Chapter 1: Class 1-A's New Student?!
With the school year beginning and the entrance exam to enter U.A. over, the first day of class began, and for the first years of class 1-A, it was something none would forget. Their teacher was one Shota Aizawa, better known as Eraser Head by the public, though he is still rarely spoken of since he prefers to stay out of the media spotlight. It was his hero name, and he was giving his class the chance to do their physical fitness tests, but this time with their Quirks being allowed.
Katsuki Bakugo was the first to step up to the plate and he blew away his previous best by more than ten times. Without his Quirk he'd thrown 67m, with it he'd reached 705.2m, blowing away not only his previous best, but many of his classmates too, for a short time.
Although this had excited the class to begin with, Aizawa was quick to silence them with his apathetic tone. He cared not for their excitement, but for progress and pushed them harder in becoming a hero. After all, they only had an entire three years to get themselves ready to be relied on by society, there wasn't that much pressure.
Still he pushed them, taunted them by revealing that whoever came last overall after completing the eight fitness tests would be expelled from U.A. on their very first day. He did all of this with a smile on his face, even as most of his students protested how unfair it was after all they'd been through to be accepted.
While some of the students rose to the challenge, there were still a few that felt overwhelming pressure to perform. Among them was Izuku Midoriya, the young man who had secretly inherited the powerful Quirk, One For All, from his idol, All Might, the number one hero in the entire world and the Symbol of Peace. His name was known worldwide and struck fear into villains and hope into ordinary everyday people.
As the class began their eight tests, there was a single person, not a student but someone of the same age as all of those in the class doing her own trials. Someone that was brought in late by the request of one of the teachers who had been overseas touring and relaxing before the school year began and she needed to return to teaching.
This teacher was Nemuri Kayama, better known as the 18+ Only Hero: Midnight. On an overseas trip to a small country below Australia, one with a population smaller than New York City, New Zealand had been her choice of location. A nation that was previously only split into two islands named North Island and South Island, with an assortment of smaller islands falling under its influence.
New Zealand much like many other countries was affected by natural disasters and being placed over both the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates, it seemed only a matter of time. It was the sudden movement of these tectonic plates that ruined the nation. It suffered a blow that the country never truly recovered from. Earthquakes and tsunamis, the fissures that were created and filled with water. There were landslides and even volcanic eruptions that caused New Zealand to fall from a prosperous nation, to crippled mess for decades.
People still lived there, on the now shattered land masses that were like huge islands. The residences were a resilient bunch, those that stayed. New Zealand continued to survive and recover, but it never even came close to its former glory. But there in the far northern reaches on one of the islands, Midnight stumbled across the girl who was going through her own trials.
If she did well, she had an opportunity to join the class as an official member, making her the twenty first student, something that hadn't happened in the history of U.A. before. It was a proposition that many of the other teachers disagreed with. But Midnight had spoken up for this young girl, told them all about what she'd seen the girl go through upon their meeting and how she would be a great addition to the school, a great hero in training.
Midnight had seen the girl on the brink of collapse but had also witnessed her resolve in a difficult situation. It was that resolve that convinced Midnight that U.A. needed this girl to be trained, even if they'd already filled their allotted slots for students that year.
There had been many obstacles in the way of getting this young woman to U.A., hell even getting her out of New Zealand had been difficult for more than one reason. Still Midnight had insisted, Present Mic agreed to help her study Japanese on the side, though the girl seemed to know a fair amount already, spurred on by a dream that her parents had told her was impossible. While Present Mic would continue teaching the other students English, Tamie could even help the other students learn what was her native tongue. It would be a difficult time for the young girl, settling in a new country and trying to make friends, not to mention performing well at U.A.
Five teachers that were heavily against her acceptance into the school and were the reasons why she was having to go through the tests. These teachers are Aizawa, Ken Ishiyama better known simply as, Cementoss. Snipe, Ectoplasm, and Sekijiro Kan better known as the Blood Hero: Vlad King. Although these five had different reasons for not wanting to accept her, it was still their fault that the girl was working herself ragged yet again, to prove she had what it took to be a student at the prestigious school.
Not only was she fighting for a spot, but a spot that wasn't there, she was fighting to force the teachers to bend the rules, to allow another student to slip through a crack that wasn't there. It had never been done before, all students were either scouted early or went through the normal channels, but Tamie would be an exception if Midnight got her way.
