Chapter II: A New Beginning
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A large fridge was falling from the sky, enveloped in a green glow. Below it, All Might casually sidestepped and it crashed onto the beach, throwing up a deluge of sand, "Your throws are gaining power, shonen!" His voice boomed as he stared up at his successor. Izuku was floating in midair, his body glowing his signature emerald. His light shirt was barely hanging onto his frame, in tatters. That had been the result of just the air pressure from one of his mentor's punches. Not even one of his Smashes either, just a regular punch. The One For All wielder's strength truly was no joke.
True to his word, Izuku had not focused entirely on his Quirk during their training. His Flames of Regeneration had proved a godsend, enabling him to drastically cut down on his physical recovery time. Much of his baby fat had already been burned away and he was starting to show signs of some muscle definition. He was a far cry from where All Might would have wanted if they were still planning on giving him One For All, but no longer was he the same scrawny kid that always got beat on endlessly. He was still dripping in sweat from his spar with his mentor, and still breathing quite hard. It made him quite thankful that the cold of Fall hadn't started coming in yet. Yet still, he began to smile, "Thanks All Might!" He called back, before the glow around him intensified and his form blurred.
All Might threw up an arm and blocked Izuku's roundhouse kick. His feet didn't even budge despite the massive blowback kicking up a sandy dervish behind him. He grabbed Izuku's leg and with nary a grunt of effort, chucked the boy across the lot and towards one of the piles of garbage.
Izuku's body flashed before it vanished entirely, and All Might ducked as his student's leg passed where his head had been. A second teleportation found Izuku below him, throwing up a vicious uppercut. Yet All Might moved out of the way with such speed that he ended up behind the green-haired boy as a column of force ripped through the air where his head had been moments ago. He threw his fist out and split the glowing husk of a car that had been hurtling towards him in half. His punch put a hole into one of the scrap piles which started collapsing in on itself. And before his student could react, he whirled around and grabbed him by the back of the neck. With the sound of breaking glass, Izuku's psychic barrier shattered as All Might slammed him into the ground. The boy didn't move except to breathe, blowing small little bits of sand away from his face as he groaned.
"Marvelous!" All Might beamed at his exhausted pupil, "Simply marvelous, Midoriya-shonen! You've already come so far these past four months!" He helped Izuku up and grinned at him, "Your Quirk may be amazing, but your work ethic and determination has allowed you to turn it into something truly spectacular!" He gave his green-haired student a thumbs-up, "You keep this up and you'll be ready to succeed me in no time!"
Izuku grinned tiredly, but before he could say anything more, something happened which shocked the two of them to their cores. "THAT WAS AMAZING!" A new voice yelled and nearly gave the two of them heart attacks, "WHAT A HOT-BLOODED BATTLE!"
Izuku froze and a shiver ran down his spine as he whipped around, 'I thought no one came around here?!'
All Might turned to the newcomer in panic, 'HOLY SHIT. HOLY SHIT! NOT NOW!'
The person rushing up to them looked young like Izuku, though they couldn't be more different. He had dark hair with a buzz-cut and rather beady eyes that were incredibly sharp. He was very tall for what was probably his young age – being more than a head taller than Izuku – and he had a much heavier build. He clearly had seen the inside of a gym quite often. He was wearing board shorts and a tank top. Completing his look was an absolutely gigantic smile reminiscent of All Might himself.
All Might who was currently panicking as his fear came to pass. BAMF! A weird sound accompanied his explosion into his trademarked steam cloud, and Toshinori was revealed. The new guy froze, his smile still wide on his face though his eyes were popping out, before tipping over still in his running position and crashing face-first into the sand. "Wh-wh-wha!" he raised himself quickly and stared at Toshinori, "All Might!" He cried out, "What happened?!"
Toshinori stared at him deadpanned for a moment, before whipping around towards Izuku, "Five years! Five years I went and not a single soul ever found out! I meet you and there are three in four months!" He shook his fist at his sweating student. "Are you a magnet attracting people to my secret? Do you have another Quirk we don't know about?!" Blood was spewing from his mouth as he pointed at his student.
Izuku stammered apologies at his master, before his mind kicked into overdrive. Mumble mumble mumble… "…had such a Quirk…" Mumble mumble mumble… "…secret attraction Quirk would be an incredible boon in interrogations…" Mumble mumble mumble…
The newcomer sweatdropped, staring at the mumbling teen in confused amusement. Finally, Toshinori got fed up with Izuku in his Analysis Mode and clapped him on the chin and head simultaneously, "It was a joke you Prince of Nonsense!"
Izuku rubbed his chin sheepishly, "S-sorry!"
Toshinori shook his head in fond exasperation, before pointing at the newcomer, "You! What is your name, shonen?"
The boy jumped to his feet as Toshinori put on his 'commanding' voice and stood stiff as a board, as if Toshinori were a military general, "Inasa Yoarashi! Pleased to meet you both!" His huge grin came back as he bowed so low he was bent at a ninety-degree angle.
"Same to you, Yoarashi-shonen. My own name is Toshinori Yagi and my student here is Izuku Midoriya." Toshinori replied, "Now…" He sighed and sat on a piece of the car he had ripped apart, "You know how some people hold in their gut and puff out their chest when at the pool?" Inasa nodded in confusion, "Yeah, it's kind of like that. I got badly injured around five years ago. This is my real form nowadays. Don't go writing about this on the internet, got it?"
"That's…" Inasa shook his face devoid of his grin, before it came back with a vengeance, "INCREDIBLE! SO INCREDIBLY HOT-BLOODED!" His fist shook in front of him, "You're amazing, All Might! Even gravely injured, you still puff out your chest and protect us all! Truly an inspiration to all heroes! I AM HONORED TO BE A HOLDER OF YOUR SECRET!" This time, he bowed so low that his face crashed into a small mini-fridge lying in the sand and dented it.
Izuku goggled and Toshinori wasn't much better. "Y-you know, that would be a bit more convincing if you weren't shouting at the top of your lungs!" Izuku had a comical look on his face as he snarked at the taller boy.
Inasa lifted himself up with an even more comical expression, complete with blood pouring down his face, "S-sorry!" He rubbed the back of his head a little sheepishly, "I always have that problem. I just get way too overly excited sometimes. I am serious, though. I would never break your trust, All Might. I respect you far too much!" He gave him a much more subdued bow this time.
"It's quite all right. I don't think I have any right to reprimand someone for being too loud." Toshinori quirked a grin, and they all shared a small snicker at the thought. "We'll trust you, Yoarashi-shonen. Don't disappoint us."
"Awesome!" Inasa straightened out and grinned over towards Izuku, "Anyway, your Quirk is amazing, my man! So hot blooded!" He grinned and started levitating, an eddy of air currents supporting him, "I've never met anyone else able to fly like me! Usually they have wings or something!"
