Looks at calendar

Yep, knew it, trying for another before the new year was definitely a no go, and now it's like, what, April? Sheesh… Oh well, anyways…

Another round of baseless author notes and another 4-6k word chapter

I'm gonna be timeskipping a little bit this chapter. This'll be the last chapter before the main plot of BNHA, so sorry for the wait. Life gets in the way.

Anyways, please leave comments if you have any suggestions!

I'm new to writing fanfics (kinda) so I'd appreciate any tips or hints on how I'm doing.

Oh, also there is some swearing somewhere in the middle of this chapter. You'll know when it appears, but I thought I'd warn readers anyway

Without further ado, please enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 6: First Step

The day had finished, and unexpectedly, Principal Nezu had invited him to his office to watch each of the entrance exam sites individually. Perhaps Toshinori Yagi should have expected something to happen, after all, he'd mostly been avoiding the campus, even after arriving in Musutafu. Eventually, after several hours of going through exam footage with the principal and trying to look for students, as well as Nezu hyper-analyzing his successor, among a few other notable students, Toshinori finally made to leave the office.

"With the entrance exam over, lets get to business." He heard the sound of a new cup of tea being poured as a chill went down his spine. This was going to be a long night.

Izuku stared at the ceiling from on top of his bed. The unending, near-silence he could hear unsettled him, apart from the increasingly familiar sound of his father donning armour in the study room.

He couldn't sleep, not knowing whether it was from anxiety about his exam scores, or how unsettlingly quiet his neighbourhood had gotten.

Though the time it started eluded him, he couldn't help but notice how quiet it was while returning from the exam, or how few cars there were under the apartment building. It seemed that most of their neighbours had moved away.

He grabbed his phone to check the time, only to be blinded by the screen. Scowling, he turned the brightness down and waited a few moments, waiting for his eyes to adjust.

Half past eleven, and he didn't feel even a tiny bit tired. With a sigh, he hopped off his bed and left his room, making sure to be as quiet as he could. He knew his mom would be resuming work with her law firm the next day.

Based on the sound, he could hear his Dad still inside the study. The old yet familiar room where he used to watch All Might's debut on repeat before Hisashi left for the States.

Walking up to the door, Izuku brought his knuckles up to it and knocked lightly, and moments later, Hisashi opened it, donned in black-and-red armour. Half of the accessories weren't there though. The arm-mounted grappling hooks and the various utility belts were behind him on the table, next to the helmet.

"Is something wrong, Izuku?"

"I can't sleep… I think a part of it is because I feel nervous about the exam. You worked with UA a few times, right? How do you think they'll mark it?"

Hisashi paused for a moment, before opening the door wider and ushering Izuku into the study.

"I can't say much about how the markers will grade the exams. I was never a part of the marking staff, and when I did my own entrance exam, the format for the tests was different."

The mostly geared-up hero walked back to his desk to put on his remaining gear.

"If I had to give a completely unbiased mark based on what you told me on the way home… I'd say you did pretty good. Hell, Top ten, maybe top five even."

"You think so?" Even with his father's prediction, Izuku still held some doubts about his performance. "... There isn't something that will make the judges deduct points, right?"

Hisashi paused for a moment, looking thoughtful as he leaned on the desk. "Tell you what, why don't you tell me what you think you did well, and what you think you can improve on? We can move forward from there."

And tell he did. Dashing around the streets with the serum coursing through him and repeatedly firing off Smashes taught him what the quirk felt like, but using it was a whole other can of worms. The experiences couldn't be any more different,

What he needed most, as far as he could tell, was that practical experience of using One for All. He needed to make up for lost time, as all the rest of the students had 10 years of experience with theirs. Or something similar to get rid of the time between Izuku finding a target and firing off a Smash.

The fact that his landing could have gone very poorly also came to mind, as without the help of the girl with the gravity quirk, he wasn't sure how well his strategy would work. With the help of hindsight, he couldn't help but realise how bad of an idea 'cushioning' his landing with another smash would have been. It would have been like bouncing, but each time would have led him closer and closer to going splat on the concrete.

