Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Vlad King's Green Bean
Chapter one: The power of choice
Quirks. Powers that, a few generations ago, started popping up in people all over the world. Quirks could be mild, like being able to telekinetically pull small and light objects to one's self, or could be as grand as being able to alter reality itself by placing a 'rule' on an object. These quirks, as varied and unique as they are, ended up shaping how the world worked since they started appearing; indeed, the world now more or less revolves around them.
However, these many, numerous quirks, as mundane or as awesome as they are, are NOT the strongest form of power in the world. Indeed, there is a power greater than being able to control the flow of large amounts of ground, or conjure and manipulate powerful fire. The power that is being spoken of here is a power that is even greater than a quirk that is capable of taking, keeping, and redistributing the quirks of other people. What is this power?
Simple. It's the power of choice.
Choosing one option over any other that's presented at the time. Choosing Spicy Sweet Chili over Nacho Cheese, choosing to listen to a friend's recommendation for a new animated show to get into watching, choosing to raise one particular creature in a creature battle video game over another similar and arguably more practical option. The power of choice can determine if one goes on as is in their life or ending up discovering something fun that makes the gamble worth it.
The power of choice. A power that, while a very subtle one, is by no means a power that ought to be underestimated. Choices ought to be considered carefully, and not made without thought. This is due to the fact that, although making a right choice can result in good times all around, making a wrong choice can result in bad times all around. Hence why the power of choice is a power that far exceeds even that of the mightiest quirk in existence.
Why bring this up? Simple. A certain man, who's the teacher of a certain homeroom class at a certain hero academy. During a certain entrance exam for the certain hero academy, a certain boy chosen for a certain destiny by a certain pro hero catches the attention of the teachers monitoring said entrance exam. That certain boy ends up being placed right into the homeroom class of the certain man that had been previously mentioned.
That certain man was among the teachers who saw the certain boy's performance during the certain entrance exam. The man was right away uncertain of the boy, and had even thought about arguing the matter to his boss, the principal of the aforementioned certain hero academy. But the man, ultimately, chose not to go through with it. As a result of the choice made by the man, things ended up occurring for the heroes of Japan to ultimately come out on top over the villains in the end.
A single choice, made at a certain time, and by a certain person.
The power of choice is truly very great, if one certain choice made by one certain man at one certain time can have that great of an effect on everything as a whole. That being said... what if the certain man had chosen to instead go through with arguing against having the certain boy placed in his homeroom class? What if that man did go through with trying to argue the matter with his boss? How much of an impact would that end up having on things?
...Well, as a wise man had once said, you don't have to change much to change everything.
...
The staff of UA High School were having a meeting after they had sent out the acceptance and rejection letters. "We have quite the promising bunch this year," Principal Nezu, an animal who had gained sentience due to having a quirk, said to the rest of the UA staff, "Even many of the first years who didn't quite make it into the hero course would have gotten in if it hadn't been for the top forty of the bunch. That being said, Shouta, Sekijiro, the two of you have quite the loaded plate this year."
"Assuming of course that Sho here doesn't expel the kids he gets," Hizashi Yamada, the pro hero Present Mic, said half joking half knowingly as he gestured to Shouta Aizawa, the pro underground hero Eraserhead, who sat on Hizashi's right.
"Oh, I doubt that Shouta will see anything wrong with the twenty students who are coming his way," Nezu said as he handed Aizawa and Sekijiro lists of the first year students who would be in their respective homeroom classes.
The underground hero did a quick scan of his list, recognizing every last name. Within seconds, Aizawa stopped short upon seeing one of the names on his list. "...Izuku Midoriya..." Aizawa said, a hint of concern in his tone. Looking right to Nezu, Aizawa asked, "Wasn't he the boy who broke his arm destroying the zero pointer? You're seriously telling me that he got in?"
"He certainly had proven that he has the cahones to stand up to the most daunting of foes," Nemuri Kayama, the pro hero Midnight, remarked as she looked to Aizawa, "Hell, I bet that even many pro heroes in our country's top ten would hesitate to take on a zero pointer alone like that."
Sekijiro Kan, the pro hero Vlad King, chuckled in amusement. "I agree with Nemuri. Hell, I'm actually kind of jealous you got a the boy who had proven he already has the bravery that is required in the pro hero profession."
