Author's note: Hey everyone, FireSlash here and welcome to another chapter of 'Electro'. Glad to see people agree with me about how Denki is an underrated character and is unfortunately often misrepresented in Fanfiction.
Anyways, I don't have much to say, so let's get right into the story. Review and enjoy :-)
0000
"Hey, have you seen a cute short girl with green hair and freckles?"
"Can't say I have, sorry."
Denki frowned. Ever since the exams ended, he had been searching for Izumi. He had been given another chance at grabbing her contact information and he wasn't going to let it go to waste.
Sadly, he's had no luck so far, but he refused to give up. Surely one of these people has seen her. After asking around, he spotted an adorable brunette just leaving the building. Perhaps on another day, he would've tried shooting his shot with her, but he was a man on a mission! Walking up to her, he proceeded to ask her the same question.
"A girl with green hair and freckles?" The girl mumbled to herself, tilting her head in a manner that Denki found to be endearing. Again though, he was a man on a mission… a mission to find another cute girl.
That sounded wrong…
"Oh! I met a girl like that before the exams!" The girl stated. "I saw her again when she saved me from the zero-pointer! She got really hurt and was taken to the infirmary."
Excitement swelled up in the blonde's chest. She was still here, how lucky was that?! "Thank you so much."
Faster than the brunette could react, Denki ran into the building in search of the infirmary.
0000
"Oh dear, did you get hurt too? You look fine though..."
"No, I'm here to see Izumi Midoriya," Denki told the school's nurse, one he recognized to be the pro-hero Recovery Girl. Even if he wasn't as big of a superhero nut as Izumi, the boy still knew who the heroine in front of him was due to her status as one of the best healers in the world. "Is she here?"
Recovery Girl glanced at the boy, trying to find out why he wanted to see her patient. "Are you a friend of hers?"
"Yeah." Denki liked to think they were friends, even though they haven't spoken in nine months. He was the type of person who considered anyone he got along with to be his friends.
The elderly woman nodded, sensing that it was safe to let the boy see the girl. "This way. She ended up very injured, so she might still be sleeping due to my quirk."
"Ok."
Being led by the nurse to her patient, Denki couldn't help but smile seeing Izumi in the flesh. He felt relieved. Granted, her arms and legs were wrapped in bandages, but still, she was here.
"She saved me from the zero-pointer!"
Denki had to admit, he was curious as to how she ended up saving the brunette from the zero-pointer. His first thought was that she hacked it somehow, but that didn't explain why she was so injured. His next thought was that she brought gear to the exam and fought off the zero-pointer with them, but due to the sheer size of the thing, she ended up getting hurt. That sounded better, though now he was curious as to where she got the gear from. Did U.A give it to her or did a support company find potential in her? Also, where was her gear? Sure, it was probably destroyed when she fought the zero-pointer, but shouldn't the scraps be somewhere in this room? Recovery Girl didn't seem like the type to toss out other peoples' personal belongings.
Not knowing how long it'll take for Izumi to wake up, Denki shot a quick text to his parents and pulled a chair next to her bed.
0000
"Why the hell am I so bad at this game!?"
Hearing someone yelling was not a good way to wake up. If it wasn't for the fact that she was still groggy, she would've jumped off the bed. Instead, her eyes opened and immediately noticed she was in an infirmary. She began trying to remember what happened, only to frown as all the memories of the exam came flooding back to her. However, before she could fall into a pit of darkness, she turned her head and was surprised to see Denki sitting next to her bed, glaring at his phone.
"Kaminari?"
Any sign of anger on the boy's face immediately dissipated upon hearing the girl speak, him turning to face her. "Hey, glad to see you remember me. It's been a while. How's it going? You seem to be doing well." Compared to the skinny girl he found nine months ago, Izumi's arms and legs were now toned, showing signs of having undergone some muscle training.
For a second, he saw it. A scar on her arm, a glimpse of her past. He didn't know it was a burn mark, one made early in her life, nor did he know that there were way more on her body. He was far too happy to see her to really pay attention, but when he finally found out… well, that's in the near future, so there's no point in spoiling it now...
"I-I'm fine," the girl replied, still surprised to see Denki. "I forgot you were applying to U.A." She did. But why was he here with her? Shouldn't he have gone home already? Why was he taking the time to chat with her?
"Haha, yeah, I am," Denki admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "The written portion was a pain in the ass. I hope I passed…"
Izumi, having found the written exam to be easy, didn't remark on how she did, instead choosing to offer the boy some words of comfort. "Y-you probably did fine…"
"Hopefully. How about you? How was the exam?"
Izumi fell into the pit of sadness she managed to avoid earlier, scaring Denki. Did he do something wrong?
"...I failed."
"You probably did fine," Denki hastily said in an attempt to cheer her up, throwing her words back at her.
"N-no, I didn't." Tears were forming around her eyes.
"What happened?" Seeing the distraught look on her face, Denki decided to offer her a (metaphorical) shoulder to lean on.
"...I didn't get any points. I got scared and froze..."
"But what about the zero-pointer? I heard you fought it."
"Y-yeah. I destroyed it. T-there was a girl in trouble," Izumi explained. "S-she was going to be crushed and I couldn't let that happen. What kind of hero would I be if I did that? "
"A pretty bad one," Denki jokes, trying to lighten up the mood. Sadly, it did nothing to raise the girl's spirits. Frowning, Denki began using the only two brain cells his brain possessed to try and find a way to cheer her up. He couldn't lie, it wasn't looking good for her. Not getting any points during the physical exam… she was most likely going to fail. At the same time, even if the zero-pointer wasn't worth anything, it was far stronger than the other robots. U.A would have to be stupid to ignore the fact Izumi defeated it, and this was coming from HIM, the boy who barely had a passing gpa. Also, weren't they looking for future heroes? If Izumi saved someone from death, then isn't she a hero (not counting the fact that the zero-pointer was most likely programmed to avoid killing anyone, something that Denki didn't realize was a possibility)? "In all seriousness though, they wouldn't ignore what you did. They might give you some compensation for saving that girl. I'm far from being the sharpest tool in the shed, but even I know that it would be stupid for a school for heroes to ignore a heroic deed. If U.A doesn't accept you, that's their loss. There's other hero schools out there. You can still be a hero."
"Y-yeah, you're right," Izumi said, having taken everything Denki said to heart. Sure, she might have not gotten into U.A, the school where her idol All Might had gotten in, but she still had other chances at being a hero. Just look at Mt. Lady. She came from a school in the middle of nowhere yet was the twenty third highest ranking hero in the country. What's stopping her from doing the same? U.A held their exams three weeks before the other schools did due to their low acceptance rate, so she'll have plenty of time to apply somewhere else if she doesn't get in. "T-thanks Kaminari."
"No problem. How'd you beat the zero-pointer anyways?"
An embarrassed blush adorned her face. "I punched it…"
"You punched it?" Denki asked. "Like straight up punched it?"
Izumi nodded.
