In the week after the exam, Izumi had spent quite a bit of time moping. She knew that she had probably aced the written exam, but... she had gotten nowhere near enough points in the physical exam to pass. Seventeen... From just her observations, she knew that there were at least ten or eleven people who had done better than her just in her group alone, never mind the other groups...

She still hadn't told her mother about One For All, or anything about All Might. It wasn't that she didn't trust her, but... the less people the knew, the better. Speaking of, All Might hadn't contacted her since the exam, and she hadn't been able to contact him. Each and every day felt like more and more of a compounding feeling of failure and regret.

And then... it came. A hologram... of All Might! Her mood shifted up and down rapidly. First, confusion: Why was All Might sending her a video from U.A? Then, sadness: she hadn't made the cut. But then... "...if that was all there was to it. You see, villain points are not the only way people gained points! There were also rescue points, which were given by a panel of judges. You received..."

"Sixty?!" Izumi gasped loudly. That meant, with her 17 Villain Points... 77 points! That meant...

"Izumi Midoriya, 77 points! You pass." Izumi covered her mouth as tears started to stream out of her eyes.

"No way... this is too crazy..."

"Come, young Midoriya," The hologram version of All Might held a hand out to her. "This is your hero academia!"

"All Might!" Izumi yelled as she met her teacher on the same beach she had just spent all those months cleaning. The man's eyes widened, and his mouth spewed blood.

"All Might? Here?"

"No way! Where?" A couple on the pier asked. Izumi sweatdropped slightly. 'We're literally the only people here...' Aloud, though, she shouted,

"Never mind! I had the wrong person!" The couple grumbled, disappointed, but went back to admiring the view.

The duo breathed a sigh of relief. "Well done, Izumi. Congrats on making it in," All Might told the girl.

For the first time in months, the hero watched his protégé smile a full, real smile. "Thank you very much!" 'So... she's encouraged mainly by results, then?' All Might thought. He high-fived her.

"You probably know this already, but I didn't tell U.A. about my connection to you. I thought you'd much rather make it in on your own merits than someone else's." Izumi chuckled and scratched her scalp.

"Yeah... I was surprised to find out that you were a teacher at U.A, though."

The pro shrugged. "I couldn't say anything until the school announced it, unfortunately. I just happened to be offered a job from U.A. when I was searching for a successor..."

Izumi caught on immediately. "... and then you found me." All Might nodded. Izumi had a sudden thought. "Each time I used One For All... my body broke. If I didn't also have Regeneration, I wouldn't have been able to do anything..."

All Might nodded again, this time a little more solemn. "Unfortunate, but unavoidable. The training we did over the past few months made you into a vessel for One For All, but it was still less than a year, and you had less than two weeks to master it. It's not something you can easily practice with, either."

"Wait... did you know that was going to happen?" Izumi demanded. "Even if I healed..." Her voice dropped off. "... it still hurt..." Indeed, she had constantly bruised entire limbs, and had nearly shattered her right leg, and had broken her left arm. The healing took time.

All Might paused for a second. "I guessed as much. Right now, you're either at a hundred percent or zero. But, as we go on, now that you have it, I can now train you while using it, and you'll be able to control the amount you use better." He picked up two cans, and only his arm shifted into its muscular form, and he crushed the cans easily. Unfortunately, this caught the attention of the couple on the pier, who picked him out as All Might this time.

"Come on, Midoriya!" He started jogging along the beach, the girl doing her best to keep pace behind him.

Kaachan was glaring at her. It didn't take a genius to figure out why. After the results had come out publicly, he had been infuriated.

He had cornered her in the courtyard of their school. The accusations came flying after less than a second. "What dirty tricks did you use to get in, huh?!" The fact that they had tied for points made it all the worse. "I am the best!" He shoved her to the ground.

Even with her new Quirk, Izumi couldn't do anything but curl up on the ground. His attacks weren't even hitting her, though. "I am the best!" An explosion. "I am the best!" An explosion. "I... am the best!" An explosion. Even through her shaking and the smoke, she could see the tears in the blond-haired boy's eyes. The explosions weren't aimed at her, they were aimed around her.

