Author's Note 1: My Super Robot Academia is a non-profit fanfiction series.
My Hero Academia is a property of Bones, Funimation, and Kouhei Horikoshi.
Any original characters or concepts are owned by Navek and xpegasus.
Please support the official release.
And with the prologue over, here's the first opening for MSRA!
Eden Through the Rough by Takanori Nishikawa
(The sun rises over UA High School, the sunlight reflecting off the green metal frame of Striker's arms, torso, and head before reflecting off the visor of Izuku's helmet. Our hero stands next to his mecha, clad in his hero uniform and his scarf flowing in the breeze as he looks up into the sky. Then, we zoom out to a bird's eye view of the school and all of its facilities as the logo manifests in a green light: My Super Robot Academia.)
Kudake chitta chitsujo! Sono nani hodokosa reta imi wa nani ka!
(We see Izuku at that fateful doctor's appointment, being told his dream is impossible. The crying boy moves his head up, giving way to the older Izuku, hard at work repairing Striker after a rough battle. The lab around them is packed with a vast array of weapons and equipment for the robot.)
(Having Some Meaning) Tankyu shin ga uzuki dasudarou?
(Striker runs across the beach, with Katsuki, Ochako, and Tenya running alongside them.)
Umareochita hoshi! Kaibyaku no toki ni atae rareta shimei!
(Toshinori holds his glowing hand out to Ochako, the brunette hesitant to reach forward before we smash cut to Ochako in her hero costume, pink stars shimmering around her as she and several objects around her begin to float.)
(Power of Cybernetics) Sore ga mamorinuku tte koto-sa.
(Mei, Power Loader, and Professor Lim standing outside of the Support Department with Mei smiling, Katsuki, clad in his costume, smirks and gives a thumbs up, and Hisashi and Inko standing together smiling and wishing their son luck.)
Tadori tsukeru nonara nari yamanu kodo de isamitate!
(We see Class 1-B hanging around the classroom, with Tooru, Setsuna, and Minoru giving a peace sign to the viewer, the teachers of UA in a staff meeting, Vlad King and Toshinori feeling unsure about something.)
Sore ga hanata rerubeki Trice janai ka
(A dark purple portal opens in the USJ, and several villains walk out of it. The final ones out are a demented-looking Shigaraki and a grinning Nomu.)
Aoi kibo ni (toki) o ageyou
(Inside Striker's cockpit, the screen boots up, Izuku looking determined as he grabs the controls, steps on the pedals, and lets out a passionate shout while Striker's eyes glow blue.)
Minagitta eteru no Axis! Ubattara ubaikaese! Samayo Cluster kara waki agaru Spirit! Mitsukedasu nda!
(Striker leaps into battle, bullets reflecting off its armor as it does battle with several villains at once, even tossing a few into the air. Ochako attempts to smash Shiragaki with a massive pillar only for Nomu to block it, followed by Vlad King using his bloodletting Quirk to detain some villains.)
Kokoro yadorunara shinji tetai tomoni sagasu Legend e no (michi)
(Izuku, Ochako, and Tenya stand together, their costumes and Striker partly destroyed but all three refuse to give up as they stare down Nomu, followed by seeing the rest of Class 1-B charge into battle with Eijiro at the front.)
Yasahi sa ga tsuyoku sure (Hit in the air sharp blow)
(After a quick flashback to a younger Izuku sitting on the couch with his Mom and Dad, watching some Super Robot shows, we cut back to older Izuku, his green eyes practically glowing with hot-blooded ambition as he yells at the top of his lungs.)
Todoke! Eden through the rough!
(Striker's mouth vent opens up and it unleashes a massive beam of bright blue energy that blasts into the air, blowing through the roof of the USJ and visible from miles away.)
(The final scene shows Izuku, Ochako, Tenya, Katsuki, Mei, Power Loader, All Might, Vlad King, and all of Class 1-B standing in from the UA, all in their hero costumes and Striker towering behind them.)
Chapter 5: The Semester Begins! Welcome to UA!
"Man, this place is so cool," Izuku said. He, Katsuki, Ochako, and Mei were seated inside a large booth along with Toshinori.
It had been two days since the teenagers got their acceptance messages from UA. While they each had celebrated the news with their own families, Toshinori wanted to treat the youngsters to something himself. As such, he took them to an American-style diner he often frequented in Musutafu called The Blue Plate. The restaurant had a checkerboard floor, vibrantly colored chairs and booths, and pictures of various American actors and musicians scattered across the walls. There was even a jukebox in the corner.
The kids had never been to a place like this, leaving them all awestruck. Well…most of them.
"I honestly don't give two shits about how this place looks, just so long as the food's good," Katsuki said. "And where are our damn—"
"Sorry for the wait," a waitress with cat ears said as she rushed over to their table carrying a tray loaded with far too many drinks. "That's one iced black tea, one melon soda, one coca-cola, one lemonade, and one canned coffee." She managed to list their drinks in one breath. "Someone else will be over shortly to take your orders."
"Oh, thank…" Toshinori started before realizing the waitress had already left to deliver drinks to another table. "Well then." Toshinori smiled and raised his glass. "Congrats."
"Congrats!" the teenagers cheered as they clinked their glasses with Toshinori.
