Chapter 5: To Defy the Odds (Ep. 16-18)

This was it. Midoriya Izuku was going to die.

He could already feel his spirit starting to leave him; his heart rate was slowing; his vision being overridden by this incredible light he was just so desperate to accept-

"Again, Izuku."

-and then that light was replaced by the disheartening gaze of Lovro, clearly done with all of Izuku's antics. The boy groaned, covering his face with his hands. Every part of his body felt sore. The foreign assassin finally deemed him ready to duel today, but as each fight ended with Izuku on the ground in seconds, it wasn't hard to tell something was off.

"What is wrong with you?" Lovro demanded, scowling deeply. "Your training was exceeding my expectations, and now you are worse than where you started. Where is your head?"

Izuku sighed, wincing as he pulled himself off the ground. He was definitely going to feel this tomorrow — and the entire week following.

"I guess I'm just a little distracted today," he admitted. "End-of-term exams are coming up, and there's just so much pressure added on. Korosensei offered up a chance to take off a tentacle if we get first in the school on a subject, and at the same time, we made a bet with A-class over who could claim the most top spots. And, even worse, they added a Quirk Exam, which is just a one-way ticket to my grave — ouch!"

Mid-ramble, the older man reached out and smacked Izuku in the face, knocking him to the floor again. The professional assassin sighed. "You really are distracted. You should have been able to stop that hit before it ever came." Lovro tsked, turning around and grabbing his coat off the tree where it hung. "This is going nowhere. We will meet up again when you are no longer worrying about such trivial issues."

"Mr. Lovro! You can't go yet! And besides, they're not trivial. These are real life-or-death situations here! If we get a lot of top spots, we protect ourselves from a life of servitude to 3-A, and we increase our chances of killing Korosensei exponentially — which means saving the world, might I remind you! You can't get mad at me for worrying about — stop trying to hit me!"

This time, Izuku did manage to block the blow, but only last second. Lovro rolled his eyes and retracted his fist. "That isn't what's distracting you," he said, and Izuku quirked his eyebrow, baffled at what the old man might be alluding to because uh, yes it was.

The professional assassin adjusted his fedora, scowling. "You are paranoid about the Quirk Exam. There's no need, for you won't pass it anyway."

"S-Sir?!"

"You've said so yourself, Izuku. You're quirkless. In a Quirk Exam, you have nothing to present, so you will not pass. This is inevitable," the assassin continued harshly, having no concern for his student's already fragile mental state. "However, I am one of the greatest assassins to have ever lived, and my protégés always live up to my name. I do not train failures, Midoriya Izuku. You will go out there and show them every ability you have; treat assassination as your quirk. And while it may be impossible for you to pass, you will not fail to make the judges remember you. Do you understand?"

Izuku nodded viciously, newfound determination sparked by his teacher's words. "Y-Yes!"

-.-.-.-

He walked out of the testing room side-by-side with Shinsou, feeling more anxious than he had going in. They just completed the tests for their five usual core subjects, and now it was time for the mysterious Quirk Exam. While Lovro's words gave him the resolve to keep walking, it didn't make him want to vomit any less.

For the test, they were separated at random to take the different parts at separate times. Izuku's group was led into a standard testing room by one of the Kunugigaoka teachers that he vaguely recognized; his quirk seemed to have something to do with eyes, if the hundreds of eyeballs littering his body were anything to go by. The mask around his mouth made him wonder if there was even one on his tongue.

"Hurry up and take a seat," the teacher ordered, and the students quickly complied. The man passed out thick packets to everyone. "I will be monitoring the quirk theory test. It is a written test, and you have thirty minutes to complete it. Do not bother trying to cheat — my eyes see everything."

Izuku blinked, feeling the weight of the test in his hand. Thirty minutes to complete all of this?

The teacher hit a button, triggering the countdown on the board. "You may begin."

It was like a gunshot for a race went off. Students frantically started opening their packets, some accidentally tearing the pages or throwing their pencils in the process. Izuku turned to the first passage, followed by a series of questions, and began reading.

Quirks are passed down genetically, acting as both a dominant and recessive gene, which varies from quirk to quirk. Dominant genes make the quirk's strength increase and limitations decrease, while recessive genes restrict the capabilities. Every quirk has a combination of two genes.

One with two dominant genes for their genetic makeup can result in three outcomes: a powerful two-part quirk, with both parents' dominant gene quirks presenting (extremely rare), a powerful quirk drawn strictly from one parent (common), or a case where one parent's quirk shows but the other dominant gene contradict the one that presents, causing the overall quirk to weaken (uncommon).

One dominant and one recessive, which is the most common outcome, results in the parent who donates the dominant gene's quirk to present, but is typically weaker due to the added recessive gene, and increases the restricts on the quirk, as the quirk will often draw on the recessive gene's restrictions.

Two recessive gene quirks can result in two outcomes: one parent's quirk presenting but with extreme limitations on said quirk, or when two recessive genes together will balance each other out to create a powerful new quirk.

Question 1. When a quirk is a mutation, meaning not coming from or a combination of the parents' quirks, what is the genetic makeup?

Izuku paused, eyes skimming over the passage again to make sure he read it right. But, sure enough, there was nothing directly relating to the question in the passage. He skimmed the rest of the questions following the passage and found the same thing. Was he missing something here, or-

Or was this exactly what the test makers wanted? They wanted to make the student panic, giving them a huge packet with large passages and indirectly correlating questions to slow them down. It was just a decoy. If he was going to take this test, all his knowledge needed to come from his head.

Luckily for Izuku, no one knew quirk theory better.

