Chapter 13: Friends from Familiar Places
"Thanks again for this, All Might." I said sincerely.
"No problem at all, my boy. I hadn't even thought to reach out to Dave for help, but it makes sense seeing as the material of your hero costume will be under the same strain mine is. Melissa has largely taken over as the maintainer for my Golden Age costume, so I have no doubt she'll do a phenomenal job creating yours." All Might replied from beside me.
The two of us were waiting patiently in one of UA's support labs. As it turned out, the support course was more than just the invention track that Hatsume was a part of. Of the three support classes in every grade, one was focused on the design and production of hero costumes, and Nedzu and Midnight had graciously permitted use of one of the design labs. This would allow us to use UA's graphic modeling systems to more accurately portray what I was asking the support company to produce, as well as give the not so subtle hint that Melissa's equipment additions were less of a personal request from myself, and more of a notification of intent from UA.
A small buzz from his pocket drew All Might's attention and he checked his phone before inflating into his muscle form. A moment later, the door to the lab opened and Melissa Shield walked in beside Midnight.
Sweet merciful Buddha, Midnight's costume. And this is the toned down version! How the hell does Nedzu let her teach in that!?
"Uncle Might!" Melissa cried as she launched herself into All Might's arms, laughing in delight as he spun her around like she was still a small child.
Midnight squealed at the sight, but abruptly stopped when she noticed me off to the side. A predatory grin swept across her features as she sauntered her way towards me.
Allowing a small smirk to curve my lips, I raised an eyebrow at her approach. This is going to be fun.
"And who might you be, handsome?" Midnight asked as she eyed me up and down.
Holy shit she's just as ridiculous in real life as she is in the anime. I thought, barely containing my laughter.
"Take me out someplace nice and I might just let you find out." I replied with a wink.
Midnight stared at me in astonishment and I suddenly noticed the silence that had overtaken the lab. Looking to the side, I found All Might and Melissa likewise gawking at my unexpected retort.
I suppose most boys Izuku's age are like puddy in her hands. Hell, even a lot of older guys. That said, I'm not playing her game. She watched the entrance exam, so she knows damn well who I am. Besides, while she's definitely forward, and wildly inappropriate with minors, I've been the recipient of more unashamed advances by more scantily clad women in the seedier parts of the world.
A sudden crack of a whip snapped my attention back to Midnight, who's surprise had been replaced with a flirtatious grin.
"Such confidence! That turns me on!" She declared brazenly.
Unable to suppress a chuckle at Midnight's antics, I broke into a full laugh at Melissa's mortified expression.
Attempting to progress the conversation from Midnight and I's interaction, All Might stepped forward. "Thank you for bringing Melissa here, Midnight. As for this young man-" All Might began, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"My name is Izuku Midoriya. I'll be attending UA next year." I finished with a polite bow.
Midnight's eyes roamed over me once more. "Ah, yes, that's right. You're the dashing young hero who swept in to rescue the damsel in distress during the entrance exam. Well then, I look forward to having you under my… tutelage." Midnight purred, licking her lips seductively.
Where the fuck is Chris Hansen when you need him? You know what? Fuck it, momma didn't raise no bitch.
"I'm looking forward to it. You teach modern hero art right? I could definitely use some private tutoring in videography." I replied, the benign tone of my words clashing with a devious smirk as my eyes roamed across Midnight's figure.
All Might spluttered in surprise. "Young Midoriya!" He exclaimed in scandalized astonishment.
I shrugged my shoulders innocently, my smile growing wider as Melissa turned a bright shade of red and began studiously examining various design sketches adorning the far wall. With a small chuckle at her embarrassment, I turned my attention back to Midnight, who was observing me with a feral grin.
"Ooh, I like this one, All Might. But I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other once you start classes next year. I'll go ahead and leave you to it. It was a pleasure to meet you, Melissa. Let me know if you need anything while you work." Midnight said, flawlessly transitioning from flirtatious to normality in an instant.
Still unable to make eye contact with anyone else in the room, Melissa squeaked her thanks as Midnight took her leave.
Sighing heavily as the door closed, All Might turned to address me. "Did you really need to indulge her like that, young Izuku?" He asked in exasperation.
I shrugged my shoulders again. "No, but it was hilarious."
Chuckling as All Might started rubbing the bridge of his nose, I made my way towards Melissa, who was finally returning to her usual fair-skinned complexion.
"Hello, Melissa. I'm Izuku Midoriya. It's a pleasure to meet you. All Might has told me a lot of great things about you." I introduced myself with a bright smile.
Regaining her composure, Melissa reciprocated my smile with one of her own. "It's nice to meet you too, Izuku. I didn't believe it when Uncle Might told us he had taken on a student. I'm honored that you reached out to us for help with your hero costume." She replied happily.
Melissa's expression darkened as she continued. "I'm sorry my dad couldn't be here. I tried to convince him to come, but he's been so busy with his latest project…" She trailed off, her brow furrowing in thought.
That's not a good sign. I don't remember if the movies are fully canon or not, but it appears that David's ambition to 'cure' All Might's quirk degeneration is still in full effect. I need to nip this in the bud, especially if All Might and I aren't there when David tries to get his device back.
"Oh, is Dave working on something new?" All Might asked curiously.
Melissa looked hesitant for a moment before answering. "Papa hasn't told me what he's working on, but I've seen a few notes lying around his lab. I think… I think it has something to do with your injury, Uncle Might." She answered regretfully.
All Might's smile faltered and he deflated back into his skinny form. "I knew Dave blamed himself for not being able to heal my injuries, but I thought he had managed to move past it. I told him there was nothing he could have done. His specialty is in support equipment for quirks, not gastroenterology. They even flew Eve in from the EU to help when I had my surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. If the most powerful healer and the brightest medical minds on Earth couldn't repair the damage, no one can." He said soberly.
"I know that, and papa does too, but you know him. Once he's determined to do something, it's almost impossible to get him to quit. I think he's just worried about what will happen when you retire. It's been over twenty years since you left America, and while the crime rate definitely increased after you left, it never quite reached the same level it was at before you made your debut. Even now, villains are afraid that if they make too big a splash, you'll return and beat them all to a pulp." Melissa replied with a rueful chuckle as she stared at her feet. "He's afraid of what will happen when there isn't a Symbol of Peace anymore."
My eyes met All Might's for a brief moment before he averted his gaze, guilt radiating in waves from his miserable expression.
Suddenly, Melissa clapped her hands together and plastered a false smile on her face. "But enough of that, I'm sure papa will be fine. He just needs time." Turning to me, she continued. "So, Izuku, did you want to get started on your costume?"
Letting the fake cheerfulness in her voice go unquestioned, I cast All Might another glance. My mentor was staring out the window despondently, and I decided to leave him to his thoughts for the time being.
Turning back to Melissa, I flashed a more sincere smile. "Yeah, let's do it!"
I had never imagined that designing a costume would be so intense. From the moment we began, Melissa had entered a hyper focused work state, taking measurements and pouring over the designs I had drawn up with meticulous efficiency.
Thankfully, Izuku had been a much better artist than I was in my previous life, so the sketchings were easy enough for her to understand. While I was a fan of Izuku's design in canon, namely the later iterations, the original suit Inko made was extremely minimalist and completely lacking in essential support items. I had felt a little bad intentionally hiding the design from my mom, but ultimately, she would never have been able to provide even the basic components like the shock absorbers and iron plates, let alone the more advanced components such as the mid-gauntlets.
In addition to having the various support items Izuku accumulated over time from the beginning, I had also opted for a color change. While the general design aesthetic was very similar to Izuku's, I had decided on a color scheme that more closely aligned with All Might's.
