Chapter 234 - 5

Chapter Five: A Proper School Welcome 

"I think I can safely assume that that test went beyond any of our expectations!" The white haired animal looking Principal Nezu said with a gleeful smile. "Such decisions and actions made by many of them were above and beyond what we expected!"

"Agreed." The cowboy hat and mask wearing hero Snipe said. "We really got a lotta surprises out of a lot of them. Especially him."

The hero pointed towards the bottom-left screen, which showed a green haired boy, his arm red and swollen, face swelled with tears, lying broken on the ground.

"He may have gotten injured in his own attack, but he took down a zero-pointer with one hit. That ain't easy to accomplish."

"But the extent of the damage worries me," The black and white suited Rescue Hero, Thirteen, chimed in. "Almost like he can't control the Quirk at all."

"Yes, but that's nothing that can't be fixed, right?" Midnight replied with a seductive smile. "Whatever troubles he has with his Quirk can be managed by us. And, even though he can't control his Quirk, he still took down the villain AND rescued that girl in the end when he could have easily run away like the others. To stand and fight…" Her smile widened. "Very brave."

"Indeed." Nezu agreed alongside the murmurs of the other teachers, all in agreement as well.

Within the midst of the talking teachers, Toshinori Yagi tried his best to contain his smile. "Well done, kid." He praised quietly.

Izuku Midoryia, the fanboy who couldn't even begin to lift his own body weight ten months ago, was now standing strong in the light of the evaluation by the UA teachers. All on his own merits. His own beliefs.

He had never had doubts that he had made the right choice passing One-For-All to the green haired schoolboy, so this only solidified his belief that his choice was the right one.

The overuse of the power in the kid's one punch towards the zero-pointer did worry Toshinori a little, but he knew it was only based on inexperience with the power. Midoryia would just need to be properly taught, like the others had been saying.

He had a wonderful mentor in the form of Nana. He hoped he could be the same for Young Midoriya within his old alma mater.

And, based on the evaluation that caused Yagi to smile like a proud father, his hopes were about to be realized.

"It was definitely impressive," Ectoplasm echoed. "Not many in the school's history could take down a zero-pointer without help. This boy is someone to look out for." The ghost like teacher looked down to his own console and tapped the touch screen. "However, he isn't the only one we should keep an eye on. While they weren't able to take it down…" The teacher paused as a new image broadcasted on the screen in front of the teachers. "The courage and tenacity on display against their zero-pointer definitely can't be ignored."

Three applicants were displayed on screen: a boy with black straightened hair (a standout against the white he once boasted), blue eyes and a fired expression across his face. He was being supported by another black haired boy with rock-like skin and shark like teeth. Both were being looked after as they walked by a girl with straight green hair that ended in a bow, with the tip of a large pink tongue stretched slightly out the side of her mouth.

Toshinari took his thoughts away from his successor for the time being and turned his interest to the three in question.

The trio had gotten almost as much attention as Midoryia had with their hold against the zero-pointer. And for good reason. It was one of the first rally's that UA had seen in a long time.

Usually, at least according to Aizawa, the concentration of the hopefuls would be on themselves and how many points they could get on their own, which made sense. From their point of view, the points were the only things that mattered. It was an easy way to test both character and skill.

Most people, knowing that the giant enemy is a zero-pointer, tend to avoid it since it doesn't offer any points.

Yet, not only did one of the more powerful hopefuls (who were usually arrogant) step up to face the zero-pointer, he was also able to rally two others to his side, which was another surprise.

Not only THAT, but it was unanimous among the teachers that the Quirk the white haired hopeful (Fenton, if Toshinari was remembering correctly) held was a VERY powerful one. Energy manipulation, intangibility and flight? It was a power mix up that Toshinari was surprised could occur. What pairing of Quirks could create that?

Regardless, the upcoming teacher cleared his throat.

