Izuku was almost jittering in his seat in excitement. It was Day 2 at UA, and next on the schedule was Hero Basic Training with All Might. All Might! Holy crap!
When Izuku learned that All Might would be teaching this year, he thought for sure All Might would mostly be focused on the senior years. Objectively, it seemed like the best use of his time rather than teaching kids who may not have even learned how to throw a punch yet. But no, All Might would be treating all three years equally. Izuku had never been more happy to be wrong. It was just like Japan's greatest hero to be so fair and principled!
Man, how did All Might even find the time to teach at UA? Even after decades in the business, All Might hadn't slowed down as a hero at all! When Izuku got home after school yesterday, he immediately caught up on all the hero news he missed (as was his daily ritual) and discovered that All Might had gone on a crazy twelve-hour shift that day literally leaping from city to city and resolving countless incidents. How was he supposed to keep up that insane pace and also teach all hero course students from all three years at UA at the same time?
To Izuku, the answer was obvious. All Might was just that cool!
—
Rewinding a bit, Day 1 at UA had been a little weird. Entering the doors of Class 1-A, he got his first look at the peers he'd spend the next three years with. His initial impressions of his classmates were positive. Uraraka was in his class, which was fantastic. He'd already made a sort-of friend before the school year even started. The boy who he'd saved from the zero-pointer (Kaminari Denki) was in his class too, which was nice. He seemed cool.
The bad news was that Katsuki was also in his class. Uuuuugh. At least he seemed just as miserable to see Izuku. Good, they could suffer together.
Izuku didn't get to know the rest of his classmates yet, but everyone seemed friendly enough. He was really worried that he'd find himself stuck in a class full of Kacchans. But so far it seemed like everyone was just as excited and grateful to have been accepted into UA as Izuku was, which was a far cry from the egoism he had feared.
The weirdness started when the class met their homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta, who introduced himself while wearing a sleeping bag. He told them that they'd be skipping the opening ceremony and forced them all outside for a quirk assessment test. After berating the class for not taking things seriously enough, Aizawa said that the student who came in last would be expelled.
The situation wasn't great for Izuku. He couldn't use his quirk on himself, and in general, his quirk wasn't very useful for a physical fitness exam. How could he use his quirk to help him with a grip strength test, or a standing long jump test, or repeated side steps, or seated toe-touch?
He had a few ideas though. He asked Aizawa if he could use his quirk to summon some items to help him, and he was surprised when his teacher said that no, he could only use what he had on him right now. That seemed hypocritical given that Yaoyorozu, a girl who could create objects, was free to use her quirk, but Izuku didn't fight it.
First was the ball throw test, so Izuku went to Yaoyorozu and asked if she wouldn't mind making a thin wooden rod for him. With his quirk, he could anchor the ball to the end of the rod and flick it far into the distance, taking advantage of how objects retained their velocity when restored. Yaoyorozu was happy to make it for him, but both students were surprised when Aizawa came over, confiscated the rod, and claimed that Izuku could not rely on the help of others.
Izuku tried a few more times by adding some of the school equipment to his quirk, but Aizawa told him not to mess with school property and that any scores he got that way would not be counted.
It had become abundantly clear that Aizawa was determined to make Izuku do the test quirkless. He was deliberately blocking off any attempt of Izuku's to use his quirk despite dressing it up in language like "Villains won't give you time to prepare." It was obvious to the whole class. The other students were also confused as to why their teacher kept focusing on Izuku specifically.
The only silver lining was that Izuku wasn't the only student who did the tests quirkless. Quite a few students in the class didn't have physical enhancement quirks. Kaminari had an electricity quirk, which didn't help at all. Others included Jirou (who had some sound-related quirk), Kirishima (body-hardening), Kodai (grow or shrink things), Hagakure (invisibility), and Rin (scales), all of whom were like Izuku and had to do the tests effectively quirkless.
Perhaps there may have been some creative ways for the students to use their quirks in an unconventional manner to help with the tests, but after seeing how Aizawa treated Izuku for trying, no one was willing to invite their teacher's wrath on them. Izuku could see a few ways that Kodai could have altered the sizes of some equipment to help her, but that would count as messing with school property, and Izuku had already been loudly scolded for attempting that.
