The day after the letter came, All Might contacted me and asked me to meet him at the beach, I was pretty excited to see him again after everything that had happened so I agreed and made my way out to meet him.
It was just a light jog back to the beach, and something that made me smile was seeing a couple at the Gazebo that extended out across a boardwalk and overlooked the ocean. It just showed that my hard work was already paying off and people were already starting to make happy memories here.
Of course I couldn't focus on them too long, Toshinori was waiting for me on the currently abandoned beach, I waved to him as I jogged down the steps and stopped in front of him. "Hey-" I almost called him 'All Might', but I remembered Deku's mistake in the show and said, "Mr. Toshinori."
He lets off a short laugh at the name, "If you have to call me something other than… You know, just call me Toshinori. Mr makes me feel old."
"Aren't you like… Fifty?"
A slightly indignant frown played on Toshinori's features, "T-That doesn't matter! Anyways, congrats on getting in." He raised his and for a high five, which I reciprocated.
"All thanks to you, Toshinori, I couldn't have gotten in without you."
Changing to a slight smile, he responded, "Speaking of. I didn't have anything to do with you getting accepted. I wasn't a judge and I didn't pull any strings for you, that was all you. The only person who knows I've been training you at UA is Recovery Girl."
I return the smile, "That's good to know, that it was all my own merit. It's nice to hear you're going to be a teacher at UA, you're going to be able to keep a close eye on me there, eh? Then again I guess that's why you came here in the first place, huh? To find a candidate."
He shrugs, "Something like that. I had some ideas for who I wanted, but you stuck out to me kid, and I know I made the right choice."
Sliding my hands into my jacket pockets in an effort to look casual, I decide to broach the question that had been on my mind, "By the way Toshinori… What if there's someone I really want to tell about… You know, the truth?"
His face grew serious, "Who and why?"
"Izuku Midoriya, and… Because he's my best friend, and I trust him with it. He might even be able to help me with it… He's very analytical and one of your biggest fans. He might have some ideas for helping me with the quirk that neither of us have thought about."
All Might gained a thoughtful look on his face and stroked his chin, "Well… Alright. You can tell him, but nobody else, alright? Remember, it's important as few people as possible know about the truth of One for All. The less people know about it, the less of a chance that the truth may get out there somehow."
A grin breaks out on my face, "Thank you, seriously! Now, about… Getting stronger. How much longer do you think until I can control One for All's power flow?"
"Honestly? I'm not sure kid. It shouldn't take you too much longer, but that really depends on a lot of different factors, and even after you gain control, you still won't be at your full potential. It'll take time for you to get to maximum power, but once you do… You'll be even more powerful than I was in my prime."
"That's… A lot to take in. I don't know how anyone can be stronger than you are, prime or not."
"Trust me, it's how One for All works. It only gets stronger with each passage, one day you'll be stronger than me, and you will one day pass it on to a new holder, who will become stronger than you. Hard to believe it, but it'll happen, and it may just be necessary. Quirks have only been getting stronger in general over the years, not just One for All."
I rub my chin, "I think I heard about that… Some scientists believe that one day quirks will be so powerful that we can't contain them, they call it the Quirk Singularity, right?"
"Right, but if such a thing will happen, I imagine we're still far, far away from it. Anyways, how about we go for a run and some good, refreshing exercise?"
"Sounds good to me!"
Toshinori turns into his muscle form in the blink of an eye, his grin remaining as we began to run with each other down the beach. All Might wasn't going at his full speed, of course, I wouldn't be able to keep up with him if he did, but he was going at my full speed, which kept my legs burning.
Just another day in the life.
….
After the exercise I went home and showered - School was officially out, as weird as it was to be out of school in February, but that was just because a subconscious part of me was still used to the American education system.
I knew Izuku was still home, so I texted him and asked him if he wanted to come over to my apartment. I normally came over to his, but given what I wanted to tell him, I figured it'd be better if I could be 100% sure his mom was out of earshot.
Izuku texted me back with an affirmation that he'd be coming over, which worked out for me. I had plenty to watch on TV and over the months I had picked up a game system with a few games on it to play that I kept in my living room, I'm sure that would come in handy.
Although I had a feeling Izuku would be spending most of his time talking to me about All Might once I revealed the truth to him…
Wearing my gray jacket and some shorts, I headed to the door once he knocked and opened it, "Hey Izuku. Come on in."
Izuku was wearing a casual T-shirt and shorts, given that he lived only a few doors down from me, it's not like he needed to worry about dressing for travel. "Hey Akio!" He responded, heading inside with me.
"So, Izuku, I gotta get this out now cause it's admittedly going to be a pretty… Hard thing for you to believe. Go ahead and shut the door for me."
Curious, Deku Tree shut the door and walked with me into the living room, where I sat on the couch and sighed.
"W-What's wrong Akio?"
"Nothing, but… Well. Okay. You know my new quirk right? The one I showed you earlier."
"Yeah! It's really cool!"
"Well… I may not have been entirely honest on how I got that quirk. In fact, I wasn't really honest at all."
A surprised look spread across Izuku's face, "H-Huh? What do you mean? How did you get it if it wasn't a mutation?"
"You… Might want to sit down. You're probably not going to believe me, but this is one hundred percent the truth."
Izuku sat down on the couch next to me, looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and concern on his face, "Alright, so… How did you get it?"
"Okay so… Starting from the beginning. You remember when I got jumped in the air with All Might?"
"Yeah! You were trying to help me catch him to ask him my questions. Thanks for that, by the way."
I wave my hand, "No problem. Anyways, I talked to All Might, telling him about my dream, and. Well, let me go through all of it…"
So, I explained how that day went for me, from All Might being worried that my dreams weren't obtainable, to me inspiring him by trying to save him and Katsuki, to finally inheriting the quirk.
No sooner than I told him about inheriting the quirk did Izuku interrupt me, "Wait WHAT?! B-But that goes against everything we know about quirks! We've never been able to just give someone a quirk like a present that would cause us to have to rethink everything we know about quirks and-"
"Izu, you're kind of overthinking it…"
He stammered on his words, "Uh- Right, sorry. So… He gave you his quirk?!"