"Not only courage, but very selfless in the moment," Toshinari said, adding his voice for the first time since they started talking about Midoryia. (He wanted to have no influence on them when it came to the opinion on his successor) "There were plenty of times when the ghost quirk user, Fenton, could have run away from the fight and stacked on his own points. He certainly has the power to do either/or. The same goes for the other two, Kirishima and Asui."

"You can also call it vaguely reckless."

The tired voice of a man sounded from the back of the room, his tired eyes looking past his moppy black hair and towards the upcoming teacher with what could have been akin to frustration.

Toshinori gave a smile of humor and barely laced frustration, unsurprised at the man for speaking up. It's always Aizawa.

"To fight an enemy you know you have no way to defeat and expend your energy all on them is not a smart strategy. No matter how you look at it." The teacher's red and dry eyes focused on the image on the screen. "In a real fight, you'll have no way of knowing whether or not you'll need that boost of energy after the fight in order to fight off villain reinforcements or to handle search-and-rescue. You need to be prepared for every possible scenario the world can throw at you, no matter if the fight seems over or not."

"They're still learning, Aizawa," Midnight defended. "While they could have done certain things better, it's good that they chose to do something at all in the moment. Isn't that what heroes do? Act in the best interest of everyone in the moment?"

"It's still a tactic spawned of an arrogance that doesn't help in the long run," Aizawa said, pressing his back against the wall as he crossed his arms in a thinking stance. "An attitude that's usually created from a strong Quirk. It can't be helped in our society. Fenton is strong in Quirk usage and quick-decision making, but there's still a want there that we need to keep an eye on, should he be accepted."

"You are correct in the fact that such an attitude is unavoidable when you have a strong Quirk," Nezu agreed, never dropping his sunny tone or smile. "But that doesn't mean that arrogance will be detrimental! UA is a course built for helping these young heroes reach their full potential and become the pillar of hero society! If anything, such a personality could be used to aid the drive of a hero in many ways."

"Moreover, a power like that could be improved on in many ways," Ectoplasm said with what sounded like admiration towards the Ghost Boy's abilities. "It seems to use an energy type similar to my own, which may open opportunities for me to train with him and get a proper grasp on his Quirk. Given the chance and proper training, even if arrogant, he could become quite a hero."

There were murmurs again among the teachers, some in favor, others in opposition.

Nezu nodded. "We'll have all of our say during the final vote! For now, let us move on! We have a lot of potential students to evaluate!"

The staff of UA didn't argue. They knew that their leader was right. There were many different hopefuls on many different sites that required evaluation.

But, even with that workload placed in front of them, Toshinori still felt his smile shine as the evaluations continued. Midoryia had stood out amongst everyone else. Not only that, but he looked to be learning alongside some of the most potentially powerful Quirk users Yagi had seen in a while.

It looked to be a very interesting year of introduction to his new teaching position. And he couldn't wait to get started.

"... Frog?"

"Kero. Frog."

The trio of Site C were making their way through the growing crowd of mulling test-takers and out towards the main grounds. They had redressed their school uniforms (which Danny was a little less than happy about) and were currently making their way out towards the main exit of UA.

The morning Sun had already passed to the afternoon, throwing down a bit of heat on the aspiring students as they walked.

Fenton was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he could still walk.

The exhaustion and bruising that had remained after some of the hits he took made him sure that he would need to be somewhat carried out of the mock city.

It turns out he was completely wrong in that regard, thanks to a kind old lady that the others had told him was named "Recovery Girl". She had lived up to the name she had earned, ridding Danny of all of his bruises and swelling with one less-than-comfortable kiss to his cheek, which sent the halfa into another jaw-drop.

His powers were nothing to sneeze at, but a power which pretty much healed a person with one kiss? This world was insane with its abilities.

Speaking of which, Danny still couldn't believe it. The way Tsu had been moving on that battlefield, with the strength she was showing off, he thought she had spring limbs or something like that. Okay, the tongue stood out, but it was also a pretty strong muscle if what he paid attention to in Biology told him anything. A spring tongue couldn't have been that far of a stretch.