"To the top 5!" Mei chimed in.
"Only by a few points," Katsuki grumbled.
"Kacchan, let it go," Izuku said.
"No, I will not! How the hell was I supposed to know there were rescue points if they never even told us?!"
"That's sort of the point, young Bakugou," Toshinori stated. "You shouldn't need to be told that saving people gives you a reward; it should be something that comes naturally to any hero. Do you understand?"
"I guess," Katsuki said. "Though speaking of hidden shit, we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?"
"What do you mean?" Toshi asked.
"I'm talking about the fact that, according to Izuku, Round Face managed to knock out one of those goddamn Zero Pointers by punching it in the face," Katsuki stated. "First off: how? Second off; the fuck?"
"Oh, that," Ochako said, her voice on edge as she suddenly found the ceiling very interesting. "See, about a week before the exam, I was cleaning up the beach like normal, but there was like this super heavy fridge. I was exhausted, my stomach felt like it was gonna explode, and I got really angry and punched it…and then it went sailing across the beach."
"As it turned out, young Uraraka's Quirk evolved in that particular moment," Toshinori explained. "But there was also some physical backlash."
"Why didn't you tell us any of this?" Izuku asked.
"Well, the entrance exam was right around the corner, so I didn't want to distract you guys. I wasn't even plannin' on using that part of my Quirk on the practical, but…you know…."
"We're planning on taking Uraraka to one of the Quirk analysts we have employed at Might Tower. They should help us figure out the ins and outs of this new side for her power," Toshinori explained.
"Oh, that reminds me." Izuku reached into his backpack and pulled out a green notebook labeled Friends Quirk Analysis Vol. 1. "I've had this theory about how your Quirk might actually work, Ochako. And what you did at the entrance exam kind of leans into that."
"Really?" Ochako replied out of curiosity. Izuku handed her the notebook, and she flipped past the 30-plus pages dedicated to Katsuki's Quirk and the twelve dedicated to Mei's, finally landing on her section. And two words in a circle caught her attention. "G-Field Theory?"
"Wait until you hear it. It's pretty wild," Katsuki said, recalling the literal hours Izuku spent bouncing ideas and hypotheses off him.
"So, our understanding of your Quirk is that you touch something with your finger pads, and its gravity is negated." Izuku began to say in between sips of his drink. "And when you do touch it, there's a faint light that emits. Well, I've been thinking, what if that light isn't just a light?"
"I'm guessing it has something to do with this 'G-Field,'" Toshinori chimed in.
"Exactly. See, back in the Silver Age, there was a villain called Doctor Alter. At first, everyone just thought he could alter the properties of any object he touched. But in reality, he radiated an 'Alter Field' that let him alter any object inside that field."
"Oh, yeah. I remember hearing about that guy on the news," Toshinori stated.
"So, maybe Ochako's Quirk works similarly; an invisible Gravity Field or G-Field constantly around her that lets her alter an object's gravity."
"But I've only ever been able just to make stuff lighter." Ochako chimed in.
"Have you ever tried making things heavier?" Katsuki asked, getting an unsure nod.
"I mean…my local Quirk counselor said that. But nothing really worked."
"Maybe your body just wasn't ready to handle it yet," Izuku said. "Nausea might just be a side effect of negating gravity. And since it looked like you hit that Zero-Pointer with gravity several times stronger than Earth's, the physical backlash could be the after-effect of increasing gravity around yourself. On the other hand, you could only be awakening to it now because your body probably couldn't handle the backlash when you were younger. But again, this is all just speculation, and that doesn't really explain why your legs were injured from negation. Maybe it was the speed or…."
Izuku began to mumble a bit more as his brain racked the possible explanations for Ochako's Quirk mutation, leaving Katsuki to chime in. "In other words, your Quirk is insane and weird, and I'm still the best because mine has no negative side effects."
"Except for the fact that you can't ever go to a sauna," Mei said, making the blond go 'Tch.'
"Those things are overpriced anyway."
As the four continued to chat, two new patrons entered the diner. They both appeared to be in their late 40s. One was an older gentleman with faded brown hair, a matching trimmed mustache, and yellow eyes, and he was clad in a red polo, brown slacks, and loafers. The woman accompanying him was a woman with blue hair in a bun wearing a light yellow sundress, white boots, and a pair of dark cat-eye sunglasses. As they entered the diner, the woman looked around, and her eyes widened when she saw Toshinori.
"Ryo, isn't that Toshinori?"
"Well, I'll be damned," the man said before the two approached the table. Suddenly, the cat-eared waitress came barreling towards the pair, her tray packed with even more drinks. The woman saw the waitress coming and grabbed her companion's hand before he and the waitress crashed into each other.
"Sorry!" the waitress blurted out, barely acknowledging the new customers.
"Yeash, and I thought cats were supposed to be graceful," the man said. He and the woman shrugged and made their way to Toshinori's table. "Yo, Toshikun! How the hell are ya?"
"Ryo! Mizuki!" Toshinori got up, shook the man's hand, and hugged the woman. "Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Almost two years," Ryo said. "Guess you've been too busy working with Mr. Big Shot."
"You know these geezers, Scarecrow?" Katsuki asked, earning him a punch in the shoulder from Mei for this rudeness.
