warnings for this chapter: caps lock (only a couple sentences)
Out of all his friends who are training to be heroes, Izuku's the only one pinning all his dreams on one school.
"You know, U.A.'s not the only hero school that exists," Aizawa said, watching Izuku with narrowed eyes as the teenager drizzled water over his head during a break in training.
"I know." Simple. Short. Sweet. What Izuku didn't say was: I know what path to take at U.A., I know I can make it in because I'm smart enough, I know I can make it.
Somehow, all of that made its way into his two-word answer anyways, and he's taking one last quick drink of his water before jogging back to Aizawa.
Everyone else is applying for multiple schools, aiming to gain admission to as many as possible and then pick the best of the lot.
(Izuku hopes at least one or two of them ends up at U.A. with him.)
So, given that, and given his friend group's particular array of quirks, he finds himself in good company as he arrives at U.A.'s General Studies entrance exam. Nakano and Koizumi are both waiting outside the doors for him. Koizumi grins wide and waves, the metal of his finger braces glinting in the sunlight.
"We're all going to kill it on this test!" he says, fist pumping. "Right?"
"Right!" Izuku and Nakano snap back, both well-acquainted with Koizumi's pumped-up personality.
With that said and done, all three turn and walk inside together, joining the flow of middle schoolers heading towards the auditorium, where the exam will be passed out. They had already submitted their personal essays online, so that was at least part of the exam they didn't need to stress over anymore.
By the time 10:00 rolls around, the auditorium is packed with what must be hundreds, if not over a thousand, students. There's a roar of noise as they all chat with each other, and Izuku hunches down, his hands over his ears and wishing he'd thought ahead enough to bring his earplugs.
He's saved, however, by the arrival of Yamada in all his Present Mic-shaped glory, his hair gelled back in true cockatoo style, shining in his all-leather ensemble.
"CAN I GET A YEEEEEAAAAH?"
"YEAH!" Izuku screams back at full volume, one of only a few (and definitely the loudest).
"AW YEAH! YOU'RE THE REAL ONES! NOW, I'M SURE YOU ALL KNOW HOW ENTRANCE EXAMS GO, BUT I NEED TO EXPLAIN THE DIRECTIONS ANYWAYS SO I'LL KEEP THIS SHORT AND SWEET."
As Present Mic explains the exam, assistants (probably General Studies students looking to get some quick money) make their way through the auditorium, passing out the exams 'take one pass 'em down' style. Izuku takes his, passes the rest down, and then focuses back on Present Mic's presentation.
And then, the start command is given.
Nakano is stretching her arms over her head as the three friends walk out of U.A. together.
"Ugh, and I thought the Ketsubutsu and Shiketsu exams were difficult," she says, scrunching her face up and shaking her head. "That was like one of Ms. Isozaki's Hell Days in exam form."
"I didn't find it so bad," Izuku says, and then immediately feels his face heat up as he leans back. "Not to brag! Or make it seem like you should've found it easier!"
"We get it," Koizumi says, putting a hand on Izuku's shoulder and smiling as Izuku turns to look up at him. "Thanks for all the help studying for the math portion, though, that saved my hide!"
"Ah, yeah! Of course! Anytime!" Izuku replies, grinning back at Koizumi. "I'm sure you both passed, though!"
"Thanks." Nakano smiles at him, small and with hidden teeth. Izuku smiles back and bounces on the balls of his feet as he walks, sandwiched, in between his friends. Something flutters in his chest, light and bright, and he recognizes it for what it is: delight. Love, probably. Excitement.
Izuku can't wait to see what the future brings.
(The Izuku of a few years ago could barely even see a future, so overall? He's doing pretty great now.)
The three teenagers take the train together, heading directly to the dojo where their parents, Kazue, and Isozaki are waiting.
Actually, Inko's not the only one waiting for Izuku. Standing next to her is a tall, fair-skinned person with shaggy black hair (not too dissimilar to Aizawa's, in all honesty), and as Izuku comes over, their lips quirk up.
"So? How was the test?" they ask. "As difficult as you were expecting it to be?"
"It was great!" Izuku replies. Honestly, it feels like his face is going to split open with all the smiling he's been doing. "I feel like it went really well!"
"That's great to hear." They reach down to ruffle Izuku's hair, and he leans into the touch, relishing in the rare contact from this particular mentor. See, this is Yonaga Noeru, a retired underground pro, introduced to Izuku via his former classmate Isozaki. Yonaga is also the person who introduced Aizawa to Izuku and maybe, almost definitely, saved his life.
