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Saintzor: He wasn't referring to Izuku's results but rather Izuku's stress. Izuku has a horrible poker face so even when he was doing well, EVERYONE noticed his rising stress.
Chapter 06: Starting Point
Izuku Midoriya sighed as he gingerly rubbed his bleeding fingers, while the Predecessors whooped around in his head. In the brief period after Aizawa had spoken to him, his advice had inspired the reveal of Daigoro Banjo, leaving only the Third and the Sixth Vestiges left in mist.
Luckily, Daigoro had given him quick tips in using his quirk properly but warning him that his anxiety might have an effect on it. Fortunately, while Daigoro had been right, Izuku managed to wrest some control, though not without injury to himself.
"He got over 700 meters?!" Denki Kaminari yelled. "Way to go, Midoriya!"
"That was an amazing record!" Ochako Uraraka cheered. "But still, that's not what he used back on the Zero Pointer..."
"Indeed." Tenya Iida observed. "But still, whether it is similar or different, he's injured himself bad enough to bleed. That can't be good..."
"His execution was splendid but," Yuga Aoyama shook his head. "The aftermath is not very stylish…"
"What is the meaning of this?"
The three who just spoke turned to watch Katsuki Bakugo's hand create some bangs before he suddenly growled and rushed forward.
"Hey! Tell me what's going on, Deku, you bastard!" Katsuki yelled as he ran out to Izuku.
"Oh hell no!" Daigoro threatened.
Izuku winced as {Black Whip} came out against his will, dark tendrils whipping about to form a makeshift and very pointy barrier between him and the attacking bully.
To Izuku's surprise, Aizawa's scarf quickly got a hold of Katsuki, who gritted his teeth, "What the-? These scarves are hard…!"
"They're weapons for capture made of carbon fiber woven together with metal wire of a special alloy. Jeez, don't keep making me use my quirk over and over. I've got dry eye." Aizawa sighed, his eyes flashing red again to deactivate Katsuki's {Explosion} and Izuku's {Black Whip}.
'It's such a waste, since his quirk is so amazing!' Izuku thought, his excitement at his teacher's quirk temporarily blocking out the pain.
"We really could have used that against Satoshi." Takashi sighed.
"Once again, who's Satoshi?! Is he a past Wielder of One for All?" Izuku asked.
"Sorry, Little Ninth. That's confidential." Daisy said.
"We're wasting time. Whoever's next, get ready." Aizawa instructed, letting go of Bakugo. "Midoriya, come here so I can bandage you."
As some of the class gathered around them, Aizawa explained to Izuku that from what he could see, his injury was caused from String Pull rather than his quirk. When a beginner archer uses a bow, the quickly retracting string could peel away some skin from the used fingers, leaving them bleeding as a result, which was why they wore specialized gloves.
Considering that {Black Whip} wasn't just some ordinary 'string', the backlash was naturally worse than the norm.
"After the test, I will send you off to the nurse, but endure through the rest of the test like that." Aizawa said as he stood up. "There are times when if a hero is injured but not badly enough to hamper their movements, they'll have to continue onwards to save civilians in trouble."
"Plus Ultra." Izuku muttered resolutely.
"Plus Ultra." Aizawa agreed. "Alright, all of you finish up and prepare for the next one!"
"Is your finger okay?" Ochako fretted, missing Izuku's increasing blush as she came closer.
"You were awesome!" Denki cheered as he slapped Izuku's back, causing him to snap to attention and wince. "Wish me luck 'cause I'm next."
Denki took a ball from Aizawa and stepped up to the circle. After breathing deeply, he started to wind up his arm while electricity danced around his form as he gradually sped up to unbelievable speed. When he released the ball, it created shockwaves as the ball practically blasted away from Denki's hand, the small whirlwind caused by his wind up dissipating.
"Interesting application." Aizawa showed Denki's score as 594 meters.
"Woah! That awesome, Kaminari-kun!" Izuku praised.
"Interesting. That boy subconsciously used electromagnetism to repel it away from him as he threw forward." Harumi observed.
Test 6: Sit-ups
Tenya Iida did best here.
Test 7: Seated Toe-touch
Shoto Todoroki did best here.
Test 8: Long Distance Run
Momo Yaoyorozu did best here (She created skates for it).
At the end of it all, Izuku collapsed to the ground trying to get back his breath.
"What a marvelous workout, Little Ninth!"
"Easy for you say when you're not suffering it, Third."
"You've done great, Izuku. Get up and check your results." Nana encouraged.
"Okay, I'll quickly tell you the results." Aizawa instructed. " 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."
A screen popped up from Aizawa's phone with everyone's scores and placement.
