3: The Number one / The First place.
When Izuku arrived home, he felt something that he had overlooked, but you had to excuse him as excitement and nervousness had flooded his mind, and it wasn't until he was in the safety of his room that he could pay attention.
His skin was warm, not like warm from a sunny day, but rather warm like after spending a time in hot springs.
He didn't radiate heat or sweat, it just felt warm to the touch.
It wasn't uncomfortable or painful, his skin wasn't red or anything.
He wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't changed clothes, but when he felt his body and his clothes, he noticed it. His clothes were warm to the touch, just like his skin, not too much, but it was noticeable.
It was strange, was it some kind of aura feature or something else?
How mysterious, aura was even more incredible than his teacher had portrayed in his notebook.
Speaking of his notebook.
Izuku examined the notebook more thoroughly, and it became apparent that his teacher had some kind of fascination with hidden messages. In the morning, due to lack of time and nervousness for the exam, he hadn't been able to notice it, but throughout the pages, there were hidden messages with increasing complexity, specifically written for Izuku to try and decipher.
Deciphering them all would take some time, at least several days of intense concentration.
What had his teacher hidden?
not For the first time, Izuku found himself without answers to the strangeness of his teacher.
Who was he? Where had he come from? What did he mean by 'this world,' and how did he disappear into thin air like that?
How had he given powers!?
There were too many questions and few answers, and Izuku had the feeling that he wouldn't get those answers anytime soon.
For now, he decided to focus on his own life.
"It should have passed, right? No, I surely passed!" Izuku didn't want to sound arrogant or too confident, but even he had to admit that his performance in the physical test was quite decent.
And if the written exam was any indication, he should have passed in that aspect as well.
So, he shouldn't worry, right? Everything should turn out fine, he would surely become a hero.
He had to believe in himself, as his teacher had said!
Then why was he still so nervous? Why were his hands still trembling, and why was he pacing in circles in his room?
"Damn it!" Not wanting to stay idle, Izuku decided to go to the gym that had been his second home in everything but name.
The private gym that his teacher had built for him.
"I really owe him a lot, huh..."
Getting there was quick, and entering was easy; he had the keys.
Looking at the exercise equipment, he decided to follow his usual routine. He started with a warm-up and weightlifting.
After warming up, Izuku took a pair of 20-kilogram weights.
"Huh?" With some dismay, he realized that the weights felt... light?
Super light, like holding boxes filled with air.
Izuku tossed one of the weights into the air with a simple flick of his wrist and watched as it soared almost hitting the ceiling before coming back down, easily caught by him.
Perhaps his usual routine wouldn't be useful now...
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Day after day, the anxiety of waiting gnawed at Izuku's mind. He tried everything he could to calm himself, pushing his exercise to new extremes now that he possessed aura.
It was truly challenging for him to get tired now. There weren't enough weights in the gym to make the exercise meaningful, and the same went for any other training.
Of course, there were weights and special equipment for people with super strength Quirks or similar abilities, but that equipment was expensive, and Izuku wasn't exactly the wealthiest.
Trying to decipher his teacher's hidden messages didn't help either. He was too nervous and made silly mistakes in the process.
So far, he had only deciphered what seemed to be half of a blueprint for a strange weapon and an incomplete chemical composition for something called 'Fire Dust.'
Which didn't help much since he had no idea what this was or why he needed to decipher it and how it would be useful to him.
And so, the week flew by.
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"Izuku, it's here!" His mother's shout made Izuku jump, almost hitting his head on the ceiling.
His heart started pounding, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. It was time! The moment of truth!
With nervousness only surpassed by his own mother, Izuku took the letter and went to his room.
This letter, would it validate all his dreams, efforts, and hopes? Or was failure his destiny?
At this moment, he couldn't help but remember a certain conversation he had with his teacher.
"Abandon your fear Izuku!. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate"
"Sensei, why do I feel like that line is from an anime?"
