Disclaimer: The following is a nonprofit fan-based parody all rights reserved to Brandon Sanderson and Horikoshi Kohei. Please support the official releases.
"Come on Izuku, you are taking forever," Sera complained as she zipped around the room near the ceiling, filled with excited energy.
"Just let me do one last check," Izuku answered, as he dug through his large yellow backpack.
He was dressed in his shirt and pants with his tie poorly knotted at his neck leaving its length comically short. On the bed, beside him, his blazer sat ready to be put on as he left his room.
"You literally checked your bag three times before going to bed last night so you would have time to do your morning workout," Sera said, lowering herself down to be on his eye level.
"I know, but what if I missed something, there'snoharminbeingextrasureImeanwhatifIsomehowforgetmynotebookor…"
Izuku began to mumble as familiar feelings of anxiety welled up in his chest but he stopped when Sera placed a calming hand on his nose making him go slightly cross-eyed as he focused on her face.
"Take a few deep breaths," She advised. Which Izuku did, closing his eyes and following one of the calming techniques he had become so well practiced at.
"Better?" Sera asked.
When Izuku opened his eyes, they had lost much of the manic energy that had begun to build up inside them. Smiling, he nodded at her and said,
"Yea, thanks Sera."
She smiled and began to float backward before her look became thoughtful and she tilted her head as she inspected him.
"Good, because what you really need to worry about is that tie," Sera commented, "seriously, I am taller than it is long and I am tiny in this realm."
Izuku's face ignited into a blush at her words and he immediately tried to explain himself.
"I-I kn-know it's b-bad, right. I t-tried to tie it the way Mom showed me but I was too n-nervous so it ended up like this."
Sera giggled at his response and said,
"Well let's go see if she can fix it then."
With a sigh at the thought of still needing his Mom's help Izuku agreed and stood grabbing his bag in one hand and his blazer in the other. They left his room side-by-side and walked out into the main living area of the apartment seeing Inko bustling around in the kitchen. She turned as they entered and she was obviously just as if not more nervous than Izuku had been if her frazzled expression were anything to go by.
"Oh, good, you're up. I was just about to come and get you if you didn't come out soon. How much food do you want to bring because I have a few containers ready but I can cook more if you need and…"
"Uh, Mom?" Izuku interrupted her sheepishly, "could you help me with my tie?"
Inko paused and looked at Izuku and this time he could tell she actually saw him rather than just noticing him as she had before. Her face morphed into a caring smile and she came around the counter so that she could stand in front of him. Looking up into his face she said lovingly,
"Of course, sweety"
With practiced movements, she undid the horrendously botched knot and soon had re-done it into a sharp double Windsor.
"You, know," she said as she worked, "your father was the same way, it took him forever to finally learn to tie one of these himself, so just be patient and I am sure you will have it down before too long."
When she finished she gave him another smile and patted his chest comfortingly.
"Now why don't you come and have breakfast before you have to go."
Smiling in answer Izuku followed her to the table and sat down to eat what had been set out for him.
A few minutes later after finishing his food Izuku was finally at the door putting his shoes on so he could leave.
"Are you sure your stash of energy bars will be enough? You could take one of the bentos I prepared just in case," Inko said.
"Don't worry, Mom. today isn't even a full day. If the itinerary they sent me is correct I should be back before lunch," Izuku reassured her.
"Yea, Inko, you don't need to worry I will make sure to look out for him," Sera added happily.
"Ok," Inko finally agreed, "Have a good day you two, I will see you when you get home."
Hitoshi gasped for air as he finished his last lap around the track in one of the training fields on UA's campus. Coming to a halt, he began going through his now well-practiced routine of stretches. It, along with his 3km run, constituted his regular warm-up ever since he started coming in for training from Aizawa. The man himself was present as well, overseeing Hitoshi's workout. When they had first started Hitoshi's tortuous conditioning a month and a half ago, he would harshly criticize every mistake. It was a point of pride for the purple-haired boy that he now just watched disinterestedly because he had nothing to correct. Finishing his last stretch Hitoshi stood and looked toward the teacher.
"So what will it be today, weightlifting until I collapse, cardio until I collapse, or will you just beat me up for a few hours." Hitoshi snarked.
Aizawa had not been exaggerating when he told Hitoshi that he planned to put him through hell. Every day since the entrance exam had included some kind of intense training that would end with Hitoshi languishing on the ground if not outright unconscious. The only exceptions being Saturdays and Sundays which were designated as rest days. As much as Hitoshi despised the work he appreciated it because he did feel stronger and finally felt like he was putting in the effort needed to be a hero and make up for Izuku endangering his chances to attend UA because of him.
Also, as a side benefit, he was finally able to enjoy a full night's sleep thanks to the sleep aid he had been prescribed. One of the first things Aizawa had done was take Hitoshi in to see Recovery Girl for a check-up which resulted in him being diagnosed with mild insomnia, and with proper sleep being essential to workout recovery, the teacher had made sure to find a fix for the issue. For the first time, Hitoshi's chronic fatigue was caused by hard work instead of his inability to sleep through the night.
