Izuku and Anshin'in were waiting outside of Uraraka's apartment. After all, it was the big day, both of them could teleport, and Anshin'in was insisting on meeting her.

The door opened, and a rather sleepy Uraraka revealed herself. 「I told her Part 17 was extremely long. It's not my fault she chose to disregard my words.」

"So this is the girl you killed yourself for." Oh no. She knew the button to push. She's glaring at him, isn't she? Goddammit Anshin'in.

"And he will never be doing that again, right, Deku?" That adorable Kirby smile could only mask the fury that hid beneath her. She may be shaped like a friend, but she packs the heat of a thousand suns.

「R-right. I will try-」 Oh no, that won't sate her. Her piercing eyes are only sharper. 「I-I mean, I won't, Uraraka-san!」 He can't promise that, he'll break it if necessary.

She smiled, for real this time. They started walking. "Good! And you must be Hatsume-san!"

Anshin'in attempted to mirror her pure smile, but it came out as a warped smirk due to the natural ego her very being radiated. "Call me Najimi. I have a twin in support. You will be seeing her, whether you like it or not."

Uraraka looked somewhat uncomfortable. "Can I just call you Anshin'in-san like Deku does? I'm not used to dropping formalities that quickly, sorry."

Anshin'in looked somewhat eager to drop her catchphrase, but she caught herself, for some reason. "Can you hold off for just today? There's gonna be something interesting happening today that I can't exactly have my nickname getting out for." 「Ah, she's messing with me. Fucking precogs.」

Uraraka relented. "Ok, Najimi-san. I'll call you Najimi-san. Okay." They went down the stairs.

Anshin'in, finished messing with Uraraka, turned her gaze towards him. "You screwed up your tie."

「Hey, I'm not sorry I've gotten so used to wearing my gakuran everywhere. It's my thing.」 He shot back. 「The gakuran is me. I am the gakuran. This uniform is really messing with my Chakras!」

Anshin'in rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, we all know you have eighth-grader syndrome, you still have to graduate from eighth-grade, though. What's up with the nickname? Did you redefine it or something?" She swiped her metro pass. He and Uraraka did the same.

「Ah, but you see, Anshin'in! It's like when Copernicus flipped the paradigm. You know Copernicus, right?」 He bet she probably knew Copernicus personally.

"Yes, Izu, I know Copernicus." She sighed, attempting to word her response as ambiguously as possible. She didn't like it when people found out about her lifespan, in this incarnation. Probably because she knew he was going to bring up the mystery along with it. "Uraraka-san, just letting you know, there's an asshole in the hero course who weaponized that nickname as an alternative reading of Izuku. He uses it to mean dekunobou, so when he does it, he's not doing it out of affection." 「Goddammit, Anshin'in. Way to reveal my tragic backstory like that. Thanks for asking first.」

Uraraka looked horrified. "Oh my god, Dek-I mean, Midoriya-kun, I'm so sorry, I didn't know. Are you okay? Have I been making you uncomfortable? Can I punch him?"

He sighed. 「Yes, no, and as long as I have plausible deniability in regards to your plans to do so. Remember, thumb over fist. Also, please call me Deku. I'm trying to annoy him by removing the bite behind it. He's weirdly proud of it, so it would make him livid if I turned the tables on him in regards to it.」 He stared at Anshin'in. 「And you! What right do you have to take away my mysterious Shonen Jump backstory? I'm hurt!」 He exaggerated a pout. The subway arrived, and they stepped on.

Anshin'in gave him a look. "Oh please. Like you don't prod at revealing mine to everyone in the general vicinity. I'm sure you've said some very flattering things about me as you're constantly texting Uraraka-san."

An indignant squawk escaped him. They bickered for the rest of the subway ride, occasionally dragging Uraraka into the middle of it, up to the Yuuei Barrier.

"So… you two seem close." She said, as we stepped through the defense system after scanning our IDs. "I wouldn't know, really, I'm an only child myself. Not that I have a problem with it, or anything, I mean, I'd like a sibling, but I don't want to burden my parents like that, not that I think I'm a burden, that'd be sad, it's more a matter of money if I'm being honest, and oh god I'm rambling again I'm so sorry I'll shut up now please forget I said anything."

That… made the rest of the walk slightly more awkward, if he's being honest. He… no, that's stupid, they're different people with different problems, even if the source is similar. He's not gonna assume something like that. He'd probably overstep if he did.

