The next two weeks went by startlingly quickly. Because I had passed UA's entrance exam, I was exempt from Aldera's final exams. And the teachers had basically told me I could skip the other days, too. I didn't. Mostly because it wasn't the right thing for a Hero to do. And partly because I was hoping to see Mizuno-san and congratulate her.

And, to be perfectly honest, a small part of me enjoyed the bullies' reactions.

The last Wednesday, while the rest of my classmates were taking finals, I was getting measured for my uniform and costume. Even though they had the costume Mom made for me as a reference. I guess they wanted to be sure.

Then on Thursday, I ended up spending most of the day alone, playing games. Tsuyu was not exempt from Danchuin Academy's finals, and Mom had a meeting with her new company. So I spent the morning unlocking Locke's best ending. I expected I wouldn't have a lot of time to play while attending UA.

Mom got back just after I finished eating lunch. She was wearing a dress I hadn't seen before and carrying both a garment bag and a briefcase.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"Very well," she smiled, "My initial designs will go on sale in a week. And I received four... custom design requests. I am just happy that I don't have to do the materials part of those."

"That's great, Mom," I congratulated her.

"There's something else, Izuku," she said more carefully. Then she opened her briefcase and took out a small stack of papers. She gingerly handed them to me. The top of the first page said 'Dissolution of Marriage'. I looked up at her.

"Does this mean..." I started.

"I haven't signed them yet," she told me, "I know we have talked about it a couple of times, but I wanted to make absolutely sure you were okay with this."

"Mom, as long as you happy, I'm fine," I said evenly, "I'm not going to be sad or upset about this. I can't miss something I never had."

"I'm not sure I agree with that," she looked at me intently.

"This is different from being Quirkless," I told her.

"Okay," she agreed. She took the document back from me. Then she flipped through it, signing in a few places.

"I guess this means this really is the next stage of our lives," I smiled and hugged her.


The last day at Aldera was underwhelming. Speeches from the teachers and principal. Making sure we turned in our books. Letting us converse a bit with our classmates, not that I had anything to say to most of them. Because we were kept with our classes, I wasn't able to talk to Mizuno. I did see her during the principal's final speech. She waved to me.

The weekend was nerve wracking. Tsu and I trained Saturday, but we held off Sunday. We didn't want to be tired out on our first day at UA.

Tsuyu had to take her siblings to their first day of school. I offered to go with them, but Samidare had vigorously objected. So Tsuyu just told me to go on without her.

Class 1-A. That was the class Tsuyu and I were assigned to. The door was huge. And when I opened it, I found I was not the first to arrive.

It made sense that pipe-guy was already there, even at my fastest, he was faster. And I wasn't even using my powers at the moment. As for the other two, maybe they lived close. Or maybe they lived far away, and had to take a train that arrived early. Or maybe they were just really nervous.

I shook my head to quit my silent mumbling.

"... lean back in that chair like that," pipe-guy was berating a guy with spiky red hair. The other boy was seated at one of the desks, but has his chair tilted back on two of its legs.

"It is disrespectful to the institution," the taller boy kept lecturing, "And what would happen if that chair broke? Are you planning to damage UA property on your first day."

"You obvious weren't in the same written exam room as I was," the third person in the room, a slender girl with boyish purple hair, and really, really long earlobes, laughed at pipe-guy, "That's nothing compared to what Present Mic was doing to his chair."

"Besides," the red-head countered, "These chairs were made to hold people both larger and heavier than All Might. Little old me isn't going to do squat to them."

Pipe-guy coughed. Then he noticed me.

"Ah, you," he motored over to me, "You are the one who attacked the zero-pointer. Apparently you did make it in."

"Wait, he's the guy?" the girl looked at me in surprise, "I know they said wild, green hair. But aren't you a little short to be taking out that monster?"

"Nevertheless, he did so," pipe-guy confirmed, "Well, since we will now be classmates, I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Iida Tenya, from Soumei Junior High School."

"Soumei, huh," the girl smirked, "That explains a lot."

"Iida? Like Iida Tensei?" I began mumbling, "I thought he might be related to Ingenium, but I guess this confirms it..."

"Yes," Iida-san smiled somewhat wistfully, "He is my brother."

"Wow, that's amazing," I continued, "Ingenium is so amazing... Oh, I am Midoriya Izuku."

I just barely managed to reign myself in.

"Woah, you are?" the red-head exclaimed, "You attacked the zero-pointer, and you finished in first place? How many points did you earn?"

"Just what they showed," I said sheepishly, "It turns out that attacking that giant was the only way to save that girl. So I didn't get penalized in the end."

"And so many Hero Points," Iida-san nodded along with the other boy, despite my protest, "Did you realize that there was something more to the exam?"

"No, I was just doing what was right," I shook my head quickly.

"Hmmm," the girl looked at me thoughtfully, "Well, I'm Jiro Kyoka."

"And I'm Kirishima Eijiro, nice to meet you, Number 1-san," Kirishima-san leaned forward out of his chair, offering his hand. I shook it. Then I noticed something behind the teacher's podium.

"What's that?" I asked. Jiro-san and Kirishima-san both craned their heads around to look. And Iida-san turned. It looked like a dirty, yellow cocoon.

"I'm not sure," Iida frowned, "Did either of you put it there?"

They both shook their heads. I whispered, "Analyze."

[Urban Sleeping Bag
An insulated sleeping bag, designed to blend in to a city environment. Keeps you warm in the cold and cool in the heat.
Durability: 28/50
Quality: 2/7
Rank: ]

[Name: Shota Aizawa (?)
Race: Human (Quirk metagene positive)
Age: 30
Level: ?
Active Title: ?
Health: ?/? (95%)
Stamina: ?/? (42%)
Psions: ?/? (37%)
Condition(s):
Asleep]

"It looks like a sleeping bag," I told them.

"Indeed it does," Iida-san noted.

"I wonder if someone left it there," Kirishima suggested, jumping out of his chair. He walked over.

"We probably shouldn't touch that," I said quickly, "It probably belongs to one of the teachers, and they might not like us messing with it."

"Good call," he agreed. And Jiro-san gave me a curious look.

I sat down at my assigned desk, and started thinking.

'I've never seen anything like that on Analyze before,' I considered, 'Does his Quirk block it? Or maybe it's like some online games, where you can't scan something if it is too much higher level than you?'

"Skills," I whispered, "Analyze."

I had never used Analyze on Analyze before. I hadn't seen a need, and frankly it was a bit meta. But now the extended explanation confirmed it would provide limited data on anyone more than 10 levels higher than me. Unless I acquired that information another way. Not that anyone would be able to tell me their level or Health. Unless they were in my party, which is probably what the description meant. It also confirmed there might be things that could partially or fully block Analyze. But also, that only applied to the real world. Anything in Dungeons was fair game.

"What are you doing?" a familiar voice whispered in my ear. Only Gamer's Mind kept me from jumping.

"Good morning, Tsuyu," I said normally, than added softly, "There is someone in that sleeping bag. I Analyzed it to see what it was, and got the person inside, too. I'm guessing a staff member, maybe even our homeroom teacher. But Analyze was partially blocked, which hasn't happened before. So I wanted to see if I could find out why."

"And what did it..." Tsu started to ask, but was cut off.

"YOU!" angry and familiar voice growled, accompanied by the door slamming. And then stomped over to us. As much as someone could stomp on this kind of reinforced floor, when she weighed maybe 53 kg soaking wet.

"Good morning, Misaka-san," I said carefully, "Did I do something wrong?"

"You had me worried that you might not make it in," she said harshly, "All that talk about penalties and the lowest scores. You made me think the first halfway decent guy I've met in years might not even make it. Was it all an act? Did you already think you took the top spot?"

Tsuyu regarded the other woman warily. I knew her well enough to see the muscles in her legs tensing, in case she had to jump between Misaka and me. I just sighed and smiled sadly.

"No, that was all true, Misaka-san," I told her, "I didn't know any more about the Hero points than you did. And Recovery Girl made it sound like I would be penalized..."

As I said that, the door slid open again, and a full six of my new classmates walked in. Including two I recognized.

"And the hologram from the school... Did you all get those too, I'm guessing?" I continued as both of the newcomers I knew gravitated over to the three of us. Misaka-san nodded, as did a tall guy with a mask and six arms.

"Well, in the hologram, All Might told me that I only had 38 points and should have failed," I remembered, "And only then did he tell me about the Hero points, and that I had made it. And after that, he explained that the judges confirmed my calculations, and that I didn't have any other option, so I wasn't getting penalized."

"Calculations?" Mizuno-san asked as she reached us, sounding very interested.

"Hello, Mizuno-san," I smiled happily at her, "And congratulations on making it in."

"Thank you," she said, blushing slightly, "You too."

"Mizuno-san?" Tsuyu tilted her head and brought her finger to her lips, "Do you mean that Mizuno-san?"

"Yes," I agreed, "Tsuyu, Misaka-san, this is Mizuno Ami, a fellow graduate of Aldera junior high, and probably the smartest person in our grade level without a genius type Quirk. Mizuno-san, these are my friends, Asui Tsuyu and Misaka Mikoto."

Misaka-san grinned for a second, then gave me the stink eye and demanded, "If I'm your friend, too, why don't you call me by my given name?"

"Tsuyu asked me to," I said simply, "You didn't."

Her jaw dropped.

"Are you tsundere, Mikoto-chan?" Tsuyu asked bluntly.

"If you don't mind," Mizuno-san said, "You could call me by my given name, too... Izuku-kun..."

"Sure, Ami-chan. Mikoto-chan."

Behind them, the mute girl, looking slightly uncomfortable, started to sign something, when she was cut off.

"It's you!" yet another feminine voice, this one slightly familiar, exclaimed. Though this one was happy.

The girl I had saved rushed over to my desk.

"You did make it," she sounded overjoyed and a bit relieved.

"What is with that guy?" a female uniform floating in midair asked, amused. Only then did I realize a quarter of the class had congregated around my desk. And they were all very attractive and female.

"All right," a deep voice prevented me from responding, "It looks like you are all here..."

I noticed a few more people had entered, and quick check of Ki Detection confirmed 21 people were in the room.

"and determined to prevent me from sleeping," the sleeping bag unzipped from the inside. A slender, rough looking man scrunched out, and staggered to his feet.

"All of you, take your assigned seats and we'll get started."

We all just stared at him. He frowned.

"Heroes have to make split second decisions," Aizawa-san sounded annoyed, "It doesn't bode well for you if such a simple instruction confuses you."

"Shouldn't you tell us who you are, before you start giving orders?" a blonde girl barked back. He actually blinked in surprise at that, like he hadn't realized.

"I'm Aizawa Shota. Your homeroom teacher. Now sit down, so we can get on with self introductions."

"You should scan the others," Tsuyu whispered before slipping away. I was already in my spot, and it only took the others a few seconds to get situated.

"Great, let's just do this in seat order," Aizawa-sensei instructed, "Give your name, the name of your Quirk, and a brief description of what you think it does."

That turn of phrase interested me. But the first student stood quickly, so I grabbed a fresh notebook and the Pencil of Solitude, and prepared to take notes.

"Bonjour, je m'appelle..."


Name: Yuga Aoyama
Level: 8
Quirk: Navel Laser
Despite the name, his Quirk is actually a beam of concussive force accompanied by sparkly golden light, not an actual laser. Overuse of this Quirk can have... 'digestive repercussions'.


Mina Ashido
Level: 9
Quirk: Acid
She can create acids from her skin, strong or weak, slippery or sticky. She is somewhat resistant to acids, but stronger ones or long exposure can still burn her.


Tsuyu Asui
Level: 10
Quirk: Frog
Does whatever a frog can. Any frog, actually. (see Hero Note #15)


Tenya Iida
Level: 11
Quirk: Engine
Has orange juice powered engines in his lower legs, partly organic and partly mechanical. Can run very fast and kick very hard.


Ochako Uraraka
Level: 8
Quirk: Zero Gravity
More like a floating power, since items hover, but don't just go flying into space as the Earth moves. Though maybe that is just the friction of the air?


Mashirao Ojiro
Level: 12
Quirk: Tail
Has a thick, heavy tail. Strong enough to support his body weight and then some. Not prehensile.


Mikoto Misaka (Tsuyu is right, seems a bit tsundere)
Level: 14
Quirk: Electromaster
Generates and stores electricity in her body. Can discharge it, or use it to manipulate magnetic fields.


Eijiro Kirishima
Level: 11
Quirk: Hardening
Can create a layer of thick spiky material over his skin. It looks mostly like skin, but is hard as stone, without losing flexibility.


Koji Koda
Level: 8
Quirk: Anivoice
Can talk to and control animals. Doesn't seem to like talking. Rock-like appearance is not related to his Quirk. Doesn't seem to like talking.


Ami Mizuno
Level: 9
Quirk: Ice Water
Can control water and ice. Can control them better the closer to freezing they are (can control a larger volume and with greater precision).


Mezo Shoji
Level: 12
Quirk: Dupli-arms
Has six tentacle like arms that can morph into other parts of the human body; hands, eyes, mouths. etc. Uses them to speak for some reason.


Kyoka Jiro
Level: 10
Quirk: Earphone Jack
Her earlobes are waist length, and end in headphone jacks. They work in traditional electronics, but she can also hear and transmit sonic vibrations through them.


Hanta Sero
Level: 10
Quirk: Tape
His elbows look like action figure joints and produce a cellophane tape. It shoots out up to 50 meters, and is strong enough to hold his body weight and more. (ask if the tape is an electrical insulator or has other special properties)


Fumikage Tokoyami
Level: 11
Quirk: Dark Shadow
Dark Shadow is a living shadow that is connected to him and seems to be at least partially independent. Can become tangible or solid, and expand, at will.


Shoto Todoroki (Same family name as Endeavor, son?)
Level: 17
Quirk: Half-Cold Half-Hot
Can create and control ice from his right side and fire from his left side. (How does his ice control compare to Ice Water?)


Toru Hagakure
Level: 9
Quirk: Invisibility
She is transparent. Applies only to herself. She can't turn it off...


Modura Penryu (blonde hair and slight English accent, said to call her "Mo-chan")
Level: 12
Quirk: Calibur Z
Can 'bond with' three swords. After bonded, she can sheathe them (extra-dimensional? intangible?), and control them with a range of about 4 meters. This control strengthens the swords and prevents other Quirks like telekinesis or magnetism from controlling them.


I set left my notebook open, and stood up. But I kept my pencil.

"My name is Midoriya Izuku," I announced, "My power is Tactile Telekinesis. I can telekinetically manipulate things I am touching."

I held up my right hand, pinky out. The Pencil of Solitude hung from it like a stalactite. Then it moved up of the outside of the joint, and stood on my nail like a stalagmite. Then it kept going and began to circle my finger like a propeller.

"Mostly, I use it on myself," I continued, catching the pencil, "To increase my strength and speed, and to protect myself from attacks. Nice to meet you all, please take care of me."

The mute girl, who was seated next to me, stood up. Analyze told me she was level 13, along with the other data. She started to write on a pad.

"I can interpret if you like?" I offered.

\Are you sure?/ she signed.

"Yes," I said, signing as I spoke, "I was embarrassed by how rusty I was at the exam, so I have been brushing up."

My fingers must have match my words, because she looked relieved and thanked me.

"My name is Cassandra Cain," I said for her, "Cassandra is my given name. My Quirk is called Silent Grace. It is a hybrid of my parent's Quirks. One is the ability to detect movement in close to medium range. The other is incredible flexibility and muscle control. Where they... combined..."

I looked at her, and signed, \Sorry, I missed that./

"Oh, because of how they combine, I am very good at reading body language. The drawback is I cannot speak. Even laughing or crying, I am silent. And if I try to force it, it causes me terrible headaches."

"Migraines," Shoji-san offered, "but the signs are basically the same."

\Thank you,/ she told me again, and Shoji-san, too. Then she sat down, leaving the last student. I quickly jotted down some notes on Cassandra and Silent Grace. I noticed that I had written everyone's names in western order, and wondered if I was getting to used to The Gamer showing names like that. Before I could think on that too much...


Momo Yaoyorozu
Level: 16
Quirk: Creation
Can convert her body's lipids into anything, as long as she understands the structure, be it mechanical or chemical.


"Right," Aizawa-sensei yawned, "Now get changed into your PE uniforms. Time for a pop quiz."

"Sensei, what about the orientation?" Iida-san asked as forcefully as he dared.

"We don't have time to waste on that," Aizawa rolled his eyes, "Now get a move on. Anyone not outside in five minutes will be penalized."


"Shoji," Aizawa-sensei said as soon as we were all assembled, "In your middle school, they did ball throwing tests, right?"

The tall boy nodded.

"What was your record?"

"68.3 meters," Shoji-san said out of a mouth formed on his middle, left arm.

"And that is without your Quirk, right?" the tired teacher asked.

"Yes."

"The Ministry of Education is not very rational," Aizawa-sensei lectured, "They insist on pretending everyone is still the same. Outside of private schools and other special circumstances..."

We all glanced at Mikoto-san, Yaoyorozu-san, or Todoroki-san.

"... not only do you not learn how to use your Quirks, you are actively discouraged from doing so. That ends now."

He picked up a softball, and tossed it to Shoji-san.

"Try throwing it with your Quirk," Aizawa-sensei told him, "Anything goes, as long as you stay in the circle."

Shoji-san looked at the ball, and then took it in his left hand. His middle left arm sprouted another elbow and forearm, ending in a hand. The entire, now three segmented, arm also filled out with about a twenty percent increase in muscle mass. His top right arm grabbed the second part of the middle arm, and the bottom arm lengthened to grab the outermost segment of the middle arm. His three right arms more or less joined, Shoji-san passed the ball over to his free right hand. He took a pitcher's stance and threw the softball with the composite strength of all three arms, plus the extra centripetal force of having lengthened his arm. The ball soared away.

"318.2 meters," Aizawa-sensei showed us the result on his phone, "not bad."

Then he addressed us more seriously, "This is a Quirk assessment test. You will all be undergoing eight standard fitness tests, plus a ninth one of my own design. You will be expected to make full use of your Quirks in these tests. And in the end, whoever comes in last place will be immediately expelled."

"What?" Kirishima-san gaped, as many of the others did silently.

"Can he really expel us from UA?" Ami-chan mused sadly.

"I don't know," Iida-san answered.

"I suppose I should clarify," Aizawa brightened slightly, "Since it seems one of you is capable of rational thought. It is true, I can't kick you out of UA. I can kick you out of the Hero course. From there, it is up to the principal and the other teachers if they can find a spot for you in Support or General. But that's your problem, not mine."

He went back to scowling and glaring, "You are not here to have fun, or make friends. This is the best Hero course in Asia, if not the whole world, for a reason. If you can't control your powers, if your Quirks aren't up to par, you will get yourselves killed. Or worse, get others killed. So you are going to show me that you belong here."

"Can we at least know what the tests are?" I asked, trying not to let my doubts show.

"50-meter dash, standing long jump, endurance run, ball throw, ball catch," Aizawa-sensei answered, "Then we go inside, for repeated side steps, sit ups, pull ups, and grip strength."

"Ball catch?" more than one of my classmates echoed. He ignored us.


The dash went about like you might expect. Iida-san came in first, still faster than I could be if I went all out. Shoji-san actually came in second, converting four of his arms into legs, and running like a horse. Limiting myself to Drive 2, I came in 3rd, and Tsu was fourth. There were a few interesting showings. Like Aoyama-san, who jumped up and used his power to jet almost thirty meters, faster than even Iida-san. Then his power seemed to run out, and he staggered the rest of the way, clutching his stomach. He barely came in tenth. And Sero-san shot his tape into the fence, and used that to pull himself.

Tsuyu naturally won the long jump. Uraraka-san was second, making herself weightless. Though she looked a bit green after. Aoyama used the same trick, but this time it was enough to get him third place.

After making us run for an hour, Aizawa gave us a fifteen minute break to use the restroom and get something to drink. Then it was time for the ball throw.

I ended up waiting in line behind Ami and Mikoto, and in front of Todoroki-san. And the electrokinetic was scowling.

"How is this 'rational'?" she hissed softly at me, "These tests obviously favor people with a physical mutation or personal enhancement Quirks. How are Invisibility, or sonic earlobes, or animal control supposed to help here? Or what if someone had something like telepathy, or Sir Knighteye's precognition?"

"Well," I mused, "Koda-san could call a bird, and have it carry the ball as far as it can... And Hagakure-san could pretend to throw the ball and just run with it. Though that might not fool Aizawa-sensei. I'm not sure how Jiro-san's power can be used for this. Or Sir Knighteye..."

"Hmm," Mikoto-chan gave me an appraising look, "And what would you do here, if you had my Quirk?"

"Well, the balls have electronics, right?" I said, "So there is probably some metal in there. Didn't you say at the arcade that you magnetically shoot the tokens? So you could do the same with the ball."

She nodded, grinning.

"What about me?" Ami asked, "I was thinking about surrounding the ball with water, and floating it out as far as I could, before squeezing the water to shoot it a bit farther."

"That's probably better than what I thought," I told her, "My first idea is that you should wrap your body in water, and use it to supplement your muscles. Like a suit of power armor. That might not be good here, but maybe for the pull ups?"

"Yes... I will consider that."

We watched as Yaoyorozu-san formed with looked like a grenade launcher, and shot one of the balls just over a kilometer. Tokoyami stepped behind her, and squinted up at the bright sunlight.

"Why are you helping them?" Todoroki-san asked. But his flat voice was more curious than accusatory. I might not have caught that, if not for all the time I had spent with Tsu and her siblings.

"247.1 meters," Aizawa-sensei announced for my bird-faced classmate.

"They are my classmates," I said, a bit confused. Then I remembered he hadn't gone through the Entrance Exam. Hadn't earned points for helping others. It might not have mattered for this test. But it was already my nature, and the result of the exam had driven it home for me.

"314 meters, even," our teacher read off Ami-chan's results.

"And what if helping everyone else somehow puts you into last place?" the scarred boy asked.

"In that case, I win," I told him with a big, open smile. Then I went to take my place on deck.

Mikoto picked up one of the remaining softballs. She tossed it and caught it, sparks dancing across her fingers. Then she smirked, broadly and dangerously.

She threw the ball a bit higher, and assumed a stance. Body slightly turned, arm out. Her hand positioned like she was going to flip a coin, except tilted further forward. The ball dropped. Lighting flowed visibly down her arm. Her thumb flicked the ball.

BOOM!

The air around us shook as the softball went supersonic. Jiro-san whimpered a bit and covered her ears. A few others looked shocked, pun slightly intended. But Tsuyu just shook her head in amusement.

"1.72 kilometers," Aizawa-sensei couldn't keep all the amazement out of his voice, "Though that's only because it hit the back wall and according to this, destroyed the ball. Not quite infinite, but well done."

Waiting off to the side, Uraraka-san blushed as he reminded her of her impossible score. As Mikoto-san sat down with the others who had already thrown, I took a softball and stepped into the circle. My Throwing skill hadn't improved in a while, so I would be relying mostly on strength. I wound up and...

"422.8 meters," Aizawa-sensei studied me as he said it. I turned to leave, but he stopped me.

"Do you think you can get through this half-assing it?" he said pointedly, "You think maybe because you had the top score, you'll get some sort of special pass?"

"Not at all," I shook my head broadly, dismayed by his words. He looked a bit surprised at my reaction.

"I saw what you did in the exam," he said a little less sharply, "Not just at the end, either. Why are you holding back?"

"I'm not really holding back," I explained sheepishly, "More pacing myself. I mean, my power is kind of like a water tank with a spigot. You can open it a little to fill up a glass, or a lot to fill up a wading pool. But the amount of water if holds doesn't change, and once you run out, you can't get any more until you refill it. The entrance exam was only ten minutes. We already had to run an hour and still have five more tests to go."

"So that last attack, against the zero-pointer, that was like opening up this 'spigot' all the way?" sensei asked.

"No, that's more of a special case, where I bash the spigot off with a sledgehammer," I said looking at my right arm, "Sure, you get the water out really fast, but in the end, the tank is still broken until you fix it."

"Hmm," he considered that, "Fine, go sit down."

I was still thinking about his first question. 'Did I think I could get through this?' I had placed in the top five for the first three events, and was currently fourth for this one. The way he said it... It was confirming my suspicions.

I sat down next to Tsuyu, and began to whisper softly. I tried to use my TK to direct my words to her ears, but I wasn't sure how well it was working. Still, she nodded when I finished.

I caught Cain-san's eye, and then signed three quick questions to her. Her eyes widened for a moment, then she signed back an affirmative. Shoji-san also noticed, and signed his desire to help.


After the last throw was measured, Aizawa-sensei had us line up again for the next test, in front of what he called a modified tennis ball launcher. Said 'modified tennis ball launcher' looked more like a gatling grenade launcher.

"The support course put this together," he told us with a gleam in his eye, "It fires two balls per shot, thirty times per minute. Each shot is anywhere from 120 to 150 kph. Each of you gets ninety seconds to catch as many balls as you can. Hopefully without getting knocked unconscious. So who's first? How about..."

"Now," I stated, my voice soft but carrying. Tsu, Cain-san, Shoji-san, and I all charged Aizawa-sensei. We each took a slightly different course, not knowing his Quirk. A moment later, Mikoto joined in, despite not knowing the plan.

I went straight in, and high, hoping to keep his attention on me. I believed I could still take a hit better than anyone in the class, except Kirishima-san. Shoji-san came in waist height from the right, and Tsuyu at knee level from his left. Cassandra, meanwhile, was sneaking in silently from behind. Mikoto-san chose to follow me, her hand crackling.

Aizawa-sensei confirmed that he was a pro by reacting immediately. He glared at me. And then frowned deeply. He grabbed his scarf. It snapped out at me like a whip. Just before it reached me, it stopped and twisted in on itself.

"Nice metal weave in there," Mikoto-san commented. Sensei turned his gaze on her. The sparks on Mikoto-chan stopped, and his scarf fell limp. He aimed it at me again, still looking at the electrokinetic. I caught the unusual weapon on my arm. Wrapped it around my wrist and used it to pull myself closer.

As I grabbed his arms and pinned them, Tsuyu's tongue snagged his legs, pulling him down to his knees. Shoji-san arrived a moment later and helped me hold Aizawa-sensei.

"What are you doing to my Quirk?" Mikoto-san demanded.

"You are Eraserhead," I realized. Then quickly shook my head, "Not the time."

I looked over at the rest of my classmates, who were staring at us. Most of their jaws were hanging open.

"Go," I told them, "Get out of here. Find the other teachers or the principal, and let them know."

Nobody moved.

"What the hell are you doing?" Aizawa-sensei demanded angrily.

"Capturing the Villain," Tsuyu said.

"We weren't supposed to?" I asked seriously.

"Explain," he ordered, but he also calmed down a little.

"You used coercion and blackmail," I said, "to basically kidnap us and force us to compete in a contest for our survival."

"An arbitrary contest," Shoji-san added, "one without rules that we are aware of, if there are any."

"And then there was the villain rant against the government," Mikoto chimed in, "Which was completely at odds with what you are actually doing."

"The only way it could have been more obvious, ribbit, was if you told us to pair up and fight to the death."

Aizawa-sensei looked around at the five of us for a moment. Then he started chuckling.

"I've been doing this for six years now," he said between laughs, "And you are the first ones to figure that out."

"So this wasn't really a test?" Ashido-san sounded confused.

"It was," Ami countered, "Just a multi-faceted one."

"And you can let me go, now," Aizawa-sensei said, a bit of anger returning to his voice. We released him. Then Shoji-san and Cain-san moved out of his range.

"Zo we were not in danger of being expelled?" Aoyama asked.

"That was just a rational deception," Sensei said, "To sell it and make you try your best."

"Liar," Mikoto-san said angrily, "I know you've kicked people out of the Hero course on the first day. And not just one. Or did you think Tokiwadai wouldn't keep records?"

"The reason we weren't told the scoring rules," I said, "is because there weren't any. He could decide who is last, or tied for last based on his own judgement. Claim that certain tests were higher ranked than others. Then, if he decided not to expel anyone, he could exempt them because two or more people were tied for lowest score."

"Conversely," Yaoyorozu mused, "He could do the same thing, and move all of the people in last place out of the Hero track."

Sensei grimaced.

"You figured it out," he said flatly, "Congratulations, no-one will be expelled. But we are still going to finished the test."

"I don't think so," Todoroki-san said just as emotionlessly, "After all of this, I doubt I can trust you. A teacher who does not respect the rules. How will I know if what you are teaching me is real, or another veiled test? I intend to go to the orientation, or to the principal if it is done, and ask to be moved to a different class. I would suggest you all do the same."

"Wait," I protested, wondering if I had made a mistake. Sure, this whole test was mean-spirited and maybe counterproductive. But still, it would be good to get a handle on our Quirks. And to help us realize that Villains aren't always obvious.

The rest of the class seemed to be listening to Todoroki. Only Tsuyu, Ami, Uraraka-san, and I were not moving. Mikoto-san gave me a regretful shrug, as she went with the crowd.

"Hold on there," a new voice proclaimed. A giant, golden voice. One I was highly familiar with.

"Young Todoroki," All Might proclaimed, walking out from behind the gym, "I know that Aizawa-sensei's methods and personality can be a little rough. But he has the full support of the UA staff. And more importantly, he gets results. We teachers all have to play the Villain in some classes. And in real life we don't get a warning before a Villain acts."

Then All Might's smile changed to one of pure amusement, and he chuckled, "At least not most of the time."

The Symbol of Peace sobered again, and addressed my classmates, "So I ask that you give him a chance."

They looked around. A few noticed that I wasn't moving to leave. After another moment, most of them relaxed.

"Alright," Todoroki relented.

"Excellent," All Might smiled broadly, "Then why don't all of you go grab lunch, and you can finish the assessment afterwards, without the additional theatrics. Because it does help to get a baseline of both your physical and Quirk abilities."

That seemed to get everyone's attention, and I heard a few stomachs rumbling.


"It must have been hard for you," All Might said, after the teens had left, "Pretending like you were happy that they called you on this."

"I didn't need your help," Aizawa told the larger man.

"And if they had all left?" Yagi rumbled.

"You may have been able to expel an entire class in the past," Nezu stepped out from behind the gym, "But that wouldn't fly this time. This group has too much promise, and some of them have too strong of a backing. Especially when you have been warned about alienating your students with this tactic. You must have the trust of those you are teaching."

"That boy, Midoriya," Aizawa changed the subject, "What is he?"

"What do you mean?" Nezu frowned.

"My Quirk didn't work on him."

Both Yagi and Nezu blinked. Then exchanged thoughtful looks.

"Your Quirk doesn't work on everyone," All Might noted.

"That's mutation types," Eraserhead said, "I've never met an emitter than I couldn't stop."

"Perhaps his power isn't actually telekinetic," the principal mused.

"No, I saw him use it to make a pencil move," Aizawa shook his head.

"What are you suggesting?" All Might pressed.

"I don't know," Eraserhead admitted.


The rest of the first day went a lot smoother. We finished all the tests, and Aizawa-sensei ranked us strictly on the average of how we placed in each test. I ended up in first place again, having cleared top five in each activity.

Now it was our second day of class. We had normal classes in the morning. Then Aizawa-sensei checked us back in after lunch. After verifying we were back, he hurried out, presumably to get to his next class. And moments later...

"I AM HERE, ENTERING THE ROOM LIKE A HERO!" All Might exclaimed, as he proceeded to do the exact opposite of what he was saying. Well, he did enter the room, I guess. But shouting it, while sliding in, in an eagle pose... I admired All Might to no end, but it didn't actually seem Heroic.

Whatever, it was All Might. In his Silver Age costume. He was here to teach us. I tightly buttoned down my nerve to mumble. Or even just squee.

"Good afternoon, my students," he declared, "This is the first day of your Hero Fundamentals class. I was planning on plunging right in with Urban Battle training. But I was told it may be too soon for that. Plus, a few of your costumes are not yet ready. They were sent to some hot new designer for redesigns. And most importantly, three of the urban training arenas are still being repaired after the Entrance Exam practicals...

He looked at Ami-san and Mikoto-san when he said that.

"...and other four are being used by your upper classmen. Therefore, I would like you all to change into your PE Uniforms, and meet me on the football pitch."


"You all made it here quickly," All Might smiled broadly, "It looks like Aizawa's tactics did you some good after all."

Todoroki and Mikoto both flinched.

"So, for today's training, we are going to play a little Lions and Gazelles," he continued. And received a number of blank looks.

"Don't know that one?" he asked, a bit less exuberantly, "Well, it's a variation of Tag. Two of you will be lions, and the rest will be gazelles. Lions have five minutes to tag as many gazelles as they can, and gazelles try not to get tagged. If a gazelle gets tagged, they are out, and must immediately leave the field. Which is the second part. You are limited to the football pitch. If you leave it, you are disqualified. If a gazelle leaves it to try to escape a lion, they are considered tagged."

He paused as if for questions, but continued before I could ask.

"Each gazelle is worth one point," he explained, "If a gazelle manages to avoid both lions for the full five minutes, they get the point. Otherwise the lion who tags them gets the point."

"This is training," he said a bit more sternly, "Lions, you are the heroes trying to capture the villainous gazelles. Gazelles, you are heroes trying to dodge the villainous lions who are trying to kill you. You may all use your Quirks, and whatever other skills you may possess."

"This is training," he repeated, almost threateningly, "If any of you hurts another, you will forfeit your points to that person. And while I am not going to make silly or empty threats, points here will be counted towards your grades. Are we ready?"

I quickly put my hand up.

"Yes, young Midoriya?"

All Might knew my name. All Might recognized me on sight.

No, not the time to geek out.

"All Might-sensei," I said, "What do you mean by 'tag'?"

"What do I mean by tag?" he parroted uncertainly.

"Well, like Shoji-san, he can have up to six hands, and can even grow extra arm segments to increase his reach. But any of his hands are valid for a tag, right?"

"Yes, that is correct," All Might nodded.

"But does it have to be hands? IIda-san's legs are faster than his hands, would a foot tap count as a tag? Or Tsu's tongue, it's prehensile. And Tokoyami-san's Dark Shadow has hands. What if Ami-chan makes giant water hands?"

"All very good questions," All Might told me, "No feet, no tongues, no elbows, no headbutts, and no manifestations of your powers. You can use all those things to try to reel a gazelle in, but only if you touch them with your hand, are they out."

"Okay, thank you, sensei," I bowed slightly to him.

"In that case, why don't you be a lion first, young Midoriya. You and young Hagakure."

We all moved onto the soccer field. Everyone else formed a ring around us. Not too close to us, but not close to the edge, either. Then, Hagakure started to unzip her uniform.

"What are you doing?" I stammered as I was suddenly shown under her shirt. It was nothing, of course. Just the back side of said shirt, slightly shadowed. She wasn't even wearing underwear to show the shape of her body. But it was the principle of the thing.

"Stealth hunting," she declared in a cute attempt at a predatory tone.

"Right, five minutes starts in... three, two, one."

I had two options. If the field was smaller, or I had a Quirk that could shrink it like Todoroki-san, it would be better to go after the stronger, faster 'gazelles' first. That way, there would be more people to get in each other's way. But on a soccer field, there was plenty of room for everyone to move freely.

So instead, I went for the slowest ones first. Koda-san was easy enough to tag. He whistled up a pair of little birds to try to distract me. But they were not used to getting close to humans, so I was able to slip past them and tap his arm.

"Tag!" Hagakure-san's voice rang out, and Todoroki-san stumbled forward. He sighed, and headed for the edge of the arena. I had turned towards Sero-san; Jiro-san would have been a slower target, but she was at the far side of the pitch. And based on where Todoroki-san had been, Hagakure was probably closer.

"Oh man," Sero-san slumped at I lightly slapped his back.

Jiro-san stabbed one of her earlobes into the ground. Then a second later, she dove to the side.

"She can hear Hagakure's footsteps," I mumbled, targeting Penryu... targeting Mo-chan next.


In the end, I scored nine points, and Hakagure had six. Only Iida-san, Mikoto-chan, and Tokoyami-san were able to avoid us or keep us at bay. Ami-chan almost survived, but I was able to push through her water shield just before time expired.

"Alright, good job," All Might praised us, "Some interesting uses of your Quirks. Do we have any volunteers to be the next lions?"

"I'll do it," the pink hued Ashido-san raised her hand and waved it around.

"Thank you, young Ashido. Anyone else? No? Then let's go with young Koda. Alright, everyone back on the field."