Ignoring the lengthy passages of text, he jumped straight to the questions, zooming through them at speeds that would make Korosensei proud. Subtly glancing around, he noticed that the students around him were still stuck on the first few questions, struggling to figure out that it was just a decoy. Others that caught on likely didn't know enough quirk theory to answer the questions on their own. The only other people going as fast as him were his fellow 3-E classmates. Korosensei thoroughly reviewed hundreds of examples of quirk theory and development, making sure they could tell every possible offspring quirk possibility when given two subjects, or that they could give methodical analysis on almost any type of quirk — much of which they've already learned how to do during their Quirk Training classes.

As Izuku approached his last few questions while those around him barely got past the first page, he smirked. Bring it on.

-.-.-.-

Despite it all, his confidence faltered the moment they moved on to part two.

It turned out, the rumors about the test being three parts were misleading information. While there were three separate portions, students only had to take two of the three: the written test, and either the offensive practical or the evaluation practical. Which meant Izuku must make a choice. Should he attempt the offensive practical and use his assassination and combat skills (but also risking being squished and utterly humiliated if the test absolutely required abnormal capabilities), or should he go into the evaluation and try to pass off his analysis skills as a type of quirk (also risking utter humiliation)?

Where was Shinsou when he needed him? The plainspoken boy would normally give him the blunt, painfully obvious solution Izuku couldn't see when he was panicking. But, unfortunately, they were separated at the beginning of the exam process.

"You coming, Midoriya?" Sugino asked, motioning for him to join the line to go to the offensive practical, and what, no one knows about my quirk (or lack thereof), why would Sugino instantly assume I'm going to go to that-

Oh.

Because while no one in 3-E but Shinsou knew about his lack of quirk, they all knew about his dream to become a hero. And in a world dominated by heroes like All-Might and Endeavor, that meant having an extremely powerful offensive quirk.

Too flustered to object, Izuku mindlessly joined Sugino in line for the offensive quirk exam. He, Sugino and Muramatsu were the only E-class students in line, the rest being mainly from A, B, or C-class, with a few D-class students. On the other hand, the evaluation had the other E-classers from Izuku's exam group — Nakamura, Takebayashi, Nagisa, Fuwa, Maehara, Sugaya, Mimura, and Okuda — and a couple remaining main campus students, including the principal's own son. He definitely should've joined them; he probably could've gotten away with faking it a lot better. It was too late to go back out now as they were herded off to their respective testing areas. Izuku's anxiety spiked tenfold as they were led to the excessively large indoor practice facility and lined up parallel to the enormous doors. The doors slowly creaked open, and Izuku felt his heart stop.

Present Mic stood on the other side, hands on his hips and smiling widely. Izuku's heart pounded in his chest.

Oh my god, that's Present Mic, he's really here, he's here to be our judge and grade us — oh no, he's here to grade us! I'm going to die, I'm going to fall flat on my face and embarrass myself in front of a Pro-Hero and die—

"Midoriya," Sugino hissed. "You're mumbling again."

Izuku flushed bright red when he noticed a number of students giving him dirty looks. He refocused on the Pro-Hero, who now stood a few feet away from the students.

"Welcome boys and girls!" he said, his voice booming. "I come here as a representative of U.A. High School! Alongside my colleague here, we are active teachers at the school who often interact with the hero course students, so think of this as an early scouting opportunity. Kunugigaoka and U.A. have a close relationship that goes waaaay back, with many of our finest students coming from this superb institution. We will judge your performance today and give you fair and appropriate grades. We hope to see you succeed, so please — do your best!"

Izuku's heart skipped about a hundred beats and he felt like puking everything he ate for the past week. Teachers from U.A. were going to grade them? Did that mean whatever happened in there could affect their applications for U.A. as well? What if he did terrible and they remembered and kept him from ever getting into U.A. and he won't ever become a hero and-

An elbow to the rib from Sugino warned him of his mumbling again. Izuku rubbed his face and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Oh, how he wished Shinsou was here; he could just order Izuku to calm down and he wouldn't have to deal with his stupid nerves.

"Now, please listen up while my colleague explains the test!"

Suddenly, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, a bright yellow beast rose from the floor and Izuku felt his heart stop a second time. No, it couldn't be — not without his disguise — but who else could it be than — Korosensei?

But then the yellow form stood up fully, and they were greeted by a very human face in a very yellow sleeping bag. Izuku felt like his brain was rebooting as he tried to get over that near heart attack. The sleeping bag-clad man sighed as he slipped out from his yellow cocoon, revealing his long hair, strange white scarf, and dark outfit. Based on the simple design, he was likely an underground hero, but Izuku had no idea who. The dark-haired man explained the test to them. Inside was a maze, designed by Principal Asano. Their job was to bypass obstacles and get out of the maze using any means necessary — and, of course, displaying their quirk in the best possible manner. They would be graded on speed, resourcefulness, and the manner in which they used their quirk. Bonus points could be earned throughout the maze by defeating obstacles appropriately.

"Keep in mind that this test is individually scored and every second counts. Your only objective is to prove your abilities to us," the unknown hero instructed, his face uncomfortably emotionless. "Time starts as soon as the doors open. You will not move any sooner, or you will receive a penalty."

"Best of luck, students!" Present Mic encouraged one last time.

A light flashed for their countdown, and everyone got ready. Izuku hesitantly dropped into a running stance, his mind going a million miles an hour. The doors opened, and it became a madhouse. The girl on his left immediately shoved him and Sugino to the ground, leaving them to basically get trampled. Izuku cried out when he felt something bite the back of his shirt, reaching to shove back and touching a handful of fur. He peered up, defenses relaxing. It was just Muramatsu. The coyote boy's muzzle poked the back of his neck as he helped Izuku to his feet like a mother carrying her kits while using his hands to help Sugino.

