Mashirao was going through the motions of a complicated kick. He knew it like the back of his hand, it came to him easily. His motions were precise and fluid as his muscle memory recalled every step of the process while his brain played catch up.

He figures he might as well get reacquainted with the basics. Exams for UA were coming up fast and these past few months he had spent training and studying. The UA exams were going to be tough especially with all the other students who had so much more powerful and amazing quirks than his. His quirk was tail and though sometimes he hated it, it was his so he had to make the best with it.

Everyone seemed to indulge him and gave him the tight smile that just screamed shame. They whispered poor thing's going to have his dream crushed. They stared and stared and laughed at his pathetic unattainable dream. His parents asked him if he was sure with worried looks in their eyes. They gave each other looks of apprehension when he said yes. It didn't help his confidence that even his parents thought he wouldn't make it.

There, the shame poured in front of him, diluted but it still stings.

Again that pity that had already deemed him a failure before he even tried. He wished at least someone believed in him. Nobody was gonna give him a chance because nobody thought he could do it. That was fine, he would carve the way to do it himself, because that was what he had done his entire life.

He was used to it but he felt so tired.

Even after the dojo closed and the night had fallen, he was there still, going step by step. Practicing with the sound of his thumping heart, heavy breaths, and rhythmic pounding of his limbs.

He had advanced faster than any of the other students in his martial arts class. He had put blood sweat and tears at getting to the top. Some people were born to reach greatness but he had to earn it. And it was worth it for becoming a hero.

He was tired, he knew this, his limbs were sore and he was powering on fumes. But he couldn't stop, he was determined, so here he stayed behind, training.

He would prove everyone wrong, that his efforts weren't fruitless, and his hard work wasn't in vain. He didn't need to just prove that to his parents but to himself too.

The day of the entrance exam arrived, fast and impatient. Mashirao flew through the written exam which he had studied for heavily. The material familiar to him, he wrote answer after answer, drawing the information from the back of his mind.

Mashirao nervously awaited entry into the arena where he would be tested. As soon as it started he sprinted around streets, heart pounding, waiting for an impending attack.

He checked out the competition but tried to put them out of his mind. It didn't matter how amazing their quirks were. He worked so hard and he had just as much of a chance as everyone else.

It made him feel guilty that he labeled himself at a disadvantage because it sounded like he was making excuses for every mistake. That wasn't it, he didn't take stuff he never earned. There wasn't anything he could do, he either made the cut or he didn't. If he fell short it was his own shortcomings that caused him to fail, not any innate disadvantage.

The sounds of screams and the smell of smoke drew him near the battlefield.

Dull heavy thuds, like the beating of drums. He heard the sounds and turned his head toward that direction. The huge robots tower over them, making Mashirao feel vulnerable and targeted. Instead of panicking, he smiles, he knows this, he knows what to do. He strikes, he analyzes the robot's weak points, looking for openings, vulnerability. He adds his tail for extra strength and he smashes through the robot. Tail and limbs hit metal and he flies between the machines. This is what the training was for, for he moved with such fluidity and speed. As he tried to get more points and then the test ended, he wondered if it was enough.

Was he enough?

And then his heart would explode at the sight of his acceptance letter.

He had his chance, he was going to be a hero.

On the first day of school, Mashirao carefully groomed his soft blond air and made sure his uniform looked crisp. He had to make a good impression like he was a dedicated student but not too laid back or like he was trying too hard. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and he smiled so hard his cheeks hurt. He bounced excitedly in front of the mirror, his eyes sparkling. He was a UA student and his parents were proud of him and he proved everyone wrong.

He was going to make it after all.

Here he was, at this large school, it's walls and it's towering disposition and terrifying reputation. UA was a grand sight, so imposing and he already felt that he might have a hard time belonging.

Then he made it to his assigned homeroom, Class 1A where he would meet his classmates, and they would learn with each other and become friends. It was only later where he would learn how much they would experience together.

Then Mr. Aizawa announced the quirk assessment test and said last place would be expelled. Everyone including Mashirao was sent into a panic, a crazed frenzy. His head spun at the idea of just getting here and already leaving. He promised to not get into last place and not screw the chance he worked so hard for. At the end of it he was relieved that the expulsion was a lie and that he got 7th place out of 20 students. And he smiled because he was among the top ranking students but he dragged himself down at knowing it wasn't really amazing.

He did good but not great and that felt like a slap to the face because that was basically the story of his life. He would never be the best no matter how hard he tried because he was born with so much disadvantage. It was everything his parents had warned him about when he told them he was accepted and they thought he was lying. They thought he had failed before he even tried. He would deal with it, he had dealt with it his entire life and he always figured it out.

These classmates were so kind, and they never brushed him off as if he wasn't a threat. They treated him as if he was worthy and if he made it here it was for good reason. He loved the acknowledgement, the praise, the feeling of being accepted. But yet sometimes it felt as if they had also dismissed him as boring, plain, and normal. Even when they treated him with such respect and he felt like he had friends. Once again he drifted, ignored and unnoticed, it couldn't be helped, even though it was to a lesser degree.

Even so he at least had a sort of friendship with the other mutant types in class 1a. Tokoyami, Shoji, and Koda have also had to bear the hardships of looking different. It was like mutant guys looking out for each other. It was really nice because it wasn't like he had anyone looking out for him before UA.

And Midoriya, that kid was something else. Always so determined, really kind, but something fierce and intense about him. And Midoriya had defended him at the Sports Festival when Shinso insulted him. He still remembered the words that resonated within his core.

"Don't you talk about Ojiro that way!"

At that moment he felt frustrated that Midoriya had ignored what he had told him about Shinso's power. But he also felt underlying gratitude at Midoriya defending him even though he might've just lost right there and then.

He felt like he had an ally, if not a friend.

Midoriya desperately wanted to be a hero and save people and he was growing stronger more rapidly than Mashirao. Mashirao couldn't even compete in the Sports festival with his own merit, he didn't earn his place. Shinso made him question withdrawing from competing in the one on one battles of the Sports Festival. Everyone had done so good and no one noticed him in the background. He felt like he was shifting in place, constantly moving while the world was still around him.

He threw away his chance for greatness at the sports festival, there would be others. But he knew he would not be scouted as the spotlight was no longer on him. It just wouldn't be right that he was just a puppet who didn't work to get there. All the training, all the work he put in felt wasted in that moment even though he knew it wasn't

Even now, Shinso had improved and fought to get into the hero course. Mashirao still didn't know how he felt about it. He still remembered the pang in his heart when Shinso referred to him as a stupid monkey.

Everyone in his class was so inspiring and like he was always reminded, he was just ordinary. It was possible that he would never catch up to them even if he tried.

And so he trained because it was the only thing he could do. The only path he had to improvement.

He trained silently in the halls, the only one pounding the gym equipment into the night. Being as forgettable as he was, he could disappear and no one would notice or care where he went off to. While everyone else grew noticeably, he had growth too, in the background. He would make that growth matter. Because he deserved to be here, even if nobody else thought so. He belonged at UA and the true friends he made here thought so too.

Silent, precise, fluid, swift and keen, forceful he made his moves. He was going to be a hero, no matter what anyone else said.