A/N: No new comments, no rights to MHA either. Oh well.

The shed felt empty. Too empty. It had only been a day and a half since Stain had moved on to the next city, but Izuku already missed his company.

Had he told his younger self he would be missing a serial killer that targeted heroes, he knew they would have laughed in his face.

But Stain was gone, and there was nothing he could do about it. So Izuku left and made his way to the hidden bar he and his mentor had visited not too long ago. It had been two weeks since then, and he was eager to see if his costume was in.

Unlike the shed, the city was bustling with people. Parents with children, groups of teens and young adults, and those of all ages were strolling down the sidewalks doing their things. Even when he got to the back alleys, there were people around.

But he ignored them yet was wary of them; no one could really be trusted in an alley like the one he was in.

"Welcome back, Smear. And perfect timing! Your costume arrived merely an hour ago." Giran held up the briefcase to Izuku, who grabbed it and set it on a table to open it.

Compared to most hero uniforms, his suit was bland. An all-black bodysuit with dark gray metal attachments rested in the main compartment. Next to it were headwear and gloves of a similar color scheme, or lack thereof.

"The armor is a newer, experimental alloy from Detnerat. It's been tested against most types of quirks and attacks with mostly positive results. However, it is unusually susceptible to thermal shock and, being metal, is still prone to electrical attacks.

Izuku nodded and pulled the main suit from the case. Despite having several pieces of metal attached throughout, the suit was surprisingly light.

"There's a bathroom in the corner. Go change and let me know what you think."

"Well, I don't have any complaints," Izuku offered. Giran walked around Izuku, checking the suit for imperfections that a wearer might not catch, and found none.

"I must say, you do look more like a soldier from a pre-quirk era science fiction movie than a hero to-be," Giran commented, rubbing his chin in thought.

The boy before him did indeed fit the description. The form fitting bodysuit almost blended in with the dimly lit bar, and the armor plates covering Izuku's limbs and torso gave off an almost intimidating aura.

Izuku walked to the case and pulled out the gloves and mask pieces first. Said mask was almost more of a helmet that Izuku slid onto his head. Inside the armor and just above his eyes was a retractable visor. There were also sliding mechanisms in front of the mouth, which allowed him to move two smaller armor plates to expose his mouth.

"I know that mouth design wasn't in your specifications, but I thought you'd appreciate it if I added soundproof padding. That way your breathing is hidden but you can still move the plates to talk when needed. Just tap twice on either cheek."

The armored teen complied, and the two plates retracted over his cheeks, exposing only his mouth. "You're right, I do appreciate it," was all he said before tapping the right plate. The two pieces slid back into place with a faint clicking noise.

"Glad to know you're a satisfied customer. The gloves actually aren't all that special. The palm and finger paddings are temperature resistant, but everything else is composed of the same materials as the rest of the suit."

The black-market dealer tossed said gloves to his customer, who slipped them on and flexed his fingers. The back of his hands and knuckles were armored, but the lower segments of his fingers had no armor plates.

"All that's left is the belt. I threw in some painkillers, antibiotics, a roll of bandage wrapping, and one heavy duty combat knife. The rest you'll need to supply by yourself."

Izuku added the final piece of equipment to the costume. It fit snugly around him.

"I don't have anything to complain about. It's an amazing piece, Giran."

The man smiled. "I'm glad. I do take pride in meeting my customers' desires. Oh, and I forgot to mention earlier. I got your new background here." The man pulled a folder from his suit and handed it to his client, then checked his watch. "I have to be on my way. Leave the suitcase here and I'll have it sent into UA. We'll meet again, I suspect. Have a good day."

Giran walked back to the secret area behind the bar, leaving Izuku alone. A quick change later, he was back in his casual clothes with a folder in hand.

According to his fabricated past, he attended Aldera Middle School. A list of students, including his former friend "Kacchan", were listed as notable mentions. There was also a note that said he had been added to the school's records just in case, and a few teachers had been bribed to pretend he was indeed a former student.