"Well, not right away. All that training you noticed me doing, even during school? That was getting my body ready for it. Five months in, I got the quirks, and I've been training with it ever since then."
"That… That…" I braced myself, not knowing how Izuku would react to this.
"That's AWESOME!"
My eyes widened a bit in surprise, my voice showing my disbelief, "Wha- You're not mad I lied or anything?"
"Why would I be?! All Might chose to make you his successor! That means one day you'll be just as powerful as him! The number one hero!" Izuku put both his hands on my arm and kept a wide grin, "This is so cool! You've got to tell me more about what All Might is like! I only got to see him for a little bit!"
"You'll see for yourself, he's just as great in person. Remember, he's going to be teaching at UA."
"Yeah, of course! It's why I can't wait to start there, aside from wanting to become a hero of course."
"Right." I nod, before going to stand up, "Anyways Izu, this needs to stay a secret. Only a select few people know about All Might's problem, and only one person aside from you knows I'm in training to be his successor."
"Alright, I promise to keep it a secret! Although, I am curious. Why tell me?"
I smile, "Well, you're kind of the best friend I have right now." Discounting the fact he was my only friend right now. "Besides, you'd have probably figured it out sooner or later anyways, better you know now. And, well… There is something I want your help with."
Blinking a few times, Izuku tilted his head, "Oh? What's that?"
"Well, you're all analytical and stuff, sure I'm smart but you've got this huge knowledge on heroes and especially on All Might. Since I have his powers, I was wondering if you could help me design the costume I'm supposed to submit to the school?"
His eyes lit up, "Totally! Got anything to write on?"
I scratch my cheek, "Yeah, let me got get it…." So I went to my room and returned with a notepad, where upon we began to work on what I roughly wanted and what Deku felt I was going to need.
I mostly recruited Deku because I hadn't the slightest clue what I wanted the costume to look like - I didn't want to take Deku's design either. The main things I wanted out of this outfit were reinforced gauntlets to prevent my hands and arms from breaking as easy, and the same kind of thing on my legs. In fact, given how weak my body was to One for All right now, this outfit might end up being some kind of armor…
It also needed to be at least relatively lightweight, while actual weight wouldn't matter once I had my quirk under control, because then I wouldn't even really NEED protection against my abilities or anything else, if All Might's durability was anything to judge by. For now, though, I knew I was going to need something strong.
Deku managed to talk me out of anything heavy or completely covering, instead it was almost somewhat traditional in terms of hero looks… Of course, there was no telling how it would come out when whichever company handles it finishes making it and sends it out.
Eventually, we had something of a preliminary design. I felt like I might end up changing it later, but for the moment it would work. At the end of all the designing, I had to admit, "Well. It looks good, Deku. I have to say, if being a hero doesn't pan out for you, you could always work in the support course!"
Izuku laughs, "Me, in the support course? I think that's a bit of a long shot!"
"Maybe you're right." I smirk, "Well, you should probably be getting home, your mom probably won't like you staying out too late like this."
"Oh, right! Oh, before I forget, want to come over for dinner?"
"Nah I'll pass this time. I think I'm going to do some cleaning and make something myself for once. Tell your mom I said hi though, and thanks for letting me borrow her detergent."
"Oh, right! No problem." He gets up, waving as he leaves and exits my house.
Once the door shut behind me, I sighed and slumped back against the couch.
I wasn't lying about having to clean up, but I really didn't want to.
Something so… Mundane hardly seemed heroic, even if I was no stranger to having to clean.
Maybe after all the working out I had done I was simply getting lazy.
I got up off the couch when I realized All Might would probably be disappointed in me if I just started getting lazy now right around the time when I needed to be as active as possible.
I went to locate my cleaning supplies and began to clean around my house, figuring I might as well make sure the place was clean enough for any potential visitors I might have in the future not to think I was some kind of slob.
But honestly, I had to wonder just who would come over here? Asides from Izuku, I guess.
Eh, I'd make friends sooner or later.
…..
Towards the end of my cleaning session I decided to check for any sort of debris under my couch, but stumbled upon something a bit more interesting than dust bunnies or lost pieces of pepperoni.
I found a floor safe, with some kind of bio-lock on it.
It was the shape of a handprint, and I found myself curious. The note from Ms. Goddess didn't mention this floor safe...
I took the duster I had sitting on my coffee table and dusted off the bio-lock, before placing my hand on the biolock and waiting.
The digital interface on the lock lit up green, with words on it reading 'Identity verified: Akio Okumura. Disengaging locking mechanism.'
So it recognized me… That was a given since I was the only person living here.
It clicked unlocked and I pulled it open, the contents being on display for me to see.
Inside was a manilla folder that looked filled with some documents, and what looked to be a small black case.
I took both items out and laid them out on the table, I was sitting on my knees since the couch was pushed back for this, and I opened the manilla folder.
Inside was four pieces of paper, separated into two pairs by separate paper clips.
They each had large-print titles on them, the first set read 'IF WE GAVE YOU THIS, KEEP READING!' while the other set said 'IF YOU FOUND THIS, KEEP READING!'
I don't know who constituted 'we' in this case, so I set aside the first set and picked up the second one, unclipping it and reading the front paper.
"To my son,
Your mother didn't want us writing these but I convinced her to write these along with the other papers just in case things didn't go the way she hoped - And the way I predicted they would. It pains me to write this as well, but it's better that we leave these as some final words to you in the event that our job proves too dangerous for us.
Anyways, I'm assuming you're going to be sixteen in a few months by the time you read this. My foresight was never good at giving me exact dates, but you looked like it when I was looking through your future.
Sorry about that, by the way, I don't normally do things like that but I was curious about your future.
I'll keep this short, because I believe in you my son, you'll go farther than I ever could have hoped to go, and I'm not saying that because I have future vision, I'm saying that because I believe in you.
Tell All Might I wish him well.
Signed, your father."
So my father was Night Eye in this new world I lived in… That was pretty cool. Also terrible because he's dead, which also had a number of other repercussions… I wonder if Mirio was still part of the Big Three?
I guess I'd find out in time.
I set it aside and looked at the next letter, figuring I'd at least figure out who my mother was supposed to be.
