"A Quirk apprehension test?" All of 1-A repeated in unison. They were outside in a wide open, flat area, each of the new students wearing the same blue PE suit.

Ochako seized the moment to voice her concerns. "But... but what about orientation?"

"If you wanna be Heroes, you can't make time for frilly little ceremonies," Aizawa replied in the same dour, drained voice.

"I can't understand half the things he's saying." Narancia Ghirga, easily UA's eldest first-year student, adjusted himself and stood on his toes in a futile attempt to remedy his situation. "Damn echoes."

Bruno Bucciarati glanced at his classmate. "It's mostly about being good samaritans and Plus Ultra, whatever that means."

"Must be a local idiom," Giorno Giovanna reasoned, standing on Bruno's other side. "Remember how Present Mic insisted we all scream it at the entrance exams?"

Aizawa turned to address the entirety of his students. "I'm sure you're all aware of UA's reputation of freedom on campus? Well, that freedom extends to the teachers as well. I've decided to put together a series of physical tests for all of you. Bakugo."

"Yeah?" The Explosion Quirk user asked.

"What was your pitching distance in middle school?"

"Sixty-seven meters." He stepped into the circle next to Aizawa as the teacher passed him a softball.

"Try using your Quirk this time. So long as you don't leave the circle, do whatever you have to. Don't hold back."

Bakugo stretch his arms. "You got it."

He gripped the ball with white knuckles. Everybody looked on as he reared his arm back. He bared his teeth as he swung his limb forward. As it reached the releasing point, he let a mighty roar. "DIIIEEE!" The ball launched like a rocket through the air. On and on it soared, finally stopping far off on the field.

"Die?" Valentine asked. "Does he have a case of thantophilia?"

"I thought that exact same thing," Diego replied.

Bakugo grinned wickedly at his distance before he heard a couple quick beeping noises and looked back to Aizawa, who had what the blonde assumed to be a phone.

The Eraser Hero showed him the screen, which showed that he had thrown the projectile over seven hundred meters. "Before anything, one must know what they are capable of." His words were apparently lost as his students gushed over the spectacle Brando had given them.

"That was awesome!"

"This is gonna be fun!"

Aizawa's aura of being drained became to vanish. "Fun, you say? Did you all come here, thinking UA was just going to be a good ol' time? All right then, maybe this will open your eyes. The one who comes in last place overall in the tests... will be expelled."

His statement sent off his students, save two, into a mental frenzy. Especially Midoriya. Not good! I'm still at all-or-nothing with my Quirk! What am I going to do?!

Uraraka again voiced her concern. "Expelled on the first day?! That's just unfair!"

Aizawa brushed his long hair out from over his left eye. "Natural disasters... massive accidents... maniacs who think they can do whatever they want... these things strike when we least expect them. Society itself is 'unfair.' As Heroes, it's our job to rectify it, and to keep reason from disappearing. To do so, you are going to have hardship after hardship here. There is no room for the hopeless. That is why I expect all of you to overcome these trials."

Excellent strategy, Valentine mused. Prune out the weak. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Midoriya continued fidgeting as they all gathered around a stretch of land for the fifty meter dash.

"The hell's your problem?" Gyro asked as Iida and a girl with long green hair took their places at the starting line. "After what you did to that zero-pointer, this will be nothing." The Italian then remember what happened after the robot had been dealt with. "Riiiight."

They both watched Iida take off, leaving the hopping female literally in the dust. He raced to the finish line, making a machine waiting at it chime, "time! Three point zero four seconds!"

"Dio mio! He's got engines in his legs!" Gyro pointed and Izuku saw that it was true. Iida's calves had exhaust pipes sticking out of them.

"Looks like I had to shift into third gear for this..." the winner of the rage mused to himself as the green-haired girl crossed the finish line as well, finishing at "five point five eight seconds."

Valentine stepped up to the starting point as Joestar did the same, taking off his shoes and socks. She shrugged and willed her Stand's legs to overshadow her own. D4C isn't a Stand of speed, but its strength should assist me.

As she crouched do to a starting position, she heard a faint buzzing noise, like a hornet. She looked over and saw that it wasn't a winged insect, but Joestar's nails. They were spinning like tops over his fingers and toes. He too bent down and readied himself. With the bang signaling them to go, Johnny adjusted his feet and forced his fingers into the ground. With his spinning nails, he was carried forward like a locomotive. The speed his nails were capable of shocked his fellow sprinter.

He crossed the finish line first, earning him a time of "four point one seconds!"

Keeping her composure, Valentine passed as well a second later.

Johnny glanced at his fellow American as he put his footwear back on. The way his Stand effected him caught the attention of Gyro.

He can spin his nails? Huh...

Diego took his spot on the starting line, and joining him was the woman who made Izuku into a stuttering mess whenever she got near him.

"I'll just make my clothes and shoes lighter," she said to herself as she pressed her fingers into her garbs.

From what Gyro told me about the exam incident, she must be able to make things float... Diego kept to himself as he activated Scary Monsters. The onlookers were either intrigued or disgusted at the sight of his skin cracking and tail coming out from his back.

"What the hell is going on with him?" Joestar fell into the latter group.

"Scary Monsters," Midoriya answered as the change continued.

Uraraka ran as fast as her legs could move, but a sight made her gasp. Brando had been replaced with a beast, and it was effortlessly passing her!

"Holy shit!" Gyro exclaimed as he watched. "He can turn into a dinosaur!"

Johnny looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. "Dino... sore? What's a dino-sore?"

Diego finished first at three and a half seconds. Satisfied, he willed himself to be human again. Uraraka followed not too long later.

"Well, it was better than my junior high speed!" She was enthusiastic to the end.

"I see everything here as an improvement," replied Diego. "I've only recently gotten the hang of the complete transformation."

She would have asked him a number of questions, but he made himself vacant.

It came to be Midoriya's turn, making him sweat heavily. I can't use One For All here! It's too early and I can't break my legs or Aizawa will boot me out the door and lock it behind me! He decided to play it safe. As Kacchan made himself fly forward with his explosions, Midoriya just ran as quickly as he could naturally, earning himself a rather low time. But he was still in the game.

Diego looked on as his friend seemed to enter a deep thought. Others resumed the dashes, but the blonde's attention was pulled away from it.

"You aren't fully accustomed to your Stand, eh?"

He flinched and turned his head to find the American had stepped up next to him. "I didn't even hear you walk over."

Valentine nodded. "Of course not. A little trick I taught myself was making a minimal portion of D4C manifest under my soles. I don't make footsteps."

"A useful trick..." He looked back to the ongoing trial and witnessed one of his classmates use a laser from his gut to propel himself backward... only to fall to the ground a second later. He could not help but chuckle at the misfortune of his peer.

Valentine did not share in the amusement. "We Stand Users have to stick together, do we not? We all are drawn to one another anyway."

Diego pondered on that statement. He kept it on his mind throughout the trials. He thought about her statement, competed, and kept one eye on his friend. The entire time, Izuku did nothing remarkable. Now that I think of it... I've never seen him use his Quirk at all.

Finally, they came back to the trial he had demonstrated. Uraraka threw the ball, and it just kept going upwards, eventually leaving everyone's sight.

Aizawa showed her distance on his device's screen, which displayed only a lemniscate, making everyone commend her.

After another ball was fetched, Gyro stepped up to the ring. "Experiment time..." Making sure his shoes were tied tightly, he made the ball rotate in his left palm. Then he carefully raised the toes of his right foot, making him balance on his heel, which he touched with his free hand before returning upright. Within an instant, he was spinning like a top. After a moment, he swung his arms out, sending the ball flying. He slowly came to a stop, and had a hard time staying on his feet. "Dizzy..."

Creative, if a little impractical, Aizawa internally stated before showing the distance achieved. "Two hundred and sixty meters."

A grinning Gyro gave a thumbs-up as he shook his head in an attempt to clear it.

Gripping the softball with white knuckles, Midoriya stepped up for his pitch. Unbeknownst to any of those in 1-A, the pitch trial was being watched from afar by two other teachers. All Might and Enrico Pucci, who currently was using his gravity manipulation to stand on the wall, observed in silence.

I haven't done anything above even average yet! Midoriya was doing his best to not panic. At this rate, there's no way I'm not dead last.

"Midoriya isn't doing so well, is he?" Iida spoke both to himself and those around him. To his right, Bakugo fumed.

"Of course not! He's a fucking Quirkless loser!"

"Quirkless?" Gyro parroted. "I saw him take out a giant robot during the exam with a single punch."

Bakugo turned his aggression to the European. "You fucking liar!"

"Aren't you the friendly type," Johnny murmured with an eyeroll.

Valentine took in the display of verbal artillery. Interesting... he should be easy to steer.

The greenette drowned out the words behind him and focused. He reared his arm back and thought about All Might's belief in him. Midoriya swore that he would become a Hero! He charged up One For All and threw the ball!

Something was wrong. He could still feel his arm. And the ball had only gone a few dozen meters. "What?"

"I erased your Quirk," said Aizawa.

Midoriya turned around and was met with quite a sight. His homeroom teacher's hair was floating upwards and his eyes had turned red. The oddest part was that the strands of his scarf were in the air as well, revealing something else around his neck. "Wait. Those goggles... the long hair. You're the underground Hero, Eraserhead!"

This caused the rest of 1-A to murmur.

"Eraserhead?"

"Never heard of him."

Over by the building, the secret spectator took in the imminent.

"He is about to eat that boy alive," All Might admitted with dread.

Aizawa pointed at Midoriya. "Were you going to break your arm again? From what I've seen, you can't reign in your power, so you can't act efficiently. Did you think somebody would come and save you when you were crippled again? Nobody here is in a position to do that?" The Eraser Hero's hair returned to a normal position and he blinked. "You've got your Quirk back. Let's just get this over with." Reaching into one of his pockets, he pulled out a small bottle of eyedrops and made a few drips fall onto his irritated sclerae.

I can't control my output of power... Midoriya gripped the ball once more. And getting that down in one pitch is impossible! He breathed to calm himself. Okay... then right now, I'll just focus on what I can do.

He brought his arm back, and forced it forward. It was as if everything was going in slow motion. He could feel his power brewing, but he refused to let it out just yet. Finally, as the softball was on the tip of his finger did he will One For All to flow to his digit full power. The small sphere launched with a gust if wind. The classmates watched it with wide eyes, and the blonde Brit smiled.

I knew befriending you wasn't a waste of time. You'll make a fine lackey.

While Aizawa also felt a surge of surprise, he kept it under wraps as his device chimed once more. He looked at it. Seven-hundred and five meters...

"Sensei..." Midoriya looked at his elder with saturated eyes and a smile. "I'm still standing. I'm still in the game."

Aizawa smiled as he looked at the damage done. Only a finger. He was indeed still standing. "This kid..."

All Might continued looking on, and now rather than fear for his successor, he swelled with pride. Smart move, Young Midoriya! Right now... you look so cool!

Not everyone had such a positive feeling about Midoriya's display of power. Bakugo could hardly comprehend it. What? What the fuck? He's supposed to be Quirkless! Nothing but a pebble on the side of the road! He snapped and charged. "What the hell was that, Deku!"' As he closed in, ready to violently interrogate, several strands of... something wrapped around his neck, forehead, and arms. "What the fuck?!"

"It's a Capture Device," Aizawa explained as his eyes were red and his hair upwards once more. "Now knock it off! Using my Quirk so much gives me dry eye." Bakugo seemed to calm down (or whatever the equivalent was) and Aizawa gave his scarf a tug, making it return to his neck. His mane and eyes returned to normal with a blink.

Hours later, the trials were finally at an end.

"Well, since telling you each of your scores individually would take way too long, I'll just project them all at the same time. Oh, and that whole 'expelling last place' thing? I lied."

Twenty-two of his students paled and gaped. "WHAAAAAAAT?!"

"It was a logical ruse!" Their Sensei again gave that offputting grin of his. "To motivate you to do your absolute best!"

"Come on guys, really." Momo looked at a trio by the front of them. "Of course he was lying."

You can just keep on thinking you're right, thought Diego, narrowing his eyes at her back.

