Sorry, it took me so long, guys. I hope you enjoy this one. ^^
How could one be so nervous and so exhilarated at the same time, Izuku will never know.
He was standing in front of the mirror in his room, before hitting both of his cheeks to stave off the nerves. He then grabbed his duffle back and carefully put in his Rocket Shoes, Power Gauntlets, Utility Belt, his 4 shut off Light Rods, and Respirator. He then put in his turquoise sweatpants, gray sweatshirt, turquoise jacket, straps and belts.
After putting up his stuff, he went into the kitchen with his mother to go eat his breakfast.
Inko noticed how her son was eating his food, mumbling about 'what's going to be in the exam'. "There's no need to be nervous, Izuku. You worked really hard to prepare for the Exam. Just relax, sweetie."
He looked up from his food to see a warm smile on her face. He swallowed his food, looking down as he realized that he was setting himself up for failure.
"Thanks, mom.", Izuku gratefully expressed to his mother before he finished his breakfast. "I guess I was setting myself up for failure right up to that moment."
Inko poked her son's nose. "None of that, young man. You're going to pass because you're going to give it your all, just like how much we worked for."
Izuku looked at her, laughing a bit at his mother, who joined in. The laughter subsided as Izuku grabbed his duffel bag and headed out.
"Bye, Mom.", Izuku waved Inko as he headed towards the door.
"Bye, Izuku. Good luck on the Exam."
From there, it was a smooth train ride to the U.A. campus. It felt fantastic to arrive at the front gates to this prosperous school, to be able to step foot in his dream school, even though he hadn't been a student yet. At this moment, he wanted to appreciate that.
Unfortunately, for him…..
"Oi, Deku."
Izuku turned to see Bakugou gritting his teeth at him. There was visible tension as Izuku's cold glare clashed with the volatile boy's burning scowl as other examinees passed by them.
Bakugou wanted to explode Deku right then and there but he knew he couldn't for three big reasons: he had to focus on the exam today, there's a chance that he would get kicked out if he made a scene, and finally, frustratingly enough, if he does pick a fight with Deku, there's a chance that Aunt Inko will find out and he didn't want to get chewed out by her, his mother, or worse, his father again.
Izuku was wise not to fight but he was prepared if Kacchan decided to attack him. While he wanted to focus on the big picture, the small, petty side of him wanted to beat his tormentor silly with the level of martial arts training he achieved.
The two locked eyes with each other, not blinking until one of them spoke first.
"You're in my way, you shit.", Kacchan growled. Izuku moved out of his path, still glaring at his bully, who clicked his teeth and walked past the Quirkless teen. "Don't get in my way in the exams, Deku, unless you wanna die."
Izuku gritted his teeth. He wished he could punch Bakugou but restrained himself. Making a scene in front of UA would probably have him removed from the exams before it began. The explosive blond noticed Izuku's silence and smirked, walking on.
"What a jerk!" A voice suddenly called out from behind Izuku. Izuku turned around to see a round-faced girl scowling at Bakugou, "What kind of person tells that to someone right before an exam?" The girl addressed Izuku.
Izuku smiled at the girl's berating of Bakugou, "Don't worry about it. I've gotten used to it."
"That just makes it sadder," The girl commented in a depressing tone, feeling sorry for Izuku. "Anyway, don't worry about that guy. You'll do great!"
"Thanks for the encouragement!" Izuku grinned.
"That's cool! I hope we get to see each other at UA.", the brunette grinned as she started to walk towards the auditorium. Izuku nodded with a smile.
Once Izuku was in the auditorium, he was less than pleased to find that the only available seats were all close to Bakugou. Without any other option, he sat down a few seats next to Bakugou just as Ectoplasm walked in. The written exam had started.
"Time's up!" Ectoplasm shouted at the top of his lungs, "Put down your pens!" A few of the candidates reluctantly complied but most still keep writing, trying to score extra marks on the written exam. However, Izuku had finished well ahead of time and was sure that he had aced the test. He gave Bakugou a smug look as he handed in his paper, knowing full well that he hadn't completed it. The blonde scowled at Izuku but couldn't retort as he wanted to finish the rest before putting paper up.
The Quirkless boy turned away from the explosive teen to see Tsuyu on the other side. The two of them look at each other and wave. For a second, Izuku felt his stomach get fuzzy.
Once the papers had all been accounted for, Ectoplasm left the room.
Suddenly, the lights turned off together, startling all the candidates, "HELLO MY YOUNG LISTENERS!" Present Mic bellowed excitedly from the front of the room, "ARE YOU READY FOR THE PRACTICAL EXAM!?"
Silence.
Mic's eyebrow twitched at the lack of feedback but didn't let it affect him, "Keeping things serious, huh? No worries, we'll go straight into how the exam will work." Mic said and turned on the projector. "First thing's first, everyone has been separated into 6 different battle centers to prevent people from the same school working together."
This announcement made Bakugou scowl as he was looking forward to showing Izuku what a top hero really looks like.
Mic continued, "In each battle center, there are 4 types of robots. There are 1 pointers, 2 pointers and 3 pointers! As the name suggests, destroying the respective robots will give you the allocated points! Specifically, Villain Points!"
