Sorry this chapter took me so long! I just wanted to pop in here to address something someone brought to my attention on the last chapter: that Toga and Twice didn't join the League of Villains until after Stain was defeated. I actually have an explanation for that! So it's not technically a plot hole. I won't tell you what the reason is yet, but there is one.
Okay, enough chatter. Let's continue.
—
Footsteps echoed all around him as Izuku Midoryia trudged down the hallway of UA, his mouth drawn into a scowl. He kept his head down and his hood up as he navigated the halls, lost deep in his thoughts of what was to come.
"Not enough time, not enough time," he muttered, tugging on the ends of his arm wraps. His fingertips brushed the a handle of the knife stored on his belt, hastily shoved into place that morning. Sure, All For One had said not to take his knives to school, but this was just an ordinary knife, with its sheath latched onto an ordinary belt. Surely All For One wouldn't begrudge Izuku having at least one knife on him. For . . . protection.
"Out of my way, I'm going to blast it open!" a familiar voice echoed down the hall, and Izuku turned the corner, lifting his head to survey the scene. The entire class of 1-A stood outside of their classroom door, no doubt locked. Bakugo tried to shoulder his way to the front of the group, his hands outstretched as if he would rip the door from it's hinges, but a few brave souls held him back.
"Stop it! Are you crazy? Damaging school property is illegal," someone else yelled. Izuku glanced that way, realizing it was the blue haired kid from the entrance exam, shaking his head very disapprovingly. Izuku's lip curled as he rolled his eyes.
Great. Now I have to deal with the two of them, he thought. Just my luck.
"Please, can we just all calm down? I'm sure Mr. Aizawa will be here any minute . . ." A pink colored girl with horns said as she wrung her hands.
Izuku approached calmly, brushing the hood off of his head and straightening his spine, a smile slowly forming on his face.
"Shut up! It's his fault he's not here on time!" Bakugo yelled, his face turning red as he strained against the students. Izuku was surprised he hadn't already blasted through his classmates. Perhaps he did have some semblance of control.
But only toward people with quirks. The thought made Izuku's lip curl, but his expression quickly smoothed out. "Are you guys waiting for Eraser Head? I passed him a bit ago, he should be here any second." He should've been able to figure out how to bust through the lock I put on the teacher's lounge by now.
Everyone in the class turned toward him, and Izuku swore Bakugo's eyes almost fell out of his head. Then that tell-tale vein in his forehead began to twitch, and Izuku knew he was about to blow his top. He braced for impact, only to be hit with something much more pleasant instead.
"Izuku! You made it!" Uraraka launched herself onto Izuku, hugging him tight. He staggered backward, his eyes widening as his brain struggled to keep up with her actions. Before he could even so much as think to hug her back, she withdrew.
"Sorry," she said, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear, her face a bright red. "I shouldn't have attacked you like that. I'm just glad to see you got in."
Izuku smiled, his own face burning. "It's okay. I'm happy you got in too. You definitely deserve it." He hesitated, his eyes scanning the group of kids staring at them. "They told me what you did. Thank you."
She nodded, staring at the ground as she shuffled the tip of her boot into the floor. It was almost a sweet moment, or it would've been if Izuku hadn't found himself flying through the air and slamming into the wall, his head ringing at the impact.
Izuku opened his eyes to see Bakugo's red and angry face shoved right up next to his. He had expected the blow, but it still hurt.
"Deku?" Bakugo yelled, his spit flying onto Izuku's face, and he almost gagged. Gross. "How did you get in to UA? You're a quirkless loser."
Izuku paused for a moment to suck in a breath through his nose and exhale it through his mouth, pressing his eyes closed in the process. Composure. You're supposed to be a hero, going to a hero school. Don't lash out. "Yes, thank you for reminding me, and everyone else." He opened one eye to peer at Bakugo. "For your information, I got into General Studies, so you can stop feeling emasculated."
"I do not feel . . ." Bakugo's lips tightened, and Izuku fought the urge to smirk. He didn't know what the word meant.
"It means—" he supplied helpfully, but Bakugo cut him off.
"I know what it means!"
"All right, all right, just trying to help."
