Chapter 6: The Hero's First Day!
Izuku stared at the boxes in front of him. It was hard to believe that he'd be leaving home again so soon after coming back, but U.A. demanded its Hero course students live in their dormitories, "A matter of protection" was what they called it when it was first announced. He stared at the ridiculous amount of Hero merch his Mom had bought him through the years, and felt the urge to cry welling up in him. He understood it was necessary, but he hated having to leave his Mom behind again, she had done so much for him and he was going off to his dream school and leaving her alone in their house. He'd never be looking forward to a home-cooked meal with a little note on it, or a family breakfast on weekends, instead, he'd be living with total strangers for four years. He just hoped the people would be nice, they probably would be, being Hero hopefuls and all, but Bakugo was one too, so who really knew. Eventually, his mind trailed back to the stack of luggage. It was his whole life packed into a few suitcases, everything that represented him packaged away in neat bundles to be relocated.
His Mom was waiting at the door by the time he exited his room, closing the door softly behind him. She looked so proud of him, so happy, but so upset at the same time. The car ride to U.A. was silent. His lips trembled as they approached the giant campus, the gate was as far as she could take him. They pulled up to the gate, Izuku wiping his eyes furiously, hoping to hide the tears blooming in his eyes. Mom ignored his tears, grabbing his jacket collar and fixing it a bit with shaking hands. Feeling the quivering palms on his shoulders, he lifted his forearm off of his eyes and looked directly into his Mom's, seeing the tears of joy and sadness welling up in front of her irises.
"You look so cool, Izuku." She whispered, her voice quivering. "My little Hero is off to school one last time!" She managed a weak smile at that, and Izuku threw any inhibitions away and wrapped her in the tightest hug he could muster.
"I'm really gonna miss you, Mom." He spat through his tears. "I'm gonna make you proud, gonna be your little Hero until the end."
Izuku wasn't sure how long the hug lasted, but it wasn't long enough. All too soon, his Mom was pulling away from him and getting back into her car with a final wave goodbye. All too soon, he was making his way to the dorm rooms.
The rooms were spacious, almost double the size of his room back home, and came with some basic furniture, a bed and a nightstand, a closet, and a lamp. Izuku set his boxes down, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work.
Over the course of about an hour and a half, Izuku had managed to decorate his room more to his liking. He set up a desk and connected his laptop there, put up a shelf on top of the desk for his notebooks and a bigger shelf for books and figurines by the wall. He went light on the Hero merch, opting for a varied mix of Hero's rather than the shrine to All Might his room at home was. His room was still covered wall to wall, the Hero otaku that he was, but he now had posters and figures of Heroes like Edgeshot, Miruko, Gang Orca, and Kamui Woods. He looked around and nodded to the empty room, satisfied with the results. Izuku checked his phone, 'Still only 12:30.' He thought. 'Well, might as well pass the time productively.'
Pulling out a steel pan from his desk, he placed three candles on its surface, tall, narrow candles that looked like they belonged on an old movie set. Opening his window, he then snapped his fingers and allowed his Reiryoku to surge, creating a small fire on the tip of his index finger and lit the candles, the scent drifting pleasantly throughout his room. Closing his eyes, Izuku reached out for the familiar warmth that ran through his veins and upon feeling it, focused, his brow furrowing unconsciously. Pushing his senses outward, he felt for the fire he had lit just a bit ago, searching for the heat that had come from his body. 'There!' He grabbed onto the energy, feeling the strain as the energy rebelled against his control. Fire did not like being contained, it wanted to spread and grow, and once outside of his body, Izuku's Reiryoku was no different, it wanted to burn free of him. He tightened his hold on the energy, his brow slowly unfurrowing as the energy seemed to acquiesce to his rules. Keeping a hold on the energy, Izuku took a deep breath in, drawing the energy back into his body through his mouth, and a slow breath out, pushing the Reiryoku back into the candle flames. It was an exercise Urahara had taught him, both to test his control over the fire once it had left his body, and to test whether he could reabsorb the energy and expel it again. The candles were the latest of many fires he had breathed in, starting with a campfire and progressively getting smaller and smaller flames as his control increased. He smirked, proud of his achievements as he opened his eyes and saw the candle's flames burning higher as he pushed more energy into the preexisting flames. He continued his breathing, the process continuing to strain his control more and more until he stopped, letting out a final exhale and wiping his forehead of the sweat that had yet to evaporate from his skin. Releasing complete control over the candles, Izuku blew them out, frowning as his limitations reared their head. It was impossible for him to absorb his energy without releasing it almost immediately, his body couldn't contain the energy once it had been released, it was like the energy was tainted or corrupted from its brief stint outside of his body, and it would actively attack his body if he tried to keep hold of it for too long. He sighed, it wasn't something he could fix with training or practice, Him and Soul both agreed on that, it was just a part of the limits that were built into his Quirk, a wall he couldn't overcome, like the lack of control he held over fire that wasn't his.