"All of them will prove themselves to be fine heroes, I am sure," Nezu said. Turning to look at Aizawa, Nezu went on, "Don't you agree, Aizawa?"
The underground hero looked at everyone looking at him, then looked back down at his list. He looked at the names of the students in his class, particularly the name Izuku Midoriya. He gave that name a scrutinizing look as he wore a look of deep thought. Finally, Aizawa let out a sigh before he lowered his list and looked back up at everyone else at the meeting. Then, Aizawa made a comment that would end up having consequences that no one, not even him, could foresee.
"...I'm sorry Nezu, but I simply don't think that Midoriya has what it takes to be a hero."
Nezu looked at Aizawa curiously as some of the others at the meeting let out a variety of responses, ranging from knowing chuckling from Hizashi to knowing, mildly exasperated sighing from Nemuri, to an unamused scowl from Sekijiro. "Oh? What makes you say that?" Nezu asked.
Picking up his list, Aizawa gave it a light smack with the back of his hand. "He has absolutely no control over his quirk. What kind of hero can Midoriya hope to become if he isn't able to use his quirk without immediately needing to see Recovery Girl afterwards? He's going to be nothing more than a liability in the field, to other heroes who can use their quirks properly, to the civilians he tries to help, and especially so to himse-"
"You speak as if he had to have a firm grasp over his quirk before even stepping foot onto UA grounds to take the entrance exams." Aizawa was cut off when Sekijiro spoke up, thus turning his attention to the Blood Hero with a piqued look. "You forget Shouta," Sekijiro went on when he had the underground hero looking at him, "That we live in a society where public quirk usage is barred without having a licence."
Aizawa kept the wry eyebrow he had arched up. "...Your point, Sekijiro?"
"It's natural for Midoriya to not have a firm grasp over using his quirk," Sekijiro defended, "Hell, I'm surprised that many of the students who took the entrance exams this year did as well as they had done." Giving his own wry look at Aizawa, Sekijiro asked, "How can Midoriya be expected to have a firm grasp over using his quirk if the law prevents him from being able to get in any decent time to practice using it without hurting himself?"
Ryo Inui, the pro hero Hound Dog, nodded in agreement as he sat on Sekijiro's left. "I agree. Hence why it's a good thing that Midoriya was accepted here. After all, what better place is there for him to get the help he needs to gain a firm grasp over using his quirk than right here at UA?" Leaning forward a bit, Ryo added, "Especially since All Might is going to be teaching here starting this year. The top hero in Japan. Who better for Midoriya, for all of the first year hero course students, to learn from the ins and outs of being a pro hero?"
Aizawa turned to look at the Hunting Dog Hero. "Midoriya has virtually zero control over his quirk. He'll be nothing more than a waste of resources."
"We have those resources in the first place to help students like Midoriya to catch up to students who have better control over their respective quirks," Hound Dog argued back.
The underground hero let out another sigh. "It'll still be pointless to keep someone with zero potential like Midoriya here at UA. I say that-"
"-We do a little trade of sorts."
Aizawa was cut off when Sekijiro spoke up again, finishing Aizawa's sentence in a way that Aizawa himself wasn't planning to do so. Aizawa, as well as everyone else at the meeting, turned their focus right on over to the Blood Hero. "...What are you going on about now, Sekijiro?" Aizawa asked, an even mix of annoyed and actually genuinely curious.
Gesturing to Aizawa, Sekijiro said, "You and I swap Midoriya into my class and one of the students already in my class into your class." The Blood Hero looked at his list before saying, "Let's go with the Monoma boy in my class."
Aizawa gave Sekijiro a look that, while firm, still held curiosity, as well as piqued interest. "They aren't trading cards, Sekijiro," Aizawa said, "They're students."
"Oh, so now Midoriya is a student," Sekijiro replied in a knowing tone, sounding mildly unamused.
Aizawa scowled, before turning to look at Nezu. "...The decision is ultimately up to you, sir," Aizawa said, "Are you okay with putting Monoma in 1-A and Midoriya in 1-B while leaving the rest of the two classes as is?"