"These two are old classmates of mine," Toshinori explained. "This guy's Ryoichi Fukuzawa, and this delightful woman is Mizuki Okabe."
"Yo, what's up, kids?" Ryo exclaimed with a big grin.
"It's pleasure to meet you all," Mizuki said warmly.
The teens then introduced themselves, explaining they'd come to celebrate getting into UA. Izuku turned bright red at Ryo and Mizuki's praise while Katsuki soaked it up like a sponge. Although, as they spoke, the green-haired boy couldn't help but feel like he'd seen the two of them before, but he couldn't quite place where.
"AAHHHH!" someone screamed. Everyone's heads whipped around to see the cat-eared waitress had tripped, her tray packed to bursting with drinks. At that moment, it seemed like there was no way to stop her fall. Then out of the corner of his eye, Izuku saw Ryoichi point at the waitress, and his eyes flashed gold.
With the grace of a ballerina, the waitress righted herself and twirled the tray to catch the falling drinks. Everyone, patrons and staff, went deathly silent as they stared at the waitress in shock, with none more surprised than the cat-eared woman herself, hardly believing she'd managed to do that without spilling a single drop. Then, suddenly, the restaurant erupted into cheers and applause (sans a few who were hoping to catch her #epicfail on camera) as the waitress smiled awkwardly.
"Woah, that was amazing," Ochako cheered.
"Pretty sure she just got lucky," Katsuki said.
"Yeah, lucky," Izuku said as he looked up at Ryoichi. "That Quirk, I'd know it anywhere. You're The Good Luck Hero, Fortune!" Ryo stared at Izuku in surprise while Mizuki chortled.
"Impressive," Mizuki said as she took off her sunglasses to reveal blue eyes with distinctive arrow-shaped pupils. "You know your stuff."
Izuku gasped in delight. "I'd recognize those eyes anywhere too! You're The Guiding Hero, Pathfinder!"
"Goodness, I can't remember the last time I was recognized out of costume," Mizuki said with amusement in her voice. "Ryo and I aren't even in the top 50. Not many people tend to recognize older heroes like us."
"And that's even when we're in costume," Ryo added.
"Of course, I know who you guys are. You were part of the same graduating class as All Might." Izuku's eyes then widened. "Oh my gosh! You guys went to school with All Might! What was he like back then?"
Katsuki was also intrigued while Mei just continued to sip on her drink. Ochako looked at Toshinori and had to keep herself from giggling when she saw her coach start to sweat. Ryo and Mizuki glanced at Toshi, then at each other, and smirked.
"Honestly, the big man was kind of a lughead," Ryo said. "The guy didn't know how to handle his strength at times."
"UA had to replace a few doors when he was late to class," Mizuki said with a chuckle. "All Might was also a bit of a goofball."
"What do you mean was? He still is," Ryoichi retorted. "The man still sounds like he's straight out of an old comic book."
"Can you guys please stop?" Toshinori whimpered as he put his face in his hands.
"Oh, come on, Toshi," Mizuki said. "You probably got some fun stories about your boss."
"Exactly. He's my boss."
"So you went to UA too, Mr. Yagi?" Mei asked, getting a nod in response.
"Yes, it was actually where I met All Might. Although I was in the General Studies course," Toshinori said before smirking at Mizuki. "And if I recall, someone needed a tutor for Hero History because it was, and I quote, 'boring as hell.''
Mizuki suddenly found herself looking away and whistling while Ryo had a good laugh.
The celebratory dinner continued, with Toshinori, Ryoichi, and Mizuki regaling the future UA students about their time at the prestigious hero academy.
Times passes…and then, the First Day of the new U.A. semester arrives…
"You got your binder?"
"Yup."
"Got your ID?"
"Yup."
"Oh, sweetie, let me fix your tie."
Today was the big day, Izuku's first day at UA. It was a day every member of the Midoriya family had been greatly anticipating, and Hisashi and Inko were making sure their son had everything he needed. Izuku was dressed in a gray jacket, white button-up shirt, black dress pants, and his signature red shoes that matched the red tie Inko was currently fixing. Finally, a brand new, bright yellow backpack was strapped over the green-haired boy's shoulders.
"There we go," Inko said as she finished straightening out Izuku's tie. "Oh, you look so handsome in that uniform."
"No kidding," Hisashi said as he patted Izuku on the shoulder. "You're gonna need to beat away those UA girls with a stick."
"I don't think that's gonna happen, Dad." Izuku chuckled in response before turning towards the door. "I'm gonna head to the station. See you guys later!"
"Good luck, Izuku!"
"Make it a great first day!"
The front door to the apartment closed, and Hisashi felt a sense of pride…and relief. He never said it out loud, but a part of him always worried for Izuku's future. Hisashi always tried his best to be supportive of his son, but sometimes his encouragement felt hollow.
Now though, his son had a real chance at being a hero. And every bit of encouragement Hisashi gave felt that much more sincere.
But then, Hisashi heard the distinct sound of crying, looking down and seeing Inko beginning to shed some comically large tears. "Inko?!"
"I-I'm sorry. It's just…it feels like it was only yesterday that Izuku was running around in All Might pajamas. And now…now…"
"Hey, come on, Inko." Hisashi began to say as his eyes began to water as well. "I-If you start crying, then I…"
Hisashi only lasted a few seconds before he burst into tears alongside his wife. The couple embraced one another in their little moment.
"Our little boy's all grown up!" Hisashi cried out.
"He's already in high school!" Inko shouted. The Midoriyas continued to cry happily, wishing their son good luck.
In the meantime, Izuku, Katsuki, and Mei were all waiting at the train station. Katsuki wore the regular boys' uniform with a slightly looser collar, and Mei was clad in the girls' uniform, which had a similar top and a knee-length skirt. The pinkette had also opted to wear a pair of shorts underneath her skirt. She was practically vibrating with excitement as she sat on the bench waiting for the train. And Izuku was in a similar state of excitement.
"You guys are making people stare," Katsuki grumbled as he laid back.
"Oh, don't pretend you're not pumped up." Mei retorted. "I'm gonna have full access to UA Support resources! My babies are gonna be better than ever!"
"I know!" Izuku chimes in. "Maijima-sensei said he got us approval to use the lab equipment to upgrade Striker! What should I do first? Maybe add in those treads I've drawn up. No, wait; I should make that drill attachment! You can't have a real super robot without some kind of drill. Or maybe…"
Like with most of his life, Katsuki began to tune out as Izuku started to mutter.
"Hey, guys!"
"Oh, hey, Ocha…ko…"
Izuku exe stopped working for a moment when he saw Ochako approaching them. She wore the same UA girls' uniform as Mei, with the addition of a pair of black leggings. For some reason, Izuku thought it looked absolutely amazing on Ochako. (And it definitely wasn't because of the way the leggings clung to her thick thighs and toned calves. No siree.)
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm super-pumped!" Ochako exclaimed, waving her arm up and down. "UA, here we come!"
"That's the spirit, Ochako!" Mei said with equal enthusiasm.
"R-Right!" Izuku chimed in.
"Nerds," Katsuki grumbled, even though, on the inside, he was just as hyped as his friends.
One train ride later, the four friends had arrived, once more walking together through the hallowed UA Academy halls amongst a crowd of other students. Eventually, they needed to split, each heading toward their respective classrooms.
"Try not to blow this place sky-high on the first day," Katsuki said to Mei.
"I could say the same to you, Sparky," Mei responded before sticking her tongue out. "See ya after class, guys!"
"See ya, Mei." Ochako waved while Izuku turned to Katsuki.
"Hey, Kacchan," Izuku said.
Katsuki raised an eyebrow at Izuku's tone. "What?"
"Do you think maybe…you can at least try to get along with your new classmates?"
"What do you mean? Of course, I will," Katsuki replied, making Izuku sigh in relief…but then Katsuki continued. "So long as they don't any stupid in front of me or find a way to piss me off."
'…he's screwed.' Ochako thought as the explosive teen started walking to the 1-A classroom, leaving Izuku and Ochako to walk toward 1-B's classroom. And after pondering about the comedically giant door (Izuku deduced it was that big to accommodate students with giant mutation Quirks), the two wide-eyed rookies nodded to each other, and Izuku gripped the handle. He flung the door open, ready to meet their fellow heroes in training.
Suffice it to say, they were not ready for…this.
"You're insane!"
"No, you're just not listening to reason! Not only can boobs look good at any size, but they also provide the natural breast milk needed for an infant's development! So they're not only sexy but also important to our natural development!"
"Quit bringing biology into this! This is supposed to be about raw sex appeal, not functionality!"
Well, whatever Izuku and Ochako were expecting to find once they opened the door, it certainly wasn't that. The two students having this strange debate were a girl with long, wavy green hair and sharp teeth, and a short boy with a mohawk made of purple balls. The short boy stood on the girl's desk as they argued back and forth.
"Hey, hey." Izuku and Ochako turned to see a young man with short black hair, an angular chin, and large, oddly circular elbows seen from his rolled-up sleeves. "Welcome to 1-B. Don't mind those guys: they've been arguing about boobs and butts for like six minutes."
"I see," Izuku said with a sweat drop.
"Kind of a weird thing to argue about," Ochako commented, making the black-haired boy sigh in relief that at least there were a couple of normal students in this class.
"Enough of this foolishness!"
'It's the glasses guy!' Izuku and Ochako thought, recognizing the tall blue-haired young man from the entrance exam now berating the two debaters.
"The hero course should be reserved for discussions of heroism, not for such vulgar debates! And furthermore…" He then pointed specifically at the short boy. "…step off that desk at once! That desk belonged to an alumnus who has no doubt become a great hero. You're besmirching their memory by standing on it!"
"Dude, it's a desk. Mellow out."
"I will not 'mellow out' while two show no regard for common deceAAAGH!" The tall young man looked down and saw a disembodied hand pinching his buttocks before slapping them. The hand then flew back onto the empty wrist of the green-haired girl, who now had a toothy smirk on her face.
"And one point for butts; both guys and girls can have firm & sexy butts."
"Fair enough." The short boy said while the bespectacled teen gaped in embarrassed shock. "Wait, do pecs count as tits?"
"No, those are completely diff-"
CHOP!
The pervy debate was cut off as both the purple-haired boy and green-haired were karate chopped in the head. The one who did so was an athletic-looking girl with orange hair tied in a ponytail and teal eyes, her arms now crossed as she glared at the two.
"Our first class hasn't even started, and I can already tell you two are gonna be a pain in the ass."
"Was physical discipline really necessary?"
"Sometimes you gotta smack some sense into some particularly dense heads."
"I see," the bespectacled teen said before his gaze landed on Izuku and Ochako, who were just watching the insanity unfold. "It's you two!"
"Eh?!" The two shouted in surprise as the taller teen marched towards them.
"Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Tenya Iida! And allow me to say…" He stopped in front of the two and bowed his head. "…I owe you two and your vulgar friend an apology. I assumed you wouldn't take the entrance exam seriously. But it's clear to me that you two were able to deduce the true purpose of the exam when you saved your fellow examinee and each other. I apologize for so greatly misjudging you."
Okay, now this threw the two for a loop.
"Um…we really didn't figure out about the Rescue Points during the exam." Izuku clarified. "We just did what came naturally."
"Even more commendable!" Iida said as he shook both their hands. "Any doubt I had has been shattered; you two really have the qualities of a hero."
"Aw, thanks," Ochako said with a smile. She thought that this Iida guy might've been just a jerk, but it turns out he was just really…intense about things.
"Well, good to see some of you are already getting along." The three students turned and saw a particularly tall & muscular man with silver hair and a black & red costume standing behind Ochako and Izuku.
'Woah! Speaking of intense!' Ochako thought while Izuku…
"Oh my god! You're the Bloodletting Hero, Vlad King!
…went full superhero fanboy mode.
"Are you our homeroom teacher?"
"That's right."
"That's so cool! I saw your fight with General Gigaton on tv a few years back. The way you snuck bits of blood into the seams of his armor.."
"Izuku?"
"…and turned them into a restraint was such a genius move! Oh, then when you and Rock Lock teamed up against the Renegazers, I was so moved and.."
"Izuku?"
The green-haired boy continued on, his speech becoming faster as he listed more and more of Vlad King's accomplishments. The pro was a bit impressed that the kid knew so much about his career, down to the more obscure, while Iida wasn't quite sure of what was going on. Ochako puffed her cheeks before grabbing her friend by the shoulders and shaking him.
"I-ZU-KU!"
The sudden shaking snapped Izuku out of his fanboy stupor, his face turning red with embarrassment. "S-sorry about that. I'll go find my seat."
"Does that happen often?" Iida asked.
"Only when he gets really excited," Ochako answered. Vlad chuckled, already amused by his students.
About ten minutes later, all twenty 1-B students were present in their assigned seats, with Vlad King now standing at the teacher's desk in the front.
"Well, now that everyone's here, let me introduce myself: My name is Sekijiro Kan. I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next three years. Now, you're all probably thinking that since you got into the UA Hero Course, you're almost guaranteed to become heroes, right?"
The students almost unanimously agreed with their teacher, nodding and giving other signs of affirmation…but they were immediately silenced by Sekijiro slamming his hands on his desk.
"WRONG! All you've proven is that you have the potential to become heroes! And it's up to me to make sure you live up to that potential! Some of you might drop out, and some of you will probably hate me for all the training I'm going to put you through. But come hell or high water, I'm going to make sure you all become amazing heroes that live up to our motto; PLUS ULTRA!"
'Ya, he's definitely intense.' Ochako thought.
"Dude, our teacher is so manly!" A young man with spiky red hair shouted with a smile.
"Hell yeah!" The brunette boy sitting next to him shouted in agreement.
"And your first trial starts now," Vlad proclaimed. "With orientation!"
'…huh?' Was the thought that ran through the minds of all of 1-B.
Three Hours Later…
"…though, as it turned out, the culprit was still in the room. He could actually shapeshift into objects as well, not just other people. Though I must admit, there was something amusing about getting attacked by what looked like a sentient lamp. But back to the story…"
'Fascinating.' Izuku thought as he took notes. What was supposed to be Principal Nezu welcoming the new students to UA and explaining all the rules they were meant to abide by had turned into the talking mouse (or dog or bear) reminiscing about some of the various cases he had worked on as an investigator. And Izuku was intrigued since this was stuff that he hadn't heard of on any of the underground hero forums. "Who would've thought to look at the lamp, eh Ochako?"
But Izuku was only met with snoring, turning to see the gravity girl fast asleep in her seat with a snot bubble coming out her nose. In fact, almost all of Class 1-B was either sleeping or on the verge of falling asleep. In fact, it seemed he, Iida, and a silver-haired girl with hunched arms were the only ones who were still wide awake. Well, the three of them, along with Kan-Sensei, the Business Course students, and Class 1-A…because they were nowhere to be seen. Even Present Mic fell asleep on stage before accidentally sliding off his seat.
Now wide awake, the DJ Hero walked towards Nezu at the podium and whispered something into his ear.
"Oh my. It seems I've rambled off a bit. So let me just close by saying, Welcome to UA High School. I look forward to seeing how far you all go." And with that, Nezu stepped off the podium, several students woke up, and Class 1-B headed into the halls.
"What the fuck was that?" An intimidating student who resembled a mantis exclaimed. "That was boring as shit!"
"I know, right?!" An invisible girl shouted in agreement. "I know its orientation, but that dragged on for-ev-er!"
"I mean, I at least got a good nap in," Ochako said with a bit of embarrassment.
"Preach." A boy with yellow & black hair chimed in with a yawn.
"I am appalled at all of you!" Iida proclaimed, making chopping motions with his arms. "The principal himself was regaling us with his heroic exploits. We should consider ourselves lucky to experience such a thing."
"I mean…maybe if his explanations weren't so dry." A girl with short purple hair and earlobes shaped like headphone jacks replied. And Izuku silently agreed with her. He was self-aware enough to admit the only reason he didn't nod off was that he was a massive nerd who soaked up any and all superhero knowledge like a dry sponge.
"Well, I hope you all took this experience to heart," Sekijiro said as he led his students out of the auditorium.
"What experience?" A young man without any lips asked. "Being bored out of our minds?"
"Exactly. Get used to it because you'll be experiencing boredom a lot as professional heroes."
"Really? But hero work looks really exciting on TV," a short blonde girl with large horns chimed in.
"That's just the stuff they show on television and videos. But, truth is, in between the high-intensity rescues and battles, there's a lot of busy work heroes need to do," Sekijiro explained, holding his fingers out. "Property management, paying employees, marketing, merchandising deals, and property damage compensation is just the tip of the paperwork iceberg. Trust me, you'll need to learn the right attitude to deal with all of that. Being a pro-hero is still a job, after all."
A few students collectively thought 'bullshit,' but the more reasonable students could see what their teacher was trying to impart to them. But then, a fanged smirk appeared on Sekijiro's face.
"But since you guys seem to be craving excitement, head to the locker rooms, change into your gym uniforms, and meet up at the track field outside. We're having a little evaluation."
And the students did just that, changing into the blue & white UA gym uniforms and walking towards the field.
"No doubt throughout your lives, you've all had to take physicals. Almost all schools are legally required to do so as part of standard education," Sekijiro said, addressing his students. "Today, we'll do something similar to that. Fukidashi, please step forward."
"Right!" The young man who approached Sekijiro was a strange boy whose head resembled a word balloon one would find in a comic book. Inside the word balloon were three ellipses.
"When you last did the ball toss in middle school, how far did you get?"
"About twenty meters, give or take."
"Did they let you use your Quirk?"
Fukidashi's head then turned into a question mark. "No, sir."
"What about the rest of you?" Sekijiro asked the rest of the class. After everyone shook their heads, the blood hero pulled a baseball out of his pocket and tossed it at Fukidashi. It had a digital strand running across it. "Alright, Fukidashi; I want you to throw this, but use your Quirk to make it go as far as you can."
Fukidashi's head turned into an exclamation point. "Alright! I'll give it my all!" He tossed the ball up above him before shouting at the top of his lungs, "WOOOOOOSSSSHHHH!"
The word flew out of his head in green English characters, followed by a gust of wind so powerful that most of the students needed to cover their eyes to keep dust from getting in. Said gust blasted the ball far into the distance until it landed on the other side of the field. Sekijiro held up a device that read 260 meters.
"And this is what this exercise is all about; you'll be put through a series of tests to judge your current physical capabilities and your aptitude for applying your Quirks to various situations. And even though this test isn't graded, I still expect you to give it your all!"
"Um…sensei?" Izuku raised his arm up. "Are we also allowed to use our support gear?"
Sekijiro gave the green-haired boy a knowing look. "I'm afraid not."
"Dammit," Izuku said, making Ochako look at her friend with a sympathetic eye.
"I suppose not having access to that robot suit would make using your technomancy Quirk quite difficult," Iida commented, making Izuku raise his eyebrow.
"Technomancy?" Izuku gave Iida a confused looked. "Iida, I don't have a Technomancy Quirk."
"I see," Iida said, rubbing his chin. "Then perhaps you have a Quirk to generate electricity to power your robot?"
"Nope."
"Then you have a metal manipulation Quirk?"
"Afraid not."
"Well then, I hope you forgive my bluntness, but what is your Quirk?"
Izuku froze at the question. Izuku knew it would be impossible to keep his lack of Quirk a secret forever, but he didn't expect his secret to come out quite so soon. "Actually," Izuku began, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't have one. I'm Quirkless."
Iida's eyes widened at the revelation but quickly wiped the shock off his face. "Ah…well, I suppose you'll just have to give it your all on the physical side." Before either could say anything more on the matter, Iida was called up by Sekijiro. Izuku could only stare as Iida made his way toward their teacher, unsure what to make of his response.
The first test was the ball throwing with mixed results. Only a handful of students could use their Quirks to help make the ball go far, leaving most of them to just throw the ball like normally. The mantis-looking boy (Kamakiri) threw it and managed to get about sixty meters.
"Alright, Mineta, you're up next," Sekijiro said.
"This is bullshit," Kamakiri grumbled before looking and seeing the grape boy walking to the mat. Kamakiri smirked and thought, 'At least I can't be worse than the midget.'
Mineta took hold of the ball and, to the confusion of the students less knowledgeable about sports, licked his thumb and held it up. After a few seconds, the short boy got into a sideways stance before throwing it at an impressive distance. Sekijiro held up his device to show Mineta had thrown it about 96 meters.
"What the fuck?!" Kamakiri shouted while a couple of other students were also stunned. And it only got worse with the smug look on Mineta's face.
"It's all in the technique."
The test continued, with Izuku managing to get a decent 84 meters. Ochako went up next and tapped the ball with her Quirk. She threw the ball into the air where it went higher…and higher…and higher….and higher…and…
"I'm going to assume it's not coming back down," Sekijiro said, marking Ochako's score as Infinity while she just awkwardly laughed.
As the class moved on to the next tests, Izuku found himself thankful that Kacchan forced him and Mei to exercise alongside him. Sure, he wasn't doing exceptionally well regarding physicality (Ochako, Iida, that orange-haired girl named Kendo, and an excitable redhead named Kirishima had them all beat), but he was definitely doing better than the invisible girl and the quiet boy with the rock-like face.
But on the bright side, he got to see so many new and amazing Quirks in action! That orange-haired girl named Kendo could make her hands huge and seemed to give her some degree of superstrength! Honenuki seemed to have no limit to what he could soften! Tokage could split herself into at least twenty floating pieces! Tsunotori seemed to have horse-like mutation properties alongside being able to shoot and regrow her horns! Kaibara could twist his limbs with enough torque to create cyclones! Fukidashi could seemingly make any onomatopoeia and sound effects and convert them into devastating attacks! And Mineta could use those bouncy/sticky orbs on his head in a surprisingly vast amount of ways!
His classmates were so cool! And they just inspired Izuku to keep doing his best!
During one of the tests, Izuku was paired against Iida for the 50-meter dash. The gun blasted, and Iida zoomed ahead much faster than Izuku using the engines on his calves. Their final time was Iida with 3.05 seconds and Izuku with 7.05 seconds.
"Good attempt, Midoriya," Iida said.
"Thanks," Izuku said as he caught his breath. "Hey, Iida?"
"Yes?"
"You don't…you don't think I'm weird for going into the hero course while being Quirkless?"
"Hm." Iida held his hand to his chin as he looked over Izuku, contemplating a moment before answering. "I'll admit it's unorthodox, but you clearly have a drive for true heroism. Quirk or no Quirk, you've obviously put in the time and effort to be here. As far as I'm concerned, that's far more important."
Izuku looked up and smiled at the other student. "You know, you're actually a pretty good guy, Iida."
"I would hope so. I am aiming to become a hero after all."
Two hours and seven physical tests later, including distance jumping, side-stepping, and strength grips, the results of the physical/Quirk test were shown on a hologram screen.
1. Itsuka Kendo
2. Tenya Iida
3. Eijiro Kirishima
4. Setsuna Tokage
5. Ochako Uraraka
6. Manga Fukidashi
7. Juzo Honenuki
8. Sen Kaibara
9. Pony Tsunotori
10. Minoru Mineta
11. Hanta Sero
12. Yosetsu Awase
13. Togaru Kamakiri
14. Izuku Midoriya
15. Reiko Yanagi
16. Shinai Kuroiro
17. Toru Hagakure
18. Kyoka Jiro
19. Denki Kaminari
20. Koji Koda
"Um, Sensei, I don't mean to sound rude, but this entire exercise seemed incredibly one-sided." Kaminari, a young man with yellow & black hair and yellow eyes, stated.
"How so?"
"Well, it just seems like this test wasn't made for more…esoteric Quirks like mine." To demonstrate, he created a small electrical current in his hands. "It's not like I could shock the ball into going higher."
"And I found himself at a disadvantage by the abundance of light, mocking a creature of pure darkness such as myself," Kuroiro said. He lived up to his name with skin that was black as night in contrast to his bright white hair.
"I said at the beginning that this was a test of your current physical and Quirk aptitude," Sekijiro said.
"Honestly, you guys just sound butthurt," Kamakiri said with a smirk.
"Weren't you the one swearing a lot?" Tsunotori asked innocently.
"But why the physical stuff? We got superpowers, so why do we need to worry about whether or not we can make a 50-yard sprint in under a second?" Kaminari asked, making Sekijiro sigh before he addressed the entire class.
"Tell me, have any of you heard of Cyclone Tiger?"
"Who?" A couple of them asked.
"The retired wind hero?" Izuku chimed in.
"Nerd," Kamakiri whispered.
"Well, Midoriya, you're the first student to get that the first time," Sekijiro said. "Most students don't know who Cyclone Tiger is."
"I mean, I don't know that much about him, mostly because there isn't much to go on," Izuku elaborated. "He had a pretty short career as a Pro Hero, and the only reason I know he exists is because I study as many heroes as I can."
"That's right, Cyclone Tiger retired after only five years after becoming a hero. When he first hit the scene, he was hailed as a prodigy and an exceptional hero. The public couldn't get enough of him, and his colleagues regarded him as one of the strongest heroes they knew and one of the few people who could potentially surpass All Might."
Iida raised his hand at that statement. "Pardon me, sir, but if this Cyclone Tiger was so exceptional, why did he retire?"
Sekijiro then gave the students a glare. "He got cocky. Tiger relied almost exclusively on his Quirk and heavily neglected all other forms of training. One day he went to make an arrest and was seriously injured."
"Man, that villain must have had a pretty strong Quirk," Kirishima commented.
"They didn't, actually. They weren't even really a villain because the criminal was Quirkless." As soon as Sekijiro said that, the students began muttering and conversing in disbelief, and Izuku was stunned too. "They were just a petty purse snatcher. Cyclone Tiger cornered them, fully confident that he could take the criminal down. But because he had neglected his physical training, the criminal was able to easily overpower Cyclone Tiger when they got in close and stabbed him. He made a full recovery, but Tiger was so shaken by the experience that he gave up being a hero almost immediately and faded into obscurity."
The students of Class 1-B were speechless. For most of them, the very idea of a Pro-Hero being taken down by a mere purse snatcher was laughable. But their teacher's tone and hardened stare made it clear this was no joke.
Sekijiro turned back to Kaminari, not a hint of humor or mirth in the teacher's expression. "So to answer your question, Kaminari, this exercise and many others like it are to help prepare you for situations like that. Moments where you can't use your Quirk right away or without endangering those around you. Moments where you don't have access to support gear or need to rely purely on your physical capabilities to defeat your foe. That is the purpose of this test. Any other comments?"
"...no, sir," Kaminari said, feeling more than a bit embarrassed. But Sekijiro then offered a reassuring smile.
"But here's the thing, you're at this school to improve. I don't expect all of you to be aces from the get-go. So now, we have a good indicator of what each of you will need to focus on in order to improve. That's all for today, so hit the showers."
As the students headed out, Izuku had a lot to think about. Their sensei raised a good point about dealing with situations where they couldn't use their gear or Quirks. Hell, there were several instances in the manga and anime Izuku had watched where the mecha pilots were forced to get their hands dirty.
Kacchan had been suggesting self-defense classes for a while. Maybe he should take up his friend on that offer. A few moments later, Izuku and Ochako were walking through the halls, talking about their own performances.
"I'm just saying that if you used that gravity-increasing part of your Quirk, you probably could've gotten a higher score on the grip strength," Izuku commented.
"Ya, but then I would've had a broken hand for the other tests," Ochako said before the two saw Katsuki stepping out of Class 1-A alongside the other students leaving for the day. "Hey, Kacchan."
"Oh, hey," Katsuki said as the two approached him. "Did you guys do that physical too?"
"Right after orientation," Izuku answered.
"So you actually went to that," Katsuki said with an annoyed expression. "Hobo-sensei just had us take the test and then lied about expelling the lowest-scoring schmuck."
"On the first day?!" Izuku and Ochako said in disbelief.
"For the record, I got 2nd place," Katsuki said with a smirk before gesturing to two other students; a boy with hair that was half-white & half-red and a mature-looking girl with black hair tied in a ponytail. "Strawberry Vanilla Swirl over there got first, and Ponytail got 3rd."
"Not even remembering their names?" Izuku asked with a sigh.
"It's the first day. Give me a break."
"Guys, guys!" The three turned and saw Mei approaching them. "You won't believe how amazing the support lab is! I swear, there's some technology that isn't even available on the market! Oh, and Izuku, you gotta see where they're going to put Striker! It's so cool!"
"Really?! You think we can see it?!" Izuku said with excitement. Katsuki then looked over the green-haired boy's shoulder.
"Maybe after Shovel Chin over there stops stalking us."
Izuku and Ochako turned and saw Iida approaching them, standing awkwardly.
"Iida? What're you doing?" Izuku asked.
The bespectacled young man rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I…um…forgive me, I'm not very good at this." He then looked at Izuku and Ochako. "You two have…intrigued me. And I was wondering if you would like to become acquaintances."
Izuku realized what the taller teen was trying to say, giving off a light-hearted chuckle before smiling and holding his hand out. "I'd like that very much, Iida."
Iida offered his own smile before shaking Izuku's hand.
"Ah, what the heck? Put 'er there." Ochako held her own hand out, which Iida shook as well. He was then surprised when Mei put her hand on his shoulder.
"Welcome to the group, big guy! The name's Mei Hatsume."
"Um…pleased to make your company, Hatsume," Iida said before looking at Katsuki. "And you're Kacchan, right?"
A vein appeared on the blond's forehead before he got up in the taller boy's face. "Listen up, Specs; I already got these three idiots calling me that dumb nickname! I don't need a fourth one! Just call me Bakugou."
"Ah, I see. Forgive me for my rudeness, Bakugou."
"Hm. That's more like it." Katsuki said, his hands on his hips to the amusement of Izuku, Ochako, and Mei.
The first day of the new UA semester had come to an end. And a group of four friends was joined by another.
Author's Note 2: With this chapter, we have the status quo for MSRA. Izuku and Ochako are in a different version of Class 1-B. So ya, this isn't going to be one of those stories where Izuku's in the same class, just with a few changes.
As you can see, Vlad King has more of a straightforward type of teacher. No logical ruses here. And we've also gotten a glimpse of this alternate 1-B, and me and xpegasus are excited to write them.
Next Time: Hero 101! Give it Your All!
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