Chapter 8
Acceptance
The envelope was staring at him, stupid envelope. Izuku got up from his desk chair pacing his room running his hands through his hair attempting to ignore his mother, aunt, and the envelope, which despite being an inanimate object was staring at him. Ignoring his aunt was swiftly becoming more, and more difficult as she stifled laughter at his nervousness.
He finally walked as quickly as he could straight towards his desk and ripped open the envelope. A silver disk fell out of the package onto his desk...not exactly what he was expecting. He picked up the desk as his aunt finally quit her rendition of a hyena, Izuku started to flip the disk over, looking for any clue as to what it was supposed to be.
As he sat down still fiddling with the disk, a holographic depiction of All-might sprang into existence. Izuku quickly flipped the projector upright, so All-might's holograph, was no longer forming on his crotch, and placed the disk on his desk.
"Good morning young Midoriya, I and all of the U.A. staff are happy to inform you that pending a meeting with our board of staff we will be happy to welcome you to our esteemed academia." The holographic recording had been moving and flexing in its suit, it was endearing, to say the least, but more importantly, it seemed completely genuine. Despite how formal it sounded, it wasn't just reading off a script, it seemed as with everything that all might have done had gone above and beyond. "Nothing too serious I assure you, simply going over paperwork, dotting the I's, and crossing the T's."
Izuku smiled as he leaned back into his chair smiling. He had been accepted into U.A., otherwise, he never would have gotten the disk, just a letter of rejection. His attention was pulled back towards the disk as the holographic hero was replaced with information about the date and time of the meeting.
The sound of a raspberry being blown rang out behind him. He spun in his chair, facing his aunt Mitsuki as she flopped backward from her seat on his bed. His aunt was notorious for hating paperwork, combine that with the fact of her having a fashion walk showing off her new clothing line, it was clear she would not be going with him to the meeting.
He turned towards his mother only to see her sadly shaking her head. "Sorry baby, I have to help with a surgery scheduled for that day." When his mother had to assist the doctors at a surgery, she would be gone and completely unreachable for hours. It seemed like he would have to fly solo for this endeavor at school.
"Well, good morning you two." A playful, flirty voice broke him from his dozing against the school's main entrance. "Welcome to U.A. high and quite possibly your new academic home."
He broke his line of sight with Miss midnight, the R-rated pro-hero and the one it seemed to be introducing him to the school. It seemed the other joining him at the meeting was someone he was already familiar with. "Hey Uraraka, how are you today?"
He didn't get a verbal response, rather a shy smile and a wave. He got up and nodded towards miss midnight before he started towards Uraraka and presented his hand towards the man and woman standing behind his friend.
"My name is Izuku Midoriya." The man took his hand quickly and confidently giving it a firm shake with calloused hands. The woman taller than her husband took his hand with a lighter grip but equally rough hands. "I met Uraraka during the entrance exams, I assume you're her parents correct?"
"Yes, Ochako told us about your little pep talk, about how much it helped her." The woman had spoken with a gentle smile on her face, while the man simply smiled and nodded. "We're very happy to meet you, after all, it seems from what she tells us your speech gave her much more energy than she usually has."
"Well then that's perfect, after all, that was the whole point of the speech, right?" Izuku turned towards the entrance where Miss midnight was still standing with a cocked hip and swaying slightly to a silent beat. "I guess it's time to face the music and find out where we stand right?"
"You would think that as heroes they're above tactics like this but I guess not." Izuku shot a glance towards the Uraraka's and the pool of metaphorical sweat they were making on the floor. After a quick walk towards the teacher's lounge, Miss midnight had simply told the small group to remain outside, and they'd been waiting for at least half an hour. "They're probably making us wait, so we'll get worried and anxious, I would imagine this is yet another test, how we deal with pressure."
All he got was a determined nod from Uraraka the same look she had the entire time they waited. Her parents weren't nearly as calm giving him shaky nods, full of nerves. Uraraka had spunk, to say the least, based on the way her fist was balled, and the way she stared out the window like she was ready for the glass to leap out and attack her where she stood.
The camera at the end of the hallway that had been pointed at the group since they entered the hallway stopped staring at them and instead began to sweep the hallway. A betting man would say that it was pointed at them specifically and it usually swept the hallway instead, but that would be "paranoia".
The door opened behind them and Miss midnight walked out silently taking a place to the side holding the door open. He hung back letting the Uraraka's enter, being polite and making sure they were supposed to enter the meeting together. It took a few seconds after the family went in before Miss midnight gave him a small smile and nodded her head towards the open door, which he quickly entered.
Oh no, paranoia doesn't like this at all. Izuku quickly took a pose of military attention, his feet spread to shoulder length and his arms behind his back so the teachers couldn't see his hands nervously fiddling with his shirt, while he stared just above the white...rat sitting at the head of the long table in front of him.
His stance made sure that he was being respectful but at the same time hid his hands, which instinctively balled up for a fight. He knew this was an important meeting but he wasn't expecting to be greeted by a mass of former and current pro heroes, all of which had at one point or another made it into the top ten national rankings.