Behind her, though, the girl that she had saved in the exam was eagerly trying to get her attention. "Hi! I'm Uraraka! Thank you for saving me!" Izumi chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of her head.

"Well-" She was cut off by a deep, scratchy voice, growling at them.

"Go somewhere else if you want to play at being friends." Behind Uraraka, in the hallway, was a dark-haired man with deep bags under his eyes... in a sleeping bag. "This is the hero course." His voice was monotone. The man unzipped the sleeping bag from the inside and sipped on an unidentified drink. The rest of the sleeping bag fell away as he stood up. "It took you guys eight seconds to shut up. Time is limited. You kids are not rational enough."

For some reason, despite the man's skinny, tired appearance, Izumi felt... very threatened. Maybe this was just what happened when she was faced with pro heroes?

"I'm your homeroom teacher, Shoto Aizawa, nice to meet you," the man explained. He pulled a suit out of his bag. "It's kind of sudden, but put this on and go out onto the field."

"A Quirk assessment test?" The class chanted in unison.

"What about the entrance ceremony? The orientation?" Uraraka asked.

Aizawa dismissed her questions. "U.A.'s selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are. That's also how the teachers run their classes." He turned back to the field. "You kids have been doing these since junior high, too, right? Physical fitness tests where you weren't allowed to use your Quirks? They're important... or so the Ministry says. I disagree. Whatever. Bakugo, you finished at the top of the practical exam, right?"

Izumi drooped down slightly. 'I think he's ignoring me...'

"In junior high, what was your best result for the softball throw?" The pro asked.

"67 meters," Katsuki answered. It was a very good score, especially for without using a Quirk.

"Use your Quirk," the teacher commanded, tossing him a softball. "You can do whatever you want as long as you stay in the circle. Hurry up."

Bakugo warmed up for a few moments, then hurled the softball, an explosion escaping his hand as it left, propelling it at a high velocity. "Die!" He yelled. Izumi sweatdropped. 'Kaachan... "Die"?'

Aizawa tracked the ball's distance with his phone. "Know your own limits, first. That is the most rational way to form the foundation of a hero." He lifted the phone to show the class, the numbers reading 932.8 meters as the softball hit the ground. The group gasped in shock, all expressing different reactions afterward. However, one comment in particular caught Aizawa's attention.

"'It looks fun', huh?" His bloodshot eyes pierced the boy who said it. "You have three years to become a hero. If you have an attitude like that the whole time, I'll make sure you don't graduate." He paused before gaining a slightly malicious grin. "All right. Whoever comes in last place overall in these next eight tests will be judged to have no potential and will be punished with expulsion." The way he said it... Izumi gulped. Did that mean, no matter what, someone would get sent home? The rest of the group gasped.

In particular, the black-haired man moved his gaze towards one person in particular... Izumi. "We're free to do what we want to train our students. Welcome... to U.A.'s hero course!"

"Alright, demonstration's over. First test is the 50-meter."

Izumi, of course, happened to go up against Bakugo. She grit her teeth. She refused to be expelled, and definitely not on her first day. Not after all she had overcome. She readied 5% in her right leg. 100% would be... overkill, and she didn't know how soon the next tests would be, so there might not be enough time to heal from a broken leg.

"On your mark... Get set..." The machine cheerfully announced. A blank shot off. Bakugo wasted no time in shooting explosions out of his palms to shoot himself forward. Izumi pounced off of her right leg... but it wasn't nearly far enough. She readied 5% in her left leg, and jumped as soon as she hit the ground. She barely managed to make it to the fifty-meter-mark before she rolled in the dirt. "3.54 seconds," chirped the recorder, and then, "3.67," came immediately after.

Izumi picked her head out of the dirt just to see Kaachan glaring at her. The look on his face made her want to just plop back down into the dirt, but she pushed herself up onto shaky legs regardless.

The next test, a forearm strength test, she didn't do as well on. Her legs still weren't recovered enough for the long jump, either, and she didn't even know how she would use One For All in the side steps. But, the ball throw... She went right after Uraraka's Infinity... all that was left was the long-distance run, sit-ups, and the seated toe-touch. The toe touch was last, and the only one she'd really need her arms for.

