A/N: Back again people. Let's not waste any time...
Chapter 8: Showcase
It had been a week since the entrance exam, and Izuku was currently sitting in his room at the facility, mindlessly bouncing a tennis ball off the wall and catching it. A bell sound alerted him that someone was at his door, and he quickly stood up to answer it. The door opened to reveal the smiling face of one of the facility staff.
"Hello there Midoriya, I hope you're well. I do believe this is for you." she greeted him, before handing him a small envelope with the U.A logo as a stamp.
Izuku smiled back and responded, "Thank you Saiki."
Saiki nodded and left, leaving Izuku alone with his letter. Despite being confident that he performed well, he still felt nervous as he stared down at the letter. Deciding not to dwell, he ripped it open, and a small disk fell out. As the disk hit the ground, a holographic projection started, and Izuku was greeted by the image of Principal Nezu.
"Hello there Midoriya. I hope you are well, and I want to thank you for participating in the U.A entrance examination. Firstly, you passed the written portion of the exam with flying colours, qualifying your entry into U.A General Education. Now, for the result, you've been waiting for, the practical exam.
You managed to score 60 hero points in the practical, a suitable standalone score that would qualify you for the Hero Course. However, that is not all, upon further evaluation of your performance, your actions during the exam such as saving other examinees and disabling the Zero Pointer also gained you an additional 40 rescue points.
This brings your total for the exam to 100 points. I'm delighted to inform you that this result means that not only do you qualify for the U.A Hero Course, but you also placed first in the practical portion. You continue to surpass my expectations Young Midoriya. I cannot wait to see the type of hero that you become.
Please send all of your belongings to U.A University. We will handle moving into your dorms. We ask that on your first day, you report to your homeroom first thing in order to meet your new homeroom teacher and classmates. Welcome to U.A University Izuku Midoriya."
As the projection stopped, the results of the examination were shown, displaying the top 10 scorers.
1) Name: Izuku Midoriya Hero Points: 60 Rescue Points: 40 Total: 100
2) Name: Katsuki Bakugo Hero Points: 95 Rescue Points: 0 Total: 95
3) Name: Ejiro Kirishima Hero Points: 45 Rescue Points: 35 Total: 80
4) Name: Ochaco Uraraka Hero Points: 30 Rescue Points: 45 Total: 75
5) Name: Ibara Shizozaki Hero Points: 37 Rescue Points: 35 Total: 72
6) Name: Melissa Shield Hero Points: 15 Rescue Points: 55 Total: 70
7) Name: Tenya Ida Hero Points: 55 Rescue Points: 10 Total: 65
8) Name: Itsuka Kendo Hero Points: 30 Rescue Points: 30 Total: 60
9) Name: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu Hero Points: 50 Rescue Points: 8 Total: 58
10) Name: Fumikage Tokoyami Hero Points: 45 Rescue Points: 10 Total: 55
First place. Incredible, but he couldn't get overconfident. He looked at the next name down. Katsuki Bakugo. An examinee who had almost matched his total purely off combat skill. He had no doubt that he would be formidable and skilled, along with all of the others who managed to get into the U.A Hero Course. He had to stay on his toes. That was for certain.
He allowed a smile to creep onto his face. For now, at least, he could celebrate.
Melissa was currently in the apartment that her father had rented for her to stay in. She felt down, however, due to her performance in the exam. She was certain she did not earn enough points. Heck, when she had passed the blue-haired boy and the brown-haired girl throughout the exam, she had heard them say their total points out loud. Both far surpassed the total that she had acquired in the end. It just wasn't logistically possible for her to qualify. Maybe, despite being chosen by the Number 1 hero, she just wasn't cut out to be a hero after all.
A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts, and she went to answer. It was the postman.
"Letter here for Melissa Shield."
"That's me, thank you," She replied and closed the door.
Looking down at the U.A seal, Melissa gulped before opening the letter and taking out the disc slowly. A projection popped out and All Might appeared.
"Greetings Young Melissa, apologies for the delay, hero work alongside grading the entrance exam is extremely hectic! Without wasting any time, let us move on to your results for the entrance exam. To start, you passed the written portion of the exam. This qualifies you to study General Education here at U.A. Good job!
Now, regarding your performance in the practical portion.
