I do not own Boku no Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story.
–Class 1-A–
"It took you all eight seconds to quiet down after I got here," the lanky black-clad man sighed as he stood in front of the class. "How irrational."
Katsuki noticed Izuku's expression tense up when the man, who he assumed was a teacher, walked in.
"My name is Shota Aizawa, I'm your homeroom teacher," he continued as his view rolled over the students. "Pleased to meet you all. Like I was saying, time is a precious resource. So in the interest of time, I'll have you all change into your gym uniforms and head onto the sports grounds."
Each student took a blue and white uniform and headed to the locker rooms to get changed. On the way there, and on the way to the field, it was clear that a portion of the class had already formed a group. Eijiro Kirishima, Mina Ashido, Ochako Uraraka, Tenya Iida, Izuku Midoriya, and Katsuki Bakugo.
"Who's Aizawa Sensei?" Katsuki asked as they approached the grounds. "You recognized him, Icchan."
"Eraserhead, the Erasure Hero," Izuku responded as the others leaned in, interested as well. "He doesn't have the friendliest reputation, and hates the media. He's a 'behind-the-scenes' kind of hero, who focuses on capture."
"Eraserhead?" Eijiro put his thumb on his chin. "I think I've heard of him."
"I think my brother has worked with him," Tenya commented. "He hasn't spoken of him directly though."
"Supposedly, he's expelled over 150 students since he's been teaching here," Izuku said as he smiled at the rest of the group. "I'm sure we'll be fine though."
"J-Jeez, a bit extreme," Ochako frowned.
"So... Eraser? What's he erase?" Mina tilted her head.
"He can erase Quirks," Izuku said nonchalantly. Upon sensing the uneasiness of his classmates, he clarified, "Only temporarily. As long as he has you in his line of vision, he can stop you from using your quirk."
"Wow, you know a lot of this off the top of your head," Eijiro mused. "You a fan?"
"Not particularly," he shook his head.
"He's just that big of a nerd," Katsuki shrugged.
"Welcome," Aizawa said as the students started piling in around him. "We'll get right into it–today, we will be testing your quirks."
"But what about the entrance ceremony? And guidance sessions?" Ochako asked, tilting her head in confusion. Looking around, she continued, "This is only the first day, right? I didn't miss the first day, did I?"
"You didn't miss anything," Aizawa sighed. "Holding up the hero course for such trivial things is irrational... Entrance ceremonies and school guidance won't help you become heroes. And that's what you want, right? Did you attend the hero course by accident, wanting to be a scholar?"
He leaned down towards Ochako, studying her reaction for a moment. A bead of sweat dripped from her forehead and she gulped, then answered, "I-I'm here to become a hero."
"Softball throwing, the standing long jump, 50-meter dash, endurance running, grip strength, side-to-side steps, push-ups, seated toe touch," the teacher listed as he walked back to face the whole class. "These were all standard fitness tests in middle school, right? No quirks allowed, for fairness sake. It's irrational. It doesn't give you an accurate idea of your physical abilities. Bakugo, how far was your softball throw in middle school?"
"Hm? 72 meters," Katsuki grinned as he realized what they were about to do.
"Here," Aizawa tossed him a softball. "Launch this as far as you can with your quirk."
"What if I break the ball?"
"You won't, probably."
Katsuki stretched his arms and rubbed his hands for a moment as he walked up to the circle on the ground. He breathed in, then out. Then in again, taking a step into a throwing stance, then out again as he cracked an excited grin. A final, steady breath in as he prepared, then, as he slung his arm with the force of a trebuchet, he screamed out and ignited his palm. The blast shook all of the other students' bones and muted Katsuki's scream behind the deafening boom.
"M-Manly," Eijiro smiled even as he winced from the noise.
Izuku kept his smile as he tracked the arc of the ball. In fact, the smile might've widened a bit.
"Knowing your limits is the first rational step to figuring out what kind of heroes you'll be," Aizawa told the class with a dry smile as his device emitted a bleep.
"890 meters," Izuku said just before Aizawa turned the device toward them, revealing the reading '890.3 m' on the screen.
The students all got excited, with cheers of "This is awesome!", "The hero course is the best!", and "We can use our quirks? Sweet!"
"Awesome? Sweet?" Aizawa looked at the crowd with a substantial intensity. "We only have three years to turn you into professional heroes. You think this is fun and games? Wrong. You guys better take these tests seriously, like your lives depend on it. The student with the lowest total placing will be deemed to have zero potential, and will be expelled."
A collective gulp spread across the students as their faces twisted from excitement into worry, then, for the most part, into determination. Izuku, of course, held a confident smile through the whole demonstration.
"B-But it's only the first day!" Ochako protested. "It's not fair if–"
Izuku put his hand on her shoulder and said, "It's fine, leave it be."
She looked at him and started again, "But–"
"Earthquakes, tsunamis, rampaging villains, bad traffic," Aizawa listed. "There's always gonna be something 'unfair' that citizens fall victim to. The world is unfair. Heroes are the ones strong enough to defeat that unfair world. If a hero is put in an unfair, unbeatable situation, then will they cry about it? No, they'll leap out and reach for the best outcome. No matter how far that reach is. For the next three years, that's the reality we'll be preparing you for. Treat every day like a battle for your future, got it? That's U.A.'s hero course. Plus Ultra, right? The demonstration's over. Let's get to it."
The students started following their teacher to the first event–the 50 meter dash.
"Hey, Icchan, will you be fine?" Katsuki asked. "You don't have a physical quirk, so–"
"I'm perfectly fine Kacchan," Izuku waved his hand dismissively. "You did better than I expected. A couple months ago you'd have maybe hit 770 meters."
"I've been training hard," Katsuki smiled pridefully.
"Yeah, me too," Izuku smiled in agreement.
"Midoriya," Ochako got their attention. "How'd you guess how far his ball went?"
"My quirk lets me analyze stuff really well," he tapped the side of his head.
"Eh? Really?" She tilted her head. "I assumed your quirk boosted your strength. Y'know, with all your muscles."
"Nope, this is all heavy training," he patted his bicep.
"Bakugo, that was a manly throw," Eijiro put his arm around Katsuki's shoulder. "You've definitely got the edge for most of these events."
"Tch, get off me Shitty Hair," Katsuki leaned away and tried to pry him off.
"I'm a bit worried though..." Eijiro admitted, letting him go in the process. "My quirk doesn't really boost my strength very much, or my speed at all. I dunno if I can score very high in any event..."
"Tch, you've got nothing to worry about," Katsuki frowned. "You're the 3rd place applicant in the practical exam, right?"
"And you're worried about Midoriya?" Mina giggled. "He got first, right?"
1: Momo Yoayorozu 11: Ochako Uraraka
2: Katsuki Bakugo 12: Koji Koda
3: Shoto Todoroki 13: Rikido Sato
4: Tenya Iida 14: Tsuyu Asui
5: Fumikage Tokoyami 15: Yuga Aoyama
6: Mezo Shoji 16: Hanta Sero
7: Izuku Midoriya 17: Denki Kaminari
8: Mashirao Ojiro 18: Kyoka Jiro
9: Eijiro Kirishima 19: Toru Hagakure
10: Mina Ashido 20: Minoru Mineta
"Woah, totally not first, huh?" Mina noted Izuku's score.
"Congrats Kacchan," Izuku patted Katsuki on the shoulder. "You beat Endeavor's son by one spot."
"Really? Todoroki, huh?" Katsuki glanced at the boy with the two-colored hair. Then, back at the board. "Who's Yaoyorozu?"
"The girl with the ponytail, I don't know much about her," Izuku shrugged. "Seems wealthy enough that I could research her family if you want."
"Tch, no, I'm not a creep," Katsuki feigned a gag.
"Just teasing," Izuku laughed.
"Anyways, Minoru Mineta is in last place," Aizawa noted. After glancing at the devastated student, he continued, "That means I expect more effort going forward in this class, understand?"
"W-What?" Minoru glanced up while wiping his tears. "I'm... I'm not expelled?"
"I lied," the teacher said bluntly as a sadistic smile creeped onto his face. "It was a rational deception to get the best out of you."
The class let out a collective "EEEEHHHHH?!"
"Anyways, the course syllabus is in the classroom," Aizawa didn't skip a beat. "Grab it and you're all free to leave for the day. See you tomorrow."
With that, the no-nonsense hero turned and trudged off, leaving the class to go back on their own.
"Phew, that was tough," Mina massaged her shoulder as they walked back.
"I almost died," Minoru sighed quietly as he stared at the floor. Then, with a grin and a glance around, he chuckled, "But at least this class has some real lookers!"
"Hey man, glad you're speaking my language!" the yellow-haired Denki Kaminari clapped him on the back.
"I can't wait for tomorrow," Eijiro smiled, looking up. "We'll get our first go at some real hero training!"
"I wonder who our teacher will be," Katsuki mused.
"Yeah… I wonder," Izuku looked to the side. "Hey, Kacchan, can you grab a syllabus for me? I want to check something out real quick."
After the students changed in the locker rooms, Izuku left the group to do some investigating around campus. As luck would have it, it wasn't long before he bumped into a member of the staff.
"Woah there young man, watch where you're going!" the man warned as he straightened out his very loose collared shirt. "Ahem, are you a first-year? This isn't the way to your classes. I can show you the way if you want, you must need to pick up your syllabus."
Izuku's eyes widened and his smile turned into a dropped jaw as he took in the tall, thin man. The long hair, the sunken eyes with powerful blue irises shining through, the unnaturally loose-fitting clothes. It was unmistakably the man he was looking for.
"Are you coming young man?" He asked the student, who hadn't moved in his surprise.
"U-Um, just a second,". Izuku's smile quickly returned. The last puzzle piece had fallen into his lap. "Would you… happen to be Yagi Toshinori?"
The man turned to fully face him, and his brow furrowed as he studied the green-haired student. "Who are you?"
–Next Up: SLOWLY THE CURTAIN RISES–
Story Supplement Corner!
Conspiracy Theorist Izuku!
Izuku, because of his analytical abilities, has a tendency to notice small, seemingly unrelated details and connect dots in his head. Are most of his theories probably false? Yes, and he acknowledges this. However, he makes a point to explore every theory to its natural conclusion. Firstly as a hobby, and secondly just in case he could be right.
Notes: First ending that I'd actually classify as somewhat of a cliffhanger! Also the first time we're actually seeing through Izuku's pov.
So Mineta stays in! It's different than my other story, but that's because of a certain thing that happened in the manga, so my opinion on that scene has changed.
And finally... how did Izuku's chat with All Might go? Find out next chapter!
As always, feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated! See you next time!