Thoughts about overcoming limits and weaknesses were interrupted by a knock at the door. Izuku raised an eyebrow, he hadn't heard anyone move in, so who could it be? Checking his phone his eyes bulged out. '4:30?! I was practicing for 5 hours?!' He shook his head, no wonder he hadn't heard anyone move in, he hadn't even realized how much time had passed in his focus! Another knock snapped him out of his reverie.
"Yeah, coming!" He called out, walking to the door and opening it wide.
"Hi! My name's Ashido Mina!" A brightly smiling girl was on the other side. She had curly pink hair and two horns that poked out of her skull, along with yellow eyes with black sclera. Most noticeably, her skin was pink. "I'm gathering everyone up to come and introduce themselves in the main room, wanna join?"
"Sure, sounds like fun!"
It was a testament to his growth how quickly he accepted. The old Izuku would've had a panic attack at the thought of meeting new people, he thought, amused.
"Cool! Go down to the common room and I'll meet you there once I've gotten the rest!"
He walked down the stairs to the common room and was greeted by a wall of unfamiliar faces, probably about 10-15 people, all gathered on the couches. Bowing politely, he made his way to an unoccupied seat and waited. Three more people trickled in, probably sent by Ashido like he was, before the organizer herself walked in, but Izuku was more focused on the woman she had walked in with. Beautiful was an understatement, the girl was almost ethereal in her grace and looks. Long white and red hair styled in a high ponytail, full lips that tilted downwards, and a face so gorgeous he couldn't believe he was looking at a mortal. Her arms were at her side but the relaxed pose did nothing to hide the obvious muscle that sculpted her forearms and biceps, filling the loose sleeve of the T-shirt she wore. The right side of her face was currently facing him, and when she turned fully, he was struck even harder by just how stunning she was. There was a large scar that marred the left side of her face, right over her eye, but to Izuku that was just another point in her favour, scars showed resilience and bravery, strength and resolve. His hand unconsciously drifted to his shoulder where the giant wound Urahara inflicted on him refused to heal. His Quirk had burned the wound shut as he activated it, leaving a gnarly, blackened divot of missing flesh and scar tissue. Their eyes met, green meeting with one golden brown and one crystalline blue, and Izuku almost lit the couch on fire. The person next to him, an incredibly short boy with purple balls for hair, yelped and scooted away.
"What the hell, man!" His voice was nasally, like he had a permanent stuffy nose. Izuku controlled his energy, embarrassed at his lack of control. He was lucky he couldn't blush anymore, the blood rushing unable to overcome his heat resistance.
"Sorry." He apologized with a bow. "My Quirk is…a bit hard to control sometimes."
The boy scoffed, but seemed to accept that answer, nodding and turning to Ashido, who clapped to garner their attention.
"Alright, everyone! We are all here, except for one grouchy dude on the second floor, and now it's time to introduce ourselves!" Her enthusiasm was infectious, Izuku could feel his excitement ramp up, and saw others in the class start smiling as well.
"I'll go first!" She declared. "My name is Ashido Mina, I'm 17, and my Quirk is Acid!" She let a drop of liquid form from her finger and let it land on her sleeve, the material disintegrating as the acid hissed. "It lets me secrete any acid I want from any part of my body! One fun fact about me, I like to breakdance!" She sat down, her introduction apparently done. Izuku was writing furiously in his notebook, his classmates must all have such cool Quirks! The person next to her stood up, a man with yellow hair with a black bolt of lightning appearing on the right side of his bangs.
"What's up guys, my name is Kaminari Denki, I'm 17 too, and my Quirk is Electricity!" He held up his hands and showed the class electricity dancing between his fingers. "It lets me absorb and emit electricity however I want, but I short-circuit when I let out too much, like an overcharged battery. One interesting thing about me, I play guitar!" Izuku's notes stopped at the last bit, his head tilting as he considered what the man meant by 'short-circuiting' but pushed it out of his mind as the next person stood up. This time, it was a familiar face.
"Greetings, fellow students!" Four-eyes barked out like a military commander. "My name is Iida Tenya, and I am 17 years old as well! My Quirk is Engines, it gives me engines in my calves! One interesting thing about me is that I enjoy studying!" He sat back down, stiff as a board. Izuku almost laughed out loud at the looks he saw some students directing towards Iida, confusion and horror among them. He had to disguise his laugh as a cough when a girl next to him muttered out "Is he an undercover teacher or something?"
The fourth student was another recognizable face, the girl he had saved at the entrance exam!
"My name is Uraraka Ochako, I'm 17, and my Quirk is Zero Gravity!" She touched a pillow and with a light pink glow it began floating. "I can remove gravity from any object I touch with all five of my fingers, and release them like this! One interesting thing about me is that I absolutely love mochi!" She touched her fingertips together, padded like a cat's, Izuku noticed, and the pillow dropped. 'That's an incredible Quirk!' Izuku shouted mentally. 'She could be a perfect hybrid between rescue and combat!'
Izuku's mind was still considering possibilities when the next student rose.
"My name's Ojiro Mashirao, I'm 17, and my Quirk is Tail, it gives me a tail that I use when I'm fighting. One interesting thing about me is that I've been learning how to use Kyokushin Karate since I was 12 years old." Izuku, initially a little let down by the plain Quirk, felt his interest rise at the last bit, a fellow martial artist was always fun to fight against!
Izuku was stunned by the next student, a veritable giant as tall if not taller than Tessai with a mask and multiple arms, one of which formed a mouth.
"My name is Shoji Mezo, I'm 18 years old, and my Quirk is Dupli-arms." The mouth at the end of his arm spoke, intriguing Izuku immensely. "It allows me to grow tentacles like these and change the organs at the end of them to eyes, mouths, ears and more. One interesting thing about me is that I love takoyaki."
As the introductions continued, Izuku took notes on each of the students, Kirishima's hardening Quirk, Satou's sugar Quirk, Hagakure's invisibility, and Asui's frog Quirk until the short guy next to him stood up.
"Hello ladies!" Izuku felt a shudder travel up his spine in disgust. The boy's voice carried a smug undertone that was almost drowned out by the lechery in his tone. "The name's Mineta Minoru, 17 years old, and my Quirk is Pop-off." He gestured to his hair. "Each of these balls can stick to anything for a predetermined time. One interesting thing about me is that I love the ladies!" Izuku's disgust slowly shifted to anger as he saw purple boy eyeing up all the girls, his eyes wandering all over the clueless woman's bodies. Izuku felt his Reiryoku circulate faster in his blood stream, looking for its favourite emotional snacks, and stood up before he could burn something down, ignoring Mineta's squawk as Izuku "accidentally" kicked his legs from under him.
"Hello, my name is Midoriya Izuku, I'm 17 and my Quirk is Reiryoku." He'd gotten it renamed after he found out its true properties, Burning Soul was a bit too…extra for his tastes nowadays anyway. "It's a sort of energy that circulates in my body alongside my blood, and it allows me to create and control fire. The energy is semi-sentient and likes to rile me up, meaning it amplifies my emotions. I'm working on controlling that, but in the meantime, if I snap at you because of that, I apologize. One interesting thing about me is that I've been training Muay Thai for the past 2 years."
There was an expected and an unexpected reaction to his introduction. The expected reaction was Ojiro perking up at the mention of his martial arts training like Izuku had done earlier. The unexpected reaction was the beautiful split-haired woman, who had just barely flinched at the mention of him controlling fire, before her face went back to its impassive state. Izuku was trying to figure out why she had reacted like that when her turn to introduce herself came around. He focused his eyes on her, looking for any sort of hint as to why she had flinched, before smacking his forehead mentally.
'She has a burn scar, idiot! Obviously she wouldn't like fire!'
"My name is Todoroki Ruka." Izuku shivered again, this time in abject delight at the tone of her voice. She sounded like snow falling, gentle and vicious all at the same time. Her tone was flat, but Izuku couldn't care less, her attitude wasn't an issue, she could treat him like a dog and he'd run right back just to hear that voice again. "My Quirk is Half-Hot, Half-Cold, it allows me to produce ice from my right side and heat myself up using my left. One interesting thing about me…" She paused there, as if there was nothing interesting she could think of, which was ridiculous, everything about her was interesting. "I can ice skate." She sat down before standing back up, as if she had forgotten something. "Oh, and I'm going to be the Number One Hero."
Izuku continued to keep at least one of his eyes on her after she sat down, his attention fading from the other students as his mind was overcome with longing.
One look at the girl and you're in love! Soul cackled in his mind. Izuku stared up at his ceiling, eyes wide.
"She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, Soul." Soul just laughed harder at the awe in his voice. "I'm gonna ask her out next chance I get."
Woah, buddy. Soul was serious now, the chuckles dissipating. You've barely met this girl, give it some time, at least!
"You know that's not my thing, Soul." Izuku laughed. "She wants to be number one, right? I'll have to prove myself to her first!"
Don't be stupid kid. Soul's voice was harsh now. You have to prove yourself as boyfriend material, not as Hero material!
The next day Izuku was determined to make the best first impression he could, both on his homeroom teacher, and on Ruka. He couldn't be completely certain of his feelings just yet, but there was something, a spark within himself he couldn't control, he had to at least try. He arrived to class ten minutes early, walked in the door, and immediately considered suicide.
"Take your feet off of that desk!" Iida was shouting, his arm chopping in a perfect 90 degree motion at his elbow. "This way of sitting is shameful to both the students who once used that desk, and the very prestige of U.A.!"