1st: Momo Yaoyorozu
2nd: Shoto Todoroki
3rd: Katsuki Bakugo
4th: Izuku Midoriya
5th: Tenya Iida
6th: Denki Kaminari
7th: Fumikage Tokoyami
8th: Mezo Shoji
9th: Mashirao Ojiro
10th: Eijiro Kirishima
11th: Mina Ashido
12th: Ochako Uraraka
13th: Koji Koda
14th: Rikido Sato
15th: Tsuyu Asui
16th: Yuga Aoyama
17th: Hanta Sero
18th: Kyoka Jiro
19th: Toru Hagakure
20th: Minoru Mineta
'I'm... I'm... I'm not last?' Izuku stared in surprise.
"You okay, Midoriya?" Denki asked his friend. "During the whole test, you've been strung like a squeezed towel."
"Indeed, Midoriya-kun." Iida said. "I was a bit worried to notice your very blatant stress hamper your movements a bit. The expulsion must really worry you."
"Fine. I'll admit that Glasses is a nice guy. Just a bit too strict."
"You did really well so it's okay to rest now." Ochako comforted.
"Izuku, get this girl's number as soon as you can." Nana ordered.
Izuku could only blush a bit at the praise before looking at Minoru Mineta, the short guy who had admired Mezo Shoji earlier, who was the last place student. He had fallen to his hands and knees with unshed tears about to be released, something that Izuku would have no doubt copied in his position.
"By the way, I was lying about the expulsion." Aizawa turned off the screen and gave his class a Totoro grin. "It was a rational deception to draw out the upper limits of your quirks."
You could have heard a butterfly flapping its wings from how dumbfounded everyone had become. Then the dam burst.
"WHAAAAAAT?!" Almost all of the class screamed, with Izuku, Ochako, Denki and Iida looking mortified. Mineta especially appeared as though he'd just seen a ghost and his soul was leaving his body.
"I'm surprised the rest of you didn't figure that out," Momo Yaoyorozu said with her left hand on her hip as she looked at Mineta's broken existence with pity in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I guess I probably should have said something."
"I haven't felt this stressed since I thought I got Harumi pregnant." Takashi sighed.
"You say that like you wouldn't have wanted to become a father." Harumi muttered.
"Sorry, Harumi. But with how Satoshi turned out taking most of Dad's shit, I'm a bit scared to go that way." Takashi said.
"I'm a dad too and I'm pretty sure I raised Nana pretty well!"
"You kidnapped me from the orphanage when you needed an accomplice for one of your thefts!" Nana accused.
"You make it sound like you didn't hate that place! When it was all over and I released you, you kept tagging along, telling me to take responsibility and adopt you properly!"
Izuku just ignored them, giving up on asking about Satoshi. At least he learned that he was the First Predecessor's family member at least.
"That was pretty nerve-wracking, huh?" Hanta Sero turned to Eijiro Kirishima.
"I'll take up the challenge anytime!" Kirishima grinned while raising his fist.
"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." Aizawa told his students, beginning to walk away. Izuku let out a big sigh of relief at the thought of nobody being expelled.
"Midoriya."
Izuku looked up to see Aizawa with a slip with the nurses' office.
"Have Recovery Girl fix you in the nurse's office. Tomorrow will be packed with even more rigorous tests. Prepare yourself." Aizawa handed him the slip before walking away again.
"Also," Aizawa stopped to speak again. "Be sure to give Hound Dog a visit. He's the school counsellor and you WILL meet him for mandatory quirk counselling."
"Y-Yes, Sir!"
After healing his finger and heading towards the Counsellor's office sluggishly, he accidentally walked into a wall of shaggy muscles.
Lifting back his head, he saw a sight that chased the sluggishness away.
"Hunting Dog Hero: Hound Dog!" Izuku fanboyed, with a whiplash strong enough to send the hero stepping back a bit. "C-Can I have your autograph?!"
He extended a notebook (which Hound Dog would swear hadn't been on him before, especially as he wasn't carrying a bag) and a pen, bowing stiffly.
"I haven't signed autographs in a long time." Hound Dog said gruffly, secretly pleased to be recognized on sight as he wrote in the boy's book. As the boy stared at his signed book with something akin to worship, the other student recommended to him appeared.
"Perfect. Izuku Midoriya. Neito Monoma. Step into my office, the both of you."
Izuku lazily walked out of U.A., sighing. "I'm so tired..."
"I feel like we've made some good progress today." Hikage said.
'Yeah.' Izuku thought as he looked at the new numbers in his phone. A hand landed on Izuku's shoulder. Izuku turned around and seeing Iida and Denki, jumped a little. 'Was I so tired from having my stamina drained that {Danger Sense} didn't alert me to them? I'll have to take note of that.'
"Iida-kun!" Izuku exclaimed. "Kaminari-kun!"
