I do not own My Hero Academia.
"What is Genius? To aspire to a lofty aim and to will the means to that aim." – Friedrich Nietzsche
Midoriya Inko watched as her son, Izuku, enjoyed the breakfast she had prepared for him. He had a smile of contentment, and that lightened the burden in her heart.
It was of a healthy diet, one which her son had all but demanded from a very young age. Amongst many other things he had requested out of the blue, a balanced meal was not what she had expected.
She sighed as she recalled her earliest memories of Izuku that had shown how very different he was in comparison to other children.
Inko had believed her husband, Hisashi, to have gone mad when she walked in on him and Izuku talking. A full-blown conversation with a toddler merely four days after his three-month milestone. Hisashi, despite his incredulity, had carried on the conversation like a father would with a child a year or two older.
That had been the first sign of his genius.
The second, perhaps the least surprising, was when Izuku learned how to walk at merely seven months old. Half of that time had been spent with the child chattering about various things, or staring into anything and everything around him, as though he was studying to their very atomic structure.
It had unnerved her the first few times, but Hisashi had assured her that Izuku was merely a curious child. A genius, but a child nonetheless, learning about the world around him.
For years, the same cycle had repeated over, and over again. Her son had learnt things that he was expected to learn at a later stage far earlier. Like how to write, or ride a bicycle, or even how to climb a tree.
It wasn't until he was four, however, that she and her husband had received the shock of their lives.
Izuku was quirkless.
That information had made completely no sense to them, but the doctor had reassured them that was the case. He even informed them of a child he had a colleague of his had assessed, one named Intelli Saiko, who had gained her IQ boosting quirk at the age of two. Even then, her quirk had conditions and drawbacks like many others.
Izuku was, simply put, a child genius.
And his smile as the doctor announced his defect had strangely soothed her worries. Her child was still gifted regardless of what others thought.
When other kids had begun to bully him due to being quirkless, her friend's son, Katsuki, had taken to protecting him. They had grown up together, after all, and despite her son's quirkless nature, Katsuki still admired him as much as Izuku did him.
There were days when she wondered if Izuku would become jealous of his best friend for gaining such an outstanding ability, but all her son did was come home and almost gloat about how "Kacchan" had told him that since he was going to become a Hero, he would have Izuku as his sidekick.
That had warmed her heart in ways unimaginable.
So Izuku, despite his superior intellect and ability to learn everything, he had decided to stick with his friend and not be forced to jump several grades, as was expected by his teachers. Katsuki was no slouch either, but she had the right to believe that they both wanted to enjoy their childhood.
At the age of nine, Izuku had requested that he learn how to fight. In his words, " how can I be a decent sidekick if I cant protect myself?" or something along those lines. It made her happy how proactive he was towards the goal he shared with his best friend. So she had signed him up to a nearby dojo.
It was only a year and half later that Izuku had attained a black belt in several of the arts they taught there, easily becoming the star pupil overnight.
His kinaesthetic learning abilities had given him a fair advantage over the pupils who had been studying under the master for years. However, many felt inadequate or insulted at being bested by an eleven year old boy.
Truly, even she felt slightly envious of how he had somehow turned into a master chef in her kitchen.
She found solace in that he still favoured her food.
"Done!" Inko was knocked out of her thoughts. "Thank you for the meal, Mom!"
"Oh. Aren't you a little too excited, Izuku?" Inko asked. "Kids your age would be fretting about right now – I'm sure Katsuki hardly slept last night."
Izuku chuckled as he took his dishes to the sink and began to clean them up, along with the others.
"How can I be nervous when I know that I have your full support?" Izuku smiled, his eyes crinkling upwards. "Plus, I think your meal boosted me again, so I cant help but be excited."
Inko smiled knowingly.
When Izuku had asked for balanced meals, he had claimed that he wanted to grow big and strong – something she believed was tethered to his goal. Somehow, that had been incredible foresight.
Although he wasn't tall, he still stood above the average height of his peers – a solid five-foot-eight. And he was still growing. His body had filled out, and he had a lean but strong figure – one built from rigorous training for speed.
Despite the treatment he had received from some of his peers at the dojo, he had continued to learn more arts under his seniors and masters, begrudgingly earning their respect as a seasoned martial artist.
"Leave those." Inko tugged at his arm. "Otherwise you'll be late for your exam." She smiled.
Izuku relented and rushed to his room to get dressed. Even though he had a few hours before the exam, he had to fetch Katsuki, and they would take a train to the inner parts of the prefecture where U.A. was located.
Also, Katsuki was a terrible morning person, or so Izuku had told her.
Several minutes later, Izuku walked into the lounge carrying a bag which she assumed carried his gear. Noticing something was missing, Izuku offered a smile while waving her off.
