Izuku's last term of high school had passed by without much incident. Living at UA had turned out to be far less stressful than he had imagined it would be, given everything Nezu had talked about in his email. Apart from helping a few of the staff members with some tasks, most of the odd jobs and research the dean had mentioned had been postponed until after the boy's graduation, meaning most of his time was focused on his studies and adapting to his new home. After his graduation, however, things had picked up. During the break, much of Izuku's time was spent helping the staff with deep cleaning around campus and getting materials set for the end of the semester. Once the classes had resumed, he was usually tasked with cleaning duties or helping grade assignments.

In addition to providing food and room for Izuku, Nezu had opted to cover the boy's phone plan, stating that since he was going to be partially treated as a staff member he should be given some of the same benefits. He'd also arranged for Izuku to take sparring lessons a few days a week, though at the time he didn't specify why. Izuku figured it had something to do with whatever research the dean had planned, though he was grateful to still have a physical outlet.

To his surprise, getting a call from Nezu to participate in research ended up being a rarity, only happening a handful of times during the last few months of the semester. Most of those instances involved the dean having Izuku stop suppressing his nature while different professors activated their Quirks at varying proximities to him. A few professors, such as Midnight and Cementoss, actively tried to affect him with their Quirks. In addition to measuring how various Quirks would respond, Nezu also kept track of the levels of discomfort the professors were experiencing depending on how close they were to Izuku.

While that last bit of information was something he chose to ignore, the results of the Quirk-based testing was abundantly clear to Izuku. Emitter and transformation-type Quirks, and anything directly connected to them, would start to be interrupted within about a five-meter radius of where he was standing. The interruptions would grow more frequent up until about two meters away. Anything Quirk-related simply could not exist within that two-meter range. Mutation-type Quirks, on the other hand, seemed to be mostly unaffected, and their users seemed to be far less impacted by his presence, almost as though they were Quirkless.

As the semester drew to a close, Nezu started to switch gears with the research. The most recent round of tests had focused on Izuku's ability to suppress his nature, drawing his radius of influence down to a fraction of its normal goal was to see if Izuku could also reverse the effect and expand his nature's range. The result had been fairly lackluster, producing almost no noticeable change and leaving Izuku feeling physically and emotionally drained. The dean seemed optimistic, though, and asked Izuku to practice in his free time, even updating his pass to give him access to the training facilities after hours.

The exchange had left Izuku with an odd sense of pride. The fact that someone was not only testing the extent of his nature, but even wanted to try and amplify it, was something he had never experienced before. He could only imagine many of his classmates had felt something similar with the advent of their own Quirks. For the first time in what seemed like months, Izuku could feel himself smiling as he made his way back to the dorm he now called home.

Izuku's next call from Nezu came close to sunset about a week after the university had finished up finals. He'd been spending most of the day working alongside Cementoss to help furnish a new dorm building in preparation for the school adding another class to the Hero program this coming year. Setting down the paint roller in the tray, he pulled his phone from his pocket and swiped to answer the call. "Afternoon, sir."

"Good afternoon, Midoriya," Nezu replied in his usual cheerful tone. "I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time."

Izuku leaned up against a wall briefly, only to pull away with a muttered curse as his arm came away wet. Once he had moved to an unfinished section, he replied, "Not at all. Do you need me to come in for a test?"

A soft laugh echoed through the phone. "No, not yet. I want to give you more time to practice what we went over last time. No, I actually called to let you know I'm planning on adding you to our security detail for the coming school year. It'd be mostly informal, just to make sure things stay safer for our first-year Hero students."

"Wait, I'm sorry. You want me to be security for the Hero course?" The news caught him more than a little off guard, and he couldn't help but be somewhat incredulous at the idea. "By definition, wouldn't that be a little unnecessary, even if they are still in training?"

