Chapter 2: hero 101: making friends
if you had asked izuku a week and a half ago where he would be on this day, he would tell you "at ua academy as a student" with like, 32% confidence. And he would've been half right. He was at ua... Just not as a student.
Izuku walked into the building, he was sweating buckets. It was obvious that he was nervous, anybody could see that.
He eventually found his way to the door of class 1a. He stood outside the door nervous, he had no idea who could possibly be behind the door and honestly he was afraid to find out.
There was one person who he really didn't want to be in there. There was no way right?
He shook his head, trying to will away the anxiety.
Get it together, Midoriya. You survived a billboard landing on you, You dealt with Kacchan for ten years now. You're not just a quirkless kid anymore.
His hand hovered over the doorknob.
Still trembling.
"Alright," he muttered to himself, "just go in. Be cool. Act like you belong here. Act like you belong. Besides, How bad could it possibly be."
He opened the door.
When Izuku opened the door, the first sight that greeted him was a blue haired boy arguing with.. oh no.. of course Kacchan was here, why did he ever think he would be Lucky enough to escape him.
Izuku looked around the room to see a bunch of... Unique, faces. Some were big, some were small, some were pink, some were blonde.
Izuku could feel katsuki's eyes landing on him, he could feel the anger rushing off him, but izuku ignored it. He knew bakugou wouldn't call him out in the middle of class around people he didn't know.
"Wait who are you, I think you may have come to the wrong class" suddenly the blue haired boy came up to him, and started talking to him.
"No, I'm supposed to be here" izuku affirms, though he himself still wasn't entirely sure.
"This class is for learning, not socializing. Everybody get to your seats and shut up" aizawa suddenly rolled into the class in a yellow sleeping bag, like some kind of human caterpillar.
The rest of the class was confused at the man in the doorway, to the point where all of them were too stunned to speak.
Aizawa stood up and unzipped the sleeping bag to step out. He declared that they took too long to quiet down, and needed to be more rational.
Aizawa stood at the front of the room, hair like a messy black curtain draped over his tired face, his expression about as enthusiastic as a houseplant that hadn't been watered in weeks.
"I'm Shouta Aizawa. I'll be your homeroom teacher." His voice was dry, flat, and to-the-point. "Now shut up and listen."
The classroom immediately stiffened. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a butter knife. A few students sat up straighter; others blinked rapidly, unsure if they'd just hallucinated the man unzipping himself out of a yellow sleeping bag like a disgruntled worm.
"And This is Izuku Midoriya. He'll be serving as my teaching assistant this semester."
Silence.
Everyone turned to look at Izuku.
Midoriya stood at the doorway, still awkwardly half-in and half-out of the room, stiff as a board. He offered a shaky little wave. "Uh... hey."
It was not, by any definition, cool.
He could see two students in particular staring at him in shock, like they knew exactly what his role entailed.
"Put on your gym uniforms and find yourselves down at the field" Aizawa said.
A girl with pink skin and horns blinked. "Wait, already? Don't we get a tour or orientation or something first?"
"You think being a hero comes with an orientation?" Aizawa asked dryly. "Get moving."
With that, he turned and exited the room in his full worm-caterpillar glory, dragging the yellow sleeping bag with him like some kind of depressed snake.
Katsuki was still glaring.
Izuku could feel the metaphorical grenades heating up in his old friend's palms, but he pretended not to notice and instead speed-walked to the back of the class toward the lockers.
As the others followed suit, grabbing their gym bags and uniforms, whispers trailed behind him.
The blue haired boy cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses as he approached Izuku again. "My apologies. I didn't mean to question your presence earlier. It's just... I had assumed since our classroom was already full that you were apart of another class." the boy had said
"How is it that you managed to become a teachers assistant anyway?" Questioned a black haired girl with a ponytail who had seemingly just appeared behind him. " I hear that barely anyone has ever managed to become a teaching assistant at ua" the girl asked.
Suddenly izuku gulped as the two incredibly curious individuals stared at him expectantly.
Unbeknownst to them, katsuki was still in the room, growling under his breath like a rabid dog.
"What the hell are you doing here, You Damn Deku?"
Ten minutes later - Training Field C
The entire class stood in matching U.A. gym uniforms, lined up like rookies awaiting boot camp.
Izuku, in a slightly different color-coded tracksuit to distinguish him from the students, stood awkwardly beside Aizawa, clutching a clipboard and trying very hard not to make eye contact with anyone-especially not the blond grenade simmering in the corner.
"Today, we'll be doing a quirk apprehension test," Aizawa droned. "The ministry says we're supposed to inspire you with speeches and campus tours. But I don't care about that. Heroes don't get weekends and gold stars. So we're going to find out what you're actually good for."
"You'll be doing eight physical tests. And unlike any tests you will be putting in your all or else you're out of this class"
Wait," Uraraka raised a hand, "doesn't this seem a little harsh?"
