Your value doesn't decrease based on someone's inability to see your worth.
– Unknown
Toshinori's heart was in his mouth.
He stood, his eyes caught between the monitor showing Melissa sitting on the service platform of the Zero-Pointer she'd disabled and the one displaying Izuku lying unconscious in the street, surrounded by rubble and scrap metal.
How was Young Midoriya's attack so powerful, Dave only made him Overcoins up to five percent? Even then, he shouldn't have enough of them to add up to that.
And then the realisation hit him, Midoriya had used a hundred-yen piece, just as Toshinori had told him never to do, even with over two years of training, Midoriya's body simply was not prepared for that level of power.
A distant explosion sounded, the whole room shaking slightly, one of the monitors showing Bakugo standing over the burning remains of the Ground Gamma Zero-Pointer.
Toshinori wanted to leave, he wanted to rush to Izuku's side, to check he was okay, other than the now healed broken arm, then on Melissa.
But he couldn't, if he did then Nedzu, and by extension UA Academy, would be forced to disqualify them.
Instead, he watched as Recovery Girl ambled through Ground Beta, passing out gummies on her way to Midoriya. Numerous other medical professionals, most with healing quirks, specially contracted for the UA Heroics Entrance Exam, spread through all the test sites.
"Well." Nedzu clapped his paws together. "We don't see that very often, three Zero-Pointers disabled in the same exam. Shall we distribute points for Midoriya first?"
No one objected.
"So, thirteen villain points." Nedzu started.
"A bit low, really." Midnight commented. "But he was a bit unlucky, wasn't he? You'd think the robots were hiding from him."
Nedzu coughed slightly. "And fifteen rescue points for the scenario with Togata."
"He healed two other examinees." Cementoss added. "That's five each for those, right?"
"It is." Nedzu affirmed. "And his raising of a barrier to protect Examinee 2241?"
"Fifteen." Ectoplasm suggested.
Aizawa gave a soft sigh. "Five."
"Shall we call it ten, then?" Nedzu suggested.
A murmur of agreement passed around the table.
"He destroyed the Zero-Pointer, with a fellow examinee in seeming peril." Midnight spoke. "We gave Togata fifty points for it in his entrance exam, didn't we?"
"He got points off because some of the Zero-Pointer nearly fell on another examinee." Ectoplasm added. "Fortunately, the autonomous safety drones managed to deflect the falling debris."
"What did you get, in your Entrance Exam, for destroying the Zero-Pointer?" Vlad King asked, looking to Toshinori.
Toshinori started, pulling his gaze away from the monitor where Recovery Girl was overseeing Midoriya's transfer to a robo-stretcher.
"Sixty points." Toshinori answered.
"That is the full amount for such an act, but we must decide, does Midoriya's lack of a plan to land deserve points to be taken off of that?" Nedzu posed, leaning back on his seat.
"He shouldn't get any at all." Aizawa stated. "He may have stopped the Zero-Pointer, but he only then ended up needing to be saved himself."
"But he did save Uraraka." Snipe countered, speaking for the first time since his comments about Melissa. "He's proved he has the heroic spirit, it's up to us to teach him how to land."
"A salient point." Nedzu mused. "Any objections to sixty points then?"
Aizawa grumbled but made no real complaint.
"Excellent, then I'm afraid, Toshinori, your record has been broken." Nedzu announced. "One hundred and eight, by my reckoning."
A small, rather proud, smile tugged at Toshinori's lips. "He deserves it."
"As for Bakugo, not only did he disable the Zero-Pointer after Present Mic had announced the exam was over, he did so without any of his fellow examinees being in danger." Nedzu explained. "I think we're all agreed, zero points."
"I'll take him." Aizawa declared. "He has potential."
"That he does." Nedzu took a slurp of his tea. "And then to the last of our Zero-Pointer disablers, Melissa Shield."