"So, what do you think?" Melissa asked happily as she turned the computer monitor towards All Might and I to display the final 3D design.
"I love it! Thank you so much, Melissa!" I answered sincerely.
Nodding his head in agreement, All Might studied the image with a soft smile. "It's exactly what we were going for. As young Izuku said, thank you, Melissa."
Blushing from the attention, Melissa attempted to deflect the praise. "I just put together what Izuku had already come up with."
"Alright, then we'll thank you again when the suit is finished, because I definitely won't be able to take credit for any of the support items. You're sure the gauntlets are feasible? I know that's a big ask, especially on such short notice." I enquired.
"It will definitely be difficult, but I'm always up for a challenge. I can't promise they'll be done by the time school starts, but I have a prototype of something similar that I can use as a foundation, so you'll definitely have them around the time of the sports festival, hopefully before." Melissa replied assuringly.
"Well, now that that's done, I'm sure you kids are starving. You've been at it all afternoon. What do you say we go out and celebrate?" All Might suggested with a smile.
Melissa and I hurriedly agreed, but as we started to make our way to the door, I stopped. "I feel terrible asking this of you, Melissa, especially since this is the first time you've ever been to UA, but could you please give All Might and I a minute? There's something I need to talk to him about."
All Might's features immediately darkened, and Melissa looked worriedly between us for a moment. "Of course! I don't mind at all. There's amazing views from pretty much every hallway, so I'll just wait outside. Take as long as you need." She agreed nervously.
Even after Melissa had taken her leave, All Might and I remained in tense silence. Finally, after over a minute of my mentor pointedly avoiding my gaze, he spoke.
"I really hate when you give me that disappointed look without saying anything." All Might said tiredly.
"I don't say anything because you already know what it's about. That's why you hate it." I replied bluntly.
Silence returned for several seconds before All Might sighed heavily.
"I never told Dave about One for All because I didn't want to endanger him. Anyone who knows about my, our quirk, inevitably gets caught in the crossfire between One for Alland All for One. I told you about what happened to my master. For all intents and purposes, I fled to America. All for One knew I had One for All. There was no guarantee that he wouldn't pursue me in search of it. I kept the truth from everyone I met in America to protect them." All Might said in answer to my unspoken question.
"And when he didn't follow you?" I asked patiently.
All Might sighed again, running a spindly hand through his hair.
"I just… Dave was my best friend. He still is, even after all these years. We have a very different relationship than the one I have with Nighteye, Gran Torino, or anyone else I've shared the secret with. It was always so innocent. By the time I returned to Japan, it had been so long. I was afraid that…" All Might trailed off, his gaze once again drifting to the window, out at some unknown point beyond the horizon.
"Toshinori."
All Might started at my use of his given name, but quickly gave me his full attention.
"If one day, in order to save someone, or even myself, I had no choice but to kill a villain, and I hid that from you. If I kept all of the guilt and pain bottled up so that you wouldn't have to share it, would you hate me?" I asked gravely.
All Might's eyes widened and he looked at me as though I had grown a second head. "Of course not! I would never…" All Might's voice trailed off and his head dipped in shame, the limp tufts of hair obscuring his face. "I would be saddened that you felt you couldn't share that burden with me. That you didn't trust me to carry it with you." He finished despondently.
Taking a step forward, I placed a hand on my mentor's shoulder, only speaking when he lifted his head to meet my gaze.
"Do you trust Dave with your life?" I asked.
"Yes." All Might answered instantly.
I allowed his response to settle for a moment before continuing. "Do you trust him with my life?"
All Might blinked in surprise at the question, but again gave his answer without hesitation. "Yes."
Giving him a soft smile, I patted his shoulder. "Then I think you already know what to do."
Nodding slowly, All Might released a shaky breath. "Sometimes, I'm not sure which of us is the student, and which is the teacher." He japed with a self deprecating chuckle.
Snorting in amusement, I rolled my eyes good naturedly. "Well, seeing as without me you'd have social issues, but without you I'd have no arms, I think it's safe to say you're still securely in the position of 'sensei'.
We shared a laugh for a few moments before All Might's expression sobered.
"I'll need to fly out to I-Island to talk to David. I owe him the truth in person" He said, more to himself than me.
"If you want to tell Melissa as well, I approve. I imagine I'll likely end up telling her at some point anyway." I offered.
All Might pondered the idea for a moment before shaking his head. "I'll leave that decision to you. You and Melissa are a part of the next generation of heroes. If you decide to share the secret with her, she will be your confidant far longer than she'll be mine."
Nodding my understanding, we stood in thoughtful silence for a moment longer before I spoke. "We shouldn't keep her waiting any longer."
"Right, let's go." All Might said as we started to make our way out of the lab.
Passing by the design monitor, All Might stopped and gestured towards the slowly rotating 3D image on the screen.
"You're happy with it? I know we talked about you sticking closely to my image, but are you sure you want to be this direct? Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with it. In fact, I'm honored you took so much inspiration from me, but if you want to separate yourself more, I'm sure it will be fine." He offered.
Looking at the design Melissa had brought to life, I smiled at the fusion of Izuku's and All Might's legacies.
While any fan of the manga or anime would instantly recognize features of Izuku's costume iterations such as the mouth guard, bracers, and most notably the ironclad red shoes, this world's eyes would immediately be drawn to the cape, and to the unmistakable color palette of All Might's Young Age.
"No, it's perfect."
Chapter 14: Orientation
"Take your feet off that desk, now!" Iida demanded in outrage.
Iida is a nice guy, and he's much better later, but holy shit was he a stick in the mud at the beginning.
"Huh?" Bakugou exclaimed with a mocking smirk.
"It's the first day and you're already disrespecting this academy by scuffing school property, you cretin." Iida said accusingly.
I snorted softly from the doorway as I watched their interaction. I didn't recall Iida calling Bakugou a cretin. Excellent word choice, Iida.
"You're kidding me right? Your old school put a stick up your ass, or were you born with it?" Bakugou retorted.
Definitely born with it, but good lord, both of them are terrible at first impressions. Though, in Bakugou's case, it tends to carry forward to subsequent interactions.
I tuned out their argument as I made my way into the classroom, but before I could make it past the first desk, Bakugou spotted me and cut off his argument with Iida in order to cast me a brooding glare.
Inko told Katsuki's mom that I had gotten into UA, so he definitely knew that I would be here. Katsuki had gotten around eighty combat points and zero rescue points if I remember correctly. I was awarded one hundred and seven rescue points alone. The public scores don't have our names attached to them, so in theory he shouldn't know I took first place, but judging by his expression, he knows.
Huffing irritably, Bakugou turned to glare at the wall.
Katsuki's inferiority complex had a tendency to rear its ugly head even when Izuku was barely able to use his quirk at all. With me more than doubling his total score in the entrance exam, mending fences will likely be far more difficult than I had anticipated.
I was drawn from my ruminations as Iida strode up to me. "Good morning! My name is Tenya Iida, from the-"
"Somei Private Academy, so I heard." I interjected with a wry smile.
Noticing that the entire class was watching our interaction, I extended my hand, keeping my eyes on Iida as I turned my head slightly to address the other students as well. "I'm Izuku Midoriya, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Shaking my proffered hand, Iida averted his eyes shamefully. "Midoriya, you realized that there was something more to the practical exam, didn't you? You must be very perceptive. I admit, as a student, you're far superior to me."
"Uh, no." I replied with a chuckle.
"What?" Iida exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah, I just saw Uraraka was in trouble, so I did what I could to help. I found out there were rescue points after the exam, just like everyone else." I replied with a smile.
