Chapter 14: Clean Slate

1 day before U.A opens for its school semester

Tatewaki household

"So you're saying that Eri is with Chisaki now?"

Kurono rubbed the front of his head, breathing deeply and loudly as he adjusted the phone in his hand throughout the loud background noises coming from the other end.

"Unfortunately. This gentle criminal wasn't able to reach them in time." Danjuro Tobita, or Gentle Criminal, replied solemnly.

"Ey now, it's not like it's his fault! It's yours! I mean, totally our fault yo, sorry!" Twice defended as he shouted to be heard.

"Alright, I guess we'll have to sit back and observe for a chance. Preferably when heroes go in and nab them." Kurono said with resignation as he slumped against the wall of his room.

"We are not trying to retrieve her on our own?" Gentle replied in disbelief after a quiet moment.

"I'm not taking any risk, this is a mission that we cannot fail," Kurono stressed through his teeth, briefly forgetting that Gentle was a villain, in the loosest of terms.

"A gentleman doesn't look away from helping those in need."

"A gentleman also knows when to give way when needed," Kurono replied much harsher than necessary.

Both of them remained silent on that front, the latter feeling uneasy and risking the chance that he might anger Gentle but he was firm in his decision. They shall not take any unnecessary risk until there is a clear chance.

"That's assuming the heroes will get involved soon-"

"They will," Kurono affirmed.

"And the timeframe?"

"This year."

"...Very well," Gentle relented, at last, deciding to play the observer for now. It doesn't sit well for him as he dearly wanted to go in and rescue the girl from those...scoundrels.

No calling them scoundrels would be too good for them even.

"Believe me, I too want to rip them to pieces." Kurono honestly shared his thoughts as the blood within him boiled, disliking the situation too since he had asked All Might and his friends to resolve this problem. Clearly, they didn't. Or couldn't.

"If it helps, think of it this way. We let them do the heavy lifting while we rescue the kid before handing her over. No better way to rub it in their face." He rubbed the back of his head, looking at the positives at least.

"Haha! That does sound pleasant!" Gentle laughter roared as the background noise increased as well.

"Also, what on earth is that noise? You on a truck or something?"

"Nothing as boring as that! It's a helicopter, one of the older models used for commercial purposes but beggars can't be choosers."

"You stole a helicopter?" Kurono's eyes boggled at that news and his jaw nearly dropped.

"Nothing as boorish as that. We merely had Twice memorized and duplicated one. He even learned how to drive it."

"It was easy peasy! No, wait, it wasn't! That instructor looked at me like some piece of shit!" Twice answered back that Kurono can just imagine him pointing a finger towards him.

"So he has a license to pilot a helicopter? Nice."

"Albeit, it was of questionable repute but rest assured, Twice is a capable pilot. Why, he only crashed it once so far over a lake."

That's not reassuring at all.

"Why are you on a chopper anyways?"

"Ah, just stay tuned in for the news! It will be terrific." Gentle beamed with a thumbs up.

"If you say so, by the way, where's Brava?"

"Big sis Brava is prepping our entrance, she's working hard! Unlike you-Whoops sorry, I didn't mean it."

"Do you need her expertise?"

"Nah, just checking on her, she doing good?" Kurono said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Ah, she is doing well. You should drop by more often."

"If I can," The looming knowledge of what will happen hung over him, details were sparse and barely recognizable at this point but he knew that it was bad. "I will be even busier starting this year."

Also, he has to figure out how to fork out a deposit payment for Gentle, Twice, and Brava.

I don't think she'll appreciate me being able to fork out only ten thousand yen or so.

"Very well. Oh, we're about to approach our destination. Let's continue some other time."

Grunting his farewells, Kurono's fingers slid to cut the connection. At the periphery of his hearing, he barely heard Twice say something before Gentle hurriedly spoke out.

"Bozu, there's a bodyguard you should be aware of-"

Tap.

The last part of the conversation went unsaid as Kurono stretched his arms, yawned, flung his handphone to the sides lazily before heading to sleep for the night. A motion that Crona agreed on as they had a big day ahead.

The next day

U.A Entrance

Ojiro's knees buzzed with excitement and nerves, each step he took made him heady as he climbed the gentle slope of a road before his eyes glanced to the sides. The tall shining building that represented the best heroic school in all of Japan stood proud for him to see.

And he was going to attend there as a student!