Bakugo, because of course they were in the same class, sneered back at him, his hand popping.
"Who the fuck are you, extra? Where do you get off thinking you can tell me what to do, huh!?"
Iida sputtered for a second. Regaining his composure, he stuck his hand out in an offer to shake.
"I believe we started off on the wrong foot! My name is Iida Tenya, I'm from Somei Academy!"
"Somei huh? No wonder you've got such a huge stick up your ass!"
"How did a crude student like you get admitted into U.A. to begin with?!" He turned around, apparently writing Bakugo off as a lost cause, and sat in his seat, Izuku having taken advantage of their argument to sit next to Todoroki. This was his chance to strike up a conversation!
Ask her what she thinks of U.A. so far! Soul urged. He leaned towards her, his eyes locked onto her face as he prepared himself.
"So, are you enjoying U.A. so far?" 'I did it!' He cheered in his head. 'I managed to talk without stuttering!'
She moved her head slightly to look back at him, her eyes scrutinizing his as she stared at him. This is a test, Izuku! Don't avert your eyes! Soul coached. Look her straight in the eyes and smile! Izuku cringed mentally. His once sunshine-esque smile had faded, stress and heightened emotions drawing a more violent grin out of him instead. Still, Soul hadn't led him astray yet! He held eye contact with her and grinned, the corners of his lips rising to show a jagged smirk.
"You gonna leave me hanging, Princess?" No reaction. His grin faded slightly as she turned her ice-cold expression towards him.
"I'm not here to make friends. Don't try to get all buddy-buddy with me, I hate it." Her voice was the same as last night, and Izuku couldn't help the little shiver her icy voice gave him. His grin widened as he revelled in her voice.
"I'm sure I'll get through your icy exterior soon, Princess." She scoffed, annoyance flaring in her eyes, and opened her mouth to respond until a monotone, borderline zombie-like voice spoke from the front, Izuku reluctantly tearing his eyes away from Todoroki.
"None of you noticed me despite the ample amount of time I gave you. I'm disappointed." The speaker was a shaggy, homeless looking man, black shoulder-length hair fell in front of his face as he yawned. He crawled out of a musty yellow sleeping bag, pressing a button and releasing a shelf of briefcases from the wall, each with a student's name on it.
"My name is Aizawa Shouta, I will be your homeroom teacher. You can call me Aizawa-sensei or Professor. These are your gym uniforms. Put them on and meet me outside at the training field. You have 5 minutes" The man gave off an aura similar to Renji and Urahara, a sense of danger that Izuku came to associate with resolve.
Izuku had been exposed to enough of Urahara's games to be wary of the implied "or-else" that hung in the air, and rushed to the front. Grabbing his uniform, he hurried to the locker room and quickly shucked his clothes off before throwing the gym clothes on. He had just finished putting his shirt on by the time the rest of the boys flooded into the changing room, chattering as if they had no care in the world. He booked it out of the room, ignoring their questions, and found his way to the training field, bowing to Aizawa-sensei as he slowed down.
The next person to arrive was Ruka, her face as dispassionate as ever, followed by Iida and Yaoyorozu. As the rest of the class trickled in, Izuku noticed the anger growing on his sensei's face with a wince. 5 minutes had come and gone, and there were still students missing from the field. They arrived after 7 minutes, chattering among each other like they were in some sort of playground. Izuku was disappointed too, he had prepared himself to go against the best of the best, not some waddling teens who weren't able to take instructions seriously!
"Almost half of you were late." Aizawa's voice was terse. "I hope that doesn't become a habit. For now, we'll be doing a Quirk Assessment Test." Uraraka piped up, Izuku tensing beside her as he remembered Urahara's tendency to punish him for asking questions.
"What about orientation, or introductions to the staff?" Aizawa turned around, glaring at the class.
"If you want to be a Hero, you don't have time for those useless niceties. U.A. is known for it's hands-off style of education, it allows you students to have benefits no other school would allow, but that applies to us staff as well." The glare lightened back into the deadpan, half asleep face, Izuku slowly relaxing as Aizawa did. The class was completely silent, nobody dared breaking the somber mood.
"You guys have been doing these exercises since Junior High, right? Physical fitness tests without your Quirk?" He projected a display of exercises to the class from a device on his wrist. "The ministry of education wants to make sure students are healthy and fit while in school, a logical idea, but you are all here to learn how to use your Quirk, not just your bodies." He pointed at Bakugo. "You, Bakugo. You had the most villain points out of everyone in this class. Come up to the circle here." Bakugo did as he was told. even he wasn't crazy enough to run wild on the U.A. campus. Aizawa handed him a ball. "What was your throw in High School?"
"73 meters." Bakugo grunted out.
"Now throw it with your Quirk. You can do whatever you want within the circle, just throw the ball as far as you can."
Bakugo's sullen face immediately lit up in glee, he loved any excuse to use his Quirk, after all, Izuku thought bitterly, watching his torturer wind up and launch the ball.
"DIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" A huge explosion rocked the students standing on the sidelines, Izuku managing to withstand the shockwave and watching the ball fly higher and higher until it was out of sight.
"923 meters." Aizawa's dull voice echoed throughout the clearing."You must first learn your maximum before you can build on it. It's the logical thing to do."
The crowd of students let out a shocked gasp, chattering to each other as if Aizawa hadn't just told them they were here for business.
"No way, 923 meters?! That guy is insane!" Kaminari said, his eyebrow raised in worry.
"This looks like fun!" Izuku froze as the words rang out, he knew whatever came next would be, at best, terrible. 'Fucking demon sensei's!' He cursed. ;Why am I so unlucky!?'
"Fun, huh?" Aizawa was glaring down at them again, his eyes gleaming with malice. "You want to be a Hero, to risk your life with that kind of attitude? Alright, I get it. How about this, the person who scores the lowest overall in these eight tests, I'll expel them." The class was silent for a minute, before it erupted into noise.
"What do you mean 'expel' us!? We got here fair and square!"
"Yeah, no matter how open-minded U.A. is, there's gotta be a limit somewhere!"
The crowd continued to shout, but Izuku wanted no part of it. There was nothing in this world that could convince him yelling at his sensei for the next four years was worth tt.
"Enough!" Aizawa yelled, his baritone voice cutting through the clamour. "I decide who I teach, if you can't even prove worthy in this little test, you don't deserve to be here! People die in the field, I'm sure you all know that, but what you need to understand is that your death is the best-case scenario!"
Izuku knew this lesson. It had been beaten into his head for months while he stayed with Urahara after all. A Hero had to be ready to sacrifice themselves constantly, and if they died, then at least they wouldn't be living with the guilt of having gotten someone killed. The shouting had stopped instantly, the class pale and shocked as Aizawa's words sunk in.
"Any more questions?" He swept a glare across the students. "Good, we're moving to the 50 yard dash. Midoriya, Bakugo, you're up first. Give it all you have."
Izuku took his shoes off before he started preparing. 'No reason to waste a good pair of sneakers.' He reasoned, stretching, before standing next to the blocks. Bakugo was glaring at him, but that wasn't anything new. He tuned it out, focusing on himself and the energy running through his veins, compressing it to his feet without even bothering getting into a running stance. He opened his eyes, sparks dancing from under his soles, and waited for the bot to start counting down.
"3, 2, 1, andd, GO!"
Izuku released the compression and felt the familiar sense of the world bending around him as the flames launched him forwards. The surrounding area distorted at his speed, until it all snapped back into place at the end of the track. He halted his acceleration, inhaling the fire from his feet before blowing it back into the sky, and turned to face Aizawa.
"0.51 seconds." The class erupted in awe as Izuku walked to his sneakers, ignoring the sting of pain that came with compressing the fire's force so close to his skin.
"3.02 seconds."
'Sounds like Bakugo's finished too.' Izuku thought offhandedly, his focus already on the next test.
Test two, grip strength!
Izuku focused his Quirk on his muscles, circulating the energy faster in order to bring some extra power into his arms, and clenched as hard as he could, his arm trembling.
"153.2 Kg." He was happy about that, there wasn't much he could do to this thing without burning it after all.
"Holy shit dude, are you a gorilla?!" A shout caught Izuku's attention, his eyes landing on Shoji and Sero on the other side of the field. "635 Kg is crazy!"
'Point taken, world.' He thought glumly.
Test 3, standing long jump!
Izuku watched his classmates jump one at a time, some using raw power and others being more creative with their attempts. Aoyama launched himself over the sandpit with his laser, while Bakugo leaped over with his explosions before landing past Aoyama's marker. Yaoyorozu created a pole vault and cleared the pit that way, while Asui jumped over with pure leg strength. Finally, it was his turn, and he had an idea. He positioned his hands behind him, fire beginning to spark in both palms as he compressed it. 'Less than for Shunpo and Ikkoku!' He reminded himself, his concentration solely on not blowing his wrists off. 'Just enough to give me a boost!' He released the fire and felt himself launch at a near perfect 45 degree angle, easily clearing the sand pit. He pumped his fist as he landed, unaware of the glare Aizawa sent his way.
The rest of the tests continued to go that way, Izuku nearing the top in almost all of them except for repeating side-steps, until it was time for everyone to do the ball throw. Uraraka stood in the circle, looking like the cat that caught the canary, and simply released the ball, allowing it to float into the stratosphere. Aizawa sighed and raised the measuring device, showing a pink infinity symbol in the middle of it.