A lie in my case, but it always bothered me that Izuku didn't correct him on that. Only rescuing someone because you'll be rewarded is an extremely cynical perspective.
Iida stared dumbfoundedly at me, but before he could reply, another voice called out from behind me. "Hey, I recognize that messed up hair! Midoriya!"
I turned around to greet the new arrival right as Uraraka came to a halt in front of me.
"I know you're probably tired of me saying it, but I wanted to thank you again for saving me. That punch was so cool, and that landing!" Uraraka recounted excitedly as she raised her left fist in the air like I had.
Everyone loves a hero landing, even if it may not have been the best idea at the time. As for the raised fist, I just copied All Might…
Lifting a hand to cut off her reenactment, I laughed and flashed a bright smile. "It's good to see you too, Uraraka, and like I said during the exam, don't worry about it. I know you would have done the same for me."
Uraraka smiled up at me before she started to bounce on her heels. "What do you think we're doing today besides orientation? I wonder what our teachers are like! I can't wait to meet everybody!"
Laughing at her bubbly display of excitement, I pointed down at the yellow sleeping bag that had wormed its way to a halt at the entryway. "You could start with the irritated looking caterpillar."
Aizawa's eyes widened for a moment when I noticed him, but he quickly schooled his features as Uraraka turned around and jumped backward in surprise.
"If you're just here to make friends, then you can pack up your stuff now." Aizawa said dryly.
Uraraka, Iida, and I took a step back into the classroom as the rest of the class maneuvered in their seats to try and see who had appeared.
Wiggling within his sleeping bag, Aizawa pulled a jelly packet out from somewhere within, sucking up its contents in a single swig.
Rising to his feet with surprising ease given his cocoon, Aizawa unzipped the sleeping bag from the inside. "It took eight seconds before you all shut up. That's not gonna work. Time is precious. Rational students would understand that." Aizawa finished as he stepped out of the sleeping bag.
He really does look like a hobo…
Turning away from the three of us at the front of the room, Aizawa addressed the rest of the class. "Hello, I'm Shota Aizawa, your teacher." He announced disinterestedly.
Gasps of surprise rippled across the classroom as several students began whispering to each other about the physical appearance of our instructor.
Aizawa pointedly ignored the mutterings, maintaining his blank expression as he reached into his sleeping bag and pulled out a UA gym shirt. "Here, put these on and head outside. You'll find your set in the case corresponding to your assigned seat." He said, gesturing to where twenty numbered cases were emerging from the far wall.
As the class descended into confused whispers again, I shrugged my shoulders and made my way over to the cases. As I walked down the aisle, I took the opportunity to briefly examine each of my fellow students. Some looked exactly as I imagined they would, like Iida and Jiro. Others translated quite awkwardly into reality, like Koda and Asui.
Ashido's black sclera, Mineta's 'hair', Asui's giant eyes, and that was to say nothing of Tokoyami's actual bird head or the giant mass of muscle and flesh that was Shoji. Even after spending nearly a year in this world, many of the mutation quirks continued to catch me off guard.
Yeah, this is going to take some getting used to. Shoto and Momo are just as pretty as expected though. Todoroki definitely has Prince Zuko vibes.
Doing my best not to stare at some of my more aesthetically unique compatriots, I finished making my way to the back of the classroom. Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Shoji, and Tokoyami moved to collect their cases from the wall as well, but the five of us were already on our way out the door by the time the rest of the class had regained their bearings and moved to follow suit.
Hurriedly changing into our gym uniforms, Todoroki and I were the first to emerge onto the training field behind the main school house. Taking the opportunity to talk to Aizawa while the rest of the class finished changing, I made my way over to our teacher.
Choosing to ignore my approach entirely, Aizawa continued idly tapping away at the smartphone in his hands. I waited patiently for a moment until he spoke. "Is something wrong?" He asked dispassionately, not bothering to look up from his phone.
"No, sir, everything is fine. I'm Izuku Midoriya, and I know you hate the spotlight, so I'll only say it once, but I'm a big fan of yours, Eraserhead. You do quick and efficient work." I replied stolidly, desperately suppressing Izuku's urge to fanboy.
Raising his head, Aizawa looked me up and down before turning to face me. "You're the problem child who broke his limbs in the entrance exam, right?" His words and expression remained emotionless, but I could see the spark of challenge in his eyes.
Wincing at the memory, I rubbed the back of my neck and nodded bashfully. "Yeah, not my finest moment. I overexerted trying to push my limits, but I wore myself down too early. By the time the zero pointer showed up, I was already at my breaking point. Only my right arm and the fingers on my left hand were completely broken, but the damage to my legs was significant enough that I was effectively mobility-killed." I said while eyeing my right arm, which, thanks to Recovery Girl, was free of any sign of its previous maiming. "I was arrogant, and didn't take the test seriously. If it hadn't been a controlled environment,-" I clenched my fist in frustration. "-I may have gotten Uraraka and myself killed." I finished, continuing to stare at my fist.
I may have knowledge of the future, but canon has already been derailed, and the changes will only continue to mount as time goes on. I'm well ahead of where Izuku was at this point, but I'm nowhere near All Might's level, and even he isn't invincible. If I had overexerted myself like that at the USJ, the Nomu or Shigaraki likely would have killed me.
Taking a deep breath to collect myself, I lowered my arm and looked back at Aizawa, who was studying me with an indiscernible expression. After a few moments, he sighed, and his demeanor eased somewhat as he put his phone in his pocket.
"As long as you understand where you went wrong. It's important to not only know your limits, but when it's acceptable to go beyond them. Assaulting the robot distribution center directly was foolish, and while your actions to save the girl were rational given your current limitations,-" Aizawa's eyes flared red in annoyance and his hair began to levitate, indicating activation of his quirk. "-the showboating after the destruction of the zero pointer was not."
I winced, both at the reprimand as well as the uncomfortable void where One for All normally resided, but nodded my understanding.
Sighing in exasperation, Aizawa released his quirk and addressed me again more softly. "You may be All Might's protege, but remember that while he does showboat, he also ensures the area is completely secure before doing so. You let your guard down in an active combat area, to say nothing of the hazards related to the damaged buildings around you."
I nodded my understanding. So the staff at least now know of my relationship with All Might. Midnight probably mentioned that I was here with him a few weeks ago. Though knowing Toshinori, he probably lost his shit at some point during the exam and had to explain to everyone why he was cheering for a particular student.
Glancing over my shoulder, Aizawa pulled his phone back out of his pocket and began tapping away once more. "Your classmates have finally graced us with their presence. Go ahead and join them. We'll begin soon."
"Yes, sir." I acknowledged before turning and walking back to where Todoroki was standing with the newly arrived Shoji, Tokoyami, and Yaoyorozu. As Aizawa said, the rest of the class was just beginning to stream out of the locker rooms, an irritated Bakugou at the forefront.
Probably mad that his hesitation to follow Aizawa's order meant he wasn't the first one out here. That, or someone pissed him off in the locker room. Or Both. Probably both.
As we waited for the mass of other students to finish making their way out to the training field, Yaoyorozu approached me. "Did Mr Aizawa want something? You were already speaking to him by the time I finished changing. The uniform the school made for me was too small, so I had to create a new one." She finished with a morose tug at her gym shirt.
"Nah, I just wanted to introduce myself. He's an underground hero who prefers to keep a minimal profile, but I know of him." I answered before giving her a quizzical look. "And what do you mean by 'create a new one?'"
Yaoyorozu blinked in surprise before flushing slightly in embarrassment. "Oh! How forgetful of me. I'm Momo Yaoyorozu, and my quirk allows me to create things I know the chemical composition of using the lipids in my body."