Izuku and Toshinori both snapped their eyes to the sand, which was waving about as if carried by a current. Izuku said what was on both of their minds, "Wind?"
"That's right! Inasa Yoarashi! Quirk: Whirlwind!" he stuck a hand out for Izuku to shake, "Let's be friends, my man!"
Izuku stiffened, "F-friends?"
Toshinori grinned and looked away, 'That's the way, shonen! Perhaps this is your new beginning.'
Izuku smiled shakily, "S-sure! F-friends then!" He clapped his hand into Inasa's and almost had to wince. The guy had a strong grip.
Inasa's grin was so blinding Izuku could swear the sun was pinging on his teeth, "Awesome!" he cheered, "What's your Quirk anyway? I couldn't figure it out during your spar!"
"Ah!" Izuku beamed as he began to speak. He truly loved being able to talk about his Quirk. The more he did, the more he realized it was real and not going away, "My Quirk is called Phoenix Force. I'm a Psychic!"
"Whaaa!" Inasa yelled in shock, "For real? Like the comic books?! Holy crap, you don't fight anything like them! Most of them just sit in the back like wimps!" He started laughing boisterously. "You're awesome, dude!"
Toshinori chuckled as Izuku went red, "That's because he spent too long wanting to be like me." Izuku went scarlet, "I've been weaning him off of trying to emulate me too much. He does far better with kicks than he does punches for example."
"I'll say! Those teleporting kicks were sick, dude!" Inasa lightly punched Izuku in the shoulder.
"Ah, Yoarashi-sa-" Izuku started to speak but his new friend cut him off,
"I~na~sa!" The taller boy interrupted, "That's my name dude! Use it!"
"Inasa-san, how come you came by here? No one ever does. It's why All Might chose this place to train me." Izuku asked him curiously.
"Hmm?" Inasa used his wind power to lift a fridge and bring it over, sitting on it, "Well, my dream is to make it into U.A., and just a few weeks ago my parents told me that my school had managed to secure a Recommendation for me!" He grinned proudly, "So I came to scout out the surrounding areas to see if I could find a nice place, and I heard about the beach! I couldn't resist going for a swim since the weather probably is going to get pretty crappy soon enough! While I was swimming, I saw all this garbage at the other end of the beach saw that and everyone was avoiding it like the plague. I happened to see an explosion over here when I was in the water, so I came to check it out!"
"Hmm, thank you Yoarashi-shonen. Perhaps we'll need to be a bit less… zealous when training, Midoriya-shonen." Toshinori commented, "It could have been bad if someone else had seen us."
"Yeah…" he murmured, a little disappointed that they wouldn't be able to go 'all out' anymore. He then shook himself, "Wait a second? You got a Recommendation to U.A.?! That's amazing! You're so awesome, Inasa-san!"
"Bwahahaha! Yep, they have always been my first choice!" He held his hand beside his mouth and leaned forward as if telling a secret, "I'm kinda tempted to go to Shiketsu instead though. Have you seen their SICK hats?" Izuku burst out laughing, and Toshinori followed.
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"Where has the time gone, dude?" Izuku and Inasa found themselves back at the beach where they had met, all those months ago. Both of them were sitting on the sea barrier, though lounging was a more apt descriptor for Inasa. Fall had come, and Winter had almost gone. The weather was turning milder now and the Sakura trees were even starting to bloom in some parts of Japan.
Some of Inasa's boisterous attitude had rubbed off on Izuku. Having a friend had done wonders for the boy, even if Inasa could really only visit on the weekends. "Just think!" A wide smile was on his lips, "By this time in two weeks, we'll both be U.A. students!" Classes were almost over, and it was time for possibly the most grueling exams they would ever take. Deliberation post exams usually took about a week. Two weeks, and their futures would be known.
They watched the waves, and Inasa clapped him on the back, "It's still amazing to think of what a dump this place was when I first saw it! You're a great guy, my man! Even if it was for training, you really cleaned this place up!"
"You helped!" Izuku retorted, though he was still smiling and a little pink.
Inasa scoffed, "Barely. And only on weekends. You did the lion's share, dude. Be proud!"
"Indeed!" They both jumped as All Might spoke up behind them. Neither had known the man was there, "Yoarashi-shonen, might I have a moment with Midoriya-shonen?"
"Sure!" Inasa grinned and leapt to his feet, "I was about to head home anyway. I'll see you next weekend bro!" A clap sounded as Izuku and Inasa dapped.
"Later!" Izuku waved as his friend ran off, "What's this about, All Might?"
All Might deflated, though he still had a giant grin on his face even as Toshinori, "I wanted to tell you how proud I am, Midoriya-shonen." Izuku went scarlet at his mentor's tender tone, "You are going to do great things, my boy. You're going to be a greater Symbol of Peace than I ever was."
"A-All Might!" And like usual, Izuku reverted to stammering at praise. Even ten months hadn't been enough to erase years of poor treatment and ridicule. He simply didn't really know how to react to a compliment.
"My only regret is not being able to give you One For All. You truly are the best successor I could have asked for!"
Izuku smiled, and his eyes got a little watery, "I… I'm so thankful. I almost feel like I've cheated. You've helped me so much! I've been so lucky!" He wiped his eyes with an arm.
"Oi, oi, what are you saying now? This has all been your effort!" He chuckled boisterously like Inasa, "And we really need to fix those leaky eyes of yours. Look around you shonen! Ten months ago, this beach was a dilapidated trash heap! Not a speck of grime remains today! You even cleaned outside of where I told you to! All of this was you! None of it was luck, and you went through much hardship in the past to get here! Being lucky and being born with a silver spoon in your mouth is very different from working your butt off and earning it! Take that to heart! If you were going to be receiving my Quirk, you would have already earned it thrice-over!" He clapped a hand onto Izuku's shoulder, "I'm afraid we can't have the award ceremony you deserve today, Midoriya-shonen. Instead, your reward for all your hard work will be the start of your dreams!" Izuku stared up at All Might who clenched a fist in front of him, "Your Hero Academia awaits, shonen! Go out and claim your prize!"
Izuku nodded sharply, "Yes sir!"
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"Whoooaaa…" There was something different about being in front of U.A.'s gate for real. The last time he'd been here, they'd gone through another gate meant for vehicles. He could see the busts of old, famous heroes staring at the path leading up to the beautiful, all-glass main campus building. Some of the more egotistical students probably figured they were getting the royal welcome.
"Move aside, Deku!" He heard a familiar voice behind him, and reflexively flinched to the side. Even if the sandy-blonde hadn't tormented him at all the past ten months – ever since their rather explosive confrontation in their school – old habits died hard. "Out of the way, or I'll kill you!" His old friend snarled.
'Good to see some things never change.' Izuku snorted lightly as the thought ran through his mind. He tried to smile supportively and fell into step beside the boy, "G-good morning to you too, Kacchan. Let's do our best."
