Disclaimer: This is purely a fan work and I own nothing
"Class, this is the new transfer from Support, Midoriya Izuku. He recently discovered his strength enhancing Quirk to avoid an explosion in the Support Lab." Aizawa explained to the class.
That's my cover story? Lame.
"Combined with his fighting abilities displayed in the Sports Festival, we thought we'd give him a try here. We have a few open desks. Choose whichever."
It wasn't much of a choice; Uraraka was waving frantically and pointing at the empty seat behind her, trying to get his attention and being less than subtle about it. He stifled a laugh; it was good that he at least had friends going into this.
"Too bad it's this nerd and not his girlfriend with the big knockers," Mineta said, not even bothering to mutter his crass remarks. Almost reflexively, he felt One for All surge into his arm, but he took a deep breath and walked past the twerp.
"Aw man," Kirishima groaned, "I wanted to fight against you with those cool spider legs."
That was more the welcome he had been hoping for, and Midoriya couldn't help but smile. "Maybe we can spar some time, I still have them around."
"That's enough of that. Class President Yaoyorozu, fill in Midoriya with what we've been focusing on." Aizawa instructed, zipping up his sleeping bag and falling asleep on the floor.
Midoriya blinked in confusion. He was so used to Power Loader's passion for what he taught that this seemed like a bad joke. Quietly, he turned to a pink-haired...and skinned girl by him and pointed to the yellow sleeping bag behind the desk. "Does he...?"
"All the time!" The girl chirped. "I'm Ashido Mina, by the way, nice to meet you!"
"Oh...thanks, you too!"
The class president walked over and gave him a warm smile. "Greetings to class 1-A, Midoriya! As Class president, I will do whatever you would need to help you catch up to the rest of us!"
He returned her smile and went to answer her when she dropped a stack of books and binders on his desk. "I've prepared numerous copies of my notes and studies on Hero Theory, Quirk Theory," Deku raised his hand to speak up, excited about Quirk Theory, but the president seemed not to see him and continued with her rambling, "the study materials that helped us prepare for our term finals - guess you should be glad you weren't here for the practical - and some notes I picked up from the licensing exam...which...I will be retaking next term."
She seemed to deflate herself with that comment, and Midoriya withdrew his hand. He was surprised to hear this; he knew about her powerful Quirk. And she was class president, surely, she should have had no sweat acing the Provisional Licensing...?
"H-hey Yaoyorozu, don't overload him so much on day one," Uraraka laughed, nervously.
"Yeah, kero, besides, Aizawa wanted you to tell him what we're doing currently," Asui added, putting a little emphasis on the final word.
"R-right," the president replied, straightening herself up. "Right now, we are preparing for the Cultural Festival next month!"
"Oh, neat," Izuku lied. Truth be told, he didn't much care for things like festivals. He used to get chased around them by Kacchan and the neighborhood, bullies, though he was sure things would be different now. Still, it seemed a little lackluster for hero activities.
"Now, I know you're still designing your Hero Costume and need to pick a hero name, but we still would like you to join us at six in our common area to begin preparing our performance! And this will give you a good time to catch up!" The president finished, regaining a bright smile.
She's got a good point, he figured, I'll need to work hard. These guys have had half a year practically to master heroics. Then again...I'm no slouch either.
"Sounds like a plan!" Izuku grinned.
It was something of an interesting change, having normal school work in the morning – though it certainly didn't help Midoriya stay awake as he listened to Present Mic wax poetic about Crime and Punishment. But as it finally hit lunchtime, he was interested to see what Hero Training had in store for him.
Sitting next to Mei, he bit into his sandwich, pondering. "Asui and Uraraka said it's always something different," he mused to himself. "So, I really don't know what to expect."
"And with no Hero Suit, it's just you and your gym clothes." Hatsume laughed. "No babies. You are baby-less, Deku Scrub. Think you can get by without being a human spider for a day?"
Izuku gave her a smirk. "I actually wanted to talk to you about my Hero Suit."
"FINALLY!" She threw her hands into the air as Yukio, sitting not far from them, jumped in shock and spilled hot soup all over his pants. "I was wondering when I'd finally get to make something awesome for you."