"Nonsense! It's completely original! The point is, you mustn't fear. Whatever happens, whether it's good or bad, you must face it head-on. Don't waver, don't hesitate, and above all else!"
"- always do it with a smile on your face," Izuku said, finishing the sentence his teacher once told him.
Taking a deep breath, Izuku opened the envelope. He didn't expect a small metal disk to suddenly fall out, and he certainly didn't expect a projection to start out of nowhere.
"I'M HERE! As a projection!"
Suddenly, the air seemed to escape from Izuku's lungs, his eyes widened to their fullest, and for a moment, he thought he had passed out.
The Number One Hero was here.
"Midoriya Izuku, I must say you have completely surprised all the examiners, including myself! Not only did you pass your written test with great success, your performance in the practical exam has been incredibly thrilling to watch! So, it's my pleasure to offer my congratulations!" All Might looked as incredible as ever, and his words only made Izuku's excitement grow by leaps and bounds.
"81 points from villains are a great score, but if U.A. only judged based on the amount of harm you can inflict on others, then this wouldn't be a Hero school! For that reason, I'm pleased to inform you that U.A. also employs a different method to tally points!" With that, All Might pointed to a large screen behind him.
Suddenly, Izuku saw himself helping several people during the exam. Truthfully, Izuku hadn't thought much about it. Helping others was so natural to him that these simple acts hadn't crossed his mind as something that could affect his result.
"The heroic spirit within you is incredible, young man! How you helped others even when you didn't need to is admirable! But above all!" With a dramatic pause, the image changed, and Izuku saw himself glowing with a green aura, his blurred figure rushing forward to strike the giant zero-point robot.
"Your ability to give it your all when someone else is in danger is truly the spirit of a Hero!"
Looking at himself on the screen, he only now noticed the huge smile on his face when he saved that girl.
"With 81 villain points and 69 rescue points, you have successfully passed the U.A. Entrance Exam with a total of 150 points! Not only that, thanks to your incredible performance, you have secured The First place among all the examinees this year! You've even broken my record." For the final words, All Might winked at him, and suddenly, Izuku didn't know whether to feel happy or embarrassed about breaking his greatest idol's record.
"But don't worry! Records are meant to be broken, after all! I really look forward to your future performances, young man, and to finish..." All Might cleared his throat.
"NOW! U.A. IS YOUR HERO ACADEMY!"
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There are moments in your life when you know that all your effort, every sacrifice, and every pain have been worth it. Every little thing you did, every moment when you pushed yourself harder than you thought possible, is validated.
For Midoriya Izuku, that moment was now, looking at himself in the mirror with the uniform of Japan's greatest Hero school. He couldn't help but strike a pose...
If anyone else saw him now, rejected by 100 girls or not, Izuku would die of embarrassment.
Truthfully, posing hadn't been his thing until he met his mentor. Somehow, his mentor had passed on the act to him, and although he would never do it in public, doing it in private wouldn't hurt anyone, right?
"Izuku, are you ready yet?!" Of course, his mother had to forget to knock before entering right at this moment.
Embarrassment hit Izuku with the force of a meteor!
"W-W-W-Wait, Mom, it's not what you think!" Trying to explain was futile; his mother didn't listen.
"Y-you look great, Izuku!" Instead, she gave a thumbs-up with a nervous smile. Izuku wondered if it was too late to follow his mentor and disappear from the world.
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"I didn't expect to witness a new record in the exam after All Might."
"Truly, the new generation is getting more intense, don't you think?"
In a U.A. boardroom, the U.A teachers gathered before the official start of the new year.
"And many others failed spectacularly," Aizawa's tired voice chimed in.
"It can't be helped. Where some shine, others are simply overshadowed," Sejiro Kan, also known as Vlad King, commented.
"They're just inadequate. Many barely qualified to get in," the displeasure in Aizawa's voice was evident, causing some of the teachers to sigh.
"The class distribution this year would have been uneven if we followed your advice and excluded all those who barely passed," Nezu, the principal, spoke.
