Izuku sighed as he prepared himself to head out to the UA entrance exam. In spite of all the changes he'd gone through in the past couple of weeks, a part of him couldn't help but be nervous about what was to come, even though he knew intellectually that he was likely better prepared than any of the other applicants.
He'd spent four days sparring with All Might, getting his body used to using his full abilities and testing out his new fighting style, working the bugs out as best he could.
At first, in spite of his enhancements, Izuku lost more often than not. Not only did he need to work out the kinks in how he fought, none of his previous lives had ever had super strength on the level that both he and All Might now had, so he had very little clue on how to use it. All Might might fight more as a brawler than with any real fighting style, at least as far as his Ranma side was concerned, but there got to be a point where overwhelming power simply trumped skill.
However, as the days went on and Izuku got used to using all his new abilities together, the odds started to turn, and now he could win at least half the time. All Might still had several tricks up his sleeves, and he could be surprisingly imaginative in how he applied his strength, so the greenette was occasionally blindsided, but he now had his own tricks and greater skill to fall back on. And they both knew that the more Izuku fought and gained experience, the quicker he'd begin to surpass All Might.
Of course, who would win a true, all out, life or death battle was currently up in the air. Neither was interested in fighting with the intent to kill in order to find out. Though All Might, at least, knew that Izuku was the more likely to win such a clash, and Izuku couldn't help but reluctantly agree, much as the part of him that was still an All Might fanboy called foul.
He hadn't just focused on his physical skills, however. He'd done some quick cramming over what he likely needed to know for the written test, his now enhanced intelligence making short work of the information, giving him a bit of confidence that he'd do well on the written portion of the exam.
Slipping his jacket over his shoulders and making sure the Service Weapon was hidden in the special holster All Might had obtained for him (though he made sure he also had the permit for it Nezu had set up for him, in case a cop or hero noticed and tried to make an issue of it), Izuku left his room to find his mother finishing putting away the breakfast leftovers. She looked over at him and smiled. "Are you ready, Izuku?"
Izuku nodded firmly, getting his nerves (mostly) under control. "As ready as I'll ever be."
Inko approached her son and pulled him into a hug, which he happily returned. "Before everything that happened I would have been more than proud of you for simply trying to pass the exam. Now I know you will pass with flying colors, and show everybody why All Might chose you." She pulled back and took his face in her hands, smiling slightly wetly. "I'm so proud of you, Izuku. I'm sorry I couldn't give you the support you needed all these years, but I want you to know that I always have been."
Izuku smiled back, a tear in his eye, before he simply hugged her again, letting that do the speaking for him. Then he pulled back and went to put on his shoes. Taking a deep breath he gave his mother one last smile. "I promise I'm going to ace this." With that he left as she waved goodbye.
Not long afterwards Izuku entered the UA campus for the first time under his own power. He paused to look up at the imposing main building of the school, a small smile on his face. Taking a deep breath he prepared himself to step forward and begin his journey to heroism in this life. Unfortunately a very familiar voice interrupted him.
"Get out of my fucking way, Deku!" Bakugo Katsuki's voice barked behind him, angry irritation in the dulcet tones.
"Kacchan?" Izuku asked out of habit as he turned to find the blonde he hadn't seen since his changes striding toward him. Said explosive youth shoulder checked him with an angry grunt. The Peter side of Izuku dearly wanted to make some sort of comment, but he clamped the urge down. He knew that saying something would set the blonde off, and he figured getting into a fight before even entering the building for the exam wouldn't help his chances at getting accepted.
Instead he just gave an irritated sigh as he watched Bakugo walk away. "One of these days he's gonna mouth off to someone who isn't going to take his shit and get wrecked." He muttered in irritation.
"Yeah, he seems kind of unpleasant." A girl's voice said behind Izuku. The greenette blinked before turning to find a cute brunette with bobbed hair and round brown eyes, a permanent blush on her cheeks. "Well, you shouldn't let him get you down and just focus on passing." She said with a smile.
Izuku smiled, already liking this girl's attitude. "Agreed." He began to walk, the girl falling into step. "Nervous?"
