As Shota Aizawa sat at his desk going over the roster of students he would be teaching as their homeroom teacher for this year, he couldn't help but sigh, resting his head in his hands.
He had only arrived back home in the late hours of the night, having completed a fairly uneventful patrol. The life of an underground hero was a mixed bag; on one hand, no pesky reporters, journalists or paparazzi hounding you every time you needed to go outside and grab some groceries. On the other hand, late night patrols were very taxing, on both the body and mind. Not only did he have to stay up and active late into the night, often coming back home only hours before dawn, but night time seemed to draw out the worst kinds of people. Drug dealers, human traffickers, and sick minded individuals all seemed to emerge out of the woodworks when the Sun went down, moving about the deserted streets like rats.
Dealing with a skewed sleep cycle, an active job as a teacher, and coming home bruised and battered, often made him exhausted throughout the rest of the day. It was one of the reasons why he had continually turned down Emi's advances; she deserved someone more than him. He didn't want to get her hopes up, only for them to shatter when he was found dead in some alleyway. No, he preferred the way they were now; her constantly trying to make him laugh and fall for her, and him doing his all to resist both of her attempts, the former more successfully than the latter.
After he had arrived back at his small, sparse apartment, he quietly made his way through to avoid waking up his cat, Nemui. Deciding he might as well look at what kind of students he was going to deal with this year, he grabbed a can of coffee from the fridge, tied up his long, black hair into a messy bun, sat down at his desk and booted up his computer.
Last year's students had all been a mess. They all assumed they could slack off, take it easy. He was quick to crush that ideology, expelling each one of them on the first day. He re-enrolled them later in the week of course, not even he was willing to risk annoying Principal Nezu, but the shock did the job. Sure, each and every one of them were terrified of him, but that was the price he'd pay to make them get their act together. An unfortunate part of being a teacher of hero trainees was the fact that their profession was anything but safe, and he'd be damned if he had to go to another student's funeral. He'd gone to too many as it was, and he wanted to spare his students that pain, even if it was only for a year longer.
This all led to his current situation. Going through the roster of students, he'd managed to identify six who were likely to be problem children in his class. He knew why The Rat gave him the first-year problem children over Kan, his Erasure quirk allowed him to handle them easily, but knowing the reason and liking it were two separate things.
The first of the problem children was one Izuku Midoriya, hailing from Shizuoka. His file showed a nervous looking teen, with freckles on his cheeks that formed diamonds, messy green hair, and bright green eyes filled with hope.
During the practical for the Entrance Exam, he had completely destroyed the Zero-pointer that was assigned to the testing grounds, halting its rampage.
'Maijima wasn't happy when that happened,' Shota smirked, remembering his colleague's reaction while they watched the students participate in the Practical from the Viewing Room.
However, upon reviewing the footage and reading the notes that Recovery Girl had made, Shota realised that in the process of stopping the Zero-pointer, Midoriya had destroyed his right arm and both of his legs.
'An unstable quirk?' Shota wondered, theories racing through his mind. 'With how illogical modern society is, with a strength quirk like that it's likely that he's never had any opportunity to test it out, what with the damage it can apparently cause. But why was he born with a quirk so ill suited to his body? Maybe it stockpiles strength, and he can release it in a burst of energy? Did adrenaline cause him to surpass his mental limiter?'
Given that the young boy had scored full marks on Rescue Points, one of three this year, he seemed to have a hero's heart, but heart alone wouldn't be enough.
'I'll have to keep an eye on that one,' Shota noted. Even if it would be cruel of him to crush a child's dream of being a hero, if the boy couldn't gain control over his power without causing harm to himself, then Shota's conscience couldn't allow the boy to stay enrolled at U.A.
The next problem child was one Katsuki Bakugo, also from Shizuoka. His file image showed a teen with a cocky smile, ash-blond hair, and red eyes filled with arrogance. According to his file, Bakugo and Midoriya attended the same middle school, Aldera Junior High.
During Bakugo's Entrance Exam, he had also taken down the Zero-pointer assigned to his Testing Grounds, although he required the help of a fellow student, and the Zero-pointer wasn't nearly as destroyed as the one in Testing Grounds Beta.
Instead, what caught Shota's attention was the points Bakugo had gained, as well as his quirk.
'That's right, this one's the record breaker,' Shota mused to himself, remembering the fuss the other staff members were making over All Might's old record from his youth being broken. He knew that All Might would have congratulated Bakugo in his hologram letter, so it was likely that the student was going to have a high opinion of himself. Joy.
The second thing that caught his attention was his quirk. Quirks often expressed themselves in their host's personality; someone with a fire quirk would likely be hot tempered, while someone with an ice quirk would likely be cold and distant. For the kid to have a quirk that allowed him to create explosions from his hands likely meant he had an equally explosive personality.
'God, why can't I have a normal class, just for once?' Shota pleaded, having in exaggeration and half in a genuine, desperate plea.
The fact that Midoriya and Bakugo were likely to be the lesser of the problem children wasn't lost on Shota.
Next on the list of children who were going to cause him to lose sleep from stress were the sisters of his class, Sarah and Kórinis Kurusu, both hailing from Saitama, with their files showing a profile picture of the two.
Sarah had blond hair tied up behind her, a ponytail from what Shota saw on the footage, blue eyes and equine ears on the side of her head. He knew from seeing her in action that she was a Centaur heteromorph, but even if he hadn't, he would have been able to guess. Even though she preferred to separate her hero and private identities, something Shota could agree with, Centorea Kurusu, the Knight Hero: Calvary, was known within the hero business as an honourable fighter, hailing from the prestigious Shianus line. Having emerged onto the hero scene before Shota had attended U.A. as a first-year student, and being an alma mater of U.A. herself, Shota figured that he was going to have his hands full with teaching her daughter.
The other Kurusu child, Kórinis, was different to her older sister. Having paler skin, lavender hair that hung loose, six eyes that were a solid red in colour, as well as a row of sharp teeth, she definitely gave off a wilder look as an Arachne compared to her sister's kind and calm appearance as a Centaur, not helped by the fact she had helped Bakugo to take down the Zero-pointer. But Shota knew appearances could be misleading, so he'd have to know the two better before deciding anything.
Even though Kórinis and Sarah didn't share many facial features, or even share the same species, they did share the fact of having famous mothers.
Rachnera Kurusu was world famous as a clothing designer, operating two independent companies. The first, Wonder Webs, specialised in clothing that was not only light and flexible, but also strong and durable, perfect for hero costumes that didn't require any special gadgets or upgrades. The second company, Woman's Webs, specialised in women's lingerie, especially the more risque variety. Due to him having Nemuri as a friend, he had been on the receiving end of her constant praises for the Arachne, much to the private embarrassment of himself and Yamada, who were socially obligated to listen to their friend talk.
The fact that both students were heteromorphs meant that his quirk would be useless against them. Sure, he could stop Bakugo from igniting his explosive sweat, or stop young Ashido from producing acid from her body, but those were non-biological creations, a result of their quirk. The Kurusu sisters, along with one Mashirao Ojiro and one Tsuyu Asui, were the three within his class that had true heteromorphic quirks, even if Ojiro was the only one to not be a heteromorph.
The difference between these three compared to their future classmates who had similar quirks, such as one Mezo Shoji and Minoru Mineta, with the quirks Dupli-Arms and Pop Off respectively, was that their quirks couldn't be shut down, due to them being an inherently biological function. Shoji, with the ability to create body parts from his large arms, and then extensions from his extensions, could have his ability to create more body parts such as eyes, ears or hands halted when under Shota's quirk's effect. The ones already made would remain, that was the nature of a mutant quirk, but he would be stuck with what he had already made.
A heteromorphic quirk on the other hand, and heteromorphs by extension, were purely biological, with organs and body parts constantly present. For example, Shota wouldn't be able to use his quirk to stop young Kórinis Kurusu from producing webs from her spinnerets, because her ability to create webs didn't come from a quirk's ability, but from a biological organ in her body. The same with Ojiro and his tail, his quirk amounted to making his hair float and his eyes gleam in the presence of their quirks. Now, if one of them had a secondary, non-biological quirk, then he would be able to erase that quirk as usual, but that was a separate matter.
The fifth problem child was one Shoto Todoroki, yet another from Shizuoka, and the youngest son of Enji Todoroki, the Flame Hero: Endeavor, current No. 2 Pro Hero in Japan, as well as the grandson of Hakka Todoroki, the former Pro Hero Salamander. His relatives clearly had faith in him, seeing how Todoroki was one of the four students admitted into the Hero Course from the Recommendation Exam.
His file showed an image of a teen with long red hair, swept over the right side of his face, covering it completely. His left eye was an icy blue, contrasting against the stark red of his hair. What the colour of his right eye was, Shota didn't know. But despite the flawless quality of his skin, with no freckles, blemishes, spots or scars in sight, Shota noticed the look young Todoroki had in his gaze. It was firm, tempered, the gaze of someone who had seen too much at too young of an age. That gaze, as well as the high position of power and authority his relatives held, made Shota make a mental note to keep an eye on the student through the school year. If it was worse than he thought, Inui might have a student show up for Teacher Mandated Counseling.
The final problem child, and the one Shota was worried the most about, was Momo Yaoyorozu, who came from Aichi, and the second Recommendation Student in his class. Her file showed her as a mature looking teenager, with good looks, long, black hair tied up into a spiky ponytail, with a long strand framing the right side of her face. Immediately, her family name singled her out in Shota's mind as a member of the 1% of the 1%. The Yaoyorozu family, wealthy beyond belief, were the owners and founders of the Yaoyorozu Conglomerate. Having influence in almost every corner of the business world, from fashion, to Support Gear, even to weapon manufacturing and distribution, the Yaoyorozus were world famous, with young Yaoyorozu being the next in line. However, the fact that she was applying at U.A. made Shota wonder if the Yaoyorozus were trying to expand into the hero business as well. Given how powerful her quirk, Creation, was, Shota didn't doubt the potential she had.
'Oh well,' Shota shrugged, turning off his computer after his work was done. 'She got in on Recommendation, and the Principal isn't one to be swayed by wealth or power. Given his relationship with the H.P.S.C. it would be more accurate to say that the more power you have, the less liked you are by him.'
Shota flopped onto his bed, too tired to care that he was sleeping in his hero costume. It didn't matter, he did it all the time in class whenever he tried to catch up on sleep he had missed the night before.
'This year is going to be eventful, that's for sure,' Shota thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep. 'What did I do to deserve this?'
XXXXXXXXXX
"Izuku, have you got your pocket tissues?!" Inko Midoriya, mother to Izuku Midoriya, asked her son, who was in the process of rushing through the house, getting everything ready for his first day at U.A.
Yeah," he absentmindedly replied from the bathroom, giving himself one final look over.
"And your handkerchief?! Have you got that?!" she added, poking her head into the apartment's bathroom, only to pull back as Izuku rushed past her.
"Yes!" he replied with an exasperated voice. "I've got it! No time, gotta hurry…"
"Izuku!" his mother called out one final time.
"What?!" he asked, looking over his shoulder as he pulled up the back of his red shoes. His annoyed expression fell as he saw the warm smile his mother looked at him with, tears in her eyes.
"You look great," was all she said.
Izuku hesitated at the door, returning his mother's smile with one of his own. "See you later."
Rushing to the station, Izuku caught a short train ride to the U.A. campus, surrounded by high walls with the large, four pillar building towering above the barriers.
Running through the glass walled corridors, Izuku counted the rooms, trying to find the class he had been assigned to.
"Class 1-A, class 1-A," he muttered, before pulling to a stop before a large, towering door with '1-A' emblazoned on the front.
"What a giant door," Izuku gasped, looking up in shock at the sheer size of his classroom's door, more than three times his height, 5 m (16'4") tall if he had to guess. "I guess it has to be accessible to everyone."
'Only one in three hundred passed the Entrance Exam,' Izuku thought to himself, reaching for the door handle. 'Thirty six students in the Hero Course, across two classrooms means eighteen per class. Add in the top scorers in the Recommendation Exams, four of them in total, split across the classes means a total class size of twenty.'
"It'll be just the elites from the exams," Izuku muttered, slowly opening the door. "I hope Kacchan and that scary guy are in the other class."
But as soon as Izuku opened the door, he was blasted by the sound of the noisy classroom within. Well, two of its noisy occupants.
"Remove your foot from that desk! Such an action is insulting to those who came to U.A. before us as well as the craftsmen who made the desk!"
"Like I care. What middle school are you from, you extra?"
'They're both here,' Izuku deadpanned, already accepting his fate.
In the middle of the classroom sat Kacchan, leaning in his seat and resting one foot on the desk. Standing above him was the scary blue-haired student from the Entrance Exam, the one who scolded him during Present Mic's presentation as well as confronting him before the practical portion of the exam even began. Both were dressed in the U.A. uniform, wearing a long-sleeve, button-up white shirt, a grey blazer with blue-green stripes on the collar and hem of the sleeves, and dark blue-green pants. The scary student was wearing a red tie, same as Izuku, though his tie was done up better than his own. Kacchan on the other hand didn't wear one, even having the top button of his shirt undone.
"I-I'm from Somei Private Academy," the bluenet said, likely taken aback by Kacchan's habit of referring to those he viewed as far beneath him as extras. "My name is Tenya Ida."
"Somei?" Kacchan scoffed with a feral grin. "A stuck-up elitist, then? I should blow you to bits."
"Hey now, Dynamite, don't go assuming all of us private school kids are the same as Glasses."
Izuku whirled around, having to look up at the towering figure who stood behind him. It was the purple-haired Arachne girl from the Entrance Exam, Kórinis if he remembered the name her friend referred to her as. Though he wasn't sure if that was her given name or family name, it didn't sound Japanese.
He stepped aside as the Arachne strode into the room, making a beeline for Kacchan and Ida. He tried to give her a warning about Kacchan's volatile personality, but he was stopped by the words Kacchan said.
"Huh, you in this class too, Silks?"
'Silks?' Izuku thought in disbelief. 'Not extra, not you, but a nickname? Is Kacchan making friends?'
"What, you doubted I'd get in?" the Arachne questioned teasingly as she stood beside him, bending over to reduce the height difference. "Really, Dynamite, I'm hurt by your lack of confidence."
"Tch," Kacchan scoffed, looking away. "Like hell I doubted you'd get in, not with the amount of points you got. I was just worried there wouldn't be anyone worth my time here."
He looked back at her, a smirk on his face. "At least now I know there is someone to occupy the second place position."
'Ah,' Izuku nodded to himself, 'Not a friend, simply a rival.'
While Kacchan and the Arachne student continued to talk, Ida looked over at Izuku.
'Wait,' Izuku realised, turning his head, 'he's not looking at me, he's looking behind me.'
Standing behind him was the kind Centaur girl from the Entrance Exam, the friend of the Arachne named Kórinis. Like her friend, she towered over Izuku, who barely came up to her chin.
"Are you alright?" she asked, looking down at Izuku with a kind look. "Class will be starting soon, so we should all take our seats."
"Oh, yes, sorry," Izuku apologised, quickly stepping into the classroom and out of the doorway, allowing the Centaur to walk calmly into the classroom.
Izuku noticed Ida walking over to them, tensing as the tall male student looked at him.
"I'm from Somei Private Academy, my name is-"
"Tenya Ida, I heard you before," Izuku interrupted, his hands held up before him as he shook from both nerves and fear. "I'm Izuku Midoriya, pleased to meet you."
Ida then turned to the Centaur girl, giving her a nod. "Sarah, I'm glad to see we were assigned to the same class."
"Me too, Tenya, it's always fun to have friends with you every day," she smiled.
'Tenya?' Izuku wondered. 'That's his first name, right? They're on a first name basis already? They can't have met only today for them to both know each other, maybe the Entrance Exam? No, wait, she and her friend were wearing the same uniform as Ida. I never thought about it until now, but it might be that they are from the same middle school. That Arachne girl did mention that not all students who attend private schools are elitists, so they both likely went to Somei as well, or maybe a rival private academy? Wait, Ida did mention that his friend had sensitive hearing, and horses do have more sensitive hearing than regular humans, so it isn't a stretch to assume that she has enhanced hearing as part of her quirk…'
"Um, are you alright?" the Centaur student asked, a sweat drop trailing down the side of her face in confusion. "You're mumbling up a storm there."
"Oops," Izuku yelped, clamping his hands over his mouth. His internal dialogue hadn't been quite so internal after all.
"Sorry about that," he apologised, his voice muffled as it came through both of his hands. "I have a habit of mumbling."
"Yes, I remember," she chuckled. "You were the one who was mumbling throughout Present Mic's speech, right?"
Izuku flinched at that reminder. "Oh, um, yes, sorry, that was me."
"Oh, please don't think I am condemning you for it," she quickly said, "it's just that I never realised the student my sister saved was the same boy who could mumble up a storm. Your notes on Present Mic were truly, uh, extensive."
"Oh, they weren't that impressive, collecting hero notes is simply a hobby," Izuku blushed, rubbing the back of his head with a hand, before abruptly stopping as her words sank in. "Wait, sister?"
He turned his gaze back to where Kacchan and the Arachne student were, still engrossed in their conversation.
"So, what was your final score?" the Arachne asked, checking her nails, and Izuku realised that both of her hands were covered in a black, chitinous material. "I'm sitting on a nice, juicy total of one hundred and four."
"Ha," Kacchan barked out a laugh, "one hundred and eleven. Seems you really are taking second place."
"Wish that was the case, Dynamite, but second place in the entrance exam goes to my big sis, one hundred and six," she explained, jabbing a sharp looking thumb over her shoulder to where Izuku, Ida and his friend were standing.
Kacchan looked over, inadvertently taking notice of Izuku standing by the doorway. He scowled, as Izuku expected he would, causing Izuku to turn away, paying attention to the conversation next to him.
"I'm sorry, Sarah, I didn't realise that there would have been a hidden nature to the exams. Truly I am a failure to the Ida family," Ida lamented, his head low as he bowed to his awkward looking friend.
"Well, I'm glad you're reflecting on what you did wrong in the exam, Tenya, but I'm not sure if that should have been your takeaway from it…"
"And you, Midoriya," Ida continued, rounding on Izuku, "you too perceived the true nature of the Practical Exam, while I did not."
"I misjudged you," he exclaimed, his hands held flat in front of him vertically, as if stuck in a frozen hand chop. "I hate to admit it, but you were the superior candidate, even if you were ranked lower than I."
Izuku stammered, not sure what to say in response. He looked behind Ida to the kind Centaur girl, but she only smiled at her friend, rolling her eyes in what Izuku could only guess was kindhearted exasperation.
"Ah, that curly hair!" a voice cried out from behind Izuku.
Looking behind him, he saw it was the brown haired girl from the Entrance Exam, the same one who tried to catch him before the tests, as well as the one who he saved from the Zero-pointer, and she in turn saved him from the fall.
"You got in just like Present Mic said!" she cheered, her voice filled with excitement, swinging her right arm up and down. "Make sense though! That punch was awesome!"
"No, I mean, I have you to thank for speaking on my behalf," Izuku stammered, one hand rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment while the other covered his now incredibly red face.
'She's so nice, and she looks cute in that uniform!' he screamed in his mind, this time making sure that it remained in his mind.
"Ah, I see you passed the Entrance Exam as well," Ida remarked, nodding his head in greetings to the gravity girl. "My name is Tenya Ida, it is a pleasure to meet you and see you in good health."
"Oh, you were the speedster at the exams," the brunette said. "You were really fast, no wonder you made it in."
She turned her attention to the Centaur girl, skipping over Izuku who was still trying to regain control over his blushing face. "And you are…?"
"Sarah, Sarah Kurusu," Kurusu curtsied, lifting the sides of her uniform's skirt. "Tenya mentioned you in his recounting of his exams, he says you have a very powerful quirk."
"Oh, it's not that much, only really good as a rescue hero," the brown haired girl blushed, waving away Kurusu's compliments before turning her attention back to the group as a whole.
"So we've got our entrance ceremony and guidance sessions today, yeah?" she rambled. "Wonder what our teacher'll be like? Boy, I'm nervous."
Izuku, having finally calmed down his emotions, teenage hormones and face, was about to give his thought when a voice from the corridor spoke.
"If you're here to socialise, then get out."
Izuku, Ida, Kurusu and the nice girl looked behind them. Laying on the floor was a large, yellow sleeping bag, inside of which lay a dishevelled looking man, his face covered in stubble, his hair long and messy, and his eyes bloodshot.
"This is the hero course," the man said, pulling out a juice pack and draining it dry near instantaneously, slowly making his way up.
The entire classroom's attention was focused on this strange man, who after removing himself from the sleeping bag, revealed to be a lean adult, who wore a black outfit, a belt with pouches, and some sort of long, white scarf wrapped around his neck.
"It took eight seconds for you to quiet down," the man spoke in a monotone, somewhat bored voice. "Time is a precious resource. You lot aren't very rational, are you?"
'Is he a Pro Hero too?' Izuku wondered. 'He doesn't look familiar, and he seems so haggard and tired.'
"I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Pleased to meet you," the teacher introduced, shocking much of the class that this man wasn't only a Pro Hero, wasn't only a teacher at U.A., but also THEIR teacher, and their homeroom teacher at that.
The teacher reached into his sleeping bag, pulling out multiple P.E. uniforms, consisting of dark blue pants with white vertical lines going up the legs and a dark blue short sleeve shirt with white lines that formed the letters 'U' and 'A'.
"Quickly now, change into your gym clothes and head out to the grounds," he explained, holding up a set of gym clothes to show the class. Many of the students stepped forward cautiously, grabbing a set of the unisex clothing.
"Before anyone leaves," Mr. Aizawa said, causing everyone in the class to freeze where they were. "Mashirao Ojiro, Sarah Kurusu, Mezo Shoji, Kórinis Kurusu. You each have gym clothes that are designed for the unique body type your quirks give you. Come to me and I'll give you your set."
Izuku, having already grabbed a set of P.E. clothes, headed to the changing rooms, along with Ida and the brown haired girl, who he still hadn't gotten the name of. Sarah Kurusu headed to the teacher, along with the Arachne, Kórinis Kurusu, a student with a muscular tail, and a tall student who had a mask over his face and multiple arms on each side, each arm having webbing in between them.
"So, their names are Sarah Kurusu and Kórinis Kurusu," Izuku muttered to himself as he jogged down the hallway. "Do they have similar sounding family names with different kanji, or are they related? Cousins, perhaps? As far as I know, heteromorphs aren't able to interbreed, so it's unlikely their sisters? Wait, Sarah said that Kórinis was her sister, and Kórinis said the same thing. Step-siblings perhaps, with different parents?"
But no matter how hard Izuku questioned the matter, even continuing to try and solve the riddle he had made for himself as he got changed, no answer came to him. Shrugging his shoulders as he followed his fellow male classmates out of the changing rooms, Izuku filed away the question for later, now wondering just why their teacher had called them to the field.
XXXXXXXXXX
"""""A test of our quirks?!""""" Izuku and many of his fellow classmates exclaimed, confused by the reasoning their teacher had taken them to the sports field.
"What about the entrance ceremony? Or guidance sessions?" the brown haired girl asked, confusion written across her face.
"No time to waste on stuff like that if you want to become heroes," Mr. Aizawa explained. "U.A. is known for its "freestyle" education system. That applies to us teachers as well."
None of the students understood what their teacher was trying to say, giving him blank looks.
"Softball Throwing. The Standing Long Jump. The 50-Metre Dash. Endurance Running. Grip Strength. Side-to-Side Stepping. Upper Body Training. Seated Toe Touch," Mr. Aizawa sighed, holding up his fingers as he listed them off. "You did all of these in middle school, yes? Your standard no-quirks-allowed gym tests?"
The class nodded as one. They were standard activities that every middle school practised at some point in the year.
"This country still insists on prohibiting quirks when calculating the averages of those records," Mr. Aizawa said. "It's not rational. It limits students whose quirks could give them an advantage and gain a better score. It prevents some students from competing entirely, simply because they have a mutation quirk."
Izuku saw Sarah and Kórinis Kurusu, as well as a green-haired girl, nod their heads, clearly having been at the receiving end of that.
"The Department of Education is just procrastinating," Mr. Aizawa huffed in an annoyed tone. "They insist on following laws that were put in place over a hundred years ago, when the world was very different. Back then, heteromorphs and those with quirks were the minority. Now, the opposite is true."
"Bakugo," Mr. Aizawa called out, turning his attention to Kacchan. "How far could you throw in middle school?"
"Sixty seven metres," Kacchan replied.
"Great, now try it with your quirk," Mr. Aizawa said, tossing a white softball to the explosive teen. "Do whatever you need to, just don't leave the circle. Give it all you've got."
Kacchan confidently strode over to the outlined circle, a grin on his face.
"Awesome," he smirked, winding his arm back. "I'll add a bit of boom to this pitch."
"DIE!" he yelled, swinging his arm skyward.
KABOOM!
A massive explosion burst forth from his palms, sending the softball rocketing into the air, circular shockwaves bursting forth as the softball broke the sound barrier multiple times.
'Die?' Izuku wondered, his hair blown back from the force of the explosion.
After a few seconds, the ball fell back to Earth, bouncing a few times before rolling to a stop.
"It's important for us to know your limits," Mr. Aizawa explained, holding up his phone as the numbers started to climb. "That's the first rational step to figuring out what kind of heroes you'll be."
The class all took in the score of Kacchan's throw, their eyes bulging at the final results: 705.2 metres.
"Whoa! This is awesome!" someone cried out.
"705 metres? Seriously?" a student near Izuku exclaimed, the mutant type student with the tail.
"So we can use our quirks for real!" a spiky redhead student cheered, giving a wide grin to a pink skinned student standing next to him, who looked equally excited. "Man, the Hero Course is great!"
Unlike his classmates, Izuku had the opposite reaction.
'Hold on, this is bad,' he worried in his mind, glancing around at the excited reaction of his classmates. 'I didn't know this was coming.'
While the majority of Izuku's classmates were excited by their teacher's words, their reaction clearly wasn't to his liking.
"Awesome, you say?" he said in a quiet, monotone voice, yet despite his lack of yelling, seemed to cut through the chatter. "You're hoping to become heroes after three years here, and you think it will be all fun and games?"
"Right," Mr. Aizawa said, giving the class one hell of a death stare through his shaggy hair. "The one with the lowest score across all eight events will be judged hopeless, and be expelled."
"""""WHAT?!""""" the class shouted, shocked by the ultimatum given to them on the first day.
'This is bad,' Izuku worried. 'All or nothing. I can't regulate my power yet.'
"Your fate is in our hands," Mr. Aizawa leered, pushing his hair up and out of his face with one hand, giving a cruel, mocking grin to the students. "Welcome. This is the Hero Course at U.A. High."
"The lowest score will be expelled?" the brown haired girl exclaimed in shock. "It's only the first day! I mean, even if it weren't, that's totally unfair!"
"Natural disasters, highway slips, rampaging villains, calamity is always around the corner," Mr. Aizawa explained, turning his gaze to the nice girl, who flinched under his gaze. "I'd say Japan is full of unfair things, and the world by extension. Heroes are the ones who correct all that unfairness."
"If you were hoping to spend your evenings hanging out at McDonald's," Mr. Aizawa continued, "I'm sorry to tell you that for the next three years, U.A. will run you through the ringer. That's Plus Ultra. Use your strength to overcome it all. So bring it. The demonstration is over, now it's for real."
XXXXXXXXXX
Izuku and the class were led over to a section of the field, where painted on the ground were five lanes, each with starting blocks placed in a line.
"Our first event will be the 50-Metre Dash," Mr. Aizawa explained, gesturing to the lanes. "Your goal for this is simple: reach the end of your lane as fast as possible. Any and all use of your quirks not only is allowed, but actively encouraged. Be creative, this is the Hero Course. Using your quirks in creative ways will result in a better overall grade. However, the effects of your quirk must stay within your lane. When I call your name, line up in order. Once everyone is ready, you'll go when I tell you to. Understood?"
"""""Yes Mr. Aizawa!""""" the majority of the class chorused, too scared to risk angering their strange teacher any further.
He nodded, before looking down at his phone, listing off the first heat of competitors.
"Aoyama, Ashido, Ida, Asui, Uraraka, line up in order, you're first."
Izuku watched as five of his classmates stepped forwards, each taking their position at the starting line.
First was the blond student from the Entrance Exam, the one with the French accent. Izuku noticed that the silver belt he wore in the Testing Area was also worn over his gym uniform. What was curious was that instead of getting into a runners position, he was instead facing backwards.
The second was a pink skinned girl with small horns poking out of her pink, fluffy hair. She gave a thumbs up to the red haired boy, causing Izuku to notice her black sclera and yellow iris.
The third was Ida, who strode over and took a runner's position. He rolled up the legs of his pants, revealing ports of some kind emerging from his calves.
'I wonder what kind of mutation quirk he has,' Izuku wondered, wishing he had his 'Hero Analysis No. 13' notebook on him, but instead focused so he could remember as many details as possible to write down later tonight.
The fourth student immediately reminded Izuku of a frog, from her facial expressions, her bent posture, and the long tongue that poked out of her lips. Instead of a standard runner's position, she instead got herself ready by settling into a crouch, causing Izuku to wonder if she was going to jump, rather than sprint, down the track.
The fifth and final student was the kind girl from before, who Izuku now had the name of.
'Uraraka,' he thought to himself, watching as she placed her fingertips on her clothing and shoes. 'She's probably using her gravity quirk to make her clothing lighter, reducing weight.'
"Hehehe," the first student, Aoyama, chuckled. "So unimaginative, all of you."
"Ready?" Mr. Aizawa called out, causing the five competitors to tense their muscles. "Go!"
All of the students set off, but Aoyama was the most unique. Just before Mr. Aizawa had said, "Go!", Aoyama jumped into the air, timing it perfectly. A beam of blue, shining light shot from his belt, the same light that Izuku had seen in the Entrance Exam. It sent him sailing backwards, but the force wasn't enough to send him all the way, causing him to fall on the track.
Meanwhile, the other students were each giving their all. The second student, Ashido, didn't seem to have a quirk that could help her in this race, so she relied purely on her physical talents, which simply by observing, seemed to be better than average.
Ida was the fastest by far, the vents on his legs roaring to life, revealing themselves to be exhaust pipes, as he shot down the course, being the first to finish.
"3.04 seconds," a robot declared, set at the end of the track.
The fourth student, Asui, was leaping down the track, keeping in theme with what Izuku assumed was her Frog mutation quirk, or something along those lines.
Uraraka, the final contestant, was also giving it her all, running with all of her might, but was clearly in dead last.
As Ashido and Asui raced down the track with Ashido having only a slight lead, Aoyama got up from his recent tumble, getting into a crouching position. Another beam of energy shot out of him, propelling him from the middle of the track to the end, finishing just after Ashido, but beating Asui by a hair's breadth.
"5.37 seconds, 5.51 seconds, 5.58 seconds," the machine listed as each competitor passed the finish line.
Uraraka was the last to finish, straining her neck in an attempt to have some part of her cross the line slightly sooner.
"7.15 seconds."
Each of the competitors made their way back, each of them having a smile on their face.
"How did you do?" Izuku asked Ida and Uraraka as they joined him, Sarah Kurusu standing beside him.
"I beat my middle school record!" Uraraka cheered. "From 7.28 down to 7.15."
"You seemed to do well also, Tenya," Kurusu said, smiling at him. "Which gear did you choose to run with?"
"Third gear," Ida explained, his expression cool and collected, and his breath unhurried, as if he hadn't done a 50-metre sprint. "My time has improved as well, though not as much as Uraraka, since I train using my quirk."
"Alright, next: Ojiro, Kaminari, Kirishima, Koda, Kurusu," Mr. Aizawa called out.
""Which one?"" both Sarah and Kórinis called out.
Mr. Aizawa paused before sighing, his face resting in his hand. "The older one."
Sarah nodded, walking forward as Ida wished her luck.
The first in the line was the student with the mutant type quirk, forming a large, muscular tail. Aside from his extra limb, he was fairly plain looking, with short blond hair that was swept to the front of his head. His tail was hairless all the way up till the tip, upon which grew long lengths of blond fur.
The second student was a thin male with short gold hair, parted to the right with a black lightning-shaped streak on the left of his side fringe, which was angled, partially obscuring his left eye.
The third student was the red haired male, his hair spiked upwards, though Izuku wasn't sure if that was natural or not. He had a muscular build, and the smile he gave to Ashido revealed he had sharp, jagged teeth, very similarly to Kórinis Kurusu.
The fourth competitor was another muscular student, though this time he had a mutation quirk that gave his head a rocky appearance. His posture was very shy, something that Izuku recognised and could empathise with, with his shoulders rounded and his arms held close to his body. As he got into position, he gave a small wave to Sarah Kurusu, who was positioned next to him. She in turn gave him a warm smile, leaning over to whisper something to him, and judging by his straightening posture, seemed to be words of encouragement.
"Who do you think will win?" Izuku whispered to Ida and Uraraka, trying to discover what some of the competitor's quirks were.
"Sarah, without a doubt," came Ida's immediate, confident answer. "Unless one of them can teleport, Sarah has no chance of losing."
"Wow, Ida," Uraraka gasped, "you sound really confident. Is it because she's your friend?"
"She's more than my friend," Ida nodded, a small smile growing on his face. "She's my rival, and I know the other competitor's don't stand a chance."
"Ready?" Mr. Aizawa called out once more, all of the competitors getting into a ready stance. "Go!"
Each competitor started sprinting, but none could compare to Kurusu. Instead of a runner's start, she had simply leaned her upper body forward, her back hooves resting on the runners block. As soon as Mr. Aizawa said go, she burst into a gallop, eating up the distance and finishing before the others had managed to get halfway.
"3 seconds," the robot chimed.
The other four competitors continued undiscouraged, each of them neck in neck. Ojiro was using his tail to slap the ground, using it like a spring to propel himself forward, but Izuku couldn't see any of the others using their quirks, each of them instead relying on physical fitness.
"6.49 seconds," the robot declared as Ojiro crossed the finish line, the others close behind him.
"7.05 seconds, 7.09 seconds, 7.17 seconds," the robot said as Kirishima, Kaminari, and finally Koda each finished the race.
"Told you she would win," Ida said with more than a little pride as Kurusu walked back over, Koda by her side.
"This is Koda," she said as she joined the group, gesturing with her hand to the shy boy. "He was in my Testing Area, we teamed up during the practical."
Koda didn't answer, instead giving a small wave to Izuku, Uraraka, and Ida.
"Next: Shoji, Jiro, Tokoyami, Todoroki, Kurusu. The younger one," Mr. Aizawa said, with the next five competitors stepping forward.
First was the other student with a mutant type quirk, the one with the many arms. His gym uniform was altered, being more like a singlet rather than a shirt, given the lack of sleeves.
The second competitor was a slim girl with black hair. She also seemed to have a mutation quirk, as her earlobes had earphone jacks growing out of them.
The third was a student with a crow's head, just the head, as the rest of him looked completely human.
The fourth was a second red haired student, though unlike Kirishima, his hair was swept over his face to the right, rather than spiking upwards. He had what most would consider a handsome face, but this conflicted with the cold, emotionless expression he wore.
The fifth was Kórinis Kurusu, walking over beside Todoroki, seeming to have a one sided conversation with him, even as they waited at the starting line.
"Is Kurusu friends with Todoroki as well?" Uraraka asked Sarah Kurusu, gesturing to the younger sister.
"Somewhat," the older sister replied hesitantly. "She's certainly closer to Shoto than I am, but it would be more accurate to call him our cousin rather than our friend."
""Cousin?"" Izuku and Uraraka asked at the same time.
"Ready?" Mr. Aizawa stated, interrupting the conversation. "Go!"
Shoji, Jiro and Tokoyami all dashed forwards, relying on their physical abilities, no quirks being visibly used, much to Izuku's frustration. How could he note down details about their awesome quirks without seeing them?
Todoroki and Kurusu on the other hand were making full use of their powers. Kurusu was the most simplistic in her movement, using her arachnid lower half to race forwards, quickly pulling ahead of the others. Todoroki, on the other hand, had a much more flashy use of his quirk. Stomping his right foot down, blue ice formed underneath his foot, causing him to be pushed forward, riding it towards the finish line.
"Wow, what an incredible ice quirk!" Izuku beamed, committing everything he could see to memory. "His ice is blue, probably as a result of it being of a purer quality, I wonder if it also causes it to be more durable and solid…"
"Are you and Todoroki cousins?" Uraraka asked, ignoring Izuku who had once again descended into a muttering storm.
"Not really," Kurusu answered vaguely, watching as her younger sister crossed the finish line.
"3.42 seconds."
"He's our younger sister's second cousin, but we all treat him like family whenever we see him."
Uraraka tried to visualise the family tree, but quickly abandoned it as a headache formed from the mess she imagined, instead focusing on the race as Todoroki glided to a stop.
"4.50 seconds."
The other competitors finished seconds later, each of them having completed the race purely by physical talent.
"6.43 seconds. 7.02 seconds, 7.32 seconds," the robot declared as Shoji, Tokoyami and Jiro finished.
"Nice work, Shoto," Sarah Kurusu praised as the red haired student walked past.
He glanced a look at her, simply giving her a nod as he took his place back in the crowd, keeping a distance from everyone.
"Some people simply aren't the most sociable," Ida said to Kurusu, trying to comfort her as she hung her head.
"Final group: Hagakure, Bakugo, Midoriya, Mineta, Yaoyorozu, line up."
"Pst, hey, Midoriya, you're up," Uraraka hissed, nudging Izuku in the ribs with her elbow.
"Huh, what?" Izuku asked, looking around as he was pulled out of his muttering. Seeing Kacchan and three others taking their positions at the starting line, he hurried over, not wanting to annoy Mr. Aizawa more than they already had.
The first person at the starting line didn't have any features that Izuku could mention, simply because she was invisible. Due to the, um, shape of her chest, Izuku could tell it was a girl, but every part of her was invisible. He only knew she was even standing there because her invisibility didn't seem to extend to her clothing.
'It's simply my luck that Kacchan is next to me,' Izuku lamented in his head, doing everything in his power to avoid the death glare that Kacchan was giving him, small sparks igniting in his open palms, a telltale sign of his irritation.
The fourth student next to Izuku was a small male student, standing only slightly above his waist. His quirk seemed to cause his hair to form into round, purple clusters, but what their purpose was Izuku couldn't yet tell.
The fifth and final student was a tall girl with long, black hair. She had a very attractive appearance, but Izuku did a double take as she pulled a pogo stick out of her stomach.
'What a unique quirk,' Izuku thought to himself as the ponytailed girl placed the item on the ground. 'Does she store items inside of her, or did she create it?'
"Ready?" Mr. Aizawa droned, causing Izuku's attention to focus away from his classmate's quirks and back onto the track. "Go."
Izuku burst into a sprint, hoping to get a good placement purely from the training he had done with All Might. While he was certainly pulling ahead of Hagakure and Mineta, purely because he was taller than either of them, and likely fitter too, Kacchan and Yaoyorozu proved to have effective control over their quirks.
Yaoyorozu had immediately started using her pogo stick, bouncing down the track with incredible skill. Kacchan on the other hand was more obvious with using his quirk.
"Explosive Speed!" he roared, placing his hands behind him, sparks detonating in his palms. "TURBO!"
Explosions roared forth, the power shooting him forwards in a flying leap, being the first to cross the finish line.
"4.13 seconds."
Yaoyorozu wasn't far behind, coming in second place only because of the burst of speed Kacchan had gained.
"4.58 seconds."
Izuku grit his teeth, digging deep into himself to go even further, pulling slightly ahead of Hagakure who was to the left of him.
"7.02 seconds, 7.33 seconds."
Izuk bent over, trying to catch his breath, idly taking note of Mineta coming last.
"8.59 seconds."
'Seven more events,' Izuku thought. 'Everyone's going to be using their quirks to produce some incredible records. But if I use mine even once, that power will wreck my body!'
"All right, everyone, into the gym," Mr. Aizawa said, gesturing to the gymnasium near the track. "We'll continue your next test there."
'Even for those who haven't used their quirk, there might be tests that their quirks are suited for. And even if there aren't, the school likely has records about our quirks. Someone like Hagakure isn't likely to be judged as harshly for not actively using her quirk like I would, seeing how I registered it as Super-Power.'
'I need to try and regulate my power, just like All Might told me to. Imagine the egg in the microwave, I just need to lower the power. I can't come last, not after all of this.'
XXXXXXXXXX
While Izuku did have the plan to regulate his powers, to use it even at a lower setting simply to give a good showing to the teacher, the fear and trauma from his first attempt at using his quirk held him back. Instead of experimenting and trying, Izuku let his fear hold him back, and he steadily started falling behind.
First was the second event: Grip Strength. While he did produce a score of 56 kg, a sizable improvement from middle school, it was nothing compared to his classmates.
'Woah, Shoji has such an impressive score,' Izuku thought, seeing his multi-armed classmate form hands on each of his arms, each of them gripping the handle and producing a score of 540 kg.
The older Kurusu sister, Sarah, wasn't far behind him. Even though she only had one hand to use, she managed to score 482 kg, with her younger sister scoring 249 kg.
'Larger heteromorph species likely have improved physical strength,' Izuku guessed, but his attention, as well as that of the entire class, was drawn to the sound of something snapping, and a very embarrassed, "Oops."
Everyone turned to where Yaoyorozu had produced a clamp, using it to add pressure to the device. However, it seemed she had put it through too much pressure.
"Um, Mr. Aizawa?" Yaoyorozu started, hesitantly holding out her broken strength scale to the teacher. "I think I might have broken the machine. Am I in trouble?"
Mr. Aizawa simply looked at the shattered device. The handle was split in two, the clamp still hanging on, and wires were poking out of its innards.
He stood there, simply blinking at the device, before sighing, noting something down on his phone.
"Don't worry, Yaoyorozu," he reassured in a tired voice, "we can replace them easily. Since I didn't get a score from your device, we'll just put it down as the top score, alright?"
"Yes sir," Yaoyorozu nodded, oblivious to the wide eyed expression everyone was giving her.
'''''Just what is the limit to what she can create?''''' many of them wondered.
The third event didn't go any easier for Izuku. They were taken back outside and led to a large sandpit, where they were told the third event would be long jump. Going in order once more, Izuku watched as classmate after classmate either jumped an incredible distance down the sandpit, or cleared it entirely. From Aoyama using his belly laser to shoot him across the sand, Ida using a running start to almost reach the end, Asui using her frog-like legs to create an equally impressive leap, or the Kurusu sisters using their heteromorph bodies to earn impressive scores.
While many of his classmates also relied purely on their physical talent, Izuku one of them, he couldn't help but worry that Mr. Aizawa was grading him more harshly. He had a quirk that he could use in these events, but his fear and anxiety prevented him from controlling it. His worry wasn't helped by seeing Kacchan create explosions in his palms to propel himself over the sand before his own turn, or seeing Yaoyorozu, the last to compete, produce a high jump pole, easily clearing the sand pit herself.
The fourth event, side-to-side stepping, didn't go any better. While many of his classmates were in the same boat as him, having to rely only on their physical prowess, that didn't stop a select few from using their quirks in creative ways. Asui was the first to perform above her peers, using her frog-like nature to do rapid side-hops, easily doing more than double what the previous students had done. The next was Kórinis Kurusu, who due to her spider legs, was able to move quickly in any direction, even side-to-side. Next was Kacchan, who used bursts of explosions to bounce side-to-side in the air. Despite the unique strategy, Mr. Aizawa gave his approval, even if Kacchan hadn't technically touched the floor. Even Mineta produced an incredible result, competing right after Izuku had. Because of his classmate's short stature, Mineta had routinely placed either near or at the bottom of the events. But when it came to his turn, he started pulling off the purple balls that grew from his scalp, placing them into piles on their side of him. Izuku and his classmates watched in shock as Mineta bounced rapidly between the two piles, so quickly in fact that he created after images of his movement, easily securing the top spot in the event.
By the fifth event, softball throwing, Izuku was desperate to do well, his nerves not helped when Uraraka had her turn.
Stepping up to the circle, she took hold of the ball Mr. Aizawa had handed her, and gave it a light throw in the air. Despite the lack of force behind the throw, Izuku and his classmates watched with open mouths as the ball continued to float up, and up, and up into the air. They looked back down to Mr. Aizawa, who simply looked at his phone with what could only be described as shock. He stayed like that for a minute before turning his phone around, showing the result.
"""""INFINITY?!""""" they yelled in shock, some muttering about why the infinity symbol would even be an available score.
The other high scorers didn't make him feel any better. Ojiro used his tail to hit the ball like one would using a bat, gaining a score of 105 metres. Sarah Kurusu simply threw it using her enhanced strength, causing her to gain a score of 217 metres. Kórinis Kurusu created a sling made out of silk from her wrists, placing the ball in a pouch and whirling it, letting it go and causing it to crack into the sky, falling back down to Earth after flying 308 metres into the air.
'This isn't good! That isn't something I can pull off yet!' Izuku cried out in his mind, watching as Hagakure produced a basic result, meaning that he was next. 'So many people have gotten at least one amazing record! All that's left is the Seated Toe Touch, Upper Body Training and Endurance Run. I'm out of options!'
'At this rate, I'll have the lowest score and be expelled,' he thought, mechanically walking over to the pitching circle, Hagakure having passed the ball to him as she passed by.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Midoriya isn't doing very well," Four Eyes noted, with Round Cheeks and Blondie nodding with him.
"Well duh," Katsuki scoffed from nearby, standing next to Silks. "He's a quirkless runt!"
"He is rather small," Silks muttered, a sly grin growing on her face. "Almost bite sized, like a bean."
"Quirkless?!" Four Eyes gasped in shock, turning to Katsuki. "So you haven't heard about his feats during the Entrance Exam?!"
"Huh?!" Katsuki asked in shock. He was about to demand Four Eyes explain what he meant, only for his attention to be dragged towards Silks, who had elbowed him in the shoulder due to the height difference.
"What?" he growled, only for her answer to be a jut of her chin towards the pitching field. Katsuki watched in confusion, quickly growing into shock as Deku wound back his arm, red energy spreading along it as he pitched.
"46 metres," came the emotionless, yet undoubtedly disappointed voice of their teacher.
"Huh?" Deku gasped, looking down at his arm. "But I was trying to use it."
"I erased your quirk," Mr. Aizawa said, walking towards Deku with anger in his eyes. "That ridiculous Entrance Exam is completely irrational when you consider someone like you got it."
"Erased?" Deku questioned, though a metaphorical lightbulb apparently was quick to turn on in the nerd's brain. "Those goggles, of course! You're the Erasure Hero: Eraser Head! Your quirk can nullify others' quirks just by looking at them!"
"Eraser?" Round Cheeks asked, tilting her head in confusion. "I've never heard of him."
"I think I have heard of him," Glasses said, holding his chin in his hands. "He's an underground hero, patrolling at the later hours of the night, as opposed to most heroes who operate mostly in the day."
"I saw it," Mr. Aizawa said, walking towards Deku. Where there once stood a teacher who would look more at home sleeping on the streets, now stood a terrifying hero of the night. His black, shaggy hair that obscured his face was now floating in the air. The large scarf that was wrapped around his neck had now partially uncoiled, the ends waving in the air like the heads of snakes, poised to strike. And his eyes, what were once bloodshot, tired eyes were now wide open, the iris' no longer black, but now a glowing, threatening red. "I saw how you can't control your quirk. You'd just be incapacitated again. Were you hoping someone would step in to help afterwards?"
"N-no, it's not like that," Deku reasoned, only for their teacher to use his scarf to pull him close, speaking in a quiet tone.
"Hey, Silks," Katsuki said, looking at the Arachne to the side, "do you know anything about our teach?"
"Not much," Silks said, crossing her arms and tapping a finger on her arm, the chitinous materials creating a tak, tak, tak sound. "I know he's not a fan of the media, seeing how they'd simply give away his quirk to villains and criminals. Apparently he's a former U.A. student, but that's about it."
Katsuki grunted, turning his gaze back towards Deku and their teacher. Silks didn't know much, but Katsuki would admit that what she knew was more than Katsuki did. He had never really paid much attention to the underground heroes, usually because they relied on gimmicks and tricks, striking from the shadows and all that junk. It didn't help that the point of an underground hero was to be, well, underground, and not in the public eye. Their teacher was no All Might, but if what Deku said about his quirk was true, and it likely was, then their teacher was one of the most dangerous individuals to be ambushed by.
Their teacher let go of Deku, taking a few steps back and pulling a bottle of eye drops from his belt, using a drop in each eye.
"Seems like he received some special instruction," Four Eyes said, still holding his chin in thought as he spoke over the French Extra who was talking to Round Cheeks.
"Yeah. The instruction to leave this school," Katsuki scoffed, only to hear Silks give an audible huff.
"Come on, Dynamite, give him a chance," she said, rolling her eyes. "Sure, Midoriya has enough coordination to trip on his own foot, and sure, he can't keep his mouth closed when muttering, but, I don't know, maybe he's really smart?"
Katsuki gave a low growl, looking Silks dead in the eye. "Him having brains doesn't mean shit if he can't throw or take a punch, let alone an explosion strong enough to break the sound barrier over ten times. Even if he put in any damn effort into physical training, he still doesn't have a-"
"SMASH!"
CRACK!
Katsuki was interrupted by Deku's yelling, and the clap of a broken sound barrier. He swung his gaze over, his eyes wide with shock as he took in the sight of Deku, stupid, useless Deku, holding up a clenched fist, his index finger bruised and broken, as the softball fell from the heavens.
"This pain, it's nothing like before," he said, looking their teacher in the eyes. "Mr. Aizawa, I can still move."
"This kid," Mr. Aizawa grinned, holding up his phone for the class to see.
705.3 metres.
"Woo! Now that's a hero-like record if I ever saw one," Round Cheeks cheered.
"His finger appears to be swollen. Thinking back to the Entrance Exam…" Four Eyes said, giving his own opinions while trailing off mid sentence. "What a strange quirk…"
"Stylishly done," the French Extra added.
All of this was ignored by Katsuki, nothing but white noise to the thoughts racing through his head.
'What the shit?' Katsuki thought, his jaw open and his eyes wide with shock and confusion. 'What the actual, motherfucking SHIT?! How the fuck did he do that?! Quirks manifest around age four, and never after puberty! It's impossible, but it really happened!'
"'I earned this!'"
Those words rang through Katsuki's mind. The same words Deku had said to him in their last weeks of Junior High when Katsuki confronted him about passing the U.A. Entrance Exam. That was when he started to grow a spine. That was when he started to amount to something, something more than a measly pebble.
Sparks popped in his hands, an unconscious reflex of his whenever he was stressed, angry, or planning to attack.
'Somethings up, and that shitty nerd is going to tell me what it is,' Katsuki growled, igniting his sweat to burst forward.
"What the hell?! Explain yourself, Deku!"
Deku, being the scared rabbit that he was, let out a scream, but before Katsuki could get to him, he felt threads and strands wrapping around his sides, pulling his arms tight to his torso as he was pulled backwards, the back of his head landing on someone's chest.
"Silks, what the fuck?!" Katsuki swore, thrashing in the Arachne's grip, knowing it was her from the threads that currently bound him.
"Calm down, Dynamite, you're going to blow a fuse," she said, using her pedipalps to hold his waist in place, her arms over his chest. "You really want to rush at Midoriya on the first day with a homeroom teacher who has made it very clear that he's perfectly fine with expelling us? You're hotheaded, not dumb."
Katsuki stopped his thrashing, looking over to where Mr. Aizawa stood. Sure enough, his hair was floating, his eyes glowing red, and he looked pissed.
"Talk to me, Bakugo," Silks said in a quiet voice, using his name for the first time. "What made you do that?"
Katsuki didn't answer. It wasn't any of her business, it was only between himself and Deku.
Silks seemed to have taken the hint, uncoiling her webbing from around him, and letting him out of her hold.
Katsuki looked over at Mr. Aizawa, who was looking right back at him. They held their gaze at each other, but Katsuki looked away first, scoffing.
"What a waste of time," Mr. Aizawa sighed, deactivating his quirk. "Prepare for the next event."
Deku walked back over to Round Cheeks, Four Eyes and Blondie, giving Katsuki a wide berth. Katsuki simply glared at the nerd, thoughts racing through his mind as the class moved to the next location for their sixth test.
'Up until now, he was just another pebble in my path,' Katsuki thought, memories of him and Deku back when they were childhood friends flashing through his mind. 'It wasn't meant to be more than that. He was quirkless for ten years, ten fucking years. And he always tried to compete with me, even though he was powerless. Has he been hiding his quirk this whole time? Has he been thinking that he can compete against me without it?'
XXXXXXXXXX
The remaining three tests passed by without Izuku managing to achieve an impressive score.
In the Seated Toe Touches, Shoji, Ashido and Kórinis Kurusu achieved a joint first place, each of them managing to stretch the most. Kurusu's feat was on a technicality that Mr. Aizawa allowed, seeing how she simply touched the ends of her pedipalps, which acted like human legs, only covered in an exoskeleton and lacking any feet. Shoji produced lines of hands, stretching all the way until he could easily touch his feet, while Ashido was simply that flexible.
In the Upper Body Training, Kórinis Kurusu came first, hanging from the bar upside down, supported only by a single line of thread from her arachnid-half's spinneret.
The final event, the Endurance Run, was the most gruelling test by far. Each student had to maintain a pace of over 10 km/h, and any who fell behind were out. It saw each member of the class drop out one by one, with Mineta inevitably being the first to fall. The race eventually descended into a threeway endurance match between Ida and Sarah Kurusu, going head to head with Yaoyorozu's electric scooter's battery life. Ida was the first to lag, the engines in his legs eventually giving out, leaving only Kurusu and Yaoyorozu. The competition lasted for hours, but with Yaoyorozu not having to exert herself, only steering her scooter, Kurusu eventually gave up after trotting for almost two and a half hours.
"Moving along," Mr. Aizawa started after Kurusu had had a moment to catch her breath, "time for the results. 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."
'My only record worth mentioning was that throw,' Izuku grimaced, his eyes closed shut as he waited nervously. 'But I sucked at everything else, especially the Endurance Running, because the pain was so bad. I'm done for!'
Mr. Aizawa pressed a button on his phone, and a holographic scoreboard appeared in the air. Izuku slowly read his way down the chart, going from top to bottom, hoping and praying that he wasn't last.
1st - Momo Yaoyorozu
2nd - Shoto Todoroki
3rd - Kórinis Kurusu
4th - Katsuki Bakugo
5th - Sarah Kurusu
6th - Tenya Ida
7th - Fumikage Tokoyami
8th - Mezo Shoji
9th - Mashirao Ojiro
10th - Ochako Uraraka
11th - Yuga Aoyama
12th - Tsuyu Asui
13th - Minoru Mineta
14th - Eijiro Kirishima
15th - Mina Ashido
16th - Koji Koda
17th - Denki Kaminari
18th - Kyoka Jiro
19th - Toru Hagakure
20th - Izuku Midoriya
Izuku's heart sank. There, at the very bottom of the list, was Izuku Midoriya. Last place.
Ida and Uraraka tried their best to comfort him, but it all went in one ear and out the other. All of the time and effort All Might had put into training him, giving him One For All, it was pointless. He had failed.
"Also, I was lying about expelling someone," Mr. Aizawa said, stunning the entire class, Izuku most of all.
"That was a rational deception meant to bring out the best in all of you," the teacher grinned, giving a short 'ha' at the class he had tricked.
"""WHAAAT!""" Izuku, Uraraka and Ida all yelled in shock.
""Well of course it was a lie,"" two voices said in unison. Izuku looked to his side, seeing Sarah Kurusu, the first speaker, giving a funny look at Yaoyorozu, the second speaker, who had looked away from the Centaur's gaze, lightly blushing.
"I doubt U.A. would fail students purely because they were the least physically gifted," Kurusu reasoned, many of her classmates nodding along with her reasoning.
"Anyway, we're done here," Mr. Aizawa said, walking over to the students. "Your documents about the curriculum and such are back in the classroom. Give them a look."
"Midoriya," Mr. Aizawa continued, causing Izuku to jolt in fright, fearing that his teacher had changed his mind. He was surprised to see the teacher hand him a pass to the Nurse's Office.
"Have Recovery Girl fix you up. Tomorrow's trials aren't going to be any easier."
With that, their teacher walked off, disappearing around a corner. Many of the students took that as a sign of dismissal, each heading off to class to collect their bags and curriculum guides. While Izuku headed to the Nurse's Office, he couldn't help but notice the glare that Kacchan gave him, before turning away and storming off, ignoring the words of Kórinis Kurusu behind him.
XXXXXXXXXX
After coming back from Recovery Girl's office, and having received her warning about the limits to her healing, Izuku was completely tired from his first day.
"I'm pooped," Izuku sighed, slowly trudging his way down the U.A. campus hill. He was so tired, he didn't hear the pair of footsteps, set of four hooves, and the sound of eight spider legs coming up behind him.
"How's your finger?" Ida asked, clapping a hand on Izuku's shoulder, startling the greenet.
"Gah, Ida!" Izuku shouted, taking note of the Kurusu sisters who were walking behind the spectacled teen. "It's fine, thanks to Recovery Girl."
"But Mr. Aizawa sure fooled us," Ida continued. "He made me think, 'This is how it is at the top!' But our own instructor deceived us like that."
'I thought Ida was scary, but he's actually super serious,' Izuku chuckled in his mind.
"Oh come on, Glasses," Kórinis Kurusu sighed, rolling her eyes as she folded her hands behind her head as she walked, "you need to lighten up a bit. Being a hero doesn't mean you can't lie, heroes lie all the time. And as he said, it was a rational deception."
'Kórinis Kurusu on the other hand,' Izuku thought as Ida and the younger Kurusu sister started arguing about the ethical question of heroes lying, 'really isn't all that serious.'
"Hey, you guys!" a cheerful voice called out, causing Izuku and the others to turn their heads. Behind them was Uraraka, running towards them with a skip in her step. "Headed to the station? Wait up!"
"Ah, Infinity Girl," Ida greeted, with the two Kurusu sisters waving to the brunette as she joined them.
'Infinity Girl?' Izuku wondered. 'That does sound like an awesome hero name!'
"I'm Ochako Uraraka!" she said, introducing herself fully to the group. "Let's see, um, you're Tenya Ida, you two are Sarah and Kórinis Kurusu, and you're, um, Deku Midoriya, right?!"
"Deku?!" Izuku shouted, surprised at Uraraka using that nickname.
"Isn't it?" Kórinis Kurusu asked, tilting her head. "I'm sure that was what Dynamite called you."
"Yeah, during the test, that Bakugo guy said, 'Damn you, Deku!', right?" Uraraka said.
Everyone was taken aback, surprised by the impressively accurate imitation of Kacchan's voice that Uraraka made.
"Um, my real name is Izuku," Izuku explained, "'Deku' is just Kacchan being a bully."
"Yikes," Kórinis Kurusu muttered, looking to the side, "didn't know Dynamite hated you that much."
"Gotcha, sorry!" Uraraka apologised. "But 'Deku', well, it just screams, 'Do your best!' I kinda like the way it sounds."
"Oh, because it sounds similar to, 'to be able to do', right?" Sarah Kurusu asked, walking beside Uraraka.
"Yeah, exactly," came her bubbly reply, grinning up at her Centaur classmate.
"DEKU'S FINE!" Izuku yelled, his face turning tomato red.
"Midoriya!" Ida yelled in shock, voicing the surprise that everyone else seemed to be feeling. "Show a bit of backbone! It's an insult, isn't it?"
"It's like the Copernican Revolution," Izuku muttered, his face hidden in his hands.
"Coperni-who?" Uraraka asked, confused by what he meant.
"The Copernican Revolution was the shift in the field of astronomy from a geocentric understanding of the universe, centred around Earth, to a heliocentric understanding, centred around the Sun," Sarah Kurusu explained to Uraraka. "To compare it to something is to refer to it as a life changing, reality shifting change in your understanding."
"But I have to admit, Midoriya," Sarah Kurusu continued, turning back to Izuku, "names only have power over you if you let it. Are you sure you want to give Bakugo that kind of power?"
"I think Ryokutō is less worried about what Dynamite thinks, and more about what Uraraka thinks," Kórinis Kurusu snickered, her hand covering a barely contained laugh.
"""Ryokutō?""" Ida, Uraraka and Sarah Kurusu asked.
"MUNG BEAN?!" Izuku yelled, looking at the Arachne in shock.
"Why not," she smirked, looking at Izuku with a sly grin. "You're short, like a bean, and green, like a bean. I think it suits you perfectly."
"I still think Deku is better," Uraraka grumbled, her cheeks puffing out in annoyance.
Izuku just chuckled, enjoying the banter that was being shared.
"Which train are you guys catching?" Uraraka asked as they all stood around in the train station.
"The three of us are catching the train to Tokyo, then Sarah and I need to switch trains to catch one to Saitama," Kórinis Kurusu answered, looking at the schedule hanging from the roof.
"Oh wow, you guys live in Saitama," Uraraka gasped. "I'm catching the train to Shizuoka. What about you, Deku, where are you going?"
"Um, I live in Shizuoka as well," Izuku stammered, the idea of a cute girl possibly living near him almost being too much. "Are you from Shizuoka as well, Uraraka?"
"Nah, I'm from Mie, but my parents are renting out an apartment for me in Shizuoka, since it would be a bit too pricey to catch the train each day."
"Agreed," Sarah Kurusu said, nodding her head as they waited for their trains. "I saw how much the monthly train fare alone was going to be. If it wasn't for our family's insistence that we had more than enough money to spare, Kórinis and I would likely be doing something similar."
"The train to Shinagawa Station will be arriving shortly," a voice over the intercom said, sounding out through the station. "I repeat, the train to Shinagawa Station will be arriving shortly."
"That will be ours," Ida said, turning to Izuku and Uraraka. "It has been a pleasure to meet you two. I look forward to seeing you both in class tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow," Sarah Kurusu farewelled, her sister waving as the trio walked to their platform.
Being left alone, Uraraka started to talk about her interests to Izuku, who simply added in conversation whenever he could. Even though he was getting used to Uraraka's bubbly personality, it was still a lot for someone so unused to talking to the fairer sex. Their conversation continued as their train pulled into the station, the two of them being fortunate enough to have found a pair of unoccupied seats. Even though Uraraka's stop was before Izuku's and he was a little sad to not have been able to talk with his new friend more, he was content nonetheless.
'There's still a lot I can't do, but I'll do my best,' Izuku thought as he walked home from the station. 'But, All Might, even just making four friends is more than I could've asked for.'
Alright, that is the end of chapter four. Phew, this chapter was ironically longer than the previous chapter, which was itself the longest chapter at that point. Hopefully the length should be shrinking now, because up next we have the Battle Trials. One thing I found annoying about the start of MHA was the fact that we never got to see how the match ups went. From a budget point, I understand. The focus is meant to be on Izuku and Katsuki, seeing how they are the main rivals of the series. That, and MHA was in its infancy at that point, so Horikoshi wasn't likely to take up valuable space showing other characters that hadn't been properly introduced yet. But fear not, for I shall have each hero and villain team have the spotlight. Yes, three extra fights, if we don't count Team Izuku vs Team Katsuki, as well as the stomp that was Team Shoto vs Team Mashirao.
On that note, we now see some of the changes that have occurred. First, Hanta Sero and Rikido Sato have been erased from the timeline. They were some of the weakest characters in terms of character development and impact. Not only that, but they were also easily replaceable by the Kurusu sisters. A keen viewer might have noticed that I also shuffled some of the seats around, since it didn't make much sense to have two heteromorphs, specifically ones with a large body type, sitting in the middle of the rows. I mean, we already have Kyoka sitting directly behind Mezo, how on earth can she see the front?
A second change was Shoto looking very different in this timeline. That's right, our half-and-half bastard as Katsuki so eloquently puts it only has red hair, and the left side of his face bears no scar, but the right side of his face is covered with his fringe. What does this mean? Well, you'll find out during the Sports Festival, just like in canon, so stick around for that. All I'll say so far is that a hint was dropped this chapter, so let's see if anyone can piece it together. I doubt it, but you never know.
Also, a note I wanted to make. If you were curious why Sarah and Kórinis were always referred to with their last name as well, that's because that was in the Izuku centred dialogue. That is how he would think of them in his mind, similar to how Katsuki is Kacchan, or everyone else isn't referred to by their first name, such as Tenya, but their last name, Ida. It's simply Izuku trying to be polite, even in his own head, while still allowing the audience to know who he is referring to. If you don't like this method, let me know and I'll change it to their first name, unless Izuku is speaking out loud.
In terms of Ochako and Sarah's comments on the name Deku, they are specifically mentioning how Deku sounds close to the word meaning 'to be able to do' (できる dekiru). It would be weird for them to mention this, since everyone there are fluent Japanese speakers, so this is my little note explaining the reason, in case you weren't aware.
Another note is Kórinis' nickname for Izuku. I chose Ryokutō because it contains the kanji "green" (緑 midori) and "bean" (豆 mame). Together they spell out the Japanese name for Mung Beans, a green type of bean. Kórinis chose this because of his hair colour and size, which she mentions during the softball throw. Thought it would be a funny thing to add, especially because midori is the first part of Izuku's last name.
People might have also noticed that each chapter now has a name. Yes, I decided that was a nice touch, so each chapter will be having a name from now on. As a sneak peak, next chapter is called 'Today's Lesson: Battle!'. So yeah, we're in the Battle Trial Arc. Get ready, it's going to be longer than most authors make it.
Also also, I plan to try and get into a schedule of fortnightly releases, probably releasing on Mondays. With my newest series that I published, 'The Portal Hero: Aperture', featuring Chell from Portal being hucked into MHA, I might do some planning for that series. I don't want it to be a 'Insert Character, change fuck all', type series, so if I'm going to do it, there will be changes, more than one character is different. That, or if I'm able to find a really good dynamic with characters.
Right, reviews.
Lisa-Katagiri, cheers for dropping by and thanks for liking my craft. When this chapter is posted I'll likely have tried to get in contact with you. If you haven't received anything, flick me a private message and I'll get back to you. I'm super keen for some commissioned character art and I have a few scenes in mind. Even though I'm a Uni student, staying with my parents does have some benefits, primarily not having to pay the soul draining rent that you find in Auckland.
Anyway, that's all from me. I might get started on chapter 6, help increase the backlog, or I might not, it depends on how The Muse feels.
See y'all next time.
- Jevm