I'm alive-melissa moon

Ever since Keiko was young she knew she was special.

"Bless you! Oh, bless your heart! You are a gift from God!" an elderly woman said grasping her hands having saved her husband from a heart attack.

"If it weren't for you that girl would have died." a paramedic once told her after she had saved her classmate from a bad seizure.

"It's a miracle!"

"Impossible! There's no cure!"

"Your daughter can save so many lives with her power!"

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"You have a precious gift"

"She saved my life!"

"You'll make a great Hero."

Keiko received no end in gratitude and admiration growing up. She took pride in her quirk. To be able to cure any physical ailment with just a touch of her hand. It was truly a praiseworthy quirk to have. People would often say that such a selfless quirk would make her a perfect hero.

Keiko would never forget the first time her quirk showed itself.

10 years ago

Keiko 4 Years Old

Keiko loved watching Sailor Moon. Her Mom had bought the full box DVD set and would only let her watch it in Japanese in an effort to help her learn the language. Keiko loved the anime for all its magic, friendship, and most of all, for being one of the only shows that showcased female empowerment.

"For love and justice! In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!" the sailor figure on TV shouted.

Little Keiko fervently watched the anime, and as she did she came to hope like all children around the world that she would one day get her superpowers and become a hero too.

"Keiko honey! Time for school! Turn off that TV and get in the car!" her Dad shouted as he scrambled to find his keys. Her mother in the past was often not present in the mornings because of auditions.

The drive with her father to her kindergarten was uneventful as always, it wasn't until Keiko got dropped off and got to class that she noticed something different. There was someone new.

There was a new girl in their class and that girl stood out like a sore thumb because she was in something Keiko and the other kids had never seen before in their lives.

She was in a wheelchair.

Her classmates were already in their friend groups that they had formed at the beginning of the year and were doing small activities their homeroom teacher had set up beforehand to keep them occupied.

Everyone stared at the new girl and kept their distance from her, perturbed by the sight that was her wheelchair. No one approached her or made an offer for her to join their friend group. The girl herself was secluded in a corner away from the other kids. Keiko could see that she was drawing in a coloring book that was in her lap with a black crayon. The new girl smashed it around the page she was working on while not looking up from her lap while pointedly ignoring the stares and whispers she was receiving from the others.

Keiko sitting at her assigned table ended up playing with some playdough while her tablemates were building something with Legos.

"Who's that girl?" Keiko asked them.

"Don't know, but she's weird" one of the boys said.

"I saw before gave her that blanket, her legs looked messed up!" one of the other boys spoke up.

"Ewwww, what's wrong with her." a girl who she knew to be Maggie stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"She looks mean." Imani across from her added while playing with a Lego figure.

Keiko hummed in response and continued with her clay monkey. She too thought the new girl looked very strange.

But maybe it was because Keiko felt particularly brave that day or she ate something weird but Keiko decided to leave her table and approach the girl.

"Rachel? Where are you going?" Maggie called out her American name.

Keiko ignored her and continued walking on until she was right in front of the new girl.

"Hay! What's wrong with your legs?" Keiko directly asked the girl in the most insensitive tone that only kids her age could do.

A bomb might as well have gone off in the whole classroom because everyone went silent as they chose to drop what they were doing in exchange for eavesdropping on their conversation.

The girl in the wheelchair halted drawing with the black crayon she had fisted in her hand. Keiko could see now the girl had failed to color in the lines of what was supposed to be a mermaid stencil. Instead, it seemed the girl had drawn a giant black hole in the middle of the page.

The girl still hadn't answered her question. Keiko opened her mouth about to shout her question thinking perhaps the girl didn't hear her when suddenly, a hand covered her mouth. Mrs. Smith who had been talking to another teacher had heard her insensitive question had come over and used her hand to cover Keiko's mouth before she could probe the new girl more.

"Rachel dear it's not nice to ask that," Mrs. Smith said while frowning at Keiko.

Keiko moved her mouth away from the hand covering her mouth. "What's wrong with her? Why is she sitting weird?!" Keiko asked her questions unfiltered not understanding why it wasn't nice to ask.

Mrs. Smith sighed at Keiko before addressing her question. The new girl still hadn't lifted up her head from her drawing her bangs seemingly casting a shadow over her eyes.