Izuku was relieved he had been working hard to relax because everything in his body and his training from his sensei screamed that this was a trap, an easy way to get him in a reinforced room with multiple pro heroes ready to strike in a practically perfect kill box. Thankfully he had been working on not being nearly as paranoid, and the presence of the Uraraka did quite a bit to assuage his fears it was highly doubtful they would risk a prospective student like that.
"Welcome to U.A. high Mr. Midoriya, Ms. Uraraka. My name is Nezu. I am the principal of this fine academic institution and hopefully by the end of this meeting your principal and friend." The very pleasant and very furry rodent hopped from his seat and was standing on the table giving them both a small bow. "I am sure that you both have questions about why you're here today and we all have things to do so we might as well get to the point shall we?"
"Who would like to go first? Ms. Uraraka, Mr. Midoriya?" Principal Nezu looked back and forth between the two of them and was pleasantly apprised that Uraraka stepped forward first interrupting the step of Midoriya with a nervous smile. "Ms. Uraraka it is."
"Ms. Uraraka, you are here today to confirm your enrollment at U.A. pending the result of your exam and whether or not you qualify for the scholarship program we offer here at U.A." So that's what she had been filling out that she wanted to hide the day of the exam. Huh, guess she's poor too. "As I'm sure you know, to qualify for the scholarship you must simply score within the top ten people taking the written exam, and you simply need to gain enough points to pass the physical exam, yes?"
Uraraka nodded nervously to signal that she understood the principal before she crossed her fingers, obviously praying as if her case was similar to his without the scholarship she would need to find a job or hope another high school still accepts students.
"I must apologize to Ms. Uraraka, under normal circumstances you simply did not score high enough on the written exam to qualify for the scholarship." He could practically see her heartbreaking as Uraraka lifted her head high attempting to ensure the tears in her eyes wouldn't fall. "Thankfully these are not normal circumstances, and it is still possible for you to be eligible for the scholarships with changed terms."
"There seems to be another student who was recommended and as such, she did not take the same practical test that you did although she did take the same written exam. While this student has been accepted into the U.A. and was offered the scholarship due to her scores, she denied it insisting that her family had enough to pay for her tuition and to give the scholarship to a student who required it."
"As the next in line, it is possible for you to accept this scholarship if you want it, albeit with a different set of requirements." The principal turned off the table and went to the filing cabinet tucked into the corner, coincidentally most if not all the teachers watched the events giving Uraraka time to wipe her eyes before the principal retook his place standing on the table. "Here we are, yes it seems the new requirements are very simple, although they may be difficult to obtain if not taken seriously."
"The new requirement will give you the scholarship and allow you to attend school here on a probationary period from now until the winter exams. After that period if you have not risen to be within the top ten students in your class specifically then the scholarship will be revoked." The principal lifted his furry head from reading the papers and took a few seconds to look at the girl in front of him smiling gently, attempting to calm the girl. "So, what do you think Ms. Uraraka, can you accomplish this task and earn your scholarship if given the chance?"
Uraraka had gone from nervous to almost catatonic, her breathing was erratic and her hands were shaking, she was going to make the wrong decision.
"Take it." Uraraka broke sight with Principal Nezu, whipping her head around to look at him as Izuku spoke softly. "This opportunity is a once in a lifetime deal, you can improve your score by studying through the semester, and your combat skills are something that we'll work on in the course, even if you flunk out at least you tried right? At this point, there's no bad part to the deal."
Uraraka took a second to think over what he told her before she faced the group and nodded, it looked like she was too nervous to verbally accept the deal offered. Principal Nezu smiled widely in a somewhat eerie but welcoming grin. "Well then, Ms. Uraraka congratulations, at least for now, you are officially a student of U.A. high."
Nezu handed the sheaf of papers off to midnight sitting on his right side before waving Izuku forward who quickly took Uraraka's place in the teacher's sights. Izuku's papers were a much taller stack than Uraraka's almost reaching the head height of the Marsupial.
"Mr. Midoriya, you are here to discuss much the same matters as Ms. Uraraka, your scholarship, as well as your request for the optional dorm placement we have on campus." Nezu looked surprised, to say the least. Not a big shock to Izuku, almost no one knew about the dorms and the only way he had found out about their availability was getting lost while looking for the scholarship paperwork online. "We will be looking at your scores on the physical and written exams first to see whether or not you qualify for the hero course before we dig into the dormitory issue."
"All right scores first." Nezu grabbed one of the folders on the very bottom of the stack before placing his shoulder against the tower of paper for leverage to get the manila folder loose. He quickly flipped open the folder and gazed at the paper silently glancing up to Izuku every couple of seconds. It was uncomfortable, between his extreme paranoia and the mass of pro heroes gazing at him silently he was very happy he had his hands behind his back and thus they couldn't see him fidget.
