Izuku arrived at the dorm late that night and greeted those who were in the common room briefly before making his way to his room quietly. It had been a long last two days between everything that had happened and ultimately the rest was well deserved. Izuku was asleep by the time he hit his pillow and the next morning came even quicker. Izuku found himself alone as he did his usual morning run around the campus. This time though Izuku made time to make his way to the gym on campus to continue some of the exercises he had learned during his internship to continue improving his body. Before it got too late though Izuku made his way back to his dorm to get ready for class.
Arriving, he was still fairly early, coming in shortly behind both the astute Iida and Yaoyorozu who looked extremely upset. Izuku didn't ponder over it long before he made his way to her desk. "Hey, is everything alright?" Izuku inquired carefully. He wasn't sure where the issue occurred. Whether she was still down from the sports festival or a terrible internship. Regardless, he felt compelled to help his classmate.
Yaoyorozu was initially shocked by his sudden approach, but quickly shook it off and gave him a smile. "It's nothing. I am simply a bit tired from the internship." She replied. Izuku could see how forced the words seemed, but he would respect that she didn't want to talk about it. Izuku hummed to himself as he made his way to his own seat and prepared for the first class of the day Slowly, all of his classmates began to file into the room. As the class filled the sporadic groups around the room, all conversed until it was close to class time and then promptly made their way to their seats.
As Mr. Aizawa prepared to address the class, his eyes came to a halt on Izuku, Todoroki, and Iida. Izuku was about to say something, but Mr. Aizawa spoke first. "I hope this past week has been enlightening for all of you and you've made a good impression. This is a necessary step in learning how to be a pro. Now onto class."
Compared to the speed of the internships, class seemed to slowly wade by and the day dragged on and on. Finally, near the end of the day they came to Foundational Hero Studies taught by All Might. The class made their way to the locker rooms and quickly changed into their costumes. As Izuku finished changing, he heard a whistle from behind him. He turned after he put his fireman coat over his shoulder to find Kaminari speaking.
"Is that a new costume?" Kaminari asked.
"Yea, it's a bit more resilient and covers more than my other costume. I can cut loose a bit more in this one." Kirishima also joined the conversation.
"It's super manly. It definitely suits you." Izuku thanked him and made his way out to the observation room where All Might told them to meet. This time All Might was wearing another model of his costume that Izuku couldn't quite place. But All Might cleared his throat before explaining the exercise.
"For this class, we'll be showing what you learned in your internships. It's a battle-race. There will be several one-point bots from the entrance exam scattered around the area. Your mission is to wait for my signal then make your way over to me as fast as possible by any means necessary. I will rank you on order of arrival." All Might said as he showed the groups on the board behind him.
All Might then made his way into the city. The groups seemed to be arranged at random yet again. The first group that would go would be Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, Sero, Iida, and Izuku. They had all been assigned random spots and to Izuku personally this seemed like one of the tougher brackets to have been made, simply off of the mobility of each participant. Izuku took his spot and waited patiently for the signal and when it went off, he flew forward.
He made his way through the maze of building and pipes in what he believed to be the fastest route eliminating any robots that crossed his path in the process. If he listened closely enough, he could hear Sero's tape and Iida's engines firing off in the background. He couldn't see them, but assuming that All Might was a certain distance away from all of them it made sense. Izuku flew up quickly closing in on where the signal originated. He landed close to All Might, followed shortly after by Sero and Iida and then Tokoyami.
Yaoyorozu arrived lastly looking a bit worse for wear. It wasn't a bad time considering the group she was placed in. However, she seemed to become more upset by coming in last and made her way back to the observation room in silence. The next group was sent out as swiftly as the last arrived, consisting of Bakugo, Hagakure, Koda, Jiro, and Asui.
Izuku watched carefully on the monitor to watch how each had improved in their internship. Jiro and Asui looked noticeably sharper from their experiences. And even Koda and Hagakure had showed some improvements, but Bakugo looked to have stagnated a bit in his week. Thinking back, Izuku couldn't remember who Bakugo even interned with. He looked over his shoulder and spotted Kirishima.
"Do you know who Bakugo spent the last week with, Kirishima?" Izuku asked. Kirishima seemed to ponder a moment before he responded.
"I think it was Best Jeanist." Kirishima said. Izuku nodded and turned back to the screen to continue watching. From what he knew, Best Jeanist was definitely a good hero, but Bakugo didn't seem to gain much from his time with him. At least not in the sense of improving his quirk or combat. Despite his stagnation though, Bakugo still managed to finish first. The race seemed tighter than many thought was possible for him, however.