But just… having the powers of a frog. And it allowed her to do all THAT?

"Wow," Danny said aloud. "I mean, don't take this the wrong way, Tsu. My friend and I talked about a LOT of animal powers before. Having the strength of an elephant and everything. Having the powers of a frog… well, I never expected that to be very powerful. You've DEFINITELY got me questioning everything we talked about."

Tsu didn't get angry. Instead she smiled and nodded. "Kero. It's okay, Fenton. A lot of people think that about my Quirk at first, which I understand. My Quirk doesn't sound like anything special. But, if I use it correctly, it can be one that offers a lot of ways to help people. Kero. And one I can use to the best of my abilities."

"Hell yeah!" Kirishima sounded off with a clap of his fists slamming together. "The manliest heroes always say that it's not about how your Quirk works! It's how you work your Quirk! And how you work your Quirk is badass, Tsu!"

The black haired boy's enthusiasm was so contagious that Danny couldn't help smiling himself.

"Totally!" Danny agreed without a second thought. "Honestly Tsu, your power is probably one of the most powerful when it comes to doing different things at once. And I should know. I've seen a LOT of powers do a LOT of different things."

The frog girl's smile only widened. "Kero. Thank you for your kind words. Both of you. It makes me very happy."

"Her Quirk and your Quirk are blowing my mind, Kirishima." Danny said with a laugh. "Hardening your skin like that, I had no idea you could be such a tank with it."

It was an aspect that never really entered the halfa's thoughts before. When him and Tucker talked about the ability to coat yourself in rock or stone, they always imagined that it would be like a boost to strength more than anything. Stone fists to knock someone out in one clean shot was just a really cool idea in their heads. It was actually an inspiration for Danny's own attack where he coated his fists in ghost energy to offer a stronger hit.

Coating your whole body in it felt like it would be too easy to shatter or break your skin. At least in the opinion of Danny. Yet Kirishima was different. Instead of shattering or breaking, he trucked forward through walls and braces against metal, defying everything Danny had once thought about how to use powers like that.

When he had those discussions with Tucker, he always figured their ideas were just because he would NEVER see someone using those powers. Sure he fought ghosts, but they had a set of moves that didn't involve rock bodies or inhabiting animals (maybe the vulture guys, but they were still mostly ghosts as opposed to birds).

Seeing it all in action like this, fighting alongside other people with powers that stood beside his… it was a thrill Danny wasn't ready for. And one he wasn't eager for to disappear.

Kirishima smiled and raised his arm, bracing it as the skin sparked to a stone-like complexion.

"It took some practice to get it where it is now, but I'm proud of it. All I need is training here at UA! Then, I'll be able to protect everyone!" He clenched his fists. "I'll be able to take down villains with just a few solid punches! Just like Crimson Riot!"

"Dude, you already hit pretty hard." Danny commented. "With no training, I'm pretty sure you could knock most people out with just a light tap."

"Thanks, man!" Kirishima beamed. "But I can still improve even more! That's why I'm hoping to get into UA! So I can get where I really want to be: strong enough to make sure nobody around me has to worry!"

Danny felt a spark of relatability to that. Here he was, hoping to get stronger with his own power by attending UA, feeling out of place because he felt the sole focus of being a hero was on everyone else's mind.

Yet Kirishima wanted to improve his Quirk as well, master it so he could save everyone. Asui was probably the same. So was Sero.

His thoughts went back to when he first regained his powers. Even though he still held his own little doubts, Danny knew that what he wanted to be was an improved hero. His family and friends would have wanted that. Everyone he could relate to here wanted what he wanted.

They wanted to improve their abilities. And, in order to do that, they wanted to strive to become heroes.

… So why should he feel guilty about wanting to be what he thought was best? This was what his family would have wanted. What his friends would have wanted.

What he wanted.

Smiling as he felt his own doubts around the test finally begin to ease, he almost missed the statement Kirishima posed to him.

"But enough about OUR Quirks! We need to talk about yours, Fenton!"

