Izuku Midoriya was seated in the waiting room, his legs twitching with nervous excitement. A hand went to his chest, feeling his heart racing while a smile grew on his lips. This was really happening. Here he was, about to go into the final match of the Sports Festival to see who would win first place. Honestly, this felt a little too good to be true. Not only had he defeated the person he had admired, the person he had looked up to as a childhood vision of strength and tenacity, but also several other outstanding heroes in training. He felt so honored to be here that a part of him didn't care how the match turned out. That just being here was more than he deserved.
'Enough of such foolish thoughts partner! Do not settle for aiming for anything other than the top!'
Izuku nearly jumped in his seat at Albion's sudden words. As he looked down at his left hand, the teen thought about the person he would be facing. A student from 1-A, the one who had defeated Tetsutetsu in a single blow. The person that, with a single flick of his finger, sent Shinso out of the ring due to the massive air pressure he created. A student who stood there, taking everything Pony could dish out before sending her flying out of the ring.
'He's strong Albion,' thought Izuku, communicating to the ancient dragon. 'Much stronger than anyone else here.'
'Perhaps, but that is no reason for you to cower in fear!' insisted Albion. 'You hold the Divine Dividing! No matter how strong he is, all it will take is a single touch for it to be cut in half! Besides, would a true hero back down from a stronger foe?'
Izuku's eyes widened at that before giving a firm nod. In his heart and mind, a true hero would face any odds in order to save and protect the people. So, he would use this match to show the pros out there that he had what it took. That he would face down an opponent with superior strength and take him down!
With this newfound determination, Izuku began going over his opponent's matches in his head. His opponent was strong, insanely so, but he had one clear weakness that Izuku could capitalize on. Every time he used that super strength of his, the part of his body that he used would become damaged. Like when he fought Tetsutetsu, his arm looked all cracked before turning purple. The same went for the finger that he used against Shinso. Sure those injuries got healed up, but only once the match was finished. If Izuku used his speed to his advantage, he could just let his opponent's injuries pile up until he could not continue. Or just let him injure himself enough and then use Divine Dividing to sap half of his strength so that it could be used against him. Both were sound plans.
By the time Izuku had figured out what he was going to do, Present Mic's voice called him to the stadium. Taking a breath, he walked out of the room and towards one of the biggest fights of his life.
"Alright, alright," came Present Mic's energetic voice. "Ladies and gentlemen. Pros from all around the world. I hope you are ready because the final match of the first year's Sports Festival is about to begin. Coming in from the left we have the plainest-looking boy you will ever see! But don't let that fool you because he has taken down some of his rival class's heaviest hitters! Give a shout-out to the kid Aizawa wanted to kick out of the hero program on the first day: Izuku Midoriya!"
As Aizawa's incoherent grumblings filled the airways, the 1-B student made his way toward the center of the arena.
"But, does he have what it takes to take down the last of 1-A's heaviest hitters?" continued Mic. "Coming in from the right, we have the teen with the strength of the mountains themselves! The living embodiment of what it means to be manly. Let's give it up for the powerhouse: Eijiro Kirishima!"
Izuku took a breath, watching as his redheaded opponent made his way to the arena. Kirishima looked embarrassed as he walked across the field, scratching the back of his head while his class cheered him on. Yet, when he got onto the arena floor, he didn't stop. Instead, he kept moving towards the green-haired youth with a sharp-toothed smile on his face. Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku saw that Midnight was watching this closely and seemed ready to step in should something go wrong.
Finally, Kirishima stood in front of Midoriya with his eyes downcast slightly.
"Your fight with Baku-bro," began the 1-A boy. "You had a chance to get back at him for what he did to you in the cafeteria, you know? Could have just let him fall after breaking his arm. Heck, you could have just kicked him while you were both still in the air to knock him out of the ring." As he said this, Kirishima lifted his head to show that he was smiling with those sharp teeth of his before reaching out his hand. "But instead, you took the high road with my buddy. You brought him back down to the ground safely even though he didn't like it. That's super manly of you bro. And that makes you alright in my books."
Izuku felt his cheeks heat up before taking the other teen's hand in his own, giving Kirishima an honest quirk-free handshake.
"T-Thanks," he managed to say.
"But don't go thinking that just because you helped out my best bud I'll go easy on you. I plan on winning this," added Kirishima.
"You're not the only one," replied the Divine Divider as the two ended their handshake. "So come at me with everything you have and I'll do the same!"
Kirishima grinned wildly at that. "Alright!" exclaimed the teen as he gave Midoriya a thumbs up. "Looks like this is going to be one manly fight!"
"Oh my!" swooned Midnight, gaining everyone's attention. "Such passion before the match. Oh, it's really doing something for me now!"
Both students, as well as most men in the audience, turned bright red as Midnight squirmed from her spot on the stage. Her face had a blush that almost hid the blood running down her nose. Almost.
Once the crowd had gotten over their shock and embarrassment over Midnight's statement, the cheers grew to their highest volume yet as both students took their places on either side of the arena. Izuku activated Divine Dividing, his wings on full display causing his class to go wild. At the same time, Kirishima's body took on a more jagged and rocky appearance while his class did their best to cheer him on. The teens, however, blocked everything going on around them out as their eyes locked onto the others. The only sound to get through to them was Midnight's voice when she told them to begin.
Like a flash, Izuku was zipping around the stadium. While doing this, the teen kept his eyes on Kirishima who was visibly having a hard time keeping track of the flying teen. Seeing this, Izuku shot at full speed with his legs in front of him. The green-haired teen's feet connected with his opponent's right shoulder with a force so powerful that it sent a shock wave through the stadium, sending plenty of litter flying up into the air. Yet, despite making contact, Kirishima stood there like that kick had been the equivalent of a fly landing on him!
'Ok, so he's not just strong but also has an amazing defense!' thought Izuku as he took in this new information.
Seeing Kirishima raising a clawed hand, Izuku shot back into the sky before his opponent could swipe at him. But as he gained distance, the green-haired teen looked back in time to see the redhead preparing to flick a finger at him. Though, that wasn't the interesting thing. As Kirishima held his hand out aiming at the flying teen, Izuku noticed what looked like glowing red veins of power on that finger. Before Midoriya could ponder about it some more, the hardening quirk user flicked his finger! The result sent a massive, uncontrollable whirlwind of air at Izuku while also creating a number of cracks on the user's finger. And while Midoriya was thrown around a bit by the powerful winds he was able to quickly right himself.
That didn't stop Kirishima as he readied another finger to flick at Izuku, the same veins appearing on that digit as well. Spotting this, Izuku flew faster out of the way at the very last moment and avoided the attack altogether.
'It's like a volcano,' thought Izuku as he continued to analyze his opponent with growing excitement. 'That strength is like magma, pooling into a certain point before it erupts. That's so amazing!'
'Focus partner! Focus!' snapped Albion.
'I am!' As Izuku thought this, he dodged another attack from Kirishima. Then another. Each finger flick sending another blast of air toward the audience, causing them to cry out in both shock and amazement. Now, four figures on his dominant hand were cracked and the teen looked like he was in pain.
Believing that now was the right moment, Izuku flew around the stadium once more so that he was nothing more than a blur. Kirishima could do nothing but stand there, unable to keep track of his opponent but keeping his cool. That is, however, until Izuku appeared right behind him while placing a hand on the teen's rocky back.
"Divide!" declared Izuku. A mass of power filled the teen, causing him to cry out in pain. Not even the Nomu he had drained that first time had this much strength! So it was no surprise to Midoriya as his wings shattered, causing him to fall to the ground.
"Uh…so much…power," grunted Izuku as he forced himself to stand, his body still feeling the sting from the strain.
'Yes,' commented Albion, using the tone that indicated he was nodding. 'It is remarkable that he has that much power flowing through his veins. However, that power has now been cut in half so he should be easier to-'
Albion's words were cut off as Kirishima turned on Izuku, his uninjured fist raised to attack. A rush of adrenaline flowed through the forest-haired teen, giving him the strength he needed to push away at the last moment before the blow connected. That was the only good news as Kirishima's attack was powerful enough to create massive cracks in the arena that webbed their way from one end to the other. What's worse was the fact that his arm looked to be completely intact!
Slowly, Kirishima raised his arm up to the sky seeming to inspect it with a look of awe and wonder.
"Whoa," said the redhead before turning to look at Izuku with a grin. "I don't want this to sound like I'm bragging or anything, but I have so much strength that it was a real challenge controlling it! But this? Much easier! Thanks, man."
'Oh, well, ah…mistakes have been made.' As the sheepish words of Albion rang through Midoriya's head, Kirishima threw a punch in the direction of the Divine Didier managed. While Izuku managed to dodge the attack, the force of the blow still created winds that sent him flying. The crowd watched in shock and awe as the 1-B student was flung backward before rolling for some distance only stopping close to the edge of the ring.
Gritting his teeth, Izuku managed a back flip onto his feet before racing away from the edge while the crowd cheered wildly. Kirishima was not standing idly either, running towards his green-haired opponent with a wild smile on his face. Izuku reached him first, getting low while trying to knock him off balance with a sweeping kick. Unfortunately for him, Kirishima's leg barely budged. Taking barely a moment to process this, Izuku changed tactics as he sent an upward kick from this position aimed at his opponent's jaw. While the blow connected perfectly, Kirishima acted as though he felt nothing. Instead, the 1-A student grabbed Midoriya by the leg before flinging him to the side in the hopes that he would be sent out of bounds. Thankfully, Izuku managed to twist himself in midair before landing on the ground so he would be able to stop himself.
However, Izuku's respite was brief for Kirishima had already leaped high into the air with his fists clasped together above his head. Izuku reacted more out of instinct than anything else, racing away from the spot before Kirishima struck the cement. The ground behind Midoriya erupted, stony shrapnel impaling his back before he was sent flying to the other side of the arena. This time, Izuku nearly did land out of bounds as his head was so very close to the edge. With a groan, Midoriya pushed himself off of the ground before standing on shaky legs waiting for the dust to settle.
As he waited, Izuku tried to activate Divine Dividing once more in the hope that it would allow him to somewhat make this fight more even. Yet there was nothing. Things were not looking good for him. He was tired, both from the fight and the loss of blood as he could feel his life fluid slowly moving down his back. His attacks were not strong enough to hurt his opponent when his rocky skin was activated. Not to mention that Kirishima was now able to use the super strength of his quirk without fearing its repercussions.
However, Izuku refused to throw in the towel. No, that was not what a real hero would do. After all, he still had everything he needed. Two arms, two legs, and a brain to use. He just needed to figure it out.
So, as Kirishima walked out of the dust cloud with smoke rising from his hardened body, Izuku began to process what he had seen so far. Looking for any sort of weakness. Well, for starters, Kirishima didn't seem to gain a speed boost. At least, not that he had noticed. As for his fighting capabilities, calling the 1-A student a brawler would be generous.
Then, Izuku noticed something interesting. Kirishima seemed to stumble a bit, nearly tripping on some upturned rock. Eyeing widening at that, Izuku looked behind his opponent to see that the ground behind him was composed of either jagged rocks or small platforms. Taking his attention back to the redhead, Izuku could see that he was beginning to tire out. No doubt from the fight so far as well as pain from his broken fingers. But there was something else. Something that could only truly be seen up close. Kirishima's body was losing some of its edges. It looked far less jagged and rocky. Was there a time limit to it or was it like tensing a muscle, something he couldn't hold forever? Whatever the case, it looked like Kirishima's time in this form was coming to a close.
So, an idea came to him. It was a stupid, reckless idea that might get him killed if he wasn't careful. Not to mention turning off a number of pros watching. Yet it was the only thing he could think of doing. Thus, Izuku got into his fighting stance.
"Kirishima!" called out Izuku. "I've only got one shot at defeating you. So I'm coming at you with everything I have left!"
At that, the redhead grinned as he raised his own fist.
"Oh, that is so manly! Let's finish this Midori-bro!" exclaimed Kirishima.
With that, Izuku charged forward while yelling at the top of his lungs. He could hear Present Mic yelling over the speakers, wondering out loud if Midoriya had lost his mind! The crowd's noise was almost deafening, but Izuku pressed forward until he was right in front of Kirishima. The redhead launched a punch from his uninjured hand, just as Izuku knew he would. So with the hardening quirk user putting his weight behind the blow, Midoriya twisted his body to go behind Kirishima while hooking the other teen's leg with his own. This caused the teen to go off balance, falling to the ground face, and fist, first. As for Izuku, he managed to plant his other leg onto Kirishima's back before launching himself away.
Just in time too. As the blow from Kirishima connected with the arena floor, the cement instantly shattered in what felt like a massive explosion. Massive cracks spider-webbed their way across the floor, sending streams of debris up into the air to create a cloud of dust. Then, when it was over, the crowd gasped to see that the arena that had taken so much punishment over the course of the day lay in ruins! Now it appeared more like an island chain of platforms with large gashes separating them from each other going all the way to the grassy earth below. Midnight looked concerned but allowed the match to continue as such.
As Kirishima got to his feet, he stumbled a little as the piece of cement he was standing on could barely hold him. That and he was panting heavily now as his hardened body looked almost gone. Meanwhile, Izuku was putting the final piece of his plan into action as he jumped from platform to platform without losing any of his speed. Kirishima tried to jump to the next platform, ready to continue the fight but stumbled with the landing so badly that he began swinging his arms wildly to keep himself from falling face-first into the ground.
That was the moment Izuku knew he had to strike. With Kirishima still trying to steady himself, Midoriya moved behind the redhead before leaping up into the air with all the might he had in his legs. Slightly above his opponent, Izuku spun himself into a ball the same way he had during the entrance exam before delivering a powerful axe kick to Kirishima's shoulder. A loud crack was heard followed by Kirishima's scream, the remains of his rocky skin vanishing. The redhead fell to his knees clutching his broken shoulder with his broken fingers while sweat began to pour down his face. As for Izuku, he fumbled the landing badly due to his now broken foot. The green-haired teen fell to his side, gritting his teeth in pain as an arm dangled off the cracked edges inside the arena. But neither of them was out yet.
Slowly Izuku and Kirishima began to rise, ready to continue the fight as the crowd went silent. The crowd seemed to know that the fight was nearing its end. Neither teen could use their quirk, but the fierce look of determination they had in their eyes told the other that this wasn't over. That they would continue to push themselves and go Plus Ultra. And now, on this little island that Kirishima had accidentally made, all it would take was a single slip-up to end the match.
Once they got to their feet, Izuku saw Kirishima raise his injured arm while the other hung limply at his side due to his broken shoulder. The Hardening teen staggered for a moment before charging at Izuku the best he could. At the same time, Izuku struggled to get into his proper stance due to the strain of his broken foot. As his eyes watered, he noticed something about Kirishima's arm. The veins he had noticed before were back, glowing as they webbed across the other boy's skin! As much as Izuku wanted to theorize what that meant, his survival instincts promptly slapped his curiosity upside the head! He glanced quickly to his right and then his left, but there was nowhere to go. No way to dodge this save for the most reckless and dangerous option. His other options were to take the hit and die or quickly shout that he surrendered.
It took a split second for Izuku to make up his mind. Gritting his teeth, Izuku stood his ground waiting for the blow. Midnight was shouting something, Cementoss getting ready to move to action as well. But, just before the attack hit, Izuku leaned back allowing the fist to sail over his body. The teachers saw this, stopping to watch as the 1-B student then quickly clung to the arm, wrapping his own arms around it before the wind generated by the attack could be formed. Kirishima was quickly thrown off balance by this unexpected weight, his body bending downwards. Just then, Izuku's feet planted themselves into the hardening teen's gut. The crowd went deafly silent as Kirishima's body was tossed over by this maneuver, half of his body landing on the edge of the small island of cement they were on with his feet touching the grass.
"What is this!?" cried Present Mic as the crowd went wild once more. "No, seriously: what is this? Is it a ring out or what?"
That's when Midnight held up her whip. "According to the rules, you are out if you touch any part of the ground outside the arena floor. While Kirishima did not move out of bounds, he did touch the ground that was not a part of the arena. So with that in mind and seeing how neither contestant is able to continue fighting, I declare that Izuku Midoriya is the winner!"
-x-
A short while later, a patched-up Izuku found himself being raised up from underground as he stood on the first-place podium. Before him stood all of the first years, looking back at him with a mixture of pride, awe, and even envy. He could easily spot his friends, Istuka giving him a thumbs up while Toga blew kissing at him and one of the people on the third place podium. As for Shinso, the brainwashing teen gave him a thankful wave while being surrounded by his fellow General Studies classmates who were treating him like he was the true winner of all this. Meanwhile, class 1-A didn't seem too upset that it wasn't a member of their class standing at the top save for two. Monoma looked like he was doing everything in his power to pretend that there was no first-place spot. As for the other, well…
Bakugo was situated in the back of the pack, heavily retrained in a manner that some would consider overkill. Numerous straps bound his body to a special lifting dolly, his hands and feet seeming to be encased in heavy-weighted armor. There was also a metal frame that surrounded his body from the neck down while his mouth was gagged. And despite all that the school had down, it still didn't seem like enough for the moment Bakugo saw Izuku on the podium his rage gave him additional strength. He began to rock back and forth, doing everything in his power to inch his way to Izuku so that he could ring his neck. Muffled curses could be heard, no doubt trying to call Izuku a thief again.
Not wanting to look at those bloodshot, angry eyes anymore, Izuku turned his attention to the person on the second-tallest podium. Standing there to his right was Kirishima, scratching the back of his head and looking a little embarrassed as the crowd cheered him on.
"Hey," said the green-haired teen, gaining the attention of the 1-A student. "I hope there are no hard feelings. You know, about how the match ended."
"Heck no," replied Kirishima. "That was one of the most manly fights I've ever been in. The way you stood your ground and used my own strength against me was just so cool! Besides, I was on my last leg anyway. Can't wait to see how things turn out next year when I get more control over my strength!" With that, that redhead let out a laugh while never noticing Izuku's shiver. Would he ever be able to handle the strain of dividing and taking in that level of strength? Only time would tell.
Glancing to his other side, he saw the two who were tied for third place. As always, Pony was super excited as she waved to the crowd. As for the other student who had tied for the position, Uraraka just looked a little embarrassed.
Finally, the moment came for the metal to be handed out. And who better to do it was the school's most famous alumni as well as the current holder of the number one hero: All Might! Upon seeing this, Izuku was practically vibrating in place. One by one, the great hero placed the metals around the necks of each student, giving them words of both praise as well as words of wisdom before embracing them in a hug.
Finally, it was Izuku's turn.
"Young Midoriya, I remember the first time I saw you," began All Might. "A nervous young man who was low on points, yet risked everything to save a random stranger. You stood up and defeated a foe that many of your fellow examinees feld from, not by overpowering it but by being cunning and creative. Skills which I am glad to see you have not thrown away. And it is my hope that you never do."
"I won't All Might," responded Izuku as the pro hero placed the medal around his neck.
Nodding, All Might turned while making a sweeping gesture towards the camera. "Now then young man," said the smiling hero. "How about we hear some inspiring words from you to close this day of the Sports Festival?"
For a moment, Izuku's brain froze as he stared at his reflection in one of the lens. He could see it zooming in on him, getting a close-up of his face to be broadcast all across the world. So that everyone could see and hear what he had to say. The teen could feel his mouth hanging open, completely blindsided by this. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that he wasn't the only one freaking out. Midnight, it was giving All Might a look that screamed "Are you CRAZY?". Seeing that, it became clear to the young hero that All Might had decided to do this on his own. That had the school wanted this, they would have informed the young man sooner so that he could get his thoughts together.
After a moment longer of awkward silence, Izuku took a breath. He guessed this was another case of All Might wanting to go Plus Ultra. After all, heroes had to give on-the-spot interviews and the like all the time. So maybe this was just practice?
So, all that he could do was tell the world what he had always wanted to hear.
-x-
Meanwhile, at the same time, Melissa Shield sat at the drawing board within her personal lab on I-Island as she worked on the design of her next project. The idea she had was a pair of special gauntlets that would be able to absorb high levels of impact and protect the user from the backlash of their own power. If she was correct, someone like her Uncle Might would be able to able to use them several times before they broke.
While working on the design, the television was playing the U.A. Sports Festival in the background. A part of her winced every so often as she listened as memories of an old dream would rise up from the depths of her heart where she buried them. A dream of being a hero which she knew she could never have as she was quirkless. However, she never changed the channel as she used this to focus on her new dream. To be like her father and create support gear for heroes. It was the closest that someone like her could ever get to being a hero. And keeping tabs on some of the future heroes was a good move as she could start coming up with ideas to help make them better. But that would come after she finished-
"For the longest time, I thought I was quirkless," came a voice from the TV. Instantly, Melissa stopped what she was doing as her eyes widened behind her glasses. For the span of a single breath, her pencil trembled in her hand before she looked at the screen. There stood this years first place winner, a somber expression on his face as he looked at the camera with honest eyes.
"I'm sure that many of you witnessed what happened during my last match," continued the green-haired boy, Melissa standing up before walking closer to the screen. "How my quirk failed me when I tried to use it against Kirishima, rendering me quirkless throughout the rest of that match. Fighting an opponent that was much stronger than I was. I'm sure many people out there thought it was crazy to continue fighting in that condition. That I should just give up. That I shouldn't even try. That I was useless in that state." Melissa watched as the teen briefly closed his eyes before shaking his head. "Before coming to U.A., I was taught my most important lesson: all of us are born with all the tools we need. Two arms, two legs, and a brain to use if we are wise. We just need to figure it out. It's because of those words that have helped me forge who I am now. And it can be the same for everyone who has a dream worth fighting for! It doesn't matter if you have a strong quirk, a weak quirk, or none at all. We are all more than our quirks! We are all born with all the tools we need! All you need to do is put in the time and effort to figure out what works for you. It might not work all the time! It will be difficult and you might fall on your face more than once. But that's what it means to go Plus Ultra!"
As the crowd gave the boy a cheer, Melissa fell to her knees while missing the uncomfortable look that All Might was giving the winner. Her mind was reeling from what she had heard. What he was saying, it couldn't be true. Could it? She couldn't be a hero, her body wasn't strong enough. She just…
Melissa's head then shot up, her eyes growing wide. Quickly she scrambled to her drawing board, ripping her old sketch off the moment she was seated in front of it. That green-haired boy was right! She may not have a quirk, but she was damned smart. Smart enough to figure out what she needed.
-x-
At the same time, a man with dirty blue hair watched from his computer scene of the Sacred Gear holder giving his stupid little speech. While the man-child's master was pleased to see the new holder of One for All in action for his own purposes, Shigaraki found himself unable to care. No, he wanted the boy with the wings. The one who weakened his Nomu with his cheat hack. A cheat hack that only HE was supposed to have. What's more, he was going to make that entire class pay! From that guy with the steel quirk who stood up to them first to the freaking psychopath that dropped a freaking robot on them!
-x-
After the Sports Festival ended, the first years were given the next few days off to recover while the school began looking into the number of requests they got from pros.
When they returned to their homeroom on Monday, before class began, everyone was excitedly talking about all the people who congratulated them on their performances. Kendo, Izuku noticed, blushed when she brought up her experiences. Apparently, the media had found out that she and Izuku had trained in the same dojo. Once their fans found out, the place was swarmed by people asking her all sorts of questions. Many of them were people with less flashy quirks like her own, praising how cool she looked when she fought Bakugo.
"It was kind of embarrassing considering how I lost," admitted Itsuka.
"Honestly, I thought you did really well," said Izuku. "And, well, they're not lying when they said you looked really cool out there."
As he said that, Izuku felt his cheeks burn as though Bakugo had unleashed multiple explosions on each one. And, at the same time, Kendo's face began to turn bright red as well.
Thankfully, before the situation could become awkward, the doors to the class opened to reveal Vlad King and, surprisingly, Present Mic. After the students took their seats their homeroom teacher congratulated them all on their hard work. Then he informed them that before he showed them their results they were all going to be picking out their hero names with the help of Present Mic. Something that got a big cheer from everyone there.
Everyone was given a few minutes to decide, writing their names on a whiteboard before presenting them to the class. While many of the students were nervous, Present Mic told them to think about it like they were announcing this to the press. Shouting out to the world who they were.
After time had been given to them, Izuku watched as his classmates presented their names. Itsuka had gone with the name Battle Fist. Shishida wanted to be called Mr. Noble Beast as a proper hero name, only for Present Mic to shoot it down for being 'too lame'. In the end, the proper teen decided to go with Gevaudan. Pony nearly bounced to the front to present the name Rocketti while Toga had gone with the more ominous title of Nobody. As for Izuku, when it was his turn, he had decided to take Vlad King's words to heart and use the name that had been an insult to him as his hero name. However, the name Deku would no longer mean nothing. Instead, it would stand for 'you can do it'!
Once that was finished, Class 1-B got to see their results…though they were disappointed that they didn't get as much as they were hoping. Izuku, who had placed at the top, barely got over nine hundred offers with the rest getting drastically less. The reason this was upsetting was that they heard that some of the students in 1-A got offers in the thousands.
'If I had to guess, it's because the quirks in 1-A are flashier than ours,' thought Izuku. 'That and the fact that the son of the number two hero is in that class.'
'Perhaps so,' commented Albion. 'However, those who only look at such trivial things are unworthy of our attention. So pay them no heed. Instead, focus on the ones who seek your true worth.'
'You're right,' agreed Izuku.
Soon, sheets were handed out to those who were given offers sorted by the rank of the heroes. What surprised Izuku was the fact that Endeavour was at the top of his list! This was odd seeing that the pro hero normally kept sidekicks that had something to do with fire, either controlling it or dousing it out. And Izuku didn't really fit into that category. For a moment, the teen considered his options before placing the man in the maybe pile. Endeavor was skilled, he had to be to keep the number two rank for so long. But, the man's demeanor was the exact opposite of what Izuku wanted to be known for. That as well as a feeling that Endeavor wanted him for something else. Still, this was a great possibility so if nothing else caught his eye then he would-
Izuku's thoughts were cut off as he looked at the next offer. He had expected it to be Hawks, seeing that they were both flyers but it wasn't. It wasn't even someone that Izuku had ever considered before! But now, looking at the name with wide-eyed wonder, it made sense. It was the Rabbit Hero: Mirko!