"Very impressive Mr. Midoriya, very impressive indeed. In the written exam out of the hundreds of students, you took second place, only being beaten out by a single student. Ironically it was the same student that gave Ms. Uraraka her chance here at U.A. In the physical aspect of the exam, you ousted another student from first place on your destruction score alone, that doesn't even count the extra 'rescue points' you obtained for freeing Ms. Uraraka here. All in all, it seems that you will be a wonderful addition to our student body here at U.A."
"Now it's time for us to talk about the dormitory situation. Between its rarity of occasion, and separate buildings for each grade we regret to inform you that we simply cannot fund an entire building for a single student to occupy, and as such we will have to deny your request for-" Suddenly Principle Nezu was cut off by a piece of paper being slid in front of him.
Eraserhead's finger tapped the message he had written out on the paper he had slid towards Nezu, hopefully, his boss could understand the message he was trying to point out and agree to help his plan. Nezu read the words quickly and looked between the paper, his prospective student, and his employee. Having made his decision, he addressed his new student, Izuku Midoriya.
"Mr. Midoriya, it seems that I have miss spoken, we do have a dormitory option available to you. We cannot move you into and power an entire dormitory building for one student, we can however move you into a spare teacher's dormitory with your consent."
Well, I guess that works.
Izuku held a pair of cheap binoculars to his eyes observing his father, thinking back to just under an hour ago when he told his mom he would be moving out. She had been bawling about how her baby was growing up and being independent. After making sure to promise his attendance at weekly Sunday dinners Izuku changed into street clothes and stopped by a camping store to grab supplies for his current endeavor.
Izuku was sitting on an air conditioning unit at the top of a building overlooking the Endeavor hero agency. Through his cheap binoculars, he could see Enji Todoroki get up from his desk and approach the closet where his hero suit was contained ready to start his daily patrol.
Izuku put the binoculars down and quickly finished his rice bun and water, he didn't need to see his dad change and by the time he was done, he would be able to see his father exit the building. He smiled ruefully as he ate the mini lunch his mother made for him before he left, he hadn't been as quiet with his plan to follow his dad as he thought.
His mother handed him the small sack of food with a smile and told him that growing heroes needed their food on stakeouts. Izuku stood up and brought the binocular to his eyes the bag of trash wrapped around his wrist. Endeavor now in full hero costume was walking down a street. When the pro hero stopped to help a little girl and her mother cross the street Izuku took the chance to drop into the alley below him, and discard his trash in a dumpster.
Following his father, all day showed Izuku just how much Enji had changed over the years. If you pieced together footage of Endeavor on patrol a decade ago you would see a young pro hero with a constant face of stone, only acting to catch villains and ignoring most if not all regular people on the street.
Now it was like he was a completely different person, no longer endeavor, instead, he was Enji Todoroki, husband proud father of four. The public didn't see it, but it was obvious to a highly obsessive unclaimed child who constantly cyber-stalked Endeavor.
From stoping to help everyone he encountered, to picking up litter he saw endeavor was a good person, a changed man, the biggest tell of this transformation was the constant small smile adorning his face. While All-Might's smile radiated joyous, exciting, contagious happiness, Endeavor's smile was small, calming, and peaceful.
Izuku's favorite part of his reconnaissance was his father's encounter with a villain, it was over in seconds, Izuku promised himself when he truly met his father he would spar with him as much as possible. He needed to fight someone like his father, someone experienced, someone who regularly went up against people with durability and strength enhancement quirks and won.
Izuku's experience was most likely wider than anybody else he knew of at least for his age, that's the true reason why he needed to go to U.A. not to spar with his fellow students but to fight and learn from teachers that were the best of the best.
At the end of the day following his father Izuku saw what he really needed and wanted more than anything else, more than being the best, more than being a hero at all. When Enji Todoroki got home he simply called out to his family and was almost instantly surrounded. Hugs were thrown around a kiss from his wife and kids that surrounded him in mutual love, following him through the house Izuku watched his half-siblings tell their father about their day whilst he traveled to his room and what would most likely be a well-deserved shower.
Izuku wasn't quite sure what broke him from the sight of the happy Todoroki household first, the cracking of the binoculars from his grip, or the flames that unintentionally burst forth from his anger and jealousy. He discarded the useless binoculars and started making his way back home after extinguishing his flames.
It was hard, to say the least, to watch their family, it made Izuku more than grateful for his sessions with dr. Sakura. They helped him to be angry more at the cruelty of the universe and took much of the blame away from his sibling just because they were lucky. He didn't blame them for having a father, but he did promise himself that no matter what it took he would have the same amount of love from Endeavor.
AN: So, been a while huh? Sorry. I wrote a large majority of this right before my hiatus, it was a combination of stress from school, work, chores, and family that made me take off for a bit. But summers came around and with it, a majority of my stress has been taken away so while I won't be uploading on an actual schedule I will be updating if you guys still want to read this story. As the last note can I get a happy birthday, for my pet snake Gabriel, a new addition to my life.
This chapter was not beta'd by anyone other than google docs and Grammarly so hopefully it's not too bad. At the moment Kat is going through things and I didn't want to wait any longer to get a chapter published and risk losing my inspiration to write anymore.
Date completed: 6/13/2021
Date edited:
