Chapter 15

Family-Oriented

Izuku is frankly shocked by how quickly the first week in the dorms before classes passes by. There were of course many days in his training with All Might that blurred together from the constant strain and exhaustion, the repetition only broken up by guest heroes and bouts of sparring. He never expected it would be the same, suddenly surrounded by other aspiring heroes.

Surprisingly enough, it was simply a case of an old pre-quirk idiom he'd never gotten to experience before: Time flies when you're having fun.

Basically living with a dozen and a half students he quickly came to consider friends made every day there feel much more meaningful and exciting than any time prior in his life had ever been. Well, meeting All Might and being chosen as his successor probably should be it, and it's very close, but suddenly having a ton of genuine friends is just mind-boggling to him.

Every morning jog, he has company. Every meal is a nice, long conversation with enough topics to lose track every five minutes. In short order, the dorm becomes a home away from home he never believed he'd ever find.

There's just one thing bugging him after a few days. Ochako is surprisingly distant, taking longer to respond to texts and seeming to avoid him quite a bit, always having to run off and do something else whenever he comes around. At first, it's disheartening. He wonders what he did wrong, and when he asks, Bakugou calls him a fucking idiot. He asks Tsu if she's got any clue, and she says to just wait it out, she needs some time to figure things out. He tries his best at it, but he can't help but let a little depression slink back into his life.

It becomes quite a bit easier as the first day of classes approaches. He returns to his notes, brushes up on his basics, and makes sure his uniform is in pristine condition.

Of course, the night before orientation day, Aizawa sends out a mass text to everyone to inform them that since he's being forced to let them attend orientation and his initial exam was already done, homeroom will be skipped and he'll see them all half an hour later when it's actually time to meet in the auditorium. The man needs his sleep.

That mass text though does give Mina a brilliant idea, though. She quickly responds with a link to a discord server, and it starts to fill in rather quickly.

JustLikeAPill
Ok, I already set up the roles channel, hit up whatever ya want, and we'll see what else we need to add as we go!

JackMeUp
Wait, is your nickname a fucking P!nk reference?

JustLikeAPill
Girl, I change my nickname every week, and you got me bingeing her albums like an addiction lately

JackMeUp
Hard not to, bad bitches respect bad bitches

TruenoA386
Well, I may not care for the language, but yes. I have much respect for her. Midnight is quite partial to her, so I've heard plenty of P!nk's discography through her and my brother.

TheBlastZone
Well, we don't need to ask who the fuck that is, but what the shit is that nickname?

420Volts
Pretty sure that's the car from Initial D

TheBlastZone
Oh, shit, mad respect for that then

BioluminescentBellyBeaconBoi
Oui, c'est une magnifique reference!

WakeMeNever
That username is the biggest travesty in here by far

FromsoftHard
I dunno, I kinda like it

BioluminescentBellyBeaconBoi
WakeMeNever Qu'est-ce que tu viens juste de dire sur moi petite salope ? je te ferais savoir que je suis sorti premier de ma classe dans la légion étrangère, et j'ai participé à de nombreuses attaques surprises contre Al-Quaeda, j'ai plus de 300 victimes confirmées. Je suis entrainé aux tactiques de gorilla et je suis le meilleur sniper de toutes les forces armées françaises. Tu n'es rien de plus qu'une autre cible. Je te ferais disparaitre de cette putain de planète avec une précision jamais-vue auparavant, souviens-toi de mes putains de paroles. Tu peux pense que tu peux t'en sortir après avoir dit de la merde sur moi sur Intemet? Réfléchis-bien, enculé. Au moment où nous parlons je contacte mon réseau d'espions à travers le globe et ton IP se fait tracer en ce moment même alors prépare toi à la tempête, vermine. La tempête qui va balayer cette pathétique petite chose que tu appelles ta vie. T'es putain de mort gamin. Je peux être n'importe où, n'importe quand, et je peux te tuer de plus de sept-cent manières, et cela juste à mains nues. Je suis non seulement très entrainé au combat à main nue, mais j'ai aussi accès à l'arsenal entier de l'Armée de Terre de la République et je l'utiliserai à son maximum pour rayer ton petit cul du continent, espèce de petite merde. Si seulement tu avais su la vengeance impie qui t'attendait grâce à ton petit commentaire « malin », peut être tu aurais fermé ta gueule. Mais tu ne l'a pas fait, non tu ne l'a pas fait, et maintenant tu en paye le prix, putain d'abruti. Je vais te chier dessus jusqu'à ce que tu te noies dedans. T'es putain de mort, gamin.