"Dear Akio,
Hey! Your dad wants us to write these incase something happened to us. Kinda unlikely in my opinion buuut if you're reading this that means either we got old enough to retire and share this with you or we actually are dead.
If we are, Akio, I can only say a few things. I love you very much and always will, please stay strong. You're capable of so much in this world! I have some advice here for you to consider:
Marry someone you love! Don't do it for any reason but love! Not because they're 'rich' or 'beautiful' or whatever. Just be happy! And be yourself! I'm sure you'll meet plenty of beautiful girls, maybe you already have, and I bet at least one of them will fall head over heels for you, and you might follow!
Never give up! It's important that you keep going. After all, I'd have never won over your dad if I gave up, and I know I'd have quit on my path to becoming a Hero more than once if I was the kind of person to give up halfway through anything.
Finally, above all else, be kind! Sometimes a little kindness can go a long way in the world. Not every person who does bad is a villain, I trust you to be able to tell when a little kindness can solve a problem that violence couldn't.
That's about all I have to say. Good luck in life, Akio! We both love you.
Signed, your mom."
She seemed nice… It reminded me of my 'real' mother from the other world.
The one I left behind.
I sighed and put all the files back, not wanting to subject myself to reading the other ones, and closing the manilla folder, turning around and placing it back in the safe before turning back and pulling the case in front of me, opening it.
Inside was a bunch of projectiles.
I recognized these as the Super Density Stamp Seals Sir Nighteye used as his weapon. He must have left them for me… Maybe I'd add them to my costume somehow? Not as stampers… But I could do with some kind of disabling equipment on my person.
For now I closed the case, leaving it on the desk. I'd need to think of a way to incorporate these into my desired costume equipment…
I turned around and closed the safe, letting it lock, then I dragged the couch back over it.
Figuring I'd had enough revelations for one day, I opted to go start dinner and continue the rest of my night.
After all, I'd need to make the most of my time before I went to UA. There weren't many breaks in the hero course.
….
….
…
The rest of the break ended up being kind of a blur.
Two months, give or take a few days, of training, talking with Izuku, playing games, training, studying for UA, training… More training.
I did a lot of training in a futile effort to unlock Full Cowl before school started.
It didn't seem to be fated to happen just yet though.
Anytime I tried, I could tell I was drawing on too much power, it was like One for All just didn't want to completely enter my control yet. I wondered if my trigger to be able to gain proper control of it was something different to what Izuku had?
Probably, otherwise I'd have it by now, right? I've had the quirk a good seven months now.
As I went about my morning routine as quickly as I could, I pushed thoughts of my quirk out of my head.
Today was the big day! I was extremely excited, honestly. Getting to meet everyone in person! Not just the people I'd already seen.
I hoped things weren't too different. I heard there were twenty-two students instead of twenty in this version of UA, which meant there would be one rogue element that I likely wouldn't know anything about, but that was fine.
I hadn't thought about it during the exam, but seeing Momo there indicated she didn't get in on recommendations this time. I had to wonder what changed there? Beyond her, I suppose I'd just need to observe the rest of the class to see how things were different.
Once I finished my morning routine, I headed outside, meeting Deku just as he was leaving as well. He waved at me, clearly just as excited as I was.
"Hey Akio! Ready for our first day?"
"You know it man. Let's get going!"
So together we headed off, happily chatting about what we expected out of our class. We were both nervous, because we hadn't ever really experienced something like this before, I mean, its a hero training school! In my case, even though I knew what was supposed to happen in the show, not only would I be living through everything in real time, but they'd end up being different than I remember. So pile that on top of going to a legitimate hero academy, and you've got one nervous Akio.
Izuku was Izuku, he was nervous and likely overthinking a lot of things as we talked. I tried to keep him from going too overboard with it as we talked the best I could.
We made it to the train and continued on our path, before long we ended up walking into UA proper, and up the steps to find Class 1-A, where we would be meeting our soon-to-be peers.
"Oh man… What if they don't like me? I got a score completely in the middle at the exam! So many of these guys are going to be really strong…"
"Relax Izu, the only person I think has the capability of disliking you is Bakugo."
"He doesn't dislike me! He's just… Tough!"
"Uh huh, sure, and the sky is purple."
I smile with that last comment I make and push open the door, Izuku and I greeted with our first sight of class 1-A.
...It was about what I expected, at least on the surface level.
"Remove your legs from that desk immediately!" Tenya berated Bakugo, who only retorted with a quip about Tenya having a stick up his ass.
Izuku seemed frozen in shock at this, and I personally couldn't find it anymore amusing than it already was. So, smiling as I was, I decided I'd move away and try to avoid drawing attention to myself for the moment.
Just in time, too, no sooner than when I left range of Izuku did Tenya march up to him and begin talking to him about his bravery in saving Ochaco.
I was having fun already, at least up until I caught sight of the back of someone's head, someone who seemed very familiar to me…
Her hair was blonde and done up a bit different than I remembered - Rather than having two side-buns, it was one messy bun on the back of her head, held together by a blue bow with white polka dots.
She was talking energetically to Mina, who looked about as I expected. Pink, cute, and happy.
I couldn't focus on Mina right now though, my curiosity and suspicion got the better of me. I went up to her and tapped the girl facing away from me on the shoulder.
She quickly whirled around, a look of confusion slowly replaced with a look of sheer joy, "Oh! Oh! You're that guy that took out the zero-pointer! That was so cool! It reminded me so much of All Might! Do you know All Might?" She gasps, "Are you his student, or child?!"
I was taken massively by surprise. Yep, this was Himiko Toga. Except she looked slightly less insane and sleep deprived and a bit more normal, but only just. There was still something unsettling about her, and some of her teeth were kind of eerily sharp. Her yellow eyes wide and face blushing, I could only try to act casual and wave my hand a bit dismissively, "No none of that, although he is a big inspiration."
Mina scratched her head, grinning a confused grin, "You took out one of those zero-pointers? That's super awesome if you did!"
I played it off with a forced casual laugh, really not being used to the attention, "Yep. If you don't believe me you can ask her." I jerk my thumb over to where Tsu was sitting, currently she was sitting like a frog in her seat, playing on her phone.