"And Midoriya." Aizawa passed a slip of paper to the greenette. "Go and see Recovery Girl, get that finger taken care of." With the push of a button, he made the class scores appear on a wall and walked off.

Midoriya found his name in, sure enough, last place. Not a good start... but if I don't work a dozen times harder than everybody here, I'll never be a Hero! His eyes drifted slightly, making him read more of the names of his classmates. One caught his attention. Joestar? Is he related to Joseph Joestar? His eyes wandered further, scanning the list of names. "I don't see your score, Gyro."

The Italian seemed to stir in his boots. "Maybe it's a mistake. Or-"

"Wait, there it is."

Gyro sighed deeply. "Oh boy..."

Izuku read the name displayed. "Zeppeli... Iulius?"

His Italian friend groaned. "I was afraid this would happen. Now you all know my real name."

Next to him, Brando was having a negative train of thought. Third place... Yaoyorozu. Todoroki. I am going to annihilate you both and claim my spot at the top.

As the homeroom teacher passed by the unseen spectator, All Might spoke his mind. "Aizawa, you liar! A logical ruse?"

The sleepy Pro stopped walking and glanced over. "All Might. You were watching, then? You must have a lot of free time."

The Symbol of Peace continued. "That was no ruse! I know for a fact you get rid of any and all students that don't meet your expectations! Just last year, you expelled an entire class of first years! Could it be you see it too? Young Midoriya's raw potential?"

Eraserhead just blinked and walked off. "He is about the zero line. But whenever somebody reaches that point, I get rid of them. Letting somebody keep wanting to have an impossible dream is just cruel."

All Might's smile remained but he felt little reason to have it. Aizawa... you and I aren't going to get along at all.

Back with the fresh batch of future Heroes, Midoriya gave himself a moment to look around and quickly make his way over to the one person he wanted to inquire about. "Your name is really Joestar?"

Johnny's eyes rotated toward him, and the American gave a simple nod.

"Are you at all related to Hermit Purple?"

Johnny rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yeah, he was my ancestor."

Before Midoriya could unload countless more questions, Gyro spoke up with a reminder. "Aren't you supposed to go get your finger looked at, Izzy?"

XXXXXXXXX

With the schoolday over, the newest batch of students made their way out of the building towards their homes.

"Ehi! Joestar!" Gyro ran up towards his classmate. "That Stand of yours. It's a lot like my Spin."

Johnny gave him a courtesy glance. "I guess it is."

"Do you use the golden rotation?"

Johnny looked at him blankly. "The what?"

Gyro grinned and pulled a piece of paper and pen out of his pocket. With them, he drew a rectangle. "My father calls it the golden ratio. Its about nine to sixteen. So in this big rectangle, I make another one that also has the same ratio, and I keep doing so again and again as much as I can..." He did just that. "Then, I mark the exact centers of each rectangle... and connect them with a spiral." He drew that as well. "That spiral can go on forever. My old man trained me to make a golden rectangle with my hand."

Johnny was in disbelief. Even if it did exist, this 'golden ratio,' then how did the Italian next to him always use it?

Gyro continued on. "They say this is the basis of all art and beauty."

"Just how did your dad train you to... find this?"

"Nyohohoho! Somebody is curious!"

Not too far away from them, another set of friends were recovering from the day's ordeals.

"How are you feeling?" Diego asked his evidently tired friend, figuring it would be best to show his future subordinate concern, no matter how fake it may or may not have been.

"Exhausted" Midoriya yawned. Recovery Girl had healed his finger instantly, but it had taken so much of his energy. The fact that she told him that doing so too much would kill him had done little to reenergize him. I can't keep going on like this, getting rescued at every turn. I've got to get ahold of One For All quickly!

"Midoriya!" Both of them turned around and saw that Iida had already closed in on them. "Forgive me for overhearing, but I'm glad your finger is better."

"I-it's fine, Iida."

Iida nodded and walked with them out of the building. "Our Sensei honestly got me. I thought his willingness to expel on a whim came with going to the top Hero school. But now I see that encouragement can come from deception."

This guy likes to talk, Diego said internally.

Midoriya had a more positive thought. I thought Iida was scary at first... but he's diligent, honest, and dedicated!

Another voice rang out to them. "Hey guys! Wait up!"