"Don't worry, I won't need my supplementary equipment today. After all, they're testing ability, not extracurricular skills." Izuku informed her.
He approached her and kissed her forehead. And rushed towards the door.
"Wish me luck." He waved and immediately exited the room.
"Good luck!" Inko called out.
Over the years, Midoriya Inko had learned that despite being labelled quirkless, her son was something beyond that.
A genius so immeasurable by normal means.
"So what if I couldn't sleep?!" Katsuki grumbled. "Fucking nerd."
He turned and started pacing ahead, intent on filtering out Izuku's laughter.
Personally, he couldn't understand why he had failed to sleep the previous night. If he was any other person, he would have blamed his anxiety. However, knowing his friend, he was bound to believe that haunting him was within the realm of his abilities.
"My bad, Kacchan." Izuku tried stifling his laughter. "I just didn't expect you to get goosebumps like the rest of us."
"Am I not Human?!" Katsuki grinned widely, small explosions going off in his free hand. "Idiot, I'm too damn excited."
"Fair enough." Izuku wiped his eyes, and tapped Katsuki's shoulder.
Katsuki froze for a moment and almost shivered at the sudden invasion. Still, his fatigue seemed to alleviate with the lines underneath his eyes becoming smoother.
"I'll never get used to that." He grumbled.
"You're welcome." Izuku smiled.
Having grown up together, Izuku understood the ins and outs of Bakugo Katsuki's personality. He was a violent ticking time bomb waiting for an opportunity to explode. He did that, often, but it was usually against people who even Izuku thought deserved it.
Except for that one kid in the third class, that was downright cruel.
As they approached the underground train station, Izuku strained his vision into the distance as soon as he heard an explosion, and noticed an altercation between a hero and a villain.
A gigantic villain being tackled to the ground by an equally gigantic Mt. Lady.
"Fucking crooks, it's not even eight AM." Katsuki cursed.
"It's getting worse lately." Izuku frowned.
"You see this?" Katsuki pointed at the ongoing fight, and grinned viciously. "This is why I'm gonna take the top."
Izuku loosened his frown and started walking down the stairs.
" We're not going to take the top if we just stand around." Izuku commented, waiting for Katsuki to follow.
"Yeah, whatever."
Although the wait wasn't long, Izuku could sense the uneasiness amongst the other students participating.
They were seated in an auditorium according to their school names. He was seated next to Katsuki, while many others, he believed, were seated with their classmates too.
However, saying there were many of them was somewhat excessive.
U.A. over the years had boasted an insurmountable number of requests, with students taking mock tests so they could filter the capable from the incapable. Izuku had taken one over the recent weeks – Katsuki too – so he figured they had been thinned out.
About two hundred participants in the auditorium.
"And only a maximum forty can be accepted for the Hero Course?" Izuku muttered.
"Everyone here is gunning for the Hero Course, huh?" Katsuki narrowed his eyes. "It won't be easy."
"I never expected it to be." Izuku shook his head.
He could tell that there were several individuals who could pose a challenge in the exam. He noted one guy, with bi-coloured hair – he is strong. Another, a dark haired girl. She had a certain elegance to her but her gaze held an edge to it.
"That one looks decent enough." Katsuki noted, his gaze focusing on the figure.
Izuku noted the same boy as well, since he somewhat stood out amongst the others. Though dressed in a gakuran uniform, he had a bird-like head and somewhat dark aura around him akin to a shadow.
Izuku raised an eyebrow when it moved.
Before they could carry on with their appraisal, the lights dimmed and the centre of the stage brightened, revealing a blonde haired man dressed in black leather, and orange shades.
"Welcome to today's live performance!" The man cried out, his voice echoing in the nigh-empty auditorium. "Everybody say hey!"
Izuku almost jumped out his seat but a firm grip on his shoulder pulled him down. Katsuki only scoffed at his watery expression, turning back towards Present Mic.
"I won't let this idiot embarrass me today." Katsuki mused internally.
"Tough crowd." Present Mic muttered. "Well, I'm here to present you the guidelines of this practical!"
The man spread his arms wide in a manner of theatrics and the blank screens behind him lit up, showing several diagrams and illustrations.
"Each of you will be separated onto different testing fields where you will go against faux villains in a point system tournament." The screen blinked. "Each group will have a maximum of five minutes in the fields A to H gather points and – please do note this – only the top forty are allowed to pass this round."
The screen blinked again, showing illustrations of miniature robots which seemed to be the said faux villains. Each were sized differently and had a different point number allocated accordingly.
"There is a fourth villain, but that one is a zero-pointer that you have to steer clear off – kind of like that retro game Super Mario Brothers." Present Mic demonstrated. "That's all from me, folks, and with this I offer you the school's motto."
There was a tense silence as the hero watched everyone of them, his shaded eyes studying them.
