MHA: The Black Bull

by Vizard Masky

Asta Kurosaki was said to be Quirkless like his friend, Izuku Midoriya, but that didn't stop him from trying to be the first Quirkless Hero. But once the two enter U.A., Everyone, including Asta himself, will learn that he *does* have a Quirk; a power that's equally as powerful, but just as mysterious as One for All. Izuku x Ochaco and Asta x harem.

4. The First Day of UA

Before we begin…

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

"Flashback quotes. Speech from a communicator/intercom."

When we last left off, Asta Kurosaki has passed the U.A. entrance exam with eighty-seven points, as did Izuku Midoriya with sixty points. How will their first day of this Hero school go? Find out now.

---

Izuku is currently running his way towards the Takoba Municipal Beach Park. After he opened his acceptance letter, revealing that he's passed the entrance exam with sixty Rescue points, his mentor contacted him to show up there.

It took him a few minutes, but the green-haired boy finally made it to his destination. And near the waters of the beach, he found the one man who gifted him the One For All Quirk.

"All Might!"

The blonde man of skin and bones spews out blood from his teeth when Izuku shouted his Hero name very loudly.

"Who… Who's that?!" the Hero feigns confusion since he knows that there are a few people out at the beach at night, too.

"Really?!" A man with his girlfriend calls out to the boy. While All Might called it, it didn't stop him from shaking fear that his identity might be revealed because of his current form. "Where is he?!"

Wanting to take care of the current situation quickly, All Might gets Izuku's attention by locking his eyes hard on the boy, who now realized the mistake he's made.

"Repeat after me," the blonde man whispers with Izuku listening intently. "I had the wrong person."

Izuku nods once with a panicked expression before looking over to the excited couple.

"I-I-I had the wrong person! S-Sorry!"

The couple reacts with disappointed expressions.

"Aw, man."

"I was really hoping to see him, too."

After the two breathe a sigh in relief, All Might takes a step closer to Izuku and offers him a smile.

"Congratulations on getting accepted."

"Oh! Th-Thank you very much!" Izuku replies before giving his favorite Hero a high-five.

"Just so you know, I didn't tell the school about my connection to you." Izuku tilted his head in confusion, so the blonde Hero continued. "You're the type that would think that's cheating, yes? But don't worry, I wasn't one of the judges."

Izuku bows his head to his mentor.

"Th-Thank you for your concern." After expressing his gratitude, Izuku remembered something and lifted his head back to him. "But I was surprised to find out that you were a teacher at U.A. That must be why you came here, huh? I mean, your agency is in Roppongi in Minato, Tokyo at-"

"That's enough, young Midoriya!"

Izuku pauses in compliance with his demand before watching All Might walk over to the ocean of the beach.

"Other than your friend, I couldn't tell anyone else before the school announced it. I just happened to be offered a job from the Hero school itself when I was searching for a successor."

Izuku's eyes broaden in remembrance from the day All Might offered him and Asta his Quirk.

'I see… He was originally planning on choosing one of the students before he went to us.'

"IZUKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

All Might and Izuku jump when they hear a familiar roaring voice rushing over to them and turn to see a certain gray-blonde boy sprinting towards them before stopping in front of them.

"A-A-Asta!"

"What brings you here, young Kurosaki?"

Grinning, Asta looks over to his friend and presents him with two beverages in his hands.

"I've found out that you've passed the exams like I have, Izuku, so I went and got us some Slurpees so we can drink in celebration for our accomplishments!" Asta extends his left hand carrying the flavor he picked out for Izuku. "Or, actually, my Pops lent me the money to get them. I told him that I was going to buy them with my own cash, but because of how proud he was of my score in the entrance exams, he insisted."

Izuku looks at the ice-cold beverage in Asta's hands before gratefully accepting it.

"Thanks, Asta. Tell your father I said that too if you can."

"Of course, best buddy!" Asta replies before taking the straw of his Slurpee in his mouth and started drinking really fast. But as a result of that, Asta clutches his head with one hand and shouts "Brain freeze!"

All Might and Izuku blink at Asta before the former of whom began to cough in his fist, getting Asta's attention while he resumed drinking.

"So, young Kurosaki, how does it feel to be the top scorer of the U.A. entrance exams?"

Asta hums in confusion while taking a couple more swigs of his drink before pulling the straw out with a pop.

"What do you mean by 'Top scorer'? I got a passing grade, and that's all that matters to me. I ain't in it for some kind of competition."

All Might's eyes widen a little in surprise. While he found it to be a good thing that Asta didn't treat it like a game, he didn't expect him to not know about the rankings of the top ten students, or at least, forget about them.

Before he could say anything, Izuku chimes in after he took a drink of his Slurpee.

"Asta, after you've been given your projected message from U.A., the device displays the ten students who have the highest scores in the exam."

Asta takes a few seconds to ponder his friend's explanation before snapping his fingers.

"Oh! You mean that list that showed me that you also passed!" After seeing Izuku and All Might nod, Asta tilts his head at them. "What about it?"

All Might gasps with some blood shooting from his mouth.

"Young Kurosaki! Surely you haven't forgotten that you are ranked as number one on the top ten results!"

"Huh?" Asta blinks at All Might in slight surprise. "I am?"

All Might nods.

"Tell me, do you remember what your score is?"

"Eighty-seven points," Asta answers before holding his free hand up to lift a couple of fingers. "I got twenty-two points from defeating some robots, and I got sixty-five Rescue points."

Izuku nods with All Might, having seen the top ten list himself after he found out that he passed.

And when he found out who was in second, to say that Izuku was shocked would be an understatement.

"But I don't understand," Asta continues. "Why is my number one spot a big deal, All Might?"

"It's because of your condition, young Kurosaki." Asta raises a brow at All Might before he resumed. "Because you're Quirkless, people, both inside and outside of U.A., will be keeping a watchful eye on you. The inside, so they can see if you really can do it, and the outside… I think you boys can fill in the blanks from here."

Asta hums in understanding but takes the information in stride.

"Well, all I can say is bring it on! I'm only here to not only make my dream and goal a reality, but to also show that the Quirkless, and even those whose Quirks are considered weak, can also do it too! They can say whatever they want, but it won't stop me from pushing forward and getting stronger! Not giving up is my Quirk!"

All Might laughs with Asta while Izuku smiles at him with confidence before taking another slurp of his beverage.

With that thought out of the way, Asta then looks over to his best friend and starts a conversation.

"So, Izuku, what was it like to use One For All? I'll bet it was amazing since it got you those sixty Rescue points."

Izuku froze up on the subject for a moment. But since this was something he had to explain to All Might, he spilled it.

"My… arm and legs broke with one kick and one punch of One For All. I can't seem to control it at all."

Asta cringed, having imagined Izuku with broken, twisted bones just from using All Might's power.

"Really?! Was it painful?"

"Definitely," Izuku confirms while cringing at how much pain his body was from using the Quirk. "But thankfully, the school nurse, Recovery Girl, patched me up, preventing a hospital bill from going to my mom."

All Might turns around to face Izuku, acknowledging what he explained.

"That can't be helped. It's like if you asked a person who suddenly grew a tail to do a trick, they wouldn't even be able to control it."

Izuku sighs at that. But after a few seconds, his eyes widen and he looks back at All Might.

"Wait! Did you know that would happen?!"

"Well, there wasn't any time," All Might answers while scratching his forehead before swapping to a happy expression with a thumbs up. "But hey, it turned out all right. Or should I say: all might?"

Izuku cocked an eyebrow at the pun the Symbol of Peace tried to pull off while Asta deadpanned at it before the blonde man continued.

"Right now, you're either at a hundred percent or zero," he explains before picking up two cans labeled "Gas" off the sand next to him. "But once you can control it, you'll be able to adjust to what your body can handle."

Izuku thought about what he said for a moment before gasping.

"Control?!"

All Might nods.

"The more you train a vessel, the more you'll be able to move the power freely." Izuku and Asta watch the Symbol of peace crush the cans in his hand easily. And once their eyes drift from them to the Hero's face, their eyes broaden to see that he was now in his buff mode. "Like so."

While Izuku nods at his mentor with a determined expression, Asta kept his stare on All Might as if he was observing his body structure.

As he was, the gray-blonde boy thought about what Izuku said about breaking his arm and legs. He continued to think about both All Might's buff form and Izuku's broken bones before having a possible hypothesis cook up in his head.

'Hmm… I wonder…'

"Wait, is that All Might?!"

"No way! When did he get here?!"

The trio's shoulders shiver when they heard the couple discover All Might in his muscular form, making Asta's thoughts abruptly cut off.

"L-Let's go, young Midoriya!" All Might quickly says to Izuku, prompting him to go run with him before shifting his stare towards Asta. "You're welcome to join us if you wish, young Kurosaki!"

The boys look at each other, understanding why All Might wants to run.

"Well, Izuku, to us becoming students at U.A.!"

Izuku watches Asta lift his Slurpee towards him with a toothy grin before smiling back with furrowed eyes.

"To us becoming students at U.A."

After nodding their heads and clinking their Slurpees together with smirks, the two catch up with the number one Hero with their Slurpees balanced.

As they continued to run, All Might looks over his shoulder to look at Izuku.

'The flame I passed on to you is still small… but in the future, it'll be exposed to wind and rain and grow even bigger. And then, I will slowly become weak and disappear, and I will finish my job.' The Hero then sets his eyes on Asta for a quick second before facing forward. 'But worry not, young Midoriya, for you have got a friend and ally that will also assist you in making your flame grow as big as it can be!'

---

The day has finally arrived. The first day of the U.A. high school Hero course has come.

Asta is currently checking out his new school uniform in a mirror. It consists of a long-sleeve, button-up white shirt, a gray jacket with blue-green stripes, a red tie, and dark blue pants.

Asta liked the outfit. After doing a few more poses, he adjusts his headband so he can see the gold cartoon bull head and the red four-pointed star stitched onto it in the reflection.

After doing so, Asta nods to himself and gets his gray backpack on his back with everything he needs, and leaves his room.

And just as he did, he was suddenly shined on by a bright flash and turns his head to see that it was his stepfather taking some photos.

"Pops?"

"Oh, don't mind me, son," Leopold says while waving his hand up and down. "I'm just recording some history~"

Asta snickers at his father while shaking his head at him and turning his head towards the door.

"Well, today's the day, Pops! The day where I go further into becoming the first Quirkless Hero!"

Leopold laughs with Asta before the latter gets his shoes on and opens the door. Upon doing so, the Kurosakis look to see a familiar green-haired boy looking as if he was going to knock on the door, only to gasp to see that it already opened.

"Oh, Izuku!" Asta says with a smile, seeing that he's wearing the same uniform as he is.

"Izuku, good morning," Leopold greets with a nod. "What brings you here?"

"O-Oh! Well, I was thinking that I could walk to U.A. with Asta."

"Sure you can," Leopold accepts before getting both Izuku and Asta into the frame of his camera, drawing a confused expression from the green-haired boy.

"Oh, don't mind my Pop, Izuku. He's that excited that I'm heading there that he seems to find it necessary to add it to the photo album."

"I see…" Izuku replies while chuckling with Asta.

After setting the camera down, Asta's stepfather walks over to the boys.

"So, Izuku, how do you feel to finally continue your own path on becoming a Hero?"

"Well, sir, it's a little nerve-wracking," Izuku answers. "I mean, I did get in on Rescue points alone."

Leopold nods in understanding.