Sooner or later, they made it to the door to Class 1-A. 「Ah, accommodations for gigantification quirks, that's pretty neat.」

It was also somewhat intimi- and Anshin'in opened the door already. Way to ruin the moment. Oh well, time for him to meet his future class-

"REMOVE YOUR FEET FROM THE DESK THIS INSTANT! IT IS DISRESPECTFUL TO YOUR UPPERCLASSMEN AND THE CARPENTERS WHO PUT THEIR HARD WORK INTO IT!"

"Who the fuck do you think you are, extra! Which middle school, huh?"

Ah.

Fuck.

Of course.

Both of them.

He surveyed the rest of the classroom. Plain boy with tail, lightning bolt in hair boy, short boy with grapes on his head, Hitoyoshi Zenkichi, girl with a black ponytail, girl with frog quirk…

Wait.

「What the fuck?」

"I'm from Somei Private Academy. My name is Iida Tenya!"

That is 100%, undeniably, positively Hitoyoshi Zenkichi.

He looks exactly like he did in Hakoniwa.

He'd remember that face anywhere, he practically forced people to look at him instead of just Medaka's hanger-on.

"SOMEI?! A stuck-up elitist then? I should blow you to bits."

This is probably Anshin'in's fault, somehow. She was already at her desk. He hadn't immediately recognized her. Probably since she changed her hairstyle, she cut it to her shoulders and ditched the ribbons/headband.

Now that he thinks about it, she told him it was for her high-school debut.

Motherfucker.

"You're awful! Do you really wish to become a hero?!"

He'd be having words with her, later. But he'd fuck with Zenkichi a bit, first. Iida's noticed him. Time to use his acting skills he's been grinding out.

「I heard you before! Ah… I'm Midoriya Izuku. Pleased to meet you, Iida-san!」 A mask of timidity, for the time being, at least until Zenkichi found him out.

Uraraka gave him a weird look. He tried to telepathically convey that he'd explain later. She probably didn't understand, but she backed off for now.

"Midoriya… you perceived the true nature of that practical exam… while I did not!" He looked as if he was in physical pain. "I misjudged you! I hate to admit it, but you were the superior candidate!"

「Ah… no, I didn't perceive anything… my legs just moved… sorry.」 Ham up that pathetic act! Distance himself from the very idea of Kumagawa Misogi! Then, when he finally reveals his Minus, smugly grin at Zenkichi for getting one over him!

What? It's not like he's gonna waste the opportunity just because Anshin'in's also screwing with him.

"Deku…" Oh yeah, Katsuki. Obviously he'd be pissed after that. Here, a convenient flashback for any telepaths in the room.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO PASS THE EXAM, FREAK?!"

「…I took the exam… met the exam's requirements… and therefore passed the exam? I don't understand the question, Kacchan.」 He was currently pinned to the wall, a daily occurrence, past and present.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD! I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE FIRST AND ONLY PERSON FROM THIS BACKWATER MIDDLE SCHOOL!"

「Kacchan, that's not logical.」 He grumbled.

"STOP FUCKING CALLING ME THAT, DEKU! My grand plans… YOU'VE TORN THEM TO SHREDS! THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOUR PROBLEM IS, KATSUKI!"

He dropped his brackets and mask again. Why does he always drop it when Katsuki pushes his buttons? He's supposed to be more composed than this. Damn Plus.

"You've tormented me my ENTIRE LIFE! Do you know how many scars you've given me? WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

He took a deep breath. He can recompose himself. He can at least do that.

「Reality check, asshole.」 He glared at Katsuki, fury boiling under his skin. 「The world revolves around the sun, not you. I'm sure you're dense enough to have a gravitational pull, but I'm escaping your orbit, you piece of shit. You've long lost the right to dictate my life. I'm going home.」

"I DIDN'T SAY YOU CAN LEAVE!" He grabbed his shoulder. He still hasn't gotten the point? Then he'd have to… drive it in. He whipped around.

Blonde.

White.

「Book Maker. How's it feel to be a Deku, Kacchan? How does it feel to be just as pathetic as me? Does it hurt? Oh, I'd love to be a spectator inside your head right now. I'm sure your barely hidden inferiority complex is having a blast now that I've let it loose. Do you feel remorse? Huh? Do you feel any, any regret for the torture you've put me through?!」 He was unravelling, fuck. "DO YOU?!"