"But aren't you quirkless?"
The girl suddenly became nervous. "I-I actually awoke my quirk during the exam. When I saw the girl in danger, I felt something s-swell up inside me. T-the next thing I know, I'm j-jumping ten stories high and I p-punched it."
"That's pretty cool," Denki told her. "So what are you going to call your quirk?"
"I'm thinking of 'Superpower'," Izumi admitted. "It's a strength enhancing quirk, so I think it's a good name for it...
"Sounds good." While it was a bit plain, Denki literally named his quirk 'electrocution', so he had no room to complain. Speaking of which, he'll have to redo his quirk registration sheet in the future now that his quirk has evolved, but that was something he could focus on later. "Hey, so once you get better, wanna celebrate completing the exam? I know this great ice-cream place nearby and I'd love to catch up with you."
Izumi gave him a look of surprise, but soon swapped it out for a smile. "S-sure."
"Sweet!"
Eventually, Izumi was released from the shop and the two went to the ice-cream shop Denki recommended to her. From there, the two exchanged stories from what they've been up to, Izumi telling him about how she cleaned up a beach to gain muscle while Denki told her a bit about his quirk's evolution, something the girl immediately jotted down in her notebook.
"Hey, you wouldn't mind sending me a pic of that when you're done, would you?" Denki asked, pointing at the entry she was making of him. "I think it could help me discover more about my quirk." He still didn't know the full extent of his quirk's power, so he was hoping that her notes might help him with that.
"I-I don't mind…"
"Cool!" Taking out a napkin and grabbing a pen, the boy scribbled down something before passing it to her. "Here's my number. Feel free to text me anytime."
"T-thanks." Izumi was blushing, though Denki couldn't tell why. If he was a mind reader, he would've noticed that the girl was freaking out on the inside. 'I got a boy's number!'
Soon, they began talking about trivial things. However, Izumi had one question in her mind she wanted to ask, but couldn't. 'Why are you so willing to hang out with me?' She wanted to know so badly. For all her life, no one outside her family wanted to be around her. They all shunned her, calling her useless due to a lack of a quirk. Yet, Denki showed no hostility when he found out. In fact, he encouraged her to pursue her dream, something even her own mother saw was impossible. He was the first person to ever be in her corner and she was forever grateful for this opportunity, yet she didn't know why the boy was this friendly with her. What made him different from the rest?
Still, this was something she didn't want to lose, so for now, she'll keep her mouth shut so she didn't screw up...
His biggest regret about switching sides was that it drove a wrench into their relationship. She would continue fighting for the heroes, her dream never dying. He couldn't blame her, he could never blame her. It just so happened that the two simply saw things differently. She thought that she could change the system from the inside. Denki felt that was impossible; the system was set and it'll continue to remain. For those who will forever be screwed by said system, the only thing they could do was cheat. This may brand them as villains, but who cares? However, just because he understood why she thought what she did didn't mean he was going to accept it. He would convince her to join his side so that they can be together again, free from the world which has oppressed her. They didn't deserve her; they weren't there when she needed them, so why should she be there in their times of need? There were others who needed her gifts, people who actually appreciate everything she has to offer instead of only one part of her. He will make her see the light, and then they will be happy. It doesn't matter how many people he needs to fight, he swears he will bring her to his side-
...
Ȅ̶͈̙̙͉̳̤̺̠̺͖ͅv̸̡̪͔̩̀̀͊̄̚e̴̞͊̉̐̌͌̇́͗̈̀͘͘n̷̢̢̛̥͈͕͊̏̆̾͊́̅̊̓͝ͅ ̴̧̼̤̲̦̙̼̯͎̋̆̅̓͘ȉ̵͎̃̓͆̃̚̕f̶̝͈̠̲̞̫̠̀̉̈́̏͆͘ ̶̢̟̳͚͖͉̖̳͕̥͔̞̬̆̽̽̓̃͗̽͒̀̿̀́i̴̼̖͔͍͔̦̤̝̮͙̲̾̒̃́ͅt̸̡̥̞͕͉͙̯͚̘͂͜͜'̴͈͂̇̀͆́͐͋s̵̢̛̳̼̺͎͓̞͚̝̀̅͛̇̾͋̍͒̾̎̈͝͝͝ ̶̨̢͓̬̣̰̥̃̍͒̂̾̾̂̐̾̇̂̂̕̕͝t̶̫̳̐h̸̞̒͌͐͋̈́͐͛͛̃̓͊̈́͠e̸̛̻̖̦̠͚̓̌̑̾̚ͅͅ ̶̢̢̗̥̫̪̮̻͚̺̫͕̀̅ļ̷̰̳̘̖̹̺̣̏̆͘͜ã̸̡̨̢̛̠̹̥͇̮̥͚̖̥͉̀̑̎̋̌́́̋͘͜͠͝s̴̗̥͈̤͕̫̎͒̎͠t̴̢͚̠̱̱̖̪̘̼̄́̌͝ͅ ̸̨̘̖̰͍̈̓̆͐̎͌̍̀̒͜͠t̴̮͇̟̹̠̹̐͋̀̈̐́͐͑͂̓̎̚͠ḫ̷͖̿̓̃͆́̋̀̊̅͐̓̉̕͠i̶̙̬͖̰̺̞͂̿́̊̍̋̏͒̿̊́͜͜͝n̷̢̥͙͖͕͖̠̟͍̅͂͊́́̓͝g̶̨̯̭̼̺͖̿̄͜ ̵͖͚̃̅͆̐̍̔ͅh̵̢̨̞͓̹̙̱̣͉͓̳̆̀̍́̊̎̿̆̽͘̚͝ę̷̡̻͚͖͔͔̼̱̱̃͑͆̆̊̀̐́ ̵̭͋̂ḑ̶̜̭̰̯̤̩͚̘̤̞̜̏̿̆͗͊̌̽̑̽̄̕͝͠o̶͍̮̻̬̙͚͚͍̰̠͙̒̇̓̐̽́̈́͜͝͠͠ę̵͖̘̮͙͚͍̰̞̖̗̼̤̰̲̓̇̈̑̂͋̒̌̑͆̐͑͋s̸̛͎͙̗̻̝̝̘͎̫̀̓̈́̂̈́̚
...
0000
Izumi: Hey, did you get anything from U.A yet?
Denki: Not yet
Denki chuckled as he put his phone down. It's been two weeks since the exams and to be honest, he was a bit nervous. Not as nervous as Izumi for the poor girl has been texting him non-stop to see if he got anything in the mail. He could understand her nervousness since this was the week everyone would receive their results.
During those two weeks, Denki made sure to keep in contact with her, asking her common questions like 'how was your day' and sending her memes. The girl was very responsive, sending stuff as well. She even managed to send over the analysis she made of him using what he told her about his quirk.
