Chapter 12: Starting Line!


Izuku was sitting in the entryway of his home trying to get his shoes tied. He wanted to be early to the first class of his Hero career. Well, not that it was a 'career' career, you know? He just wanted to help others and be certified but if it was about the amount of money he would get, he didn't really even think about it.

He hoped he would have enough money to buy his mom a new coat or maybe he could donate it to the Humanitarian place his mom showed him. That'd probably make her happy.

The boy had spent so long training and thinking he would be worthless as a Hero; he didn't even know what he was really even aiming for… But now that he had successfully used One for All, Izuku was curious as to what his future would hold.

What kind of Hero did he want to be? What should he specialize in? Should he specialize in anything at all? What if he wasn't good enough as a regular Hero and they demoted him down to some kind of Support Hero?

Not that there was anything wrong with that! He was just hoping that he could be…

Izuku felt a small glimmer of hope, but even now he didn't dare dream of it. What he wanted, what he had always wanted, was to be a Hero like All-Might. A person who could make people feel safe and save others with a smile on his face. He hoped anyways…

"Izuku, you're mumbling again…" His mother said, smiling behind him. "Do you have everything? You didn't pack your bag full of action figures again did you?"

"Mom…" Izuku groaned. His mother would never let him live that time down. "That was when I was ten and- I just…"

Seeing that she had made her boy suitably flustered she opened her arms in an expectant way. Izuku got up and obliged her a hug. His mother squeezed him almost uncomfortably tight and then… she slowly let him go.

"Don't forget I love you son." She said tearing up. "Keep your chin up, make sure you do your best, and have fun sweetheart…"

Seeing his mother like this brought a tear to his own eye. She had been so supportive of him lately and he really appreciated it. Over the last couple years, he had felt distanced from his folks. He knew that his Mom cared about him just… it was complicated.

He really didn't want her to worry but he sometimes wished that his Mom would find out about him being bullied and help him fix it. But he couldn't do that now of course… but it had left him distant in the past because of how he was trying to hide it.

"Love you too, Mom." Izuku said. "I'm gonna be late again if I don't get moving but I just wanted you to know I'm really grateful for… you know, supporting me the last few days. I couldn't have done all this without you."

"Thank you son!" His mother said smiling brightly but then began to fidget. "Oh! Um… I know that this is kind of awkward but um… I kind of told your father that you passed."

Izuku's face fell, ready for whatever his father bothered to say to him.

"He got you this." His mother said, revealing a package. "His company, Detnerat, makes clothing for those who have… unique physiology. I made sure to give him the right size, and oh! I hope you like the color!"

Izuku pulled from the package what looked to be a wetsuit. It was green with black and grey accents and a red belt with plenty of pouches for supplies. Had this really come from his father? Like, Izuku knew he cared somehow but this felt… like an apology… He didn't know how to feel about it.

"He said that it's made of something called Memory Fiber." His mother said as he examined it. "It has special properties and should repair itself if you happen to rip it. Just press the sides of the rip together and it should go right back together. And um… the belt I bought so you could carry things as I know what it's like when your clothes don't have pockets."

Izuku stared at the present. He was far from forgiving his father for the disrespect shown to his mother and for basically abandoning him over the years, but… He was willing to give the man a chance to try and repair their relationship. They probably would never be super close, but it was a start… His father was trying to tell him that he supported his ambitions. At least a little bit anyway.

"Tell him 'Thanks' for me…" Izuku said, surprising his mother. "This must've cost him quite a bit. So it's only right to tell him thanks, right?"

"Alright, I will!" His mother said before glancing at the clock in the entryway. "Oh! Sweetie I love you but you're going to be late-! You don't want to be late on your first day!"

"Ah! Um-! Okay, I'll be going!" Izuku said taking the package with him. "Thank you!"

His mother smiled; her eyes still moist as she watched her son run out the door to catch his train.