"None of the above," Aizawa answered in his usual bored tone, "classes start today. I wanted you to be here early so that I could talk to you about them."
Hitoshi's attention sharpened, Aizawa had told him at the start of all this that his continued enrollment in the hero course depended on his performance today so he would listen to every word said in the hopes that it would give him some clue for what would be happening.
"You are not allowed to share this information with any of your classmates, but today will include a test of your physical abilities. Consider this your actual entrance exam, if I am not satisfied by your results it's sayonara for you. Understood?"
Hitoshi's jaw set firmly as he took in what he had just been told. It looked like once more he would be put at a disadvantage because of having a non-physical quirk, but no matter what he had endured too much at this point to complain.
"Understood, sir," he replied
"Good, go get ready for class. I will be docking points if you show up late." Aizawa finished before turning and walking away.
Hitoshi left in a different direction following the now-familiar path toward the nearest locker room where he had stashed his things. As he walked he thought to himself.
"Well Hitoshi, this is it. Time to prove you have what it takes."
Izuku hurried through the halls of UA with an information sheet clutched in one hand.
"1-A, 1-A, where is class 1-A?" he said absently.
"Why is this school so big anyway?" Sera complained as she zipped along beside him.
They had arrived at school a few minutes later than they had originally planned because their original train line was under repair due to a villain attack. Luckily a connecting line was provided that didn't add too much time to their commute. With the frequency of villain attacks causing damage to tracks, the Japanese public transit system had been redesigned with multiple redundancies in its routes to prevent delays.
"This wouldn't be a problem if we could just fly to school like I suggested," Sera added.
"One day, Sera, one day," Izuku said wistfully.
Finally, a colossal door Painted with the characters "1-A" came into view. Pausing in front of it Izuku took a moment to calm his breathing.
"This is it," he said softly to Sera, "we are finally in UA and on our way to becoming heroes. I hope we can finally make some friends in our class."
"Yeah, and hopefully we won't ever have to see Bakugou again either," Sera added.
'Oh yeah,' Izuku thought to himself, 'if there is any justice in the world I can finally get away from him, and I hope that guy with glasses isn't here either, he was kind of a jerk.'
Sliding the door open, Izuku took one look into the room and thought
'Nevermind, Valor is a cruel and fickle goddess.'
Right in the front row both boys he had been thinking of were loudly arguing with each other about Bakugou's behavior. Izuku hoped that they wouldn't notice him so he could get to his assigned seat. His luck continued going downhill however when he saw the spectacled, blue-haired student notice him and start to approach. Before he reached Izuku however, the green-haired boy's attention was grabbed by a hand being placed on his shoulder and he looked up into the relieved eyes of Hitoshi Shinso.
"You made it," the other boy said.
Izuku's mind immediately flashed back to the plea he had seen this boy make on his behalf and he couldn't help a smile overtaking his features.
"Yup, and so did you."
For a moment the two of them shared a relieved moment before Izuku's eyes suddenly narrowed and he looked at the other boy with an annoyed expression.
"Speaking of," he said, "what's the big idea trying to give away all your points? I worked really hard to get you those you know."
Shinso's face became puzzled for a moment before his eyes widened in realization.
"What?" he asked, "how did you know about that?"
Before Izuku could answer, his conversation with Shinso was interrupted by someone clearing his throat. Turning both Izuku and Shinso looked to see their spectacled classmate now right at their side. Seeing that he had their attention he took a breath to begin speaking but before the words could leave his mouth Sera suddenly called out grabbing Izuku's attention.
"Oh my gosh, Izuku, look it's Uraraka."
Poking his head back out into the hall Izuku saw that Sera was correct and the other person who had attempted to intercede on his behalf was running up to the class with a bright smile on her face. When she arrived she immediately began to speak.
"Izuku, you made it in. I am so happy."
She was standing a bit too close for Izuku's comfort but the sheer joy in her voice let Izuku deal with the anxiety he was beginning to feel.
"Oh, the sleepy eyes guy, you made it too," Uraraka suddenly said, looking past Izuku and seeing Shinso in the room.
"Sleepy eyes guy?" Shinso asked, understanding but still not very excited about his sudden new moniker.
"Were you two not introduced?" Izuku asked.
"Not formally," Shinso said.
"Well I am Uraraka Ochako," Uraraka said brightly, "My quirk is actually pretty similar to Izuku's."
"Really?" Shinso asked curiously.
"Yeah, I can make anything I touch weightless too." she said happily before looking a bit shy and turning away, "Though I don't fly or have a cute sidekick like Sera."
"Aww, thanks," The small blue girl said happily.
