Izuku hadn't heard from All Might in almost a week. He'd tried to get in contact with the hero the day after the exam and every day since, but he was unable to reach him. All his calls went straight to voicemail and the texts were left on read.
It was only fitting. He'd failed both All Might and UA. He'd failed himself as well. All that training, all that work hadn't been worth a single thing when he'd been given a chance. All he'd done was dent a single robot and had nearly destroyed himself in the process.
He could try again. UA did sometimes accept second year transfers, but the rate of acceptance was even lower, the bar so much higher. And without All Might to help him Izuku didn't know if he could manage it.
He hung his head even lower, until it was practically between his knees. His mother had tried to lift his spirits, but to no avail. Even Katsuki hadn't been able to lift the funk that had fallen over him for more than a few hours. Sooner or later his thoughts turned back to the exam, and his failure.
Idly, he squeezed the grip trainer in his hand. His workouts had become such a habit that he hardly even had to think about them now. Some would call that a blessing, but at the moment he wasn't sure he agreed. With his body occupied, his mind drifted and his fertile imagination had plenty of time to spin up a myriad of different scenarios for what people would say when they heard about his failure.
"IZUKU!"
He jumped at the cry. His mother had burst into the room with none of her usual gentle grace. Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she held an envelope out to him.
"Your results! They came!"
A strange combination of relief and dread filled him. Finally, he could stop wondering how they would break the news to him. He'd heard plenty of different versions of the speech through the years. His mother's tearful apology, his classmate's malicious jeers, Katsuki's harsh rebuke, and All Might's gentle dismissal. Different words, different tones, but all with the same meaning.
"Thank you." Izuku said softly, taking the letter from his mother's hands. "I think… I think I'll open it in my room, if that's ok?"
She nodded, a worried look on her face. No doubt she had been expecting him to be as excited as she was. She didn't know what had happened in the exam. He hadn't wanted to hurt her by talking about the danger he'd been in.
Before he could leave, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into a tight hug.
"Izuku, just remember that no matter what they say, I'm so very proud of you. Okay?"
He managed a small smile in return. "Thanks mom."
When the image of All Might appeared over his desk, Izuku nearly fell out of his chair. He knew UA always had the best tech, but holograms were only just starting to make their way to the public sector, and they didn't have projectors nearly that small. The fact that UA could deliver the results to each of the students this way was truly incredible.
He was so distracted by the delivery method that Izuku almost missed the first part of All Might's speech.
"I AM HERE as a projection!"
Wait, All Might? But this is from UA. Why is he—?
"I am sorry for not contacting you sooner, but as they say: with great power comes a great amount of paperwork!" He paused a moment to cough, then focused once more. "I apologize for deceiving you young man. You see, I didn't just come to this town to fight villains. You're looking at the newest member of the UA faculty!" He proudly proclaimed.
From off screen a voice came, telling All Might to hurry up so they could get to the next video message. All Might blanched a little when he heard the number they still had left to do, but recovered quickly.
"Anyways, about your performance during the exam. You passed the written exam with decent marks, though the proctor noted your essay on Quirk theory was excellent. Good job! As for the practical, you were not eliminated before the end, though you finished with a score of zero villain points."
Izuku hung his head in shame. It was one thing to know he had failed, and another to be told by his idol and quasi-mentor. A part of him had hoped that they would just give a pass or fail report, rather than reporting his actual results. Then he could have pretended that he barely failed, instead of knowing how much of a fool he'd made of himself.
"BUT!" All Might said, interrupting Izuku's thoughts. "Combat prowess was not the only thing we were testing for! UA never does anything by half measures, after all. But before we get to that, allow me to show you a short clip."
The projection was overtaken by what appeared to be security cam footage. In it, several Pro heroes that Izuku recognized as being on the UA faculty were in the midst of relaxing when a knock on the door disturbed them. When Present Mic answered, Izuku was surprised to see Uraraka there.
He'd been too out of it in the aftermath of the exam to remember what had happened to her, but he had assumed she had gone home, since he hadn't seen her again. Apparently he'd been mistaken.
When she offered to give some of her hard earned points to him, his jaw nearly hit the floor. They barely knew each other, yet here she was, willing to handicap her own performance for his sake. It was unreal.
He felt shamed. In the aftermath, he had only been thinking of his own performance, of himself. He hadn't asked how she was doing, or tried to find her. Some friend he was turning out to be.
"You made quite an impression on that girl." All Might said, a hint of pride in his voice. "And you did it not with your Quirk, but with your actions. Always remember that."
On screen, the clip that All Might had paused while he gave his speech resumed. Present Mic patted Uraraka's head in a manner he probably thought was reassuring but looked rather awkward to Izuku.
"No need to give the kid your points," The pro said. "He's doing fine on his own."
"That's right!" All Might said, closing the video player. "After all, how could a hero course reject someone who prioritized saving others over his own personal gain? That is why UA's exam includes a second scale!"
A chart appeared behind All Might showing various names and scores. Izuku could see Katsuki's name at the top of the chart, followed closely by Uraraka, and then several names he didn't recognize, before he reached his own name at the bottom of the chart. Next to each name were two scores, labeled "Combat" and "Rescue".
"There was a panel of judges observing the exam who awarded points based on heroic acts beyond just fighting villains. Your attempt to save young Uraraka truly impressed them! Therefore, with 55 rescue points you have passed the exam!"
Tears filled Izuku's eyes as shock and relief poured through his body.
"Congratulations, Izuku. You've made it. Your hero's journey starts here, at UA high. Welcome to the hero academia!"
He knew All Might couldn't hear him, but Izuku felt compelled to thank the man nonetheless.
"Thank you, All Might."