"What is going on here?" The voice boomed down the hall, and Bakugo turned his head slowly, angry sneer still written all over his face. The class behind him chittered, and Izuku himself recognized the voice.
Eraser Head strolled down the hallway, his tired eyes staring at them over his binding cloth. "Bakugo, right? What are you doing to your fellow classmate?"
"He is not a fellow classmate. He's quirkless." Bakugo released Izuku, and he landed so hard his knees buckled, toppling him over. He grunted as he fell, and Uraraka rushed forward to help him up.
"He's wearing a UA uniform. You go to this school, don't you?" Eraser Head directed the question at Izuku, and he nodded.
"General Studies, sir," he replied, saluting, although he wasn't sure why. It just felt natural.
Eraser Head's eyebrows furrowed. "General Studies—what are you doing all the way over here? You're on the wrong side of the school."
Izuku ducked his head. "I'll admit I got lost, sir. This school is rather big."
Eraser Head sighed. "Well, you're going to be late to class. I guess I'll write a note." He looked over his students. "Does anyone here know where the General Studies classrooms are?"
The blue haired kid's hand shot up, and everyone else looked at each other. Izuku made eye contact with Uraraka, but she shrugged.
"Great. You'll take him to his class. Come back immediately, no loitering."
"Sir, yes sir." The blue haired kid nodded, and Izuku almost groaned out loud.
This is not how I imagined this going.
"You." Eraser Head pointed at Bakugo. "I will deal with you later. The rest of you, into the classroom." The students followed Eraser Head into the classroom, although he exited almost immediately with a written note.
"Give this to your teacher," Eraser Head instructed. "And don't be late again. That sort of behavior won't be tolerated here. I'm only giving you this free pass because it's your first day."
"Yes, sir. It won't happen again, I promise." Izuku smiled at him and gripped the note tightly in his fingers. "Thank you."
Eraser Head only grunted, waving his hand as he turned back to the classroom.
"Right this way," the blue haired kid instructed, waving down the hall. He started forward at a brisk pace, and Izuku followed, wondering if he could somehow lose the kid.
No, I'm here to make friends, not enemies. Izuku sighed and picked up the pace to match the other guy's. "Hi, I don't think I've learned your name. I'm Izuku Midoryia."
"Tenya Ida." Ida stopped and held out his hand, and Izuku placed his own into Ida's large grip. The handshake was short, firm, and to the point. Exactly like Ida himself. "Nice to meet you."
"You too." Izuku beamed and bounced alongside Ida. "Are you excited to be going to UA? It's the best school in the entire world. I didn't think I would be able to get in."
Ida stared at him, unsmiling. "Stop it. Don't downplay yourself like that."
Izuku slowed his step, his smile freezing. "What do you mean?"
"I saw what you did during the entrance exams. How you saved that girl. You were guaranteed to get in." Ida's eyes narrowed. "What I don't understand is why you didn't try. You might've been able to get into the hero course if you had actually defeated any enemies worth any points, but I didn't see you even attempt to."
Izuku blinked. He was sharp, and so very observant. I'll have to watch out for him. "Yeah, well, I knew it didn't really matter how I did on the test."
"How so?"
"My entire life, I've always dreamed of being a hero." Izuku tilted his head, surveying the halls with distant eyes. "This school has always been my dream school. But the thing is, there isn't a single hero who doesn't have a quirk. And I, unfortunately, was not blessed with one. So you see, it didn't matter if I did well on the test, because I will never be a hero."
"I see." Ida nodded shortly, a hand lingering on his chin. "Well, just because you can't be hero, doesn't mean you can't help the hero cause."
"And that's why I still went to the entrance exam." Izuku grinned, injecting a bounce into his step once again. "I figured I'd try to get into one of the other courses. And I did! So it's okay, because in the end, I'll still be able to get what I want."
"Despite not having a quirk, you are very good at combat. I can see how you would have an inherit disadvantage against someone with a quirk, but you should still be impressed with how far you've come. In addition, you are the first person without a quirk to be admitted into this school. That is something to be proud of."
"Thank you." Izuku smiled softly, surprised to see Ida's earnest eyes fixed directly on him for once. Perhaps the stoic boy did have a heart somewhere under all that formality. "I agree with you." He dipped his head. "But now it's time to put fighting aside and focus on something I actually can do."