Denki Kaminari (W.I.P)
Quirk: Electrocution- Kaminari's quirk gives him the ability to generate, absorb, and release a large amount of electricity (limit: unknown. Need further data). He can detect electric currents in appliances and see an outline of whatever is containing them. He is also immune to being electrocuted. Should be noted that Kaminari claims that his quirk has mutated; before, he could only generate and release 1.3 million volts before his brain is fried, drastically reducing his brain functions to the minimum needed to keep a person alive. During this time, he would, in his words, become brain-dead. He also couldn't sense electrical currents. Currently imposes a two million voltage limit as he claims he feels his body changing if he absorbs more, as if it was breaking down, though he claims no pain is felt. Denki also possesses a small healing factor seeing as he's able to recover from having his brain fried.
Possible New Ways of Using Quirk: Detection of objects- Kaminari's quirk lets him see anything which has an electrical current. The concepts of Atmospheric electricity and Electromagnetic fields should allow him to detect objects even when blind. There are potentially more ways Kaminari could use his quirk regarding this, but more information is needed.
Potential Weaknesses: Large bodies of water- Kaminari could accidentally short circuit himself when in large bodies of water, preventing his quirk from working.
Sadly, as the boy didn't know much about his quirk himself, there wasn't much information he could give her. Still though, she did a great job and even made him realize that he could detect objects that might not have an obvious electrical current surrounding them. It required a bit of focus, but seeing as he had some experience detecting electrical currents, it didn't take him long to figure out how to do so. In fact, the hardest part was actually focusing. His ADHD made it hard for him to focus on a single task unless he was really enjoying it, and sitting in a room with his eyes closed wasn't the most exciting thing in the world.
Regarding the 'body breaking down' feeling he would receive, he ended up finding out about that while he was practicing his quirk. When he felt the sensation, it startled him. Now, he wasn't afraid of using his power, but he wanted to find out what was going on in a controlled environment before doing anything drastic, hence why he tends to stay at two million volts.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice his mother was walking up to him.
"Denki, this came for you," she said, an envelope with U.A's insignia located on the top left corner.
"Thanks mom. Should I wait 'till dad gets back?"
His father typically worked from six in the morning to ten at night and got home at about ten-thirty, so he would be waiting awhile, but this was something he wanted to do. His father's been far more exhausted this past week and has been getting home an hour later than usual. Him getting into U.A might be a nice way of surprising his father, assuming he does get in.
"Your father said it was ok for you to open it," his mother replied.
"Alright. I'll tell you how it goes."
*BZZT!*
Hearing his phone vibrate in his pocket while he walked to his room, the blonde whipped it out and saw that he received a text from Izumi.
Izumi: OhmygodIgotinbecausetherewashiddenheropointsandIgotsomebecauseIsavedthegirlfromthezeropointer.
*BZZT!*
Denki laughed as another message went through.
Izumi: *Oh my god I got in because there were hidden points given out for good deeds and I got some because I saved the girl from the zero-pointer.
Izumi: Sorry, got excited.
The boy had a goofy smile on his face, proud of his friend's accomplishment.
Denki: That's great! We're going out to eat to celebrate. I know a great sushi place.
If there was one thing Denki had extensive knowledge of, it was that of various places to eat. Well… and quotes from novelists which were all but useless except for a jeopardy-like contest.
Izumi: You don't have to…
Denki: But I want to.
He should really get a job. He was almost out of money and he wasn't willing to bother his parents for some…
Sitting down on his bed, the boy heard the sound of paper crumpling from under his right hand, reminding him that he also had a letter to read...or something. From inside the envelope, he could sense some sort of electronic device. Opening it, he was greeted with a grey disk.
"How do I turn this on?" Flipping it around, the boy tried to find some way to turn the machine on, only for it to suddenly do so itself. "Gah!"
Dropping it on the floor, Denki quickly picked it up as a hologram began playing upside-down
"I AM HERE AS A PROJECTION!" The voice of All Might, the number one hero and the word's 'Symbol of Peace', boomed as Denki flipped the hologram so it was facing the right way. "Denki Kaminari...let us see here…" The pro-hero stopped as he pulled out some papers and looked through them. "It says here that you managed to pass the written portion of the exam and received a whopping total of eighty villain points on the physical portion, which is enough to pass!-"
"WOOHOO!" Jumping off his bed, the boy ran straight to his mother. "Mom, I passed! I'm going to U.A!"
His mother beamed proudly at her son. "Congratulations Denki." She wrapped him in a hug, one he accepted. "I'm so proud of you."
Meanwhile, the hologram continued to play.
"-In fact, you managed to get the most villain points out of everyone, putting you in first place. However, that's not all! You see, the test was designed to help us look for those we think could be the best possible heroes! During the exam, we noticed that you've chosen to aid your competition at numerous points."
A replay of Denki saving the invisible girl appeared as well as some of his other saves before the image of All Might came back. This earned you a total of ten hero points, boosting your score to ninety. Come Kaminari, this is your hero academia…"
"THIS HOLOGRAM WILL SELF DESTRUCT IN 3...2…1."
*BOOM!*
"The hell was that?" Denki's mother asked her son.
"I don't know," the blonde said with a shrug. "Sounds like it came from my room."
Carefully walking to his room, Denki opened the door, causing smoke to come flying out. In the middle laid a destroyed hologram disk. "All I did was leave it on the desk...what happened?"
0000
There was a few days left before Denki started U.A and he was currently faced with a problem; how was he going to get an air-conditioner inside his house? When their old and only one broke down a week ago, Denki's father decided to purchase a used one off the internet. This afternoon, it had arrived, but only Denki was home. His father and mother were both working, his mother being a waitress for a restaurant nearby, and even though his father said he would take care of it once he got home, the boy wanted to be a good son.
Sadly, not only were air conditioners heavy, but they were extremely wide to the point where you needed two people to pick one up. Still, that didn't stop the blonde from trying and failing.
"Damnit, this thing is too heavy," the boy groaned as he released the air conditioner. Now, the air conditioner was in a box, meaning that if he was careful, Denki could push it inside. The only thing left to do would be to dock it in the window. Sadly, this slipped through his head, so for the next five minutes, he had made a fool of himself by trying to do things the hard way. "One more."
Grabbing the box, Denki proceeded to try to lift the thing off of the ground. Though it rose slightly, it was too heavy for him to move around with.
While he was busy, his next door neighbor, a bald man named Yu Hojo, was dumping trash in his front lawn. Glancing at Denki, the man couldn't help but shake his head. "The hell are you doing this time kid?"
"Hey Mr. Hojo," Denki greeted his neighbor. "Just trying to get this inside."
Contrary to what his bluntness and everlasting 'grumpy face' might suggest, Yu was a nice man. He actually helped Denki's parents unload their furniture when they first moved into the neighborhood. The Kaminari family and him got along to the point where they'd spend holidays together. According to the man, he had a quirk that allowed him to create crystals from his body. Why he was stuck in a poor neighborhood wasn't something Denki understood.
Seeing how futile the blonde's attempts were, the man decided to offer him aid. "Need help?"
