The sun approaches its apex, making the shadows below them the smallest possible. While this part of the year isn't the warmest, it is still enough to make some of the nervous students sweat a bit more. The only one who seems more relaxed is the bird-headed teen, if only because his brow is slightly less furrowed. They finish up the previous activity and soon they are onto the next one: Standing Long Jump.
Izuku looks at the setup for this test, cupping his chin in thought. "...I think I only have two choices for this one..." He mumbles.
"Yuga Aoyama."
The sparkling boy from earlier walks up, a strange contraption fastened around his waist. Strangely, he turns his back to the pit as he gets to it, leaping into the air. Suddenly a beam fires out of his stomach, propelling him over and beyond the sand.
The green-haired teen looks where the beam had fired, rubbing his chin as he thinks. "Just how powerful is that? How long can he hold it? Can it be redirected?" His fingers twitch for a pen that he doesn't have.
When Izuku takes his turn, he turns into Scorbunny, just in case he needs to do something else afterwards. Frogadier was a better jumper, but it didn't have the best physicality for toe touches or situps, and he didn't know if either one was next.
This test goes fairly quick and soon they are onto the next: Situps.
For this Aizawa actually pairs them up for the activity, saying working together with other heroes should be smooth even in dire circumstances.
Izuku blinks, finding himself paired up with the guy who had made the miniature star earlier. To their left is Kirishima and the guy with the black bolt in his yellow hair. On the other side from them was Ochako and the pink girl from before, Mina. No one was to Izuku's right.
Hozarou smiles at Izuku. "Hey, crazy first day, huh?"
He nods, smiling brightly. "Rab." He pauses, looking down at himself, then back up at him. "Rab Raboot Ra." He stops trying, pouting a bit. He shrugs, then lays down on the ground, knowing he has no idea when he'll change back.
"Oh... I guess you can't talk like this." The boy assumes. "Body language and tone it is, then. Did you want to go first?"
Izuku just nods, stubby bunny arms behind his head as he readies himself.
"Right." He nods, crouching and holding his feet for him.
The fluffy rabbit half his size starts once he's secure, his little body actually helping quite a bit due to its light weight and athletic tone. "Rab raboot?" He tries asking as he does this, forgetting himself for a moment.
"Sorry, didn't quite get that." The boy answers.
He puffs his cheeks out slightly, glancing at the electricity come off his neighbor briefly, before looking back at him. "Rab Rarteen?" He blinks, looking down at his normal knees. "...I was asking if you were related to the Space Hero, Thirteen."
Hozarou's starry eyes seem to glimmer. "I don't think so. I haven't exactly deep dived on the bloodlines, but I do look up to her as a role model hero."
"Oh?" He smiles at him, continuing his sit-ups, not really straining since he was exercising since he was ten. "If I'm remembering right, Uraraka-san also looks up to her." He glances past Eijiro to look at the girl in question.
"Really? Huh, I wonder if themes affect that..." He muses. "I never really met a similar quirk before."
"Not even in your family?" The guy beside them asks, grunting through his sit-ups.
"Not really, Mom's got a lighting quirk and Dad has an appearance one." Hozarou shakes his head. "I thought I had Mom's for a while."
"How does it work?" Izuku asks with a grunt, starting to feel the burn.
"Pretty much... I emit celestial bodies, usually from my hands. I normally focus on stars, but I heard they can teach you to branch out here."
The green-haired teen stops halfway through a sit-up, holding in place as he thinks. "Celestial bodies? Can you make nebulas? Form rings around yourself? Are you limited in the kinds of stars? Can you make black holes? How do you not blind yourself?" He asks this all at once, running out of breath and completing the rep so he can collapse on his back to capture more air.
"I've tried making nebulas before, but with mixed results. It also left me pretty drained." He admits. "Does yours leave you tired after transforming?"
"Mostly hungry," he freely admits. "If I use too much power, I could starve my body."
"Dude, that sounds rough," the boy beside them says. "If I overdo mine, I just get dumb for a bit."
"Wait really?" Hozarou asks. "His I get because mine does something similar, but how would yours affect your mind?"
He pauses in a sitting position, raising his hand and letting sparks dance along the skin. "If I use too much electricity at once, I fry my brain."
Izuku stares at him, eyes dancing all over the blonde boy's body for a moment before narrowing at his sneakers. "...Kaminari-san, was it?"
