Chapter 2: First day
Izuku Midoriya, despite being loaded like a mule with his bags, did not feel their weight. He looked at the huge buildings of UA, petrified. Here he was. He really did it. Of course, he had passed the exam. But here, it was real. He was a student at Yuei. Following All Might's footsteps. He could do it. He had todo it.
"Excuse me, are you okay ?".
Izuku turned around, heart racing, surprised, shocked and nervous. When he saw his interlocutor, his face turned bright red. It was the girl. The one he met during the exam ! The one he saved from the giant robot ! And who saved him from his fall right after !
…
And it was at this moment that Izuku Midoriya realized that he didn't know this girl's name. A grimm can't eat me? He despaired.
"Midoriya ?" the girl asked again in a slightly worried tone.
The young boy came back down to earth.
"Oh, I'm fine, thank you for your concern. I'm just a little intimidated because it's our first day !".
The girl smiled warmly at him.
"Yes I understand. It's a big change ! Say, what class are you in ?".
"Oh ! class 1-A".
"Me too !" replied the girl. "Do you want us to go together after we put our things down ?".
"Sure ! Thank you so much !" Izuku stammered.
There was a little silence, then the young girl seemed to realize something.
"Oh that's right. You never learned my name, did you ?" Said the girl.
Izuku lowered his head, embarrassed and red.
"My name is Ochaco. Uraraka Ochako. Nice to meet you". The young girl introduced herself with a smile.
"I'm Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you" replied the young boy.
…
They left their bags at the high school reception, they would find their rooms' numbers later, before looking for room 1-A. Luckily for them, they were given a map of the school, as Yuei was a veritable maze of corridors and classrooms. Since they were busy finding their way, they didn't talk much. Which didn't bother Izuku too much, since talking to a girl was still an ordeal.
Finally, they arrived in front of the right room. Our class. My class. Thought Izuku.
"Midoriya, are you coming ?" asked Ochaco, who already had her hand on the door handle.
The young boy blushed, embarrassed. How long did I stay like that ? He was really pathetic…"Yes, I'm coming". he said. He had to get his act together. There was no reason for this to go wrong, after all !
"For the last time, Bakugo, behave properly! " Ordered a tall and serious looking young man.
I should have known...Izuku thought as he saw Katsuki Bakugou, his childhood friend, arguing with someone. Izuku already knew him. It was the boy who scolded him during the practical exam. He was tall and well-built, with a stern and strict demeanor.
Izuku didn't know his name, though.
"He's not wrong, firecracker" said a loud voice near the window. "It's not a problem that you have the fire, but to be a hero, you have to show respect".
The boy who intervened was even taller and muscular than the boy who argued with Bakugo. He reminded Izuku of a gorilla.
"Got a problem, gorilla ? Wanna fight ?" Bakugo shouted.
The boy cracked his knuckles, a big, cocky smile on his face.
"Why not ? I need to warm up a bit".
Izuku could see in Bakugo's eyes that his rage had taken over. He raised a crackling hand to the gorilla, who responded by raising his own. Izuku felt the wind pick up.
But before they could come to blows, a whip shot out from Izuku's back, and wrapped around Katsuki's forearm, immobilizing him.
"Well well well. I see that we have very energetic little ones this year".
A woman slowly entered the classroom. Taller than average, she wore a suit and a skirt, which Izuku found a little short, which showed off her long legs. She had a long mane of black hair with flyaways, and wore large oval glasses that completely covered her eyes. She pulled on her whip, tightening her grip on Katsuki's arm.
It's Midnight! realized Izuku. The R Rated Heroine ! She would be their homeroom teacher ?
"That said, I would not tolerate this kind of behavior in this class. Is that clear ?" she said with a sweet smile.
"Yes. Please excuse me." Said the strict boy, leaning forward, very straight.
A noise echoed behind him. The gorilla had leaned so low that his head had hit the ground, leaving a hole.
"My deepest apologies, ma'am! I won't do it again !" he exclaimed, still on the ground.