So, Izuku goes home that afternoon with his mom, who convinces Yonaga to come with them for tea, and then talks them into staying for dinner. (He doesn't think it was very hard to talk them into either thing.)
About three or four years before, Isozaki Sami had walked into the dojo, a tall person with long, dark hair and a prominent limp following her. She walked over to where an eleven-year-old Midoriya was practicing forms and said, "there's someone you should meet". That day, she introduced newly retired Yonaga Noeru to an eleven-year-old she wasn't quite sure how to help, maybe saving both their lives in the process.
Izuku spends the week waiting for his results with his friends and teachers. Mashirao, Aomi, and Ichihei are also waiting for their results from the Hero Course exams, so the six can all angst over the wait time together.
The three who tried out for the Hero Course are also not reserved to share their stories from it.
"So, for the practical exam, you had to destroy these robots, and you got points based on how many of which kind you destroyed," Aomi says. She then presses her hands together, like a prayer, and looks up to the sky, relief written all over her face. "I was so, so lucky there was a fake canal in my exam center!"
"Lucky," Ichihei mutters, shaking their head. A couple leaves come loose, drifting to the ground. "I was stuck in the same exam center as this guy with explosion hands, and I could barely do anything because everything was on fire." Izuku cringes at the mention of Bakugou. Maybe there was some other guy with explosion hands, but for some reason, he really doubted that.
"Ooh," Aomi winces. "Wish you'd been with me. I would've put out all those fires, and then doused splodey-hands for good measure!"
"I'm pretty sure they'd take points off, or fail you, for sabotaging fellow examinees," Mashirao counters. He leans back on his tail, letting it hold him up. "Oh! Did we mention the zero-pointers yet?"
"Zero-pointers?" Izuku asks, leaning in. Nakano and Koizumi both do as well.
"So, during the instructions, Present Mic told us that we should just avoid the zero-point robots, since they're worth zero points, without bothering to mention the fact that they're as tall as a ten-story building!" Aomi says, gesturing wide with her hands when she gets to the part about their size.
"I am," Koizumi says, "so glad I didn't take the Hero Course exams." Meanwhile, Izuku chuckles, because that sounds like something that Present Mic would definitely do without any sort of prompting.
"Stop laughing at our misfortune!" Aomi says, smacking Izuku's arm. Except she's laughing, and the smack is gentle, and Izuku laughs harder.
Izuku's mother takes her fake-older-sister duties seriously. Maybe it's just an excuse to get to know the people who are going to be teaching Izuku better, maybe it's because she seriously cares for Aizawa and Yamada, and maybe it's just because she likes having people around, sitting at her table and talking and enjoying life.
Anyways, ever since establishing the Aizawa-is-Izuku's-Uncle cover, she's instituted a weekly dinner-and-game night with Aizawa and Yamada and, occasionally, their friends (most notably Kayama Nemuri, Iida Tensei, and Fukukado Emi).
That week, it was Kayama and Iida tagging along.
"Hey, I heard that yeah in the auditorium," Kayama says as she walks past Izuku. "Good job. Mic needs constant validation, or his hair will wilt."
"Nemuri!" Yamada's protest is, naturally, louder than Iida's laughter and Izuku's snort. (He maybe hears Aizawa, also, snort, really quietly but even if he didn't, he's definitely amused.)
"Well, try this for constant validation," Izuku says, "my friends who took the Hero Course exams were telling me about them, and they told me about the zero-pointers and the way you completely undersold them. That was great! I'm so glad it wasn't me."
"Aww!" Yamada grins. "Honestly, underselling the Biggest of the Big Bads is part of the exam, but I'm still glad it amused you!"
Soon enough, the six of them are seated around the table together, eating. Conversation is light, with the adults avoiding work talk as much as possible and Izuku avoiding school talk. Instead, he talks about his friends at the dojo, the people he chats with on the hero forums (and occasionally some interesting theories and analyses he finds there), really, anything but school.
Kayama's actually the first one to bring up work that night, as Izuku and Iida work together to clear the table.
"Okay," she says, leaning forward and smacking her hands down on the table, far apart from each other. "What I'm about to say cannot leave this room."
Aizawa groans. "Nemuri."
"I. Must. Gossip," she says, glancing back at him before returning her attention to the group. "This goes for you, too, Tensei, although everyone's going to find out anyways as soon as acceptance letters go out."
"Nemuri." Aizawa again, looking at Kayama, who glances over at her. A warning, a cautioning, passes unspoken between them.