"Denki Kaminari, yeah, that's my name." He gives a cheesy little grin. "What's up?"
"Are you grounded?"
The blonde boy blinks owlishly at this. "What? No, I'm not in trouble. My mom's cool, so it rarely happens, anyways."
Hozarou laughs softly. "I think he meant electrically grounded."
"Oh." He tilts his head. "What does that mean?"
"Like... a way for the electricity to get out of you without short circuiting." He supplies.
"Oh." He scratches his head. "Normally it comes out my skin."
"What kind of shoes are those?" Izuku asks him, trying to get to the point.
"Oh!" He grins, reaching out and patting them on the side. "They're specially made with thick, electric-resistant soles. We had to get them because I used to just melt my other ones."
"How old were you when this happened?" The smart boy continues.
Denki scratches his head, thinking. "...about five? I didn't really have a grasp on my quirk back then, I remember that much."
"Huh, I wonder if they could make you more specialized ones here. I did see a section about preliminary costumes." Hozarou muses.
He blinks, scratching his head in confusion. "Why would I need new ones?" As though suddenly remembering, he gets back to his sit-ups, not wanting to fall to the bottom of the class.
"Mostly so you don't overload your brain so much," Izuku says, getting back to his own. "Ten more and we switch, right?" He asks Hozarou, watching as the other two switch places.
He nods. "Sure. I'm surprised he didn't tell us to."
Izuku nods, continuing his sit-ups as well as he can do them.
They are rapidly moved onto the next event after a time: Toe Touches. For this, Aizawa actually just lines them all up and walks down the line to score them.
Izuku ends up between Ochako and the invisible girl. He keeps his eyes averted from the latter, still embarrassed from what he saw during the Entrance Exam. He frowns upon seeing he can't quite reach, mind looking through his transformations for one that can help him.
As Ochako carefully touches her toes with just the ends of her fingers, Izuku hears a cheerful voice from his other side.
"Hey again!"
He yelps, glancing at her briefly. "H-hey."
He sees her bent over, or at least her uniform is, and the tops of her shoes pressed flat. "Hanging in there with all this?"
He pauses, staring at her in such shock that he almost slips into another form. "...yeah... how are you not straining?"
"I'm actually really flexible! It helps confuse people who try to make contact even when they can't see me." She giggles. "I'm Toru, I didn't have a chance to tell you that last time."
He blushes brightly, turning back to his own feet. "I was the one who freaked out... but I feel like I should mention that you were mistaken, too?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Her torso rotates to show she's looking fully at him. In his peripheral, he can see Ochako curiously looking over more subtly.
"...so... it turns out... that L-Lucario can..." He suddenly pops into his Kirlia form out of embarrassment. "...see invisible people."
Toru stays silent while Ochako tilts her head. The invisible girl quietly whispers, "Really?"
He nods, thinking of something that he could say without being accused of being a pervert. "…your hair is shoulder length and messy?"
The silence comes back, stronger this time, as one stares and the other avoids her gaze. Suddenly Toru curls up into a surprisingly tight ball as there's a soft high-pitched shriek from her.
"I'm sorry!" He mentally wails, which really means only the two closest to him can understand what is being said. Everyone else gets a burst of white noise.
There's a few groans from the other kids who now look confused. Ochako leans over and pats Izuku. "Now now... you both freaking out doesn't help…"
"But... but I have to apologize! What I did wasn't right!" He tries to argue, collapsing onto his own legs, folded perfectly in half. "At the very least, I have to own up to it! Maybe... maybe offer ideas so she isn't naked with her quirk? Her hair! She could have the ones doing our uniforms figure out why it goes invisible and use it for her costume! T-then she would not only be covered, but better protected!" His mind rattles the ideas off quickly, trying to find some way to make up for his accidental transgression.
"Can we just stop talking about it?" Comes Toru's voice.
Ochako has the look of a thousand yard stare.
"Right, sorry," he meekly says, trying to quiet his thoughts.
"Hey, focus." Comes a stern warning from their teacher.
Izuku nods, green pigtails swaying and arms flopping to lay past his points of feet.
In a slightly stuffy silence following, the results are tallied and some back are popped as he sets everyone up for the next and last event: the distance run.
Izuku shrinks in on himself, still mortified by what he did. Then he stops a few meters away from the starting line, frowning as he wonders why he can't get over it. "...is my mind affected in this form, as well?"
