Here we go!

Ever since she decided to become a hero, Ochaco knew that there was no other school for her but U.A. Not only it was the top hero school in the entire country but its tuition was entirely covered by the government so she wouldn't have to worry about the fees if she got in.

She studied and worked hard in preparation for the exam. With just one year remaining, she often doubted if she was actually good enough to get in. But she would always shake those thoughts of her head and continue on with her training.

And it all paid off.

When she received her letter of acceptance, she couldn't help but cry from sheer happiness and relief. Some would say it was just the first step. But it was a giant leap for her dreams and plans for the future.

Of course, she knew that she should not - could not - relax just yet. U.A. was a number one school in the entire country for a reason. And she was fully aware of just how amazing and strong her classmates were going to be. But this was just all the more reason for her to work hard once the school year began.

As long as she gave it her all, there was nothing she couldn't do.

Or so her parents said.

"Midoriya, you're up next."

By now, everyone in the class was watching the boy with a mix of curiosity and a bit of envy in some cases. Hard not to when said boy was clearing every challenge at the top of the class. Or, at the very least, most of them.

"You don't think he is going to beat your score, right?" Kaminari asked in a whisper. "Cause if the dude somehow beats infinity, I might just lose it."

"Tell me about it," Mineta groaned. He had the highest score for sidestep jumps. And then Midoriya stepped in and beat that by a few hundred steps. And that was after he had beaten Iida's record for the fifty meter dash. "Seriously, what kind of Quirk does he have?"

It was the same question Ochaco asked herself when she first met him. During the entrance exam, he swooped in from nowhere and carried her all the way to safety like it was nothing. And then she saw him fight that giant robot like it was something he did on a daily basis.

"Here it comes!"

It was not as dramatic as she expected. In fact, it looked almost like Midoriya didn't put in any effort into his throw. He did take a stance and threw it. But it was also clear that he didn't give it everything he had.

They watched the ball go up into the sky, disappearing among the clouds shortly after. Then they all waited for the teacher to announce Midoriya's results. It was taking a few minutes longer than expected but the man eventually showed them the screen of his phone.

"7,242."

"Huh," Kaminari said, somewhat relieved. "I guess even Midoriya got limits."

"Still, seven thousand meters is a very good result," Yaoyorozu smiled. Her expression changed, however, when she noticed something on the screen. "Excuse me, Mr. Aizawa? I think your device might be malfunctioning."

At their resulting confusion, the girl clarified, "Because it is showing the distance in kilometres instead of metres."

"What the hell?" Mineta cried out in clear confusion. He even went as far as to run up to Aizawa and grab the phone out of the man's hands. "How is this possible?!"

And just like that, everyone took a chance to get a better look at their teacher's phone. And, more importantly, Midoriya's results. And just like her classmates said, whereas everyone else's ball throw results were measured in metres, Midoriya was the only one whose throw went into kilometres.

The only exception to that was Ochaco. And the girl couldn't help but feel like her result was less impressive than Midoriya's as well. While her ball was still technically out there in space, she struggled to see it as actual proof of her strength.

She simply removed the weight of the ball and let it float away.

Meanwhile, Midoriya's ball was on its way to Australia.

"Alright," the teacher drew their attention to the holographic board of their scores. "Time to see your results."

To no one's surprise, Midoriya ranked at the top. Followed by Yaoyorozu, then Todoroki and Bakugou. Ochaco's eyes went down the list, her confidence dropping with every name that wasn't hers.

Finally, she stopped at number eleven. Just one spot below the middle of the class.

"My rule about expelling the lowest-ranking student was a ruse," Mr. Aizawa said, eliciting the cries of relief from Mineta and a few other students closer to the dreaded spot. "Based on your scores, the faculty and I are going to work on the specialised training programs for you going forward. All of you should also take this as a chance to reflect on your current abilities."

Their current abilities.

Ochaco she looked down at her hands. The small pink pads on her fingers. She always found them cute and took a small degree of pride in them. Every time she looked at them as a child, she felt like there was nothing in the world she couldn't do.

Looking at the score board, she couldn't help but feel her confidence drop. She tried to think about what she should have done during the assessment or how she could train to improve her results.

But no answer came to her.

"Uraraka, is everything alright?"