"Not entirely. There have been times in the past where Quirks have been incompatible and caused issues, as well as tempers getting out of control during practical exercises." Nezu's voice seemed to shift slightly as he talked before returning to normal. "The two professors we have set to teach the classes this year should be able to handle things on their own. If we happen to enroll a potentially volatile student, then you'll be automatically assigned to that class. Otherwise, you'll go through the regular placement process and move around as the situation requires."

"Understood. I think." Izuku's heart rate climbed as the dean's words slowly sank in. "Wait, does that mean I'm going to be a student in the Heroics department?"

Nezu chuckled once again through the phone. "You'll still have to take the written exam as a formality, but that will be more for placement in your core classes. Not to mention, your first actual security assignment will be during the practical exam, so I've waived that requirement for you anyway."

Excitement pulsed through Izuku and he was helpless in holding back his smile. The news was quite literally a dream come true for him, a dream he'd all but abandoned years ago. "I really can't tell you what that means to me, sir," he finally admitted, trying to keep his voice level as his emotions slowly got the better of him. "I promise I won't let you down."

"I know you won't, Midoriya. Now, I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing. Don't want to take too much more of your time."

As the call ended and he returned his phone to his pocket, Izuku couldn't help but feel more than a little overwhelmed. In the span of six months, he had gone from viewing going to any university as an impossibility to being all but guaranteed a place in the school of his dreams. He'd always worked hard, graduating high school very near the top of his class, so the question of whether or not he truly deserved this opportunity was one he could easily push aside. All that stood in his way now was the entrance exam. It would be a challenge, but it was one he felt ready to meet head on.

Hatsume hummed quietly to herself as she double-checked the bag in the back seat of the car before sliding it out of sight and covering it with a spare jacket. Unlikely as it may be, the last thing she wanted was for someone to get curious and decide to steal her baby before she got to show it off for her practical exam. Once she was satisfied the device was properly hidden, she locked the door before making her way towards UA's main building. As she got closer, she could see a row of tables in front of a couple lines of students, sectioned off by groups of last names. Thankfully, her own respective line was fairly short, and within just a few minutes, she was heading through the doors to find the designated exam room.

The layout of the building was fairly straightforward, so it didn't take long for Hatsume to find the room listed on her sheet. As she passed one exam room, however, she was hit with a fleeting sense that something was wrong. The sensation stopped her dead in her tracks and she did a double take to the door she'd just walked by, slowly moving back to it. Sure enough, the feeling returned, growing slightly stronger as she got close. Nearly ten months had passed since the last—and only—time she'd felt anything like this. 'Its gotta be him.' With hardly a second thought, Hatsume pushed her way through the large door.

"Who is it?" The familiar green-haired boy—'Midoriya, right? Something like that.'—turned his gaze towards the now-open door, his eyes widening. "H-Hatsume? What are you doing in here?"

Her grin widened as she gave herself a mental high-five for guessing correctly. "I felt you in here. Figured I'd make sure it was actually you. Long time no see!"

A hint of what she figured was confusion formed on the boy's face before quickly fading. "Yeah it—it's been a while, hasn't it?" he replied after a moment. "You're here for the exam, too?"

"You know it," she laughed and folded her arms, leaning against the door frame. "Gonna be going for the Support department. Shouldn't be too difficult."

She watched as the boy continued what he had been doing, laying out papers on each of the desks in the room. "I, uh—I'm going for Heroics myself."

"Damn! Isn't the practical for that supposed to be really hard or something?" While she didn't care much for hero work herself, she'd overheard many conversations in high school about the UA Heroics program, specifically how selective it was. Maybe there was more to this boy's Quirk than just making people uncomfortable after all.

"It is, but—Well, that's a story for another time," Midoriya chuckled, setting down the last paper and turning back towards her. "Sounds like you're pretty confident about getting in."
Hatsume nodded. "I've got the practical in the bag. The written exam is the only toss up, but if it's anything like the practice ones, then it shouldn't be a problem."

The boy glanced up at the clock on the wall, then shook his head before his gaze met hers again. "I wish I had that level of confidence. We should probably head to our test rooms, though."

'Wait, isn't this your room? Why were you in there, then?' Hatsume wanted to ask, but figured that would have to wait for another day. The two of them made their way back out into the hallway, which was now packed with prospective students. "Good luck, Midoriya," she said, silently praying she wasn't misremembering the boy's name. "I'll text you when I get my results back."

Midoriya gave a stammering, confused response, but it was drowned out by the voice of Present Mic announcing that the exams would start in just a few minutes. The announcement caused Hatsume to quicken her pace further in order to make it to her room in time.

It wasn't much of a surprise that Izuku learned of his acceptance and class assignment directly from professor Aizawa, though still being given the physical letter as well was a nice touch. From what he'd been told, one of the students had some muddled history during their high school and junior high years. While there wasn't much to go off of, Nezu had decided to assign Izuku to the same class as a precaution. Regardless of the reason, the green-haired boy was excited beyond words to officially be part of the Heroics course.

Since he had been able to move into his new dorm early, all that he really had left to do before the semester was design his hero costume. A few designs came to mind from his childhood, but none of them seemed to fit now. The idea of being assigned as a security detail brought up the idea of using a more military-like design, though he wasn't yet sure how to implement it. As he began listing ideas in his open notebook to help pass the time, he felt his phone start buzzing repeatedly.

When the second message came in, he figured it was probably an urgent message from one of the staff, but checking the screen showed that they were from an unsaved number. He watched as even more texts came through, one after the other, before he finally unlocked his phone to see what was going on.

Unknown (16:08): Hey, Midoriya! It'
Unknown (16:08): s Mei Hatsume
Unknown (16:08): I was meaning to text you earlier than this, but I guess it just slipped my mind
Unknown (16:08): But yeah.
Unknown (16:08): Guess what!?
Unknown (16:08): I got in?
Unknown (16:09): *!
Unknown (16:09): Gonna be starting in the support course next week

Once he was fairly sure no more texts were coming in, Izuku took a moment to save the new number in his contacts before working on his reply

Me (16:10): Hatsume! That's awesome to hear! Sounds like we'll probably be working together then down the road.
Me (16:10): Quick question, though. How did you get my number?

There was only a few seconds before texts began to once again appear rapidly.

Mei Hatsume (16:10): You got in too?
Mei Hatsume (16:10): That's awesome! We should hang out sometimes when we can.
Mei Hatsume (16:10): That's what normal people do right?
Mei Hatsume (16:11): Oh, about the number thing
Mei Hatsume (16:11): Caitlyn gave it to me when she sold me her car

The mention of Caitlyn tugged at Izuku's heartstrings a little, and he couldn't help but glance over to the hero plush sitting on his bedside table.

Me (16:12): That sounds like something she'd do. She was always saying I needed more friends.
Me (16:12): I do like the sound of hanging out, but are you sure?
Me (16:12): You've probably noticed what it's like to be around me…

He wasn't quite sure what had prompted him to say it. Possibly because he'd been growing more comfortable with his nature recently. Possibly because Hatsume seemed to be generally unbothered around him, considering how she'd apparently sought him out. Regardless, all he could do now was wait for the pink-haired girl to reply, though he didn't have to wait long.

Mei Hatsume (16:12): I don't mind it.
Mei Hatsume (16:12): It was weird at first, but I think I can get used to it
Mei Hatsume (16:13): Besides
Mei Hatsume (16:13): I hear it helps when you have more friends around.
Mei Hatsume (16:13): Anyways I gotta go
Mei Hatsume (16:13): Lots of packing to do, so I'll talk to you later Midoriya

With one last farewell text, Izuku locked his phone and set it to the side, staring at the device for a long moment. The exchange had been the last thing he'd expected today, but it was far from unwelcome. If anything, it left him more eager than ever for the start of the school year. After letting out a contented sigh, the boy turned his attention back to his notebook, a soft smile playing on his lips as he continued to write.