"Zero points." Snipe uttered. "In HPSC heroics examination guidelines it states that rescue points are to be given to individuals who utilise their quirk to—"
"Those guidelines are woefully out of date and you know it." Midnight interrupted. "At UA we have scope to mark the entrance exam performances as we see fit."
"Heroes need to have the ability to face threats head-on." Snipe argued. "Gadgets can fail, and without a quirk, she doesn't have what it takes to keep herself or others safe in a crisis."
"You utter hypocrite!" Midnight shouted, jumping to her feet. "Take that stupid gun from your hip and what use are you?"
Nedzu cleared his throat. "I see tempers are raised, but this really is very simple. As you agreed with Midoriya's actions, he disabled the Zero-Pointer when other examinees' lives were seemingly in danger. Ms. Shield did exactly the same. Therefore I move to award her sixty points. Quirk or no quirk, her actions were undeniably heroic."
Toshinori could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the next few seconds would decide Melissa's whole future, and the dreams of countless quirkless children around the world.
"Allowing her to gain points for using tech gives her an unfair advantage over those who are showcasing their quirks. This is an exam for heroes, not engineers." Snipe spoke, shaking his head.
Nedzu sighed. "If you are opposed, then we'll have to put it to a vote. All those opposed to Ms. Shield being awarded sixty rescue points?"
Snipe's arm shot up, joined by Ectoplasm and Vlad King, however, they were far more reluctant, most likely feeling that she deserved some points, just not sixty.
"And those for?" Nedzu queried, raising his own hand as he did.
Midnight and Cementoss joined him, Thirteen, Hound Dog and Aizawa seemingly abstaining.
Nedzu sighed. "A deadlock means the motion automatically fails, as such, Ms. Shield will be awarded zer-"
Aizawa cleared his throat, the room turning to look at him.
His hand was raised.
"She has potential." Aizawa stated simply. "I'll take her as well."
Toshinori breathed a sigh of relief.
Melissa did it, she's going to be a hero.
Without another word, Snipe stood up and stormed out of the control room.
"Please tell me you're going to fire him." Midnight practically begged.
Nedzu steeped his paws. "I'm afraid not, as the HPSC Liaison to UA, his employment here is at their will. I can't, no matter how much I wish to."
"He'll target her." Vlad King voiced, before noticing the looks he was getting. "What? I'm not against her joining the hero course, I just thought sixty points was excessive."
"Of course he'll go after her." Cementoss acknowledged. "We'll have to keep an eye out for any bullying and report it back to the HPSC, hopefully they'll be forced to act."
"Like hell they will." Thirteen blurted out, before managing to look abashed through her helmet. "We all know that the HPSC is just as bigoted as he is. How many years of fighting tooth and nail to have the quirk requirement repealed did it take before we forced them to do so? No, it won't just be Snipe, the whole damn HPSC will be gunning for her."
"I'm afraid you are right." Nedzu spoke with a sigh. "But it's our duty as educators to ensure that they don't hinder her progress."
Toshinori shook his head, silently wondering how quirkless discrimination had managed to get so bad so quickly. Just forty years ago, when Toshinori himself had last been quirkless, it was nothing like this. Being quirkless back then was just a fact of life, quirks were an addition to a person, not a prerequisite.
"Right." Nedzu clapped his paws together. "Shall we have a quick break before we resume the evaluations?"
Within seconds, everyone had left, with just Nedzu and Toshinori remaining in the room.
"I saw it." Toshinori spoke. "The faux villains were programmed to avoid Young Midoriya as much as possible, weren't they?"
Nedzu chuckled. "You really are more observant than most give you credit for."
"That doesn't explain—"
"I calculated what path Midoriya was most likely to follow, and yes, programmed the majority of the faux villains to avoid it." Nedzu interrupted.
"Why?" Toshinori questioned, feeling a heat rising in his chest. "You wanted to fail Young Midoriya?"
"Not at all." Nedzu leaned back in his seat. "But, when his entrance exam tape one day leaks, and it will leak, and everyone sees he smashed the record with barely any villain points, what will that do? I mean, it would have been ideal if he got in on rescue points alone, but well, we play with the hand we're dealt."