Their group as a whole ended up at the bottom of the ranking. Izuku was fit enough that he managed to get 16th place (Kirishima and Hagakure ahead of him) while poor Kodai got last. Then Aizawa revealed that he lied and no one would be expelled, leaving everyone relieved and upset and confused.
All in all, Izuku's first day at UA wasn't what he'd hoped it'd be. For the rest of the day and into the evening, Izuku spent a lot of time wondering in dismay why his homeroom teacher seemed to hate him. They'd never interacted before and knew nothing about each other. Aizawa's only impression of him was as an anonymous new student like any other in his class. Why did he have such a problem with Izuku? Or, at least, why did he seem to have such a problem with Izuku's quirk? His quirk was the best! Why would anyone have a problem with it?
What, did bullies have a special "bully-sense" that let them know who'd been bullied before and would be vulnerable to it?
It was only late at night while he was trying to sleep that Izuku had an epiphany. Aizawa had made a big stink about "heroics is not a game" and "the world is unfair" and "you need to take this seriously". That couldn't have come from nowhere; Aizawa had been a teacher for many years and was used to teaching egotistical teenagers who just wanted to be cool and popular. Izuku himself had worried that the class would be full of Kacchans.
So, when viewed from the outside, Izuku was the student who had gotten first place in the entrance exam by a large margin. He demolished the villain bots like it was nothing. He vanished the zero-pointer in an instant. He'd clearly been having a lot of fun as he skated around the city, perhaps not treating the exam with the grim intensity Aizawa thought he should be. With dawning horror, Izuku came to an awful conclusion: Aizawa thought that he was a Kacchan!
Izuku was a big hotshot with a powerful quirk. Obviously, Izuku had been told his entire life that he'd be an incredible hero. Obviously, Izuku had a big ego and a swelled head and he casually used his super dangerous quirk to lord over his peers.
Obviously, everyone in Izuku's life had always told him "Yes", so Aizawa believed that it was his job to tell him "No".
Aizawa wanted him to feel powerless. He wanted Izuku to see how weak he was when he was unprepared.
Izuku needed to know that he wouldn't always get his way. He needed to be shown that he wasn't the best.
He needed to be humbled.
…Well, Izuku did say that he wanted to play the part of the cool, confident hero student when he got to UA. Guess it was working.
With all that being said, Izuku knew his theory had a few holes in it. For one, if Aizawa was worried that Izuku was a Kacchan, then why did he let the actual Kacchan run wild during the test, ultimately achieving second place? Izuku had no answer for this. Regardless, he couldn't think of any other possible explanation for Aizawa's behavior, so he'd have to work with what he had.
All right. Now that he knew what his teacher thought of him, what should he do now? The simple thing to do, the mature thing to do, would simply be to talk to Aizawa and explain his thoughts and feelings. Let him know that he understood where his teacher was coming from, but that his concerns were unwarranted.
But in his heart, Izuku didn't think that would work.
Izuku was sensitive to the way people thought, and Aizawa had already revealed a lot about himself. Aizawa's trickery and dishonesty—his power trips like not allowing them to the opening ceremony where they could meet the other students and teachers—betrayed the fact that he didn't respect his students. They were kids to be managed, not worked with. It was an explicitly unequal relationship. Aizawa was the experienced hero. It was fine to be unreasonable, to talk down to them, to screw with their feelings, because he knew better than his stupid students.
Would confronting Aizawa actually improve their relationship, or would he just take it as Izuku whining that his teacher was mean and wasn't being fair? People didn't like being told that they were wrong. If anything, they tended to double down whenever it happened.
That would just make everything worse.
There was an alternative approach that Izuku could take instead. As far as he could tell, Aizawa was doing this because he thought Izuku needed to be humbled. He thought he was saving Izuku from his "massive ego" getting him killed in the future. He thought he was being a good teacher.
So, perhaps he could just… let Aizawa think he was right.
