Izuku couldn't help but tune out of the talking that was going around, from the basis of the reevaluation of their fitness tests Izuku could rationalize that everyone could use their quirks. He couldn't help but let out a dejected sigh, too bad he didn't have one, well at least one he could use. He needed to track down that first journal of his, the nagging voice in his head kept screaming at him of its importance, and Izuku knew why.
There was a card stuck onto the front cover.
Getting lost in his thoughts, Izuku finally re-tuned into the conversation when his teacher stated one sentence that sent a growing chill down his spine.
"The lowest score will be expelled… Welcome, this is the hero course at U.A!"
Nerves froze in the area as people began to murmur fearfully at the situation, most people gazed at who they thought would be expelled, and Izuku couldn't blame them when those glances either came to him or the smallest boy in class, Mineta.
Izuku could only smile helplessly as he felt as if he were dying inside. He knew that compared to other students his abilities and actions would seem off. Contrary to his mass strength and agility, Izuku's body looked thin and less muscular than he should be, though he found that prospect hilarious because he could break quirkless world records with mere ease, and because of his training, Izuku was able to surpass those limits. Build upon them until they were broken, he had made his own.
While Izuku was preoccupied in his thoughts, he didn't notice that Bakugou had been looking at him expectedly, as if to praise him or something; but Izuku hadn't been paying attention, so he couldn't help but feel bad as Bakugou looked over him with a pitiful puppy dog look, though it looked as it he were a bull terrier about to rip a chicken apart to the other students. Other kids had noticed how Izuku's limbs were covered in bandages, not more for injury but they were there to cover up something. Their first reactions were shock and fear:
"S-Scary!"
Ochako had interrupted his thoughts when she bursted out to Aizawa-Sensei, "The lowest score will be expelled? It's only the first day! And even if it weren't that's totally unfair!"
The tired man barely gave her a glance as he spoke solemnly, "Natural disasters, Highway pileups, rampaging villains… Calamity is always around the corner. I'd say that Japan is full of unfair things. Heroes are the ones who correct all that unfairness," he concluded softly.
"If you were hoping to spend your evenings hanging out at McDonalds, I'm sorry to tell you that for the next three years, U.A will wring you out," Aizawa-Sensei finished with a yawn.
The class was full of an edged atmosphere; some people confident while others wringing out their worries.
"Use your strength to overcome it all, so bring it. Now that, is Plus Ultra!"
Before he could start any of the events, Izuku had to go to the nurse's office to see Recovery Girl, she had stated that he needed a medical sensor for his blood sugar.
"Your mother called me to inform me about your little health issues. Now, Todoroki-kun, you need to keep your sugar input up quickly, make sure you've had sugar at least every ten minutes! We don't need you coughing up blood again, do we? Here put this on, it'll warn you of your blood sugar levels and brain activity!" Izuku remembered her words before he snapped out of his daze as the events began, the collar felt foreign on his body and he couldn't help but tug at it which it adjusted over his bandages. He couldn't figure out how it worked in the first place, it wasn't taking his blood pressure, so how could it know anything else about his body?!
Izuku had watched all his classmates go ahead of him in the tests, he and Kacchan were the last ones to boot for the 50-meter dash.
"Think you got any faster, Izuku?" Kacchan had asked him seriously, even dropping the nickname.
"Well then, Katsuki, I think that I might finally catch up to you!" Izuku said playfully with a smile, Kacchan couldn't tell whether to pale or slightly blush at the boy formally using his name - what a scary approach!
Soon the timer went off, and like horses the two ran like the wind to cross the finish line.
"Katsuki Bakugou, 4.13 seconds!" the robot screeched.
Izuku had tried his hardest, he put every effort into analyzing the small path, every dust pile and every rock mattered, he noticed a small bump that resided on the track, he could use it to boost himself, the current event was the 50-meter dash, but with everyone using their quirks, it didn't limit Izuku to just running.