Denki shook his head, a combination of his pride and him not wanting to bother his neighbor causing him to refuse the offer. "I got this."
Yu nodded. "If you break your back, scream and I'll call an ambulance."
"Oh har-har…"
Having no other reason to stay, Yu made his way back to his house, only to stop upon remembering something. "Your father told me you got into U.A. Good job. We need more good heroes in this world."
Denki was confused by the man's statement. Sure, corrupted heroes existed, but there weren't that many of them, otherwise he'd hear more about them. Instead of asking him what he meant, Denki decided to take the praise. "Thanks."
With a nod, Yu entered his house, leaving Denki to his own devices.
"Wait, what was I doing again?" A quick look at the box currently outside his door reminded him. "Right."
Gripping the box, Denki resumed his attempts at trying to bring it inside. Concentrating harder, he continued lifting, not realizing that he was unconsciously absorbing some electricity as he did so. Suddenly, the box seemed to be getting lighter until he was able to lift it off the ground with no sweat. "Hey, I did it!" It was then that he realized how strange it was that he was able to do so after struggling for so long. "But why's it so light?"
Looking around, the boy couldn't find anything unusual and decided to enter his house. Again, setting up the air conditioner to his living room window proved to be a simple task. It was only once he was finished that he felt his body release what seemed to be stored up energy.
"Hold on a second…" Grabbing the left edge of his three-seated couch, Denki began to lift it, absorbing electricity to boost himself. With the sudden power boost, he found himself able to keep the left side off the air with a single arm. "Absorbing electricity gives me super strength… I got to tell Izumi!"
Gently dropping the couch, the boy began playing with his new ability, discovering that by absorbing his old limit of 1.3 million volts, he could bench his family's couch.
'Wait, how do I know how many volts I absorb and release?' Denki randomly questioned to himself as he played around with his quirk. He never understood how this was possible even before his upgrade. Eh, that was a problem for another time. For now, he was going to see how much he could lift when absorbing two million volts.
0000
*BEEP* BEEP* *BEEP*
"Ugh, five more minutes," Denki mumbled to himself, having set an alarm to wake him up. Closing his eyes, it only took him five minutes for them to open again, him shooting out of his bed as he remembered something important; today's his first day at U.A. "Shit!"
Scarfing down a quick apple, the boy prepared himself for his first day of classes. Flying out the door, Denki was lucky to catch the train he needed to take before it left the station, he being granted a free public transportation pass as a result of him attending U.A. Once he reached his station, Denki ran to U.A, all while glancing at his phone. Thankfully, once he arrived at U.A, there was still five minutes left before classes started.
"Phew!"
Entering the building, the boy soon began looking for his classroom. Finding 1-A and entering, Denki noticed that was the last person to do so, seeing as there were already nineteen out of twenty students in said classroom. Glancing around, he began to search for Izumi as a familiar face would be nice to have around during the start of a new school life. Thankfully, he managed to spot Izumi chatting with a brunette he swore he saw before. Wanting to greet her, Denki made his way towards the girl.
Izumi, seeing her friend, smiled at him. "H-hi Kaminari."
"Hey," the boy greeted back. "We're finally here."
"Y-yeah, amazing isn't it?"
"I'd say," the brunette stated.
Izumi's eyes widened, remembering that her two friends don't know each other. "O-oh, Kaminari, this is Ochako Uraraka. I met her after saving her from the zero-pointer. Uraraka, t-this is my friend Denki Kaminari."
Ochako gave the boy a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you."
"Same here," Denki replied with a friendly smile of his own.
"If you're here to socialize, then you might as well leave." The entire room fell silent at that, every student looking towards the source of the voice. Much to their surprise, a man wrapped in a sleeping bag was standing at the room's entrance, looking as if he had just awoken from a large nap. "I'm Shota Aizawa, your homeroom teacher for the next year. Understood?"
"Yes sensei!" Tenya diligently shouted as everyone looked at the strange man. Denki blinked. Why did their teacher look like a homeless man?
"Good. I'll be handing out your P.E uniforms. Go get changed and meet me at the back field. Just because it's your first day doesn't mean you don't have to work."
As Shota began calling everyone up to receive their uniforms, the class began wondering what the strange man had in store for them.
0000
"Hmph, you all made it here in eight minutes…" Shota said, giving the class a disappointed look once everyone made it to the field. "We'll work on that. Now, the reason I brought you all out here is for a quirk assessment test."
"A quirk assessment test?" Ochako asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Shota simply nodded in response. "Yes. You've all had basic physical assessment tests back in elementary school, correct? These are nearly the same." Holding out a ball, the man looked at Denki. "Kaminari, you've placed first on the exam. What's your softball throw record?"
"50 meters," Denki absentmindedly stated, only to perk up a second later. "Wait? I got first place?!"
The boy could have sworn he heard someone growling behind him, but he shook it off. The fact he had gotten first on the exam was more urgent in his mind. Even though he watched the hologram, he must've zoned out when his rank was mentioned.
"You did." Shota tossed the ball to the blonde. "Now try with your quirk."
Upon hearing this, Denki began charging up energy. While the ability to discharge electricity was absolutely useless in this particular exercise, being able to give himself a boost in strength was extremely useful. Absorbing two million volts, he tossed the ball, getting a respectable 300.5 meters.
"300.5 meters...not bad," the teacher said with a shrug as the rest of the class watched the electric boy with amazement.
"That's so cool!" A pink skinned girl shouted in excitement. "This is going to be so much fun!"
"Fun? You think being a hero is fun? Well, how about this: the person who scores the lowest on the assessment will be expelled?"
"Expelled? But we just got here! That's so unfair!" a short boy with grape looking hair complained. Denki would later learn that the boy's name is Minoru Mineta.
"Unfair? According to the principle, us teachers can run our courses as we please. As a result, I'm sorry to tell you that for the next three years, U.A. will run you through the wringer. That's 'Plus Ultra.' Use your strength to overcome it all. So bring it…"
When Aizawa finished, most of the class looked at one another with uncertainty. Denki frowned to himself. Despite the truth behind Shota's words, the boy still thought it was a bit unfair to expel someone so soon. After all, they were still kids and it was literally the first day of classes. Give them at least a week to prove themselves, especially when some kids were naturally going to get higher scores due to their quirk, Denki included.
0000
After Shota's dramatic speech, the tests began. Despite the teacher having Denki show off his quirk through the softball throw test, the first test the class went through was a 50 meter dash. Tenya's quirk made the run a cakewalk, his legs having small engines he could use to run at superhuman speeds. As such, he managed to clear the run in 3.04 seconds. Another student who performed remarkably well was a girl named Tsuyu Asui, her quirk giving her all the abilities a frog has. Using her increased jumping capabilities, she was able to clear the run in 5.58 seconds.
Still having two million volts running through his body, Denki was able to clear the track in 3.51 seconds.