Danny nervously chuckled. He still wasn't used to having his powers questioned so openly. Nor praised so openly. So many months of hiding his powers from his friends and family made talking about it like it was no big deal feel so… weird.

"I kind of figured you'd want to ask…" Danny replied. "They're pretty cool, right?"

"Pretty cool?!" Kirishima repeated, shocked. "More like pretty BADASS! You can fly AND go through walls?! AND shoot energy like that?! Your Quirk is awesome!"

"Kero," Tsu nodded. "It's certainly very powerful." She smiled. "It's funny how you praised my Quirk for being so versatile when your Quirk is even more so than mine."

Danny blushed. This was a lot more praise than expected. "I mean… your Quirk is still pretty versatile, Tsu. And easy to control. Mine…" The halfa flexed his arm. "I'm still trying to get the hang of it." More accurately, get the hang of it how it is now. "You saw how tired I was near the end. I still have some work to do."

"Still, for what you know, you're still a freaking FORCE of a hero!" Kirishima exclaimed. "Dude, I would be genuinely shocked if you didn't end up at UA for fighting against the zero-pointer like you did!"

"I would be as well," Tsu said genuinely. "You did very good back there. Kero. At least from what I saw."

Danny felt gratefulness he couldn't even begin to describe. He definitely wasn't expecting this kind of pep talk.

"You guys make it sound like I have one foot in the door already," Danny laughed. "Which, hey, I won't argue. It definitely makes me feel on top of the world. But you guys did awesome as well. I definitely wouldn't have been able to get where I was without you, Kirishima. And I probably wouldn't be able to be fully healed yet without you, Tsu. I think I would be surprised if I didn't see you two there."

"Thanks, man!" Kirishima said, with Tsu nodding in thanks. "It's all up to the teachers right now, but I'm excited about our chances! Here's hoping we made an impression!"

"Kero. I doubt too many people spent so much time against the zero-pointer, so I'm sure you made one."

Danny made an unsure laugh. "Honestly, Tsu, I'm not sure if I should feel better or worse about that."

Kirishima chuckled, but stopped as there was a chime in his pocket. He quickly reached down and pulled out a customized Crimson Riot smartphone.

"That's my ride!" Kirishima exclaimed after taking a moment to skim through his messages. "If I leave them waiting too long, they'll never let me hear the end of it!" He looked back up at Danny and gave another shark-toothed grin, which made Danny briefly wonder how dentist visits went with him.

"It was great to meet ya, Fenton!" The black haired stone boy said as he extended a hand. "I definitely look forward to working with you in the future!"

Danny extended his own hand and shook, giving Kirishima a smirk. "I'm looking forward to it, too. But we're not even sure we both got into UA yet."

"I know." Kirishima explained. "I'm talking about when we're both pros!" He gave a thumbs up. "We'd make one hell of a team!"

Danny was caught off guard. "Pro hero?" He repeated the word, almost more to himself.

"Hell yeah! I could see it happening with THAT kind of Quirk!" Kirishima said before turning to Tsu and extending a hand. "It was great to meet you, Asui! Hope to see you in UA as well!"

"Likewise," The frog girl said as she shook his hand. "Kero. And please call me Tsu."

"Oh! Tsu! Okay!" The black haired boy repeated it aloud with determination, almost like he was making sure he wouldn't make that mistake again. Then he turned and made his way down a side path, waving to them as made his way back to the entrance. "See you guys in class!"

Danny joined Tsu in returning the wave as their friend vanished from view. Then he chuckled. "Wow. That is some determination. I wish I had half the spirit he does."

"Kero. It was very refreshing to see someone enthusiastic for the results of the test." The frog girl chuckled. "I really hope he does well. He would fit very well in UA."

"Couldn't agree more." The halfa said as both him and Tsu continued down their path towards the center of the school where the other hopefuls were mulling.