"Maybe." Ochako offers nearby while the uniform shell containing Toru happily walks a bit further away. "Your quirk has a lot of details."
"That's true," he admits, stumbling as he changes back mid-step. "Why is it so complicated? I don't know any other quirk with such detail..." He guides her to the outside of the line with two students, the boy with half-white half-red hair and the girl with the high, spiky ponytail. "Most of them are pretty clear with what can and can't be done."
"I mean, some heroes can do crazy things with their quirk after training. Maybe you just started with some of the potential options already obvious?" She guesses.
"Yeah, I turn into six set Pokemon. And they evolve." He scratches his head. "That's still so strangely varied, though..."
"Well-" She's cut off by the announcement from Aizawa.
"Momo Yaoyorozu."
The girl with the ponytail steps forward, her expression somehow a mix of nerves and calm. She faces away from the others and lifts up her top, a scooter falling out that she mounts and rides away on.
Ochako blinks. "Wait what? There's no way she had enough room for that in there! No matter how-" She stops herself.
Izuku scratches his head, pondering. "Do you think there's a pocket dimension on her front? Maybe she took it from home just now?"
"Maybe? that'd be pretty convenient." She admits as the next person steps up, one that hasn't said much of anything so far with half red half white hair.
Keeping his eye on the quiet guy, her friend responds, "It's either that or she just built it from scratch right then."
"With her... chest?" She asks skeptically.
"Shoto Todoroki."
The quiet boy doesn't say a word, just staring down the track. When the signal is given, suddenly ice shoots from one of his hands and lines the entirety of the track while he skates down it at speed.
Izuku just blinks. "...that one, on the other hand, is much more straightforward."
"Also really powerful..." Ochako murmurs.
She looks at him to see a cheeky Raboot smiling up at her.
"Getting plenty of use out of this one today, huh?" She asks him.
"Rab," he says, shrugging a bit.
Aizawa calls his name.
"Good luck!" Ochako calls.
He gives her a salute before leaving. The little rabbit hurries over, stopping in front of their teacher and giving him a smile. He takes a step to one side. Then he takes a step to the other. His brow furrows in concentration as a wave of energy flows from his feet to his head, dissipating soon after. The tips of his hair turn a light purple, swaying as he nods and gets ready for the signal.
The solemn nod from his teacher is given.
He takes off in a burst of speed, much faster than the dash, running along the ice trail. It melts with each step, leaving behind more small rabbit foot-shaped puddles the further that he goes. The most interesting thing, however, is the laugh that spills out of him. It isn't nervous. It isn't even the slightest bit prideful.
No, the laugh that he lets out is one of pure joy, of doing something you love. It warms you up, telling you there's nothing to fear, that you'll be able to chase your freedom.
"Heh, no fear of losing in him." Eijiro says as he crosses his arms with a smirk. A few others near him nod, almost like a small breath to relieve tension.
He slips on the ice after a misstep, falling on his belly and sliding the rest of the way. He isn't discouraged, if the "Boot!" of excitement tells them anything.
He ends up slamming into the back of the ice boy's shins, still grinning brightly.
He looks down at the creature with a flat expression before simply turning and walking back towards the teacher.
He hurries after him, trying to match his longer strides without going too fast. "Rab Raboot?"
Shoto doesn't even acknowledge him.
He slows down, his smile dying a quick death at the lack of response. "Rabroki-san?"
He turns so that the right half of his face is peering over his shoulder at him.
He gives an awkward smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'd like to apologize for sliding into you. Is there a way I can help you to make up for it?"
"... there's no need."
He blinks in surprise. "Are you sure? Maybe I can give you some ideas with your quirk?" He rubs his chin. "It's Ice, right?"
"... yes."
He tilts his head thoughtfully. "That can be powerful, depending on how you use it... is it only ice, or can you also make cold water?" He holds up a finger. "I imagine pure ice wouldn't work very well against a villain using fire, right?"
The eye narrows. "My ice will be power enough."
"And if they melt it?" He responds. "Or break it apart? Backup plans are always a good thing to have."
"I'll make more." He grumbles, starting to turn back forward.
Hurrying next to him, Izuku tries to continue the conversation. "At the very least, you should see if you can make anything with your ice. Like a staff or armor."
"I can make armor." He starts walking again.
The green-haired teen eyes him curiously. "You're not very talkative, are you?"
"I don't need to be."