So... she made a choice. She charged up 100% in her right arm. 'If I don't do this now... I might end up last!' Her time in the fifty-meter-dash was really the only thing going for her at the moment. She pulled her arm back, and... threw. But... there was no explosion. No... One For All in her throw. "73.1 meters." 'What...?' Izumi looked down at her intact right arm. 'I know I charged it up... what...?'

"I erased your Quirk. That was further than I expected," Aizawa admitted. His voice was no longer monotone. His Capturing Weapon was floating around his body, and his eyes were glowing red. "That entrance exam was definitely not rational enough. Even a kid like you was accepted." No. His voice seemed... annoyed, almost. "We are here to make heroes, not save washed-up dreams."

"You erased my Quirk...?" Izumi whispered, and then she realized... "Those goggles... you're the Erasure Hero: Eraser Head!" The other students whispered amongst themselves, but the teacher and student weren't listening.

"From what I can tell, you can't control your Quirk, can you? Do you intend to become incapacitated again and have someone save you? How are you supposed to be a hero if you, too, have to be saved after throwing a single punch?"

"That's-" Izumi's retort was quickly cut off as the Capturing Weapon dragged her in close to Aizawa.

"That's what happens. It doesn't matter if you'll heal in three minutes, how are you going to defend yourself when you can hardly move? It doesn't matter how much you want to save people if you're done after two. With your power, you can't be a hero. Not like this." The bands released her, and Aizawa closed his eyes. "I've returned your Quirk. You will have two turns for the ball throw. Hurry up and get it over with." He walked away, leaving Izumi feeling slightly defeated. Aizawa watched the girl intently.

Izumi struggled with her options. She could debilitate herself and get a higher score here, or just settle with average scores for the rest of the exams. 'No... those aren't my only choices! But... even All Might said it wouldn't happen overnight. But...' She mentally growled at the bloodshot-eyed teacher. 'I'll show him.'

She wound up to throw again. Instead of charging it in her whole arm, she charged it in just two fingers. She had noticed in the earlier exam that, despite getting most of the impact, her hand always healed quicker than her actual arm did. So... She thrust her arm forward, making sure her index and middle fingers were the last to touch the softball as she launched it. It soared, but Izumi was pushed backwards slightly as both fingers broke. She grit her teeth, but a squeak of pain still made it out.

"864.5 meters," Aizawa announced, back to his monotone voice. However... a bit of interest attached itself to the girl... and a bit of respect. To not back down, but, rather, excel, when faced with such intimidation... Unordinary. Before Izumi's eyes, her fingers began to heal already, despite the fact that she had used 100% with them. It wasn't perfect, but... it was better than losing her whole arm for a couple minutes... which was good, because she didn't have a couple minutes.

"Deku, tell me what the hell is going on, you bitch!" Izumi hopped out of the way as Bakugo threw an explosion at her. This just infuriated the blond further, who threw more attacks. 'Isn't Mr. Aizawa going to stop this?' Izumi thought, but the teacher was... observing.

"I can explain-" Izumi started, but Kaachan wasn't letting up. And, really, she couldn't. Not without outing All Might. She hopped out of another explosion, but Bakugo was adapting quickly, and she got hit, and sent flying backwards. She grit her teeth and readied her left arm to counterattack, but, at the last second, she paused. 'Fighting Kaachan... what am I thinking?' It was a thought that really wasn't even her own anymore, but the decade of abuse between the parties was not something that would heal quickly.

At that moment, Eraser Head stepped in. "Geez, making me waste my Quirk like this... I have dry eye, damnit!" His eyes were glowing and his hair was floating again, and his weapon was restraining Bakugo. He struggled for a few moments, giving Izumi time to scoot away, before he stopped resisting and the binds return to Aizawa. "We're wasting time. Whoever's next, get ready."

Bakugo was up for his turn, again. He was sweating more now than he had been earlier. He shouted, "Die!" as he chucked the ball. It soared, smoke puffing out behind it as it accelerated at a great pace. The only noise as they watched was that of Katsuki's huffing. After what seemed like hours, the ball finally hit the ground.

"1343.7 meters," Aizawa noted.

By the end of the tests, Izumi was left breathing heavily, although that wasn't as bad as a few other participants. "Alright. I'm going to give you your scores now. They'll be based off of your positions in each task. Instead of explaining each one of them, I'll just show them all at once..." He clicked a button, and a hologram showed up. Nervous whispers began.

Izumi scanned nervously. The only tests she had really done well in had been the fifty-meter and the ball throw. Her hand had, luckily, healed by the time they had finished the long-distance run, which she had done worse-than-average in due to the pain. She scanned the list. The two recommended students had come in first, Bakugo after, then Iida, then a few more people she didn't know... then, in sixteenth, her. In last place was a girl who Izumi didn't recognize: Toru Hagakure. Turning around, she realized that this was because this was the girl who was invisible thanks to her Quirk.

Izumi didn't know whether to be happy that she wasn't expelled, or feel sorry for the girl, who had clearly overcome great obstacles to get this far. "Oh, by the way, I was lying about the expulsion."

The class was silent for a second before almost all of them exploded. "Huh?!"

"It was a rational deception to draw out the upper limits of your Quirks."

"Of course it was a lie..." A girl with a large ponytail said. "It should've been obvious if you just thought it through."

'But...' Izumi thought. 'My interaction with him didn't feel fake in the slightest... could he have changed his mind because I didn't come in last?'

It wasn't worth thinking about, though. "With that, we're done here. There are handouts with the curriculum and such in the classroom so, when you get back, look over them," Aizawa told them as he started walking away. "Midoriya," he said as he passed the girl, then paused. Finally, he said, "Show me your fingers." Izumi held up her hands for inspection, and he squeezed the two fingers she had used on the ball, which were back to healthy by now. Regardless, she still flinched.

He stared at her for a moment. "Good. Tomorrow will be packed with even more rigorous tests. Prepare yourselves." He told them.

The next day held Hero Basic Training with All Might. Whispers erupted around the classroom as soon as he walked in. Izumi trained her eyes on the man who had been her trainer for the past ten months, watching him intently. Each step was exaggerated before he came to a stop at the podium at the front of the classroom.

"I teach Hero Basic Training. It is a subject where you train in different ways to learn the basics of being a hero," he informed them, making Izumi sweatdrop. 'He's so... different, now that it's not just one on one training...' She thought. He continued, "You'll take the most units of this subject! Let's get right into it! This is what we'll do today-" He held up a card with the word 'BATTLE' on it, "-Combat training!"

Abruptly, Izumi realized that she had become somewhat desensitized to the man after training with him for so many months. His nature was normal to her now. It was almost tough to remind herself that the reason her classmates were acting like fanboys and fangirls was because they were, simply put, just that. All Might was still just an unachievable goal for them.

"And, to go with that, are these!" In a strong, fluid motion, All Might flung his hand at the wall, which had slots that began to protrude, revealing metal boxes with numbers on them. "Costumes made based on your Quirk registrations and requests you sent in before school started!" The classroom gasped in unison.

"Costumes!" Izumi whispered excitedly to herself. She had stayed up for many nights designing hers.

All Might continued, "After you change, gather in Ground Beta!" Everything he said was so emotional, so excited, it was hard to not get excited just by being around him. 'Half of being a top hero is woo'ing the public, as well,' Izumi reminded herself.

"Yes, sir!" The class resounded.

Izumi quickly lost lots of her enthusiasm when she realized what changing meant-a loss of comfort. The students quickly retreated to their respective changing rooms, all carrying their cases. Izumi quickly shed her shirt, and a quick gasp escaped from a girl around her.

"Izumi-san!" Uraraka exclaimed. Izumi sighed. She knew this would happen. "Your... your body!" Izumi sweatdropped. She couldn't have said it in any other way? The words attracted the attention of other girls in 1-A, and all it did was make Izumi want to hide. A sports bra didn't do much to hide her muscle complexion, or, more importantly, the dozens of scars littering her body.