"A bit." She admitted as they walked. "This is going to be such a huge challenge. I can't imagine not being nervous."
Izuku chuckled. "True, but just think about how good it will feel once you surpass it." He said as they entered the building and followed the signs to where they needed to go. "My name's Midoriya Izuku, by the way."
"Ah! Nice to meet you, Midoriya-kun!" She said peppily. "I'm Uraraka Ochako."
They reached the rooms for the written test, which had people assigning seats according to the IDs they'd been granted. "Well, good luck with the exam, Uraraka-san. Maybe we'll run into each other later."
"I hope so!" Uraraka said as she waved to him and headed to one of the attendants. "Good luck!"
"You too!" Feeling more relaxed now that he'd had a pleasant moment with a pretty girl (and ignoring his Ranma side's deep distrust of any such interactions), Izuku headed for his own testing room with a smile on his face.
Almost two hours later Izuku was walking to the auditorium where the orientation for the practical portion of the exam was going to be held. The written test had been gruelling, showing that UA was not kidding around when it came to weeding people out of the running, but thankfully he felt pretty sure he'd aced it.
Feeling confident he walked into the large room and looked for a seat. He spotted Uraraka some distance from him and waved to her, receiving a wave back. His good mood evaporated, however, when he found himself at his seat, finding Bakugo already in the one next to it. "Oh joy…" He muttered to himself as he sat down, doing his best to ignore the explosive teen, who seemed to be content to do the same.
The lights came on to highlight the podium, showing the pro hero and teacher Present Mic at the front. "Welcome to today's live performance! Everybody say 'Hey'!" He exclaimed loudly, as exuberant as he always was when Izuku listened to his radio show.
Unfortunately for him everybody was too nervous to respond, and silence enveloped the room.
Had he been his old self, Izuku would be muttering up a storm of hero facts regarding Present Mic, but he managed to clamp down on the urge now due to the seriousness of the situation, focusing intently to make sure he got everything. He didn't notice Bakugo glance at him at the uncharacteristic silence, a bit confused if relieved that he didn't have to listen to that.
From there Present Mic explained the way the practical test would go, all while trying to hype up the nervous teens and get a reaction out of them.
"Excuse me, may I ask a question!" A boy said with his hand up once Present Mic had explained the different types of faux villains they'd be facing. When the hero pointed to him with a grin, the boy was revealed to be tall and well built, with black hair and glasses. "There appear to be no fewer than four varieties of faux villain on this handout!" He said loudly as he held up the handout they'd all been given. "Such a blatant error, if it is one, is highly unbecoming for Japan's top academy! We're all here today in the hopes of being molded into model heroes!"
Izuku felt an eyebrow raise. This kid was far too serious for his own good. He supposed he could put it down to nerves, but something told him the guy was always like that.
"Thank you for calling in, Examinee 7111. Nice catch." Present Mic said airily. "But the fourth faux villain variety is not meant to be fought, but avoided. Attacking one could make you lose all the points you've accumulated till that moment, so you need to keep away, because it'll go after the largest group of people it can locate."
There were murmurs at that, but the boy who'd brought it up simply bowed ninety degrees before sitting back down.
Looking around to see if there were any more questions Present Mic smiled. "Alright then, listeners, that's all from me. I'll leave you with our school motto. Napoleon Bonaparte once said 'A hero is one who surpasses life's tribulations'. PLUS ULTRA!"
A short bus ride later and Izuku stood with a large number of fellow examinees in front of the gates to a large mock city. He shook his head in amused amazement when he saw it and heard someone mention that UA had several on campus. The school had to have more money than Tony Stark in order to support its absurd campus. He could only imagine how much they hit up alumni for donations.
Glancing around at his competition he smiled when he spotted Uraraka nearby, taking deep breaths and appearing to try to calm herself. He approached her with a smile, slipping among the various teens with ease till he reached her, tapping her on the shoulder. She jumped slightly, startled, but smiled when she turned and saw him. "Ah, Midoriya-kun! So you're here too." She gave herself a small shake. "I'm kind of nervous. I think I did well in the written exam, but this'll be something very different."
"Relax." He said soothingly. "You'll do fine."