"So, you're trying to do what? Build up his brand?"
Nedzu chuckled. "No, I'm helping him on his path, to be the next Symbol of Peace. And he won't get to that with footage of him exploding robots willy-nilly, but footage of him saving his fellow examinees, that will."
"And what if he hadn't saved his classmates?" Toshinori queried.
"Then he doesn't deserve to be the next Symbol of Peace."
A soft ding alerted Toshinori, pulling his phone out to see a text from Recovery Girl.
I thought this one knew better, I've healed him, he'll be awake soon.
Toshinori stood. "Sorry, I need to go."
Nedzu nodded his head, one paw gesturing to the door. "Give Midoriya my best, what a fascinating child."
Toshinori shivered involuntarily.
Consciousness returned slowly to Izuku, eventually becoming aware of the fact he was lying in a bed.
What happened? Where am I? I need to get more points!
Izuku grunted in pain as he tried to force himself into a seated position, his heavy eyelids fighting his efforts to open them.
A large, but slender, hand landed on his chest, stopping him from getting up any further. Izuku's eyes finally opened, revealing the sight of Yagi standing over his bed, a look of concern on his face, it was his hand holding Izuku in place.
"The exam is over, Young Midoriya." Yagi spoke, removing his hand and sitting down. "You need to rest."
"I failed." Izuku admitted, as he laid back against the bed. "I only got thirteen points, there's no way that's enough, ninety-four is the record, your record."
Yagi chuckled. "You really are a hero nerd, Young Midoriya, the exam changes every year, so too does the average number of points needed to get in. You'll just have to see when the letter comes."
"Was your entrance exam like mine?" Izuku asked, before feeling very stupid as Yagi hadn't been there to see what his exam had been like. "Wait, how did you know I was here?"
"Recovery Girl texted me." Yagi held up his phone to indicate. "And to answer your other question, my exam was the Villain Siege scenario, we had to hold a fake hospital against hordes of faux villains."
Izuku sighed. "Mine was so much easier than that, and I still failed it."
"Young Midoriya, please don't be so harsh on yourself." Yagi assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You'll just have to wait and see, you'll get the results in a week, I mean, if it's the same as it was for me."
"I guess." Izuku admitted. "I just have to wait."
"Now, I'm very glad you're okay, even if you are in need of some rest." Yagi paused, before suddenly swelling up into his hero form. "But we must have a serious conversation about how you got injured in the first place."
Izuku felt his mouth go dry, his hands becoming clammy. "I, er, I guess—"
"As your overseeing hero, I am very disappointed that you ignored my instruction to not go beyond the five percent limit." All Might spoke, his tone even and serious.
Fear clenched at Izuku's heart, this was it. All Might was going to end his internship because of this.
"However, I have been made aware as to why you did so, and as your mentor, I could not be more proud of the true heroic spirit you showed." All Might continued. "But please never do that again, I'm not sure my heart could take it."
Izuku gave a relieved smile. "I'm very sorry, All Might, it's just—"
"I know, I know you did it to save another examinee." All Might interrupted. "I would have done the same thing."
"Of course you would have, you great oaf." Recovery Girl chastised as she entered the drawn curtains, using her cane to part them. "And stop encouraging him to hurt himself."
All Might flinched as Recovery Girl smacked her cane against the floor, the No.1 Hero deflating to his natural form. The elderly pro hero looked depleted, no doubt from the number of patients she'd had to heal today. Her quirk may pull stamina from the person being healed, but it took its toll on the user as well.
Izuku felt guilt gnawing at his insides, he'd added to her stress by collapsing like he did.
"I was fine, I healed myself." Izuku offered.
"And how will that work out on another day?" Recovery Girl questioned, her tone more acerbic than usual. "You can't heal yourself when you're on the floor unconscious, can you?"