The trio looked over their shoulders, and Midoriya froze. It's Uraraka!

She caught up to them. "Are you guys headed to the station too?"

Iida greeted her. "You're the Infinity girl, right?"

"Yep! I'm Uraraka Ochako! And, if I'm remembering right, you're Iida Tenya. And you're Brando... I guess I only know your surname."

"Diego."

"Brando Diego! And you're Midoriya Deku?"

"Huh?!" Izuku was at a panicky loss as to why she was using that nickname.

"Well, isn't that what that exploding-palms guy called you?"

"Oh! Well, actually," he explained nervously. Being around a girl that wasn't directly related to him was an new, frightening experience. "It's a nickname he uses to demean me."

You are so hopeless, Diego internally said. He was used to the better half of humanity, having seen DIO bring countless flings home.

Uraraka thought about what Midoriya had told her. "Well, I like it! It has a 'never give up' vibe!"

"Hi! I'm Deku!" He said in a tone unfamiliar to him with a face that said 'thank you, help me.'

Diego looked at him with a bewildered veneer. Why would you ever go by something so demeaning?

XXXXXXXXX

The next day came. The morning lessons of UA turned out to be rather mundane to the new students.

"Okay, who can tell me which sentence is incorrect?" Present Mic asked with his usual enthusiasm. On the board behind him were four phrases in English.

Nearly every student in front of him had the same words on their mind. So normal...

Valentine, Joestar, and Brando raised their hands instantly.

Makes sense, Izuku mused. They speak the language.

After morning classes, the student body made their way to the mess hall.

"Delectable," Valentine complimented her meal. "Lunch-Rush knows his way around a kitchen." Her praise made the chef give a thumbs-up.

As the afternoon came around, the aura of 1-A became much more upbeat.

"I AM HERE!" All Might made his entrance to the classroom. "Coming through the door like a normal person!" His words could not have been more inaccurate. He walked like he was shooting a video, and he was wearing one of his older Hero Costumes. The students still could barely comprehend that the Number One Hero would be teaching them. "Foundational Hero Studies! The name is self-explanatory! We'll be building you up with a series of trials! And what better way to get out of the starting gate than with a trial of battle?!"

Each student had a different reaction. Midoriya found himself nervous.

"And to go with this first battle..." sections of the wall next to All Might slid out, each with a column of compartments with numbers on them, going from one to twenty-four. "You'll have the gear you all requested! Get changed and meet me outside! You embryos are gonna show me what you got!"

This made all of them ecstatic. Midoriya gleefully opened the compartment with his designated number on it and grabbed the pouch in it.

Tears welled in his eyes as he thought back to how his mother had presented a costume to him, which she had made personally based off the old drawings in his sketchbooks. Mom is proud of me, and I'm proud to wear this!

Not too long later, 1-A had gathered at the designated spot. Midoriya noticed Brando first, as his costume was... rather strange for the setting. Riding boots with spurs covered his feet and shins while tan pants did the same for his legs. He wore a green, turtle neck, tight sweater that had a netting pattern printed on it. Thick leather gloves coated his hands, and on his head was a riding helmet with three letters, all capitalized, pinned on the front, spelling out 'DIO.'

The formerly Quirkless teen tilted his masked head. Is he... trying to look like a jockey? And why the letters? A tribute to DIO-san, maybe?

"Is green your life motif or something?" The Vampire's heir asked as he adjusted his helmet.

"You could tell it was me?" Izuku asked. Maybe the mask did not quite hide his visage.

"Your height is still the same," Diego answered. "And your, ahem, shout-outs to All Might are somewhat obvious. Not to mention I've long recognized your smell."

Midoriya had not taken Diego for the analytical type. "I guess that's a good point. Can I ask why you're dressed like a horse rider?"

"You may. And I'll answer. I was a prodigy jockey back in Cairo. Won every race I entered. So that high point of my youth will conflate with my career as a respected Hero."

Izuku understood why his friend would want to constantly remind himself of the good days. But that still did not answer the other part. "And the letters?"

"My mother used to call me Dio... before she died. Ergo, in memoriam, everybody will call me that. Dio, the Rider Hero."