Villain Points? That's odd, Izuku thought. Present Mic didn't say that "destroying the bots give you points", rather "destroying the bots gave you Villain Points." So that meant that there were other ways to obtain points. But what were these points? How could he obtain them? As Present Mic went on about each specialization of the 4 bots, Izuku listened attentively to the explanation and was already formulating a plan that he was typing on his phone. I hope UA doesn't have robots with better armor than me, Izuku hoped quietly as he typed, his clicking can be heard by the other participants in the small section.
"Yes listener!" Izuku suddenly heard Mic say.
He looked up to see a boy with glasses standing up after raising his hand to ask a question, "Sir, on the paper that we were given, there are 4 robots! What does the last robot do?"
"That is the 0 pointer.", Present Mic had responded. "Destroying it will give you no points. Think of it as a hurdle. You can destroy it but it won't give you anything. You'll only be wasting your time."
"Still, a prestigious school such as UA shouldn't forget to explain such details.", the blue-haired teen complained before turning to Izuku. "And also you! Your incessant typing is loud and distracting to all of us. Don't you have any regard for others?"
Izuku looked embarrassed but he wasn't going to take a low blow like that without retorting.
"Apologies for that, but maybe you shouldn't be a hero if quiet typing distracts you.", he shot back plainly at the bespectacled teen. The blue-haired boy narrowed his eyes.
Sensing that the situation might get out of hand, Mic explained in a calm yet authoritative and a glint in his eye. "I suggest you sit down. Principal Nedzu won't mind throwing you out for interruptions."
"I apologize, sensei." Iida said, bowing his head and sat down quietly.
Mic nodded and continued, "As I was saying, the 0 pointers were not forgotten. I was waiting to discuss them later. The 3 pointers, 2 pointers and 1 pointers will be your main focus. There are no rules except that you can't sabotage your fellow examinees. Doing so will disqualify you entirely, so don't even think about it. Am I understood?"
A low yes was mumbled.
"Good. Now can I get a 'PLUS ULTRA'?!"
There was silence and Mic awkwardly put down his hand. "Head over to the battle grounds then. Good luck!"
Tenya Iida was not nervous. He was not nervous.
He was just hoping there were no distractions when taking the practical part of the Entrance Exam. So it annoyed him that the curly-haired boy was distracting others by being on his phone while information was given to the other examinees. He clearly didn't respect the test that others are trying their best to pass.
And now that same boy, (dressed in turquoise sweatpants, turquoise jacket, straps and belts, and big, red, mechanical boots?) was putting some advanced equipment on, specifically high-tech gauntlets and leaving a faceguard hanging around his neck. Did his Quirk require that many support items? Surely, he wasn't planning on upstaging the examinees by barely using his Quirk. Maybe he had an energy Quirk for those handles? Or perhaps he had an intelligence Quirk with how many support items he has on his person.
Just when he was about to guess the green-haired examinee's Quirk again, he noticed him heading toward the brown-haired girl who was focusing on the exam.
I have to stop him from being a distraction to everyone else, Iida declared to himself as he followed the green-haired boy.
He managed to catch up to the rebelrouser and stop by grabbing his right shoulder.
The green-haired boy turned towards him with a look of confusion and annoyance.
"Yes?", he asked.
"Do you plan on being an obstruction for all the other students here?", the bespectacled teen asked before pointing to the brunette. "Or to the one who's trying to focus on the exam? Are you even an examinee? Perhaps you are a plant sent by U.A."
The green-haired teen looked like he wanted to yell at him before taking a deep breath and looking at him with a frustrated expression.
"Look.", he began. "I'm not trying to be a distraction to anyone. I'm just trying to give some encouraging words to a friend. It may not mean much to you but a few words can help a person when they're nervous."
Tenya stared at the examinee. "Even so, you shouldn't bother the examinees."
"The only one bothering the examinees is you.", he shot back before installing his face guard on before shrugging the upstanding boy's hand off his shoulder again.
"Wait a minute.", Tenya grabbed his tensing shoulder again. "Why do you have that many support items? Do you not think that you are not upstaging the other examinees here by not applying your Quirk like everyone else?"
The green haired examinee stayed silent as there some eyes were on him, quietly judging him. He turned towards Tenya with an expression that made shiver a bit.
"Why would I apply something that I don't have?", he asked rhetorically, shocking Tenya and a few onlookers.
Before the brother of Ingenium could ask questions, the green-haired boy left, ignoring Tenya's demands, and went up to give the brunette girl some encouraging words before he got upfront per Present Mic's instructions for everyone to be ready.
Izuku grabbed one of his Light Rods from his harness. He pressed a button on his mouth guard to activate the ocular lenses before pressing the button on the handle, activating the hot plasma rod that illuminated in a viridian glow as the energy constantly hummed.
"Whoa, that looks cool…"
"Is that some knock-off lightsaber?"
"That dude must've paid a lotta money for all that gear."
"Didn't you hear, though? He's Quirkless."
"Really?"
"He's not gonna last long if that's the case."
The Quirkless Inventor ignored the voices around him and stared up ahead, ready to go earn his place in the school he desired to be in.
"AND START!"
And Izuku charged forward, running as fast as he could before leaping up to activate his Rocket Shoes. His lenses spotted 3 2-pointer bots down the block.