Pinky responded with a quick nod, "I'll go ask! You'd better not be lying, that'd be lame." Then, she went off to go talk to Tsuyu.
Oh great, that left me with-
"Himiko Toga! Call me Himiko!"
I felt incredibly uncomfortable talking to someone like her, even if she might somehow be different in this timeline. "Well… Nice to meet you Himiko. I'll talk to you later!" I wave, and leave. She didn't protest, but I noticed that she took her seat at the back of the class and just kind of… Stared at me the whole time.
Yeah, that wasn't at all creepy and worrying.
I tried to ignore it and make the most of the time before the bell and the arrival of the teacher by looking for someone else to talk to.
That answer came in the form of someone I bumped into on accident while looking around the class when she was facing away from me.
Turning around to face me was Momo Yaoyorozu, and I had to quickly apologize, "Oh, sorry about that. I wasn't really paying attention."
Momo responded with a small smile, crossing her arms under her chest, "I remember you. Didn't I tell you to pay more attention to your surroundings?"
Chuckling, I sheepishly rubbed behind my head, "I think so. So you ended up getting in as well? I expected as much from how you threw that spear. What's your quirk?" I knew the answer, obviously, but she didn't know that I knew and it'd probably be creepy if I just kind of talked like I knew exactly how it worked.
She seemed happy enough to educate me, putting up one finger in some kind of explanation stance, "I can create any non-living object using the lipids in my body as long as I know the atomic structure of said object. I'm also well-versed in fighting with staffs, but that's more of a personal accomplishment."
I nod a few times, "You're clearly very talented, and you must be very intelligent to make full use of that quirk. You seem like the kind of person who would be recommended here, yet I saw you in the exam. It strikes me as a little odd."
Momo's face dusted up in a blush at the compliment, but she kept her smile. It was honestly rather adorable, "Oh just… Some things happened, I was supposed to get a recommendation but it got withdrawn due to some… Complications with my parents."
That was odd. I didn't know anything about Momo's parents from the show, but I did know they were rich heroes of some kind. I doubted I'd get a full answer today, regardless, "Well hey. You're here now, eh? You're probably going to end up being a much better hero than someone like me."
"Don't doubt yourself." Momo chides, "I saw what you did. You took out that zero-pointer to save someone. You're already courageous, you just need to work on the whole… Limbs breaking thing. You won't be of much use to anyone if one punch leaves you with a broken arm."
I flex one of my arms playfully, "But what if One Punch is all I need?"
She kept her smile and adjusted her stance somewhat, "Then you'd still have a broken arm and be at a disadvantage if something happened or you needed to save someone."
I drop my arm and sigh, keeping my own smile, "Yeah you're right. Well, you're definitely smarter than me. I might know some things about material structure and hero work but I'm still struggling with things like history and science."
Momo hummed, "Do you need help?" She was acting cool, but I could tell she was trying to hold back some kind of elation, "I'd be more than willing to help you study."
"Mmh, probably. Let's see how this first week goes, then I'll let you know. Thanks for the offer!"
I could see some kind of brightness in her eyes as she said, "No problem!" Then, the bell rang and everyone had to quickly make their way to their assigned seats.
They were numbered in accordance to our number in the class. I was number twenty-one, which meant I sat in the back just in front of Himiko. Something that I was sure was going to make it hard to focus…
What else made it kind of hard to focus was that Momo was directly in front of me. When looking around the class, I noticed basically everyone kept their same numbers. Mineta sat in front of Momo, and I frowned a bit. A part of me was hoping he wouldn't have made it through… I don't particularly like that guy.
Aizawa came in and stated, "Once the bell rings you're expected to be in your seats." He looks around, "I'm glad to see at least one class knows that."
Everyone looked at him in bewilderment, Eraserhead did not cut the finger of a teacher that one would expect to see here at UA given the way he dressed and his general behavior. This was why when he announced, "Hello I'm Shota Aizawa, your teacher."
Murmuring that was a mixture of disbelief and curiosity resonated throughout the class, which he seemed to ignore. "Alright let's get these over with." He revealed he was holding a large zipped up bag, "Get these on and head outside."
The others had no clue what was going to happen - I did, of course. Regardless of that, we all got up and one by one retrieved what would become our PE uniforms and headed to the changing rooms, swapping into the new outfits we'd been given.
This gave me a chance to notice something strange, as it was really as close as I'd been to any of the male students other than Izuku really.
Shoto didn't have a burn on his eye.
That somewhat unnerved me - His quirk should be the same, I wondered what that meant? I guess time would tell.
Beyond that, everyone of the guys seemed normal all things considered. Nothing out of the ordinary, aside from Todoroki. I still found myself wishing Mineta didn't exist as he was busy talking about how hot the girls were with Kaminari.
Izuku looked nervous, after he finished dressing but before we headed out he asked, "What do you think this is going to be?"
I finished pulling on the jacket of the PE uniform, "Probably some kind of evaluation or something." I kept it vague enough, trying to sound like I was just guessing, "Try not to worry about it too much. You're going to do fine."
"Well yeah! But what about you? You know how hard it is to control your quirk."
"Eh, yeah, but I have my ways."
It was then that Shoji, who was standing nearby and in the process of getting the sleeves off his uniform, stated, "You were the one who took out the zero-pointer, weren't you?" In his usual sort of deep but soft voice.
I looked to him, honestly the arms were unnerving but I just reminded myself that he was a good guy, "Eh- Yeah, that was me. Why?"
He looked at me, his expression was somewhat neutral, but one of his arms gave a thumbs up, "Impressive. Even more so that you risked yourself to save someone. That's very admirable."
Nervously, I let off a casual laugh. I really wasn't used to all the compliments I'd been getting on it, "Yeah well… I'm sure anyone in this room would have done the same thing if they could have. Except maybe Bakugo."
"Hey!" I heard him grunt out in angry indignation. Luckily for me, there was no time to argue as we all needed to pile out and meet Mr. Aizawa outside.
….
Everyone met Aizawa outside and we were led to what seemed to be a modified baseball field near one of the many gyms. We all stood in a loose group as Aizawa began to explain why we were here.