It was the dream, but with each step he got closer, the expectation that he was in an elite school wore down on his shoulders. The best of the best, and here he was, an ordinary student, to be placed among them.

Ojiro shook his head and lightly slapped his cheeks to psyche himself up.

He was in, even if he lacked the decorum and air of an elite, that fact goes unchanged.

Before he knew it, Ojiro reached the school entrance. He looked to the sides, numerous students walked through it without much thought. Letting out a sigh and taking a deep breath, Ojiro took a step, passed the yellow metallic barrier, and was inside the school grounds as he strode confidently to his class.

Taking a turn and heading up the stairs, it baffled him just how huge U.A school ground was. Their old school was by no means small, but U.A made it cramped in comparison.

But now that he was here, it felt a little silly to worry about those things. It didn't look any different at all and a school is a school.

Still, he supposes he'll have to change himself and be a bit more dignified-

"O-Ojiro?"

Ojiro halted in his tracks as he immediately recognized whose voice it belonged to. He wondered where Kurono was, more so since Toga watched him like a hawk constantly.

What he didn't expect was the state Kurono was dressed in.

The top was the standard grey U.A jacket and its logo, but the bottom half…

"Please, d-don't stare so much, I can't handle it." Kurono looked away in shame, face red as a tomato as he tugged at the uniform skirt of U.A uncomfortably to hide his pale bare legs from the world but failed miserably.

Why does it fit him so much?!

Ojiro knew that Kurono's small and lanky frame was similar to that of a girl but this is beyond what he thought possible. Posture, mannerism, even the way he addressed himself. His heart was rapidly beating and was unable to tear his gaze away.

In some hidden corner of his mind, where he will ruthlessly deny till the end of days and rather die than ever admit it out loud.

No, he's your pal! Ojiro gripped his head and buried it in his hands, despairing and wishing for a hole that he can bury himself into right now.

"Oh hey, wassup?"

What?

Coming from the back, another Kurono appeared, this time wearing the proper boy's uniform. Ojiro had to glance back and forth between the two to figure what's going, meanwhile one of the Kurono's looked at the other before sighing. "Toga, please drop the disguise."

"Phuh!" This time, the snort that erupted from the imposter finally signaled what was going on.

Sloughing sounds came as grey goo melted, pink hair changing into blonde, a small smile turned to a large Cheshire cat grin as Toga revealed herself. Bent over in laughter as she clutched her stomach "Bwahaha! Did you see the look on your face?!"

"Goddamnit Toga!" Ojiro gurgled out as he ran his hands through his hair. Wishing to wring her neck dearly but by the time he glared at her, Toga was already hiding behind Kurono. Giggling mischievously all the while.

"Stop messing around already." Kurono shook his head with a resigned look.

"No~way." Toga drew out her response before poking him in the cheeks gently, much to the latter annoyance, after guessing where he would've looked. "It's too fun, besides, aunt Ayuna thought it was cute."

"Urgh."

"Your mother saw that?" Ojiro asked.

"Worse, she took pictures as well." It was Kurono's turn this time as they rubbed the temple of their head.

"Take a look!" Toga proudly showed with her phone, and indeed, two Kurono's differentiated by one doing a peace sign while clinging to the other by the arm. Kurono meanwhile was leaning as far away as possible from the disguised Toga, their face showing sheer distress and discomfort.

If one didn't know better, the two could've been twins from a first glance.

"Oh."

"Yea." Kurono rubbed the back of his head with their left hand, sighed before resuming his steps. "Come on, let's go to class already."

Ojiro agreed at that, wanting to put his previous thought out of his mind as quickly as possible.

"It was cute, right~?" Toga whispered insidiously inches away from his ears, goading that hidden part of his mind. Giving a jolt of adrenaline in him and tail instinctively moved to swat at her as she managed to get the drop on him.

It's not!

Toga giggled as she easily evaded it by sliding her feet and turning to join joined Kurono by the sides while walking backward in one smooth motion, giving Ojiro a stuck-out tongue and one red-eye. Further infuriating and humiliating him.

"That's quite enough." Two fingers from Kurono tapped the back of Toga's head much more sternly, finally quieting her down.

Seriously, this whole morning was much too excitable the moment Toga showed up. Morning should be slow, calm, and not be a mess.

"I can deal with it, Mama was happy," Crona whispered as they looked to the reflection of the window for a moment. Arm shifting as they grasp the right with their left hand.

Hmph.