MochiMistress
This chat is going to be such cancer, and I'm going to love every second of it

MidnightMass
Revelry in the darkest place of all: The internet

FixItSwiftly
How the hell did you have the entire Navy Seals copypasta in French on hand already?

BioluminescentBellyBeaconBoi
Shitposting is an art in all languages

BuildUp-Genius
BioluminescentBellyBeaconBoi

BlastZone
Aaaand it begins.

The following morning, the new students of all classes- whether they be hero track, business track, support track, or whatever- gather in the auditorium for orientation. Izuku finds these seats far more comfortable now than they'd been during the entrance exam, finally having time to appreciate them. It's not much time though, as soon, the stage is occupied by none other than the prodigious mystery mammal, UA Principal Nezu.

He stands upon a personalized raised platform, arms crossed behind him as he silently addressed the many students under his charge. As his presence sinks in, the room slowly goes silent.

"Ah… now that, dear students… sounds quite, dull, doesn't it?" He chuckles. Go ahead ans give yourselves a cheer. You've finally made it to UA High!"

And just like that, the tension breaks, and everyone erupts into cheers. He chuckles and claps softly. "Yes, yes, wonderful work, everyone! You've been recognized as being among the best of your generation, whether you're in general education, the hero track, or anything inbetween! Your exceptional skills, minds, and talents have led you this far, and as our number one would put it, we are here to help nurture them to the fullest! But that is not to say your work is anywhere near done."

He hums as the room slowly falls quiet once more. "You see, making it here is but the beginning. No matter your track, no matter your courses, your history, your intentions, every one of you has come here with the intention to achieve greatness for one reason or another. Whether you simply want to be recognized for your exceptional mind and affiliation to such a prestigious academy, or if you want to save lives and brighten days, whether on the field in through support, all of you have only found the start of your path."

"Now is no time to rest on your laurels. Exceptional ability in one form or another got you here, but only you can strive for and achieve true greatness by the time you leave these halls. We will provide the tools and guidance, but your own actions must carry you forward." He slowly crosses his arms behind him once more. "So I ask you now… what brought you here? What is it you strive for, and what started you on this path?"

Izuku slowly closes his eyes as it all sinks in. The first time he saw All Might in action, the hours upon hours of watching him save lives and topple criminals, and many, many late nights watching the fictional heroes of old save the world again and again. What always impacted him most about it all was just the looks of pure relief and joy on the faces of every person they saved. Just to see that and know he was responsible for putting a smile on a face that might not have seen another day is all he could ever ask for.

"Keep that in your heart. If you are truly driven enough to achieve what you came here for, that alone will fuel you all the way to graduation, and far beyond." He hums and smiles. "I keep up with most students to come through these halls, who sat where you do now. So many of them go on to be spectacular people, whether they achieved fame and fortune or not. I Believe all of you have the potential to do the same. Now is the time to Go Beyond." He grins and raises a hand to his students, inviting them to speak.

He receives an uproarious chorus of "PLUS ULTRA!"

Nezu laughs heartily as the cheers continue for a few moments. "Ah, that truly never gets old. Now, as for the remainder of your day, you will be having your normal classes at an accelerated schedule. The navigation app that was recommended in last week's email is excellent for finding your classes, and can even schedule your route for the day upon logging in. Wonderful work, I'm quite proud of it. First day's workload tends to be quite light, so I'm certain all of you will have a grand first day! I know I scheduled for this to be an hour, but I wanted to a lot some extra time for you all to explore the campus if you haven't already, install the app if you're lagging behind a bit, and feel free to mingle with your classmates and any teachers you happen to see about. And if any of you would like to chat with me, I'll be headed to student lounge after I collect a fresh pot of tea."

