Arkyn blew the hair out of his grey eyes as he stood in front of the mirror. Taking the moment in time, he thought back to his journey so far.
The last 5 years had gone by fast. He quickly got used to being the only Finnish kid in the school and if that wasn't enough there were still people who recognized him from the incident he got involved in. That was crazy in itself but the attention kind of felt nice.
The again, he stood over most of the Japanese population at 6 foot 3 inches. At 15 years old, he was tall but it wasn't unexpected. His father was a hair over 7 feet and his mother was just barely under 6 feet. It was just another thing to make him stand out among the crowd, something Midnight would often tease him about.
He absentmindedly began pulling his blonde hair up into a bun. It was a motion he was all too familiar with.
The last 5 years had been interesting with Midnight placing herself as his "onee-sama." He never called her that nowadays though. It would just be too weird to call her that.
"Arkyn! Hurry up and eat breakfast!" Speaking of the devil, that was her.
"Give me a second!" He replied as he finished up the bun before checking himself over in the mirror. The sides and back of his head were faded, leaving the top bun to stick out. Wasn't the most practical haircut but he liked it.
He nodded to himself in satisfaction before putting on a plain grey tank top.
Walking out of the bathroom and into the hallway, he ambled on over to the living room where he saw Midnight setting the table for breakfast.
"I'm surprised you were able to come over and make breakfast for me today Nemuri-nee." He commented as he sat down in a chair. Usually it was him making the food for her as she lazed around in his apartment.
She huffed at the comment. "What kind of sister would I be if I couldn't even make a good luck breakfast for my little brother?"
He glanced over at the giant jug of coffee on the kitchen counter. "A bad one but you didn't have to get up early just for this. I know you're busy with being a teacher at UA." Not that he was complaining about the food, the pancakes looked really good. She even remembered the chocolate.
"Nonsense! It's your first day of high school! I think that's reason enough right?" She patted him on the head. "Good work on getting recommended through. All that hard work paid off right?"
He nodded as he began eating. "Yeah but you and Shinji-nii put in the recommendations for me. I had a leg up over everyone else." Not even Tenya got a recommendation.
"True but we only did it because we decided you deserved it. Your performance at Somei impressed even Yagi-san. He's damn near Impossible to impress you know?"
Oh he knew, from the few times he had met the CEO of Shindo Shipping, the man was a cold businessman. He was kind to him of course, but there was a coldness that lingered on him like a cloak. "I know and I'm grateful. It just feels like I cheated you know?"
"Don't think on it, you deserved it a hundred percent." She pointed a fork to his plate. "Now finish eating and get dressed. I have to leave in a few minutes."
He looked over and saw that she didn't even have a plate. "You already ate?" He asked through a mouthful of pancakes.
"Yes I did." Her eyes narrowed. "And what did I say about talking with your mouth full?"
He shrugged at her while downing the pancakes with water At this point he was hard pressed to find her all that intimidating. Especially with how much shorter she was compared to him. "I don't know but don't you need to be an educator somewhere else?"
For a while she didn't respond, only leveling a small glare at him. Eventually she sighed. "You gotten a lot more defiant over the past few years Man Bun-kun." She lightly hugged herself in a childish manner. "Where did my innocent little Arkyn-chan go?"
"He left the room as soon as you entered it Nemuri-nee."
Stretching his arms over his head Arkyn let out a sigh as he felt his joints pop.
He walked at a leisure pace towards UA, not really under any rush. The high school was less than half an hour from his apartment. It surprised him when he learned that the prestigious school was so close by. Then again he shouldn't have expected anything less from Yagi-san.
The butterflies in his stomach made him more jittery than he would like to admit. This was his stepping point into the life of a hero. The fact that he was basically sponsored into the school didn't help to lessen the expectations. Not only was his dads name on the line but also Midnight and Kamui Woods names too. Those two had pushed his recommendations through after all.
It was all the more reason to do his best.
Looking up, he saw the famous gates of UA in the distance. Straightening his uniform he locked his gaze on the UA sign planted predominantly for everyone to see.
A large smile broke his features. Finally, the fruits of his labor bore results after 5 years of working himself to the bone. It was a chance to see how he stacked against his peers and he knew it wasn't going to be easy.
He had gotten to see a snapshot of the competition during the test for the recommended students. It was definitely going to be tough but he expected that, almost relished at the challenge.
It wasn't long before he stood in front of the massive gates of UA. Sparing one last glance he walked into the campus. To his relief, finding class 1-A was relatively easy.
He could only gape at the gargantuan door that had the class designation implanted on the front. To his side he found someone else doing the same.
"Pretty big huh?" He asked to the green haired stranger. "You in 1-A too?" His voice seemed to startle the guy as he stammered out a reply.
"Y-yeah, it's probably for people with gigantification quirks and y-yes, I'm in 1-A."
He frowned inwardly as the smaller figure pressed his fingers together. The guy was really shy, he'd change that in time. "Nice! I'm Ericson Arkyn, don't even try my last name though, it sounds weird in Japanese. Anyway! Nice to meet you!" He smiled as he reached out a hand for a handshake.
