It was finally here. After two weeks of tears and anxiety the dreaded/awaited letter was in front of them.
It was weirdly heavy and instead of a letter a chunk of metal came out? After tentatively poking it a hologram of All Might suddenly appeared in his room.
"Y'know, if they were real heroes they'd put their hologram budget towards feeding the homeless."
"Shut up! You're not wrong but now isn't the time."
"Hello Midoriya Izuku! I am here! To give you your results! You might be wondering why I'm reading your results, and that's because I'll be a teacher at UA this year!"
Izuku muttered to himself "Does he even have qualifications to be a teacher? I feel like someone would have noticed if he went to college for education."
"Ha, you don't need qualifications when you're rich and famous!"
"You received a total of 35 villain points, just barely enough to enter the hero course."
"What the fuck, we kicked so much ass, there's no way we're bottom of the barrel."
"Of course, that would only be the case if that's all there was to it. You also received rescue points for helping those in need."
The video cut to him carrying Uraraka away from the giant robot then to the girl asking to share her points with him.
"For your heroic behavior, you were awarded forty rescue points, putting you in second place! You have earned your place in the hero program of Class 1-A. This is your hero academia!"
"Holy shit. We actually did it."
"Did you really doubt me? I'm wounded."
"Ok, but this was a big thing and it's not exactly a lot of people that get into the best hero school in the country."
"Hey, don't sell us short. We got second fucking place and we're going to kick so much villain ass they'll run out of asses for us to kick."
"I'm not sure that's how crime works but the enthusiasm is good."
The next day it was the weekend and the duo made their way down to the hospital, feeling better than either had in a long time.
As he walked up to the front desk the receptionist looked at him with concern.
"Is everything alright Midoriya? You're not scheduled for your monthly check in for another week."
Oh right, an outpatient suddenly showing up at a mental hospital they had stayed at probably looked like not what was happening.
"Oh, um, no. I'm not here for me. Well, I sort of am, but not really. I guess I'm here for me and another person." Izuku realized his anxious rambling was not exactly helpful and took a deep breath. "Can I just visit Rei?"
The woman laughed, "Of course, just sign in. I'm guessing you remember the way?"
He nodded and made his way through the familiar building and knocked on one of the many identical doors.
"Come in." As he opened the door Rei looked over and a large smile spread over her face when she saw him. "Well hello there, what brings you all the way out here?"
He laughed a little, "You know this really isn't that far for me."
"Yes, but that sounds less dramatic. Anyways, you haven't answered my question about your impromptu visit."
"Yes! I have very exciting news!"
Tanaka decided that this was the perfect opportunity to show off a new trick they had learned. It took a lot more time than just ejecting himself out of Izuku's throat, but this was more sustainable for long periods (and it was less gross for Izuku). Tanaka seeped out of the pores in Izuku's arm, creating a gauntlet of slime that expanded into a head-like shape that shouted at Rei.
"We got into hero school!"
"Oh my. You're right, that is very exciting. I know you were training for UA, right?"
Izuku simply nodded but paused as he saw Rei's expression drop.
"What's wrong?"
She was silent for a minute and Tanaka started to panic as tears ran down her cheek.
"Do you remember how I told you I did something terrible before I was put here?"
Both of them nodded, recalling the sad yet vague story she told them about being in an abusive situation that led to her being unstable and harming a loved one.
"Well, when I told you my husband's abuse caused me to snap and hurt someone, that someone was my five year old son." Her breathing became a bit more erratic "I- I didn't mean to. He- he just looked so much like his father and- and that… that absolute BASTARD was trying to turn my little boy into someone just like him."
Tanaka extended forward and wrapped himself around her torso in a slimy but comforting hug.
"One day", she had to stop as her sobs wracked through her. "One day he came up behind me in the kitchen and I swear all I saw was his father. I was so scared and tried to fight back with the nearest thing. But- but I was making tea... "
Izuku gasped softly and whispered under his breath, "The kettle."
She nodded. "I've seen pictures of him from my daughter who still visits and I doubt the scarring will ever fade from the boiling water."
Izuku joined the hug and held her close.
"I'm sorry. Please don't hate me. I never wanted to hurt my little boy."
Tanaka responded quietly, "We'd never hate you. I'm not sure why you're telling us now, but who you are isn't who you were. You know my story, I'm not the person I was even just a year ago."
She nodded and wiped away her crystalizing tears. "I wasn't going to tell you… but… my son is the same age as you, Izuku. And my daughter told me their father was putting him in hero school. He'll be at UA with you, maybe even in your class, so please, please look after him. Unless something drastic has changed, he's still in that horrible situation and has been his entire life. Knowing my husband he probably hasn't had access to people his age, so if you could be his friend it would mean the world to me."
"Of course we'll be there for him" He paused for a second, "Um, Rei? I know you've never wanted to share your full name because you don't want us to figure out who your husband is, but could you tell us the name of your son so we can find him?"
"I know my fears are irrational, but that doesn't help the fear go away. I know you're good boys who wouldn't suddenly think I'm a liar, but too many people have reacted… poorly. His name is Shouto. You'll probably figure out who the father is pretty quickly, but it's easier to let you figure it out instead of telling you."