"Don't worry, Izuku. Just keep thinking positive and push forward. And no matter how intense things get, you should always look on the bright side. Plus, you've got my son looking out for you, too."

Izuku looks over to Asta, who smirks at him with a nod.

"Yeah. Thanks, Mr. Kurosaki."

With a chuckle of his own, Asta opens the door again, prompting Izuku to follow him.

"Well, we're off, Pops!"

"Good luck, you two! And keep making history out there, Asta!"

"Yessir!"

---

After jogging their way inside the U.A. high school, Izuku and Asta were now looking for their classes. What made it difficult was that the place was so huge, it was almost like a maze.

'1-A… 1-A…'

'Come on… Where is it?!'

The boys continued their search for the classroom for one more minute until they finally find the area where it displayed the tag 1-A above them.

""Ah! There's my class!""

Izuku and Asta look at each other when they realize that they said the same thing in unison.

"Wait… This is your class, too?" Izuku asks with an expression of near-disbelief.

"Yeah," Asta confirms before getting a paper out of his backpack and presenting it to him. "I've got the schedule right here that says 1-A's my class."

After putting the paper away, Asta looks back at Izuku and sees that he's been rather quiet for a good amount of second. His eyes were hidden by his green bangs, and his hand holding the strap of his backpack seemed to be shaking a little.

"Izuku..? Bud, you ok-"

"We're finally gonna be in the same class!"

Asta jumps a bit when Izuku beamed at his best friend with the happiest smile the gray-blonde boy has ever seen on him.

The green-haired boy then realized how excited he became at toned it down with an embarrassed blush.

"S-Sorry. It's just that for so long, we could never be in the same class until now."

"That's okay, Izuku," Asta replies while shaking his head with a smirk. "I'm glad to know that you and I are gonna be classmates! This will be awesome!"

"Yeah," Izuku agrees before he and Asta start to approach the door.

And as soon as they did, they pause their movement and their irises turn beady when they witness how huge the classroom door is.

"Whoa… You think it's that large for accessibility?"

"Probably," Asta answers. "And they even have the classroom number on there, too. Perhaps it's for those who don't like to look higher up?"

Izuku shrugs at Asta before looking back at the door with his mind drifting to something else.

"The elites chosen from the huge number at the exam…"

"Hmm?" Asta heard his friend whisper to himself and leaned over to see that Izuku was now wearing a face of nervousness, almost as if he's afraid that someone might taunt him upon entering the room. "Izuku?"

The green-haired boy's eyes widen when he heard Asta and quickly shakes his head before looking back at him.

"S-Sorry, Asta, I was just thinking to myself on something."

"What is it?" Asta questions his friend. "You know you can tell me, right?"

Izuku was silent for a moment before coughing it up.

"Well… I'm just hoping that I'm not in the same class as the scary people."

Asta cocks a brow.

"You mean like Bakugo and the glasses guy?" Izuku was hesitant at first but decided to answer with a small nod.

Even though he's five inches shorter, Asta gives Izuku a comforting pat on his shoulder while opening the classroom door.

"Don't worry about it bud, even if there are some scary folks out there, there's not a doubt in my mind that we'll make some great friends-"

"Don't put your feet on the desk!"

"Huh?"

Izuku and Asta's eyes broaden a bit when they hear two familiar voices from inside the classroom.

"Don't you think that's rude to the U.A. upperclassmen and the people who crafted this desk?!"

"Nope. What junior high did you even go to, anyway, you side character?"

Izuku's eyes became horizontal lines while Asta's surprised expression remained the same.

"Oh man… It's Kacchan…"

"And the glasses guy," Asta finishes, recognizing that blue hair and the glasses shape too well.

From in the classroom, the blue-haired boy takes a deep breath and gives Katsuki his response as calm and formally as he can be.

"I attended Somei Private Academy. My name is Tenya Iida."

"Somei, eh?" Katsuki questions before widening his grin. "So you're a damn elite with a stick up your ass? I'll have a hell of a time crushing you."

"Crushing?!" Tenya repeats in utter shock how Katsuki spoke. "That's cruel! Are you sure you're aiming to be a Hero?"

Katsuki was about to answer while taking mild offense to Tenya's question, the ash-blonde boy noticed two newcomers from outside the classroom, and he did not look pleased because of who they are.

Following where he's staring, Tenya looks with mild surprise to see the boys that he too recognized from the auditorium of the entrance exams.

"You two are…"

Izuku and Asta notice that all the students sitting in their desks turn their heads towards them as soon as Tenya addressed them.

While Izuku started to sweat nervously because of the gazes, Asta kept his cool as he observed the students he was able to see, with the doorway blocking the view of the rest of them.

From what he can see from behind the opened door, Asta saw a blonde short-haired man with what appears to be a tail behind him, another blonde boy who appeared to be french, yet another blonde kid whose hair is spiky and has a black fringe that looks like a cartoony lighting bolt, and a girl with pink skin, matching colored short fluffy hair, yellow eyes with black sclera, and two pale yellow horns shaped like hooks.

There were also three more students Asta could see that he recognized from the entrance exam arena, as did those said students. The muscular red-haired kid was there, as was the black-haired boy and the purple-haired girl with the headphone jack-like earphones. And all of them were rather surprised to see the gray-blonde kid there, with the exception of the redhead, whose face showed excitement after seeing what he did to the zero-pointer.

Before Asta or Izuku could say anything, Tenya began to approach them.

"Good morning," he greets with Izuku feeling a little scared and Asta feeling the opposite. "I am from Somei Private Academy. My name is-"

"Y-Y-Yeah, I heard," Izuku interrupts with his hands up. "I-I'm Izuku Midoriya. It's nice to meet you, Iida."

After he introduced himself with Tenya stopping close enough towards the boys, Asta went next.

"And I'm Asta Kurosaki." Tenya looks back at the gray-blonde kid when he heard him speak. "I know you and I got off on the wrong foot back at the auditorium…" Asta pauses before slamming a fist onto his own chest with stars developed in his eyes. "But I hope we can put our differences aside, be on better terms, and eventually become friends and allies from here on out!"

Most of the students flinched a bit because of how loud Asta shouted, with Katsuki gritting his teeth in irritation, but some didn't mind since he wasn't too rowdy.

Once he said what he said, Asta's eyes revert to normal and develops a surprised expression to see that Tenya's head has lowered towards him, drawing raised brows from Asta and Izuku.

"At the auditorium… You've pointed out my errors, and I can only apologize and acknowledge my mistake to you and Midoriya."

Asta blinked at his polite and sudden choice of words. But before he could respond, Tenya looks over to Izuku next.

"Midoriya… you realized there was something more to that practical exam, didn't you?"

""Eh?"" Izuku and Asta give Tenya a confused face before the green-haired boy answered while scratching the back of his head.

"N-No. I had no idea that rescue points were a thing until I found out my final score. I only did what I did because I thought it was the right thing to do."

Tenya gasps at this revelation and bows his head to him again.

"I see! Then you must have a very noble heart! I've misjudged you! As much as it pains me to admit it, you are superior to me."

Tenya then hears some giggling from Asta and looks to see him giving him a thumbs up and a toothy grin.

"Hey, as long as you can learn from your mistakes, I think we're gonna get along just fine, Iida!"

Tenya then sees Asta's thumbs up turn into an open hand. And after hearing how kind he was, he gladly accepted it with a firm handshake.

"Of course! I look forward to working with you, Kurosaki!"

"Yup! And please, call me Asta. No need for formalities."

Izuku sighs in relief at the scene he was witnessing.

'Thank goodness. I won't have to worry about him getting the wrong idea again.'

"Oh! That curly hair! You're the plain-looking one!"

Izuku and Asta look behind them when they heard a girl speak up, and the former boy jumped with red cheeks when he saw that it was the same girl that prevented Izuku from falling onto the ground face-first.

"Thank goodness you passed!" the brown-haired girl continued. "It was just like Present Mic said!"

'It… It's the nice girl from earlier!' Izuku thought as he listened to her talking to him nonstop.

While the two caught up, Katsuki looked over to Izuku and frowned at him with the most irritated expression ever.

As he kept glaring at Izuku, Katsuki is reminded of that one day where he learned that Izuku was pushing forward into entering U.A. when the two were brought out by their teacher to have their statuses as the Hero school's new students.

During that time after school, Katsuki dragged Izuku into an alleyway to confront him on why he's following through on his pointless dream after telling him and Asta not to sign up for U.A.

But instead of the usual stuttering, Katsuki recalled the response that he did not expect.

"Kacchan…" Izuku said in Katsuki's memory. "Someone told me 'You can become a hero', and that it was because of my own effort. And before you say it, no… This time, It wasn't Asta who said it. That's why… I'm still going!"

Katsuki grits his teeth at how braver Izuku sounded when he told him what he told him while morphing his hand into a fist.

'How dare he defy me?' Katsuki thought before shifting his eyes over to Asta, who was having a conversation of his own with Tenya.

He never thought he'd think this, but that gray-blonde boy has made him angrier than Izuku has. First, Asta said time and time again that he can still be a Hero without a Quirk, then, he "saved" him from the sludge Villain when he didn't want to be saved, and now, he's learned that Asta has passed him in first place by ten points.

Ten. Points.

'That little dwarf…' Katsuki continued to glare holes in both Asta and Izuku. 'While I don't know how Deku got in… that Bakasta…' Another memory of the gray-blonde boy emerges during the Sludge Villain incident where he has seen Asta's right eye flaring red before it quickly went back to green. 'Something is definitely up with those two.'

As for the rest of the students who weren't the ones Asta recognized from the exam, while they thought that Izuku was rather shy, they had some mixed opinions on Asta.

Some thought that the gray-blonde boy was very explosive and hyper, while some who have heard of him from the Sludge Villain incident were surprised that he made it without a Quirk and were curious to see how far he'll get from there.

And the common thought the classmates all shared? Asta's physique was incredible for someone of his age and short height, and not even his school uniform could hide the strong shapes of his biceps, glutes, and quads.

There are a few students who had seen him at the Sludge Villain incident via the television. One of which was the pink-skinned girl who kept her eyes on Asta with a grin on her face, looking forward to spending some time to get to know him.

'Wow… He's even cuter and beefier in person~' the pink-skinned girl thought while tapping her foot in excitement. 'I even heard from Kirishima-kun about what he did to a zero-pointer. That's so cool~! I've got to speak with him when I get the chance!'

Then, there's a tall girl that had a rather mature physique for her age. She has long black hair styled in a spiky ponytail with a large strand hanging on the right side of her face and onyx eyes staring at Asta intently.

'Hmm… so this is the Quirkless boy who kept his resolve when rescuing those other boys…' The girl then looks upwards above Asta's headband and squints. 'That hair… I can't help but think I've seen that type of style somewhere in my childhood…'

Another student who's looking at Asta with slight interest is a tall and muscular man whose physique is almost as well-built as Asta's. He has long hair that stops right at his neck with its left side colored crimson and its right sight as white as snow. His eyes were different colors too with his right eye being gray and the left eye turquoise.

And on the left side of his face, a large burn scar can be seen passing across his left eye vertically.

This boy kept his heterochromatic eyes locked firmly onto Asta. When he heard of what happened with the Sludge Villain, and the rumors from his classmates on how Asta was able to take out a zero-pointer with his bare hands without a Quirk, he intends to keep his eyes on him and see what else he can possibly do.