Or rather, he would have fallen into step if he hadn't been so overly excited and tripped over his own damn feet, 'Of course.' His face was deadpan, 'My life ends before it begins.' He then wondered what was taking so long for the ground to meet his face. He looked down and goggled at the fact that he was floating. He hadn't used his own quirk – he really should have, in retrospect. He needed to get better about using it instinctively in everyday life. But having no Quirk for so long made things slow-going – so why wasn't he falling?
"Ah, got you! Are you okay?" A female voice said happily, "It's a bad omen to fall on a day like this, you know! I used my Quirk to catch you. Sorry!" Izuku fought the urge to flail and instead righted himself with his psychic abilities, "Wow! That was cool!" The girl said cheerily as she clapped her hands together. He turned around and was almost blinded by how much of a bundle of joy and happiness this girl seemed to resemble. Even her cheeks seemed to have a perpetual blush on them. She had fair skin, big, round brown eyes, and shoulder-length brown hair styled into two long locks beside her face. She also had micro-bangs which swept to her left and a short bob at the back.
"T-thanks!" Izuku managed to squeak out, his face bright pink. 'I…I just talked to a girl!' Inasa may have been his first friend, but a cute girl he was not.
"No problem!" She replied cheerily, "Man, this sure is nerve-wracking isn't it? We better get going! Good luck on the exam!" With that, she raced away. Izuku stood there for another minute or two, unable to think of anything else but that encounter.
Roughly ten minutes later, he found himself beside Katsuki in a giant auditorium. The energy and tension in the room was palpable. It almost felt like a physical force. And then their proctor showed up, "For every one of you little listeners, welcome to my show! EVERYBODY SAY 'HEEEEEEEEYYYYYY!'" The man with blonde, extremely long gelled hair swept back and upwards cupped an ear with his hand.
Silence.
He shrugged, a massive grin still on his face, "What a refined response. That's cool too, my little listeners. Time to show you then! I'll present the specifics of today's practical exams! ARE YOU READY?! YEAAAAAAHHHHH!" Again, he was the only one who shouted. Everyone was just too nervous or fanboying like Izuku.
"It's the Voice Hero, Present Mic! Awesome!" He almost squealed, hiding his face partially behind his hands. "I listen to his talk show every week. He's so inspirational! I guess all the teachers really are Pro Heroes here!" Mumble mumble mumble…
"Shut it." Katsuki snapped from his place beside Izuku.
"This is how the test will go, little listeners! You'll all be doing ten-minute-long 'dry runs' against villains we will be providing. These are 'Mock Cityscape Battles,' so you can bring anything you want with you! After this presentation, you'll be moving to your assigned battlegrounds."
"Consecutive IDs are all assigned to different locations." Izuku mumbled, after taking a peak at Katsuki's sheet as well as the unknown person next to him.
Katsuki also realized what was going on. "That's so people from the same school can't just form a group and slay the exam together, huh?"
"Probably." Izuku replied, "We're much more unlikely to form a team with random strangers, and even less likely to actually trust them or be able to coordinate abilities with such a time limit."
"Hmph!" Katsuki snorted, "I'll just crush em all. But it looks like you get to live another day, Deku!"
They started paying attention to Present Mic again, "Each site is full of three different types of Villains! You can think of it like that old retro game, Super Mario! Every type of enemy is worth a different amount of points, from one to three. And that's your goal, little listeners! You want to use your Quirks to destroy or incapacitate as many of these Faux Villains as possible and RACK THOSE POINTS UP!" he grinned and waved a finger at them, as if chiding a disobedient child, "And of course, playing a naughty antihero is strictly forbidden. No attacking fellow examinees or else!"
"My kind of test!" Katsuki had a mad grin on his face, almost salivating at what was to come.
"May I ask a question?" A tall, muscular boy stood up with his arm raised high. Present Mic agreed and pointed at him, causing a spotlight to shine down. He looked like he moved incredibly stiffly. Whether that was nerves or otherwise was unknown. He had blue-tinted black hair – combed perfectly – and square-rimmed glasses. He raised his provided sheet of paper and pointed to it, "There appear to be no less than four Faux Villains printed on this sheet! If that is a misprint, then as the most prominent school in Japan, U.A. should be ashamed of such a foolish mistake! We are here as examinees in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes!" He then whirled around, "And you two! You've been muttering this whole time! If you're just here to fool around, you should leave!" His voice was loud and prominent as he stared intensely at the pair.
Katsuki immediately retorted with a cocky smirk on his face, "Or what, four-eyes?"
Izuku dipped his head in exasperation at the answer, mentally apologizing for the disruption.
But before things could escalate, Present Mic interrupted, "Okay! Good catch, Examinee 7111!" he then surprised them by letting out a very… sinister-sounding chuckle, "Though perhaps you'll wish you hadn't asked. See, if the previous villains are comparable to Goombas and Koopas, then these guys are the Thwomps! They're more like traps than targets!" His laugh got even more sinister, "There is only one of this type of villain at each site, but they're going to rampage in close quarters! If you get caught by it OR engage it in combat…" A wave of terror seemed to engulf the room, "You lose every single point you already earned!"
Even the person who asked the question seemed to be unable to speak, not even thanking Present Mic as he collapsed into his seat. Everyone – even Katsuki – had some amount of sweat dripping down the sides of their faces and their hearts were hammering in their chests.
"That's all from me, little listeners!" Present Mic switched back to his normal, happy self, "I'll leave you with our school motto! As the great hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "True heroism consists of being superior to all the ills of life." PLUS ULTRA!" He grinned again, "Break a leg, everyone!"
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Izuku had switched out of his school attire and had equipped his normal workout gear; the green and white tracksuit. Despite all the training he'd done with All Might and confidence-building he'd done with Inasa, he couldn't help but feel some of the anxiety he'd been trying to hold back set in. 'What if I'm just not good enough? I've only been training for ten months. Everyone here has been preparing for years! I can't disappoint All Might! He put so much time and effort into me!' A light sheen of sweat had started building on his forehead, and he wiped it away. 'We have no idea how many Villains there are. What if I'm too slow and they all get taken out quickly?'
He wasn't the only one fighting back their nerves. One person tried to mask it with boisterous shouting, "Look how huge this place is! Only at U.A., right? They're supposed to have a bunch of different grounds like this!"
The old Izuku wouldn't have noticed that they were merely hiding their nervousness, seeing only confidence while he shook in terror. Funnily enough, seeing that he wasn't the only one affected calmed him a little. Instead he started taking note of how some of them even had equipment with them. He wasn't sure what the blonde guy's Quirk was, but it probably had to do with that belt he wore. He then jumped a little, 'Oh, it's her! We're in the same battle group.' He started walking forward, intending on thanking her again, when a hand grabbed his shoulder and he jumped.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" The intense guy from earlier who had called him and Kacchan out glared at him, "That girl seems to be doing some kind of meditation. Are you hoping to interfere and throw her off her game?" He had switched out of his uniform as well into some skintight workout-clothes, and he ended up being as muscular as Izuku figured he would be.