You managed to score 15 points in total. Unfortunately, this would not be nearly enough to qualify you for the Hero Course.
Melissa lowered her head in shame. She knew it, she had let All Might down.
However…watch this…
Melissa perked up and watched the feed of the projection switch. Displayed in front of her, was the brown-haired girl whom she had attempted to rescue before she had been forced into destroying the Zero Pointer.
The girl was pleading with Present Mic.
"That blonde girl, she wasted time trying to save me when she could have used it to gather more points. She risked everything…her life…to save me…is there any way I could give her some of my points?"
"No need to worry little listener, we've got everything under control, I'm sure she did just fine," Present Mic replied and gave the girl a thumbs up.
That, Young Melissa, is the essence of a true hero. The ability to inspire others to action through the actions of oneself. What type of Hero University would we be if we turned away those who demonstrate the true qualities of a hero? Your self-sacrifice earned you a total of 55 Rescue Points. That brings your total to 70, qualifying you for the U.A Hero Course and placing you in the Top 10 for exam results!
We ask that you send us all of your belongings as we will take care of the moving process. Please report to your homeroom first thing on the first day to greet your homeroom teacher and your peers. Welcome Young Melissa. This is Your Hero Academia.
Melissa couldn't help it as a tear escaped out of pure joy. She had been preparing so long for this moment, and the relief she felt was overwhelming.
This was just the start, however. Looking at the top 10, there was no room for complacency. All of them had acquired significantly more Hero Points than her, indicating that they were far more proficient with their quirks than herself. Katsuki Bakugo in second place was a prime example of this.
However, she couldn't help but fixate on the number 1 spot. Izuku Midoriya. Didn't Bakugo say he was quirkless? How had he possibly managed to score so highly?
So many questions raced through her mind ranging from the caveat of rescue points to the green-haired mystery. One thing was for sure. U.A was going to be anything but dull.
A small grin formed on her face.
She couldn't wait.
It was the last day of Aldera High School for Melissa and Bakugo. Both had received several congratulations from their teachers and peers, and they were currently walking home in silence. There was an air of tension.
"You saw the top 10." Bakugo was the one to break the silence, speaking in a low voice.
Straight to the point. Addressing the elephant in the room. No point in acting clueless, she knew exactly what he was talking about.
Melissa looked to the side before responding, "Yeah…But you said he was quirkless. I don't want to sound rude but with the format of that exam, it should have been impossible for someone without a quirk to acquire that many Hero Points…"
Bakugo gritted his teeth and spoke with more frustration than anger, "Yeah…But the way how he spoke when I saw him…I need answers. What the hell could have happened?"
Melissa nodded solemnly but didn't speak and the two carried on in silence.
Before long, they parted ways and reached their respective homes. They both knew that all they could do for now, was prepare for U.A.
The holidays went past in a flash and the new academic year started. A new horizon for budding hero students, ready to begin their journey. Izuku Midoriya had bid the staff at the facility farewell and was on his way to his first day at U.A University. Entering the campus, he walked through the halls in search of 'Class 1-A' that he was assigned to. Finally locating the sign, he noticed that it was above the largest doorway he had seen in his life.
As he stepped into the room he was greeted by yelling.
"Take your feet off of that desk at once! You are disgracing our predecessors and the alumni of this great institution!"
It was the boy who had stood up during the exam, his arms were flailing wildly as he spoke. Looking over at the boy he was admonishing, he saw that it was the blonde boy who had called him 'Deku'.
The blonde narrowed his eyes before responding, "Huh? Who the hell are you meant to be Four-Eyes?" he asked crudely.
"I am Tenya Ida from Somei Private Academy. I will not stand by and tolerate this level of disrespect shown to U.A University!" The boy known as Ida seemed to be getting even more worked up at the blonde's nonchalance.
"Somei huh? So, you're a posh fucker? Well, how bout this Four-Eyes, get the hell outta my face before I blow you up!"
Wow…the blonde was as crude as ever. His thoughts were echoed by Ida who looked at the blonde in astonishment before resuming his speech.
"Blow me up? Are you sure you are meant to be on the Hero Course? And your language as well, so incredibly rude!"
As Izuku tried to keep a low profile while walking into the class, his eyes made direct contact with the blonde. The boy narrowed his eyes and scowled at him but didn't say anything before he turned his attention back to Ida who was still scolding him.