The last person who saw Asta on TV is a young man who has the head of a black bird with a yellow beak and red eyes. When he watched him fight the Sludge Villain all those months ago, the human/bird hybrid always felt something mysterious about the gray-blonde boy.

Perhaps it was the flash of red in Asta's right eye that made him think this way, but either way, he acknowledged that he was very strong without a Quirk, and intends to know what else he's capable of as a Quirkless individual.

But then again, he was unsure about that status because of the phenomenon he saw in Asta's eye.

Back with Asta, he was laughing with Tenya during their humble conversation before the gray-blonde boy's eyes suddenly caught someone familiar, who walked over to him with her usual neutral expression.

"Tsu-chan!" Asta was pleasantly surprised when he saw that Tsuyu Asui was in the same class as him as well. "I never thought I'd get to see you again!"

"You're as noisy as usual, Asta-chan," Tsuyu says before croaking like a frog. "But yes, it does seem like we'll be in the same class together."

Asta nods at Tsuyu with a wider grin.

"Aw, man, this will be great! Now I've got two pals as my classmates!"

Tsuyu blinks at Asta before looking over his shoulder to see the familiar green-haired boy that he defended back at the auditorium.

"So that's your friend?" the green-haired girl questions before putting a finger on her lips. "He seems to be tenser than when I first saw him at the auditorium."

"Yeah, well, he rarely interacts with girls because of his past life and his training for the entrance exams. I should know because we've been best buddies for a while."

Tsuyu tilts his head at Asta's explanation of Izuku's shyness.

But before she could ask him for details, she sees Asta make a face that says he's heard someone or something approaching behind him and turns around.

Asta looks left and right for whoever arrived, but upon looking down, Asta saw something that made him crouch towards it.

"Hey, mister, are you okay in there?"

Everyone else followed Asta's gaze and gasp in bewilderment to see a black-haired man in a yellow sleeping bag appearing to be dead tired.

"You're the first person to have noticed that I was here, kid," the man said groggily, making Asta tilt his head at him.

"Well, sir, I've heard the distinct sound of rough rolling from behind me, and next thing I knew, I found you here."

The man rose a brow at the gray-blonde kid in slight surprise for a moment before shifting his eyes towards the other students.

"And it seems that the rest of you took longer to have detected me. This is the Hero course, folks."

After standing up while still in his bag, impressing Asta and Tsuyu and shocking Izuku, Tenya, and the brown-haired girl because of a person being in there, the man removed the sleeping bag off of him before resuming, revealing his all-black outfit and a gray scarf that completely hid his neck and shoulders.

"It also took eight seconds before you were quiet, too. Life is short, and you kids aren't rational enough."

'He must be our sensei,' Asta muses with a blink.

'So he must be a Pro Hero, too,' Izuku thought with a slightly tilted head. 'But I've never seen a Hero look that worn out before.'

The man breathes a deep sigh before introducing himself to his students.

"I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Nice to meet you, I suppose."

Everyone, except for Katsuki, Asta, Tsuyu, the black-haired girl, the white and red-haired boy, and the bird boy, share words of bemusement over who their instructor is.

With his expression remaining drowsy, Aizawa reaches into his sleeping bag for something while still addressing his students.

"It's kind of sudden, but put these on and head out onto the field."

Aizawa reveals a dark blue gym uniform with white vertical lines going up the pant legs and at the shirt, forming the letters 'U' and 'A'. He presents the first uniform to Asta, who takes it from his hand without hesitation and gives Izuku a two-fingered salute and a nod before heading off to where his instructor told him, leaving the students, who were also getting their uniforms one at a time, to look out the door, noticing how quick he was to get moving.

---

[A Quirk assessment test?!] Everybody except for Asta, Katsuki, Tsuyu, the black-haired girl, the white and red-haired boy, and the bird boy exclaim after Aizawa told them what they intend to do onto the field after everyone arrived there in their P.E. uniforms.

"But what about the entrance ceremony?" The brown-haired girl, now known by everyone as Ochaco Uraraka, asks Aizawa.

"If you're going to become a Hero, you don't have time for such leisurely events." Most of the students blink in surprise at their teacher's response before he turns his head towards them. "U.A.'s selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are. That's also how the teachers run their classes."

Ochaco looked a little disappointed, but some students, like Asta, Tenya, and the black-haired girl, understood why Aizawa said what he said.

"Most of you kids have been doing these since junior high, too, right?" Aizawa asks his students while presenting his phone with some scores. "Physical fitness tests where you weren't allowed to use your Quirks. The country still uses averages taken from results from students not using their powers. It's not rational. Well, the Ministry of Education is procrastinating."

Aizawa pauses to make eye contact with Asta, who flinches a little at the mildly bloodshot gaze.

"Kurosaki, you finished at the top of the practical exam, yes?"

While most of the students were still shocked to know that, with Katsuki still being pissed about it, Asta kept a serious face and gave him a nod.

Aizawa's expression didn't change.

"Because of your… condition, expect this to be the toughest assessment you'll go through since not many Quirkless kids have gotten this far."

Asta's eyes squint at his teacher, showing no signs of backing down.

"I came here expecting challenges like this, sensei. Being a Hero is not supposed to be easy, after all."

Aizawa softly grunts at the gray-blonde boy's answer and stern expression while most of Asta's classmates gasp at how determined he is and how serious he sounded, with Tenya being impressed with what the gray-blonde boy said.

"A wise choice of words," Aizawa says before looking over to Katsuki, who was still glaring daggers at Asta. "Bakugo, what was your best result for the softball throw in your junior high?"

Katsuki sets his eyes on Aizawa before answering.

"Sixty-seven meters."

"Okay. Then try throwing it using your Quirk."

Katsuki walks inside of the white circle after Aizawa handed him a softball.

"You can do whatever you want as long as you stay in the circle. Now, hurry up and give it all you got."

Getting the okay from Aizawa, Katsuki positions himself with his legs apart to do as his sensei requested.

'I'll add a blast to the pitch.'

With his right arm cocked back, Katsuki allows some small explosives to pop in his palm before going all out with his pitch, using a large blast to launch the ball at a longer range while shouting.

"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!"

[Die?] Everyone repeats with weird expressions except for Asta.

Aizawa watches the softball go farther and farther from the group until it finally lands on the ground. After his phone calculated the distance, he turns towards his students.

"Know your own maximum first," he says before showing Katsuki's throwing range to them. "That is the most rational way to form the foundation of a Hero."

After seeing Katsuki's ball throw distance, which is 705.2 meters, most of the students started to get excited.

"That's an impressive throw!" a yellow-haired boy named Denki Kaminari said.

"Oh boy~!" the pink-skinned girl, Mina Ashido beams with joy. "This is looking fun!"

"I'll say!" a black-haired boy named Hanta Sero agreed. "We can use our Quirks as much as we want! As expected from the Hero course!"

But suddenly, everyone's excitement was cut short when they feel a dark aura coming from a frowning Aizawa.

"So, you think it's fun, eh?" He questions his students before locking his glare on them, making pretty much all of the students froze with widened eyes. "You kids have three years to become Heroes, and you think it's going to be all fun and games?"

The students remained quiet with their shocked faces intact, not having a clue how exactly they should respond to their sensei.

"It should never be a game, sensei!" Everybody turns their heads towards Asta, seeing that it was him who broke the silence. "I've seen first hand on both TV and when I was on my way to junior high how serious being the protector of the innocent is, and while I personally believe it's good to be happy and to have a sense of humor so the people you're saving can be at a little bit of ease, this gig shouldn't be treated like some overblown competition or a VR game! Being a Hero is serious work and people's lives will be at stake! And depending on the situation, our lives can be at risk too if we don't play our cards right and make the toughest of tough decisions!"

Everybody, with the exception of a glaring Katsuki, was stunned at what Asta had to say. Despite him being very loud with his words, they were able to see how serious he was when he told Aizawa what he said.

The only exceptions out of the students so far was Izuku, who also knew that being a Hero isn't all fun and games, Tsuyu, who saw how serious Asta was when he saved her from a zero-pointer in the entrance exams, The white and red-haired boy, Shoto Todoroki, and the black-haired girl, Momo Yaoyorozu, both of whom being mildly surprised because of his personality, and of course, Tenya, who had one thought to think for Asta:

'Kurosaki, you continue to amaze me!'

Even Aizawa was left impressed by the gray-blonde boy's speech, even though his face didn't fully show it. Although he acknowledged what the kid roared with a nod, it did eventually make him chuckle quietly because of how stern Asta genuinely was when he shouted his words.

"Heh heh heh, of all the kids in this bunch to know how serious this gig is, it's the one who can't use his Quirk." After whispering that to himself, Aizawa's grin widens before looking back at the students with slightly wider eyes. "Okay then. Whoever comes in last place in all eight tests will be judged to have no potential and be expelled from this school immediately."

[HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH?!]

---

Meanwhile, All Might in his skinny form can be seen somewhere in the school looking at a list of teachers in the binder. And when he found the class both Izuku and Asta are in, he almost spat out blood when he saw who was going to be their sensei.

"Oh, crap baskets!" the number one Hero whispers with a hand on his head and slight fear in his eyes. "Aizawa's teaching those two boys?! And knowing him…"

With his hand shaking, All Might looks over towards the door that leaves the room he's in, contemplating on what will happen next.

---

Back with the students, everybody was now freaking out over the discovered possibility of being expelled. The only exceptions are Katsuki, Shoto, and Momo, with the latter of the three being a bit skeptical of what Aizawa declared.

As for Asta, he has mixed feelings over this news.

'Expulsion, seriously?!' the gray-blonde boy thought with some doubt in his broadened eyes and a firm frown. 'He wouldn't really do that, would he? I mean… the way he said it…'

Before he could even finish that thought, Asta's eyes catch a glimpse of Izuku quaking in absolute fear over the expulsion possibility. And after he told him what happened to his bones when he first activated One For All, Asta now began to worry for his best friend.

"But, sensei! It's the first day of school!" Ochaco exclaims in outrage. "That's too unfair!"

Ochaco then lets out a squeak when Aizawa's glare turns harsher.

"Then what does that make natural disasters, big accidents, and selfish Villains?" The students cease their mumbles of protest when he asked with such a stern voice. "What about calamities whose time or place can't be predicted? Japan is covered with unfairness. Heroes are the ones who reverse those situations. If y'all can't handle a difficult life as a Hero, then you all know where the exit is. For the next three years, U.A. will do all it can to give you one hardship after another. Go beyond. Plus Ultra. Overcome it with all you've got."

Most of the students began to get a bit serious, as was Tenya who got out his water bottle to take a quick swig.

'This is too serious to be hazing. However, this is the best of the best. There is no choice but to do it.'

"Demonstration's over," Aizawa announces with a small grin. "The real thing starts now."

With that said, everybody got their game face on, from Izuku clenching his fist with the resolve to make the best of it, to Asta adjusting his headband, looking as ready as he ever was.

---

The first test is the fifty-meter dash. The goal of this test is to run that length with the help of their Quirks as fast as they can.

The first two students to go were Tsuyu and Tenya. During their trial, Tenya was able to finish in 3.04 seconds thanks to his Engine Quirk in his calve muscles providing the speed boosts to his natural running speed, while Tsuyu completed her run in 5.58 seconds using the strength in her legs via her Frog Quirk.

"Iida's like a fish in water," Aizawa whispered after watching his performance. "But it'll be worth seeing what others do." He then looks over to Asta and slits his eyes at him without him noticing. "Especially him."