All around, he could hear murmurs, "That guy tripped over his own feet at the gate earlier. What a joke. Oh well, once less rival, right?"
Izuku had resolved himself to try to be more confident, so he swallowed and shot what he hoped was an intense look of his own back, "O-or maybe I met her earlier and w-wanted to try to help. Did you ever think of that?"
The guy reared back but then narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "What's with the stuttering? Are you telling the truth?"
Izuku started getting irritated, "Of course I am! What kind of hero would do something like that!"
The boy found that an acceptable response and was going to apologize profusely for misjudging his fellow competitor, but he never got the chance. "AAAAAAAND START!" Everyone froze, question marks appearing over their heads. Present Mic loudly yelled at them again, "What are you waiting for, an invitation? The test has started! Run! RUN!"
Izuku turned around and nearly panicked as he noticed everyone else had already run off, some of them even laughing. Probably at him, since he hadn't moved, 'I can't lose! Not here! Not after all All Might did for me!' His body was enveloped in his signature emerald glow, and two seconds later he was past everyone except for the intense guy who was really freaking fast. Everyone who had spent the last couple minutes mocking him almost dropped to the ground in shock.
Everyone broke off into different directions and an explosion sounded from his left. A massive robot with a thick wheel as a base and shielded dual-freaking-gatlings for arms had crushed straight through the building, "Target acquired. Terminate." It aimed its arm which started spinning ominously and prepared to fire.
Izuku grabbed it with his Telekinesis and lifted it into the air, before throwing his arm down which sent the bot crashing into the pavement. The bot sparked and started sparking as it broke apart before exploding, 'I did it!' he shouted in his own head, filled with elation, 'I can do this! I CAN DO THIS!' He raced forward, feet no longer even touching the ground. The next enemy he saw was a three-pointer. It looked like a crawling tank with missile-launchers on its back. The blonde boy who had the belt had his arms behind his head in some funky pose. His belt was lighting up and preparing to do… something. Izuku teleported forward and appeared above the bot. A force blast directly downward pulverized it and the ground beneath it. The blonde had been one of the ones who had been poking fun at him earlier, and Inasa had rubbed off on him, "Thanks for the assist! Good distraction!" He quipped at the fallen boy, before using his telekinesis to get him back on his feet and teleporting away. The blonde was left with a slightly sour expression before regaining his look of supreme confidence and going hunting.
He appeared directly above the city and whirled around, searching for more enemies to fight. He saw a group of five of the two-pointers – scorpion-looking bots with vicious looking stingers – surrounding one of the people who had been the loudest when making fun of him. He looked like he was panicking. Even from this distance it was clear he was trembling. He raced forward, pulling something out from his pocket. Strangely enough, it was just his tie. His emerald power enveloped it and it straightened out, somehow managing to look sharp despite being a normal piece of cloth. The loop which would have kept it on his neck was now just a round circle for him to grip on. He teleported and sliced apart one of the machines with a metallic-sounding shiiing. The bot crackled and fizzed before exploding.
The others immediately zeroed in on him as the bigger target. The stinger on the leader shot forward and Izuku deflected it with his glowing green 'sword,' before slashing the air. A sharp wave of forced shot forward. There had been a bot maneuvering behind his target to get into position, so the flying slash cut both of them apart. A quick push with his free hand saw the last two blasted into a building and exploding. He was about to take off again, when a shaky voice called out, "S-sorry for making fun of you earlier, kid! You're a real hero! Thanks!"
The guy he had saved had thanked him AND called him a hero. A warm, fuzzy feeling was enveloping him. Izuku grinned madly, "No problem!" He called before flying up again and searching for more people to save. This was what he had always dreamed of! "I'm doing it, All Might!" He yelled in utter glee, trying to keep from crying in joy, "I'm doing it!"
…
In a darkened room, Toshinori stood before a massive number of panels along with a dozen others. His gaze was focused on his student, and a massive grin was splitting his skeletal face, 'That's the way, kid.'
Another person spoke up, "Such a wide battlefield and the time limit brings out the best in them."
Another picked up from where he left off, "Those who can assess a situation in moments; Information Gatherers." An image of a tall prospect with what looked like wings and other appendages stood on top of a building.
A squeakier voice continued, "Those who will never be late to the party; Mobility Experts!" A video of the intense boy with glasses crashing through a three-pointer with a kick appeared, followed by one of Izuku teleporting into the midst of their enemies.
"Those who can cope with any situation; Decision Makers!" The blonde kid Izuku had interrupted was flamboyantly blasting through three three-pointers with his navel laser. It switched to Izuku using his 'sword' to defend against a squadron of one-pointers before sending one crashing into its compatriots and ending them all.
A female voice piped up, sounding very… throaty, "And of course… combat experts. The natural born warriors." An explosion engulfed the screen before clearing, revealing Katsuki Bakugo standing amongst the shredded husks of half a dozen enemy bots. It then switched to Izuku again, passing through a squadron like the Shinigami was possessing him.
"The abilities needed to preserve peace in our cities are judged by the points they earn." The squeaky voice said.
"Quite a crop we have this year, huh?" The female said, followed the sound of her licking her lips.
"Nah, no way to tell yet." Toshinori finally spoke, "This should tell us more…" he flipped open the protective casing of a button labeled 'Yaruki Switch,' and firmly pressed it. Immediately, pandemonium started erupting on the screens as the titanic final villain appeared. It was a behemoth taller than most of the buildings and was capable of casually pushing them over. Dozens of student prospects simply started turning tail and running as the city broke around it, passing by their fallen examinees who weren't quite able to get away with barely a glance in their directions.
"People show their true colors when they face that thing." One of the males replied to him.
The One For All wielder's grin hadn't vanished from watching his pupil, and likely wouldn't for several hours too, "When they have nothing to gain… no, when they have everything to lose, rising to the challenge at those times… IS SURELY THE MARK OF A GREAT HERO!"
…
Izuku's eyes had grown wide as dust and grit from collapsed buildings surrounded him and his fellow examinees. The only thing saving him from a couple hours of irritated eyes was his psychic barrier keeping it flowing around him. When it cleared, it revealed the massive green enemy. It had a flat face with a bunch of red 'eyes' and massive hands. It truly was the definition of 'overwhelming.' It was decimating the city in its rampage.
All around him, examinees were running for their lives (and points). None had forgotten the warning from Present Mic. The intense and incredibly fast boy passed by him with a glance, wondering if maybe the surprisingly-powerful boy had been utterly rooted in terror. The glance ended, and he sped past, not bothering to lend him a hand.