"My ability used to not be able to heal my body perfectly," Izumi laughed awkwardly. "So... I got left with a couple of ug... a couple of scars." She explained.

"Some of those look like burn scars, ribbit," Another girl observed. She was, interestingly enough, frog-like in appearance. Izumi quickly shrugged her shirt back on. She didn't like people looking at her body, anyway. It had been a critical lapse in judgment to think that she would be more comfortable here. They were inquisitive teens too, after all. Just because they got into U.A. didn't mean they were more mentally mature than the teens outside of it.

"I'll just change in a stall..." She muttered.

After she closed the door behind her, Izumi breathed in deeply and unfolded her costume. It was a grey jumpsuit with dark-green highlights running down the sides and sometimes in the middle, contrasting perfectly with her bright-red boots. There was also a grey hood that cast a light shadow on her face when worn, as well as a pair of off-white fingerless gloves that had marked lines on them.

Izumi stretched as she put the outfit on, leaving her clothes in the case. The costume was slightly lower than room temperature from being stored in the metal box, and she shivered a little bit. As she opened the stall door and walked out, Uraraka and Tsuyu were both standing outside, twiddling their fingers. As soon as they heard the door open, they perked up quickly.

"Gomen!" Uraraka exclaimed, bowing her head.

Tsuyu echoed, "Ribbit." Izumi laughed awkwardly again, and tried to shrug it off.

"It's alright... We're going to be late to class, though, we should get going." The trio rushed out to Ground Beta, not knowing that there had been one more person left in that room analyzing them.

"Now, it's time for combat training!"

"Sir!" A metal-clad man announced his presence. This was Iida, who had engines in his calves. His older brother, Ingenium, was a pro hero as well. "This is a battle center from the entrance exam, so will we be conducting urban battles again?"

The answer, Izumi thought, was obvious. Of course not. Why would they work on something they had already proven capable at. "No," All Might answered, "we're going to move ahead two steps! Most of the time, fighting villains takes place outside, but if you look at the total numbers, atrocious villains appear indoors at a higher rate. Imprison, house arrest, backroom deals-" He listed. "In this society filled with heroes, truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows." The sentence seemed to come off as weird to Izumi, as if there was a second meaning to the words.

He stared at them, his gaze piercing into each and every one of their eyes. "For this class, you'll be split into villains and heroes and fight 2-on-2 indoor battles."

"Without basic training?" Tsuyu asked.

Izumi craned her head. "Maybe this is our basic training," she suggested.

"Good, Young Midoriya!" All Might guffawed. "There is nothing as teaching as true experience. This is a real battle to understand these basics! But, the most important factor here is there is no robot you run at, or who screams pre-recorded messages at you. In the exam, you were never in any real danger except the danger you placed yourself in." A pointed gaze was sent at Izumi, who gulped. "In the real world, villains aren't going to hold their punches. They will have Quirks-Dangerous Quirks that you can neither predict nor protect yourself from. There is nothing as telling to your future to how you can adapt to these things, how much you expect the unexpected."

A girl walked in from behind them, slightly late to class it seemed. "How will wins and losses be determined?" She asked loudly. Her charcoal eyes were calm, but a single look at her radiated superiority.

"Can we beat them up anyway?" Bakugo growled as he sneered at nothing in general.

Another question came, more reasonable than the last. "Will the punishment be expulsion like with Mr. Aizawa?" Uraraka questioned. More questions came flowing in, which the Pro Hero in front of them waved off as he pulled out a tiny booklet.

'A script...?' Izumi thought to herself, slightly disappointed.

"The situation is that the villains have hidden a nuclear weapon somewhere in their hideout. The heroes are trying to dispose of that. The heroes need to catch the villains or get the nuclear weapon back in the allotted time," He recited. "The villains need to protect the nuclear weapon for the whole time, or catch the heroes." He then picked up a box that was laying on the ground near him. "Teams and opponents will be determined by drawing lots!"

"So haphazardly?" Iida questioned. Izumi looked down so her hood covered her face and rolled her eyes. It was a classroom exercise, they weren't deciding partners for life. She paused. However... this would be a first impression for a great deal of them.