Asta looked over to Tsuyu with an impressed stare as he watched her return to him and the other classmates.

"Wow, Tsu-chan! You went about as fast as a frog could go! It was great!"

Tsuyu blinks at Asta's compliment before croaking and nodding.

"Thanks, Asta-chan."

Next up were Ochaco and the blonde boy with the tail, Mashirao Ojiro. While Ojiro finished in 5.49 seconds by using his strong tail as an additional running appendage, Ochaco finished in 7.15 seconds by simply sprinting as fast as she could.

Ochaco thought she'd go faster if she made her uniform and shoes lighter with her Zero Gravity Quirk, but unfortunately for her, it didn't go quite as well as she expected. But since it was faster than she was in junior high, she was okay with it.

The French boy, Yuga Aoyama, and Mina Ashido were next. These two were almost neck and neck in their time records if it weren't for Yuga's current limit with his Quirk that allows him to shoot lasers from his belly. Because of this, his time was 5.51 seconds, with Mina beating it with 5.47 seconds by using her Acid Quirk to skate to the goal.

However, she had to do so barefoot so her socks and shoes wouldn't be destroyed by the acid.

"If I shoot for more than a second, I get a stomachache."

Most of the students were a little weirded out at how Yuga explained his current limit of his Laser Quirk while Aizawa continued to observe their progress.

'Looking at the upper limit of your Quirks and the room for growth in each result, it becomes clear what you can and can't do. That will connect to the creativity needed for you to survive.'

The next two were a match-up that got Asta the most concerned: Izuku and Katsuki.

While watching them run, Asta cringes with barred teeth and a narrow-eyed stare when his best friend got caught in in some of the explosions Katsuki used to propel himself forwards through the race.

But thankfully, Izuku was able to manage with a time of 7.02 seconds, beating Ochaco's time. And thanks to Katsuki's explosive speed boost, he was able to finish in 4.13 seconds.

Asta watches Izuku pant heavily from how fast he had to run to finish his run in a reasonable time. He understood why his friend didn't use his Quirk because of what he explained when they drank Slurpees together, but if there were more challenges that may require him to use it, who knows how far he'll go without having to sacrifice a limb.

'Izuku…'

"You're up, Asta!"

"Huh?"

After he felt a sporting pat on the back from someone, Asta turned his head around and saw that it was the red-haired boy who did it before giving him a thumbs up.

"I'm rooting for you on this one, dude! I know you got this!"

Asta's eyes broaden a little in surprise at his support, but he nodded back with a smile.

"Oh, thanks, uh…"

"Eijiro Kirishima," The redhead introduced himself. "Now break a leg out there, Asta!"

"Alright!"

After giving Kirishima a thumbs up, Asta jogged his way to the starting line and waited for whoever was going to race with him.

While he was, the purple-haired girl, identified as Kyoka Jiro, was eyeing the gray-blonde boy up and down. She remembered him running past her when he saw Tsuyu in need of help, and the one glance she was able to see when he answered her on what he's up to was how determined he was to rescue the green-haired frog girl.

And when she watched Asta climb up the zero-pointer, she was just as shocked as everyone else when she witnessed him tear out the battery that operated the robot while roaring out his resolve. It looked like something she would see in an action movie.

Though, Kyoka didn't know why she was surprised except for the whole "Quirkless" thing. After all, he's got the physique to be as strong as he is. He's got the buff biceps, the thick abs, powerful legs for his jumping and parkour, and of course, he's got a really great a-

'Wh-Wh-Wh-What the hell am I thinking right now?!'

To stop herself from having any more perverted thoughts about Asta's muscles, Kyoka pokes her own cheeks with her ear jacks and shakes her head rapidly to force her blush away before setting her eyes back on Asta with a more serious and observing gaze.

But from the corner of her eye, she saw Mina and the invisible girl she knows as Toru Hagakure checking out Asta's physique while they were giggling in delight, with the pink-skinned girl drooling at the boy's backside, earning a weirded-out stare from Kyoka.

'I wonder who my opponent will be?' Asta wondered while stretching his arms.

Turning his head right, his question was answered when he sees Momo Yaoyorozu walking over towards him.

'Holy hell, she's tall!' Asta exclaims mentally with two small black dots for irises, just having figured out their eight-inch height difference as she stood next to him.

Brushing that off as soon as he could, Asta got in a starting position and waited for Momo to do the same. But upon shifting his eyes to her, he gasps to see a pair of red roller skates being produced from her arms.

'Whoa! Her Quirk allows her to create stuff from her body! That's crazy!'

Momo noticed Asta's bewildered stare on her and gave him a sympathetic look.

"My apologies, Kurosaki-kun," she says while taking off her shoes and slipping her feet into her rollerblades. "I'm only doing what I must to succeed."

Asta blinks at Momo twice before shaking his head with an assuring smile.

"Oh, no. I'm just surprised at what your Quirk is able to do, period. It's okay, really. Please, use your power however you want."

Momo is taken aback by his response. She really did expect him to call cheating for creating a pair of skates that will make her much faster, much like how most students did in junior high for certain Quirk assessments, even when she was recommended in U.A., but much to her surprise, Asta didn't see it that way. He saw it as her just simply using her Quirk, and he's perfectly fine with that.

She was about to ask if he really isn't that ticked over her advantage via her Creation Quirk, but Asta faced forwards again to prepare for the fifty-meter race. This made Momo do the same, but in a different stance since she was now wearing roller skates instead of running shoes.

"Get ready…" the robot announced, making Asta and Momo more focused than before. "Start!"

As they raced, everyone watched on with amazed expressions to see that Asta and Momo were neck and neck. While Momo used the skill she's picked up on roller skating in the past, Asta used his raw speed in his legs that most students thought was unreal for someone who's said to be Quirkless. There will be times where Momo was a little ahead of Asta and vice versa.

Even Aizawa was a little surprised with how fast the gray-blonde boy was going for his current body build, but he kept his serious expression intact so he can pay close attention to Asta.

'Nothing happening to the kid yet…'

Right after Aizawa made that observation, the two racers have finished their run.

While Momo's record time is 4.25 seconds, she and everyone else was shocked to learn that Asta beat her in 4.21 seconds.

"Whoa!" Ojiro looks on at Asta in astonishment. "He was able to beat my time!"

"Yeah!" Mina shouts in both surprise and excitement with her eyes glued onto Asta while grinning. "He was even able to surpass my time!"

"He's beaten mine as well!" Yuga says still smiling.

"Mine too," Tsuyu states with a ribbit and a proud smile of her own. "It's to be expected of Asta-chan after what I've seen him do in the entrance exams."

Tenya nods strongly with Tsuyu.

"But while he has trained for a very long time to have developed such speed, we still have yet to see what else Kurosaki can do throughout this Apprehension test."

Izuku just smiled at Asta. He knew that he would go as fast as he did because of how much hard work he's put in, even in their childhood.

"Phew! What a rush!" Asta shouts before folding his arms behind his head.

But right as he did, Asta looks to see Momo approaching him again after she got her running shoes back on with an expression of acknowledgment.

"You were fast, Kurosaki-kun. I have to confess, I've underestimated you before we finished our race."

Asta simply smiles at her with closed eyes, making her eyes broaden a bit at the said smile.

"It's okay," Asta says before opening his eyes to look at Momo and give her a thumbs up. "But you were very impressive yourself! Using rollerblades to increase your speed from just running was quite a clever approach! I'll bet with a Quirk like yours, you'll have a solution to pretty much everything those Villains throw at you!"

Momo is once again surprised by Asta's words. While he didn't seem to be the type of guy to be so smug because of how Heroic she saw him be on TV, she never expected him to be so encouraging to her on the use of her Quirk, especially since she knows that Asta doesn't have one.

He sounded like a really nice guy to Momo.

"Th… Thank you for the compliment, Kurosaki-kun."

"Hey, call me Asta," the gray-blonde boy says with a kinder stare and smile. "Everybody does."

Momo remained silent as she watched Asta return towards the rest of the impressed students and mostly speak with Izuku on how everything's going so far.

As they talked, a very short boy with black eyes and purple balls for hair was glaring daggers at Asta after seeing him speak with Momo in such a casual manner, thinking that he was a very lucky guy to interact with her.

Aizawa kept his calculating, sleepy eyes on the gray-blonde boy. While he found it astounding that Asta was able to go as fast as he did, he still has yet to see what else he's capable of without the use of a Quirk.

He then shifts his eyes towards Izuku and narrows them at him, having known how exactly Izuku got into U.A. And after seeing what happened to his bones when he first used his Quirk, he was unsure if the green-haired boy would get far.

---

The next test is for Grip Strength. As it implies, the goal is for the students to grasp the handheld device given to them as strong as they can so their force can be read in kilograms.

And like the last test, the students are allowed to use their Quirks.

While everyone was testing their grips with their own devices, Izuku was quietly concentrating with closed eyes and a firm frown.

At this very moment, the boy was remembering his previous private chat with All Might from the day before today about how he can get better control of One For All.

In that memory, his mentor stated that feeling was the trick to controlling it. And when All Might asked Izuku what it was like, he described it as if an egg was put in a microwave.

Although the number one Hero laughed at the image Izuku thought in his head, he found it unique and told him to focus on the image of the egg not exploding by lowering the wattage or shortening the cooking time.

And the green-haired successor of All Might was doing just that to get the strongest grip possible.

'The image of the egg not exploding…'

Izuku's eyes close tighter as he tries to get that image locked into his head tightly so he can use his Quirk without destroying his hand like he did to protect Ochaco from the zero-pointer. But just as he thought of last time, the boy flinches as he recalled the pain, making his right hand squeeze tightly at the flashback.

Right after that happened, Izuku heard his device beep twice. Looking down at it, his eyes widen to see that his force was 56.0 kg. And while he thought it was a good start with what he's trying to do, he was hoping for better results.

"Holy crap!" Izuku shoots his head up when he hears Sero shout in surprise and amusement and looks to see what's up, revealing the black-haired kid, the short boy named Minoru Mineta, and a tall muscular pale gray-haired boy with a green mouth mask called Mezo Shoji.

And upon looking at the masked student, Izuku's eyes go wider when he sees that Mezo has six arms attached to each other by a web of skin.

"Five hundred and forty kilograms?! What are you, a gorilla?!" Sero asks, still unable to believe that his three arms were able to achieve such force.

Izuku froze at the force Mezo was able to input into his device. This not only put more pressure on the green-haired boy, but it also made him want to try harder as well because he knows that his friend, Asta, is doing the same.

"Uh… I think I need a new one!"

As soon as everyone heard that, they turn and look to see Asta raising his grip device in the air with his right hand.

But upon further inspection, almost everyone's jaws drop to see that the force reading device was broken. The grip part snapped in two, the screen got a few cracks, and one of the four buttons near the screen popped right off.

The students then notice Aizawa approaching the gray-blonde boy, looking as tired as ever. Once he got to him, his eyes broaden a bit to see what happened to the device before looking back up to Asta with furrowed brows.

"Okay… What did you do, Kurosaki?"

"Exactly as you instructed, sensei," Asta answers honestly while presenting the broken device to the sleepy teacher. "I've gripped it as hard as I could to get the highest force, and next thing you know, it got destroyed." He pauses to scratch the back of his head with a sweatdrop. "I wasn't even able to get a look at how strong it was when it got to such a state."

Aizawa's eye twitches at Asta's claim. He didn't sound like he was lying, but he still wasn't too sure if he could actually be that strong to break the device.