"Are your fingers healed?" Iida asked.
"Yeah, thanks to Recovery Girl." Izuku replied, showing his finger to them. "I have to hurry up and use my quirks to their fullest potential."
"Speaking of quirks, Midoriya." Denki asked, causing Izuku to flinch in nervousness. "I thought your quirk was a strength enhancement type you were training your body to properly handle. What was with the shadow things?"
"Forgive me for intruding, but I would like to know as well." Iida asked politely. "If you can't confide in me, I understand."
"No, it's fine." Izuku assured. "As future classmates, you'll probably learn about it anyway. My quirk is {Superpower}. It allows me to permanently copy up to 7 different quirks."
"That's so awesome and broken!" Denki said in excitement. "Wait though," He paused as his excitement went to trepidation. "No way a quirk like that doesn't have it's drawbacks."
"Indeed." Tenya muttered as he rubbed his chin speculatively.
"Yeah. The quirks I've copied are permanent." Izuku explained. "Not only was I unaware of when I was copying them, I'm unable to change them for anything else. Not that I want to though."
"Makes sense. You were quirkless up to the exam day." Denki nodded, ignoring Tenya's shocked face.
"Quirkless?" Tenya said. "Although now that you mentioned it, Bakugo-san did say something like that. But still, does that mean that the two times I rebuked you that day, you were actually quirkless?"
After Izuku nodded, Tenya fell to his knees in guilt. "I can't believe I actually rebuked you for taking the exams lightly. As a quirkless person, you would have been taking it way more seriously than almost everybody else."
"Midoriya-kun!" Tenya got to his legs and grasped Izuku's hand. "I understand now. You are one of the bravest people I've ever met."
"T-Thank you." Izuku replied bashfully. "Monoma-san said something similar to that back at Inui-sensei's office."
"Oh yeah, you had counselling to go to..." Denki said.
"Speaking of teachers," Iida said as he walked alongside them. "I was really taken in by Aizawa-sensei. I even thought, 'This is the best of the best' and such. I didn't think a teacher would encourage us with a lie."
'I thought he was scary, but that's not it. He's just really serious about school,' Izuku thought.
'Guess he's just earnest rather than a stick up the-' Denki thought before he was interrupted.
"Hey! You three!"
Izuku, Denki and Tenya turned around to see Ochako running after them.
"Going to the station? Wait for me!" Ochako beamed.
'Uraraka?!' Izuku thought as she stopped in front of them.
"You're the infinity girl." Tenya remarked.
"I'm Ochako Uraraka." Ochako introduced herself before questioning, "Um, you're Denki Kaminari, Tenya Iida, and you're Deku Midoriya, right?"
"'Deku'?!" Izuku and Denki exclaimed.
"Huh? But during the fitness test, the boy named Bakugo said 'Deku, you bastard!' Right?" Ochako asked.
"Uh…" Izuku played with his fingers before explaining, "my real name is Izuku, but D-Deku is what Kacchan calls me to make fun of me…"
"An insult?" Tenya observed.
"That bastard..." Denki growled.
"Oh, is that right? Sorry!" Ochako apologized, then she noted, "But 'Deku' sounds like 'Dekiru' for 'You can do it!' so I kinda liked it."
"Deku it is!" Izuku turned bright red.
"PFTHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Izuku groaned as every single Predecessor burst out laughing.
"Wasn't that an insult?!" Denki protested. "I understand that a cute girl like Uraraka liked it but that was way too fast!"
"Indeed!" Tenya said as he waved his arm in a chopping manner. "You're accepting it too easily, Midoriya-kun!"
Izuku steadied himself as he calmed down, then brought out his phone.
"I-I-If you don't mind," Izuku requested, bowing as he extended his phone. "Can we exchange contacts?"
"Sure!" Ochako replied easily as she and Tenya brought out their own phones.
"I've already got his number, so I'll be taking you guys' own as well." Denki said as he brought out his.
"Good job, Little Ninth." Nana praised.
"Now then, how far and fast can we push this ship?" Daisy speculated.
"You guys are overdoing this..." Hikage sweatdropped.
"Just remember not to be over hooked into his personal life." Takashi ordered.
"Everyone, I can at least be happy that I have friends, right?" Izuku spectated to the others.
"If you aren't counting Denki, sure." Daisy said.
"NO! I'm already counting Kaminari-kun! Sorry for almost counting you out, Kaminari-kun!" Izuku wailed.
As the four students passed through the gate, a tall buxom girl with mid length, wavy, bluish gray hair stared at Izuku in surprise before shaking her head in silent acceptance and meeting up with a U.A. Second Year waiting for her.
"Deku..."
KingVessel: Don't worry, that last girl's important. Really important.