She recognised Iida from the exams. Just like during the entrance exams, the boy and spoke with the formal tone. It would've made him look and sound more mature than the rest of the class if it weren't for his funny hand motions that reminded the girl of a robot.

"Oh, I am fine, thank you," she smiled reassuringly. She did a poor job at it, apparently, as the boy's eyes went from her to the score board. Guess the jig was up. She could only sigh. "That obvious, huh?"

He gave her a small nod.

"I understand your disappointment. I too wish I could've placed higher on today's test."

Heh, easy for him to say. He was the fifth in the entire class.

The girl shook the bitter thoughts out of her head. It wasn't Iida's fault she didn't get a higher spot. And that feeling of jealousy of the classmate that was trying to comfort her only made Ochaco feel worse about herself.

"I also envy him to a degree."

"Huh? Who're are you talking about?"

The bespectacled boy looked in Izuku's direction.

"Oh. I guess I am just too obvious, aren't I?" she gave a small smile. "So you are jealous of him as well?"

"I've been for a while, much to my shame," Iida confessed. "I've seen him train at the same gym as me for the past few months. Though calling what he does 'training' almost seems like a disservice. I don't think I've ever seen him even break a sweat."

"Wow, really?"

"Impressive, isn't it? All Quirks have their own limits. Even the ones centered around one's body require a great amount of care to avoid unwanted damage," the boy looked down briefly at his calves. More specifically, his mufflers. "But Midoriya doesn't seem to have the same issues."

The physical tests were neither gruelling nor particularly exhausting. However, they were still physical activities that required expenditure of at least some stamina. But whereas even the top scorers like Todoroki or Yaoyorozu looked a bit tired, Midoriya looked entirely unbothered by anything he had done today.

And he did a lot.

"Is it a bad thing to feel jealous of him?"

She blurted out her question before she could process it. But it was out now and so the girl could only wait for her classmate's opinion.

"I think everyone feels jealous of someone at least once in their life. It is a pretty normal emotion. Expected even, to a certain degree."

"You think so?"

"Of course. It is natural for a person to want something better for themselves. So it is just as natural to feel jealous when someone has that something and you don't," Iida explained his reasoning.

His tone was neither condescending nor judgemental. It was clear that this was something he thought about before.

"How a person will deal with that feeling is what determines their character."

She could see where he was going with this. She didn't have to let the jealous get the better of her. She could train, study and improve herself. She knew and understood that much.

And yet…

Getting her leg crushed by some falling debris was embarrassing enough on its own. She knew the risks of the profession so she always prepared herself mentally to deal with the physical challenges of the job.

But finding herself completely powerless in that situation was something she could never prepare for. First, she was rescued by Midoriya. And then Iida carried her all the way to safety.

She knew that she couldn't do anything in that situation.

But it didn't stop her self-esteem and confidence from suffering some damage. There she was, an aspiring heroine needing the rescue because she lost focus for a moment.

She hated how ungrateful she sounded in her own head. Both boys helped her out of genuine kindness. She wanted to return the favour and approached the teachers with a request to allocate some of her points to the two that saved her.

But, though appreciated, her offer was not necessary. Both Midoriya and Iida scored enough on their own. And though unintended, it just added more to her doubts about her place here.

"No matter how I look at it, I don't think I can close the gap between myself and others," she admitted. "It's like I am looking at the wall I can never climb over."

"I don't see our classmates as a wall. Instead, I see them as fellow wall climbers," he suggested an alternative. "Some are better naturally. Others have better equipment. But we all are working towards the same goal. With one very important detail."

"Which is?"

"We are not competing," he clarified. "We all want to be great heroes one day. But there isn't a limit on how many of us can become that. Neither is there a rule that demands you or I become heroes in the same way as those like Midoriya. We all can forge our own paths towards that goal."

And even if hers was a little harder, she could still do it.

"Thanks, Iida," she smiled, her mood improving. "Really, I owe you one."

"Nonsense," there were those funny hand movements again. "As a student of U.A., it is only natural that I provide any help I can to my classmates."

The two talked some more before returning to their classes. She wanted to talk to Midoriya. Thank him for his rescue, too. But alas, she missed him by that much.

She always had tomorrow, though.