He had guessed that they knew each other from the past, but what exactly did he have against him? Guess he would soon find out as the boy didn't look like one to hold his tongue for long.
Taking his seat, he looked around at those currently in the room.
The pink girl, the boy with the head of the crow, and the boy with multiple arms. All of which he had seen at the exam.
A girl with green hair, tied into a bow shape, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth, a floating uniform, a boy with rock-like features and a tall girl with a spiky black ponytail. Lastly, a heterochromatic boy with half-white and half-red hair. He had an angry red scar around his blue eye on his left side. The boy had a cold expression on his face, and he sat at the back of the class, isolated from the rest. More students continued to file in slowly until the class was almost full.
Suddenly, a blonde girl with bright aqua eyes entered the room and Izuku was stunned.
She was beautiful.
He stared as she marched over with an air of confidence, to the spiky-haired blonde.
"Katsuki! Stop causing trouble, it's literally the first day!" She scolded him.
Oh…so they knew each other…did he know her? No…Amnesia of course…but did she know him from the past? He sure hoped so. Either way, by the way how she and the one known as 'Katsuki' interacted they were obviously close. Was he her boyfriend? That would be so disappointing.
Shaking his head free from these thoughts, Izuku tried to focus. He was here to become a hero, not find love…but who said he couldn't do both? No. Hero University. Focus Izuku. He looked up and saw that both of them were staring at him. While the blonde looked angry, she had a more inquisitive look on her face. Ok. Something was definitely up. Well, they would be seeing each other a lot more. He had time.
"Oh, it's you! The blonde girl! You got in! Your punch was amazing!"
Izuku turned his attention to the bubbly voice coming from the doorway and saw a brown-haired girl with a permanent blush on her cheeks.
The blonde smiled and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. She started to engage in conversation with the brunette before a tired voice rang out.
"If you're here to make friends, then get out."
This drew the attention of everyone to a yellow caterpillar at the front of the classroom.
The caterpillar stood upright and a tired, unkempt-looking man with shaggy black hair, in a baggy black outfit crawled out holding a juice box.
The man droned on in his lazy tone, "It took you all 10 seconds to be quiet. This degree of time wasting is simply not logical. My name is Shota Aizawa, I will be your homeroom teacher this year."
He looked over the class with a piercing gaze while drinking from his juice box. Once the juice was finished, he proceeded to reach into the sleeping bag and pull out a sports uniform.
"You'll find these gym uniforms in the suitcases under your desk. Put them on and head out to the field. Don't keep me waiting." He ordered.
The man strolled out leaving the class dumbfounded. It took them a moment, but they snapped out of it and followed his instructions.
After they had changed, and as they were heading to the field, Melissa whispered to Bakugo in a low voice.
"So, he's here after all. What are you going to do?" She asked curiously.
"Huh? I ain't got time for that shit. Shut up and focus Blondie," He snapped back sharply.
Melissa knew what her friend meant. It meant that it was a topic for later. Not now. Now they had to concentrate on whatever their mysterious teacher had planned.
Said teacher was waiting for them with an extremely impatient look on his face. When the final student arrived, he began to speak, "It took you all far too long. As future heroes, time is everything. Alright, without wasting any more time, we'll be conducting a quirk apprehension test."
"Quirk apprehension test?!" The class echoed.
The brown-haired girl, who had introduced herself to Melissa as Ochaco Uraraka, was the first to protest to their new teacher.
"But Mr Aizawa, it's the first day! What about the induction ceremony?"
Aizawa rolled his eyes and responded, "As I said, time is everything, and you don't have time for such leisurely activities. The popularity of U.A University is built upon how flexible its traditions are. The way how the teachers run classes is no exception. You should have been conducting these physical fitness tests since middle school. You will be doing the same here except you will be allowed to use your quirks. Now…Midoriya"
Izuku perked up as the rest of the class, aside from two blondes, looked at him curiously.
"You finished top of the practical exam." This caused some of the class to look in shock as Aizawa continued, "What was your record for a softball throw in middle school?"
"I-erm I don't remember sir," Izuku stammered nervously.
Aizawa eyed him suspiciously before continuing.
"Hmmm, well I guess it is irrelevant. Try doing it now with your quirk. You can do whatever you want as long as you remain in the circle."