The two shared a high five which made Izuku smile, he knew that Uraraka wouldn't be able to feel anything when Sera touched her but it made him happy that someone else was willing to interact with her normally because he knew she enjoyed it with how extroverted she was. He could tell that as the time approached for them to attend the hero course had gotten closer she had become steadily more excited at the prospect of getting to be visible all the time rather than staying out of sight as she had done during most of middle school. He could even remember when she had asked him to look up pictures of the female version of the UA school uniform so that she could mimic it and had practiced for hours making sure that her form was perfect in preparation for today.
Shinso started to introduce himself but suddenly stiffened like a deer staring into the eyes of a hungry predator. Izuku wondered why until he heard a dry voice speak.
"If you are here to socialize then go home."
Following the sound of the voice, Izuku's eyes dropped down to see a well-worn yellow sleeping bag on the floor. At the top of the bag, the face of a middle-aged man with a mass of unkempt hair and a layer of stubble on his chin and around his mouth could be seen giving all three of the students in the doorway a half-lidded glare.
Izuku and Uraraka leaped back in surprise though Shinso was still frozen in place. They watched as the man squirmed to his feet like an uncoordinated caterpillar before the zipper of the bag opened and out stepped the man inside who was wearing all black except for a grey length of what looked like bandages that were about two inches wide wrapped around his neck like a scarf, and some metallic compartments on the belt around his waist. The entire class fell silent as he stalked into the room and stared them all down.
"It took you eight seconds to quiet down. Time is a precious resource so wasting it in such a way makes me think you all lack rationality."
The class stayed silent in response but bristled slightly at the putdown. After a moment the man continued.
"My name is Aizawa Shouta and I will be your homeroom teacher, pleased to meet you,"
The last bit just seemed to be tacked on for propriety's sake rather than being an earnest greeting, because rather than wait for anyone to give the customary response he just reached into his sleeping bag and pulled out a packaged set of clothes before saying.
"Now, all of you quickly come here and get a set of gym clothes, then change and meet me at the entrance. We will be heading out to the grounds."
The students followed the instructions collecting their new gear one at a time. As Izuku watched their new sensei repeatedly reach into his sleeping bag he couldn't help but wonder.
'Did he crawl here from the staff room in a sleeping bag filled with packaged gym uniforms?'
Deciding to just accept it as one of life's great mysteries, Izuku left following Shinso toward the locker room because the other boy apparently knew the way already. Oddly enough he also didn't have a set of gym clothes like the rest of the boys did.
"Hey Shinso, don't you need to get a set of clothes?" Izuku asked.
"Don't worry I already have some."
"How?"
"Don't worry about it," Shinso responded, his tone showing that he was uncomfortable giving details, so Izuku left the matter alone.
When the group of twenty students reached the entrances to the locker rooms they began to filter into the appropriately gendered rooms. As Izuku headed toward the men's he heard Sera say,
"I'll see you when you get out,"
Izuku accepted that she didn't want to come in. She seemed to be slightly ephemeral when it came to gendered things. She was adamant that she was a girl but there were times when she would just pop in on Izuku while he was in the bathroom to the point where it honestly didn't bother him much anymore. Other times, like now, she chose not to enter the men's side so he just accepted it.
A few minutes later found the class outside the school following behind their teacher as he led them to what appeared to be a training field. Izuku was walking between his two new friends, at least he hoped that is what they would become, with Shinso on his right and Uraraka on his left. As he had said Shinso did turn out to have a set of gym clothes, but where everyone else's was still slightly stiff from being fresh out of the package, his was distinctly worn in by comparison. Sera floated over his left shoulder with her clothing morphed into a miniature version of the gym uniform and was happily chatting with Uraraka as they walked.
"So you're from way out in the country?" Sera asked curiously.
"Well I wouldn't say, way out," Uraraka replied self consciously, "we still have pretty much everything you would find in a city like Musutafu just not as much or as big."
All conversation stopped when their teacher halted and turned to look at them again, everyone remembering the comment he had made in the classroom. Seeing their responsiveness he gave a nod of appreciation before beginning to speak.
"We will begin the curriculum of the hero course with a quirk apprehension test. Before we can build you up we need to get a baseline for your physical abilities."
"What?" Uraraka suddenly asked, "but what about freshman orientation and our guidance sessions?"
"There's no time for that if you all want to be heroes," Aizawa said bluntly. "One of the selling points of the UA education system is how free form it is. That applies to what you will be studying and how we teachers get to present it."
From their Aizawa quickly explained what the test would entail and briefly went off on a tangent about the current state of education that went over the students' heads but he soon refocused and called out,
"Bakugou, what score did you get in the softball throw during middle school?"
"Sixty-seven meters," he replied curtly.
"Alright, now come up and give it a try with your quirk."
Izuku watched as Katsuki approached the circle and accepted the proffered ball. To most, he would appear just as relaxed as always but to Izuku he could see a sense of excitement hidden in the tenseness of the other boy's shoulders.
"You can do whatever you want as long as you don't leave the circle," Aizawa gave this final instruction before backing away.
