AN: I'm excited to finally get Izuku into UA as well and get the rest of this story moving, so you all get an extra chapter this week.

Izuku found himself unable to sleep, and woke up early. Today is it!

Tomorrow is the UA entrance exam. Which meant today, All Might was going to be giving him One For All! Their final training schedule limited the amount of time he would have to learn how to use his quirk, but it was designed to maximize his potential for using it, rather than barely being able to hold its power. It didn't give him a lot of time to figure things out, but All Might had assured him that it was plenty of time to learn the basics for the exam.

Impatient and unable to wait any longer as the clock crawled towards 6 AM, Izuku decided to get ready for the day and have a light morning jog. If he was fast he could catch the sunrise on Takoba Beach.

Twenty minutes later Izuku found himself sitting on a sand dune looking out over the ocean. With Nezu's revisions to the schedule not only was he able to clear the proposed kilometer of beach, but he had managed to clear another 150 meters beyond that. Plus, his work had started to inspire others - recently people had begun to search for the mysterious person clearing the beach, and once they saw it was just a kid they began asking how they could help. As a result, volunteer groups had begun to pop up, people cleaning other portions of the beach in teams, and another group solely dedicated to keeping the beach clean, to prevent it from falling back to its previous state.

Izuku found himself lost in his head reflecting on the state of the beach until he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. "Admiring your handiwork?"

Looking up at his mentor, Izuku could only smile and nod. "Yeah. I am. I actually pulled it off!"

"You did! Even though there was a rough start, you followed the revisions perfectly, and look at you now!" He pulled out his phone and showed him a picture that he took at the beginning of the training. He still was small - he didn't think he would ever have the sheer height or volume of muscle that All Might had, but with the toned body and well-defined muscles he now had, the difference was night and day.

Izuku found himself vibrating in excitement. "So now what?"

"Now, Young Midoriya, it is time for you to receive One For All!" He plucked a strand of hair from his head and handed it to Izuku.

Izuku examined the hair in confusion. "Um, what am I supposed to do with this?"

"Isn't it obvious? You should eat it!"

"Huh?" Izuku was surprised by the answer.

"Look, the process for me passing on One For All to someone involves ingesting and processing some of my DNA, and this is the easiest way to do that!" All Might seemed to be growing more uncomfortable with the explanation as he went on.

"Um, ok then." Izuku put the hair in his mouth and swallowed it, before grabbing his water bottle and chasing the hair with its contents. "So now what?"

"Now, unfortunately, we wait." All Might admitted, before plopping himself down on the beach. "It will be several hours for you to digest it, and then we can begin the next step.

In the silence that began to settle in, Izuku realized something very important. "So, about the part where it is passed through ingesting DNA?"

"What is the matter, young Midoriya?"

"Is it any DNA being ingested? Like if say, I let someone drink my blood?"

All Might laughed at that. "That is an awfully specific concern, young Midoriya."

Izuku nervously laughed. "I um, happen to have a sister who chose to use the name of a famous vampire as her hero name? She may also happen to have several vials of my blood on hand to use with her quirk."

All Might's laughter was broken by a coughing fit, blood spurting out of his mouth. "Oh! I didn't even think of that! Thankfully there actually is more to it! The transfer process is actually two parts. Not only does the person need to ingest your DNA, but you also have to willfully desire to give them One For All. I was hoping I wouldn't have to explain that to you for years!"

Izuku let out a sigh of relief. "That's good! That would have been an awkward conversation."

Izuku had his head buried in his notebook, his phone displaying an article about a raid several underground heroes successfully performed the previous evening alongside the police. And then suddenly, he felt something warm blossoming in his chest.

"All Might, I feel it!" Izuku stood up and looked down at his stomach. For the casual observer it appeared there was no change, but he felt something fundamentally new creeping into his very being.

"Oh! It seems you have processed my DNA then?"

"I think so!" Izuku was excited. "It's warm, right here." He slapped his chest to show All Might.

"That is good! That means you now possess One For All! Now then, let's begin training!"

Izuku set his things down and ran out to the middle of the beach, All Might following behind him.

"So, what do I do?"

"Why it is easy! Just clench your butt cheeks and yell smash!"

Izuku looked disappointed. "R-really?"

All Might laughed awkwardly. "Basically! When I tense my muscles, One For All just wraps itself around them and powers them up."

Izuku made a fist and tried tensing it up. As he did so he felt the warmth in his chest building, the barest tendril of warmth beginning to snake its way into his arm.

And then it suddenly disappeared.

"W-what just happened?" Izuku looked at his fist in disbelief. "It's like I started to feel it, and then it just… stopped?"

"Well, this is awkward." All Might sad, as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Did- did it not work?" Izuku asked in confusion.

"The fact that you feel that core of warmth means that you possess One For All on a fundamental level. It seems like something else is holding you back?"

"Holding me back?"

"I don't know how else to describe it. While you now possess One For All, there is something missing. This never happened for me."

"C-could something be wrong with me?" Izuku asked, looking at his shaking hands.

"Nonsense!" All Might slapped Izuku on the back. "I'm sure we can figure this out! Maybe we rushed into this, and you need more time to let your body finish digesting?"

Izuku stared at the ceiling of his room. With the exam tomorrow, he should have gone to bed a while ago, but the incident, or more appropriately lack of incident, today filled his mind. Is something wrong with me? Am I my own worst enemy? He thought back to all of the bullying. He felt like he was getting better, but did Bakugo do something to damage him more deeply than he thought? Was his own lack of confidence the problem?

He looked at his hand, trying to tense it up. Once again he felt like something should be happening, but it just… wasn't.

Sighing he threw his arm over his face, the same thoughts bouncing through his head until he eventually slipped into a fitful slumber.

Izuku found himself standing in an ocean of stars. Looking down, he couldn't see any ground underneath him, just more of the endless galaxy. The only landmark he saw was a small door in the distance, standing in stark contrast to the swirling colors of the sky. It was then he heard it - whispers coming from the direction of the door. But he couldn't make out what they were saying. He tried using his legs to take a shaky step forward.

A 4-year old Izuku was standing on a playground, behind him was another kid who had just been knocked over, and in front of him was Bakugo, flanked by two of his 'extras.' Izuku spread his arms out to protect the kid behind him.

Izuku shook his head and looked down as the 'ground' rippled from his contact with it. It felt like he was standing on something, some transparent field. The door was slightly closer now. With newfound confidence in how this dreamscape worked, he took another step forward.

Izuku felt the uncontrolled tears running down his face as he stared at the computer monitor, the clip of All Might's debut paused. He felt a crushing weight of sadness from the doctor's visit.

Hearing his mom come in, he turned the chair and pointed at the screen. "Mom, can I still be a hero?"

He felt his heart shatter as his mom hugged him, unable to do anything but cry and repeat the words "I'm sorry." over and over again.

Izuku could feel tears threatening to pour out as he stood there, his resolve wavering at the memory. But the door was waiting for him, so he continued on.

A 7-year old Izuku was crossing a log, following Bakugo as he proudly marched across. He saw Bakugo slip and fall off the edge into the river below. Everyone else was staring in disbelief, but Izuku found himself moving, scrambling down the bank without worrying about his own safety, to check on Bakugo and offer him a hand up.

What is going on? Why is he remembering these specific memories?

An 11-year old Izuku was on the playground, defending another kid from Bakugo and his latest crew of 'extras.' But this time, when the target of Bakugo's bullying got up, he looked at Izuku with disgust rather than any sense of gratitude.

He was always like this, sacrificing himself for others. For the longest time he had no sense of self-worth, between his quirkless status and Bakugo's constant bullying.