Even before the timer went off, his muscles were ready to run; he had told them through his brain signals to feel the adrenaline that one would feel when already running, there would be no buildup, only a smash of speed as Izuku raced forward. Some people looked at him in awe, mainly his older brother.
'When did he get so fast?'
Quickly, Izuku caught up towards Kacchan, and at the last bump he pushed himself forward, feeling the hot waves of heat from his friend's explosions nonetheless he burst out.
"Izuku Todoroki, 4.15 seconds!" Izuku's head nearly snapped off as he looked at the robot, '4.15 seconds?! That's not human!'
Aizawa watched the scene with great intrigue, that type speed and momentum shouldn't be possible for the human body, and still there were no clarifications on the boy's quirk. He decided to wait more until the boy did anything troubling. He just had a gut feeling that eventually he would have to interfere...
Izuku was relieved for the next test which was the strength grip test, an easy feat that just required the testee to squeeze, and so Izuku did. When he closed eyes for the comfort of not having to look at his own strength, one of his classmates came over yelling.
"White! You have alot of strength for a little dude, what are you, a monster?!" it was that kid named Sero, he had tape coming from his arms.
Izuku blushed with a sweet smile, "Ah, no- I don't really know how, but I'm just a bit on the edge of most limitations!" He smiled as his machine beeped while Sero looked in awe.
'256 kg'
"No way dude! What's your quirk?" Sero pushed forward nudging at Izuku.
He could only laugh awkwardly, "My doctor said that I have the capability of having a quirk, but to what it is, I'm not sure yet. My strengths aren't something I activate" he offered informatively before Sero stalked away boredly.
"Hah? Man, you could have just said it wasn't my business…" he groaned not believing Izuku.
If only they knew...
Izuku had been eating another piece of candy when he watched Aizawa-Sensei evaluate his peers. The man held a mad keenness to him that was scary, but then again Izuku had the same look when he mumbled. He awkwardly fiddled with his thumbs as he waited for his own turn, the collar around his neck was slightly uncomfortable, and it make him feel like he was a dog.
Trying to figure out how his quirk worked was also another matter that he had recently been digging into. He wanted to get home quickly after school and hopefully avoid his father so that he could search for that first journal. His eyes narrowed in thought as he began to murmur softly to himself about his own thoughts on the matter.
"What I know right now is that my quirk isn't physical, whatever it is, it involves a card game… Trade me. That game required memories in order to trade for quirks, and my hyper-senses aren't part of a quirk but rather some type of bodily extension… But does that mean I can lose in the future? If I play that game again can I trade this power for a quirk? No… too risky, that would also mean my intelligence would go away, and if I traded this power, would I lose the memories that it gave me? Or would my brain waves stay the same… Either way, losing this ability could harm me in some way, and those nightmare abilities… How do they work? If my quirk is all about trading, what am I trading the torment of others for? The only logical explanation I can think of is either some type of brain matter or… something much darker. Could I be trading away my own life force for the nightmares that others see? I know from general appearances that there was some type of memory swapping involved, more than even I know of… Meaning… I still have my original memories, it's only the current me cannot access them! But if that's true, then how do I have my current memories? If that's a phenomenon on its own… Ugh… this entire quirk is too confusing to understand! What if it's not a quirk, no… That younger version of me… he's some type of emission quirk that's personified himself, he's like that Tokoyami guy, he has a shadow helper thing - this kid in my head is the exact same…"
Izuku continuously mumbled until someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Oi, Deku, we're up!" Kacchan was pushing him back in forth from his muttering trance, "you and you're damn muttering! You're gonna scare people."
Izuku looked up from his thoughts as he tried to jumble himself straight, "Huh? Oh Kacchan! Hi!"
"Don't 'Hi' me, get your ass over there! I'm not believing any of your bull shti right now, go. Go. GO!" he grunted out, shoving Izuku towards the standing jump.
His green haired friend had been weirder than usual lately, he had gotten a hang of the smaller fluff ball's routine, but his worrisome head could be a massive pain in the ass. As he stood next to Deku with his hands ready to blast, he made sure to not direct any of his power towards Deku, it may have been the cooler spring season, but he knew that Izuku's body was sensitive to temperature change.