Izuku was running- well okay, speed walking, down the hallways because it was probably against the rules to run down the halls. It was a really expensive and high tech looking place. Even more than what he had seen from the Entrance Exam. His class was 1-A… but everywhere he looked he couldn't seem to find-!

Izuku rammed into someone full force, causing them to spill their new school stuff all over the floor.

"I am so sorry!" Izuku said but when he looked up he saw… The person he bumped into looked really kinda scary. He had a pinkish, rocky looking head and he could see the boy's teeth through his strange lips.

To his surprise, however, the boy seemed almost… timid… He was moving his hands in a way that Izuku recognized as Japanese Sign Language. Izuku didn't know how to speak or understand what the boy was saying, but he got the general gist of it through the boy's rather expressive body language.

'I'm so sorry!' The boy said back through hand waves and other ques. 'Are you okay?!'

"I'm fine! Are you okay? Oh- I sorry! Let me help you with that!" Izuku said and helped the boy pick up his school supplies.

The boy waved his hands like he was saying: 'Oh! You don't have to help me with that! I got it! Oh- it looks like you already picked it all up… Um! Thank you! I'm-'

Izuku watched as the boy grabbed a pencil and paper to write out what he wanted to say. Then handed the notebook to him.

'Thanks for helping me. My name is Koji Koda. You can just call me Koda though. I am lost trying to find Class 1-A. Do you happen to know where I might find it? I have been looking around for a while.' Koda wrote. Izuku frowned but took the notebook back to write back to him.

'I am Izuku Midoriya! Nice to meet you Koda! I am afraid that I don't know where the class is but I'm sure that if we ask someone then-' Izuku paused thinking about how hard it must be for Koda to ask for directions. He seemed really shy and if he couldn't speak normally…

Izuku rewrote the last part. 'I'm sure someone will tell us if we ask. Let's go together! I'll do the asking. Is that's okay with you?'

Koda's face washed over with relief but then looked down like he was ashamed. Izuku frowned but then wrote.

'I'm a little nervous as well, so I get where you're coming from. Maybe if we do it together, then we can both get there on time.' Izuku wrote and then held it up for Koda to read. He seemed to mull over it before screwing up his eyes and nodding.

"It's going to be okay." Izuku said beginning to walk with the taller boy.

He was huge… Maybe six one or six two in height, with huge bulky muscles. But after spending so long with Simon and All-Might, Izuku wasn't intimidated or anything. In fact, compared to Simon or All-Might, Koda was… almost cuddly. It was weird to think about, but All-Might could be pretty intimidating and intense. Same with Simon actually…

They walked up together to the next class that they came across, Class 1-B. The door was open and inside they saw some really amazing looking people. It looked like a few of them had some really cool Quirks! A really pretty orange haired girl popped up and came to talk to them. Both boys froze as a blush formed on their cheeks.

"Hi! I'm Kendo, you here for class?" Kendo asked. Izuku tried not to worry, but he began to stammer.

"Um-! Yes! I mean-! No! But um… We were just hoping for directions to our class, we're a little lost!" Izuku said. Koda nodded vigorously behind him.

"Oh!" Kendo said. "What class are you guys in?"

"Um… We're in 1-A… Do you know where we can find the class?" Izuku asked and he swore he could feel the temperature in the room drop.

"He here to mess with us?" Someone who looked like a praying mantis said.

"What if he really needs help?" A girl with vines for hair said.

"You know what I think?" A blonde boy said getting up. "I think it's kinda pitiful, don't you? Class 1-A is supposed to be the precipice of this school , the best of the best, right? So much for the crowning jewel of UA!"

There was muttering through out the class, but nobody bothered to correct the blonde. Izuku grit his teeth and could literally feel Koda trembling behind him. This whole situation was a little too familiar to him, and it caused him to tremble both in fear and something that he never thought he'd feel in this kind of situation… anger.