She looked down at the lots she had pulled. "Kaminari-san," she greeted, looking up at the blond-haired boy. He seemed to be slightly... distracted, but quickly pulled himself together.

"Yo!" He smiled and gave a peace sign in greeting. Izumi instantly felt a bit more relaxed around him.

She tried to make small talk. "So... What's your Quirk?" The boy laughed and scratched his scalp.

"Well, my Quirk is Electrification. I can generate electricity and manipulate it... kinda." He laughed awkwardly. "But, just between me and you..." He got in close to her and whispered, "If I use too much, I kinda fry myself for a lil' bit."

Izumi smiled. "You mean, like a computer chip?"

"Yep, like that!" Kaminari smiled, seeing the humor in the simile. "Either way, I'm more interested in your Quirk," he admitted. "I think we all are."

Izumi was quickly saved from having to explain just what the hell was going on in a way that was believable enough by All Might starting to announce the groups. Kaminari sighed. "Whew, at least we're not up first."

"Everyone else, head toward the monitor room," the hero ordered. They all complied with a shout.

The battles went on. Iida and Uraraka defeated Koda and Sato, although the last two didn't seem to feel too badly about it, Koda only blushing in embarrassment. Todoroki and Tokoyami absolutely demolished Sero and Hagakure. Izumi couldn't help but feel bad for Hagakure - She had been having it rough so far at U.A. Tsuyu and Jiro had pulled out a surprising upset against Mineta and his partner, the recommendation student Momo Yaoyorozu. The reasoning being Mineta was too busy trying to molest his teammate to actually concentrate on the battle. Ashido and Shoji had also had a solid battle against Ojiro and Aoyama, ending with a stalemate and a timeout, which was a villain win. And finally, for the last battle of the day...

Kaminari was shaking. "Against Bakugo... that monster..." He muttered. Izumi tried to put on a brave face, but she was worried too. She was still frozen whenever Kaa-chan approached her... Even with this new power that All Might had given her, it didn't change her emotions... not when it mattered. She tried to tuck herself into her jumpsuit, but the skin-tight material offered little safety.

"At least we're attacking," He offered shakily. "If he was on offense, he might have just blown up the entire building..."

Izumi shook her head. "There's nothing stopping him from doing that either way..." Kaminari gulped.

"Don't talk like that! I don't wanna dieeeeeee-" A boy with spiky red hair came over and bopped Kaminari on the head.

"Chill out, man. You aren't going to die." A sinister smile spread across his face, though it was still playful. "We're just going to bash you into the dirt. Isn't that right, Bakugo?" He called out to his teammate, who sneered and growled at him. The teen just chuckled.

Kaminari raised an eyebrow. "You know, if he decides to blow up the building, there's nothing stopping him from hitting you, too." Kirishima's face quickly went from hopeful to despaired.

"I'm gonna die..." He muttered. "We're all gonna die!"

Kirishima and Bakugo went in first. Izumi and Kaminari were given a few minutes to study the floor plan, and Izumi quickly determined the most likely place for the 'bomb' to be, Kaminari nodding. "Okay, what about a plan?" The boy asked.

Izumi paused. "A plan?"

"Yeah! We don't want to go in and get wrecked by a flame-wielding demon, do we?"

Izumi paused for a moment, and she looked down slightly. "It'll most likely be you versus Kirishima. Kaa... Bakugo will more than likely target me. We have a little bit of history." She may have understated a little, but the point got across.

"Alright... So, what should I focus on? Just-"

Izumi interrupted him. "Just get around him a little bit. Lower his guard, maybe. All you need to do is touch the bomb to win, after all."

Kaminari gave her a thumbs-up. "Leave it to me!" A concerned look passed over his face. "Will you be alright." Izumi paused for a few moments as she thought about the answer.

"Most likely, no."

I couldn't really find a good place to end this chapter, and I had it sitting at 3600 words for a couple weeks :sweatdrop:
Sorry for the delay
Hope y'all enjoy

See you in hopefully not as long of a time