"Did you hear what happened last night?" Ojiro in between, getting a raised eyebrow and a shake from the two of them. "Gentle Criminal stole the 18th-century woodblock painting of Zojo Kawase."

"H-He did?" Crona unsurely said as he shared a glance with Kurono. The latter eyes immediately widened as he recalled last night's conversation. They had just gone right to bed afterward.

"Un, the police and other pro-heroes failed to capture him again." Toga checked with her phone before showing them the headlines. It had Gentle Criminal making his escape and a few shots of him from afar, followed behind by Kamui Woods and . The former is chasing and swinging in the air while trying to intercept him.

Articles from less than reputable reports seem to blame the heroes and highlight their incompetence. That set the tone enough for Kurono. The further content of the article just made his blood boil even more.

Bloody wankers. He chastised inwardly and did little to hide his disdain towards the article. As if shouting and pointing fingers would do anything to help the police and heroes catch Gentle in the first place.

Crona mouthed quietly and hesitantly, pointing out the elephant in the room to Kurono. "But we started it."

Don't remind me.

"Started what?"

"I-I mean, it's...kind of unfair to blame the heroes for this?" Crona glanced to the sides before giving a weak excuse.

"Well, they did fail to capture him for the second time." Ojiro pointed out before letting out a sigh as he could see why. "But he is a seasoned villain, so there's that."

"He's kind of cool though." Toga smiled, looking at the villain who seemed to be having the time of his life. Living so freely and doing what they want.

"Don't let anyone hear you say that." Ojiro shushed her as he looked around.

"Well...he's not hurting anyone at least?" Crona pointed out, much to Ojiro's exasperation as he looked at him accusingly.

"Yea but you know-?" He gestured all around them and the obvious.

"I rather we have more Gentle Criminals than say...actual villains," Kurono added after a moment with a shrug, having watched and seen Gentle work before.

Their feet shuffled uncomfortably when Ojiro turned towards them sharply, prompting Crona to avoid eye contact. "Please, don't look at me like that. I can't handle it."

Sighing deeply, Ojiro threw his head back before turning forward. By fortune, he spotted their class and was glad he didn't need to deal with that topic.

As they moved to open the door, a third presence followed them closely from behind. Kurono slowed down in his steps and turned around to face Toga, the latter smiling innocently.

"You're in 1-B," Kurono pointed out.

"Un." She nodded quickly.

"That's your class." He reiterated.

"Un."

"...Go to your class?" Left eye twitching, Kurono waved his hand towards the 1-B class direction.

"I don't want to though." Toga turned, both hands on the back of her head as she shuffled her right foot back innocently.

Kurono sighed before feeling Crona gently move into the driver's seat as they closed their eyes before opening them. "Let's have lunch together, okay?"

"Okay! Your treat." That finally moved her as she skipped to her class before stopping one foot away, giving him a wink, and raising a pinky. "Promise?"

"Promise." Crona and Kurono said.

That finally got Toga snickering before entering her class, giving a loud greeting of her own as the door closed.

Hmph. Kurono mentally ribbed Crona, prompting them to shift to the sides. Similarly, Ojiro placed his hand on their shoulder with approval.

With that, the two took a step forward into their class. Ojiro entered first and did a quick bow out of habit before entering.

Meanwhile, both Kurono and Crona felt their heartbeat rapidly. More from the latter as worrying thoughts formed.

"I wonder if I can make friends with them…" Crona muttered with fingers twitching in discomfort.

We will, just be cool. They're all nice people.

"Huh?! Oi, you!" A sharp and rude voice came, instantly sending Crona in shivers as they looked upwards from the floor and saw a blonde guy walking right up to them, teeth shown past his snarl.

Ah, fuck. Him?

It had been years since they last met and he recognized them immediately.

Granted, Bakugou was much taller compared to then.

"Where the hell were you during the exams?! You weren't even top 10!" Katsuki Bakugou heatedly said, hands raised to grab them before Ojiro wisely put himself between the two. "You sleeping or something you piece of shit?!"

"T-That's rude. I took the ex-" Crona muttered before feeling their mouth snapped shut, eyes turned to the sides briefly before straightening themselves. "Another exam."

"How's there another exam?! Your pasty ass didn't even show up at the hall!"

"There's the recommendation exam." Another voice intervened, a tall girl with dark hair tied in a neat ponytail heard the tail end of their conversation as she tilted her head to the sides. "But I don't recall seeing you there."