Izuku gave her a big smile, "That's ok, no is demanding your response to trauma be rational. We'll make sure to look after him. Us fire quirk trauma buddies have to stick together."
Rei giggled at his antics while Tanaka joked about feeling left out since he'd never been traumatized by a fire quirk user.
Izuku sat in class and maintained his stance of not really interacting with people much. More out of choice than necessity now. He just happened to be a bit of an introvert who got anxious around people.
Tsubasa walked by and flashed him his dopey smile. "How's it goin' dude?"
He smiled back and responded cheerfully. He couldn't deny that he'd been feeling pretty good since getting back his acceptance letter. Even if the conversation with Rei had been a bit stressful, it was still nice that she trusted them enough to open up a bit more.
Then the world decided he needed some anxiety as a voice came over the PA system.
"Midoriya and Bakugou please come down to the principal's office."
Well, that's probably not good. There were a million reasons Izuku could think of and all of them are very bad.
He was mumbling and nervous the entire way there and Bakuguo stayed a good distance, maintaining his 'don't even look at Izuku' policy.
When they stood in the office his (former?) bully had a face of stony indifference, like the only feeling he had from being called in front of the principal was boredom. Izuku on the other hand was a nervous wreck with Tanaka getting agitated. Both had an issue with authority figures. Izuku was scared of them and Tanaka was always ready to challenge them.
The principal smiled at them, "I wanted to call both you down to congratulate you on your admittance into UA. To think that both number one and number two on the entrance exam would be from Aldera of all places."
While it was new information, he wasn't particularly surprised that Katsuki got first place. His quirk was nearly perfect when it came to the task of destroying robots.
Bakugou seemed to freeze at that though. "Number 2?"
"Hm, oh I suppose you didn't know each other's ranks. Bakugou was in first while Midoriya was in second, only two points behind."
Maybe his months of peace and a complete lack of Katsuki based violence were about to come to an end, because Katsuki was filled to the brim with rage and his fists were letting off tiny sparks as they left the principal's office.
"What the fuck, Deku?"
Were those really the first words Katsuki was going to say since their confrontation?
"You really think you can stand next to me? You think you're better than me?!"
Tanaka clearly wanted to put him in his place for a second time, but he could accept that Izuku needed to learn to stand up for himself.
"No."
"Hahh? The fuck is that supposed to mean stupid Deku?"
"It means I know you're better. You're better than me by exactly two points. So don't get too comfortable in first place, because I'm going to be a hero and I'm going to do the best I can."
Bakugou grabbed him by the shirt collar and got in his face. "Oh yeah? Think you're real tough, don'tcha?"
"What do you want?"
"Ha?"
"I mean it. What do you want from this? I can't figure it out. You bully me, you give a condescending apology, then you ignore me for ten months, and now we're back to bullying."
He took a step back, letting go of Izuku and looking conflicted and confused. "No, no, no. I'm not bullying you. I don't do that anymore."
"Well, you were just insulting me and pushing me around? That sort of feels like it counts, at the very least I suppose it would be quantified as antagonistic behavior." His sentence devolved into mumbling to himself.
Katsuki spun around and punched a brick wall, causing his knuckles to bleed. "NO!" Then he quickly ran off, leaving behind a perplexed Izuku.
"Uh, what was that? Why is he so weird around me? At least being mean and attacking me made sense for him."
"Huh, well he did hold you in his arms after you hit the ground like a giant water balloon of gore. So he probably needs to work through that trauma before he gets his head on straight."
"It's not like I meant to traumatize him!"
"Wow, I guess that makes everything better. You should let him know that you didn't mean it and that he can stop having trauma. You should be a fuckin' therapist with all that wisdom."
"Ok, fair enough. I just don't want him to have problems because of me."
Tanaka grumbled. "Ok, first off. Shut the fuck up. It's not like you fucking planned for him specifically to be around. Secondly, you're teenagers, I'm pretty sure traumatizing each other is mandatory or at the very least a tradition."
"That's um, a bit dark. I really didn't intend on anyone being traumatized by my choices."
"Hey, don't forget that I was in there with you. We traumatized your classmates as a team. Also, if you felt that strongly you probably should have thought of that before treating the sidewalk like a trampoline park."
He shifted side to side nervously as he made his way through the UA gates.
He could do this.
He could definitely do this.
Izuku hadn't even entered the classroom before he heard the nostalgic sound of Katsuki yelling at someone.
When he stepped in though, rather than being greeted by Katsuki as he feared, it was the girl from the entrance exam.
"It's you! You're the slime boy right?"
He looked at the ground, feeling embarrassed. "Oh, um, yeah. I guess that's me."
She gave him a massive smile, "Thanks for rescuing me. I would've been crushed under that giant robot without you."
He smiled back at her and saw someone that made him pause. A boy with hair that was completely white on one side that was the same color as Rei's not to mention the same eye color. If that wasn't enough of an indicator of who he was, there was a large burn scar around the eye that presumably took after his father.
This was Rei's son. In his class. Just sitting in the back looking indifferent to everyone. But that wasn't what left him shocked. He'd been expecting to see whoever Rei's son was at some point, but he certainly wasn't expecting to recognize him.