In addition, Giran had put in a note that he was listed as recently orphaned and living on the streets. It made sense, seeing as Izuku had no one to call parents and Stain would not be available and probably would not be up to act the part in the first place.

The last note was on the back of the last page, which had a number, presumably a burner number, that Izuku could use to reach Giran. Though thoughtful, the gesture was useless at the moment, as Izuku did not have a phone of his own.

"Well, guess I have some studying to do," Izuku thought to himself as he closed the folder and began the trip back to the shed he was staying at until he was ready to move into the apartment.

Izuku liked the library. It was usually quiet. The only noise was the tapping of computer keys and muffled conversations. It was probably his second favorite place, only beaten by the rooftops at night.

The last month had both flown by and dragged on. The teen found himself coming into the library every day to see if UA had gotten back to him after sending in his registration for the entrance exam.

After quickly logging into the email account he had created only weeks ago, he finally had a response. His eyes widened as he quickly opened the mail and read it as fast as he could.

He had gotten into the entrance exam. All that was left to do was wait the last few days until the event actually took place. His smile reached his eyes as he felt pure joy for the first time in years. Everything had paid off; his training, studying, and diligence had led him to this moment.

After taking down the important notes on a piece of scrap paper, he made sure to log out of the account and clear it from the computer's history then exited the library.

Usually not one to make unnecessary purchases, Izuku decided to treat himself to a coffee.

It was still dark out when he woke up. His excitement and eagerness had kept him up longer than usual, and clearly woken him up earlier than usual.

As he stretched his muscles with a yawn, his leg brushed against something soft yet heavy. Instinct took over and he prepared to face a possible intruder, but a quick look revealed the suspect was actually a backpack with a note.

"What the?" Izuku thought. He picked the note off the bag and read it.

Good luck kid. You'll need it. Don't become a fake.

Just beneath the short note was a thin streak of blood. He immediately knew it was from Stain.

Izuku gently placed the note on the ground and unzipped the backpack. Inside was practically a miniature arsenal; three throwing knives, a sheathed sword, a knife, and a pair of brass knuckles.

Izuku smiled at the gift and wished Stain had at least woken him up when he made his quick stop. But he knew he'd find another time to thank him.

He knew he was not going to get back to sleep anytime soon, so he threw in a handful of protein bars and three water bottles into the bag.

Minutes later he was walking into the city. He still had plenty of time to kill before he needed to be at the entrance exam, so he made a quick stop at a coffee shop and got a double espresso mocha.

The gates to UA were incredible. Izuku felt incredible excitement rushing through him as he walked under the archway and onto the campus. There were a lot of people and all kinds of quirks around him.

He quickly noted the quirks he could see and made his way to the auditorium where the written exam would be held. Luckily, the seats were organized alphabetically by last name, so no one had too much trouble finding their spot.

A lot of the applicants began chatting among themselves. Izuku simply observed what he could. Not too far from him was a short boy with purple orbs for hair trying to hit on a black-haired girl sitting next to him. He was almost certain he heard the kid mention something about her boobs.

Before he knew it, he was already standing and walking over to the two.

"Hey, my seat's over there. Third one back and to the left."

The girl, understanding the gesture, nodded in thanks and quickly shuffled to the offered seat. Izuku had not even sat down before the purple-haired boy started complaining. He ignored whatever the offender had to say, yet left him with a quick remark.

"You know, I've heard there's a certain vigilante around that kills fake heroes. You might want to change your attitude unless you want to end up on his list."

The boy went mostly silent, save a few muttered complaints. At the same time, the hero known as "Ectoplasm" walked in and spewed a handful of clones that dispersed around the room and handed out the exams.

"Young man, I believe you're in the wrong seat," a clone said when they saw Izuku.

"Had to switch seats to break something up. Sorry." He made a gesture for the clone to come closer so he could whisper in his ear and explained what had happened moments ago.

