- .My Hero Academia 180 degrees. -
2. Where Bakugo's abilities are questioned, and the entrance exam to UA is modified by the new principal
The school bell rang, signaling the end of another day at Izuku's school. As he headed toward the exit, his expression was troubled, reflecting on all the changes that had recently taken place in his life.
The first significant change had been the arrival of the man he met on the street, a retired personal trainer who he now knew as Toshinori Yagi. This man had visited his mother to convince her to let him train Izuku in the mornings, supposedly to strengthen both his body and mind—something he claimed was necessary no matter what path Izuku decided to take. He had also promised to introduce Izuku to the chief of police in the city, allowing him to participate in a special course to see if he might be interested in joining the police force. As he had told Mr. Yagi, Izuku wasn't sure if that was the path he wanted to take, but it was worth giving it a try.
—Over here! —a cheerful girl called out to him from a distance near the door, causing Izuku to blush slightly under the curious stares of others. They probably noticed by her uniform that she was from another school and had come to see him.
That had been the second big change in his life. The kind girl, who he now knew as Ochako Uraraka, had started coming to see him every day after school so they could walk to the station together. They always talked about interesting things like heroes or the news, and Izuku definitely wanted to keep seeing her. But deep down, part of him wondered about the real reason she continued visiting him even after he had recovered. And sometimes, that made him feel something strange—a mix of happiness and anxiety that he didn't know how to handle.
A small huff from behind sent a chill down Izuku's spine.
—Move aside, Deku— Kacchan complained from behind him, only now noticing that he had stopped walking, lost in his thoughts.
—S-sorry, Kacchan— Izuku quickly moved out of the way, noticing the slight change in Kacchan's expression. Lately, he seemed more serious than usual, which made him look intimidating in a way that Izuku couldn't quite define.
This was definitely the biggest change in Izuku's daily life. For some reason, Kacchan had stopped picking on him. Izuku wondered if it was because of the incident with the sludge monster. Unlike him, Kacchan had been able to fight the monster and win. There was clearly a huge gap between the two of them. Maybe Kacchan had realized that there was no point in bothering someone who was clearly not on his level.
—Is that the guy who used to bully you?— Uraraka asked beside him. —But it seems like you two get along much better now.
—W-why do you say that, Uraraka?— Izuku asked, moving away a little, as he still wasn't entirely used to her sudden closeness.
—I heard him say that you can do it. You know, Deku.
Once again, Izuku got nervous.
—No, no. Actually, he's referring to the other way to read the kanji of my name, something like 'useless'. It was something he said when we were learning to read, but he's said it so many times that it's lost its meaning as an insult.
Uraraka clasped her hands together with an almost radiant smile.
—Well, you should give it the meaning you want from now on. As far as I'm concerned, Deku meaning 'you can do it' is a cute nickname.
Before Izuku could react, Ochako started bouncing on her toes, raising her fist to the sky while repeatedly chanting —Deku!— with enthusiasm.
—Y-you can call me Deku if you want!— Izuku agreed, feeling the warmth rising to his face, turning it red.
—I will— Uraraka replied with a warm smile before starting to walk toward the exit. Izuku followed, feeling like his world was slowly beginning to change.
However, suddenly, a large crowd of students gathered at the entrance, forming a human barrier that blocked any attempt to leave. The air filled with a nervous murmur, and the tension began to grow among those present, who exchanged uneasy glances. Bakugo, who was at the front, frowned in annoyance, his eyes flashing with a mix of disdain and irritation.
Right in front of him, a blonde-haired boy emerged from the crowd, standing out with his haughty posture and arrogant expression. Behind him was a group of students, clearly from other schools.
—So you're Katsuki Bakugo, the one everyone's talking about. I hear you're interested in entering UA next year, so I came to introduce myself since I plan to take the exam too. My name is Neito Monoma, and it's a pleasure to meet you —he said, extending his hand with an exaggerated bow.
—Move —Bakugo simply replied, swatting away Monoma's hand.
—Ah, of course. I had already heard, but I had to see for myself. Besides playing the victim for so long, they say you're the most arrogant of all since you defeated that third-rate villain. But just so you know, that alone won't be enough to get into a prestigious school like UA.
The students near Bakugo took a step back, fear reflecting in their faces. Everyone knew that Bakugo didn't tolerate being challenged, and Monoma's audacity was almost suicidal. The atmosphere grew heavy, as if the air was charged with static electricity, anticipating an imminent explosion.
Uraraka watched as Deku swallowed hard, not taking his eyes off what was about to happen.
—I want you to leave and never come back. Got it?
To everyone's surprise, the strange boy began laughing extravagantly.
—What? What did you say? I couldn't hear you if you speak so softly. What happened to the energy of 'die' that you told that sludge villain? Because it was something like this, right? —Monoma raised his hand to the sky, and suddenly, an explosion similar to the ones Bakugo produced burst above their heads, leaving everyone speechless.
Everyone except Midoriya, who started muttering to himself, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
—I can't believe it! Does he have the same Quirk as Kacchan? No… that would be too strange. If fire powers are already rare, explosive ones are even rarer. Maybe one in three million people have that Quirk. But even if it were the same, that looked way too similar to the type of explosions Kacchan uses, so his Quirk must be to copy Quirks!
Monoma adjusted his hair with a drop of confusion at being caught so quickly, but he quickly recovered his arrogant demeanor.
—You see? What you did wasn't really that impressive. What I think is that you like to draw attention, and that's why you played the victim for so long, waiting to be saved. But as you saw, real heroes like All Might were too busy to deal with your victim complex.
Those words finally managed to anger Bakugo, who, with gritted teeth, lunged at Monoma, trying to grab him by the collar. But Monoma, with surprising agility, dodged the attack, sliding his body with a skill that caught Bakugo off guard.
—And from what I see, you're also a bit slow. That's going to be bad with the new scheme in the UA entrance exam.
—New? —Bakugo growled, preparing to throw a punch.
Monoma, with a smile that never left his face, dodged the first punch and then the subsequent ones, moving with an ease that only served to further irritate Bakugo. In a moment that seemed to slow down, as if time itself had stopped, Monoma managed to slip under Bakugo's outstretched arm and, in an agile move, stuck small bunny stickers on three parts of Bakugo's back, causing a mix of confusion and fury in his rival.
—As far as I'm concerned, I won't have to worry about you during the exams. It was all just a big media exaggeration.
Monoma let out another extravagant, almost theatrical laugh, enjoying the humiliation he was inflicting.
—What a loser! —Monoma taunted, pointing at Bakugo.
—¡YOU! —Bakugo began to spark from his palms. —You're…!
—That's enough! —a firm voice interrupted the chaos. A red-haired girl with a long ponytail bouncing behind her appeared out of nowhere, hitting Monoma on the back of the neck with enough force to make him stumble. Then, she grabbed him by the neck like a disobedient puppy. —So this strange excursion to get crepes was about this. You should be ashamed.
She then gave everyone a slight bow as a sign of apology and farewell.
Everyone watched as the students from other schools left, leaving them with a feeling of disbelief at how everything had ended in such a pathetic way.
On the train ride back home, the rhythmic sound of the carriage accompanied the gentle sway of the journey. Uraraka, with her usual energy, leaned slightly toward Deku, getting close enough that their shoulders almost touched. She was interested in the information he was searching for on his phone. As she did so, she noticed something that caught her attention: this time, Deku didn't show his usual shyness or nervousness at their proximity. Was he finally getting used to her presence, or was he so absorbed in what he was reading that he didn't notice?
A soft smile appeared on Uraraka's lips as she hoped it was the latter. Seeing Deku blush seemed unusual for a guy, but that very rarity was what made it incredibly adorable to her.
—Here it is —Deku announced—. It says that the new U.A. High principal, Shouta Aizawa, decided, as his first change in administration, to modify the U.A. entrance exam, which has remained the same for over two decades.
—What happened to the previous principal? —Uraraka asked, visualizing the former principal, Nezu, with his characteristic smile and the mental image of him waving.
—Apparently, he decided to take a break from teaching to pursue a political career. He wants to run for mayor of the city.
—Oh, I see —murmured Uraraka, while a funny image of Nezu with a little mayor's hat popped into her mind.
Meanwhile, Deku continued scrolling through the information on his phone, his expression still serious.
—This is what Monoma was referring to —he said, showing Uraraka his phone, which displayed a silhouette of a human body with three red lights marked in different spots—. The first filter for entering U.A. will be a competition in which the applicant must avoid being tagged on three sensors attached to their body while trying to tag three other candidates to disqualify them. This way, the new principal aims to provide fairness to applicants with quirks that are different from those based on physical strength, like psychic or intelligence-based quirks.
—Before, the exam consisted of fighting robots and gathering points, like in a video game —Uraraka commented, and Deku nodded in agreement.
—In a competition like that, Kacchan wouldn't have any trouble getting in —Deku continued—, but from what we saw today, agility has become something really essential.
—I think the ability to think quickly could also be decisive —Uraraka added with a smile, pointing at him—. You impressed all of us with how fast you analyzed Monoma's quirk. Are you sure that's not your quirk? Have you ever taken any IQ tests?
Finally, Deku began to blush and made funny hand gestures, much to Uraraka's delight.
—My mom took me to a lot of tests, including intelligence ones, but it turned out I was just slightly above average, nothing worth bragging about, and certainly not something that could be classified as an IQ quirk.
—It was still impressive —Uraraka smiled, and Deku couldn't help but cover his face with his forearms, trying to hide the growing blush he felt. Uraraka's warm words had completely disarmed him.
—Oh, this is my stop —Uraraka suddenly realized, getting up—. See you tomorrow.
Deku nodded, still somewhat hidden behind his arms, unable to look at Uraraka directly as she said goodbye with a smile.
Would he ever manage to properly say goodbye to her? He wasn't sure.
Author's Notes.-
The second chapter is ready! Your comments are always welcome! Thank you so much for reading, following, and liking. It always makes me smile.