"Midoriya, you're up." Izuku nodded distractedly, mind already running through the possibilities of what he could do as he grabbed the ball from Aizawa. 'Probably best to compress my fire again, use it as an explosion.' He decided. 'Anything other than that might vaporize the ball, or drain my energy completely.' He nodded to himself and prepared, flames gathering in his palm as his classmates gushed.
"I wonder what he's going to do now! Maybe he'll hit it with a giant flame laser!" That had to have been Ashido, he decided, a smile forming on his face at the ridiculous idea.
"No way, he's going to hit it with the same explosion thing he's been doing." Sero was right, it was the safest option. 'Who ever got anywhere by being safe!?' He grinned and prepared, closing his eyes and forcing the flame to compress more than he ever had before, 'More, until it's enough to get at least a kilometer!' He drew his hand back, just about to launch the ball, when he felt it, his control over the fire fade completely as the large amount of compressed fire in his palm exploded, sending him flying backwards until he was wrapped up and caught by a piece of…was that cloth? He was dragged in front of an unimpressed Aizawa, his eyes glowing red and his hair floating in the air.
"Why aren't you using your full power?" Izuku blinked, taken aback.
"What do you mean? I'm giving it all I got!" Aizawa glared at him.
"The sword from the entrance exam, the firepower that you managed then, why aren't you using it?"
"Because using that much power puts me out of commission, if I use it recklessly, I'll end up a liability!"
Aizawa nodded, a flash of approval in his eyes that vanished as quickly as it came.
"That's good, shows you have restraint and you know what your limits are, but that won't cut it here." Izuku felt the dots connect in his head, and Aizawa kept talking. "This is your last test of the day. The rest of your classes are academic, meaning your first day is going to be a blur of introductions and niceties, nothing physical or demanding, but you still won't go all out. To be a Hero, you have to be willing to go past your limits." Aizawa's hair fell back down as blinked, but he lifted it up with his hand and offered a truly terrifying smile. "Go Beyond, Plus Ultra! That's our motto, right?" Izuku's hair stood on end, a truly unsettling aura emanating from his teacher. "You have one more chance, don't blow it." The cloth released Izuku, falling neatly onto Aizawa's shoulders as the teacher stepped back in line. Izuku thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion.
'He's right.' Izuku thought grimly. 'I should've been using full power for this test from the start, instead, I was gonna half-ass it, do the same thing over and over instead of developing anything new.'
He took a deep breath, his determination renewed, and held his hand out to the side, open palmed.
"Soul." He called out, his voice cutting through the silent air. He heard some confused mumblings until Soul appeared in his hand, the purple scabbard fitting perfectly in his palm.
A bit dramatic, don't you think? Soul joked, before his tone became stern. Your teacher was right, you know. You've been looking down on half of your classmates and slacking off because of it, thinking that since you were better than them you weren't in any danger. What happened to number one?
"I know, Soul, I made a mistake." Izuku could feel the confusion emanating from his classmates as he spoke to his sword.
Yes, you did. Soul spoke bluntly. There's no coasting on the path to number one. You should always be pushing yourself to do better, be better, but here you are, trying to take the easy way out instead of passing your limits.
"I said I know, Soul." Izuku replied, his voice equally as serious. "That was a mistake, I'm going to give it my all this time, are you gonna help or keep lecturing me."
Ha! Soul scoffed. You couldn't wrestle your way out of a paper bag without me, of course I'm gonna help!
Izuku grinned, letting his competitive urge rush through his body.
"Then, let's blow 'em out of the water, partner!" Soul's cooperation confirmed, he started stretching, getting his body ready for the throw. 'No sense in wasting a good uniform.' He figured, taking his shirt off and letting the skin below free. At first, the rest of the class was confused, then horrified at the sight of the wound that stretched from his shoulder to his stomach in a straight line, a hideous thing, blackened by his own fire. He ignored the rest of his class, instead, in an act of pure adrenaline, zeroed in on Ruka and grinned, flexing slightly and winking at her.
'Why the fuck did I do that!?' He screamed internally.
Why the fuck did you do that!? Soul screamed alongside him.
Izuku felt his Reiryoku pump up as the embarrassment caught up to him, and let it grow stronger, drawing it out into a cloud of fire that burst into existence around him, wisps of flame dancing around his body. He unsheathed Soul, the steel ringing against the sheath as he did, and concentrated once more. He grabbed the fire around him, the giant plume that he had summoned, and focused. He forced it around his sword, compressing it to a point where the ball should survive without being ashed, but enough that the force should send it flying. When he was ready, he threw the ball high into the air, pulled his sword back and waited.
'Now!' He swung the sword forward, the broad side connecting flush with the ball and erupting immediately, launching the ball hundreds of meters.