"I see. Thank you for stepping in. I'll keep an eye out," the clone offered, then resumed handing out exams. He caught a glimpse of the offending student's name and made a note to warn the real Ectoplasm.

"You all have an hour. If you finish early, make sure to double and triple check your work."

Izuku opened the test and read the first question. Right off the bat were the short response questions. He flipped ahead and saw math, literature, and other basic subjects.

You are walking down the street and pass by a known criminal. They make no moves against you but you know for a fact they're wanted for counts of murder and theft. There are no heroes in the area that could arrive on time. What is your course of action?

Izuku thought about the question. It was clear what they wanted for an answer, but Izuku's training gave him options most others would not have. But what to put?

Assuming I have a phone, I call the local police and tell them where I am and any details I can offer.

Bland, but it would get points for being the "right" thing to do. Most of the questions seemed to expect generic answers, but then he read the last question and was taken aback.

You are on patrol with a hero during an internship and get separated. While trying to find your tutor, you encounter a villain. Upon seeing you in hero attire, they attack you with clear intent to harm, if not kill. You have not been given permission to use your quirk by your tutor, as they had not expected such an event. What do you do?

Once again, Izuku thought about the question and the tiny details. There was nothing about bystanders or civilians mentioned, so he could twist the answer if he wanted. There was also the fact that in this specific example he had an edge against the law.

I fight back. If there are civilians nearby it is likely that someone will call for a licensed hero to assist. If there are no bystanders, I might not have a chance to call for or find help. In this situation, the choices are either risk death or break a law. The former seems favorable in my opinion. Plus, I do not have a quirk, so I do not need to worry about breaking the law in the first place.

Izuku took a breath and reviewed his answer. Pointing out the law and the flaws in restricting quirk use without permission. He turned the page and got started on the math segment. By the time he finished the exam he still had fifteen minutes left, so he reread his answers and came to the conclusion that he did as well as he could, so he simply waited until everyone was released.

That blue-haired kid from the lecture before the practical exam was on the same bus as him, as well as Bakugo. Given the lack of any interaction, it was probable that the blonde did not recognize him.

It was probably for the best; the last time they saw each other was when the explosive teen was bullying Izuku for not having a quirk.

Izuku sifted through his bag and pocketed the brass knuckles and attached the sword to his back with the sling. He got more than a few weird looks but Present Mic had said they could use any gear they brought.

Finally the bus came to a stop and let the children take their places in front of the city-like arena. Mic had said that there were robots playing faux villains everywhere, including a zero-pointer that was best ignored.

Something about that part seemed off.

"Readysetgo!" Present Mic's voice commanded from higher up. Immediately, Izuku took off into the city, quickly passed by Bakugo who was using his explosions to propel himself forward. As expected, said teen managed to take down the first robot.

Izuku decided to take a turn and rushed down a different road. A single robot balanced on a wheel spotted him and made a beeline towards him, chanting, "Eliminate target!"

With a quick swing, Izuku severed many wires in the neck and the robot fell into a pile. While running, Izuku sheathed the sword and slipped the brass knuckles onto his fingers. Another robot jumped at him from an alley, which he quickly decommissioned with a hard punch to the neck.

"And that's thirty-one," Izuku muttered to himself. His arms and hands were starting to hurt from punching the hard metal even with the brass knuckles. He pushed the pain aside though and reminded himself that Stain's training had been so much more painful.

His thoughts were cut off by what he first thought was an earthquake. Glass from the nearby buildings shattered under the shaking and many of the other applicants nearby fell to the ground. Over the rumbling, Izuku could faintly make out mechanical whirring and clangs.

The source of the disturbance made itself abundantly well known. A robot nearly five stories tall shadowed over all the nearby structures, even using a two-story store as a hand rest to stabilize itself.

The next thing he knew, everyone was running past him in an attempt to get away from the monstrosity that was the zero-pointer. Everyone except Bakugo, who was shouting his head off while hitting the behemoth with a series of explosions.