-I-

Growing up, Izuku was never one to seek or want attention. He stayed within the comfort of his books and favourite shows, avoiding the games and hangouts with his peers as their dislike towards him grew. The trend continued all the way until this year.

Outside an occasional attack from Kacchan, the rest of the kids in their class just left him alone. And while it felt lonely, he learned how to deal with it and focused almost entirely on his notes.

Then he awakened his powers. Kacchan wanted to fight him. Their classmates wanted to either see Izuku get his ass kicked or see him kick Kacchan's ass instead. He didn't like either of the options. In the end, Izuku chose to take the third option and escaped the fight every single day for the remainder of the year.

Nobody at Aldera knew what his power really was. And he had no intention of sticking around long enough to answer any of their questions.

He wouldn't be able to do the same at U.A., however. These would be the people he was going to spend the next three years with. And while he had no fond memories or feelings for the kids at Aldera, the same didn't have to be the case with his new classmates.

Once the day came to an end, Izuku found himself surrounded by a few of his new classmates. They seemed nice and friendly if a bit curious about him. They talked and he tried his best to return the energy they gave him.

Eventually, the topic came to his "Quirk". Mineta asked about it sincerely without a hint of accusation of suspicion. Kaminari, Kirishima and Ashido seemed just as curious about it.

However, he couldn't tell them the truth about his powers or where he really came from.

Not yet, at least.

"My Quirk is called Superpower," he explained, sticking to the lie mom helped him craft. While dad didn't like the idea of him lying to his classmates, he understood why he wanted to pretend he had a Quirk. "It's hard to explain, really. I can do all these things I had as long as I concentrate. But I don't really understand the mechanics behind it yet. I only had my Quirk for a year."

It was only temporary, he promised himself.

Eventually, he would tell everyone the truth about who he really was. And if they decided that they wanted nothing to do with him because of his lie, he would accept it.

"So you are a late bloomer? Always thought those were a myth or something," Kaminari whistled. "Still, you got one hell of a Quirk, dude. I mean, you sent that ball miles away! And you didn't even try that hard."

He didn't. In truth, Izuku wanted to throw it just far enough to pass. There were just way too many risks with throwing the ball too fast and hard. What if it hit someone one outside the school? Landed on someone while driving?

He could only hope that his ball was going land somewhere in the ocean or something.

Last thing he wanted was for a police officer to show up because his ball killed someone.

"I was just really exhausted by that point," he said offhandedly. It was actually a while since he was genuinely tired. He got winded now and then but never as exhausted as he should have been. "I threw it as best as I could at that moment."

"So… you're telling me you could've thrown it even further?"

It did sound like that, didn't it? He wondered if that made him sound arrogant or just insane. Probably both. He could only hope that they wouldn't give his words much mind and forget about it by tomorrow.

"Not really," he shrugged, trying to play off Ashido's question as if it was simply impossible. "I mean, there is only so much my powers can do. Even if I don't know the limits of it yet, my body does."

His answer was accepted and the conversation slowly shifted to things other than him. Things like their favourite heroes and hobbies and everything in-between. That, of course, included their first impressions of the school and its teachers.

"I really hope Aizawa doesn't do any more of those logical ruses of his," Mineta groaned. "I seriously thought my hero career was going to end before it started!"

"I heard that the guy did expel a whole class, though. They were later re-enrolled but nobody knows the details. Some even say he had them survive in the wilderness for a month or something," Kaminari shuddered. "U.A. doesn't mess around when it comes to their tests, I guess."

"Well, I think that's awesome!" Kirishima grinned. "That's what the best school in the country should be all about, right? It wouldn't be any fun if there was no challenge in it!"

"That's the spirit!" Ashido cheered with a wide grin. "Whatever they got in the story for us, let them bring it!"

The conversation carried on with their small group hyping themselves up for their first year.

Kaminari was excited to see school's special training grounds. Ashido couldn't wait until they got to try out their costumes. Kirishima shared Izuku's interest in interacting with the pro heroes on daily basis. And Mineta-

"Hey, what the hell?!"

Mineta got smacked by Ashido.

"Seriously, we were having such a heartwarming moment and you went and ruined it."

"All I said was how great it would be to have a one-on-one session with Midnight! I was obviously talking about training!"

"Oh, this is bullshit and you know it."