Izuku nodded nervously before walking forward and taking the ball from Aizawa. He felt the eyes of the entire class on him. Slowly he strolled over to the circle and placed the ball just outside of it behind him. He then pulled his trusty goggles down over his eyes.
I can be a hero
Just like that, his nerves were gone.
Activating his nanites, the green circuitry briefly appeared up his right arm before he built the Slam Cannon. The maw of the Slam Cannon reached behind and scooped up a large chunk of the ground, the ball included.
Bakugo and Melissa's jaws dropped, and they looked at each other wide-eyed.
Izuku was definitely not quirkless.
Bakugo growled under his breath and held back the incredible urge to charge in and demand answers there and then. He knew that wouldn't solve anything. He would wait until this was all over and force the answers out of Deku himself.
Even though there was a green tint to his vision, Izuku felt he could see clearer than ever as he took aim at a precise angle to maximise the distance. One last deep breath.
BANG
The shot rang out and the ball of concrete containing the softball ball flew through the air at incredible speeds.
Aizawa held up the phone to show the class the displayed distance.
1608.4 meters
Aizawa looked over the class and spoke, "Knowing your maximum first. That is the most rational foundation for a hero."
"This looks like fun!" The pink girl exclaimed.
"We get to use our quirks how we want. The hero course is amazing!" This came from a boy with strange-looking elbows.
"It looks fun?" Aizawa's voice cut their celebrations short, "You all have three years to become heroes and you're speaking about fun? Natural disasters, villain attacks, injuries and death, do they sound like fun?"
The heavy implications that he spoke of caused the class to listen in shock and silence. Aizawa looked at them with a creepy grin and continued.
"How about I show you some fun? Whoever comes in last place in this test will be deemed to have no potential and will be expelled from the Hero Course." His threat caused the class to freeze.
Aizawa's grin widened even further at their U-turn in attitude.
"Welcome to the U.A University Hero Course."
50 Meter Dash
The first pair called up was Ida and a girl with green hair. A robotic voice started the countdown.
3…2…1 GO!
Ida activated the engines on the back of his calves, and they roared as he accelerated past the finish line.
2.98 Seconds
Ida looked down in self-analysis and spoke to himself, "I couldn't accelerate past third gear. Nevertheless, a satisfactory result."
The frog girl used her abilities to clear the 50 metres in two quick hops.
5.29 Seconds
"Ribbit," She croaked, revealing her quirk as one that gave her frog-like characteristics.
Next, Melissa and Uraraka lined up.
3…2…1 GO!
Uraraka touched her clothes, activating her quirk and making them weightless. She then proceeded to sprint as fast as she could
7.02 Seconds
"Not bad," Uraraka said sheepishly.
Melissa, on the other hand, delayed for around 4 seconds at the start, seemingly in focus, before hopping off the mark to around the midway point. She then repeated the process, falling just short of the finish and was forced to run past the finish line.
8.15 Seconds
Melissa looked down and sighed. Her inefficiencies continued.
The class continued to undertake the 50-meter dash, displaying their unique methods of mobility. These included a blonde shooting a laser out of his stomach, the pink girl sliding on a clear liquid, and the boy with half and half hair sliding on a wave of ice that he created.
Finally, Bakugo and Midoriya stepped up. The two boys glanced at each other before focusing solely on the target. The finish line. The tension was palpable. Bakugo's palms were popping while Izuku lowered his goggles.
3…2…1 GO!
Izuku instantaneously built The Ride and pushed the handlebars forward in one fluid motion, accelerating and coming to a smooth stop as he passed the finish line.
3.11 Seconds
"Blast Speed Turbo!"
Bakugo rocketed off of the mark and almost flew towards the finish line.
3.94 Seconds
Bakugo looked down at his palms when he crossed the line, seemingly in deep thought.
Izuku smiled at Bakugo and raised his voice to speak to him.
"Nice race, that quirk of yours is amazing." Izuku's compliment, however, did not get a positive response. Instead, Bakugo turned to Izuku and scowled before trudging off to the next test.
Izuku's smile disappeared before doing the same.
Melissa just watched from a distance at both of them, a concerned look on her face.
Grip Strength
Melissa attempted to channel One For All in her arms to a safe degree. She felt it start to activate, but as she tried to squeeze the grip machine, her control faltered, and it petered out. Disappointedly, she looked at her score that was displayed on the screen.
50.0kg
"Woah, dude 580kg? Are you an octopus or something?"
She turned to see a small boy with purple balls on his head shouting in shock to the tall boy with silver hair, a mask and multiple arms.
CRUNCH
Her attention quickly shifted to the sound of metal breaking. There stood Izuku Midoriya, his Smack Hands pushed together. As he opened them, small pieces of metal from the destroyed grip machine fell to the ground.
Disassembling the Smack Hands, he nervously turned to Aizawa.
"Um, Mr Aizawa, I think I broke the machine…"
Aizawa spoke in his ever-tired voice. "It's fine Midoriya, continue to the next test."
Reaching into a bag, Aizawa pulled out a replacement machine before handing it to the girl with the ponytail, known as Momo Yaoyorozu, who stood there with a handheld vice clamp that she had created.
Standing Long Jump
Bakugo, the boy with the stomach laser, and the frog-like girl all used their quirks to clear the sandbox.
Izuku stepped up and activated the VBs. Knowing distance wasn't an issue, he decided to aim for as high as he could possibly go while simultaneously clearing the sandbox. Izuku soared high into the sky and took the time to admire the U.A campus while he was airborne. As he descended, he disassembled the VBs, not wanting to cause catastrophic destruction with his landing. He built the Boogie Pack just before he landed, using it to hover harmlessly to the ground, before disassembling it and strolling off.
"Show off…" Muttered a blonde boy with a black lightning pattern in his hair.
Melissa stepped up and attempted to activate One For All once more. The power ran through her calves, and she leapt, landing inside the box, just shy of clearing it.
Once again, she groaned in frustration as she walked off.
Distance Run
The student's stamina was tested in this portion. Melissa was the third who was unable to continue after Mineta and an invisible girl called Hagakure stopped.
Meanwhile, Bakugo placed fourth behind the half-and-half boy, known as Shoto Todoroki, as well as Yaoyorozu and Izuku. The last two were asked to stop by Aizawa as Izuku was leisurely using The Ride and Yaoyorozu was using an electric bicycle that she had created.
The sit-ups and seated toe touch were fairly straightforward and the repeated side steps only produced one exceptional result. A boy named Minoru Mineta, who used the purple balls on his head to bounce quickly from side to side.
Ball Throw
Bakugo stepped up and launched the ball with an explosive throw.
804.2 Meters
"Tch" he scowled once more before storming off.
Momo Yaoyorozu stepped up with a cannon and produced a result of 2000 meters, while Uraraka cancelled the gravity on the ball entirely, resulting in the screen displaying the infinity sign.
Finally, Melissa stepped up. She knew she would have to produce an exceptional result at some point or risk expulsion. It was now or never, regardless of what happened to her. She activated the full power of One For All in her right arm and threw with all her might, bracing herself for the intense pain of the backlash.
The ball fell harmlessly, and her arm felt normal. Her score was displayed.
48 meters
She was shell shocked, as she was sure that she had activated the full power of One For All in her arm.
Suddenly a grey cloth shot out, bound around her, and dragged her out of the circle. She was spun around and stood face to face with Aizawa, his eyes glowing red.
Izuku gasped, those goggles, the scarf…
"Erasure Hero: Eraserhead?"
His outburst caused the class to turn to him.
A boy with spiky red hair stated in confusion, "Eraserhead? Never heard of him."
"He's an underground hero, prefers to stay away from the limelight, his quirk allows him to erase the quirks of others just by looking at them." Izuku clarified this and the others looked at Aizawa in wonder.
Melissa tried to struggle against the restraints, but while they were flexible, they felt like steel against her skin.
Aizawa proceeded to start his lecture. "That entrance exam was not rational as it let someone like you into the Hero Course. Your actions to acquire your rescue points left you incapacitated and almost killed. The most useless hero is a dead one. Do you think that you can save people when you will render yourself unable to save yourself? I've been paying close attention to your results and your performance today. Your quirk is powerful, but your blatant lack of control is sickening. You can only activate it quickly by unleashing the full extent. You can only unleash the full extent at the cost of mutilating your body. You would prove to be far more of a hindrance than an asset in the world of heroics. Do you expect to just injure yourself and leave yourself helpless, just to make up for your inefficiencies with your quirk control?"