When Izuku started pounding on his door Katsuki was in the middle of celebrating his success at the entrance exam. He knew he'd done well, of course, but seeing his name at the top of the list had still given him a rush. The most competitive exam in the country and he'd smoked every self-aggrandizing bastard who'd applied. He couldn't wait to rub it in that smug prick Shindo's face next time he saw him.
The furious knocking distracted him from his reverie. He knew who it was immediately. There was only one person who would be that insistent this early in the morning. Izuku must have sprinted the entire way to Katsuki's house. The letters had come less than an hour ago after all.
Izuku was sweaty and red faced when Katsuki opened the door, and his expression was unreadable. "Kacchan I…I…"
"Spit it out ya damn nerd."
Izuku swallowed hard, then continued. "I... passed."
Despite knowing they were coming, the words still made him shake his head in disbelief. Katsuki's placement made sense. His Quirk was practically made for fighting after all. But the idea that Izuku, the nearly Quirkless wimp, had passed was something else. He hadn't just passed either. He'd placed tenth overall, beating out thousands of other applicants for one of the coveted spots.
It filled Katsuki with a strange sense of pride. Despite having everyone against them, he and Izuku had managed it. They were gonna show everyone what a true hero was made of.
He reached an arm around Izuku, grabbing the shorter boy by the collar. "Then why the fuck are you standing outside? Party's in here, dumbass."
A massive smile broke out across Izuku's face, as though he'd just internalized his success for the first time. He practically skipped into the Bakugou household, making his way to the kitchen where Katsuki's parents were fixing a massive celebratory breakfast.
Behind him, Katsuki allowed a small grin to creep across his face. "Hey, old hag!" He called. "Put some more food on! We've got a guest."
"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Katsuki said flatly as Izuku finished his story.
"Watch your damn mouth!" His mother called.
"Bite me." He replied, not even glancing away from Izuku. "But seriously? Super strength? That was like the first thing we tested when we were kids. How did you miss that?"
Izuku took a moment to grab a drink of juice. He'd told the story of the entrance exam practically without pausing and seemed to only be realizing now that he was extremely thirsty. He drained the glass completely before replying.
"Toshinori, my trainer, thinks… he thinks my Quirk didn't show up because my body couldn't handle it. Like when your Quirk damages your wrists when you use too many explosions, but all over. So, now that my body can handle the strain a bit better, I was able to activate it!" He smiled proudly at the explanation.
"So you're telling me that you could have had your Quirk years ago, and the only reason you didn't get it was because you didn't do enough fucking pushups?" Katsuki said, voice deadly calm.
Izuku deflated slightly. "It's a, uh, working theory."
Katsuki sighed, and put his head in his hands. It sounded like complete bullshit to him, but if listening to Izuku's many lectures on Quirks over the years had taught him anything, it's that Quirks were often bullshit.
"Fine. Theory accepted," he said, rubbing his temples. "So, you have your Quirk. Think you can use it on command?"
Izuku looked at his hand, opening it and closing it a few times. "Maybe. I don't know. The last time I used it, I kinda broke my arm, so I'm not in a hurry to test it out."
"Teacher's gonna love that" Katsuki pointed out.
Izuku sighed. "I know. But there's still a month and a half before UA starts. I'll get it under control by then."
"I think you mean we'll get it under control." Katsuki said, cracking his knuckles.
"I'll be, uh, fine on my own, thanks" Izuku said. "You need to focus on your own training, right?"
"Nah. This will be great training for both of us. You need to learn how to use your Quirk in combat, and I need to get experience holding back against people who are weaker than me. Two birds with one stone."
"Kacchan, I don't think I'm ready for combat training."
"You gotta get with the program Izuku. We're UA students now, with a new school motto. Know what it is?"
Izuku swallowed. "Plus Ultra?" He squeeked.
Katsuki nodded. "Plus Ultra."
The smile he wore was the same one that would someday haunt the nightmares of villains across Japan.
"So, what are our thoughts?" Principal Nedzu said, addressing the room.
"Not a bad bunch," Cementoss said. "Lots of potential, especially if you include the recommended students."
"I agree." Midnight said. "I saw a few that I can't wait to sink my teeth into."
"Please rephrase that, Miss Kayama." Nedzu cut in. "These meetings are recorded for posterity, and I would like to avoid dealing with another harassment lawsuit."
She huffed in response, but made no further comment, so Nedzu continued.
"Do any students in particular stand out to you? Remember, if you wish to mentor a particular student, the forms are due the week after the sports festival, so you should start thinking about it now."
The sound of shuffling papers filled the room as the teachers glanced through the files of accepted students.
Vlad King broke the silence. "Kid who came in first is packing a hell of a Quirk. He's got the martial skills to go with it too."
"True." Midnight agreed. "But he's got a chip on his shoulder that's bigger than I am. Only five rescue points, and he earned them almost accidentally. If he fixes the attitude, he could be a hell of a hero though."
Nedzu chuckled. "That may prove difficult, given what he's been through. Still, stranger things have happened. But let's move on. Anyone else?"
"Speaking of power," Present Mic cut in, several decibels louder than anyone else in the room. "The girl in second blew me away! When I saw her lift that zero pointer I knew she was going all the way!"
"Quite." Nedzu agreed, rubbing his sensitive ears. "Which reminds me. We'll need to update our file on her. Her abilities have grown quite a bit since her application was filed. That can be done during the Quirk assessments though."
"Sounds like a pain." Aizawa said, lifting his head for the first time in the conversation.
Nedzu shrugged. "Perhaps. But I expect you to put your best effort into it nonetheless."
Aizawa glared at the pint sized principal. "You have to be kidding. I did it last year. It's Sekijiro's turn."
"Turns are irrelevant." Nedzu said, his tone indicating that he would brook no argument. "You will be handling class 1A while Miss Kayama will take 1B. The rest of you will help me welcome the non-hero students."
He hopped to his feet, looking up at the rest of the teachers with a placid smile on his face that belied the devious mind beneath. Even as he spoke to them, none of the teachers doubted that he was spinning plans of how to craft and train the best heroes possible. He hadn't reached the pinnacle of UA's hierarchy by accident after all.
"Let's call it a day here, shall we?" He said. "Have an excellent weekend, and be sure to rest up. The real work begins on Wednesday." With a final wave, he stepped out of the room, leaving everyone else with a vague sense of unease.
"Why did I let you sign me up for this?" Aizawa asked Midnight once he was sure the principal was out of earshot.
She shrugged. "You had nothing better to do?"
"I could be sleeping. That would be so much better than having to deal with first years." He said the phrase like it left a bad taste in his mouth.
"You could always sleep in the evening, like a normal person." Snipe pointed out.
Aizawa turned his glare on his fellow teacher. "Evening is the perfect time to hunt villains, something you should be acutely aware of."
"Yeah, not everyone's crazy enough to keep up hero work and a full time job like you." Midnight cut in. "I for one enjoy getting a full eight hours of beauty sleep."
"Same." Hound Dog agreed, prompting a chuckle from most of the room.
Aizawa huffed. "I have cats that need feeding. You try doing that on a government salary."
Present Mic laughed. "Aizawa, I've seen what Nedzu pays you. What the hell are you feeding your cats? Caviar?"
"I'm going to feed them your liver if you don't quiet down." He snapped ineffectually. He knew as well as everyone else in the room that there was no force on earth that would keep Mic from taunting him.
Vlad King tapped the table, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. "If you're quite finished, some of us still have work to do, so let's wrap this up. Shota, Nemuri, be sure to get those files back to Hizashi and I by the end of Wednesday. And please try not to spill anything on them. I hate having paperwork that smells like soup."
"It was one time! And I apologized!" Present Mic cried in indignation as he got to his feet.
The teachers filled out, one by one, until only Aizawa was left. He was staring at the role sheet for class 1A as though he could will it out of existence if he just concentrated hard enough. Unfortunately for him, hIs efforts proved fruitless. His Quirk only ever allowed him to erase other Quirks, not extraordinarily vexing pieces of paper.
"This is gonna be a long week." He said, tone resigned and hopeless.
Izuku had to remind himself over and over to just breathe normally. When he'd come to UA for the first time he hadn't been able to properly appreciate it due to his nerves. Now, however, he was able to properly geek out about the fact that he was inside the most prestigious hero school in the world.
Walking through the main hall was a tour de force of the school's alumni. Trophy cases lined the walls displaying replicas of the numerous awards and accolades its graduates had earned. Izuku saw names that dated all the way back to UA's first class, and every era since. There was even an entire trophy case dedicated solely to All Might.
It wasn't just the school that took his breath away either. The other students did a good job of it as well. He saw several upperclassmen who he recognized from watching the Sport Festival or from upcoming hero profiles that he'd found online. Every one of them looked so cool and confident, like they were absolutely sure that they belonged here. Izuku envied that attitude. He still felt like he was a fish that had somehow found its way into a very big pond.
He nearly fainted in excitement when he saw Ectoplasm turn the corner ahead of him. He'd known logically that many of the professors at UA were current or former pros, but seeing them in person was a wholly different experience. A part of him demanded that he try to catch the hero, and see if he could get an autograph, but he held himself back. That would just come off as creepy. Besides, he had three years at the school to get one. He could wait just a little bit longer.
Thankfully the school was laid out very logically, and Izuku was able to find his classroom in short order. The class number was written on the massive door in large red letters, leaving no doubt that Izuku was in the right place. In another place, the massive door and blocky letters would have seemed over the top, but they somehow fit in perfectly to UA's larger than life atmosphere.
He took a deep, calming breath. Somehow, the idea of stepping through that door made everything seem more real. Like he wasn't just going to wake up tomorrow morning to find that none of it had actually happened.
As he placed his hand on the door, he sent a silent prayer for his classmates to be nice. Ideally, both Uraraka and Katsuki would be there, but that was a long shot. More than likely, he'd be in a room of strangers that he would have to learn to get along with. Aldera had been a smaller school, so Izuku had known pretty much everyone there by name, which had seemed like a curse at the time. Now, however, Izuku found himself missing the familiarity, even if it had been a painful familiarity.
Hopefully he'd have time to get to know his classmates a bit. If UA was anything like Aldera, the first day would be taken up by welcome speeches and meetings. They would meet their new teachers, learn a little about what each class would entail, maybe do some icebreakers with their new classmates, and then head home. A nice, low stress way to start the school year sounded like exactly what he needed.
He opened the door in one swift motion, not letting himself chicken out for a moment longer.
His first impression of the class was pandemonium. It seemed Izuku was one of the last to arrive, and everyone had already started making friends. Several clumps of students were chatting with each other, though most seemed to be focused on the argument taking place on the far side of the classroom.
With a sinking feeling Izuku recognized the strict boy from the entrance exam. He had really been hoping that they would end up in separate classes. Izuku hadn't meant to irritate him during the exam, but it seemed like they were destined to clash.
It wasn't all bad though. The person who had drawn the strict boy's ire was none other than Katsuki, who was treating him to one of his trademark glares. It didn't seem to be working though, as the strict boy was continuing his lecture on properly respecting school equipment.
Izuku stepped forward. He wasn't much better than Katsuki when it came to dealing with people, but hopefully he could get his friend to take his feet off of the desk and apologize. It probably wouldn't do much to appease the strict boy, but it would be better than nothing and it would avoid the possibility of a brawl on the first day.
The second Izuku let go of the massive door behind him, it slammed shut with a mighty thud. Everyone in the classroom jumped in surprise. Then, they all turned to look directly at Izuku, who quailed under their stares.
Immediately, the strict boy broke away from Katsuki and dashed up to Izuku with impressive speed. Behind him, Katsuki got to his feet, palms already crackling with small explosions. Before he could do anything else, however, the strict boy reached Izuku, and dropped into a low and very formal bow.
"I apologize for my actions!" He said, tone forceful yet sincere all the same. "I judged you unfairly before the exam even began, and I let that impression cloud my judgement. I see now that you are an upstanding student, and a capable hero-in-training. Please, forgive my blunder." He stood and stuck one arm straight in front of him in the most awkward attempt at a handshake Izuku had ever seen. "I pray that this will not prevent us from getting along."
Izuku relaxed immediately. There was no hostility in his tone, only an awkward stiffness and an earnest energy that Izuku vaguely envied.
He took the boy's hand and gave it the best squeeze he could. "Of course not." He said. "I'm Izuku Midoriya. It's nice to officially meet you." He gave his best smile, though he was sure his nerves were extremely apparent.
The boy returned the smile, losing quite a bit of his stiffness as he did so. "I am Tenya Iida. The pleasure is mine."
The name tickled something in Izuku's memory, but he didn't get the chance to figure out why before he was interrupted.
"Oh! You're here too! I'm so glad!" Uraraka said. She had slipped in while he was talking to Iida, and was now standing behind him smiling broadly.
Izuku felt his heart swell. Even before he'd known about her attempt to share her points with him, he'd hoped that they could see each other again. He hadn't gotten the chance to thank her for saving him during the exam, or to talk to her after she said she wanted to be friends. Izuku dearly hoped the offer still stood. He hadn't been able to make a friend since Katsuki, so he had practically leapt at the chance.
"Y-yeah. I'm glad you made it too, Uraraka." He said.
She held up a finger to forestall him. "Wait. Before we get distracted, what is your name? We kept getting interrupted before you could tell me."
He blinked, then realized she was right. He'd gotten her name, but Present Mic had started the exam before he could respond to her.
"I'm Izuku." He said. "Izuku Midoriya."
"If you're going to socialize, do it after class." A new voice cut in. "Or better yet, don't bother coming at all"
It took him a moment to locate the source of the voice. Just behind Uraraka, a man with the appearance of a gigantic yellow caterpillar stared up at them tiredly. He rose in one fluid motion that had Izuku questioning everything he knew about physics before he unzipped the sleeping bag he had been wrapped in.
He was tall and lanky, with pronounced eye bags that gave him the look of someone who was half-dead. Most of the class seemed to be taken aback at the man's appearance, though Izuku, who was used to All Might's skeletal true form and penchant for strange entrances was only mildly perturbed.
The man clicked his tongue as he waited for the students to stop whispering about his appearance and sudden arrival. Only when the last of the whispers had died away did he speak again.
"It took you 30 seconds to quiet kind of response is illogical and unbecoming. Heroes need to be able to adapt quickly to any situation." He threw a stack of what appeared to be gym uniforms onto the nearest desk. "Now, put these on, and meet me outside. The field has been marked so you can find it."
"Umm, who exactly are you?" Someone asked from behind Izuku.
The man sighed dramatically before answering, taking a moment to rub at his temples. "Shota Aizawa. I'll be teaching you. Now, are there any other inane questions, or can we actually get started? The Quirk assessment will take up most of the day as it is."
"What about the opening ceremony?" Uraraka asked.
"The opening ceremony," Aizawa said, in a tone that implied he'd given this speech many times before, "Is an exercise in frivolity. It wastes an entire day that could be better spent on training the few students at this school who actually have the potential to become heroes. So, no you will not be attending the opening ceremony. Instead, you're going to show me if you are even worth teaching."
A ripple passed through the class at his words.
"We already passed the entrance exam!" A blonde boy near the back of the room called. "Isn't that good enough?"
Aizawa glared at him, and the boy shrunk back slightly, no doubt realizing that mouthing off was probably not the right thing to do in this situation.
"Congratulations, you beat a few robots. That doesn't make you a hero. Any civilian with a powerful Quirk could have done the same. A hero, even a hero in training, is better than that. They have strength, knowledge, and discipline in addition to their Quirk."
He spread his arms wide, and unleashed a sinister looking smile. "So, congratulations hero aspirants. Welcome to UA. Your first exam begins in 20 minutes." He started for the door, then stopped. "Oh. And it should go without saying, but anyone who fails this test is getting demoted to the Gen Ed course." With that, he stepped out of the classroom and slammed the door shut.
Katsuki was having an excellent day, and not even their shitty teacher could bring him down.
The tests so far had just been basic fitness exercises, pushups, side jumps, sprints, etc. The goals for the tests may have been absurdly high, but that wasn't bothering the blonde too much. He'd been training himself since he was a kid, and over the last year he'd taken that training to the next level. He wasn't placing first in every challenge, but when no one's Quirk gave them an advantage, he smoked the rest of the class, even if he didn't meet the goals their teacher set.
That was the other reason Katsuki was in a good mood. When he'd been stuck at Aldera, any use of his Quirk on school grounds would have been met with immediate punishment. With them always watching his behavior, the school had always felt like a prison. Here, though, he wasn't just allowed to use his Quirk, he was encouraged to use it.
There were only two things that were bringing down his mood. The first was their teacher. Katsuki had thought that he would be done with shitty teachers when he left Aldera, that a school as prestigious as UA wouldn't allow a bully to teach there. Apparently he had been wrong. The walking corpse of a man had wasted no time in berating them all for their performance. He'd had to grudgingly acknowledge Katsuki's performance, as well as a few others, but for everyone else, he'd been merciless in beating them down.
"This is the basics of basics for heroes." He'd said after a particularly poor showing by a group of students. "If you can't handle this much, then you're in the wrong career."
Katsuki felt conflicted about the whole thing. On the one hand, he almost agreed with The Corpse. Heroes had to be better than anyone else, both with their Quirks and physically. It was why he had trained so relentlessly. He was going to be the best of the best, and that meant being as strong as he could be.
On the other hand, he wanted to strangle the bastard. He was like Shindo wrapped up with their shitty homeroom teacher from Aldera. He got his rocks off by tormenting people who couldn't fight back, and it ground Katsuki's gears. He kept finding sparks crackling along his palms whenever The Corpse started laying into someone. At least he wasn't the only one. He could see indignation and anger building in a couple of the other students. He mentally upgraded them from extras to side characters.
The other problem was Izuku.
Despite their training Izuku still couldn't use his Quirk on command without breaking his arm as they had unfortunately confirmed just a week and a half ago. He was doing his best, but Katsuki could tell the pressure was getting to him. He seemed to be getting more worried by the second as the fear of demotion slowly drove him into a tizzy. Aside from that, The Corpse seemed to have taken special interest in Izuku, and was driving him especially hard. No performance was good enough, even when he placed near the top of the class in lifting strength.
Katsuki ground his teeth, but didn't interfere. If Izuku was going to be a hero, then he'd have to do things like this for himself. He wasn't the same weakling that Katsuki had to protect anymore. Izuku had the power to stand beside him now. He just had to learn how to use it.
In Shota Aizawa's opinion, the person who had invented the phrase "Like herding cats" was an idiot. Sure, they spent most of their time doing their own thing, but that was part of their charm. They didn't bounce all over the place, or jump all over you when you got home after a long day and just wanted to relax in front of the TV, and maybe cuddle a bit. They were the perfect companions.
No, if you wanted to portray the frustration of trying to control a group that refused to do what you said, the phrase should have been "like herding first years".
So far he'd thwarted five prank attempts, a near fight between Bakugou and Enji's boy, and threatened to give a detention to the next person who made a lecherous comment about their classmates. It was exhausting work, and had set him in a foul mood before the Quirk assessment could even begin. He couldn't wait to get back to his regular class, where they wouldn't even think of trying to pull this stuff.
There were at least a few who were impressing him. The Iida boy was as stiff as a board when he tried to interact with anyone, but he was putting on an admirable showing in the tests. Enji's son as well, though he was only using the ice half of his Quirk. Shota idly wondered if he was trying to gain more experience with that half, or if he was trying to fool his classmates into thinking he was less powerful than he actually was. Either way, Shota wasn't going to touch the issue with a ten foot pole.
Even some of the non-legacy students were doing admirably. Kirishima's Quirk wasn't helping him in any of the tests, but he was displaying a health level of determination, and physical abilities that few in the class could match. Katsuki was outright hostile towards Shota, as well as his classmates, but he was fighting for first place with the Yaoyorozu's child, which was a feat in and of itself. They were both displaying their Quirk's versatility and power.
If it weren't for the class's childish demeanor, irreverent attitude, and overall lack of practical skills, Shota might have even enjoyed watching them. Well, most of them.
Izuku Midoriya was a mystery that he really didn't want to have to deal with. His file was less than a quarter of the size of the rest of the class's which had intrigued Shota at first. He'd thought the boy was playing his Quirk close to his chest, an attitude he appreciated. Then he'd seen the footage of Midoriya fighting, and his opinion had instantly soured.
Forget hiding his Quirk, the boy hadn't even used it, and for good reason. When he did finally break his ability out, it had done more damage to him than his opponent. If it had been up to Shota, he would have failed the boy right then and there. Someone that reckless would never make a good hero, even if he did manage to get his Quirk under control.
Which was another mystery about the boy. He used his Quirk as if it were the first time, despite being almost sixteen years old. It was baffling. He should have been at least a little used to his Quirk by this point, not breaking his arms every time he used it.
Shota shook his head. A part of him had been hoping that the entrance exam had been a fluke, that Midoriya would reveal some hidden side to himself during the assessment. No such luck. His scores were above average for a first year, but nowhere near the levels required for this test, and so very far from super-human.
Not that it mattered. After today, Midoriya would be someone else's problem, and he would be far, far away from them.
Izuku was having a terrible day.
This wasn't so much of an assessment as it was physical torture. Even the training regimen that All Might had made for him seemed light in comparison. He was scraping by thanks to the training, but he was far from passing and that seemed to be making their teacher more irritated by the second.
Maybe it was because he hadn't used his Quirk. Most of his classmates were using theirs in one way or another to help them out. Katsuki was using his to great effect, and looked like he was having the time of his life as well. Izuku, on the other hand, was stuck with his human abilities. He wanted to use his Quirk of course, but he couldn't take the risk. If he tried to use it he would almost certainly break his arm, and that would be the end of the assessment for him.
The tests were getting harder too. The first half had just been basic fitness and strength tests, which Izuku had at least been able to compete at, even if he couldn't meet the crazy targets their teacher had set. Once those were done, Aizawa had given them a short break to grab water, and to set up the next tests.
During his training to inherit One for All, Izuku had focused almost entirely on strength and endurance, the abilities he'd needed to be able to handle the Quirk' s power. Consequently, he had almost no practical skills to go along with his new strength, something he was greatly regretting.