"Guys, help me out here!" The boy turned to the rest of them, eyes pleading for them to step in and save him. "Come on, don't be assholes!"

Wisely, they all chose to stay out of this one.

None of them had the energy to match Ashido.

"Hey, how about we grab something to eat?" Kaminari stepped in between the two classmates. "You know, to celebrate not getting expelled on our first day?"

It was a clear attempt to diffuse a potential fight between Mineta and Ashido. But it was also obvious how sincere he was so the attempt was successful enough to get the entire group follow him to some cafe on the quieter side of the street.

It was small but cozy place. Having never had strong interest or reason for eating out, that was all that Izuku could say about the place.

Kaminari had enough words for all five of them and then some.

"The owners got a small farm where they grow most of the ingredients. What they don't grow themselves, they purchase from small farmers near the city," he explained as they sat down and looked over their menus. "They don't cook a lot of things here but everything they make is just exceptional."

Even Izuku, who usually ate at home or grabbed a snack from a convenience store, could tell that none of the dishes here were particularly unusual. There were your usual salads, soups and pastas with a few desserts and simple drinks.

It all looked amazing, though.

"Okay, that's official," Ashido placed down her fork after taking a single bite of the pasta. With the tone one would announce the first stage of their evil plan, the girl continues, "We are making this place out after-school hangout spot."

They shared a laugh as Ashido jokingly swore them all to keep a secret about this place. Even while she admitted she would be taking the rest of the girls here when they successfully passed their midterm exams.

And just like that, they once again started talking about the school.

Exams, teachers, field trips and internships. It was clear that every single one of them did their own research on what U.A. curriculum was like. And everyone was eager to share their excitement and expectations for the year ahead.

It was a new and unfamiliar territory for Izuku. Until now, he rarely had the opportunity to share his thoughts with people besides his parents.

And yet here he was - sitting at the table with the people who shared the same interest in heroes as him. People who didn't shame him for his dream. And yet their first hangout would always be tainted by the fact that he lied to them about his powers.

He squashed the guilt down but wondered if it would be better to come clean now. There was nothing in the school rules against non-Quirk powers.

But the school was just one thing. And Izuku knew that it was not the fear of expulsion that had him lie today.

It was the fear of alienation.

He could still remember the loneliness that came with being labelled Quirkless. How he went from being just one of the kids to someone else. Someone who was either to be avoided, pitied or mocked.

It was as if knowing how he was different from them made his classmates see any misstep or flaw on his part as a byproduct of his 'otherness'. Most of them kept their distance almost like they were afraid to catch his condition and end up like him. It wasn't hatred or disgust. But it was no less isolating experience.

And he didn't want to go through the same for the next three years of his life.

"-riya?" Kaminari snapped his fingers in front of his face. "You alright there, dude?"

"Sorry," he apologised, noting the concerned looks from his classmates. "I zoned out there for a second. What were we talking about?"

Whatever Kaminari planned to say was interrupted with a crash through the windows. Their small group jumped away as the man in bright gold suit landed on their table. Somehow, the man looked familiar even if Izuku couldn't remember any hero who looked like that.

"I-Is he okay?" Mineta asked. "Somebody, call an ambulance!"

"He is breathing, at least," Kirishima said with relief. He reached out to the man, trying to keep him awake until the help arrived. "Hey, hang in there, okay? Can you tell us what happened?"

One of the waiters came with a glass of water which the stranger took with a small nod of gratitude.

"Did some villain attack you? Are they nearby?" The man responded quietly. Too quietly for them to hear. "I am sorry, could you say that louder, please?"

He cleared his throat. Instinctively, they all leaned in to hear him repeat his words.

Without warning, the man shoved past them and grabbed into Kaminari's throat.

"I said… I am hungry!"

What happened next could only be described as a storm.

One second, the man's grip on their classmate's neck tightened. The next, the entire room was set alight and ablaze with lightning.

"Get everyone out of here! Now!" Izuku called out to Mineta and Ashido. A few people were already hit by the stray electric blast. "Kirishima and I will help Kaminari. Go! Hurry!"

Izuku didn't have the opportunity to test his resistance against electricity before. So throwing himself in the path of the lightning strikes was a suicidally stupid idea. He was lucky that Kirishima was just a reckless as him.

