Endeavor closed Hiryu Rin's file, making a final mental note to instruct him and Tsunotori Pony to speak Japanese in class. It would be more difficult for the girl, given Vlad King's note on her limited fluency, but he wasn't about to coddle her.

If she wanted to go to Japan's most prestigious Hero Academy, the least she could do was learn their language.

Moving Rin's folder to the reviewed pile he looked down at the extra file Nedzu provided. Midoriya Izuku, his missing student from 1-A. Expelled before he even had his first Foundational Heroics class. Removed by his homeroom teacher after coming in last during a 'quirk' assessment.

There wasn't even any documentation to explain why, just infuriatingly incomplete notes explaining that he'd run an assessment and the exercises he'd had them do. There hadn't even been any test results for him to review. It was sloppy work from someone who should have been a professional.

And this was after he'd been allowed to expel an entire class of students because they hadn't been taking things seriously enough for his tastes? Had this teacher truly been given carte blanche to expel students for reasons that couldn't be tracked or documented? And what would a man like that do when he realized that Shouto was obstinately refusing to use half of his quirk?

Endeavor glanced down at Midoriya's folder. He'd run the boy through another assessment and try to gauge his failings. There had to be something that had drawn his teacher's ire.

He was not expecting to find a potential clue sitting on top of the folder the moment he opened it.

All of the files had quirk registration forms in them. They were a formality, almost an afterthought given the more thorough assessments written by school quirk counselors. It was a government form, filled out with minimal effort and detail.

So why had Nedzu left it on top?

He scanned the document, looking for the reason, when he spotted the revision date. His eyes narrowed as he stared at it.

That couldn't be right. It had to be a clerical error. A mistake.

He scowled and skipped straight to the notes from the boy's quirk counselor, stopping to stare at the barren document, a single line excusing the boy from further sessions due to his lack of a quirk.

The paperclip on the wrong side of the page was another clue, and Endeavor flipped the useless assessment up to see a single documented quirk counseling session done in private. It was barebones, noting the obvious existence of a quirk, giving a vague description of the power it granted Midoriya, followed by the backlash he'd suffered from activating it, and was rounded out with a paragraph speculating that the backlash was the reason he hadn't been able to activate it earlier.

The date at the bottom was galling. Endeavor let the school counselor's 'assessment' fall over it, letting out a huff as he skipped over the useless folder and went to watch the video of the entrance exam instead. The boy had earned enough points to pass, but apparently, it was also the only record of the boy using his quirk.

Like the others, the video was carefully cut from multiple feeds, providing the context behind the points given as well as the actions of the student. The video started with the Zero pointer bursting out into the open, fist slamming into the street and filling the air with dust before cutting to Uraraka, pinned beneath rubble she couldn't free herself from the Zero pointer approaching in the background. Then it cut to Midoriya as he went from crawling away from the giant machine to looking back at her and then finding the resolve to charge at the giant robot. Infuriatingly, he ran into a cloud of dust the faux villain had kicked up, obscuring him from clear sight as he presumably activated his quirk for the first time.

Then he blasted into the air as if fired from a cannon. The feed changed again, this time focused on the faux villain as Midoriya flew at it, arm drawing back.

A single punch cratered the faceplate.

Endeavor sat up straighter as he watched the staggering display of strength. The mech was fifteen stories tall, its faceplate was thirty-three centimeters of solid steel, and weighed in the hundreds of tons.

Midoriya sent it reeling with a single attack.

It was an impressive display of power, but Endeavor knew that it would come at a cost. For a moment, Midoriya hung in the air, watching the Zero Pointer topple over, but then gravity reasserted itself. That was when the backlash revealed itself, as three of his limbs flapped bonelessly as he fell.

This was the moment, more than him running to save the girl, more than him smashing the Zero Pointer, it was now that Endeavor would see who Midoriya truly was. Plummeting towards the ground with three shattered limbs and a quirk he didn't even know he had.

He could succumb to pain and panic, he could take solace and accept his fate having saved a life, he could even trust that the staff would somehow save him, or he could find resolve in the face of adversity, dig deep, and prove his desire to live by doing whatever he could to save himself.

The boy chose to save himself.

Oh, he'd panicked, but he gathered himself, found his resolve, and brought his good arm back to punch the ground. It didn't matter that Uraraka saved him a moment before he could act. It didn't matter that his preparation may not have worked at all. All that mattered was that he made the effort to save himself.

If he hadn't, Endeavor would have dismissed him. No force on Heaven or Earth could have compelled him to give the boy another glance. He would not give someone like that a chance.

Not after…

He took a breath that was shakier than he had anticipated and quickly glanced around to make sure that no one had seen. It would have been… unbecoming. Thankfully, none of the other teachers were looking his way, so he let it go, pausing the clip as Midoriya landed safely on the ground.

It still left the unanswered question. Why had he been expelled in the first place? Had he refused to use his quirk to avoid injuring himself? Had he still been too injured to adequately perform? Or, as he was beginning to suspect, was the teacher unwilling to put the effort into a student with a problematic quirk?

Izuku sat in the back of 1-C, looking out the window as he waited for 1-B to head outside. They would most likely do the same things that 1-A had done yesterday, standing in front of Endeavor, displaying their quirks, and then doing physical assessments. He would have done anything to listen in, but even sitting in the window row was a luxury. At least he got to see what he was missing out on.

It was also an opportunity.

During their discussion, Nedzu mentioned that students who performed well in the Sports Festival could transfer to the Hero course. The principal had also assigned him the window seat when he would have normally been seated on the far side of the room.

It felt like cheating in a way, having the opportunity to suss out the quirks of the Hero Course students without them knowing, but he couldn't afford to give up the advantage. All Might needed him to get back into the Hero Course.

He tuned out Present Mic as the Hero began his English lesson, waiting for 1-B to make their way outside. Unlike 1-A, this might be his only opportunity to analyze their quirks before the Sports Festival, so he couldn't miss anything, no matter how rude it was. He'd make sure to apologize later, but he had more important notes to take this period.

Three sharp knocks interrupted his plans. Even knowing he couldn't miss a minute, he turned around and looked at the door as it slid open.

And saw Endeavor on the other side of it.

Izuku blinked as the man stepped into the room and the temperature began to rise. The students closest to him shifted uncomfortably, but the Hero paid no attention. "Present Mic, I am here for Midoriya Izuku."

Izuku blinked. What?

Ahead of him, he saw Shinso turn around and stare at him, his brow furrowing in frustration, but Izuku only barely noticed. Why would Endeavor be here for him? Nedzu had mentioned he was reaching out to All Might's teacher, a hero who taught at UA decades ago… could that be it? But would Nedzu have Endeavor act as a messenger? Would Endeavor even agree if Nedzu asked? Why else would Endeavor want him?

Present Mic glanced his way with an arched eyebrow before shrugging, "I guess he can miss one lesson. You have permission to leave if you want, Midoriya."

Izuku stared, dumbfounded as Endeavor gave him a single nod and turned around, "Follow me."

Should he go? He wouldn't get to watch 1-B, but Endeavor was teaching 1-B. Would this give him an even better view?

Endeavor paused at the door. "I will not offer again."

Izuku's eyes widened, and he lurched to his feet, grabbing his notepad and pen on instinct, racing after the Foundational Heroics teacher. Endeavor was already in the hall, walking swiftly. "You were expelled from the Hero Course." He said without so much as looking back, "Why?"

"A-ah…" Izuku felt like he was going to choke, falling further behind as he slowed. "Eraserhead had us do a quirk assessment…" He gave a hopeless shrug that Endeavor couldn't see, "I-I came in last."

Endeavor grunted, the meaning of which eluded Izuku, "Your former classmates said the tests were all physical. Why did you come in last?"

"Uh…"

Izuku almost stopped, but he was falling further and further behind. He jogged to catch up, wracking his brain. "Well?"

"I… my quirk, I um, when I used it, it broke my finger."

Endeavor turned and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "You came in last because you broke your finger."

Izuku gulped, "I-I think so?"

"Think or know?"

Izuku's mouth moved, quailing under Endeavor's gaze. "Think?"

Endeavor scowled and resumed walking. Izuku managed to almost catch up, even as he dithered on whether he should try to walk in step or follow behind. "When did you break your finger?"

"The ball throw, sir." Oh no, he hadn't even been showing respect for the number two hero…

"Which event was that?"

"The ball throw."

"And how many events did you do after that?"

"It was the fifth of eight events, sir."

"That could explain why you came in last in that category and the subsequent categories. Did you come in last in the ones before that?"

"Um…" Should he contradict Endeavor? He hadn't come in last during the ball throw, there was no way… still, he couldn't argue now, "no?"

Endeavor was silent for a moment as they reached the changing rooms. "You are to change into your gym uniform and report outside with 1-B." Izuku blinked and stared, earning a scowl from Endeavor. "Go."

"Y-yes, sir." He stammered and ran to obey.

Monoma smoothed his costume out, looking himself over. Style. Class. Elegance. Oh yes, this was what he wanted. The stopwatches were working well, ticking away uniformly in his quick test. The ten minutes they'd been graced with was more than adequate to allow him to make sure everything was in proper order.

Most of his classmates had less… refined costumes. Not that they were bad, but they tended to be baggier, simpler, or rougher stylistically. Poor Shoda looked like he was compensating with his armor shaped like rippling muscles.

Hurried footsteps interrupted his musing, and Monoma arched an eyebrow as another student intruded on his classmates. A mostly nondescript boy whose only standout features were his green hair, freckles, and nervous expression made his way into the changing area.

Monoma glanced at his classmates, noticing that they had caught sight of the student as well, and were staring at him. It only served to make the boy more nervous.

"I don't think you're supposed to be here." Monoma smiled, perhaps slightly falsely, "This changing room is being used for Heroics right now."

"I-I am supposed to be here." The boy flushed. "Endeavor told me to change into my gym uniform."

Monoma folded his arms across his chest, leaning back against his locker. He didn't even need to look at his classmates to feel the skepticism radiating off of them. Still, he smiled, keeping his tone benign, "And who are you?" It was still easier to get answers with honey than vinegar, after all.

"Midoriya," The boy answered, looking antsy, "Can I get to my locker? Please?"

"In just a moment." Monoma exchanged a meaningful look at his classmates and smiled to himself as Kaibara nodded and headed out the back door. Midoriya sagged, almost confirming the prank. Monoma doubted Endeavor would appreciate having someone claiming his authority to be here. "You can wait here until he gets back. Why don't you tell us why you're here while we wait?"

Midoriya winced and sat down on a bench, "I'm not sure," he 'admitted', "he excused me from class and told me to follow him."

A likely story. More likely, it was a prank. Vlad King had mentioned that there was a rivalry between 1-A and 1-B. It would make sense for them to start early if that was the case. Heroics is a competitive field; after all, it wouldn't be too surprising if their rival class was trying to cause a misstep.

"What class was that?"

"Present Mic's English class."

It would have been more useful if Monoma knew for sure that 1-A's schedule was a complete mirror of 1-B's, but they'd had Math with Ectoplasm during this period yesterday. Still, it was better to have information in case Midoriya tripped himself up in a lie.

"And why would Endeavor be interested in you?"

"He was asking," Midoriya fidgeted, shrinking on himself, "why I was expelled from the Hero course."

Monoma couldn't help it. He held his brow as he pointed and laughed. "Endeavor is the Heroics teacher, you idiot. If you're going to try to prank us, you should at least come up with a believable lie."

"Endeavor didn't expel me," Midoriya whined. "My homeroom teacher did."

Monoma rolled his eyes. Hopefully, Endeavor would come to investigate when Kaibara told him that someone had snuck in. He wasn't sure what punishment Midoriya would receive, but he doubted it would be worth whatever prank he'd been trying to pull off.

Speak of the devil, Kaibara jogged in, "He's clear. Endeavor said he's okay to be here, but he wants to speak to us about this."

Monoma swallowed hard, looking back at Midoriya as his stomach sank. "You, ah, weren't lying then?"

Midoriya glanced up and shook his head.

"W-well then," A nervous chuckle escaped Monoma's lips, and he beat a hasty retreat to the exit, "… best of luck?"

Twenty-one sets of eyes locked onto Izuku as he exited onto the field. It was almost enough that he turned around and went right back inside, but he couldn't do that, not when one of the people looking his way was the Foundational Heroics teacher. He swallowed the knot that formed in his throat and quickly made his way over to the 1-B students. That's where he was supposed to go, right? Were they really waiting on him?

Endeavor's eyes slid off of him and to his students, "Before we begin, I want to address what happened in the boy's changing room." He clasped his hands behind his back, face hardening. "I sent a student in to change so he could join us today. When he tried to enter, he was stopped, questioned, and prevented from accessing his locker."

Izuku caught some of the guys from 1-B shuffling nervously as Endeavor glanced them over, his face unreadable until he gave a single nod. "Heroes are required to be cautious and skeptical of unusual circumstances and characters. Further, rather than merely questioning him yourselves or leaping into unprompted action, one of you went to verify his story with me. That was the correct course of action. While I did not intend for it to be a test, it served as one nonetheless." He looked his students over. "One that you passed."

The guys who had been in the locker room let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Class, this is Midoriya Izuku," Endeavor motioned towards him without looking his way, "former Hero Course student. He was removed from the Heroics track by his Homeroom teacher while you were at orientation."

Izuku felt his stomach twist at the words. The 1-B students all turning to stare at him in shock and confusion didn't help either.

Endeavor looked at him. "Explain why you were expelled."

"He…" Izuku felt like his mouth was stuffed with cotton, but he forced the words out. "Aizawa-sensei said… I came in last during the quirk assessment and he deemed that I have no potential." It was a struggle to speak, each word was quieter than the last.

"Wait!" English? Izuku looked up to see a blonde girl with horns waving an arm in the air, "Endeavor–Endeavor, sir… that can't be right! I was in his testing ground." She looked back at him, even as her classmates turned to stare at her. "I saw him destroy the Zero Pointer."

There was a pause, just a second or two, as the class translated the words and they stared at him with renewed confusion. Already, some of them were beginning to whisper among themselves, while the blonde student who had questioned him before looked at him incredulously.

"Tsunotori Pony," Endeavor barked, drawing everyone's startled attention back to him, "I did not give you permission to address the class. If you wish to speak, you will raise your hand, and I will call on you. And while you are in this class, you are to speak Japanese unless I tell you otherwise. If you are not fully fluent, you will need to become fluent. Do I make myself clear?"

The rebuke caught her off guard, and she backed into one of her classmates before nodding quickly, "Y-yes, sir."

"Good. Hiryu Ren, the same goes for you." Endeavor said, watching the boy nod stoically before letting the matter drop, "Midoriya, that confirms what your former classmates told me. However, the report I received from Eraserhead was lacking in details. As such, you will be tested alongside 1-B after I assess their costume and quirks." Izuku blinked, his fingers twitching as he went to raise his hand before thinking better of it, and Endeavor quickly returned his attention to his students.

"Awase Yosetsu, step forward."

A student in brown clothing and a chest plate stepped forward. He looked confident, but Izuku saw the jitters as he moved toward Endeavor. stared down at him. "Explain your quirk."

"My quirk is Weld. I can merge things by touching them together."

"What are the restrictions?"

"I have to make physical contact with both items. It only works with solids and semi-solids. I can merge things with skin, but not liquid or air."

Izuku's fingers were itching to grab the notepad in his pocket. This was exactly what he needed! And he was getting a front-row seat, listening to them describe their quirks in detail along with their limitations in their own words!

Awase's quirk was really interesting, too! His demonstration, which showed off both his quirk and costume by welding together some cans that he'd brought with him… Izuku longed to know how tightly they were bound. Was it only along the outer edge? How deep did the merge penetrate? It would be great for restraining villains. Even without gear, all he'd have to do was cause someone to touch themselves–or did it have to attach to something else? He really wanted to take notes but–

"Midoriya." Endeavor's voice made him jump, and he looked up to once again find all eyes on him. Oh. He'd been muttering. He wanted nothing more than to sink into the ground and disappear. "You are not to interrupt class again."

"Y-yes sir," Izuku mumbled, trying to escape everyone looking at him by shrinking down in place. But it didn't work. He could still feel Endeavor's eyes on him. It was like the times Kacchan wouldn't let something go, but even more intense.

"What sort of notes did you want to take?"

Hesitantly, Izuku looked up. "What?"

"You said you wanted to take notes." Endeavor held out his hand, "I want to know what sort of notes you'd be taking."

Izuku swallowed. "I study heroes. When I see them on the street, o-or when they get into a fight or save someone. I started taking notes about them, and what they could do with their quirks to help me learn how to be one."

"Do you have any examples?" Izuku resisted the urge to flinch, reluctantly pulling his pad out. It wasn't a proper Hero Notebook For The Future, just a small notepad he could fit in his pocket, something he could jot ideas down in and then transfer later.

Endeavor held out his hand expectantly, and Izuku handed it over, watching with growing mortification as the number two hero flipped it open and began reading. If Izuku wanted to sink into the ground before, the desire was a thousand times worse now that the Heroics teacher was looking at his creepy stalker notes…

He waited for whatever humiliation would come next, maybe Endeavor would burn it, or tell him it was useless, but as long as he wasn't sent away– "You may take notes as long as you do so quietly."

Endeavor handed the notebook back to him, and Izuku stared at it in bewilderment, momentarily stunned as he stared at it. He… wasn't going to get yelled at? He was allowed to take notes? Endeavor grimaced and pushed the book at him a little more forcefully, "Take it, we don't have all day."

Izuku gave a nervous little nod, took the book back, and fled to the 1-B students.

Author's Notes: Yes, Izuku has more confidence issues here. Yes, it is because he was expelled from the Hero course. Also, I generally don't like Monoma, but he at least has good reason not to trust Midoriya this early.

I had to rewrite a bunch, the scenes just didn't feel right, so... yeah. I hope the next chapter will come more easily! Thank you for the comments, I hope you've been enjoying.