"Ah-ah n-nice to meet you. My name's M-Midoriya Izuku."
Wait? Midoriya? He knew that name from somewhere but as quickly as the thought came, it left his mind.
He gripped the hand tightly, gauging Midoriya's reaction. Like he thought the smaller guy winced as he felt the uncomfortable pressure yet no response ever came. There wasn't even an attempt to grip his hand tighter. Frowning he let go of the hand.
As he turned around he saw a brown haired girl walk up to Midoriya. "Hey! It's you! The plain looking one with the freckles!"
Shaking his head he waved the green haired shorty goodbye before stepping into the room. Standing just past the doorway he scanned the room.
Everyone was either sitting down or standing around their chosen desks. His eyes locked onto a familiar figure.
It was Tenya talking to some blonde haired kid who had their feet on the desk. He decided to walk closer, knowing Tenya he was probably asking the guy to put his feet down or something.
"I ask that you put your feet down, think about our upperclassmen who came before us!" Tenya even had the erratic chopping motions with his hands.
That was just like him, too serious for his own good sometimes.
"Yo! What's up Tenya!" He cheerfully greeted with a two fingered salute.
The serious look on his face morphed into a smile. "Arkyn, good to see you again. I heard you got in through recommendations. As expected of my former class president, always someone to strive for."
Again, Tenya was far too serious for his own good. His little mentioning about the recommendations drew some looks to him. It was ok though, Tenya was trustworthy and frankly the only one he had any attachments to in the classroom. Hopefully he could count on his support whenever the time came to pick a class president.
"Same here, always good to see a familiar face. How was your break?" He asked amicably while leaning on the blonde haired kids desk. The action forced him to tuck his feet off of the desk.
"Oi teme, get your hands off my desk!"
He glared down the enraged guy. "Why should I? If trash puts his feet on a desk then why wouldn't I be able to put my hands on the same surface?"
Silence settled in the classroom. Nobody forgot the fact that the very same kid that was being told he was trash, had gotten the top score at the entrance exams.
Tenya crossed his arms across his chest. "I would be careful that Arkyn, Bakugo-kun has a bit of a temper."
Bakugo? That was his name? No matter. "It's alright, I've dealt with issues before. Nothing but a bump in the road Tenya." He commented offhandedly. The confidence in himself never waivered. Bakugo was nothing.
Abruptly, Bakugo stood up. His stair fell back and his hands were lit with small explosions. "You wanna fight Man Bun?"
He matched the glare with his own. "I dunno. . ." The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as his quirk powered up. "Do you wanna get embarrassed?'
"Settle down you two." He turned to the new voice. The man had long black hair with a rather scruffy appearance yet the way he commanded them proved his position.
Relaxing, he powered down his quirk and picked a seat towards the back of the room. It was a seat that was at the very back, next to a rather familiar black haired girl. "Sorry sensei! I just got carried away!" He gave the man a sheepish smile before taking a seat at his desk.
In the corner of the desk, the number 21 was placed in a small circle. He glanced next to him, greeting the familiar face. "Morning, aren't you from the test?" He asked, referring to the specialized test for those that were recommended.
She nodded at him with a small frown. "Yes I was and I remember you too, Ericson-san."
Shit, she actually remembered his name. "Y-yeah, if you would like you can simply refer to me by my given name. I know my family name is a little mouthful." He really hoped she wouldn't ask if he remembered her name, that would just be embarrassing considering she remembered his.
"Perhaps." She replied cryptically before turning towards the front.
He did the same, wondering if he did something to piss her off. She wasn't this cold at the exam, that much he remembered. In the end he opted to mentally shrug at the development, he'd figure it out later.
Gazing at the teacher in the front, he had to raise an eyebrow at the exhausted appearance of the man. He'd never seen a pro hero so lethargic before. The yellow sleeping bag he was holding was just another mystery behind the figure.
"My name is Aizawa Shota, I'll be your homeroom teacher." The scruffy man pulled out some clothes from the sleeping bag. "This is your gym attire, I know it's sudden but put these on and head out to the P.E. grounds."
After putting on his gym clothes he followed his teacher out to the P.E. grounds. The affair was done pretty quickly and everyone was chatting about in a relaxed manner.
In the back of his mind he knew something was up. UA was known for its unorthodox teaching methods and giving a lot of freedom to the individual teachers. That kind of flexibility made it hard to gauge what would happen next.
Eventually the class reached a wide open field that seemed to stretch forever. He saw his teacher stop and turn to face the class.
"This is the training grounds where physical training happens and today we're gonna assess the limits of your quirks and bodies by doing a few tests." Aizawa pointed at Bakugo. "You, grab a ball and walk over to this circle."
He looked on curiously as the explosive teen grabbed a ball and walked up to a small circle drawn on the ground.
"Alright. "Aizawa nodded. "Now, throw that ball as hard as you can using your quirk." The man pointed downrange, showing the expanse of the open field.
He saw as the blonde teen looked down at the ball as he readied himself. Bakugo stretched his arm before winding up to throw the ball.