Midoriya beamed at her reaction as he rustled through his backpack to find his freshest notebook. "There it is...I go through so many of these...Here we go…this is the design I finished. It includes the gloves I told you about. And, some padding and shock absorbers so I can use more than just 10% of my…Quirk. Man, that's weird to say." Fifteen years, and finally a Quirk...how surreal. "But I was hoping to maybe install something on my back to hold the spider legs. Maybe it'd be smaller since I wouldn't need all the grenades and tasers and grappling hooks and all..."
"That'd be plausible, but it'd have to go on last…" Mei rubbed her chin. "I can get this made this weekend. But you controlled your mecha legs with controls either on your straps or inside your gauntlets. How would you control them?"
"Fair point…we'll to forego them until I can figure out a plausible control mechanism…"
Hatsume snorted with laughter. "You really can't go without them, can you?"
"They're my favorite baby!"
"Parents aren't supposed to have favorites!"
"That's for human babies, not mechanical ones, Mei!"
Another table over, Asui and Uraraka watched the exchange together and laughed. "Think he'll be ready for this afternoon, kero?"
Uraraka shrugged but kept a rather mischievous smile. "It will depend on what Mr. Aizawa has planned."
As the afternoon hit, Mr. Aizawa led class 1-A over to the Warehouse Zone training field.
"This is where Mina and Kaminari failed their exam against the principal, kero," Tsuyu whispered to her friend.
Midoriya nodded and looked up at mess of steel piping and warehouses, inhaling sharply, wondering what on earth was waiting for him in such a crowded place.
Aizawa stopped and turned to his class. "For today, we'll be tuning your response times to crisis situations." He pointed to the top of a metallic tower. "I'm going to be at the top of there, and the starting line will be the entrance. As there are seventeen of us, I'll split you all into four groups – one with an extra competitor – and you'll race to see who can get to me first. We'll do this a few times at different entrance points, and the person with the best time gets to skip cleaning duty after class."
That's some incentive.
As the groups were split up, Midoriya wasn't exactly surprised that he was put in the group with the surplus student; Aizawa wouldn't pass up the chance to give him extra competition to really work his Quirk.
Still, he was up against Sero, Ashido, Oijiro, and Aoyama, what he considered to be some of the more mobile classmates of his, and he was stuck in his gym clothes. I guess I've got my work cut out for me.
He eyed the tower in the distance and the mess of pipes and ductwork before him.
"GO!"
As the students took off running, with no other ideas what to do, Midoriya summoned as much power as he could into his legs without hurting himself and took off running at high speeds. He looked around him and realized immediately Sero or Ashido were the favorites; he was swinging through the urban wasteland with his tape powers, and Ashido was surfing across her own acid above the ground. He swerved quickly to avoid it.
"On your left, monsieur!"
For a split second, Aoyama came zipping past him using his laser, but the laser gave out after a few seconds and he stumbled across the ground, Midoriya leaving him in the dust.
Well that was…something…
He heard a thudding all around him, and he looked up to see Oijiro using his tail to kick off the wall and pipes, in some sort of makeshift parkour to catch up with the two leaders, Sero and Ashido.
Midoriya wasn't trailing them by much, and while his movement speed was good, they were mobile and airborne, allowing them much more mobility. Immediately, his mind began racing to his grappling hooks, or his spider legs or the hover pack.
…but I don't have those right now.
Frustration began pushing his motions more. He missed his gear. He could smoke the others with his gear.
As he approached the tower, he saw some ducts leading to the top, and jumped onto them, climbing towards the top with each hop, but he still couldn't beat Sero or Ashido, and tied with Oijiro as they both landed by Aizawa at the same time. Aoyama was up there with them only a few seconds later.
"Not bad times, all of you. Now take a break, it will be time for race two before you know it."
As they climbed down, Midoriya felt a bit discouraged as the four talked amongst themselves, Sero bragging a bit about how this area was right in his element, though not terribly obnoxiously. But that faded a bit as Oijiro turned to him with a small smile and added, "You were pretty fast for your first bout of Hero Training."