"We're here to evaluate each of your quirks."
There were some gasps, "Evaluating our quirks?" Ochaco asked, "What about Orientation? We're gonna miss it!"
"If you want to make it into the big leagues there's no time to stand on pointless ceremony."
I looked around a bit, I was standing near Momo and Himiko because they were the closest to my seat in class. I noticed Mineta was trying to stand behind Momo, but I lightly kicked him in his tiny leg and glared at him, causing him to sweat a bit and back off somewhere else.
"So assertive~" I heard Himiko whisper just loud enough for me to hear, and I frowned, shifting in place.
I kinda felt like for deflecting one person staring at someone in a lewd way I was just reminding someone else to stare at me in that way. That was rather uncomfortable.
Aizawa was still explaining, "The standard education system does not allow use of quirks during physical evaluations. They're still trying to delude themselves with the idea that we're all born equal. That's just not the world we live in. I will run this class as I see fit, and I intend to see how you all perform when at your best. Using what you were born with." He looked to Bakugo, "Bakugo, you managed to get the most points on the entrance exam. What's the furthest you could throw a baseball in middle school?"
Bakugo responded after a moment of surprise at the question, "67 meters I think."
"Right. Try doing it with your quirk. Anything goes, just stay in that circle over there." He gestures to where Bakugo needs to go, and tossed him the ball as he was walking over to the circle.
Once he was there, he began to stretch out a bit. Aizawa commenting, "Hurry up. You're wasting our time."
"Alright man, you asked for it."
Bakugo reeled back and gave it his best pitch, adding an explosion as he was about to let go to the ball. The concentrated blast sent it flying into the air at an incredibly high speed and altitude.
As it was coming down to land, he looked to the rest of us and said, "The point of this test is to see what your truly capable of doing without holding anything back." He held up his phone and showed Bakugo's final range.
703 meters.
"Woah!" Kirishima exclaimed, "That's amazing!"
"703 meters, are you kidding me?" Denki muttered in an impressed tone.
"Oh, I wanna go next!" Mina waved her arms, "This looks like fun!"
"Yeah, we can use our quirks as much as we want!" Sero added, looking just as pumped up.
Himiko pouted, standing next to me, "Yeah, it's fun for them because they've got quirks that can send things flying." Seeming to display a measure of sanity for once, that was new, "Not so much for me, or anyone with a non-physical quirk."
I knew the risk but I didn't really want to just leave her pouting, call me a sucker for it. "Hey, you got in didn't you? That means you've got plenty of physical prowess on your own. Unlike me, who kind of relies on a quirk that can let me boost my strength and the like. You're arguably better than me."
A blush dusts across her face and she grins at me, two sharp canines on display, but it was a lot less unnerving than the last smile she gave me in class, "Thanks Akio! I don't think I'll compare to you though." Then she looked back to Aizawa as he seemed to be thinking about something.
I, meanwhile, was keeping a blush down. Himiko did look cute when she didn't look crazy…
Aizawa finally spoke, "So you think this is fun, huh? Alright. Let's raise the stakes. You have three years here to become heroes, you think this will all be fun and games? There are eight physical tests you'll each be partaking in today to gauge your potential. Whoever comes in last has none, and will be expelled." A creepy grin stretched across his face.
The good spirit disappeared as shocked murmurs spread across the group.
Ochaco was the one to make the general feeling of the class known, "Expel one of us? You can't do that! I mean we just got here! Even if it wasn't the first day of school, that's unfair!"
"Oh, and you think natural disasters are? Or power-hungry villains? The world is full of unfairness. It's the job of a pro hero to combat that unfairness. If you want to be a pro you're going to have to push yourself to the brink. For the next three years UA will throw one terrible hardship at you after another! So go beyond. Plus Ultra style." Keeping his grin, he beckoned with his finger, "Show me it's no mistake that you're here."
I sigh and roll my shoulders, all that running with All Might would come in handy. Even if I couldn't completely control my quirk yet, my own physical prowess should get me through this.
...
The first test went normally for everyone in the original class, except for Izuku naturally, who used his fire breath to give him something of a backwards boost of force towards the end of his run to speed himself up. Anyways, as both Himiko and I were numbered last, we would go last.
We lined up at the start and at the sign we both ran.
I honestly didn't know what to expect from Himiko, so I was honestly surprised when she bolted ahead of me. She wasn't as fast as Tenya, but she was clearly faster than me.
I pushed myself as fast as I could and still only barely trailed her!
"4.3 Seconds!" the tracking robot declared for Himiko, causing her to jump for joy in place.
I cleared soon after, the robot declaring, "5.1 seconds!"
Panting a bit, I smiled and gave a thumbs up to Himiko when she looked at me, "See what I mean? You've got your own properties."
My smile faltered a bit with how wide the grin she gave me was, the look in her eyes was just unsettling enough for me to go back to feeling uncomfortable. I didn't know if I'd ever get used to this version of Toga.
Luckily that's where that ended and we were off to the second test.
…
The second test was a bit easier for me - Nearly a year of channeling my strength into individual body parts allowed me to channel it into my hands and lightly grip onto the thing without breaking my fingers.
Even with how light I was gripping it, I ended up with a grip strength of 403 pounds. Which honestly made me pretty happy. No last place for me!
….
The rest of the early tests went about as you'd expect, and it wasn't until we got to the ball throw right in the middle, with three after it that anything interesting happened for me.
I had been expecting something to happen during the baseball throw so it's not like it was a big of a surprise when my turn came and Aizawa erased my quirk before I could complete my throw.
"Your not used to your quirk." Aizawa speaks, "You're not ready. What were you planning on doing? Breaking your body and leaving yourself a liability to everyone?" He even dragged me to him with his carbon fiber scarf.
I was more annoyed than spooked, I had to admit, because I knew what I was going to do.
Aizawa kept speaking, "You had one exemplary score so far but it's clear you were on eggshells. You can't expect to play around like that when it comes to a serious situation."
When I got an opening to speak, I did so with a frown, "Mr. Aizawa, I mean no disrespect, but if you could please let me throw my ball, I'll show you I wasn't planning on breaking my arm."