"Rachel, Cassie here is a special needs student. She was recently in a terrible car accident and can't walk anymore, which is why she's in a wheelchair. I expect you and the others to treat her with respect. Treat her like how you would want others to treat you," Mrs. Smith said while emphasizing her last statement. "I expect the same from everyone else!" this time she addressed Keiko's other classmates who were still staring.

"Yes, Mrs. Smith" everyone chorused.

Keiko was confused as she processed what her teacher was telling her. Special needs? Can't walk? Keiko was still too young to understand what those words meant on a deep level. Especially what they meant to Cassie.

Such words would stick with the wheelchair-bound girl for the rest of her life the adults knew, but four-year-old Keiko didn't understand how someone didn't know how to walk and how a car accident was related to that fact.

Mrs. Smith went back to talking to the teacher she had been previously talking to before leaving Keiko as the new girl alone once more. The rest of her classmates resumed their conversations and activities now ignoring the spectacle Keiko had made.

"Hey do you want to play with me during rece-"

"Stay the fuck away from me" the girl who she now knew as Cassie snapped at her.

Keiko balked at her tone, shocked to hear the girl curse at her. "Hey don't be mean to Rachel!" Maggie shouted from their table at Cassie having overheard.

"Rachel just ignore her. Come on, help us build our castle!" Imani sneered in Cassie's direction before gesturing to the unfinished Lego piece on their table.

"Um ok…" Keiko said uncertainly. Cassie at this point continued to draw in her coloring book with the same black crayon clenched in her hand not even acknowledging them.

Keiko walked back to her table and helped her friends add Legos to make their castle taller. The whole time she was playing with her friends however, Keiko couldn't help but glance back at the new girl from time to time.

Even though she had scared Keiko away, Keiko couldn't help but notice while glancing at Cassie-

Despite her face being dry, it looked like she was crying.

ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭*✩‧₊✩

When Keiko went home she told her dad about the new girl and asked him why Cassie couldn't walk. After all, whenever she was hurt or sick she always felt better after her parents kissed her pain away.

Her Dad had knelt to her level and with what Keiko thought was a solemn face told her "Keiko, there are things in this world that not even doctors can't fix. Only Miracles". His hands which were now on her shoulders felt heavy when he told her this.

"What's a miracle?" Keiko asked curiously not familiar with the word.

"When the impossible happens." he told her gently.

"Mommy says nothing is impossible if I put my mind to it!" She said defiantly with a pout. Her father chuckled at her expression.

"By living your life as if nothing is impossible you can challenge your limitations and break glass ceilings. I believe anyone has the potential to do incredible things but Keiko…" her father trailed off as he brought her into his chest for a hug "Living your life as if nothing is impossible is unrealistic even in this world of quirks. You will end up slamming yourself against the cold wall of reality an infinite amount of times because many things in this world ARE impossible…" Keiko found herself listening intently to her father who was now uncharacteristically serious.

"When that time comes Keiko, you must choose to take hold of what you can control and let go of what you cannot." he finished with a pat on her head.

Keiko was confused by some of the words her father used but thought she understood what her father was trying to say.

Her father finished his lecture by telling her how she should be kind and considerate of Cassie's situation and make friends with her since she probably felt lonely. When he was done, Keiko found herself sitting in front of the TV in the living room watching Sailor Moon while her father prepared dinner.

"There's no such thing as love Koan! Why didn't I see it sooner?" a silver-haired woman on the TV spat at her sister starting a blizzard with her ice powers, "Friendship? Loyalty? I was such a fool!"

"No Bertie you're wrong!" her sister cried "Bertie I know what it feels like to think you are completely alone in this world! The Sailor Scouts taught me what true friendship is about, we never have to be alone! Not as long as we love one another!" the storm suddenly stopped.

The beautiful woman's gaze turned downcast as she received her sister's words tears gleaming in her eyes.

"But could I ever be able to feel love like that?" her tone was hopeful.

"Now Sailor Moon!" one of the Sailor Scouts cried seeing an opportunity.

"Moon Crystal Healing Activation!" using the silver crystal in her compact, Sailor Moon used her powers to bring forth a healing light that enveloped the sisters. Their injuries were healed and the dark magic within Bertie became cleansed with a bright pink light.