0000
The next exam was just as simple, it being a test of everyone's grip strength. All everyone needed to do was grip the small machines given to them as hard as possible. The student who shined the most was Mezu Shoji, a boy with the ability to transform his six tentacles into any body part of his choosing. Turning all of them into arms, the boy managed to obtain a score of 540 kilograms.
"Dude, are you a monster or what?" Hanta Sero, a boy who had the ability to shoot a tape-like substance from his elbow asked the boy.
Even though Denki got nowhere near that level, he ended up with a score of 150 kilograms, which he was happy with.
0000
Once the grip strength test was finished, the long jump test began. This time, no one really stood out in particular, nearly everyone at the same level physically. Tsuyu and Ochako had the best scores though, the former using her frog-like anatomy to her advantage while the latter had help with her zero gravity quirk. Denki was able to get in the upper half of the scores with his increased strength.
0000
The fourth test was a repeated side step test. Nothing unusual happened except for the fact Minoru was the one to get the highest score. Apparently he can remove the grape like parts of his hair and have them attach to things. Using them as mini trampolines, he launched himself at a rapid pace, the boy's quirk having no effect on its user. Again, Denki's quirk helped him get into the upper half.
0000
After a hard day's work, the class found themselves facing the final exam: the soft ball toss. Several people managed to beat his score, the most impressive being Ochako's. Using her quirk, she managed to launch the ball into the sky, it never being seen again. According to the machine Shota was using to keep track of their scores, Ochako received a score of infinity.
Once everyone else went, Izumi walked up to the plate, carefully going over how hard she wanted to toss the ball.
With her unable to use her quirk without breaking something, Denki kept a worried eye on her, more so than he'd like to admit. However, she chose to do the exams without her quirk and despite her disadvantage, beat a few people out in some of them.
"How the hell did Deku even get into U.A?" A blonde boy with the ability to generate explosions from his sweat, asked himself as he stared at the girl with what seemed to be hostility. Denki was confused as to why this was. Did she do something to him?
Next to him, a red haired boy with the ability to harden his skin, Eijiro Kirishima took notice of the explosive boy's mumbling.
"Dude, didn't you see the replays of the entrance exam? She's got such a manly quirk."
Denki almost laughed at this. Even though it was a compliment, he knew girls didn't like being called 'manly'.
"Quirk? What quirk? The idiot's quirkless."
"Uh, no she's not. She destroyed the zero pointer-"
"She did what now?"
"Look," Kirishima pointed his finger at Izumi, who finally decided how much power she wanted to put behind her throw. Winding her now glowing arm back, Izumi tossed the ball, only for it to not even go that far, much to everyone's confusion, she included.
"What happened?" Izumi mumbled under her breath.
"I erased your quirk," the voice of her teacher replied, causing everyone to look at him. His eyes were now glowing and his hair was flowing.
It was then that something clicked inside the girl's head. "Wait, you're the pro-hero Eraserhead! The underground hero who can erase quirks by looking at them!"
"It seems you did your homework. You were going to break your arm again. I saw your little stunt with the zero-pointer and let me say I'm not impressed. A quirk that leaves you unable to move makes you a liability," Shota tossed the girl another ball. "You either do this and be able to move afterwards or I expel you, no matter your score."
Denki watched as Izumi put her head down, taking Shota's words to heart. He was about to go over and give her a pep-talk when her head suddenly snapped up, a determined glare being sent to the other side of the field. Bringing her arm back, Izumi threw the ball.
"SMASH!" The ball went sailing across the field. When it landed, she looked at her teacher, her pointer finger being completely purple, bruised from her finger-bones breaking. "I can still move sensei…"
'That was fucking badass'. It was the only way Denki could describe that scene. Not only did she rocket the ball, but she somehow managed to figure out a new way of using her quirk on-the-spot.
Even Shota looked impressed, giving her an approving nod after showcasing her score of 700.3 meters to the class.
Of course, not everyone was dazzled by her performance.
"Oi Deku! What the fuck was that?!" Looking to her left, Izumi noticed Katsuki running up to him, fire in his eyes upon seeing Izumi use her quirk.
The primal fear in Izumi's eyes that day was the second hint Denki got regarding Izumi's past. When Katsuki came running at her, she looked as if she was going to die. He should've questioned what would make someone look so panicked, but of course, he simply brushed it off as her being shy. The fact that she would continue to wear the same expression multiple times before he could pick up the hint killed him inside.
Before he could try anything, several pieces of cloth wrapped itself around Katsuki's limbs, immobilizing him. His temper taking control, Katsuki tried using his quirk to blast the cloth away, only to freeze upon noticing his quirk wasn't working for some reason. "Hey, what gives?"
"I erased your quirk," Shota casually said, not affected by the boy's temper. "Try another stunt like that and you'll most certainly be expelled."
"Tch." Even though he wanted to say something, he wisely kept his mouth shut and went back to his original position.
'What's that guy's deal?' Denki asked himself. The boy was acting like Izumi did something horrible to him. But that couldn't be; as far as he can tell, Izumi wasn't that type of person. Also, why was he calling her useless?
Seeing as the boy wasn't going to do anything else, Shota began to address his class. "With that out of the way, it's time to reveal the results of the test."
With the press of a button, everyone's results and rankings were put on full display. Some were pleased with their score while others were not. In Minoru's case, he was tearing up as he found himself at the bottom of the pack despite his fantastic score on the repeated side step test. As for Denki, he was happy seeing himself in sixth place.
'Not bad...'
Next to him, Izumi released a sigh of relief. Despite not using a quirk for most of the tests, she still got sixteenth place.
"Looks like we survive another day," Denki whispered to his friend.
Izumi gave him a small smile. "Y-yeah."
Shota let loose a small cough, grabbing everyone's attention. "Now if you're all done comparing scores, I have an announcement to make. As I said before, the person with the lowest score on the exam is to be expelled. However, since all of you seem to be at least somewhat competent, I'm not expelling anyone today."
"OH THANK GOD!" Minoru joyfully cried out, having gotten the lowest score. Out of glee, he hugged the nearest person besides him. Unfortunately, said person was Katsuki who swatted him to the side with an explosion in response.
"Now go get changed. Your next class starts in ten minutes."
0000
The rest of the day came and went by so slowly for Denki. After the quirk assessment exam, Class 1-A went to their normal classes, reminding Denki of how much he hated school. The art of concentration has always been out of Denki's reach, so as his teachers babbled on about history, or math, or whatever they were talking about, Denki unconsciously bobbled his leg up and down while focusing on a drawing of him as a hero in the future. Hell, even when the 18+ pro-hero Midnight showed up to teach art, all Denki could do was check her out for about a solid minute until his mind wandered elsewhere. What he daydreamed about, he couldn't tell you, but he knew for a fact that whatever was going on in his mind was more entertaining than his classes.
At least he got to see Izumi ask her teachers for autographs. That was a pretty cute sight to see.
The lunch period was nice though. His classmates wandered off, no one knowing each other yet to really start sitting in groups. Denki hated sitting by himself though, it made him feel awkward, so when he saw Izumi sliding into a corner all by herself, he followed.