"It is good to understand your strengths and weaknesses." Ida came to a stop, and Izuku looked up, realizing they were standing in the General Studies wing. "Which classroom is yours?"
"I can see the sign from here." Izuku lifted his hand in farewell. "Thanks for taking me here. You better hurry back before Eraser Head kicks you out of the school. I've heard he's infamous for doing that."
Ida's face paled somewhat. "Right." He turned, only to swivel back around a second later. "You impress me, Izuku Midoryia. I think I would like it very much if we could be friends. I could learn a lot from someone like you."
Izuku blinked. That was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. "I'd love that." He beamed at Ida. "I'll see you later then, Ida!"
"Goodbye, Midoryia." Ida bowed and then hurried off down the hall. Izuku took a few steps toward his class before stopping to watch the blue haired boy until he disappeared around a corner. He tugged on his wraps, and he itched to find a bathroom so he could gather his wits about him before facing a full day of classes, but he was already late, and he didn't want to be so tardy he would get kicked out on first day.
"Class 1-C," he mumbled, mostly to distract himself from his own thoughts. "Here we go."
—
Izuku fidgeted with his pencil, his eyes tiredly roaming the class. The teacher droned on and on about the history of quirks and other useless facts, and the entire class was almost asleep. They had already learned this material in elementary school, but he supposed they wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page before getting into the really difficult stuff.
The students in the class didn't interest Izuku either. They were all rejects, those whose quirks weren't good enough to get them into the hero course. Sure, they'd try their best in the upcoming Sports Festival to try to get themselves transferred into one of the coveted spots, but Izuku knew none of them would actually make it. They were all too pathetic.
Except one . . . According to the teacher, his name was Hitoshi Shinso. The teacher had forced them all to introduce themselves and their quirk, and his was brainwashing. The second he named his quirk, something in the classroom had shifted. The attitude in the classroom had changed when Izuku announced he was quirkless as well, but this was something different. Where everyone in the class emitted an aura of amusement and disdain at Izuku's quirk, or lack of one, they all seemed utterly terrified of Shinso's.
He must get treated like a villain a lot. Izuku danced his pencil over his knuckles, his leg bouncing wildly underneath his desk. He yearned for the bell to ring so he could finally be released from this prison. No doubt the students in the hero course were going through a lot more interesting training right now.
I wonder if it drives him mad. Izuku's eyes narrowed back in on Shinso, whose eyes were heavy lidded, almost as if he was a moment away from falling asleep. He reminded Izuku a lot of Eraser Head, even if he had only seen the teacher for a few minutes that morning. No doubt it does. But enough to turn him to the other side?
Izuku directed his gaze back to the clock hanging above the teacher's head, his eyebrows furrowing. Maybe, maybe not. I'll have to check it out. I'm sure All for One would appreciate his quirk. I wonder how it works, exactly . . .
Loud ringing cut through Izuku's thoughts, and he jumped from his chair, his jittery anxiety, previously trapped in his chest, bursting through his entire body. He swung his backpack over his shoulder and made a beeline for the door. Keeping his head down, he turned to the right of the door, the opposite direction from the cafeteria, heading for the bathroom he had seen earlier that day.
"Hey, quirkless!" someone yelled, and a hand gripped onto Izuku's forearm. Izuku stopped, staring at the ground for a long moment before slowly twisting around to get a view of the bully gripping his arm.
A large, brown haired boy stared back at him, flanked by two students, one a girl, the other a boy. They were members of his class, the group of kids that had actually laughed when Izuku had explained his lack of a quirk.
Great. Another Bakugo. Izuku simply stared at them, wondering what it was that they were planning to do. They stood in the middle of the crowded hallway, with students flowing past them. They couldn't really do much to Izuku here, not without getting caught. Sure, no one was paying enough attention to hear them insulting him, but they would notice if a fight actually broke out.
Brown-haired boy's face fell into a scowl when Izuku didn't respond. He shook Izuku's arm. "Didn't you hear me, quirkless? I'm talking to you."
Izuku's eyebrows rose, but he still didn't reply.
"You little—" The bully's hand raised, maybe to hit Izuku, he wasn't sure, but another voice broke through the cacophony before Izuku had a chance to react.
"Why don't you stop acting like a villain and leave the kid alone?"
Izuku turned to see Shinso, the one with the Brainwashing quirk, standing right next to him, his hands tucked into the pockets of his UA uniform. He was unsmiling, fixing the bullies with a blank expression.
"Villain?" the main bully spat. His head suddenly drooped before snapping back up again, and Izuku noticed his eyes turn a milky white.
"You're one to talk, Shinso," the girl said. She too, dipped her head, her eyes going blank.
Brainwashing, Izuku thought, looking up at Shinso, who was now smiling, although it seemed more snarky than amused. This is how his quirk works.
"What about you, small fry? Got anything to say?" Shinso fixed the remaining bully with a glare, and he sputtered for a moment before saying,
"I don't have anything to say to you, freak." His head dipped, and his posture relaxed as Shinso's brainwashing overcame him.
Without warning, the three of them stepped into the flow of traffic, and everyone ground to a screeching halt. With synchronized movements, the three began to ballet dance around each other. Several students pointed and laughed, and soon a circle formed around the group. At the end of the routine, they all bowed and walked back to Shinso and Izuku.
Izuku smirked. I knew I would like this guy. I've gotta see if I can turn him.
"I know you might think you can get me in trouble for this," Shinso told the three, who simply stared at him with blank eyes. "But I know that didn't feel good. Unless you want me to do it again, whenever I can, you'll keep your mouth shut and leave the kid alone from now on. Do you understand?"
The color leaked back into their eyes, and they nodded, fear suddenly overcoming their expressions now that they were back in control. They bowed to Shinso, gave haphazard nods to Izuku, and ran down the hallway, knocking into people as they went.
"That was amazing," Izuku gushed. "How did you do that? I mean, obviously it's your quirk, but how do you trigger it? Can you just brainwash anyone?" He stopped for a moment to allow his brain to catch up with his mouth. "Oh, and thank you. I really didn't want to get into trouble on my first day." He scratched the back of his neck, laughing loosely.
"Don't mention it. We're heroes, right?" Shinso smiled softly before his expression relaxed back into his normal exhausted look. "My quirk activates whenever my target answers one of my questions. They have to speak in order for it to work."
Izuku nodded quickly, slinging his backpack off his shoulder and rummaging through it to find his newest hero notebook. "Right, right. And you can obviously control multiple people at a time. Can you brainwash them at the same time?"
"No." Shinso shook his head. "It has to be done one at a time. Luckily the girl responded after the boy and not at the same time."
Izuku found the notebook and whipped out a pen, shuffling through the pages until he found a blank one. He scribbled down his notes in shorthand. "That's amazing. I bet you're going to be an amazing hero." He stopped writing for a second before glancing up at Shinso. "You want to transfer into the hero course, right?"
Shinso nodded wordlessly as he stared at Izuku, his mouth slightly open.
"And I'm guessing your powers probably don't work on robots, which would be why you failed the entrance exam."
Shinso nodded again, seeming more perturbed than before.
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get into the hero course in no time. I mean, how could you not? That was wicked awesome, and you definitely have the heart of a hero, more so than those idiots, anyway." Izuku jotted down some more words, his eyebrows clenching over his forehead as he thought through Shinso's powers. "Of course, though, once your opponent knows what your quirk is, all they have to do is not speak." He tapped his pencil onto his bottom lip. "Does it work through a voice modulator?"
"No. The target has to hear it directly from my mouth. Microphones don't work either."
"So, you're going to need to figure out a way to modify your voice without having it go through technology, so that you can trick your opponent into responding to your voice." Izuku drew a small sketch in his notebook before crossing it out. "That wouldn't—Anyway, and you'll need to make sure your combat skills are great, because you can't rely on brainwashing your opponent . . ." Izuku blinked as his brain slowly caught up to his surroundings. "Ah . . . sorry. I'm just talking through your lunchtime. I'm Izuku Midoriya, by the way." He stuck out his hand toward the teen, smiling broadly as he snapped his notebook shut. I need to learn when to keep my mouth shut. He probably thinks I'm an insufferable nerd now. He doesn't seem the type to make friends with excitable kids. Stupid!