The teacher smiled, and gave a little laugh.
"And you take responsibility on top of that!" she said in a cheerful tone. "It's good, it's good. But it's not you I was talking to."
She turned towards the back of the room.
"You can also sit down, little one".
Looking in the same direction, Izuku saw that indeed, a girl had gotten up from her chair and turned towards Bakugo. "Okay, professor" said the person as she sat down again. However, she didn't take her eyes off the blond. Midnight turned to Izuku's childhood friend.
"You were the one I was talking to, darling. If you want to stay in this school, you will have to channel this enthusiasm".
Katsuki gritted his teeth. His face twisted into a hideous mask of anger. But he said nothing, and lowered his head. That seemed to be enough for Midnight, who finally released her hold on the young boy's arm. The professor went to sit at her desk, while Izuku and Ochaco went to sit in free seats.
"Good. Now that's settled, we can attend the introduction speech." Midnight announced to the class. "I had planned for you to introduce yourself, but we wasted time with this little skirmish".
Several looks, including those of the young girl, the stern boy, and the gorilla, turned towards Katsuki, who just growled.
They therefore followed their teacher through the corridors, and came out to a large open space. They found the other classes gathered in a tight crowd, and the recognizable figure of Headmaster Nezu, waiting patiently on a wooden platform.
The animal man leaned on a microphone, and tested it twice.
"A good day to all of you. First, congratulations for passing our entrance exam. It was your first step on your path to become heroes. However, keep in mind that it was only a first step. You still have a lot to learn. Your path will be full of trials, and you will often want to give up. You will have to push yourself to your physical and mental limits if you want to make your dreams come true. Don't forget our school motto : Plus Ultra !".
He stayed silent for a second.
"That's will be all. Thank you for your attention".
After that, the classes returned to their respective classrooms one after the other. The back and forth exercise seemed to bore Katsuki quite a bit, and several other students from 1-A.
"Good !" Midnight called once they were all seated again. "So we can start the presentations."
She pointed to the person sitting in the first seat, a short boy, quite thin and effeminate, with light blue hair styled in two short pigtails. He had vertically slit pupils, and reptile scales dotted his face. A faunus ? Izuku wondered. It was quite rare to see them in Japan.
"Nagisa Shiota" he introduced himself coldly.
Midnight turned to the second student, a young girl with pink skin and hair and completely black eyes. A pair of small yellow horns protruded from her forehead.
"Mina Ashido !" she said in a cheerful tone.
Number 3 was a short girl with greenish hair, a wide frog-like mouth, and large black eyes.
"Tsuyu Asui" she croaked.
Number 4 was the stern boy.
"Tenya Iida" he introduced himself.
Iida ? Thought Izuku. I've heard this name somewhere before, but where ?
"Ochaco Uraraka" Number 5 said, tearing Izuku from his thoughts.
"Mashirao Ojiro" introduced himself number 6, a blond boy. Small, but muscular, he had a long tail that protruded from the small of his back.
"Denki Kaminari" introduced himself number 7, a blond boy, with a black stripe in the shape of a lightning bolt on the left side of his head.
"Eijiro Kirishima" shouted number 8, a boy with wild red hair.
"Inasa Yoarashi!" shouted even louder Number 9, the boy who had almost fought with Katsuki.
Eijiro and Inasa shared a knowing look.
It's promising ! Thought Midnight. I won't get bored with these two !
"Rikido Sato" said number 10 much more calmly. He had an unattractive, square face and thick lips.
"Hanta Sero" introduced himself number 11. He had an ordinary face, with large, abnormally straight teeth.
"Kyoka Jiro" introduced herself number 12. She had purple hair, cut short, and the lobes of her ears, very long, ended in jacks.
"Itsuka Kendo" introduced number 13, the girl who had wanted to intervene in the fight. She was of average height and had long orange hair, tied in a ponytail.
"Fumikage Tokoyami" introduced himself number 14, a boy with a black raven head.