"Koda, let's go." Izuku said, bottling up his anger and trying to smile. "If they are too busy to give us directions then we can just ask someone else."

"So! Looks like Class 1-A is full of nothing, but cowards that run away from a fight-!" The blonde began. Izuku let go of a breath a kept walking. "Hey! Don't run away while I'm berating you! See this is the sort of shit we'll have to deal with from them! Always looking down on us and-!"

Finally, Izuku turned, the words falling out of his mouth.

"No." Izuku said. "We aren't. I'm not here to start a fight or to argue. If you don't know where we are supposed to go, we'll find someone who does." Izuku bowed. "Thank you for your time."

"Don't just walk away!" The blonde shouted.

"Silence!" a new voice said.

Both Izuku and Koda turned and nearly ran into a man even taller than Koda. Izuku, however, immediately recognized him.

"No way! You're Vlad King!" Izuku said, beginning to fan boy. "It's an honor!"

Vlad frowned, not used to being greeted this way. "Um… I see. Are you two part of my class?"

"No, sir! We were trying to find Class 1-A!" Izuku said with excitement. "You're one of my favorite Heroes for being a role model for those with Blood Quirks and-!"

"Down the hall and to the right, follow past the first bathroom, and it should be on your first left!" Vlad said, interrupted. "Good luck!"

"Thank you sir! We'll be on our way!" Izuku said and bowed along with Koda.

"See how much of suck ups they are-!?" The blonde said before Vlad shot out some blood from his gauntlet and without looking pinned the boy against the wall. "Hey… what the…"

"You are being disruptive!" Vlad said. "Shut yer trap! Now, let's go over some stuff you need to know-"

Izuku and Koda didn't hear the rest as they walked down the hallway.


The two walked, one starstruck and the other out of nervous habit.

"Did you see that! Vlad King is teaching Class 1-B? I am so jealous! They have a really good teacher, you know!" Izuku gushed. "His Quirk is something called Blood Control and while it's kinda gross like my Quirk, it's like, a bazillion times more cool! He can trap people and make all kinds of cool effects with it! He can survive with only one percent of his blood in his body! It's too bad it gives him really bad anemia… Oh! I'm sorry! I tend ramble when talking about Heroes!"

Koda made some vague hand motions and looked back at Class 1-B. Izuku didn't understand Japanese Sign Language, but he did understand Anxiety.

"Oh, you're worried about what happened back there." Koda nodded.

"I don't really know what comes over me sometimes." Izuku said. "It's just- sometimes I just get mad or scared and I mutter a lot so sometimes stuff kinda slips out sometime… "

Koda made a worried face. Izuku winced.

"Yeah… I'm glad I kept my head. Probably wouldn't do to start a fight on the first day of school, but boy did that guy deserve a punch to the nose." Izuku muttered. "Sorry if I made you nervous…"

Koda waved his hands.

"You don't have to apologize for asking for help! I would have helped no matter what! Everyone gets nervous and anxious at times, and the first day of school can be a little… scary." Izuku admitted but then smiled. "I think we're almost there! The numbers are lessening so that means we are nearly there!"

"Strike one…" a voice said from behind them.

Izuku and Koda froze and found themselves looking at… a very large yellow caterpillar! It had the face of a hobo and-! Wait- was that a person!?

"If you continue to be late, you will be dropped from the class and sent home in disgrace." The hobo man said, shedding his yellow caterpillar looking sleeping bag. "Come on, we have to get to class…"

"Um… sir?" Izuku asked. The man paused. "Sorry, sir. I assume you are the teacher… But um… aren't we not late if the teacher isn't in the room?"

"Strike two…" The man intoned; his voice sounded like a nail being hammered in a coffin. Izuku gulped. "Technically, you are correct, that's why I didn't expel you on the spot… Now, come on."