We all complied, but this time I took a spot on the outer ring. And I assumed Hagakure-san did, too. Her uniform was still folded up on the sidelines.

"Ready? Three, two, one, GO!"

Koda-san trilled, and this time it wasn't two birds. It was at least two dozen, and three different species. They descended on Iida-san, flapping in his face, swarming around his legs, and tugging at his shirt. It was enough to slow him down, and the rock-faced boy looked elated as he tagged the speedster. While I was seemingly distracted, Ashido-san slid towards me on a noxious smelling gel.

"This is for last time," she reached out for me. Instead, I slipped around her, and grabbed the back of her uniform jacket. I lifted her up, carried her quickly to the edge of of the pitch, and dropped her outside.

"Lion Ashido is out of bounds," All Might sounded gobsmacked.

"What?" she complained, "How?"

"It only counts as a tag if you touch me with your hands," I reminded her, "And we are supposed to do everything we can to avoid you. It seems like taking you out is the safest and simplest way."

The rest of the class rounded on Koda-san, some of their expressions downright beastial.

"Hmm, that was a miscalculation," All Might noticed.

The whole match was over in 30 seconds.

"Okay," All Might-sensei announced, "We will complete the matches under this set of rules, to be fair. But obviously, this was not the intended result, and next time the rules will be different."


As we wrapped up, and began to head inside, I couldn't help myself.

"Analyze."

[Name: ? ? (All Might)
Race: Human (?)
Age: ?
Level: ?
Active Title: The Symbol of Peace
Health: ?/? (80%)
Stamina: ?/? (76%)
Condition(s):
Systemic Organ Damage
Lethal Exotic Matter Toxicity]

[MANDATORY QUEST ALERT
Save the Symbol of Peace
Prevent the death of All Might.
Rewards:
Talent: ? ?
Talent: ? ?
Talent: ? ?
Talent: ? ?
Failure Penalties:
The end of peace and stability
Time Limit: 118 Days
(Accept)]

I stopped dead in my tracks, gaping.


Current status:

Name: Izuku Midoriya
Race: Human (Quirk metagene negative)
Age: 15
Level: 10
Active Title: The Gamer
Health: 327/327
Energy: 349/449

Attributes:

(S)trength: 41
(A)gility: 36
(E)ndurance: 37
(Q)uickness: 42
(W)it: 35
(I)ntuition: 35
(C)harisma: 21
(D)etermination: 43
(L)uck: 10

Unused Points:

Attribute: 18
Skill: 8
Talent: 3

Skills:

Modern Tech (W): 18
Computer Gaming (W/A): 20
Japanese Language (W/C): 19
English Language (W/C): 15
Scientific Method (W/I): 11
Oral Hygiene (C): 16
Analyze (W) – Battle Scan: 36
Mathematics, Basic (W): 16
Dodge (A): 20
Chemistry, Basic (I): 10
Creative Writing (C): 8
Software Methodology (W): 2
JavaScript ES11 (W): 1
Telekinesis (I/D): 30
Strength Training (S): 18
Basic Karate (A): 32
Boxing (S): 24
Parkour (A/Q): 30
Yoga (A/E): 11
Physical Resistance (E/D): 20
Running (Q/E) – Jet Set Run: 27
Climbing (S): 17
Swimming (S/A): 8
Acrobatics (A): 13
Ki Detection (D/I): 20
Ki Blast (D/W): 13
Ki Slice (D/W): 12
Ki Healing (D/E): 16
Ki Reinforcement (D): 34
Throwing (S/A): 6
Telekinetic Attack (I/A): 19
First Aid (W/A): 4
Mathematics, Advanced (W): 4
Japanese History (W): 5
Tactile TK (I/D): 8
Telekinetic Armor (I/E): 8
Telekinetic Aura (I) LB: 17
Kung Fu Fundamentals (Q/E): 13
Meditation (W/I): 10
Wing Chun Quan (A/Q): 9
Tai Chi Quan (A/S): 9
ASL (W/A): 7
JSL (W/A): 7
Physics, Basic (W): 2
Ki Diagnosis (D/W): 5

Talents:

Studious
Gamer's Body
Gamer's Mind
Telekinesis, Basic
Inventory II
Reflective Dungeon
Free Runner
Ki Initiate
Tactile Telekinesis
Ki Apprentice
Focus: Telekinetic Aura
Energetic Student
Plus Ultra!


Author's Note: In case anyone is wondering about the four replaced characters...

Kaminari Denki does not exist; Mikoto is his replacement, not just in class, but in reality as a whole.

Sato Rikido barely missed making it into the Hero Course. He took it as a sign, and instead went to a cooking school. He took over the family bakery, and uses his Quirk to help when things get busy.

Shihai Kuroiro also barely missed out. He's in the general course, and not happy about it. He may show up again later...

As for Mineta... He got caught trying to sneak into the girl's locker room after the practical, and was kicked out (carried outside and dropped by Vlad King) and told his entrance was withdrawn. Then, just for morbid curiosity, the teachers checked his results. He only got 3 pts in the practical, and cheated on the written exam (sticking cheat sheets to his hair balls, and then sticking them back to his head, sheet down). So they reported his trespassing and sexual harassment to the police. From there, I leave his fate to the imagination of the readers.

Also, are Izuku's stat blocks interesting to everyone? Should I keep posting them every chapter, or only when there are major milestones? (I have been not showing skills that don't improve, but I wanted everything here as a baseline for the second Arc)