A 13-year old Izuku was watching a villain attack, until he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Turning into an alleyway, he saw a distressingly thin and pale girl stumbling towards him - her clothes were torn and covered in blood, and she was rambling incoherently to herself. He didn't know how to help her, but he still found himself reaching out to her as she fell, asking if she was ok.

And then this happened - the event that changed the course of history for him. He was just doing what he always did, but this time it was different. He never expected his life to change so drastically from helping one person.

A 14-year old Izuku saw Bakugo being consumed by the sludge villain. He saw the heroes standing around, saying that nobody had the right quirk to help. After everything Bakugo and All Might had said to him that day, nobody would blame him for staying on the sidelines. After all, he was just a quirkless Deku, and if the heroes couldn't do anything, what could he possibly do.

None of that mattered the moment Izuku saw how scared Bakugo looked in that instant, and suddenly he found himself running towards Bakugo.

This was the first time things really felt different for Izuku. What little confidence and sense of self-worth that he had been carefully cultivating was sorely tested that day. He was still too reckless, but this time he was able to come up with a plan. And once again, without intending to, he found his life completely changed due to his selfless actions.

The door was almost within reach. One more step…

Izuku felt himself on his knees crying. All Might's presence hovering over him as he gently rested a hand on his shoulder. "You deserve to be a hero as much as they do."

Izuku found himself standing in front of the door. It was so close now! He reached out and grabbed the handle. But when he tried to turn it he found the door locked. Suddenly, an impossible wind began blowing out of the still-closed door, and while he tried his hardest to fight against it, it was too strong - he was flung backwards, being tossed freely into the sea of stars.

"Show us who you want to be."

Izuku woke up panting, those two words echoing in his head. He looked at the clock - 7 AM. He had overslept by more than an hour. What was that dream? It felt so real!

He went out for his morning run, but couldn't shake the feeling of the dream. Sure, all of the memories he saw were his own, so that could be explained. But the starscape, and the door? Those felt just as real as the memories of his past.

Halfway through his run he paused in a clearing. Safely away from prying eyes, he closed his fist and stared, once again trying to tense himself up and draw that energy out. It felt no different from yesterday. He felt something there, like static crawling under his skin, but there was still some essential piece missing, that was keeping him from drawing out the power of One For All.

As he was walking to UA for the first time, Izuku was lost inside his head. That dream felt so real last night, but it was just a dream, right? Is it related to the fact that I can't use One For All? All Might assures me that it's there, but I can't figure out what is holding me back.

He was so lost in his own head that he missed a loose stone in the path, until it was too late and he felt himself falling forward. He prepared himself to fall into a roll, but suddenly felt a lurch in his stomach as he stopped falling and found himself floating instead.

"I'm so sorry about that!" He turned and saw a cute brown-haired girl with pink cheeks staring at him. "I should have asked before I used my quirk on you, but when you trip I just acted. After all, it's bad luck to fall before a test, right?"

"Y-yeah!" Izuku felt his face heat up in embarrassment. With the girl's help, he swung himself upright, then the girl pressed the tips of her fingers together to release him from her quirk. He gave her a nervous smile and rubbed the back of his head. "U-um, thanks for the help. I'm Izuku Midoriya, nice to meet you."

"I'm Ochako Uraraka, nice to meet you!" She smiled at him. "You really must be worried about the test, huh?"

"Y-yeah." Izuku says, not able to voice his real concerns.

"I understand, it's pretty stressful for me too. Let's do our best, ok?" She smiled at him and gave him a thumb's up.

Izuku smiled at the girl's enthusiasm and gave her a thumbs up in return. "Yes, good luck to you!"

Ochako then turned away and ran ahead inside, while Izuku took a moment to compose himself from the incident. She seems nice, I hope she gets in.

"What are you waiting for? Real life doesn't give you any warnings?" Izuku could hear Present Mic over the loudspeaker as he saw everyone racing off ahead.

Izuku ran in, and the pit in his stomach was still growing. I still don't feel any different, One For All still hasn't properly manifested yet - something is wrong.