Izuku stared for a moment longer, before making to turn away like the rest, 'Have to avoid that thing and keep earning points.' Only that didn't happen. Something made him freeze. A small cry of pain reached his ears. He jerked back and saw the dust settle in front of the amazingly-bright girl who'd saved him from a faceplant earlier in the day. 'It's a bad omen to fall on a day like this, you know!' Her bubbly voice rang in his head, contrasting powerfully with the look of pain and fear on her face as she tried to pull herself out from underneath a broken slab of concrete. She tried to inch out, and when that failed, tried to reach back and tap the concrete, but she was unable to reach. Her fingertips barely brushed, which didn't seem to be good enough.
The villain stopped before her and reached for her body.
Izuku didn't think. A second ago he was over a hundred meters away, and now he was directly beside her. She gasped, a look of horror flowing over her features as Izuku leapt at the villain's hand, swinging his sword-tie and completely splitting the massive, metallic appendage in twain. "N-no!" She cried out as she realized what that meant.
Izuku's brain caught up with him when he reached the apex. His eyes were shadowed as he floated above the behemoth, but it was easy to see the tears pouring down his face because they were dripping down. His extreme emotions intensified the glow around his body, and he lifted the 'blade' with finality. A hoarse cry of despair and fury rang out from him, catching the attention of all the examinees who hadn't already been gaping at the destroyed arm. The glow around his tie was half a dozen times larger than the no-longer-flimsy piece of cloth, and he swung down after hooking his other hand into the loop for a two-handed grip.
The two halves of the massive enemy literally sprang apart as if they were spring loaded, after an emerald light seemed to travel down its form. It happened so fast it took a second for the explosions to start. All the examinees stared in dumbfounded shock as the enemy which had so-terrified them was utterly annihilated in two blows.
And then the screaming began. The girl's eyes widened in horror as the boy who saved her dropped his tie – which fluttered harmlessly in the wind as it blew away – and clutched his head, howling in complete and utter agony. The pain in his head was excruciating. It felt like someone had taken an industrial blender directly to his brain and dialed it to eleven. He started falling, in no condition to even think coherently much less use his powers any longer. The girl fought her panic and produced strength she didn't know she had, lifting the concrete which had immobilized her earlier with a grunt of determination. She then limped over to the head of one of the enemies she had taken out and touched it. It started floating and she hopped on, floating up to meet her savior, where she threw her body at him and managed an unfortunately hard slap to his face.
Her powers made him float too, and he slowed enough to fall almost-gently to the pavement. She clasped her hands together, and both she and her savior crashed down. Then, a green hue overtook her skin, and her cheeks and eyes bulged. She bent over and vomited down the side of the monstrous metal head she lay on.
Even though she had saved him, the boy was still writhing on the floor, clutching his head and crying out in pain. "Make way!" Her attention was drawn to an old lady running towards them. Everything about her clothing made it clear that she was a healer. And that thought made her realize… the exam had to be over. She must have missed the announcement entirely in her hurry to keep him from splattering. Recovery Girl – that was her name, she heard from the blonde boy with the belt – hurried over and her lips stretched away from her face, kissing the boy on top of his head, "Smoooooch!" A glow enveloped her hero, different from the one he'd sported during the exam. It was a different color and centered on his head. Slowly, his cries came to a halt and he stopped writhing. "He'll be okay!"
The brunette sighed in relief, "Thank goodness." She slumped back down, narrowly avoiding putting her cheek on her vomit, which was good because she probably would have just hurled again.
Recovery Girl drew her attention again though, "What a scary Quirk though…" She was staring beyond Izuku for a moment, before she turned away and started going to the others, stopping momentarily to heal her ankle – huh, she hadn't even realized how much it hurt until the relief had set it – before moving on. She turned her head to see what Recovery Girl had been talking about, only for her jaw to drop. Izuku hadn't just cut the robot in half.
U.A. had a new freaking canyon.
Away from them, the tall, intense boy was also staring, though his fists were clenched. All around him, others were talking, "He jumped right at that thing! What an idiot! He lost all his points! Was his jumpiness just an act to get us to lower our guards earlier? He was so freaking strong! Just what is his Quirk?"
The boy adjusted his glasses, 'That's not it… weren't they even watching?' he looked at the brunette, who herself was watching as the heroic student was wheeled away, 'He jumped in to save that girl! The remaining time… his own safety… even his points! He didn't even hesitate!' His fists were almost clenched hard enough to draw blood as he remembered simply passing by other examinees, 'Of course, if this hadn't been an exam, I would have done the same.' He thought as he bit his lip.
Later, he would realize how fake that declaration was even in his own mind. It would lead him to do quite a bit of soul searching as he compared himself to the real Hero in this exam. Ultimately, it would galvanize him and make him work harder than ever.
But for now, those thoughts weren't in his mind. Instead, it was almost like a light bulb went off, '! The exam!' He went back to grinding his teeth, 'Could it be? If the exam is structured like that then he…'
The brunette had managed to get herself back up and was stomping away with determination in her gaze. That boy had lost all his points to save her life and like hell was she going to sit around and do nothing. The proctors were going to listen to her or else.
-]|[-
The weekend had arrived and Izuku lackadaisically made his way to his training site. His gaze was unfocused as he walked, and his face was despondent. When he arrived, Inasa was already there, waiting for him. He sat down roughly and glanced over at his friend. For a moment, he forgot his own depression. Rarely had he seen such a look on his energetically happy friend. "You alright?"
Inasa was staring at the waves with such an intense, stiff gaze he resembled the guy from the exams. "I never told you, did I?" Inasa finally spoke, "When I was young, I had a hero I admired the same way you admire All Might." Even now, he wasn't looking to his friend, instead glaring out at the rising sun, "I think heroism is all about bringing the heat! A hero's fiery soul ignites passion and hope in people! So when I first saw Endeavor, I loved him man. Thought he was the hottest guy around. I wanted to be just like him." He spat to the side, "I went to get his autograph once, you know. He just brushed me aside." He looked at Izuku, "No, he didn't just brush me aside. He literally knocked me over and snarled at me to get stay out of the way. His eyes man… it was like his eyes dunked me in ice water. He had no spirit in him at all! Just icy rage!"
He clenched his fist, "I met his son at my own exam. The Recommended students get a different one from you guys. I spotted him almost immediately… cuz he had those same damn eyes. I can't accept either of them as heroes!" He cried out furiously, "As far back as I could remember, I had never been afraid of anything! Before I knew it, I was totally obsessed with heroes! They dive headfirst into trouble and give it their all! That fire and drive was everything to me! So when I saw those eyes so full of hate, staring out at something in the far distance… I couldn't stand it! But still, Endeavor's son had the red-hot skills! I thought that maybe those icy eyes wouldn't matter! That I could make friends with him! But that damn bastard wouldn't even look at me." He pounded a fist into the barrier, "I don't want to be in the same class as this guy. I'm going to reject my admission."