Chatter breaks out amongst the new students near-instantly, but Katsuki finds himself staring at the principal in confusion. "Is he even a hero? I mean, damn good speech, certainly makes him sound like one but I don't think I've ever heard of him doing any hero work."

Izuku chuckles. "Actually, he's an… interesting case of a reformed vigilante. He was a lab experiment, and animal given a quick that made him hyper-intelligent, with a drastically altered biology. Technically, since he's an animal, our laws didn't effect him, and he freely wandered the world attacking other mad scientists and…" He shivers. "Well, there's a reason most underground heroes fear and respect him."

"Damn, now I gotta ask him what he did to those guys."

"I heard something about him approaching one with a speech about the number of bones in the human body and wanting to count hem personally."

"By breaking them?"

"Yep."

"Ok, he's one of my favorites here now." Katsuki rises from his seat and stretches. "So, what hero are you gonna hunt down and harass?"

Izuku rolls his eyes. "I'm not that bad… anymore. B-Besides, I have two in mind, and one of them already knows me, I just need to ask her a few things."

"Her?" He raises an eyebrow. "Ah, I get it. Alright, you do you, I'm gonna go hunt down Vlad."

"What're you looking for Vlad for?"

"Dude, he's one of the only heroes you met in your training that I didn't get to, and he's fucking awesome. Why wouldn't I wanna meet the guy?"

"Good point." Izuku double-checks his belt vials, rattling them to be sure he has a few empty vials. "Well, tell him I said hi."

"Fuck off, tell him yourself." Katsuki walks off to the west wing, while Izuku shakes his head and wander to the east.

The halls are cramped for a moment as an entire grade piles out of a single room, but it thins out rapidly as students split up to explore or gather in lounges. All the while Izuku's eyes are drawn to a wide variety of physical mutations that come with more quirks than he can track at once. It's a struggle to not pull out his notebooks and start logging them all this instant, but his rapidly accelerating train of thought is derailed the moment his phone vibrates.

On the navigation app, he suddenly has a route he didn't program that leads him directly into the nearby teacher's lounge. An icon in the top corner displays a bright yellow emoji of All Might and his iconic grin.

Rolling his eyes, Izuku follows the path and steps into the teacher's lounge to find All Might himself standing before him. The man looks a bit different now, somewhere between his former emaciated form and his bulked-out hero form. His strong jawline and wide grin are prominent, and he stands tall and proud, but he's not quite as muscular or wide as before. "Izuku, my boy! I can't tell you how proud I am to see you in these halls." He pats Izuku's back just hard enough t make him stumble further into the room. "You're well on the way to your dream."

He gulps nervously, peeking around as he spots a few other teachers watching him and the Number One in his recovering state. "W-Well, I r-really couldn't have done it alone…"

"Nonsense!" He grins and stands tall, beaming with pride. "All you lacked was the emotional support and confidence to push yourself to get here, and I'm glad to have helped to provide it. The rest was all you!"

"Now, I'm sure he's still partially more responsible than he says…" Snipe cuts into comment. "But I've seen your talent for myself, both before and during the exam. You had the talent to get here kid, and ability to push yourself hard enough to develop the skills to back it up. You've got one hell of a future among our ranks."

Midnight grins and hums as she leans over her desk. "I really can't wait to see where you go from here. That display in the exams was phenomenal!"

"T… T-Thank you, Midnight-sensei." Izuku gulps nervously. "S-Snipe-sensei." He chuckles nervously. "Thought honestly, i-if someone told me a year ago that I'd be standing h-here, in UA, talking to some of the t-top pros in Japan, I'd probably have asked what they were on and called the cops."

All Might hums and grumbles a bit. "Well, we all know prognostic quirks exist, so it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility, though very slim."

"The chances of me running into one before I met you were a billion to one."

Hound Dog peeks up from his desk. "Ok, I alrrready like this kid."

