those close by into a cloud of dust. Daichi's eyes squinted, but never closed, as he waited for the air to settle and for the green-haired boy to emerge. And he did – with a watery grin.

And just like that, any reserves about the U.A., it was gone. This was his life now. Why? Because this fight, to be a hero, it wasn't just his own.

Daichi heard cheering behind him – coming from a short, cute brunette along with a tall, broad blue haired boy with glasses. He would've clapped too, but before they knew it, they were being rushed to the exam results. It was then Daichi saw Midoriya's finger, wilted and red. Somehow, the realization didn't make Daichi feel any less motivated. In fact, it did quite the opposite.

Following the others to the board, Daichi took a moment to stretch his limbs, while his newfound friends walked by his side. "What do you think Midoriya's quirk so? Super-strength, but it hurts him?"

"I think maybe it's a booster, but has damages on his body. I saw a bit of what he did at the entrance exam and it was intense," Ojiro added while Hagakure nodded as if storing the information somewhere. Both Daichi and Shoji were quiet, none the less captivated.

"I hope I passed. It's hard to use this invisibility to my advantage." Hagakure murmured, softly. Daichi looked over to the girl quickly, refusing to let her put herself down. "You'll make a great investigative hero. Like Eraserhead. I'm sure he'll have us work on various types of training, not just strength focused. You're gonna be more than okay, Hagakure." Daichi affirmed, without room for doubt. "We can't start losing hope on the first day, can we?"

She gave a small affirmative noise and lightly patted Daichi's arm in gratitude. The boy nodded, sending the girl a soft smile before the group came to a stop in front of a sign holding the results.

Sitting in 8th place was Daichi.

"Daichi, we're chart buddies," Ojiro whispered under his breath, causing Daichi to chuckle and nudge his side, but even then he couldn't hide his smile. He'd done it. He hadn't been first in any of his tests, but his athletic ability gave him some advantages where his Quirk had given him a disadvantage.

Unfortunately, sitting at the bottom, was Midoriya. The boy was beginning to look green all over – and not just from his finger injury – until Aiwaza-sensei spoke up. The expulsion had been a ruse, no one was being kicked out.

And just like that, the class released a unanimous sigh. Daichi even felt Shoji relax from behind him.

Aiwaza-sensei the claimed to set the exam up with a false expulsion to get them to give it their all, but Daichi couldn't help but wonder if that was the real lie. Aiwaza-sensei seemed like the type to expel someone on the first day. Tough love, maybe.

Dismissing the class – all while letting Midoriya head to the nurse's room – Daichi moved with Shoji and Ojiro to head into the locker rooms, while Aiwaza-sensei remained where he was. Soon enough, the majority of the class was clean and heading home.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Daichi politely dismissed, before beginning to descend down the stairs, only to turn into Shoji's waiting frame. He looked down at the navy-haired boy curiously.

"Do you remember what you said in the classroom? About being genuine?"

Daichi's mouth open and closed wordlessly, clearly taken off guard by the tall boy's proximity and immediate stern attitude, but he nodded, remembering the moment. "Thank you. For believing in me, in us."

Again, Daichi was taken off-guard, navy-eyes searching Shoji's dark, unblinking own, before he slowly nodded, again.

"I look forward to being your teammate this year, Toshitomo Daichi."

With a hesitant smile spreading across his features, Daichi nodded, this time, enthusiastically. "I look forward to being your friend too, Shoji," Daichi responded, warmly, as the taller boy looked off to the ground, at the intimate gesture, causing Daichi to laugh.

Not a bad first day at all.