He quirked an eyebrow and let me go, and I walked back, grabbing the ball.
Reeling back, I waited until the last second to charge my finger with the power of One for All, it was damaged to be sure, but I could still move it as the ball shot out of my hand and flew across the field.
Once it landed, Aizawa showed the distance to the rest of the class.
"Woah, 705 meters!" I heard Sero comment, "That's insane!"
Bakugo looked shocked and upset, but he didn't charge at me like he did at Deku in the show. My best guess for that was because he didn't view me in the same light he viewed Deku - I was just sort of a side character in his mind. Too bad for him, huh?
I closed my fist and smiled, "See, Mr. Aizawa? I had a plan." Then, I walked back to the others.
I grinned as people looked at me and shrugged off some of the comments about my quirk, although Ochaco did ask, "Hey are you alright? Your finger looks really screwed up!"
"I'm sure I'll be fine. I can visit the nurse, remember?"
She nodded a few times, "Well alright, still that looks pretty bad. I think I see a bit of blood."
Himiko entered the conversation with that, "Oh blood? I can take care of that!" The suggestion was innocent enough, but I knew her.
"That's fine." I reply, just wiping it off on my pants leg, "Nothing to worry about, see?" I try to smile despite the disappointed look on her face.
Soon afterwards, we continued the rest of the tests at Aizawa's direction.
…
At the end of it all we gathered back on that first field and Aizawa showed us the scores all at once, "I'm not going to go over each score individually so here's all of them. Take a look."
I wasn't in the top, but I also wasn't at the bottom. Purely in the middle. Bakugo was, unfortunately, at the top along with Shoto.
The person who was at the bottom?
...Himiko.
She was clearly shocked, but I kind of expected this. Her best test was the sprint, the rest of them were… Not her ideal places to shine.
"...By the way I was lying about expelling one of you. Call it extra incentive."
Shock resonated through everyone, and relief through Toga.
"What, he was lying? That's low-down!" I heard Kirishima exclaim.
"It really is a nasty immoral trick." Tenya notes, rubbing his chin.
"Anyways, your syllabi will be on your desks when you get back to class. That's it for today. Just grab them and head out, I'll see you all tomorrow."
As Aizawa left, we all relaxed and began to walk back. Himiko was strangely quiet.
Call me crazy for trying to get to the bottom of a crazy girl's discontent, but I was weak to sad eyes. "Hey, Himiko. Don't beat yourself up too much, alright? That test was really weighed against people who don't have physical quirks."
Himiko nods, sighing, "I know, I know. It just reminds me that it's going to be really hard if I ever want to be like All Might. He's such a big inspiration! I'll need to work extra hard if I'm ever going to be him!"
"You mean be like him, right?"
"Oh- R-Right."
Her phrasing made me suspicious, even more so than I was before. I still didn't trust this version of Toga, no matter how much more 'normal' she was compared to how she used to be.
…
After changing back into my normal uniform and a quick trip to Recovery Girl, I was soon walking towards the exit to UA and towards the train station with Izuku, who seemed more relieved than even I was that the first day was over.
"Man, that was tough! I didn't expect the first day to be so rough on us."
"Eh, yeah, well we're heroes in training now Izu. I guess we're going to have to get used to life being a bit tougher."
"Speaking of, how's your finger?"
"Oh, good. Recovery Girl mostly fixed it, it should be fully healed by tonight. Left me pretty tired though, I have to admit."
My words were punctuated with a heavy yawn, just as Tenya came up to us.
"Hello you two!" The overly serious man joined us, "I have to admit I found Mr. Aizawa's trickery rather immoral and deeply deceptive for a teacher. I can't believe they would pull something like that!"
Izuku spoke up, "I couldn't either, but I guess that's just something we're gonna have to deal with from now on, huh..?"
"You raise a good point, Midoriya!"
"Y-You can call me Izuku, really it's fine."
"Very well! Then I am Tenya to you."
I wave my hand as they talk, "And you can call me Akio. No big deal to me."
"Hey guys, wait up!"
"Yeah, wait for me too!"
I looked back and noticed both Ochaco and Himiko jogging towards us, gripping their bags. It was a bit odd seeing the two of them run side by side to each other, given how I knew they behaved in the show to each other…
Yeah, this was officially entering surreal territory.
"You guys heading to the train station, mind if we come?" Uraraka smiled as she waited for her answer.
"Not at all!" Tenya answered for us, thankfully it was an answer I was… At least 50% okay with.
"By the way I'm Ochaco Uraraka!"
"And I'm Himiko Toga!"
Ochaco scratches her cheek, "You're Tenya Iida, I know that, and you're Akio Okumura… And you're Deku right? Deku Midoriya?"
Deku Tree waved his hands rapidly, "Huh- N-No!"
Ochaco hummed questioningly, "I thought that was your name? I heard Bakugo say it a few times."
"Well that's just something he likes to call me, see my real name is Izuku… That's really just something he calls me to insult me."
"Huh? That's weird! Besides I like Deku I think it sounds kind of cute."
"Deku it is!"
Tenya was shocked, "Wha- Didn't you just say that the name was meant to insult you?!"
Deku was busy being flustered, turning away and covering his mouth, muttering something about a paradigm shift.
Tenya and Uraraka were confused, while I just laughed, "Can't handle the cute girl giving you a nickname huh?"
Deku and Ochaco both flushed about as red as they could and started sputtering at me while I just grinned.
That is, until Himiko giggled and put a hand on my arm with that grin of hers, "You're so funny, Aki~"
Aki?!
I could feel my face heating up as I rubbed the back of my head, looking away, "A-Ah jeez…"
This sudden 'paradigm shift' caused the others to laugh, before we all started walking towards the station together.
As we headed towards the station, chatting to each other as we went, my mind turned to Momo and Tsu.
I hadn't really gotten to talk to Tsu today, and Momo seemed normal despite the not being recommended thing being a bit unusual. The rest of class 1-A seemed normal as well, although it was just surface level, and I remembered Shoto's lack of a burn wound being something for me to try and learn more about sometime.
Then there was Himiko, who I honestly didn't know what to think about. She made me pretty uncomfortable and her motives were still questionable to me, despite her… Overt nature.