When Izuku had finished his gibber-rush of self-reflection and looked up, he saw Hisashi grinning at him, with a satisfied look on his face.

"Hmm… I have some ideas if it's experience that you need. Tell you what, I'll put you on a training routine starting a week from now, so take this time to rest and relax." Hisashi paused to take a breath and don his helmet, covering his fluffy black hair.

"Finish up whatever you've been doing with the Old Timer and All Might if you need to, and maybe make some plans. There's a month before UA will start, so it'd be best if you don't waste it." His headgear hissed and clicked into place with the neck-guard, and Hisashi, now Vulcan, turned his neck experimentally to see if it locked in place.

"A-Alright. Stay safe on your patrol Dad," Izuku couldn't help but wonder what the training would be as he watched his father approach the window.

"I will." Hisashi, waved back, opening the window, taking a moment to look back at Izuku. "Goodnight kiddo, see you in the morning."

Vulcan leaped out of the window as a loud 'thwip' was heard, and his grappling hook pulled the hero into the night.

Yui paced around the Heights Alliance building, idly staring at the different sets of clothes sprawled over the bed. She could have technically left UA's apartment complex already, but seeing as her parents had paid for an entire week's stay, she might as well make the most of their money. Besides, it was a free week away from school, so who was she to complain?

She picked up her phone with a sigh. While her parents did give her enough money for whatever she wanted, she had to search for what she wanted herself a majority of the time. And in the case of high schools, she had to look for one herself. Hence why she had taken UA's entrance exam among other schools.

That said, with how far away UA was from home, she'd have to commute every morning, and waking up at sunrise to catch a train didn't appeal to the girl, so if she did manage to get in, she'd have to look for an apartment to stay in. And that was if she even got in, which was highly unlikely because of the sheer number of students attempting the entrance exams, compared to the hero course' meagre 36 seats.

She had her eye on a few apartments, but searching for more definitely wouldn't hurt.

With that in mind, she sent a text to a more recent acquaintance. She'd just recently found out that he lived nearby in Musutafu, so she was hoping that he'd have any clues as to where vacant apartments were.

[9:24 PM, 25th February]

In that case, I'll see you at the exam. Good Luck!

[1:21 PM, Today]

Do you know about any apartments for rent near UA?

A week had passed since the day of that exam. A dreadfully boring week, at least in the eyes of Bakugou Katsuki. Deku had yet to show up in school in over a month. That said, it happened around the same time as the mass kidnapping over a month ago, but Katsuki didn't know what to think about that. He scoffed and thought about that deadbeat. 'No way they'd take that quirkless nerd. Useless Deku probably learned to stop wasting everyone's time.'

He was sitting in his room, holding his acceptance letter from UA high. The damn thing had arrived in the middle of dinner, and the Old Hag had all but forbidden him from leaving the table.

Handling the letter cautiously, he pulled a letter opener out of his drawer. It would come as a good memento for how he became the greatest hero, so he was careful in unsealing it, making sure not to rip the paper.

The letter's contents were to be expected, or as expected of UA at least. With the school's partnership with I-Island, Katsuki knew to expect something extraordinary. The cylindrical object inside must have been some sort of projector, while the folded letter was his certificate.

After placing the content of the letter on his desk, the projector lit up.

I am here as a Hologram!

'Holy shit is that-' Katsuki felt a toothy smile growing on his face. He wondered why it was All Might doing the exam videos, but he suspected that there would be a reason.

I came to this town to work at U.A.

'Even Better' he thought. 'With All Might teaching me, I'll become the best hero in no time!'

You passed the written exam, getting into the top five percent of scorers. Ontop of that! You've shown excellent combat prowess. Feast your eyes on this!

The projector had shifted the view from All Might to the projector. Several scenes played out on its screen, showing him blasting numerous types of robots to pieces. Each robot taken down was within seconds of the next, and the moment he ran out of enemies to destroy, the young man would blast his way up high to find his next target.