The same can be said for Katsuki and Shoto. Katsuki, because he didn't believe Asta would be able to do as he said, and Shoto, while he believed that he was strong as seen on TV, he didn't think he'd be that strong.

As for some students like Tsuyu, Kirishima, and of course, Izuku, they believe that it can be possible for Asta to break it just like that. Especially Izuku, as he knows that one time, a few years ago, he watched Asta punch a small crater into a boulder. However, that did result in his knuckles getting scrapped up a bit with little bleeding.

But whether that will happen again because he still kept training or not, Izuku wasn't sure yet.

Snapping out of his mild shock, Aizawa produced another force measuring device and handed it to Asta with his stern expression returning.

"Here. Try it again and don't hold back. I'll have a look at it myself."

Everyone blinks at Aizawa in curiosity while Asta stares at him for a moment before nodding.

"You said it, not me."

With his eyes turning fierce, Asta gives the grip of the force measuring device the exact same squeeze as he did his previous device, but with a much harsher grip and gritted teeth.

SNAP!

And just like that, the device ended up in the exact state as the previous one. But this time, the screen had more cracks than the previous one,

Everybody looked on at the broken device and blinked once.

Then twice.

Then one more time before everybody, with the exception of Aizawa, Katsuki, Shoto, Izuku, and a grinning Kirishima, shouted in unison:

[Just how strong is this guy?!]

The ones who were most fearsome of Asta's strength were Mineta and Kaminari, but when Katsuki saw what happened, his body twitched so much that he was on the verge of blowing his own grip device up with his Quirk.

Shoto, on the other hand, was surprised to be stood corrected on the physical strength of Asta and was now curious to see how much of a worthy opponent he would be despite the gray-blonde boy's lack of a Quirk.

Looking down, Asta saw what happened to the device and developed horizontal eyes at the sight.

"Aw, drat. Looks like I broke another one," he says before rubbing the back of his head again. "Heh heh, sorry about that. You did say not to hold back."

Looking back at him, Asta saw Aizawa typing something on the device he uses to calculate the students' scores with his eyes hidden by his bangs. He was silent for a moment before he slowly looks back up at Asta.

"… The device was able to calculate seven hundred and two kilograms before it broke." Aizawa states, trying to be as calm as he can despite seeing in person how powerful Asta's grip was.

While most of the students were even more shocked at the score, Asta gasped at his force score with shock in his face before it turned into excitement as he pumped his fists in the air.

"All right! That's as strong as my last grip strength from two years ago!"

Aizawa flinches at Asta's booming voice before walking away while keeping an eye on him.

"Just wait patiently for everyone else to finish up."

Asta nods with a smirk, still feeling proud of himself for having a much stronger grip.

"Hey, you destroyed your device, too?"

Asta and Izuku turn around when they hear someone talk to the gray-blonde boy and sees that it's Kirishima approaching him with a sporting smile.

"Whoa! You mean you crushed yours as well?!"

"Yup!" Eijiro confirms before flexing an arm. As he did, Asta and Izuku gasp to see it become jagged and rock-like. "It's because of my Hardening Quirk. Because it makes a body part I choose to harden stronger, it's pretty much guaranteed that an object as hard as myself will get demolished." the redhead then shifts his eyes to the side with a sweatdrop. "However, the device got into a much worse state than yours did."

Asta sucks in how Kirishima's Quirk worked like a sponge before gaining stars in his eyes.

"I'll say! With a Quirk like yours, Kirishima, you just might be able to tear through almost anything that gets in your way!"

Kirishima blinks at Asta's words while his arm reverted to normal.

"Wow… You really think so, Asta?"

"Of course! And if I'm assuming correctly, your hardening will also give you good defense too, huh?!"

Kirishima started to get just as ecstatic as Asta.

"Yeah, that's right! I mean, I can only take a certain amount of hits before the hardened body parts revert to their original self, but technically, it's like having a shade of armor!"

"Awesome! I'll bet if you keep working hard, your defense will greatly improve as well as your offense!" Asta pauses to point at Kirishima's muscular chest. "I mean hey, you've got the body of a warrior!"

Kirishima laughs with Asta before giving him a thumbs up.

"Thanks, man! Your build's not that bad yourself. You must've worked really hard!"

"I sure have, Kirishima!"

Izuku looks on with a small smile when he saw that Asta and Kirishima were getting along great. He hopes to do the same with him and the other students, but right now, he needs to keep focused on the Apprehension test.

If his best friend can make it with muscle and raw strength alone, so can he. He just needs to try harder and do what he can to surpass his limits, just like Asta would.

---

For the third test, there is the standing long jump. For this, students are to use their Quirks to clear a sandbox with the goal of gaining the longest distance possible.

Most students who didn't have a very powerful Quirk have landed in the sandbox. Some had good distance, some, not so much.

As for everyone else Katsuki was able to clear the sandbox just fine by using his explosions as flight propellers, Yugo was able to pass it with his laser just before his stomach started to hurt again, Iida used the engines in his calves to jump across, Mashirao used his tail, and Ochaco used Zero Gravity on herself to float and land on the other side of the box.

As for Izuku, he too has landed on the sandbox right next to the robot that calculated their distances. While he was getting up, he looked down at his feet in stronger disappointment in himself.

'I couldn't try to control it again!'

Next up was Asta's turn. And as soon as he approached the sand, some of the students whispered about how he will pull this off. Some believe that he'll land in the sandbox, but at the farthest point that's very close to the end, and some believe that he will make it across by a very thin hair.

Those who thought of the latter possibility were Tsuyu, Izuku, Kirishima, Mina, and Toru.

After having their predictions set, the students and Aizawa watch Asta prepare himself with a quick breathing meditation. They hear him breathe deeply in his nose for quite a long time, but not too long to where it was ten seconds.

And right as he breaths out his mouth quickly while opening his eyes, Asta finally takes his leap of fate. Right as he did so, everyone looked to see that he created a crater where he jumped. But after seeing him destroy two grip devices, some of the students weren't surprised at this point.

Looking back at Asta, they saw him high in the air as he made it halfway across the sandbox.

It was when he started to fall that he was about to be near the end. Nobody knew where exactly he was going to land. Not even Asta or Aizawa.

But whatever the outcome, Asta kept a strong face as he peered deeply into the ground, making sure to land on the balls of his feet.

It took a few more seconds, but Asta finally landed in a crouched position with one hand on the ground. He wipes the sweat off of his forehead as he stands up properly.

"Okay… How did I..?"

Turning around, Asta's eyes nearly bulge from their sockets when he sees that he has landed on the other side of the sandbox.

Almost everyone's reactions were about the same, except or Katsuki, who became more twitchy and angry, Shoto, whose curiosity continued to grow stronger on the boy in muscles, Kirishima, because he exactly thought his leg muscles were as strong as his arms, Tsuyu and Izuku, who both thought that he could do it, and Mina and Toru, who thought the same, but were more excited.

"Well, congratulations, Kurosaki," Aizawa says drowsily with his neutral expression intact. "You made it just by your heels barely touching the outside of the sandbox."

Asta continued to be stunned at what he did. He actually thought that at the very least he'll land in it at the very edge of the other side, but there he was.

'Heh heh! I really am surpassing my limits now! Just a few more tests to go!'

As he was walking back to his classmates, Asta saw Izuku giving him a thumbs up, to which he gladly gave a thumbs up back.

---

Now for the repeated side steps. As the activity name suggests, the students need to move between lines by sidestepping from one to the other. They have a limited amount of time to get the highest score.

Thankfully for Izuku, he was able to pull this off just fine without the need of his Quirk, getting a decent amount of points that he hopes will be enough for a passing grade.

The next to go is Mineta. And after getting set up, Izuku and Asta look on with surprise to see that he was using the purple balls that came from his hair to bounce left and right at a very speedy pace.

'Wow…' Asta thought as he kept watching Mineta go. 'Just add some pinball noises and some decorations of the game, and this will look more amusing.'

Asta was up next. Again, he took a deep breath before being prompted to start by the robot that calculates his score. And after doing so, he started to go just as fast as Mineta was while screaming like a warrior.

As he kept doing his sidesteps, everyone looks to see that once again, Asta was creating craters on the ground with his powerful feet, but are much tinier since he wasn't doing the long jump again.

At this point, most of the students were wondering if Asta even is "Quirkless", because that boy is showing no signs of stopping until the robot tells him to.

But among the students, there were two of them who continued to look on in interest: Shoto, and the bird boy, Fumikage Tokoyami.

---

After everyone else performed their sidesteps, class 1-A were back to ball throwing, the very activity that Katsuki got 705.2 meters on just for the demonstration of the assessment. And because of that, Katsuki didn't have to do it again.

After grabbing hold of one of the balls, Aizawa's eyes lazily scan the students until landing right on Asta.

"Kurosaki, you go first this time."

Aizawa throws Asta the ball, resulting in the latter catching it in one hand.

After looking at it for a quick moment, Asta nods to himself with a firm gaze and approaches the circle to complete his next task.

Everyone watches the gray-blonde boy enter inside the circle and look up towards the sky with the ball clenched in his hand.

"Alright, here I go."

With his legs spaced apart, Asta crouches slightly and starts jumping.

At first, everyone didn't quite understand why he's doing that. But when they see Asta getting higher with every leap in the air, Tenya came to a realization and slammed his fist into an open palm.

'Yes, of course! If Kurosaki keeps jumping until he gets to the level that suits him the most…'

As he was about to form his hypothesis, Asta got as high as he could go and began to spin around as fast as Crash Bandicoot for three seconds before he finally throws the ball.

Everyone watched how fast the ball went because of how hard Asta swung his arm, especially with the help of the boy's spinning. They were now wondering just how far the ball will go because of the method he used since he lacked a Quirk.

Asta lands with both hands on the ground and a still pose. He kept his stare at the sky for a couple more seconds before turning over to Aizawa.

"What's the distance, Sensei?"

Aizawa looks at his phone and waits a moment for the calculations to stop before presenting it to Asta.

"Seven hundred and five meters exactly."

Asta nods in acknowledgment before walking back to the students, who were once again surprised at his raw strength with the mild exception of Izuku and Kirishima.

Katsuki just kept glaring at Asta. Sure, he didn't quite beat his record since it was point two meters behind him, but it still bugged him that someone as short as Asta was able to toss the ball almost as far as Katsuki did.

Ochaco went next. Once she entered the circle, she giggled to herself before giving her ball one poke. Looking up at the sky, she then just simply chucked it. She didn't put any strength into the toss, she just threw it as if she intended to pass the ball to someone else while she still smiled.

But despite such a weak throw, everybody saw that the slow-moving ball showed no signs of lowering towards the ball, leaving some puzzled about what's going on.

It was until the ball was no longer in sight that Aizawa decided to give Ochaco a score that made sense for a Quirk like hers. And after presenting it to Ochaco, the rest of the students' jaws drop when they got a look at it for themselves.

[Infinity?!]

Most of the students remained shocked at what Ochaco's Quirk did to the ball while a select few of them were more excited.

"That's insane?!" Kaminari exclaims. "She's got infinity as her score?!"

"That makes sense," Asta says to the blonde boy. "With her Quirk able to make some objects weigh pretty much nothing, it's only natural for that ball to get launched into space." The gray-blonde boy pounds his fists together with a grin. "That really is incredible! Who knows what else she can do with her Quirk, huh, Izuku?"

Just as he turned to face his best friend, Asta's eyes broaden to see that Izuku was more petrified than before.