The second round of tests involved a parkour course they needed to complete in a set amount of time. Izuku could handle most of the hurdles well enough, but he got lost halfway through the course, and came in last place. Then they had to climb a crumbling embankment that collapsed whenever someone took too heavy of a step. Izuku's training on the sand helped him somewhat, though he still fell well behind those people who could use their Quirks to their advantage. Tests on marksmanship, recovering from falls, and balance followed. Aizawa even had them chase him around a mock city reminiscent of the entrance exam, seeing if anyone could flush him out of hiding. No one had passed that last test, which was of some small relief to Izuku.
Their final test was at least straightforward, though it was also one of the most daunting to Izuku. Shot put using their Quirks to get the ball as far as they could.
Katsuki was the first up, setting the standard like he had been all day. His distance of 705 meters was the one to beat for most of the class. The only challengers were Yaoyorozu, who created a literal cannon to fire her ball out of, and Uraraka, whose Quirk netted a score of infinity, to the shock of most of the class, and to the obvious irritation of Katsuki. Izuku just felt sick.
As he stepped up to the plate, he resolved that this would be the test where he used his Quirk. He couldn't afford not to.
I can do this he thought to himself, trying to push down the fear that was burning in his stomach. I can show him that I deserve to be here. Even though his words were strong, his knees shook with fear.
He drew his arm back, pulling at the glowing well of energy inside of him that he was quickly beginning to associate with his new Quirk. It rose at his command, flowing into his arm and filling it with power. It made his skin tingle and throb as it tried to contain the energy it was ill prepared to handle.
He threw his arm forward, hurling the ball and squeezing his eyes shut. He was bracing for the pain he was sure would come. But nothing happened. He couldn't feel… anything. A horrific feeling filled Izuku's gut as he realized that he couldn't feel One for All.
He was Quirkless again.
Katsuki watched as Izuku reared back, ready to throw the ball as hard as he could despite his shitty form. Red lines of power ran along his veins as Izuku channeled his Quirk, and green energy shimmered along his arm.
As he went to throw, Katsuki braced himself for the aftermath. He'd only seen Izuku use his Quirk once before, but the results had been...dramatic.
When nothing happened, Katsuki was dumbfounded. For a moment, he thought that Izuku had chickened out, throwing the ball with only his human strength rather than his Quirk's power. He just couldn't imagine Izuku doing that though. Weakling or not, Izuku had never had the sense to back off a course of action once he had set his mind to it.
Katsuki's hunch was confirmed a moment later when Izuku turned to face the class, a look of confusion written on his face. The look quickly changed to one of shock, then fear as he gazed at something behind Katsuki.
He turned to see what Izuku was staring at and nearly jumped out of his skin.
Their teacher's demeanor had completely changed. The exhausted and stressed out educator who had been berating them all day was gone. In his place stood a hero. Katsuki didn't know his name, or his Quirk, but he could tell that Aizawa was a pro among pros. He towered over most of the class, eyes blazing red and hair pulled back from his face as it defied gravity. It wasn't just his appearance either. There was something about him, something that told Katsuki that this man had been through more battles in a week than he had ever been in.
"That was a stupid decision." He said, his voice sharp and commanding. "If I hadn't erased your Quirk, you would have destroyed your arm."
"Y-you're Eraserhead!" Izuku cried, his love of heroes temporarily overcoming his fear. "You can erase people's Quirks just by looking at them!"
He didn't get the chance to geek out any more before Aizawa stalked forward and grabbed his arm. He held Izuku close, whatever words passing between them inaudible to the rest of the students.
Katsuki bristled, palms beginning to spark once more as he lowered his stance. Starting shit with a teacher in the first day probably wasn't the wisest decision, but Katsuki wasn't about to let someone attack Izuku on his watch.
A hand on his arm stopped him. Katsuki whirled, wondering who had the balls to enter his personal space. The guy with shittily dyed hair stared back, shaking his head slightly.
"I don't like this any more than you do, but if you jump in, it's just gonna make things worse." He said calmly. His grip wasn't hard, but it was strong enough to get the point across.
Behind the boy, Katsuki could see Round Face and the Pink girl with eyes like a racoon in a similar position, though Raccoon Eyes was making sure not to let Round Face touch her.
Katsuki took a moment to mentally upgrade Round Face once again. She looked as ready to throw hands as he felt, even if she was about as intimidating as a particularly irate bunny. He appreciated her inventions, at the very least.
He turned back to Izuku and Aizawa. In the time that he had been distracted, they had had some sort of debate. Aizawa came away looking much more like his usual, tired self, though he was thoroughly irritated. And Izuku…
Katsuki blinked in surprise. Izuku didn't look defeated or downtrodden like he'd expected. He didn't even look afraid anymore. Instead, his eyes burned with determination. Katsuki knew that look. It was the same one he had worn before the entrance exam. It was a look that said he was going to do whatever he had set his mind to, or die trying.
He pulled his arm from Shitty Hair's grip, but made no further moves. At this point, it was all on Izuku anyway. Whether he failed or succeeded, it was going to be a hell of a show.
"Take your throw already." Aizawa said. "I still have paperwork to deal with, and I'd rather not stay later than I have to."
The rest of the class watched in fascination. Aizawa hadn't deigned to interfere with anyone else's test, which had them wondering what made this one special. Those who had been in the same arena as Izuku for the entrance exam had an inkling of what was to come, but even they were intrigued to see what would happen.
Izuku reared back once more. At the very last minute, his finger glowed, pulsing with green energy as the ball accelerated. It shot into the sky with a burst of wind that ruffled the hair of everyone watching and kicked up a ferocious cloud of dust.
As the dust settled, Izuku stood tall at the center of the cloud. There were tears in the corners of his eyes, and he was clutching at his hand in obvious pain, but he didn't cry out. Instead, he turned to face Aizawa once more.
"How's that for useless?" Izuku asked, adding a polite "Sir" a moment later. Katsuki had no idea what had been said to Izuku to provoke the sassy response, but he approved. Izuku let people walk all over him far too often. It was good to see him punch back a little.