"Mind if I sit here?"
"I don't mind"
Eating his food, Denki decided to whip out his phone. Izumi was eating and he didn't feel like disturbing her.
"Hey, is that Pokémon?" Turning around, Denki was greeted with the sight of Hanta taking a peek at his phone. Pokémon was an old video game series that's managed to withstand the tests of time. Initially released on handheld gaming consoles, their parent company made the change to smart phones a while back. Denki typically used any money he got from his relatives for his birthday to buy the games.
"Yeah. Trying to beat some guy online but I suck at this." Then again, he seemed to suck at any strategic based game he played, but he still enjoyed playing them.
"I actually made it to nationals last year," Hanta said, taking a seat next to the blonde. "I can help you make a team or something…"
"Please teach me your ways!"
Thus, Denki made his second friend at U.A. As it turns out, Izumi also played Pokémon, joining the discussion once she finished eating, claiming it helped her develop her tactical prowess. Naturally, she was still a bit shy, more so with Hanta around, but she still spoke.
0000
With the school day over, Denki and Izumi began walking home. Both actually took the same train to get home, though Izumi got off much earlier than he did, so when the greenette shyly asked if she could walk with him, he warmly accepted. Exiting the school, both began walking home, but before they could leave the campus, a voice stopped them.
"Hey Deku!"
Ochako began running to them, Tenya following behind. Denki forgot that she had already spoken to them before. Next to him, Izumi suddenly froze, her eyes widening with fear upon Ochako calling her 'Deku'.
Perhaps if he had been paying more attention, then he would've noticed this, but no, he was too much of an idiot to even do that!
"Let's walk home together!" The girl said with a beaming smile, despite the fact she just called Izumi worthless.
"S-sure, but please don't call me Deku…"
"But isn't that what Bakugou calls you?"
"Why does Bakugou call you that?" Denki asked Izumi. "Doesn't he know it means useless?"
"Y-yeah. He uses it as an insult…"
'Most people say it's creepy…'
'A-all my life, e-everyone said I c-couldn't be a hero.'
Memories of his first conversation with Izumi came flooding to his mind. Katsuki was one of the people who told Izumi she couldn't be a hero. Denki frowned at the fact Katsuki was one of the people who put her down. He probably had his reasons, seeing as he wants to be a hero and all, so it was too early to judge him. Still, the hateful glare he always shot Izumi was unnerving.
"An insult? Did U.A really accept someone like him?" Tenya asked.
"Oh shoot! I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" Ochako explained, bowing apologetically. "But you know, I think 'Deku' sounds like 'Dekiru', like 'you can do it'".
Izumi brushed her knuckles together. "I mean, when you're using that definition, I guess you can call me Deku."
Ochako smiled at this.
Tenya shook his head. "If you don't mind, I'd rather keep calling you Midoriya."
"Same here," Denki agreed. Something about calling her Deku sat wrong with him, even with Ochako's definition. "Plus, I can easily come up with better nicknames for you."
"That's fine with me…"
0000
The next afternoon, after a long day of classes class 1-A found themselves waiting for their mandatory heroics course to start. Surprisingly, no one knew which hero would be teaching this class. Such remained a mystery until said teacher ended up bursting through the door, making a memorable entrance.
"I AM...COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE AN ORDINARY PERSON!" The booming voice of their teacher shouted as he entered the door. With the hero's bulging muscles and his costume, there was no mistaking his identity: he was the number one hero All Might. Seeing the legendary hero in person, everyone began getting excited.
"Is that really All Might?"
"That's definitely his silver age costume!"
"Settle down everyone!" All Might said, silencing everyone. "Yes, the rumors are true! I, All Might, will be teaching the hero's basics course here at U.A! Today, we'll be going over combat training! However, such training must be done with style! Your hero costumes are labeled with the same number as your seats. Put them on and meet me at Ground Beta! PLUS ULTRA!"
Wasting no time, everyone began grabbing their costumes and prepared for the lesson.
0000
At the end of the day, Denki was a highschool boy. Put him in a room with a bunch of beautiful girls with tight fitting costumes and he was in heaven. He couldn't help but check them out, doing so discreetly. He was honestly amazed that Momo Yaoyorozu's costume was approved. Sure, her quirk lets her create things from her body, so she couldn't exactly wear a lot of clothes, but she was hardly covering anything to begin with.
Glancing at the girls once more, Denki noticed that someone was missing. 'Wait, where's Hagakure?'
Now, Izumi and Ochako were still getting dressed, but he could've sworn that he heard Tooru speaking to Mina when he finished changing. A quick usage of his quirk made his heart stop. Tooru was naked, save for some gloves and boots, and he could sense every part of her. Now, he might be a closited pervert, but even he had his limits, so he shut off his quirk.
"I-I like your costume Kaminari."
Quickly wiping off the blood from his nose, Denki turned to face his female friend. "Thanks." He did a one-over of her's. Unlike his other female classmates besides the one who had earphone jacks sticking out of her ears, Izumi's wasn't wearing a tight fitting costume. In fact, it was a bit baggy. "Your's looks cool, but uh, what's with the bunny ears?"
"T-they're not supposed to be bunny ears," Izumi admitted, embarrassed. "They're supposed to be-"
Before she could continue, a voice interrupted them. "Hey Midoriya, I really like your costume." Ochako happily made her way to them, having finished changing herself. She then noticed Denki standing next to her friend. "You too Kaminari."
"T-thanks."
"Thanks." Denki would never admit this to anyone, but he caught himself staring at Ochako's costume for longer than what's acceptable. Thankfully, the brunette didn't notice.
With everyone in costume, All Might began explaining the exercise.
"Alright, as you all know, being a hero often means you'll be fighting bad guys! As such, you'll need to learn to defend yourselves. I've split you all into ten teams of two. Two teams will go head to head at a time, one serving as the heroes and one serving as the villains. The villains will be in charge of safeguarding a bomb inside a building. The heroes on the other hand will need to retrieve said bomb before the timer runs out. Any questions?"
"Can I blow everyone up?"
"How do the heroes retrieve the bomb?"
"Are we going to get expelled like with Aizawa sensei?"
"How will teams be chosen?"
"Isn't this cape fantastic?"
"Hold it! To retrieve the bombs, all the heroes need to do is touch it," All Might said before holding up a large strip capture tape. "Both the heroes and villains will be getting these strips of tape. Tie them around your opponent and they'll be eliminated from the battle. Also, no one's getting expelled."
Everyone released a sigh of relief at the fact no one was being expelled.
"Teams will be chosen through a lottery!" All Might continued, pointing at a computer behind him with all the student's names listed. With a push of a button, All Might had the computer shuffle the teams.
"Wow, we're on the same team. It must be fate! I'll be counting on you," Ochako said to Izumi, the randomizer having put them together.
"Y-yeah."
"Kyouka Jiro," Denki mumbled under his breath. "Who's that again?"