"Hitoshi Shinso." The purple-haired boy accepted Izuku's hand, and Izuku pumped his arm up and down enthusiastically.
"Thank you, really." Izuku withdrew his hand and shoved his notebook back into his backpack, simultaneously sliding his pencil behind his ear. "I'm not sure what I would've done if they had started something."
Shinso simply stared at him for a long moment as Izuku swung his backpack onto his shoulders.
"What?" Izuku finally asked, not entirely sure why the boy wasn't saying anything, or at the very least walking away. Izuku found that most people generally found him either very endearing or very annoying, and he figured Shinso would be the latter of the two.
"You're just—you aren't afraid of talking to me like everyone else. When people figure out how my power works, they tend to avoid me."
Izuku shrugged. Ah, so it does bother him. "I trust you."
Shinso's pupils dilated, and his hands, previously clenched at his sides, seemed to unconsciously relax. "Oh," was his only response.
"I bet a lot of people say yours is a villain quirk too, huh?" Izuku asked, tugging on the ends of his wraps. It was a bold question, one that might not pay off, but he had to know Shinso's thoughts on the matter.
The boy's jaw clenched, and he stared down at his shoes. "Yeah."
"Well, they're right. It would be a pretty amazing villain power." Izuku shrugged. "But then again, setting things on fire and smashing whole buildings into oblivion would be an awesome villain power too."
Shinso blinked as he raised his gaze up to meet Izuku's again.
"Anyone can be a villain," Izuku continued. "But not everyone can be a hero." He tugged sharply at his wraps before shifting his grip to the straps of his backpack. "Anyway, I need to go to the bathroom, so I'll see you later!" He raised his arm before hesitating. "I mean, if that's okay with you."
"We have class together; it's not like we can avoid each other." But Shinso raised his arm in farewell, and Izuku took that as a sign of acknowledgement of Izuku's real question, even if it wasn't a flat out answer.
Maybe we'll be friends yet. Izuku squared his shoulders and set off down the hallway, now considerably more empty than it had been a few minutes ago. I need to get to the cafeteria, but first . . .
Izuku shoved open the door to the bathroom with his shoulder and let his backpack fall to the ground once he entered a stall, breathing a sigh of relief as his fingers went to unravel the wraps from his forearms. Finally.
—
Izuku entered the cafeteria, brushing off his still damp palms onto his pants. He was very late. He would barely have enough time to eat, let alone figure out his next steps to advance his mission. He began to scan the lunchroom looking for somewhere to sit when someone called his name.
"Midoryia!" Izuku's eyes went to the source of the noise, seeing Ida sitting at a table by himself. He waved his arm in the air, his expression earnest.
Izuku smiled and walked toward him, sitting across from him. "Hey. Thanks for inviting me to sit with you."
"Of course. That's what friends do." Ida took another bite of his food, and Izuku watched with a faint smile. Even the way Ida ate seemed military, regimented.
"Can I sit here?" Uraraka asked from behind Ida. Ida twisted around to look at her, and Izuku's eyebrows rose.
She got here fast. Was she maybe . . . looking for me?
"You're the one who spoke to Midoryia at the entrance exams. Are you friends?" Ida nodded to the seat next to him, beckoning her to sit.
She settled onto her chair, tossing her half eaten lunch onto the table. "Yeah, we're friends." She smiled at Izuku, and his cheeks flushed, no doubt morphing his face into a burning red color. He busied himself with searching through his backpack for the lunch his mother had packed him.
Ida gave Midoryia a side eye, but he didn't comment on the statement, instead nodding his head. "Midoryia, how is your homeroom teacher?"
Izuku paused, staring at his unopened lunchbox, a dull black, a welcome change from his old All Might themed one. "He's . . . great. He was one of the upper 100 heroes a couple years ago, which is pretty awesome, although I wouldn't expect any less from UA High." He opened the lunchbox before looking back up at Ida. "But what about you guys? I saw you have Eraser Head for a teacher, that must be pretty exciting. He's not necessarily a super popular hero, but his quirk is still super impressive."
The two hero course students exchanged a tired glance, and Izuku paused with his hand halfway to his mouth. "What? Was it that bad?"