While it was true that nobody else can beat Ochaco's range, Izuku was still unsure what he will do. With everyone being so fantastic in certain aspects of the assessment, Izuku could barely do any better. Granted, his stamina and speed were at least up to par for the sidesteps and the long jump to be at the very least in second place below Asta, but now, he was at a part where he's not going to have a choice but to use One For All if he were to get a score as high as his friend's or Katsuki's.

Just knowing that made Izuku feel like he's seeing a ghost. One For All isn't a power that he can simply master like the fictional Clark Kent did in the older Superman comics, so how was he going to-

"Midoriya! You're next."

Izuku jumps when he hears Aizawa call out to him with a ball in his hand ready for him.

Knowing it was inevitable, Izuku swallows a nerve-wracking lump and begins to walk forward.

But as he took his second step, he felt a single comforting pat on his back. Turning around, he saw that it was Asta who did it, giving him a firm stare.

"You can do it, Izuku," he whispers to him. "After this, there's the long-distance run, sit-ups, and the seated toe-touch. Just do what you can."

Izuku keeps his stare on his friend before nodding with almost the same expression as Asta's and continuing forward.

After taking the ball from Aizawa and getting into the circle, Izuku looks down at his ball with narrowed eyes.

'Well… it's now or never…' Izuku thought before lifting his head up forwards. 'If I don't go for it, I'll end up being last…'

Meanwhile, Tenya looks at the green-haired boy with crossed arms and a stern look while he started to worry for him, with Ochaco being just as anxious for Izuku.

"Things will look grim for Midoriya if he continues like this."

Asta looks over to Tenya when he said that. While he didn't like how he phrased it, he was right.

So far, Izuku never used One For All throughout the entire assessment. Even if it were because of his inspiration for his friend, he knew that Izuku wasn't as physically strong as Asta.

But that didn't stop the gray-blonde boy from mentally rooting for him. He was hoping that the last few tests that he wouldn't need One For All after the ball toss. He physically trained hard for this, and while he wasn't expecting the same results as his, Asta hoped that it would still bring good results.

"Of course it will, four eyes," Tenya, Asta, and Ochaco turn their heads right when they hear Katsuki interject with his usual grouchy expression. "The small fry doesn't even have a Quirk."

While Asta's eyes slit at Katsuki, Tenya and Ochaco give him a raised brow.

"Quirkless?" Tenya questions the ash-blonde boy. "Are you not aware of what he did in the entrance exam?"

While the two argued with each other, Asta and Aizawa paid close attention to Izuku, intending to know what he will do.

'I guess it's about time, huh?' Izuku asks himself while squeezing his ball tightly.

And after he did, he flashes back to his mother telling him how proud he was of him, followed by All Might in his shriveled state telling him that he can still be a Hero.

But there was one memory that drove Izuku to finally push forward, and it was Asta that encouraged him to continue to follow his dreams during a time where they became best friends.

With Izuku's arm cocked forward, Asta gasps lightly with widened eyes when he sees glowing red vein-like markings appear on his friend's right arm.

'This is…'

"SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!"

SHKEEEEEEEEEEEEN!

Once Izuku made that call, Izuku threw the ball with all of his might, intending to use One For All to get it as far as he can.

But that didn't happen.

After he took his throw, Izuku gasps to see that the ball didn't go as far as he expected to.

"Wh-What?!" Izuku whispers as he watches the ball land on the 46-meter marker. "I was definitely trying to use it just now."

"Ha! Just as I thought! That damn Deku really doesn't have a Quirk!"

"No, you're wrong…" Everybody turns to Asta when they hear him speak up next.

And with a rather angry stare, Asta faced Aizawa, whose scarf was starting to unfold itself while the teacher's hair was standing up and his eyes were glowing red.

"Did you by any chance prevent Izuku from using his Quirk… Eraser Head-sensei?"

Most of the students gasp when Asta cracked the code on their Sensei's Hero name thanks to his glowing red eyes and the pair of goggles both Asta and Izuku found familiar.

"Wait, What?!"

"So that makes our Sensei… the Erasure Hero!"

"Eraser Head? Never heard of him."

"I have. He's an underground Hero. He doesn't like media attention, claiming that it hinders his work."

Aizawa looked over to Asta for a quick second before looking back at Izuku, who was now quaking at his teacher's suddenly scary appearance. And the rest of Aizawa's fabric acting as dangerous tendrils did not help things.

"You have sharp eyes, Kurosaki. Yes, I have erased that boy's Quirk." With a grunt, Aizawa pulls onto his scarf while glaring harshly at Izuku. "That entrance exam wasn't rational enough on their decision to pass you, Midoriya."

Asta looked offended at what he was able to hear him say, while the rest of the students were clueless on what he's saying to Izuku.

While this was going on, All Might can be seen peeking over from the school building. Despite his heroic grin, he was worried for Izuku.

'Young Midoriya…'

Keeping his eyes on the situation, All Might looks on to see Aizawa's glare getting harsher and harsher on Izuku.

"From what I can tell, you can't control your Quirk properly, can you?" Izuku was dead silent, unsure how to respond. "Do you intend to become incapacitated again and have someone save you?"

"N-N-N-No!" Izuku finally speaks. "That's not my intent-"

Izuku was cut off when the fabric of Aizawa's scarf wraps around Izuku's torso tightly before pulling him towards Aizawa so he can stare him in the face.

"Whatever your intention, I'm saying that's what those around you will be forced to do." Aizawa pauses to shift his eyes towards where All Might is hiding, making the symbol of peace shiver a bit. "In the past, there was an oppressively passionate Hero who saved over a thousand people by himself and became a legend." He looks back at the scared Izuku. "Even if you have the same reckless valor, you'll just be decked and turn into a useless doll after either saving one person or taking down one grunt. So, if you ask me, Izuku Midoriya, with the state your power is currently in, you can't become a Hero."

"Tch!"

Asta's teeth nearly grit when he was able to pick that last sentence up with his hearing while the rest just draw blanks at their private talks. When he heard him say that he's unable to be a Hero, Asta was absolutely livid despite him trying to keep his anger from exploding. His fists were clenched so tight that his nails were on the verge of drawing blood from his palms.

But despite all of that, Asta knew that Aizawa was correct on the current state of Izuku's power. The gray-blonde boy heard from his friend himself how just activating it would leave the arm or leg he's using to become as useless as a broken cogwheel.

While he was thinking about all of this, Asta felt a hand grab hold of his shoulder and looked up to see Tenya looking at him.

"Please remain calm, Kurosaki," Tenya whispers to him, understanding why he was feeling like he is. "I know Midoriya is your friend, but I'm sure our Sensei is probably giving him some sort of advice."

"Yeah," Katsuki chimes in. "He's probably telling him to get his ass out of here!"

Just as he says that, Katsuki jumps a bit when he sees Asta giving him the harshest glare he's ever given to him since that one time in junior high. And from what Tenya, Ochaco, and Tokoyami could see, it was quite a sight.

"Don't count him out just yet… Bakago!"

DON!

At that moment, Katsuki's eyes widen when a familiar flare of red appears in Asta's right iris, a sight that the bird boy was also able to take a glimpse at with surprised eyes. And… did his pupil turn into a slit for a second before his eye went back to green while Asta looked back at Izuku?

Katsuki was about to respond with something while growling hard, but Tenya was able to get in between him and Asta before things could get ugly while keeping his eyes on Asta.

'Geez! Just what is their history? I can get an idea for Kurosaki and Midoriya, but with Bakugo…'

After he said what he said, Aizawa releases Izuku from his scarf's grasp while shutting his eyes once with his hair falling back down.

"I've returned your Quirk," he says to Izuku before walking back to his original spot. "You have two turns for the ball throw. Try again and get it over with."

After being told this, Izuku stares down at the ground while murmuring to himself, something that made Asta more anxious for his friend.

Aizawa, on the other hand, just kept his tired stare on the green-haired boy.

'Now, will he incorrigibly prepare for an honorable defeat here by using all his strength, or become intimidated and settle into last place?'

After taking some eye drops, the Erasure Hero resumes his observation on Izuku, who continued to ponder to himself on how he'll pull it off without becoming a liability.

'I still can't control my power… Should I let everything I can do hang on this one throw?'

He continued to think about it for another minute. But during that time, his eyes widen when another thought popped up in his head.

'Wait! I have an idea!'

With his stare turning more serious than before, Izuku spreads his feet apart and clutches his ball tightly, drawing a raised brow from Aizawa.

When All Might watched his apprentice begin to throw his ball, he took notice of something he found different about his use of his Quirk. Instead of seeing the thick vein pattern as Izuku described it to him all over his arm, he was able to detect them on his finger and his finger only.

"Wait… Is he serious?"

'Watch me, Asta!' Izuku thought as he unleashes the power of One For All in his finger at just the right moment during his toss. 'Just like you always do… I will surpass my limits!'

"SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!"

And with his swing, Izuku was able to throw the ball high in the air with his One For All activated finger giving it the push that makes it go in the speed of a bullet, leaving everyone shocked at what he just did, even Katsuki and Aizawa.

Asta was the most astonished, seeing that his arm didn't end up in a state that he described it to be the last time.

'Izuku… were you able to figure out how to use your Quirk without causing major damage to yourself?'

While holding onto his wrist, Izuku looks down at his right hand to see that his pointer finger was the only part of his hand that suffered the damage of One For All's power.

'It doesn't hurt as much as before… but at least it's progress.'

Aizawa continued to wait for Izuku's final result to come in, and when it did, he almost couldn't believe his eyes.

Izuku's throwing distance was 705.3 meters far, and when he saw him throw the ball his arm didn't become grotesque, leaving him in confusion.

"Sensei…" Looking up from his phone, Aizawa's eyes got wider when he sees a stern Izuku look right at him when the green-haired boy revealed his right fist to him, despite feeling the pain from his index finger. "I can still move! I'm not done yet!"

'This kid…' Aizawa thought as a grin slowly worked its way on his lips.

When he saw what his distance was, Asta broke into a smirk of his own and laughs gleefully for Izuku with two thumbs up.

"Way to go! I know you could pull it off, best buddy!"

All Might sighs a breath of relief from his hiding spot and began to retreat further behind the wall of the building.

'I came because I was worried, but good lord, young man! You may still lack control, but you also couldn't become incapacitated after being able to minimize the damage.' With his smile widening, All Might forms a fist in his right hand and looks up at the sky. "Dammit, young Midoriya, when did you get as cool as young Kurosaki?!"

"Damn! He got over seven hundred meters, too?!" Sero asks.

"First Bakugo, then Kurosaki, and now Midoriya!" Mineta exclaims.

"Alright! A Hero-like record!" Ochaco cheers in glee.

"But his finger's swollen," Tenya notices. "Midoriya has a rather strange Strength Enhancement Quirk."

While the students were voicing their amusement, Katsuki just stared at the ball Izuku threw with a dropped jaw and bloodshot eyes.

'Wh-Wh-What's with that power?!' the explosion wielder questions. 'Everyone's Quirks manifest by the age of four, and Izuku turned out Quirkless. So what the hell?!'

But then, Katsuki's irises contract when he remembered what Izuku exactly told him in a gutter.

It was because of his own effort.

With that phrase echoing in his head again, small pops of explosions began to manifest as he came to a conclusion that made more and more explosives fume from his hands.

"DEKU!"

Everybody jumps when Katsuki began to lunge towards Izuku with his hand aiming for him, making the green-haired clam up with fear on his face.