"Thanks, man," Sugino said, grimacing as he brushed his scraped palms on his pants. Not good, definitely not good. Just a few seconds in and Sugino's main outlet for his quirk was damaged. "Looks like there's more obstacles than the ones inside the maze. Don't worry about me though, let's go!"

They took off in a flurry, Muramatsu running far ahead of them on all fours. They barely made it twenty feet in the maze before a laser gun appeared out of an upcoming wall and opened fire on them.

"The hell?" Muramatsu cried, managing to dodge sheerly because this wasn't the first time they faced gunfire. Other students weren't so lucky, their bodies stiffening like statues under the laser's blows. The three ducked behind another wall for shelter while Sugino pulled out his anti-sensei baseball from his pocket.

"There's a reason I never leave home without it," he said before launching the ball at literal rocket speeds. It flew right at the gun and smashed it into pieces. "Run!"

Sugino took off like he was running for home plate. Muramatsu pursued, but Izuku reacted a second too late, falling a few meters behind. Unfortunately, that was all the maze needed to get the best of them, and a glass wall shot up out of the floor, cutting Izuku off from the other two.

"Midoriya!" Sugino cried, slamming his fist against the glass. He reared back to throw his ball again, but Izuku shook his head.

"It'll take too much time! Just go! I'll find another way out!" he said. Muramatsu and Sugino looked reluctant but followed the order, running off further into the maze. Laser fire blasted overhead as another gun appeared, and Izuku ducked, cursing to himself. No way he was going to make it through on his own. He needed to find another way out. What would Korosensei say...?

As if his teacher whispered the answer, he recalled the dark-clad hero saying they could get out 'using any means necessary.' So, with that logic, it didn't matter how he got through the maze, as long as he made it out...

It was crazy. The walls were three times his height. But it was his only shot.

Backing up to get a running start, he charged for the nearest wall. Kicking off like Lovro taught him, he scaled up and pressed off, launching him to the wall adjacent. He kicked off that one too, building up momentum. He zig-zag jumped between the walls once more before kicking upward, reaching for the edge for dear life. By some miracle, his fingers clasped the rough brick, curling for any semblance of a grip, the sharp edge digging into he palm. There was just enough friction that he didn't slip off as his body's momentum caught up with him, slamming his right side against the brick. He winced, his biceps spasming under his weight, but he strained to pull himself up.

He took a calculating risk assuming the walls were fairly thick, considering the many surprises hiding in them. His bet was well placed — it was about 30 centimeters wide, which was more than enough for him to run. He scanned his surroundings and spotted the exit, just off to the side, and took off. He may not be as skilled a free runner as Kimura, but he could hold his own. He sprinted across the top of the maze, jumping from wall to wall, only having a few scary moments where he over or underestimated the distance. Given the terror he felt earlier, it was all the more amusing as he soared over his competitors, catching glimpses of their priceless reactions. He distantly heard Muramatsu howl, cheering him on.

"You've got this, Midoriya!" Sugino called out as he vaulted over his classmate's head and Izuku smiled. Maybe...maybe he actually did. The exit was only a few walls away, and it looked like he was going to be the first one out. He just needed to make a few more jumps and —

The wall underneath his feet gave out as it crumbled under an explosion, sending him tumbling to the floor. He rolled to soften the blow as he hit the rubble, but every inch of his body throbbed. Blood trickled down into his eyes, and it felt like his heartbeat was pounding in his head, clouding his brain. Nothing felt broken (except maybe his pride). He hobbled to his feet, joints protesting with every flinch. No way he was jumping back up the wall again, but the exit was so close. It shouldn't matter anymore. He awkwardly skipped a few steps when he heard a deep groan, followed by a whimper. His skin chilled as his blood pressure dropped. He wasn't the only one caught in the explosion.

A girl he didn't recognize with light brown hair laid on the ground, her legs pinned by the rubble. Izuku knew he shouldn't. Any edge he had in this test blew, and he was already pressed for time. There wasn't much he could do anyway; the rock probably weighed 100 kilograms, if not more, and Izuku wasn't exactly known for his impeccable strength. But as he watched the girl struggle helplessly, he knew he couldn't turn his back on her.

Lovro was going to kill him for this.

Sliding next to her, he grabbed the large chunk of rock crushing her legs. "On three!" he shouted, and the girl nodded. "One. Two. Three!"

With strength Izuku didn't know he possessed, he pulled at the rock and lifted it off the ground. It didn't get very high — only a couple of inches off the ground — but it was just enough for the girl to slide her feet out.

"Thank- Thanks so..." she gasped. Izuku shook his head, waving it off.

"Thank me later. Just run!" he said, taking off. It quickly became evident that he was alone and, against his better judgment, paused to look back. The girl hobbled awkwardly, leaning heavily on one leg, and Izuku cursed his stupidity for thinking she'd be able to run after getting crushed by a wall. Running back, he looped her arm around his shoulder. "C'mon, we'll do it together!"

The girl sputtered, eyelids flaring back into her skull. "Are you crazy? I'll just slow you down! Your grade depends on this!"

Izuku laughed, taking his first few steps and encouraging her to move with him. "I guess you don't recognize me, but I'm from E-class, and you're hurt. My grade doesn't really matter."

Liar. Pro-Heroes are watching you screw this up, Deku, said the Little Bakugou in his head.

The girl blinked back tears. "O-Okay. Thank you. Again."

They hobbled through the maze at a slow pace, trying to avoid aggravating the girl's injuries any further. By the time they made it out, they were among the last people to cross the finish line. Sugino and Muramatsu, who finished long before, ran up to him frantically.

"There you are! What happened man? I thought you were a shoe-in for first earlier!" Sugino asked, Muramatsu nodding wildly.