Katsuki stood for a moment looking at the ball in his grasp, and Izuku preemptively covered his ears, drawing a few looks of curiosity from his classmates, though he did notice a purple-haired girl following suit. Without warning Katsuki literally exploded into motion swinging his arms and launching the ball with a blast as loud as a mortar shell exploding in his palm. The ball vanished into the horizon leaving the class shell-shocked at what they had just witnessed. Izuku uncovered his ears and noticed the girl doing the same and giving him an appreciative look which he acknowledged with a slight nod. Noticing the extended earlobes she sported he deduced that she must have some kind of hearing-based quirk so he was happy she had followed his example to escape any unnecessary damage.
Focusing back on the teacher they noticed him watching a small tablet or smartphone in his hands before turning toward them all and showing the results displayed thereon, which read 705.2m. The majority of the class began to murmur in awe at the superhuman feet.
"It is important that we know your limits so that we can figure out what kind of hero you will become," He explained.
As the concept that they would all have free reign to use their quirks finally began to take root in the minds of the students, several began to get excited about this novel experience.
"This is going to be so awesome."
"We can use our quirks for real, the hero course is great."
Hitoshi grimaced as he listened to the thoughts his new classmates were expressing. Sure they could be happy that they got to use their quirks, after all, most of them must have some kind of ability that affects their physical strength or will at least help them if it is applied correctly. He on the other hand would be forced to rely on nothing but his hard work over the time he had to train with Aizawa. Watching the teacher closely he saw his expression darken before he spoke.
"Awesome huh," even though he was quiet all the students immediately ceased to make noise, "you're hoping to become heroes after only three years of education and you think it will be all fun and games. Well in this game we play for keeps, so the person who scores lowest across all eight tests will be judged as useless and will be immediately expelled."
The teacher glared at the whole class but Hitoshi felt the full weight of it on his shoulders. This was it, the true entrance exam for him, if he didn't show that he could beat at least one of his classmates in a physical contest then Aizawa would make due on his promise and end his career before it even started.
"But that's unfair," Uraraka suddenly cried out, "this is only the first day of classes."
"The world is full of unfair things," Aizawa said, crushing the girl's argument, "natural disasters, rampaging villains, every other form of calamity or sudden misfortune. No matter what comes it is up to heroes to face that unfairness and correct it, and it is up to the hero course to test you over and over until you all become the kind of people who can achieve it. Forget about normal high school things like hanging out at MacDonald's after class. For the next three years, you will be put through every trial imaginable. That is what our motto Plus Ultra means. Your fate is in your hands, so use your strength to overcome the challenge."
The class was silent but Hitoshi could see looks of determination on all of their faces, he prayed that something similar could be seen on his but doubted there was anything other than the tired fatalistic expression he had become accustomed to seeing in the mirror. His spiral of self-loathing was interrupted however when he felt a hand clasp his left shoulder and he turned to see Midoriya giving him a kind smile.
"Hey," Midoriya said, "I know that this isn't ideal for your quirk, but just remember that neither was the entrance exam and before you try to blame that all on me, I didn't make you run toward the zero pointer to help out Uraraka when her ankle was trapped, that was all you. Just remember that and give it your all, I am sure you will make it."
At the other boy's kind words and bright smile, the darkness in his heart lifted slightly allowing Hitoshi to respond with a smile of his own and a nod in thanks. Turning back toward their teacher the two boys listened as he directed them toward the track for their first test; the 50-meter dash.
The attempts were a mix of ordinary and extraordinary, many of the students could do nothing other than run as fast as they could, like Uraraka and a boy Hitoshi didn't yet know the name of with spiked, red hair. Others used their quirks in bizarre or creative ways such as a pink-skinned girl who skated along a path of slime, or a flamboyant boy who rocketed himself backward down the track with a sparkling blue beam of light.
The current fastest time was held by the blue-haired boy who had been trying to speak to Midoriya in the classroom just before Aizawa had shown up. He had apparently been born for this exact moment if the exhaust pipes sticking out of his calves were anything to go by. He had raced down the track like a formula one vehicle clearing the course in just over three seconds. Seeing the result darkened the bright mood that Midoriya's encouragement had given Hitoshi, but he refused to just give up.
When he was called he shared the track with a huge boy who had three sets of arms with webbing between them. For a moment Hitoshi wondered how they could help the other boy in this situation but in the end, he decided to ignore it and just focus on running as best he could. Setting up in a classic sprinter's stance he waited and as soon as the signal fired he took off from the blocks, pushing as though his life depended on it. He tried to just focus on himself and his own performance but in his peripheral, he saw that the other boy was apparently a veteran at sprints as well as they were currently neck and neck with each other. Slowly the other boy began to edge out in front of Hitoshi, lighting a competitive fire in his gut. Using that new desire he pushed himself harder than ever before and again came shoulder to shoulder with his opponent. Unfortunately, as the race came to an end he found his own second wind, letting him eke out a slight lead as they crossed the finish line resulting in times of 6.9 and 7.0 seconds. As he slowed down Hitoshi couldn't help but feel disappointed in himself as he gulped air to cool himself down after the sprint. He was pulled out of his spiral however when he heard a voice calling out.