"I actually have to side with Sekijiro and Ryo on this one," Nezu remarked, "Midoriya did pass the entrance exams, so he ought to be given the chance he has earned. And if swapping his place with that of Monoma's in the first year hero course classes is what it will take for Midoriya to get what he had earned, then so be it. Go ahead and make the necessary changes to your lists with a pen, I'll go on and make the necessary changes in the computer system for UA."
Aizawa and Sekijiro turned to look at one another. "...I hope you realize that you're making a mistake here, Sekijiro," Aizawa said, dryly and evenly.
The Blood Hero merely gave a chuckle in response. "...Well what do you know, Shouta. I was going to say that exact same line to you." Aizawa looked mildly irritated with how Sekijiro was joking around with him in such a manner, right before he looked at the class 1-A list, crossed out Izuku's name and wrote Monoma's name in its place. Sekijiro did the opposite with his list; crossed out Monoma's name to write in Izuku's.
A choice had just been made. A choice that will have repercussions that none of them would be able to predict.
Within due time, the first day of UA came. Izuku Midoriya, dressed in the standard UA uniform, felt truly humbled to be at UA, the top hero academy in Japan, the hero academy that All Might himself had graduated from. And it was thanks to that mighty hero that Izuku was able to get in. ...Well, him and that sweet brunette haired girl who argued to try to give some of her points to him due to how he had acted to save her during the entrance exams, although her generosity wasn't necessary as All Might explained in the video clip in the acceptance letter.
Izuku hoped that girl got in. He'd like to thank her for, if anything, showing him kindness that he's gotten from only a small handful of people in his life.
Walking through the halls, Izuku while holding a sheet of paper with directions on it made his way to a door that led into what would be his homeroom class. "...Here we go," Izuku said to himself as he looked at the large door, "Class 1-B." The green haired boy opened the door to walk right on into the classroom, wondering if any of his classmates would be in there already, and if so wondered what kind of people that they'd end up being.
He got one of the answers to his wondering when the first thing he saw and heard upon entering the 1-B class homeroom was a girl with wavy long dark green hair pointing at a mantis looking boy while shouting at said boy, "And I bet you play online poker is ass-less chaps!"
"Umm..." Izuku called out, getting the attention of the girl with wavy long dark green hair, the mantis looking boy, and a few others, "...This is the Class 1-B homeroom, right?"
A boy with black spiky hair partly held up with a headband came over to Izuku. "Yeah, you found the Class 1-B homeroom, alright." Holding out a hand to Izuku, the headband boy said greeted, "Sup, I'm Yosetsu Awase. The dude who looks like a mantis is Togaru Kamakiri, and the girl who's harassing Togaru is Setsuna Tokage."
Izuku nodded in understanding as he saw a few more of his new classmates come walking over. Two were boys, one having sandy blonde scruffy hair, similarly colored skin, and a skull like face, and the second boy having grayish hair, is somewhat shorter, and mildly plump. The third person coming over was a girl, who had orange hair in a side ponytail. The girl of the group got Izuku to look at her before gesturing to Setsuna.
"Don't let Setsuna's... behavior... here fool you," the orange ponytail girl said, "She's one of the two students in our class who got into UA on recommendation."
"Oh, umm, okay," Izuku replied, "Wait, one of two? Who's the other one in our class?"
The skull faced boy held up a hand. "That would be me, my good man," the skull faced boy said, right before offering Izuku a handshake. "Juzo Honenuki."
"Nirengeki Shoda," the shorter boy said as he gave his name.
The orange ponytail girl likewise gave a single nod. "Itsuka Kendo."
Izuku was surprised by all of the warm reception he was getting, but he liked it. Smiling, he gave a single nod before giving his name. "Izuku Midoriya. Here's to looking forward to working with all of you guys to become heroes."
Yosetsu regarded Izuku with a look of mild curiosity, mixed with some mild amusement. "...Huh. We've literally just met one another, and yet I already get the feeling that we're gonna be chill with each other, Midoriya."
"That would be nice, Awase," Izuku replied, wondering if all of this, having gotten into UA, would be the moment when he'd finally have friends, real friends mind you, for the first time in as long as he could remember.
The 1-B homeroom students would have socialized more, but they were cut off when Sekijiro Kan came walking into the classroom, calling out, "Alright everyone, to your desks!" Right away, all of the class 1-B students went to their desks, although when Izuku sat down and looked ahead at Sekijiro, he let out a surprised gasp.