If Izuku acted like a normal kid, showing off his quirk, trying his best to be cool and confident (like he wanted to do at UA anyway), but then also displayed his maturity and sense of responsibility over time, then what would Aizawa have to complain about? He could pat himself on the back and think "Job well done". He will have successfully shown his hotshot student that having a powerful quirk wasn't everything and that he needed to take all aspects of hero work seriously.
People liked being useful. People liked being proven right. If Izuku proved Aizawa right, then Aizawa would have a more positive impression of him from that point onward, which would be helpful to Izuku in the long run.
In his short life, Izuku had a lot of experience in handling other people's pride and innate sense of superiority.
He was used to bad teachers. Unlike his previous bad teachers, Aizawa cared. It was just that he was thoughtless and cynical about it. Izuku could deal with that.
It sucked… but it was fine.
Yes. Yes, this was a great plan of action that would definitely work to improve his teacher's opinion of him. He was sure of it.
Anyway, that was enough reminiscing for now.
—
"I AM HERE! Coming through the door like a normal person!"
The class erupted in cheers and excitement as All Might goofily strode into the classroom, every step of his somehow ending up in a cool pose. Izuku almost leaped out of his seat. OH MY GOD IT'S ALL MIGHT!
All Might smiled broadly at the class, waiting patiently until the clamor died down. If Izuku had his way, it'd never die down. He was jittering in his seat, physically forcing himself not to bolt out of his chair and run right up to his hero. All Might's really here! In the flesh! He's right there, just a few meters away! He's going to be our teacher! How is this real life?
Once the classroom was quiet enough, All Might spoke over the remaining chatter. "Thank you, thank you. I'm happy to see all of you future heroes so pumped up!" Even All Might's normal speaking voice had a bellowing tone to it. He commanded attention in a very natural way—it felt like whatever All Might said was the most important thing you'd ever hear. He was so cool.
"Hero Basic Training is where you will learn the basics of being a Pro Hero. In your first year, we will mostly focus on physical conditioning, combat, rescue, and cooperation with your fellow heroes. You'll take the most units of this subject.
"We only have so much time today, so let's get right to it! I believe that we should start new chapters in our lives with a bit of excitement, so we're going to jump right into… Combat Training!" All Might lifted a remote in the air. "And to go with that are… these!" He made a show of pressing the large red button.
At the back of the class, numbered lockers popped out of the wall. Is that what I think it is? Izuku thought giddily.
"Costumes!" All Might boomed. "This is how you will present yourself to the world, young men and ladies. These costumes were made based on your quirk registrations you sent in before school started. When you wear your costume, know that you are a Pro Hero, and as such you represent all of heroics and the responsibility that carries. It is a mighty weight to bear, but I believe in the strength of each and every one of you." He paused for dramatic effect, then continued. "After you change, gather in Ground Beta!"
"Yes, sir!" the class chorused.
—
In the changing room, Izuku and the other boys got their first looks at their costumes. Izuku's costume was simple and not very flashy. If someone asked, he would've said that he valued practicality first and foremost, and he had plenty of time to redesign it to look better later. In reality, he was too self-conscious to submit his childish drawings in his UA application, so he let the support company handle it.
For the moment, his costume was made of tough fabric colored green and black with some red highlights. The main body was covered with various hooks, straps, and pockets, but the designers had done of good job at integrating them so it didn't look haphazard. His head was protected by a retractable hood that had telescopic metal plating woven into the fabric. It was basically a helmet disguised as a hood, which meant it both protected his neck and looked cooler than just a helmet.
His face was protected by a removable metal mouth guard with a rebreather, which served multiple purposes. Since Izuku's quirk required him to speak out loud, it was important to be able to hide his mouth so that he could use his quirk without giving villains advance warning. It also allowed him to speak in situations like a burning building where smoke inhalation was an issue.
Kaminari came up to him. He'd gone with a black leather look accented with white lightning bolts. He also had support gear of some sort attached to his right arm. "Hey, Midoriya!" he said with a wave. "Looking pretty badass there. Nice costume."