"Hey"
Turning he saw the tall teen standing next to him smiling with a mouth he had sprouted from the end of one of his arms.
"Good race,"
Doing his best to give a half-hearted smile as a sign of good sportsmanship Hitoshi responded,
"Thanks, you too."
Making his way back to the crowd, Hitoshi saw Midoriya and Uraraka smiling and waving as he approached.
"Wow," Uraraka said as he got close, "you were like a real athlete out there."
"Yeah," Midoriya agreed, "I never got a time that good during middle school."
Smiling bashfully, Hitoshi thanked them and retook his place at their side waiting for the next race to happen. The next race was fairly standard with the girls with headphone jacks on her earlobes running next to a boy with oddly-shaped elbows. Neither of them used their quirks to help with their running but they were each very good athletes letting them both reach times close to or better than Hitoshi's own. A similar thing happened with the next race when a boy with a bird for a head faced off against a boy with two-toned hair and a scar over his left eye except that where the previous racers had been good athletes the scarred teen was truly exceptional getting a sub 6 second time with no help from his quirk.
The last two races were notable in that once again the class got to see quirks in action. The second to last race was between the explosive teen who had demonstrated the softball throw and an invisible girl. Rather than assume a regular sprinter's position the explosive teen had crossed his arms in front of himself with his palms faced outward. At the sound of the starter pistol, he blasted off from the start line explosions firing in a staccato rhythm carrying him down the track at speeds that rivaled the engine legs of the blue-haired classmate that currently held the class record. In the end, the explosive teen came in a little over a second behind him at 4.16.
In the last match, Midoriya was pitted against the most statuesque of the girls in class. Hitoshi had to chuckle a bit at the stiffness Midoriya walked with at being next to such a beauty but as soon as he was on the starting line his chest puffed out like he was taking a deep breath and he began to glow. The shine wasn't as bright as it had been during the test, but there was a noticeable shimmer to his skin and his eyes glittered like gemstones. With the appearance of the light, all signs of stress or anxiety left his posture leaving him appearing calm and confident. He also eschewed the classic runner's stance and merely crouched slightly. Suspecting what was about to happen, Hitoshi couldn't help but get a little excited. Maybe it was the remnants of the awe he had felt seeing his display against the zero pointer but for whatever reason, the sight of the shining hero descending from the sky had never left his mind and he couldn't wait to see the other boy fly again. He wasn't disappointed either because as soon as the signal sounded Midoriya pushed off the ground and was flying down the track. He only seemed to get faster as he went and in seconds he had crossed the finish line and skid to a halt. Finishing the race in a time just over the fastest time in class at 3.19 seconds.
The entire class was speechless at the display but after a moment they broke out in excited whispers. Since the dawn of the age of superheroes, there was always something special about the sight of a human being flying under their own power. The ability was rarer than one might think, not even All Might being able to do it though he certainly gave the illusion of it with his ability to leap as high as a skyscraper. Now seeing someone in their class perform the feat made everyone present ecstatic that they had the chance to be in the hero course.
Aizawa for his part appeared completely unfazed merely recording the outcome of the race as he had all the others and moving the students on to the next event. Hitoshi waited for Midoriya to catch up before following the rest of the class.
"You still need to work on those landings." Hitoshi joked good-naturedly not expecting the other boy's glittering eyes to sharpen and him to take the comment seriously.
"Yea, the issue is that I need to work on bleeding off more of my horizontal momentum before touching down. I can only control acceleration and so if I want to travel at a constant velocity I have to get better at managing my vectors or I end up drifting, which if it happens too close to the ground would mean some serious road rash. It really all comes down to balancing forces I… you were joking weren't you."
"Yes I was," Hitoshi said plainly
Uraraka who had been nearby giggled and Sera chimed in with some advice.
"You have to be careful about talking about quirk stuff with Izuku, he is a grade-A nerd and will take any chance he gets to talk technical with people."
Arriving at the next area, Aizawa wasted no time getting on to the next event. As each event took place Hitoshi couldn't help but feel his gloom grow. Grip strength was dominated by the people with strength enhancing or versatile quirks, for example, the titanic teen Hitoshi had run against could apparently grow extra limbs allowing him to multiply the force he could put on the machine or the statuesque girl Midoriya raced who created a vice grip out of nothing and used it to crush the machine easily getting first place. The side-to-side jumping was taken by the explosive teen who braced his arms out and blasted himself back and forth. The standing long jump was of course won by Midoriya with his ability to fly though many other students performed admirably. In each of these events, Hitoshi performed at or below average, and with each score, his feelings of despair grew. He tried to hide it from his two almost friends, he still wasn't sure if they considered him as such, but it was getting harder as it felt like his chances of getting to fulfill his dream were slowly slipping out of his fingers.
Soon they were standing back where they had begun, preparing to do the softball throw event. All of the students were visibly excited to have their chance at it after seeing such a spectacular demonstration at the start of this whole test. So one at a time they all took their place and tried their hand at it. Aizawa made a point to remind everyone of the rule that they could use any means they wanted to launch the ball as long as they stayed in the circle. There were a few interesting attempts, like the frog girl who launched the ball with her tongue or the boy with a tail who used that to bat the ball away but by far the most impressive attempt was Uraraka who launched the ball and had it fly off into the atmosphere with no hint of it stopping. The entire class sat in silence for a moment waiting only to erupt with sounds of shock when Aizawa showed his tablet with a measurement of "∞."
Before he knew it, it was Hitoshi's turn to enter the circle and a softball was placed in his hand. As he gave him the ball Aizawa once more gave the instruction.
"You can use your quirk however you want as long as you don't leave the circle."
Hitoshi just stood there unable to move as he looked at the ball. It didn't seem all that special, the weight was similar to what he remembered the balls they used in middle school having and he knew that at his best he had been able to launch one of those about 48 meters. He was sure that with all the training he had done he could beat his personal best but there was no way he would be able to get himself out of last place. By his calculations, his closest competition was the invisible girl but she had obviously considered her quirk's limitations and trained extensively before coming to school as each of her performances thus far while not being extraordinary were still above average. He needed to do something or else this was it. He pondered the rules for this event and slowly an idea took shape, and as it did his self-loathing only grew. For a moment he warred with himself about what he was planning but in the end, his desire to stay in the course even at the cost of his friends won out.
Izuku watched Shinso in the circle with worry. He had been standing there for almost a full minute now just staring at the ball. Izuku had been watching him throughout the entire test so far and it was clear that with each passing event Shinso was falling into a dark place. Izuku reasoned that the threat that their teacher Aizawa had made at the beginning of the test must be weighing heavily on his mind, along with the fact that he was once again stuck in a circumstance that favored flashy quirks over his subtle powers. Sadly as much as Izuku tried he couldn't think of a way to help the other boy as he had in the entrance exam. There had been loopholes to exploit that allowed for teamwork there, but here Shinso was on his own. Izuku was pulled out of his thoughts when Shinso's voice rang out across the field.
"Uraraka, did I ever introduce myself?"
The brown-haired girl looked puzzled before answering,
"No,"
Suddenly her eyes glazed over and her face fell slack. The class was confused but Izuku had a sense of what was happening. For a moment he thought to stop this but realized that this was Shinso's chance so he held his tongue, and just prayed that Uraraka would understand.
"Come here please,"
Hitoshi spoke again from the circle. He framed his words like a request but he knew there was no way for the girl to refuse. With each word, he felt dirty. As Uraraka stepped closer all he could hear were the voices of his classmates in middle school.
"Wow, you would have a great quirk for a villain huh?"
"Eew, just hearing about your power gives me shivers."
"Please don't talk to me, you're making me nervous."
"Shinso didn't make you do that, did he?"
Uraraka finally arrived at the border of the circle and Hitoshi held out the ball.
"Apply your power to this."
His voice was monotone and dead sounding, all the better to hide the shame in his heart. The brainwashed girl mechanically lifted her hand and touched the ball. There was a momentary pink glow and Hitoshi felt the weight of the object disappear. The deed done, Hitoshi turned and threw the ball with a look of contempt as it sailed off into the stratosphere.
'I hope that is expensive to replace,' he thought vindictively.
Again the class watched in silence until Aizawa once again displayed the score with a "∞" symbol. Immediately the class erupted but this time it wasn't with praise.
"Disgraceful," the blue-haired speedster called, "such actions are unbecoming of someone at this institution he should be expelled at once."
"So unmanly bro, seriously," the red-haired boy called out.
"How could you just use a girl like that," the blond with a jagged black streak said.
"Creepy," said the pink-skinned acid user.
Hitoshi just silently accepted their words. After all, he agreed with them on some level. But on another, he felt his contempt for all of them grow. Just because they were born with flashy useful quirks and he was born with a subtle one they were right to become heroes while he was forced to only be seen as a villain. He just wanted to help people. Why was that so bad?
His downward spiral was interrupted by a hand clapping onto his shoulder and he looked up to see the shining countenance of Midoriya smiling at him.
"Hey, good job. I knew you could find a use for your awesome quirk."
Hitoshi froze in disbelief but responded with,
"How can you say that after you saw me use Uraraka like that?"
Midoriya looked thoughtful then said,
"Let's find out how she felt about it then. Could you let her go?"
Looking at the girl he was ashamed to see that she was still under his control so he quickly released her. Her eyes immediately cleared up and she blinked for a bit before looking around.
"Whoa, that was kind of weird, like being asleep and awake at the same time."
Seeing her come back to herself, Hitoshi couldn't help but have his feelings of guilt magnify, and before he knew it he was bowing to her.
"I am sorry," he said sincerely.
Uraraka looked taken aback before speaking.
"What for?'
Hitoshi looked up sharply in disbelief.
"For taking control of you without your permission. I used you so that I could get a better score on the event."
"Oh, what did you get?" she asked and looked over to Aizawa who held out the device with the infinity symbol still showing.
"Hey look we tied," she said with a smile.
"See everything is fine," Midoriya said happily.
"How can you two be ok with this?" Shinso asked.
Uraraka thought about it a second before she spoke.
"Because I trust you," She said simply
Hitoshi was floored by the answer
"When I was at my most scared and thought I was going to die. You and Midoriya both were the only ones at the exam that came running to help me. Everyone else left, and the feeling of reaching out and being ignored was the worst I have ever experienced. But then I felt the opposite when I saw you both coming toward me, and when you helped me get away even though you looked exhausted I knew that you are a good person. So I trust you even with the ability to take over my mind. Just ask permission next time, ok?" She finished with a smile that warmed Hitoshi to the core.
"Thank you," Hitoshi said softly, "Thank you both so much."
The class watching the interaction between the three had fallen quiet until The blue-haired student spoke again.
"Aizawa-sensei, shouldn't this student need to redo this event?"
"Why?" Aizawa asked in a deadpan voice.
"Because he cheated," the teen answered
"So you are allowed to use your quirk but he isn't?" Aizawa asked.
"No, but, he… his power is not something heroic."
At those words Aizawa's face changed, his glare intensified threefold and his eyes glowed red. Not only that but his scarf and hair floated supernaturally in the air. Hitoshi shivered slightly at the sight, being familiar with the look from the times they had sparred during his training (or more accurately the times he had been beaten up by the teacher and futilely tried to stay conscious).
"So his power is unheroic, is it? What about the power to melt someone's face with a touch, or freeze someone to death with a thought, or the power to stop someone's heart because they bumped into you or produce a chemical weapon at will? Are those powers unheroic as well?"
The class was speechless at the rant their teacher just gave, several of the students looked distinctly uncomfortable as the realization of what their quirks were capable of truly hit home.
"Any quirk can be used for good or ill, what matters is the heart of the person who wields it, and I will not tolerate any form of prejudice or discrimination in my class is that understood."
Everyone nodded in acceptance at his words before he continued.
"As for your allegations of cheating, the rules stated that as long as he stayed inside the circle he was allowed to use any means necessary, and I didn't see him leave it. So his score stands."
The protesting teen, now sufficiently cowed, didn't say anything more and accepted the teacher's verdict. Hitoshi for his part was shocked that the teacher who had pushed him so hard and always seemed to be filled with contempt would now come to his defense so readily.
From there the remaining events seemed to fly by without anything of note taking place, those with quirks that helped them did well and everyone else scored as best they could. Finally, the time to show their results was here and Hitoshi's stomach was in knots as he waited to see the display. Without much ado, their teacher pulled a portable hologram projector from his pocket and displayed the scores while saying.
"Oh, by the way, I was lying about expelling someone."
Relief slammed down on Hitoshi and he looked at the bottom of the list to see that he had come in 19th out of 20 possible places. Somewhere off to his right, he heard the invisible girl collapse as she cried out,
"Oh thank goodness."
Meeting Aizawa's eye Hitoshi saw the teacher watching him for a moment before giving him a subtle nod of acknowledgement before he turned to walk away.
"That was just a rational deception to bring out your best. Go grab your syllabus in the room and then you are free to go."
With that the teacher was gone, leaving the class on their own to find their way back to the room so that they could go home.
Hitoshi was one of the last in the locker room, having told Midoriya to go on ahead of him. As he finished getting changed he kept going over the events of the day in his mind. Everything he had been through since the entrance exam had led up to this moment and he had succeeded. He proved that he could be a hero but there was still one thing eating at him. Closing his locker, Hitoshi left and, instead of heading toward the classroom, turned toward the staff offices. As he made his way through the halls, he heard a voice address him.
"I told you to get your syllabus and go home," Aizawa said.
He was leaning against the wall nonchalantly as though he had been waiting for Hitoshi to show up.
"I know but after everything, I just... I needed to hear you say it. I know you put on your little show for everyone else about the expulsion being a lie. But for me, it wasn't. You made it abundantly clear that if I didn't do well enough you were going to kick me out." Hitoshi looked at Aizawa defiantly waiting for a response.
The teacher at first did nothing, just looking at him with his usual half-lidded stare. After a minute however he sighed tiredly and said,
"Congratulations, you passed, welcome to your hero academy,"
Hitoshi stared slack-jawed at the man's delivery which was completely devoid of emotion and sincerity. Finally, he huffed and turned away before he could leave however he heard his homeroom teacher call out.
"Shinso, I still expect you to be here two hours early every day. I won't allow a future hero like you to stagnate, you hear me."