Izuku ducked his head, his cheeks aflame with embarrassment.
"Now, I checked your arm, it wasn't totally healed. I was able to finish healing it, despite you fainting." Recovery Girl explained. "No lasting damage, but there will be if you keep doing that."
"But what if I need to?"
Yagi sank lower into his seat, but that wasn't enough to avoid Recovery Girl's cane hitting the back of his head.
"This is your fault." Recovery Girl scolded the No.1 Hero.
"I've been training with Mr. Yagi for over two years and my body can still only handle the equivalent of five percent of All Might's output." Izuku explained. "That wouldn't even have dented the Zero-Pointer."
"So that's an excuse for turning your arm into overcooked spaghetti?" Recovery Girl admonished, shaking her head. "Have you ever considered that maybe this oaf here didn't start off with the strength he has now? He had to build up to it."
Izuku's mouth opened and closed without a sound coming out of it.
"Well, sit on that for a while." Recovery Girl groused, shuffling over to the bedside with a sling in her grip. "Here, this goes on your arm, there's still long-term healing it needs to do, so you need to keep this on for the next two weeks."
Izuku shook his head. "No, no, it feels fine, really!"
To prove his point, Izuku raised his arm up.
"Hngh."
Okay, maybe it doesn't.
"Just wear the damn sling." Recovery Girl uttered unenthusiastically as she walked away, tiredness clear in her voice and her movements. "You're free to go, Mr. Midoriya."
Izuku slung his feet off the side of the bed. "Do you need any help? I could use Overhaul to—"
"I appreciate the offer, Midoriya." Recovery Girl interrupted, her tone softer than it had been before. "But I used a lot of your remaining stamina to heal your arm, you need to rest and recharge. There are no serious injuries here today, just sprains and simple fractures, but thank you."
With that Recovery Girl left, the curtains falling closed behind her.
Yagi stood, holding out an arm. "Come on, let's get you home."
Accepting the arm, Izuku used it to pull himself to his feet, finding himself to be quite unsteady.
"Do we have to tell my parents about this?" Izuku queried, nodding towards his sling.
Yagi laughed. "Nice try, Izuku, but we do, and we'll just have to face their wrath like true heroes."
"I thought you would say that."
5 March 2171
Izuku closed the apartment door behind himself, dropping his now rather worn backpack onto his bag hanger, before stowing his shoes in the shoe cupboard.
"I'm home." Izuku called.
His arm was still in a sling from the UA Entrance Exam. The green-haired boy had been insistent that it felt fine after a few days, but his mother wouldn't hear of it, so the sling would be staying on for the full two weeks.
It had led to a rumour going around Aldera that Bakugo had attacked him before the entrance exam and forced him to drop out.
Izuku shook his head at the ridiculousness of it.
"Izunii, Izunii! You're home!"
A white-haired bullet slammed into his lower half, hugging him tightly.
"Hey, Eri, did you have a good day at school today?" Izuku questioned, crouching down to match her level. "I hope you weren't bugging Mr. Aizawa about if I got into UA again."
"It's here, it's here!" Eri shouted, totally ignoring Izuku's question. "Mom said your letter is here."
Izuku's stomach lurched, there was only one letter he was waiting on, and that was the one that would decide his future.
I know that if I don't get in, Ketsubetsu doesn't have its exams until next month, and the deadline to apply is next week. But going to UA, All Might's alma mater, has always been my dream.
Izuku allowed himself to be led into the kitchen, finding a rather thick white envelope sat on the table.
"I-It's your UA letter, honey." Inko spoke, her voice shaking.
"No matter what it says, I'm so proud of you, we're so proud of you, Izuku." Hisashi added, his tone assuring, as he took his wife's hand. "Don't be scared."
Izuku took a deep breath and nodded, taking a seat at the kitchen table along with the rest of his family. Picking up the latter, Izuku was taken aback by quite how heavy it was, he could feel a circular object inside of it.
On instinct, Izuku gripped either side of the envelope to tear it open in two.
