Arc One

Rise of the Three

Chapter Two

Supported

Quirk assessment was something Ochako had gotten a bit of warning for, though she didn't have too much to worry about. It had been shown many times over that One For All was an amazing quirk to have, with applications in nearly any scenario. Of the eight tests her teacher had laid before her class, she scored in at least the top five for each one. She, at present, stood at the top of her class! She was grateful for this, given the threat of expulsion to whomever came in last.

She had also been rather psyched to see Izuku again, though she hadn't found a chance to talk to him or Katsuki, but she never missed the glares that the fiery blond leveled at her. It seemed he really did want to overtake her. The explosive boy wasn't too far behind her, coming in third, just shy of one of the Recommended students, Shoto Todoroki. She supposed it made sense, Shoto clearly had an extreme degree of power, and was more than familiar with the applications of his quirk. It didn't surprise her. Not much had thus far.

What did surprise her was Izuku's placement. For the boy that saved her life, and destroyed the seemingly invincible Zero Pointer, it was shocking to see him at the bottom. Twentieth.

"DEKU!" Katsuki began shouting, the moment the scores were shown. "YOU IDIOT! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?!"

Izuku flinched under his foster brother's assault, looking to the ground. It was clear he was embarrassed, seeing as Katsuki had drawn a great deal of attention to the two of them. Nearly everyone in the class stared at them. He mumbled something under his breath, something only Katsuki seemed to catch.

"To hell with that! C'mon, go through the tests again, damn you!" He shouted.

"I'm afraid he can't," their teacher, Shota Aizawa, said. "Now, everyone who isn't in last place, go back to the classroom. Wait for me to get back to dismiss you, I'm going to have to hand out the class syllabus," he stopped speaking for a moment, shifting his gaze to Izuku. "Midoriya, you and I are going to take a walk."

The greenette nodded, eyes aimed at the ground. Ochako made to step forward, wanting to comfort him, but froze. What would she say? What could she say? Nothing that would help, certainly.

So, as much as she hated to do it, she turned to head back to class, hoping the best for her new friend. Idly, she noticed the weather had shifted; the once clear blue sky now speckled with gray clouds.

Looks like rain, she thought to herself.

"Man, I feel bad for that Midoriya kid," Kirishima said. "He talked to me a bit between some of the tests, he seemed really nice."

"Yeah, but the weak gotta go," Kaminari said, a smug note to his voice. "Better now than to let him continue and get walloped by a villain."

"It is rather clear who the top tiers are thus far," Ashido added. "Man, Uraraka, Bakugo, Todoroki, you guys are something else!"

Ochako smiled sheepishly, the afternoon sun pouring in through the classroom windows, illuminating the room as they all stood at their desks.

"Thank you, Ashido," Ochako said. "But you guys really shouldn't underestimate Dek- I mean, Midoriya."

"Ah, but you see, he who is in last place is he who is without potential," Mineta said, proud holder of nineteenth place.

"I don't agree that he lacks potential, but he seems to lack drive. He never used his quirk in any of the tests, that doesn't make sense," Yaoyarozu added. "Admittedly, I suspected Mr. Aizawa's threat of expulsion to be empty, a ploy to get us to do our best, but… maybe after seeing someone unwilling to use their quirk, he decided to follow through with it."

"I do not wish to partake in gossip, especially concerning a former classmate, no matter how briefly they were among us," Iida interjected. "But it is worth mentioning that he was the one who destroyed the Zero Pointer during the Practical."

This shut the class up, most having shocked expressions. Even Shoto, who had yet to speak so much as a word, was paying attention now.

"They were the size of buildings, were they not?" He asked, to the surprise of everyone. He was met with several slow nods.

"How did he manage to destroy that when he can't even use his quirk for a test under threat of expulsion?" Kaminari asked, dazed.

"You're all idiots."

Every head in the room turned to the source of the voice. Katsuki had kept himself out of the conversation thus far, but something inside him seemed to have snapped.

"Sorry?" Yaoyarozu said, clearly offended.

"You're all idiots. That little shithead is the most powerful person here. By far."

There was a few moments of silence, before the entire class erupted.

"Hey, you don't have to be such a dick!"

"Wouldn't the most powerful person here be Uraraka, or one of the Recommended?!"

"You mean to say that the person in last place is the strongest?!"

Things continued on like this for a few moments, before one voice overshadowed all the rest.

"SILENCE," Tenya Iida boomed. After the class fell quiet for a second, he continued. "I understand what he said seems… unrealistic, but give him a chance to speak properly, and voice your questions one at a ti-"

"Why did he refuse to use his quirk?" Shoto asked, cutting off the taller boy. He was staring at Katsuki with a certain intensity. "If he really is the strongest, 'by far', why did he not show us for himself? Come to think of it, was he not the one who also made history, being the first to be accepted without any villain points? For one with such power, as you say, why wouldn't he show us, under threat of expulsion?"

Katsuki sneered for a moment, before his face straightened. He broke eye contact with Shoto, staring at his desk for a few moments, mulling over his words.

"Imagine…" He began. "Imagine you lived in a world of cardboard, doused in gasoline. And in this world, ready to ignite at the smallest spark, your quirk is a raging inferno. You practice for years, gaining some control over it, so that you can manage it. You bring your quirk from an inferno to a flicker," his face darkened. "But even after all that work, your world is still cardboard doused in gas. Even after all that effort to gain control, all it takes is one wrong step, one mistake, and…" He looked back up, meeting Shoto's gaze now. "Your world burns away, and with it? Everyone you've ever known."