"I did, but then it all blew up — literally. I stopped to help her get out from under the rubble," Izuku explained. It seemed like the other two E-class boys just then noticed the girl. Muramatsu gnashed his canine teeth.

"Who are you?"

"Oh," the girl said, awkwardly shimming away to stop leaning on Izuku. "I'm Uraraka Ochako from Class 3-B. Pleased to meet you all."

His classmates still looked skeptical, but Izuku smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you, Uraraka! I'm Midoriya Izuku, Class 3-E. This is Sugino and Muramatsu, also in 3-E."

The girl perked up, waving sweetly. "I really can't thank you enough, Midoriya-kun! If you hadn't stopped, I'd probably still be under the rubble. I overused my quirk during the maze, and everyone else seemed too absorbed in finishing that no one else stopped…"

"Are you surprised? You main campus kids aren't exactly known for being team players," Muramatsu barked. Uraraka winced, shuffling backward.

"I really do feel bad for slowing you down, Midoriya-kun. I completely ruined your score. Maybe I should talk to the judges and ask if I can give you half of my bonus points…" the girl said. Izuku just shook his head.

"I doubt they'll let you do that, Uraraka. Please don't worry too much about it. I was expecting a bad score anyway."

The girl didn't seem any more comforted, but she thankfully didn't press anymore. An instructor suddenly came up to the girl to lead her away, saying she needed to get to the nurse immediately. Before she left, the girl turned back and bowed.

"Thank you again, Midoriya-kun!"

Izuku waved back, ignoring the incredulous looks from Sugino and Muramatsu. He knew they didn't get it, but they didn't need to. Izuku did the right thing — the heroic thing. Sure, he blew his chance at scoring high on the Quirk Exam and possibly taking out one of Korosensei's tentacles, but in reality, what chance did he ever stand succeeding anyway? He's still the quirkless kid from E-class. While he may be a novice assassin trying to save the world, today, he was someone's hero. And that's better than any prize.

-.-.-.-

They got test scores back later that week. The whole class held their breath as Korosensei announced the results.

Nakamura kicked it off by claiming the top spot in English, meaning they were one tentacle down and had one point on A-class. Izuku, despite his shaky confidence, managed to claim eighth overall. Even more surprising, Shinsou got third. When quizzed on it, the purple-haired boy merely shrugged it off.

"Bitch-sensei recommended it. She said I'll increase my chances of getting people to respond if I know multiple languages."

Izuku blinked. Since when did Shinsou listen to Ms. Jelavić?

Kanzaki, despite getting the top Japanese score in E-class, fell just short to Asano overall. One for A-class.

Okuda and Isogai, however, came back and snagged the top spots in science and social studies, respectively, meaning they were guaranteed to at least tie A-class. It was now all up to the math and quirk exams.

"For mathematics, top in E-class is…" Korosensei drawled, pausing for dramatic effect. Izuku felt the eyes shifting between him and Karma, and he held his breath. "Midoriya, with a 99!"

The class cheered and Izuku beamed brightly, proudly accepting his exam. "Unfortunately, the overall spot was once again snatched by Asano Gakushuu, who received a perfect score. A closely fought battle, nonetheless!"

Korosensei passed out the rest of the exams, and Shinsou leaned forward to tap on Izuku's shoulder. "I wonder what happened to Karma."

Curious, the green-haired boy glanced back at Karma. The boy gripped his test, paper stretched near the point of tearing, eyes filled with bloodlust normally reserved for Korosensei. Whatever it was, it clearly wasn't good.

"Now, for the Quirk Exam — and your final chance to take out one of my tentacles!" Korosensei crowed, giggling to himself. Everyone held their breath as their teacher slowly pulled out the results. "In the top spot in E-class… and in the entire school…Shinsou Hitoshi!"

The class roared with applause, multiple people patting the purple-haired boy in the back. Korosensei passed Shinsou his test, who barely got a glimpse at it before Fuwa snatched it out of his hands, half the class crowding around to see the results. Out of all the subjects, E-class considered the Quirk Exam a non-starter; with half of them failing their past quirk evaluations, the idea of receiving the top score in the entire school was closer to a cruel joke. By their standards, Shinsou achieved the impossible.

"A perfect score on your evaluation practical? With Principal Asano as your judge? Are you kidding me?" Kimura gaped.

Nagisa shivered. "That man was so intense, I think he turned my own quirk against me."

"You also only missed three points on the written," Isogai noted. "Since when were you so good at Quirk Theory, Shinsou?"

Shinsou shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. His ghostly face flushed dark with — was that a blush? "I'm really not — I just eat lunch with those two every day."

He pointed at Izuku and Nagisa. Izuku threw his head back, laughing good-heartedly. The joy withered away the moment his exam arrived, placed face down on his desk. He just needed to flip it over, but the paper looked heavier than a truck. He didn't even want to know what was written on the other side.

Nakamura reached over, taking care of it for him. "Wow, you scored pretty high too, Midoriya! A perfect score on your written, and just ten points knocked off your practical."

"Wha-What?" Izuku snatched the exam up, holding it just centimeters from his face, scrutinizing the score. Yet the 90% remained, proving no trick of the light or issue with his vision. "I…I don't understand…I was one of the last to finish on the practical…"

"Those U.A. heroes must have been pretty impressed with what you did, beating the system by going over the maze and then stopping to help that B-class girl," Sugino observed. "Maybe you uncovered some secret bonus points or something."

Izuku's eyes burned, a heavy mistiness that always preceded his tears. Did the Pro-Heroes really think he was that worthy? All without a quirk? Lovro was right as much as he was wrong — Izuku didn't fail to impress the judges, and he passed with flying colors. He outsmarted them all.