"What the hell's going on, you bastard?!" Katsuki demands as he was about to get closer to the shivering Izuku. "Have you been hiding your power from me the whole-"

Before he could get any more closer, everyone watches Asta quickly get in front of Izuku in a protective stance, making him pause his sprint and set his white-eyed glare on the gray-blonde boy.

"This isn't the time, Bakugo," Asta says simply while keeping his stare on Katsuki.

"Get out of my way, you little dwarf," Katsuki growls before summoning more explosions in his hands. "Unless you want some too!"

Asta's glare sharpens on Katsuki before taking a step forward and pointing a finger at the hothead.

"Oi! Are you really that butt-hurt over me and Izuku making it to this school?! You're such a selfish jerk!"

"Shut up, Bakasta! And don't even think that I'm not suspicious about you either!"

"Suspicious about what?! Do you have a screw loose or something?!"

Izuku and the rest of the students watch Katsuki create larger explosions in his palms while Asta just stared on, showing no signs of backing down.

As this was happening, Shoto and Fumikage saw how Asta displayed such a steely expression towards Katsuki. He looked like he was ready to fight and protect Izuku with that calm and collective stance of his.

And those eyes…

When The two students saw that stern look in his eyes, it told them that this was the stare of a warrior.

Katsuki was about to make his first move on Asta with his explosions. But before he could jump forward, a familiar cloth wraps around his arms, legs, and face. With his menacing frown getting better, he tried to set himself free, but no matter how much he squirmed around, it kept its grip on him.

"D-Dammit! These cloths are hard!"

With his head being turned around by the cloth, Katsuki's irises contract when he sees that it was Aizawa who unleashed his scarf onto him.

"They're weapons for capture made of carbon fiber woven together with a metal wire made of a special alloy," Aizawa states before sharpening his red-eyed glare at Katsuki. "I would appreciate it if you didn't keep making me use my Quirk over and over because of your hot-headed attitude! I've got dry eye because of you, dammit!"

While everyone shivered at how scary Aizawa sounded, hearing that made sense to Asta because if he recalls correctly, the effects of Aizawa's erasure Quirk wear off as soon as he blinks. And given that he has to keep his eyes open in order for the victim's Quirk to keep disabled, he understood completely why it would give his teacher such a condition due to a lack of blinking.

After releasing Katsuki from the binds, Aizawa closes his eyes and keeps them shut for five seconds before sighing a breath and addressing the rest of his students.

"We're wasting time. Whoever is next, get to it."

While Izuku hurried over to the other students, mostly towards Asta and Ochaco, Katsuki continued to stare at the ground and continue to grit his teeth before looking back at Izuku, who engaged in a conversation with Asta.

"Is that what happens when you use it, Izuku?"

"Y… Yeah…" Izuku confirms to Asta while looking away. "But… At least I made it to where my entire arm isn't broken, so I'm getting somewhere."

"I hope so, bud," Asta whispers back. "Geez, All Might should have told you how to properly prevent such injuries."

While Izuku scratches the back of his head with the hand that didn't have a swollen finger and Ochaco started to speak with Izuku herself, Katsuki kept his glare onto Izuku and tightens his fist.

'Until a little while ago, he was just a pebble on the side of the road…' Also suspicious about Asta's condition as well, he kept looking between both Izuku and Asta while continuing to seethe in rage. 'Both of them… are mere pebbles on the side of the road!'

---

After everyone else threw their softballs, the last three tests were simple physical tests that do not require the use of a Quirk, something that Izuku sighed a breath of relief on.

The first of the three was sit-ups. Izuku was able to do fine in this one, but because of the pain he continued to feel in his finger, it has hindered him from scoring more sit-ups than he hoped he could.

But while everyone else got their personal maximum amount, there was just one more student who has yet to finish…

"Not yet..! I'm… still going..!"

Five minutes passed, and Asta was still doing sit-ups. Everyone who finished up, especially those who had the least amount, just gawk at the gray-blonde boy, amazed that he hasn't stopped yet.

Another two minutes pass, and finally, a heavy breathing Asta stopped. And much to everyone's shock, he got a total of one thousand and one sit-ups, surpassing every single student on the scoreboard of that test, a fact that even got Aizawa a little surprised when he kept score.

"Holy crap!" Mineta exclaims. "It's insane that he got so much!"

"Wow! That guy is so manly!" Kirishima says with faux tears in his eyes, which were covered by his arm.

"I'm not surprised, honestly," Everybody except for Aizawa turns towards Kyoka, who kept her stare on Asta while twirling her ear jack. "I mean, seriously, Kurosaki-san is able to wall-jump up a building, run fast, and jump pretty far and high. It's no wonder that he's doing more sit-ups than the rest of us. He's friggin strong."

Izuku nodded in agreement while holding onto his hurt finger and quietly giggles with a wide smile.

'You think that's incredible, you should watch Asta perform a thousand handstand push-ups with one hand.'

After thinking about the one time his friend pulled that off during their last few days of junior high, Izuku became more inspired than ever. In the last two tests, he will endure the aching of his finger and push his limits.

Asta was in worse pain since the Sludge Villain incident, and the entrance exams from what Asta explained about his own hand being cut up while removing a zero-pointer's battery during their path to U.A. And if Asta can keep at it with great results despite such struggles, than so will Izuku.

And at the seated toe-touch test, Izuku was able to do just that. The pain persisted in his finger, but while performing the test, he bit his lip tight and went as far as he could with Aizawa noticing a small trickle of blood going down the lip as he did that.

After getting his results, which were passable at best, Izuku looked over to Asta and saw that he did just as great. It wasn't as far as Momo's range was in the test, but it was enough to surpass Katsuki and Shoto's range.

And finally, there was the long-distance run. This one proved to be a rather challenging test for Izuku. Not just because of his swollen finger instilling more pain, but the stamina he used for the sit-ups hasn't quite fully refilled like Asta's did.

But like the other tests, he refused to give up. Izuku kept his pace up and used the pain in his finger as a source of adrenaline to move as fast as he can without tripping over himself.

And as a result, Izuku was able to run past Mineta, Toru, and even get close to passing Kyoka.

While he was running, Izuku saw that the farthest from all the students in the run is Asta and Momo. And when everyone else got a look, they could see that once again, these two were neck and neck with each other like they were in the fifty-meter dash. The only difference to that was that Tenya was also among the two.

---

Five more minutes pass, and the distance run is finally completed. And as it was, Izuku collapsed onto the ground on his back, being very exhausted from all of the running he did while fighting the pain in his finger and keeping his speed up to stay in front of the few students he was able to pass.

While most of the students walked past him, Asta immediately came to his aid and offered him a hand, which Izuku kindly accepts and allows Asta to pull him back on the ground.

"Can you stand?"

"I… I think so…" Izuku replies as his legs continued to shake.

"Here, let me help you walk for a while," Asta offers before locking an arm around Izuku's waist.

Izuku was silent for a moment before sighing with a nod, allowing Asta to escort him towards the rest of the students with Aizawa waiting for them.

As they were walking towards him, Aizawa observed Izuku and Asta with squinted eyes for a moment before looking back at the rest of the students.

With all the students gathered, Aizawa coughs into his fist before speaking.

"Okay, I'll quickly tell you the results. The total is simply the marks you got from each test. It's a waste of time to explain verbally, so I'll show you the results all at once."

With a click of a button on his phone, Aizawa reveals a hologram that shows all the students' names in class 1-A.

While everyone else was looking for their names, Asta scans the list to see where his is. And when he found it, he found it in a spot that he did not think he would find it on.

"Wait… Am I reading this right?!"

Everyone else except Aizawa looks over to what Asta is shocked about, and upon eye contact, their eyes nearly pop out of their sockets to reveal that Asta was ranked in third place, below Shoto, who was in second place, and Momo, who was in first.

"Holy hell! He actually got in third?!" Sero asked.

"Of course he did!" Kirishima exclaims with a proud grin. "With mighty muscles like Asta's, it's only natural that someone as manly as him would be ranked so high thanks to his strength and strong will!"

Asta chuckles awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.

"Y-You're too kind, Kirishima."

"He's stating facts, Kurosaki," Tenya adds, making the gray-blonde boy turn his head to him. "Despite your lack of a Quirk, you took the odds head-on and persevered like nobody else did! You even managed to surpass all of us in the last three tests with your overwhelming stamina! You should be proud, Kurosaki!"

Asta was taken back by all of this. He had to admit, he really was expecting some sort of backlash from at least most of his classmates because he got here Quirkless. But much to his surprise, Asta saw some of the students like Tsuyu, Kirishima, Mina, Rikido Sato, and, despite not being seen, Toru, giving the gray-blonde welcoming smiles and waves, making him feel more flattered and bewildered than before.

"Thanks…" Asta began before casually pointing a finger at Tenya. "But I told you to call me Asta."

Tenya stiffens a bit at the response before regaining his composure and bowing his head in apology with Asta brushing it off like it's nothing to worry about.

"I can definitely agree with Iida-kun," Asta looks to his right to see the pink-skinned girl skipping over to him with excitement all over her face. "Hiya~! I'm Mina Ashido, and I'm so looking forward to becoming besties with you~!"

Asta was surprised with how cheerful the girl was but smiled back regardless as she appeared to be a nice girl.

"Sure. I'd love to make more friends here."

"And I know just how we can become better acquainted, Asta-kun!"

"Eh? You do?"

After nodding enthusiastically, she was hesitant for a moment, but with a trembling grin and a blush working its way on her cheeks, Mina looks back up at Asta and gives him one request:

"Can I please get a feel of your muscles?"

Asta blinks at Mina and was silent for a moment before giving her his answer.

"Uh… Okay," Asta allows before flexing his right arm. "Just don't be too long, we still need to-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Mina immediately latched onto Asta's arm and started to roam her hands all over it. And when she started to squeeze about, her gaze glimmered.

"Oooooooh~, so hard~" Mina moans out, causing Kaminari, Mineta, and a few other boys to blush at how perverted she sounded while the former two boys calling Asta lucky under their breaths as they stared on with jealousy, causing Sero, Kyoka, and Tenya to roll their eyes at them. "Asta-kun, has anyone ever told you that they feel as strong as iron~?"

Asta's eyes go horizontal while sweat dropping.

"Not… really…"

Katsuki searched for his name, and when he found it, his eyes widen to see that he was ranked fourth. And once again, he was outranked by Asta, which made him bare his teeth at the revelation, as did the fact that Momo and Shoto were past him as well.

Izuku frantically looked for his name all over the hologram. After looking towards the right of it, he found his name. And much to his surprise, he found himself in nineteenth place.

Although he was disappointed that he didn't do so well because of his current state, the bright side he could look at is that he wasn't in last. And therefore, he won't get expelled.

That last place spot was occupied by Mineta. And when he found out about it after he stopped glaring at Asta, he became frozen at the sight, not letting out a single sound as he kept his stare onto the spot.

After seeing that everyone found their standing, Aizawa got rid of the hologram and addresses his students once more.

"By the way, I lied about the expulsion," He says before giving them a grin. "It was a rational deception to draw out the upper limits of your strength and Quirks."

All was silent.

As those words escaped Aizawa's mouth, most of the students that were concerned about expulsion has stood in still silence, wondering if they heard him right because of how dark he was on the subject.

But all of that quiet was soon cut off when Asta began to laugh as if he heard a joke before pointing at Aizawa with a toothy grin and a wink.