The two boys used their bodies as shields while Mineta and Ashido got everyone out. He had no idea how serious the injuries were but, hopefully, the hell would arrive before anyone died.

Kaminari would never forgive himself if his Quirk killed someone.

"Leave," the perpetrator said, not even looking in their direction. "This isn't your fight, children."

"Oh yeah?" Kirishima challenged. "Cause you are still holding one of our friends!"

He charged at the man, his hands turned into sledgehammers of hardened flesh. The rules of the school prohibited the use of Quirk outside the training grounds. It was a potential reason for suspension or even expulsion.

But Kirishima saw one of his classmates being hurt by someone.

And so Kirishima didn't care.

Neither did Izuku.

"Let him go!"

Kirishima's fist slammed into the man's masked face. A momentary distraction loosened the man's grip and Izuku wrestled Kaminari away. Their classmate was out cold but breathing.

Outside, he could hear the sirens of the ambulance cars.

"Guess that's what I get for being nice," the man said as he raised his hand. Izuku could see a golden orb of light form before his palm. The realisation hit as he recognised the man. "You brats have only yourselves to blame."

"Midoriya, get Kaminari out," Kirishima jumped between him and the villain. "I will hold him off!"

He wouldn't.

He couldn't.

Not when his opponent was Golden Sun.

"Heard you Japanese believe in reincarnation. Let's test that theory out, shall we?"

He grabbed his two classmates and sped out of the building. He didn't even fly. He just jumped out, rolling down the ground as the small restaurant behind him was swallowed up by brilliant white and gold light from within.

There was no explosion. No sound of bricks being crushed down to dust. No heat even though the metal boiled away. All everyone around saw was the small cafe turning into nothing without so much as a pop.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Mineta asked. "Seriously, what kind of villain is that?"

A Guardians of the Globe-kind of villain.

More specifically, one of Green Ghost's villains.

He saw a video of the man once. It was the footage of him going toe-to-toe with the entire team after secretly feeding off a city's energy grid for half a year. His powers allowed him turn any type of energy he consumed into his own deadly light.

The only saving grace was that he couldn't stop bleeding the energy. Ever second he stood here was a second he was losing power.

And he knew it.

"You are all extremely lucky today," the man addresses the small crowd before, his tone dismissive and cold. Then he turned to their group. To Izuku and Kirishima. "But only today."

His body shone with the golden light before he shot off into the sky. Some of the newly-arrived heroes gave chase but it was clear that the man was gone. The people around them were being tended to by paramedics. Those with the worst injuries were transported for emergency treatment.

Kaminari, thankfully, wasn't one of them.

"There is some bruising on his neck. But everything else seems fine for now," one of the paramedics reassured them. It was a huge relief to all of them given how the boy himself was out cold. "We shall still take him to the local hospital for observation."

And just like that, the sense of unease was back. They watched their classmates disappear behind the cold white doors of the ambulance car. All of them felt at fault even if, logically, they should not.

Ashido and Mineta blamed themselves for not being able to get people out of the building faster. They also blamed themselves for not being there to face the villain.

Meanwhile, Kirishima and Izuku alike wondered if they had done all they could in their confrontation. Unlike Kirishima, however, Izuku had far more reasons to blame himself for the incident.

I could've stopped all of this.

Izuku knew the man. He knew how his powers worked. If Izuku had recognised him from the beginning, he could have grabbed him while he was powerless. Restrain him. Stop any injuries or potential deaths.

But he didn't.

Because he let that gaudy gold suit slip his mind.

The man's parting words echoed in the back of his head. Golden Sun was a dangerous and deadly criminal. But, more worryingly, he was also one of the most vindictive and petty villains as well. He took everything to heart and retaliated with deadly force.

He would be back.

And next time, he would be coming for him and his classmates for interfering.

I will be prepared next time,Izuku promised himself. He made a mental note to revise all his notes and look up any information on the villain there was available.I am not going to let him hurt anyone like he did today.

A question remained, however.

Just what did bring this man all the way here?

-I-

Lucas was never a fan of Japan.

He didn't like the place or its weird atmosphere. Despite his hunger, the general mood was just too artificial and uptight for him to enjoy any of the food around.

As the man who never hid how much he loved himself and how highly he thought of his own abilities, the country where they valued conformity over individuality just didn't sit right with him.