"You can't become a hero if you crumble under pressure. If you want warm hand-holding, transfer to General Studies." Aizawa turned to Izuku. "Midoriya. Ball."
Izuku fumbled with the bin beside him and grabbed a regulation baseball, tossing it to Aizawa, who caught it lazily.
"Katsuki bakugou, you were number one in the entrance exams. You get to go first" Aizawa said passing the ball to the explosive blonde
Bakugou caught the ball with just as much effort as aizawa did, not seeing this as all that important. Instead he was still putting most of his focus on izuku.
"What was your record for the ball throw back in junior high?" Aizawa asked
Bakugo didn't look at Aizawa. His eyes stayed locked on Izuku like he was the only thing on this field that mattered.
"Sixty-seven meters," Bakugo muttered, barely paying attention.
Aizawa yawned.
"Try now. With your Quirk."
Bakugo finally tore his gaze away from Izuku, stepping into the throwing circle with a malicious grin on his face.
Bakugo wound up, palm sparking, and with a roar that probably startled every bird within a three-mile radius-
"DIE!"
BOOM.
The ball shot through the air trailing fire like a comet, soaring so far it vanished from view.
Aizawa's phone beeped.
705.2 meters.
"Nice." Aizawa barely looked impressed. "Next."
The class gawked, some of them gasping, some wide-eyed in amazement. And some were shocked at the fact that he just yelled die at the top of his lungs.
"So we get to use our Quirks for this? This is gonna be awesome!"
A girl with soft pink skin and small yellow horns, her eyes sparkling with excitement, bounced on the balls of her feet. Her grin was contagious.
The rest of the class perked up immediately, the tension easing as curiosity and adrenaline began to pulse through their veins.
"Oh, so this is fun for you guys" aizawa looked at them as his eyes glowed red. "Alright then, let's make this even more fun for you all. The person who gets the least amount of points, will get expelled from my class"
The energy on the field screeched to a halt.
The excited buzz that had just begun to spark fizzled out instantly, replaced by a crushing silence. The girl with pink skin froze mid-bounce, her smile dropping like a brick.
"W-what?!" she sputtered.
A blonde boy with a lightning bolt in his hair whipped his head around, panic already settling in his wide eyes.
"Wait, hold on, that's way too serious! I thought this was just a warm-up test!"
Aizawa didn't blink. His red-glowing eyes swept over the group, emotionless, cold, almost bored.
"Being a hero is serious. Villains don't wait for you to warm up. People die when you hesitate."
The blue haired boy's hand shot up like a rocket.
"But sir, surely there must be a mistake! It's only the first day! It would be unfair to-"
"Fair?" Aizawa cut him off, his voice flat and low. "You think the battlefield is fair? You think life is fair? If that's your mindset, pack your bags now."
The class collectively swallowed hard. Except for bakugou (for obvious reasons) and a black haired girl who had told him her name was momo yaoyorozu.
And with that, the narcoleptic teacher lazily gestured toward the equipment as if this was all no big deal.
The class scattered toward the first station, adrenaline now replaced with sheer terror.
Izuku's heart hammered in his chest.
I've read about Aizawa. He's expelled entire classes before. He's serious. He'll do it.
Bakugo sauntered past him, hands jammed in his pockets. "I'll get an answer out of you deku"
Izuku gulped, terrified.
As the class worked through their Quirk Apprehension Test, Izuku stood quietly at the sidelines, furiously scribbling notes.
At least that's what it looked like.
In truth, most of his focus wasn't on the tests or Aizawa's monotone commentary-it was locked onto the strange, sleek watch strapped to his wrist.
The watch that had appeared after... well, after that day.
The day everything changed.
Izuku had no idea where it came from. He'd just woken up in the hospital and there it was-fastened securely to his arm like it had always belonged there.
And no one could take it off. Not even Recovery Girl.
At first, he'd panicked. When he got home he'd tried to break it off him with brute force. That also didn't work. But, after a while he came to a realization.
This thing wasn't a curse.
It was the reason aizawa accepted him as a teaching assistant.
It was a game changer.
Ten.
That's how many unique forms this watch let him access.
Izuku had tested most of them, carefully cataloguing their abilities in his notebook late at night when no one was watching.
One form had incredible strength.
One had great versatility.
Another could eat things.
There was even one that enhanced his intellect.
He'd gotten through nine.
But there was one left.
He hadn't gotten the time to use that last one, he knew of it, thanks to aizawa showing him a picture of the tiger like alien. But based off how aizawa said he was acting, he'd rather not
"Midoriya!" Izuku was snapped out of his trance when aizawa called his name.
"Yeah?"
"Ball"
"Oh right"
Izuku quickly grabbed another ball from the bin and tossed it to the next student.
Aizawa's gaze lingered on him for a moment longer before moving on.
Izuku forced himself to focus. He watched the rest of the apprehension test.
The final scores were posted on Aizawa's tablet, but he didn't bother announcing them out loud. He simply glanced at the rankings and, with his usual deadpan delivery, muttered:
"None of you failed hard enough to get expelled. Guess you're all lucky today."
A visible wave of relief swept through the class. A brown haired girl practically collapsed to her knees. A blonde boy threw his arms up in celebration. Even the blue haired boy's rigid posture softened, though he still muttered about the importance of academic integrity.
Normally izuku would've been bursting with joy for them not getting expelled. But he wasn't able to enjoy it
Not when he could feel Bakugo's eyes drilling into the side of his head.
The class dispersed slowly, conversations springing up in little clusters, but Bakugo didn't join any of them. He waited.
Izuku pretended not to notice.
"Midoriya," Aizawa called out as he packed up his sleeping bag, pausing briefly as if considering something. "You're coming with me. I need to speak with you."
Izuku stiffened.
"Uh-yes, sir!"
He hurried to follow Aizawa, grateful for the temporary escape from Bakugo's burning stare.
The two walked through the halls of the building side by side.
"So... What do I do now" izuku asked, expecting to maybe follow the teacher.
"Head to training ground beta," Aizawa said catching izuku off guard
Aizawa didn't slow his pace as they walked through the winding corridors of U.A., his footsteps echoing in that lazy, deliberate rhythm that somehow still felt urgent. Izuku trailed behind him, clipboard clutched to his chest like a lifeline, his mind still half-spinning from the morning's events.
"Training Ground Beta," Izuku repeated under his breath, trying to make sense of it. "Is that where I'll be... you know... practicing?"
Aizawa glanced back at him, one eyebrow raised just a fraction. "In a manner of speaking."
"That's... not cryptic at all," Izuku muttered.
"I heard that."
"Sorry, sir."
They turned down another hallway, this one lined with tall windows that overlooked the campus's sprawling training facilities. Izuku could see the distant shapes of faux city buildings- Training Ground Alpha, if he remembered the schematics correctly. Beta would be just past it, a massive dome-shaped structure designed for urban combat simulations.
"Sir," Izuku started, his curiosity finally overriding his nerves, "you said 'in a manner of speaking.' What exactly am I going to be doing at Training Ground Beta?"
Aizawa stopped walking.
Izuku nearly bumped into him, stumbling back a step as the pro hero turned to face him with that unreadable expression.
"Based off your personality so far. This is gonna be the toughest thing you've ever done."
Izuku gulped, preparing himself for whatever it was aizawa was about to tell him to do. Would he be sparring a pro hero? Doing the entrance exams? Fighting an actual villain?
"You'll be socializing"
Oh God it was even worse!
"Specifically with the other teaching assistants" he expanded
Izuku blinked.
"The... other teaching assistants?"
"Yes, there were two others this year. Teaching assistants are people recommended and recognized by the teachers of ua. This year there are three of you.. so three more than normal."
Izuku's mind raced as they continued down the hallway.
Three teaching assistants? He'd been so caught up in his own whirlwind of excitement that he hadn't even considered there might be others in the same position. Others who'd been recommended. Others who'd been recognized.
What kind of people were they? Prodigies? Legacy students? People with connections to the hero world?
His hand instinctively drifted to the Omnitrix on his wrist, the metal cool against his fingertips. Was he even qualified to stand next to people like that?
"Stop muttering," Aizawa said without looking back.
Izuku clamped his mouth shut, face burning. "S-sorry, sir."
They exited the main building and crossed the campus grounds, the afternoon sun casting long shadows across the meticulously maintained pathways. Training Ground Beta loomed ahead, its massive dome structure gleaming with the U.A. signature blue-and-white aesthetic. Izuku could hear the distant hum of machinery inside, environmental systems, probably, maintaining the simulated urban landscape within.
Aizawa stopped at the entrance, a heavy set of reinforced doors marked with the training ground's designation.
"They're already inside," he said, gesturing lazily toward the door. "Go introduce yourself. I'll be going to my next class."
Izuku's stomach did a backflip. "You're not coming in with me?"
"You're a teaching assistant now, Midoriya. That means you need to learn to handle situations without me holding your hand." Aizawa's eyes narrowed slightly, though there was something almost resembling encouragement buried deep in his exhaustion. "Besides, you've already met one of them."
Before Izuku could ask what that meant, Aizawa had already turned and was walking toward a side entrance, leaving him alone in front of the massive doors.
Izuku took a deep breath.
"Alright," he whispered to himself. "Just go in. Be cool. Act like you belong here."
He pushed open the doors.
The doors groaned open, revealing the sprawling interior of Training Ground Beta.
Izuku stepped inside, his footsteps echoing against the polished concrete floor. The simulated cityscape stretched before him, empty streets, faux storefronts, towering buildings designed to mimic a real urban environment. It was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that paradoxically amplified even the slightest of sounds
And then he saw them.