"Yeah, you kept up pretty good for just running!" Sero grinned. "I'm just a master of aerial combat! Don't take it too hard."
The boast brought a competitive smirk to Midoriya's face. "I'm just getting warmed up! Don't you worry about me."
As he watched the next group go, consisting of Tokoyami, Asui, Mineta, and Shouji, he noticed a few things. First, he noticed that Asui and Shouji were doing the best, by using the ducts and pipes to spring forward, making a beeline for the tower. Like Sero, this course was beneficial for those who could maneuver through the air.
Second, Asui and Tokoyami were being very...aggressive towards each other. Are they...are they still dating?
He realized he hadn't seen them together much since he started dating Mei.
Not really time for gossiping and dating and stuff, I got to focus on the next race, he thought as he watched Asui snag a narrow victory, just barely beating Sero's time.
"Ah damn it!" Sero swore.
As the next group prepared, Midoriya beamed at Tsuyu. "Good job, Tsu!"
"Kero," she croaked happily, "you're getting the hang of it, too."
As she walked past, he held up a hand to high five Tokoyami. "Good stuff man, I like how you surround yourself with Dark Shadow."
The bird gave him a light high five back, but said nothing, seeming a bit more brooding than usual. Yeesh. What's that all about?
He watched the class president make short work of Uraraka, Kouda, and Satou, stretched out as the last group went.
Before he knew it, he was at a different entrance at the other side of the training zone, facing the tower with the others. He crouched down into a runner's stance as the others prepared. Let's see how airborne I can get with this...
"GO!"
Midoriya took off running once more, pushing himself to stay ahead of the others, but he could hear the sounds of tape being shot, liquid acid dripping, and the slam of a tail gaining on him. He looked up to see a pipe connecting two buildings above him. He dipped into a crouch and sprang up to it, transferring the energy to his arms as he grabbed the pipe, and vaulted himself forwarded.
He shifted energy back to his legs as he landed on the ledge of a warehouse window and sprang to another pipe, going back and forth as he approached the tower, keeping ahead of his classmates. It's just like using the Boost Boots...
Although not completely the same. As he was nearing the tower, he went to land on some more ductwork, putting energy back into his legs to catch himself, but he must have put too much into it; the duct caved in and Midoriya crashed to the ground, face planting into the dirt.
Asui and Uraraka cringed as they saw the display. Aizawa leaned over the tower. "You okay, Midoriya?"
From the ground, not moving, Midoriya raised a fist with a thumbs up.
Great impression on my first day...
Frustrated and humiliated, Izuku held on to these feelings to fuel him for the very last race. It was a new feeling. An odd feeling.
He held what was arguably the most Powerful Quirk in the world. And yet he was getting thwarted by a stupid race? Where was the kid who got second in the Sports Festival opening race without a Quirk? Was he nothing without tools?
As he watched Asui once again leave her classmates in the dust, he saw that he was not the only one who was damaging the battlefield as pipes and metal were pulled down. Minor collateral damage. Acceptable to save lives.
And then it hit him, a smile crawling across his face.
And finally, it was time for his last race. He stood with the others, Sero and Ashido especially more confident than ever.
"GO!"
They all took off, only this time, Midoriya hung back staying behind Sero as the eager teen zoomed into the sky. As if on cue, Cellophane pulled down a metal pipe as he swung from one structure to the next. Midoriya snatched it out of the air and took off with One for All. Just need to find the perfect spot...
He vaulted himself up a few ducts until he spotted it...two pipes wedged perfectly together. He made a beeline for it, drawing confused looks from Ashido and Oijiro.
Maybe I don't have my babies...
Midoriya shifted One for All into his arms as he dashed for the pipes, making the calculations in his head. Then, he shoved the thin pipe he was using between the two pipes, and used the makeshift lever as a pole vault, using One for All to launch himself through the air.
But I work best using science and tools!
"What the hell?!" Sero shouted as Midoriya soared over him.
It was a rather hard landing; he had to catch himself on all fours, which was difficult as he had never summoned One for All in all four extremities at once, but adrenaline helped him pull it off in a pinch, landing right in front of Aizawa.