All Might chuckles. "I knew you all would. Now, I suppose I'd best let you go, I'm sure you have a stop in mind before classes start."

"Y-Yeah, I'm going to see Recovery Girl about getting a new s-sample."

He gives an earnest thumbs-up. "An excellent idea! You never have enough healers on the field, and hers is by far the best quirk I've ever known for the job! Just be sure to follow her instructions about how to handle various wounds and control her quirk's output. Wouldn't want to overdo it and tire someone into a coma." He sighs. "She did that once in her early years and never forgave herself for it."

Izuku nods shakily and pales at the thought. "R-Right, I'll uh… keep that in mind." He sighs. "Oh, and uh… How are things going between you and-"

"Ah, best we discuss that another time, dear boy! Suffice to say it's going well, but not the best topic in a professional setting." All Might rushes Izuku to the door. "Now, of you go, young hero! And say hello to Chiyo for me!"

"W-Wait, seriousl-" The door shuts and All Might sighs in relief.

Midnight slowly develops a wide, almost sadistic grin. "You're dating his mother, aren't you?"

"Kayama, I swear if you leak this to the paparazzi, I'll Detroit Smash you into next month."

"Best save the Smashing for Ms. Midoriya, dear."

Thankfully, the rest of the trip to the infirmary is quick and uninterrupted, leading Izuku to the office of one Shuzenji Chiyo, AKA Recovery Girl. The main office has an open-door policy as any infirmary should, so he steps right in to be greeted by the grinning, fanged face of Himiko Toga. "Zuzu! I was hoping you'd stop by soon!"

"H-hey, Toga." Izuku chuckles nervously, still unfamiliar with the attention of girls in general. Ochako… well, she was easier to handle, but not so much now that she's avoiding him. "G-Glad to be stopping by without any injuries to handle, for once."

"Good!" The ornery old voice of Recovery Girl calls from the next room. "We don't need you injuring yourself as often as that fool Toshi did at your age! Although I suppose Tori's responsible for a lot of that…"

"Did he really beat All Might that badly as a kid?"

"Oh, you wouldn't believe the number of size 14 boot bruises I had to help that boy heal in his early years. Some of them covered his entire face!"

Toga bursts into helpless laughter at the mere thought of it.

Izuku has to cover his mouth to keep from laughing "W… W-Well, that… sounds like q-quite the s-sight."

"Certainly one of the funnier injuries I've dealt with over the years." She finally walks out of her back office to greet him with a smile. "So, what can I do for you, dear?"

"W-Well, something I figure you were probably hoping I would ask, e-eventually." He pulls an empty vial from his belt. "I-I could always use more samples, and the world could always use more healers."

Chiyo's grin slowly widens at the thought. "Ah, I really was waiting to hear that. I know you'll do excellent work with my quirk." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a prepared vial. "I had Maijima help me pull this one together for you ahead of time. We both knew you'd come for it eventually."

Izuku's smile widens as he takes the vial, slowly and gently, treating it as something sacred. Once slotted into his belt, he bows to her. "Thank you, Recovery Girl. I promise I'll do right by you with this sample."

"I'm certain you will. Now, I believe you've already extensively studied my quirk like most others you meet?"

He nods and pulls out his notebook, navigating to her page to present it. Two pages, actually. "I was more thorough than others, seeing as I planned to make your quirk a permanent addition to my roster."

She hums and reads it over, rubbing her chin. "Impressive. No inconsistencies, some is conjecture but also entirely accurate, activation and limitations listed clearly… Your suggested workarounds for it's few weaknesses are ones I've been employing for some time, as well. High-calorie supplement and adrenaline injections are quite effective when handling more severe cases."

"Just seemed logical to apply those, though having them on hand on the field could be a bit much for now. Best if I wait until I have some better equipment and more experience before attempting to use those myself."

"Likely for the best, yes. I doubt you'll experience injuries that severe on the field any time soon, so it shouldn't be an issue. You're just a student yet, the worst you'll see for now is however you mangle yourself if you end up using those Mugen Robo techniques again."