"The Great Hero: Napoleon Bonaparte once said: True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life." Present Mic smirked and pointed a finger upwards. "Go Beyond, Plus Ultra!"
Katsuki stretched as he surveyed his fellow examinees.
Most of them, he imagined, were fodder that were trying their luck. It didn't surprise in the slightest when he spotted a few who had broken down due to their nerves.
The announcement that only forty would be taken in had forced many to realise their predicaments. Whether it be through taking note of the next person's aura, or being dubious of their own ability – no one else cared.
Japan was a jungle, and U.A. was the beast at the top of the food chain, intent on thinning down any hopefuls.
Katsuki took note of several examinees that he deemed decent. There was a boy with red spiky hair – he's a brawler, he mused. A girl with dark green hair and a vicious grin – another predator. A brown haired boy who was carrying a bag of treats, gulping them down as quickly as he could.
"Go!"
Katsuki grinned viciously. He would show them why he remained on top.
Izuku glanced at the screen and noticed that Field F had already begun their trial. He remembered Katsuki going in that direction, and soon enough, his smile grew as he saw an explosion of smoke begin to obscure the closest camera.
"That guy's fucking crazy!" Someone cried out from behind him.
A few moments later, Present Mic appeared somewhat out of breath. He held an intercom in his hand, but his announcement was hardly more than a whisper.
"Go..." He panted.
Izuku, realising that was the signal to begin, he rushed forward causing those around him to spur into action.
"I said go! What are you waiting for?!" Present Mic cried out suddenly, causing the rest to follow behind their peers.
As Izuku dashed ahead, his eyes flashed around assessing the situation. He immediately took note of two two-pointers coming down the road side-by-side.
Weak points identified.
"Right."
He dashed towards the two machines, with both his hands glowing a bright orange. Striking right underneath its canon, the machine exploded in a shower of metal, while the boy used the reverberations to launch himself to the next.
This one, detecting an oncoming figure, targeted the floating boy who struck out his arm, a bright orange glow causing an explosion to launch and blow the machine.
Izuku released several small explosions from his hands, causing him to fly higher and survey the field better. There were several oncoming machines and he grinned excitedly, spurring into action by exploding towards them. As he approached the five machines, he exploded out of the way, turning sharply into a new street.
While dodging buildings and blowing the occasional stray one or two pointers, Izuku was having the thrill of his life. He'd always wondered how exciting it could be to destroy something so thoroughly. His body was, though enhanced to superhuman levels, could never compare to the utter destruction his friend's emitter quirk could cause.
His musing were interrupted as he dodged and spun around the machine, blowing it to bits from behind.
Before the match, he had figured that if the machines were automated, they would be attracted to the strongest heat signature. So while using Explosion, his body temperature alongside his heated hands would turn him into a prime target. With his speed, and pseudo-flight technique, he was certain that there wouldn't be many who could tail him and sneak on the machines.
Even then, he would have completed his missive.
Glancing ahead, he noticed five more machines hounding down the narrowing path, while behind him, he was certain that the increased number of machines were approaching.
Just as he was about to collide with the other group of machines, Izuku's hands exploded, launching him upwards causing the machines to crash into one another. As he reached his peak, Izuku glanced down and noted that there were fourteen machines, all of which were two and three pointers. Content with the number, he allowed his body to fall.
In the distance, despite all the noise around him, he heard the voices of the other examinees – especially the commentary of the Voice Hero. He vaguely noticed one machine towering over the buildings. The zero-pointer.
"Has this boy lost consciousness mid-air?!" Present Mic cried out.
Izuku grinned viciously, akin to how Katsuki always did when he used this move. Explosions began going off in his hands and he positioned them to his sides. The constant explosions caused his body to spin into a fiery blur that torpedoed down towards the machines.
" Howitzer Impact! " Izuku cried out as crashed into the machines, causing a mass explosion to go off, breaking the sound barrier and shattering the glass from the nearby buildings.
A few moments passed and Izuku pulled himself out of the rubble, pushing aside the large chunks of machinery as though they didn't weigh much.
"Is that how he feels every time he does it?" Izuku laughed out loud. "That was incredible!"
Choosing to leap across the damaged machines, Izuku landed some feet away and assessed his attire – his shirt and pants had been singed during the collision. After patting down his body, he began running again, before he heard a loud buzzer echo in the distance, signalling the end of the test.
"Ah, that sucks." Izuku commented. "Sixty-three points?"
Izuku tallied up his kills as he made way to where a mass of examinees had gathered. He took note of someone being dragged out of the rubble, with a few scratches on his body – the bespectacled boy seemed durable.
"Are you okay?" Izuku asked as he approached the boy.
Beside him, he noted, was a cute brown haired girl who had her fingers touching each other. Next to her, a piece of rubble crashed, and she turned away to abandon her breakfast.