He started to lower his altitude and turned the knob at the bottom of his Light Rod to increase the heat as high as possible.
As soon as he reached the first bot, Izuku swung his rod and it sliced through the machine like a hot knife through butter. Soon enough, the 2 remaining pointers met the same fate.
Deactivating the Light Rod and putting it back in the strap, Izuku pressed a button on his Gauntlets, causing the Rocket Shoes to slowly regress until fully stopping. He kept his momentum by running at the 5 1-pointers that detected him and charged at him.
"Come on.", he mumbled, waiting for them to get in position.
He saw an opening. There!, he thought to himself before…
"Indiana Rapid Fire!", he shot the group in quick succession, each plasma blast striking the bots in their central areas.
He kept running until he turned the corner on the right to see a bulky 3 pointer that detected his presence and headed towards the Quirkless examinee.
Izuku gritted his teeth beneath his faceguard and charged at the mechanical beast, unsheathing a Light Rod and amping it up.
Alright, he began to analyze. The 3 pointer is alot stronger and tougher than the other bots yet it's the slowest out of the 4. So I need to take advantage of that.
Knowing what to do, he shot out a grappling cable from his Gauntlet, launching himself towards the sluggish machine before slicing off the arms and sides.
Insight.
Agility.
Judgment.
Compassion.
And finally, combat skill.
These were the aspects that made a hero.
The principal of U.A., (whether he was a dog, a mouse, or a bear is unknown) Nedzu was drinking some tea as he, the U.A. staff, and All Might were watching the participants. He couldn't help notice a few that got his attention, specifically the green-haired Support Item user as he finished off the 3 pointer.
"A lot of examinees are showing some promise!", Present Mic pointed out.
A black-haired man in multiple scarves gave a quiet huff. We also have some problematic children here in this exam, he thought as he watched an explosive blonde destroy multiple bots without any care around him. Every now and again, he would watch the green-haired examinee takedown certain bots with forethought, environmental awareness, and precision with his already recognizable fighting capacity. He even showed a willingness to help others by helping out a purple-haired participant who was struggling during the exam.
In fact, the scarved man wasn't the only one who recognized this normal looking examinee: the other members of the staff have noticed this kid fighting off the bots skillfully with just Support Items alone while also not even using his Quirk.
Two individuals that had the most thoughts on this certain examinee and they were Nedzu and a skinny All Might.
Could it really be him?, the powered down hero thought, confused about this. But how is he able to hold his own in this exam? It seems he's intelligent enough to know what he's doing, but…why would he show up here? Does he not know the danger he's in?
The principal, meanwhile, was intrigued by this examinee.
Fascinating, Nedzu sipped his tea. "Power Loader, can you give us some information on the examinee using multiple Support Items?"
"Sure thing." the Excavation Hero said as he typed onto his computer to get the information needed. "The examinee's name is Midoriya Izuku. He's a student from Aldera Middle School and guess what? He doesn't have a quirk, so he was actually smart enough to apply for the Quirkless Clause prior to the exam."
Nedzu heard the praise in the excavating hero's voice and the principal couldn't be impressed himself. An examinee that not only worked around the system and came prepared for this exam regardless of his lack of Quirk? He hadn't met this boy yet and he's already made the principal very interested.
Everyone else was a mixed bag: there were some like Nedzu, the scarfed underground hero, and Power Loader who were intrigued/impressed by the knowledge this Quirkless examinee brought to this exam and wanted to see how far this child was willing to go. There were some who shared the same opinion as All Might shared: confusion as to why he's here and worry on if he's going to get hurt.
So far, this boy showed some promise.
Nedzu hummed as he put his tea in its saucer. "I think it's time we truly tested these children."
"Really? This early, sir?", the vampiric dressed hero questioned.
"What can I say, Vlad? I'm very excited this year. Power Loader, if you please?"
With that said, the excavation hero gave the principal the remote, who chuckles as he presses the button.
Izuku had slashed down the 2-pointer with his Rod.
That should be about 72 points, he counted in his head as he used the grappling mechanics on his Gauntlets to move from the area. He kept swinging until he saw a purple haired teen cornered by a quad of 2-pointers and a 3-pointer.
The Quirkless inventor lands on the roof of a building on the other side, near the purple examinee and the bots.
He puts his gauntlet for firing, bending his pinky finger to shoot sticky pellets on the 2-pointers and then exploding pellets. Afterwards, Izuku opened his palm and charged up the plasma in the palm node of the gauntlet before firing.
"Texas Cannon!"
The purple haired boy looked up to see a plasma beam blasted forward and striking the back of the 3-pointer, shutting off. The 2-pointers had exploded from the back and they glitched for a moment before shutting down. He looked confused before looking up to see Izuku flying off the building to continue the exam.
The Quirkless teen kept in the air to see if there were more bots for him to take out, only to hear crashing noises and he turned to see a massive bot heading towards him and the remaining attendants.
That's probably the Zero Pointer we're supposed to avoid, Izuku thought. He was about to fly off but he saw Ochako stuck underneath some rubble and the colossal bot was getting closer to her direction. Without a second thought, he flew down the street before landing down and using the strength of his Power Gauntlets to help lift the slabs of rock off of the brunette.
"You ok?", Izuku asked the girl.
The brunette nodded before wincing. "My leg is sprained, though."