The sisters in the end embraced each other, happy to be together once more…

The episode ended by showing how the sisters became good. They left their life of villainy and turned a new leaf with each other's support and the help of the sailor scouts.

Watching the ending credits, Keiko made a silent wish to herself. That one day she too could also have a magical crystal that could heal the people she loved…

ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭*✩‧₊✩

The next day came and Keiko was once again back at kindergarten. It was recess time and Keiko was taking a break from an intense game of tag with her friends. Keiko sat at one of the many colorful benches that were stationed around the playground taking a break when she noticed at the bench next to her, Cassie was drawing in a sketchbook. Due to her condition, Cassie couldn't play with the other kids and could only watch afar from her wheelchair.

Keiko kicked her legs as she enjoyed the shade on her bench. It was positioned under one of the only trees on the playground. Its massive branches helped block the bright unforgiving sun rays from reaching the duo under them.

Keiko watched idly as Imani chased Maggie, who attempted to dodge by climbing up on the playground before getting on the slide.

Aside from the laughter of their classmates playing around them, Cassie's scribbling from using her coloring pencils filled the silence between the two. She seemed to have been working on the same page for a while now. Cassie's eyes were furrowed as her hands moved with purposeful strokes. Every coloring pencil in the box was out on the disabled girl's lap blunted from overuse.

Keiko found herself wondering what she was drawing so intently and ended up staring at her. She couldn't see what Cassie was working on from her angle

So she asked.

"Hay, what are you drawing?"

Cassie paused in strokes and stared at her coloring book. Keiko waited for her response. As the silence dragged on Keiko started to think the girl wouldn't answer her after all, when at the last moment, they turned their sketchbook towards her. Keiko gasped.

"Is that Sailor Moon?!" Keiko exclaimed with glittering eyes. She recognized the blonde hair with pigtailed buns, the sailor uniform, and sailor moon's infamous trademark pose.

The body was drawn unsymmetrical and eyes unevenly, but Keiko knew without a doubt it was her favorite iconic anime figure. Cassie had overall done a great job drawing the fictional character.

"You know her?" Cassie asked with a hint of surprise.

"Yes!" Keiko moved herself to the other end of the bench to get closer to Cassie's wheelchair "I love Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts! I wish I could get a quirk like their powers one day!" Keiko said dreamly.

"Me too…" Cassie mumbled, laying the sketch pad back into her lap before staring off into space.

"Who's your favorite scout?" Keiko asked excitedly pigtails bobbing on her head.

None of her other friends were familiar with Japanese anime. The anime was a very old show that was released during her grandmother's childhood before quirks had come into existence. Hero shows like Sailor Moon, Batman, Superman, and other productions weren't released anymore as they didn't hold a candle to real live heroes that had emerged over the years. Keiko didn't think anyone outside of Japan her age knew about her favorite show.

"Sailor Jupiter…" Cassie replied seeming to also be surprised to be having this conversation with her.

"Why Jupiter?"

Cassie's face turned pensive, "Because Jupiter is strong, athletic, good at sports, and martial arts. She's not afraid of bullies and she's not afraid to speak her mind…" she trailed off.

"I like Sailor Moon because she fights for her friends and the people she loves! She sees the good in everyone and helps protect those in need. I want to be just like her when I grow up! A hero!" Keiko said in admiration.

"A hero…" Cassie's eyes glazed over looking far into the distance now.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Keiko asked innocuously.

"...I want to be a hero too." Cassie's fists turned white from griping her sketchbook.

"A hero? But…" Keiko's gaze landed on her classmate's legs.

Cassie's face scrunched, upset features now taking over her expression from Keiko's pointed gaze at her legs. Cassie's shoulders started to tremble from being unable to contain her emotions.

"I know, with my body I can't ever be a hero! Not with the way I am, not with my legs…" Cassie started to tear up from her own words unable to finish her sentence.

"Oh- d-don't cry!" Keiko stared wide-eyed now as Cassie started to cry her heart out. The sudden gut-wrenching sorrow that came from her classmate suddenly made Keiko panic, she didn't know what to do in this situation.