The hardest part about coming to this world is actually remembering to ask people I know from the anime about their quirks when I first meet them. Luckily for me, feigning surprise is far easier. All I have to do is let Izuku's fanboy side out to play.
Staring wide-eyed at Yaoyorozu, I let said fanboy run wild. "That's fucking awesome."
Yaoyorozu blinked in surprise and blushed slightly at the profanity, but I didn't give her time to respond as I focused intently on the ground between us and began to mutter just loud enough for her to hear. "That's an insanely powerful quirk. As long as you have a supply of lipids and a reference source, you could theoretically create a solution to almost any problem. The primary limitation of heroes is that there are situations where your quirk simply doesn't help with the crisis in question. It may even be counterproductive. Heroes can try to use brute strength to power through their weakness, but the stronger the opponent, or the more severe the natural disaster, the less likely that is to be successful. Even All Might could theoretically be overpowered by a strong enough force, natural or man-made. You on the other hand can use your quirk to create anything you need, as long as you know the composition, which with the benefit of technology, isn't a hindrance at all. Even if your reference source is damaged or destroyed, you can just create another one. You have the potential to become the perfect hero, ideal for any situation that could ever develop, as long as you mitigate the limitations inherent to requiring lipids for production and, presumably, space to create the object. Your biggest weakness is therefore endurance, but there are plenty of ways to alleviate the strain on your body. In theory, you could probably even go up against All Might with a non-zero chance of victory, which is more than can be said for probably any hero currently active in Japan, though you would need to make sure that-"
"STOP MUTTERING, YOU DAMN NERD!" Bakugou interrupted angrily.
Drawn from my contemplation, I looked up from the ground to find Aizawa and Todoroki watching me with bored expressions, and the rest of the class giving me looks ranging from awe to mild fear, or in Bakugou's case, annoyance.
Turning back to the object of my musings, I found Yaoyorozu bright red with embarrassment and resolutely avoiding eye contact.
I may have overdone it.
"Oops, sorry about that. I have a tendency to get carried away when it comes to quirk analysis." I apologized, flashing her a bright smile.
Still blushing, Yaoyorozu finally met my gaze, giving a small smile of her own. "It's alright. I just wasn't expecting… all that." She replied, still looking bewildered by what had just transpired.
Before I could say anything else, Aizawa cut in. "If you two are done, it's time for your quirk assessment test."
That grabbed the attention of the class, as multiple students cried out in surprise at the unexpected evaluation.
Uraraka was the first to speak coherently and make herself heard above the disjointed grumblings. "But orientation, we're gonna miss it!"
Without bothering to face us, Aizawa retorted dryly. "If you really want to make the big leagues, you can't waste time on pointless ceremonies. Here at UA, we're not tethered to traditions. That means I get to run my class however I see fit." Finally turning back towards us, he continued. "You've been taking standardized tests all your lives, but you never got to use your quirks in physical exams before. The country is still trying to pretend we're all created equal by not letting those with the most power excel. It's not rational. One day, the Ministry of Education will learn." Aizawa finished resolutely.
How very Meta-Human Liberation of you Aizawa. Some of Izuku's knowledge flashed through my mind and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Or American, apparently. Of course the US would have an amendment allowing uninhibited quirk usage.
"Midoriya,-" Aizawa's voice snapped me from my thoughts. "-you managed to get the most points on the entrance exam." I ignored Katsuki's growl and the murmurings of the other students at that revelation as Aizawa continued. "What was your farthest distance throw with a softball when you were in junior high?"
"Oh, um…" I scrounged through Izuku's memories for that particular piece of information, but such an insignificant statistic hadn't been high on the priority retention list, especially given his lack of physical proficiency at the time. "Well, I was pretty scrawny until my third year, and that was when I swapped to homeschooling, so I didn't do regular PE activities like this. I'd say something pretty low though. We'll say forty meters?" I estimated vaguely.
Some of the other students began mumbling again, and I noticed even Todoroki and Yaoyorozu giving me looks of surprise.
I guess that reaction makes sense. Looking at me now, you probably wouldn't guess that a year ago I was a scrawny little kid. I'm almost as muscular as Sato and the same height as Shoji, though the latter will almost certainly be taller than I am at some point.
Bakugou started growling even louder in annoyance, but was cut off from yelling again by Aizawa.
"That's enough. Right, Midoriya. Try doing it with your quirk." He ordered.
Stepping forward, I took the proffered ball and entered the circle.
Alright, using my whole body will put far more power into this than just my finger, but will eight percent across my entire body overpower one hundred percent in a single finger? Did Izuku even use one hundred percent? He had no control at that point, so it's entirely possible he used less than that subconsciously. I also need to make sure not to throw in a parabolic arc like everyone did canonically. That's just stupid.
Taking a deep breath, I channeled Full Cowling at eight percent and launched the ball. The air cracked and a small gust of wind blew over the field as the ball soared into the distance.
"All of you need to know your maximum capabilities. It's the most rational way of figuring out your potential as a pro hero." Aizawa said as he lifted his phone to show the class the display.
"What the hell? Twelve hundred seventy-two meters, are you kidding me?" Kaminari blurted in disbelief.
"I wanna go! That looks like fun!" Ashido said excitedly.
A few voices of agreement rang out but went silent when Aizawa huffed in annoyance.
"So this looks fun, huh? You have three years here to become a hero. You think it's all going to be games and playtime?" A wicked grin crossed Aizawa's features as he stared us down. "Idiots. Today, you'll compete in eight physical tests to gauge your potential. Whoever comes in last has none, and will be expelled immediately."
Chapter 15: Rational Deception
The cries of outrage were immediate, with almost the entire class descending into an uproar. Sighing in resignation, I took a step back behind the surging protestors while Aizawa weathered the storm of indignation.
"It's obvious that he isn't actually going to expel us. I doubt Mr Aizawa even has the authority to do so at all, let alone on the first day after nothing but a handful of physical tests." Yaoyorozu muttered in exasperation from beside me.
"He might have the ability to do something to spook students who aren't taking this seriously or have some other serious character issue that wasn't detected through the entrance exam, but I agree, there's no way he could just expel someone outright." I agreed. "That said, it is one hell of a motivator for everyone who doesn't realize that to give it their all."
Yaoyorozu sighed. "They should be doing that anyway."
I nodded in agreement and checked to see who else had managed to keep a level head. Bakugou looked like he wanted to kill everyone just to stop them from complaining, Todoroki was still maintaining his bored expression, and Shoji and Tokoyami were simply observing the proceedings in their usual contemplative silence. For his part, Koda was emoting panic, but at least he was quiet about it.
Aizawa's voice silenced the protests as he lifted his hair to reveal a deranged smile. "Like I said, I get to decide how this class runs. Understand? If that's a problem, you can head home right now."
A few students met his gaze with determination, but many still seemed uncertain. Glancing around the class, Koda, Kaminari, Jiro, Kirishima, and Hagakure all had quirks that would be useless during these tests. Even Sato wouldn't be able to leverage his strength without a source of sugar. Unsurprisingly, the students in question comprised a large percentage of those who had been most distressed at Aizawa's bluff.
If the story hadn't demanded he place last, Izuku being able to use One for All for a single event would have put him on equal footing with Ashido, Shoji, and Mineta in terms of being able to excel in a single event. Realistically, his physical fitness would have meant he'd place top ten, or just outside it at the absolute worst.
Even with the modest control I have, I should be able to take first place handedly, or at least second, depending on the devices Momo creates.
A quiet noise to the side drew my attention and I noticed Hagakure's floating clothes hunched over and shaking slightly, soft sobs emanating from the invisible girl.