Two figures stood near the center of the training ground, partially obscured by the shadow of a fake apartment complex. One was tall, or at least taller than him, the young man with auburn hair that he tied back into a spiky ponytail along with sun-kissed skin.. The other was smaller, a blonde, her back was turned to him as she gestured animatedly at something on a tablet.
Izuku squinted.
There was something familiar about that blonde hair.
Wait... no. It can't be.
The blonde turned around once she noticed the sound of someone coming in, and she was caught completely off guard.
"Midoriya?"
"Melissa?" Izuku was surprised when he saw the girl he'd talked to about a week ago, standing in front of him as a teaching assistant.
"You two know each other?" The third person asked.
To which they nodded. "Wow, small world huh? I didn't know you'd be a teaching assistant too. And to be picked by aizawa? You must have some really cool quirk right?" She seemed excited
"Well... Something like that." He rubbed the back of his head, blushing.
"Okay, well... Since you both introduced yourselves, I guess I gotta introduce myself now right? The names rody. Rody soul."
"Rody huh... Wait, are you an American too?" Izuku asked the teenage boy who shook his head.
"I can see how the name would trick you, but I'm actually from otheon. And I wouldn't actually say I'm a teaching assistant like you guys. Cause I don't work under a teacher. I'm actually the principals assistant." He introduced himself while boasting.
"Really?"
"Whats it like?"
The two nerd asked simultaneously
"... Like way too much work" he said, the color draining from his face as he thought about it.
Izuku was about to ask another question, until he noticed the ankle monitor on rodies foot. It was one of those types built to be difficult to see, but izuku noticed it.
The only reason he did was because rodie had rolled his pants up, had he not, izuku probably would've been none the wiser.
Izuku didn't comment on it tho, it's not like the school didn't know about him being here, and he doubted he was lying, so he didn't say anything.
"Otheon? That's so cool!" Melissa said brightly, noticing izuku fixated on something and changing the topic. "I've only read about it in geography class! What's it like over there?"
Rody shrugged. "Boring mostly. A lot of rules and quiet streets unless you're near the capital." His tone softened slightly.
He quickly stepped in with another question "So… if you're Principal Nezu's assistant... do you have your own office or something?"
Rody smirked slightly at that, a hint of pride shinigami through that was more than enough to answer their question on its own.
"Yeah," he said simply. Then added after a pause "well, it's not really all that big,but hey, better than nothing am I right?"
The three of them slowly drifted toward a set of concrete steps at the base of a fake apartment complex, the simulated city quiet and oddly cozy around them.
Someone had left a folding chair near the entrance. Rody dragged it over and dropped into it before the other two even noticed. Melissa sat on the steps, tablet balanced on her knees. Izuku perched on the bottom stair, clipboard still in hand out of sheer habit, before realizing he didn't actually need it and awkwardly setting it beside him.
"So," Melissa started, clicking her pen, "what year are you both in?"
"First," Izuku said.
"Same," said Rody.
"All three of us." She smiled. "That's kind of wild, right? I don't think teaching assistants are usually first years."
"Aizawa said it's more than normal this year," Izuku offered. "He said usually there are zero."
Rody let out a slow breath. "Yeah, Nezu said something similar. He said something about special circumstances or somethin, I'm gonna be honest I wasn't really listening'" He said lazily, looking down at his foot, and very quickly fixed his pants to go over his ankle bracelet, looking a little guilty as he did it
"My Father's told me a lot about mr nedzu. He told me he's one of the smartest men he's ever met. Just a little bit below him," she said cheekily
The group fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, the weight of UA's prestigious halls settling around them. Rody fidgeted slightly with the hem of his pants- still adjusting to hide that monitor, while Melissa tapped her pen against her tablet, deep in thought.
Then Rody suddenly perked up.
"Wait… below your dad? So your dad's like… some kind of genius too?"
Melissa blinked, then laughed softly. "You could say that. He's David Shield." She explained, tho rody took a second to think.
"Yeah that name doesn't ring a bell at all. I don't know who that is." He explained.
"Huh. It's been a while since I've met someone wwho doesn't know him. He's the face and lead researcher of I-island" she explained, which spawned a reaction out of rodie.
"For real? Like that big tech company? Wow so you must be like rich rich." He said, tho his face was kinda hard to read when he said that.
"Well, I don't like to brag but.. I could probably buy and sell you." She joked
"Okay," Rody said slowly, blinking at her. "So you're telling me you grew up on a private island full of super-geniuses… with robots and lasers probably?"
Melissa giggled. "Not lasers, but yeah! We had AI assistants since we were babies."
Izuku's eyes widened too, he'd already known she was pretty much royalty at I-island but he never thought about the fact that yeah, she's like, stupid rich.
Suddenly Rody leaned forward slightly. "Wait… so how does someone like you end up at UA? Like… aren't you supposed to be running your dad's empire or something?"