"Are you hurt?" Keiko started to flail her arms around the girl unsure of where to touch to comfort her. "Is it your stomach, does it hurt?" she didn't understand what triggered her new friend (?) to cry.

"M-m-y l-legs! They hurt b-but I can't feel a-anything" Cassie stuttered through her tears gasping for breath. The poor girl seemed to have gotten triggered and was unable to stop the sudden torrential of tears despite how much she rubbed her eyes.

"Y-your legs hurt?" Keiko looked down at her classmate's legs which were covered in a blanket.

With only good intentions in her four-year-old heart, Keiko snatched the blanket out of Cassie's lap. Cassie's colored pencils and sketchbook fell onto the grass now long forgotten as Keiko stared at Cassie expectantly thinking they would stop crying now that she removed the object that she thought was causing their pain.

Instead, Cassie started to cry louder at having her blanket removed from her lap! Keiko dropped the blanket on the ground even more panicked now.

"I-t's ok Cassie, it's going to be o-ok," Keiko automatically said the first thing that came to her mind, having remembered her mother saying these same words whenever she was in pain. Keiko also recalled how her mother last week massaged her stomach when Keiko complained of a tummyache and remembered how much better she felt when her mother had.

So before she knew it Keiko had moved her hands onto Cassie's legs and started rubbing her knees in hopes of helping whatever the wheelchair-bound girl was feeling go away.

Cassie's crying was now attracting the attention of the other kids who were starting to create a crowd around them unsure of what Keiko was doing to the poor girl.

And that's when it happened.

In the panic of trying to make Cassie feel better -

While thinking about her Mom and what her Mom would do in this situation -

How Sailor Moon could heal her friends with her magic -

Wishing she could make Cassie's legs feel better-

Wishing she had magic to do that -

A quirk that could do that.

It happened.

A bright blue glittering light emerged from Keiko's hands and onto Cassie's legs.

Keiko's eyes bulged out of her head seeing something had come out of her hands. Keiko's classmates around her gasped having witnessed it as well.

"Rachel! Cassie! What's going on?" Mrs. Smith ran to them in a panic pushing through the crowd of kids to reach them. Their teacher had only just noticed the small crowd forming in the back of the playground and ran over in a panic when she realized something was going on.

"U-um" Keiko quickly removed her hands from Cassie's legs and hid them behind her back feeling like she was in trouble. "Cassie said her legs hurt!" she blurted.

"Cassie, are you okay? What's wrong? Do your legs hurt?" Mrs. Smith was already on her knees looking at Cassie seeing her distressed state.

Cassie however wasn't paying any attention to Keiko or their teacher as she was fussed over. Keiko noticed how Cassie actually had stopped crying and was staring intently at her legs ignoring Mrs. Smith's questions.

"Cassie!" Mrs. Smith shook the girl's shoulders feeling uneasy from how quiet and still the girl had gotten.

"My l-legs," Cassie whispered trembling "… I can feel them." she said in shock, seemingly in disbelief at her own words.

"W-what?"

Cassie looked as confused as Mrs. Smith from the words that just came out of her mouth.

All the kids in her class now had stopped playing and were watching the scene unfold. Keiko too was now staring confused about what Cassie was saying. Perhaps she had somehow helped after all and wasn't in trouble? Her thoughts were cut off as sudden gasps filled the air as her classmates exclaimed in shock at what they were seeing.

Cassie had gotten out of her chair and was now attempting to walk while using her wheelchair as support. Mrs. Smith alarmed at her actions was trying to get Cassie to sit back down before realizing the miracle that was happening in front of her.

"Cassie! Oh my goodness! You're walking! But aren't you a paraplegic? How is this happening?!" Her teacher exclaimed in disbelief as she watched her student stand on her own two legs. "How-"

"It 'cus of Rachel!" one of her classmates said pointing at her.

"W-what?" Mrs. Smith now looked to Keiko in shock, her eyes darting back and forth from Keiko to Cassie who was now steadily standing with a wide grin plastered on her face.

"Keiko used her quirk!" someone else exclaimed.

And that's when Keiko's life changed forever.

ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ✩‧₊

Things changed after that.