Aizawa stared at Izuku, expression unreadable. Just when Izuku was starting to become visible uncomfortable, the man shifted his gaze to the rest of the class. He looked over each one of them, not saying anything, but still somehow letting each of them know that they were being evaluated.
Finally, Aizawa reached the end of the class. He paused for another moment, then sighed heavily. The class tensed in response, ready for him to start berating them again.
Instead, he merely turned and walked away. "Class dismissed. Be sure to be on time tomorrow." He called over his shoulder, leaving the class wondering what had just happened.
It didn't take them long to recover though, and the moment they did, they swarmed Izuku, wanting to know what had happened, or what his Quirk was, or to compliment him on talking back to Aizawa. Izuku looked overwhelmed by the attention, but he managed to turn things around, pulling his Quirk notebook out gingerly and grilling their classmates about their own Quirks. Once he had gotten on that vein, Izuku was back in his element. He looked intensely happy as he took notes on every detail of his classmate's abilities, his mind no doubt whirling with ways they could be used in hero work.
Katsuki watched from the sidelines with mixed feelings. Part of him was intensely jealous of Izuku. He'd done moderately well on the exercises while Katsuki had come in near or at the top every time. By all rights, he should be the one getting the praise and adoration, not Izuku.
There was, however, another, smaller part of him that was happy for his friend. He'd never admit it, but Katsuki felt slightly guilty for Izuku's treatment by their school. If they hadn't been friends, then the bullies might have ignored Izuku in favor of butting heads with Katsuki. It would have been a lonely life, but he would have gone through a whole lot less abuse.
Katsuki clicked his tongue in frustration and began to make his way back to the changing rooms with a few of the other students who weren't crowding his friend. He hated dealing with emotional shit. He much preferred when he could punch or intimidate his problems into submission
He knew he'd have to talk to Izuku about their performance eventually, but for now he decided to take things slow. Let the nerd have a little while in the spotlight. Soon enough, the class would be bowing to Katsuki, and he and Izuku could laugh about how screwy things had gotten when Izuku's Quirk came in.
With that decision made, Katsuki threw on his street clothes and headed home, more than ready to put his first day of UA behind him.
"Shooooota!" Present Mic called from across the teacher's lounge. "Where are 1A's profiles? I need them back!"
"I already filled all of the relevant forms with Nedzu." Aizawa said, massaging his temples. He was pretty much immune to Mic's natural volume at this point, but felt it was important to remind his friend that not everyone was as tolerant to loud noises as he was.
"That's unusual." Midnight commented. She had finished her paperwork more than an hour ago, and was mostly just hanging around the teacher's lounge to lovingly harass her fellow teachers. "You usually wait for the last minute."
Aizawa scowled in response, then returned to his sleeping bag to finish his nap.
"Touchy." Midnight said playfully. "What's got his panties in a wad?"
Mic grinned. "One of the kids was being mouthy, so he upped the difficulty of the assessment. Gave them the third year version, instead of the second year like he was supposed to. The kids didn't pass, but a couple of them gave it a serious run. And not a single drop out." He rifled through Aizawa's desk as he spoke, searching for the student profiles that Aizawa had been given the week before.
"That's impressive" Midnight said appreciatively. "They're not the only tough ones though. No dropouts in 1B either, though I did make one of them cry."
"Pretty sure that says more about you than them." Mic replied absently. With a victorious cry, he held the stack of files he'd found buried at the bottom of the desk aloft.
"I have to say, I'm looking forward to teaching them." The blonde hero said. "There's a whole lot of—" He froze as a form on the top of the stack caught his eye.
"Shota what is this?" He asked, his voice at a normal volume and tone calm. Instantly, every other teacher began to pay attention to his words. A serious Present Mic was a rare occurrence.
"Exactly what it looks like" Aizawa said, not even bothering to roll over to address his fellow teachers. "Now let me sleep."
"I don't believe it." Mic said, dropping into the nearest chair. "You, Mr. 'I don't teach First Years', Mr. 'I only deal with logical people', Mr. 'If you waste my time I'll cover your clothes in cat hair', applied to be their homeroom teacher?"
The room was dead silent. If the other teachers had been surprised before, now they were dumbfounded. Aizawa hadn't taught a first year class since his own first year. In fact, if they tried to put him in charge of one he immediately ducked out of the duty. The closest he ever came was taking charge of the first day Quirk assessment and dedication test. This sort of commitment was unprecedented.
Aizawa sighed and sat up. "I'll concede that the kids have some talent. They're still massive pains in the ass, and if they don't live up to their potential, I will drop every one of them. But for now, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and say they might not be complete wastes of my time."
Mic threw himself across the room, wrapping Aizawa in a tight hug. "I'm so proud of you! We're gonna make a teacher out of you yet, buddy!"
"Hizashi, if you don't let go of me right now I'm going to leave a dent in your solar plexus."
Izuku was exhausted. Between the assessment and the healing for his finger, his energy reserves had been almost totally wiped out. It wasn't quite as bad as the entrance exam, but Izuku chalked that up to needing less healing this time. He flexed the finger in question experimentally. It was still a bit sluggish, but he couldn't believe it had been broken just a few hours ago. Recovery Girl's Quirk was truly amazing.
Despite how exhausting the day had been, Izuku felt good about it. Small though it might be, he'd made progress in learning to control One for All. He'd still be out of the fight after ten attacks, but that was eight more than he'd been able to use yesterday.
He'd also come out ahead in the friends department, a fact that made him want to jump for joy. Not only was Katsuki in his class, for which Izuku was infinitely grateful, but Uraraka as well. He hadn't gotten much of a chance to talk to her before, but hopefully the rest of their week would be a little more sedate and they would have a chance to talk. He still hadn't gotten the chance to thank her for saving him during the entrance exam. Or for trying to share her points with him. Or for agreeing to be his friend.
