Ch. 3 First Day
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"190, 191," Lee grunted out as he tried to keep his balance on the balance board. Guy-sensei had upped his training to another level, so he now did pistol squats on a balance board to train his strength, endurance, and balance. Sweat dripped down his forehead and splattered against the board, but Lee was too focused to wipe his forehead.
"192, 193," He breathed out. He preferred exercising to sitting around waiting for his letter from U.A. It was too nerve-wracking, and regardless of the decision, Lee needed to burn off that excess energy in a productive way.
"LEE!"
The loud noise shattered Lee's delicate balance, and his foot slipped. He hit the dojo floor with a soft grunt and groaned as he tried to catch his breath. From his position on the floor, he saw Guy-sensei walk smiling brighter than the sun with an envelope in his hands. Lee didn't need to guess; he knew exactly what that was.
Lee slowly got up, eyes glued to the envelope that held his fate.
Guy smiled amusingly at his protege and said, "Why don't you open it up, Lee? See what your future has in store for you," He told him and offered the envelope to his student.
Lee ripped the envelope open to find...a weird device thing. He held it in his hand to examine it. What was it?
Suddenly the device in his hand lit up, and a "Hello!" Rang out from it. Lee almost dropped the device, now projecting an image of a...mouse? No, wait. That was the principle, right?
"I am the U.A. Principal, Nezu, and this is a prerecorded message for Rock Lee. If that is who is hearing this, great! If not, please find him because this is important," Principal Nezu said.
He was Rock Lee, yes. Lee didn't utter a word, too transfixed in listening. He knew what was at stake. Moment of truth time.
"As you may know, a minimum of 60 'villain' points is required to be accepted into the Hero course. After the scores were tallied, you, Rock Lee, earned 39 'villain' points, making you close, but not close enough for U.A. standards. I am sorry," the principal apologized.
Silence. Lee couldn't even hear his heartbeat. He hadn't gotten enough points. He rapidly racked his memory for any other chances he could've taken to get more points, but Lee came up with nothing. If he had disregarded helping out the Satou guy and Mina, he might have been able to find more robots, but that thought felt icky. He couldn't not help them. That's what heroing was all about, or at least he thought so.
A hand landed heavily on his shoulder and shook Lee out of his thoughts. Lee looked up at his mentor through watery eyes.
"I didn't make it, Guy-sensei," Lee murmured.
"The message isn't over, Lee," Guy-sensei pointed out, and Lee turned his head back to the projected image of Nezu that still stood there. Why was he still here? Shouldn't the message be over?
"About 45 seconds have passed, enough time for things to grow suitably dramatic for you and whoever is viewing this along with you. Yet, I am still here. Wipe those tears, Rock Lee, because due to your heroic actions aiding and rescuing two other examines, you earned 45 'rescue' points. This makes your grand total score for the U.A. entrance exam 84, more than enough to be accepted into this year's cohort of students and, more importantly, hero hopefuls. That is more than enough to get you into U.A. Academy. We hope to see you in the coming semester. Welcome to your hero academia, Rock Lee!" Nezu finished with a small smile.
Lee couldn't breathe. He couldn't think straight. He looked at the device that had shut off and waited for the other shoe to drop. Lee waited for the principal to return and tell him it was all a big joke or prank. 84 points? Was he getting into U.A. after so long? He couldn't believe it!
Guy-Sensei gathered his student into his arms. Lee latched onto his teacher almost desperately and cried into his shoulder tears of joy and relief.
"You did it, Lee!"
"I did it, Guy-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Guy-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Guy-sensei!"
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Lee nervously pulled at his uniform tie. He was used to wearing uniforms, but he doubted he'd ever like ties. He stopped himself from fiddling with it further. Lee didn't want to appear like some ruffian or hoodlum on his first day; he wanted to make the best impression he could.
Lee breathed in and out deeply and pushed open the door. He entered a loud, chatty space with teens of all shapes and sizes. Slowly he took in the scene before him. There was a boy with reptilian features, two girls with long green hair, a boy with silver hair with extra something around his eyes, and so many youthful-looking people that Lee was excited to meet. These were the people he'd spend the next four years getting to know, and he couldn't wait!