"Sure, I guess you don't have to be," he admits, waving to Ochako as they approach. "I guess you could find friends that don't mind. I certainly don't, though it does make conversations one-sided," he babbles, quickly closing his mouth as he realizes he's doing so.
Todoroki gives him a flat look mixed with confusion. "You should focus on the task. Our places here are on the line."
"You mean in this exam?" Izuku scratches his head, curly hair shifting beneath his fingers. "True, but there's nothing saying we can't be friends, right?"
Iida gestures to them. "Midoriya-san! You need to hurry up, for Aizawa-sensei is almost done!"
Shoto takes the opportunity to walk away as chatting picks up. Emotions are all over the place as their teacher tallies things up, and his ultimatum from earlier re-emerges.
Izuku stands between his friends, watching anxiously as all the nervousness comes back to him.
"Right, here are the scores." With little ceremony, Aizawa presents their results on a large board, many eyes drifting to the bottom or to familiar names.
Denki Kaminari, the boy with electric powers, tenses up as he stares at the bottom of the list. "...dang. I'm in last place?"
"Me too..." Comes the sad voice of Toru.
Aizawa clears his throat. "Now for those of you wondering about the expulsion..."
Denki closes his eyes, gritting his teeth to steel himself. "...you should stay, Hagakure-san," he whispers to the girl next to him.
"What? But-" she barely gets two words out as their teacher continues.
"None of you will be being expelled today." This statement is followed by silence from the crowd of students as they face him, seeing now a wide almost manic smile. "That was just a little ruse to get you to try your best."
Denki practically collapses, all of his tension leaving at once. "Oh thank God I wasn't ready to be kicked out."
The uniform that is Toru slumps. "Me too… the exam was hard enough."
"I could probably help you study," Izuku says without thinking, blushing brightly right after. "Sorry, I heard the word exam, and I just..."
"No, dude, if you can help us, we're all for it!" Denki grins. "Especially if your idea about my shoes is right!"
"I meant more the physical portion, but yeah that'd be great!" Toru does a hop.
"I could help with exercises, too," he offers, scratching the back of his head.
"That'd be great! Like a… fitness study group!" She hops again.
Izuku tries to keep eye contact, remembering what her face looked like from the exam. "That would be a good way to put it, yes, but I'm not entirely certain my house would be able to hold many people, should our... fitness study group?" He stumbles over the name for it. "...grow."
Iida walks over, bringing Ochako with him. "How about my home?"
The green-haired teen looks at him curiously. "I thought your family was known for their humble housing?"
The Engine user leans forward, his glasses sliding down his nose. "Right, how foolish of me. Our living room is only twice the size of yours. It might not be enough."
"I guess bigger families need bigger rooms." Ochaco observes.
"Right!" Iida straightens up, gesturing to Ochako. "How is your living room?"
She quickly waves her hands. "I don't think mine will work!"
"Oh, okay then." He looks to Denki, who simply shakes his head. He barely glances at Bakugou and the half-American he's talking to before looking to where he assumes Toru's eyes are. "What about you, Hagakure-san? Any room at your home for a study group?"
"Not really... can't we just use the gym if it's open?" she suggests, one sleeve toward her head.
Iida thinks for a bit before nodding. "We'll have to request it, I believe, but I don't see why not." He holds up a finger. "But what about the study part?"
"I mean, anywhere with a table would work for that." Ochaco points out.
His mouth opens to reply, but then he thinks about it. "While that is true, a comfortable place might help with concentration."
"I'm sure we can think of something, school just started after all." Toru quips.
"But proper planning is essential to success!" He tries to argue.
"Maybe we should get back?" Denki suggests, pointing at their classmates who are walking away.
"Oh! Let's not get left behind!" Ochaco says, starting to walk a few paces and waiting for them.
Izuku readily moves after her, and the rest soon follow their example.
Denki stopped to grab his shoes from where he'd left them at the start of the distance run. When he rejoins them, there's an ashen quality to his face and his gaze is lost on the horizon. When asked, he shakes his head, not wanting to elaborate.
One would think the rest of the day would go smoothly after that, but a sudden summons tot he nurse's office after class threatens that thought.
Quickly giving his friends a shaky thumbs up, Izuku hurries off to answer the call.
When he arrives, he sees Recovery Girl at her desk, writing something down. "Ah, there you are."