I guess it was just an internal bias but it was still one I wasn't going to readily ignore.
…
The train ride was peaceful. Uraraka got off first, followed by Tenya. That just left myself, Izuku, and Himiko.
"So Himiko, what's your quirk?" Izuku asked curiously, we were all three sitting together on the train, which was surprisingly rather empty at the moment.
Himiko shifted uncomfortably, "It's not very heroic… Not like Akio's, or yours for that matter." She bites her lip, clearly pondering on if to tell us her quirk or not.
Izuku continued, "It can't be that bad! Besides, the quirk doesn't make the person, it's how you use it!"
That seemed to work, as she sighed, "Well… I can ingest people's blood to look and sound exactly like them."
Izuku blinked a few times, before smiling, "Wow! That's pretty cool! I mean, if you get the blood of some really bad dude you can disguise yourself as them and get a bunch of information to help bring them and their friends down!"
Himiko blinks in surprise, before smiling, "Y-Yeah, I guess you're right. It's not all that bad, is it?"
"It's like he said." I add, "It's not what the quirk is, it's how you use it."
With that, the train stopped at where Izuku and I had to get up, and it surprised me when Himiko got up as well.
I tilted my head, "Himiko, you live around here?"
"You could say that!"
"How come we never saw you on the train?" Izuku wonders, rightfully so.
"Cause I usually take the train that comes a bit earlier than this one, same for in the morning!"
That… Actually made sense.
Izuku and I shared a look before shrugging and the three of us got off together.
We left the station together, Himiko kicking her feet out as we walked in an animated and somewhat childish walk-cycle.
I decided to be the one to ask, "So… Himiko, where do you live exactly?"
"Down the road! Past some apartments!"
"Oh hey!" Izuku starts, "We live in those! You can walk with us all the way back then."
Oh boy. As if my suspicion towards this girl couldn't get any stronger.
Maybe it was unjustified? I didn't know. I almost wanted to use Foresight on her, but I knew my eyes would give away that I was using it unless I had on glasses or covered them in some way.
Oh well, we eventually got to our apartment complex and waved goodbye to Toga, the two of us walking up the stairwell towards the line of doors that contained our apartments.
"So, today was pretty tough right?" Izuku asks, likely just to fill the silence until we got to his place, which was closer to this path we were taking than the other way.
"Yeah, but I imagine tomorrow is going to be even tougher. We're just going to have to get used to intense training from now on, I suppose. It's fun at least."
"Yeah! Really cool as well, we didn't get to see All Might today, which kind of sucks, but we're bound to see him tomorrow!"
"I think we will, tomorrow's our first real day of school after all."
Izuku nods in agreement, before we reach his house and he waves goodbye, "Gotta tell my mom how today went! Seeya!"
I waved him bye and he went inside, shutting the door behind him. Humming, I kept walking towards my apartment.
I felt… Off. Like someone was watching me.
I looked towards the path that we took to get to the apartments, at the fencing, but I didn't see anything. The feeling was gone.
Odd… I'd make sure I locked the door tonight. Whatever it was, I didn't want to take any chance, even if I could destroy just about anyone who tried to do a home invasion without a second thought.
Well, it'd need a second thought because I'd probably break my arms if I used my quirk and if I killed them, I don't know how that would hold up in court.
Heading inside, I shut the door behind me and locked it before heading to my kitchen to make myself dinner.
As I turned on the stove and prepared to make food, I thought about how tomorrow was the day of the day of the Battle Trial, and the day I'd get to see my suit for the first time.
It had been difficult adding the second quirk to my quirk registration, but upon proving to the right paper pusher that I did, in fact, have two quirks, they registered it and gave me my quirk forms.
I had finalized the rough design of the suit that I wanted the best I could and sent it in three weeks ago. I was no artist, but I had faith the company would be able to make something that I'd like.
After I finished making and eating dinner, I went and took a shower and changed into some casual clothes.
I wanted to go for a walk to the beach - I had already exercised plenty today, I think, but I still wanted to try and control my Quirk just a little bit better and the beach was always a good place to train with it away from civilians that might get hurt.
I wore my usual outfit - A gray jacket, a pair of jean-shorts, and a grey T-shirt underneath it.
Heading out and locking the door behind me, I went off and started my stroll towards the beach, enjoying the peaceful afternoon.
I occasionally got the feeling I was being watched again, but it never amounted to anything as the feeling always went away rather quickly.
Maybe I was just being paranoid.
Either way, when I got to the beach the sun was already getting ready to set, but I didn't mind. The beach was rather peaceful,
As I reached the stairwell leading to the beachfront proper, I took off my jacket and hung it up on the railing before walking down to the shoreline to start training.
I decided to keep it light today and just started running along the shoreline, I knew I couldn't risk being too sore as tomorrow was going to require me to be at 100%.
As I was running, I noticed someone swimming in the water. Well, it was more like they were occasionally coming up for air and then diving back down into the ocean.
I stopped and called when I next had the chance, and called "Hey! Who's swimming?" Curiously.
Out of the water came… Tsuyu. Wearing a one-piece swimsuit, "Oh hey Akio, I didn't know you came here."
"In all fairness, I didn't know you came here." I put my hands in my jean pockets, "What brought you to this place?"
"I heard this beach that used to be covered in trash got cleaned up and I figured it'd be a good place to train my swimming technique, Ribbit." She responds, somehow her hair still in its rather strange style despite being soaking wet.
Smiling to myself, I was glad to be able to contribute more to people even if it was something this… Small. "You heard right, it was a mess about a year ago."
"Well it's really nice now." She responds, tapping her finger on her lips, "So what're you doing here?"
"Well, I live a short jog away from here, and I've been coming down here to train for a while. It's just a nice place to get your workout in, you know?"
"I guess we came for the same reason, Ribbit. Can I join you?"
I was a bit surprised by the question but nodded, "Sure. I was just going for a bit of a run before I did the rest of my workout, keeping it light to avoid straining myself. Never know what's going to happen at school tomorrow."
"That's one way to look at it." The frog-girl responded, "Let's go!"
So we started running. Well, I ran, Tsu hopped along with me, keeping pace.