Come to think of it, he really had a lot to thank her for.
It wasn't just those two either. He'd been dreading the idea of running into Iida again, but their meeting had gone well. This time, Iida had seemed a bit more relaxed, and even a bit friendly. Izuku was glad for that. He really didn't want to start UA with someone already disliking him. That would remind him too much of Aldera.
It didn't seem like he had to worry about that though. Almost everyone in the class had seemed welcoming, or at least formally accommodating.
And they all had such amazing Quirks! It felt like he'd only just started his newest notebook, and it was already nearly full of notes. He'd only been able to talk mechanics for a short while after the assessment, but his mind was already brimming with ideas of how their Quirks could be used, and what their strengths and weaknesses would be.
He grinned to himself. He couldn't wait for the next day to come. He couldn't wait to meet more people, to see their Quirks in action, and to learn even more about being a hero.
"So, how was your first day Tenya? Meet any pretty girls?"
Tenya glared at his brother. "I'll have you know I didn't waste my time philandering like some in my class. I was focused on being the best hero-in-training that I can be."
Tensei shrugged. "Alright then. How about pretty boys?"
Tenya choked and flushed a bright red, but didn't say anything. Seeing his brother's face, Tensei bust out laughing. "I'll take that as a yes. Good for you! I was starting to worry you were never going to show interest in anyone. I was starting to worry about the future of the Iida family name."
Tenya spluttered in embarrassment and irritation. When he realized he wouldn't be able to form a coherent thought anytime soon, he settled for chopping his brother over the head repeatedly. This only made Tensei laugh harder, until he was rolling on the floor.
Before long, Tenya's indignation faded and he found himself laughing as well. The pair lay on the floor of their family's living room, cackling like madmen until they were both out of breath.
"Thank you, Tensei." Tenya said, when he finally got his breath back. "I think I needed that."
"Of course." Tensei said, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "The first day is always rough. I'd like to say it gets easier, but it doesn't really. You just learn to get used to it." He grinned. "Then again, that might just be me. I was never that good in school."
"Nonsense!" Tenya said. "You were an excellent student. I'm just doing my best to live up to your example."
"I'm flattered," Tensei said. "But you shouldn't try to imitate me too closely. You're your own person after all. You gotta live life your own way."
Tenya looked thoughtful, as if trying to suss out some hidden meaning behind the statement. Tensei brushed it off though.
"It's not that deep. I've never been one for philosophy after all. Just… try your best, and know I'll be proud of you." He wrapped Tenya in a hug, slapping his back affectionately. "Now, let's go see if Mom's done with dinner. She's making beef stew to celebrate your first day."
The smile on Tenya's face made his cheeks hurt as he followed his brother into the kitchen.
Mina sighed as she picked at her dinner. She was happy that her mom supported her dream of becoming a hero. She just wished that support didn't translate into heaping piles of broccoli on her plate every night.
She did manage to eat it all in the end. The first day had left her famished. She was used to working hard to stay in shape, but those tests had been on a totally different level. She could already tell that she would be sore tomorrow.
She'd have to push through it though. After all, she had classmates to meet. During the assessment there had been almost no down time for socializing. She had been either gasping for breath or busy preparing for the next test. It was a real shame too, since a lot of her new classmates looked like interesting people.
There was the boy with split colored hair who looked like he'd walked straight out of a shojo manga with his icy attitude and brooding demeanor. She wondered what dark thoughts lurked beneath that placid expression and distant eyes.
Then there was the foreign girl. She hadn't spoken much, and Mina got the impression that her Japanese wasn't the greatest, since she had looked more than a little lost as she followed the class from test to test. Mina didn't care though. They could be horn buddies, and talk all about American fashion, typing messages into a translator if need be.
She also wouldn't mind getting to know the girl with the gravity Quirk a bit better. They hadn't had time to talk to each other, but Mina had seen her actually take a step towards Aizawa when he had been picking on the boy with green hair. It had been a stupid choice, one Mina had needed to prevent her from making, but she appreciated the intention anyways. She'd always hated bullies, and seeing Aizawa go after that kid had really pissed her off.
She hoped the boy was okay. He'd seemed to pep up after the assessment was over, chatting with everyone about their Quirks. Even still, she resolved to talk to him about the whole thing tomorrow. She'd hate to see one of her new classmates get downtrodden by one stupid teacher.
As she went over the events of the day, Mina found the list of people she wanted to talk to growing longer and longer, until it pretty much encompassed the whole class. It was a real shame. She definitely wouldn't be able to give them all the time she would need to get to really know them, at least not before the weekend rolled around, which would keep them all apart for several days. It sucked that they couldn't just hang out during their off time.
Mina paused as a thought occurred to her. Sure, the school wasn't going to have them hang out during the weekend, but that didn't mean they couldn't get together on their own time. After all, everyone loved a party, and there was no better way to get to know people.
Smiling, she pulled out her phone and started looking at places near the school that they could co-opt for a meet and greet.
She was gonna show these people some fun, Mina style!
Author's Notes:
As usual, thank you so much for reading. Your enjoyment means the world to me, and I wouldn't be able to do what I do without each and every one of you.
Here's another change to cannon that I've wanted to do for a while: day one Aizawa. I wanted to re-balance his motivations, making him a little less of an arbitrary hard ass, and more of a beleaguered educator who doesn't want to have to put up with first year nonsense. Little does he know, of course, that these particular first years have a way of working their way into your heart.
If you want to chat with me, but don't feel like leaving a review, I can be found on Tumblr under the same username as here
Thank you once again for reading, and I hope you have an excellent day!