"Faster! Faster girl! You want to get into U.A. don't you?!" Yelled the one overseeing her tests. Someone who was not a teacher, but someone students could confide in. Ryo Inui, Hound Hero: Hound Dog was his name. The Lifestyle Guidance Counsellor at U.A. was the one barking orders as Tamie continued her struggles even as the other students all went about their tests. Tests that she wished she could participate in to show everyone that she belonged, that she could be a part of class 1-A, even 1-B if they would just allow her in.
Even as she was forced to run a long distance, many laps around an oval within the school grounds, the sounds and cheering always lifted her spirits, and greatly annoyed her. Flashes of light, loud bangs, the sight of things flying up into the air before the entire class disappeared into the gym to finish with sit-ups and seated toe-touches.
"A hero doesn't get distracted! A hero stays focused on the task at hand. What is your task pup!" Ryo barked.
"To make it into U.A.!" Tamie screamed in response, almost perfect Japanese. She'd been getting further tuition ever since Midnight made the offer and with Present Mic spending two hours with her a day several weeks before the school year had even started had helped immensely. Her uncle had taught her a lot of Japanese since he too once dreamed of becoming a hero and entering U.A. With Present Mic's help, her Japanese was mostly just fine tuned, yet a strong accent remained of course.
"Well you better push further!"
"PLUS ULTRA!" Came a third voice, another male voice and one that took both Tamie and Ryo by surprise. The two looked to the owner of the voice, Ryo sighing while Tamie's eyes lit up upon who she laid her eyes on. All Might, his name even known down in her devastated country.
"All Might, what're you doin' here?" Tamie said in plain English, knowing All Might could speak it.
"I've come to check on our potential student, you! Is Ryo treating you fairly, young Miss?" All Might asked as he looked down at the sweat covered girl with that huge grin he always wore. Tamie nodded.
"Yes Sir! He is treating me fair." Her sentence was slow and her accent thick. "I apologise… English is my natural language, I tend to fumble my Japanese when I'm worn out." The frustration was evident on her face and All Might laughed boldly.
"Shall we speak in English then, just the two of us. From what I've heard, you've had to learn Japanese quickly."
"Not really. My uncle taught me lots as I grew up and I spoke it whenever I could. But thanks to Present Mic I've relearned a whole bunch." This time she spoke in full English.
"Ahahaha! Fear not young Miss. We'll have you speaking it fluently in no time!" His smile was infectious and Tamie was soon smiling too, the confidence that All Might had in her wasn't needed, but it still felt amazing to hear that the greatest Hero in the world believed she'd be attending U.A. before long. "I will leave you to it. Ryo, do not push her too hard, if she gets in I want her fresh enough for tomorrow's classes, please." He clapped his hands together after speaking in complete Japanese to his colleague.
Tamie didn't yet know it, but there was to be a vote on her attendance that very evening once the day's classes were out. The teaching council, all staff would be getting together to go over the issue of allowing a potential twenty first student into class 1-A or 1-B. There was one vote that was guaranteed for Tamie though, her sponsor in Midnight, the woman who found and arranged for her to come to Japan for the once in a lifetime opportunity.
Once Tamie's testing was complete, she was allowed to return to her dwellings that weren't even three kilometres from the school gates. She got home and showered, she wanted to sleep or relax but knew that she couldn't yet. Her focus turned to continuing her understanding of the Japanese language yet again so she could better integrate into the school should she be accepted.
She barely stopped, going over tests on the computer and trying to converse with others online, often being made fun of for her lack of communication in the past, but it had been increasing rapidly and some of her more usual online friends congratulated her on it. Still, being made fun of didn't deter her and once the tutor Midnight had arranged and paid for appeared online, so began another two hour long session that saw Tamie's brain grapple less and less as she increased her understanding of the language. She did this as well as Present Mic's lessons for several weeks. Relearn and learn Japanese, train, eat, sleep. That had been her life for well over a month. Now as the day drew near, her Japanese was good, several times better than it had been when she met Midnight. She was now able to have almost full conversations in her second language, so long as she wasn't worn out.
It was dinner time as the council meeting took place in the teacher's lounge of U.A. Nezu the principal had ordered food, enough for everyone and then some. Pizzas, burgers, sushi, salads, soups, wraps, chicken and gravy amongst a whole lot of others.