"Here." Hisashi offered a letter opener.
Grasping it by the handle, Izuku put it under the flap and dragged it along the length of the letter. Peeking inside, Izuku could see folded paper and the round object he'd felt earlier, tentatively, he pulled it out.
"What is it?" Eri shouted, excitement plain in her voice.
Izuku started, dropping the circular object onto the table.
"I AM HERE, as a hologram!"
Rising from the object was a screen, being projected onto the air, and on it was a familiar figure, dressed in an eye-wateringly yellow pinstripe suit.
"A-All Might?" Izuku questioned in disbelief, turning the envelope over to double-check he had indeed seen a wax seal with the UA logo impressed into it. "This is from UA?"
"I'm sorry, Young Midoriya, I've been keeping a secret from you." All Might spoke with a bow. "I'm sure you've noticed how I've started spending more time in Mustafu as All Might since I met you, especially in the last year, I never told you why."
Izuku frowned, he had noticed. At first Yagi had only come to the beach to train him, but then All Might started being spotted stopping crimes in Mustafu more and more. The green-haired boy had thought that perhaps it was just that he was stopping villains he encountered going to and from their training sessions.
"The truth is, I have accepted a position to teach at UA this coming year." All Might continued.
"All Might's going to be working at UA?" Izuku muttered to himself.
A hand appeared from off-screen, clearly gesturing to All Might to speed things up.
"Alright, alright." All Might acquiesced. "Well done, Young Midoriya, you passed the General, Heroics, Management and Quirk Studies portions of the written test, however in the practical Heroics exam, you only scored thirteen points, which unfortunately means you failed…"
Izuku released a breath, the disappointment hitting him like a hammer.
"I knew it." Izuku whimpered, trying to hold back tears.
"Oh, honey, it's o—"
"—is what I would say if that was all there was to it!" All Might boomed. "Here, watch this."
The holographic screen changed, now showing a shot over what was unmistakably the shoulder of Present Mic.
"Excuse me?"
It was the brown-haired girl, the one he had saved and been saved by in turn.
"What is it, listener?"
"Um, you know the boy with the long, messy hair?" The brown-haired girl asked, using her hand to simulate Izuku's curls. "And the freckles, he destroyed the Zero-Pointer?"
"I sure do." Present Mic confirmed. "What about him?"
"It's just, at the end of the exam I heard him say that he needed to get more points." The brown-haired girl clarified. "He wasted time rescuing me instead of fighting the faux villains. I got twenty-eight points and he only got thirteen. Could I give him some of mine to make up for the ones he didn't get?"
The brown-haired girl screwed her eyes shut.
"He saved me, please?"
"I'm sorry, my listener, I couldn't share your points with him even if you beg." Present Mic patted the brown-haired girl on the top of her head. "But I have a feeling it's all going to work out."
The screen returned to showing All Might, now with his back turned to the camera.
"Do you remember what I said to you the first time we went to Dagobah Beach?" The No.1 Hero questioned. "That you have the ability to inspire others to be better and to do better."
Izuku bowed his head, it didn't matter, he'd still failed.
"You already touched the hearts of others, this girl, Uraraka, and Melissa, and me." All Might pivoted back towards the camera, his arms spread wide. "The UA Heroics Entrance Exam is not graded in villain points alone."
Izuku started, raising his head back to the holographic screen.
"What kind of hero course would reject a candidate who did the right thing and saved another's life?" All Might boomed, a proud smile stretching across his face. "That's why the exam has rescue points as well, determined by a panel of examiners, and my boy, you got a lot more than thirteen of them!"
A table appeared on the screen, next to All Might, showing what Izuku quickly realised was the final point totals for the Hero Course Entrance Exam.
Izuku's eyes flicked to the bottom, finding the entry for thirty-sixth place, Toru Hagakure, with eleven villain points and twenty-five rescue points.
If she got in with just eleven villain points, then maybe I did too!