She turned her eyes away at that, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. Tho none of the boys could tell that there was quite a bit of discomfort behind that smile. "I guess if just like a little change." She said
"What's your quirk? I know that Mr Shields quirk isn't all too impressive, but to get into a teaching assistant position you must have a really strong quirk" izuku looked at her expectantly, waiting for some kind of answer from her.
She gulped a little bit, uncomfortable.
"Yeah, real strong... I just can't show it off right now. Maybe next time..." Rody looked down at her, totally unimpressed.
"Besides, I mean i really owe it to the teacher who took me as an assistant. He really didn't need to." She said, her smile a lot more assured now.
"Oh really who's your teacher?"
"Your teacher must be pretty impressed with your 'super awesome totally quirk'" rody mocked "who is it"
"All might"
"Why'd you say it in air quotes, I'm sure her quirk really is-"
"Oh please do you really believe he-"
Her words finally got through to the boy's, causing complete and total silence for a full 30 seconds
"...You're kidding," Rody whispered flatly.
Midoriya looked like he was undergoing a full factory reset.
"You can't just drop that on us out of nowhere!" Rody said, shmeckledorfed "I mean like... I know I was.. but like... Wow"
Izuku was totally freaking out in ide his own head. His idol all might, she was assisting his idol all might. That.. actually made a lot of sense. David Shield was all mights first real partner so it only makes sense that she'd know him and would be capable of landing this position.
Tho in the middle of this train of thought, his mind flashed back to ten months ago.
No, I'm afraid you can't become a hero without a quirk.
Those words rang once again in his head for the first time in months. That day when he'd met his idol and learned his secrets. All mights statement should probably have totally shattered whatever fandom he had for the man, but it didn't.
Why were those thoughts coming back now of all times? He thought he buried them. But even more importantly. Did Melissa know about all mights secret too?
"Hey Ben, are you alright?" Rody asked.
"Uh yeah I..." Izuku then realized what he said. "Ben?"
"Um, yeah? Isn't that your name?" Rody asked, kinda confused.
"No, why'd you think that was my name?" He asked.
Rody pointed to his shirt, so izuku looked down at the pale blue polo. It was slightly faded with the emblem embroidered onto it. Slightly too small around the shoulders.
There was also a name tag.. which was very legible.
BEN
Izuku felt the blood drain from his face so fast he was briefly concerned about his own circulation.
Oh no.
Oh no oh no oh no, He grabbed the wrong shirt. Despite aizawa telling him he didn't need to dress up or anything, he had tried to look at least a little professional so he wore his shirt from the last job, totally forgetting that this wasn't his shirt and that the name tag was totally wrong.
Melissa noticed the name tag and immediately put her hand over her mouth. Her shoulders were shaking violently as she did everything in her power not to laugh.
Rody stared at the name tag.
Then back at Izuku's horrified face.
Then back down again at the name tag, that read, Ben
A slow, evil grin spread across Rody's face. Not mean-spirited, no, but pure, unfiltered amusement.
Melissa was a lost cause. Her whole frame trembled as she bit her lip hard to keep from cackling out loud. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. This was too good.
"Ben…" Rody said slowly, testing it out like it was a foreign word. "yeah just looking at you I wouldn't take ya for a ben."
Izuku opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
"I, I didn't. I thought this shirt looked professional!" he blurted finally, hands flailing slightly before he yanked off the polo in one frantic motion and held it up like evidence of his crime against identity theft
Underneath? His regular green UA practice hoodie the one with IZUKU MIDORIYA printed neatly on a small patch near the pocket
Silence fell again… but this time?
This time everyone saw everything
"It's not- that's not my name," Izuku said, the words coming out as a kind of helpless mumble.
And then melissa lost it.
A high-pitched, unrestrained giggle burst out of her like a dam breaking. Then another. And another. Soon she was doubled over on the steps, laughing so hard her tablet nearly slipped off her knees.
Izuku really didn't like that he was being poked fun at, but... Her laugh was kinda …really pretty.
Not that he'd ever say that out loud. Ever.
But the sound of it, bright, warm, and totally beautiful filled Training Ground Beta like sunlight breaking through clouds. It was infectious in a way that made even Rody's smirk soften into something less mocking.
Melissa wiped tears from her eyes, still giggling as she caught her breath. "B-Ben…" she gasped between laughs, "I- I'm so sorry! I shouldn't be laughing this hard!"
She wasn't mean about it either- the kind of laugh you do when something is just so ridiculously funny you can't help yourself.
Rody finally broke too not quite full-on laughter, but a quiet chuckle escaped him as he shook his head at Izuku's tragic shirt situation
Then Melissa reached over and patted his shoulder gently. still smiling but trying to comfort him now
"It's okay Ben," she teased softly with a wink
He blushed and sheepishly turned his head away.
