1,000 views. holy shit. thank you all so much for reading MHA: D, i didn't expect even half as much readers as this. i'll try to produce higher and higher quality chapters, enjoy!

"Izuku Midoriya... with your power, you can't do anything," Aizawa stated flatly.

Shoyu's expression twisted into a crooked frown, mirroring the looks of the chestnut-haired girl and the boy with engines on his calves, completely aware that their words couldn't sway Aizawa. As Aizawa released his grip on Midoriya, his bandages and hair returned to normal.

"I've returned your Quirk," Aizawa informed Midoriya. "You have two turns for the ball throw. Hurry up and get it over with."

As Midoriya returned to the pitching mound, the other students began to gossip. Shoyu, visibly concerned for his classmate, rested his hand on his chin. "I'll probably be cutting it close because my Quirk can't assist me physically," he thought. "But Midoriya doesn't have the same biology I do."

There was a collective acceptance among the students, perceiving Izuku Midoriya as the expelled reject who couldn't achieve a single interesting result on the first day of school. Shoyu, however, knew that if Midoriya were to leave, he would have no acquaintances in Class 1-A, and U.A. would lose a potentially life-changing hero.

Why did Shoyu believe Midoriya had life-changing potential? The answer was beyond him. Perhaps it was his intuition. Expectations for Midoriya were low, even from the teacher. Shoyu perceived everyone's view of Midoriya as faithless, which oddly frustrated him.

"He's a Quirkless small fry, you know," Bakugo's voice echoed in his mind.

"No," Shoyu shook his head. "Midoriya has more resolve than all of us. If he made it this far, then he must have a trick up his sleeve."

Midoriya's hand drew back. The complete absence of x-shaped veins and light from his arm led Shoyu to believe that he Midoriya was gonna throw the ball with only his physical strength before he shut down those thoughts himself.

"No, no…" Shoyu thought. "If Midoriya wants to stay in the class, he'll need to go all out."

Midoriya's shoulder was nearing a complete rotation.

"Maximum power and minimum injury," he thought. "The only way for Midoriya to do that is…"

Just before Midoriya threw the softball, Shoyu witnessed his index finger light up with the same marks and energy as before, only concentrating on his finger. And just like Bakugo's softball throw, the spectating students were met with a large gale only without the ignited smoke. With even more power than the number one student in the entrance exam, Midoriya's throw propelled the ball into the sky instantly. Not even Shoyu could see the ball after it left his grasp.

SMMMMMAAAAASH!

"...full power at the last point of contact."

Over seven hundred meters. That was the distance Shoyu guessed the instant he saw Midoriya's power focus on his finger. While the other students gasped in pure astonishment, Shoyu kept his arms crossed with a smile on his face. He knew it was right to not doubt Midoriya, not even for a second.

"Teacher…" Midoriya muttered shakily, presenting his purple and swollen finger. "I still… can move."

"This kid…" Shoyu and Aizawa said in unison.

How did this guy get so… cool?

There were mixed reactions among the crowd. Some classmates were paralyzed with shock, others were celebrating his score. Shoyu was among those who were praising Midoriya's throw, but there was one student who didn't fall into either category. This student was furious.

Bakugo was motionless while he processed what just happened. His throw was 705.2 meters, while Midoriya's was 705.3 meters. Even if it was such a minuscule, tenth-of-a-difference, the truth was undeniable. Midoriya was in a vein above Bakugo.

"What is the meaning of this…?!" Bakugo muttered, while his palms lit up.

The livid Bakugo charged at Midoriya with no hesitation. It was the type of speed that Shoyu easily noticed, but so unprecedented that he didn't know how to react to it. The other students seemed to be in the same predicament.

"Tell me what's going on…" he yelled while screaming. "Deku you BASTARD!"

Before any of the students could intervene, the same bandages of the Erasure Hero took form and constricted Bakugo like serpents. The combustion user tried and tried to pull away, but the bandages just seemed to take on a tighter hold the more he resisted.

"They're weapons for capture made of carbon fiber woven together with metal wire made of a special alloy," Aizawa announced. "Jeez… don't keep making me use my Quirk over and over. I have dry eye."