But when he was informed about someone here willing to help with taking Green Ghost's gemstone, he had to give it a try. It was a matter of life and death for him, after all.

Due to the combination of his Quirk and his powers, energy replaced his need for food, sleep and pretty much anything else.

Draining a car battery was like eating a cookie. Getting struck by lightning was no different from sipping some coffee. A little bath in radiation was like a hot shower.

But the energy of Ghost Gemstone?

It was like a drug to him.

The first taste he got was the only taste he needed to get addicted to it. It was unlike anything he ever felt. Probably because it was from another world. It operated on a whole different plane of reality and he struggled to find words to describe how it made him feel.

Of course, the heroine didn't wish to part with it. An act of pure selfishness, really. If she really cared for being a hero, she would've given him that gem. And then he would never bother anyone ever again.

Every bit of destruction and death he brought was entirely on her.

Hopefully, he would be able to end his quest for the gemstone soon enough. Preferably before he lost his patience again and just killed a bunch of people. That tended to attract the heroes and send him into hiding.

"Hello?" He called out into the darkness. It was an old and abandoned area just on the outskirts of the city. "Is anyone here?"

He stood and waited.

Then he sat and waited.

He was done waiting.

"Fucking Machine Head," he spat, blasting a tree into nothing. Then another. And another. He imagined each one as a damned cyborg. "How dare he fuck with me like this?"

He continued to tear down the chunk of the woods, angrily blasting things left and right. A tree here. A stone there. A woman-

Ah, shit.

"Fuuuuuuuck," he groaned as he walked over to where he spotted the woman. "Just what I needed."

With how much he had blasted so far, this wasn't going to be a clean kill. He could feel his powers draining and knew he didn't have enough to completely erase someone.

Which meant that he would have to spend a few minutes properly burning the body with his light. Or try and find a spot here to bury the poor dumb bitch.

"Huh, that's weird," he whispered. "Could've sworn she was right here."

A twig snapped behind him. He swung his fist back, unleashing the wave of his light at the target. The trees burned and fell. But no body was there to burn with them.

A rock smashed against the back of his head. He stomped his foot into the ground, sending the light to snap at the closest living target. It killed bugs and critters. But no humans.

Was he hallucinating?

He didn't hallucinate.

There!

Out in the deeper woods! He could hear someone running away!

A hero? A villain? A reporter? None of that mattered. Right now, they were an outlet for every single thing he hated about his life. His condition, his hunger, him being in Japan and that damned Green Ghost.

He gave chase, burning energy as he sped through the woods. The mystery woman was nowhere to be found. But he wouldn't stop looking. She was bound to be close. He could feel it.

All he needed was for her to just give him a little hint. A slightest nudge to her location. A peep. A cough. A sneeze.

"I've seen enough."

Or that.

"Got you!"

He gave it his all, showering the woman with the wave after wave of his light. He could feel his reserves draining. But it was worth it if he could see the husk of this little pest reduced to nothing.

Except that she wasn't burning.

Why wasn't she burning?

The answer to his question came in the form of a kick to the ribs and a punch to his jaw. His mask shattered immediately despite being made out of an actual diamond. His ribs broke like regular bones, though.

Faster than he could blink - and he blinked really fast - he was lying on the ground with her foot on his throat.

"Burn!" he screamed, unleashing the strongest blast he could muster at her head. "Burn, damn you!"

She was unmoved.

Untouched, too.

"I can feel its sting," she spoke, leaning down to him. Her faces inches apart from his, he could feel her breath against his skin. It was chilling. Sobering. "You will be useful."

Useful? That implied he would be used by someone.

By her, most likely.

Now that he knew he couldn't burn her, Lucas took a moment to get a good look at the woman before him.

She was beautiful. Perfect skin. Vibrant green hair. The light in her eyes that burned brighter than his.

But the fire in those eyes was cold. And though she was beautiful, the man couldn't help the urge to run away and cry for help. A shameful urge that he was fighting hard not to follow.

And to mask his fear, the man could only ask a single question.

"Who are you?"

She smiled.

A tiny smile that made her look even more beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

"A harbinger."

If you want to see my design for Inko Midoriya, be sure to look up the story at Spacebattles!

Till Next Time~