"Neither have I." A boy added curtly, blue and red eyes focusing on them. Similarly, half of their hair was white and the other red.

"...It's a resit exam. I was late." Kurono admitted through gritted teeth, knowing full well the consequences. There was no sidestepping or treading around this, better to just outright say what they did.

Besides, it was the truth.

That prompted murmurs, some looking at one another puzzledly.

Another blonde hair student turned backward and asked his spiky red-hair neighbor "There's a resit exam?"

"First time hearing it." A shrug came.

"You can get into the hero course through that?"

Most of them, however, were focused on the fact that there was another exam for latecomers.

"Ceh, so you got in by pity? How disappointing." Katsuki clicked his tongue and headed back to his chair.

"That's not-" Ojiro's eyes twitched at that accusation but Kurono just placed a hand on his shoulders, shaking his head at that. Just resigned to his fate, barely an hour in and it was already going to the drains.

"Well...he passed. So the teachers must have approved of him, kero~" A girl with large eyes, long hair combed to the sides and tied behind to resemble a ribbon replied with a finger on her cheeks. Looking nonchalant at the whole thing.

"Oui, otherwise he wouldn't be here" to shine.." Another student echoed that sentiment, dissolving the judging looks and even winking towards Kurono. "Come, take a seat, mon ami!"

Was that a twinkle? Ojiro pondered to himself while Kurono bowed politely in support.

"I-It might not be so bad," Kurono muttered under his breath before another firmer whisper came. "I told you, it's a hero class."

Ojiro certainly can't argue with that, finding their seat and readying himself for the first class. It might turn out to be not so bad after all.

U.A Courtyard

Midoriya Izuku gulped in the middle of an exercise court, surrounded by his classmates as they stood at attention. All of them looked forward and dressed in their gym clothes.

Somehow instead of being headed for the entrance ceremony and guidance session, they're being dropped straight into testing their quirks limits.

And he was selected to go first since he got first place.

Well, one of the two that got first place.

"Alright, now, let's start with the quirk assessment." Shouto Aizawa, their homeroom teacher said before tossing a ball towards him and his friend Bakugou.

Catching it in mid-air, he glanced back and forth as Aizawa pointed to the circle with a distance measure laid out. "Toss the ball as hard as you can with your quirk, anything goes, so long you two stay within the circle and do it within 2 minutes."

Already, he felt the tension rise, and a glare that can murder someone fell onto him as they took their places.

"I expect both of you to give your all." Aizawa reminded them and narrowed his eyes.

Then without much prompting after stretching his arms, Bakugou took up his ball, gripped it, and threw it forwards. At the last moment of the apex of his throw, his quirk went to work as the nitroglycerin sweat detonated at his command violently.

"DIE!"

Die?

Like a bomb going off, the ball rocketed upwards and flew off into the distance. Slowly becoming a dot before it descended.

Aizawa glanced at the device in his hand, showing the distance measured to all.

"800.5 meters!"

Inwardly, Izuku felt his sweating intensify when Bakugou grinned and turned towards him triumphantly.

"Your turn." Aizawa turned his attention towards him. Further sending him into a cold sweat.

Can I do it? Can I do it? His entire body shook, teeth chattered and even One For All flickered weakly when he called on it as he started to raise his hand.

POW!

That brought him and nearly everyone's attention as a sound akin to two metal pieces slammed against one another ring loudly like a gong.

At the center of it, a pink-haired girl, or boy, with gloomy looks and his pair of hands moved away from one another slowly. Ignoring everyone's looks as two black pupils focused on him, the looks alone were completely different as it was intense like magma compared to Bakugou's laser glare.

"You're too stiff, loosen up." He rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck to the sides before both hands rested on the hips. "You can't bring out your strength if you're too stiff."

While those words didn't help, the quiet atmosphere that he brought did. Izuku nodded and relaxed his body, taking a deep breath before calmly remembering his mentor's words.

Clench yourself…

Green sparks emerged and flickered outwards, gaining strength as red-colored thread lines course downwards to his arms. With that, he pulled his body back as far as he could for the motion to throw the ball.

One For All!

Like a bow, taut and ready before Izuku hurled himself forward. Arms moved in an arc-like pattern, similar to a catapult.

The ball in his hand flattened slightly at the strength put in, muscles aching and groaning as he focused his mind through the exertion by clenching his teeth hard.

8%!

His foot slammed just inches behind away from the edge of the circle, one leg hung in the air as all that energy transferred forward and upwards into the ball.