Uraraka let out a small breath before relaxing a bit. "Thanks, Midoriya-kun." She looked him over, taking in the tight, green, sleeveless chinese shirt, which gave an excellent view of his muscular body, a fact that made her blush when she noticed it. His legs were covered by black kung fu pants that looked made to allow for increased range of movement, and very thin slip on shoes. Contrasting sharply with the rest of his look, however, was a holster at his side which held a blocky black handgun. "You look prepared."
Izuku smiled, but before he could respond he heard Present Mic's voice call out for them to start. As Uraraka and the rest of the examinees blinked in confusion at the abrupt announcement, Izuku launched himself over the heads of the teens that stood between him and the now open doors before beginning to dash forward at high speed.
He'd barely entered the mock city when a one pointer robot approached him. As the examiness watched he drew his pistol with a smooth movement and fired without slowing his pace in the slightest, the shot turning the robot's head into so much scrap and making it drop into a heap. Before long he was out of sight of the rest of the examinees.
"Well, what are you waiting for? He's got the right idea. There are no countdowns in real life. Move it!" Mic shouted.
Uraraka immediately set her face in a mask of determination and began to run, several other teens shaking off the surprise and joining her.
Izuku rushed through the mock city without stopping for a moment, destroying every enemy in his path. Punching the head off a two pointer he used his telekinesis to launch it into a three pointer with enough force to blow a huge hole into it before bringing his gun up to shoot the head off another one pointer, completely focused on his task.
That didn't mean he ignored his fellow examinees. Whenever he came across one that was being overwhelmed or simply in a disadvantageous situation he'd pause long enough to even the odds, sometimes even fighting alongside them for a bit, letting them get some kills in. All in all, it actually reminded Izuku of certain times in Peter's life where he'd had to fight in large scale urban battles alongside other heroes, the familiarity helping him perform that much better.
He smiled as he left the pretty though expressionless girl he'd been helping as she shrunk the robots before stomping on them, pleased with the progress he was making. He estimated he already had seventy points, and there were still several minutes left in the test. If things continued on the way they'd been going, he'd pass with no problem.
In the room the teachers were using to monitor the examinees Midnight tapped a finger to her lips, humming thoughtfully. "We've got a good crop this year." She said with a pleased smile.
Cementoss nodded from where he sat beside her. "Indeed. We have several examinees that show excellent proficiency in the traits we look for in our students."
"That one, however, is definitely making a splash." Midnight continued as she pointed at a screen showing Izuku running along a wall to reach a boy launching lasers from his stomach, who was being overwhelmed. "Good situational awareness, excellent ability to move and use terrain, no hesitation or difficulty coming up with plans, great use of his abilities…" Izuku launched himself from above, slamming an axe kick into a one pointer that turned it into junk. "...and absurd combat abilities. I can already tell he's going to be big, with or without our help." She said with a saucy smirk.
"Indeed." Ectoplasm said. "There's a boy in another test site who has racked up an impressive score without getting a single Rescue Point, but if we're looking for someone that exemplifies everything we're looking for…"
Nezu and Toshinori glanced at each other, pleased that Izuku was being looked at so favorably. "Indeed, but the test isn't over." The chimera said, nodding to Toshinori, who proceeded to flip a glass cover off the Yaruki Switch and pressed the button. "It's time to see what he, and the rest of this year's applicants, are truly made of."
Izuku paused to catch his breath, pleased with his progress. He estimated he had almost ninety points now, so he figured he could afford to take a small break.
Looking around he saw that he'd ended up near where the bulk of the applicants were fighting, a large group of examinees taking out robots in a wide street. He was pleased to see that a few of them were watching each others' backs, though he couldn't tell if it was just opportunism or an actual desire to help.
He was about to start hunting once again, wanting to see if he could break the hundred point mark in the minute or two left in the test when the ground began to shake.
Looking over at the direction the rumbling was coming from his eyes widened when he saw an enormous multi-story robot making its way towards the area the examinees were gathered in, destroying the buildings in its way as it passed. Quickly deducing that this was the fourth type of faux villain, the one that would make you lose all your points if you fought it, the student hopefuls scrambled to run away, not willing to tangle with such a powerful enemy even without the threat of point loss to make it more daunting.