"It's curious. You scored so high on the Quirk Exam, and yet you still haven't displayed it for the class. From what I've gathered on your performance, while it may seem impressive to an outsider, nothing you did was outside the norm for assassins," Karma noted lazily, his gold eyes gleaming.

Well. Maybe not all of them.

Everyone's eyes were on him. He heard Shinsou's chair shift closer, his friend coming to his protection.

"I, um, well—" he flubbed. Korosensei tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Never mind the details for now," the teacher said, smiling widely. "Instead, focus on your big win against A-class! And, don't forget, this means you get to take out four of my tentacles. Not nearly as concerning as six, but—"

"Hey, Octopus, don't go selling us short," Terasaka snapped, standing up from his desk. "It may not count toward our class rank, but the gang and I all got the top score for Home Ec. I'm no genius, but I think that adds up to eight tentacles."

"W-Wha-Wha-WHAT?"

-.-.-.-

"Hey, I never got to hear who the heroes grading the exam were; they only administered the physical-practical. All I got was eyeball dude and Principal Asano," Shinsou pointed on their walk home from school.

"Oh, it was so cool! Present Mic was there — I'm a huge fan of his radio show, but like, who isn't? — as well as some other U.A. hero teacher I didn't recognize. I think he's an underground hero. It was crazy, though! When he first showed up, he popped out of nowhere wearing a yellow sleeping bag, and I thought it was Korosensei crashing the test!"

"Honestly, I'm surprised he didn't try to use that disgrace of an All-Might disguise to sneak in."

"No kidding. I didn't recognize him though, even out of the sleeping bag. He did have a really cool white scarf around his neck, though."

"White scarf…" Shinsou stopped so abruptly, it was like he sprouted roots into the ground. "Wait. You're telling me…that while I was stuck undergoing psychological torment with Principal Asano…you got to meet Eraserhead?"

"Eh? Maybe? I wouldn't really know, I've never heard of—"

"You got to meet Eraserhead?!"

-.-.-.-

Izuku was waiting outside the school for Shinsou to arrive the next morning, skimming passively through a news station app for any updates on his favorite heroes, when the hairs on the back of his neck rose. He spun around, kicking high and following with a swing of his knife, fulling expecting to find his best friend there, poised to fight. He came to an abrupt halt when he instead found Korosensei, grinning sadistically.

Izuku's toe caught on a rock and he teetered, belly-flopping on the soil.

"My, my. Someone's a little jumpy these days. Don't tell me all this extra training made you paranoid," he said, his wicked grin practically glowing. "It's obviously working out in your favor, though. I'll admit, I too was shocked when I saw your Quirk Exam scores. While I had little doubt you would excel in the written theory, your practical score was astoundingly high, especially compared to many of your comrades."

The octopus loomed closer, his grin becoming a lot more ominous. "Your classmates, who, I might add, all followed my instructions to use their quirk in an assassination attempt before their exams."

Izuku gulped. Admittedly, he expected this conversation for a while, but after Korosensei dismissed Karma's accusations, he hoped it would all be swept under the rug. Clearly, luck was not on his side. It never was.

"You mean — everyone — and I-" he sputtered.

"Taking into account that Nakamura and I agreed her using her quirk to place first in English would count as her assassination attempt, you were the only one left. The other holdouts tried their best, and I applaud them for that. As I tried to teach you all with our little deal, your quirk is never something you should be scared or ashamed of. Whether it may be perceived as weak or dangerous, it is your gift, and you should embrace it. I was not asking you to become reliant on it, for that's just asking for trouble — just ask Karma. He thought he could sail through the tests with his innate capability quirk, and that hilariously blew up in his face."

His teacher giggled, as if remembering something, before his face turned serious again. "Now, Midoriya, I am a man of my word, but I can be reasoned with. So," the octopus stepped back, holding out his tentacles expectantly, "if you use your quirk to kill me right now, I might consider skipping out on your consequence. And trust me. I'm fine with either outcome."

His eyes glowed red, and Izuku almost peed himself right then, right there.

This was it. Humiliation or death. He put it off for this long, accomplished a lot of awesome things along the way, but as they say, all good things must come to an end. Making up excuses only meant more problems. Shoulders sagging, he accepted defeat.

"It's not that I didn't want to use my quirk, Korosensei...I just don't have a quirk to kill you with."

He took a deep breath.

"I'm quirkless, Korosensei."

There. He said it.

And he felt terrible.

The octopus went slack-faced, and Izuku hung his head, shaming curdling his stomach and burning his cheeks. The misty burning returned, and out of bitter pride, he fought back, trying to blink it all away. A tentacle wrapped around his waist, so gentle, so caring, and his battle ended in vain. Tears poured, a free-flowing waterfall of guilt and embarrassment and a bit of relief. Relief that it was over, the secret no longer boiling under his skin. Relief Korosensei didn't fly away in disgust. His teacher pulled him in tighter, and Izuku latched onto his torso like it was his lifeline. Like he was scared if he let go, Korosensei would leave him, just like so many people before.

"Midoriya…why didn't you just say so from the start? Do you really think so little of me? Of your classmates?"

"I wanted to, so badly. But-But every time I tried, I just...I just couldn't help but feel like it would be the same. Even though we're E-class, everyone still somehow seems so amazing, so strong. I can't ever measure up. They think going to become a hero — even Shinsou, and he knows I'm quirkless — but it's all just a big lie! A dream...a dream meant only for sleep."

Korosensei pulled out a handkerchief, wiping away Izuku's tears. "Regardless of your born abilities, I have seen tremendous growth in you. I've watched your spars with Shinsou and your training with Lovro; you are a force to be reckoned with, and pro-assassins and heroes alike would envy you. Do you really not see that?"