Izuku was also about to run when he noticed a head of bright yellow hair. His body raced towards the trapped applicant. A chuck of rubble had been thrown into the air and pinned his left leg, definitely crushing the bones.

"Hey, I'm here to help. What's your quirk? Can you help me get this off you?"

"Sorry man, all I've got is Electrification. God!" The teen tried to pull himself from under the rubble with no success. Small trails of blood were starting to leak from under the rubble keeping him down.

The zero-pointer was still approaching, albeit slowed by Bakugo's relentless attacks. But even if the monstrosity did not get to them, he was losing a lot of blood.

"Wait, you have an electricity quirk? Do you think you could fry the zero-pointer?"

"Doubt it. I can try, but I might hit you too unless you back away. Even with all the metal around, I can't control the electricity."

"Just try. I'll see if I can't find something to help lift that slab on you."

Izuku took off to find anything that would act as a lever or give him some leverage to push the rubble. Suddenly the hairs on his arms and neck stood on end. He quickly looked back at the trapped applicant, whose body was crackling with static.

Then a burst of electricity raced outwards in multiple directions. Some streaks jumped to nearby remains of destroyed faux villains, and a few shocks zapped Izuku, but most of the attack went right for the zero-pointer.

The giant eyes of the machine began flickering the moment the attack first hit, and the gigantic arms spasmed in unusual ways. Several loud cracks came from underneath the metal shell, and then the robot stopped. The lights on its head went out and the arms went limp.

"You did it!" Izuku cheered. He returned to the boy's side with a large piece of scrap metal that he wedged between the boy's leg and the rubble.

Seconds later, a few other applicants appeared and helped Izuku roll the rubble off the leg.

"Hey! I had that!"

Everyone turned over to Bakugo, who had an angry expression that was accented by his smoking palms.

"Maybe. But if you had looked around you might have noticed he was trapped and in the way," Izuku shot back.

Thankfully, the hero known as Recovery Girl pulled up in a miniature golf cart. "Now now, the exam is done and so is the fighting. I have work to do and I'd appreciate it if you didn't scream in my ear," the short woman said, almost scolding the explosive teen. "Oh dear, that's a bad injury." A quick kiss was planted on the boy's leg, which began to glow a bright green as the bones seemed to put themselves back together, followed by muscle and flesh growing back over the wound.

"You'll need a good, long nap to finish that off. But aside from that, you'll be fine."

"Thanks," was all the blonde could get out before slumping onto his back and passing out. Izuku grabbed one of the boy's arms and hoisted it over his shoulder, then walked the boy back to the bus in silence as Recovery Girl helped out the other participants.

"Hey! I'm not done with you!" a familiar, abrasive voice shouted.

"In a minute," Izuku replied. After taking some time to get the unconscious boy seated in a chair and buckled up, he stepped off the bus and was followed by Bakugo.

"So what do you want, Kacchan?"

The teen's mouth, which had been opened to start screaming, clamped shut hard enough to make his teeth clack.

"Wait…only one person actually called me that…Deku?" A confused expression replaced his usual angry one.

"Cut the 'Deku' crap. You know my name's 'Midoriya'. Or do you? It's been a while, after all."

"Where the fuck've you been? Hag was crying up a fucking storm when she found out about Inko and you were nowhere to be found!"

"As if you really cared," Izuku snorted. "Sure, I missed seeing Mitsuki and Masaru at first, but just trying to survive was enough of a distraction for me."

Izuku looked over his shoulder and saw the rest of the applicants were returning to the bus. "Good luck. See you," was all the green-haired teen said before getting back on the bus and taking a seat next to the still unconscious Electrification user. After quickly returning the sword and brass knuckles to his backpack, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

A/N: Kind of a weird chapter; a lot of jumping around and changing from canon.

I might drop this story. It's not getting a lot of traction from what I can tell. Might just go back to my other stories I'm working on.