Rody looked between the two of them, tapped his fingers once on the arm of the folding chair, and nodded slowly, filing that interaction away for later
"So," he said, "Ben. What exactly is a teaching assistant to an underground pro hero supposed to do anyway?"
And just like that they were back to talking. Rody, Melissa and Ben, apparently, for the foreseeable future, stayed in there for a while.
The classroom was aggressively quiet.
Izuku sat at the small auxiliary desk Aizawa had assigned him. pushed up against the wall near the front, just to the left of the main board, close enough to be useful but clearly distinct from the student desks. He'd arranged his things with perhaps more care than the situation warranted. Clipboard. Two pens. Notebook. The notebook was technically for hero analysis but he'd decided it could pull double duty.
He folded his hands on the desk.
Unfolded them.
Checked his phone and confirmed he was eleven minutes early.
Good. Eleven minutes was responsible. Eleven minutes portrayed that he was taking this seriously and totally belonged here.
The empty classroom stared back at him.
He opened his notebook to a blank page and wrote Class 1-A Afternoon Registration at the top in careful letters. Then he sat there looking at it. Then he drew a small star next to it. Then he questioned why he drew the star and closed the notebook.
The door opened.
Izuku looked up, a reflexive smile already forming. He was trying to appear friendly, aizawa had told him that socializing was something he desperately needed, so of course he was now trying to do exactly that. Socialize.
Too bad the other party wasn't trying.
Todoroki Shouto walked into the classroom totally uncaring about izukus attempt to be friendly. He simply entered the room and sat down.
Izukus smile faded, totally dejected from getting blown off by todoroki like that.
Shouto todoroki, son of number 2 hero, endeavor, quirk? Half hot half cold. He'd read up on everybody's files when he got here. How did he get his hands on them? Don't ask
Out of everybody in this class aside from kacchan and maybe yaoyorozu, he was the one that izuku found the most interesting. Mainly because of his family background, but also because of his attitude.
So if there was anyone in this class that he wanted to socialize with, it would probably be him.
The door opened again. Twice, this time,
Tenya Iida walked in at full posture, and his eyes seemed to spot izuku instantaneously
Momo Yaoyorozu walked in half a step behind him, and her eyes found Izuku in approximately 0.3 seconds. Just .1 second faster than iida
izuku didn't have much time to think about the fact that they were staring at him before they started speed walking towards him at
"Midoriya-san," Iida began, approaching with the momentum of someone who had prepared an agenda, "I hope you don't mind, but I have several questions regarding your role here."
"Of course," Izuku said, because what else do you say to that.
"As a student of the prestigious ua, I feel it's my responsibility to understand the full structure of our learning environment." Iida straightened even further, which could not have been good on his back"First: what, precisely, are the duties of a teaching assistant at U.A.?"
"Right, yeah, good question." Izuku nodded. "So, from what Aizawa-sensei has explained so far, it's sort of.. the role is still being defined, I think, because apparently it doesn't come up very often, and.."
"How often?" Yaoyorozu asked. She hadn't sat down. She was standing next to Iida with her tablet raised, stylus poised, which meant she was taking notes. She was taking notes on him. He didn't know whether to be flattered or terrified. Both. It was both.
"Aizawa-sensei said three this year was more than normal. So. Zero, usually, I think."
Yaoyorozu's stylus moved. "And your specific responsibilities include?"
"Observation. Administrative support during training exercises. Some note-taking and- I mean, I'll be helping facilitate certain practical sessions, but the exact scope of that is.. we haven't fully-" He made a vague gesture with his hand that communicated nothing. "It's still being worked out."
Iida's glasses caught the light in a way that made them briefly, ominously opaque. "I see. And what were the selection criteria? What qualifications determined your appointment?"
This was the question. Izuku had known since this morning that this question was coming, from someone, at some point, and he still had not figured out a satisfying answer that didn't give anything away
"I was-.. there were circumstances," Izuku said. "Last week. That led to Aizawa-sensei becoming aware of my-"
"What kind of quirk do you have that allowed you to work under aizawa? Given his personality so far, I'm not sure he's the type of person to hand out a role like that to someone not sufficiently strong."
"Classified," said a flat voice from the doorway.
All three of them turned.
Aizawa stood in the frame, sleeping bag tucked under one arm.
"Midoriya's role, his quirk, and the circumstances of his appointment are on a need-to-know basis. What you need to know is that he's here, that he answers to me, and that your energy would be better spent getting to your seats before registration starts." He moved past them to the front of the room, setting his sleeping bag down beside the desk with a familiar thud. "Which is in forty-five seconds."
Iida straightened immediately. "Of course, sensei. My apologies." He turned to Izuku with a short, sincere bow. "I meant no disrespect, Midoriya-san. I simply believe in operational transparency within a team structure."
"No no, it's totally fine," Izuku said, meaning it. "They were all fair questions."