Izuku buried his face in Korosensei's robes. His teacher sighed, cradling him with what Izuku could only describe as love. Love, from the Number One Villain, who cared for his students more than he cared for his own life.

"What I'm trying to say, Young Midoriya, is that I've always told the class it doesn't matter the quirk you're born with — it matters what you do with it. That still applies to you, perhaps even more than the others. Being quirkless doesn't define your worth or your limitations; it only stands to be an open slate for the greatness you'll achieve."

A dam burst inside Izuku. Years of rejection, of cruelty and discrimination, of pity and condescension, treating him like a dumb toddler every time he talked about being a hero, instead of a teenager a year away from applying to hero programs. He took every jeer and sneer and snicker and lecture with a brave smile, just like All-Might, never letting the wounds they left deter his mission. Yet all the while they festered, building and building and building, waiting for the day he broke. But as it shattered, Korosensei picked up the pieces, putting him back together even better than before. His kind praises and encouraging words tended to the wounds, mending them until only scars remained — not completely erased, for Korosensei couldn't change the past, but healed nonetheless.

All the while Izuku sobbed. Sobbed until his sore eyes ran dry and his shuddering chest ached. Sobbed to the point where Korosensei's tentacles began to swell — not that his teacher complained or did anything to stop it.

It didn't make sense. How did this man, this villain seem to understand everything like he experienced it personally? How did he always know the right thing to say?

How could Izuku kill the one person with so much devoted faith in him?

-.-.-.-

"I'm going to tell the class I'm quirkless."

Shinsou looked up from his phone, resting bored face morphing ever so slightly into too-cool-to-be-excited bored, drooping eyelids lifting just a smidge and the left corner of his mouth tugging upward. He ruffled Izuku's hair.

"Proud of you, Jolly Green. And don't worry. This won't change anything."

-.-.-.-

It changed everything.

"WHAT? You mean you've been doing everything without a quirk?" Nagisa said, aghast.

Just not in the way Izuku expected.

Maehara laughed. "You're totally badass, Midoriya! You had us all fooled!"

"You mean you don't even have an analysis quirk?" Fuwa asked. "What a plot-twist!"

The class was in uproar, unable to believe that "he was naturally that cool and not because of a quirk," (as they put it). A couple of his classmates crowded around Ritsu's screen as she played back the video, still not really believing it happened.

"I…I haven't been very honest with you guys," video Izuku said from his place in front of the class. "The truth is, I haven't been keeping my quirk a secret from you, because there's nothing to keep a secret. I'm...I'm quirkless."

"I can't believe this," Muramatsu said, his coyote ears folded downwards. "You were like, the best at our quirk practical. How did you- all of that? Without a quirk?"

"Think of all the other exams you outscored," Hazama mused, her shadow body sprawled against his chair. "That's the biggest 'Fuck you' you could give those main campus assholes. Good job."

Sugino nodded. "Respect, dude."

Karma eyed him, smirking. "My, my, not even my quirk predicted this. I'm impressed, Freckles."

Izuku had an inkling suspicion there were a lot of reasons Karma's 'quirk' couldn't figure it out, and it wasn't because of power limitations. The end-of-year exam results raised his suspicions, and this all but confirmed it. But for now, he focused on the relief and joy brought by classmates' praise. Korosensei smiled, perhaps a bit too smugly, while Ms. Jelavić stood there with her mouth agape and finger pointed, and Karasuma nodded, giving his respect. Despite all of his crying already, more tears pricked the corners of his eyes.

"I told you so," Shinsou said, elbow resting on Izuku's shoulder.

Izuku couldn't even argue. "I know."

-.-.-.-

Per their deal with A-class, they stole the reward offered by the school for the class with the highest grades: an all-expenses-paid trip to a private island resort for three days. Which meant E-class was going on another Assassination Vacation.

Before their departure, Karasuma scheduled their summer break full of assassination and quirk training. Though they already planned their elaborate assassination plot, with such little room for error, their teacher wanted to ensure they prepared for every known scenario. With the opportunity to destroy all eight of Korosensei's tentacles and the fate of the world on the line, messing up was not an option.

Izuku was in the middle of practicing his long-distance shooting when an oh-so-familiar voice shouted out, "Your feet are sloppy again, Izuku!"

Izuku jolted, his shot going wide. "Mr. Lovro?!"

His trainer stalked towards him, clearly displeased. Izuku cowered behind his gun instinctively, while Ms. Jelavić ran away to cover up her body. At least fear of their mentor was mutual among his students.

"What have I told you about maintaining focus?" Lovro growled.

"Sorry, sir!"

Shinsou glanced in between the two. "Really? This is your big secret?"

Izuku chuckled sheepishly, kicking his toe into the dirt. "Um, why- why are you here, Mr. Lovro?"

"I called him here to assist with the classes' training," Karasuma explained, approaching them. "I felt it best we got all the insight we could, since this may be our only opportunity to kill the target. I wasn't aware Lovro took it upon himself to overlook some of the student's development." He turned to Izuku, clearly looking for an answer.

"I, uh, approached Mr. Lovro a while ago and asked him to train me to fight. I knew since I was quirkless, I was going to have to work harder than everyone just to keep up…"

Karasuma hummed. "Well, considering you are one of our top fighters, it goes to show how useful Lovro's input is. We're lucky to have him."

The foreign assassin hummed and turned to address the class. "Your teacher informed me of all your quirks, strengths, and weaknesses, which I will take the liberty to explore and evaluate during your training sessions this week. I trust we will remain uninterrupted by the octopus, of course?"

"Yes. He has chosen to take the summer to re-establish himself as the Number One Villain by wreaking havoc all across the globe. Early this month, we arranged for the news stations to start commenting on his lack of appearances, knowing his pride was too great to overlook this," Karasuma answered.

"Perfect," Lovro drawled. "Now, explain your plan to me."

-.-.-.-

After Karasuma debriefed Lovro on their assassination plot, the foreign assassin called Izuku over while the rest of his classmates restarted their drills.

"This plan is very well thought out. You took much part in the creation, correct?"

Izuku tried not to quiver under the man's intimidating gaze. "Ah, yes, Nagisa, Karma, and I came up with most of it, though everyone contributed in some way."

"As to be expected of one of my students," Lovro said. "Though, I must say, much of your class has true potential. I would not mind taking on a number of them as well. I am amazed by how all your talents have grown in such a short amount of time."

Izuku couldn't help but agree. They started off as a bunch of lost-cause end-classers, but now they were a promising group of fighters and trained killers.

(And since when was that a good thing?)

"Izuku."

"Yes, sir?"

Lovro towered over Izuku. "There is a technique I wish to teach you before you depart. I meant to teach it to you in our last lesson, but your distraction would have made it pointless."

"Technique?" Izuku echoed.

"Yes. Consider it a gift from your mentor. It's a skill I pass on only to my most promising students. Many believe it to be a type of quirk, but I assure you, it is nothing but assassination skill in its purest form," the foreign assassin explained. Izuku's heart rate spiked. "Should you master it, you will find it never fails in a fight. I hope you make good use of it, Midoriya Izuku."

-.-.-.-

"So," Shinsou began as they walked home together like always, even though it was summer vacation. "Lovro's your mentor, huh? I'm surprised a hardass like him was willing to train a kid."

"He's not as bad as he seems," Izuku defended, ignoring Shinsou's skeptical glance. "You just need to get used to him, that's all."

Shinsou snorted. "No, I think I'm good. I deal with scary and manipulative men more than enough in the system."

Izuku felt bad for asking, but he couldn't help but bring it up. "Well, since you know my secret, are you going to explain what's going on between you and Principal Asano? He gave you a perfect score in your practical — he didn't even do that for his own son."

"You're overreacting. I swear, it's nothing, really," Shinsou said, sounding utterly unbothered. He almost kept his expression schooled — almost. His irises flickered to the side, checking his surroundings, looking for a threat.

"Shinsou-"

Like a spear striking him from behind, a rush of anxiety penetrated his heart; a spreading wildfire all the way to the tips of his fingers. Izuku's steps faltered, clutching the front of his uniform. This was wrong. He knew anxiety — what his anxiety felt like. It was like a pot on the stove, usually a constant simmer, though with enough heat, it could bubble up and boil over. His anxiety didn't feel like a sudden violation, a giant wave crashing onto dry ground.

"Hey guys, can I join you?"

Nagisa approached, an unsure smile on his face, his hands fidgeting with his book bag. "Sorry, it's just...I normally walk with Karma, but he chose to skip the extra training..."

Izuku couldn't think of a response over the pounding of his heart. Couldn't formulate even a simple word.

Shinsou cleared his throat, nails digging into his wrist but seemingly unwise okay. "Sure thing, Nagisa."

Relief hit next, a bucket of ice water after a hot bath. Izuku could move again, think and speak like normal, though he was too afraid to speak the blaring questions on the tip of his tongue. Is it just me, or is Nagisa's empathetic projection getting stronger? Maybe knowing the true aspects of his quirk increased his power? Is that a thing?

"Hey, Shinsou, is it true you agreed to let Bitch-sensei train you?" Nagisa asked. Izuku focused his spiraling thoughts on this new, intriguing information. Shinsou flared a satisfying shade of red.

"One! It's only one lesson!"

Izuku couldn't resist, feeling inspired by Karma. This is what you get for keeping your secrets when I told you mine. "You're looking pretty red, Shinsou. What could this lesson possibly be over?"

"Nothing!"

-.-.-.-

Their week of training flew by, and the next thing Izuku knew, they were on the boat ride headed for their island vacation. Izuku stood at the head, feeling the wind blow through his hair, his friends on either side of him. Shinsou sat scrunched down, wearing sunglasses and a hoodie with the hood pulled over his hat.

"Uh, Shinsou, are you sure that's what you want to wear to the beach?" Nagisa asked. Shinsou adjusted his hat and sighed.

"I don't do the sun."

Karma barked with laughter and propped his elbow on Shinsou's shoulder. "What, does Shinsou sunburn easily? Such a shame."

Izuku leaned over to whisper in his best friend's ear. "Keep an eye on your sunscreen at all times."

-.-.-.-

They arrived at the resort and settled in for a few minutes, knowing soon they must start preparations for their assassination attempt tonight. The hotel staff offered everyone complimentary drinks upon arrival, which Izuku gratefully accepted, while Shinsou turned it down.

"If it's not hyped on caffeine, I don't want it," he declared as he collapsed underneath a beach umbrella. Izuku rolled his eyes and took a seat next to him, downing the fruity drink.

Throughout the day, everyone received assignments disguised as fun activities to set up their big assassination plot. Izuku was on the team with Nagisa, Karma, and Kataoka; who pretended to go scuba-diving when they were actually doing recon. Shinsou teamed with Yada to 'persuade' the captain of the ship restaurant to go to the specific destination they had planned out.

Dinner time rolled around, E-class eating in the fancy restaurant on board. Reality settled in with every disappearing ray of sunlight over the ocean. Izuku barely touched his food, his stomach eaten away by nerves. Shinsou was sprawled out next to him, rubbing soothing cream on his skin. Despite the boy's valiant efforts, he still managed to get sunburned.