'Not yet!' He closed his eyes and felt for the fire enveloping the ball, sensing his energy, he waited, fire gathering once again around his upper body. The ball started falling, and Izuku knew it was time. He threw his fist out, a giant plume of fire following it and hitting the ball partway through its descent, propelling it forward again. He did this for as long as he could, pushing the limits of his range of control and his timing, pulling more and more energy out of his bloodstream, until the ball left his range. He fell to his knees, steam wafting from his body as he panted, his blood cooling down as his Reiryoku slowed its circulation. He looked at his teacher and forced himself to his feet, swaying unsteadily in the cloud of steam that was pouring out of him.
"That was all I could do." He breathed out, taking in deep puffs of cool air. "I put all I had into that, was that Plus Ultra enough for you?" He grinned, ignoring the gasps of affront his classmates let out as he sassed his teacher. Aizawa grinned back, holding out the measuring tool.
"You tell me, kid."
"1850 METERS?!" The class shouted out in unison. He supposed it was expected, he had the highest number out of his class other than Uraraka's infinity, and a near two kilometer throw was much farther than even he had expected. Grabbing his shirt off of the floor, he smacked the dust off of it and swung it over his shoulder, the class parting around him as steam continued to stream from him. He ignored all of it, his attention focused only on Ruka as he walked towards her. She looked at him with narrowed eyes and he tried his best to ignore the thrill that ran through him as he noticed just how tall she was before he stopped right in front of her.
"You think you can cool me off a little bit?" His voice was hoarse and gravelly, the result of his overexertion. "I'm not a big fan of steaming like this." She studied him for a second, her eyes inevitably drifting to the prominent scar on his chest. Izuku felt another surge of pleasure as her eyes stayed fixed on his body, but pushed it aside to keep talking.
"Is that a no, Princess?" He grinned as she glared at him again.
Good work kid! Any emotion is better than no emotion! Soul cheered from within him.
She held her glare for a moment before reaching her hand out, inches away from his chest.
'Come on, just a little closer!' Izuku hoped she would reach out just a little more, he wanted desperately to feel her hand on his skin, but she stopped centimeters short, ice pouring from her palm and engulfing him.
Maybe no emotion is better than anger. Soul muttered in his mind.
Izuku was already cycling his Reiryoku slightly faster, the ice block melting almost instantly from that added to the residual heat from the ball throw.
"That was perfect, Princess." He sighed in relief. "We make a pretty good team, what do you say we get to know each other a little bit better?" He kept the grin on his face despite the nerves that were going haywire in his body at the moment. She huffed, an icy mist following her breath.
"I thought I told you I wasn't here to make friends. Get lost."
"Aww, don't be like that! I just wanna get to know you!" Izuku whined, his hopes crushed.
Before she could respond, Aizawa cut them off again.
"Gather around me. It's time we learn who's going home." The class surged together, huddling around Aizawa as the man poked at the device on his wrist for a few seconds before a screen popped up.
Yaoyorozu Momo
Midoriya Izuku
Todoroki Ruka
Bakugo Katsuki
Iida Tenya
Tokoyami Fumikage
Shoji Mezo
Mashirao Ojiro
Kirishima Eijiro
Ashido Mina
Tsuyu Asui
Uraraka Ochako
Sato Rikido
Koda Koji
Sero Hanta
Yuga Aoyama
Jiro Kyoka
Kaminari Denki
Hagakure Tooru
Mineta Minoru
Izuku clicked his teeth together in dissatisfaction. He could've been first if he'd put his all into it from the very beginning, but he'd started getting prideful, arrogant. There were people in this class who could and would do better than him if he slipped, and he'd have to step up his game if he wanted to keep ahead of them.
'Speaking of which,' He turned to face Ruka, the girl scowling at the list like it had killed her family. 'She doesn't look too happy.' She caught him staring at her, and her scowl deepened.
Izuku heard loud sobbing and turned to see a disgusting sight, Mineta on the ground sobbing as tears and snot poured from his face.
"I can't get expelled, I haven't even seen any of the girls in their Hero costumes yet!" Izuku felt his anger rise, but satisfaction calmed him as he remembered Aizawa's words about expulsion.
"And no one's going home. It was a logical ruse to get you to use your Quirk to the max." Aizawa's statement brought the anger all the way back. The students all shouted in shock and surprise aside from Yaoyorozu.
"It was a pretty obvious lie, I thought you all would've noticed!" She said, her hands on her hips as she stared at the rest of the class freaking out.
'I couldn't tell at all!' The thought collectively ran through the class's minds.
"That's it for homeroom. All of you get changed and head to your next class." The students dispersed amongst each other and started talking, friend groups already forming among the class as they made their way to the changing rooms. Izuku kept to himself, brainstorming ways he could've done better in the test, different things he could've done with his Quirk, until a finger tapped his shoulder.