Right, her quirk does nothing in terms of her physical ability. I get why Aizawa bluffed the class like this. He wanted to motivate them to give it their all, and to an extent, he really was willing to faux-expel students, just as he had done to his entire class the previous year. That said, there are better ways to motivate kids without panicking those with utility quirks.
Taking advantage of Uraraka's outburst and Aizawa's lecture on fairness, I slowly made my way to stand beside Hagakure. Yaoyorozu watched me out of the corner of her eye, and Aizawa's gaze briefly locked on me, but as no one else appeared to take notice of my movement, he shifted his attention back to the rest of the class and continued his tirade.
Placing my hand on Hagakure's shoulder, I leaned down to whisper to her.
"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure Aizawa is just saying this to motivate the class, and even if he is serious, he's looking for potential. You have an amazing quirk with huge infiltration and hostage rescue utility. There's no way he'd expel you just because you can't throw a ball far." I reassured her.
She continued to sniffle, but Hagakure turned towards me. "You think?" She asked, her voice still choked from crying.
"Definitely." I reassured with a wide smile. "And even if he tries, I'll beat him up before he can expel you." I added with a wink.
Hagakure giggled. "Thanks, Midoriya, I needed that. I'm Toru Hagakure, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Hagakure. I look forward to pulling a ton of invisibility pranks on our classmates with you this year." I replied with another smile and a reassuring squeeze to her shoulder.
She giggled again, and I slowly shifted back to my original position right as Aizawa was finishing his diatribe.
"Now then, we're just wasting time by talking. Let the games begin." Aizawa declared.
The class tensed as Aizawa called Iida and Asui forward for the first event, the fifty meter dash.
I suppose it makes sense to only have two students go at a time since Aizawa is the sole teacher present, but no wonder these tests ended up taking the whole day. Some tests, like the long jump, will only be one person at a time, even if the long distance run will be all of us at once. This is going to involve a lot of standing around.
I deadpanned in realization. Aizawa is totally the type to tell us to 'hurry up and wait.'
"That was very kind, what you did for her." Yaoyorozu said from beside me.
I glanced at Yaoyorozu, then followed her gaze to where the floating set of clothes that was Hagakure stood speaking animatedly to Ashido, at least if her waving sleeves were any indication.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Her quirk doesn't have any physical enhancements at all. It makes sense that she'd be upset. Honestly, I'm impressed that she was able to get enough points to pass the practical. Even with the ability to sneak up on those robots undetected, it had to have been challenging to take down at least a couple dozen with just her bare hands. The least I could do is reassure her that she'll be fine, even if Aizawa is serious. Though I was thinking about talking to him about his wording." I finished contemplatively.
Yaoyorozu turned to regard me curiously. "Oh? How do you mean?"
"I understand that he's trying to get the best out of us, but he also needs to be careful not to shatter the morale of those who may not have physically focused quirks. There's a difference between inspiring a healthy dose of fear, and demotivating your students." I replied soberly.
Yaoyorozu hummed in thought and returned her attention to the ongoing races.
"Would you care to join me when I speak to him?" I asked.
"I think I will." Yaoyorozu accepted resolutely.
Good. I had thought about leaving the class rep vote up to fate, but Momo is a much better leader than anyone else in the class, and will provide a bit more versatility than Iida. Talking to Aizawa about his methods won't help her get more votes, but it will get her used to acting like a leader.
"Midoriya and Bakugou, you're up." Aizawa called out after Ojiro and Uraraka had finished their fifty meter dash.
Snorting at the consistency with which Izuku and Bakugou were paired against one another, I made my way over.
Arriving at the start line, I set my feet on the block and dug my hands a few inches into the ground in order to use all four points to catapult myself once the starting shot was fired. Sparing a glance at my competition, I met Bakugou's glare impassively until he growled and focused his attention on the finish line.
"Good luck, Katsuki." I said politely.
Bakugou whipped his head back towards me. "I don't need luck, Deku! I'm gonna destroy you!" He snapped angrily.
"Runners, on your mark! Ready…" The automated voice called out.
One for All, Full Cowling, eight percent.
The faux gunshot rang out, and I released myself like a slingshot.
"One point eight-four seconds!" The machine announced.
Huh. A lot slower than I thought it'd be.
"Four point one-three seconds!"
A sound similar to firecrackers drew my attention to Bakugou, who was looking at me with pure malice as small explosions rippled across his palms.
This could be problematic. I assumed our little heart to heart would help him mature and become a better person. If I was progressing similar to how Izuku had canonically, it probably would have, but with me accelerating so much of that progress, his guilt over being an asshole is being completely overpowered by his inferiority complex. It's not like he'll become a villain, but I was hoping to rekindle Izuku and Bakugou's friendship much earlier than canon. At this rate, not only is that looking unlikely, but our relationship may even get worse. I had wanted to avoid it, but I may need to ask the staff to become involved. This kid needs therapy.
"Is there a problem, Bakugou?" Aizawa asked blandly.
Bakugou turned his glare to our teacher for a moment before shouting in frustration and stomping off without a word.
"Bakugou has been glaring at you since you first arrived this morning. Is there some kind of history between you?" Iida asked as he walked up to me.
I watched Bakugou storm off to stand by himself at the edge of the training area, shoulder checking Aoyama in the process. "Yeah, something like that."
As expected, the various events took up the entire morning. I was able to place first in the fifty meter, the grip test, and the long jump, as well as top three in most of the other tests. The only ones that I hadn't fared as well in were the side steps and the toe touch.
Given her ability to create innovative tools and gadgets in addition to her exceptional physical fitness, it came as no surprise when Yaoyorozu placed first, with myself in second, and Todoroki, Bakugou, and Iida rounding out the top five.
Mineta immediately broke down into hysterics due to his last place finish, and I snorted in amusement when Aizawa let him wallow in misery for a few seconds before saying anything.
"And I was lying. No one's going home." Aizawa announced plainly.
I struggled to contain my laughter as most of the class froze in shock and Aizawa's face broke into a wide grin.
"That was just a rational deception to make sure you gave it your all in the tests." Aizawa said as several students adopted dumbfounded expressions mixed with outrage.
Unable to control myself upon seeing Aizawa's shiteating grin, I snickered quietly at the display unfolding before me.
A soft prod grabbed my attention and I looked over to see Yaoyorozu trying and failing to conceal a smile of her own. "Don't laugh at them. They must have been terrified. We really should have said something."
Pointedly glancing at Mineta as he broke down in a renewed bout of hysterics, I turned back to Yaoyorozu and smirked. "Nah."
Bringing a hand up to cover her mouth as she laughed at the display from the boy who had been leering at her all morning, Yaoyorozu nodded. "Okay, maybe it wasn't too cruel."
"That's it, we're done for the day. Pick up a syllabus in the classroom. Read it over before tomorrow morning." Aizawa said as he began to make his way back to the schoolhouse.
I nudged Yaoyorozu's arm and pointed to Aizawa's departing form. "You still want to talk to him with me?"
"Yes, let's go." She replied with a nod.
Following after him, Uraraka waved and called out to me as we passed her and Iida. "Midoriya, did you want to walk back to class with us?"
"Sorry, but Yaoyorozu and I need to talk to Aizawa about something really quick." I called back as we hurried after our homeroom teacher.
I didn't fail to notice Uraraka's disappointed expression, or the wary look she shot at Yaoyorozu.
Oh, boy. I'm definitely gonna need to figure out how to handle that. It'll probably get worse with time, especially once I start working with Hatsume. That girl may be a genius, but she can get a bit handsy. I'd like to avoid any unnecessary drama, especially the jealous kind.
"Thanks for waiting." Yaoyorozu said as she emerged from the girl's locker room.
Looking up from my phone, I smiled in greeting and pushed off the wall so that we could make our way towards the school entrance. It hadn't taken long for us to finish speaking with Aizawa, but the rest of the class had already left for the day by the time we made our way to the locker rooms to shower and change out of our gym clothes.
"No problem. I take the train home, but because we were let out early the schedule is a bit weird and the next one doesn't leave for the better part of an hour." I replied.
"Would you like a ride home? I live on the outskirts of Fujieda, but I can ask my driver to make a detour." She offered.
Casual rich girl statement. I thought, suppressing a chuckle.
"Thanks, but I'm in the opposite direction, so it'd be way out of your way. Besides, I enjoy people watching on the train. It gives me an opportunity to see some really cool mutation quirks. Thanks for the offer, though." I declined politely.
Yaoyorozu looked over with a knowing smile. "Yes, I realized you have a penchant for quirk analysis earlier today when we first met."
I laughed at the memory of my semi-intentional mutter storm. "Yeah, I have a tendency to get carried away, especially when a quirk is as versatile as yours. Sorry if it was a bit creepy."
"Oh, not at all. Quite the opposite in fact. I was just caught off guard is all. There was actually a few things you mentioned that I wanted to ask you about, but that can wait until another day when we have more time." She replied, waving off my apology.
"Definitely. We can do tomorrow during lunch or our free period if you're up for it." I offered with a smile.
"That would be wonderful, thank you." She agreed gratefully.
After picking up a syllabus from the classroom, we walked in companionable silence through the empty halls for a few minutes before Yaoyorozu spoke again.
"I was wondering, Midoriya. My apologies if this is a private topic, but Bakugou referred to you as 'Deku' several times this morning..." She began hesitantly.
Smiling in recognition, I nodded. "Yeah, that's my nickname. He gave it to me when we were kids. Feel free to call me that too if you want. I'll probably answer to Deku faster than I will to Midoriya." I added with a laugh.
Yaoyorozu gave me a disconcerted look. "But Midoriya, deku means-"
"Worthless. Yeah, I know. Katsuki calls me that too sometimes." I finished for her with another laugh.
Yaoyorozu stopped in the middle of the hall. I turned and gave a rueful smile at her appalled expression.
"That's despicable!" She exclaimed.
I sighed heavily and motioned for us to continue. Yaoyorozu hurriedly fell back into line with me, but halted again once we had made our way outside.
"Why would he call you such a thing? It's completely unbefitting of someone who aspires to be a hero." Yaoyorozu declared in outrage.
Looking up at the sky, I pondered my choice of words for a moment before meeting her gaze.
"I assume you recall what I said this morning, about me being quite weak until relatively recently?" I asked.
Yaoyorozu nodded in confirmation.
"Well, that's because my quirk only awakened a little less than a year ago. About ten months, give or take a few days. So for the first fourteen years of my life, I was, for all intents and purposes, quirkless. Oddly enough, I even have the extra toe joint." I stated plainly with a casual wave towards my special, quirkless brand red shoes.
Staring at me in astonishment, Yaoyorozu shook her head incredulously. "I've heard of late bloomers, but fourteen? That's almost unheard of!"
Flashing a bright smile, I nodded. "Yep! Only a handful in Japan every year, and almost all of them relate to the individual's hormones like Midnight's Somnambulist. Though in my case, while my quirk could have activated sooner, it remained dormant due to a self-preservation failsafe."
"Self-preservation?" She asked with wary curiosity.
"I don't mean to sound vain, but what you saw of my quirk today is only a small fraction of its capability. If I use too much power, the backlash will literally destroy my body. It only activated when it did because I was finally strong enough to wield it without… Well, without blowing myself up essentially." I explained with a self deprecating laugh.
Yaoyorozu gave me a horrified look, but before she could question the potential for explosive dismemberment, I continued. "Anyway, before my quirk came in, I was pretty short and really scrawny. That combined with the fact that everyone, including myself, thought I was quirkless growing up, and yeah… Deku." I finished with an apathetic shrug.
Regaining her composure, Yaoyorozu studied me for a moment with a doubtful expression. "And it really doesn't bother you at all?"
"It used to, but not anymore. Everyone, even people I consider friends, have called me Deku for so long that I just see it as my name at this point. You calling me Deku, for example, has a far different connotation than Katsuki doing it. Besides, I know my worth. An insecure teenager trying to make himself feel superior isn't going to change how I see myself." I answered truthfully.
Yaoyorozu looked at me appraisingly for a moment before replying. "That's quite mature of you, Midoriya. I'm not sure I would be able to take that kind of bullying in stride."
I waved off her words dismissively. "No way. You're by far the most mature person in the class. Except maybe Todoroki, but I'm still not entirely sure he isn't a robot, so we'll exclude him for now." I said with a smirk.
Covering her mouth to stifle a giggle, Yaoyorozu swatted my arm. "Don't be mean! He's just socially awkward is all."
We shared a laugh as we made our way off school grounds and towards the shortened black limousine Yaoyorozu said was hers.
Not that there is an abundance of other limos waiting around.
"I'm glad we were able to get to know each other, Midoriya. Though I must admit, I wish I knew whether or not Mr Aizawa truly considered our words, or if he was merely hearing us out. It's hard to tell with him." She said dejectedly.
Obviously, she has no way of knowing so early into the school year, but I could tell Aizawa took what we said to heart. He cares about his students and wants all of them to succeed. He just thinks too 'rationally' at times and forgets that some people, especially children, aren't always so level headed.
Flashing a bright smile, I did my best to ease her concerns. "I'm sure he'll give it some thought at the very least. He may be a bit of a hard ass, but something tells me he cares deep down. There's no way he'd be a teacher at UA otherwise, right?"
Nodding in agreement, Yaoyorozu smiled. "I suppose you're correct. Well, it was a pleasure talking to you, Midoriya. I'll see you tomorrow." She said.
"The pleasure was mine. I'll see you tomorrow." I replied as I opened the door for her.
I noticed Yaoyorozu's chauffeur had moved around to open the door as well, and even with his tiger mutation quirk, it was obvious the very imposing man was narrowing his eyes at me in suspicion.
Dude is scarier than Aizawa.
"Uh, sorry. Force of habit." I explained awkwardly, trying not to cower under his menacing gaze.
The man huffed before making his way back to the driver's side. Turning back to Yaoyorozu, I gave her a look that I hoped was able to convey my apologies, as well as silently ask if I should fear for my life.
Smiling at me, Yaoyorozu took her seat inside the car. "Thank you, Midoriya. Don't worry about Seiji, he's just upset that you were faster than him."
I stifled a laugh at the grumble that emerged from the driver's seat. "See you tomorrow, Yaoyorozu." I said as I closed the door.
Watching the car drive off, I sighed at the thought of the long walk and train ride that awaited me.
Maybe I should've taken Momo up on her offer. The dorms can't happen soon enough.
Chapter 16: Hero 101
I exhaled deeply as I took a seat at one of the tables in the cafeteria. The morning of the second day had consisted of introductions to the subjects we'd be learning, with each class being crammed into a half period so that we could take various benchmark quizzes, much to the dismay of most of the class.
Being in the hero course, our curriculum was largely centered around daily combat and rescue training, as well as hero law, but other subjects were still distributed throughout the week, with general studies such as mathematics, history, English, and Japanese being thrice a week, and more cultural topics like literature and hero art being only once a week.
If the quizzes were any indication, then between Izuku's pre-existing knowledge, my adult comprehension, and the tutors All Might had provided over the previous year, I wasn't going to have any trouble with the general subjects. That was to say nothing of hero law, which Izuku had already memorized to a large extent by the time he had turned ten.
