Shattered Fate

by CaedesPlerique

A world so focused on heroes has lost its way. As the beginning steps of the critical events to the future of their world start to occur, they get some unexpected help. Can these new arrivals save their world from themselves? (MHA/Spider-man/Naruto/Ranma)

6. Chapter 6 - Orientation

Chapter 6 - Orientation

"Yagi? Aizawa? How did things go with the Hagakures?" Nemuri asked of the two heroes as they walked in and sat down. The rest of the heroes paused in their discussions as they waited.

The two men sighed, both exhausted from the ordeal. Though they gladly took it in exchange for Toru's life. "About as well as could be expected. All of them took it badly, especially when we explained it was a lack of safety procedures that allowed it to occur in the first place," Shota said as he got his eyedrops out and applied some to his eyes.

"We aren't sure if young Hagakure will attend or not. I ensured she knew that her actions leading up to the accident were heroic and that she already proved she had what it takes to attend our school. That it would be an honor to train her." Toshinori said, even as he coughed some blood into a handkerchief. "She seemed conflicted, but I hope she does take it."

"Yes, a quirk like hers can be incredibly useful in the right situations. Against the faux-villains, since she had nothing they were programmed to look for, she could just walk right up to them and take them out. Stealth like that can be indispensable out there," Shota said. Most of the heroes' heads nodded at that, all remembering instances where her quirk could save lives or stop villains.

"How about Saotome?" Snipe asked, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "He was the other one trapped under there. How did his parents take it?"

The two heroes' reactions were vastly different, with Toshinori chuckling in good humor and Shota expressing his aggravation as he slouched in his seat, looked at the ceiling, and covered his face with his hands to hide from the world.

"Young Saotome," Toshinori said, "hadn't bothered to tell his guardians what happened. Supposedly, he spoke more about the other candidates than himself, like young Midoriya."

"He didn't tell them!?" Present Mic yelled without using his quirk. "And you said guardians? Who are they, and what happened to his parents?"

"I don't know the details, but I got the impression that they were dead," Toshinori said, displaying a bit of sadness, but it was brief before his smile returned. "As for his guardians, they are people most of you know. The Wild Wild Pussycats."

That raised quite a few eyebrows from around the table as they looked. "The mountain rescue team?"

"When we told them what happened, they laughed!" Toshinori chuckled at the memory, though it had been confusing at the time and not what they had expected. "They congratulated young Saotome while wondering why we were making a big deal of the situation. So there won't be any issues on that front."

Some of the teachers were confused, while some others chuckled along with him. Nemuri and Hizashi laughed, but mostly as they now knew why Shota was reacting the way he was. He always got annoyed when he felt important things like heroics were not taken seriously.

"Speaking of, what has been determined to be done about the problem in the future?" Toshinori asked.

"More checks regarding candidates that can be harder to detect, like Hagakure. She wasn't the only one to do so, just the one that was a greater concern," said Snipe. "Every time the gimmick is in action, all candidates need to be identified, especially any that have recently been near them or can get close to it quickly. Manual checking will occur by operators watching them, and if someone slips, a local pro hero is informed and will be on hand to assist. If the operator, pro hero, or observer deems it, the gimmick will shut down to prevent an incident. Heroes or others can prevent candidates from doing anything more."

"That's better, but we should see if more safety measures can be improved before the next exam," said Shota as he sat up.

"The Principal is looking into it," Snipe replied. He received multiple nods from the various pro-heroes.

"So, has the grading been completed?" Toshinori asked, curious since this was his first year as a teacher.

"Yes," Kaito said, moving a few papers around before finding the relevant ones and handing them over to the new arrivals.

As they looked it over, their eyebrows raised at the top three scores. It shouldn't have surprised them, considering what they had witnessed.

Saotome Ranma: Forty-six Villain points, one hundred rescue points.

Haruno Sakura: Sixty-one Villain points, eighty-two rescue points.

Parker Peter: Sixty-four Villain points, seventy-five rescue points.

"All three are within seven points of each other, and we haven't seen scores like this in a long time," Kaito said, shaking his head. They had responded in disbelief initially, but many had watched them in action and could not honestly fault the scores. Many had also noted that at least Saotome and Haruno had held back, though they had no idea by how much.

Toshinori was surprised, chuckling as he thought of the three candidates. He decided to continue down the list, looking at others he was interested in.

Midoriya Izuku - Four Villain Points, sixty Rescue Points.

Izuku had an excellent score, especially for so few Villain points. He was proud of his successor for accomplishing what he had in such a short time. Toshinori then decided to look at some other names from the incident.

Uraraka Ochako - Twenty-nine Villain Points, Thirty-five Rescue Points.

Hagakure Toru - Thirty-four Villain Points, thirty Rescue Points.

Both girls showed they had a hero's spirit, and he was happy to see them with such healthy scores. Though he was saddened that Ochako's rescue points didn't go up for the assistance she gave in trying to free Hagakure and Saotome. It was understandable since the exam had already ended, though.

Toshinori then looked at the last name he was familiar with, knowing already the boy had done very well on the practical.

Bakugo Katsuki - Eighty-two Villain Points, ten Rescue Points.

"How did the written exam go?" Toshinori asked, hoping none of the students would be removed for poor academic grades.

"All those that passed the practical did well enough with the written. Though, when Parker's written exam was finished, Maijima argued with Nezu about placing him in the Support Course," Kaito chuckled.

Several teachers turned to look at the man. They had known he had shown interest in the candidate, but to argue with the Principal over it? "Why?"

"He did well enough in the humanities and had one of the highest math, science, and engineering scores. But his multiple choice test was dinged for several incorrect answers for chemistry and physics, even to the point where he wrote in his own answers to them." Kaito smiled as the other teachers looked at him in confusion. "Maijima heard and looked at it himself. He recognized one of the questions that Parker modified: a high-level physics question, and the test was wrong."

The teachers blinked, surprised that someone would actually mark against the sheet. While a few students would attempt that each year, the fact that the boy had been correct was surprising. "What did Nezu do?" Midnight asked.

"With Maijima present, they contacted his legal guardian, David Shield," Kaito said.

Toshinori had been drinking some tea but spit it out over the table and a few documents, earning some chuckles and glares around the table while pounding his chest. He then dealt with some blood that had coughed up shortly after. After he got himself under control and the other teachers were still looking at him, Toshinori asked his question. "David? David is his guardian? How? Why?"

"Oh, that's correct; you have a history with Dr. Shield, don't you, Yagi-san?" Kaito asked.

"Yes," Toshinori responded, putting it mildly.

"I don't have any details. That wasn't part of their discussion. You'll have to ask Dr. Shield yourself." After receiving a nod, Kaito continued. "They asked Dr. Shield, who confirmed that Parker works with support gear. But he is dedicated to being a hero, first and foremost, mostly due to events before Dr. Shield took him in. Maijima accepted that Parker could use the Development Studio while he was here. Dr. Shield commented that Parker plans to install and present some new tools the school will be given. Something called the M.P.S. Maijima got very excited and agreed instantly."

"M.P.S.?" Sekijiro asked, "What is that?"

"I don't know," Kaito replied, "All Maijima would tell me is that it is revolutionary. I'm interested to learn more."

"I'll have to contact David when I get a chance. I am interested to hear why he took Parker in as a ward," Toshinori said. "So, the written and practicals are done. Do we have a proposed class list?"

"We were trying to work that over now," Sekijiro said. "Due to the… power differences on some of the students, the nature of their quirks, and the dangers they pose to themselves or others, we are trying to organize the students as best as possible."

"What is the main contention?" Shota asked though he had a good idea of what they might be.

"A few givens," Sekijiro said. "Putting Bakugo and Midoriya with 1-A makes the most sense. Bakugo because his quirk and personality are likely to blow up, so it is easier for you to control him with your quirk. Midoriya because his quirk is so self-destructive."

While Toshinori wasn't happy about his quirk damaging himself, he knew this was sound reasoning until Midoriya could gain enough control of One For All.

"Beyond that, it's a question of trying to balance out the others. Saotome will be in 1-B, as he has the least need for 1-A. There are arguments for Parker or Haruno to be in 1-A, such as Haruno's ability to heal if Izuku injures himself again or Parker to help balance Bakugo."

Toshinori nodded but was saddened that Ranma wouldn't be in the same class as Izuku. He had been a big help with steadying Izuku and seemed like a good role model and friend for Izuku. But he couldn't try to play favorites without revealing the importance of Izuku to the other teachers, which would lead to revealing details about One For All.

"We've spread out several other future students, trying to balance things out. We're also waiting for the Principal to arrive. He had some research–" Sekijiro was interrupted due to the door opening again. The staff looked towards the door, but many in the back could only see the small, round ears of the Principal as he walked in. "Ah, Nezu-sensei. We were just talking about you. Have you finished your research?"

The small animal man crawled up his chair before standing on it to look out at his staff. "Yes, I have Kan-san. Thank you all for waiting. And welcome back, Yagi-san and Aizawa-san. So, what was the order of business I interrupted?"

"We were just discussing the distribution of the students. Primarily on where to place Haruno and Parker," Sekijiro said.

"They need to go to Class 1-A. Saotome as well," Nezu said as he smiled.

The room was silent as they all stared at the small man. "Whaaaaat? Are you crazy?" Hizashi asked. Nezu wasn't surprised by the response. Though he was glad to see that instead of voicing outrage, Sekijiro and Shota narrowed their eyes as they looked at him.

Toshinori smiled a little that Ranma and Izuku would be in the same class but was still surprised by the sudden events. That was a massive shift in the balance between the two classes.

"My decision on that is final." Nezu paused as he let that sink in, the staff still at a loss about the turn of events. To make a declaration like that was unlike him. But Nezu had earned their trust, so they spoke no more about it, though he knew two of them would want a deeper explanation. Nezu decided to help their mood. "I have also received word that Hagakure Toru has accepted to attend our Hero course."