"Ha! You kidder! I knew you wouldn't throw lower-ranking students just like that!"

[WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! YOU KNEW IT WAS A LIE?!]

Asta snickers again while covering his ears before explaining to his classmates.

"My first clue on it was how he explained it. When Sensei said that the one in last place would be expelled, he was grinning like a loony. No offense, Sensei." Asta didn't notice the raised brow Aizawa gave him because of how he described it. "If you ask me, if he was serious about kicking one of us out, he would have had a more stern face instead of that smirk. So hey, whoever came in last, you're good! You can still take a swing at it!"

Izuku, Ochaco, and Tenya were just as shocked as the rest of the students were, with the exception of Shoto.

""And you didn't tell us earlier because?!"" Mineta and Kaminari question, with some other students like Kyoka, Tenya, Ochaco, and Izuku wondering the same thing.

"Y'all wouldn't have tried hard enough if I spilled it. I mean, come on, it's the Hero Course!" Asta flexes his arms with wider eyes, causing most of the students to gasp at how big they are, and Mina and Toru to look at them with delight. "We're supposed to surpass our limits! Beyond Plus Ultra!"

After hearing what he had to say, Momo looked on at Asta with an impressed stare.

'Wow… Asta-kun's smarter than I give him credit for. He was able to see through the lie just by seeing him grin… Just like I did…'

Aizawa kept his stare on Asta while the rest of the students shared their relief with one another.

"Man, that was a little nerve-wracking, huh?" Sero asks Kirishima, who brushed the revelation off with a grin and a fist.

"Whatever! I'll take up the challenge anytime!"

After everybody calmed down, Aizawa coughs into his fist to get their attention.

"With that, we're done here. There are handouts with the curriculum and such in the classroom. So when you get back, look over them."

While Izuku continued to be relieved after Asta's confirmation that expulsion wasn't going to happen, he failed to notice Aizawa walking towards him.

"Midoriya," hearing his name, Izuku looks over to see his teacher presenting a pass to him. "Have the old lady fix you up in the nurse's office. Tomorrow will be packed with even more rigorous tests. So be prepared."

After watching Aizawa walk away, Izuku looks down at his pass.

'I was able to get through it for now. But despite pushing myself in the last three tests, there was too much that I couldn't do.' Remembering his stance of nineteenth place, Izuku gently tightens his grip on the pass with a more determined gaze. 'I've got a lot to learn from here on out in order to get closer to my dream.'

Izuku then looks over to Asta, who was giving him a thumbs up while walking over to him with Kirishima and Mina behind him. He nods at his friend with a smirk, continuing to see him as his source of motivation.

---

"Aizawa, you sly fox!"

The Eraser Head himself pauses his walk when he hears a familiar Hero shout over to him and slowly turns his head towards him.

"So, you've been watching from the shadows, All Might?" he asks before turning back forward. "Too much time on your hands?"

"A 'ration deception' you said?" All Might continues with his hand morphing to a fist. "April Fools was a week ago! You punished a whole class of last year's first-years with expulsion. You cut those you judge to have zero potential without hesitation. For a man like that to go back on his word like that, you had to have felt the potential of that young man, right?"

"'Also'?" Aizawa repeated with a groggy stare before smirking at All Might. "You seem to be supporting him quite a bit." His smile widens a bit when he watches the Symbol of Piece twitch a little with some sweat drops on his face. "Is that how a teacher should be acting?" His frown returns before continuing. "His potential never was zero. That's all it was. I'll always cut those without potential. There's nothing crueler than letting a dream end midway."

All Might chuckled awkwardly at Aizawa's information.

'So you're being kind in your own way, huh?' "Okay, you can say what you want. But Aizawa, if there's one kid in your class that I'm sure you have a keen interest in, it would be young Kurosaki, yes? I did see you observe him the most, after all."

The number one Hero blinks in slight surprise to see that Aizawa stopped moving after stating Asta's surname. He was dead silent, and it only took him ten seconds before he resumed walking without batting an eye to All Might.

"I will admit, that noisy kid's got some insane physical strength and stamina. And with how he was able to find a way to get the ball throw length as far as he did, he's kind of clever. But he still has a long way to go before he can make me have the same smile as yours."

All Might sweat drops as he watches Aizawa get farther and farther from him.

"Geez… We really don't get along after all."

---

After the school day was finished, Izuku can be seen walking home next to Asta, the former of whom feeling very tired.

"Man, that was a crazy day, wasn't it, Izuku?"

"I'll say," Izuku agrees before yawning into his palm.

As the two continued walking, Asta notices someone approaching them from the corner of his eyes and smiles.

"Oh, hey there, Tenya!"

Izuku looks over to who Asta was waving at and saw Tenya walking over to them.

"Good evening, Kurosaki and Midoriya," Tenya greets with a wave back before joining them.

"I told you to call me Asta," Asta corrects, causing Tenya to apologize again before addressing Izuku next.

"Is your finger healed up, Midoriya?"

"Y-Yeah," Izuku confirms while showing his bandaged finger to Tenya. "It was thanks to Recovery Girl's Quirk."

"But for some reason, it has a rather strange downside in making him tired," Asta adds. "From what Izuku told me, apparently, it only stimulates a person's healing ability and takes up the patient's stamina to get the injuries back to normal. Which is kinda weird, because when Recovery Girl healed my hand after the entrance exams, I didn't feel sleepy myself."

Tenya nods with Asta with a hand over his chin.

"Perhaps it's because either your injury wasn't as severe as Midoriya's, or that you have a much larger amount of stamina than anyone else I've seen."

"You could be right, Tenya."

While the two continued to speak with each other, Izuku looks at his bandaged finger for a moment before turning his hand into a fist.

'I can't just keep getting help from others. I need to hurry up and learn to control my power properly.'

"I was really taken in by Aizawa-sensei," Tenya says to Asta and Izuku. "I even thought, 'This is the best of the best' and such. I didn't think a teacher would encourage us with a lie."

Izuku and Asta nod with Tenya. At first, Izuku thought Tenya was pretty scary, but he's just earnest.

"Hey! You three!" Hearing a recognizable female voice, the trio of boys turn around and see Ochaco running after them. "Are y'all going to the station? Wait for me!"

"U-U-Uraraka-san!" Izuku's face becomes bright red when Ochaco got closer.

"You're the infinity girl," Tenya says to Ochaco as she finally caught up with them.

"Yeah! I'm Ochaco Uraraka," she introduces to the three boys. "Let's see, you're Tenya Iida," Tenya nods before she looks over to Asta. "And you're Asta Kurosaki-kun."

"Yup!" Asta confirms with a smirk back. "It's good to see you again!"

After nodding with Asta, Ochaco then looks over to Izuku, who froze up when she made eye contact with him.

"And you must be Deku Midoriya, right?"

"Deku?!" Izuku repeats with shock while Asta's expression became serious.

"Isn't that your name?" Ochaco asks Izuku with a tilted head. "During the Quirk Assessment test, that Bakugo boy shouted that name at you didn't he?"

"That's because it's an insult to him and not his real name!" Asta explains as calmly as he could, but Ochaco can see that he was a little mad. "His real name is Izuku!"

"Deku is an insult?" Tenya questions Asta, who nodded at him in response.

Ochaco gasps at the revelation before looking at Izuku, who was scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Yeah… Like Asta stated, Kacchan calls me Deku to make fun of me…"

"Oh gosh! I'm so sorry," Ochaco quickly apologized while rubbing the back of her head too. "But to be honest, Deku sounds like the Japanese word for 'You can do it!' It also sounds pretty cute, so I kinda like it."

"Deku it is!" Izuku immediately says with a dopey smile and a redder face.

"Hold on, Midoriya!" Tenya cautions. "You and Asta just explained how it's an insult! Are you sure you want to accept it that easily?"

Asta places a hand on his chin and ponders about what Ochaco explained for a moment before snapping his fingers.

"Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe Deku can have a better and positive meaning."

"Eh?" Tenya was confused. "How so, Asta?"

"Okay, I just thought of it, so hear me out. Take the first two letters of English spelling of the word 'Determined': D-E."

"Okay…"

"Then, let's take the last two letters of my friend's first name: K-U. Put the two together, and you'll get a good version of Deku: Determined-Izuku!"

Ochaco and Tenya's eyes broaden at Asta's new definition for Deku, but they weren't as stunned as Izuku when he listened to what Asta explained.

"I see… When you put it like that, Asta…" Tenya pauses for a second before offering him a smile. "Yes, that's a great approach for the word!"

"Yeah!" Ochaco agrees. "That's a great definition! Deku, short for Determined-Izuku!"

Izuku was the most flattered, chuckling for a bit before giving Asta a smile.

"Yeah… I think that will work, Asta. Thank you for giving it a positive meaning!"

"Of course, best buddy!" Asta says before giving Izuku a smirk back.

"Wow! You two sure do get along great!" Ochaco compliments Asta and Izuku. "How long have you two been friends?"

"Heh heh! Izuku and I have been pals since elementary school!"

While Ochaco was amazed by this, Tenya nodded in understanding.

'That explains why Asta was protective of him from Bakugo during the tests, and when the two always nod and give each other thumbs ups when they do good.'

"Yo! Asta!"

"Asta-kun! Wait up!"

"Huh?" Asta turns his head towards where the two new voices came from and looks to see two familiar classmates approaching him.

"Mina-chan! Kirishima!"

"Hey, dude!" Kirishima greets with a fist bump to Asta's shoulder. "Mind if we tag along on the walk home?"

"Yeah!" Mina chimes in as giddy as a child getting sweets. "I wanna know you and your other friends more!"

Asta blinks at his two classmates before nodding with a smile.

"Sure! The more the merrier!"

With that said, as they walked their way towards the subway station, Asta introduced Izuku to Mina and Eijiro, and they got along just as quick as Asta did with them.

And as they did, the group discussed their likes, dislikes, favorite food, games, movies, and music, and much more.

They had a great time on their way home. But along the way, there were moments where Mina would attempt to get another feel of Asta's muscles before Tenya would stop her and scold her for making such advances without permission, only for her to playfully stick her tongue out at him before resorting to just ogling at Asta's muscular body with her eyes sneaking glances at his butt from time to time.

After he laughed with his new friends, Izuku looks forward with narrowed eyes and a smirk.

'There are so many things I can't do. So I'll have to work harder and do my very best.' Izuku shifts his eyes over to Asta, who was still having a blast with Eijiro and Mina and widens his smile. 'I'll work just as hard as you, Asta, and surpass more of my limits!'

But for now, Izuku is going to take this time to be happy that he has made a lot more friends today.

But During their hangouts, both Izuku and Asta knew that the real thing begins tomorrow, and they were going to be ready, with Izuku intending to have the same mindset as Asta, one of his two inspirations to continue his path on being a Hero.

To be continued in the next chapter: "The Battle Trials."

Author's note: Now, I'm going to give it to him anyway, but what do you readers think about Asta using a grappling hook? He won't have it during the battle trials next chapter since they'll only get Asta's Hero costume ready, but he'll get it during the USJ arc.

Whether the Battle Trials will be a two-parter or not, I'm not sure yet. I already picked who Asta's going to fight and who his ally will be on his Hero team, with his opponents being on the Villain team, so I guess it'll depend on the length of the battles. We'll see.

Asta's harem: Setsuna, Tsuyu, Mina, Kyoka, Mei, Nejire, Himiko, Midnight, Mt. Lady, and Mirko.

Until next time, folks~!