Izuku moved his gaze up the table, fear creeping in as he got higher and higher up without any sign of his name.
"Izuku, oh my goodness, look at first place!" Hisashi exclaimed.
No doubt Bakugo got first place, I bet—
Izuku's mind went blank, unable to process what he was reading.
NO.1 - Izuku Midoriya
VILLAIN - 13
RESCUE - 95
TOTAL - 108
"This can't be correct." Izuku finally managed to murmur. "A hundred and eight points? That would mean I've broken All Might's record, I can't have—"
"A hundred and eight points, which is a new record, beating my own by a whopping fourteen points!" All Might announced with a beaming smile. "Young Midoriya, welcome to your hero academia!"
The hologram recording ended, the still image of All Might and the scoreboard hanging in the air for a few more seconds before the projector turned off.
"I got first place." Izuku breathed, his voice shaking, crying uncontrollably.
"I'm so proud of you, Izuku." Inko choked out, tears streaming down her face as well.
"Izunii got in UA!" Eri shouted, hopping off her chair and onto the sofa, where she proceeded to jump up and down repeating the phrase over and over.
A hand laid over Izuku's, the green-haired boy looking up to see it was his father's.
"I knew you could do it." Hisashi spoke with a grin. "Plus, I think you'll have made your grandfather's, well, year, if not the whole decade."
Izuku smiled, Jack Midoriya had always dreamed of being a hero, but his lack of a quirk and a weak chest had made that dream unobtainable. Instead, he'd taken a job at Akahashi Hero Support Company to be as close to the actions as he could be, later buying the company out when Director Akahashi retired.
Inko wiped her eyes as the tears slowed to a halt. "This is wonderful, honey, but we have something we want to give you."
Hisashi nodded, suddenly producing a large yellow box from beneath the table and placing it in front of Izuku.
"Go on, open it." Hisashi urged.
Izuku hesitated, before carefully removing the bow and lifting the lid.
"It's amazing."
Inside the box was a schoolbag, but not just any schoolbag, it was custom-made, the design of it clearly taken from the hero costume that Dr. Shield was making for him.
"I, I love it!" Izuku breathed, lifting it out of the box, admiring the deep green and the yellow stripes in the same pattern as his costume.
"Your father did the design, I got some highly resistant materials from Masaru, the stuff he makes Katsuki's clothes out of." Inko explained. "We figured that the first piece of hero merch of you should be yours, there's no hero name or logo yet, but I can add them once you've come up with one."
"Thank you, both, so much." Izuku managed to say between tears.
"You're going to be an amazing hero, Izuku."
Melissa stared down at the letter on the desk, unable to open or even touch it. She'd found it waiting there for her when she'd returned from her cram classes, just a couple more weeks and her early graduation from I-Academy would be secured.
Three hours, three hours she'd been sat like this, unable to see if her last hope of becoming a hero had been crushed or not.
A door opened and closed.
"I'm home, Mel!"
It was her dad, back from the Institute for the day.
"Where are you?" David called, the door to Melissa's bedroom swinging open. "Here you are, oh, is that?"
Melissa nodded. "It is."
"Are you going to open it?"
"I don't know." Melissa answered, shrugging. "If I don't open it, then the answer, either way, never becomes real."
Slowly, the blonde-haired girl picked the letter up, turning it over to reveal the UA wax seal.
"If I failed, then that's it, I got my hopes up for nothing, one last time." Melissa paused. "But if I do get in, then I'll never stop fighting, just to have a seat at the table, they'll hound me, looking for any excuse to prove a quirkless can't be a hero."
"And I know you would never give up." David assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Even if you don't get in, you shouldn't let it stop you, you don't need to get into a fancy school to be a hero."
"But it certainly helps." Melissa mused.
"And you won't know until you open it."
"I know." Melissa admitted, forcing her hands, shaking as they were, to slowly open the letter, pulling out a thick wad of paper and a circular device.