For a brief moment, the air itself wobbled around the ball before it soon broke into a shockwave, creating a rush of air and wind that trailed behind.

On and on, it went like an arrow until it finally reached its apex before trailing downwards.

"Hmm." Aizawa looked down briefly before giving everyone a look at the score. Already, Bakugou's initial glee died down and turned into one of disbelief while others looked in awe.

"Midoriya Izuku, 801.1 meters!"

"Damn it!"

"That was a manly display!"

"Both of them reached 800 meters?!"

"That's insane!"

I did it! Izuku smiled widely as he looked at his hands. It felt strained, fingers shaking and slightly bruised at the arms as he made a fist but other than that, it was fine!

A milestone improvement compared to the first time he used 100% against the zero pointer.

"That was awesome!" Ochaco cheered excitedly and raised her arm at that display, sending him to a shiver of glee and headiness when she praised him.

"Its-its nothing, it's thanks to the advice-" Eyes looking everywhere to avoid eye contact due to nervousness and went to his benefactor, only to realize that he knew him.

He is from-

"Tatewaki?" Izuku addressed him, recalling their first meeting at the Sky Egg tower.

Though he wondered why Kurono hunched over and covered his mouth. And was that giggling?

"D-don't mind me," Kurono finally composed himself, though the edges of his lips were upturned, by standing straight with hands on his hips as his fingers pointed towards him. "I just didn't want him to win."

Or rather, past him.

Turning around, Izuku saw Bakugou nearly exploding from rage when their eyes met. Yet instead of going forward, he turned on his heels and started stretching himself more. Almost single-mindedly determined to beat him at other events.

Despite this, he felt much more confident and grinned, if he kept regulating One For All at a lower percentage then he will be able to pass, no, ace this event!

"Huh, it looks like all of you are having tons of fun huh?" Aizawa interrupted his thoughts as he pushed his hair to the back. "Alright then, then how about this? The one placed last for this assessment...will be expelled."

With that, the atmosphere turned ice-cold as nearly everyone's mouth opened at that.

"But we just entered!"

"That is unfair!"

"Life IS unfair, accidents, natural disasters, and villains attack…" Aizawa's eyes briefly glanced towards Kurono and they shared a look momentarily before going back to them. "Heroes are the ones who correct this unfairness."

"You only have 3 years to catch up to a pro-level, if you're thinking of lazing around the semester then this is the wrong school for you." Aizawa grinned with malice as he turned around and gestured towards the race line. "So get to it."

That had everyone riled up and determined, falling in quickly as they prepared themselves. Izuku took a moment later and headed onwards but from the corner of his eyes, he caught Aizawa and Kurono talking briefly.

"Don't mess up."

"Got it." Without turning to look, Kurono walked past Aizawa before the latter followed a moment later.

Aizawa readied himself as he looked at the two students, Lida and Tsuyu, both of them crouched in a running form waiting for his signal.

"Begin."

And off the two go, neck to neck at the first three steps. Then Lida overshot Tsuyu with ease and reached the finish line.

3.04 seconds, let's see how he'll do in other events. Aizawa noted, his experience with Ingenium gave him an idea but seeing the younger brother doing well in a race event was no surprise.

He gestured for the next pair to proceed.

On and on it went, Recording, observing, and judging if the students are taking it seriously. Some took creative use of their quirks as others went for a mundane approach.

Seeing the two first-place students at the entrance exam once again competing in the 50m race, he paid more attention to the green-haired student rather than the blond.

While Izuku's quirk was mighty as it took down a zero-point in one hit. The green-hair kid didn't seem used to it. Often floundering and using it in bursts.

Just like he was doing right now.

Izuku focused his eyes as green lightning sparked around his legs.

Then running off, a series of explosions and blur trailed behind the two as he took their record. Catching the intense burst of power and muscle bulging in one leg before the energy transferred to the other.

3.5 seconds for Izuku, and 3.8 seconds for Bakugou.

That didn't calm Bakugou as the latter set off an explosion from his hands at the results. Already demanding they move to the next test so he can kick Deku's ass.

Hmph, too eager. Aizawa commented off-handedly, he will have to figure out in tempering, or at least, change that mindset into a productive one for the blonde-headed explosive kid.

It was then, a familiar student's turn. Looking slightly short compared to Kyoka Jiro as they took their places.

Well, here's the problem child.