Each word was scathing, and the inability to move amplified Aizawa's piercing gaze which seemed to be disgusted at her.
"In your current state, Melissa Shield. You have no potential" Aizawa's final words cut deep before he dismissively turned away. "You have another chance. Hurry up and get it over with."
He let Melissa go, deactivated his quirk, and stepped back while administering some eyedrops to himself.
She knew Aizawa was right. In her current state, her quirk was worse than useless. It was a detriment.
There were no excuses, she had to find a way to improve and get an exceptional result right now.
She couldn't activate a safe percentage of One For All in her arm quickly enough and maintain it to be of any actual use, so she knew she would still have to resort to using it at 100%
But how could she do this without incapacitating herself?
An idea popped into her head. Getting One For All to activate in certain body parts was easy enough.
So why not just minimise the amount of damage?
She reared back her arm and prepared to throw as the others looked on. As she brought her arm forward, she activated the full power of One For All in the tip of her finger and let loose.
The ball rocketed into the sky, the backlash causing a gust of wind.
She looked back at Aizawa while clutching her purple finger.
"How was that Sir?" She said with conviction burning in her eyes.
"Satisfactory," He replied simply.
The wide grin on his face, however, betrayed his emotions. Aizawa was impressed by the innovation. He looked down at the result displayed on the screen.
804.3 Meters
Melissa grinned back. In that moment, she felt a breakthrough. By using a smaller area, not only was One For All faster to activate while minimising damage, but it also felt somewhat easier to control. When limited to just her finger, the power didn't give her that overflowing sensation that it usually did, despite using 100% and causing injury.
It would take some practice, but starting from her fingers, she would re-write how she used her quirk. She was sure of it.
Melissa walked back to the group and was greeted by Uraraka.
The brown-haired girl looked at her concernedly, "Melissa, are you ok? That throw was amazing, but your finger seems to be in bad shape."
"I'll be fine Uraraka, nothing I can't handle. I'll get it checked out in the nurse's office later." Melissa replied bravely, doing her best to ignore the pain.
Aizawa cleared his throat to get their attention.
"Ok class these are your results," Aizawa announced and projected a list from the device in his hand for the entire class to see.
1) Momo Yaoyorozu
2) Izuku Midoriya
3) Shoto Todoroki
4) Katsuki Bakugo
5) Tenya Ida
6) Fumikage Tokoyami
7) Mezo Shoji
8) Ejiro Kirishima
9) Mina Ashido
10) Ochaco Uraraka
11) Koji Koda
12) Rikido Sato
13) Tsuyu Asui
14) Yuga Aoyama
15) Hanta Sero
16) Denki Kaminari
17) Kyoka Jiro
18) Melissa Shield
19) Toru Hagakure
20) Minoru Mineta
Melissa looked down dejectedly once more. Yes, she hadn't scored last place and was safe, but a bottom three placement was not one befitting the successor of All Might and someone who aspired to be the Number 1 Hero. She had to do much better and fast.
Bakugo, meanwhile, was silently fuming. Not only was he fourth, but he had ranked behind Deku with his bullshit new quirk. So not only had he shown up from the dead after all these years, but he came back with a new quirk that allowed him to outrank him, not once but twice. He had a choice selection of words for him if he managed to refrain from blowing the nerd up himself.
Mineta, on the other hand, looked absolutely distraught. His dreams of becoming a hero to be popular with the ladies was evaporating before his eyes.
"By the way, no one is going home, I lied about the expulsion. It was simply a rational deception to ensure you all worked to the fullest of your abilities," Aizawa announced.
"What?!" The entire class echoed.
Momo Yaoyorozu announced proudly to the class her deduction.
"Of course, it was obvious from the start, There was no chance he would have actually followed through with such a threat."
"Easy for you to say at the top of the list…" The blonde boy, known as Denki Kaminari, muttered this under his breath.
Suddenly, he was jabbed in the arm by an earphone jack, causing him to yelp in pain. He turned to see the girl known as Kyoka Jiro twirling her other earphone jack innocently and he simply sighed.
"With that wrapped up…Shield."
Melissa looked at Aizawa expectantly.
"Take this note to the old lady and get your finger checked out," He said as he handed her a piece of paper. He then turned his attention to the rest of the class.
"The rest of you, we're done for today, head over to Heights Alliance Dorm A. and get settled in."
"Yes Mr Aizawa."
As the class filtered out, All Might, dressed in a bright yellow suit approached the homeroom teacher.
"Aizawa you liar! You expelled your entire class last year!"
Aizawa closed his eyes and responded nonchalantly.
"They were deemed to have no potential. This class is different."
"Well I hope now you can see the potential within Young Melissa"
Aizawa eyed him suspiciously.
"You seem awfully interested in her. I hope there isn't a bias due to her being the daughter of your former sidekick All Might," Aizawa said with a hint of threat in his voice.
"Of course not! I just wanted to clarify that, while her performance during the practical exam may not have lived up to U.A standards, she undoubtedly possesses what it takes to become a truly successful hero."
"We'll see about that All Might. After all, it's my job, and by extension yours, to nurture them into said heroes in the next three years. Cutting them slack won't do them any favours in the real world," Aizawa responded.
All Might nodded wordlessly in agreement.
The students of Class 1-A arrived at Heights Alliance. There, they were greeted by the Hero Cementoss.
"Hello there, Class, 1-A. My name is Cementoss and I will be your Modern Literature teacher this year. Today, I will be showing you around your new living space." He then led them into the building and the tour commenced. Class 1-A marvelled as they stepped inside the large living space.
"This is a common area with the communal kitchen. Down the hall are the communal laundry and bathrooms. Starting from the second to the fifth floor are the dorm rooms. On the right are the female dorms and the male dorms are on the left. Each room contains your own air conditioning, toilet, fridge and balcony as well as the obvious such as beds and closets. We have already taken the liberty to move your belongings into assigned rooms. I will now hand each of you your keys and allow you to get settled. Welcome to U.A and I hope you enjoy your time here on your journey to become Pro Heroes."
With that, Cementoss handed out the keys, and the students dispersed. The more social members of the class such as Hagakure, Uraraka, Ashido, Kirishima and Kaminari remained in the common area to get to know their new classmates. Others such as Tokoyami, Shoji, Koda and Todoroki set off to their rooms to unpack their belongings or simply have some personal alone time.
As Izuku was about to set off to his room, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. He turned around a saw Bakugo standing there. He was frowning but not necessarily angry.
As he pointed a thumb towards the door, he spoke in a low voice.
"Oi. We're gonna talk. Now."
Izuku sighed. He couldn't deny the boy as he had promised him a conversation on the day of the exam. This was it. Izuku nodded and the two exited the building. Some of their classmates eyed them as they walked out, however, none looked as concerned as Melissa.
Excusing herself from her conversation with Uraraka, Melissa followed the two. She knew it was a private matter between them, but she couldn't help but worry for them both. She had to follow to make sure that nothing went south.
Izuku and Bakugo were walking in silence for some way, neither of them starting the conversation. Honestly, this wasn't what Izuku expected. From what he had seen from the boy so far, his brash and crude personality would have suggested he would have started shouting at the soonest opportunity. But no, Bakugo just continued to walk in front of him, which made Izuku slightly nervous. Deciding to break the silence, Izuku spoke up.
"So what did you want to talk abou-" Izuku started.
"What happened." Bakugo interrupted Izuku without facing him.
"What do you mean?" Izuku questioned.
Bakugo turned and narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"Cut the crap Deku. What happened to you four years ago? Where did you go? Why can't you remember anything?"
Izuku looked down.
"I-I can't say-" He replied quietly.
"You can't say?! Damnit Deku, I thought you were dead! We all did! Your mom's dead as well, did you know that? Yet you're here acting as if nothing happened! Do you know what the hell I've been through these last four years huh?!" Bakugo's rant was full of emotion.
Izuku stared at the boy in shock. The boy in front of him was clearly hurting. This whole time he thought he had no family or friends out there. Right in front of him, however, was a person to whom his disappearance had clearly caused major distress.
Izuku started to reply carefully, "I do know my mom died…someone told me a while back…it hurts yes…but with me getting amnesia…all my emotions connected to my first 14 years of life are just not there… So no…I don't know what I've put you through Bakugo…"
Bakugo flinched as Izuku addressed him by his name, rather than his nickname 'Kacchan'. He was further taken aback when Izuku looked him directly in the eyes and spoke.