Hitoshi froze for a moment but then continued walking away and waved over his shoulder in acceptance,
"Yea, yea,"
Izuku fidgeted nervously as he waited by the entrance of UA. He hoped he wasn't being presumptuous in waiting to ask if Uraraka and Shinso wanted to walk home together.
"Calm down, I am sure they will be happy to walk home with us," Sera said comfortingly.
"I know," Izuku responded, "but this will be the first time I have tried to make a friend since elementary school."
"What am I not your friend?" Sera said with an offended huff.
"Come on Sera, you know you are so much more than just that," Izuku said tenderly.
"Ugh, you are impossible to stay mad at," she responded.
They waited a few minutes more when they heard someone approaching. Looking up they both smiled at the sight of Uraraka exiting the building.
"Midoriya," She said happily.
"Hey Uraraka,"
"Hi," Sera added.
"What's up, are you waiting for someone?" Uraraka asked.
"Actually, we were wondering if you wanted to walk to the station together?" Izuku said, internally bracing for a kind-hearted rejection.
"Oh my gosh, yes!" Uraraka replied happily, "Oh let's see if sleepy eyes wants to come as well."
"That's not my name," Shinso grumbled as he approached from behind the girl, making her jump in surprise.
"Whoa, you are like a ninja."
"You seem awfully happy," Sera remarked.
And Izuku was surprised to see that he did have a relaxed smile on his face.
"Well it just really sunk in that I am in a hero course, you know?" he responded.
Hearing that made Izuku smile as well.
"Yeah, it's a dream come true, isn't it. Still, it is important to remember that this is only the start, not the end." As he said this he looked up at the school again taking it all in.
"So what is your name?" Uraraka asked suddenly.
"I suppose introductions are a little past due." Shinso said with a light blush, before bowing and introducing himself, "I am Hitoshi Shinso, please take care of me."
"It's a pleasure, as I already said I am Uraraka Ochako, a pleasure to meet you,"
"And I am Midoriya Izuku, though you both already know that," Izuku added with only a little awkwardness. "And I was wondering if you would like to walk home together."
"Sure"
"Sounds good to me"
Came the two replies he expected. What wasn't expected was for a third voice to join saying,
"If I may?"
Turning suddenly the three were surprised by the sudden appearance of their Blue-haired classmate. Izuku immediately put up his guard slightly and he saw Shinso do the same. Seeing this the other boy bowed deeply and spoke in a forceful voice.
"I owe you both a sincere apology."
Not expecting that Izuku and Shinso shared a look then turned back to the speaker as he continued.
"Shinso-san, I was quick to judge and I allowed prejudice to color my view of you. I should have recognized that your entrance into this prestigious institution was proof of your character and not let my biases against your quirk sway me to assume the worst of you." With that, he bowed more deeply toward the purple-haired boy.
"Ok, thanks for apologizing," Shinso said, slightly dumbfounded.
"And you Midoriya-san," He continued, now pivoting toward Izuku, "I was wrong to accuse you of foul play at the exam and to look down on you when you had divined the true purpose of the exam and I had not."
"O-ok, but I didn't divine anything though," Izuku stuttered out.
"Finally, I must also ask that you forgive me for looking down on you for responding to Present Mic when you were correct to say I was only mad because I didn't have the courage to. My nerves on that day made me act in a truly shameful way."
Everyone was surprised when this last apology was directed toward Sera who looked shocked for a moment but quickly switched to haughty.
"Apology accepted, and it is good that you are aware of your own shortcomings."
Standing up he smiled at them and said,
"Thank you for allowing me to do that, my honor has been demanding it since the end of class. I am Tenya Iida. It would be an honor if I could also join you in your journey home."
Seeing the boy's sincerity Izuku smiled and looked to the other two in his group for approval, they both nodded so he then turned to Iida and said,
"We would be happy to have you join us."
As one, the group of four made their way out of the school grounds and toward the nearest train station. As they walked they shared more information about themselves and Izuku finally enjoyed a level of friendship that had been missing from his life for years.
AN: Hello Everyone, I am back and I would like to apologize for the sudden unscheduled hiatus. I took a break from my fanfiction writing to begin work on an original work, originally I had planned to get my novel finished before writing on any of my stories again, but as I found out writing original fiction is a completely different beast to writing fan fiction. In the end, I started getting burned out and I picked this story back up as a way to help my creative juices start flowing again. I now plan to use writing on these stories as a way to take a break from my original work as I try to get it finished. I will be uploading at a much more sporadic pace but I do still plan to upload and I am grateful to you all for continuing to read.
Also, I made a correction to chapter 9. I had Izuku referring to Hitoshi by his given name when he should have been using his family name instead. It is a minor correction but one I felt I had to do in order to be consistent in my writing. I feel I should also add that I do not hate Iida, in fact, I love his character and look forward to writing more about him he just served as the best way to have the issue with Hitoshi's quirk addressed in this chapter.
As always a special thanks to my Beta ACreativeMindAtWork for their help.