Just before Izuku can protest, the bell rings. "O-oh, I guess I have to get to my first class. I-I promise, I won't be here for that too soon!" He turns to bolt, but pauses to speak to Toga. "Oh, and f-feel free to stop by the 1-A dorms! I'm sure you'll get along great with a lot of my classmates."

Toga's stunned for a moment, but slowly grins in return. "A-Alright! It cool if I stop by tonight after class?"

"S-Sure! Feel free to bring any b-blood supplements you need with your dinner, I'll make sure nobody complains, i-if they even think to. I-I doubt it though." That said, he rushes off down the hall, following his app's programmed route.

Recovery Girl hums as she watches him leave. "Well, your parole isn't up until next week, but it's still UA property and I doubt Aizawa will complain more than usual."

"Thanks, Chiyo-baa!"

"I told you to stop calling me that, brat."

"Hey, you're a lot better than my real family, and I need some good replacements."

"… Damnit, fine."

From there, most of the day is… surprisingly calm and familiar. Present Mic is an excellent English teacher, who makes the class almost fun with his bombastic personality and lack of decorum. Ectoplasm is a fair, but stern mathematics teacher. Cementoss is a surprisingly calming literature teacher, with a smooth, calming, and deep voice.

Lunch breezes by with much of the same casual conversation as has developed in the dorms during their meals, save for one instance of a classmate from 1-B startling them when she detached an ear and floated it over to eavesdrop.

Izuku was a bit distracted through the meal though, as his attention kept being drawn to Ochako at another table nearby, having a hushed conversation with Mina and Toru.

But finally, the class they were all waiting for has come. Their final class of the day is Foundational Hero Studies, and their teacher is still a mystery, to all but two students. Katsuki and Izuku keep their eyes on the door, waiting for the moment he arrives, while everyone else goes about rambling possibilities.

"It's gotta be somebody new they wanna surprise us with." Kirishima speaks up. "OH, what if it's Crust, or Rock Lock?"

Mina hums. "They would be pretty great, I think they're good with kids? I mean, Rock Lock's a family, doesn't he?"

Ochako grins. "Ooooh, what if it's Thirteen? Or Ryukyu!"

Sero snorts. "Ryukyu'd never do it. Thirteen, I could see though."

"Debate no longer, dear students-"

All eyes turn to the door and Izuku grins ear to ear, while Katsuki's hands pop with excitement. Dark Shadow pops out as their jaw drops. "You gotta be shitting me!"

"Is that-"

"No fucking way."

Finally, the door bursts open and All Might skids to a stop in a wide-stanced hero pose at the front of the class. "FOR I AM HERE!" He turns his back and flexes to show off his bright yellow cape.

"Holy shit, it's All Might!" Kaminari nearly climbs on his desk.

Shinso slowly grins. "Ok, this class just got real interesting."

Katsuki laughs heartily. "Interesting? This is the highlight of the whole damn school!"

Tenya stands abruptly and bows. "I-it's an honor to be taught by you, A-All Might-sensei!"

He laughs it off and waves him down. "Settle down, everyone! Yes, I know it must be quite the surprise to see me here today! I intentionally silenced any news I would be here for just such an occasion. The chance to teach at my alma mater and raise a new generation of heroes called to me so mightily even I couldn't resist!" He claps hard enough to send a gust across the room. "And here, we begin with your first lessons in proper heroics and field tactics! Now is the time, children. Head to the locks, get on your uniforms, and meet up in Gym C for your first lesson. Today, we'll be beginning with the most crucial skill any hero should have: The ability to survive a hazardous situation, whether it be combat or active disaster, to protect civilians and each other in the process."

.


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A.N.: Yeah, I know, it's been a bit. Sorry! I got a few commissions that took up some time, and some new games dropped that I HAVE to play for my channel, so I've been a little slowed-down. Also had some writer's block regarding a couple things. TO help with that, feel free to recommend usernames for the 1-A discord server, and if I pick yours, I'll thank you in an author's note following the chapter it appears in! For now, I'm gonna get back to editing the last of my playthroughs of Terraria and The Messenger, and edit some of my book. Later!