"Thanks, you too! You look stylish. I like the patterning," Izuku replied. "I didn't really have an aesthetic in mind when I sent my request form, but I like the colors they chose for me."
"Yeah, it looks good on you." Kaminari paused for a moment. "Hey man, I didn't get a chance to say this before, but thanks for saving me at the entrance exam. I was totally out of it at the time, but they showed me the footage later."
"Of course! I wasn't about to leave you to get crushed."
Kaminari shrugged. "They say the zero-pointer wouldn't have actually crushed me, but I'm not sure I would've passed if I 'died' during the exam. So, really, thank you. I owe you one."
Izuku nodded. "That rescue shot me up to the top of the exam rankings, so I think we're already even, but I get it. You're welcome! We're going to be classmates for years, so we'll have lots of opportunities to help each other out. By the way, your concussion is all healed up by now, right?"
Kaminari looked to the side awkwardly. "Oh, uh, I didn't have a concussion, thatwascausedbymyquirk. But! It's okay now! See this baby?" He lifted his arm and showed off the gear attached to it. "UA made this directional blaster for me, so I can direct my lightning wherever I want now easily. Long range, too! It's awesome!"
Wait, what had Kaminari just said? "You aren't immune to your own electricity?" he asked in surprise.
Kaminari suddenly looked a bit panicked. "No! No, I am, just not entirely. My brain kind of gets fried if I overuse it, and that's what you saw at the exam. But! Like I said, that's not a problem anymore. I have this now, so you're never going to see me like that again. Everything's great!" he grinned and gave a cheery thumbs up.
But Kaminari didn't have that device for his entire life up until now. Izuku recognized the look on Kaminari's face, his behavior, his desperation. It was so painfully familiar. The dots were connecting in Izuku's head.
"People bullied you because of your quirk, didn't they?" Izuku said sadly. Before Kaminari could start sputtering out denials, Izuku continued, "It was the same for me."
Kaminari was shocked out of whatever he was going to say next. "Wait, really? You? How?"
Izuku immediately regretted saying anything. Right, no wonder Kaminari was trying to avoid the subject. Talking about this felt awful. But it'd be way worse if he stopped now after already bringing it up. "Believe it or not, I didn't know how to use my quirk until a year ago, so my classmates thought I was lying about having a quirk. It sucked. It really sucked. Everyone made of me for being a delusional weirdo." He sighed. "And I know how stupid this sounds coming from the guy who scored first place, but I got lucky with the entrance exam. I need gear and stuff to help me with my quirk too. You saw how useless I was at the test yesterday."
"You mean how useless we both were," Kaminari grumbled. "What the heck was up with that anyway? Sensei was being so weird to you."
"Sensei introduced himself to us while wearing a sleeping bag. He's a weird man."
Kaminari laughed. "True, true! Hey, so… look, man, I didn't mean for this to get heavy or anything. I just wanted to say thanks for the exam, yeah? I got lucky with it too because we were facing robots and because you helped me, but I'm going to be an awesome hero from this point forward, so I can help you too whenever you need it!"
"Right on!" Izuku beamed. Kaminari gave another thumbs up and turned to leave, but before that Izuku took another stab at trying to be more open with his feelings. "Hey, Kaminari… we're here now. Both of us. Doesn't matter what people thought. We made it."
Kaminari smiled softly. "Yeah. We did." He paused, then held his fist up.
Izuku grinned and fist-bumped his new friend(?), and they both walked out together to meet with the rest of the class and All Might.
—
"Hi, Uraraka!" Izuku called out. He and Kaminari had walked to Ground Beta where they met up with the others. "Your costume looks great!"
"Oh, Midoriya! Um, I'm glad you think so." Uraraka looked embarrassed. "It's not really what I wanted. I asked for it to be astronaut-themed, but instead it's…" She squirmed inside her skintight bodysuit, obviously uncomfortable with feeling so exposed.
Kaminari came up to join them. "They ignored you? Really? That's weird. They made me exactly what I asked for," he said, showing off the support gear attached to his arm.