"You're Vlad King!" Izuku said, "The Blood Hero!"
Sekijiro arched a wry eyebrow at Izuku. He got the profile on Izuku, knew what he looked like from a photo. What Sekijiro wasn't quite expecting was for Izuku, or any of his students for that matter, to know who he was. He wasn't an underground hero like Aizawa, but Sekijiro still wasn't the most prominent of limelight pro heroes out there. The fact that Izuku recognized him was a sign that the bit he was told about Izuku being a hero fanboy who possessed a virtually encyclopedic knowledge on all things pro hero was accurate.
Regardless, Sekijiro popped a mildly amused smirk. "...I'm not the most famous pro hero out there, so it is rather amusing to be recognized right off the bat. But yes." Turning around, Sekijiro picked up a stick of chalk, wrote 'Sekijiro Kan' on the chalkboard and 'Vlad King' under that, then turned around to face the class. "I am Sekijiro Kan," said Sekijiro to his students, "Otherwise known as the Blood Hero Vlad King. I will be your homeroom teacher. As such, you'll address me as Kan-sensei. Do you all understand?"
"Yes, Kan-sensei!" all twenty of the class 1-B students replied in unison.
Sekijiro nodded in a mix of appreciation for the respect to his authority and some mild amusement. "Good. Now, leave your bags and stuff here so we can head to the auditorium for orientation. After we get back from that, I'll hand out copies of the UA Code of Conduct Guidebook, along with copies of a syllabus that you'll take home to have a parent sign before bringing it back tomorrow. Getting the syllabus signed is actually your first assignment. After the orientation and after you all get what all will be handed out, the school day will actually be over."
Izuku looked mildly surprised by what all Sekijiro said. "...That's all we're going to be doing today, Kan-sensei?" Izuku asked while raising a hand.
"Well it's only the first day," Sekijiro replied, "There's certain things that have to be handled before getting to the meat and potatoes of why all of you are here at UA."
Holding up a hand, Setsuna said, "I heard that some hobo looking teacher was taking his students out to have them show off their quirks to him so he can see what all they're capable of. We aren't gonna do something similar?"
"I don't see any reason why we should," Sekijiro replied, "I mean, you kids showed your quirks off enough during the entrance exams. What Aizawa does with his own students is his business, but as far as I'm con-"
"Aizawa?" Izuku spoke up in a surprised tone, "As in Shouta Aizawa, the pro hero Eraserhead? He works here at UA as a teacher as well?"
Sekijiro arched a wry eyebrow of piqued curiosity at Izuku. "...Yes," Sekijiro said, "And given that he's an underground hero who deliberately avoids getting attention from the public, I'm surprised that anyone period outside of the UA staff knows who he is." Offering the boy he had argued for a smirk of amusement, the Blood Hero went on, "You really are like what I was told about you, Midoriya. Not that it's a bad thing, mind you."
At Sekijiro's instruction, everyone got up and followed him out of the classroom. After locking the door to the 1-B homeroom behind him, Sekijiro led his students off to the auditorium in order to get them to orientation. As he walked while leading the group, Sekijiro kept an ear out for what Izuku was saying while striking up a conversation with Juzo, Yosetsu, and Nirengeki. It was starting to seem to him that Izuku was already starting to fit in well in class 1-B.
Sekijiro merely smiled to himself. "Oh Shouta, you really screwed up by giving up a good student like Midoriya here."
At the end of his first day as a UA student, Izuku's heart felt full. He was put into a welcoming environment in Class 1-B, he got along well with some of his classmates already with those Juzo, Yosetsu, and Nirengeki boys even asking for his number so they could text, and his homeroom teacher Kan-sensei, Izuku still couldn't believe how lucky he was to get the Blood Hero Vlad King as his homeroom teacher, was fair and understanding but still had the necessary level of firmness he had to have in order to lead the class.
All in all, Izuku's first day as a UA student was better on its own than all of Izuku's time in school prior to UA after he was diagnosed as quirkless back when he was four. Izuku wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to have a good school day like today if it wasn't for All Might choosing him to inherit the One For All quirk.
...Speaking of All Might, that very greatest of heroes came rushing out from another hallway to cut Izuku off, saying, "I am here! Checking up on you, Young Midoriya!"