Seeing that his fellow examinees were doing the smart thing, Izuku prepared to do the same as the boy who'd asked the question during the orientation ran past him. However, as he turned to leave his ears caught the almost inaudible sound of a girl in pain. Izuku whirled around to find Uraraka on the ground in front of the approaching robot, her legs pinned beneath a pile of debris that had fallen due to the thing's rampage that were keeping her from moving. She looked frightened even as she tried to reach for the debris to get it off.
Izuku didn't think, simply beginning to run. As he did his mind went through plans at lightspeed. He couldn't telekinetically pull Uraraka from under the rubble because he could cause serious damage when she was wrenched out of it. There were too many different pieces of debris to pull them all off with it without hurting her in time. He hadn't built his web shooters yet, and he could Trace the shooters themselves in time, but not the complex chemicals of the fluid itself, not without more practice, which he berated himself for not doing before...
In the teachers' monitoring room, Nezu discreetly pulled out his phone and pulled up a command screen that read 'Remove 'C' Yaruki Safety Restrictions: Yes/No' and quickly tapped 'Yes' with a small smirk.
Izuku's eyes widened as he saw the gigantic robot pull a fist back, ready to punch down at Uraraka and turn her into paste. With gritted teeth he flooded One For All through his entire body and launched himself towards her.
Said girl stared up in terror as the fist began to rocket down toward her, ready to end her life. Her life flashed before her eyes, and she began to tear up as she realized that she was going to leave her parents alone. In her heart, she pleaded for someone to save her.
The students that had run away stared in shock as the massive metal fist slammed into the ground, blowing a shockwave of dust that obscured their vision, all of them sure they'd just seen a girl die, only to gasp at what they saw when the dust cleared.
Ochako had closed her eyes at the point the fist was feet away from her, sure she'd never see anything else again. When she didn't feel any pain she opened her eyes, which quickly widened in awe.
Izuku stood over her, glaring upwards, the robot's fist straining against his outstretched hand, having caught and stopped it before it could hit Ochako, arcs of green energy sparking along his body. Then his free hand glowed gold, and before any of the spectators could make out what was going on he'd swung his arm upwards, the robotic limb severing at the elbow joint. Then whatever he'd been holding disappeared before most could make it out.
Ochako had seen it, however, her mouth open in awe at the sword she'd just seen Izuku wield. Calling the weapon beautiful would have been a disservice, because it defied such conventional descriptors. Just that brief glance filled the girl with hope, like she was in the presence of something that would deny the world's end and rise triumphant.
As the robot reared back, as though confused by the loss of its arm, said limb began to float a foot or so above Izuku's hand, obviously under his control now. It twisted around till the still clenched fist was aimed at the robot's head, before rocketing forward as though shot out of a railgun, obliterating its target.
Izuku wasn't satisfied, however, as even before he'd finished firing the arm he had leapt up at the wall of a nearby building and began to run up it as though it was solid ground. As the robot's body began to fall Izuku launched himself towards its torso, arm pulled back, intent on keeping it from being a threat to anyone else. With a scream of "SMASH!" he slammed his fist into it. The thing wasn't just launched backwards, the force of the blow actually dismantled it into a thousand pieces that blasted away from the point of impact like the galaxy's largest shotgun blast, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.
Izuku landed on the ground on his feet without a stumble or step, his hard gaze on the remains of the faux villain as everybody stared at his back when the shocked Present Mic called out when his alarm sounded. "T-time's up!"
In the monitoring room most of the teachers were gaping in shock at what they had just seen. They'd all leapt up out of their seats when they saw the girl about to die, even though they knew there was nothing they could do. To say they were relieved by Izuku's intervention was an understatement, but that didn't remove the awe they'd felt at the show of power they'd just witnessed. Soon enough they all began to cheer, every single one of them looking forward to teaching this boy.
Toshinori smiled a bloody smile of his own at the staff's reactions to his protege's actions, but that didn't stop him from narrowing his eyes at the chimera seated beside him, who was clapping his own approval. "You had something to do with that." He whispered when he was sure nobody was paying attention. "Not only did you change the description of the Zero Pointer, but now this?"