As all of the U.A. High staff all sat there eating, they discussed amongst themselves, the girl who had been training. They were all aware of how Midnight had found her, the condition of the girl and what she'd been doing, how she'd defied Midnight because she didn't realise who she was. This counted against her for a couple of teachers but mostly for.
Her testing that was overseen by Hound Dog was gone over in detail, none could dispute the fact that this teen had given it her all, spewing on more than one occasion over her several days of trials. To All Might it seemed like the school had pushed too hard, even Recovery Girl, the school nurse felt it was extreme to push her that far, but she had missed the entrance exam after all.
A major issue brought up was her inability to speak Japanese and the impact and disadvantage it would put her in. Something Nezu and All Might spoke out against. All Might with his own experience, Nezu stated that she was doing well. Present Mic was all for her joining after telling them all she had recalled her Japanese almost like a fish takes to water, and after a much longer and in depth discussion, including the fact that she already knew a fair amount of Japanese beforehand, the votes were counted.
The future of Tamie was decided that evening amongst the staff, some of whom got along, others that didn't. But as Nezu counted the votes it was clear. Five against, nine for. Tamie was accepted into the school by a narrow margin. There would be further trials she'd have to face in the coming days. Meeting her classmates was one of them, finding out if they'd accept her since she was a late addition and one that bent the rules was another.
As Tamie entered U.A. on the second day of school, she was taken aside by her sponsor, Midnight. Without a word she fell in behind the teacher, a Pro Hero who had made her fall asleep using her quirk upon their first meeting, something neither would forget.
"Here we go. What are you waiting for, go find something that fits." Midnight smiled as the realisation dawned on the fifteen year old. She'd been accepted and now Midnight was giving her the chance to go and try on the school uniforms. It took a while, an hour she took going back and forth before she settled on sizes for her shirt, skirt, shorts, gym gear and shoes that she'd wear. All of which would change over the three years she'd be spending at U.A. but for the moment everything fit her well and she was told to take a set for every week day so she would come to school fresh and clean.
Next was the books, again she was issued them thanks to Midnight who was putting a lot of effort into the girl she'd arrange to attend U.A.. After all of Tamie's trials and rough living conditions in New Zealand, she had barely opened up about them, and only to Midnight. Midnight was glad she could provide this girl with a positive future. By doing so she was also providing a better future for others by helping to mould a future Pro Hero.
"Got everything?" Midnight asked.
"Bag and books, gym gear is in the front… compartment?" She still had trouble with the larger words. "Of the bag. Writing equipment too." Midnight giggled at Tamie's slow working of big words, but was still proud that the youngster had progressed so far so quickly with her language studies.
"Then how about we get you into class, you should be able to catch your final class with… All Might." The girl's eyes shone brightly and she nodded. "One problem though, you still haven't come up with your Hero costume, you might have to sit out and watch."
She had known about making a costume but was told to focus first on getting accepted. "Watching is fine! I'll prepare my… costume over the weekend… hopefully." With a single nod and the gesture of her hand, Midnight led Tamie to All Might's class, which happened to be at Ground B where one of the trial battles took place.
Both saw a stretcher with robots taking an unconscious boy away. Midnight told Tamie that he'd be fine, that the school nurse would have him on his feet again before school was out. She didn't seem too sure of that herself, having seen a lot of damage during her upbringing. Something like that didn't just go away. But she'd never heard of Recovery Girl, much like she hadn't heard of many of the teachers.
Tamie had missed the first match and the debriefing. The match that saw two childhood friends, rivals going head to head and causing major destruction to the building that their training exercise had taken place in. They stopped before a door, down the street four others dressed in odd attires were walking away, other students that Tamie would soon get to know.
Flashing a smile at the nervous girl, "You ready, Tamie?" Midnight asked. Tamie's hands balled into fists as she nodded.
"Yes Ma'am. I want to meet my classmates." Midnight turned and began walking away, leaving Tamie there to fend for herself, something the teen hadn't been expecting but she wasn't going to turn away now. She'd just been accepted into U.A. If standing before those that would be her classmates was to be too much, if knocking on a door was a wall she couldn't overcome, then she shouldn't have even bothered trying.
Steeling herself while only in her gym outfit, Tamie knocked loudly on the door. From within she heard the talking stop. Nervous and excited, hopeful and resolute, she opened the door as she heard a voice from within telling her to enter. Stepping inside, she revealed herself to the class of 1-A and while the students all stood there in surprise, All Might's smile only grew more prominent.