They followed the formerly yellow caterpillar hobo man through the sliding door. Izuku just hoped Katsuki wasn't in the same class as-

"I keep telling you to get your feet of the desk! How can you disrespect such a fine establishment as UA!? Don't you care that the previous, even the future, generations of Heroes have used or will use that desk!?" That glasses kid from the entrance exam said.

"And I told you that you have a massive stick shoved your ass! If you want my feet off the desk come here and do it yourself!" Katsuki said with a feral grin. "Fair warning though, I might decide to rip you a new one, so you better find another stick to shove up into the new hole I'll make!"

"How rude! How can you threaten me, a fellow student-!" The glasses kid said pausing as he saw the magic, formerly yellow, caterpillar hobo man walked into the door. "Sir! Good morning!"

"… Strike one to both of you." The man said, and to Izuku's surprise he saw Katsuki move his feet. Right! This guy must be some kind of Pro Hero is he is in a place like UA, even if he did look like a hobo… "My name is Shota Aizawa. I'll be your home room teacher… Put these on and meet me in the track and field area in twenty minutes. Time is money, so don't be late."

The man pulled what looked like a gym uniform for UA out of… somewhere and tossed it at Izuku… The boy frowned. Where did the teacher get that from? Either way Izuku left with the other boys to let the girls change. To his surprise he saw a familiar face.

"How's it going?" Mineta asked, approaching them. "You got in fifth place…. Not bad."

"Whoa, Mineta! You got in? That's great!" Izuku said smiling. It was good to see a friendly face around… well besides Katsuki anyways. Izuku glanced ahead of the boy and saw the blonde chatting it up with- Wait! "No way! That guy has a Crimson Riot haircut! That's so cool! He even got the color right!"

Mineta frowned. "Bro… chill. You are going to be literally surrounded by superheroes and wannabes. You gotta stay cool."

Izuku and Koda, who was still hanging around Izuku for some reason, stared at the smaller boy. "How do you do that?"

Mineta puffed out his chest. "Watch and learn!"

The smaller boy strode up to a boy with a black lightning bolt design in his hair. Izuku and Koda watched with great interest. Maybe if they paid attention they could look cool and confident, and make lots of friends too!


"Hey man, what's up?" Minoru asked the yellow haired kid, and the black haired guy with his sleeves rolled up. "My name is Mineta, what's yours?"

"Oh, hey man! Kaminari here! And this guy is Sero!" Kaminari said with a grin. "Dude this is like, intense already! What do you think we're gonna do in the track and field area?"

"I dunno man, but it sounds like we're gonna be doing something physical since we're putting on our gym uniforms." Mineta said with a shrug.

"Aw man! What if we get to do some Hero work right off the bat?!" Sero said excitedly before he looked around and saw Izuku talking with Koda and Ida. "Hey, I think I recognize that kid! He took down the Zero-Pointer!"

"Huh? What's so special about that?" Kaminari asked. Sero looked confused.

"You don't know? The Zero-Pointer was massive!" Sero said. Kaminari raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know what you're talking about, it wasn't much bigger than the Three-Pointers…" Kaminari said. Sero waved his hands.

"No way man! That thing was towering over the buildings in my area!" Sero said and then pointed at Izuku. "And that guy literally jumped in and stopped it dead in its tracks and toppled it over! It was insane!"

Kaminari gulped. "Holy shit dude… Wait, wasn't he the guy that got fifth place just with rescue points? You sure it's him? Thought he'd look more, I dunno, badass or something…"

Mineta just listened using his size to allow him to be ignored by the conversation and grab the information available. Inwardly, the boy grinned. He had cut back on his pervish ways, but he still wanted to be seen as someone cool, even if it was by proxy.

"You mean you don't know?" Mineta asked innocently. "That guy is way more experienced than he lets on. From what I've found out he has already taken down two really powerful villains… but it's just a rumor so you probably don't want to hear about that…"

Sero and Kaminari looked at each other and leaned in.

"So… like, what have you heard?" Sero asked.

Mineta smiled.