"Hiya!" A girl with orange slid in front of him. Her teal eyes seemed to twinkle as she waved. "I'm Itsuka Kendo but you can call me Itsuka. Welcome to 1-B."
"Hello, Itsuka," Lee waved back and smiled his best smile. The one Guy-sensei had him practice in the mirror. "I'm Rock Lee, but you may call me Lee."
Itsuka's cheeks reddened, and her expression widened a little. Huh, he'd have to ask Guy-sensei about this reaction to the 'Handsome Devil' smile. Lee had only used it on old ladies when he helped them across the street or with their groceries, so he wasn't sure what to make of Itsuka's reaction.
"Aaand, that's my cue," Another girl popped up beside the wide-eyed Itsuka. Her hair was green like seaweed, and her smile felt like Lee would get in trouble just being near it. "I'm Setsuna Tokage, but you can call me Setsuna. I'm fish face's friend."
The girl nudged Itsuka, which brought the orange-haired girl back from wherever her mind went.
"Y-yes, friend I am," Itsuka said.
Lee chuckled while Setsuna face-palmed.
"Oi! New kid, how strong are you?"
Lee turned from the two girls, who had devolved into a staring contest with weird eyebrow movements and hand gestures. He looked up the rows of seats and found a guy with messy grey hair and extra cartilage around his eyes.
"Me?" Lee pointed to himself.
"Yes, you," the boy said like it was obvious. "How strong are you? You don't look that strong."
What was that supposed to mean?
"Tetsutetsu," another brown-haired boy with oval-shaped eyes spoke beside him. "Please don't start a fight again on the first day of school. I don't want to have to deal with that."
"You're just lazy, Tsuburaba," The grey-haired one, Tetsutetsu, asked. "A good fight first thing in the morning is a great way to start the day."
"You make it sound more important than breakfast."
"Because it is!"
"You know, studies say that fighting on an empty stomach leads to sub-optimal performance," another student, this one hairier than Lee had ever seen, pushed his glasses up. "Breakfast is, as they say, the most important meal of the day."
"You just made that up," Tetsutetsu said. "It rhymed and everything."
"I thought it was pretty catchy," Tsuburaba chimed in.
"Of course, you would."
So preoccupied with watching the spectacle of the two friends arguing over breakfast, Lee didn't notice the door sliding open behind him until it was too late.
"I think," A deep voice began, "it is time for class to begin."
Lee turned around and gasped along with the rest of the class.
The tall, muscled man looked at them from behind a stony, intimidating scowl. Lee was in awe. It was Vlad King! Right here in front of him! In the flesh! Yosh, how youthful!
"Please, everyone," the Pro-hero and apparently their new sensei said. "take your seats if you haven't already."
Lee couldn't have seated himself quicker. He sat next to Setsuna in the same row as Tetsutetsu while Itsuka sat closer to the front of the class.
The class was quiet as their sensei took his spot in front of the class. There was no desk to lean on, so he stood with his arms crossed across his enormous chest.
"Good morning, class. You may call me Kan-sensei or Vlad-sensei, and I will be your teacher for the duration of your first year here in the Heroics Department of U.A.," He said. "Does anyone have any questions?"
Itsuka raised her hand, and Vlad-sensei angled his head in her direction, calling on her.
"Are we going to go around and introduce ourselves, Kan-sensei?" She asked. "We did on the first day in my old school, so I was just wondering."
"We could," the man said. "Or we could start with the activity we have to do today."
"Activity!" Tetsutetsu blurted out. "Sensei, we should...uhm..."
The reason for Tetsutetsu quieting down was obvious. The stare Vlad-sensei leveled his way was so heavy even Tetsu couldn't stand up to it.
"Blurting out in class instead of raising your hand is not acceptable," sensei's red eyes roved across the classroom. "Let that be your first lesson. With that, here's how things will go now: I will take attendance, we will briefly go over my classroom expectations, and afterward, we will proceed with our activity for the day. If we can get through everything quickly, we will be on the field in no time. Any other questions?"
There were none this time around, so Vlad-sensei got started with the attendance. Lee matched a face with every name called just like everybody else. He probably wouldn't remember much of them because this was only the first day, but he'd get more familiar as time passed.