"Fuck… you…. bastard…" There it is. That tenacity. It almost rivaled Medaka's, which was what he'd admired so much when he was young.

But he wouldn't insult Medaka like that.

Her tenacity was far more respectable than Katsuki's.

「Don't ever put your hand on me like that without my consent. Ever again. I'm done playing games, Katsuki. I am going to be a hero. If you ever touch me like that again…」

『I will remove you from my presence.』

He started to walk away. 「By the time I'm long gone, the screw will despawn, and you'll regain freedom of movement… and your ego. If you tell anyone about what happened today, I will erase you. Goodbye, Katsuki.」

Admittedly, he could have handled that better. But, alas, his emotions got the better of him. He couldn't say that Katsuki didn't deserve it, well, he could, but he'd be lying.

The reality check was long overdue.

"If you're here to socialize, then get out."

Huh, wonder where that's coming from?

Oh, mood.

"This is the hero course."

A very tired, shaggy man with a scarf in a bright yellow sleeping bag sucked on a jelly pack as he slowly got up from the hallway floor. 「God, I feel you, dude.」

"It took eight seconds for you to quiet down. Time is a precious resource. You lot aren't very rational, are you? I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta. Pleased to meet you."

He grabbed a Yuuei gym uniform out of his sleeping back, very efficient.

"Quickly now. Change into your gym clothes and head out to the grounds."

That… is an interesting twist. No orientation, huh? He had a feeling he wouldn't exactly like what was in store for him.

He did not exactly like what was in store for him. He'll recap what has lead up to being threatened with expulsion, because he still doesn't know if there are any telepaths in the room and he wants to be polite.

He sauntered over to the changing rooms while he introduced himself to the person next to him.

「Um… hi… I'm Midoriya… uh… Midoriya Izuku… um… what's your name?」 He already knew, probably. This was just a formality.

There was a brief look of surprise on his face, but it quickly melted away, leaving a familiar grin on his face. Uh oh.

"Knock it off, Kumagawa. I'd recognize those brackets anywhere." He whispered. Dammit, his plans have been foiled. Asshole. He had a whole story arc planned.

「Looks like I've been found out!」 He swapped to his regular mask. 「Call me Midoriya Izuku, though. That's me, this time around.」

"Kurokami Zenkichi." What?

He pointed to Zenkichi's hair.

He sighed. "No, it isn't purple. It's really, really fucking weird being my own ancestor. I'll also assume Pink Hair over there is Najimi-san." Who just looked back and waved. "Called it. Talk later? Cameras." He glanced up. There were, in fact, cameras. Very small, but noticeable if you look hard enough. Good eye, Zenkichi.

Did he still have Parasite Seeing? That'd be…

A feral grin crossed the mammalian principal's face.

"Interesting."

"A quirk test?"

"What about the entrance ceremony? Or guidance sessions?!" Uraraka complained, she was obviously expecting something more school-like.

Speaking of quirks and Uraraka, they managed to reregister hers. He refused to step in the building though. It simply had abhorrent vibes.

He refused to talk to that bigoted piece of shit at the front desk again, fuck her.

"No time to waste on that stuff if you want to become heroes."

Is that All Might hiding behind that corner?

As Aizawa-sensei explained that he was able to fuck with the curriculum, as well as the parameters of the test, he called Katsuki up to do a softball throw with his quirk.

"Bakugo. How far could you throw in middle school?"

「That's weird. He got third. Maybe because his quirk is suited for this?」

"Sixty-seven meters."

"Great, do it with your quirk. Do whatever you need to do, just don't leave the circle. Give it all you've got."

「Maybe… I could throw it, then spawn a screw flying at an optimal vector to hit it mid-air? I've got a decent throwing arm, so it'd go far anyways, but Aizawa-sensei specifically wants us to use our quirks.」

"Awesome." He wound up his arm.

KRA-KOOM! "DIE!"

The earphone jack girl looked in physical pain. He probably should have warned her, hearing quirks are sensitive. Oh well. It's Katsuki's fault anyways.

"It's important for us to know our limits." He showed the screen. 705.2 meters. "That's the first rational step to figuring out what kind of heroes you'll be."

