The 1A classroom door was huge. For no obscene reason other than to be that way.

Any gigantification quirk recorded was never consistently large like that. I couldn't imagine how difficult it would be for society to try to figure out how to work around that. It was why anyone with a quirk that allowed them to be as big as a building or a skyscraper — like the hero, Mt. Lady — couldn't really use it in the middle of a city.

See why quirks tend to only dampen a hero's span of influence? No one ever does.

Anyways — class 1A! One out of the two hero classes that UA offered! At the same time I felt exhilarated at the thought that I had shown enough prowess at the exam to be given the shot, I was also still miffed at Yoarashi… I couldn't exactly be sure that it was my performance the school liked, or if it may have been because he asked for me to take his place. Would I ever know for sure? Probably not. Who would tell me? All I knew was if he hadn't dropped his attempt to enter, and had ended up in class 1A with me… I felt like I would've strangled him the moment I laid eyes on him.

But.. it was admittedly nice to continue walking to school with Mei. Her support course class was 1H, and she was so excited that she rambled about all the tools she would be able to get her hands on during the walk that morning. Whatever a power hammersaw was.

I sat down at a lone desk in front of the classroom next to the wall furthest from the door. By 'lone' I mean that I was next to a desk with an invisible girl — the only visible thing being the uniform she wore — and no column of desks behind me. I was only part of a row.

I noticed the tall, silver slots on the wall near me that — my best guess — would end up being our lockers. It wouldn't be a high tier school if they didn't show off the fact that they had the money to install some high tech stuff like that…. Let's just say my family all chipped in for me to attend UA. Even the reluctant 'Masa.

I positioned myself with my back against the wall so I could observe everyone in my class. There was no doubt in my mind that everyone had a quirk of some caliber. I only worried that I might have to think quickly on my feet if our teacher immediately singled me out for being quirkless. Most of my weapons were paired with with the hero costume design I sent to U.A.'s development studio so, at best, I knew to keep my utility belt on me.

UA may have let me have my sword for the exam — no matter how much I didn't even need it at the time — but it was still banned from being in a classroom. Which was fine by me… I've survived this far in a school without it. It was better for me to start the school year off with a good impression either way, so I wore the uniform by the standard.

It was a gray blazer with green stripes around the wrists and the collar. There were two gold buttons in front, meant to be buttoned up to cover up the clean, white polo shirt but for right underneath the neck where a red tie was securely fitted around my neck by none other than Naomasa…. He may not have wanted me to go to UA, but he certainly wanted to make sure the tie was on right… and I definitely hate ties now.

I adjusted the clothing item in question as I eyed my surroundings. In general, everyone was already seated except for a tall boy with short, black hair and glasses. He was yelling in an unnecessarily loud pitch at a spiky-blonde headed boy who only yelled back at him while leaning back relaxed in his seat with his feet on his desk.

A plain boy with curly green hair walked in and stared in terror at the two boys… wait, why is that considered plain? Green hair surely contrasts from normal hair colors, right?

"Remove your foot from that desk!" the black haired boy shouted. "Such an action is insulting to those who came to U.A. before us as well as the craftsmen who made the desk!"

The blondie grinned evilly, "Like I care. What middle school are you from, you extra?"

"I-I'm from Somei Private Academy. My name is Tenya Ida."

The other boy's tone was condescending, "Somei?! A stuck up elitist, then? I should blow you to bits."

Must have an explosive quirk of sorts, I thought to myself, wondering why a hot-headed boy with such a quirk would even want to be a hero. Nothing against the idea, but he did just threaten the stiff.

Ida recoiled, horrified, "You're awful. Do you really wish to become a hero?!" He turned then, in surprise as he noticed the green-headed boy standing frozen in the doorway. He quickly strut over to him. "I'm from Somei Private Academy…"

The boy nervously waved his hands in front of his face as though to ward the elitist away from him. "I heard you before! Ah… I'm Izuku Midoriya. Pleased to meet you, Ida."

"Midoriya… You… You perceived the true nature of that practical exam." The stiff ground his teeth in frustration, moving his hands in a chop as he said, "While I did not…! I misjudged you! I hate to admit it, but you were the superior candidate!"

A sweat drop formed on Midoriya's head as I eyed the scene with minor amusement. Why does he feel the need to move his arms like that? Old habit? I couldn't be sure why the whole scene was so interesting to me. The other students were so lost in their own private conversations and, in the meanwhile ,I was busy paying attention to what was transpiring at the door.

I didn't even take into account that Todoroki was sitting in the back of the classroom studying me.

I did notice the blonde headed boy glaring in Midoriya's direction, and heard him softly growl, "Deku…"

Deku…? I thought he said his first name was Izuku… A nickname between old friends..? Or rivals?

From behind Midoriya came a girl with short brown hair and innocent eyes. How long will she look so innocent for in this course? I wondered.

"The plain-looking boy!" she exclaimed excitedly. Oop, I guess he is somewhat plain then.. somehow. "You got in! Just like Present Mic said! Makes sense though! That punch was awesome!" She proceeded to mimic his punch.