"Die!" With the triumphant cry Bakugo chucked the ball with an explosive backed throw.
Following the trail of smoke he whistled as the ball continued to fly. That was much farther than he expected.
"All of you need to find out the max of your abilities." Aizawa stated as he turned around while holding a device. "It's the best way to know what your strengths and weaknesses are." He showed them the result of the throw.
An impressive 705 meters.
That was going to be tough to beat.
He could feel the excitement build within him. This actually looked pretty fun.
"I see you guys aren't serious yet so I'll make it more interesting." He turned his attention to his teacher. The grave expression on his face squashed whatever elated feelings he had. "The one who places last will get expelled."
The class fell silent at the ultimatum.
He narrowed his eyes, could a teacher even do that? "Aizawa-sensei, is that even allowed? Today is our first day."
The piercing stare he received from the scruffy man put him on edge.
"Yes, I can do that. Freedom is given to us teachers to hand out punishments and rewards as we see fit." Aizawa gave him a careless shrug. "Those who can't perform, I will consider to have zero potential and expel them."
His jaw tightened at the response. He should've seen this coming.
"What? Don't tell me you're getting cold feet now, recommended-san?" Aizawa lightly taunted with narrowed eyes.
He matched the gaze with his own. Was he just trying to get a rise out of him? Or did the man have an ulterior motive in provoking him?
"You're from the incident with the jackhammer villain 5 years ago, aren't you?" Aizawa suddenly said, shocking everyone present.
"How'd you know?" He asked, surprised that the man remembered him. That was 5 years ago, by now most people had forgotten about that. The fact that he could pick him out regardless of how he stood out made him nervous.
His teacher put his hands in his pocket in a carefree manner. "It was just a guess."
The cryptic answer only served to annoy him. Didn't help everyone was whispering about him now. Fuck it then. "Alright sensei let's make it more fun, how about you expel me if I don't get first place?" Call him vindictive but the wide eyed look his sensei gave him was worth it.
"Are. . .you sure that's wise Arkyn?" Tenya asked him tentatively.
He didn't bother sparing him or anyone a glance as he continued his standoff with the teacher. "It's fine Tenya, I got this."
"You're awful confident to say that in front of all of us, Ericson-san." He chose to spare a look to the familiar black haired girl. He still didn't know her name.
The girl still held the frown she had from when he saw her back at the classroom. Not that he particularly blamed her, he basically put the whole class down on the very first day. "If I don't have confidence in myself then who will?" He shot time for being friendly was long over and he had enough of standing around. "Sensei, can we get started?"
"Yeah, first up is the 50 meter dash. You'll be going in pairs so go ahead and line up in two rows." He saw Aizawa frown slightly. "Actually, someone is gonna be by themselves since there's twenty one of you."
Bakugo spoke gave his suggestion in at the announcement. "Since Man Bun is so confident, why doesn't he go first, sensei?"
Arkyn glared at the kid, Man Bun? Was that what he was gonna get called? "I'll have you know the hairstyle is practical by the way." He shot back at Bakugo.
"Did I ever ask you?" Bakugo growled.
"No, but you seemed like the kind who lacks mental capacity so I thought I'd help you out."
"Enough!" He looked away as Aizawa stepped in once again. "You go first Arkyn and hurry it up."
He nodded at his teacher before making his way over to the starting line. Standing ready at the line he powered up his quirk to its max.
Blue electricity arced around him as he focused his attention on the finish line.
The Olympic world record for the 50 meter dash was somewhere in the five and a half seconds, with his physical abilities amplified by his quirk he guessed he'd be within the five second mark.
"Ready?" Aizawa, readied the timer.
He tensed his body as he waited for the go.
"Go!"
The world around him blurred as he shot off the line. He breathed hard as he sucked in air to fuel his muscles. It was over before he knew it, 50 meters was child's play compared to what he was used to.
"3.98 seconds. . .impressive." Aizawa mumbled as the timer displayed the result on the screen.
At the finish line he breathed deeply as the lightning around him disappeared. That was definitely faster than what he was expecting. All that hard work really did pay off.
"As expected of my former class president!" He looked at a very fired up Tenya Iida. "Such results from a quirk that doesn't focus on speed! The training-"
"Tenya." He interrupted. "Another time." His friend really was too serious for his own good.
Tenya nodded at him. "Very well."
Thing was, he knew that Tenya would continue later. He didn't know whether to be flattered or annoyed. Shaking his head he tossed the thoughts from his mind, it was time to see what his classmates had in store for him.
He stood back with his arms crossed as he watched his classmates applied their unique quirks to the situation. It was mildly interesting to see the ways different quirks could be applied. Iida on the other hand, simply blew the competition out the water.
Tenya's time was the only one that bested his own, coming at a blistering 3.24 seconds. Then again, he expected that.
Afterwards they sped through the Grip Strength Test, the Standing Long Jump and the Sustained Sideways Jump tests. In each he never scored the top spot but always made sure to come in the top 5. His quirk really wasn't helpful after the 50 meter dash and he had to rely on his physical performance to make up for it. It was something the class noticed, especially after the ultimatum he set for himself.