"A-A-All Might!" Izuku stammered out of sheer surprise.
...
"Really? You were put into Class 1-B?"
A short while after meeting up with Izuku in the halls of UA, All Might, currently in his deflated Toshinori Yagi state, was talking privately to Izuku in a lounge slash office room. After Izuku had nodded in confirmation to his mentor, Toshinori let out a relieved sigh. "Well that's a relief. I thought that you had been placed into Class 1-A instead, and as such I went on over to secretly watch their quirk apprehension test that Aizawa was having them do. When I didn't see you among Aizawa's students, I feared that he had decided to expel you from UA."
"What?!" Izuku exclaimed.
Toshinori nodded in confirmation. "He's a very strict teacher, that Aizawa. He actually expelled his entire homeroom class last year if the notes I read tell the truth. But he didn't expel any of the kids he got this year, which is a relief." Looking to Izuku, Toshinori went on, "It's an especial relief that you weren't expelled, Young Midoriya."
The green haired boy gulped a bit out of nervousness, rattled that the teachers here at UA could be so strict, so harsh, maybe even so unforgiving. He truly felt lucky that Sekijiro, who although still firm was far more reasonable, was his homeroom teacher. After Izuku calmed down, he proceeded to tell Toshinori who requested it how his first day as a UA student went. After he gave Toshinori all of the details, Izuku relaxed.
"So Kan just did what virtually every homeroom teacher aside from Aizawa did," Toshinori summed up, "Fair enough. And I'm happy to hear that he's being firm but fair with you and your classmates. A model teacher to be sure." The Symbol of Peace added, "Aizawa could stand to learn a thing or two about how to be a good teacher from Kan," in his mind. Shifting gears, Toshinori gave Izuku a look of mild curiosity. "So Young Midoriya, what do you think of UA so far?"
Izuku gave a small but warm and sincere smile. "...It's actually better than what I was imagining. But I've only had one day so far. I feel that I'll need more before I can give an honest answer."
Toshinori nodded in approval to the answer that Izuku gave. "I'm certain that you'll exceed even my expectations, Young Midoriya. I wish you luck here in your time at UA." Izuku nodded in thanks before he got up and took off as he had to get home. Alone in that office slash lounge room, the Symbol of Peace wore a curious look on his face before letting out a sigh.
"...Nezu told me that he was going to have Young Midoriya be placed into Class 1-A under Aizawa," Toshinori said to himself, "But instead Young Midoriya wound up in Class 1-B under Kan. I wonder what could have happened to shake things up like that." After a few moments, Toshinori got up from his seat. "...I'm certain that Nezu will be willing to indulge my curiosity and answer a few questions for me before I leave today. Assuming that Nezu is still on campus right now." Toshinori then took off from that room to go find Nezu and ask for some answers.
END, CHAPTER ONE
Author's notes;
After hitting a wall with another story I'm working on, I decided to work out this idea that I've had swimming in my head for quite some time, what it'd be like if Izuku was placed into Class 1-B instead of Class 1-A. I explored it to some extent in a chapter of my story 'What if Deku', and the idea to further explore this was further inspired by Demon heart 12's 'Deku in class 1-B' (check it out when you have the time, it's a really good story).
What I aim to do here is explore the consequences of Izuku NOT being in Class 1-A, and how that one small change will end up changing everything. Elements from some other works that I have canceled will be repurposed slash recycled here, partly to help lend gravity to Aizawa's decision to not want to have Izuku in Class 1-A. It'll be loads more serious than my brief touch on the subject back in 'What if Deku', to say the least.
Additionally, I had this first chapter, plus a few others, in backlog for a while. I would have gotten them out sooner, but I had the issue with my prior device a little over a month ago, and then my family suffered a serious blow sometime after I got my new and current device. I'm getting this story out now, partly to clear up some space, also I wanna see if this story has any potential.
Well anyway, the next chapter will touch upon a few necessary plot points before the first major deviation to things occurs due to Izuku's not being in Class 1-A. Granted, the next chapter will also have some deviations occur due to Izuku's not being in Class 1-A, and they'll be minor deviations that will have no real impact on the story as a whole. But they will also show just how things can go if everyone's favorite broccoli with attitude isn't under the guidance of the Hobo Man.