"If Midoriya-kun is going to surpass you, Toshinori, then I want there to be no doubts in anybody's mind from the beginning that he is anything but a hero." Nezu said simply. "That goes for the staff as well as the students. His reputation starts here."
Toshinori sighed, but knew better than to argue further. Besides which, he wasn't entirely against it, as long as Nezu didn't go too overboard.
"Holy shit…" Someone said quietly as Izuku turned away from his handiwork and made his way to Uraraka. "He turned that thing to scrap."
"But he lost all his points to do it…" Someone said, sounding subdued. The teen who had asked the question during orientation simply watched Izuku begin removing the debris pinning Uraraka down, wheels turning in his mind frantically.
Ochako stared up at her savior, eyes wide and full of awe. "Midoriya-kun…" She whispered as he pulled the debris off of her.
Izuku knelt by her legs as she turned around, watching as she winced. He started lightly prodding her. "Where does it hurt?"
"M-my ankle." She said with a blush, which quickly faded as she went pale as the significance of what he'd done finally hit her. "Midoriya-kun… Your points…"
Izuku blinked up at her from where he'd been gently examining her ankle, apparently just realizing what had happened as well. Then he smiled slightly and shrugged. "Worth it."
Ochako felt her heart clench at the slight look of melancholy in the boy's gaze, but before she could say anything she saw a small old woman approach, tutting irritably as she handed the kids she passed some Haribo candies. She heard someone explain that this was Recovery Girl, the school nurse as she approached.
Izuku nodded his head in greeting to the old woman, still focused on Ochako. "Recovery Girl."
Recovery Girl nodded back, not letting on that she knew the boy. "Hello, young man. How is she?"
"Twisted ankle and a decent amount of bruising, but nothing too serious, thankfully." He told her.
"Thanks to you." Ochako said with a sigh.
"Yes. Good job, young man." Recovery Girl said with another nod before kissing Ochako's forehead, much to her surprise, which increased as she felt the pain in her legs vanish entirely, though she suddenly felt a bit more tired. "There, that should do it. Make sure to have a good meal later."
Izuku stood up and held a hand out to help her up, Ochako taking it gratefully and getting to her feet. She nodded to the nurse. "Thank you, Recovery Girl." Then she turned to Izuku. "Midoriya-kun… I'm so sorry…"
Izuku simply shrugged again, smiling gently. "If I was willing to let you get hurt just to keep my points, I don't deserve to be a hero in the first place." The gathered watchers all winced as though he'd directed the words at them, most feeling ashamed. Then he sighed and turned to leave. "Hope you passed, at least. Maybe I'll see you around." Then he began to leave as Ochako watched him go, her eyes sad.
"Midoriya-kun…" She murmured sadly before her eyes hardened and she marched away determinedly, Recovery Girl smiling as she spotted the fire in the girl's eyes.
Inko was humming happily to herself as she prepared a celebratory meal for when Izuku returned from the exam, which she had no doubt he would pass. He not only had the brains and the strength, he had the heart of a hero, and she thought that was the most important thing.
After he'd woken up from his small coma she had been worried that her son was lost to her, despite his reassurances, but thankfully she'd seen those fears were unfounded. Yes, there had been some changes, but nothing that would make Izuku unrecognizable. He was more confident now, had a bigger appetite, and she'd been confused when he'd stiffened after accidentally spilling water on himself before cheering happily, but overall she was reassured that he was still Izuku, just with a few extra bits added.
She smiled as she heard the door open and set the katsudon to finish cooking before heading out to greet him, eager to hear about how he did. Her heart fell, however, at the tired look of resignation on his face. "Izuku?"
He blinked and looked up at her before giving her a small, sad smile. "I almost did it, mom, but…"
She moved forward and hugged him, and she felt him sag against her. There were no tears, another change from how he used to be, but the way he slumped said everything she needed to know. She led him to the couch and sat him down, taking a seat next to him. "What happened?"