After days of numbness, Izuku finally had a spark of life in his gaze once more, "You can't do that!" he leapt and put both hands on his friend's shoulders, forcing him to look at him, "U.A. is your dream dude, just like mine! You can't let one person ruin your dreams!" Inasa still looked mulish, so Izuku continued speaking passionately, "Besides, you don't know anything about the guy! Maybe he has a reason for the way he acts! You don't know if he's been through a tragedy or anything like that! Shouldn't it be our jobs as heroes to help people like that? To inspire hope! You can't just run away! Was all that talk about Spirit lip-service?!" Inasa's jaw was clenched as Izuku backed away, and his knuckles popped, before he surprised Izuku by punching himself in the face, "Wahhh! Dude, stop doing that!"
"You're right." Inasa spat a bit of blood away, "You're right. That is what a hero would do, isn't it?" He chuckled, "Thanks for knocking some sense into me, my man."
"You did that yourself!" Izuku retorted quickly, before slumping and laying down on the sand, spread eagle.
"You didn't look so happy yourself. What happened?" Inasa asked, and Izuku's face closed up again.
He let out a resigned sigh, "I failed…"
"WHAT?!" Inasa's explosion was as predictable as one of Kacchan's.
"There was a trap enemy in our exams." Izuku groaned heavily, "Getting caught by it or engaging with it reduced your points to zero. There was a girl…" Inasa's face lit up, "She was in trouble…" He closed his eyes, "Before I knew what was happening, I was cutting its arm in half to save her."
"Pfff, you don't really think U.A. would do something like that, do you? That was probably just to put you guys to the real test! You have so much fire in you, dude! They can't possibly reject a hot-blooded guy like you!" He laughed boisterously, trying to cheer his friend up.
"…" Izuku closed his eyes, "I actually thought of that too. I even figured you might be right." Tears started leaking from his shut eyelids, "But it's been three days, and All Might hasn't contacted me. Hasn't even replied to the texts I sent him…" He cried out.
The smile fell away from Inasa's face, and he gaped at his friend, "No way…" he went right back to furious, jumping down and walking closer to his friend, "That's bullshit!" he roared, "No way could a Hero School reject a real hero like you! There's just no way!" he stomped back and forth, before stopping near his friend and throwing a hand out, "You're right that I shouldn't let go of my dreams over one person, but this is different! If they really reject a hot-blooded guy like you then maybe U.A. isn't really the greatest Hero School!" He stared hard into Izuku's eyes, "If you don't get in, I'm not going either! We'll both go to Shiketsu and show those bastards what being a real hero means, got it?!"
Izuku swallowed, his throat tight at what his friend was willing to give up for him. He started crying again, before clapping his hand into Inasa's and allowing himself to get pulled up, "Got it!"
Inasa finally started grinning again, "Right on!" He pumped a fist, "So, want to get a spar going and get the blood pumping?"
Izuku chuckled lightly, "Sorry, but I can't. My Quirk has been on the fritz for a few days. I think I overused it during the exams. I've been told to take it easy."
"Awww, what a bummer!"
-]|[-
"I-i-i-i-zu-zu-zu-zu-izukuuuuu!" Izuku nearly jumped and clung onto the ceiling like a cat when his mom's frantic voice sounded from behind him. He turned and watched her trip and fall onto her knees, "It's here! It's really here!" In her hand – which she was extending to him – was a letter from U.A. High.
…
Izuku sat at his desk, trying to calm himself. He'd done all he could. Put in his very best effort. He saved someone. More than one person, actually! He closed his eyes and tore open the envelope, opening his eyes as he heard a little click on his desk. He eyed the little disk in confusion, before it lit up, "I am here… as a projection!"
"Wha?! All Might?! I thought this letter was from U.A.!" Izuku stammered.
His mentor was wearing a yellow pinstriped suit, looking every bit the hero everyone knew him as. "It's been a while. Sorry for the radio silence, but there was a whole lot to deliberate on." He bowed to the camera and to Izuku, "My apologies, but I could say nothing until now since we're about to make the official announcement! I'm here in this town for one reason! As of this moment, I am a teacher at U.A. High!" Izuku gaped at the screen, before furrowing his brow as All Might turned to look at someone else, "Huh? What's that? 'Get to the point. Whatever I want to say to him can be said later?' But… You'll edit it in post-production? Okay, guess it can't be helped." He turned back to the main camera and to Izuku, "Midoriya-shonen, you scored very well on the written exam, but a goose egg in the practicals means an obvious result. I'm sorry."
Izuku's eyes went wide and tears started prickling in them, "No way! That…! That's just not right! Even after everything!" He clenched his fists.
"…Is what I would say, if that were the end of the story!" Izuku froze, and looked back at the floating screen, "I may have been an entertainer in a past life, shonen! Observe!"
The camera zoomed out, revealing a screen behind All Might. "The nice girl!" Izuku gasped as he stared at her.
"Please, that boy in the green tracksuit… The one with curly, dark-green hair and freckles. I thought he looked kind of plain at first, but when the test started he started shining like a star! Do you know the one?" She had a determined look on her face and leaned forward while clenching her hands at her side, "Please, I want to give him my points! He was the biggest Hero in that entire exam! He saved me and lost all of his points because of it! It's not fair for him to fail! At least as many points as he lost saving me! Please!" She had squeezed her eyes shut, "PLEASE!"
All Might turned back to the camera as Izuku stared at her, his heart thudding in his chest and tears licking at the corners of his eyes. "You are more than just your Quirk and your strength, shonen! You have the power to move the hearts of others!" He crossed his arms in a 'X' in front of his chest with a massive grin on his face, "We were NOT just looking for combat ability in this exam. Villain Points were just one aspect of it, and that trap villain did NOT take away any points! It was merely worth nothing!"
Izuku began to cry in earnest as Present Mic appeared on the screen with the girl, "I'm afraid we can't give him any of your points, little listener." He ruffled her hair proudly, "But there's no need to worry."
All Might beamed at him, "Not only do you keep every point you earned during the examination, but you've earned even more with your heroic actions! A Hero Course that rejects those who save others and do the right thing could never be called a Hero Course! This isn't all for the cameras! Heroics isn't about lip service! In this job, you risk your life and put your money where your mouth is! It's all about turning that lip service into reality! Hero Points!" He roared, and the video changed to a darkened room where people were holding up score-cards, "They are awarded by a panel of judges, and are another fundamental way for U.A. to evaluate you!" Izuku saw nothing but high scores, sevens minimum.
The screen changed again, this time to what must have been exam rankings. And right at the top was his own name.
No. 1 Izuku Midoriya
Villain Points: 52
Hero Points: 89
Total: 141
All Might was grinning as broadly as Izuku was gaping. First place?! "With such an effort, you weren't only gunning for my own high score, you just barely edged it out!"
He was trembling and trying to see through his tears, quickly wiping them away and gazing at the screen.
No. 2 Katsuki Bakugo
Villain Points: 108
Hero Points: 0
Total: 108
He couldn't quite bite back the snort that erupted from him, and it sent some snot onto his desk to be cleaned up later. Of course Kacchan would more than double his own villain score. Hell, his Villain score beat Izuku's Hero score, and it was the best one on the list!
No. 3 Ochaco Uraraka
Villain Points: 28
Hero Points: 50
Total: 78
"So that was her name!" Izuku yelled as All Might explained that – for her willingness to give up all her points if it meant he would get in on top of saving him from splattering on the pavement – Uraraka had earned fifty points!
No. 4 Eijiro Kirishima
Villain Points: 39
Hero Points: 35
Total: 74
That was an unfamiliar name and he could go no further before the screen changed. He had to find out if it was possible to rewind this thing so he could check the others.
"You both pass!" All Might said over his shoulder, his back to the camera. He turned around and held his out hand, "Come, Midoriya-shonen. This is your Hero Academia!"
Izuku wiped his fresh set of tears away, "Yes sir!" he cried at the projection, before grabbing his phone and racing from his room. He had his mom to squeeze the life out of with a hug – or would it be the reverse, knowing her? – and Inasa to call.
-]|[-
"What a set of exams!" One person exclaimed as they stared up at the monitor depicting the scores from this year's test.
"You're telling me! This one kid somehow managed over a hundred points with literally zero Hero Points. Something must have lit a fire up this kid's behind."
"The other kids were slowing down by the second half, but he somehow just seemed like he was getting faster." They stared at the picture which would be on Katsuki's ID card. At least in terms of combat potential, he certainly seemed like he had earned that smug smirk. "He got second place and not a Hero Point to speak of."
"Feh, boring. We've seen guys like that before." Another commented, "I'm more interested in Midoriya. He could have matched that type of score if he focused entirely on beating down Villains. He not only took down the Trap Bot but he also gave us a lovely new canyon."
"Don't remind me." Another grumbled, "Even after a couple hours yesterday I still haven't finished filling that in." The speaker was blocky. Like… literally blocky. He looked like an anthropomorphic block of cement.
"His own power seemed to hurt him though." One of them pointed out, "He was clutching his head and howling like he was getting tortured after finishing the Trap Bot."
Only one person didn't join in on the discussion. He had nondescript black clothes, unkept black hair, and a completely exhausted look on his face. His arms were crossed as he stared at the top ten scorers. 'What a racket.' He turned away and walked out of the room without another glance.
-]|[-
"All Might!" Izuku yelled as he touched down on Dagobah's newly cleaned beach.
Blood spewed from between Toshinori's teeth, "Who's that?!" Immediately, a couple who had decided to come view the waves underneath a large beach canopy started freaking out about his Hero form, "Repeat after me: Just my eyes playing tricks!"
Izuku had also stiffened up, and yelled out, "Sorry, was just a mirage!"
They both sighed in relief as the couple turned away, disappointed. Toshinori grinned and held his hand up for a high-five, "Good job, shonen. You performed extremely well! You even beat my old high score by a couple points."
Izuku high-fived back, but instead of being grateful he hissed, "Toshi you jerk! You had me and Inasa angsting for a week!"
Toshinori coughed up a little blood at seeing the irritation on his student's face, "Sorry kid, I really was insanely busy. I couldn't even feel my hand after all the paperwork I had to do. And I would have gotten in trouble if I had told you about it beforehand anyway." He grinned sneakily, "Though to be honest, in retrospect it would have been a pretty good prank if I had done it intentionally."
"We had already printed out Shiketsu Applications!" Izuku waved his arms up and down, Toshinori blanched before Izuku deflated with a sigh, "Still, when it finally came, it felt so great! You guys played up the Trap Villain perfectly. You had everyone fooled!"
"And you took it out!" Toshinori ruffled his hair with a giant grin, "I couldn't have been prouder! Students have engaged it in the past, but it's been over a decade since someone wrecked one. You more than earned your placement, shonen. And if you're wondering, I wasn't a judge. I figure you're the type to worry about favoritism." He then shined a look of worry on Izuku, "How are you feeling though? You were in an incredible about of pain from what I saw."
"Y-yeah." Izuku rubbed the back of his head wearily, "My head felt like it was going to explode. I hope that kind of pain is something that'll go away with training and increasing my limits. I couldn't even move afterwards, and I wasn't really able to even use my Quirk again until this morning."
"It is very likely that you will." Toshinori replied, "One For All… it was much the same for my master. Strangely, I got the hang of using it at 100% almost instantly, but she told me the first time she used it, she had a shattered arm and needed a healing Quirk to fix it. It's likely you would have had the same happen to you, since each time it passes on, the baseline is much stronger than the previous baseline. You would have been able to just heal it with your Flames of Regeneration though."
"I would have still felt the pain though." Izuku deadpanned, not quite glaring at his master.
"No pain, no gain. My own teacher…" He seized up, and Izuku watched as a full-body shudder ran through Toshinori, "You know what, never mind that last thought." He smirked and gave Izuku a thumbs-up, "What's important now is that you temper your vessel. Quirks are a lot like muscles. Unless something causes them to mutate unexpectedly, they generally don't just randomly grow new abilities or powers. The only way to make them stronger is to make yourself stronger. Well, unless you're creative and discover more ways to use it, of course. Generally, the more you use it, the more you'll be able to handle at your peak."
"Muscles can tear, you know." Izuku looked a little unimpressed, "What if I strain too hard and set myself back?"
Toshinori grinned and all of a sudden, he was huge, "Let's put that theory to the test then, shall we shonen?" He vanished in a burst of pure speed, and a second later Izuku had to cover his eyes and stumbled back as a wall of wind almost knocked him on his behind. When he opened them again, he saw his old nemesis; the big rig. "When you finished cleaning this beach, moving this truck from its location up to where we were collecting the trash to be taken away took you a grand total of three minutes and seventeen seconds. You were also trembling like a leaf from the first thirty seconds." He took out his phone and clicked onto the stopwatch feature, "Let's see some improvement, shonen."
Izuku threw his hand up and focused, the emerald glow of his Quirk enveloping him. Slowly, the truck lifted up, but Izuku immediately noticed that All Might was right. He wasn't straining nearly as hard as he had the last time he'd moved it. It was also moving more quickly, though it was still a ponderous pace.
All Might grinned as the truck touched down, before turning his phone to Izuku; 1:53s. Izuku started to beam as he caught his breath, "Excellent work, shonen!"
"Holy shit, did All Might take a student!" The awed voice of the male of the couple from earlier screamed out.