Blasting forward when the timer went off for them to start, Bakugou couldn't help but look back at the boy with worry in his eyes, only for them to widen as Izuku had a small trail of blood spilling down his cheek. But when Bakugou blinked again it was gone. He'd been hallucinating. He didn't really know why, but ever since the roof incident, the only thoughts that plagued his mind were about Deku. Precious little, Izuku.
Oi… WHAT WAS THAT BASTARD DOING?!
Izuku had been preparing himself to jump as well when one of the kids from their class had been mocking him, or at least that was what Bakugou thought was happening. He recognized the boy as who he called as tape face, not because he had tape coming out from his arms, but because his mouth was so obnoxious that Bakugou wanted to fill it with shit and then tape it close.
He sent a steady glare at the boy before blasting off again within the nano-second.
Izuku had done decently at all the events so far, he wasn't heavily exceeding against anyone and was near towards the end of the spectrum of students as he hadn't shown a prowess in any specific event.
Bakugou watched closely as he tried to do the side-step event. He was still pretty fast, but Izuku looked tired. Before the next even could begin, Bakugou grabbed his friend's shoulder.
"Oi, Deku did you have any sugar yet? I saw you eat some twenty minutes and five seconds ago, what does your blood sugar thingy say!?" He bursted out, shaking his friend who was staring at something blankly.
"H-Huh?! Oh Yeah! Thanks for reminding me, Kacchan! I completely forgot… hehe" Izuku muttered before unwrapping a candy and stuffing it into his mouth.
Bakugou debated on whether lecturing the idiot or not but settled on bonking him on the head lightly, "Don't be fucking stupid, we don't need you in a hospital, again."
"Yeah, Yeah, I get it~" Izuku smiled adorably.
Bakugou swore that he almost had a heart attack, yet again he swore that there was a small stain of blood near Izuku's lips.
He swore to himself that it was just another illusion.
Too bad this time it was real
Izuku was wiping away at the blood that he'd been coughing up. It was slightly painful and at first he was confused as to the reason why. Why was he hurting? He found out quickly with a sudden shiver down his spine. The candy bag he had grabbed was from a very long time ago, it was one that Kacchan had bought him. But they weren't sugar based, they were vitamin C suckers that had sugar substitutes. Before the next event proceeded he sneaked away behind one of the buildings to throw up everything he had eaten that morning. He knew people would worry, and he knew that once his health monitor went off, Recovery Girl wouldn't allow him to continue in his efforts at the fitness tests.
But he needed to be here. Izuku knew that if he wanted to prove himself, he would need to break his limits. He looked at the crimson spill that stained the ground before kicking dirt over it. He wiped away at the blood on his face again, careful to not spread it onto his white bandages.
He needed to keep the lollipop ordeal a secret since he knew that if Kacchan found out that it was because of a simple mistake nearly a year ago then he would beat himself up for it. Instead Izuku faked his smile before walking back to the rest of the group, a sucker that did nothing to help him in his mouth, dark bags forming under his eyes.
"Ah, Todoroki-kun are you ok? You don't look so well…" Uraraka had reached out towards him but Izuku merely moved her hand away, shaking his hands.
"I'm fine, just a bit tired that's all," Izuku spoke softly, he had to keep things simple, not bring any attention towards himself.
Taking a deep breath, Izuku waited as the others slowly went forth into action. His breaths felt shaky as he felt slight pain eradicate his heart. It was taxing just to take a simple breath, the only one who seemed to notice was his older brother. But Izuku turned his head away with a scowl. He was sick of the nonsense of people worrying for his safety or for his health. If he were to worry about everything he did, then he would get nothing done!
Finally it was his turn to throw.
Izuku stood with the ball in his hands, his vision was slightly blurred as he felt a familiar burn in his throat. He grit his teeth while wearing a mask of carelessness before throwing the ball without effort, it would get far enough… It had too.