A side-effect of Zero Gravity.
Izuku offered a hand and the bespectacled boy accepted it, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. He noticed the boy's strong looking legs, that had exhaust pipes around the calves, were emitting a smoke and the boy had a slight limp. That didn't stop the expression of gratitude on his face.
"I am. Thank you." The boy nodded stiffly. "My name is Iida Tenya. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Midoriya Izuku." He offered. "As long as you're not injured, that is fine with me."
Izuku then crouched next to the brown haired girl and tapped her back. She looked over her shoulder, cutely, while covering mouth. The green tinge on her hand told him that she was still going through the worst of it, so he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Breathe." He directed her.
The girl took in a deep breath and shivered as she held back her nausea. The flush in her expression lightened and her eyes seemed to gain a bit more life in them. She blinked several times, her surprise apparent and Izuku merely offered her a smile.
"I-It usually takes longer." The girl looked up to him. "Thanks."
"Happy to help." Izuku smiled.
As he left the two examinees, he heard the bespectacled boy, Tenya, thanking the brown haired girl he just healed. It made him happy to know that there were people around that, despite being in an exam, were willing to help others.
"Are you alright, my boy?"
Izuku glanced down and his eyes almost widened. The woman before him, dressed in a lab coat and her signature visor, was one of legends. She was, quite possibly, the best healer of her generation.
"A-ah, yes. I'm not injured, ma'am." Izuku stammered before smiling towards her.
Recovery Girl raised an eyebrow at his reaction. From what she had seen of the boy, he was quite daring. Taking on a horde of faux villains with complete confidence and nearly coming out unscathed – she had been impressed.
She glanced at his hands, and watched as the burn marks faded as though they never existed.
"Very well." She sighed. "Gather around, children. Here's some candy."
Izuku smiled happily as he munched on the sweets he had received from one of his favourite heroes. Recovery Girl was a name known far and wide, and he was delighted to know that she was just as motherly as the world claimed her to be.
But she certainly wasn't a girl anymore.
"You met the old hag too?" Katsuki grumbled.
He was leaning against a wall with a lollipop sticking out of his mouth. Although he was scowling, as usual, Izuku could tell that he was happy. Whether it be from getting a chance to destroy things, or meeting Recovery Girl, he could not tell.
"She's amazing." Izuku offered. "Her quirk too."
"Tch. Of course." Katsuki paused. "So how was it?"
For years, Katsuki had trained his quirk to the max – a trait he gained from being a perfectionist. Often times, they both would dissect and study how best to use or counter certain quirks, and the Howitzer Impact was something Katsuki had come up with.
It was a powerful, explosive force that needed the user to reach the peak of their dexterity and sharpened senses so that it does not go haywire and possibly injure someone else aside of the intended target.
"You're crazy." Izuku scoffed.
Katsuki grinned widely.
"What you mean is that I'm fucking amazing, Deku!" He cackled madly, causing people to stare at him strangely. "What the fuck are you looking at, extras?!"
Izuku sighed and glanced around the room. The top forty examinees were gathered in the training area Gym Gamma. Everyone looked apprehensive, as they had expected to leave immediately after the trial. However, it seemed the academy had more in store for them.
Three figures strolled into the room, catching the attention of several examinees. People began chattering amongst themselves the school's most well-known figures took to the centre stage.
"Uh, hi?"
The chattering stopped and everyone was silent. Perhaps due to their amazement, or the sheer incredulity of a greeting.
"I told you that you should have done it. I'm not good with these things, Nejire." The blond boy muttered dejectedly.
A beautiful fair-skinned girl with periwinkle coloured hair sighed and grabbed the mic from the blond haired boy with bright blue eyes. Behind them was a dark haired boy who seemed content with hiding in their shadow. All three were dressed in the school's uniform.
"Hello, everyone." The girl greeted brightly. "I'm Hadō Nejire, and along with these two behind me – Tōgata Mirio and Amajiki Tamaki – are here to administer the final exam."
Some people scoffed, others laughed, at the thought of being tested by students. A few remained quiet, while the others were at a loss at what to do.
"This year, it has been slated that only a class of twenty will be accepted." Nejire continued unfazed. "As Pro Heroes, and members of the Big Three, we have been designated with the task to pick the best out of the lot of you."
Slowly, the realisation settled in of how high the stakes at U.A. High School had risen over the last two years. It was one thing to be tested by seasoned heroes, but it was another to be tested by the latest entries of the top ten heroes.
The Big Three of U.A. – the literal cream of the crop of Japanese Hero Course students.
Howitzer Impact – A super move which requires the user taking into the air, and then using explosions to propel themselves in a circular motion to create a tornado. The ensuing twisters collects oxygen and momentum to fuel the subsequent explosion akin to a missile.