"Don't worry, Shouta, I understand what's acceptable and unacceptable gossip. Anyways," she turns back to the group. "Get this: All Might is teaching at U.A. this year."
Everyone's heads snap towards Izuku at the weird noise he makes, and then he seems to move with superhuman speed (fanboy speed!) to slap his hands down on the table and lean across it to face down Kayama.
"You. Are. Fucking. With me," he says.
"I," she says, "am not. He's been coming to our meetings."
Izuku remains star-struck for a few moments before he frowns, a little crease appearing between his eyebrows. "Okay but. He has no teaching experience? He's only had, like, one sidekick, ever, and honestly, Sir Nighteye was more of an equal partner than someone who needed to be mentored…"
"I know!" Kayama says, looking up and making an exasperated gesture with her hands while Aizawa groans and nods.
"He's going to be terrible, I can just feel it," he says.
"Hey, have a little faith!" Yamada counters, leaning over to drape an arm across Aizawa's shoulders. "I'm sure he'll figure it out!" Aizawa mutters something in response that sounds a lot like "he better figure it out quick before I expel him".
The three teachers continue riffing off each other, but Izuku can't help noticing the serious look that crosses his mother's face. That's something that goes in the "deal with later" category, though, especially as her expression lightens up after a few moments.
From there, things progress into the games part of the night, before it's time for the teachers (and Tensei) to go, leaving Izuku and his mother with the apartment to themselves.
His mother, however, doesn't bring up whatever concerned her during dinner, instead bidding him goodnight with a warm smile that would, theoretically, fool anyone who wasn't her son.
He didn't push it, though, wishing her goodnight as well before heading to his room.
On Friday, Izuku comes home from training a little later than usual. He yells a quick greeting to his mom, hurrying to his room to drop his bag off and then, maybe, take a shower before dinner.
That plan, however, is waylaid when he sees the letter sitting on his desk, face-up with his name and address and the shiny U.A. seal. He pauses for a moment by his bed, barely even breathing, before taking slow steps towards his desk and the letter.
And then, he couldn't wait anymore, crossing the remaining distance to his desk in a couple strides and, in a few quick movements, ripping open the envelope. There's a paper letter and a holovideo disc—he starts with the holovideo, setting the disc on his desk and pressing 'play'.
He's greeted, instantly, by a holographic visage of Kayama. She was filmed from the shoulders up in her hero costume, and Izuku barely suppresses the reflex to wave back at her prerecorded greeting.
"Hello! It's no use beating around the bush with you: you're in! You've been accepted into General Studies. The hard copy letters have all the additional information, and you can," here she winks, "send in any questions you have. I've also been told to give you the Principal's personal congratulations: you scored first on the written exam, out of everyone who took it this year! So, again, congratulations, and we look forward to hearing back from you."
The holovideo ends, and Izuku can't hold it in anymore: he throws his hands in the air and starts crying. He takes a moment to bask in the accomplishment before picking up the hard copy and running into the kitchen where his mom's finishing up dinner. He doesn't say anything, just hands it to her wordlessly, and waits as she reads it. After a couple moments, she, too, is crying, and she sets the letter down to throw her arms around him, and they hold each other, both crying too hard to really talk.
Finally, some semblance of words come back to them, and his mom reaches up to hold his face, gently, as she looks at him with such pride and love in her expression.
"I am so proud of you," she says. "I knew you could do it. You're going to do amazing things there."
He can't help it: he starts crying again, and leans forward to hug her again.
They're generally a bit more composed as they eat dinner, but he can still feel the thrum of ecstatic energy underneath his skin, and he breaks the "no phones out at the table" rule, and she lets him, because he can't not text his friends about this, and he's just too frenzied at the moment, his thoughts all over the place like marbles.
So, he texts the group chat that he's in with his fellow hero hopefuls.
heroes or bust!
me
sent: 18:24
U.A. letters came today! Has everyone opened theirs yet?
Roka Aomi
Received: 18:24
i can't! i haven't been able to yet! what if i didn't make it?
Koizumi Hiraku
Received: 18:24
Of course you made it! What sort of dum-dum's would they have to be to turn YOU down?
Roka Aomi
Received: 18:24
you right you right! okay i'm opening it now
Shibayama Ichihei
Received: 18:25
I made it in :) but I think I'll be going to Ketsubutsu. I had a meeting with a teacher there and we really clicked :)
me
Sent: 18:25
! Was it Ms. Joke?