"Get set." Aizawa wondered if Kurono truly understood why this was important.

Already, he knew that word of the so-called latecomer exam would spread. It was unprecedented in the long history of U.A, such cases being able to be counted by hand.

Kurono's circumstances was such a wild exception. Requiring a delicate handle so no one would try to give such a similar excuse and stamped out the notion that it was the easier path.

So how to blow such criticism away?

Aizawa snapped out of his thoughts as Kurono bent forward, his back shoulders having two lumps forming and ripping through the uniform.

An iron scent filled the air, those that recognized it was taken aback and turned their noses. Jiro in particular had her mouth open in shock before she shied away from that and frowned in mild disgust from the smell.

Black Blood huh? Aizawa watched as details sprung into his mind about Kurono's quirk. It was similar to his co-worker, Vlad King, minus the heavier weight, density, and color the former possessed.

The black liquid expelled outwards thinned and formed into a pair of wings shaped similar to a bat or reptile, followed by coils of liquid forming around his legs into a spring. Gaining a few inches to his height as Kurono squatted down and the wings upturned.

"Start."

Before Jiro's foot could even take the first step, Kurono had blasted off like a hawk after its prey and left a gust of wind behind.

It didn't take long for him to cross the finish line though he had to skid several more meters before coming to a stop.

Aizawa waited for Jiro to finish before he showed the results.

"Only 3.9? Damn, was the compression not enough-?" Kurono rubbed the back of his head as he muttered to himself repeatedly and headed off to the sides. Completely focused on the task and how to improve themselves further.

Aizawa approved of that, his call wasn't wrong so far. The boy had a smidgen of potential in being a hero. Hopefully, the rest of the class does the same.

Event after event quickly went by as he dutifully recorded their result. Each one further showed the potential and most importantly, the mind to utilize their quirks.

Kurono scored well in the long jump due to the virtue of flight, he had to gesture to him to come down and put it above 2 kilometers after 10 minutes of nonstop flying.

Though Aizawa noted that he shined the most in the grip strength portion reached a staggering 214 kg with his hands alone.

Then when he got the idea to create a tendril and coiled it around the device like a snake, it overshot everyone, reaching near 690 kg. Followed by Mezo Shoji 540 kg and Izuku 320 kg.

Side-jumps or sudden body movement coordination can be better. Aizawa how extremely static and rigid compared to the usual movements shown.

Reaching the ball throw portion, Aizawa lazily tossed the measuring ball to Kurono as the latter took their place in the center of the circle.

"Same deal, two minutes." He stretched his neck briefly.

Staring at the ball, Kurono tilted his head to the right and then to the left. Studying intensely before their gaze drifted somewhere else, almost completely unfocused.

Aizawa saw it as a habit or simply a mental way to increase their concentration. He'll have to ensure that gets fixed once classes start.

Then as quickly as that thought finished, Kurono glanced sideways as a small blob of his black blood detached from him and formed itself into a hand. Independent of his body movement, it grabbed hold of the ball swiftly before settling at the knee's height.

Simultaneously, their right hand reached upwards as the rest of the liquid shifted with his motion. Blood condensed itself into a longer and thinner form until a solid blade was left.

That drew some eyes as Aizawa halted the urge to comment that he was supposed to throw the ball, not cut it.

A few more seconds of stillness passed before Kurono let their shoulders hang and arms go limp, extending even their knees as it buckled slightly.

Then like a lightning bolt, his arms blurred and waist twisted like a top, crashing the sword right into the back of the hand holding the ball. The sheer force applied to the hand made out of blood had it flattened around the ball before it shot off like a mortar.

No, he used the disembodied hand to protect the ball. Aizawa corrected himself as his eyes twitched briefly. The sword was new as he wondered why that of all things. Surely a flat surface tool like a hammer or bat was far more effective?

No…Come to think of it, there were callouses on Kurono's hands?

Aizawa glanced at his device when the ball indicated it had landed with a beep and gave a wry look.

"750.7 meters. Could be better."

In the end, Crona stood with anticipation alongside all of 1-A. He felt a bit shaky from all the activities.

My stomach feels like rubber. Kurono concurred with that thought.

Crona queasily nodded with a hand over their stomach, feeling the liquid contents of his stomach swirling and threatening to surge upwards after the sit-ups evaluation.

Perhaps they should've toned it down, but against the hot-blooded redhead, it felt like they would have disappointed him if they didn't give their all...