"Don't feel too bad, Shinsou, your sunburn doesn't look too bad," Kurahashi tried to comfort him. "At least you're not like Korosensei."

The octopus was apparently very susceptible to the sun's rays and literally burned black. Even his teeth had a sunburn.

"He looks like a bowling ball," Kataoka observed.

"Yeah, it's kinda uncomfortable to look at," Yada said, eyes gleaming. "Can you do something about?"

"Why, of course I can. If you recall, students, I can molt!" Korosensei declared, molting his burnt skin and replacing it with his usual yellow. "Of course, I can only do it once a month, and it takes up a lot of my energy — oh."

Their teacher pathetically covered his face with his tentacles as he sulked. Izuku shook his head.

"You know, for someone who knows his students are actively planning to kill him, he makes it too easy. We didn't even need to break out Sugaya's dancing porn magazines to distract him for Yada's quirk," he commented.

Shinsou just groaned.

-.-.-.-

They brought Korosensei to the floating chapel. As one of the eight students who got to take out a tentacle, Shinsou stood inside in the front with the others. Izuku stood in the back next to Karma, waiting for the signal to get into position. In a matter of minutes, Korosensei would be dead. Their target would be taken out, their mission deemed a success, and the world will be saved.

But at the same time, Izuku couldn't help but fear success. What would the future hold without Korosensei there beside them, teaching them to become better people, better assassins?

Because, in the end, what's an assassin without a target?

"Before we get started," Isogai began. "We would like to take time to view a collage of memories collected by Mimura's quirk. Think of it as a parting gift from us to you."

Korosensei tittered. "A digital yearbook, I presume? Too bad we only got to capture half of the year together."

The octopus took a seat on the bench, and that was their signal to start. Okajima turned off the lights and Mimura blinked, triggering his hologram screen. Instantly, film of their daily class life seen through Mimura's eyes streamed.

"Before you came to join us, we were a bunch of soon-to-be dropouts, just trying to get through junior high," Mimura narrated live, targeting one of Korosensei's weaknesses: flattery. The stream switched to clips from their assassination training. "Now we're aspiring assassins with one goal: to kill our Sensei."

That was Izuku's cue to move. He silently walked out the back, keeping an eye on the scene to make sure nothing went wrong.

"In our time together, we've learned a lot about ourselves, our capabilities, our quirks, and our classmates," Mimura continued. "But above all, we've learned a lot about our target."

Instantly, the hologram shifted to show a video of Korosensei trying to sneakily read pornography in class. Korosensei's arrogant façade vanished.

"YOU SAID YOU'D KEEP IT A SECRET!"

Okajima and Maehara stepped up, grinning evilly as Mimura showed various clips where he caught Korosensei being a pervert. It was almost alarming how many there were; Mimura and Hazama teamed up to stalk him, using the girl's shadow body as camouflage, but they only had time to follow Korosensei around for about a week. How much pornography did this man need?

Korosensei's embarrassment and shame were clearly getting to him; while he started out a superior being in every way to them, he was now reduced to a blubbering child caught breaking the rules. Izuku almost felt bad for him.

"Better get comfortable, Korosensei," Okajima teased. "Mimura's stocked up on eye drops, and we've got over an hour of footage."

"A WHOLE HOUR?"

-.-.-.-

By the time the film ended, Mimura went through three bottles of eye drops (doubtfully healthy, no matter how much the boy insisted), and Korosensei was so ashamed he claimed he was already dead, laying on the bench pathetically. He was completely oblivious to anything else.

Just like they planned.

High tides arrived, flooding the place just enough to soak their teacher's tentacles. He was seasick, embarrassed, waterlogged, and about to be out of eight tentacles. It's like success was inevitable.

Izuku sat in his boat, waiting for Ritsu's signal. From his position, he could just barely get a glimpse of Shinsou and the other seven students, all poised with their guns. Shinsou said something, smiling bitterly, before firing at Korosensei's right-hand tentacle.

The other seven did the same, rapid-fire, and Ritsu appeared on his phone screen.

"It's been five seconds. Go!"

Izuku and the other three boat drivers (Karma, Hara, and Takebayashi) gunned it, speeding away. The ropes attached tore apart the chapel, exposing Korosensei completely. With Izuku's job done, he could sit back and watch the rest of the plot work out. Kataoka, in full-mermaid form, launched over Korosensei's head, bringing a wave of water with her and soaking him even further. Kurahashi, using her Animal Mimicry, made what Izuku assumed was a dolphin battle cry, given the army of ocean creatures that came forth, jumping and splashing Korosensei until he was thoroughly soaked. The animal attack pushed Korosensei slightly off center, but they had planned for this too. Okajima jumped into action, triggering his Snapshot quirk. Izuku was far enough away that he wasn't affected, and marveled watching all movement, even the water, freeze for just a second. Okajima shoved Korosensei's immobile body into position just before his quirk timed out.

Finally, it was time to strike. The remaining E-class students rose from the ocean on water jet packs, locking their teacher in a hydraulic cage. It blocked Izuku's view of Korosensei, but he knew the plan forward and backward. Those who took out his tentacles, along with Ritsu in her robot form, would start firing rapid fire around their teacher, locking him in tight. As Ritsu's timer approached one minute, Izuku held his breath. He watched the gunfire leave Chiba and Hayami's guns from their sniper's nests. There was no doubt in the precision they shot with, especially with their quirks.

The timer ran out. The gunfire stopped. Izuku gripped the boat wheel, guilt and excitement wrestling for dominance.

Did they actually win?

He reached for his phone, about to ask Ritsu for an update, when a shockwave ripped through the air. Life became a void, color and sound suctioned to nonexistence.

And then the world exploded.