"That'd be me," a female voice responded, spooking the boy. Next to him was a girl with earphone jacks attached to her ears.
"O-oh, sorry 'bout that," Denki said with a small laugh. Even though he'd rather work alongside Izumi due to him being closer with her, he was happy to have Kyouka as his partner. She seemed decent enough, and if he was being honest, she was cute as well, though he found all his female classmates attractive. Maybe by the end of the year he'll have a girlfriend.
Kouka waved him off. "It's fine. It's only the second day of school."
"Now that teams have been made, it's time to see which ones will go head to head!" Pressing the button again, All Might had the computer randomize the first match, which was Izumi and Ochaco verses Tenya and Katsuki.
Seeing as his friend was nervous, Denki decided to offer some words of encouragement. "You got this. Don't worry."
Naturally, he missed the look of terror in her eyes once again.
0000
Once the matches were determined, the first one began. The villains had a ten minute head start to come up with a plan, something which Tenya wanted to use.
"The bomb's paper mache, so that's a relief. All right, here's what I think we should-" Tenya began speaking, only for Katsuki to cut him off.
"I don't give a shit about what you think. I'm going after Deku."
"And leave the bomb unguarded? That seems like a horrible plan."
"You'll be here to guard it, won't you dumbass?"
"Going in without a plan will only lead to failure. Teamwork here is import-"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK!"
Meanwhile, as the 'villains' were doing their thing, Izuku and Ochako were outside the building, trying their best to come up with a plan. Well, Izuku was the one making a plan.
"Alright, so Bakugou's going to come after me," Izumi told her. "While I fight him off, you go deal with Iida. I'll join you in a bit."
"Are you sure you can handle him?" The girl asked, not liking the idea of separation. "He looks mean."
"Y-yeah. I'll be fine," Izumi reassured her, even if she was terrified on the inside.
"Ok, I trust you."
"Ten minutes are up! Hero team, you may now search for the bomb!" All Might's voice boomed over the intercom.
Giving one another a determined nod, the girls entered the building. Upon doing so, both teens noticed how dark the place was, something they didn't like. Thankfully, they could still see their surroundings. Stopping briefly, Izumi turned all of his attention to her ears as she began scouting for any signs of activity. Not hearing anything, she gestured to Ochako that it was safe to move. The pair would continue to use this strategy, not running into danger for a few minutes. Unfortunately, all good things must end as Izumi's eyes suddenly widened in fear. Ochako was about to ask her what was wrong when she tackled her to the ground, a large explosion having gone off. Looking up, both teens saw Katsuki in all his glory staring at them, upset his shot had missed. With impressive speed, Izumi brought Ochako and herself back to their feet and gently pushed the other girl the other way, letting her know this was where they split up. Though a bit hesitant, seeing her partner give her a shaky yet affirmative smile motivated Ochako to go.
"You have quite the quirk there Deku," Katsuki growled, edging closer to the girl.
Out of instinct, Izumi put up her fists, taking up a fighting stance, irritating the blonde.
"Tch, you still fight, even when you're scared. You've been like that ever since we were kids..it's what I hate about you the most!" Lunging forwards, Katsuki was about to launch an explosion at Izumi, only for the girl to grab his arm and judo throw him to the ground.
"K-kacchan, you always start off with a right hook," Izumi explained. Even though her voice was laced with fear, there was also something else in there, a burning desire to succeed. "I've always kept track of all heroes and potential heroes and that includes you! I won't be your punching bag anymore. From now on, Deku means 'you can do it!'"
This earned a snarl from her opponent. With a roar, he lunged forwards, ready to attack.
0000
Watching the exercise, Denki found everything to be normal. The heroes were scouting the building while the villains were preparing to stop them.
After a few minutes the heroes encountered Katsuki, who led off with a surprise attack. He agreed with Ejiro that a surprise attack wasn't very honorable, but All Might correctly pointed out that villains often don't play fair and that in a battle between heroes and villains, dirty tactics were acceptable.
Izumi countered one of Katsuki's attacks, something that impressed the boy.
When Izumi spoke about not being Katsuki's punching bag anymore, Denki felt proud. Izumi shouldn't have to deal with Katsuki's verbal abuse.
Then Katsuki got angry.
Even with Izumi's knowledge of his fighting style, Katsuki began dominating the fight.
A pit began forming in Denki's stomach as he watched, and it took him a bit to figure out why. Katsuki was being overly aggressive, each of his strikes dealing what seemed to be unnecessary damage.
At the same time though, this was a training exercise, so perhaps such behavior was a bit acceptable.
What happened next though horrified him. Using his gauntlet, Katsuku fired off a LETHAL attack at Izumi, even when told by All Might that he would kill her.
"Not if she dodges!" Was his response before unleashing a turrent of flames.
That should've been the last clue needed for Denki to figure out Izumi's life story, but it wasn't. He was too much of a dumbass to realize anything. He could've stopped Izumi from suffering more, but because he couldn't get a damn hint, he left her alone to deal with her demons longer than she needed to. What pissed him off was that his classmates, all of whom were smarter than him, didn't get the obvious hint either. For them, it was as if the events of today never happened.
Denki held his breath as he scanned the monitors, desperately searching for any signs of life. When the flames dissipated, he saw Izumi's body. For a second, he assumed the worst, but when he saw her moving, he released the breath he was holding in. He thought he lost a friend.
"Bakugou, fire another shot like that and you'll be disqualified," All Might reprimanded the boy, only earning a scoff in response. However, to Katsuki's credit, he did what he was told.
The exercise should've been cancelled due to Izumi's injuries, but it continued onwards. When Izumi stood up, Katsuki knocked her down with another explosion. Then he did it again. And again. And once more.
This fight wasn't between two peers. It was a fight between a girl trying to prove herself and a boy who took pleasure in hurting her. Denki couldn't handle watching this anymore.
"All Might, you have to stop the exercise!" He pleaded to his teacher. "He's going to kill her!"
All Might shakily had his hand on the button needed to indicate the exercise was over. Denki thought he was clearly going to push it.
He was wrong.
"He's not going to kill her."
What?
Was he watching the same fight?
Katsuki launched a fatal shot of flames at Izumi, knowing damn well the consequences, and was continuing to pound on the same girl with no remorse, yet All Might had the audacity to say that he wasn't going to kill her?
Denki felt a piece of him die that day. The way All Might handled that situation was absolutely horrendous. Every time he thought about it, he wanted to throw up. His respect for All Might diminished greatly after that. For all his life, Denki was told that it was a hero's job to do everything in their power to protect the innocent. Yet, All Might refused to save Izumi from Katsuki's psychopathic rage, twiddling his thumbs as Izumi had to fight for her survival against an opponent who had no issue killing a fellow hero to win a damn training exercise. He felt trapped in a nightmare while watching the exercise go down, one where he wasn't able to do anything to change the events. Sadly, this was reality and he was the one who has been living in a dream this whole time. Thankfully, his dream was ending and he was soon going to wake up…
He didn't remember everything that happened after that. He recalled Izumi won her match, deflecting a blow from Katsuki and ripping a hole through the building. He remembered Izumi being brought to the nurse's office in a stretcher. He remembered being with Kyouka, preparing for his own match. He remembered lighting going off and bodies dropping. And he remembered running to Recovery Girl's office once the exercises were done.