He ran forward until he encountered his first robot, and his mind blanked. The robot moved to attack him before a hole was suddenly blasted through it, the source of the laser being a flashy Frenchman. "Thanks monsieur! We should team up, you'd provide a great distraction for me!" The Frenchman didn't wait for his reply however, as he left with a smile and a flourish.

Is that all I am good for, just a distraction? Izuku felt Bakugo's taunts at the edge of his mind.

Panic filled his mind, and his training forgotten, Izuku found himself scrambling down the main thoroughfare in a desperate attempt to find a still standing robot. Unfortunately because he ended up taking the obvious route and following everyone else, all he saw was the other students in his group quickly and efficiently destroying all of the robots in front of him, rattling off their scores as they did so. Before he was able to come up with a plan, the 5 minute warning went out, and his head fell.

You are just a Deku. You aren't even like these other extras, you aren't even noteworthy as a stepping stone on my path to greatness. Bakugo's taunts filled his mind. Without a quirk, what can you hope to accomplish?

"Is - is this all I am? Just a useless nobody?" Izuku asked himself. "Is there really no hope for me? Is that why One For All won't manifest for me?" He stared at his closed fist.

Izuku lost himself in his head until the next buzzer rang out, sounding the 2 minute warning. That was when he felt the ground beginning to tremble as the giant zero-pointer robot appeared. He gasped at the size of it, and saw it tearing through the training ground, destroying everything in its path. I knew they were big and powerful, but this is ridiculous!

All of the other students were fleeing the robot, but Izuku saw the brown-haired girl - Uraraka, trapped under a pile of debris, and she looked worn out. Has she reached her limit? Is that why she can't get out? She was in serious danger - the robot didn't look like it had any intention of stopping, and she was right in its path. Shoving aside his own insecurities, he broke out in a run towards her.

As he took that first step, the core of energy he felt sitting inside of him suddenly exploded. He felt a new warmth coursing through his body, new strength spreading through him he felt himself speeding up, quickly closing the gap between himself and the giant robot. Where training failed, unknown instincts kicked in and he felt new power coursing through his legs, right before he leaped up towards the head of the robot. His legs were burning from the strain, but with the adrenaline and newfound warmth pumping through him he didn't notice.

As he was gaining altitude he made a fist and felt the same electricity coursing through his arm as he pulled back, ready to deliver a decisive blow. Just like All Might, I will end this with one punch!

"Smaaaaaash!"

Time seemed to slow down for him as he punched the robot right in the middle of its face. He watched the metal plating collapse inward as the robot reeled backwards from the force of the impact, beginning to fall backwards from his crippling blow.

He didn't have time to celebrate, however. The burning in his arm dragged him back to the reality of the situation. Having reached the peak of his jump, gravity began to assert itself, pulling him back down to the earth, and when he started to flail he felt sharp pain in his right arm. A quick glance was all he needed to tell him that his arm was definitely broken, hanging at an odd angle. Oh no, I'm going to die!

Izuku saw the ground racing towards him, his mind in overdrive. Ok, there's definitely something wrong with my legs, so I'm not sure what would happen even if I use One For All on them. My left arm is still intact though, if I can perform a smash right before I hit the ground, hopefully the recoil will let me survive the fall. Mentally preparing himself, he pulled his left arm back and felt the energy coursing through his arm.

Only to suddenly feel a sting as Ochako reached out and slapped him across the face, all downward momentum vanishing as she removed his gravity. He looked at her in shock - this was the second time today she had saved him, and she looked like she was fighting with her body to do so. He saw her force her hands together and shout "Release!" dropping him to the ground.

Izuku managed to spin himself so that he would be upright as he dropped the short distance, however when he touched ground he felt his left leg buckling as bones snapped when they touched the ground. From his position on the ground he turned to look at his savior, only to see her back to him, vomiting from the strain of saving him.