Izuku looked at her leg to see that that was definitely the case.
"Hold onto me!", the Quirkless teen grabbed the brown-haired girl by the waist, who grabbed him by the neck as they flew away from the massive machine. They kept flying until Izuku saw the blue haired entrant leading the crowd of teens to safety.
"Hey, glasses!", he called out to Tenya, who turned to see the green haired boy flying towards him, carrying her along the way.
"Huh? You?", the engine-legged examinee looked confused before turning and stopping as the Izuku and the brunette came towards him. "What are you doing?!"
"Can you help her, please?! She has a sprained leg!"
"Sure!", the bluenette grabbed her before he turned back to see Izuku going the opposite direction. "Wait, where are you going?!"
He didn't get an answer as the powerless prodigy had already flown away.
Okay, so based on the design of the machine, the weak spots would most likely be near the head area and the chest. Let's see if I can shut it down.
Izuku flew towards the Zero Pointer and he locked on a target: the head itself. He picked up speed and kept avoiding the sluggish bot's attempt at swatting him away. Once he got close enough to the head, he fired his grappling cable to stick on it. After he got his footing, he punched through the red lens following up with firing his sticky pellets to create a ring-like structure around and inside the damaged lens. He then fired remote bomb pellets on the sticky ring.
He heard rumbling and turned to see the Zero Pointer's hand coming toward him. Wasting no time, he deactivated the grappling cable and started to free fall before activating his Rocket Shoes to fly away from the colossal machine. Once he reached a safe distance, he locked on to the target he set up on the robot's damaged lens and pointed his Gauntlet at said target with a nervous smile.
Let's hope I got the specs right, he thought before firing a "Texas Cannon!" at a greater speed, hitting the bullseye.
This caused the bot's face to explode before spasming. The shockwave made Izuku lose his balance and shut off the shoes, making him fall.
"Ah! I need to trigger my grappling system!", he yelled trying to aim at something fast, as he was getting closer to the ground. He might get whiplash on his arm but it was better than being a bloody smear.
*SLAP!*
Izuku felt a slap on his cheek and he saw the brown haired girl, who was held by Tenya with his mufflers overheating, floating.
She put fingers together. "Skill Release."
This caused the trio to land on the ground safely. Izuku was about to thank the gravity girl, until he saw her holding mouth, looking green as a pickle. She got out of Tenya's arms to go run and puke away from them. They both looked concerned for her.
"You ok?", Izuku asked her.
She gave a shaky thumbs up.
The loudspeaker crackles before a voice is heard throughout the "Attention all participants! TIME'S UP!"
Izuku, tired now as the adrenaline ebbed away, sat on the ground to catch his breath. "Sooo..*pant*...*pant*..how many points did you guys get?"
Tenya huffed his chest in pride. "65!"
"53.", the gravity user replied, wiping the vomit from her mouth.
"And I earned 72….That's good…"
"Pardon me, please. Make way.", the three participants turned to see an elderly woman in a hero costume walk up to them. "Is anyone here hurt?"
Iida shook his head. "I'm fine, ma'am."
"My ankle hurts.", the brunette slowly got up, wincing as tried to avoid adding pressure to her bad ankle.
Izuku looked at his Power Gauntlets; he did feel pain from the recoil from the grappling system as well as the multiple plasma blasts he made during the exam.
"I have some pain in my arms.", he informed the elderly nurse.
"Here, dearie.", the nurse asked her, heading towards. "Lemme help out with that."
As soon as she said that, the nurse kissed the brunette's ankle and a pink glow appeared on the spot. The gravity girl then put her healed ankle down and she looked surprised.
"My ankle feels better.", she realized.
That was when a lightbulb popped in Izuku's head.
"Now I know who you are!", he assessed, pointing his gauntlet finger at the elderly nurse, starstrucked. "You're Recovery Girl, the Youthful Heroine! Your Quirk allows you to accelerate a person's recovery period!"
The nurse gave a warm laugh. "I didn't expect someone to recognize me. Lemme heal you up."
Izuku removed his Gauntlets and put them down on the ground, allowing Recovery Girl to kiss both of his arms.
"I feel better. Thank you, Recovery Girl.", he bowed in gratitude before pulling down the zipper to his turquoise jacket a bit to pull out a purple notebook. "If it's not too much to ask, may I have your autograph, please?"
The nurse gave a warm smile. "Of Course. It's not everyday when an old lady gets to sign an autograph."
With the elderly nurse leaving to help the other participants, the Entrance Exams were finished.
Izuku simply hummed to himself. After putting his equipment in his duffle bag while changing out of his sweat jacket/sweatpants to his Aldera uniform, he exited the men's locker room to head to the exit. After what happened at the exam, he's hoping that his performance was able to impress the staff into enrolling him.
"Hey, rocket boy?" The boy in question turned around to see Uraka and Tenya, dressed in their respective middle school uniforms, walking up towards him. She waved at him. "Thanks for saving me."
Izuku blushed at the praise, "I-it was nothing."
"It was extremely heroic of you! I only wish I had intervened sooner!" Tenya suddenly interrupted before bowing to Izuku, "I must apologize too! Before the exams, I had thought you wouldn't stand a chance, much like the others, but it seems I was very wrong. Please forgive me!"