Tsu looked at him. "Speaking of enthusiasm, Fenton, are you still nervous for the results of the test?" She cocked her head. "At the mention of pro heroes from Kirishima, you looked very unsure of how to respond."

Danny was almost shocked until he remembered how much information the green haired girl seemed to take in from just a look. He shouldn't be surprised.

"Nothing ever gets past you, does it, Tsu?" He joked. Then he sighed. "No. It's not that. I can't help but feel confident for the test after that pep talk you guys have me. But… I wasn't thinking as far as a pro hero in… this place." Danny coughed. He had almost said 'this world'. "I was more focused on the moment and had just ATTENDING UA as a goal. To better myself, you know? Being a pro hero…" He chuckled, though only slightly in humor. "That's a bigger task for me. I mean, it would be awesome. But me? I don't know if I have that kind of potential."

Tsu put her finger to her chin in a wondering pose before looking up at Danny. "Kero. I think everyone has the potential to reach their goal if they put their mind to it. If someone really wants to be a pro and is willing to work towards it, I think they can reach it. Regardless of where they're from or what their past is like."

Danny felt himself tense at that. He knew Tsu didn't know what had occurred in his world, but it still felt like she was hitting that point.

"Kero. You and I are no exception to that, Fenton." The frog girl continued. "Most pro heroes, especially All Might, say that we can reach our goals with our Quirks. I think if you really wanted to be a pro hero, Fenton, you can definitely reach it. It doesn't have to be a goal for you right now, but it's one you can definitely grab if you're willing to."

Danny took a moment to really absorb her words, then sighed in relief and decision. She was right. There was no need to press that goal right now, but it would be open to him. Whenever he was ready, after he solidified his path in this world, he could look at that goal in more detail. First thing was first, he had UA to think about.

"Thank you for that, Tsu." Danny said. "You know, you're probably going to make one heck of a hero someday too. You've already helped me a ton. And that was barely using your powers."

"Kero. Of course." Tsu croaked happily. "Like I said, we're heroes in this together. It always makes sense to help a fellow hero. And a friend."

Danny was amazed. Back in his own world, Tucker and Sam were the only people willing to give the ghost hunting kid a chance at friendship. Everyone else at the school treated him like he had the plague.

Here, the halfa was meeting so many unique people who instantly struck up conversation with him like it was no big deal. He thought introductions like Sero's would be a one time thing, but it wasn't. If anything, it seemed to be the normal thing around here.

And Danny was perfectly okay with that.

"A friend? Thank you." Danny replied genuinely. "A hero? We'll just have to see what happens and if I pass this test. And my own."

Tsu looked at him curiously. "Your own?"

"He means our own test!"

Danny was so caught up in his conversation with Tsu, he didn't even have the time to notice Sero before it was too late.

A fist impacted against his shoulder, sending the halfa stumbling forward and almost to the ground.

"Letting me sneak up behind you again, Fenton?" Sero asked with a Cheshire grin and an exaggerated villain tone. "I thought you would have learned by now to watch out for sneak attacks."

"I'm surprised you're the one talking, Sero."

Sero, who had all but a moment to look confused, failed to notice the single finger Danny had raised towards him from his sitting position and behind his right elbow.

A green beam of energy flew from the digit and smacked into Sero's crossed arms, sending him stumbling back and almost to the ground.

"Hey!" Sero called out. "Cheap shot!"

"And what? The punch from behind was fair?" Danny replied with exaggerated anger.

"No. But it would be fair if you remembered how to block it. That phase ability isn't supposed to work so well on your train of thoughts, you know."

"And yet, for all I manage to forget," Danny retorted with a smirk as he stood and rubbed his shoulder. "I still manage to throw you around most of the time. If you have that much trouble against me, those bots must have given you enough trouble for me to win by about fifty ahead, right?"

"You little…!" Sero advanced on his friend, throwing punches at the halfa as they both laughed.

"Kero! You're in a very good mood, Sero." Tsu commented as she looked on at the two. "Did the test go well for you, Sero?"

Sero grinned at the frog girl. "About as well as I could imagine. The buildings did give me a lot of leeway to work with. I lost count at about thirty bots taken down, plus some extras around the edge of the zone when the zero-pointer got there."

That piqued the halfa's interest. Thirty, huh?

"You pulled back when the zero-pointer showed up?" Danny asked innocently.

"Well, yeah," Sero admitted. "I may be good with my tape, but I'm not THAT good. There was no way I was going to be able to fight that thing and win." The tape user raised an eyebrow. "Why?" His eyes widened. "Don't tell me you…"

"Beat it?" The ghost boy finished. "No. But I did fight the thing. AND to a standstill."

"You're LYING!" Sero exclaimed, though he sounded more excitedly intrigued than angry. "There's no way! How did you manage that?!"

Danny smiled. "Just some planning and some good old fashioned ghost tenacity. And some help."

His friend looked absolutely flabbergasted. "You fought that thing? Without a scratch? I don't know whether I should be impressed or… WAIT." Sero suddenly got his Cheshire grin back and pointed an accusatory finger at the halfa. "If you were fighting the zero-pointer, you had all your attention on it, right?! So there was NO WAY you scored higher than me! That thing didn't come in until the test was half over, so I had to build up more points then you!"

Danny faltered. Sero… did have a point. But he quickly recovered his thoughts and retaliated. "Unless I scored as much as you in the first half of the match then you did in your ENTIRE MATCH. Because I lost count at forty or fifty."

"Oh," The tape user shook his head. "Now you're just talking crazy."

"Kero. I don't know." Tsu said with an amused croak. "I saw Fenton's ability with his Quirk throughout the match. It could be possible that he scored that much in ten minutes."

"Dang, Tsu! Who's side are you on?" Sero cried out in feigned frustration.

Danny laughed. "I mean, she's just telling it how it is, Sero." He said, which earned him another barrage of punches from Sero.

As the trio laughed, Tsu was the first to break the repertoire as they arrived at center campus with the other test takers, who had begun to break off towards different parking lots.

"Kero. It's very fun to talk to you both, but I better get going. I don't want to worry my parents by being late." She nodded towards them. "Thank you for talking with me. It was very nice to meet you both. Kero. I hope to see you both at UA."

Danny grinned. "Same to you, Tsu. You pulled my butt out of the fire in the last part of the test. I need to repay the favor while we're both at UA."

"And hopefully you can keep him from starting more fires while at it." Sero added with a laugh. "Seriously though. The way you are, Tsu? Skills? Smarts? Even without UA, I'd say you'd make an amazing hero. With UA, you're going to make a hell of a splash."

"That's the plan." Tsu replied with the tints of a blush to her cheeks before turning to walk away. As she did, she waved back at them. "Have a good rest of the day, you two."

"Same to you!" Danny said with a wave of his own. With that, the frog girl steadily made her way down the main hill and towards the west side of the parking lot and towards the many ways out of UA.

And that freed up the halfa to fully notice Sero staring at him with a cocked eyebrow.

"What?" Danny wondered at his friend.

He shook his head with a smirk. "Here you are telling me that you can't play wingman for me at Kaizen because you didn't have the skill, yet you're already talking to a cute girl like it's no big deal."

Danny was seriously confused for a moment, then felt his eyes widen. "What? No! It's not like that!"

"If you fly better solo, you could have just told me," The tape boy commented with a laugh. "Wouldn't have hurt my feelings. I get everyone has their own strategy."

The halfa felt his cheeks heat. It didn't even come to his mind how his interactions with Tsu looked to Sero. Or to any person looking at them from a distance. But that definitely wasn't the case.

"I literally just met her!" Danny defended. "There's no way… I mean not that there's no way or anything. No! What I mean is that… like there would have to be a time of like… shut up!"

The halfa threw a shoulder punch at the laughing Sero, who stumbled mid-walk from the hit, but never toned down the barking or the teasing as the two friends made their own way through the crowd, thoughts focused on the waiting decision.