Finally, it was the Pitch test that Bakugo had demonstrated earlier.
He tried not to show it but the pressure was slowly eating away at him. He had to make a big impact on one of these next few tests.
From the sidelines he watched as the brown haired girl he saw with Midoriya step up to the circle. Surprisingly her throw was rather weak but the ball flew. . .and flew . . and flew until it disappeared entirely.
She had gotten a staggering infinity. How the hell was he supposed to beat that?
As if that wasn't enough Midoriya had left an impressive 705 meters. Who knew the small teen was packing a quirk like that. Although from closer inspection he saw the swollen finger on Midoriya's right hand. Seemed like he wasn't able to control his quirk all that well. Strange.
"Arkyn? Arkyn!"
He snapped from his musing as the teacher dragged him out of his thoughts. "Yes?"
"You're up. Also after this is the 3 kilometer run."
Nodding at the instructor he grabbed one of the softballs and stepped in the circle. He took a glance down and couldn't help a frown. With his taller frame the circle was just barely big enough for him to spread his feet beyond shoulder width.
"You know. . ." He turned to look at the voice, it was the black haired girl with the ponytail. "There hasn't been an event where you placed first yet, Ericson-san."
He leveled a glare at her, as if that was some grand news. "So what?"
"You may get expelled."
He clicked his tongue at the comment. What an annoyance.
"Getting first in this test is also impossible, infinity girl set the bar way too high." This time it was the blonde haired idiot with the electricity quirk.
Scratch that, they were all an annoyance.
He shook his head, brushing the comments away and focusing on what he had to do. First was definitely impossible but second was doable. He needed to focus.
He spread his legs shoulder width and bent his knees slightly, raw physical prowess wasn't the right move here. Placing his left hand with the ball on his right palm he imagined the object into reality. It had to be heavy and sturdy enough to combat the winds. Aerodynamic enough to cut through the air yet balanced enough to maintain its course with the sphere object.
With his secondary powers, there was only one option. A spear.
He ignored the gasps and murmurs of those around him and only focused on his goal, 1 kilometer.
He gazed at his creation. The spear was plain silver and at the neck where the sharp edge met the shaft, laid the softball. Part one was done.
Part two was the hard part.
He tossed the spear into his left hand and channeled his lightning into the spear. The focal point was at the tip of the spear. If he could lower the drag coefficient enough by letting his lightning cut through the air then he could achieve the distance he wanted.
His left hand channeled lightning while his right created weapons. The imbalance was still an issue he never figured out but for this, he'd make due.
Lightning crackled around him brighter than before and the air turned static, causing those around him to take a step back.
At the tip of the spear, condensed lightning arced off the blade.
He pulled the spear back with his left hand and let his guiding right point upwards. His left leg bent low as he loaded his weight on it, his right leg stepped slightly forward. His entire body twisted as he squeezed every last power from every muscle of his body. From the legs to the hip to the shoulders and finally his arm, he roared as he threw the spear as hard as he could.
The spear left the eyesight in a flash, the only visible part being the bright blue lightning that covered the weapon.
He recovered from his position and gazed the expansive field in front of him. After what felt like an eternity he heard his teacher call out the result.
". . .883 meters."
That was shorter than he wanted but in the end he accepted it with a triumphant fist pump. "That's how it's done!"
His classmates stood by silently, too stunned at what had happened. He shattered the record that Midoriya and Bakugo had placed.
"Good work Arkyn." Aizawa complimented with a small nod.
He beamed under the praise. "Thanks, Aizawa-sensei." It wasn't first place but it was good enough, for now. After that, his confidence was at an all time high. The next test was the 3 kilometer race. The only person he had to worry about was Tenya and maybe the ice guy, Todoroki? All he remembered was the fact that he was Endeavors kid.
From what he remembered during recommended test, iceman could propel himself at a fast rate with his ice. He did remember the guy slowing down a bit towards the end. He didn't know if it was his quirk or physical ability but the guy didn't have the endurance of him or Tenya.
Tenya on the other hand was his biggest obstacle, and he knew it too. He was at a disadvantage against his friend.
"The route of the run is going to take you around a part of the campus. Everything is marked so it's your fault if you get lost." Aizawa pointed to the start and finish line. "You'll make a circle and finish here. Also, if any of you are thinking about cutting the course. . .you're welcome to try."
He nodded in acknowledgement before walking up to the starting line. Next to him, Tenya lined up with a small but determined smile. "Let's do our best Arkyn."
"Yep, let's do it.' He agreed while activating his quirking once again. He couldn't afford to pull any punches here, from the start he had to push at full capacity. Even then it wouldn't be enough to gain the lead on his friend, what he hoped for was for Tenya to overexert himself and tire out quickly. That was the only way he could secure the first place.
"Everyone ready? Go!"
He and Tenya exploded off the line, leaving everyone else behind. As he sprinted he saw Tenya from his peripherals, they were neck and neck. The scenery around him blurred as he focused solely on his friend and the race.