Izuku laughed, "It's fine. The fact that you are apologizing is in itself more than enough. Compared to others that is."
"My name is Iida Tenya by the way.", The boy extended his hand.
"I'm Midoriya Izuku. Nice to meet you!", Izuku shook his hand.
"And you are?", Iida asked the brunette.
The brunette smiled and shook his hand. "Uraraka Ochako. Thank you as well, for saving me."
"It was my pleasure.", he replied, adjusting his glasses. "How do you all feel about your chances of getting into UA? I think 65 is more than enough to get into the course."
Izuku nodded, "Yup, we got similar scores, didn't we? As long as the written exam is good, it should be enough."
"You guys are so lucky," Uraraka said gloomily, "I only got 53 points. And the written exam didn't go so well for me either."
"I thought the written exam was pretty easy. It was mostly theoretical, nothing that needed to be memorized." Izuku assessed.
"I know, but I didn't have enough time to complete the exam. I was hesitant on a lot of the questions." Uraraka huffed, "But 43 points on the practical shouldn't be that bad."
"It isn't! On top of that your combat skill was awesome. It takes a lot of skill to ensure that the robots didn't fall on other people after you released your quirk." Izuku pointed out.
Uraraka grinned at the praise, "It wasn't really flashy though, unlike you. I can't believe they allowed you to bring all that equipment."
"They only allowed it because I made them myself. If I just simply bought them, it wouldn't have been allowed."
Uraraka stared at Izuku with awe, "You made ALL of those?" She asked with disbelief, "You're a genius! You're definitely going to get in!"
Izuku blushed at the praise, "It was nothing. Who knows? There might be other people who did better than me."
"If there are people who did better than you, then I have absolutely no chance of getting in." Uraraka grumbled.
"Don't worry. You might get some of the other allocated points." Izuku reassured the brunette.
Uraraka and Iida turned in confusion.
"Other points?", they asked simultaneously.
Izuku blinked at them, confused that they didn't know this information. "Yeah, I mean, didn't you notice Present Mic specifically talking about villain points? That must mean there are other types of points as well. No need to single out only villain points."
"I can't believe I didn't notice that. It is utterly embarrassing." Iida berated himself.
"Yeah, it's utterly embarrassing that you two decided to hang out with a quirkless little shit like him." A voice suddenly said. The three turned to see a smug blonde standing behind them, "I hope you see now Deku, how utterly useless it was for you to even try out for UA. Bet you didn't get even a single bot."
"I mean, I got 72 points, but I could have hit the 100 mark easily if I had wanted to." Izuku said nonchalantly, knowing it would make the blonde angrier.
"LIAR!" Bakugou said, enraged, "There's no way you got more points than me! You're useless without that shitty equipment."
"Have you forgotten, Kacchan, that I applied for the Quirkless Clause for this exam?" Izuku reminded the explosive teen.
"Heh! So you cheated. Any idiot could pass if they got equipment like you!"
"Oh, so that means you think my equipment is good? Nice to see you have that much faith in me." Izuku praised the explosive blonde, mockingly.
That made Bakugou squirm even more in anger. He was about to spit more insults before the gravity girl came in.
"Just leave us alone. There's no need to be that rude." Uraraka berated Bakugou, annoyed at him. The blonde scoffed at her before turning his attention back to Deku.
"Got yourself a girlfriend, huh, Deku? Wonder if she's somehow more useless than you? Thought that would be impossible." Bakugou mocked, smiling at her.
"What did you say!?" Uraraka asked, enraged, "People like you don't deserve to even be allowed to give the exam!"
That struck a chord with Bakugou who scowled. "ME? It's Deku who shouldn't be allowed to give the exam! He's a useless little shit who's gonna die first day on the battlefield! He's just an obstacle; a tiny pebble in the path for everyone else!"
"At least he's on the path, you're nowhere near it." Uraraka responded sharply.
Izuku felt uncomfortable. It was nice to see a stranger who he just met stand up for him, but at the same time, he didn't want Bakugou to hurt anyone because of him. He knew it wouldn't be his fault, but all things considered, this was between him and Bakugou.
Thankfully, before things could escalate, Iida stepped in, "I don't think this is appropriate behavior for a hero. Please leave us alone, or I will be forced to ask the UA staff for help."
There was an anxious silence that followed Iida's words, as Uraraka stared down Bakugou.
"Tch." Bakugou grunted but obliged. He wasn't about to do anything to jeopardize his future. UA still could disqualify him since his exam was in their hands. "Watch your back, Deku!" he gave a final warning before walking off, giving him the bird.
"Jeez, what's wrong with him? Even before the exam, he was being an asshole." Uraraka said with discontent, irritated by the encounter. She turned to Izuku, who looked uncomfortable with what had happened. "Is it true with what he said? Are you Quirkless?"
Izuku gulped for a moment, before closing his eyes and nodding his head. "Yes. I'm Quirkless."
The cynical part of him is expecting them to look at him in pity and disdain. The hopeful part of him was praying they won't judge him based on what he lacks and accept him for who he is.
"If that's the case….", Uraraka started. "Then you seem to be more than qualified to join U.A."
The grenette opened his eyes to see smiles on Uraraka and Tenya, surprising him.