"WHOA! Awesome!" "705 meters? Seriously?" "So we can use our quirks for real? Man, the hero course is great!" 「Oh, no, you idiots, look at the teacher, you're just pissing him off!」

"Awesome, you say?"

And that is how he found himself in a situation where he had a legitimate threat to his continued attendance at Yuuei.

Despite Uraraka's protest, Aizawa-sensei refused to relent. He had to admit, he had a point, but this was the absolute dumbest way of conducting it. Physical exams? What about people with mental powers? What about support powers?

Nevertheless, he was stuck in this situation. So he had to make the best of his inevitable loss.

He got above-average speed on the dash, though he'd be able to win that one if he used his Minus. All Fiction allowed him to move extremely fast, by making it so the space in-between him and his destination was nothing. He'd used it for mindfucks in the past. He doesn't want to have to explain how it relates to his 'screw quirk'. He could say he 'screws' with reality. Fuck, he should save that line if he gets caught before he reveals abnormalities.

Anyways, not yet. It was his trump card, and he'd rather not reveal it if necessary.

His other tests were… average, but they were recorded as above average. He fudged the numbers slightly with All Fiction, it's not like the discrepancy will be apparent. He wasn't not using All Fiction, he's hiding All Fiction.

Which, for something so utterly grand-scale as a conceptual ability, was quite hard to do on a very micro-scale. Subtlety doesn't come with reality denial. Or maybe he was just hitting a mental block.

「Maybe Aizawa will count my screw as an extension of myself for the Seated Toe Touch?」

"Midoriya. You're up for the ball throw." Ah. His turn.

「Aizawa-sensei, if the ball is pierced, will it still send information out?」

"Yes. I don't know how the support branch managed that one, but anything besides complete destruction of the ball won't stop it from sending out it's geolocation."

「Alright.」 He doubted it, but he asked, and when it failed he could claim he was just doing as told.

He took a deep breath, and he threw the ball.

Shouta had a rough idea of what Midoriya was planning to do beforehand, or at least, he thought he had a rough idea.

So when the greenette tossed the ball without piercing it initially, he thought it was illogical. Did the kid think I was lying? Irrational.

Then, he saw the screw in the air.

Heading directly towards the ball.

Midoriya couldn't have thrown that, so the only logical assumption is… he can spawn screws at specific vectors.

That… has a lot of potential in the field. He might have underestimated him.

He'll have to see what else he can drive out of him.

Something about the kid screamed hidden strength.

Every time it arced downwards, he spawned another screw. Since he had already pierced it, he was currently shooting them out of the ground, bumping it with the heads.

「Aizawa-sensei?」

"…Yes, Midoriya?"

「I can do this for a theoretically infinite amount of time as long as I know where the ball is, and I plan to basically gradually lift it into orbit. This would take a while. Could you call it for infinity?」

He hoped Aizawa-sensei wouldn't call his bluff.

"…"

「…」

"You're not lying, are you?" 「I am.」 "Fine, let the ball down. I'll mark it as infinity."

Izuku let the ball drop.

He was fourteenth place. The fudged numbers really helped his overall score, it seems.

Poor grape kid at twenty-second was probably getting sent home. Oh well.

"By the way, I lied about the expulsion. It was a logical ruse to bring out the best of your abilities."

「…oh.」

Well played, Aizawa-sensei, well played.

Oh come off it, ponytail. Even he couldn't tell he was lying, and he prides himself on his ability to dissect people.

He had a feeling he was gonna have to start getting more creative with All Fiction to keep a loser like himself afloat in this class while preventing himself from getting unpersoned by the HPSC.

Well, he wouldn't get unpersoned. He's probably the only one who can actually unperson someone.

But if they were still around with something as powerful as All For One lurking, that meant either they scared the ancient evil, or they were in leagues with the ancient evil.

Izuku didn't really want to figure out the answer any time soon, so he'll keep his ability on the down low.

Toshinori was impressed.

For a kid who was quirkless up until four years ago, Young Midoriya had extremely fine control over his quirk. He knew this. But piercing a softball mid-air, then using the heads of the screws to keep the ball up?

Honestly, it was a bit excessive, he didn't exactly see the point in doing the first if the kid was going to follow it up with the second. Probably made the ball harder to juggle. Maybe he thought of it on the spot? If so, quick thinking!