So he told her, about acing the written portion, dominating the practical, and giving it all up to save a girl he barely knew. She smiled gently and hugged him again as he finished. "I'm so proud of you, Izuku. I always knew you were a true hero, and this just proves it." She kissed the top of his head. "You did the right thing. That girl's life was more important. And as nice as Principal Nezu and Recovery Girl were to us, if they're willing to punish someone for doing the right thing, then I don't want you going to that school anyway."
Izuku smiled, grateful to his mother, before his mind latched onto something and he pulled back, a thoughtful look on his face. "Would they really do that, though?"
Inko cocked her head, watching the gears turn in her son's mind. "What are you thinking?"
Izuku's brow furrowed. "'Could.' That's the word they used when they mentioned losing points because of the giant faux villain. 'Could', not 'would'."
Inko got what he was driving at after a moment, her eyebrows rising. "A rouse?"
Izuku bit his lip. "Maybe… It just seems counterproductive to do something that could root out good candidates like this. I dunno, maybe it's wishful thinking, but…"
"Heroes are people who do the right thing, even when it can cause them harm." Inko said. "That's what my grandfather once said. He wasn't much of a fan of pro-heroes due to how it became more of a popularity contest as things progressed. So… Maybe they wanted to see if anybody fit that bill?"
Izuku considered it further before sighing. "Well, we'll find out when I get the results in a week." Then he sniffed the air, his head turning like a bloodhound that's caught a scent. "Is that katsudon I smell?"
Inko smiled wryly and got up. "Yes it is. Go get cleaned up while I serve it." She laughed lightly as he leapt up and made his way to the bathroom, pleased he was in a better mood. She could only hope they were right about the truth of the test.
The week passed tortuously slowly, both Midoriyas nervous but doing their best to distract themselves. Izuku began making plans and designs for support equipment, first among them being the web shooters. Not having them limited his options more than he expected, and he wanted to make them as soon as possible.
Eventually, however, his mother barged into his room where he was sketching schematics while listening to music, an envelope in hand. "Izuku! It's here!"
Izuku hesitated before taking the envelope. As Inko left to give him some privacy he let out a long, slow breath before opening the envelope, letting a small hologram projection disk fall onto his desk.
Immediately an image of All Might in a suit appeared above it, much to Izuku's surprise. "I am here as a projection!" The man exclaimed, bombastic as usual.
"Huh?" Izuku checked the envelope again. "Wait, wasn't this from UA?"
"Sorry for not contacting you sooner, Young Midoriya." All Might said with a bow. "I've been very busy with preparing for my new job. You see, the main reason I came to this city is because I will be teaching at UA this year." He said, still smiling as he always did.
Izuku's eyebrows rose in surprise, not having expected All Might to have taken a teaching position. It didn't seem like the kind of thing he'd do. Of course, then he realized that with the pro's injury imposed time limit, doing something like teaching at UA might make some sense.
All Might looked off screen. "What's that? Get to the point? I have to do how many of these?" Izuku couldn't help but sweatdrop at the man's antics as he turned his attention back to the camera. "Fine, fine. In any case, Young Midoriya, you received a perfect score in the written portion of the exam. However, as you fought the obstacle villain, you receive zero points in the practical." Izuku's eyes widened in horror, but then All Might continued. "...Is what you had been led to believe!" He pulled a remote out of his jacket and pointed it at a screen. "Behold! I was an entertainer in a past life!" He said boisterously, his smile widening slightly at the small inside joke.
As Izuku was trying to come to terms with what All Might was implying he was caught by surprise when the screen showed Uraraka standing in front of Present Mic. "Excuse me, but…"
"Uraraka-san?" Izuku whispered, confused.
"She came to see us immediately after the test." All Might explained. "Why, you ask? Well…"
"Um, the boy who fought the big robot. Midoriya Izuku?" Izuku blinked wondering why she was asking about him. He was absolutely shocked by her next words. "Can you give him some of my points?" Izuku gaped, staring in disbelief as she continued. "He lost all his points to save my life. I can't… he deserves to pass more than I ever could." The girl looked overcome with emotion as she pleaded with Present Mic. "Whatever he needs in order to pass! Take all of them! Just let him pass!"