Izuku also closely observed the remaining races. The next group up was Ojiro, Shoji, Uraraka, Ashido, and Kaminari. None of them were well known for their quirks being versatile so their classmates were surprised by the sudden improvements. One of the one's Izuku was most surprised about was the increased combat prowess of Uraraka. She seemed to glide across the robots.
In the end, her improved combat earned her second place behind only Shoji. Next was Ojiro and finally Ashido and Kaminari came in at around the same time. They were quickly ushered in and made way for the last group which consisted of Aoyama, Mineta, Todoroki, Kirishima, and Sato.
This race actually ended up being quite underwhelming. Todoroki took a dominant first place, using both halves of his quirk. His fire seemed especially strong to have been so underused for so much of his life. The rest of the group came in as quickly as they could after with Aoyama coming in last from the stomachache his quirk gave him.
All Might came back to give a quick spiel about the results before he ran off again at the end of class. From what Izuku could tell, he seemed to be steaming as he made his way to the door but had quickly disappeared around a corner as it closed. With All Might gone, the class made their ways back to the locker room to change and go back to the dorm for the day.
While they were changing though, Mineta had found another peephole to try and look through.
"Imagine it! On the other side of this wall is a whole new world waiting for us to experience." Mineta cried as he closed in on the wall. He was suddenly caught by a foot from behind and held against the wall. It was Izuku who was finishing putting on his uniform.
Izuku grabbed Mineta's case with his flames, and held Mineta by his head, making his way back to the classroom. "If you're a shit man, you can never be a good hero." Izuku chided as he made his way down the halls. His mind was drawn to Stain at his own comment and Izuku scoffed. He dropped Mineta off in the classroom gently and put his own case up before making his way back to the dorm.
It was a quiet evening and Izuku found himself working on homework until his shoulders were stiff. The sun was still up so Izuku had a thought and sent a quick text before changing and making his way to one of the on-campus gyms. Izuku took a water from his bag and sat in front of the gym and waited for his guest to arrive.
"You look stupid down there." A voice called from Izuku's peripherals. Izuku glanced to the side before picking up his bag and walking into the gym. Maki followed closely behind with her own gym bag. "So why did you call me out here?" Maki asked.
"Izuku led her to a room covered in mats. "We'll be sparring without our quirks in here so get ready." Izuku dropped his bag in a corner and took off his shoes before sitting in the middle of the room, warming up. Maki dropped her bag off in another corner and opposite from Izuku.
They stood and took their stances. To the outside observer, the stances looked completely different, but both of them were built around the same principle. Izuku moved first moving swiftly to close the gap between them. Maki dodged to the side and they began to fight in earnest.
Once again, they found themselves at standstill after standstill because of how familiar they were with each other's fighting style. Izuku lashed out with a kick, but Maki checked the kick with her leg before striking violently with a punch, forcing Izuku backwards.
Izuku came to a stop and stared forward. "It's really unfortunate you keep your arms covered by windbreakers all the time. Nobody knows what they're getting into fighting you." Izuku quipped. Maki met the remark with a small laugh before she wiped her forehead. Maki took off her blazer to reveal a workout shirt and muscular arms. Izuku stared at the sheer definition of her arms and whistled. "Impressive." He remarked as he retook his stance.
They clashed again and again and eventually it was time for the gym to close. Maki and Izuku made their way out and made plans to continue training occasionally this semester. They parted ways and Izuku found Kirishima walking back to the 1-A dorms. Izuku jogged to catch up with him.
"Hey Kirishima, do you come to the gym often?" Izuku inquired as he came up behind Kirishima.
"Oh, Midoriya, yea I go to the gym almost every day." Kirishima responded. Izuku nodded as they matched paces and made conversation about the latest events in class. The two of them were on friendly enough terms, but they didn't talk often. Izuku was only really close with a few from his class, mainly Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki.
"You were in the gym with that Maki girl from the Sports Festival, right?" Kirishima asked as they continued their walk to the dorm. Izuku nodded, waiting to see where Kirishima would take this. "Do you think she could beat my hardening?" Kirishima asked. Izuku thought over it for a moment before he responded.
"It would take some effort, but she could break through. But if you only stayed on the defensive, she could definitely throw you out of the ring." Izuku said. Kirishima seemed to deflate at the answer. "She'd beat Bakugo and Todoroki easier than you at least." That seemed to give Kirishima some more confidence as he ran the rest of the way to the dorm.
Izuku eventually made his way to the dorm and fell straight in his bed asleep. The excitement of the internship had finally faded, and the class returned to normal. Izuku fell into a similar pattern of training and schoolwork. Sometimes, working out with Iida in the morning and sometimes working with Maki or Kirishima in the evenings.
Though he didn't let his increased training impact his schoolwork. He still maintained time to study and go over the work every day to make sure he learned it. It had been a habit since he was little to go over work thoroughly. And between school and all the extra work Izuku had put in, two weeks sailed past him without incident.
Until one day Mr. Aizawa came into the classroom with an announcement. "Remember final exams are coming up in a week. There will be both a written and physical portion." The class groaned at their homeroom teacher's announcement. He ignored them and left the room to leave them to their day. However, he suddenly slid his head back into the room. "I forgot to mention that whoever fails either portion will be taking remedial classes and will not allowed on the trip for everyone who does pass." With that final announcement, Aizawa left.
The class exploded into chaos. Kaminari and Ashido lay prostrate at Yaoyorozu's feet while several other members of the class also approached. "Please tutor us for the midterms!" Ashido and Kaminari yelled in almost perfect sync. Yaoyorozu looked overwhelmed and her face was flushed red as she watched the two.
"I'm sure you don't want my help! Someone else is definitely more qualified for the task." Yaoyorozu protested. Overhearing the argument, Izuku decided to interject.
"I doubt that. You ranked number one in the class on the midterm. And no offense but I'm sure you had room to spare. There is literally no one better." Izuku stated matter-of-factly. Yaoyorozu perked up at the compliment and quickly turned and accepted the flock of students.
"We can do study sessions in the common room of the dorm if you'd like every other day before the exam." Yaoyorozu declared. Kirishima made plans to study with Bakugo, but most of the class had made their reservation for Yaoyorozu's study session. Izuku found himself quite glad that no one asked him to study with him. He didn't want to confuse anybody with how he approached certain tasks.
The rest of the day flew by like a blur and Izuku found himself in the dorms studying that night. He decided to start with the subjects that would require the most work. But as he started to work through the problems, he figured out a better way to study and sent a text to Maki and Hatsume about all working together to study for their exams. They both responded yes and planned to meet and study the next day.
The next day was a weekend so after Izuku got morning training out of the way and ate breakfast, he made his way to the support course dorms. He found Maki and Hatsume waiting for him outside of the dorms. Instead of walking into the dorms, they picked up their things and directed him to the gym that he and Maki had been sparring in occasionally. The uneasy feeling he felt at their actions hit a head when they introduced their plan to him.
"We'll quiz you each day until you get fifty questions right each day. Every time you answer a question incorrectly, you'll either be attacked by me or be forced to stop one of Hatsume's experiments. We're fine subject wise, but you'll be using this to prepare for the heroics final. You'll need it."
Before Izuku could object, the first question flew out and he was so flustered that he could not answer in time. Soon after, he was struck by Maki for taking too long. And before he could recover, the next question flew out equally swiftly and Izuku's exam week began to speed away. Between his own training and the absolutely spartan study methods of Hatsume and Maki, Izuku felt more and more comfortable with the information by the day.
Later that week though at lunch, a critical question hit everyone's mind. "Does anyone know what we're doing for the practical exam?" Ashido and Kaminari were asking each table. It triggered the thought in Izuku's mind as well. For the most part, it seemed like Hatsume and Maki knew but refused to tell him what the exam would contain. While he was listening to Ashido and Kaminari converse, the 1-B rep approached his table.
"I see that some people in your class are worried about the exam. I heard from an upperclassman than the exam usually consists of fighting the robots in the entrance exam." Kendo offered. As she was about to stand up to leave, Izuku stopped her.
"I know someone who knows something about the exam. It's safe to assume that the exam is going to be dangerous. I'd assume, at minimum, we're fighting zero-pointers and at worse-" Izuku suddenly found himself staring at the wall of the hallway with Maki behind him. "So, I assume my guess is correct?" Izuku asked.
Maki only put a finger to her lips before walking down the hallway and waving. Izuku sighed thinking about which teachers he would prefer to fight. It honestly was not hard to rank how hard each teacher was to fight.
The day of the exams came and Izuku finished the exam in the latter half of the class. Though he wouldn't know it for a while, he tied with Iida for second on the written portion of the exam with Yaoyorozu taking first again. Overall, no one failed the exam. Immediately afterwards though, they were instructed to change into their hero costumes to prepare for the practical portion of the exam.
The class waited outside, and they were greeted by the teachers waiting for them. Some of the class made a move to voice their confusion before Mr. Aizawa spoke up. "For the final exam, we've changed the format from previous years. Due to the increased number of villain attacks, we thought an update to the exam was needed. You'll each be paired and fight against a teacher." Aizawa spoke in his usual tone.
"But there's only 9 teachers." Kaminari pointed out. Izuku looked into the sky and found what he was looking for easily.
"The tenth is-" Izuku began but was quickly interrupted.
"I AM HERE!" All Might called as he smashed into the ground, knocking up wind. The prospect of fighting All Might seemed to scare some of the class and then Mr. Aizawa brought up the class matchups.