Modern art and literature on the other hand… Even in a different universe, I'm shit at liberal arts.
Digging into my food, I had to admit that Lunch Rush's cuisine was even better than Inko's cooking or that of any of the fancy restaurants I had been to with All Might since arriving in this world. Apparently, his quirk allowed him to near instantly heat organic material to a very precise temperature, allowing him to perfectly cook vast quantities of food at an astounding pace. That combined with his exceptional cooking skills meant that he truly was the ultimate chef.
People do tend to forget that a disaster doesn't end when the weather eases up or the villains are defeated. Infrastructure is often damaged or destroyed in the aftermath, and a hot meal can do wonders to ease the soul. Props to him for using his talents to help people instead of just opening another overpriced restaurant in Paris or New York.
"Hey, Deku!"
The happy voice drew me from my thoughts, and I looked up to see Uraraka waving at me as she approached with her own lunch tray.
"Hey, Uraraka. How's it going?" I greeted with a smile.
Taking a seat across from me, Uraraka grimaced slightly and made a 'so-so' gesture. "To be honest, I wasn't really expecting to take so many tests on what was pretty much our first day. I didn't do great on some of them."
"Yeah, I was expecting them to ease us into it with introductions and syllabuses, or if they did hit us with quizzes, that they would space them out with the normal schedule. Packing every class into a single day was an unpleasant surprise." I agreed.
"Please pardon my interruption, but are you still willing to assist me with my quirk, Midoriya?" Yaoyorozu asked as she walked up to the table.
"Of course! I made sure to streamline my ideas last night so that it wouldn't become another blob of random words." I replied with a chuckle.
Yaoyorozu smiled and took the chair beside me. As I pulled the notebook containing my ideas for Creation out of my backpack, I stifled a groan at the slight pout that marred Uraraka's features.
I should've sat next to Katsuki. At least he would have warded off all this high school bullshit. I deadpanned in realization. Oh my God. It's literally high school bullshit.
"I didn't mean to interrupt anything. Did you two want privacy, Deku?" Uraraka asked with forced cheerfulness.
I noticed Yaoyorozu wince out of the corner of my eye, and Uraraka must have as well as her expression quickly became panicked.
"I'm sorry! Did I say something I shouldn't have?" She asked alarmedly, her eyes darting between Yaoyorozu and myself.
I quickly raised my hands to try and calm her. "No, no, you're fine. Yaoyorozu just isn't used to people calling me Deku." I reassured.
Yaoyorozu smiled uncomfortably. "It's definitely going to take some getting used to, but I suppose it's fine as long as it really doesn't bother you, Midoriya. Though I still strongly disapprove of Bakugou calling you that." She added with a glare over her shoulder at Katsuki, the blonde in question aggressively attempting to dissuade Kirishima from sitting next to him.
"What's wrong with Bakugou calling you Deku? I thought it was just your nickname?" Uraraka asked bemusedly.
"Well, Katsuki was the one who originally gave me the nickname, but it was meant to be an insult. It's an alternate way of reading the kanji for my given name. It means 'worthless'." Seeing Uraraka's horrified expression, I quickly made to reassure her. "But don't worry! My friends call me Deku, too. I don't see it as an insult at all."
Uraraka sighed in relief and gave a shaky smile. "Oh, well that's good. I would've felt terrible if I was insulting you. I thought it was short for 'dekiru', you know, like 'you can do it'!" She finished, raising her fist in imaginary triumph.
"That's a good way of looking at it. Maybe I should start telling people that's what it means." I replied with a chuckle.
Uraraka beamed. "Yeah! It'd make a great hero name! Plus, I think it sounds kind of cute."
Silence swept over the table for a moment before Uraraka's eyes widened and she flushed an almost unnatural shade of red. Unable to contain my smirk, I raised an eyebrow in question while Yaoyorozu gave the petrified Uraraka a small, sympathetic smile.
Don't do it, Izuku. You want to be a hero. This would be cruel beyond all measure.
"Deku it is then! Who am I to argue when a pretty girl makes such a heartfelt suggestion?" I replied, my smirk growing as Uraraka squeaked and attempted to shrink inside of herself.
I'm a villain.
Yaoyorozu sighed in exasperation before fixing me with a disapproving look. Rolling my eyes concedingly, I turned my attention back to Uraraka, who was twiddling her fingers and pointedly looking anywhere else.
"I'm just teasing you, Uraraka, but thank you, really. That means a lot. I had actually been considering using Deku as my hero name, at least temporarily until I can think of something more permanent. Looking at it in that new light makes the decision easier." I reassured her with a smile.
Hesitantly meeting my gaze, Uraraka smiled shyly before breaking her chopsticks and acting as though her food was suddenly the most fascinating thing in the world.
Laughing good naturedly at her continued embarrassment, I decided to move on.
"So, Yaoyorozu, are you ready to talk about your quirk?" I asked innocently, as though the previous conversation had never happened.
Casting me another look of disapproval betrayed by the small twitch in the corner of her mouth, Yaoyorozu mouthed a quick 'You're terrible' before accepting my proffered notebook.
Shortly after we had begun brainstorming, Asui had taken a seat next to Uraraka, but aside from brief greetings, the two of them had mostly just sat in awed silence as Yaoyorozu and I had poured over every aspect of her quirk and how it could potentially be utilized. Yaoyorozu had already thought of some ideas such as higher density materials, but others such as creating liquids and gases were accepted with childish excitement I wouldn't have expected from the usually composed heiress.
Due to the complexity and oftentimes chemistry intensive nature of the discussion, the lunch period had proven woefully insufficient to go over every potential application of Yaoyorozu's quirk, so once we returned to class, I perched on her desk to continue our conversation. Yaoyorozu blinked in surprise but made no complaint, so ignoring Iida's outraged expression and Mineta's envious glare, I picked up where we had left off in the cafeteria.
"So your biggest constraint is going to be mental. While more durable materials like tungsten, iridium, and osmium don't exhaust more resources to create, they do require more concentration due to the complicated composition of the alloys that make them viable. If you are able to familiarize yourself with ultradense and lightweight elements, your creations will be far more adaptable and much stronger than basic steel." Humming in thought, I tapped my pen on the notebook in my lap. "Like I hypothesized, your quirk is immensely powerful, to the point of potentially rivaling Fate's Chronoshift, Starlight's Holy Light, or maybe even Star and Stripe's New Order." I began.
Yaoyorozu blushed furiously at being compared to China, the EU, and America's strongest heroes respectively, but I continued before she could attempt to argue.
"Unfortunately, mental processing speed is something that will only really increase with training and experience. That said, there are ways to mitigate your reliance on rote memorization. Do you have some kind of reference material you can use to find the chemical composition of something you don't know offhand?" I enquired.
I had almost forgotten. Time to address the fact that Momo uses a fucking bookshelf attached to her ass.
Yaoyorozu nodded in affirmation. "Yes, I have a pair of textbooks that contain a significant number of base formulas, as well as compositions for common items and a few more niche tools."
I deadpanned at Yaoyorozu until she began to fidget nervously under my gaze. "Wait, so you use an actual book to-"
"I am here, coming through the door like a hero!" All Might's voice boomed through the class.
Rolling my eyes at my mentor's taste for theatrics, I couldn't help but smile as I turned to face the front of the class.
The room immediately burst into a cacophony of noise as the majority of 1-A devolved into an awestruck mess. Glancing around the class, almost everyone was at a loss for words at seeing the number one hero for the first time. Even Katsuki was failing to contain his excitement. Only Todoroki appeared unimpressed, maintaining his usual bored expression.