Sensei's classroom expectations weren't anything Lee hadn't already heard before, either. It all boiled down to being respectful, responsible, and safe. That meant no quirk usage in class without permission. Ultimately, it all went by fast, and Vlad-sensei led them out of the class to the locker rooms to change out.
Lee looked around as he stood with his classmates out on the practice field in their U.A.-provided fitness clothes. It looked like a countryside backyard but super-sized with painted white lines around it that helped indicate boundaries like a sports stadium.
"Hey, the stripes spell out U.A. That's pretty neat, actually," Another student, Sen Kaibara, said to nobody in particular.
Lee looked down; sure enough, he could make out the white U.A. on the blue front going down the legs. That was pretty neat.
Lee looked around, not feeling as nervous as he was to start the day. Outside, doing something active was where he was the most comfortable. In an open yard, everyone was scattered, some talking in groups, while others stood by themselves looking around the field.
Heavy approaching steps broke him from his thoughts, and he looked to find their sensei, Vlad King, walking towards the group. Lee stopped looking around and focused on his new teacher. Vlad walked their way, back straight and shoulders squared, and gripped in one of his large hands was an orange bucket filled with what looked like baseballs. With his long legs, he took a few steps to take his place in front of the assembled students. There, he wasted no time getting things started.
"Today, we will be conducting a series of Quirk Comprehension Tests to better understand what you all can do," he rumbled. "These tests are like the ones you took in middle school, but here you will show me what you can do."
He dropped the bucket, letting it crack against the ground. Vlad reached down, picked up a baseball, which looked more like a golf ball, in his giant hand, and tossed it up and down a few times.
"Any volunteers to get us started?" He asked the class.
Quickly, a hand went up in response.
"Oi!" A rough voice spoke up from the crowd of students. "I'll go first and set the bar for everyone to reach!" Tetsutetsu proclaimed.
Vlad nodded once before tossing the baseball to him. "Then set the bar, Tetsutetsu. The exercise is simple; you've done it before. Throw the ball as far as you can, and do not hold back," he told him.
Tetsutetsu nodded, his brow set in a firm line, and prepared to throw the ball as Vlad-sensei stepped away to give him space. A silence settled over the group as Tetsutetsu got ready to throw.
Lee leaned forward in anticipation. Tetsutetsu's arms seemed to start to glint under the sun-wait what was happening? Lee squinted a little and almost gasped. There seemed to be something growing along his arm? The whatever-it-was spread all over his exposed skin until Tetsutetsu's whole body was covered, and he glinted under the sun.
Tetsutetsu cranked his arm back, gritted his teeth, planted his front foot, and launched the ball from his hand.
"ORA!" Tetsutetsu screamed. The ball was catapulted from his hand into the air like it was shot from a cannon. It blitzed through the air until it was only a dot in the sky that Lee could barely see.
Wow, a stupefied Lee thought to himself, what strength!
Tetsutetsu relaxed and rotated his shoulder a few times before settling down with a wide, sharp grin. The glint he gained had gone, and his regular pale skin tone had returned. He turned to their sensei, who had a weird device pointed in the direction Tetsutetsu threw the ball. The machine beeped a few times, and large red numbers blinked on the screen.
Vlad flipped the device around to show Tetsutetsu and the class his score. 310.58 meters shone on the device in blocky red numbers.
"Oh, yeah!" Tetsutetsu howled into the sky and threw his arms up in exuberance.
Vlad-sensei flipped the device back around and clicked a button to make the red numbers disappear. He turned to the class and gave Tetsutetsu a look that made him quickly tuck his arms back down. It did little to wipe off his satisfied smirk, though.
"You earned your spot here, but now it is up to you to make sure you keep it," Vlad-sensei began intensely. His sharp eyes roamed across the class, looking at each student intently-pressing down upon them the real purpose of these tests. "During these tests, I want you to challenge yourself to do more than your absolute best and give more than 100%. I want you to go further beyond. Go Plus Ultra," he finished resolutely.