Eventually as the meters began to pile up, he began to pant as he struggled to keep his pace. By now he didn't know how much longer he had left but Tenya had small lead on him. That was expected, this was his element after all.
As he exited a corner he saw the finish line up ahead, it couldn't have been more than 200 meters. He saw Tenya briefly look back him. Growling he dug deep and pushed forward, managing to close the distance between him and Tenya.
He panted heavily as his friend pushed ahead slightly, dashing his chances of passing him. He crossed the line just a hair behind Tenya, second place again.
Inwardly cursing he bent over as he struggled to breathe. If he was just a little faster then he could've won, damnit.
After awhile he finally gained the strength to stand back up. To his horror he instinctively leaned to the side as he threw up his breakfast. After a couple heavy dry heaves he spit out the gunk in his mouth from the bile.
"Shit, that sucked." He whispered to himself with his hands on his knees. Looking around he found Aizawa standing off to the side, not even remotely worried about what had happened. "Aizawa-sensei, can I go wash out my mouth?"
His teacher nodded at the request. "Yeah you can and take Iida with you, go ahead and drink some water while you're at it."
He gave his thanks and let out a tired sigh as he and Tenya walked over to the nearest building. "What was your time, Tenya?"
"Four minutes and twenty six seconds. You came in right behind me at twenty nine seconds Arkyn." Tenay began chopping his hands in the air. "Such performance Arkyn! Truly, I may have won but I still have much to improve on!"
He rolled his eyes at his friends antics. He placed his hands on his waist as he sucked in deep breaths, his heart was still beating wildly.
Thinking back on the results of the race he couldn't hold back a grimace. He lost by a whole three seconds, that was disappointing. What made it worse was Tenya was not even close to his exhaustion, meaning he still had plenty of reserves left in him.
"By the way, how are you feeling Arkyn? That was pretty messy back there." Tenya asked in a worried tone.
He gave his friend a halfhearted thumbs up. "Feeling alright, I'll be good to go once I wash this shit out of my mouth."
Tenya only nodded back at him, they both knew he wouldn't make excuses to quit.
By the time he and Iida had finished they saw the others start to finish. Well at least he finished in second place, again. The thought soured his mood even more, losing was unacceptable and he had been on the losing end all day.
He'd have to train harder then, maybe switch up his conditioning. Either way, today wasn't the result he was looking for.
As he got closer he heard Aizawa talking to those who had finished. "The test is almost finished, you only got the situps and pullups portion left."
His mood slightly lifted at that. Now that, he was confident in.
Surprisingly, his teacher didn't tell the others to grab a drink of water. Why was that, he wondered.
He tossed the thought out of his mind, it wasn't his problem. What was his problem was his clothes sticking to him like glue thanks to his sweat. It was gonna be a pain to get this thing off later.
For a while he relaxed with Tenya, chatting about random subjects as they waited for everyone to finish. By the time the last guy had finished he was already ready to go and unfortunately for those who finished last, they were left with only a couple minutes before the next test started.
"The hell? Who puked?" Bakugo pointed out at the puddle of bile.
"Yeah . . .I've been meaning to ask that too. . ." That was the tape guy, Sero?
He sighed as he owned up to it. "That'd be me."
"So you're the only one who puked?" Bakugo asked, much to his ire.
"Do you see any other puddles of puke?" He shot back.
Unsurprisingly he got a laugh in return. "No but isn't that just weak?"
Once again, Aizawa stepped in. "Quit fighting every time you two see each other." Surprisingly Aizawa turned to address Bakugo. "There's nothing wrong with throwing up after a workout, it just means he worked harder than you or anyone else here for that matter. Frankly speaking Arkyn came in at 4:29, meaning he kept up the pace he showed during the 50 meter dash all through the race."
The news had shut the explosive teen up. Thank god.
Afterwards the class had paired up in couples for the situps. He had Tenya as his partner. For two minutes they were supposed to crank out as many sit ups as they could. Tenya ended up with a respectable 92 while he crushed the competition afterwards with 116 sit ups.
Finally he got first place in an event. In the back of his mind he knew the tests were only to bring out the upper limits of their quirks and physical abilities, not to compete against the others. Even so, his competitive nature took over. He'd get first in pull ups too.
Much to his surprise there was only one bar available for the class so everyone lined up for their turn.
The rules were simple. Chin had to be over the bar and both arms had to be locked out, overhand and underhand grip was allowed. Like the other tests, quirks were allowed though no one really had a quirk to aid them in pull ups. Only a handful would be able to keep up with him, namely the other two giants of the class. One was more muscular than him and the other had six arms.
Coincidentally, he and those two were the last three in the line.
He eyed the two in front of him. One gained strength from sugar and the other was naturally strong with his 6 arms. This would be interesting.
Unsurprisingly the line moved quickly, no one had broken the twenty pull ups yet. That would change soon.
Even as the large teen downed some sugar and began cranking out pull ups, he held his confidence. These two were among the last to finish the race and because of it, they were still tired.
"That's twenty seven Sato, good work." Aizawa nodded at the exhausted teen before motioning the guy with six arms forward. "Shoji, you're up."
As Sato rested he saw him get a couple compliments, much to the guys embarrassment. At least Sato was friendly.
He watched in mild curiosity as Shoji began his test. Like he had thought, Shoji was still tired from the run.
". . .Fifty one pull ups, good work Shoji." Even so that result was ridiculous. What a guy.
He didn't even need Aizawa to call him up, he was already at the bar as soon as Shoji dropped and walked to the side.
Shoji also got a round of applause and compliments from the class.
Jumping up, he grabbed the bar with an overhand grip and began.
Five quickly turned into ten and ten turned into twenty and by the time he had hit forty, he was struggling.
He let himself hang for a second before resuming.
Just five more he thought. With a struggle he managed to hit forty five before he rested again.
Taking another deep breath he desperately cranked out another five more.
Just two more. Grunting loudly, he grit his teeth as he tried to beat the previous score. He failed as his arms shook and refused to pull his body up anymore.
Desperately trying one more time, he held his breath as his arms and shoulders flexed. He got halfway up before his arms locked up yet again. He ignored the dizziness as blood rushed to his head. Suddenly he felt something pop as he felt warm liquid rush down his nose, ignoring the surprised cries around him, he pushed onwards. Despite his best efforts his arms refused to work and his grip slowly loosened as the edges of his vision went dark.
When he came to he was held aloft by the scarf that was normally around Aizawa's neck.
"Wha-"
"You passed out." Aizawa simply stated. "You're also bleeding from your nose, get that checked out right now with Recovery Girl. Midoriya, help him get to the infirmary and get your finger healed too."
He lightly grabbed his head from the lingering dizziness, cursing all the while. In his mounting frustration he impulsively tore off one of the short sleeves of his clothes and stuffed it against his nose
The bewildered and shocked looks he received from the class were ignored without another glance. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts he didn't even wait for Midoriya before stomping away.
"That's hardcore. . . " Kaminari commented as he watched the retreating back of Arkyn. He'd never seen someone who pushed themselves that hard before.
Jiro couldn't help but reply to the comment. "Right? I mean, the dude tried so hard he got a nose bleed and passed out on the pull bar and also puked from running so hard." In fact throughout the whole test, the guy never let up once. He always pushed himself at maximum capacity. In a way, it kind of intimidated her.
"That's a man right there!" Kirishima claimed as he clenched his fists. After seeing another man try so hard, how could he not be fired up? Originally the overly confident nature aura Arkyn exuded had pissed him off but now, that was different. He earned his respect.
"Alright, that's enough." Aizawa called out, shutting everyone up. "Hurry up and shower and clean yourselves up. Next class is Modern Hero Art History."
Tenya raised his hand. "Sensei! What about the scores?"
Aizawa pulled on his scarf in mild annoyance. "All you need to know is that no one is getting expelled. Now hurry up, you're cutting into your shower time."
A waved of relief hit the class and nobody really questioned it.
Tenya didn't back down though. He needed to know if his friend was going to get expelled. "Does that mean Arkyn came in first, sensei?"
This time he couldn't help a sigh. "Yes, now go. You don't want to anger your next instructor." He shooed the class away.
Slowly but surely the young teens made their way towards the buildings.
He gazed out to where the pitch test was conducted.
That Arkyn, was an interesting character. Not only did he finish first like he had said but he had placed in the top five in every single event. Even among the recommended candidates he stood head and shoulders above them. It wasn't just his quirk and physical prowess. There was a laser like focus he had rarely seen in kids his age.
Then there was Midoriya. He had zero expectations from the kid yet the younger teen proved him wrong.
A small smirk graced his features. This year was going to be interesting.
Within the girls locker room, Momo couldn't help a contemplative expression as she thought on the foreign student. The image she had of him when compared to the recommendation exams were vastly different.
The man she saw today was more. . .intense. There was a level focus in his eyes she hadn't seen before. Then there was the aura of confidence he had.
He had said to her. 'If I don't have confidence in myself then who will?' That kind of self confidence didn't develop overnight or on the spot. It was vastly different from the traditional 'I'm better' or something else along those lines.
The various commentaries from her fellow classmates drew her from her thoughts.
"Did you see how Arkyn created that spear? Who knew he had a quirk that could control electricity and make weapons?"
"I know right? And he's so strong too, physically I mean."
"And the way he got defensive when Bakugo made fun of his bun was so cute! Don't you think him and Todoroki-kun are cute?"
At this point she drowned out the conservation and focused on cleaning herself and enjoying the hot water. Her peace however, was interrupted shortly.
"Yao-Momo!"
She jumped slightly at the intrusion. "Yes, Ashido-san?"
The pink colored girl gave her a devious smile. "How come you were talking so freely with Arkyn-kun? Are you guys familiar with each other?"
Calming down her erratic heart she looked at the bubbly pink girl. "Yes, I met him and Todoroki-san when we were taking the recommended exams."
"Ohhhh, so you're familiar with them right?!"
"I-I wouldn't say that I am familiar with them. I hardly know them at all Ashido-san." She turned around quickly, not wanting to show the blush on her face from the insinuation.
Ashido pouted at the answer. "Mou. . .you're no fun. Then how about who do you prefer? Arkyn or Todoroki?"
She sputtered at the question. "Wha- why would you ask such a question, Ashido-san?!"
"I'm just curious! So don't worry, nothing will leave this room!" She saw Ashido put her hands together. "I prefer Todoroki-kun, he's more my type than Arkyn. Now yours Yao-Momo!"
"W-well . . ."
"A-are you ok, Ericson-san?"
He glanced over at Midoriya. The shy kid was getting patched up by Recovery Girl. "Yeah, I'm fine Midoriya, thanks for your concern."
For the last half hour or so he and Midoriya got the chance to talk while they were getting treated. He quickly figured out the teen was rather introverted but also friendly. On top of that, the kid was sharp, incredibly so. The way he broke down his quirk from after only seeing it a handful of times impressed him.
"By the Midoriya, I've been wondering. . .what's up with your quirk? The backlash of using it almost makes it a handicap in a fight." From what Iida had told him, during the entrance exam the green haired teen had saved Uraraka by destroying the zero point villain. The cost of doing so had broke both his legs and right arm. For one reason or another Midoriya's body simply could not handle the stress of his quirk, it was strange.
At his question he saw the guy look down at his hands dejectedly. "Y-yeah, I don't have full control over my quirk yet so whenever I use it, it destroys my body."
He frowned at the answer, it was like he had just gotten his quirk but that was impossible. By the age of four, a person finds their quirk and from there on, the quirk grows with the individual. At this stage in his life, he should have at least some control over it. "It's ok Midoriya, it just means you have to work on it some more."
As if it was that easy.
Midoriya only nodded at his comment. He above anyone else knew that of course.
It was never going to be easy but as he looked at his green haired classmate, he couldn't help but feel for his plight. It truly sucked to be in the position Midoriya was in. Perhaps, he could help a little.
"Midoriya, if you ever need help training or have some questions, you're always welcome to ask me. I don't mind helping." He said with a smile. Hopefully this would ease his mood some.
"There, you're finally healed up." He turned his attention at Recovery Girl. She handed him and Midoriya a slip of paper. "Take that slip of paper to your teacher, you two are free to go."
"Thank you and sorry for the trouble." Midoriya said as he took the slip.
He stood up and grabbed the slip too. "Thanks for the help Recovery Girl."
She merely turned back to her desk at the replies. "Humph, no need for all that, just do me a favor and don't show up here again for a while. Also shower and change before you do all that, you two stink."
He nodded and waved her goodbye before walking out of the infirmary. Standing outside the door he waited for Midoriya to finish talking to the resident nurse.
It wasn't long before he saw the tuff of green hair walk out of the office.
"Let's hurry and finish up, we're late to the afternoon classes." He saw Midoriya nod back at him before he turned around and started walking at a brisk pace to the locker room.
The walk was done in silence as he really didn't have anything to say. He actually enjoyed the silence and peace. Although he knew the moment he stepped back in that classroom that was going to be all over. Everyone had rather outgoing personalities and add the fact that he didn't get along with Bakugo meant there was probably going to be some insults thrown here and there.
It wasn't long before they reached the empty locker room.
He walked up to his locker and quickly stripped down. The hot shower was going to feel good and maybe wash away some of the sleepiness.
Much like before, he and Midoriya kept to themselves throughout the process.
He would admit that it was kind of awkward showering with another guy, even if they had individual stall.
Unable to really enjoy the hot water, he quickly cleaned himself off so that they could make it to the next class. While he didn't mind missing a class, it wasn't exactly the best way to start the first day of school.
Finishing his shower quickly, he turned off the shower and began drying himself off. As he began putting on his uniform he heard his green haired classmate just finish with his shower.
He frowned as he realized that his longer hair wouldn't be dry for a while. Which meant he'd have to keep it down instead of a bun. Maybe shorter hair was better?
Nah.
As he pulled his still damp hair behind his ears he walked out of the locker room and waited for Midoriya, again.
To his credit, his classmate rushed out not a minute later.
The rest of the walk was quick as he beelined it to the classroom. As he reached the classroom door couldn't help a tired sigh. That shower just made him want to curl up in his bed and pass out. Without another thought he opened the door. . .and saw someone very familiar teaching the class.
It was Nemuri-nee or as everyone else knew her, Midnight.
"Nemuri-nee?! You're teaching the class?" He couldn't help but be surprised.
She looked at him with a rather serious expression. "First of all, you will address me as your teacher. This is a learning environment, just because we're somewhat familiar with each other doesn't mean you can refer to me so casually."
He didn't believe that for a second. In the 5 years he had know her, there were a handful of circumstances where Nemuri-nee was actually serious. This wasn't one of them. "Can you not? You actually sound like a proper teacher." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Also how come you didn't tell me you were gonna be one of my teachers?"
She clicked her tongue. "Tch, you couldn't follow along like a good little brother? Gotta work on subtlety Arkyn-chan." The devious smirk on her face told him not to challenge the fact that she added the suffix of 'chan.'
She was just baiting him to say something stupid and embarrass him in front of the class. Nope not taking that bait, he made that mistake one too many times.
He waved her off. "Yeah yeah, whatever you say Nemuri-nee." He ran hand through his hair as he made his way to his desk.
"By the way. . . how come your hair isn't in a man bun?" Midnight asked as he reached his desk.
Out of reflex he ran hand through his hair again. "Because it's wet."
"Wow, such a feminine response for the big bad boy."
"Screw you." He replied, much to the growing wonder of the entire classroom. The chance of a quiet afternoon was practically zero now. How wonderful.
"When and where?" His head snapped to Midnight, who held a rather sultry expression on her features.
He could feel a small blush on his face, much to his ire. "Wha-"
The face of absolute glee stopped whatever response he had. There was no point in trying to get into an exchange of words. The damage was done.
He heard a loud whisper from his immediate left, it was that short kid with the purple balls on his head. "You lucky bastard."
Arkyn sighed for what it seemed like the umpteenth time as he rested on his bed. The rest of the day had been hounded by those idiots who went crazy over the fact that he knew the "great" R Rated heroine, Midnight.
That one little runt, Mineta even asked him if he had sex with her. To which he replied by punting the kid into the nearest wall.
Then there was the black haired girl, Momo. She looked even less pleased at his supposed "relationship" with Midnight, even going so far as to tell him it was 'improper' for a teacher and student have such relations. Thankfully, he had somehow managed to clear things up that their relationship didn't go beyond a brother/sister relationship.
They definitely didn't need to know she popped in and out of his apartment at her leisure. If those idiots knew that then he would have no choice but to end all their lives out of the sheer annoyance that would no doubt follow.
Thankfully, that part of the day was over and he was home. Arashi was cooking some food and Nemuri-nee and Shinhi-nii would be here for dinner soon.
All in all, despite the crazy day, he had fun at school. Which was something he thought he'd never say.
Looking at his phone he made the familiar call to his mother.
\After a few rings she picked up. "Hello, Arkyn?"
A small smile wormed its way on his face. "Yeah, it's me mom."
"How was your first day at UA?" She asked.
"Great, I had a good time."
"I see. . ." She trailed off. "Do you like it there? And have you made any friends yet?"
He shook his head. "No mom, I just got acquainted with my classmates and yeah, I think I'm gonna like it here."
She hummed at his response. "Hmmm and what about Tenya? Did he make it in?"
"Yeah of course, he's in my class actually."
"That's great!" She exclaimed. Suddenly there was a rustle in the background. "Oh, Eric! Perfect timing, our son's on the tline!"
There was some loud stomping before he heard the phone being turned over. "Dad?"
"Yeah, it's me son. How you been?"
As always his dad had that deep and authoritative voice. "Been good, just a little tired."
"Hmm and how was your first day?"
He shrugged out of reflex. "Pretty good, our teacher made us do this test for our quirks and stuff."
"Really?" His dad seemed surprised. "Well, what was the test and how'd you do?"
"Just a lot of physical exercises, we were told to use our quirks and we'd be ranked on how we did overall." A thought just occurred to him, Aizawa-sensei never told him his score. " As for how I did. . ."
His dad picked up on his hesitation. "Did you do bad?"
"No, it's not that. I did ok, I think I placed in the top 5 for everything but. . ."
"But?"
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his beck. "I. . .told my teacher that if I didn't come in first place then he could expel me."
"Wha-WHY?"
"Because. . ." He stopped himself there. The whole scenario was a 'he said, she said' situation now that he thought back on it. "Actually, that's not important since I wasn't told that I was getting expelled so I guess I came in first."
He heard his dad's booming laugh echo throughout the house from over the phone. "Ahhhh that's great son."
"Yeah yeah, whatever old man." He perked up as he heard Arashi call for him.
"Young Arkyn! Food is almost ready, could you set the table for me?!"
"Yeah I will! Just one second!" He called back in Japanese before switching to Finnish. "Hey dad, dinner is ready so i gotta cut it short."
"That's fine son." His dad replied, somewhat disappointedly. "I know you must be hungry. Just stay out of trouble and continue training as you've always done."
He sat up in his bed. "Will do, don't have to say that twice."
"Good, see you later son."
"Yeah, talk to you later dad." With that he ended the call before standing up. As he stood up a piece of paper fell from his lap. It was a sheet with the pictures and names along with the quirks and brief description of each person in class 1-A.
He would have to thank Aizawa-sensei again tomorrow morning but for now, it was time to eat with his "family."
As he walked out he saw Shinji-nii and Nemuri-nee already sitting at the table. Sometime during his phone conversation, the Wooden Hero and the R Rated Heroine had made themselves at home. Just like it had been the last 5 years.
Yep, life was good.
A/N: So the chapter is finished! Let me know what you guys think! Hopefully I kept the everyone within character but if something seems a little off, let me know. I'm always accepting of criticisms so fire away. Anyway, til next time my fellow nerds!