"Shoto Todoroki" introduced himself number 15, a boy with two-tone hair, white on the right, red on the left.
Izuku felt his heart stop. TODOROKI ? As in Enji Todoroki ? Endeavor's son is at UA ?
"Tooru Hagakure" said number 16, a fairly short girl, with messy wavy yellow-green hair and thick eyebrows.
"Katsuki Bakugou" Izuku's childhood friend spat. "And..."
They never knew what he was about to say, because he met Midnight's gaze, and stopped.
"Izuku Midoriya" said Izuku nervously.
"Minoru Mineta" said number 19. Very short, he had purple hair, darker than Kyoka's, which formed small balls at the top of his head.
"Momo Yaoyorozu" concludes the last student, a tall and beautiful young girl with long black hair.
"Now that the most annoying part is over, we can tackle the best part of this day!"
Several questioning whispers rose up in the classroom.
"On the track, we're going to test your Quirks!" Midnight said.
…..
Ten minutes later, the entire class, in sports gear, had arrived at one of Yuei's training grounds.
"Professor, what will be the goal of this exercise?" Iida asked in a slightly worried tone.
"You are going to do classic physical exercises" Midnight replied. "But reinforced with your Quirks. Use them in the way that feels most natural to you." She pointed to several cardboard boxes, with sports equipment protruding from them. "Bakugo, you go first." She said, grabbing a baseball from one of the boxes and passing it to the young boy.
"DIE !" he yelled, throwing the ball with a powerful explosion.
"705.2 meters," Midnight announced, looking at a device in the palm of her hand.
Katsuki glared arrogantly at the rest of the class. But, without him noticing her, Midnight was smiling like a cat.
"Todoroki, your turn." She said in a humming voice.
The boy stepped forward and took a ball too. He got into position, and flames formed around his hand. The ball went off like a cannon shot.
Midnight, with a big, smug smile, silently showed her measuring device to Katsuki and the rest of the class. It indicated 765.2 meters.
Izuku's childhood friend looked like he was about to explode.
"Good ! Let's go !" Midnight announced.
They passed the tests one after the other. But Izuku didn't use his Quirk. He thought of All Might, and the discussion they had about One For All. "Focus on how you felt during the entrance exam". The hero told him. This power...how could he tame it ?.
"Midoriya" Midnight called, tearing Izuku from his thoughts. "You can stop worrying. I won't ask you to use your Quirk today. After all, I don't want you to break your arm or destroy the field like you destroyed the Zero pointer !".
A commotion arose among the students, who eyed Izuku. The boy wanted to disappear.
"You destroyed a zero robot?" Inasa shouted. "Impressive ! We will have to face each other one day."
"Man, that's so manly !" Eijiro added.
"In the meantime, the hotheads" Midnight interrupted, "you have a test to take !".
Galvanized, the two boys took off to the track for the 50-meter sprint.
Tenya dominated the event. He finished the course in 3.04 seconds, thanks to the turbos protruding from his legs.
A speed Quirk, the Iida last name….is he the brother of the hero Ingenium? Wondered Izuku.
The young boy himself finished in the top half of the class. Thanks for your training, All Might. He thought.The loser of the event was Nagisa. He left the athletic field with his head bowed, red with shame and humiliation, and Midnight's reassuring words didn't seem to change anything.
Seeing his comrades giving their all, Izuku couldn't help but feel the frustration building inside him. His brain was burning at full speed. A way to use One For All without getting hurt….then, suddenly an idea came to him, and he started to smile.
"Okay, last test, little ones" announced Midnight. "Ball throw !".
The students, apart from Shouto and Katsuki, passed one after the other. Ochaco had the best result, using her Gravity Quirk to send the ball beyond the horizon. Midoriya was the tenth to pass, a small smile of confidence on his face, his mind clear.