"Yes.", the blue-haired teen agreed with her. "From what I've seen, you've shown that you have what it means to be a hero just like me."
And Uraraka points her thumb to herself. "And me."
Izuku didn't know what to say, but gave a smile of his own at the sincere words that were expressed.
"Thanks for saying that.", he said, feeling gratuitous of them saying that.
Tenya looked puzzled for a moment. "I really don't understand why that individual was so aggressive towards you. He really seems to have it out for you."
"What can I say? Some people are just like that." Izuku sighed before waving his hand, "You don't need to worry about him, though. His animosity is only with me, for the most part."
Uraraka shook her head, "Nope! It's annoying for someone to be so rude. If he bothers you again, we'll be there to help, right Iida?"
"Um, yeah!"
Izuku smiled warmly, as he had seemingly made two new friends.
After exchanging numbers, the three examinees had headed home.
Even though it's been 3 weeks since the Entrance Exam, the memories that Izuku had are still vivid as if it happened yesterday. The destruction of the bots, taking on the Zero Pointer, saving Uraraka, making friends with her and Tenya, and Uraraka chewing out Kaachan.
(The latter made Izuku respect her a lot.)
After having a quiet breakfast with his mother, he went to his laptop to check and see if U.A. had finally sent a notification his way, only to come up with nothing.
Maybe they'll deliver it to me by mail, he assumed.
He turned away from his laptop to go run diagnostics on his Gauntlets, Rods, Utility Belt, and his suit itself to see if they needed to be repaired at all. He was so deep into his work that he almost got startled when he heard a notification on his laptop.
He stopped what he was doing to go check and see if U.A. contacted him. But to his surprise, it was an email from…
"Melissa?", he asked before scrolling to
Hi Izuku! Thanks for checking up on me.
I know you've been trying to keep contact with me over the months and I'm sorry for being busy. I've been busy helping my dad out on the island on top, while also doing a new goal for myself.
This may surprise you but….I'm thinking about becoming a hero myself.
That's why I'm going to a hero academy as well.
Wish you all the best at UA. No doubt you'll become a great hero and will be able to inspire fellow quirkless individuals like me!
Let me know how your classes at UA go.
Sincerely,
Melissa Shield
The email made Izuku feel overjoyed, and he'd admit, he was close to crying some tears of happiness at being able to inspire Melissa, and potentially having the chance to inspire even more quirkless children. But after the tears passed, her email had made him even more nervous.
I really hope I get into UA. Everyone has such high expectations of me…, he thought to himself as he fidgeted at when the package would arrive.
Suddenly, Inko barged through his door, surprising him.
"IZUKU! IT'S HERE!" she said and handed her son a package.
Immediately, Izuku grabbed it. He tore off the packaging to see a sort of disc, "Looks like a hologram projector." he said examining it.
"Well, turn it on!" Inko said, feeling more nervous than her son, if that was possible. Izuku nodded and set it open on his desk. Both mother and son anxiously watched as the hologram started to turn on and showed Power Loader.
"Hello there, Midoriya Izuku. Firstly, I have to say, I really enjoyed all your inventions. I'm half inclined to force you into the support course, but I suppose you have your reasons to join the hero course."
"Your written exam was great for what it was, so kudos to you on that front. As for your entrance exam, not only did you pass it, you topped it! 72 villain points showed your effectiveness in combat, but alongside it, you also gained 18 rescue points, equaling a total of 90. That's right, UA not only scores you on your combat, but also on your heroism."
The holo disc showed the top ten high scores for the Entrance Exam.
Rankings:
(1st) Midoriya Izuku: 72 (Villain Points), 18 (Rescue Points) = 90 Points
(2nd) Katsuki Bakugou: 80 (Villain Points), 0 (Rescue Points) = 80 Points
(3rd) Iida Tenya: 65 (Villain Points), 12 (Rescue Points) = 77 Points
(4th) Kirishima Eijirou: 72 (Villain Points), 6 (Rescue Points) = 76 Points
(5th) Kendo Itsuka: 60 (Villain Points), 12 (Rescue Points) = 72 Points
(6th) Uraraka Ochako: 53 (Villain Points), 18 (Rescue Points) = 71 Points
(7th) Tokoyami Fumikage: 48 (Villain Points), 18 (Rescue Points) = 64 Points
(8th) Shiozaki Ibra: 42 (Villain Points), 20 (Rescue Points) = 62 Points
(9th) Tesutesu Tesutesu: 60 (Villain Points), 0 (Rescue Points) = 60 Points
(10th) Awase Yosetsu: 52 (Villain Points), 6 (Rescue Points) = 58 Points
"Congratulations for securing the top spot in this year's entrance exam. I hope to see you on campus very soon. Welcome to your hero academia!"
With that, the transmission cut off. The two sat in the dark room, silent for a while.
"I….I passed.", Izuku finally spoke, taking it all in.
He made it.
After all the years he worked to make sure his inventions were in top shape.
After all the years he had to endure the nay-sayers and Bakugou telling him his dream was impossible.
After all the years he had dreamed about how he was going to become a hero.
He finally made it.
"You passed…", Inko answered, just in shock as well, before screaming in delight and hugging her son who started crying tears of joy. "You passed! And you got the top spot!"