Cassie's parents had dropped everything and came running when they heard their daughter had started walking in the middle of recess. Mrs. Smith had to pry Cassie's mother off of Keiko by the end of their visit.

The middle-aged woman had sobbed into Keiko's hands as she thanked her reverently for "fixing Cassie" and giving her "a second chance" before she started kissing her face all over. Over Cassie's mother's shoulder, Keiko could see Cassie talking to her father who was also crying tears of happiness from seeing his daughter rise from her wheelchair to hug him.

Afterward, her teacher called Keiko's parents and told them about her quirk awakening. Keiko, she told them had single-handedly created a miracle of allowing a girl with broken legs - whose parents and doctors said she would never walk again due to a permanent spinal injury- made a full recovery and would only need physical therapy to fully regain her mobility.

One Week Later: New York Pediatric Quirk Counseling Center…

"H-healing?" Keiko's mother Saimori Naomi grasped her husband's hand tightly in her own feeling as if her world was tilting. "Y-you mean like speeding up the healing process?"

Saimori Noami, Quirk: Force Field. She can manifest protective force fields around herself and others in defense! Her shields are incredibly durable and can withstand even bullets! Other abilities include tuning invisible and telekinesis!

"Not quite," Dr. Evans answered.

They were all currently watching Keiko in a viewing room behind a one-way mirror. They watched as their daughter healed a cut on a nurse who had purposefully made on themselves for Keiko to demonstrate her quirk.

"Me and my staff have created small tests for your daughter in a controlled environment. Your daughter's quirk doesn't simply enhance a human's body's natural regenerative ability. It…" The doctor had seen many quirks in his career, from unusual body mutations to physic-defying powers, he thought he'd never be surprised by a quirk again from being desensitized at work, but here he was, extremely surprised.

"She heals them as if the injury or sickness has never occurred. She can even cure cancer, we tested her using a lab mouse infected with stomach cancer… the lab results show she fully healed it with no repercussions…" he explained.

While most parents would be proud and excited for their child to awaken their quirk, Keiko's parents became solemn at the news. They watched their smiling daughter through the mirror as she animatedly healed a bruise that the nurse had pointed to on their arm.

"Healing quirks are quite rare, it is estimated only one in a million people have a healing quirk or a variation of one. Your daughter is truly blessed." the doctor tried to reassure the parents seeing their worry.

"Me and my wife are worried that with such a special quirk people will want to take advantage of our daughter." Saimori Kenji's tone was severe "It was years ago, but when I and my wife were children it was not uncommon for kids to go missing from quirk trafficking. Things may be different now with All Might leading us in a new era of peace but…" Kenji made eye contact with his wife as if they could read each other's minds.

"We don't want Keiko to use her Quirk, is there a way to… get rid of it?" It was Naomi who finished her husband's sentence.

"... I'm sorry to tell you there is no such quirk among our staff. Even if there were, there are laws in place that would prevent using a negation quirk in such a manner." It would not be Dr. Evans's first time answering such a question.

Watching Keiko again they could see her hugging a stuffed rabbit the nurse had rewarded her for her participation.

Naomi seeing her child so happy, burst into tears knowing Keiko's future would only be filled with trials from now on. Kenji could only hug his wife to console her.

Keiko not knowing what was happening behind the mirror continued smiling at the nurse as she told them how she was going to become the best hero ever with her quirk.

Present Time…

The school bell rang signaling to all the students that it was lunch period. Keiko and Izuku had made it a habit to combine their desks during this time so they could face each other while enjoying their bentos.

"Wow! Your Dad made all this?" Izuku openly admired her three-tiered bento box. Her dad had truly outdone himself today. From little sausage octopuses to multi-flavored onigiri, her dad even included a dessert tier she could share with Izuku today.

Each day Keiko bento was a surprise. Keiko said it was because her father would often use the leftover food from his Yotube videos for their meals to not waste food.

"Today he made pudding cake for us!" Keiko took off the bottom layer of her bento revealing the desert. "The bottom is caramel flan while the top is cake!" her father had somehow baked the dessert right into the bento container. Keiko really thought her dad was a magician when it came to food.

"Can I really have some?" Izuku's eyes were lit with excitement at Keiko's offering.