"Man, Midoriya, you really showed up, huh!" It was Kirishima, the red-head smiling at him brightly with sharp teeth. Izuku blinked, he still wasn't used to people talking to him so directly. "Second place is nothing to scoff about!"
"It's not bad, but it isn't good enough." Izuku said, his shoulders slumping. "I could've done better, but I guess I'll just have to channel that energy into the next test!" He said, his energy rising at the end.
Kirishima looked at him like he was God on earth, eyes shining with awe and respect.
"So manly…" He whispered. "You're right, we should all aim to do even better next time!" A small group of boys including Izuku, Kaminari, and Sero all cheered at the red-heads' words.
"By the way, Midoriya," Kaminari spoke, drawing Izuku's eyes to him. "What's with that huge scar on your shoulder? You look like you lost a fight with a lightsaber!" Izuku was in the middle of putting his uniform back on, but held off as he readied his answer.
"Well, I learned how to use my sword in some town on the other side of Japan." His story was interrupted by Sero this time, the man poking his neck out like a giraffe.
"Why were you all the way over there, didn't you have school or something?" Izuku winced, his attack on the boy a year ago was still a sore spot in his memory.
"Well, there was a little…incident at my school, and I had to switch somewhere else. My Muay Thai instructor knew a guy who could help me out with my sword and my Quirk, so I went to him for both school and training." Izuku waited for the sound of understanding to die down around him as more of the boys tuned in to his story. "Well, he was a super strict teacher, had me doing thousands of swings with my sword a day in order to train my body, and one day, after I was done practice, he walked up to me and told me we were going to spar." Kaminari interrupted this time, his voice tinged with confusion.
"What does that have to do with your scar?"
"I'm getting there, just give me a minute." Izuku put his hands out in a calming gesture. "The guy pulls out his sword and tells me that if I don't fight back seriously, he'd kill me. I thought he was joking, until he sliced through my sword and into my shoulder, before he ripped it down my chest." He pointed at the wound. "At that point, I'd only used my Quirk on purpose once, and I had no idea what it really did, so when I pushed out all of my energy for the first time, it burned the injury shut, leaving me with this scar." The locker room was silent as Izuku pulled his shirt on fully, closing his locker.
"Don't you hate him now?" The question came, surprisingly, from Shoji. "He permanently disfigured you in the name of training, you have to feel some sort of resentment."
Izuku laughed.
"I trained with him for another 9 months after that, actually." He laughed again at the assorted sounds of disbelief that rang out. "And as for the scar," He grabbed his shoulder with his hand as he spoke. "It's a sign of my resolve, it means I didn't give in to fear, and that I fought with all I had. How could I hate a symbol like that?" He walked out of the door, followed by Kirishima shouting "Manly!" and Kaminari who still looked starstruck. Behind him, Bakugo glared at his locker door, slamming it shut with much more force than he needed to. Gritting his teeth, he stomped out of the room, his thoughts whirling in his head.
'Fucking Deku.' He shoved his hands in his pockets. 'He thinks he's fucking better than me! All that bullshit about second not being enough when I came in fucking fourth, he's mocking me, I know it!' His anger grew at the thought, violent thoughts surging through his mind. 'I'll kill that stupid nerd, I swear! Him, Icy bitch and rich bitch, all of them are dead!'
The next day was a blur. Classes were depressingly normal, the excitement of having a Pro-Hero teacher fading when said Pro-Hero started lecturing them about calculus or history. Each Hero student was allowed to choose between two set timetables, depending on which one you chose, you would be put in either class 1-A or 1-B, and Izuku's timetable told him that next up was the class he had been excited for since he'd gotten his acceptance letter.
"It's finally time for our Heroics class!" Ashido shouted out from her seat. "I wonder who our teacher's going to be?"
"It's gotta be Best Jeanist, right?" Kaminari said, looking thoughtful. "I mean, high ranked Hero based in this area? There aren't many others."
"Nah, no way!" Kirishima refuted. "Best Jeanist is way too busy for something like this! I bet it's someone a little lower on the list, like Kamui Woods, or Death Arms."
The discussion continued until a familiar laugh boomed through the room.
"No way!" Jiro shouted, her jacks rising up to cheek height.
"I AM HERE! Coming through the door like a normal person!" All Might burst through the door, his cape fluttering in the wind he created.
"It's really All Might!" Kaminari said, his voice full of awe.
"That's his silver age costume, gero" Tsuyu croaked, her normally bland tone slightly more expressive.
"He's so impressive, I'm getting goosebumps just being in front of him!" Ojiro said.
"I will be your Hero Basics teacher!" All Might said, his smile firmly on his face. "To lay the foundations for you young ones, we'll be doing all types of training. Subsequently, this course has the most units out of the rest. Today, we'll be jumping right in!" He twirled around, his cape covering him for a moment before he thrust his arm out, holding a card with the word "BATTLE" printed on it. "With some battle training!"