Trembling slightly, Izuku speaks up. "I'm sorry for the intrusion. Am I in trouble?" He blurts the question out before clamping his jaw shut.
"Should you be?" She asks, turning to him.
"No?" He almost fervently shakes his head. "Not that I know of, at least..."
"Good, then we can get to why I called you here." She spins around in her seat. "Now, I've heard your quirk is quite flexible and powerful. I saw that last part for myself."
He blinks, considering her words for a moment before blushing slightly. "...so you saw...?"
"You hurt yourself with your quirk? Yes. Who did you think for you up and running after?" She smiles.
"Thank you for healing me!" Izuku blurts. He quickly bows deep, smacking his head on her desk with a yelp.
She pokes his head with her walking stick. "Now now, don't go giving yourself a concussion. That's be the opposite of thanking me by undoing my work."
"I'm sorry," he groans before shifting to Kirlia, gathering water for the bruise on his forehead.
She watches him with attentive gaze.
He briefly dunks his head in the liquid, shivering from the cold but relaxing once the bruise fades away.
"Hmm... does that affect your stamina at all?" she asks.
He lets the water orb burst, the free liquid quickly evaporating as he thinks about his answer. "I don't actually know? I've never really used it in quick succession..."
"Hmm... so you don't notice it replenishing it either?"
He raises a two-fingered hand. "I think it restored Toshinori-san's stamina, before..."
"Any detrimental effects you've seen in yourself?"
He scratches his head, turning back just before he speaks. "When I use it even once without eating something sweet, I change back. If I change back and forth too many times, I get hungry in general… it only heals a certain amount at a time, too."
"Hmm... so it takes from you instead." She nods at this. "There's always a bottleneck, and it's good to realize where those are."
He blinks, then rubs his chin thoughtfully. "You're not wrong about that... was that why you called for me, Recovery Girl-san?"
"In a way. I wanted to confirm that part of your quirk can restore others. The number of heroes with those kinds of quirks are few, and thus very of note."
He scratches his head once more. "Really? Would that include your kids, then?"
"Heh, no such people, dear." She shakes her head with a smile. "Too busy keeping everyone else's alive."
The teen gives a concerned frown. "That's kind of you, but I guess I always assumed a hero like you had kids."
She laughs. "Very kind of you, but we're getting off topic. I called you here because I was wondering if you'd be interested in helping out."
Izuku blinks, actually caught off-guard by this. "Helping out? What do you mean, Recovery Girl-san?"
"What I mean is, if there's ever a need for some extra healing, would you be willing to assist? It would look good on your school record and you might earn to use it better."
He stares for a second before giving her a bright smile. "Sure! I wouldn't mind helping others!"
"There's a good attitude." She nods at him. "I'll try not to make it too much of a balancing act for you."
He returns to being confused. "Balancing act?"
"Between your studies and this extracurricular."
"Oh. That makes sense," he sheepishly admits.
"Not everything is as complicated as you think." She smiles.
"I did have this thorough plan Toshinori-san gave me," he offers, pulling it up on his phone. "Maybe I can ask him how to fit this in?"
She gives it a glance. "Hmph, at least he left time for socializing, but I don't think you understand. I don't plan healing in advance, it's when it's needed."
"...right." He puts his phone away, knowing he can't hide the red dusting his cheeks.
"But, unless it's an emergency, I won't pull you out of class." She clarifies.
He nods, smiling at her. "I'm perfectly fine with that."
"Good. Well, don't let me keep you. I'm sure you have much to discuss about your first day with your friends and family."
"Oh, right!" He bows once more, mindful of his head. "Thank you, and I hope you have a wonderful evening!"
She laughs, smiling at him. "I hope the same for you."
He waves as he hurries out the door, hoping to catch up with his friends.
So I feel like I should answer some of the questions in the reviews? To Joanne Frances Tiano Cajilig, the classes aren't conjoined; the students have been mixed up from their places in canon. To Vladius, he knew what his Pokémon were, what they could do before evolving, but he didn't actually think about natures, egg moves or even how common some weaknesses were until Yagi, Iida, and Ochako brought them up. To Pokemonever1994, there isn't going to be an Iron Valiant. I apologize.
Also, apologies for taking so long with this chapter! Real life has been kicking my butt. Hope you enjoy the chapter and we...may accidentally drag on with the first heroics class? We got rather involved with everything... don't know how long that will end up being.
Have a nice day! Enigma out!