So he's got some sort of strength quirk, I thought. He doesn't look like the type though… most people with a powerful quirk act all high and mighty like the exploding blonde over there… Not timid. Either way, I'd better pay close attention to him in case we ever have to spar for class. Figure a way to maneuver myself without getting hit.

Midoriya covered his beet red face and sweated profusely. "No! I mean…! I have to thank you for speaking on my behalf… I… well…" he tapered off. Such nervousness…. Wait, the girl spoke on his behalf? Like Yoarashi did for me?

Obviously, we were two people who were only there because someone said good things about us. I ground my teeth irritably, refraining from looking away so I could continue to listen in on what they say.

"Huh? How do you know about that?" she asked curiously.

If she believes she spoke to Present Mic in secret, that's a mistake. At this school, everything must be closely observed by pro heroes of all abilities. As famous as this school is, we're lucky if no one notices us trip over our feet. Everything is recorded, so they definitely showed the clip to Midoriya with his acceptance.

Hmm… I wonder what they had to do for the normal exam?

The girl continued rambling obliviously, "So we've got our entrance ceremony and guidance sessions today, yeah? Wonder what our teacher'll be like? Boy, I'm nervous."

"If you're here to socialize, then get out." The monotonous voice came, seemingly, from no one within the room.

I leaned over slightly to see something like a large yellow caterpillar laying on the floor behind the girl. She and Midoriya slowly turned to stare at it as hard as I did. It took me a minute to find the bedraggled face of a man with short, black facial hair zipped up in a mere sleeping bag.

"This is…" he pulled out a juice box from inside the bag, "… the hero course." He sucked the juice box dry within a matter of seconds. Then he unzipped the sleeping bag, and slowly stepped out of it to walk to the desk at the front of the classroom.

His messy black hair went to his shoulder and that, along with the yellow sleeping bag, gave me the vibes of a homeless man. His outfit was also all black but for the long, mummy bandage-like scarf wrapped loosely around his neck, partially covering his mouth from view.

"It took eight seconds for you to quiet down," he continued. "Time is a precious resource. You lot aren't very rational, are you?

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

Homeroom teacher?! Practically everyone thought in surprise.

Still holding the sleeping bag in one hand, Mr. Aizawa dug into it and pulled out a blue track uniform with UA printed on it in large white letters. He thrust it in Midoriya's face. "Quickly now. Change into your gym clothes and head out to the grounds."

A short time later, we all stood outside on the school grounds. He'd just explained that this was going to be a test of the class's quirks.

Of course it is, I thought wryly, adjusting my utility belt around the gym uniform. It was a deep navy blue, with the letters 'UA' large and colored white. The 'U' went from the shoulders of the T-shirt to the chest, and the 'A' was underneath with the legs literally lengthened down from the stomach of the shirt all the way to the ankles of the pants. At the very least, though, the fabric was comfortably flexible.

"What about the entrance ceremony?! Or guidance sessions?" the brunette asked in dismay.

"No time to waste on that stuff if you want to become heroes," Mr. Aizawa answered. "U.A. is known for its 'freestyle' educational system. That applies to us teachers as well.

"Soft-ball throwing. The standing long jump. The 50-meter dash. Endurance training. Grip strength. Side-to-side stepping. Upper-body training. Seated toe touch. You did all these in middle school, yes? Your standard no-quirks-allowed gym tests.

"This country still insists on prohibiting quirks when calculating the averages of those records. It's not rational. The department of education is just procrastinating." Mr. Aizawa turned to the hot-headed blonde boy, "Bakugo. How far could you throw in middle school?"

"Sixty-seven meters," he replied.

Mr. Aizawa gestured toward the white circle drawn into the pavement, "Great. Now try it with your quirk." He tossed a softball to him as he passed by toward the circle. "Do whatever you need to. Just don't leave the circle. Give it all you've got."

After a few stretches, Bakugo reeled the softball back behind him, "Awesome." Then he threw with all his might, "Die!" an explosion erupted out of his palm, and pushed the ball away a great distance.

"It's important for us to know our limits," Mr. Aizawa said, turning the speedometer in his hand around so we could all see the result. It was seventy hundred and five point two meters. "That's the first rational step to figuring out what kind of heroes you'll be."

Other students began voicing their excitement:

"Whoa! This is awesome!"

"So we can use our quirks for real! Man, the hero course is great!"

Mr. Aizawa seemed to ponder what he needed to say next. "… Awesome… You say? You're hoping to become heroes after three years here… And you think it'll be all fun and games? Right. The one with the lowest score across all eight events will be judged hopeless… and will be expelled."

The outburst of all the students, including me, must've broken some sort of sound barrier. "Whaaaaa?"

Mr. Aizawa merely brushed his hair out of his face to look at us fully with wide, excited eyes. "Your fates are in our hands. Welcome. This is… the hero course at U.A. High!"

Well, this is some bull—