After a few seconds of fast edited scenes of his rampage, the camera panned back to All Might as he turned back to the camera.

Your performance has earned a stunning, seventy-seven points! What a lucky number! HAHAHAHAHA! It is my honour to welcome you, Young Bakugou, to your Hero Academia!

The camera faded, and was replaced with the top scores for the exam, but the sight of the leaderboard erased any satisfaction he had from his own performance.

One name stood out at the top of the leaderboard.

But it wasn't his.

1st place: Izuku Midoriya

Villain points: 49

Rescue points: 73

Total score: 122

A white-hot rage burst to life in his mind, his hands crackling with his quirk as he howled.

"DEKUUUUUU!"

He didn't hear his mother screaming at him to shut up.

Dinner had already passed for the Midoriya family by the time UA's results came in. There was a knock on the door when it happened, and when Inko opened it, she found a weird, diminutive robot raising the letter to her. She accepted the letter from it, vaguely aware of UA's emblem on it, as she watched the strange machine make its way to the elevator. Glancing back at the letter, she closed the door and went back inside.

As much as Inko wanted to rush over to Izuku in excitement and nerves, she knew that she would inevitably trip or run into something. While whatever she was injected with made her more fit, it also made her nearly a head taller, and she had struggled to even walk properly for the first two weeks.

Thus, calmly, she called towards Izuku's room. "Izuku! It's here! UA's Letter is here!"

The sound of the tap turning off, as well as the stumbling from further in the hallway showed that she had both her husband and son's attention. It was quite the stroke of luck that Hisashi managed to get the night off, as he often had patrols every other night, and she knew that he wanted to see Izuku's reaction first hand. She did too, after all, they'd both seen how nervous Izuku was.

Eventually, the three had gathered around the dinner table once more, with her and Hisashi taking various spots around the dining room to watch. She had taken to pacing around the counter nervously as Hisashi dried off the plates with a towel and his quirk.

With a swift motion and a sharp, crisp ripping sound, a projector fell onto the table.

I am here as a projection!

No matter what Hisashi said later, Inko would continue to deny that she squeaked because of the message.

"A-All Might?!" Izuku rapidly pieced back together the ripped paper, staring at the logo, then the hologram, and back to the logo.

I probably haven't talked to you since your exam, but don't worry! That's because I've likely been swamped in paperwork! You see, I came to this town to work at UA!

That was a surprise to both her and Izuku. An unexpected, but nice one.

You passed the written exam, and got a remarkable score in the practical! You're the first participant since Best Jeanist to have gotten over 100 points in the practical! Well done Young Midoriya! You've blown all of my expectations out of the water, with not just quick wit and combat prowess, but from proving that you have the heart of a hero!

The symbol of peace backed away from the camera, revealing what looked like a monitor with UA's logo atop a blue background, and Inko took the chance to look to the side at her husband because she heard him fumble with a plate. The only response she got was Hisashi shrugging though, so she turned back to the screen.

She did wonder where over 50 points had come from though. Both Izuku and Hisashi had told her about what happened during the exam, as well as how many villain points Izuku got.

Now, you may be wondering where all those extra points came from. Fear not, because this video created for your viewing pleasure, will help in explaining it!

The camera panned to the screen, where the gravity girl from earlier was talking to Present Mic.

She was talking about her son.

"Is it possible for me to give him some of my points?"

Inko couldn't help to jump to conclusions at that. This exam response seemed to be a very personal letter, so she couldn't help but think that she and Hisashi were intruding.

"I couldn't hear much when it happened but… He looked desperate. Like he felt as if he didn't have enough points… And because of the points he lost because of me… But he still saved me! Please!"

Your selfless actions have spurred others to act. We had turned down the girl's request, but that was because there truly was no need. For you see, the entrance exam wasn't only graded on Villain Points! Heroic deeds were marked too, with Rescue Points! After all, the essence of a hero is to do the right thing and save those in need. How could the Hero Course possibly reject such a person?