"...You mean to say that the reason he is so hesitant to use his power is… collateral damage?" Yaoyarozu asked, stunned. "He worried he would harm us?"

"Much more than just us," Katsuki said, grimly. "If I'm being honest, were he to… fully lose control, a lot more than the nineteen of us would be at risk."

A quiet fell over many in the room. One question was at the forefront of most of their minds, however.

"Why did he take down the Zero Pointer?" Iida asked. "I did not see much, but I know he did not physically touch it. Why use his quirk then, when the stakes are arguably lower?"

Katsuki shifted his eyes to Uraraka. "'Cause, the bastard wants to be a hero above all else."

Shota could feel Izuku quiver behind him, nervous about what his teacher would have to say. As they walked, the boy shifted his weight awkwardly, trying not to tremble.

"Relax, kid," Shota said. "You aren't going home."

All at once, the boy gave a sigh of relief, his shoulders visibly relaxing as his walk began to take on a more normal gait. The midday sun watched over their trek as they walked the school grounds.

"Then… what is it you wanted to speak with me about?" Izuku asked. Internally, Shota sighed, knowing this would not be an easy conversation for either of them.

"I want to talk about Hekinan."

He may as well have shot the kid. Izuku stopped dead in his tracks, his breathing hitched, and his eyes widened. Shota recognized the way that the boy was staring at him now, that fear of condemnation. God knows he'd gotten his share of it.

"I-... how do y-you know? T-They weren't allowed to disclose my name in the media," he said, voice small.

"I was there, kid. How much of that day do you remember?" Shota asked.

"Not… not much, really. It's all blurry. I hear screams, cries for… for help. Voices c-calling me a… a m-monster. I don't… I can't forget that. Even if I wanted to. The only thing I remember with total clarity was the day after," Izuku said, not meeting Shota's eyes.

"What happened then?"

"They told me the number," his voice became quieter with every word. Shota went to respond before moisture hit his face. Puzzled, he wiped it off, looking to the sky. What had once been a cloudless, blue expanse for a sky became an endless sea of grey, foreboding storm clouds. Rain had begun to fall.

So, he really does have to keep it under control, he thought to himself. Shota looked back to the child, his eyes turning red as his hair lifted up.

As soon as the teacher activated his quirk, the weather cleared, the open blue sky reforming. Despite this, the boy didn't look up, his eyes squeezed shut, as though he were lost in a nightmare. Shota wondered if he even realized what he'd done.

"Hey," Shota said, grabbing the boy's shoulder. Izuku slowly looked up, meeting his teacher's gaze. "You're okay. Do you know who I am?"

"E-Eraserhead, right? I thought so when I first saw you."

"Then you know what my quirk does?"

"It erases other's quirks, for as long as you can see them."

Shota nodded, somewhat impressed. He was hardly famous, after all. He knelt in front of his student, meeting him at eye level.

"Look, make no mistake; your quirk is nearly unrivaled in terms of wrong power. Losing control, especially after this power has developed… a lot of people could, and probably would, die."

Izuku's jaw tightened. Tears formed in his eyes, though he seemed determined not to let them fall. "Then that settles it, right? I shouldn't… I can't be a hero."

"Tell that to Uraraka."

For just a moment, Izuku's despair seemed to break. Shota realized the boy was paying keen attention now.

"You saved her, while showing a great deal of control over your quirk. Using a powerful wind to stall the robot's advance, and a gentle one to carry the injured away, simultaneously? Not many your age have that level of dexterity with their abilities. Even amongst first years at UA."

"It was a fluke."

"It was an act of heroism," Shota said, his voice becoming more authoritative. "Listen to me, in that moment, what was in your head?"

Izuku thought for a second. "I-I didn't think much, really. I just realized what would happen if I didn't do anything."

"And so you acted, without thinking. You didn't stop to worry about losing control of your quirk, you didn't wonder if you could use it to transport Uraraka to safety without hurting her, you just acted."

Izuku was watching him with rapt attention, hanging on every word his teacher said.

"The fact that you recognize how potentially deadly your quirk can be shows me that you belong here, but today, you let that fear control you. I wanted to talk to you because I need you to know that I was there, in Hekinan. My quirk is what eventually stopped you. And here, at UA, it can again. Practice your quirk, push your limits, and don't worry as much about losing control while you're here. If worst comes to worst, I'll be there to stop you, and beyond that… if you practice enough with it, you won't need me to be there anymore."

Izuku's eyes had brightened significantly, but there still lingered hints of apprehension.

"But… it's done so much harm, already. What if I do more?"

Shota gave the boy a rare sight. The slightest of smiles. "It speaks to your potential as a hero, that you worry so much about it. But, part of the reason you lack control is because you aren't fully used to using your quirk yet. It gets easier, and you aren't in this alone, yeah?"

In Izuku's mind, he saw flashes. His mother, his father, Auntie Mitsuki, Uncle Masaru, his foster brother Katsuki, and… Uraraka too. Now, even his teacher. The boy smiled at Shota, finding his answer.

"Yeah!"