Seicho had his own fair share of nervous moments. He remembered how he couldn't physically eat before his first test in medical school. The sleepless nights before his drivers license test. Heck, even the headaches he had wrought on his own during his make-up finals in high school.

Yet Seicho always had his own way of dealing with it. He never really had the experience of dealing with anyone else during a very stressed moment.

Medically? Sure. But as a guardian?

"Fenton," Seicho said, putting down his book. "I know you said you weren't nervous about the results, but I think your actions are saying otherwise."

"What do you mean?" Fenton asked. "I'm feeling as calm as ever. What makes you say that I'm not?"

"Well, the fact that your pacing while sinking two feet underneath my floor would be a start."

The boy stopped his pacing and looked down, seemingly just noticing the fact that he had begun phasing a ways into the floor.

With a yelp of surprise, he quickly pulled his feet back up and solidified them. He gave a look to Seicho before looking down.

"... Alright, I may be a bit stressed."

Seicho smirked and pointed to his eyes. "Eyes of a Guardian, Fenton. Don't ever forget that."

Fenton glared at him, but didn't deny it, which was pretty much a confirmation for Seicho: He was getting good at this.

Putting that thought aside, he leaned forward on the couch he sat on. "What are you so nervous about, Fenton? You gave it your all, right?"

"Yeah, I did." The boy nodded.

"Did everything you could to beat past Sero's score, right?"

This time, Fenton's expression lightened a little and he smirked. "Yeah. And it sounds like I passed him up big time."

"There you go. Bragging rights for years." Seicho smirked. "So what's the pacing for? You did everything you could. And, as long as you try your best, you shouldn't have to worry."

"Well, when you put it that way, of course not." Fenton replied with a smile. But it was quickly replaced by a stressed expression. "But after talking with everyone else who was applying and seeing what they saw in UA and apparently what they saw with my powers and me… it just became real for me, if that makes sense."

Seicho eyed him curiously. "Like it's all sinking in in some way?"

"Well, yeah," Fenton confirmed as he sat on the far end of the couch. "I guess I kind of kept all of my focus on beating Sero when I first got there. Which was a good drive to have, you know? But now, I'm realizing what this school means to other people. And what it could mean for me."

"With improving your Quirk?"

"Exactly. I haven't really had a teacher to help me with my powers before. Or really anything to help me kind of get used to what power I have." He stared at his palm. "Everything I learned, I learned on my own. So talking with the others kind of made me think… I could have done it differently. Maybe to increase my chances."

"And how would you have done things differently, Fenton?" Seicho inquired, genuinely curious.

"I don't know. Something!" The ghost boy exclaimed. "Something to show that I deserve a chance at UA. And something preferably to make up for my test scores."

"I thought we were talking about strategies, not miracles," Seicho smirked, which earned him a humored glare from his roommate. But, moving past the jab, the guardian nodded to Fenton's words.

After everything this kid has been through, I don't blame him for thinking he doesn't try hard enough in the end, Seicho thought. It's something he's going to be thinking about a lot. For the rest of his life, in fact. Still…

Seicho balled his hands together in a thinking posture. "You know what my thought is? You can't improve an improvised speech."

Fenton looked at him in utter confusion. "What?"

"An improvised speech," Seicho repeated as he stood. "Something that happens in the moment and not pre-planned. Something that speaks from the heart. It happens in the heat of the moment, at weddings or events. But it's something that always forces you to speak from the heart. Sure, you can look back and tell yourself you could have worded things differently or started at a certain time, but looking back on it, it was something that really dives into what you think of at the moment. What you're like under pressure."

He pointed at Danny. "The same can be applied here. You could think of a million different ways to say that you could have done better. But, in the moment, you did what you thought was right, yeah?" Seicho shrugged. "Sometimes, that's the best way to speak about yourself. Better than any planning, in my opinion."

Fenton looked at his guardian for a moment, expression readless. Then he sighed, a smirk pulling across his lips once more. "That's a way to look at things."