"Wait, we have to let your father know too!" Inko said excitedly and texted her husband quickly.
Elsewhere, Hisashi was in the middle of a lecture. Though he loved the subjects he taught, he really couldn't place his mind on the lecture today. He was anxious to know about Izuku's results.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated. Hisashi checked his phone and saw Inko's text message. Barely able to suppress his excitement, Hisashi started dancing in the middle of the class. His students watched with a mix of amusement and awkwardness.
"Are you alright, professor?", a student asked.
Hisashi continued dancing, laughing in joy. "My son just got into UA! And he got the top score!"
"Do you have everything packed?"
"Yes, mom."
"Do you have all your pencils, your notebooks?"
"I do."
"You have Alfred?"
"Have him installed into my phone."
"And your tools?"
Izuku laughed as he attempted to put on his tie to his UA uniform. "Mom, don't worry. I have everything at hand."
If you were to tell Izuku that he was able to go to UA, he would be very elated at the announcement but even then, a small part of him will still doubt it. After all, being told that you wouldn't succeed in life can weigh you down, even when you have support from your loved ones.
After having a nice breakfast with his mother, he put on his new uniform. He looked in the mirror as he still fumbled with his tie, still taking in the fact he's going to the one hero school he dreamed of always going to.
Except now, it was a reality.
He kept trying to tie on his tie, only to fail. Thankfully, his mother saw this and helped her poor son put it on properly.
"Thanks, Mom.", he appreciated his mom helping him with his tie.
Inko smiles warmly, finishing up. "You're welcome, sweetie."
The phone vibrated. Izuku checked to see the train schedule and noticed that the next one is expected to arrive in an hour.
"I better get going, then.", the quirkless student realized. Not wanting to miss it, he grabbed his backpack and headed straight to the door.
"Izuku?", he heard his mom call him.
He stopped and turned to look at his mom. "Yeah, mom?"
In a small moment of silence, Izuku noticed his mom having a warm smile. The same one she had when her son created his Rocket Boots.
The same one she had when she saw him perform at the talent show.
And the same one she had he showed the suit that he dedicated himself to make ever since he found out he was quirkless.
It was an expression that kept him stable and made him feel comfortable in his skin, even if the world was against him.
"I'm proud of you.", she expressed. Izuku gave a smile back.
"Thanks, Mom. That means a lot.", he replied before opening the door to leave, waving at his mom. "Bye, Mom!"
"Bye, Izuku!", she waved back as the door closed.
It was an easy train ride and stroll for Izuku.
When he had the chance to see the building up close, he had to shake off the nerves that he didn't know were there and walked inside.
"Room 1A, Room 1A…", he kept walking through the halls until he found his destination. He went to grab the door handle and prayed he didn't see Kaachan.
He opened the door to his new classroom and saw his explosive tormentor antagonizing Iida.
"Put your legs down!", the bespectacled stickler of rules demanded. "Do you not see how rude you're being to your fellow classmates?!"
The blonde bomber scoffed. "No, I don't, you two-bit extra. I'm curious: which middle school did you crawl out of, anyway?"
"I'm Tenya Iida from Soumei Junior High."
"Soumei, huh?", Bakugou sneered. "Now I have another reason to end your silver-spoon fed ass."
Iida looked shocked at what he heard. "End me?! And you desire to be a hero?!"
Why am I not surprised?, he thought to himself before entering the classroom. His entry got the attention of most of the students.
Iida turned to see Izuku and walked over.
"Ah, Midoriya.", he greeted his new acquaintance, holding his hand out. "It's good to see you."
The Quirkless student gave a smile and shook it. "Same."
"Oh, hey, guys!" Both Iida and Izuku turned to see Ochako and Tsuyu arrive at class.
Tsuyu gave a friendly ribbit to the boys. "Hi, Izuku."
"Hello, Uraraka!"
"Hey, Uraraka." Izuku greeted the bubbly brunette before turning his attention to the frog girl. "Hey, Tsuyu."
With greetings shared, they idly chat about what they plan to do in their classes, what their teacher would be like, and whether or not they'll meet more of the staff. Bakugou, meanwhile, growled to himself as he remembered the interaction he had with Deku and the two idiots that were fawning over him. It made him so angry that this Quirkless bastard was able to squeak his way in through the Entrance Exam and "earn" his spot(ugh, he hated that he was admitting it).
Before he could stew even more over how this Quirkless piece of shit was able to sneak his way into U.A., a tired voice made itself known throughout the class.
"If you're here to only make friends, then get out."
The students of 1A looked out the door to see a tired-looking man in a sleeping bag. All the students turned their attention to the disheveled teacher as he got out of his sleeping bag to address them.
"Hm. It took 8 seconds to quiet down.", he assessed as the class continued to look on in confusion while Izuku looked at the man trying to figure him out. "Life's too short, kids."
The scruffy man sniffed before introducing himself. "I'm Shouta Aizawa, your homeroom teacher."
The teacher then grabbed something from out of his sleeping bag, which was a piece of gym attire.
"Change into these.", he directed. "And meet me at the P.E. Grounds."
After all the students got dressed and came to the field, Aizawa explained to them that they were going to do a Quirk Apprehension test.
"But what about the ceremony or the guidance counselor meeting?", Uraraka asked, not understanding why her teacher was doing this.
