The big day was here, the last few weeks had seemed to drag by as I kept training, wondering if I should call Ashido, and ultimately deciding that if I was her, I wouldn't want some weird guy calling me. Her number was written down in my journal, in her section, next to the sketch of her, but it didn't do much good when I was afraid to dial her.
The worst part was lying to my mom, telling her I had no idea how I'd managed to develop a quirk, but she didn't even seem to mind, just happy for me, even making my favorite dinner for me when I got back from registering my quirk.
"I should do something nice for Mom later." I decided, muttering to help soothe my nerves. My written exam was already over, waiting with a large group of potential students and classmates.
"Okay, Izuku, you got this. Just destroy the robots and avoid the zero pointer." I muttered, watching the gates open, listening to Present Mic yell to begin, and my feet moved.
"Only one of you was paying attention? What's wrong, the test started! Run! Run!" I heard him yelling, but that didn't matter. My job was to destroy the robots, not worry about the others being slow.
"Smash!" I cried, turning a one-pointer into scrap, moving further in, taking down two more one-pointers and a two-pointer before struggling a little with a three-pointer, but figuring out its weak spot pretty quickly.
"Six minutes." Present Mics voice echoed, and I kept moving, another one-pointer, two more two-pointers, three more three-pointers.
"Twenty-two points," I mumbled, the ground rumbling as I looked up, the zero-pointer taller than the skyscrapers around us.
"Oh my god," I mumbled, thinking about taking my points and falling back, but I could see a girl trapped under rubble, and everyone else had the same idea as me, no one stopping to help her.
My feet moved before my head could catch up, moving the rubble and picking up the girl.
"What's your quirk?" I asked, jumping away to get her to safety.
"I can make things float if I touch them, but my limit is about three tons. Any higher and I'll barf." She explained, and I gave her to a boy with an engine in each leg.
"Engine guy, you carry her close to me. Otherwise, this fall might kill me." I told him, running towards the giant robot. Zero points, but someone else could get hurt. Taking it on was only natural. I clenched my butt as I jumped, and I was in front of its head.
"Smash, extraaaaa!" I yelled, my arm pulled back before I swung, all the power and energy stored up inside and hitting the robot, turning its head and chest into a crater, just as I began to fall.
"Engine guy! I could use an assist!" I yelled, my arm and legs burning, pain shooting through it, but it was manageable, so they weren't broken. At least I hoped not.
To my utter delight and relief, he was waiting, the girl slapping my face to touch me, but I didn't hit the ground.
"Holy crap guys... we did it." I fell to the ground, the girl releasing her quirk.
"I'd be dead if it wasn't for you guys. Thank you both." I told them huffing on the ground, my eyes closed with a smile. Even if I didn't make it in, I had saved someone. I could live with myself if All Might wanted his quirk back.
"Time! The exam is now over!" Present Mic yelled, and I opened my eyes in horror.
"I took the last of your time, and you guys didn't get to get any more points. I'm so sorry." I apologized, feeling ashamed. I was fine with not getting into U.A., but they didn't even get to argue with my stupid plan.
"I don't think I could keep going anyway." She told me, and the engine guy shook his head.
"You were willing to go back and help someone else and help us all by taking on the zero-pointer. I am ashamed that I thought little of you when I originally saw you." He told me, watching me struggle to my feet.
"My name is Izuku Midoriya. If I'm gonna fail, I'm glad I'm doing it with you guys." I told them.
"Tenya Iida. The sentiment is echoed." He offered his hand, and I shook it.
"Ochako Uraraka. I guess there are worse people to fail with." She told us, drawing a laugh from me as I limped back to the gate, my new friends by my side.
"Oh my god! That's Recovery Girl!" I exclaimed, limping a little faster to meet the retired hero.
"Recovery Girl, my friend, her ankle is messed up! Can you help her?!" I asked her, watching her look at me, then Uraraka, moving to help her, kissing her on the hand.
She came back with a weird look on her face, kissing the top of my hand, my legs going weak as my energy plummeted.
"You should be more worried about yourself next time. You came very close to hurting yourself badly." She told me, offering me candy, which I gladly accepted.
"What kind of hero worries about himself first?" I asked, popping the candy in my mouth and standing. I still felt weak, but I could walk.
"I hope you guys make it into U.A., so we can improve this team," I told Iida and Uraraka, smiling as wide as I could as I waved goodbye, heading back home.
A week later, I got my letter and opened it at the table, listening to All Might explain rescue points. For helping out Uraraka, I'd managed an extra sweet sixty points for a total of eighty-two, pushing me to the first-place position. I'd done better than everyone, even if it was because of points i didn't even know existed.
"Hey, mom? Mom?" I called, wondering where she'd gone. She was the one who'd found my letter waiting with the rest of the mail.
"I'm here. I was just so nervous I didn't want to listen in." She spoke, coming back from her bedroom.
"Well, get this." I paused, letting the drama settle in a little. "I'm in! I ranked number one."
The sound she made was somewhere between a sob and a squeal of joy, but she hugged me tight enough I had to remind her I needed oxygen.
"Welcome to your hero academia!" The little All Might holograph called, disappearing as it turned off.
One month later, I stood outside the legendary building, staring up at it with a strange feeling. I was here. I could make All Might and my mom proud.
I took two steps, tripping over my feet and feeling myself fall, but never feeling the impact of the ground.
"Izuku, you made it! Have you seen Iida?" I heard Uraraka say, helping position me so that when she released her quirk, my feet hit the ground.
"No, but I'm sure he's around here somewhere," I told her, smiling at my friend.
"Come on, he could already be inside for all we know," she told me, dragging me along behind her, the halls full of students.
"What class are you in?" I asked, finally finding my footing and walking beside her.
"1-A. What about you?"
I grinned, putting my arms behind my head. "Same here. I hope Iida managed to get put in the same class."
We looked at the giant door, staring up at it before we opened it. I guess it needed to be so big for people whose quirks made them bigger.
"Remove your feet from the desk. It's an insult to those who came before, as well as the craftsmen who built it!" Iida spoke loudly, not quite yelling, but loud enough even with the distance between us.
"Iida! You made it!" I waved, ignoring the person he was yelling at, that spiky blonde hair telling me what I needed to know. I was catching up to Bakugou.
Iida turned away from Bakugou, and I could see how being forgotten so easily made him pissed.
"Good to see you again. I was afraid I'd failed you and Uraraka." I told him, offering my hand.
"Izuku, over here!" I heard a girl squeal, turning to find Ashido talking with a redhead with more well-defined muscles, a skinny blonde guy with a lightning bolt pattern in his hair, and a short petite girl with what looked like phone jacks on her ears.
"Ashido!" I waved, happy to see she'd made it too.
"What the hell, Deku!? How did a quirkless nobody like you get in here!?" Bakugou finally exploded, maybe from being ignored, maybe from just seeing me again. He probably thought he'd never see my face again. But then again, our middle school principal had congratulated both of us on getting in. Why would he wait to blow up over it?
"Oh, that's easy, Bakugou. I'm not quirkless, and I'm not useless. You were just too wrapped up in your world to care otherwise. That's the same attitude that had you on the floor all those months ago." I turned, my smile erased as I walked up to him.
"I thought I made it clear then. You don't get to speak to me anymore. And my name? It's Midoriya. Deku is what friends call me." I told him, getting close to his and making sure that he understood.
When I was sure he did, I found my seat and waited, a few seconds passed before a giant yellow caterpillar stood up.
"If you've come here to socialize, you're in the wrong class. This is the hero course." He spoke, unzipping and revealing he was a normal-looking man.
"I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Pleased to meet you."