"So," I asked during our run, "What made you want to be a hero?"
"Big question, Ribbit." She notes neutrally, "I guess to make a better future for myself and my family. And to help people along the way if I can."
I knew the answer but decided to ask anyways, "Got a lot of family?'
"Two siblings that I look after, I'm basically their mom because our parents are always off on business."
"Wow, and you still find time to train and go to school? That's really impressive Tsu."
I could kind of tell Tsu was happy at the praise through the tone of her voice, "Thank you, I don't think it's that big of a deal. Sometimes I think taking care of them is part of what helped me get motivated enough to come to UA in the first place. What about you, Ribbit? Why do you want to be a hero?"
The question kind of caught me off guard because I hadn't really… Thought of that. I just did because I knew that was what I wanted to do, and it's what I had to do as All Might's successor. I was able to think of an answer though, "To help keep the world safe. All Might isn't going to be there forever, as much as we wish he would be, and people are going to need new heroes to save the day. I'm hoping to be one of the ones that helps bring peace to people's lives when they need it most."
"That's really noble, Ribbit!" Tsu noted, "You're really just in it to keep people safe?"
"Yeah, I mean I have more money than I need, I have a strong quirk and a desire to help people. I don't see why I wouldn't, honestly."
"Some people would use that as a means to become a villain." She pointed out rather cynically.
"Yeah well, I'm not some people." I respond, smiling as we stopped our run, "I'm Akio."
"You are." She responds.
I spotted a frozen yogurt vendor setting up in the more populated part of the beach and pointed to it, "Want some? On me."
Tilting her head, Tsu asks, "Are you sure?"
"Sure, it's what friends do right?"
I could tell Tsu was actually surprised by my words, "Friends? We only just met very recently."
"Yeah well. I can tell you're a good person. Besides, everyone needs friends, right?"'
She stared at me wide eyed for a minute before smiling the most adorable smile I'd seen all day, "Yeah, ribbit!"
"Ribbit." I respond with a thumbs up and a grin after taking a second to reorient myself and push down a blush, before we headed over and got our frozen yogurt.
Once we got it, we sat down on the sand as people milled about. It wasn't that many people, just some civilians watching the sunset or enjoying the cool water on an otherwise warm day.
"You know, when I first started working on this beach, I had no idea how many people were going to show up once it was all clean." I note idly, I wasn't intending to brag about it or anything, I was just making conversation as we sat and ate.
"You cleaned this place, ribbit?" Tsu asks, "I thought the city did it, or some hero."
"Nah it was me. It was part of my… Training, to get a better hold on my quirk and to get in the perfect shape for UA."
Tsu looked at me, plastic spoon in her mouth as she ate her frozen yogurt. She took it out again and stated, "Wow. That's impressive."
"I'm glad you think so, and hey. What do you mean some hero? Aren't I some hero?" I put a joking tone in my voice to let her know I wasn't actually offended.
"Some people might think it's lame to consider someone who cleaned up garbage to be a hero, but I think you are. You made this place available to swim in again, ribbit."
"I just wanted to make people have happy memories here, you know?" I respond after I eat a scoop of frozen yogurt. "Nobody is going to have any memorable dates or family nights or… Training sessions in a dirty beach filled with old washing machines and tires. Sure, I was brought here to train, but I made it my mission to clean up this whole place."
"Wow. You really are a hero." Tsu notes, a soft genuine lilt to her froggy voice.
I felt a blush unwillingly crawl up my face at the comment, "Hey, you're a hero too." I tap her arm with my plastic spoon, "Taking care of your siblings, raising them when your parents can't and all of that? You're a hero to them."
Tsu flushed red as well, "R-Ribbit… Thank you."
Smiling, I dug my spoon back into my frozen yogurt, "Don't thank me, it's just the truth after all."
She fell silent at that, looking at her frozen yogurt before starting to silently eat it again.
I did the same until I saw the sun starting to sink before the horizon, the water glimmering brilliantly as the sky changed to shades of red and orange, "Beautiful, isn't it?" I ask softly.
"Ribbit." Tsu responds, nodding her head.
We sat in silence and enjoyed the sunset as we finished our cups. Most people, including the frozen yogurt vendor, had started to leave at this point.
"Wanna start walking back to our stuff? I know you didn't come here only in a swimsuit."
She starts to stand up, "I wore some clothes over it, I left my bag back at the parking lot."
"Perfect." I go to stand as well, "Let's go throw these away then get going."
And so we did, finding a recycling bin to toss the garbage and then starting a much more relaxed walk back to the parking lot where we started.
"We didn't really do that much exercising, ribbit." Tsu notes.
Chuckling, I respond, "Yeah you're right. Well, considering what we did earlier today I think it can be excused."
"Agreed."
We soon arrived back at the parking lot, the sun well and truly set and the moon starting to take its place in the sky.
"I need to catch the next train back home." Tsu says as she puts on some loose clothing over her swimsuit once she'd dried it off, "I'll see you at school tomorrow."
"See you there." I respond, "Good seeing you today. No giant robots to nearly kill us this time, eh?"
"Ribbit." She responds with a thumbs up, before starting off with her bag on her back towards the train station.
Alone again, I turn and head back towards home, enjoying an easy stroll the rest of the way there.
Today was a good day, threat of expulsion notwithstanding. Meeting new people, making new friends, and starting on the road to becoming a proper hero.
And to think we were just getting started.
Once I was home again, I went to wash my hair and change my clothes, before getting to my room and lying in bed.
Looking up at the ceiling for a moment before I closed my eyes, I couldn't help but feel slightly optimistic for whatever tomorrow held, and hell, what the rest of the year would hold.
Days like these, I feel, were part of what made things in this world worth protecting.
A/N: Hey guys! I'm so happy with the reception this story has been getting lately. Some of you have been asking about what the main ship of this story will be, and I'm honestly unsure myself. As this chapter demonstrated, it can go in many directions. That's where you come in! On my profile will be a poll, you can choose which girl out of Momo, Tsu, and Himiko should be the main ship. Or choose 'other' and PM me your personal preference! I hope to continue to provide an entertaining story for you guys, have a nice day!