Uraraka sighed, slamming her elbows onto the table and dropping her face into her hands. "It was awful, Izuku. He forced us all to test our quirks in a competition and told us that whoever scored the lowest would be expelled!"
Izuku's eyebrows shot up, and his mouth fell open, but he was far from surprised. He knew from All for One's intelligence that Aizawa had a habit of haphazardly expelling students every year. He was a hard person to impress.
"Yes, but it turns out that was a lie. A fabrication to assure we would give our all," Ida added.
"But get this, we have two students in our class that are here on recommendation! Two! There are so many amazing quirks in our class; I don't think I'll ever be able to keep up." Uraraka sighed, her eyebrows furrowing as she stared at the table.
"Nonsense! Your quirk is quite impressive, and will be amazing once you learn to harness it correctly. Sure, we have a long way to go and a lot of hard work to put in so we can be on par with our classmates, but we can and will achieve our goals!" Ida clenched his fist in front of him, his glasses reflecting a blinding white light, and Uraraka gaped at him, her eyes gleaming.
"You're right!" Uraraka's face twisted up with determination, and she slammed her fists onto the table. "We've got this!"
Izuku glanced between them, glad they had figured that out on their own. "Sounds exciting."
"What about you, Izuku? Did your class get to practice with your quirks?" Uraraka asked, turning her large brown eyes on him.
Izuku paused, staring at his lunchbox. "Yeah. But it was pretty boring." He went back to eating, hoping they would drop the subject.
"Wha—" Uraraka started, only to have Ida elbow her in the side. "Huh? Oh." Her face flushed a bright red, and she waved her hands in front of her face. "I'm so sorry, Izuku! I forgot that you don't have a quirk. That was very unkind of me, I'm super sorry."
"Not a big deal. Everyone here has a quirk except for me. It's easy to forget." He smiled at her. "I'm just excited for when we get to work with the support course students. I think that will be more my style." After all, he had been the one to design and create his knife vest and subsequent knives. A frown tugged at his lips, but he fought it back. He missed the comforting weight of his knives against his chest, but he had to follow All for One's orders.
Uraraka pursed her lips. "Honestly, that's a good point. What do you do when the others practice with their quirks? I'm sure they don't have any curriculum for you since you're the first quirkless student here."
Izuku shrugged. "I just worked on my martial arts and fitness. It wasn't anything special." It would've been more fun if he had been able to practice with his knives, but . . .
"That's a worthy thing to develop." Ida nodded shortly.
"Hey, Izuku," Uraraka asked, her smile hesitant. "Did you mother make your lunch?"
"Yeah, she insists on making all of my meals." And making my bed, cleaning my room, and laying out my outfits. If I let her, she'd brush my teeth for me. She's been very clingy since I returned. It's made things . . . difficult.
"Did she, perhaps, pack anymore of those cookies?" Uraraka's face burned a bright red now, and she seemed like she even regretted asking, but she didn't retract the statement.
Izuku chuckled, pulling out a bag of cookies from his box and tossing it to her. "I actually specifically asked her to make some to bring with me today. I figured it all else failed I could use them to talk to you again. I mean, it worked the first time." His face warmed, but he strove to ignore it, closing one eye and looking through the other at Ida. "Ida, you're welcome to have some as well. They're my mother's special friend-making cookies."
Ida smiled and took a cookie from the bag Uraraka offered him, taking a bite. "They're still warm!" he muttered around his mouthful, somewhat out of character for him.
"They're sooo good," Uraraka moaned, stuffing another one into her mouth. That was her third, Izuku noticed.
"I'm glad you think so. My mother is amazing!" Izuku rubbed the back of his neck and smiled briefly before dropping his hand down to brush the handle of the knife tucked into his belt, his smile wavering. Don't think about it, he warned himself.
Ida made another comment, and Uraraka and Izuku laughed, but Izuku wasn't really focused on the conversation, instead contemplating All for One's plan.
Step one has been a success. Now it's time for step two: identify the successor. Izuku grinned as his hand firmly wrapped around the handle of his knife. This should be fun.
—
Hey! Are you enjoying the story? Good, because I am too! I have plenty more planned, so if you'd like to read more, vote, follow, and comment. Thanks a bunch!
Have a wonderful day!
Sally