A holographic projector, the switch should be right about-
The projector sprang into life, a video beginning to play, showing Uncle Might in a garish yellow suit.
"I AM HERE, as a hologram."
"Uncle Might, why is he on here?" Melissa murmured, before looking to her father. "Did you know about this?"
David shrugged guiltily.
"Dear Melissa, I have a secret I've been keeping from you. I have accepted a position at UA from the next academic year." Uncle Might explained. "During the entrance exam you saw your fellow examinees in perceived danger and chose to stop the Zero-Pointer, sacrificing the chance to gain more points."
Melissa held her breath, waiting for what her uncle would say.
"If the exam was so simple as to judge you on points obtained by defeating faux villains alone, then I'm afraid you would have failed." Uncle Might spoke, raising a remote and pressing a button on it. "But UA is not so reductive, there is a secret second kind of points, Rescue Points, obtained by aiding your fellow examinees, and some faux examinees, when they were in perceived danger."
A table appeared on the holographic screen, detailing the points obtained by each of the thirty-six successful candidates.
Melissa's eyes scanned up from the bottom, her name should be easy to find if it was there, it would be written in the English alphabet.
NO.6 - Melissa Shield
VILLAIN - 7
RESCUE - 60
TOTAL - 67
A ragged breath slipped from Melissa's lips as she felt her eyes begin to water.
"I did it, I got in." The blonde-haired girl murmured, before jumping to her feet and hugging her father tightly. "I got in! I did it!"
David hugged his daughter in return. "I'm so proud of you, Mel, and I know your mom would have been too."
Melissa buried her face in her father's lab coat, filling her nostrils with the smell of oil and solder. "I know she would."
"So, since you've got in, then you're going to need a hero costume." David noted. "Do you have any ideas?"
Melissa looked up at her father and smiled. "I have so many."
Katsuki stared at the projection in front of him, his whole body vibrating with shock, anger and rage.
NO.1 - Izuku Midoriya
VILLAIN - 13
RESCUE - 95
TOTAL - 108
NO.2 - Katsuki Bakugo
VILLAIN - 86
RESCUE - 0
TOTAL - 86
How? How did that Deku beat me?!
Katsuki snatched up the projector and threw it hard enough at the wall that it lodged in the plaster, whilst still continuing to display the results on the wall.
It was supposed to be me! This is my story, not his!
Forgoing his gloves, Katsuki began to lay into his punching bag, hitting it over and over again, imagining the Deku's face on its surface.
A hundred and eight fucking points, that's a new record! How dare he beat All Might's record!
With a yell, Katsuki opened his fist and released an explosion point-blank, lifting the punching off its hook and splitting it open.
His chest heaving, the blond-haired boy glared down at the burst punching bag.
"Oi, did you just use your quirk on that bag again?"
Katsuki growled at the sound of his mother's voice.
"Cram it, you old hag!"
"Do I need to come up there?!"
The sound of a creaking step reached his ears.
"Alright, alright, I'll fix the damn thing, you nagging witch!" Katsuki barked, grabbing a roll of duct tape off his dresser.
Night had fallen by the time that Izuku arrived at Dagobah Beach, the open, empty expanse of sand taking his breath away. Shivering, Izuku pulled his gilet right around his hooded sweatshirt.
"Over here!"
Izuku looked towards the source of the voice, spotting Yagi, in his natural form, standing not far from the water, waving to him.
"All Might!" Izuku cried out, racing towards his mentor.
Yagi's eyes widened in panic, quickly gesturing in the direction of a couple on the pier.
"All Might? Where is he?" One member of the couple spoke as she looked around excitedly.
"Er, I said 'I got All Might'." Izuku hastily lied, before pulling an errant JP Heroes card from his pocket. "I'm just showing my, er, uncle, a holographic All Might card I just got!"
"Aw." The other member of the couple sighed, her shoulders drooping. "I got my hopes up."
"Nice save." Yagi muttered to Izuku, with a wink as he extended his hand to him, palm towards him. "So, congratulations on passing, and getting first place!"