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

After the meeting, Nezu walked towards his office and was pleased that both homeroom teachers, Sekijiro and Shota, followed him. After stepping inside, he went to his chair and poured some tea for them as they took their seats. After graciously being thanked, and they all took a sip, Nezu got to the point.

"You're wondering why I would stack the scales so heavily in 1-A's favor."

"Yes," both homeroom teachers said at once, but Shota left it to Sekijiro to pick up the thread. "You wouldn't do that normally, so I presume it concerns your research. What did you find?"

"Not enough to come to a proper conclusion, but enough for me to take precautions."

Shota narrowed his eyes as he looked at the Principal. "Precautions? What kind of precautions? And if they concern you, why would you allow them to attend?"

"The concerns have nothing to do with their character or their capability. All signs point to the three of them becoming outstanding heroes. Possibly some of the greatest, though in different ways," Nezu responded.

Nezu then set his tea down to look them both in the eyes. "As for precautions, part of it is your quirk, Aizawa-san. But I cannot tell you about the precautions I am discussing. Primarily because of the nature in which my concerns have arisen. I will tell you this, though," giving both men his utmost attention, displaying the seriousness of it. "I hope I am wrong."

Both Shota and Sekijiro were taken aback by it. Nezu, to their knowledge, had never acted this seriously about something, save when combat was involved.

Nezu relaxed, letting both men know that part of the discussion was over. "When I have enough information to confirm my theories, and you've grown familiar with the children, I will inform you."

Nezu then turned to Sekijiro, "Some of the information may be need-to-know for some time, Kan-san, so please be patient with me." Nezu then turned to Shota. "Aizawa-san, do be careful with them and keep an eye out."

Both men could only nod in reply, accepting his answers for now.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Peter looked down at his instructions as he walked through his new school. The day would mostly be spent meeting his new classmates, followed by orientation and guidance. Having gone through High School once before, Peter was familiar enough with the basics to know what to expect. There were noticeable differences, what with this being Japan. One of the most significant was that most of their classes stayed in the same classroom, and only the teachers changed rooms.

Peter triple-checked that the room he needed to find was 1-A and his assigned seat. He had ensured that it was Classroom 1-A and not a seat number, unlike the last time he was here. The embarrassment from Melissa laughing about his dilemma had been bad enough, but Karen's mild scolding for dropping the ball on his Japanese had made him work hard to correct his mistake.

Peter had also found a map and asked for directions from a staff member. So, he was steadily making his way there. He also wore the school uniform, which was odd, but he had learned it was standard across Japan. It consisted of a long-sleeve, buttoned white shirt, a gray jacket with blue-green stripes at the wrist, both sides of his jacket by the red tie, one across the shoulder, and matching pants. The uniform was also marked as being in the Hero course with a button on the shoulder. Though it wasn't part of his uniform, he did have a bookbag on his back.

{"Peter!"}

Peter turned his head at hearing his name and smiled as he saw one of the friends he had made during the exam. {"Pony! It's good to see you."}

Pony finished walking up to him, smiling widely. {"So you passed? Did you get into the Hero course?"}

Peter grinned, {"Yes. Class 1-A."}

{"Oh, I am in 1-B. But you still passed! We'll have to hang out during lunch or after school sometime."} Despite being sad that Peter was in another class, Pony was happy for him.

{"That sounds great. By the way, I watched a few episodes of that anime you suggested,"} Peter said while Pony looked on with interest. {"Gross!"}

Pony saw that Peter looked disgusted, worrying that he hadn't enjoyed it, until she noticed it shift into a smirk as he observed her. Pony giggled. {"Yes, it is. It's a remake of an old series, but still relevant."}

{"Yes, disposal of trash and producing cheap food is relevant. Also a good example of being careful with your creations. But it is still gross!"}

{"I'm sorry, Peter,"} though her wide smile showed she wasn't. {"But when you told me you were really into sciences, it stuck out to me."}

Peter sighed but had to give her that. In addition to learning that she grew up on farms, growing food was an important subject matter for her. They walked along as they talked about a few other manga or anime but had to stop as he arrived outside his homeroom. After extracting a promise to meet for lunch sometime this week, Peter entered 1-A's homeroom.

Peter noticed twelve others had already arrived, three girls and nine boys, with a few having noticeable mutant quirks, and he recognized two faces. After a few moments, he realized there was a third he recognized. Eijiro's hair had changed significantly; it was now red and spiked upwards. He also noticed his seat was in front of the least friendly of his acquaintances, the exploding blonde, Katsuki. The boy that he had previously named Mr. Explody. Peter had a dozen nicknames in store if the blonde wanted to throw out other names for himself, but he opted to wait to see what he did.

Peter reached the last row and sat in the second seat. Eijiro and the mute boy recognized him and waved in greeting, so he waved back. The other students gave him curious glances, but he was quickly ignored.

After sitting, he looked around the room to get a feel for his new classroom. It was reasonably up-to-date and looked more pristine than any classroom at Midtown. It didn't surprise him since U.A.'s school budget was massive compared to his old high school. He did see some small sort of retractable storage unit on the wall nearest him, making Peter curious about their purpose. The back had some large cubbies and a large window, but the room had almost no decoration.

His desk was simple, similar to most Japanese desks he had seen in photos, though there was a front covering for the desk that hid their legs. The chairs were moderately decent, blue and large, but only mildly comfortable as there was thin padding.

Since nothing else seemed to be happening, he opened his bag, moved his suit to the side, and pulled out a notebook and some pencils. He didn't look up when the door opened again, too engrossed with his notes.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Ranma poked at his shirt collar, desperately wanting to loosen it up. He was required to wear the school uniform, even though he asked and prodded if there was any way to just wear his favorite Chinese sets, but every adult had turned him down and said he needed to wear it. The only thing he got to pick to wear was his shoes, so he wore his regular slip-on shoes. That was one thing Furiken had over U.A., but he relented and went with it.

Though Ranma had asked what to do if he changed, he'd been told he'd be fine. The little smirk on Ryuko's face, while Yawara and Tomoko had looked away, made him seriously question the legitimacy of that claim. He was instructed to inquire about it after orientation had finished.

He found the 1-A homeroom and entered, looking around at the assortment of students. He saw that nearly three-fourths had already arrived. Looking around, he found his seat in the second row, second from the back. Looking at everyone else, he only recognized the multi-armed Mezo from his exam. The other two sets of arms ended in stumps, but considering he had seen ears, eyes, and mouths form on those arms, he figured they could shift.

Ranma used the middle aisle to get to his seat and greeted the familiar face while walking towards it. "Sup, Mezo."

"Ranma," Mezo said as he turned to look at him, his mask still present. Ranma noticed the voice came from one of the arm stumps. His uniform was modified to be sleeveless on account of his mutation.

"Glad to see you made it," Ranma said with a happy grin as he entered the aisle.

Mezo turned his head slightly as Ranma passed him, his eyes crimping subtly. "You as well."

Ranma walked the rest of the way and sat behind a large boy who looked like a face on a rock with peach-colored skin. Behind his seat was another boy, almost as tall as Mezo or the rockheaded one. He seemed to have the most mass of anyone in their class, but more like a weight-lifter would. He had short spiky brown hair; his most noticeable feature was his giant lips. Ranma was just glad they looked normal, not the grotesque lips that Konatsu's 'family' had. He still had nightmares about those… freaks once in a while.

After sitting, Ranma looked around, seeing that to his left was some boy with white and red hair, with a bit of scarred flesh under the red. An old wound. To his right was an empty seat. Ranma was tempted to put his feet on his desk, but Shino had dragged a promise out of him that he wouldn't do that. So instead, he just slouched in his chair, legs pressing up against the front wall, his head leaned back to stare at the ceiling, closed his eyes, and waited.

When he heard footsteps coming up the middle aisle, Ranma opened an eye to peek at who it was. But all he saw were some clothes walking– oh, that's right. It was her, the girl he'd accidentally groped. Ranma sat up as she came near, causing her to halt. Seems she remembered.

Ranma sighed, then tried to give a weak smile and a little wave but figured now wouldn't be a good time to apologize to her again. Seemed he was right, as, after a few seconds, she walked past and sat behind the red and white boy. It felt even more appropriate as he slouched in his chair again, though not from boredom this time. He was glad she had passed, but it would make things awkward and complicated.

Ranma didn't bother looking up as the door opened again.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned to the side and smiled on seeing Mina running up to them. "Hi, Mina. Looks like you passed as well?" Mina was wearing the girl's version of the uniform, substituting the pants for a thigh-length skirt the same color as the boy's pants, much like the one she was wearing.

"Yep!" Mina said, then looked over at the taller boy beside her, who had glasses and a severe expression. "Who's this?"

"Mina, this Iida Tenya. Tenya-kun, this is Ashido Mina."

"Pleased to meet you, Iida," Mina said as she bowed.

"Please to meet you, Ashido-san," Tenya replied as he bowed.

"Great! We should probably get to class, though," Mina said as she helped lead the two toward their homeroom.

Tenya opened the door first, walking in stiffly as was his nature to do so. He spotted his seat number quickly and almost walked towards it until his eyes caught sight of the blonde-haired boy with his legs on his desk. His body became even more rigid as his face twitched and his eyes crazed. He turned his body and started taking an exaggerated step toward the blond.

Mina and Sakura had stepped into the room behind him and saw his reaction. Sakura sighed before grabbing and holding his shoulder without effort, even as Tenya tried to apply his weight to get out of it. Mina looked a little lost as it happened but shrugged her shoulders and made for her desk.

After several more seconds of Tenya continuing to fight her on it, Sakura addressed him more directly. "Tenya-kun, don't. It is not your place to do that at this time."

"But such delinquency! I must uphold U.A. as–"

"No, Tenya-kun, you don't," Sakura interjected calmly. "The teachers will address this if they want to. Wait until you verify how the teachers will handle the situation before you stick your nose in."

With no give in Sakura's grip and her words getting through to him, Tenya straightened up and turned back toward his seat. He ignored the odd looks and smirks he received from a few classmates.

As Tenya approached his desk, his eyes locked onto another boy who seemed lazy. Right next to his own seat, no less. She considered intercepting him again, but it appeared Tenya opted not to call the boy on it. He just sat at his desk and stared ahead.

Sakura sighed in relief, then she smiled. She was glad that he was able to reign himself in this time before she moved to the last row and sat in front of a Caucasian boy that was writing in his notebook.

Only a minute passed before the door opened again.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Midoriya Izuku was nervous and excited. He tried to use Ranma's advice to deal with his nervousness but found it wasn't as helpful this time as it didn't involve an actual fight.

He had been devastated that he had gotten so few points for the practical exam, knowing that with so few being acquired, the likelihood of him being chosen was close to zero. But at least he had a chance, all because of the advice of a stranger. He had been able to combat and destroy a few of the faux-villains, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. He had let All Might down.

But then came the mail. Izuku learned from All Might that there was a second way to earn points, a secret way. Specifically, Rescue Points. He had earned enough to pass! The last few weeks before school started, as he finished his middle school year, his emotions had become a rollercoaster.

As he found room 1-A, which had a massive door, he firmed his resolve and opened it. He was disheartened immediately on noticing that Kac-chan was present. And if he was correct, Kac-chan's seat was right before his own. He breathed a sigh of disappointment but still looked around. He recognized a few from the practical, including the guy with extra arms and the boy with glasses.

But he didn't see Ranma or the brown-haired girl.

Izuku approached his desk, trying not to attract Kacchan's attention. As he glanced away as he passed him, Izuku noticed there was one other student he hadn't seen. He was slouching back in his chair, and due to the position and height of the other students, as well as their shorter stature, he hadn't seen him there. At first, he wasn't sure who it was but caught sight of a dark pigtail on the back of his head.

Izuku smiled at that, happy that he had made it and they would be in the same class. Izuku finished by sitting in front of a girl with black hair in a spiky ponytail and next to a boy with red and white hair.

The door opened as he finished sitting down, and the brown-haired girl entered! Both of them were in the class with him! He noticed her looking around the room before seeing him. She waved her hand wildly as she smiled, making Izuku blush and hold the back of his head some. He waved a little as well.

The girl reached the last open seat, the back of the first row. Just as she sat down, the door opened again.

It was a man dragging some sort of yellow bag behind him. He was slender, had long and messy shoulder-length black hair, his eyes looked fatigued but were still wide awake, and he had stubby facial hair. He was wearing a black long-sleeve shirt and black pants. He also had some sort of long cloth scarf that was wrapped around his neck and shoulders.

"Hmmm, remained quiet while I stepped in. Not bad. Then again, some of you are barely paying attention," the man said. "I'm your homeroom sensei, Aizawa Shota. Pleased to meet you."

Izuku noticed that Ranma had finally sat up, Bokugo had lowered his legs off his desk, and the boy ahead of him had stopped using his notebook.

Shota then reached into his yellow bag and pulled out some clothes. "Quickly now, Change into your gym clothes and head to the grounds."

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"A test of our quirks?"

The question came from many in the class as they walked outside on a track field. They wore the gym clothes they were assigned, most everyone wearing the same thing, boys and girls. It was dark blue pants with a white line going down the front of each leg to the waist. The shirt was also dark-blue, with short sleeves and a high collar. The same white lines were on the front, but the part that met the leg formed diverted and met each other in the stomach area, with an extra line in the middle to make it look like an A. Another white line came from the shoulders and across the torso to meet.

The only exceptions were Mezo and Ranma. Mezo made sense; his extra arms needed the extra shoulder space, much like his regular uniform. Ranma, however, had shorter pants, only going up to above the shins instead of the ankles. Some questioned why that would be, those especially unfamiliar with him supposed it was due to his quirk, or someone got a size incorrect.

"What about the entrance ceremony? Or guidance sessions?" Ochako asked, clearly confused.

"No time to waste on that stuff if you want to become heroes," Shota answered, not even bothering to turn toward her as he led the way to a part of the field. Just before they arrived at the position he wanted, he clarified the situation more. "U.A. is known for its 'Freestyle' educational system. That applies to us teachers as well."

He turned to them as they arrived next to the shot-putting, a large circle with straight lines going out to mark distance for throws. "Softball throwing, the standing long jump, the fifty-meter dash, endurance running, grip strength, side-to-side stepping, upper body training, seated toe touch. You did all of these in middle school, yes? Your standard no-quirks-allowed gym tests."

Shota paused as they let them absorb that, "This country still insists on prohibiting quirks when calculating the averages of those records. It's not rational. The Department of Education is just procrastinating."

Shota turned to Katsuki, "Bakugo, how far could you throw in middle school?"

"Sixty-seven meters," Katsuki replied.

Shota tossed a ball to the blonde, "Great. Now try it with your quirk. Do whatever you need to do. Just don't leave the circle. Give it all you've got."

Katsuki stretched a little, limbering up as he prepared himself. He wound himself up and threw the ball as hard as possible. As the ball was about to leave, a loud explosion blasted from his hand, sending the smoking ball flying away, further and far quicker than he could have before.

The class looked on, some excited as they watched the ball disappear from sight for most of them. A few continued to track it until it landed some distance away.

Shota held a small device in his hand, which beeped. "It's important for us to know our limits." He then held out the machine, which displayed the distance the ball had been thrown, which was 705.2 meters. "That's the first rational step to figuring out what kind of heroes you'll be."

"Whoa! This is awesome!"

"Seven hundred meters? Seriously?"

"So we can use our quirks for real? Man, the hero course is great!"

These were just a few of the comments the students made to each other, while others just looked on and waited.

"Awesome, you say?" Shota asked. His head lowered some as he started slouching, but his eyes never left the students. "You're hoping to become heroes after three years here… and you think it'll all be fun and games?"

His eyes stared at the excited students, their expressions dimming a little. "Right," Shota said as his voice filled them with dread. "The one with the lowest score across all eight events will be judged hopeless and will be expelled."

The students quieted at that, shocked at such a claim. Several students began to panic, clearly concerned. Izuku was one of them, realizing he was vulnerable, considering that his quirk was so destructive to his body.

Shota stood up and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Your fates are in our hands. Welcome, this is the Hero Course at U.A. High!"

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"3.04 seconds!"

"5.58 seconds!"

The short, thin, pole-like, camera-headed robot at the end of the fifty-meter dash called out the results after Tenya and the girl with long green hair and frog-like features, Tsuyu Asui, crossed the line of the fifty-meter dash. Tenya's score was the best yet, almost touching the three-second mark. He got applause from many of his classmates as they looked on with approval. As they both stepped away from the field, they received congratulatory waves and the occasional hand on the shoulder.

It continued like that as more students went through their own tests, some clearly enhancing themselves with their quirk, while others were stuck with just their physical capabilities.

"Saotome and Rikido, you're up next," Shota called out as he calmly waited. The two boys stepped up to the track.

Rikido Sato was the large boy with large lips that sat behind Ranma. Sato walked towards the track's starting position. He placed his feet on the pads and used his arms to prepare himself for a running position. Sato adopted a serious face as he prepared for the test to start. Though, that face was a bit ruined as he looked to the side to see what Ranma was doing.

Ranma just stood near the front of the track, his body relaxed and his hands in his pockets. He didn't even appear to be attempting anything. Nearly everyone was looking at him in confusion.

"Ready… GO!"

The confused students became astonished as Ranma disappeared, already passing the finish line, when their eyes found him again. He came to an instant stop just past the finish line. Sato almost stopped his run but was able to keep going.

"1.63 seconds!" The robotic voice called out again. Barely anyone was paying attention to Sato's slower score, even himself.

"Holy shit!" Eijiro called out. Even Tenya was shocked at his time being halved like that.

"Saotome!" Shota's voice rang out. Everyone turned to look at their sensei, as he looked and sounded pissed. When Ranma looked his way, Shota confirmed it. "Take this test seriously! Do it again, but I want something closer to your real speed!"

The student's eyes boggled at that, clearly confused why he would claim it like that. His real speed?

Ranma sighed but nodded as he returned to the starting line alone. Now having a clearer idea of what to expect, they observed the entire track instead of where he was at the start.

"GO!"

Again, he disappeared in a blur. They could barely track him as he passed the finish line again.

"0.61 seconds!"

The jaws of the students dropped, only a few keeping their composure.

"Better, Saotome. But still not quite what you showed near the end of the practical exam," Shota said.

"He's even faster than that!?" One golden-headed student yelled. He had short spiky hair with a black lightning-shaped streak in his hair above his left eye. The rest of them stared between their sensei and Ranma as he walked back toward the group.

"Eh, the ground is a little harder to get the boost of the speed I needed to get under the gimmick," Ranma said with a shrug.

"Wait, under the gimmick?" Izuku asked in concern.

Shota's eyes closed, realizing that the boy who had punched the gimmick over hadn't been made aware of what else had happened that day.

Toshinori, in his All Might form, was trying to hide near the buildings but could still hear the conversation with the little device he had borrowed. He winced as he knew Izuku might take this badly. Possibly destroying his drive to be a hero! He hoped Shota would put a stop to it until he could talk to Izuku about it personally.

Shota agreed, even if he hadn't heard Yagi's thoughts. "That's en–"

"Yeah, I had to dive under the gimmick to rescue her," Ranma said as a thumb pointed towards Toru, "when she ran to try to rescue her." His other hand casually pointed towards Ochako. "The gimmick almost landed right on top of her after you punched it."

Most of the students were lost while trying to track the events and figure out what had happened. But the fact that Ranma had said it so calmly and casually, as if he described getting his morning breakfast, just made everything worse. It contrasted so abysmally with what he said that they were left in a daze.

On the other hand, the teachers groaned at the boy for stepping on the multiple landmines in his path without care. Shota noted that from what he had observed of the boy's blithe attitude to the entire event or the danger involved, it shouldn't have surprised him.

The three students who were actually involved, their reactions were much more extreme.

"That was you!?" Toru yelled at Ranma, shock in her voice and what little body language they could read from the moving clothes. After a pause, her clothes turned towards Izuku. "You punched it!?"

Ochako looked upset, realizing that her fall had put another person in danger as they attempted to rescue her. The self-doubt and hatred towards herself began to spiral out of control for creating such a dangerous situation.

Izuku took it the hardest. His eyes bugged out as he realized he had almost killed someone. The fear and self-doubt came roaring to the forefront of his mind. His brain tried to rationalize the situation but was failing; they were excuses. He tried to save one person and nearly killed another. All Might would have saved everyone! Only one bit of hope remained for him. He turned to Ranma, his voice quivering, "You– you got her out from under it in time?"

"Nope. Crashed right on top of us. Had to hold it up until All Might, the other teachers, and her could clear enough for me to lift some of it," He said as he pointed at Ochako again.

Toru was slightly surprised at the addition of Ochako but left that for later as her anger at the green-haired boy for almost killing her was at the forefront of her mind. She stalked towards Izuku, ignoring how he collapsed in despair as his legs gave out from under him.

As she reached the green-haired boy, she opened her mouth to yell when she felt a flick on her forehead that surprised her more than it hurt, knocking her off her warpath and targeting her anger to the one who had flicked her.

Izuku was dead to the world until he felt that same flick to his forehead, stopping his fall into the abyss. Ochako received a similar impact on her forehead, but it was from a tiny pebble hitting her. All three teenagers looked at Ranma, who had snuck up right in front of them in their distraction as he lowered his hand.

Shota and Toshinori watched in surprised silence, not expecting the boy to do that. Shota had been preparing to move forward to do what damage control he could do to get them on track, but the youth got there first.

"Look, all three of you need to cool it. You– err, what is your name?" Ranma asked.

"Uraraka Ochako."

"Ochako, don't beat yourself up over creating the situation. Things happen, and accidents occur. Your mind was focused on getting away; your focus on the terrain could have been better, and you misstepped. It happens. Now you know. Keep it in mind the next time you have to run away from something."

Ochako slowly nodded, taking his words to heart.

"And you made up for it when you helped All Might and the teachers get to us sooner. I was worried she– Uh, I didn't catch your name before either." Ranma said, a little embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Hagakure Toru."

"Thanks. I was worried Toru was running out of air near the end, so Ochako, you helped."

Ochako looked surprised, but she slowly smiled as she listened to him.

"Uraraka-san also saved him," Tenya interjected as he pointed to Izuku, "after he punched the gimmick. He was falling, so she touched him with her quirk to stop his gravity and, thus, his fall."

Ranma looked over at Tenya, surprised at the information he shared. "I didn't know that! Good job, Ochako!" Ranma turned to beam a smile at the girl and a thumbs up. Ochako smiled and blushed at the praise.

"As for you two," Ranma said towards Toru and Izuku as they followed along, "you both were doing the same thing the other was doing, just in different ways based on what you could do. Never apologize or feel bad for trying to save someone's life. The only thing you should possibly regret is how you did it."

Ranma turned to Toru first, pointing towards her head that wasn't visible. "Toru, your quirk makes you hard to detect. That can be very useful in situations, but that also leaves you vulnerable because friends might be unable to tell you are there. Keep that in mind, and always try to learn to anticipate and avoid potential friendly fire. It can and will happen. I was barely able to notice you in time. Izuku couldn't."

Whatever anger Toru felt towards Izuku began to evaporate as she considered his words, realizing it was partially her fault. But she noticed Ranma didn't tell her not to do it in the future, but as something to keep in mind as a real danger.

Ranma crouched down so he was closer to Izuku's current level. "Izuku, you aren't familiar with your strength, are you?" He received a shake of green hair as a response.

"Strength to do something like that can be great, but you must also realize things must go somewhere. Even a normal person could throw something that could injure someone if they don't know where they are throwing it. Like throwing a rock or a baseball over a fence. What if many people were on the other side, and it hit them in the head or somewhere else? They could be seriously injured. This is the same thing, but the consequences can be much more dire. So learn to control your strength and be careful where you throw it around."

Surprisingly, Ranma had learned that lesson many years ago from his father. The old man could be careless but didn't perform actions that endangered others. Unlike many of his rivals in Nerima. Well, except in rare situations that involved something like a cure for their curses.

Izuku had been looking at his hands as they lay on the ground, the depression hitting him hard. But when it was mentioned how just throwing a rock over a fence was the same thing, he realized what Ranma was getting at; Izuku raised his head and stared into Ranma's eyes. Though tempered by the consequences of his actions, his resolve had returned. "Right."

Ranma stood back up, offering a hand to Izuku, who took it and was raised to his feet. The entire class and teachers had heard it, many taking his words to heart and thinking of their own situations while others re-evaluated the pig-tailed boy.

Toshinori's smile widened, barely having heard the lecture. But he was pleased that all of them had dispelled the doubt and anger.

Shota was the most surprised of all. He had already begun to believe that the boy either didn't take things seriously or didn't care. Now Shota realized that the boy just didn't care about any personal danger to himself or whether he received praise for his actions.

It explained why he had started to walk off after Hagakure had been pulled out from under the debris and confirmed to be okay, safely under Chiyo's care. It explained why he hadn't told his guardians what was essentially, to him, inconsequential. Ranma considered it the obvious and right thing to do, only caring and striving to produce a positive result.

And the Pussycats had known it. It was why they had laughed and praised him instead of concern or outrage at not being told what had happened or the personal danger he had been in. They already knew he had the makings of a hero. As Shota fully absorbed it, his smile grew. He had seen too many heroes shirk their duty when presented with personal danger or only do it for glory.

For Sakura and Peter, they smiled along. Both were already familiar with the notion in their own separate ways.

Ranma paused momentarily as he remembered what he had seen that day, and a thought hit him. He looked at Izuku, a hand on his hip and the other on his chin, as he ran with the idea. Izuku wondered what that was about until Ranma asked Shota a question. "Hey, Sensei?"

"What is it, Saotome?"

"I have an idea to help Izuku get control of his quirk. Can I take him off to the side to work with him on it?" Ranma asked, turning his head to their sensei.

Shota almost told him no. One of his goals for this entire exercise was to see how the students adapted to the pressure and found unique ways to use their quirk. But he considered the nature of Izuku's quirk and how he injured himself so severely, Shota decided to see what Saotome had in mind. While it might make testing Izuku harder, it would let him test Saotome further, which was at least equally important in his mind. He stepped closer before asking his question. "What is your idea?"

Ranma thought briefly about how to explain it, but he decided to be vague. Explaining to people that Ki wasn't a quirk was always annoying when it came up. He would have to since this was their sensei, but there were better times. "Well, from what I remember seeing, our abilities are similar to each other. He is basically filling limbs with energy and using that to attack. But there's too much energy, causing his limbs to rupture after using so much of it. I want to see if I can help him work through how to lower how much energy he is using."

Shota considered the boy's words, finding them accurate descriptions based on what he saw and heard. And if Saotome's ability was similar, he might be able to help him get control of it. "Fine, take him over there, closer to the building. But only teach him how to regulate it so he doesn't hurt himself. Nothing else."

Ranma followed Shota's gesture and found it near All Might's hiding spot but did not mention him. He didn't care if the guy wanted to follow them. "Sure, Sensei."

Izuku had looked surprised and then pleased by Ranma's offer and their sensei's approval. So the two boys went off to the side.

Shota shouted something before they got far. "Saotome!' When Ranma looked back, he saw Shota giving an unusual smile. "You'll still have to finish the rest of your tests and run through those tests again after you activate your quirk!"

That halted the students. They turned as one as they stared at their sensei and then towards the other two classmates. Wondering what the hell was going on. Hadn't he already used his quirk?

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Ranma led Izuku towards the school building, near where All Might was hanging around the corner. He figured their sensei wanted someone to supervise, so he decided to go along with it. Ranma led Izuku a meter or two from the stairs. "Okay, go ahead and take a seat."

Izuku did so, curious about what was going on. He sat down but adjusted his legs to copy Ranma's as he crossed them comfortably. "You… said you had an idea to help me?"

"Yeah. I saw you use your quirk to attack the gimmick and noticed how you damaged yourself. Makes sense why you didn't try to use it on the smaller villains," Ranma said as he let his elbows rest on his knees.

Izuku nodded after a moment. It was true, but he didn't know it then. But he also couldn't explain it without revealing he didn't have a quirk before that day.

"Anyways, energy builds up rapidly in your body, giving you a ton of power to attack with. Correct?"

"Yes…"

"Okay, so not too different from myself. You just have it where it is already at full power."

Izuku nodded, as Ranma had already explained that to their sensei.

"When I unlocked it, it was slower and far less powerful than what I have now. I had to grow and expand it by training and meditation."

Izuku nodded along, with curiosity and interest shining through.

Ranma continued his explanation. "While it is much more powerful now, I still have to be careful how I use it. Think of it like picking up a glass. You could shatter the glass using your normal strength, but you don't. Why is that?"

Izuku thought, mumbling more to himself than answering Ranma. But Ranma didn't take offense; he saw he was working it out in his head. "Because we become used to picking up objects, we know we don't need to apply too much pressure to hold it or that too much can break it. The reverse is if we don't grip something hard enough, it will slip through our fingers. But then that also–"

"Right," Ranma interjected, "So, what do you need to do?"

Izuku blinked as his train of thought was derailed. "I need to learn how to grip it without breaking."

"Again, correct. But unlike with muscles, you aren't used to using this energy. And it isn't just the objects outside your body that can take the damage, but your own. So it is more complex. Tell me, how would you describe what you feel?"

Izuku looked up and opened his mouth, catching himself before speaking. He needed to word what he had told All Might without revealing his discussion with the pro-hero. "I describe it like an egg in a microwave."

Ranma leaned back, thinking about it. He wasn't a technology expert, so he didn't know how a microwave worked. But he had seen Akane do that deed. Multiple times. And learned why, thanks to his mother's attempted lessons with Akane. He was glad he eventually didn't need to dodge the exploding hot water heater, at least for reasons outside of scalding water.

"Okay, why does an egg in a microwave explode?" Ranma asked.

Izuku had to spend a second remembering himself, "Because the shell traps in all of the water vapor in the egg, causing it to expand and thus explode."

"Good. But why doesn't it happen when you drop it in boiling water?"

Izuku paused, unsure himself. "I don't know."

"With boiling water, the egg cooks slower than the microwave. The microwave heats it up to maximum with no way to release what is inside before it finishes cooking."

Izuku nodded, seeing how that made sense.

"But that is an analogy for things we already know. You don't know how much you can take now, right?" Ranma asked.

"Ummm, yeah."

"Here, think of the shell as your body, with your muscles, bones, and everything else as the water. The heat is your power. At this time, you don't have any labels for the heat, and you don't know what the boiling temperature is for the egg itself. So you don't know what any button press you do will cause."

Izuku had not considered that he didn't know the microwave's controls. All Might had just told him to try to lower the temperature, but he didn't know how. "I… I need to find out what the buttons do!"

"Yep!" Ranma said, a smile on his face as he looked a bit excited. "But you are also stuck with the egg always being there. You can't take it out. So what else do you need to do?"

"I… I need to measure it somehow. Figure out how hot and how fast it is heating. I need to stop it before it cracks the egg."

"Now you're getting it! But there's another thing I noticed: your arms and legs didn't become seriously damaged until after they hit something. That means doing something that generates force, causing the egg to explode. Think of it as the egg rolling to hit the wall or bouncing off a surface."

Izuku looked perplexed but soon realized what Ranma was getting at. So long as he didn't use the power on anything, he could start to get a feel for it. He grinned widely; maybe he would get it to work soon!

"Here's what we'll do. You'll hold out your arm and try to slowly build up energy until you figure out what the settings are. I will tell you when to stop. Then, when you have the controls dealt with, we test how much your body can take, starting from low until we notice your body can't deal with it."

"Right!"

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Toshinori watched, a broad smile on his face, as Ranma guided him as he felt out his quirk. There were a few abrupt stops and a twinge of pain from Izuku, but nothing serious. He was starting to make progress!

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"Alright, now that that interruption is finished, let's continue with the tests," Shota said as he turned to the rest of the class. He looked at one girl in particular, "Yaoyorozu-san, you'll take Saotome-kun's spot for any duo tests for now." He received a nod from the girl. "Next up is Shoji-kun and Jiro-san."

The tests continued, some providing intriguing ways to use their quirks, but nothing as impressive as Ranma or Tenya's scores. At least until Sakura's turn appeared.

Sakura and Toru both stepped toward the starting line. While Toru opted for the starting blocks as a simple tool to improve her speed, they noticed Sakura had opted not to use them. She had squatted down but wasn't as low as the other racers when they used foot pads. What was curious to many was that her arms were held closer to her sides, flying out behind her.

"Go, Sakura!" Mina said in encouragement.

Tenya had never seen Sakura go all out, having only heard bits of what she was capable of from his brother. What he had heard meant she would easily beat his score in the dash, but he didn't know by how much.

Sakura knew that Ranma's speed was a bit above hers but decided his original timing was a better mark to shoot for. She wanted to show off a bit but was still a ninja, so hiding her full capabilities was natural.

"Ready! GO!" Shota shouted.

Sakura sprinted off, replicating much of Ranma's first showing as she disappeared from the starting line and reappeared at the finish. Only those with exceptional perceptions or viewing the whole track could follow her.

"1.56 seconds!"

Few people paid attention as Toru crossed the finish line five seconds later. As Sakura returned to the group, Mina sported a big grin and held her hand up for a high five for the two girls. Sakura welcomed it.

"That was awesome, Sakura! I can't wait for the grip, ball toss, and lift tests. I want to see how well you do on those!"

"Yes, well done Haruno-kun!" Tenya said, his voice nearly robotic as his arm waved up and down in front of him.

"Thanks, guys."

At that point, Sakura was swarmed by a few other classmates, all asking her questions about how she had accomplished that. Sakura explained that her quirk was tough to describe, so she would do it later.

While the rest of the class congratulated Sakura, Katsuki and Peter were called to step up to the starting line. As they walked, Katsuki took a shot at Parker. "So, shitface, think you can beat me?"

Peter continued walking as he turned to face the blonde, a smirk forming. "Oh? So my name has been changed to Shitface already? Well, I guess since my name has already been changed, then your name is–"

"Don't you dare fucking say it!" Katsuki said as he stopped his walk; his eyes glared with murderous intent as his face filled with fury. Additionally, his hands lit up with tiny explosions that looked like firecrackers.

"Oh? Then what's my name?" Peter asked, his face trying and failing at being innocent, on account of his eager eyes and twitch of his lips.

"Shut it… Parker." Katsuki then turned back to walk toward the starting line. Peter followed, not saying a thing, but the rest of their classmates had seen his pleased look.

They both prepared themselves by using the starting blocks. Peter had already determined that his explosions had come from his hands; something on them caused them to go off. He had also seen him flick his hands, and if his eyes weren't deceiving him, drops of liquid were flicked out to cause the explosions. Peter wondered if it was something like nitroglycerin. He wasn't sure yet if he could control when it went off or if he just knew how to cause them to go off himself in his hands. He didn't have all of the information, but he had enough.

Peter estimated he would use it the instant they started to get as big of a boost as he needed, much like he used in the practical to keep up with him. The explosions wouldn't be too much for him, but subsequent explosions might make moving more difficult if he was next to him. He needed a good start and decided not to hold back much.

Eijiro looked on with excitement. He had been pleased to see Peter had made it but had not had much opportunity to talk to him. He had heard about Sakura from Mina, so he wasn't too surprised by her accomplishment. Eijiro had yet to learn what Peter's quirk was or what he was capable of. He looked forward to seeing what he could do.

"Ready! GO!" Shota shouted.

Katsuki did much as Peter had predicted, using his hands to explode forward quickly. But it didn't impede Peter, as he had already started moving before Katsuki could react. He shot forward faster than Katsuki could, crossing the finish line.

"1.71 seconds!"

Katsuki passed a few seconds later, shooting past Peter as he had a more challenging time stopping his inertia.

"3.28 seconds!"

Katsuki cursed as he finally stopped skidding forward. Parker had still beaten him! He turned back to glare at him, but he'd already started walking back to the rest of the class. Pissed at losing, Katsuki walked back himself. He ignored the congratulations he received, deciding to wait for the next event as his mood soured.

"Parker! That was awesome! I had no idea you were that fast!" Eijiro said as he congratulated Peter and gave him a slap on the back of his shoulder. "By the way, what is your quirk?"

Peter turned to him and replied, "Thanks, Kirishima. As for my quirk, it's called Spider. It gives me some of the abilities of a spider based on the proportions. That includes speed, strength, jumping ability, and more."

"Wait, so, like the little things scurrying on the ground or walls and all? Can you climb on walls too?"

"Yeah. I also created devices that let me shoot synthetic silk, like a spider's web."

"Really? Sweet! Can't wait to see it!" Eijiro paused their conversation as Peter turned to another classmate.

It was the peach-skinned boy with the rock-like head in place of any hair. Eijiro was surprised when Peter started making hand signs he didn't recognize. It took him a moment to realize they were one of the sign languages. He watched as Peter continued to run through them, with the other boy seeming to observe. After he finished, the boy smiled and began to run through his own signs, smoother and faster than Peter had.

"So your name is Koda Koji?" Peter asked after he finished. The boy, Koji, smiled and nodded again. "Nice to meet you, Koda-san! And I'm sorry, I haven't had enough time to learn more than the basics."

Koji smiled, giving a thumbs up to show it was fine.

"So your name is Koda?" Eijiro asked. Koji turned to him, nodding, but started fidgeting with his hands and looked away in embarrassment, showing he was still timid. "Nice to meet you, Koda! Maybe Parker can help me learn some sign language as well." Eijiro and Koda both smiled at that, while a few other classmates nearby had also noticed the same thing.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Izuku concentrated, trying to bring up his power slowly. The first few times, he hurt himself, though only a little bit. His arm was more sore than broken, like he had exercised it too much, and his limbs needed resting.

But he had been able to dial it back as Ranma walked him through how to feel his power as it was pulled up. He had a better grasp of it now; he had slowed it down as it grew, then began to halt it before it reached any dangerous point. They hadn't tested anything yet, but it wouldn't hurt him now based on how much he used.

He slowly began to get a feel for the range of how much he put into it. He started labeling it as percentages, an easier way for him to visualize it. Ranma had said to use what worked for him, though it might limit him potentially.

He was now trying to find some of the lower settings, places he would start with to see how badly his body reacted to an impact, then slowly raise until it became too much. Izuku was excited; he was so close!

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Toru was nervous. Not just because she was currently the student with the lowest score but because her mind was trying to make sense of the boy named Ranma. She hadn't believed it was an accident when he had stepped into her path and groped her. She had set it aside at the time because she had a much bigger priority she had to deal with.

But then she got trapped beneath the gimmick. She was shocked to realize she wasn't dead, but it was so dark! All she knew was someone else was there, holding it up as she rested against their legs. She had heard the other teachers making their way to them, the rumbling of debris as it moved. She didn't know if the person holding the weight would lose their match with the heavy object or if the rumblings would cause the rest of it to collapse. Then, as the rumblings started getting closer, breathing became more difficult. Toru recognized it as their oxygen was running out, and they had a limited time. It had been the most terrifying twenty minutes of her life.

Her one hope remained strong, though, always holding it up, never relenting. When she felt she would lose consciousness, as her breathing became painful and she started to panic, her savior began to glow. It was warm and comforting but didn't help with her lack of oxygen. Then the weight was lifted, the seal was cracked, and she could breathe again. She was too dazed from the encounter, barely hearing the other voices as she was pulled from the rubble. She had recognized a few of the people around her, one being All Might.

Toru believed All Might had saved her, especially when he showed up with their current sensei at her house. Her parents had been livid on learning their daughter had almost died, with Aizawa and All Might taking the verbal punishment with stoicism. They had threatened to withdraw her application, sue the school, and publish what had happened. And they still stood there, bowing deeply, not trying to run away or deny it.

Then All Might said that her act of trying to save the unknown girl, Ochako, made her a hero in his eyes. No matter what, Toru had earned her place in the U.A. Hero Course if she desired to attend. Hearing that from such a legend had been why she decided to attend after all. Chiefly because she had believed he had saved her.

But now she knew she had been wrong. A boy her age, a boy who had groped her, had saved her life. She had no idea how to take it. Her anger at the other boy for putting her in that situation had been the only thing she could grasp at the time, letting her anger take control. Then she was stopped and told she was heroic but shouldn't blame the boy. She knew her quirk put her into dangerous situations, so her anger evaporated when it was pointed out to her.

She still glanced regularly towards him, so when a hand lightly touched her shoulder, she jumped in freight, and a small yelp escaped her before her hands could cover her mouth. The class glanced her way for a moment but lost interest. She then turned to find Ochako looking at her with concern.

"Are you okay, Hakagkure-kun?" Ochako asked.

Toru lowered her head, though it wasn't visible to the other girl, and decided to answer honestly. "I don't know."

"What's bothering you? Is it about what Saotome-kun said?" Ochako asked, tilting her head as she tried to piece it together.

"No. He's right about that. I know my quirk can be a danger to myself. There's always a risk of someone not being able to see me. It's happened a few times before, and I can't fault the other boy for doing what he did to save you." Toru turned to look at Ochako. "And I don't blame you for tripping. Like Saotome-kun said, it happens. Thank you, though, for helping to get me out." Toru turned and bowed to the other girl.

Ochako gave a bow in return, smiling widely as it puffed her cheeks out and made her pink cheek marks stand out more prominently. "You're welcome. And thank you for trying to save me. I think we're even on that score. But you still haven't said what's bothering you."

Toru sighed, "It's not what he said that confuses me. It's what he did. During the practical exam, as well as before."

"Before?" Ochako asked, a little surprised. "What did he do before the exam?"

"I was shedding my clothes behind the bus," Toru said in embarrassment; seeing Ochako blushing also didn't help her mood. "Then I ran towards the gate before the timer finished so I wouldn't be behind, but he backed up in front of me. I thought I would run into him when his hand reached out and groped me!"

"Whaaaat!?" Ochako put her hands to her mouth, blushing again as she realized she had gotten the class's attention again. She whispered the following words, "he groped you!?"

"His hand reached out and was right on my chest. He apologized and said it was an accident. I didn't believe him, but I had the exam. So I decided to deal with it later by reporting him. Now I've learned that he's the one that saved me!"

A light went off in Ochako's head as she realized Toru's conundrum. "You're not sure which is the real him, then? Is he just a perverted groper, or was it just an accident? Did he save you for some other reason, like he was trying to make you forget about it and fall for him, like in all those horribly trashy romance novels or movies?"

"Yeah."

Ochako sighed. This was going to take a lot of work. "I don't know either. I think the best we can do is to watch him, see what else he does." She turned to look Toru in the eyes before realizing she couldn't. And then a thought struck her. "Wait. Hagakure-kun, do you know how Saotome-kun knew where you were?"

Toru blinked, confused at what she meant before her invisible eyes lit up. "No, I don't!"

"You said he backed up. Did you see him glancing your way at all before you almost ran into him?" Ochako asked.

"No, he was talking to someone else for a moment. I don't remember who, then he backed up."

"So maybe he heard you coming?" Ochako thought, but that didn't explain how Ranma knew where Toru was when the gimmick fell. "Didn't sensei get on Ranma's case for not going as fast as he did to get under the gimmick?"

"Oh, yeah," Toru said, connecting more pieces together. "Where was he, anyway?"

"I don't know. I never saw him during the exam. I saw everyone else running around, including you, but I never saw him."

"He was on the rooftops," a voice said, startling both girls. They turned to see the imposing figure of Mezo as he stood nearby.

"Ummm, what do you mean?" Toru asked as she looked up at the tall boy.

"My quirk allows me to see and hear more than most people," Mezo said as he raised an arm and then had his extra appendage grow an eye and an ear, but also showed the mouth he was currently speaking with. "Saotome had been on the roofs for most of the practical exam. He helped several other competitors out, including Midoriya-san. He walked him through how to fight, allowing him to take down a faux-villain."

"Before we started the exam?" Ochako asked, growing interested in what Mezo was saying.

"No, during the exam," Mezo said, watching as the two girls blinked in confusion. "Midoriya was also the one that Saotome was speaking to before he backed up Hagakure-san. He was helping give him advice to calm down his nerves."

"Really?" Toru asked. Though, now that she thought of it, she might have seen the messy green hair that Izuku had. Mezo nodded at her, making her consider.

Ochako then realized something else. "Wait, if he was on the roofs, how did he know where you were, Hagakure-kun? He wouldn't have seen Midoriya-kun or me if he had been behind the gimmick. If he was beside it, the gimmick would have attacked him. If he was in front, then how could he see you?"

"He has enhanced senses, to some degree," Mezo said, catching the girl's attention again. "He could detect a group of faux-robots several streets away that was well out of sight and would have been impossible for him to detect normally. I think he used that to find you, Hagakure-san."

"Oh! So, maybe he did sense me then… and later. That… that makes more sense," Toru said, relieved. She now had a better idea of his character; maybe he had accidentally done it? Either way, she had more to work with. Ochako's earlier suggestion of watching him was still a good idea, but she didn't feel as frantic about finding the answer. She turned to Mezo and gave him a bow. "Thank you… Shoji-san?"

"Yes, my name is Shoji Mezo. And you are welcome, Hagakure-kun," Mezo gave his bow as three people smiled, though only one was visible.

"Uraraka! You're up!"

Ochako jumped a little, looking towards their sensei and the open spot for the ball throwing. She quickly made her way to the field.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"Again!"

The sound of a fist meeting palm resounded louder than a boy Izuku's size could typically cause.

"Again!"

Again, his fist met palm as Izuku struck Ranma's hand again. This time, causing himself to wince just a little as that one had pained him some.

"Okay, that's good enough. So four percent is pushing it with continued impacts. Probably best to keep it to three percent, but maybe occasionally raise it to four or five percent for greater impact when it's needed," Ranma said as he looked at Izuku as the boy stared at his own hands. "For the tests, things like the ball throwing, you could probably get away with five percent or maybe a little higher, just so long as it is limited. The more time you dedicate to the task and using your quirk, the lower the percentage."

Izuku looked up, excitement and eagerness in his eyes. "Right!"

"Okay, I think we've got it enough, and it looks like they will be finishing up the endurance runs shortly. Let's go see what Sensei wants us to do," Ranma said before walking back to the rest of the group while Izuku followed along.

A thought crossed Izuku's mind, considering that this was the fourth time Ranma had helped him. "Saotome-kun?"

"Hmmm?" Ranma asked, glancing back at Izuku as they walked, hands in his pockets. "What's up?"

"How are you so good at this?" Izuku said before realizing he needed to clarify. "I mean, how are you so familiar with fighting or training?"

"Ah," Ranma said before shrugging. "I've been training my whole life. My old man started training me in martial arts as a toddler, then took me on a ten-year training trip."

"Ten– ten years!?" Izuku was shocked; that was most of their life!

"Yep! But I got separated from him and the rest of my family last year. I haven't found any sign of them since then, and that was when my current guardians took me in. Since then, I've been training with them and some others. I train them in fighting while they teach me other things. They helped me a lot with how to train someone, speak to them, and try to understand it from their point of view. It really helped when Kota wanted me to train him, too, and he's only a little kid, so learning to speak simpler helped. He would get nervous too, so I learned how to talk to him about it."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Izuku found it fascinating. It was such a different life experience than his own. No wonder he knew so much and was so good with his quirk.

They finished their walk, approaching the group again. "Sensei, we finished," Ranma said to Shota.

Shota didn't turn around, continuing to observe more of the students as they completed the endurance run. "Were you successful?"

"Yep! He's not able to use much for now, but he knows how to use his power without hurting himself," Ranma said. Izuku stood off to the side, still holding his arm a little from some of the earlier attempts.

Shota nodded, doing the numbers on his checklist. They still had at least one or two rotations for people to test their endurance, which took up most of the time. He could test them while the others finished as he kept an eye on them. But he also noticed the twitching in the boy's arm. "Haruno-san, please come here."

Sakura looked up at being called, moving towards their teacher and noticing the other two had returned. "Yes, Sensei?"

"Recovery Girl gave you the green light for treating wounds, including using your quirk. Please inspect Midoriya's arms if you can," Shota said while pointing at the green-haired boy.

"Yes, Sensei," Sakura said before stepping towards Izuku and holding her hand out. Izuku blushed and started to stammer but eventually obliged. Sakura inspected the arm, noticing the minor shaking of his arms. She felt it and looked at Izuku's reaction when she gripped certain parts of his arms. She then put her hand over it, and her chakra glowed lightly as she scanned it to confirm. "Looks like a bad case of strained muscles, but there might be a danger of Rhabdomyolysis if you had gone much further. If you do go further, come see me or Recovery Girl."

"Rha– uh, what?" Izuku tried to repeat the word for a moment but failed.

"Rhab-do-my-ol-y-sis," Sakura repeated the words, sounding out the phonetics for him. "It is a serious medical condition where your damaged muscle tissues release proteins and electrolytes into the blood. If left untreated, it can damage your heart and kidneys and cause permanent damage or death."

Izuku looked stunned and then fearful as he looked at the slightly shorter girl, only a few centimeters shorter if he were to estimate.

As she said that, her hands glowed again, and Izuku found his arm had begun to rapidly feel better. Once she was done with one arm, much to Izuku's shock, she held out a hand for the other and repeated the same procedure.

Completed, Izuku held his arms in amazement before looking at Sakura and giving her a big smile. "Thanks!" Then his surprise about his arm gave way to the fact that he was speaking to another pretty girl. He blushed and looked away while trying to provide a more appropriate answer. "Err– umm… than-thank you. Ummm, Ha– Haruno-san."

Sakura smiled, then giggled at the boy's awkwardness to her. She then noticed that the other boy, Ranma, was looking at her as if he was trying to figure something out, his hand to his chin and his head tilted. "What is it?"

"That's an interesting… quirk," Ranma said, though he was also looking her up and down.

Sakura almost rolled her eyes, first thinking he might be another Letcher. But she soon recognized the look of someone evaluating someone's skill. The situation was far more interesting if he was intrigued by what he saw in her stance.

She turned back to Izuku, "You should be good to go." Her smile returned as the boy blushed yet again.

"Saotome. Midoriya. Follow me." Shota said.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Katsuki was not having a good day. No one had bugged him before class had begun, but he recognized several of the arrivals. Parker was the first, whom he didn't mind as much. He made for a worthy rival. The fact that Parker had been able to get under his nerves with his taunts was frustrating but manageable. But Parker also didn't seem to care about his attitude, so long as he didn't call him names.

The second to arrive, whom he recognized from when he had entered the U.A. grounds for the exam, was Pigtail. He'd already been in a bad mood after passing Deku, so his temper was on a hair trigger. When Pigtail had ignored his demands to get out of his way, he decided a good kick would serve as a reminder. Only his foot was caught just before he hit him, and he couldn't get his foot out! He tried everything short of his quirk and made no progress. Then he was dropped, and the extra hadn't even bothered to look at him once!

To add insult to injury, Deku arrived as the third. And he apparently had some sort of history or interaction with Pigtail. The way they talked made it sound like Deku had stopped a gimmick, which was ridiculous for the quirkless boy. But too many confirmed the claims; even their sensei seemed to agree.

But the final nail was that they were being dominated on every test. While Saotome hadn't done anything but the dash, he had heard enough to know he would not be a pushover for the other tests. Parker had shown he was near the same league as Saotome, though he had already known it to an extent. But Forehead had also shown them all up!

Only the girl extra with that gravity quirk, or whatever it was, had beaten any of their scores. Not even the extra that could create whatever she wanted, such as the canon she made to shoot the ball, could beat them.

He knew going in that he would be near the top of the class. There might be some decent challengers in the class to make things interesting, but he hadn't expected to be left in the dust by multiple people in all categories. Making him not in the top spot or even the top three, but fourth or lower!

Now he watched Deku prepare to take his tests later than the rest. As Deku sprinted off, he almost tripped, barely catching himself before speeding up to cross the line. It was a notable increase, a few seconds faster than he remembered his old scores had been, but it wasn't as impressive as he had been led to believe. It still set his blood to boil. He was supposed to be quirkless and left behind! Had the little shit been messing with him this whole time? Laughing at him behind his back?

His quirk started going off in his hands as they twitched, and his anger took hold. It got louder as his temper rose, a hair's breadth away from charging at Deku when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to glare at the owner, supremely tempted to turn his quirk on the owner for interrupting him. He found Parker there, holding him back.

"Not a good idea, Bakugo," Peter said, following Katsuki's previous line of sight. Peter didn't know why he was so pissed, but maybe he knew one of them. The fact he was only now getting pissed probably had to do with the green-haired boy's results.

Katsuki glared at him before giving a tsk of annoyance and pulling his hand from his shoulder. Even if it pissed him off further, Parker was right. He opted to leave it for now and figure out why the fuck Deku lied about being quirkless later. The little shit.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Izuku was excited! While he had trouble adjusting to his new levels, especially for things with continuous motor control like running, he had improved significantly on his old records. He only used a little bit of power in each limb at a time, which for things like running, made it awkward since your balance gets thrown off because you were pushing and moving faster than before.

Some tests, like grip or standing long jump, were much easier since it was a singular task. Others he could only make a little of an impact on, like the toe stretching he was currently trying to do. He had caught up with the rest of the class since he wasn't required to wait for everyone else to finish.

He knew his scores weren't anything special. He had seen Ranma do most of those same tasks at the same time as him, and he crushed it. He had also heard how well Haruno and Parker had done, performing similarly to Ranma.

After his last test, he stood up with the rest of the class as they nervously waited, dreading who would be expelled. Izuku didn't think he was in grave danger anymore, but he was worried for Toru as he had heard she routinely had one of the lowest scores, only able to beat out a few of the others for last place on one or two activities. She wasn't the only nervous person, as Ochako looked scared.

"Well, time for the results," Shota said as they all looked on. He pressed a button on his device and lit the air with a small holographic screen. "Your total scores simply reflect your performance in each of the events. Explaining the process would be a waste of time, so all you get are the final rankings."

They looked at the score, and all eyes turned towards Toru. Because of her quirk, they couldn't read her facial expressions, but they could hear her voice creaking as her sobs started. They could also see her clothes shaking and moving. Ochako reached for her shoulder, but their sensei continued to speak.

"Also, I was lying about expelling someone."

Silence. Too many were shocked by the blatant admission, or at least the ones more prone to speaking were. Ochako's hand had also paused right above Toru's shoulder.

"That was a rational deception," Shota said as his eyes and mouth widened in malicious glee. "Meant to bring out the best in all of you."

"Whaaaaaaaaaat!?" Four voices at once asked the question, primarily those that had been seriously concerned or completely fell for it.

"Anyway, we're done here. Your documents about the curriculum and such are back in the classroom. Give them a look," Shota said as he started to walk back to the school.

"Sensei, aren't you forgetting something?"

Shota paused, realizing there was something he had forgotten. He had gotten so much joy from messing with his students' heads that he forgot the important test he had planned. He turned around and faced the speaker, reaching into his pocket for the water bottle and tossing it to Saotome. "Right, get changed and do the tests again."

Ranma caught the bottle before unscrewing it and raising it above his head. Everyone else watched in curiosity, wondering what was going on. They remembered he said something about Ranma using his quirk and having to do the tests again, but it made no sense. Wasn't he already showing his–

"What the hell!?" Half the class shouted as Ranma poured the water on his head, shrunk fifteen centimeters, his hair turned a bright red, and he was clearly a girl now. They watched as she readjusted her clothing and then went to the track to start everything over.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Sakura left the classroom with her things as she approached Chiyo's office. Her thoughts were on the day's tests. She had been surprised to see the speed and strength of Saotome and how close Parker was to them. But there was a starker difference between those two; Parker looked like many others with enhanced strength in this world, letting their quirk dictate how they fight. But Saotome was different. He was trained.

Extensively trained if she had to place it, more than anyone else she had observed in this new world. Some heroes took taijutsu, or martial arts as they liked to call it here, seriously and could give some of the genin or Chunin from home a run for their money. But that was the ordinary ninja. Before today, she believed Lee or Sasuke, when they were genin, could have defeated any of them with pure skill. But she needed to figure out how good Saotome was, which intrigued her.

Tsunade had trained her hard in taijutsu to use their enhanced strength and how to dodge attacks as their need to survive every battle was necessary as a med-nin. She could appreciate the skill of Gai, Kakashi, Lee, Sasuke, or even Naruto now. Ranma, at least from what she could see, moved like the lazy tiger that was Kakashi and was nearly unreadable, while she also detected some of the pure power and strength that Gai exuded.

"Sakura! Wait up!" Mina said, jogging towards her friend. "That was awesome what you did today. Still not as spectacular as what you did in the practical, but awesome!"

Sakura smirked, broken out of her musing as her friend praised her. She wondered how she would take it if Mina learned she was still holding back. And how much. "Thank you."

"I saw Iida heading out. Why aren't you going with him?" Mina asked, curious. The two obviously knew each other, so she was surprised they didn't leave together.

"Iida lives in some apartments nearby, while his family lives near Tokyo. I am staying with Shuzenji-sensei. Her home is closer than mine by a good distance, so it makes more sense than having my own apartment. And I will be helping Shuzenji-sensei in the office and at home as needed."

"Shuzenji-sensei? Do you mean… Recovery Girl? Are you related to her?" Mina asked, a little shocked. She had followed Sakura after the practical was finished, helping with a few of the injured, and watched as she helped others from other courses who had injuries. She had met the elderly pro-hero and was praised by her for assisting Sakura in caring for the wounded. Both during and after the exam.

"She is the mother of my current guardians. They've been helping me this last year, preparing me for entering U.A. after I wanted to become a pro-hero," Sakura said, a small but sad smile on her face as memories surfaced.

Mina noticed it, as well as the mention of guardians, but opted not to push on that front. "Cool. I would like to stay and chat, but my train will be here soon. My family lives in Musutafu, so it isn't too far."

"Have a safe trip then, Mina," Sakura said as Mina walked away, both waving at each other. She heard Mina greet the spiky red-haired boy before she turned back toward Chiyo's office.

It only took her a minute to reach it, and she knocked on the door when she arrived.

"Come in!" Chiyo said, voice slightly muffled. As Sakura entered, Chiyo looked in her direction and smiled. "Ah, Sakura-chan, done with orientation, I see?"

"Yes, Shuzenji-sama. Aizawa-sensei had us do some quirk tests," Sakura said as she put her bag on an available desk and looked around. She noticed no one was currently in this office, but that shouldn't surprise her too much as it was orientation day. "He reminded me of Kakashi-sensei."

"Ah, yes. Aizawa-san tends to cut to the chase and deal with things directly. Always has, from what I heard when he attended U.A. himself. He warned me he would do a quirk apprehension test today and that I might see Midoriya-san in my office. So I am surprised he never showed. Did you heal him?" Chiyo asked as she lifted her glasses.

"Yes, Shuzenji-sama, I did heal him. But the damage was nowhere near what you expected."

"Oh? So the boy's learned to regulate his power so soon?"

"Saotome-san mentioned their abilities were somewhat similar and opted to assist him in trying to regulate them. From what I observed when I glanced their way, Midoriya-san was trying to fill his power into his arm while Saotome-san watched, probably telling him when he was going too far so he could shut it off. Once he got a feel for it, they tested it to figure out how much he could use without injuring himself. Saotome-san did a good job of it."

"Ah, yes, Saotome-san. An interesting child. I was informed by the staff about him after the fiasco at the end of the practical exam and was impressed by what I saw. Helped multiple students while keeping them safe. From what I saw, he'll be a good rival for you regarding physical ability," Chiyo said. She had known Sakura was worried about her skills becoming stale since few could keep up with her.

"More than you know," Sakura said, causing Chiyo to look at her for an answer. "He's been trained. Very well trained from what I could see."

That surprised Chiyo. She had grown accustomed to Sakura's level of training, having seen her spar with some of Team Idaten. Even with keeping her physical capabilities to a minimum, she had destroyed them all in hand-to-hand combat. So to hear the Saotome child was well trained was extremely high praise, putting him well above most everyone.

"You can't wait to spar against him, can you?" Chiyo asked. She already knew the answer as the girl's grin widened.

"Nope!"

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Ranma grumbled as he stuck the offending garment into his bag while walking towards the school exit. He knew that smirk from Ryuko meant he would have to deal with something embarrassing. He planned to chew them out over the phone when he got home.

He also knew he would go along with it. Yawara and the others had done an excellent job of 'deprogramming' him. It still was confusing, and he tended to fall back on old habits, but he knew rationally that they were weak excuses. He sighed as he left the front entrance and made for the property gate.

"Saotome-kun! Wait up!"

Ranma paused in his introspection and annoyance at the uniform rules, seeing Izuku and Ochako approaching him. "What's up, Izuku?"

"Ummm, we were wondering what the deal is with your quirk?" Ochako asked.

"It's complicated, but the quirk requires applying cold or hot water to activate it. I don't have any direct control over it," Ranma said with a shrug.

Ochako had more questions on that front but needed clarification on something else. "I mean, do you have two quirks or something? One for turning into a girl and another for your physical skills?"

"Nope."

The two blinked at that, not having expected that answer. "But, if all you have is a transformation quirk that lets you perform better, why can you fight like that in both forms? From what I remember, usually transformation quirks like that only give the enhanced abilities in the quirk form."

"Oh, that's not a quirk."

The two stared, dumbfounded at the boy's reply. "What?" Izuku squeaked out.

Ranma smirked, "Yeah, my strength and speed come from training and Ki usage."

"Ki? What's that?" Izuku asked; he was bewildered.

"Simplest explanation for most is that it is life force energy," Ranma said. "It is also called spirit energy, stemming from your spirit and the world around you."

The two blinked, clearly not understanding what he was talking about.

"Have you ever heard of old Chinese and Japanese legends, read manga, or watched anime with advanced martial arts?" Ranma asked.

"Do you mean… like Fist of the North Star?" Izuku asked. "An old classmate talked about it once, having been written before quirks appeared and how it was a classic. I read some of it, but it didn't seem as interesting as watching Pro-heroes since they were real."

"Not a bad pick," Ranma said as he remembered reading it when he was younger. "But yeah, similar to Fist with those auras and other attacks. Certainly not a direct comparison, but close enough for the concept."

"Oh, wow!"

"But how is it not a quirk?" Ochako asked, still trying to understand.

"Quirks are unique to the person. Even though you might inherit a similar quirk from a parent, it is still unique. Ki is something everyone has and can learn to use."

While Ochako was shocked, it was mild to Izuku's astonishment. He had wanted to be a pro-hero like All Might since he saw that clip of his debut when he was a child. But the only path he knew could let him do that was if he had a quirk. So when he had learned he was quirkless, it shattered him. But now he discovered there might have been a way if he understood Ranma right.

"So, what does the Ki do to allow you to be physically strong?" Izuku asked, his eyes showing an edge to them.

"Once you have enough built up, you can push your body beyond the normal physical limits. This includes improving the strength of your body in almost all aspects. It makes it harder to damage you while amplifying your strength and being able to sense things around you better."

"Sense things? What do you mean?" Izuku asked.

"My Ki sense allows me to feel all of the Ki around me. Think of it like hearing. You can only tell something is over there when you hear a sound. But if you refine it, you can more accurately tell where things are. If you get good enough with it, you can see the world like a bat does, but with Ki."

"That's what you did!" Ochako shouted in excitement as the puzzle pieces were finally falling into place. "You could sense Hagakure-kun when she almost ran into you and when she was behind the gimmick!"

Ranma blinked in surprise, "How did you know she almost ran into me?"

"She told me about your run-in before the practical exam. She thought you had purposely done it because how else could someone have known to do that. Shoji-kun said you had enhanced senses, but it still wasn't making much sense to us," Ochako smiled.

Ranma grimaced at the claim that he had purposely done it but couldn't fault Toru. "Yeah, I can sense others and things like danger. It isn't always on and can get confusing, but I sensed her coming and thought I'd prevent an accident. I was aiming for her shoulder, but I think she stood up at the last moment to try to break, and then that happened," Ranma's hand rubbed his pectoral as the memory of his own experiences with that particular pain returned. "Not something I'd want to do to another person, especially a stranger."

Ochako noticed the motion, his facial expression, and his words and tone to know he probably had experienced that himself. Or herself, if Ochako understood it right. She smiled widely, another point added in favor of the boy. "You should explain that to Hagakure-kun, Saotome-kun."

Ranma paused but sighed as he knew she was right, "I'll try to tell her tomorrow."

Izuku looked between the two as his ignorance was on full display. "Huh? What's going on?"

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"See you tomorrow, Kirishima," Peter said with an easy smile.

"You as well, Parker!" The boy gave a small wave as he noticed the pink-skinned girl walking towards him.

Peter smiled as he started his trek toward home. He didn't see Pony around but figured he could find her later this week to talk. Besides, he had things he needed to do at home as he needed more time to finish setting things up.

He wished he could just web-sling, but this wasn't home or I-Island, so he couldn't. He made his way to the train station and boarded it. He saw a few of his new classmates getting on different trains or sections, but none were close enough to initiate a conversation. He got off his stop as he made his way towards home. It was a well-off area, with homes more prominent than the average apartment. Though they were nowhere near as large as some houses like Stark or Flash had, they were nearly as expensive as those.

He had argued with Dr. Shield about spending so much on it, but he had been convinced that space, security, and privacy were needed. It was a two-bedroom home with one large and one giant room, not including the small dining room or kitchen. Just sufficient enough for his needs, especially if he had visitors like Dr. Shield or Melissa needing to stay the night. It had been planned that the second bedroom would be Mel's once they finally cracked their primary roadblock and she could finally attend U.A.

As he walked to the gate, he smiled and looked up at the camera. He put his hand on the panel by the door and then his passcode, unlocking the electronic gate as it opened for him. He approached the front door, repeating the same process but with a different passcode. He then pressed on the screen again, but to anyone else that could or would look, there was nothing there and no reaction.

After entering the home, he closed it behind him, hearing the heavy bolt locks seal into place as the windows tinted black.

"Building is secure. Welcome home, Peter," Karen said after everything finished.

"Thanks, Karen," Peter said out loud.

"You're welcome. How was the Orientation?" the A.I. asked as Peter exchanged his shoes in the genkan. While he hadn't grown up with it, and it wasn't as common in Japan as it once had been, it was still a custom he had been encouraged to adopt.

"We didn't actually attend an orientation," Peter said. "Our homeroom sensei, an Aizawa Shota, tested our quirks. Seems he's the type of sensei to throw us in the water to see if we sink or swim."

"Previous research says that Aizawa Shota is a U.A. alumnus with the pro-hero name of Eraser Head. His noted quirk is that his eyes can cancel out emitter and transformation quirks, making him a powerful counter to many quirks. He was an independent underground hero not connected to any agency or group. He began teaching at U.A. four years ago. That is most of the publicly available information. Anything more may require more cross-reference checks or accessing secured systems," Karen said.

"No reason to risk it for now. But that's convenient for us if he tries to use his quirk on me since we were running with my abilities being listed as a mutation quirk," Peter said as he stepped into the largest room, around the size of Happy's apartment.

The house, and especially this room, had been reinforced and secured by some contractors before he did his own check for any bugs or other ways to spy on them. He had only finished installing his computers and hooked them up to the house last night. Once that was done, he uploaded a copy of Karen to the systems to do her checks and security before the router was connected to the internet.

He hadn't touched the crates in the middle of the room, but it was his plan for today. "Well, let's get started. I want to call Mel with a couple new iterations I thought of before our sensei arrived, but we need to get these up first."

"Understood. Since there are no sensors for me to observe this part of the home, please inform me when crate 2-C is fully unboxed and ready for activation. I will connect to the drones and continue assisting with auxiliary sensors while you focus on the larger crates."

"Sure thing, Karen," Peter said as he grabbed the top of the wooden crate and popped it off, nails and all. Once it was properly out, he smiled at the multiple metal containers that awaited him. All with the Stark Industries logo on the side.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

A/N - Thanks to Boldish42 and Iron454 for beta reading.