"So, help me to understand, so that I can make things right."
This response reignited Bakugo's anger somewhat.
"There you go again! On your righteous bullshit! You're even worse than when you were quirkless damnit! Furthermore, where the hell did this new power of yours come from huh? Last time I checked, quirks don't come in after mysteriously disappearing at 14 years old." This time, Bakugo's voice was full of suspicion.
"I can't say anything on that either…I made a promise" Izuku trailed off nervously once more.
Bakugo scoffed "You made a promise? So, you're keeping secrets now huh? Why am I not surprised Deku…" He could tell that Izuku would not concede on this and reluctantly decided to not push the issue any further.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Izuku asked bluntly.
"Huh?" Bakugo blinked in surprise at Izuku's tone.
"Deku. You keep calling me that. Why?" Izuku asked once more.
"It's what I used to call you growing up…It's a play on your name…It means useless…" This time, it was Bakugo's turn for his voice to trail off as he spoke.
Izuku furrowed his brow, "Useless?" He asked, indicating that Bakugo should elaborate.
"Yeah…That gets me on to why I brought you out here. When we were younger…You being quirkless and wanting to be a hero used to piss me off. So, since we were 4 years old…I bullied you…Tried to make you quit that dream. You never did. The more I pushed you around and shoved you down, the more you wanted to become a hero…The more you kept following me with that look in your eyes...No matter how much praise I received for my quirk when we were younger...You were the one that always tried to keep up despite me convincing myself that you had no right to…It was because I knew deep down…even without a quirk…You were better than me...If you had been there on that day...I know you would have rushed into that burning building to try and save me...You wouldn't have stood there helplessly...Uselessly...I wish it didn't take me thinking you died for me to realise that. For that De- no…Izuku…I'm sorry." Bakugo sincerely apologised and looked down in shame.
"Thank you, Bak-Katsuki. This amnesia stuff has been really tough on me I'll be honest. Trying to figure out where I came from, what happened and where I fit into this world...It's been a lot to take in...But regardless of our past… None of that matters to me anymore. I'm just glad that now I get to know the you of the present. Besides I can see why I would follow you! Your skill level with your quirk is off the charts! Honestly, I wish I could have written it down…" Izuku's innocence and forgiving nature caused Katsuki to look back up and somewhat smile for the first time.
"You did. You had a whole damn notebook dedicated to my quirk. It was actually the first one you wrote," Katsuki looked to the side as he responded.
Izuku rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "You know about my notebooks? Well, that's embarrassing, those are kind of my secret hobby." Izuku replied sheepishly.
"Heh, back then you wouldn't hesitate to bring it out, no matter where you were. You would start muttering about quirks and heroes…You've really changed…But yet…You're still the same." Katsuki responded thoughtfully.
Izuku let out a small laugh, "Yeah, amnesia will do that to you. But funnily enough, it just makes me appreciate everything that's happening now even more. Almost like a fresh start, I guess." He looked up at the sky in deep thought after responding.
Katsuki nodded before a familiar smirk overtook his face, and the fire in his eyes reignited.
"Don't get cocky though. You might not remember so I'm gonna remind you. I'm gonna be the Number 1 Hero in this country. You might have gotten a one-up on the exam and the test today, but before you know it, I will surpass you. So, if you can't keep up then you better stay outta my way!" Katsuki's palms popped slightly as he spoke.
Izuku recognised the challenge in Katsuki's voice and grinned before responding.
"Oh yeah? I think you'll find that I'm not so easy to shake off."
"Ya damn Nerd! Tell me something I don't already know!"
Behind a tree, listening to the conversation, Melissa couldn't help but smile. One had gained closure of their past, the other had gained the friend he so desperately needed. Both, however, would discover and push each other to new heights. She had to make sure to work just as hard not to get left behind.
Reviews
SonicMax: Yep, decided to go for that route. It will help with certain things I want to introduce, but I don't want to change the characters too much...yet...
Avexed Author: Thanks, I went back and corrected it :)
joeyginise: More is here :)
A/N: There was a ittle delay with this chapter but it's here. Feel free to fav, follow and review.