Shibayama Ichihei
Received: 18:25
No! But I'm sure I'll get to learn from her at some point while I'm there, too! What about everyone else? Did you make it, Izuku?
Koizumi Hiraku
Received: 18:25
I'm sure he did lol
Bet he even got the highest score on the exam too
me
Sent: 18:26
…..
I wasn't going to say anything….
BUT I MADE IT AND I SCORED HIGHEST
Roka Aomi
Received: 18:26
fuck yeah! that's our boy! i made it too! hero studies, class 1-B! i placed 27th overall in the composite rankings
Koizumi Hiraku
Received: 18:26
Yeah yeah yeah! I made it into the General Studies, too, but I'm still thinking about which school I really want to go to. Ojiro, Nakano, you've both been really quiet, did you make it?
Shibayama Ichihei
Received: 18:26
I think Ojiro's having dinner right now
me
Sent: 18:27
That sounds about right to me
Koizumi Hiraku
Received: 18:27
Okay but Nakano?
Nakano Wakana
Received: 18:27
:)
Koizumi Hiraku
Received: 18:27
! Awesome! That's great!
me
Sent: 18:27
YEAH! Congrats that's great!
Roka Aomi
Received: 18:27
fuck yeha!
*yeau
*yeah dammit
Shibayama Ichihei
Received: 18:27
That's so good to hear! Are you confirming with U.A. or attending elsewhere?
Nakano Wakana
Received: 18:28
U.A. :)
I'll have tough competition with Izuku but it'll be worth it. I was placed into 1-C.
me
Sent: 18:28
Hey, me too! Besides, rumor has it the 1-A teacher this year is a hardass :) he's infamous for expelling students so I'm sure there'll be room for us both at some point!
Roka Aomi
Received: 18:29
you wouldn't happen to have any insider information about that would you….
me
Sent: 18:29
Once he expelled an entire class :)
Roka Aomi
Received: 18:29
…i'm terrified and i'm not even in 1-A
me
Sent: 18:29
Don't worry, he's also known for expelling other teacher's students :)
Roka Aomi
Received: 18:29
THAT'S WORSE
Conversation petered out in the group chat until Mashirao texted in with the confirmation that he had been accepted, and into Class 1-A no less. Izuku sent his congratulations and then set his phone down.
"How did everyone do?" his mother asks.
"Everyone was accepted," Izuku replied, grinning and shaking his hands as a warm, fizzy feeling bubbled up from within his chest. "Mashirao and Aomi were both accepted into the Hero Course, and are going to confirm with U.A. Ichihei was accepted, but they're planning on confirming with Ketsubutsu, and Nakano and Koizumi were both accepted into General Studies with me. Koizumi's still trying to decide, but Nakano and I are going to be in the same class!"
"That's great to hear," his mother replies, smiling. "I'm glad that you'll be at U.A. with friends."
"Thanks," Izuku replies, smiling and wiggling in his seat. He might have to go for a run after dinner to get rid of all this excitement before he could actually sleep.
Or, well, maybe he won't have to, considering the way his mother's face goes dark. It's Serious Talk time, and Izuku settles down (although he can't stop his leg from bouncing).
"Now," his mother begins, "I don't want to… overshadow your acceptance, or downplay it, or anything. It's amazing, and I'm so proud of you. But, I think we do need to have a serious conversation about what it means."
"I know," Izuku says. "It could be dangerous, I know. It's not like I can plan to win the Sports Festival without getting noticed."
"I know you know this," his mother agrees, nodding. "However, that's not exactly what I'm getting at. You're starting at U.A. soon, taking your first steps into the public eye, and I don't want you going in blind. You are… more than aware of your father's identity, and the part that I played within his organization."
Izuku squirms as he nods. Just because he knows what his mother did doesn't mean he likes thinking about it.
"I held your father's confidence," his mother says, looking away, chewing at her bottom lip as she thinks. "Now, I was never his equal, but he told me things he didn't speak a word of to anyone else. And one of those things he told me about was his brother."
Izuku blinks. Now this is new.
"Your father is one side of the coin. His brother, and his brother's successors, are the other…"
thanks for reading! i hope you enjoyed! i wasn't expecting the OCs to become so prominent, but they were like "we're Izuku's friends" and also i love them
(Mamadoriya knows things...)
a note: while i'm adding non-binary characters, i will not be using neopronouns for any, considering i don't know any Japanese neopronouns and i don't want to use English neopronouns for Japanese characters.
also a big thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! i appreciate the words of encouragement :)
(x-posted on ao3, username: orkestrations)