Yaoyorozu lowered her tablet, the look on her face suggesting she had not actually finished her questions but was choosing, to table them. "I apologize as well. I look forward to working with you."
"Same," said Izuku.
They moved to their seats.
Izuku turned back to face the front of the room, let out a very long, very quiet breath through his nose, and looked down at his notebook.
He added a small second star next to the original star, just to have something to do with his hands.
"Stop drawing stars," Aizawa said, without looking up from the attendance register.
Izuku closed the notebook.
From the window seat in the third row, Todoroki looked at nothing in particular and said nothing at all, which he had been doing consistently this entire time and showed no signs of stopping.
The rest of the class began to filter in.
And people started getting their names marked to leave
After registration, izuku walked out of class
"Yo."
Izuku kept walking.
"You damn Deku."
He slowed, because stopping felt like surrender but ignoring it entirely felt like a different kind of mistake, and he was trying to calculate which was worse in real time.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
He stopped.
Turned around slowly.
Bakugou was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, and the posture was casual in the way that a lit fuse is casual
"I work here," Izuku said. He kept his voice even. "I'm a teaching assistant."
"I know what you are." Bakugou pushed off the wall and took two steps forward. Not aggressive, not yet at least. just closing the distance enough to make the conversation private. "I'm asking how. Because last I checked, you were quirkless, you didn't even make it to the entrance exam, and you had about a zero percent chance of ever setting foot inside this school."
"W-well, I'm not a student so, I... I'm not really- um
Izuku opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Izuku had no idea how to explain within sounding like a total liar, and even then was he even allowed to tell anyone else? He'd have to confirm with aizawa on that.
But even if he was allowed to tell.. he wasn't sure he could.
And Izuku's brain, which had been doing reasonably well today all things considered, chose this exact moment to go completely, spectacularly blank.
"I- there was- it's not really a-" He stopped. Swallowed. "It's complicated."
Bakugou's jaw tightened. "Complicated."
"The watch- it does things, and Aizawa-sensei saw-"
"The watch." Bakugou's eyes dropped to the Omnitrix with an expression Izuku couldn't quite read. it wasn't quite contempt but it was difficult to make out. "That's it? Some gadget you found and a teacher felt sorry for you?"
"He didn't feel sorry for me-"
"Then what?" Bakugou took another step forward, and his voice stayed low, which was somehow more scary than if he was shouting. "What are you doing here, Deku? A
What are you actually doing here? You're not a student. You're not a hero course candidate. You're not in training. You're some teacher's errand boy with a fancy bracelet, standing in the hallways of a school you couldn't get into."
Izuku said nothing.
Not because he had nothing to say.
But because the words had formed and then stalled somewhere between his chest and his throat, caught on something he couldn't name, and the silence stretched out long enough to become its own kind of answer.
Bakugou watched him for three seconds.
Then something in his face shifted, not softening, hell would freeze over before that happened, but closing. Like a door being shut from the inside. The heat in his expression didn't disappear, it just got redirected, turned inward and tamped down.
He looked away first.
"Whatever," he said.
He turned.
"Kacchan-"
"Don't." The word came out flat and final, without him stopping walking. "Don't talk to me deku."
He moved down the hallway, hands shoved into his pockets.
Not worth it.
That was the thing rattling around in Bakugou's head as his footsteps echoed down the corridor, and he hated that it was there.
Because Deku was standing back there in a school he had no business being in, in a role that didn't mean anything. teaching assistant, what even was that, it wasn't hero training, it wasn't a course, it wasn't a track toward anything real.
He wasn't a student. He wasn't competing. He wasn't even on the same track.
So it didn't matter.
That was the logical conclusion and Bakugou arrived at it and stayed there firmly.
He can't become a hero like that.
The hallway behind him was quiet.
Izuku walked out of the school building. Wondering where exactly he would go from here. Cause bakugou was kinda right, it's not like being a teachers assistant meant he was a student. If he couldn't get his hero license from this then his dream of becoming the number one hero would stay a dream.
He had to think,
The evening air was cool as Izuku stepped onto the UA campus path, his footsteps slow and heavy with thought. The sky had turned soft shades of orange and pink- the kind of sunset that usually filled him with hope, but right now it just felt… distant.
What am I even doing here?
Bakugou's words looped in his head like a broken record.
"Teaching assistant."
It sounded official on paper. Important. Aizawa-sensei trusted me enough to give me this role. That should've been inspiring.
But it didn't feel like progress toward becoming a hero- not really.
He wasn't training alongside Class 1-A.
He wasn't taking combat exams or participating in rescue simulations.
He didn't have a Quirk to develop or hone- his watch gave him power, sure, but it wasn't his, not naturally... and that made everything complicated when people judged you by your ability alone.
And Kacchan…
Kacchan had looked at him like he'd betrayed something fundamental, like showing up at UA without being a student was some kind of fraudulence instead of an opportunity fought for through sheer persistence and luck.