Staring at Izuku, she could see the gears trying to turn in her son's head, as he sat frozen in his seat.

Midoriya Izuku! You've earned 73 Rescue Points! To reward your efforts in saving other examinees without being told! And Ochako Uraraka, 45 points!

The camera panned back to All might, as he turned away from the monitor.

You've done well, my boy. Now come, Young Midoriya.

"Amazing…" Inko uttered. If Hisashi's shocked expression and All Might's words about best jeanist were anything to go by, Izuku had accomplished something incredibly difficult.

Welcome, to your hero academia!

Eventually, after a few seconds, the recording ended, and the holo-screen disappeared.

As Hisashi turned the lights back on (which Inko never noticed them being turned off), she went up to Izuku and hugged him, tears welling in her eyes.

"Congratulations Izuku!" Through the smiling and tears, the Midoriya family was in disbelief and overjoyed.

The next night, upon receiving a text from him, Izuku ran as fast as he could (Hisashi had jokingly warned him to watch how fast he ran on the streets after an encounter with a cat-themed cop) towards the beach that he had cleaned for months.

With a high five, Izuku was praised by his hero.

"You've done amazingly Young Midoriya, getting over 100 in the entrance exam. Oh- and that mark was all done by your hard work, I had no effects on the marking, and most of the school doesn't know anything about our connection."

"Thank you very much! I was worried that they might have marked me higher because of that… Oh- And you're teaching at UA! That was surprising when I heard it, is that what you came here for? Because your Agency is in Roppongi in Minayo, Tokyo at-"

"Okay kid, that's enough." the deflated Symbol quickly cut off his successor's recitation.

A peaceful silence settled between the two of them for a moment, with the waves quietly splashing on the sand of the beach.

"You know, I'm working at UA because they offered me a job. That was because the principal, Nezu, knew that I was searching for a successor. I found you before the teaching year started, but I'm still going to be teaching at UA for the foreseeable future."

He couldn't help but stare at his arm as All Might said that. He'd gone overboard during the exam, and had needed healing from Recovery Girl afterwards. Not to mention that he was stretching the limits with how much his legs could take too.

"Even with all the training that you and Gran Torino gave me, my arm almost broke when I used it during the test… I still can't control it as well as you do."

"You still did far better than I thought you would, Young Midoriya. You basically grew a new limb when I gave you One for All, expecting you to be a master at it straight away would be like expecting someone with a mechanical implant to be a master at using." weird analogy aside, Toshinori approached him and patted him on the shoulder, donning a proud expression. "You got over 100 points! A feat like that only happens once a decade, so I know that I chose right when I picked you, my boy!"

"Right… Also what's special about getting over 100 points? My dad said it rarely happens, but I didn't really get any other info from him…" Izuku scratched his head nervously. He didn't know what to think of being compared to a top hero, but a part of him felt undeserving. He still couldn't quite believe it.

"Hmm… That is a tough one to answer, young man, If i had to say… Its a sign that you are guaranteed to become one of the top 10, and with your work ethic and how much you can grow, I won't be surprised when you become the Number One hero of your generation, a symbol in your own right."

When. All Might had said when, not If. As if he knew that Izuku would undoubtedly reach that spot. Izuku could barely comprehend the fact that he was going to be a hero, let alone reaching for the top.

"I still can't imagine it… A little under a year ago I had no chance of ever becoming a hero, but now, it feels as if my world has been turned on its head… I don't really know what I can do from here."

"Well… If you want my advice on what to do now… Just sit back and enjoy high school. Make some friends, go to classes, hustle through your school work and just enjoy it while it lasts."

"... easier said than done…"

"... easier said than done…"

That got the hero to pause with concern. With his successor's work ethic, school work wouldn't be an Issue for him, so what would it that have meant? By his own guesses, granted nothing catastrophic happened, He still had enough strength over One for All to last until Young Midoriya graduated, so it couldn't be the last one either… Could it be… making friends?

"Are you worried that you won't make any friends, my boy?"

Izuku almost flinched at that. "I… I dont really know how to make friends…"

He had hit the nail on the head.

It took a few awkward seconds to figure out the right words, before he finally spoke. "It's not something that can be taught, Young Midoriya. It's something that you have to do, a leap of faith."

"What?"

"I can't give you advice for making friends. That's something that each person has to try on their own. However, I can give you advice on how to talk to people, if it helps." He patted his successor on the back, starting to walk forwards as he explained.

The young man followed belatedly

"The first tip I have… Friends aren't made over night. As I said, It's a leap of faith, and it takes time. They say Rome wasn't built in a day, and the same thing can be said about making friends." He slowed down, as he spoke, thinking about his own youth, trying to adapt to life in the states, on the run from All for One with Gran Torino. He'd quite literally made a leap of faith back then, but he would never regret saving Dave from that explosion. .

"The second tip… It's about reaching out. Normally, friends can be made through some kind of common ground. You can find it by asking them about themselves, and answering questions they ask you in response. Use this as a chance to learn what kind of person they are, and make sure you pay attention to them, "

"And finally, body language. You can tell a lot about someone from how they carry themselves. Likewise, your own body-language matters. You're not going to make many friends if your body language is screaming for you to be left alone, so that means keep your head up, look ahead, and most importantly." He turned around to look straight at Izuku, slowly inflating to his full height. "SMILE, MY BOY, IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT."

It took a few moments until Izuku finally responded. He hoped that the young man would be able to put his tips to use when the time came.

"I… I don't know how well it will work… But I'll try my best, All Might"

The two stood on the beach for a few more moments until…

"Holy crap is that All Might?!" a far-off yell snapped One for All's holders into attention.

All Might flinched, biting back a cough as he looked in the direction of the pavilion, before turning away. "Let's go, Young Midoriya."

"Ah- Hai!"

He wasn't expecting anyone to catch them unawares like this, given how late it was. Perhaps he should have checked to see if anyone else was on the beach. Either way, Toshinori hoped to not encounter any surprises later.

A masked man sat on his throne, tubes and wires connected through various points of his body, most notably his neck. For the umpteenth time in the past few days, he let out a sigh of disappointment, as a project of his had been foiled once again by his nemesis.

Various screens and microphones surrounded him, the majority either off or flickering with faint images, such as the hallway outside his room, or the inside of a bar several blocks away. They were, for the most part, pointless by this point. He had no eyes, after all, lost after the upper half of his head had been thoroughly pulverized. It was a miracle, if only a minor one, that the good doctor managed to rebuild his brain enough for his regeneration quirks to settle in. It was a shame that he no longer had his eyes though, as some of his favourite quirks, such as Shunpo or Panoptica were left to rot away within the confines of his quirkspace.

A knock on the door made the ancient man return from his reflection, and with a thought, he opened it for his visitor. He didn't need to know who it was by now. After the first year of blindness, he'd gotten used to identifying people via their heat signatures.

"Milord, I've finished recovering our assets from the latest project."

"What remains of Project Super Soldier?"

"To be honest, Milord? Not much would be useful. Especially not for the High-Ends or Semi-High-Ends. What's left may be of use to the low ends though, should their abilities prove inadequate."

"And what of the test subjects?"

"..."

"Doctor."

"The subjects are out of reach, Milord. I've had to cut all ties to those subordinates and purge all their computer files because Endeavor is now investigating."

"A shame. Our eyes in the HSPC report that we've had varying successes from the escaped batch, yet we're unable to reap the rewards of our labour. To have a High End with limitless stamina, let alone many, would've been a blessing."

Truely, it was a shame that this childhood fantasy of a project never managed to bear him fruit, but it mattered little, especially since Hero Society had set the blood-hound of a hero, Endeavor upon him. That particular thorn had been causing trouble for nearly two decades at this point, and All for One was considering sending one of his High Ends to dispose of him.

"Project Nomu should be strong enough already, Milord, especially if that boy uses his head while leading them."

"Patience, Doctor. Tomura will grow into the position eventually, and we have all the time in the world. It's only a matter of time until he grows."

At first, He had no clue what to think of his new training routine. For the most part, it was just him trying to chase after his father over the rooftops of a nearby suburb. Even with the serum flowing through his veins, and his infrequent use of One for All, he was struggling to keep up.

Granted, Dad was using grappling hooks to reach buildings easier, but he was still abnormally fast, especially for someone wearing full body armour.

Almost a month into the new training routine, and with the first day of UA drawing near, Izuku only lost track of him or fell behind after every fifth building, and his grasp of One for All, his quirk -which All Might had tried to emphasise time and time again whenever they met- was growing better and better.

He didn't have to focus nearly as much as he initially did during the exam, only having to worry about his limit and how much he'd use. He'd gotten used to calling anywhere between 5 and 10 percent to the point where it was almost second nature, and he got a decent grasp of how far each percent will let him move. Oddly enough, he'd eventually realised that his legs could handle more of the strain from One for All than his arms could. That said, he still had no clue how much damage a hit would do for each percent of his quirk. Both Hisashi and All Might had all but forbidden him from using it in any form of combat training.

Furthermore, instead of going out to chase his Dad the night before UA, he was made to stay at home instead, to try to be "well rested". Safe to say, Izuku didn't sleep well that night, what with both nerves for the upcoming start of highschool, and feeling restless from not training in any sort or form. Using the weights he had at home didn't give him the experience of a full body workout like his routine did, and without the familiar, and almost comforting burning sensation in his muscles to lull himself to sleep, Izuku woke up more tired than he should have been.

Regardless, he would get through the day with what energy he had. Because of the first set of tests the doctors made him go through, Izuku was starting to think that he just had no concept of stamina any longer. Granted, he still had to attend monthly checkups to monitor his health, but there seemed to be no weird side-effects.

The morning flew past him as he steadily devoured his breakfast and dressed for the day. He barely thought about anything up until he was right at the front door, tying his shoelaces with his mother worrying about him.

"Do you have a handkerchief with you? I washed it last night, did you remember to put it back in your bag?"

"Yeah I got it, I'm going to be late!"

He could vaguely hear Hisashi chuckling somewhere further inside as he reached for the door."

"Izuku!"

"What is it?!"

"You're really cool" Those words seemed very out of nowhere to the young man, and he couldn't help but pause and look back at his Mom.

His Dad walked into the doorway from the livingroom and added.

"You are, Izuku, and we're proud of you."
He looked slightly dishevelled, with fluffy hair sticking oddly to one side, but smiled a toothy, yet sleepy grin. "Now go, you don't want to be late on your first day after all."

Without a moment's hesitation, Izuku left his home with a smile plastered on his face, skipping down sets of stairs while he put his earphones in, and music started to play. It was time to begin his journey towards becoming a hero, and he couldn't wait, after all…

The day has come.

Shizukesa ga
Shimikomu yo de
Iki o tometa
Gozen goji

Hijo kaidan
De tsume o kamu
Asu wa docchi da?
The day has come!

Ehm… ignore that…

Sixth chapter! And it only took like 4 months! Heh… Only…

Anyways, this marks the end of the intro, and we can move onto the main body of BNHA now~ There are still some things which I'd like to set up, but I think I'll imitate canon and only have them come up when the characters themselves start appearing. Been meaning to explore more 1-B characters, and with the full brunt of BNHA's plot coming up, I think I can start doing that. I mean, hey it's better than creating all new OCs and flooding the fic with them.

Anyways, maybe I'll crosspost this to ao3, maybe not. If this story goes anywhere I might, seeing as the comment section and tag sorting in ao3 feels more intuitive to me.

Oh well, it'll happen eventually.

Have a good one~

- Aka.