He cocked his arm, summoned his Quirk, and focused it. The intense, sharp pain he had already felt during the entrance exam burst through his index finger, and he felt his bones break, his muscles tear. But he held on, and threw the ball. An explosion echoed in the field, and a shock wave spread around him.
The other students looked at him, impressed.
Well, well Midnight thought, as Izuku gave her a victorious smile. You are quite resourceful, my darling.
….
The rest of the day flew by. Izuku took another detour through the infirmary, which earned him a lecture from Recovery Girl. While he expected to find himself alone to go to the dormitories, he found Tenya and Ochaco waiting for him outside the infirmary.
"Is your finger better ?" the boy asked him.
"Yeah, thanks for worrying" Izuku replied.
"Midoriya…I wanted to apologize for what happened during the practical exam."
Izuku tilted his head to the side, surprised.
"I didn't have to talk to you like that. And, you understood the real purpose of the exam before me. That makes you the better hero".
"I…"I didn't understand anything at all, Iida. I just acted without thinking when I saw Ochaco in danger." "It doesn't matter !" he finally managed to say. "Don't worry about that".
"Hey Izuku, you still have to go get your stuff, right?" Ochaco asked.
"Yes, why ?" asked the young boy.
"I will help you" replied the young girl. "You must be tired".
Izuku had planned to use the trip as training, but he found himself unable to refuse.
"Okay, that's very nice of you !".
Ochaco gave him a smile that made him blush.
"It's fine" she assured.
"I'll leave you two to it" Tenya announced. "See you in the dormitory."
Izuku and Ochaco went to get the boy's luggage. Ochaco used her Quirk, and the boxes and bags began to float.
"You can cancel gravity ?" Izuku asked.
"Yes. But if I use it for too long, I get nausea". Ochaco replied.
"Is there a condition for you to use it ?"
"I just have to touch the thing I want to float with my hand."
"Thatwouldbeanincrediblequirkforrescuemissionsbutfordirectcombatexceptif…".
"Are you feeling alright, Midoriya?" Ochaco asked.
The boy stopped suddenly, before blushing.
"Oh. Sorry" the boy stammered. "I…I like analyzing Quirks".
"No, it's okay," Ochaco assured him. "It just surprised me a little".
Phew ! Thought Izuku. I didn't come across as a weirdo !
They finally arrived at their dormitories, a huge five-story building, separated into two wings. Their class name was written in the middle, above the word "alliance". Their place of life for the next few months.
The two students brought the luggage to Izuku's room.
"Want some help settling in ?" Ochaco asked.
"No no. I will be fine, you've already done a lot for me." The young boy responded hurriedly, his face red. There's no way he would let her see his collection of All Might merchandise. He would be too ashamed.
"Well, if you're sure…" said the young girl. "See you later then" she concluded before turning back.
It took Izuku an hour to unpack his things. Once he was finished, the room seemed more welcoming, and he felt like he belonged here. He went down to the common room, where he found most of the boys, only Nagisa and Katsuki seemed missing, and half of the girls.
"Ah, are you finished Deku?" asked Ochaco when she saw him arrive.
"Deku ?" Izuku repeated, a little surprised.
"Yes, that's what Bakugou called you earlier, didn't you hear ?"
"Oh. Yes, it's true that he calls me that, but it's an insult to him…" explained the young boy with a somber look.
"It is ? I think it suits you well, though. It sounds like "you can do it !".
Izuku stared at her for a few seconds, then he started to blush.
"In that case…you can call me Deku if you want" he finally said.
The other students looked at Izuku and Ochaco. Some of them started to smile.
"Well done, Uraraka," Mina said, touching the girl's ribs with her elbow, a small, mischievous smile on her face.
Ochaco gave him a curious look.
"What do you mean ?" she asked.
Mina blinked, but decided to drop it.
"Forget it" she sighed.
"So, Midoriya," Inasa suddenly called out. "What is this Zero Pointer thing?"
"Oh, it's not much," assured the young boy. "I've just….".
"Not much ?" Ochaco intervened. "You pulverized that thing in one shot !".