Izuku exhaled sharply through his nose, shoving both hands into the pockets of his jacket as he wandered toward the edge where campus met city streets beyond the gate guards' line-of-sight checks.
His mind raced, Could he still become Number One Hero? Did this path even lead there? Was helping others indirectly going to be enough?
Or would people always see him differently than they saw actual students?
Why was it that he suddenly cared so much what people think? For most of his life he was quirkless, so how people viewed him never really mattered to him, and either way, he would definitely be viewed better as a teaching assistant at the most prestigious hero academy in Japan than he was as just some random quirkless kid... So why?
Gah, he wouldn't get anywhere thinking about this.
The walk home was a long one, he had been doing his best to not think about any of that stuff
The streets were quiet, lit by flickering orange streetlights as dusk settled in.
He passed by a small convenience store,Family mart. and for half a second considered going in. Maybe buy an energy drink. Sit on the curb and people-watch for ten minutes. Do anything that wasn't thinking.
But he didn't stop.
Kept walking.
Footsteps steady on pavement cracked with age and bike tire marks. A couple passed him holding hands, laughing about something and it felt like another lifetime ago that things were simple enough to laugh at nothing at all
His apartment building came into view: five stories tall, old brick exterior peeling near the corners where no one bothered to fix it because who cares? It was cheap rent
Up three flights of stairs (no elevator), down hallway 2-B… key fumbled twice before turning…
Door opened quietly behind him. the soft click echoing too loud in an otherwise silent home
No lights on inside. Mom was probably asleep. She often fell asleep early like this. And yet she still woke up late most of the time.
He kicked off his shoes and went inside. Heading into his room.
Immediately upon crashing onto his bed, he got a text from someone.
Melissa: hii
Oh yeah, he'd forgotten, she gave him her number. He still couldn't believe that a girl willingly gave him her number, and a beautiful girl on top of that.
What should he say? Would he seem too desperate if he texted back right away?
You: Hey
Melissa replied almost instantly.
Melissa: hey! how was your first day?
The little read receipt under her message lit up immediately, and the fact that she answered so fast made his stomach do a tiny flip. He hadn't texted someone this cute in… well, ever.
Actually now that he thinks about it, he hadn't texted anyone outside of his mother and auntie mitsuki in a long time. It wasn't exactly a mystery why.
You: it was okay. Way more stressful than I thought.
Melissa: Aww, why? What happened?
You: got interrogated by my classmates about all the responsibilities of a TA
Melissa: oh, I see
You:...
He paused, thinking about what to send next. It was then that the question that had been knawing at him all this time showed right back up. And impulsively, he decided to ask
You: hey Melissa, do you.. do you think that we can become heroes as TAs? Like real heroes?
The three little dots appeared.
And disappeared.
Then reappeared.
Then disappeared again.
and it never reappeared after that. In fact she went offline.
Izuku sighed. Great going you idiot you scared her off. You asked something really stupid.
That was such a weird thing to text out of nowhere! "Do you think we can become real heroes?" It sounded desperate and insecure.
He hadn't meant for it to sound like that. He just genuinely wondered because no one ever talked about TAs becoming Pro Heroes- what kind of career path even led from assistant teacher straight into hero work? Did they train differently? Was there an exam?
But instead of asking something normal-like "how's your day" or "what'd you do today," he asked that.
He then called aizawa.
The phone rang twice before Aizawa answered.
"Speak," Aizawa said, flat, tired, and slightly muffled like he'd been half-buried in his sleeping bag when Izuku called
Izuku swallowed hard. He hadn't really thought this through either
"U-um… sensei? I... I wanted to ask... About the watch. Can I tell anyone? Or is this just a secret between us" That wasn't a lie, he really did wanna know so that he didn't do something stupid in the future.. it just so happened that it wasn't the only thing he wanted to ask about.
Aizawa didn't answer right away.
There was a long pause- so quiet Izuku could hear the faint rustle of fabric, probably Aizawa shifting in his sleeping bag. Then came a slow, deliberate exhale.
"...No," he finally said. "You can't tell anyone about the watch."
Another beat of silence.
"Especially not students."
Izuku nodded his head, despite the fact that aizawa couldn't see him at all.
"So... no one? Not even-?"
"Not even your best friend," Aizawa interrupted flatly. "Not family members unless they're vetted by Nezu first. Nezu already knows by that way"
"Alright. Thank you sir"
Ge placed his phone down on his bedside table and sighed. He got the feeling that the rest of his time spent at ua wouldn't be anywhere near as peaceful as today was.
Unknown to him, outside his window were a group of strange yellow humanoid creatures. Digging their clothes into the walls to stay on the wall, listening in.
"Kaki narado." One of the creatures spoke in its strange alien language. "We have found the wielder of the omnitrix. It is in the hands of a child. We must prepare to take the device by force!"