Lee felt his heartbeat loudly in his chest and clenched his fists determinately. Vlad-sensei was right. He had earned his spot here just like everyone with a Quirk and was intent on keeping it. Lee would become a wonderful hero without a Quirk and show the world what hard work can do!
Lee took a deep breath and stood a little straighter. He squared his shoulders, and his resolve within himself grew. He could do this!
Around him, he could see and hear some of his classmates stand a little more confident. Lee couldn't keep the grin from worming its way across his face. Time to start becoming the heroes of tomorrow.
After, Tetsutetsu's incredible display of strength, Vlad-sensei moved them to a different area for testing. This time they were at what looked like a butchered track. It was only the straightaway part of the track, with the other lanes bordered by the same white paint from before.
Vlad-sensei gestured to the track, "Here, you will be running in a 50-meter dash. You will be running in groups of 5, with each person having their own lane to run in," he explained. "Find a lane and line up. Should be four to each lane," He explained to them in his rumbly voice.
Quickly, everyone found a spot. Lee found himself second behind a girl with horns and hooves for feet. Vlad-sensei stood on the right of the lanes, record-keeping device firmly in hand, and made a move-back motion with his hand.
"Give the person in front of you a lot of space. Those in front go on my signal, so stretch if you have not started. After you finish, come to me, and I shall give you your time," he explained to them.
On Vlad-sensei's signal, things started. Throughout the tests, Lee found himself both proud and disheartened. He was doing good. Always the middle of the pack due to all the physical conditioning Guy-sensei had him do. He never came in last, which was great, but the gaps between him and those above him were...vast.
His 50-yard dash time was great, a 4.87. He was just behind two students, one of them being Pony. Grip strength, those with strength-enhancing Quirks, like Tetsutetsu's, which he learned covered him in steel, were at the top of that assessment. Also, Itsuka, whose Quirk enlarged her hands, got a comparable score.
Lee was close to clearing the sandbox in the long jump but missed by a few inches. He'd work on his leg strength after that realization. With the repeating side jumps, Lee went as fast as possible and got a good score. He'd gotten a better score than he did the first time he took it, which was a great sign.
Finally, they circled back to the softball throw, where the scores were everywhere. Using your Quirk to supplement something like throwing a ball was simple enough. A girl used her vine-like hair; Lee wasn't sure if they were vines or long, green strands of hair to throw the ball. Another boy used his breath to propel the ball into the air, and one other boy rotated his hands like drills and shot the ball as far as he could. Lee threw the ball as far as possible and only got 130.5 meters. In the end, he wasn't as behind as he thought he'd be from the rest of his peers. That told him he belonged here just like they did.
Vlad-sensei rounded them up together to speak to them at the end.
"You all did well today. You did your best, and that is all anyone can ask of you," Vlad-sensei began. "I asked you to go Plus Ultra, which you did. Keep your scores in the back of your mind from this day forward because the only way from here is up as you get better and better and become the heroes you're meant to be. Get changed. We're done for the day. Nice job, 1-B."
With that, Vlad-sensei led them back inside to get changed. After getting changed, they grabbed their things from the classroom, some people mingling with each other as they walked out to their next class.
"Hey, Lee, wait up," He heard Itsuka call him out, and Lee stopped. She and Setsuna were coming his way. Did he forget something? Or they needed him for something?
"Hello, Itsuka, Setsuna," He greeted them. "Nice job today in class. Your Quirks are very impressive and unique."
Setsuna threw an arm around Itsuka's shoulder. "Ah, thanks, buddy. You didn't do too bad yourself."
"What'd you think of our first lesson?" Itsuka asked him. " Vlad-sensei is a little intimidating, no?"
"Only a little," Lee admitted. "He is very different from any teacher I"ve had so far."
"Oh?" Setsuna snorted as the trio walked to class. "Where did you go to school?"
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AN: With the first three chapters out of the way, you can expect chapter lengths to increase. This is due to more action sequences, more characterization, etc. If you didn't already have an idea, I won't be following the MHA plot-line step for step. Lee isn't Midoriya, and 1-B doesn't face the same stuff as 1-A. With that being said, this is where the 'real' deviations from the V1 will really start to be noticeable if you haven't noticed some already.
Till next time!