'I'll be good enough just this once, it's only one test!' Izuku painfully thought on his high of agony.
Only for it to be snatched mid-air by wrapped fabric.
"Who said you could half-ass this?" Aizawa glared venomously at Izuku, the young boy still held a fake smile deep into his face as he turned to his teacher, but his body was shaking angrily.
"That ridiculous exam… shouldn't have let in someone so needlessly irrational," Aizawa glared out at the shaking Izuku who was biting into his lip to keep from shouting in anger.
The kids of the class began to chatter behind as the teacher continued to pound down on Izuku especially. It was a terrifying sight, the most innocent looking of all boys was being especially hazed.
"I don't think he'll make it…"
"Poor kid…"
"Isn't he quirkless as well? Cut him some slack…"
Their whispers filled Izuku's mind venomously as he looked up at Aizawa-Sensei with glowing eyes full of emotions that flashed faster than a tornado.
"I saw your strategy at the exams, you analyzed the situation from above and marked down enemies by never even getting close to them, which was smart, but when you actually had to confront an enemy you broke yourself while trying. I saw how reckless you were with your intelligence, you gave it your all, and then you fell; broken. What were you going to do after that? Wait for someone to save you? You've been doing it this entire time too. You've been going all out to prove a point, but your point is all nonsense if you can't continue it without injuring yourself somehow and falling unconscious!" he aggrieved as he set the example to Izuku.
"Your actions can inconvenience the one's around you, whatever you thought you could do was extremely risky! You have the power to seriously harm an individual, but if you do not understand how to use it adequately then you are useless! NO POTENTIAL AT ALL. Do you hear me, Todoroki?" his glare only intensified before tossing the ball back to Izuku.
"Figure it out, your mindset is too similar to a certain vigilante I know of, she was always taking the dangerous route with that brain of her's even though there were much easier paths to take." he grunted out before walking back to his own position.
Izuku wanted to scream out, he was in too much pain to deal with this nonsense, he was too frustrated with all the situations that ran around him to focus on any point! He couldn't even see the best way to throw, he was way too low on sugar. His other hand was shaking uncontrollably with pain as he tried to think of a situation where he could prove himself to be in this class. Then… an absurd thought filled his head, he knew of a way to get sugar, it would barely work… but he had to give it a shot.
Izuku began to unravel one of the bandages that had wrapped over to hide his numerous scars, a new pair being added on his right from fire burns and his left with ice burns. Unwrapping the left arm exposed nasty red burns and slight purple bruises, but Izuku ignored the stares as he thought his idea through.
"Sugar comes in many forms, but it's excreted from the human body in sweat for the most part, but the thing is, with my bandages my skin hasn't been able to breathe… All the sweat if still there, this is gonna be disgusting… and if I don't get enough sugar from that… well, I guess I can reuse my sugar from my blood." He murmured to himself quickly before bringing his wrist up to his mouth and licking at his wrist, and when he couldn't feel the usual kick of sugar in his system he bit into it softly.
"Crazy kid has no chance."
From what seemed scientifically impossible, Izuku's blood had high levels of sugar in it, but it required more sugar to keep up cognitive functions in his brain and bodily functions. As he bit into his flesh the scarred skin broke open and flowed a steady stream of blood into his mouth, a rush of impact flowing through him.
'This won't work for long… But it will work for now!' Izuku thought out, wiping the blood from his chin before chucking the ball with deadly accuracy. The taste of his own blood showed a shine of vigor in his emerald eyes, shining brighter than any gem in the world.
Aizawa's attention became sharp as Izuku grew a much stronger stance in order to throw the ball. It took him a mere moment to fully comprehend that Izuku had seemingly recovered his strength, and as the ball flew with a deadly force, he couldn't help but grin.
"This kid!"
135.89 m flashed on Aizawa's app.
A/N:
Thank you for all your comments! Leave a review because they give me tingly feelings and smiles :D They make me want to write even more!
- Author Chan.