Still, they did their best, and hopefully, it all worked out.

"Here are the results." Aizawa showed them unceremoniously, all of them craning to see their results.

Fourth? How? Kurono's eyes boggled widely. They had expected fifth or sixth but certainly not top three.

"We were…consistent?" Crona hesitantly said to Kurono with a raised brow. When they thought back to their results, they always placed close to the top five.

Huh.

A low growling sound had them looking behind, showing Katsuki reddening face and veins visible around his neck.

Before Kurono could do or say anything, Crona immediately turned back to the front.

"Please, don't." They muttered under their breath, not wanting to deal with Katsuki right now. "I can't handle it."

I just thought about it, wasn't actually going to do it. Kurono protested weakly as his left eye lingered on those who ranked above him.

Seeing Momo and Todoroki at the top wasn't a surprise but seeing that the main protagonist of this story landed in a higher spot, especially in the entrance exam, certainly was. Maybe his advice helped a lot more?

Small victories, he supposed.

"Also," Aizawa rubbed the back of his head before pushing his hair back. "The part of being expelled? I lied."

"What?!" Multiple shouts came from the class, shock rippling across while some remained quiet.

"A logical ruse, to ensure you don't give a half-hearted effort." Grinning, Aizawa admitted without an ounce of shame. "It paid off."

"Like what you did for our test?" Kurono mumbled sarcastically and bitterly, eyes glanced to the sides.

"Yes," Aizawa replied, having heard him somehow, which jolted them into standing at attention as the teacher shifted his attention onto them. "And you performed well, did you not?"

"Geezus-Um, thanks?" Kurono said but it was interrupted halfway with Crona nodding unsurely and thanked Aizawa.

"Thank me when you all properly graduated into a pro." Aizawa continued even as he turned around. "You will find the academic syllabus books, guidance, and counsel pamphlets inside your desk."

"Other than that, dismissed."

"Oh thank god!" A small and short student, practically a midget, with hair shaped like multiple balls dropped to his knees and arms spread wide. Praising and offering thanks to every divine figure he knew, throwing his head and lying flat on his back. "I am still in the heroic course!"

"Come now, obviously it was a lie."

Oh hell no it wasn't. Kurono shakes his head, a motion carried by Crona unintentionally. They knew full well that Aizawa meant every word of it.

Still, a small first step in their journey to help the world. Kurono took brief control of their left arm and did a small victory fist pump.

Good work.

"You too." Crona smiled at that praise and returned it.

As all of 1-A changed, went back to class, obtained their guide books before being dismissed for the day.

Everyone had their ideas. Some opted to go back early to spend their last days of freedom before the endless toil began or to start their practice, a few stayed back and decided to get to know the class better.

Kurono idly leafed through their book with their left finger, taking notes together with Crona as they looked at the syllabus.

"Hey, Tatewaki was it?" A black-hair male student with tape and wheels for elbows asked. "You said you were tested by Aizawa-sensei earlier, what do you mean by that?"

"Oh, he watched us during the exams, with...ectoplasm?" Crona turned from the book when they heard their name and closed it. His mind tried to recall the student addressing them beyond calling them cellophanesky. "Uhm-?"

"Hanta Sero, pleased to meet cha!" Sero replied cheerily and offered his hand, one that Crona reincorporate. "So what with the whole exam thing?"

"I got into a villain attack and arrived late," Crona explained tepidly, feeling that they'll be getting that question a lot. Unbeknownst to them, they hadn't noticed one of their classmate's attention honed in on them. "So Aizawa allowed me to resit,"

"You got into a villain attack on the day you were supposed to sit for the exams? Dayum, that's some bad luck right there." Sero winced sympathetically. "So who's the villain that got ya in trouble?"

"It was-"

"Great Tiger?"

Crona and Sero turned their attention to one of the girls with large eyes, dark green hair, and a hard-to-read poker face who joined their conversation.

Who's she again? Crona struggled as they opened and closed their mouth several times. Kurono managed to help simultaneously as the female student answered back.

"I am Tsuyu Asui, just call me Tsu."

"Oh, nice to meet you...Tsu." It was hard to tell but her eyes brightened considerably when they called her that. "But how do you know-"

"Because you saved my sister," Asui explained as she placed a finger on her cheeks. "I didn't realize it was you at first but when you used your quirk, it matched exactly to what she said."