"It's a small thank you for tutoring me so much! I'm not quite used to reading everything in Japanese yet, so I really appreciate your help. If it weren't for you I'm pretty sure I would've failed our morning quiz. " Keiko gave him her best sincere smile.

"I-I'm sure you would've been fine even without my h-help." Izuku stuttered nervously in the face of her compliments.

"Izuku you don't give yourself enough credit! Besides, I can't eat this by myself." Actually, if Keiko wanted she could polish the whole dessert and still have room for more but she decided to show some self-restraint in front of her friend.

"T-then, I'll trade you some of my gyoza." Izuku shyly smiled back as he offered some of his own homemade bento.

"Deal!"

Keiko and Izuku had been spending lunch together for a month now. Izuku sometimes couldn't comprehend why she stuck around him even after he warned her about his unpopularity. Keiko hoped one day they would grow close enough that Izuku would no longer have doubts about them being friends.

Plus Izuku's mom was a great cook.

As they dug into their lunches Keiko asked Izuku if anything was interesting on the news recently. While Izuku was a nerd for heroes, he also kept track of modern events. At her inquiry, Izuku started to animatedly talk about All Might and how there were rumors on the internet that he was in Japan. There were sightings of him in the next prefecture over doing some hero work, but no official news of All Might coming to Japan had been given by his agency, so rumors were unreliable at best.

"There's this one post by aoiNeko177 that's supposed to be a picture of All Might but…" Izuku pulled up the said post on his cell phone and faced it in her direction.

"It's so blurry? It kinda looks like a cat running away?" Keiko squinted at the picture posted on the blog he was showing her. She would have to ask Izuku to send her the link. While she followed All Might on all the American fan websites she was unfamiliar with the Japanese ones.

"Also it was on the news yesterday that u-um…"

"What is it? Should I be worried?" Keiko furrowed her eyebrows as she saw Izuku physically deflate despite previously being so animated.

"The applications for U.A are starting up next month. They said U.A has changed its rules so that even people with no quirks can apply… " he mumbled as he stared hard into his bento not meeting her eyes.

He had said it so quietly Keiko had almost missed what he said.

Keiko gulped. It was a known fact that the chances of getting accepted into U.A were under one percent. The competition to enter was fierce with thousands of students from all over Japan applying every year. U.A only accepted forty students into their hero program from those thousands. The school was known to produce the best and brightest heroes in Japan, it was also not a secret that All Might is an alumnus of U.A too.

"Will you be applying?" Keiko tentatively asked. She knew Izuku being quirkless was a sore spot for him.

Izuku raised his eyes so they unwaveringly stared into her own.

"Yes."

Izuku looked serious as he answered her. Perhaps he thought she would try to talk him out of it.

"I know it seems like there's no point in me applying but-"

"I think you should do it." Keiko said simply as she bit into an onigiri.

"I won't change my mind. I'm going to- what?" Izuku seemed to have prepared a whole speech so she wouldn't try and talk him of out it. Keiko couldn't help but giggle at his flabbergasted expression.

"I think you should apply, the fact that U.A changed their rules, doesn't it seem like fate?"

Applying to U.A was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Even Keiko wanted to apply but…

"Y-you're not going to say that I should not even bother since I'm q-quirkless?" saying that he was quirkless out loud seemed to take the wind out of his sails as Izuku lowered his eyes once more. His whole demeanor showed how ashamed he was of this fact. Years of people telling him he was lesser because he was quirkless seemed to have worn him over time. Though Izuku put up a good front most days, it was during these kinds of conversations with Izuku that Keiko could see his insecurities bared out.

"Izuki I think you should apply. I mean, the worst that can happen is them saying no right? If you don't apply now you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Keiko wanted to convey her sincerity in supporting her friend's dreams. It was quite obvious to her how much Izuku loved heroes. She would have to be denser than rock to not notice that Izuku's dream was to be one.

"Besides even if they do reject you Izuku there are other ways you can be a hero. You're really smart you know? Have you thought about a future in research and development? There are a lot of different hero support companies. Not all hero work is done in the field."