Izuku blinked, a tear rolling down his face. In spite of everything he remembered seeing during his multiple lives, he was deeply moved. Nobody had ever been willing to do something so selfless for him, Midoriya Izuku. More often than not, they'd do the exact opposite.
"I'm sure you, of all people, realize…" All Might said, voice earnest and passionate as he spoke. "A true hero doesn't just save people by punching villains in the face. They do so by giving them hope, and inspiring them to be greater."
"Please!" Uraraka said, bowing to Present Mic, tears of emotion welling in her eyes.
"We weren't just looking for how well you fought in this exam, Young Midoriya." All Might said as the video continued, showing Present Mic patting Uraraka's head, a pleased smile on his face.
"I'm afraid you can't give him your points…" The DJ said. "But don't worry. He shouldn't need your help after all, young listener." The screen turned off, leaving All Might looking at the camera, looking more pleased than he had before.
"A hero course that rejects those who do the right thing has no right to call itself such!" The Symbol of Peace declared. "Some might call it lip service, but we both know better! In this job, where you risk your life every day, that is what we live by! And so, to go with the Villain Points, we also have Rescue Points!"
The scene shifted briefly to show a panel of judges consisting of UA teachers holding score numbers up. "Midoriya Izuku, eighty-five Rescue Points!" All Might appeared back on screen. "And while we're at it, fifty for Uraraka Ochako!"
Izuku smiled widely, tears in his eyes and happiness swelling in his heart as All Might held his hand out to Izuku in invitation. "You made it, my boy." He said gently, full of pride. "Welcome to your hero academia."
Inko, pacing nervously outside of Izuku's room, turned when the door opened. Before she could react her son grabbed her in a hug and twirled her around, laughing happily. Knowing that could only mean one thing, she laughed as well and hugged him back, overjoyed for her son.
I wanted to have this out days ago, but unfortunately a combination of more work training, personal health concerns, and good ol' fashioned laziness conspired to keep that from happening. Still, it's out before the end of the month. Now I just have to work on Walking the Path and get it up before July ends like I promised.
In any case, holy crap, the response to the first chapter was much greater than I had expected. 44 reviews, 216 faves and 288 follows marks the biggest response I've ever had for a first chapter. Thank you to all of those who showed interest. I hope the rest of this fic justifies that response.
This chapter didn't show too much of a difference from canon, but those are coming. I mainly wanted to simply showcase Izuku's capabilities and the fact that, despite the new memories and abilities, he's still very much our adorable green cinnamon roll.
One thing that came up a lot in reviews was the issue of Ranma's curse. You might have missed it, as it was a brief mention, but I addressed that in this chapter. The in-story reason for this will be explained later, though it's related to how Ranma and the others reincarnated. My reason as an author, however, is that, as amusing as it could make the story, and for as many opportunities as it could grant me, it also makes things more complicated than I'd like them to be, and could distract from the plot if Izuku constantly has to deal with everybody's reactions to it.
That said, I have some ideas that incorporate Izuku's experience as a woman… Still planning things out, though.
Another thing is that the great threat I alluded to at the end of the first chapter is going to take a while to appear. You'll see it start to make itself known during/after the United States of Smash arc, which will be different. In the meantime I'll be establishing Izuku more in the universe and the differences his new self will incur.
For pairings… Let's be real. Three of his past lives are Ranma Saotome, Peter Parker and Shirou Emiya. It can't not be a harem. The universe wouldn't allow it. At least Jesse is there to keep things from going too off the rails. ...Maybe.
Before I forget, the theme song for this story is going to be Legends Never Die, from League of Legends. It just seems to fit.
In any case, I think that's all I have to say for the moment, so I'll go ahead and give my customary reminder that you can have a say in what I write when you donate to my Pat A Ron. Each dollar you donate equals one vote in that month's poll, and now votes roll over for the stories that lose, so if what you want doesn't win one month, it absolutely could the next. Now that Izuku of Myriad has a second chapter, it'll be going up on next month's poll, so if you want to see more from it, go ahead and vote. That's at Pat A Ron dotcom /athanmortis.
In any case, thank you all for your support in these trying times. I promise to try to write more. Keep those reviews coming. Thank you for reading, stay safe, and have a good one. Bye.