The well known son of the number 2 hero Endeavor. Which painted the flame hero in a very different light that completely changed how Izuku saw the heroics industry over the course of the second it took for him to piece things together.
"If you're here to socialize then get out."
Every turned and saw a ratty looking hero who could easily pass for a homeless man as he stepped out of a sleeping bag.
Everyone rushed to their seats as he glared at them before pulling out a bunch of gym clothes.
"Put these on and head outside for a quirk apprehension test."
Tanaka laughed to himself, "Hell yeah, I'm so ready to get apprehended, gonna kick everyone's asses."
They made their way to the locker rooms and Izuku didn't think much of it, probably because he hadn't needed to change in a public area for so long. But he certainly started thinking about it when everyone went silent after he took off his uniform to change.
A boy with a lightning bolt in his hair was the first to say something. "Those are some gnarly scars dude, what happened?"
He looked down and realized he was scarred enough that he wasn't even sure which ones he was asking about.
He had the burn scars that littered his body in small starburst patterns. Then there the lines across his torso from what Tanaka had called 'the organ switcheroo'. And of course you couldn't forget the many scars across his legs from shattering them and the needed surgery that followed to put them back together.
So, it was fair to say he was suddenly feeling very self conscious and got dressed as quickly as he could.
He heard someone quietly chastise the boy but mostly ignored it as he hurried out of the locker room into the field.
Izuku was the first one out there other than the teacher and started thinking about who he was since all the teachers were heroes.
It took a minute or so and he saw a few people coming out as well when it hit him.
"Is there a chance you're Eraserhead?" If that were the case then he might have some serious concerns about having his life accidentally ended.
"Hmph, not many recognize me, but you'll call me Aizawa Sensei in class."
"Oh, ok. Um, well, this may sound weird if you haven't read my file, actually I don't know how much is in there-"
"Just spit it out kid." Unfortunately his method of acting like an intimidating teacher was to briefly activate his quirk, a method that is generally harmless but does get students to shut up and focus.
All at once his entire body was wracked with pain but he couldn't even scream since he had no lungs to do so. He collapsed to the ground with a brain that was begging for oxygen after a few seconds of stagnant 'blood' that couldn't move under the man's oppressive stare.
The moment he could breathe again he let himself succumb to panic and pain. He simply curled on the grass while gasping for air while listening to Tanaka's panicked whispers.
"I swear to fucking God if you die on day one of class I'm gonna lose my shit. We were going to be heroes, kid, don't you dare die here."
Aizawa was clearly panicking as well. "What just happened? What's wrong Midoriya?"
He couldn't bring himself to answer as he tried to bounce back from the equivalent of a brief heart attack. Then against all odds the savior he needed to prevent a repeat of the experience and provide an explanation was Bakugou.
He would later thank the gods that Bakugou was just as much of a nerd about heroes even if he kept it to himself.
"You're that dumbass with the erasing quirk right?! Tell me you didn't use it on him?!"
"Why not-"
"Because the fucker doesn't have real organs!"
At this point a boy with bright red hair cut in. "How does someone not have organs?"
"He has a force activated quirk you idiots!"
At that everyone gasped, knowing that nothing good caused those and those in the men's room saw just how damaged his body was.
Aizawa had already called Recovery Girl and turned to Bakugou, "But if his quirk turned his organs to slime in order to survive, that should be a mutation I can't erase."
"I said what I meant. It replaced his organs. His original ones are in some biohazard waste somewhere probably. You and your stupid fucking quirk just gave De-Izuku a fucking heart attack."
Izuku's brain apparently decided his combination of panic attack and heart attack meant it was time to black out on the field of UA.
Izuku found himself slowly waking up in the infirmary to the sight of Recovery Girl, Aizawa, Nezu, his mom, and All Might.
His words came out a bit slurred and slow. "Woww, is that All Might? He's tall."
His mom came over to him, "Oh thank goodness you're awake, we were so scared."
"I feel floaty. Am I supposed to be floating?"
"You're on pain meds honey. You essentially just had a brief heart attack and you passed out for a few hours."
Aizawa came up beside his bed and bowed deeply. "I want to apologize for what I did. There is no excuse for my actions and not making sure to understand my students and their needs."
"Wait, why are you at school mom? Is she a hero too?"
Nezu smiled and stepped forward, "Perhaps we should leave all important discussions and explanations for a later date."
Izuku nodded, not sure exactly what he was agreeing with.
It was clear that Tanaka was feeling the effects of their medication as well since he noticed that slime was oozing from his pores and made a pool of Tanaka on the bed.
"Izuukuuu. We should do this more often. I didn't tell you this before, but I really miss getting high, and this is exactly what I needed. Getting sort of killed was worth it if it means they keep pulling out the good stuff. Are you listening kid, this is some high quality shit."
We finally made it to the first day of UA, and we found out the fun fact of what happens when Tanaka's quirk gets erased.
If you're wondering why it worked on him even though Tanaka is typically hidden, I just felt like at least some of Tanaka would be technically visible with pores and stuff.
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter.