A Spark of Ingenuity
Chapter 8
"You failed."
A man coated in thick flames stood over in disappointment of his child. Endeavor, the number two hero of Japan, held the results of his son's work in the exam that he personally recommended the boy to attend.
Trying to keep himself standing tall, his youngest child Shoto Todoroki, a boy with one half of his hair white and the other the same ruby colored shade as his father's hair. The most noticeable of his features, was the large burn scar covering that same side of his face.
"I've told you this before." Endeavor's face burned hotter as the flames licking over his skin wildly shifted. "You will not last only using half of your-"
"I won't use your power." The icy glare of his son shot back at him. "I'll get into UA with only hers."
"You've already failed by holding back once before." Endeavor slammed the papers onto his home office's desk. "Don't do so again. You have one more chance to get into UA's hero course through the standard heroic exam."
Shoto had enough of listening to the man's demands, throwing himself out of the room before slamming the door behind him. Frost climbed up his arm as he was so tempted just to lash out. He should have passed, he was going to, but then others kept getting in his way. Anytime he found one he was locked in a battle that, while short, ended up with their quirk or his own making obtaining the bandana impossible.
But, by the time he finally arrived at the finish line others had managed to have an easier time.
This time, he would prove he could surpass everyone else without his father's corrupting blood running through him. No one could stop him.
"I…failed." Izuku shouldn't be so surprised when he got the results. Still, it was so frustrating after all the work he put in, especially over the past year. Believing his best, no, his only friend died. Trying to make something out of junk, then finally before he couldn't see a way to make his equipment in time Kacchan came back and provided him with anything he could have needed.
Then, he couldn't even use the suit he tirelessly worked on, while Kacchan made three that easily surprised his own and had plenty of time to spare towards other projects.
But, picking up the other holo disc from another letter from UA, he hoped that his back up plan to go to the same school on a longer route to being a hero did not carry the same results.
Placing it on his desk, Izuku allowed it to play as Power Loader was shown on the projected screen.
"Izuku Midoriya, I know this wasn't your first pick. I just wish I saw it sooner so I could let you use your suit for the hero exam." Stepping to the side, he displayed the top ranking examinees for the support course.
His name was at the top.
"A lot of kids have skills and talents, and while you have some of that it's clear you have the most important part. You have the will, the drive to turn whatever life has thrown your way and make it into something to push you farther. I've seen where you can improve, and in your time with the support course I will teach you how to make the most of it. So welcome, let's make you into a hero."
Only now, after hearing those words did Izuku allow himself to smile. He wasn't down yet, he wasn't entirely a failure, he just had more work to do if he wanted to try catching up.
Now, how to tell the others….
The speakers continued to bounce a violent rhythm through the armory, reverberating through the bones of anyone present. Namely one soul, wearing a basic tank top with his arc reactor shining brightly through the fabric.
His mark 4 armor was opened up, laying on its back in the storage pod as his hands flowed easily with the tools in his grasp. Sure, it was his newest and best set but he was constantly finding new predicaments that made him see ways it could be better.
Right now he was modifying the flight gyros so that he would never be thrown off by a strong gust of wind again.
He was in his groove, until the volume began to lower. "Don't turn down my music."
"You have a call from Izuku Midoriya, one you've been waiting for."
Now that his groove was off, Katsuki tossed the tools into the box next to his foot. "Fine, patch him through."
With the music cutting out, Katsuki went over to the kitchen area to begin refueling his body. "You get into UA nerd?"
"Yes, I did but-"
"Good." Katsuki grabbed the first drink he saw in the fridge, opening it up in a swift crack before taking a quick swig. "You find out which class you're in?"
"One F."
F? That was a pretty far letter from his own class. "How come you're not in A or B?"
"Because, well…promise you're not going to get mad."
"Too late." Katsuki chugged the rest of the drink before crushing it in his hand. "So you better tell me now before I get more pissed."
"I, failed the heroic entrance exam."
"YOU!-" Katsuki chucked the crumpled drink towards the overflowing trash bin. "For what reason?! You didn't fix your top speed did you? I told you that-"
"Sir." Liz sternly interrupted Katsuki before he blew up too much. "The hero exam is very particular about what equipment is allowed. Due to a lack of quirk Midoriya was not allowed to use the armor or any of its armaments."
Katsuki stormed out of the kitchen, finding the stupid robot that Izuku kept leaving here and pointing over towards the spilled trash he may or may not have just kicked over. As angry as he was that Izuku kept this hidden from him, that the school's stupid rules prevented accurate simulations of skills, he should have guessed so sooner.
After all, that damn principal kept prying into his life about his quirk, if or how it interacted with the armor, and several topics that Katsuki would have rather just dropped.
"I'm in the support course now, I got first place." Izuku continued after Katsuki was able to stew in his simmering silence. "But it's not all bad, Power Loader is going to be my teacher! He wants to help me get into the hero course, and I might be able to before the start of summer!"
As much as Katsuki could feel frustrated on Izuku's behalf, and at the nerf directly for keeping him in the dark about all this because he clearly knew this was gonna happen, he accepted the set back rather quickly. It's not like this was his problem, his path was undeterred and he wouldn't slow down if he didn't have to.
"Just get your ass into heroics ASAP." Katsuki murmured out as he walked back into the main lab area where his disassembled armor awaited.
"Also, Whitney got into the management course in case you were-"
"End call." Katsuki announced, the boy's voice silencing as he grabbed his helmet. He stared into the slim narrowed eye slits, waiting for a response to some of his questions before he gave up to find the answers himself.
"Alright Liz." He let the several holographic screens pull up one of his other projects, one he kept close to his chest. "You find who let that maniac in the facility?"
"Unfortunately it is difficult to pinpoint an exact mole due to all of the local security systems being too damaged to collect more accurate records. All I can confirm is that the man whose identity he use never did arrive to Japan on his scheduled flight."
"But the plane did?"
"Yes, along with all the other passengers who do not recall Wolfram ever being on board or their coworker departing early. Local investigators alongside I-island's private eyes all suspect the use of mental quirks or possible deception ones were at play."
This was a big issue. Katsuki remembered the nights he spent theorizing with Melissa how on earth their jet was intercepted. Even when he took down Wolfram's gang and the man himself there was no way they could have accomplished that without help.
They had to know ahead of time who would be on what plane, a way to intercept it, a way to walk through his own doors without triggering the alarms. There was a damn rat, someone scurrying around his feet, and Katsuki intended to stomp it out.
If he had a clue where the fucker was hiding.
"In other news your uniforms have arrived at your home. Please try to make some friends at school."
"Speaking of which, you get into their system yet?"
"Their security is tighter than normal but I am able to observe basic systems. Should I attempt to breach their more secure data they will be aware."
"Noted." Katsuki began putting the armor back together, making sure that it was ready at a moment's notice should the mystery kidnapper make a move. "How is the response time on suit deployment?"
"Suits docked and ready in the armory can be deployed in seven seconds."
"Let's make it four."
"Keep in mind your mother is currently on her way. I suggest cleaning up before she-"
"Can it." Katsuki needed to focus. Besides, it was his lab and he would clean it when he had time. There wasn't much anyways. Nothing for her to be upset over.
"Another reminder, you haven't showered in five days."
Ok fine, just after he could bump up the power to the launch system.
It wasn't long after she got the news that she would be going to UA's general course did Ochaco Uraraka finally feel the weight of guilt from her family's faith in her. Her parents struggled with finances for as long as she could remember, and all her life she just wanted to help out their small construction business.
So for them to have the money to send her to the top school for heroes, it hurt knowing how much harder they were going to have it just so she had a shot to chase after a dream. Still, turning down their sacrifice would be disrespecting it at the moment. Honestly she didn't expect to make it in, fully prepared to fail and to go to another cheap school.
Only, she didn't realize that her parents invested too much in her. They already signed the lease for an apartment near the school, paid the deposit, and signed away at the various fees because they believed in her.
It hurt even more because she was so close, off only by a single point to get into the hero course. She had gotten a handful of robots but she didn't realize there were also rescue points. Still, maybe since she wasn't going to get in they gave her points to that other boy who saved her. Maybe not, he probably got a bunch of points pulling her from that rubble.
She wished they just let her go through with trying to get a quirk labor license.
With the ability to remove gravity from objects, it would negate the need for her parents to rent the heavy equipment for job sites. At least she turned out with a quirk by some miracle despite having quirkless parents. It was part of the reason no one did business with them because there were others who had obvious quirks that related to construction.
Not to mention the discrimination they tried to keep hidden from her.
So all this time she wanted to try to help out, to either pay her own way through or lessen some of the bills on her parents' shoulders. But, no one wanted to hire someone who wasn't an adult, or was going to school, and allowed herself to be carried up in a dream instead of being realistic.
Yet since it was all she could think about, she ended up having a habit of scrolling through the web's job posting just in case there was something rare that met her needs. She didn't need much, just something. Then one posting popped up in her email alerts, one that was too good to be true and probably a scam.
Standing in front of the famous Spark Industries building recently repaired in Japan, Ochaco Uraraka wished she read the rest of the details before leaping blindly towards the salary.
Dressed in her best business outfit, consisting of a simple v neck long sleeve shirt and a pair of untorn jeans, Ochaco Uraraka kept staring at the glowing logo that was out of her league.
"Good, you're here." A woman approached, Ochaco needing to double take because at a distance she almost mistook her for someone else. Nah, it had to be a coincidence.
"Mitsuki Bakugo." The woman in the blazer and matching skirt greeted. "Nice to meet you Ochaco Uraraka. Follow me inside."
Ochaco didn't even have time to introduce herself before the woman was already walking back to the large reinforced revolving glass doors. "Um, Bakugo? As in-"
Right as she stepped into the revolving doors rays of light quickly swept over her, starting Ochaco as she could almost feel something running over every inch of her.
"Sorry about that." Mitsuki apologized without any guilt. "You can understand why we had to increase security measures. Don't worry though, it's less than you would get in an x-ray."
Did she just get blasted with lasers and radiation? Ochaco walked through two more intense looking doorways that probably saw a lot more of her than she even knew about. Though instead of heading towards where some other employees went, Mitsuki walked past where the new reactor was being fixed up and continued towards a very thick wall that might be a door that she never saw before. It looked like someone took the door to a bank vault and a bomb shelter and combined them.
"Where are we going?" Ochaco questioned, seeing there was no other hallway they could turn towards.
"Where you might be working." Mitsuki answered simply. "We'll conduct the interview in there and see how it goes."
This was probably a really bad question, especially to someone who was contemplating hiring her, but the circumstances felt way too off for her to consider. "And, what is the jo-"
"Hi Aunty Mitsuki." A boy called out to her as he was heading for the same place. He sounded like he was her age, and rather familiar.
Wait a minute, she knew those freckles!
"Ah!" Ochaco pointed right towards a briefly stunned Izuku Midoriya as she recognized him. "The plain boy who saved me!"
"Oh?" Mitsuki smirked between the two. "You saved her Izuku?"
"I helped her." Izuku humbly stated, smiling as he wore a mechanic's jumpsuit. "During the entrance exam and-"
"-Did you get in?!" Ochaco almost demanded, because she stuck her neck out for this guy! When the buzzer rang after he got her out from the rubble he seemed really down and she assumed he didn't get that many points. The teachers told her she couldn't give him her points, but he deserved to go to UA's hero course. One of them had to have made it.
"He's got the top score for the support classes." Mitsuki pridefully ruffled his hair that he scrambled to fix.
Support? But what about heroics?
"Anyways let's go inside." Mitsuki waved the two to follow her to the door where they all stood and waited, and waited, and waited a few seconds more.
"Open up already." Mitsuki demanded towards the air above the door. Then a voice spoke up from the walls.
"You and Midoriya may have clearance, but I am under strict orders not to let anyone who doesn't meet the security requirements to-"
"Liz." Mitsuki stopped the voice from going any further. "You know why she's here?"
"Yes."
"Then do it for him, because we both know he needs someone to prick his heels no matter how hard he kicks."
"...Allow me to conduct a more thorough background check before contemplating ignoring a direct order."
"Pst." Ochaco leaned over to the one person she knew here. Wait, what was he doing here? "I don't know what's going on."
"I don't know either." Izuku glanced back to the heavy set doors. "I was just going to work on my suit a little more before-"
There was a resounding bang inside the door as it began to unlock itself. Ochaco stood back as the door began sliding itself up into the wall. Once it was open, they walked into the empty room inside with another big door.
The one behind closed, then she was finally allowed to see where she was going.
With a hiss, the blockade in front of her lifted so she could see the famous armor itself. The Iron Man suit, standing inside of a large metal pod that was open for displaying its shimmering metal.
No way.
"Katsuki!" Mitsuki yelled out as she avoided stepping on tools and materials laying around the floor. "Get your ass out and say hello! I brought company!"
No friggin way.
"Huh?" Sliding out from behind where the armor was, Katsuki was wielding a large wrench in one hand with a screwdriver held between his teeth. His oil stained gray tank top seemed to glow with something bright resting behind it.
"You're Iron Man!" Ochaco shouted in shock, pointing right at the rich boy.
"Who the fuck are you?!" Katsuki let the scredriver drop from his mouth as he immediately glared at his mother. "Why did you bring her here?"
Then he pointed his wrench at the holographic screens along the wall. "And why did you let them in?! I gave you a direct order!"
"My primary responsibilities took priority."
"Quit swearing all over the damn place!" Mitsuki grabbed the nearest object, threatening to either beat him with it or throw it at his head. "This is supposed to be an interview!"
"Why are you doing it in my armory?!"
"Because this is where she would be working!"
"I never asked for some maid! And especially not a hooker"
"She is not a hooker!"
"Good because I don't want or need one!"
The two continued to circle around the lab, bantering back and forth as Ochaco had no idea what was happening.
"Um, sorry about them." The more relaxed boy scrubbed his hand through his hair. "They get pretty intense sometimes."
"No kidding." Ochaco couldn't help but stare like a car crash was about to happen before her, from two very aggressive drivers that had serious road rage.
"I don't think I got your name before. I'm Izuku Midoriya."
"Ochaco Uraraka." She kind of hoped the two would stop yelling because she really wanted to look at that armor. There were lots of rumors and other news saying he was going to be applying at UA's hero course. No one saw him at the hero exams though. At least the one she attended, maybe the rich kids had their own. Or maybe he could just buy a spot in the class, it wouldn't surprise her but it would piss her off.
Damn rich people.
"At least give her a chance!" Mitsuki yelled out, Ochaco feeling she should finally get some answers.
"A chance for what?" She intervened, daring to take a step closer towards the brewing conflict. Their red eyes flashed over to her, Mitsuki's being far less hostile than Katsuki's towards her.
Putting down the high tech hammer, Mitsuki gestured around the lab. "Tell me Uraraka, what do you see?"
"Well-" She honestly had no idea what a lot of this stuff was supposed to be. It was beyond anything her parents ever worked on. But, what she could recognize beyond the sci fi room was all the tools laying about the floor, exposed panels and wiring, not to mention a lot of trash laying around some stuff that looked like it could ignite it if accidentally turned on. "-a safety violation?"
That made the woman extremely pleased, Katsuki not so much.
"I know what I'm doing." Katsuki dared step closer towards her as he found the nearest box to start half haphazardly shoving the trash in. "This place has more sensors to detect any sudden faults and suppression foams that-"
"Ugh!" Ochaco quickly held up a set of fingers to her nose the moment he was close enough to smell. Oh no that was really rude!
"See!" Mitsuki gestured to her rather smelly son. "This is why I want to hire someone like her! She'll go to the school as you, have a flexible enough schedule to match your pace, and then she'll make sure you actually take care of yourself since I'm trying to keep the sharks from trying to take your suit!"
"I'm not hiring." Katsuki trucked the trash over towards the rising corner of filth in the corner of the room, where one piece of it looked like it was moving.
"Kacchan!" Izuku ran into the mountain, digging through to free the large robotic arm tangled in the mess. "You can't just throw him away!"
"Dummy couldn't even take out the trash!" Katsuki yelled at the boy. "If he can't even do that he's worthless!"
"He's not made to take out the trash!" With a hefty pull, Izuku freed his robotic friend.
"So." Mitsuki turned over to Ochaco. "Any questions?"
Before she could think of one Katsuki yelled back out "I SAID I'M NOT HIRING!"
"I'm hiring her dumbass!" The mother fired right back.
"With my money?!"
"I work for it so it's mine and I can spend it wherever I see fit, and since you can't focus on more than one thing at a time I decided to be a nice mother and get you some help!"
Katsuki tried to light the trash on fire with his own eyes, only to fail and to settle on Ochaco. "Why do you want to work here?"
To put it simply. "The money."
Her straight forward answer didn't appease Mitsuki, but Katsuki actually bothered to keep listening. The subtle silence he retained as he kept analyzing her provoked her to speak more openly.
"My, parents are doing a lot to help me go to UA. I always wanted to be a hero but, I wanted to help them out more. They gave a lot for me to go to school to be a hero, and I want to give it all back and more after they sacrificed so much for me."
He said nothing, moving over towards his computer screens as he silently typed at them while openly glancing back towards her.
"I'll do anything for my mom and dad." Ochaco didn't want to waste this chance, to work for a lot of money while also meeting her training and school needs. It was too good to pass up, but she did have standards she needed to clarify. "But I won't be a hooker. I'll help clean though, if that's what this job is?"
"Do you want a job?" Katsuki asked, like it wasn't obvious. "Or do you want your folks to have a better one?"
Huh?
"Spark Industries sells a lot of stuff, so we need some stores to sell them." He clarified, swinging out his hand to allow a three dimensional hologram for several types of buildings to fly towards her. "Someone's gotta build them, and if they do it they better be ready to give me the best if they want to get the highest pay."
This was….these were more building contracts than her parents had gotten in fifteen years! Ochaco was astounded that this random ad she answered would not just pay her well but it was giving her parents a stable income, a good one like they always wanted!
"So." Katsuki folded his arms, waiting for her answer. "Does that sound good to you?"
"W-well yes! I thi-"
"Good. Fuck off and don't touch my shit." Then he went back to fiddling on his computer. Ocacho was, astounded at the disrespect. He fights with his mom who works hard for him, his friend is the nicest guy and he doesn't even seem to acknowledge him, and then he thought he could just throw his money towards her parents just so she wouldn't tell him to clean up after himself?
"What kind of spoiled brat are you?" The words slipped right out of her mouth, Ochaco flipping up her hands to cover her lips. But it was too late, Katsuki dropped everything while slowly pivoting himself to face her with blazing rage.
"What did you just call me you bitch?!"
Oh that's it, she completely ruined any chances she had. Better make the most of it to give that jerk a harsh reminder of reality. "You heard me! You think you can do anything you want just because you have money?!"
"I busted my ass to make this company!" Katsuki stormed right up to her, Izuku throwing himself in the way to keep him from doing something he would regret.
"You think other people aren't?!" Ochaco screamed back at him, remembering days where her parents would barely be able to pull themselves to bed. Nights where they literally had saltines and water for dinner. "You think you're the only person who makes your life so great? What about your mom?! What about the people who helped you make that chance to start Spark Industries?! How about the hundreds or thousands of people who are working for you, meeting every ungrateful demand you give them just so you can mooch off of their work?!"
"I'm not a leach! I make damn sure that I pull my weight and I take care of myself so-"
"Take care of yourself?!" Ochaco gestured to the lab around them, taking a few more steps so she could get in Katsuki's face. "You can't even do that! Look around you! This place is supposed to be your personal toy box right? A reflection of your hard work?! You can't even take care of it let alone yourself otherwise you wouldn't need your mom to remind you to clean up your room you pompous rich fuc-"
Before she completely threw the whole book of swears and insults at the boy, Ochaco barely looked an inch to her left where Izuku was, pressed between both Katsuki and herself to prevent them from going for the throat.
"Oh my All Might." She uttered as she just not only pissed off a future classmate who she would likely have hero combat training with, he also had a very powerful suit of armor, has gone toe to toe with a villain, and had enough money to either buy her parent's company right out from under them or sue them into oblivion.
Then, a miracle happened.
"DAMNIT!" Katsuki pushed himself around Izuku, marching straight over to the pile of trash before grabbing the empty bag laying next to Dummy and began filling it up. He was furious, crushing everything he gripped, but he was cleaning up his mess. "You don't know a thing about me! I'll show you I know how to fucking take care of myself!"
Ochaco and Izuku stared as the boy was so violent about it, yet still managing to get the job done without making a bigger mess. Mitsuki came up, giving a congratulatory pat onto Ochaco's shoulder. "You're hired."
She still didn't know what she was supposed to be doing. But, it made the whole crushing guilt in her stomach ease up now that she had found a way to pay her parents back for her failure.
If she didn't end up quitting after the first day.
"Now." Mitsuki pulled out her phone as a larger series of small holo screens materialized over it. "Liz made me aware of the apartment you're staying in. It's a little far so I'll have someone buy out the lease and have your stuff moved to this other spot near us and the armory. We can have a car pick you up and take you to wherever alongside a company card with no spending limit that-"
As Mitsuki listed the several benefits that she would have, so many fancy things at her call in a moments notice, Ocahco knew that there would do everything in her power to keep this job.
The first day of school meant a lot, especially for first year high schoolers. It was their chance to start fresh, to put in the final steps that would solidify their life before marching into adulthood. How accurate that was didn't matter, it was the feeling swirling through nervous tides and giddy currents.
For the very select few who managed to get into the top hero school of Japan, into the coveted heroics training program, that couldn't be more apparent.
"Stop!" One very stern boy felt the need to make sure no one could mess this day up. Tenya Iida marched over towards the students who managed to already find some common ground. "Please remove yourself from the shadow immediately! Class will begin in less than five minutes!"
A teenager, a literal living shadow with white shaggy hair pulled himself out from the ground in front of the raven headed boy and Iida. "Cool it, I'm just showing him my quirk."
"UA's policy restricts any casual quirk usage! We will have an opportunity in the near future I'm sure but until then please refrain yourself!"
"Soooo." A feminine voice spoke from behind him, Iida turning around in horror to see a girl holding her own head in her hands. "This isn't ok?"
"A-re you ok?!" He had to make sure, the sharp teeth of the girl grinning before placing her own head back on her shoulders. "In any case, please refrain from doing that in the future."
"Don't count on it!" She said cheerfully before going over to the other teens who all shared short laughs with one another. The girl who had briefly scared Iida gave a short high five to a girl with pink skin and a boy with yellow hair and a black lightning bolt running through it.
At least most of the class seemed to be either quietly occupying themselves or patiently waiting for the class to begin.
"Hey there." A girl with bright red hair that almost seemed orange stepped up with a calming smile. "I think everyone's just really excited to be here. I'm Itsuka Kendo."
Ah! Where were his manners?! "I am Iida Tenya from-"
Then a muffled yell rang out in the hallway, interrupting him and pulling his attention. "Buzz off we got here in time."
Iida swore that voice was familiar.
"Only because I got you out of your lab! This is the first day of school you can't be late!"
"I had stuff to do alright?! Now I'm here, a minute before class. Get to yours and leave me be."
"Promise you'll be nice to them? And take off your sunglasses we're inside."
There was no reply, only the large oversized door of the classroom for 1-A abruptly opening. That momentary silence that was taking hold of the class immediately broke when Katsuki Bakugo stepped in. He adjusted the collar of his dress shirt of his school uniform, undoing the top button with no tie to be seen.
"Holy shit Iron Man!" A boy with large spiky crimson hair and shark-like teeth jumped out of his seat. "Bro I knew you had to be the last student!"
"He has a name." A subtle miffed voice declared, belonging to a pale girl with long straight periwinkle hair, wearing a monocle of all things over one of her sharp angular eyes. "Don't give him the impression that he's already a hero."
Bakugo ignored the comment, her person entirely which irked her further.
"Wow." A literal two dimensional boy's head shifted into an exclamation mark before he whispered over to a girl with shoulder length black hair and no visible expression. "You think he'd be ok with a selfie?"
Her only reply was a shrug.
But despite the chatter, questions directed towards him or general comments, Bakugo had not stopped heading in after he made eye contact with Iida.
"Ah, hello." Iida wasn't even commenting on his tardiness, or his lack of adherence to dress code policies with no tie and the sunglasses on his face. "I am glad to see you are doing well. I was there that night but we have not personally met. I am-"
"Tenya Iida." Katsuki finished on the boys behalf. "Are your parents being treated right?"
Some heavy air began growing over the class as suddenly everyone was curious, wanting to pry but aware that this was becoming an intense conversation. Even Itsuka Kendo took a step away to give the two a semblance of privacy.
Iida, for a second relived that night. He had questioned Bakugo involving himself directly in the conflict in his own hero suit. The laws, the respect of doing things the right way, he wrestled with them before because he could not deny Bakugo's actions saved his parents alongside everyone there that night.
Yet to hear that Bakugo wanted to personally make sure that his parents were recieving the proper care that his company swore to provide, it allowed Iida to get a glance of the teen's character.
"They are." Iida then dipped his body into a sharp ninety degree angle before him. "I cannot thank you enough! Truly you deserve to be here!"
"Of course I do." Bakugo casually agreed as he took off his shades to stick them in his pocket. "I got first place."
"Woah wait." A boy with jet black hair and overly straight teeth was confused. "I thought that Todoroki kid got first place."
"Only in the standard exam." A haughty blond boy snidely mentioned, staring over at Todoroki turning his gaze away from them. "Of course, I heard that Endeavor's son had to take that one because he didn't pass the recommendation exam."
"Ok ok enough." Kendo tried to calm him down. "Class is about to start, now-"
"Finally." A very exhausted voice drawled out from the back of the classroom. They all looked over to see a wide frown on the unkempt man laying in a yellow sleeping bag in the doorway. "It took you kids two and a half minutes to settle down. That's something we're going to have to work on. I'm Shota Aizawa, your homeroom teacher."
He stood up as if invisible strings along his body demanded he do so to do his job. Letting the sleeping bag fall to the floor, he held a stack of blue gym uniforms before tossing it to Kendo. "Put those on in the lockers and meet me outside the west wing of the building. Immediately."
All the teens went to hastily comply with his request, Bakugo allowing the larger part of the crowd to push between one another before joining the ones in the back. But a hand stopped him, Bakugo staring up towards the teacher who was giving him a rather harsh scowl.
"That doesn't mean the tin armor."
Bakugo huffed, pulling himself out of his grasp and marching forward with his hands in his pockets. "I wasn't going to, and it's not tin."
Outside, once the students were dressed in the work out clothing they arrived to a field with various tests that awaited them. Their teacher was standing there with his phone out, bored and impatient. "Finally. Now, we can start. No questions until after I finish explaining. You should all be familiar with the fitness exams that were conducted through your schools."
"Um." A slightly tanned girl rose her arm, drawing attention to herself. It wasn't just the muddled charcoal red of her hair, but the fact that she only had the one arm to raise as the other was missing before the elbow. "Actually we don't have those in America."
While he was interrupted, the teacher let it slide because this was a new concept to the foreign exchange student. "You had general physical fitness classes right?"
"Yeah."
"Were you allowed to use your quirk?"
"No, not that it could really stop me." She dared to admit with some pride.
"Then America's education system is as flawed as Japan's." The man finished the point before holding up a ball. "Shoto Todoroki."
The scarred boy stepped through to the front class to present himself. "Yes?"
"You got first place in the heroic exam. I want you to stand in that circle and throw this as far as you can without leaving it. Also, use your quirk."
Nodding in acceptance of the task, Todoroki grabbed the ball before stepping inside the line. Holding the ball straight out from his body, a sudden cold breeze built up around him before a large crystalline spike erupted from him to carry the ball incredibly far. It was only when the weight of ice could no longer support did it break to let the ball fall onto the ground.
A short beep came from the teacher's phone, to which he showed the rest of the class. 603 meters. "Heroes are going to need to use their quirks, and if we're going to train you we need to know where all of you are starting from."
Let it be known a few students did not seem as confident as others.
"Oh, and for the record." Aizawa's threatening face began to form an unnerving smile. "Last place gets expelled. I intend to weed out those who got through the entrance exams on a fluke."
"He can do that?!"
"No way he's serious."
"That's not fair!"
That last word had the man flare his quirk over them to get them to be quiet. He held it, until all of them felt the sudden anxiety when their body recognized it was missing a piece of itself. That usually shut them up.
Someone else had an entirely different reaction.
"Gah!" Bakugo fell to his knees, his skin quickly becoming pale as his hands clutched his shirt. The students immediately cleared his vicinity, forming a concerned circle around him. His hands desperately flew to his shirt, ripping it open and revealing a glowing arc implanted into his chest.
Aizawa turned off his quirk, years of training and experience moving him to action as he recognized the signs of a heart attack. That same training, had him recognize the rumbling overcoming the air.
Turning upwards before he even reached Bakugo, he saw something rocketing down upon them. "MOVE!"
He threw out the long fabric draped around his shoulders, attempting to reach Bakugo before he was crushed. A harsh clang sent a shockwave through the ground, kicking up the dust around the class.
Aizawa's hand flew to his phone, quickly hitting the emergency button on it. "This is Eraser Head, an unknown object has just breached-"
Something tugged as his capture weapon, the hero snapping up as his own eyes met those of a cold gaze brimming with light.
The dust soon cleared, revealing the brightly colored battle armor of-
"IRON MAN!"
"AWESOME!"
"That suit could use a little more *twinkle*" One particular boy shined.
"I knew he had the armor somewhere nearby!"
"That almost crushed us!"
But Eraser Head and Bakugo kept their gazes locked now that their height was equal, both sizing up one another as they analyzed their situation.
"You better do your homework before you assign me any." Iron Man stated with restraint, throwing the capture weapon to the side before stepping right past the man.
Eraser Head kept his scowl fixed at the boy, before looking to his phone to not see his emergency function still on. Instead, a text from Principal Nezu.
'Call me' were two words Eraser Head did not want to see. So, he temporarily ignored them, glancing to the nearest school camera and seeing five of them all pointed towards him. He would, as soon as he solved the problem right in front of him. One, the boy wearing the armor he specifically said he shouldn't be. Two, the large black metal container that had crashed into the field. Three, get it out of here.
"Bakugo." Eraser Head kept his voice level, the students that wanted to swarm the armored teen backing off. "Take that suit off."
"Are you going to use your quirk on me again?"
He could tell that fast it was his quirk? The boy had shown his first notion of being intelligent to the man. "I might."
"Then no."
"Bakugo!" Iida immediately barked up, chopping his arm as he began yelling at the armored teen who just ignored him. "This is entirely inappropriate behavior! We cannot ignore the directions of our teachers!"
"It's not your call." Eraser Head walked up to the boy with his quirk reignited, shoving his finger right upon the glowing center of his chest. "Take it off or else you're expelled."
"It's not your call." Bakugo corrected with a hint of humor in his tone. "It's your boss's, and you need to answer to him."
After a second of contemplating just kicking the boy's ass right now, Eraser Head received a call. The ringtone told him it was Nezu's, the teacher questioning if Bakugo was aware that would happen and if so how.
Not giving the boy an inch of room, the two still locked in their contest of will, Eraser Head answered. "What?"
"Recovery Girl and I need to have a word with you. Immediately."
Eraser Head had a bad feeling about just why Recovery Girl was also involved. "Is she there?"
"I am." An older woman's voice piped up. "I should have known you would do something like this on the first day. I have a medical history of your students and I have made some very crucial notes that by no means are you to use your quirk on Bakugo! That boy's life literally depends on it!"
Then why did they even think it was ok to put Bakugo in his class? Was it punishment for already being very against him being allowed into the heroics department let alone the school?
"I had to let All Might conduct the entrance ceremony." Nezu lightheartedly said, but the principal wasn't happy about missing it himself. He enjoyed hosting it to greet the next year students. "Now, we find ourselves in a predicament. First impressions matter and right now you're about to lose the confidence of all your students for the next year. Unless I fire you I'm forced to allow you to continue with your quirk apprehension test to let you fix the damage you caused. Consider this a warning. Now, allow me to speak to Bakugo please."
Trying to prevent his emotions from making him from openly snarl in displeasure, Aizawa kept himself rooted a foot away from the boy as he held out his phone to Bakugo. "For you."
"I'm already on the line." Bakugo's voice didn't speak out of the helmet, it came from his phone. Yet he still took the phone, keeping the man from listening in.
Eraser Head, the whole class waited anxiously as all they saw was Iron Man standing quietly holding the phone.
"Is he going to say anything?" The pink girl with a lighter tone of color for her fluffy hair, yellow horns, and inky black replacing the whites of her eyes whispered to whoever was in range of her voice.
"He already is." The girl with periwinkle hair commented. "Notice the small shift of his helmet pointing his chin down a little bit. He's speaking, but the design doesn't allow him to fully open his mouth inside the helmet."
"Ok." One of the largest boys with multiple arms webbed together by flesh nodded in some understanding. "But how come the suit suddenly came to him."
"Well." Kendo, one of the closer ones to Bakugo when it appeared spoke. "I think he had a medical issue. The suit responded to whatever was happening with him."
"That would make sense." Iida touched his hand to his chin as he recalled Wolfram using his quirk against Bakugo directly, and the boy had a similar reaction and clutched his chest in pain. He could theorize that is was susceptible to certain quirks, and the flash of their teacher's eyes meant he used his quirk. That was it! "But we musn't speak of private matters of Bakugo's behind his back or without his permission!"
"Hold up." The one girl who could detach her head without injury poked Iida. "Didn't he bring up your parents to the whole class?"
"Alright enough." Eraser Head's voice ceased the gossip, and they all saw Bakugo walking over towards the opening pod, step inside of it, and let it close around him. "Everything is figured out, and no I won't tell you what happened but I assure you this won't happen again. We're here to figure out your limits, that was just part of the process."
Just as he finished, the pod opened back up, Bakugo without the armor on coming out as the container resealed itself. The damage he did to his own shirt was still there, the arc reactor glowing through the tear. He joined the other students, who wisely chose not to comment on it.
"Good." Eraser Head pointed over towards a set of lines. "First up, fifty meter dash. Ashido, Brandt, you're up."
Those two were probably the best for him to pick because without missing a beat they rather happily jogged over to the starting positions, helping to alleviate the heavy mood that Eraser Head and Bakugo generated.
The pink girl Ashido propped herself up without shoes on next to the one armed American exchange student. "You ready to enter the splash zone?"
"Careful." Brandt smirked as her skin began to glow orange as warmth rolled off her body. "I don't know if you can handle the heat."
At the small blank fired in the air, Ashido secreted a layer of acid to quickly skate forward on. To her surprise, the American was able to keep pace with her just by running with that glow of hers shining a little brighter. But by the end Ashido was able to pick up more speed to win.
"Bakugo, Intelli." Eraser Head spoke the names next after a small utility robot cleared the track of Ashido's lubricant.
The two stood side by side, the teen of periwinkle hair picking the track Ashido used while Bakugo accepted the other one.
Intelli smirked towards the finish line, glancing towards the boy who had yet to acknowledge her. Oh he would once she won this. The robot clearly hadn't been able to clean all of Ashido's quirk in a timely manner. Here Intelli would prove her quick thinking and tactical prowess exceeded those of the hot headed boy with a quirk similar to her own. Not to mention her slim frame was better built for running compared to him.
At the crack, Intelli ran forward, able to spare her strength by gliding over the ground with some minor assistance. Unfortunately all of her thinking did not prepare her for Bakugo to simply outrun her, not even with good form!
Eraser Head kept his eye on Bakugo, considering calling out to him due to a lack of use of his recorded quirk on file. The man could have, if he wasn't already put on tight watch by the principal and Recovery Girl for his earlier actions. He would have to fully read up on the boy's medical history before making any completed judgements.
All throughout each of the tests Eraser Head saw clear moments where the boy's quirk could either have placed him at the top, or at least near it. Instead, Bakugo did the whole thing quirkless demonstrating a rather good result from his condition. He had not slacked in building up his strength and stamina. At least it showed being a hero wasn't an impulsive decision.
Finally, as the students were finishing up the long distance run he kept an eye on the last remaining few. It was no shock that Iida had the lead easily, running easy laps around the others. Brandt was following to the best of her ability, she had kept the second best pace but fatigue was beginning to show. Bakugo was neck and neck with Todoroki, neither of them slowing down. Finally, Kendo was lagging behind, coated in sweat, but didn't deter in her run.
It had been an hour already, and he was tired just from watching them the whole time. "Ok, you all get top marks." Eraser Head stated, the teens winding themselves down along the track.
Kendo's jog slowed to a halt, the girl continuing to pant as her body cooled down. She noticed Todoroki had no issues with that, easily covering a layer of snow on himself to assist.
Bakugo, didn't have a drop of sweat on him, only taking a few sucks of air before he looked as fine as before. While he looked ok, Kendo couldn't help but steal a glance towards his exposed chest.
"Hey." She briefly called out to him between breaths. "How are you doing?"
"Fine." He muttered as Brandt and Iida came to a stop near them.
"I mean, you scared us for a second." Kendo didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but she tapped her chest to make her point of concern known. "You have a heart condition right? I don't want to-"
"If I couldn't hack it I wouldn't be here." Bakugo stopped her firmly before she could dig herself a deeper hole. "It's fine, I'm fine. I worked my ass off so I could be here, and I'm not going to let anyone treat me like some cripple that needs babysitting to tell me I can't do what I already proved I can."
"Damn straight!" Brandt held her one hand up high in front of the boy, who gave her a quick once over before marching over to where Eraser Head waited for them..
"What?" Brandt glanced over to Kendo, putting her arm down. "Do you guys not do high fives in Japan?"
"Hey." One of the larger boys with noticeable lips walked up to Brandt. "Does your quirk need a lot of calories? I still have some sugar left."
"Oh my gosh Sato you are a treasure." Brandt gladly accepted a few cubes, the sugar melting in her steaming mouth. "You're my new favorite here."
"Alright the scores are in." Eraser Head pointed towards the white screen the students stood in front of. "These are the results."
Shoto Todoroki
Neito Monoma
Mezo Shoji
Fumikage Tokoyami
Ellen Brandt
Itsuka Kendo
Rikido Sato
Manga Fukidashi
Tenya Iida
Sen Kaibara
Setsuna Tokage
Katsuki Bakugo
Shihai Kuroiro
Mina Ashido
Yui Kodai
Hanta Sero
Yuga Aoyama
Eijiro Kirishima
Saiko Intelli
Denki Kaminari
"Ah beans." The blond boy in last place looked dejectedly at where his name was placed. "I thought I was doing ok."
"Sorry man." Sero gave a comforting pat along his arm.
"Actually." Eraser Head stopped them from throwing a pity party. "No ones getting expelled. It was a logical ruse to make sure none of you were holding back. Go get changed back and pick up your curriculum packets from the classroom. You can go home after that, or do whatever."
Katsuki did not hesitate to start walking back to the locker rooms, but his teacher was not done with him yet.
"Oh, and Bakugo."
The class had immediately shifted out of the teacher's way for there to be no one to potentially be caught in the altercation. They awaited to hear a scolding, a punishment of some form, instead Eraser Head pointed towards the sealed pod that held Bakugo's armor. "Please return that to where it came from."
Katsuki gave a short huff through his nose, looking over towards the same mechanical container. "Return mark four to the armory. I want a full analysis done before I get there."
A short whine built up inside the pod before rocketing into the air, swerving to begin zooming across the sky.
"I gotta say guys." Kirishima spoke up as most of them were too distracted by the machine to head to the lockers quite yet. "I am so stoked to be here."
"He's pretty rough though." Ashido hummed, still unsure how to feel about the media sensation of the rich science kid. "Also seems like a loner."
"Well of course." Monoma thought it was obvious to everyone. "With a personality like that and the silver spoon stuck in his mouth I can't imagine he has any friends."
"Excuse me." Iida, while not excusing Bakugo's behavior did not want them to come to the immediate assumptions from his wealthy background. "But it is only the first day, and as we saw it did not start off well. We cannot allow one mishap at the start of our school life to blind us of all the opportunities ahead! Let us give Bakugo a chance to prove his willingness to work towards becoming a hero just like the rest of us!"
"Well said." Kendo was quick to step in and agree. "Let's hurry up and get changed so we can see what the school term is going to look like."
Ochaco had an ok time with her class. It seems like she wasn't the only one still upset about not getting into the hero program. There were some bitter feelings still lingering around, already they were either gossiping about who managed to get in or how unfair the test was with their less combat oriented abilities. Honestly, Ochaco had a hard time opening up to being friends with them because of it.
And, she couldn't blame them for feeling the way they did. She didn't harbor any ill feelings towards the circumstances of the test, after all no matter how heroes focused their career all of them had to be ready to respond to villain attacks. UA's exam wasn't just about fighting either, if she had been looking around for chances to help other potential students alongside fighting the robots she would have gotten in.
Even just one more robot, or one person to help would have gotten her a spot in the hero course.
But, slipping the packet under her arm she walked towards where the hero classes were. Ah, it seemed kind of crowded.
"I'm telling you he's gotta be in that class!" A teen wearing a blue striped headband over his forehead pointed towards the large set of doors.
"Come on." Another mutant quirked teen with no lips tried to pull him away. "Let's not make a big fuss out of it."
"Oi! Iron Man!" A boy with silver hair and large bushy eyelashes yelled out.
"Quit yelling!" A girl with extended earlobes ending in jacks scolded. "You really think he would respond well to you screaming out for him?"
"Everyone please!" A taller girl with raven hair put up into a ponytail near where Ochaco stood attempted to reason with the crowd. "I'm sure our heroics classes will have combined exercises in the future but you cannot force him to acknowledge you!"
Ochaco went to her pocket, and pulling out the rather new Spark phone that she was still figuring out how to use she went to try and call Katsuki's contact to figure out how to work around this..
"Oh, you know him?" That girl next to her spoke, Ochaco freezing as few of the crowd hounding her for a way to set up a way to get to Bakugo. The girl saw Ochaco's fear, and made sure to subtly lead her away from the crowd.
"Don't worry, I do not plan on taking advantage of your connection." She assured her.
"Oh good." Ochaco sighed in relief. "But I don't know how long that will last. I'm Ochaco Uraraka."
"Momo Yaoyorozu from class one B. A pleasure. Are you from one A?"
"I wish." Ochaco then glanced at the several students being dispersed by a teacher. "I'm in the general studies. But I uh, carpool with Bakugo so I wanted to know when he needed his car."
Momo gave an intrigued look over Ochaco. "Aren't you young to be a chauffeur?"
"She's not driving." Katsuki took that moment to suddenly appear, having managed to escape the notice of the crowd but did nothing to hide when wearing his iconic red shades. "They put you in the other hero class?"
"Yes." Yaoyorozu affirmed his assumption. "They placed Inasa Yoarashi and I both in one B. I'm to assume Setsuna Tokage is your classmate?"
"Ask her yourself." Katsuki pointed towards the very girl that was exiting the unblocked doors of One A. He then turned his attention to Ochaco, just to acknowledge her before walking off. "I need to check on something."
Immediately following behind Ochaco made sure not to lose him while trying to search on her phone to go over some things she noted. "Um, Liz gave me a couple things to talk to you about."
"What the hell Liz?" He asked towards the air.
The computer's voice came through his glasses and the earpiece Ochaco had just placed behind her hair. "There were many concerning moments from today that Miss Uraraka should be aware of to fulfill her duties."
"You nearly fought a teacher!" Ochaco tried to remind him. "Not only that you had a heart attack?!"
"I didn't." Katsuki denied.
"Only by technicality." Liz wasn't leaving him alone either. "Another three seconds and your heart would have gone into cardiac arrest from the sudden disconnection to the quirk enhancement device. I advise avoiding Eraser Head at all costs."
"He can't avoid his teacher." Ochaco tried to be the sensible one between a computer and a socially dense rich teen. "And you can't sue him or pressure the school to get you a new one!"
"I wasn't going to sue." Katsuki said in an unconvincing manner. "I was gonna kick his ass if he tried again though."
Ochaco groaned as she was starting to predict how her school year was going to go. Soon she realized though they weren't heading into the main hallway to leave, instead over towards a different part of the school.
They came up to a large set of steel doors, ones that Ochaco felt like they could handle anything. Katsuki reached up, his eyes widening before he threw himself towards Ochaco.
The next thing she knew was that she was blind, ears ringing, and Katsuki had wrapped her in his arms laying on top of her. Before she could ask why the smell of a smoke drifted by her nostrils, her senses returning to see those very immovable doors blown off their hinges.
"Woah! That payload was incredible!"
"HATSUME!"
Katsuki gritted his teeth as he pulled himself up, hoisting Ochaco up at the same time before they both saw the hero Power Loader yelling at one soot covered girl.
"What in the blazes did you think you were doing?!"
"I was testing one of freckle's missile explosives to serve as a fuel agent for a jet pack!"
"You used what?!" Midoriya coughed before he too, needed to involve himself. "When did you take out my suit's ballistics?!"
"I was gonna put it back don't worry!"
"You blew them up!" Power Loader then gestured to the smoking half of the workshop. "Alongside everything in a thirty foot radius!"
"I would have helped if you asked!" Midoriya then glanced towards the several scraps that he had made for his armor. "But you didn't even do that! Do you realize how volatile these can be? Just be glad everything else wasn't armed."
"Oi!" Katsuki screamed out into the workshop. "You nearly killed us!"
Hatsume then beamed at Bakugo's arrival, rushing over to yank his hand from his person and shake it with vigor. "Mister Bakugo it is an honor! I've been able to recreate some of your theories with my babies and-"
"Get off!" He screamed as he pulled himself away. "All I know is that you stole his work, blew it up, and nearly killed five people including myself!"
"Stolen?!" Hatsume shouted in offense. "I would never steal any ideas that-"
"Bullshit!" Katsuki's raw anger blew out, Hatsume finding herself suddenly shutting up in fear. "You literally stripped apart an exo-suit that I've waited months to see made only for you to get your hands on it day one and almost destroy it!"
Hatsume could no longer keep eye contact, wrapping her arms around herself as she shied away from his scolding. "I-I didn't-"
"AND YOU STILL WON'T ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT I ALMOST DIED! SHE ALMOST DIED! YOU'RE A THREAT TO EVERYONE AROUND YOU BECAUSE YOU TURNED A PIECE OF SOMEONE'S LIFE WORK INTO AN UNSTABLE BOMB TO FURTHER YOUR OWN STUPID GOALS!"
Ochaco was still reeling from the blast that she couldn't think right, especially now that Katsuki wasn't just his usual annoyed self but instead unleashed an actual anger towards a girl who might have deserved it. It still broke Ochaco's heart to see that girl start crying, and even more that Katsuki didn't seem to care.
"Get out of my sight." Katsuki ordered in cold fury, making Hatsume sprint away without turning back.
"Kacchan." Izuku softly spoke up as he stepped through the scorch marks along the floor. "That was mean."
"She deserved it." Katsuki quickly uttered, looking over the absolute mess of the place now. "Look at what she did."
"She didn't deserve to be treated like Wolfram." Izuku's remark was spot on, making Katsuki briefly reconsider his response. "Believe it or not, she really admires you. Half of the time I'm around her she talks about how you've finally woken up the world that we need to innovate if we're to survive."
The blond clicked his tongue before looking over to Power Loader who was already starting to activate some robots to clean the mess up and repair the area.
"You need some better safety measures." Katsuki commented, finding himself calmed down enough and seeing that the storage pod he loaned for Izuku to keep his armor in was closed and secured. Good, at least it wasn't caught in that blast.
"I've already got some ideas for improvement." Power Loader was too upset to fully appreciate his first time meeting the boy wonder. "And I'll be making sure to keep a close eye on her, after making sure she passes my test tomorrow on workshop safety."
"Good." Katsuki watched the custom machines at work, taking them apart in his mind. Those would be helpful. "Glad to know not all of UA's teachers are incompetent."
"Let me guess." Power Loader gave a short chuckle, imagining how the first day went. "You got put in Aizawa's class."
Katsuki smirked in amusement before sticking out his hand for the hero. "Nice to meet you Power Loader."
"Oh?" The man gladly shook it, feeling slightly embarrassed but nevertheless so glad he convinced the other teachers to agree to letting Katsuki enroll. "The great Katsuki Bakugo knows who I am?"
"Um!" Ochaco came up to Katsuki, holding out a card towards him. "I think this fell out of your pocket."
The teen flinched, seeing the old worn and battered hero card in her hand. He swiped it, quickly putting it in his shirt pocket before acting like it never happened. Like hell Power Loader was letting that slip.
"So, Iron Man." The hero smiled teasingly under his helmet. "Where did you get your inspiration from?"
"We've been following your heroics for years!" Izuku came right up to Katsuki, his enthusiasm oblivious to Katsuki's silent plea to leave. "The way you've been able to utilize your excavator armor to not only enhance your own quirk but accomplish amazing feats other heroes rely on quirks to use was-"
"Ok ok." Power Loader helped in settling Izuku down. "Glad to meet some fans who…oh so that's how you were able to make your exo-suit Midoriya. Bakugo helped you out didn't he?"
Izuku was about to clarify how but Katsuki was first to answer.
"The only thing I helped was to give him no excuses as to why he couldn't do better. Izuku made it from scratch, I just let him use my tools and covered his bills."
Power Loader nodded in appreciation. "Good. I can't wait to see how you two here show the world what some good tech can do in heroics. I've got to fix things up here and check on Hatsume, but if you ever need anything let me know. Even if it's just to bounce some ideas off of. Or an autograph, that card looks like it's been through the wash a few times."
"More like through multiple attempts on my life." Katsuki tried to play it off as humor, but it didn't make anyone smile.
"Whatever, let's get going. Looks like we both need to use the armory today."
Eraser Head was sitting very still within the predator's office. Despite the welcoming cup of tea before him, Recovery Girl (the small old lady sitting on the couch in front of him), Principal Nezu, and even All Might himself in his frail malnourished appearance made him suspicious of their plans for his career.
"Let's get to the point already." He was tired of playing around the subject. "This is about Bakugo right?"
"It's about his medical history." Principal Nezu informed simply. "Also, I am still displeased with the fact that you did adhere to my request to bring your class to the auditorium for the entrance ceremony like all the others."
Eraser Head kept his mouth silent instead of voicing his thoughts on the waste of time. "Bringing Bakugo there could have caused a bigger commotion."
"Perhaps, but I was planning for the occasion." Nezu remarked. "While we may have several youth who are related to heroes, Bakugo is one that has sparked a new flame in the heroic's world that has everyone anxious to see how it will unfold. Everyone around him is watching very closely, putting any action we take around or directly to Bakugo under scrutiny."
"Also." Recovery Girl gave him a fowl stink eye. "You haven't even bothered to allow me time to properly give my medical report before doing something stupid."
"If he isn't physically fit to-"
"Oh but he can." Nezu interrupted, spinning his computer monitor around to show the various recordings of the boy accomplishing the fitness tests with good scores. "Honestly I'm surprised you didn't expel him, or even question why he hadn't used his quirk."
"I was tempted. As far as his registered quirk goes it should have been perfect for heroics." The teacher confessed. "Are you going to enlighten me?"
"He can't." Nezu answered as Recovery Girl opened up her binder beside her, passing a set of documents to both Eraser Head and All Might. "Before he went to middle school, Bakugo pushed his quirk too far before his body could build up its natural resistances that normally happen in early stages of puberty. It burned out the very glands that produced the sweat that his body could turn into explosions."
"So that's why he never broke a sweat." Eraser Head muttered, reflecting back on his earlier questioning on if Bakugo was even pushing himself hard enough during the tests.
"My goodness." All Might saw the images of the boy, the several listed injuries and procedures that needed to be done to keep him alive. The man reached down towards his own stomach, feeling the grevious wound underneath and finding a way to relate. "He was on life support?"
"He still is." Recovery Girl corrected him, flipping through to the I-island's hospital report. "But the technology he uses is advanced enough to keep up with the demands of ten olympic athletes. While most of his body has recovered, his sweat glands and his heart are still damaged beyond repair."
Eraser Head was aware that those with medical needs were not turned away immediately by UA. The chances were low that they would be accepted but if they had doctors who could attest to their ability to meet the various demands of the hero course they could be accepted. But, no one imagined that someone who was this chronically injured would even think about applying let alone get doctor's permission.
And the top medical scientist of them all, David Shield, approved of Bakugo's health. It seems his name is on a lot of the boy's medical history.
"Aizawa." Nezu called out, having already memorized the information long before this meeting. "Have you figured out why Bakugo had a sudden health risk in your class?"
Now that he had a day to think about it, alongside what was presented to him now, Eraser Head could only come to one basic answer even if it still didn't make sense. "How did my quirk cause his episode?"
"Your quirk?" All Might curiously began to wonder himself. As far as they could tell Bakugo's quirk was no longer a factor.
"It has to do with how his heart can keep up." Recovery Girl flipped to another paper, the two other men following along with their own. "Using a principle David Shield invented to enhance the quirk, there is a general side effect that increases the body's ability to handle the stress and adapt. Since Bakugo's quirk factor is still intact, it can be used as the bridge to give his body the support the quirk would need even though he can't use it."
That sounded like a fancy way of saying Bakugo was using a loophole to use a new form of performance enhancers. Yet given how he needed them so that his heart would be strong enough to do its job properly he would let it pass for now. "My quirk cut off his heart monitor's means to keep him alive."
"Exactly." Nezu smiled in wicked glee. "Now imagine how much he will improve it given this event."
The rest turned to him in horror, Recovery Girl most of all. "You wanted this to happen?!"
"Under a more controlled environment." The principal did not deny the allegations. "But Bakugo passed the recommendation exam rather easily, I don't want him to have the impression we won't be creative enough to find means of pushing him farther. Imagine how far he'll go if we keep him aware that there will always be a threat to circumvent the invincible armor he wears."
Eraser Head never planned on giving any of his students an easy way to being a hero, especially those who thought they could. Yet perhaps he wouldn't be as harsh on Bakugo to make up for his insane boss's plans for the kid.
You know folks, I was planning on catching up on some other stories and even trying to write some original content. But that same nagging feeling that drove me to write this story despite not wanting to do anymore MHA content has brought us here. Sure I didn't write this chapter as fast as I wrote the first arc of the story but I'd say it's still pretty fast. I can't guarantee that this drive will continue for too long, but for now it seems like I'm still very into this story.
As you saw the list of Class A characters are here. I have confirmed some other characters in Class B but I haven't fully chosen the whole list of people in the class. As you might have noticed I also put in an Iron Man character in Class 1A so that means if there's another character you want to see it's not too late to mention them to be in Class 1B.
Thanks for reading. Any errors in spelling or inconsistency please point out.
Only Iron Man content and MHA will be used for this story. No other marvel characters will be used.
Timberlinewolf: Itsuka is a good pick for a pepper role, and that's why I have her in Class A to manage Katsuki while in heroics while Ochaco can help with the other parts of his life. It was a close tie between the two, so this is my way of giving them both a part of the role.
Let's face it, Bakugo needs a lot of folks to hold him back from reckless decisions that could cost him everything.
MaleficKing: I'll confirm that Dadan is in 1B and I have big plans for him in the sports festival.