"Thank you very much!" Izuku exclaimed, high-fiving the No.1 Hero.
"Just to let you know, I didn't tell anyone at UA about your internship with me." All Might explained. "Well, obviously apart from Aizawa, but if anything that probably meant he was harsher on you, and Nedzu, but he knows everything. I had nothing to do with the judging process, I don't want you thinking you got in because of cheating."
"Thank you for your concern!" Izuku replied, with a slight bow. "But I can't believe you're going to be a teacher at UA, I'm going to be taught by All Might!"
Yagi coughed. "I mean, I have been training you for over two years now, isn't that basically the same?"
Izuku shook his head. "No, this is totally different, to not only attend UA, but to do so as a student of All Might…"
A deep chuckle boomed from Yagi. "I'm flattered, you earned this, you got into UA by your own merit."
"Thank you for your help." Izuku uttered, bowing again.
"It has been my honour." Yagi beamed. "Now, it's up to you if you want our mentorship to be known about at UA."
Izuku shrugged. "It'd be nice if it wasn't at first, I don't want them thinking I just got in because of you, I want to prove myself first. Although, it depends on what Kacchan does."
"He hasn't told you classmates at Aldera, has he?"
Izuku shook his head.
"Then he probably won't tell anyone at UA, then." Yagi shrugged.
Izuku wasn't convinced, he was dreading seeing Bakugo at school the next day. He was sure he would have hit the roof when he found out Izuku not only got in, but also came first, as well as beating All Might's record.
8 March 2171
Izuku made it nearly three days, avoiding Bakugo at every turn, running out of class the second the bell rang, hiding behind walls, diving into bins, all to escape the blond-haired boy's explosive temper.
Then Principal Yamazaki had summoned both him and Bakugo to his office from class, simpering and praising them for getting into UA's Hero Course.
And as soon as they'd been released back to class, Bakugo had grabbed him by the arm, marching him into a secluded corridor. The air was driven out of Izuku's lungs as he was shoved against the wall, Bakugo gripping his collar.
"How did you do it?" Bakugo demanded, shaking the green-haired boy. "Did you get All Might to get UA to accept you into the hero course? To give you first place?"
Izuku shook his head vigorously. "No, not at all. I asked All Might."
"I don't believe you!" Bakugo snarled, lifting Izuku away from the wall and slamming him back against it.
A wolf whistle sounded from the end of the corridor.
Bakugo's expression twisted into disgust, his head whipping around to face the offending lowerclassman. "Go fuck yourself, you dumbass extra!"
The younger boy scurried away, cowed by Bakugo's rage.
"This was my moment!" Bakugo barked, spittle flying from his mouth. "I was going to be the first and only student from this shithole to get into UA's Hero Course and you ruined it!"
"We're ranked second in the district."
Izuku stared at Bakugo, somewhat in shock, he had never seen the blond-haired boy so angry, he was positively vibrating, constantly tightening his free hand into a fist and releasing it.
"You cheated, you managed to trick All Might into mentoring you!" Bakugo slammed his hand against the wall next to Izuku's face and released a small explosion. "You wouldn't have gotten in without his training, which you didn't deser—"
Bakugo stopped abruptly when Izuku clamped a hand around the other boy's wrist. Immediately, Bakugo tried to free his wrist, but over two years of training with the No.1 Hero and his All-American Dream Plan had given Izuku an incredibly strong grip.
"Kacchan." Izuku spoke, keeping his tone calm and even despite the fear he felt inside. "All Might told me I have the heart of a hero, that I earned my place at UA."
Izuku hesitated, before prying Bakugo's other hand from his gakuran collar.
"I'm going to UA, in the Hero Course, and there is nothing you can do to stop me!"
For a few tense seconds Bakugo didn't speak, didn't react, until he turned and stormed away, leaving Izuku to slump bonelessly down the wall.
"This isn't over, Deku!"
-End of Origins Arc-