All Might and Izuku started to sweat, "Time to dash." They both vanished, Izuku with his teleportation and All Might with his… might.
-]|[-
Spring had come, the weather was turning nicer, and the Sakura trees were blooming in full. Inko hugged the stuffing out of her son at the door, "I'm so proud of you, honey!" She was holding back tears, "So, so proud." Izuku was in his school uniform, which consisted of dark green dress pants, a white dress shirt, a light-grey jacket with green lapels and cuffs with golden buttons, and red tie which he hadn't properly tied all the way. Izuku slung his backpack over his shoulder and glanced at his mom. She had lost a lot of weight over these past few months and looked so much happier. Izuku had no idea his own dreams getting crushed by Quirklessness had been affecting her so badly. The extreme guilt and sorrow must have been eating away at her for years, making her think she was a terrible mother.
Him getting his Quirk hadn't been a godsend only for him. "Love you mom!" He managed not to choke as he said it, pulling her in for an even tighter hug, "I'll do my best!"
"Izuku…" She smiled as he pulled away, "You look really cool!" A flash of bright white light made her cover her eyes, and when she opened them, he was gone.
…
'So few applicants get in each year…' Izuku thought to himself as he raced into the building and started looking for his classroom, 'Less than one in every three hundred applicants manage to make the cut. Sometimes even fewer than that make it in. I've been so, so lucky…' He almost started getting dizzy and needed to stop and ask for directions, 'This place is so huge to- HOLY!' He finally found the door he was looking for, and it was gigantic. It stood more than three times his own height. He could have two clones of himself appear and stand on his head in a stack and the top-most clone's head wouldn't have brushed the doorway. There was a big '1' with a big 'A' underneath it painted on the door. "Guess they have to accommodate all types of students since Quirks can change our bodies." He let out a sigh and then puffed himself up, 'I finally made it! I do kind of hope Uraraka-san is in this class too. Plus, Inasa wouldn't tell me which one they put him in. Still, as long as Kacchan and the glasses guy aren't he-'
He opened the door, and was immediately beset by noise, "Remove your feet from the desk immediately! Such an act disgraces all the wonderful craftsmen who made our furniture and the upperclassmen who have come before us!"
Izuku deadpanned, 'Of course both of them are here.' After getting the third-degree from Glasses in the exams, he had felt as if they would not get along in the slightest.
"Huh? What do I care about any of that shit? What school are you from, you extra?" Kacchan sneered at the taller boy.
'Extra? For Pete's sake, Kacchan.' Izuku thought to himself as he made to step in.
"M-my name is Tenya Iida. I hail from Somei Academy!" The newly-introduced Iida stuttered for a moment before answering.
"Somei?" Kacchan put extra inflection on the word, "So you're a damn elite huh? I'll have fun crushing you."
"Cr-crushing? You barbarian! Do you truly wish to become a hero?" Iida had a little dark-blue shadow on his forehead. He then caught sight of Izuku and hurried over to the door, holding out his hand for Izuku to shake. "We meet again! I'm-"
"T-Tenya Iida from Somei. I heard." Izuku shook his hand, though he still wasn't quite sure he wanted much to do with the boy after his judgmental attitude during the exams. Still, no need to be rude.
Iida straightened out and started to speak, "Before the exam began, I completely misjudged you. I wish to offer my sincerest apologizes for my words and actions." He gave Izuku a short bow.
Izuku was now slightly happy since Iida seemed to have turned over a new leaf. While he wouldn't quite forget the treatment from the exam, if Iida was willing to try to make amends it would be water under the bridge, "Izuku Midoriya. P-pleased to meet you, Iida."
"Midoriya-kun, you perceived the true nature of that exam, did you not?" He moved a little robotically, his hands out and looking like he was going to chop something with them, "As much as I hate to admit it, you were the far superior candid-"
"Perceived the true nature?" Iida stopped and looked at Izuku as he spoke with a confused note in his tone, "…I was angsting about it for a week dude. I thought I had failed."
Iida's eyes widened, and he resisted the urge to step back, "Truly? But why would you…?"
"Uraraka-san was in trouble." He said simply and behind him, said girl's face flamed red as she came closer to the door and caught the conversation, "So I moved to save her. That's all there was to it. I didn't even realize what I had done until it was already over."
Iida's teeth clenched a little, 'He's…he's so much better than me there aren't any words for it.'
Uraraka powered through her blush and got herself under control, "And you were so awesome while you did it!" Izuku jumped a mile in the air and turned, trembling slightly. Uraraka smiled happily at him, "You saved me! Thank you so much! And you got in as well! I was so happy when Present Mic told me you had!"
'She-she's too cute in that uniform!' Izuku started to stammer, trying futilely to keep his blush under control, "I-I-I have to th-thank you too! You spoke on my behalf…"
"Izuku!" Another person popped up behind Uraraka, "Looks like you made it, my man!"
"Inasa!" Izuku grinned, and they bumped fists, "So, you were in 1-A after all! Why wouldn't you tell me!" Inasa had his tie almost untied and some of his buttons were undone. Uraraka goggled for a moment, a little put-out at the interruption.
Over in his chair, Katsuki was glaring at the two, 'Who is this guy and how does he know Deku?' Little crackles flew from his fists as he clenched them incredibly hard, 'What happened to weak little Deku? I knew his Quirk was strong when it finally showed up… but he BEAT ME in the exams. ME!' It was only the fact that he had more than doubled Izuku's Villain – and therefore combat – score that kept him from literally exploding.
"Where's the fun in-" Inasa started to laugh when they were again interrupted.
"If you're here to socialize, then go home!" They each froze and turned to look outside the classroom. On the floor was a yellow caterpillar!
"Wah, a talking caterpillar! So cool!" Inasa exclaimed, while Izuku and Uraraka had wide eyes and were completely taken aback.
A second glance later and they realized it was a sleeping bag, and the face staring at them looked decidedly unamused, "This is the Hero Course." A hand snaked out from inside the bag with a pouch, which the long-haired man squeezed empty in a single suck. Iida, Izuku, and Uraraka were slightly blue as they watched him sit up and toss off the sleeping bag. He wore all black which matched his messy hair and a grey scarf, "You mistook me for a caterpillar and it took you all more than ten seconds to settle down. Time is precious. You kids aren't very rational, are you?"
He strode inside while everyone wondered who exactly this was. Izuku didn't recognize him, which said something. 'He has to be a Pro Hero, right? I've never seen him before. And I've never seen one who looked so worn out either.'
He even had a lot of stubble on his face and his eyes were bloodshot, "I'm your homeroom teacher, Shōta Aizawa. Pleased to meet you." He sounded everything but pleased. He reached into his sleeping bag and pulled out a dark blue uniform with red and white stripes, "It's a bit sudden, but you all need to put these on and head to the field."
Everyone in the class had varying degrees of confusion written on their faces as the man walked right back out.