"How do you know that ?" Tooru asked.
"We were in the same testing area" explained the young girl. "He did this to save me. I was stuck under some rubble, the robot was going to crush me, and Deku appeared out of nowhere and wiped it out !".
There was another exchange of glances between the others, and Izuku thought he was going to die of shame.
"Dude ! We really need to have a fight !" Eijiro exclaimed. "I want to see that kind of strength myself."
"Thank you Kirishima" Izuku said. "But….I don't have much control over this force at the moment, so it would probably be dangerous…".
But the red-haired boy didn't seem disappointed in the slightest.
"No problem ! I can wait just fine !" He assured. "On the contrary, it will only be better!"
"And you don't have to worry about your Quirk" Inasa intervenes. "The most powerful Quirks are hard to control. It took me years to use mine properly".
"Thank you, Yoarashi" Izuku said. "What's your Quirk?" he asked, curious.
The boy conjured a tornado in his hand.
"I can manipulate wind".
"At what level ? In all its forms ? Can you use an outside source?"
The others looked at Izuku, surprised.
"Ooooohh, sorry." Izuku stammered, his face red. "I like studying Quirks."
"But that's a very good thing, Midoriya!" Tenya intervened. "This habit can surely help us to better develop our abilities".
Izuku felt himself blush even more. It was the first time anyone complimented him on that. In middle school, it was a subject of mockery. Like many things Izuku did or said, for that matter.
"Your Quirk is so cool, Yoarashi!" Eijiro said. "Compared to mine….".
Inasa looked grim.
"It's useful, I'm not going to pretend otherwise, but… it's earned me comparisons to Tai Lung."
The statement sent a chill through the assembly. Of course thought Izuku.
"But it's alright !" Inasa suddenly shouted. "There's no point angsting on it for three hours ! I have nothing to do with this guy, and I intend to become a hero! ".
"Well said !" Eijiro said. "After all, that's what we're all here for !".
"What kind of class do you think we will have ?" Mina asked.
"I would be surprised if we were directly given "hero lessons" said Tenya. "After all, they cannot overshadow our formal education."
"But at the same time, Yuei has a reputation for giving intense training" Itsuka replied.
"I think they'll try to balance the two," Izuku concluded. "After all, it's the best school in the country, the one that trained All Might."
"Do you like All Might, Deku ?" asked Ochaco.
"Yes !" exclaimed the young boy. "He's my favorite hero! I know there are people who prefer Superman, but….".
"I have to tell you that this is the case for me," said Inasa. "Not that All Might isn't amazing, but Superman still single-handedly saved Europe".
"Yes I know" said Izuku "But All Might is just…".
"I like Crimson Riot," Eijiro slipped.
The others didn't seem to understand, but Izuku's face lit up.
"Oh ! the manly hero? Yes, I see who you mean ! He is a little dated, but it doesn't surprise me that you like him."
"Thanks !" replied Eijiro. "Crimson Riot is exactly the kind of hero I want to be !".
Everyone starts talking about their favorite heroes. Itsuka liked Mirko. Mina and Tooru, Midnight. Ochaco, Thirteen. (Izuku took note of this). Then they talked about their favorite fights. Izuku shared stories whenever he could, which means it happened with every new hero mentioned. To his surprise, his comrades seemed to appreciate his interventions.
Time passed, and the students went up to their rooms one after the other. When Izuku returned to his room, he put on his pajamas, All Might themed, of course, and slipped into bed, while the events of the day passed through his head.
He saw Ochaco's smile again. Midnight's proud look when he used One for All without seriously injuring himself. The evening he had spent with the others. He felt his heart warming up, and he fell asleep with a smile, finally overcome by fatigue.
…..…
Nagisa turned and turned in his bed, unable to fall asleep despite the late hour. He had been mediocre. What was he thinking ? It was already a miracle that he was in, so to continue….
He thought of how his mother would react when she would find out, and he shivered, his heart paralyzed with fear.