While the people in their class often made fun of him for being quirkless, Izuku was actually smart. Izuku grades placed second in their class, placing right under Bakugo's who held first place (Keiko was surprised when she found out that the delinquent even knew how to read, it just goes to show you really can't judge people by their cover). Even if Izuku could not be his idealistic version of a hero wearing a cape, she had no doubt Izuku would have a bright future in an adjacent field. He had the brains and most importantly, he had the heart.

"O-oh! I just thought you would…" Izuku started to wrangle his hands seeming flustered at Keiko's positive response. When he told his mom he was going to apply after seeing the news during breakfast that morning she had tried to dissuade him, telling him he would only get hurt from the rejection letter. Never mind if he could even keep up with the classes if he somehow miraculously did get accepted…

"Oh come on Izuku, I thought we were better friends than that by now!" Keiko pouted before stealing one of his rolled omelets.

Instead of fighting her for it, Izuku gave her all his tamagoyaki as a silent apology for doubting her. Keiko wanted to sigh as she watched him pile them onto her bento. The only thing Keiko was worried about when it came to Izuku being a hero would be villains taking advantage of his big heart. Izuku, Keiko had learned was the type to wear his heart on his sleeve after all.

"Um, what about you Keiko?"

"About what?" Keiko stuffed the sweet rolled egg into her mouth.

"Will you apply you apply to U.A? I'm pretty sure everyone in our class will apply, Kacchan too…" Izuku tentatively asked.

Izuku never asked any questions about her quirk so far. He respected her privacy and never pressed her about her quirk.

"Hmm…" Keiko could only hum to herself in thought as she processed his question.

"Yes..." she said finally "I will." Keiko was hesitant as she answered. She could already guess her mother saying no to her applying to hero school. However, part of Keiko would be lying if she said she's never thought about applying to U.A at all. Call her pretentious but… part of Keiko always knew growing up that she was meant to help others. Her healing quirk only solidified her belief that saving lives was part of her fate.

"Then let's wish each other luck." Izuku offered.

"No hard feelings if only one of us passes?" Keiko reached her hand out for him to shake.

"No hard feelings!" Izuku took her hand in his own giving a firm shake and a promise.

"...Your hand's super sweaty Izuku." Keiko said awkwardly causing Izuku to quickly release her hand.

"I can't h-help it! I've never h-held a girl's hand before." Izuku fidgeted as he admitted this.

Keiko could only chuckle, Izuku really was innocent.

After school was over Keiko went home and straight into her room and turned on her laptop.

She took a deep breath and looked up U.A's website. Taking her to their homepage, Keiko skipped passed the section about their application requirements. Keiko already knew by heart that their basic high school applications required three recommendation letters, a personal essay, and a written and physical exam.

Instead, Keiko clicked on a tab that read "Special Programs".

U.A is devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research of developing heroes who will one day become pillars of society. At U.A we only recognize the best and the brightest students, which is why we only accept forty students into our infamous hero program.

However, in recent years U.A has recognized the need for not only offensive and defensive quirks against the rising number of villains, but also the need for healing quirks.

U.A has recently developed the Public Health Program with this is mind, lead by Dr. Shimizu Rei, in which anyone with a healing quirk will be accepted into the hero program beyond our forty-person limit provided they pass additional testing requirements (and our base entrance exam). We call this special exception, the Caduceus Quirk Exception. Please contact…

Keiko stared hard at her computer screen as she read the page over and over. It was not her first time coming to this page and reading the special requirements needed to meet U.A special Caduceus Quirk Exception rule. It meant that even if Keiko did badly on the entrance exam, as long as she got a passing score it was still possible for her to be accepted if her healing quirk was deemed exceptional enough.

She would have to take an additional writing and physical exam but if it ment being accepted into U.A…

Keio had done her research. U.A was the only one with a public health program, Shiketsu High School did not. Keiko didn't think she could get into Shiketsu's hero's program. When it came to offensive and defensive powers her quirk was lacking, but at U.A she might have a chance.

To be honest, Keiko wasn't really worried about passing the U.A entrance exam. What she was most worried about was…

…Anyone applying to the hero program must obtain their parent or guardian's permission…

…the only requirement listed in bold. Keiko needed to get her parent's permission to apply. That was going to be a challenge.

Caduceus is the traditional symbol with the two snakes winding around a winged staff. It is often used as a symbol of medicine in the U.S

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