"It would have been fair to those who did make an effort," Aizawa couldn't hide his disappointment.
"We've already discussed this, Aizawa! They all have potential; they just need the right support," Sejiro, the other teacher who would be in charge of one of the classes, couldn't help but argue against Aizawa's opinion.
"Enough of this dispute; the decision has already been made. They are now our students, and we will ensure that they gain the skills to go from being 'barely passable' to becoming full-fledged heroes. That's what this school is for, isn't it?" Ectoplasm interrupted, tired of Aizawa and Sejiro's ongoing argument.
"RIGHT! We must give it our all, Shouta!" Hizashi Yamada, also known as the Hero Present Mic, encouraged his old friend.
"I actually think this year will be very interesting! I'm certainly looking forward to it~~~" Those words might have seemed like those of an enthusiastic teacher if Midnight's face hadn't been flushed, and her tongue licking her lips with anticipation as she gazed at the Firts place on the leaderboard.
The excited heroine suddenly felt an unpleasant gaze directed towards her, and when she looked, she saw Aizawa with narrowed eyes in her direction. She feigned an innocent smile and quickly looked away.
"Alright, it's almost time! Soon we'll have to welcome our new students!" The principal encouraged, his small dark eyes shining with anticipation.
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A twisted mass of energy stirred in the void, there was a sound like ripping fabric, and a fissure opened in the emptiness.
A black hand covered in white bone plates with red lines emerged from the opening. Slowly, a vaguely humanoid figure set its foot on the ground, its head covered by a white bone mask rising towards the sky, deep, rhythmic breathing sounds emanating from where its nose should be.
Behind it, another figure draped in dark garments followed and observed the place with interest.
"So, this is where it was hiding?" Their voice was strange, as if it had a faint echo effect, it lacked gender, and no emotion could be discerned in it.
The first figure nodded, their voice somewhat broken, as if struggling to form words.
"I smell... its soul..."
The hooded figure nodded. "Where?" There was a silence before the first figure shook its head.
"Everywhere..."
"Everywhere? So, you don't have a clear direction? That complicates things." With deep thoughts, the hooded figure placed their hand on the humanoid creature, causing its body to contort. The sound of bones crunching was evident, and in a short time, the creature's form had changed. Now, its body resembled more that of a hunting dog, if a hunting dog were over two meters tall and covered in white bone armor.
"How about this? Can you smell it better?" The dog lifted its nose and began to sniff, soon its body started to move in a general direction, albeit very slowly.
The hooded figure followed shortly after, the rift between worlds behind their back closing as if it had never existed. With each step they took, the ground under their feet darkened as if a stain of darkness was contaminating the world with each of their steps.
From the footprint trail, black smoke floated, the dark material bubbled, and suddenly, small bird-like beings shot into the sky, their faces adorned with the same white bone mask.
"No matter where you run, no matter how far you think you've gone, I will find you and destroy everything you love and cherish. The Grimm never forgets, you should know that, Dan."
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"Note:
A slightly shorter and less exciting chapter, but necessary!
I must thank all the support this story has received on its original site, QQ (QuestionableQuesting). I truly didn't expect the great reception it had with just two chapters. It makes me a bit nervous, to be honest, hahaha.
As I mentioned in Chapter 1, I wrote this in a burst of inspiration that hit me while I was trying to sleep. The initial idea was only, 'What if Izuku has aura?' From there, my head filled with thoughts about it, like how to achieve it and other things that I now have to organize to translate into an exciting story!
I truly intend for this to be a fun story (even though my sense of humor stinks). I don't want it to be intense or too serious or dark, so please read this to relax or just pass the time."
Of course, this originated on QQ, so anyone familiar with it knows what to expect from a story that comes from there. Naturally, on any other site where I upload this, I'll make sure to only post what's appropriate. I don't want to get banned from anywhere!
If you're not comfortable with such things, then I won't blame you for stopping following the story. I'll simply thank you for giving the first chapters a chance.