Aizawa clicked his stopwatch, and Midoriya could swear he saw a faint smirk on the teacher's face at the feat.
"New best time. Bit of a reckless entrance if this were an actual rescue," Aizawa advised. "If the amount of injured parties were unknown, I wouldn't have done something like that. It would run the risk of further injuries if you landed on someone. In this case, you used your knowledge that this is a test to your advantage. However, part of that is to be blamed on me putting sole incentive on the shortest time, so I'm willing to let that slide. Just bear that in mind for the future."
Midoriya grinned and nodded. "Yes, sensei."
And while that was an important lesson, there was something else he had learned from this whole ordeal, an important realization that he was ecstatic had come to him on the first day of Hero Training and not further down the line.
As he walked off the course, he high-fived Uraraka and Asui. "Smooth moves, kero."
"Thanks!" He laughed, "Sometimes I remember to work smarter, not harder."
"Let's see if I can beat that time," Tsuyu cracked her neck before walking towards the last entrance point, "you gave me a tall order."
"Good luck, Tsu!" Uraraka cheered.
As the frog heroine took off, Izuku whispered to Uraraka, "Hey, I wanted to ask but not sound rude or gossipy or anything…did something happen with her and Tokoyami?"
"Oh, yeah, that," Uravity let out a nervous giggle, "see, after a few weeks it kind of just fizzled out. I think Tokoyami still isn't taking it well."
"Oh…"
She seemed a bit happier about that then one should when talking about a breakup, but Deku decided not to pry into it anymore, and just watch the rest of the exercises, thinking about all the ideas brimming in his head.
Fate wasn't on his side today, as Asui was still able to beat his best time by a fraction of a second as Midoriya finished mopping up the floor. Still, he had managed to endear himself to a few of his classmates – Sero thought his stunt was pretty cool, and he had gotten a pat on the back from Kirishima for his manly stunts, so it wasn't a complete loss.
But finally, as cleaning time ended, he bolted through the halls, heading for the Support Lab – he knew Hatsume would be starting his Hero suit today and he had to tell her about his revelations.
As he was a few feet away though, a rather forceful hand grabbed his shoulder, and spun him around.
Midoriya's heart jumped to his throat as he was met with a rather disapproving gaze from under Power Loader's helmet.
"You."
"Y-yes, sir?" Midoriya stuttered. He knew this was coming, eventually, though he had to admit he had been avoiding Power Loader since being caught a week ago.
Power Loader looked around to make sure no one was listening in, and spoke, lowly, "I'm going to say this once: you were, as I've said, probably one of the sharpest minds I've seen come in and out the Support Program. But…"
His grip tightened momentarily as Midoriya shook. "I did NOT teach you what I did, I did NOT take you under my wing, so you could run around in the middle of the night and undermine what it means to be a Hero."
Tears welled up in the boy's eyes, momentarily. "I'm sorry sir. I appreciate everything you've done for me, I wouldn't be here if not for you and…"
"I don't want to hear it," Power Loader grumbled. "To have taken my teachings, and not only that, that brain power of yours, and use it to go behind my back and behind the law is a betrayal of trust in the highest order. You're in the Hero Course now, so I expect you to act like it. But if I ever catch a whiff of you playing vigilante again, I will haul you in, personally. Are we clear?"
Midoriya nodded. "I'm sorry," he repeated, quietly.
"I'll consider forgiving you when you've shown me you've learned your lesson," the teacher replied, curtly. "Now go tell Hatsume what you want for your suit and get out of here."
Deflated, Midoriya walked into the Support Lab, feeling like gutter scum, and it was clear from Hatsume's face she had heard the whole thing. "What's up, Deku Scrub?"
Eyes darting around so they wouldn't be overheard, he saw she was looking at a copy of the picture he had made of his Hero suit. "I don't have to give up all the gear."
She seemed excited by this, so he elaborated. "Everyone just wants things to lessen the effects or drawbacks of their Quirks…but…I think I can use some of my tools with my Quirk. Including the spider legs."
Hatsume grabbed her tools, beaming. "Tell me what you want, and let's get to work."