At that moment the 30 second warning sounded, and he was reminded that he was about to fail. Using his good hand, he tried to push himself up onto his unbroken leg, but felt his right kneecap shatter as he tried to put weight on it and he fell back down. He felt the sting of tears coming as he tried to push himself back up. "Just one point, I just need to get one point!"

But he found himself unable to stand before the buzzer sounded, letting everyone know the exam was over. He just sat on broken knees crying, waiting for Recovery Girl to come and use her quirk on him. And though to the outside observer it may seem otherwise, the tears weren't from the pain - he felt like he had failed All Might, and Principle Nezu. He didn't know what happened, why he couldn't control One For All properly until that very moment, and now he is paying the price for that. Eventually he saw Recovery Girl come over and give him a kiss to activate her quirk on him, at which point he promptly passed out.

Izuku once again found himself in the field of stars, staring out into space. This dream again. There was one significant difference now, however - the door that was in front of him, previously closed, was now open. He slowly walked towards it. Unlike the night before, instead of being transported into his past memories, he saw a glowing pair of eyes appear from inside the doorway, and then another and another… until he saw eight pairs of eyes staring at him by the time he reached the door. Standing there, the whispering had become loud enough that he could actually make out what was being said.

"You are worthy of our power, ninth holder."

Izuku steeled himself at the door's threshold and stepped through it. As he stepped through the door, everything faded to black.

"We can't wait to see how you use it."

Izuku woke up in what appeared to be a cross between a nurse's office and an infirmary, and he saw Recovery Girl typing away on the computer.

"Glad to see you are awake. I was able to heal your wounds but considering how badly your limbs were messed up it took quite the toll on you. You've been asleep for almost two hours recovering."

"T-thanks." Izuku touched his arm and legs and felt some residual stiffness and soreness, but nothing felt broken anymore. He stood up on wobbly legs. "So is the test over?"

Recovery Girl gave him a look that he swore was pity. "The exam has been over for a while, the practical portion was the final part of the exam. You are free to go."

"O-oh, ok." Izuku walked out, feeling defeated.

"Izu! What took you so long?"

Izuku was dragged out of his funk as he approached the school gates and saw Himiko standing there waiting for him. "Himi? How long have you been waiting here?"

"Over an hour, everyone else left already! What happened to you?"

"I failed the practical portion of the exam."

Himiko winced at that. "We knew it was going to be hard, but you were training even harder than I did! How did you fail it? Couldn't you figure out ways to take out the robots"

"I didn't earn a single point. I also, um, broke a bunch of bones in my legs and one of my arms and Recovery Girl had to heal me." Izuku said quickly. "But the process took so much out of me I was passed out in the nurse's office until I was feeling better. I know you told me about her quirk before but didn't realize the extent of its side effects."

"Wait, you broke your bones? Your arm I could see but how did your legs get broken and how were they broken that badly? Did you get caught by the zero-point robot?" Izuku could see the look of concern on Himiko's face. Oh right, she took this test last year, even if she wasn't allowed to give me any hints she would know what I was up against.

Izuku gulped and gave his sister a shaky smile. "I um… spontaneously manifested a quirk during the combat portion of the exam?"

Izuku saw the look of betrayal on Himiko's and felt his chest tighten. She looked as if he had just taken one of her knives and stabbed her in the back with it. She grabbed his hand and started walking away. "Come on Izu, mom is waiting for us."

"Yeah…" Izuku didn't know what else to say.

He let her guide him home in awkward silence.

AN: In case y'all were wondering where the name of this story came from, the scene with Izuku in the visage realm was actually one of the first scenes I actually wrote out.

I then ended up writing 50k words between the intro scenes and this chapter to fill out events that happened… oops?

Apologies to everyone who thought Izuku was going to be stronger going into the exam. OFA operates by some different rules here, and that ended up messing with his head. Now that it has accepted him though…

Needless to say, I am ignoring a lot of the revelations about OFA from chapter 304 of the Manga.