Toshinori wasn't an idiot. Every time the kid was offered One For All, he saw the light flicker in his eyes. Then he saw how it was swiftly and efficiently stamped out. He knew Young Midoriya wanted the quirk, and the kid probably knew it too.

The issue was the obvious inferiority complex. Young Midoriya could be rather self-aware for a boy his age, and he outright admitted his low self-esteem was the major barrier for him succeeding himself.

It manifests in his power, too. What did he call it… Story Maker? Something along the lines of that. He'd always describe it as bringing someone down to his level, which spoke volumes about the boy's utter underestimation of his abilities, and himself.

He still remembers that spark, the determination which the boy moved on that day.

Honestly, there was no denying it. He was set on his successor since that day.

He just wants the kid to be at a point in his life where he doesn't bury himself like that. Then he'll offer his quirk again.

But, for now, he had a homeroom teacher to annoy.

"AIZAWA, YOU BIG FAT LIAR!"

Izuku was walking alone to the barrier. 「I can't decide if fighting the Plus 6 was more turbulent than this. Man, high school first days are intense.」He said, knowing he deliberately caused the mayhem that day. It wasn't his fault! It was his long-lost brother, Yuki, who screwed them to the wall! He stands by that lie!

"How are you!" 「Kami above, Iida, you don't startle someone like that!」 He thought very hard at the engine man currently putting his hand on his shoulder. At least he had better intentions than Katsuki, or Izuku would have reacted to his aura by bolting him to the floor.

「I'm fine, Iida. You scared me to death! I thought I'd be sent to an early grave! You sure you're not a ninja or something? You know, you could be a good stealth hero!」 He said, ribbing the straight-laced boy.

He suddenly felt a very familiar presence next to him. "Stop being an asshole, Izu. Also, you reacted to my presence but not Iida's? I'm hurt."

「I expect it from you, not… no offense Iida, someone less subtle than an author's barely disguised extremely convenient explanations for certain aspects of a story to not have character's use their full powers so a story doesn't initially seem like a self-indulgent power fantasy.」

"None taken! That is very specific, are you referring to anything? I am not well-versed in fiction!"

「No one. I'm referring to no one at all. I…」 Hold on. 「What do you mean you aren't well-versed in fiction? What did you read growing up?」

"Encyclopedias!" That… explains so much.

"Hey, wait up!" Ah, that was Uraraka, and Zenkichi was behind her. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, they apparently hit it off at the quirk examination. So much for no socialization, but he can't judge the bending of a few rules. "Deku, you ass, you lied to Aizawa-sensei! During the ball throw! You can't fool me!"

While Iida looked horrified, he smiled. 「It's… what do they call it? A logical ruse? Under threat of expulsion, it's only logical to do what you have to do to stay in the class.」

"I knew it! See! My infinity's better than your infinity!" She grinned.

「You induce inertia. I control screws.」 He deadpanned.

"Oh, come on, Midoriya." Oh, Zenkichi was going to poke a hole in his façade. Cool. He knew the look. "You could be so much more if you tried."

「Asshole. You know exactly why I can't go all out.」 Actually, does he? 「Wait, I need to tell you in excruciating detail about the time I tried to register my quirk and got held up for six hours before ragequitting. I will go into excruciating detail. Prepare your ears.」

"Oh, no." Uraraka's dead look was nourishing to his soul. "Please, no. It takes so long. Please. I don't want to waste two entire hours again, I'm begging you Deku." She switched to the puppy dog eyes, a weakness of his!

「Fine, you win this round, Uraraka! But, be prepared, I will go on for longer about topics you care even less about in the future! It is inevitable.」

Uraraka collapsed to her knees and slammed the ground with her fists.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

For the first time in a while, Izuku genuinely laughed.

A/N: This chapter was... pretty awkward to write. I've got USJ... I've got the Sports Festival, I've even got Stain generally planned out. The in-between stuff... not so much. I'm writing as I go for this, I legitimately nixed a plotline I had for this chapter just because I thought it'd be infinitely funnier and more true to character if Zenkichi just instantly picked out Kumagawa by his very unique speaking style. I think it was a much better decision, honestly.

In the future, if a segment breaks the FFN rules, I will mark it as AO3 exclusive within the lines. I want to keep hosting this fic on both sites, but I want to write my story first and foremost, sorry for the inconvenience.