Dramatically marching to the teacher's podium, All Might waited for a brief reprieve in the classes' excited mutterings before addressing us.
"Welcome to the most important class in the heroics course of UA High! Think of it as Heroing 101. Here you will learn the basics of being a pro, and what it means to fight in the name of good!" All Might explained.
Flexing into a pose, he continued. "Let's get into it! Today's lesson will pull no punches!"
All Might procured a small card with the word 'Battle' stamped on it from within his costume before thrusting it forward. The class immediately descended into renewed chatter at the prospect of action to end what had to that point been a very tedious day.
Projecting his voice over the chaos, All Might pointed dramatically towards the far wall as cases began to emerge from within. "But one of the keys of being a hero is looking good! These were designed for you based on your quirk registration forms and the requests you sent in before school started."
The commotion reached a new height, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of how Aizawa would respond to the noise if he were present.
"Get yourselves suited up, and then meet me behind the main building. We'll be taking a bus to Training Ground Beta!"
I was the last one to make my way out of the locker rooms attached to the entrance of the training ground. While the support items on Costume Alpha were relatively straightforward, I was careful to read the instructions provided by Melissa and the UA Support Company just in case they had added anything of their own initiative. As expected, the mid-gauntlets wouldn't be ready for several more weeks at minimum, but given that they were unlikely to be allowed in the Sports Festival as non essential gear, it wasn't much of an inconvenience.
Making my way down the corridor, I held up my right hand, studying the blue and gold trimmed white gauntlet. Despite everything that had happened since arriving in this world, I couldn't help the knot of anxiety that had formed in my stomach upon seeing Costume Alpha for the first time.
Everyone is going to think I'm a fucking tool. Izuku said he hadn't earned the right to take a name that ripped off from All Might, but me taking his color palette isn't much better. Even with All Might's blessing, I'm going to be getting some dirty looks for this. Maybe we should have done a more overt public display of our association sooner? Not going through recommendations was the right call, but I should have done something to make our relationship public knowledge. This is going to be so God damned awkward.
My rumination was cut off as I emerged into the sunlight. As if someone had cut the power, all discussion came to a halt as the entire class turned their eyes on me.
Pushing down the sudden nausea, I forced my smile to remain in place as I made my way through the parting crowd of students. Coming to a halt in the midst of my classmates, I struggled to suppress a tremble or any other sign of self doubt.
I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye, but right as Uraraka took a step forward and opened her mouth to say something, All Might's booming laugh shattered the awkward silence and he made his way towards me.
Uraraka slunk back to where she had been standing and the other students backed away even further as All Might approached, leaving us alone inside the makeshift circle of aspiring heroes.
"Midoriya's fucked. That costume is pretty much just plagiarism." Mineta whispered from somewhere behind me, his hushed tone still clearly audible due to the silence around him.
"Nobody copies All Might's style. That's like defacing a temple or something." Kaminari agreed, too stunned to even attempt to lower his volume.
A familiar zipping sound followed by dual hisses of pain sounded from behind me, and my false smile became a bit more genuine.
Thanks, Jiro. I owe you one.
Coming to a halt in front of me, All Might placed his hands on his hips. "Young Izuku, I trust that the UA Support Company met the specifications you and I drew up with Melissa? Power stockpiling quirks like ours need to be carefully accounted for, or our clothes will blow right off from our own power!" He joked with another boisterous laugh.
I felt like I was going to cry as the rest of the class erupted into bedlam at All Might's use of my given name and the revelation that he not only approved of my costume, but actively participated in its design.
I love you so fucking much, Toshi.
"I'm glad you decided to take my suggestion and keep the cape!" All Might added with a knowing nod.
Laughing perhaps a touch forcefully due to my relief, I quickly retorted. "Of course I kept the cape! Capes make hero landings at least twenty percent cooler."
All Might's boisterous laughter echoed across the training ground once more before he ruffled my hair. "That they do, my boy. That they do."
As All Might turned around and made his way back to the front of the class, I took stock of those around me. Almost the entire class was staring at me, dumbfounded. Even Todoroki was gaping in surprise at the interaction. The only one that seemingly wasn't caught completely off guard was Katsuki, who merely stared at me with an unreadable expression.
All Might 'rescuing' me from that staged fall did make local news. Katsuki obviously hadn't seen it by the time I had my talk with him, but it makes sense that someone at Aldera would have shown him the video eventually. So he had to have known that All Might and I know one another. Still, this has to be surprising. Stoic silence is rarely a good sign from Bakugou.
Before I could give Katsuki any more thought, Uraraka ran up to me excitedly. "Deku, I love your costume! It looks super cool!"
I smiled at Uraraka's boundless enthusiasm before looking at her own costume.
Yeah. That's definitely um… Fitting.
Uraraka blushed under my gaze and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "I should've been more specific about what I wanted. This bodysuit is skin tight. Not really my style."
Noticing Mineta leering out of the corner of my vision, I cast him a withering glare. Surprisingly, he noticed, and whether out of fear for me personally or for my newly discovered association with All Might, he quickly averted his eyes and fled.
"Yeah, that's what I mean." Uraraka sighed morosely as she watched Mineta scamper away.
Turning back to her, I tried to assuage her concerns. "Ignore him. You could be wearing a giant trash bag and the perverts of the world would still creep on you. It's shitty, but it's a part of the job. As long as it's practical and you feel good in it, who cares what anyone else thinks." Uraraka gave me a thankful smile as I gestured to where Mineta had joined several of the other boys in very obviously ogling Yaoyorozu, who was doing her best to ignore them. "Besides, it could be worse."
Can't say I blame them for that one though. Momo's costume is Midnight tier.
Uraraka grimaced at the display, nodding her head in agreement.
As All Might began explaining what the day's exercise would entail, I took the time to observe my classmates' costumes. Mercifully, real life Todoroki had refrained from that terrible fake ice that covered his left side in season one, instead opting for his post season one utilitarian costume from the beginning.
Everyone else looked more or less like they had canonically at this point. I would have to talk to Yaoyorozu about her bookshelf, and I had a few ideas for Bakugou if he was ever willing to hear me out. Noticing Hagakure's gloves and shoes dancing side to side trying to keep warm, I also made a mental note to talk to her about an organic costume akin to Mirio's.
"Time's limited, and we'll choose teams by drawing lots!" All Might announced once he had finished his explanation of the exercise's parameters.
"Isn't there a better way?" Iida questioned.
"Heroes have to be able to cooperate in order to resolve incidents no matter the situation. A majority of hero work is spontaneous, so you won't always be able to choose who you team up with. It's best to get used to working with people you don't like or who have conflicting quirks now rather than in an actual emergency." I replied.
"Yes, I see. Life is a random series of events. Excuse my rudeness!" Iida apologized with a rigid bow to All Might.
Whipping around to face away from us, All Might thrust his fist into the air. "No sweat. Let's draw!"
As expected, I was paired with Uraraka, who immediately jumped in excitement. "Wow, what're the chances! We're a team!" She exclaimed giddily.
Patting the short girl on the head indulgently, I ignored her blush as I responded. "Yep. Kind of flies in the face of what I said to Iida about teaming up with strangers, but hey, I won't complain about being paired with a friend. Let's just try to avoid any more encounters with giant death robots, alright?" I joked.
Nodding her head in agreement, we both returned our focus to All Might as he drew the first teams to fight. Canon held true again, and Uraraka and I were drawn against Iida and Bakugou.
Once All Might dismissed the rest of the class to the monitoring room, I turned to meet Katsuki's glare with a neutral expression. Bakugou held it for a moment before sneering and stomping off in the direction of the target building.
I'm sure this is going to go just great.