Uraraka looked sheepish. "Not exactly. My quirk makes me nauseous when I overuse it, so I asked if there was any way to help with that. Apparently, the bodysuit squeezes pressure points on my body, and that helps somehow." She shrugged. "The note said that adding a full astronaut suit as a second layer would make me overheat during hero work."
Izuku pondered that. "Maybe you could wear a light jacket overtop instead?"
"Oh, I know!" Kaminari jumped in. "You could get a flight jacket like the ones that jet pilots wear. I guess it's more sky-themed than space-themed, but aren't a lot of astronauts also pilots?"
Uraraka thought about it. "Hmm, I'm not sure. That's more of a military thing, right? I want to be a rescue hero, so I'm not sure it fits."
Kaminari scratched the back of his head. "Well, uh, you know, it was just an idea."
"Oh, no no!" Uraraka waved her hands frantically. "It's a good idea! Thank you! I appreciate it."
"I'm sure we'll think of something," Izuku said. "I bet our other classma—"
"I see you all have arrived!" All Might shouted. The three of them jumped in surprise. Oh! Class was starting. Right, okay. They grouped up with the rest of their classmates in front of All Might.
"It's a common belief that battles with villains mostly take place outside. If you think of my own famous battles, none of them occurred indoors. In reality, that perception is entirely false! Imprisonment, black markets, backroom deals… In this society of heroes, truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows!"
All Might raised a finger. "However! This goes both ways. Even though heroics is a public-facing career, most of your work as a hero will never be known to the public. And that is critical to keep in mind at all times! Who you are in the dark is just as important as who you are in the light. Your job as a hero will require many sacrifices to save people who may never know they were in danger at all.
"I have spent much of my career being as visible as possible so that I may inspire peace and safety across Japan. But that is not the only approach to heroics, and it is also not always the most helpful. Even an old man like me had to learn that lesson myself recently. A helping hand that cannot be seen lifts a person just as much."
All Might clapped his hands together. "I apologize for the sudden lecture! Now then, let's get on with it. In this exercise, you will be split into two-person teams of heroes and villains. The villain team will hide a bomb within a hideout; they must protect the bomb or catch the hero team. The hero team must catch the villains or acquire the bomb within the allotted time. You will use capture tape to capture your opponent; any attempts to seriously injure your classmates will result in immediate disqualification." He pulled out a box filled with numbered balls. "Now let us draw lots!"
Everyone crowded around to grab a ball. Izuku ended up with a ball marked "G".
"Hey, what'd you get?" Kaminari asked him. "I'm on Team E."
"I'm on Team G," Izuku replied. "Uraraka, what did you get?"
"I got Team B," she answered. "I guess we need to go find our partners."
Izuku checked with a few other students and soon enough found the person with the matching G ball. It was a tall quiet boy with a kind of rock-shaped head. Kouda, if he remembered correctly. Izuku didn't know much about him.
"I will announce the first teams!" All Might pulled out another set of balls. "The heroes will be… Team B! And the villains will be… Team G!"
Oh shoot, he was up first! And Uraraka was on Team B, right? He looked over and saw that Uraraka was already coming over to meet him. The invisible girl, Hagakure, was with her.
"Hi again!" Uraraka said brightly. "Your partner is Kouda? All right! We won't be going easy on you! Let the best team win, yeah?" She stuck out her hand for a handshake.
Izuku shook her hand. "Of course! We won't be going easy on you either."
Uraraka grinned and went over to talk to Kouda. Izuku turned to face Hagakure, whose hero costume faded away so that she became fully invisible. Cool. Izuku stuck out his hand for a handshake awkwardly, not sure if he was pointing his hand in the right direction. "Let the best team win!"
An invisible hand grabbed his own. "Right back at ya! Hope you two are ready to lose!" Hagakure said cheerfully.
A sudden thought crossed Izuku's mind. "git add hagakure-toru," he mumbled as quietly as he could while he was still holding the girl's hand.
"Villain team, go in first and set up! Hero team, in five minutes you will break in and the battle will start. Everyone else, head to the monitor room."
Time to do this!