"It's such a waste since his Quirk is so amazing," Shoyu admitted.

Aizawa released his grip on Bakugo, as well as deactivating his Erasure Quirk. "We're wasting time. Whoever's next, get ready."

Midoriya fled Bakugo's presence, saved by Shoyu, the chestnut girl, and the student with mufflers on his legs.

"Is your finger all right?" the girl asked.

"Oh, yeah."

"Ah…" Shoyu muttered in realization, sweat forming on his head. "I think…"

"Shoyu Kanagi, go up to the circle."

"...I'm next."

"Midoriya, you asshole," Shoyu thought as he walked up to the pitching mound in defeat. "700 meters! How am I supposed to top 700 meters?! I don't think my plan will be any good now."

Aizawa tossed a softball toward Shoyu, completely unbothered at the events that just transpired. "Just like usual, do whatever you want, just don't leave the circle. Give it your best."

Shoyu rotated his shoulders, jumping on his toes in an attempt to prepare and hype himself up. "Just try, just try, just try…" he repeated in his head. "You're not Quirkless anymore. You have power. You're not Quirkless…"

"Oh, thank god you're Quirkless!"

A voice echoed in his head. It was a feminine voice that belonged to his mother. It was a memory that he had acquired about ten years ago when he was at the doctor's office with his parents.

"I'm afraid so," an old voice began. It was a bald doctor with a fuzzy mustache and goggles. "The appearance of an extra joint in the toe is common with Quirklessness. You're already familiar with that, correct Dr. Shinyu?"

"Yes, sir," his father replied, visibly more youthful.

…

A small Shoyu, yet with hair as black as ever, clutched onto his mother's shirt collar as they exited the building.

"Sho-chan…" his mother said softly. "I know Quirks are cool. But you know how careful we have to be, right?"

"Yes, mommy."

"You may be disappointed that you have no powers, but I promise people are more than their Quirk. You can still be whatever you want to be, and me and your father will support you no matter what."

"I know, mommy."

"...I'll be a hero."

Shoyu snapped out of his reverie, noticing Midoriya in pain out of the corner of his eye. Midoriya, clutching his wrist, was accompanied by the chestnut girl, clearly worried about him.

"Don't hold back, Shoyu," Midoriya urged, showing him a shaky smile.

"...I won't."

Shoyu's white eyes were flushed by an ocean blue as he prepared for one of the most important tests of the whole assessment. He scanned his surroundings with his Quirk for a moment. From his point of view, there was no Quirk that was eligible for analysis.

"I knew it," Shoyu muttered as he reveled in the thought of finally using Countervision again. "I can't make a Counter-Quirk… but I can still use Countervision."

The surroundings were extraordinarily clear in his vision. He could see all the wind currents and the path they took, the trees that were hundreds of meters away, all visual stimuli were being absorbed and expanded into extensive lengths in his brain. Shoyu looked at the horizon ahead of him as he drew his hand back.

"Lock on…"

Focusing on that single point hundreds of meters across the field, Shoyu dug his feet into the ground.

"Hey, he's holding the ball weirdly," a student remarked.

The ball was held between Shoyu's thumb and two fingers as veins bulged through his skin.

"If I can't get through with power, get through with technique," Shoyu thought. "I'll put every bit of my body weight into the swing, but I'll never be able to achieve a result like Bakugo or Midoriya's with just that alone. My Quirk will let me notice the exact right time to throw. So if I do this…"

The throw didn't pack nearly as much of a punch as Midoriya's, but the force that Shoyu's hand moved at created a noticeable gust of wind pressure.

"What did he do?!" one student yelled, noticing the gale.

"Was that his natural strength?!"

His ball's velocity was unique compared to Midoriya's self-destructive power, Bakugo's combustive strength, or the chestnut girl's smooth, infinite path. His ball began curving higher and higher in the air which allowed it to cover more distance.

"He threw the ball with all of his freakish strength, but he knew he couldn't hold a candle to Bakugo or Midoriya," Aizawa remarked. "So he combined his brains with his brawn and applied a grip that gave the ball backspin to cover more ground."

462.7 meters.