"Frilly niceties won't be available if you desire to be heroes.", he explained, as if it was obvious. He turned to the unsure class with a dull stare. "I'm sure you're all aware of the freedom that this school exercises, right? Well, that freedom also extends to the teachers, as well."
The pit that the majority of Class 1A felt seemed to intensify.
Aizawa turned to look out at the field, continuing. "Before we begin, however, there's something I need to take care of."
This confused the class.
"Midoriya Izuku.", he called out, getting the surprised greenette's attention. "Step forward."
He stared at Tsuyu, Tenya, and Ochako, who were just as nervous and confused as he was, before walking out of the crowd of students. Stood there, waiting for his teacher to respond. Aizawa turned to look at the student with unblinking eyes.
"Midoriya…", he began, bluntly. "You need to leave."
The inventor looked perplexed and at the same time, he knew what was to come next. He was hoping that it didn't have to do with what he thought it was going to be.
"Why must I leave, sensei?", the anxious student asked.
The question made the teacher narrow his eyes at Izuku, who could do nothing but squirm a bit on the inside.
"Because, Midoriya, you're Quirkless.", he answered, not mincing his words. "And this test is for those who can use their Quirks for hero work."
This caused most of the class to be shocked at the revelation, barring Izuku's friends, who were concerned for him, and Bakugou, who was smirking smugly at the turn of events. The class was astonished that someone like Izuku was able to make it at the top of the scores for the Entrance Exam.
Izuku, meanwhile, felt a trio of emotions at that moment: embarrassment (his teacher shared something he felt was private to whole class), frustration (he thought that UA would be different from the teachers he had to endure back in Aldera; apparently that wasn't the case), and indignation (he was getting kicked out of the class that he worked so hard to reach all because of his lack of a Quirk).
He wanted to scream, to cry at that moment but he rather just stared at the ground before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"You can head back inside and change. Once you're done, head to General Studies, immediately.", he directed Izuku, before turning his attention to the rest of the class. "The activities you're about to do is very similar to the ones you did in middle school-"
"Hold on."
Aizawa turned his attention back to Izuku, raising an eyebrow at the look of umbrage the boy expressed.
"Is there a problem, Midoriya?", he asked, his tone measured.
"Yes, sensei, there is.", the Quirkless student sharply answered. Despite the anger he felt at this moment, he didn't raise his voice. "The problem I have is that not only did you bring up my status as Quirkless to the whole class but also plan to kick me out because of it."
"Life isn't fair, kid.", Aizawa replied. "If you expected that here, then you're sorely mistaken."
"Of course I know that, sensei.", Izuku explained. "But I had hoped that there would be some semblance of equity here."
"Once again, you're mistaken, kid." the teacher had dismissed Izuku's words. "This isn't up for discussion. Head back inside before I expel you."
Izuku had to go for it. It's now or never.
"Now, hold on, sensei.", he insisted. "You still didn't hear what I was planning to do first."
Aizawa looked back at him. Izuku couldn't tell if he was annoyed, curious, or both. "And what were you planning to do? Sue the school if you didn't have your way? Try to fight me?"
"Not really, Eraserhead, sir." That made the scruffy-haired teacher raise his eyes ever so slightly. "You're probably one of the best fighters on this side of Japan, so fighting you is pointless. And I can't actually sue you or the school as I don't have the funds to do it."
Aizawa continued to stare at the boy. "So what do you plan to do, Midoriya?"
Izuku gave a daring smile. "I wanna make a bet with you, sensei."
The class looked on, not knowing what was going to happen next. Tsuyu, Tenya, and Ochako were curious about what Izuku was planning to do. Bakugou just wanted Deku to finally leave the Hero Class and go back to the bottom where he belonged.
Aizawa hummed, before asking. "Ok, Midoriya. What're you betting on?"
"I know for a fact that I can't make to the top 3 or 5 spot in this test.", Izuku explained, laying out the parameters of his parlay. "So I bet that I can make it somewhere in the top 10. If and when I do, you have to let me hold my spot in the class."
Aizawa listened. It may seem like he didn't care, but internally he's intrigued that this boy acknowledged his limits and is willing to prove his worth, in spite of it.
"Very well.", the lethargic teacher accepted the wager. "I'll let you participate in the test."
Izuku bowed his head. "Thank you, sir."
"Don't thank me yet.", Aizawa continued, as he developed a demented smile on his face. "Because should you fail, not only will you leave this class, you will also be expelled from UA."
Izuku looked at the man, feeling the dread that he tried so hard to ignore. Despite the fear he felt from this underground hero, he was more than willing to prove himself to his sensei.
"Yes, sensei.", the Quirkless student agreed, accepting the consequences should he fail.
Now whether he decided to test the other students or just wanted to prove a point, Aizawa continued on.
"Now just to be certain that everyone will take this seriously as Midoriya will be.", the deranged teacher began, smiling ear to ear. "Whoever is last during this Apprehension test will be expelled from UA, also."
That made the class alarmed. Should anyone come last they'll be kicked out from UA?
"Welcome to the Department of Heroics, kids."
You ever feel like standing up for yourself will make you feel like more problems will be coming your rather a solution? Izuku is gonna wonder that for himself later. See you guys around for the next chapter.