0000
Author's note 2: before I get into my analysis/rant/critiques regarding this chapter, let me answer a few questions you might have.
Q: What is that 'body breaking down' thing? Will it cause this story to turn into an 'MC is afraid of their power' fic? A: For the first part, you'll find out next chapter ;-). For the second part, nope.
Q: This is an Electro AU, right? When's Denki going to use more of Electro's powers? He should have been first on the Quirk Assessment Exam. A: It'll be a small buildup to Denki unlocking his full potential, something which'll start next chapter.
Q: How much can Denki lift with his new strength? The official Marvel stats for Electro at maximum charge can lift 450 Ibs, though this was when he could only absorb 1 million volts. For Denki, using 2 million volts should double this, putting him at 900 Ibs. Not superhuman like Sato and Mezo, but still crazy strong. In fact, this makes him the third strongest in his class when it comes to lifting. This'll be his max, but if you know Electro, then you know strength isn't an issue.
Q: I know Izuku is an emotional character, but I feel you made Izumi too emotional. Why? A: For obvious reasons, the anime/manga never goes fully into depth as to the trauma Izuku faces regarding all the bullying he's been through. While we see him doubt himself and have social anxiety, we aren't shown all the thoughts that he might have in certain situations. With Izumi, I want to expand on that and offer both an insider's view and a more realistic take regarding her circumstances. She will eventually break free from her cage, but that'll be a process in it of itself.
Q: This is a little too lighthearted for a villain story. Why is that? A: This was intentional. The tone will gradually shift.
Now time for my analysis/rant/critiques section as this is a deconstruction fic. Again, if you want to debate these points, please PM me instead of putting it in the reviews. The reviews are there to tell me if people like the story or not, not for debating :p.
Faulty Anime Logic
Izuku coming last place in the quirk assessment test: As so many people have stated before, Izuku coming in last place makes no sense. Sure, he takes most of the exam quirkless, but he should've been in sixteenth place. Cannon Denki (16th place), Kyouka (17th place), Tooru (18th place), and Minoru (19th place) don't have quirks that could be used on the exam. Even with Minoru excelling on the side-step test, the fact he scored under a girl who's only real power is that she's invisible means he must've done poorly everywhere else. Izuku on the other hand has received immense strength training. The reason this is put under 'Anime Logic' is because the main character coming in last is a common anime trope used to create suspense.
Minoru Mineta: TL;DR: I have neutral feelings for Minoru because he's a walking anime trope. I'm pretty sure some of you have been eager to hear my opinions on Minoru. Sadly, most of you are going to be disappointed. The truth is, I really don't feel anything for him. I'm neutral. The reason being is that I don't really see him as a character, but as a trope. He's your typical anime pervert, a comic relief. Now, I completely understand why people hate him; according to most stuff I read about him, people state that he has no other traits but this and being a coward, yet for some reason, he's supposed to be one of the good guys. Now, I wish the cowardly aspect was expanded on in cannon. They could've turned him into an underdog, someone short, cowardly, and with a non-offensive quirk who has to overcome his weaknesses and rely on trickery to win battles. This could make him a compelling character. He really only get two moments in cannon, but besides that, he's pushed to the back unless for a joke. It's somewhat understandable though since he, like Kaminari and most of 1-A who haven't received any development, is a part of a class of 20 students. Now, I will admit that two things he's done made me extremely uncomfortable: him groping Tsuyu and him telling Eri that he can't wait to see what's she's like ten years from now (ew). If he was a real life person though, I'd hate him. However, most likely because he's a fictional character who sits in the background, I forget about him most of the time like I do with Koji, Sato, and Ojiro (they deserve better). The reason I put him here instead of 'MHA Problems' is because, like I said, I see him as more of a walking trope than a character.
MHA Problems
Shota Aizawa's teaching methods: First off, before anyone comes at me with their pitchforks and torches, I want to say that I do like Shota as a character. However, some things about him make no sense. First off, I feel a day is way too short for him to judge someone's potential, especially when all you're using is a basic test of strength. I say give the students a week and see how they handle themselves with some of the other exercises first before making a judgement call. Secondly, I always found him nearly expelling Izuku on the first day to be a bit cruel. Sure, at that point in time, the boy was about to break his arm, but aren't you a teacher? Isn't it your job to teach kids how to use their quirk? If someone can't really control their quirk, but is willing to put in the effort to, then they deserve at least a chance. He should also know about Izuku's status as a 'late bloomer'. Now, if they don't make progress after a certain amount of time, then they can be expelled, but a day is still too little time to make an accurate assessment.
Lack of Scars on Izuku: Even though it's implied that Katsuki would constantly beat Izuku, he never gets any scars, which is BS seeing what Katsuki's quirk is. Now you can argue that Katsuki controls how hot he makes his explosions, but a four year old Katsuki wouldn't know how to do that. He's smart, but he's no genius like Momo. Katsuki wouldn't know how to avoid giving anyone scars until he became older. Izumi has scars to reflect this.
All Might's handling of the battle trial: Remember how I said that there are two issues I have with All Might? Well, this is one of them. Katsuki almost killed Izuku in a MOCK-TRIAL! He should've disqualified him immediately. Even if it wasn't Katsuki's intention to kill him, he still fired the shot knowing the risks ("not if he dodges!"). Class 1-A are first year students, they shouldn't be forced to encounter death in a controlled environment. And what if Izuku didn't dodge? Katsuki didn't say "he'll dodge it" but "not IF he dodges. IF. All Might would have lost his successor and would've been indirectly responsible for the loss of One For All. Even then, he still allowed the trial to continue. What he should have done was stop it and reprimanded Katsuki for using lethal force.
Missed Opportunities: Doesn't have anything to do with this chapter, but it popped out in my head. I feel Tooru, Denki, and Mezu are missed opportunities regarding character development. Mezu can be used to show how one looks on the outside doesn't determine the type of person they are. The character can even be used to tackle discrimination (people judging him due to his monstrous appearance . Tooru is invisible 24/7 (at least, as well can tell as of me writing this chapter) and has to live with the fact that nobody can ever see her. She could be used as a representation of people who are starved for affection but never receive it. Denki's quirk nearly makes him into a vegetable, yet he continues using it? I would love to see his reasoning behind it, because even though he heals, he's still stuck in a near-vegetative state for a while, which must be hell. Sadly, I won't really be tacking these issues in this fic (except the last one, even though he can't fry his brain anymore) as this is Denki's story, but in a future Cthulhu Mythos/MHA fic, I plan on tackling Mezo and Tooru's characters. Speaking of Tooru, I do have her visibility issues focused on in 'Ashes' if you wanna give that a shot.