Crona's eyes squinted before widening as they saw the familial similarities, awkwardly rubbing the back of their head and avoiding eye contact. "It-it's nothing, I just wanted to-Well, I just...I didn't want anyone to get hurt?"

"You still saved her." Tsuyu deadpanned but nodded at their words, smiled, and bowed towards him deeply.

"Thank you, kero~"

Crona's face didn't flush red due to the nature of their blood but they certainly lack the words to reply beyond returning a similar bow out of habit.

Sero shook his head before it lit up in realization."So you were helping others even while you were getting attacked by a villain?"

That had captured the entire class's attention, or at least, the ones that remained behind.

Ojiro glanced around before grinning, then decided to reveal more details about it, much to his friends' chagrin. "Yup, he chose to stay behind to help others evacuate even when he could've just run for it."

"Really?! No wonder the teach allowed you to resit." Sero threw his hands to the sides at that knowledge. "That's hero stuff right there!"

"A worthy act for a dark aspiring hero." A much more somber but firm comment came from a student with a bird for a head and arms crossed. Sharing a look with Kurono before nodding and introducing himself. "This one is Fumikage Tokoyami, pleased to meet you."

"O-uh, please don't look at me so much, I can't handle it." Crona shyly said, pulling their hair and shoulders tucked inwards from the attention.

Come on, man up. Kurono rapped Crona's back in their mind, making the latter head lurch forward onto the table. Giving the impression that they're burying their face into their table from shame.

"Is he always like this?" Sero turned to Ojiro, the latter only shrugging, and gave an affirmative with his eyebrows.

"By the way, you got any plans later? We can check out the facilities." Sero turned to a new topic, glancing towards his classmate.

Ojiro agreed, followed by Tsuyu and Tokoyami. Crona followed suit a moment later as they straightened themselves from the seat.

" Alright, let's get going then!" Sero leads the way despite knowing nothing about the layout but he's not going to let that stop him!

This can-do attitude influenced the rest as they followed behind, each of them curious and excited to learn more about their school facilities personally.

As Crona started to trail behind the group, Ojiro wordlessly came to their sides and urged him to be in the center instead with a gentle push of his tail. When pressed with a questioning and puzzled look, Tsuyu addressed Crona.

"Do you like swimming?"

"It's fun," Crona nodded before Kurono commented briefly as they glanced upwards in thought. "We always sink like a rock though."

"Oh, want me to help?"

"S-Sure, if you're okay-" Crona blinked before giving a weak smile.

"Ah, so you can smile." Tsuyu pointed out but the moment they're made aware of that, Kurono schooled their face into an impassive one immediately. Nearly overpowering any other actions that Crona could muster.

"Do you not like to smile?" She tilted her head sideways with a finger on her chin.

"No, it's just...weird to have people point it out, ya know? I smile when I feel like it."

"I know. I too have a hard-to-read expression, so I say what I often think out loud. That's why-" Asui said in an understanding tone, closed her eyes before she smiled sunnily at him. "You should smile more."

"O-Ok." Crona and Kurono both blinked, the edge of their lips turning upwards slightly as they rubbed the back of their head.

Ojiro looked from afar and kept his giggling inwards. After four long years, it finally happened. That nervous wreck of a guy got a new friend.

This time, he'll stand by Kurono even if no one else in his class will.

Absolutely.

Author's Note

Alright, to further extrapolate on Izuku not having full cowl (I wanted to put more on Izuku section explaining the 2 years training but couldn't find a great place.) but basically, Izuku total time of actually having OFA, despite having a 2-year headstart, is actually 3 months before the U.A entrance exam.

The reason why is mainly All Might since now that he has the time, focused more on building Izuku body and foundation so that he can handle the raw power of OFA better. The last 3 months is then focused on drawing its power and then regulating to a safe level which Izuku managed from 1% and then slowly worked his way from there. Since the pressure is less compared to canon, Izuku could afford to take it slow in experimenting instead of finding it out the hard way via broken limb.

His current way of utilizing OFA, is basically using it in burst. Small percentages in one limb and then instantly letting that power flow into the other. (If he wanted, he could have smashed the grip exam easily but it would've left both his hand and machine in pieces but didn't since he had the ability to call up to top 8% OFA which is frankly more than enough)

So during the entrance exam, he basically utilized 1%-2% the whole time* until events of Uraraka happen and he went ham on it.

*(OFA to legs, jump, focus power on fist, smash, shift OFA back to legs, land, repeat.)

Hopefully this clears a few things up.