"Wouldn't... that get confusing with you and your grandfather?"

"No, no. He calls himself DIO. I'll be recognized as Dio. See the difference?"

"Uuuhhhh..." Midoriya's eyes drifted and he spotted the American who had literally crawled out of him yesterday. She seemed to have gone with a simple approach. She had on a tight purple bodysuit that covered her from fingers to boots and a pink overcoat.

Joestar, he noticed, had on a getup that looked like he too was about to enter a western horse race. He had blue boots and pants that were covered with stars, befitting his name. The white shirt he wore had a large feather sticking out of the hood he currently did not have on, and he wore either a cap or bandana with a small horseshoe on the spot covering his forehead.

"Hey Deku!" Uraraka called out, grabbing his attention. Just like Valentine, she had on a tight outfit which made his eyes widen. "Maybe I should have been more specific with my sketches. It's a little embarrassing."

Brando again smirked. Even with a mask on, Izuku's panic was obvious to him. His smile vanished when a short, purple-haired classmate spoke to him with a lecherous tone. "This is the best."

The British Hero-in-training glanced down at his diminutive classmate who was giving him a thumbs-up. "Take two steps away from me."

Gyro let out whistle. "Damn, Momo. With that on, you're gonna drive me to be as crazy as my great-great-great-whatever-grandpa, Mario."

"It's practical," the heiress said with a blush. She looked at her boyfriend's costume and immediately thought of a western movie. He looked like a cowboy with the the boots and spurs, thick studded shirt, wide hat, and dark chaps over his pants. On his back was something she couldn't quite figure out. It was split up so it could hardly be called a cape, and too wide to pass as a scarf. His belt had a buckle with two hands pointing to his groin imprinted on it. You are so immature sometimes, Gyro-kun.

All Might looked at the motley bunch. "I'm liking everyone's style!" His eyes caught his successor. The lined face guard reminded him of his smile, and the ears of his hair stalks. A little obvious!

One them, in a sort of armor, raised their hand. "Sensei, regarding the the area we will be using for this trial? Is this one of the mock cities from the entrance exam?"

Midoriya instantly recognized the voice. So that's Iida in there? That's a really cool costume!

All Might answered Iida's question. "Two steps and you'll see! This will be an indoor battle! See, while most cleanup from Villain activity is seen outside, most of the actual fighting takes place between the walls! It makes it easier from them to hide in the shadows. So, for this test, you'll all be separated into 'Heroes' and 'Villains' and participating in two-on-two battles!"

Several of his students voiced their questions.

"How is it determined who wins and who loses?" asked Momo.

Bakugo grumbled. "Can we just blow the enemy way?"

Uraraka shyly raised her hand. "Is there a threat of expulsion like Aizawa-sensei's trials?"

Valentine rolled her eyes as the boy next to her made an insipid inquiry about his cape.

"One at a time!" All Might laughed as he pulled out a small cheat sheet. "For our exercise, the 'Villains' will be guarding a nuclear weapon they intend to deploy! The 'Heroes' will have to either capture the villains or reach the weapon before times runs out to win! If the 'Villains' capture the 'Heroes' or keep their missile safe until time runs out, they win!" He brought up a box with a hole in the top. "And we will choose the teams via lottery!"

"Is that really how we'll do it?!" Iida was shocked.

"Well, if you think about it..." Midoriya voiced his thoughts. "Pros often have to do impromptu team ups to stop whatever threat is nearest to them. It keeps them sharp and ready for anything."

"A great way to look at it!" All Might approved. "Now let's get to drawing!"

When all the duos were selected, team A would have taken any other partners.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me." Bakugo grinded his teeth. "Well... at least I can use you as a meat shield, Deku." His partner kept quiet.

All Might reached into two boxes, one marked 'Heroes' and the other 'Villains.' "Okay! The first pairs are..." He pulled his hands out. "Team A are the heroes! And Team L are the villains!"

"Bring it!" Bakugo smiled wickedly. "I'll crush everyone in my way!"

One of their foes spoke up. "Oh I do look forward to it."

The Hero team looked over and staring right back at them were Diego Brando and Siri Valentine, with D4C levitating behind them.