"A great way to look at things." Seicho clarified as he headed towards the closet and took out his coat. "It'll help keep the stress of your mind, at least. And keep your thoughts on better things. Your friends said you did great. You said you did great. I know you did great." He shrugged. "Majority rules in my opinion."

Danny's smirk widened and Seicho could see his nervousness almost completely vanish.

"You're right, Seicho. Whatever happens, I did the best I could. And, no matter the outcome, all I know is… it was enough to beat Sero, so I'm happy."

"Now that's a good way to look at things," The guardian said with a smile as he buttoned his jacket. "But that being said, I did make a bet that you would get into UA, so for both of our sakes, let's hope you did."

Fenton whirled around. "Wait, what?!"

"Going to get the mail, SIT TIGHT!" Seicho called as he scurried out the front door and towards the building's main steps.

He laughed. Of course he wasn't serious about the bet (he seriously didn't have the finances to waste them wagering), but it always felt good to get one last jab in at Fenton.

Moreover, the nurse was glad that the ghost boy was able to take jabs like that so readily now. His attendance at Kaizen and meeting Sero only opened him up a little initially, but the unlocking of his Quirk and the training to reach UA really opened up Fenton's shell fully.

He was joking, laughing and readily improving his use in his abilities. And Seicho was glad to see it.

He had seen so many kids fall into that despair and never fully bring themselves out of it. To see Fenton climb out of it and THRIVE was something that gave the nurse a lot of pride in the kid.

Seicho would never admit it, but he did really form a bond with Fenton. And seeing him succeed gave him the same happiness he would have at seeing a little brother succeed. And he couldn't have been happier to see the boy so eager to attend a hero school like he was now.

The only hope now was that Fenton had managed to do enough to succeed. It certainly sounded like it to Seicho, but one could never be too sure, especially when UA standards came into play.

That school was out to make the best of the best of the pro heroes, so the way they looked at things, there was always a standard students HAD to meet.

But, based on Seicho's own experiences, Fenton was something of a different standard. And not in a bad way.

With his instincts and intuition in his Quirk, as well as himself, he had no doubt that he had made quite an impression on UA. He had little doubt about that.

He only wished Fenton could see it, though he couldn't blame him for not. He was still a kid. A kid who was learning and growing with his own experiences.

And one who was making it exceedingly difficult to set up the surprise he had in store for him. Between the ghost boy's nervous pacing and ramblings, Seicho hadn't gotten the chance to set up what he had tip-toed around the overpowered Quirk user to obtain.

"Figures, with my luck." Seicho commented with a dry smile as he reached the apartment mailboxes. "Only day I'll be able to do this is one of the days we're still waiting on the UA letter."

He really just needed like ten minutes. It was all he asked for. He had tried to take Fenton's mind off the test for that opportunity, but he still paced in the living room with a purpose.

What he needed now more than ever was the arrival of the letter, probably the ONLY thing that could give him the time he needed.

And, as he inserted his key into the mailbox and opened the small metal door, the nurse felt his gaze fall on a gold symbol enhanced letter amidst the scattered bills and advertisements, addressed to one "Fenton Danny".

Seicho, shocked for a few moments at the sudden turn of his luck, smiled. "Well it's about time."

Evening had begun to fall across Mustafu, allowing very little sunlight to travel across the expansive city and towards the window of Danny's room.

A thin orange glow had begun to illuminate the various changes that the ghost boy had made to the room over the seven months he had been staying with Seicho, including the desk which now spotted many old blueprint sketches from what Danny could remember about the Fenton Tech, a shelf outfitted with various horror movies and books on the heroes throughout the ages, and a small computer station with a dumbbell resting by the main chair (for small-scale exercise on the insistence of Sero. "No sidekick of mine is going to be flabby!")

Yet the illumination from the setting Sun didn't seem to settle on any item in the room compared to how it settled on the golden UA sigil that was pressed on the waiting sealed envelope. Even with the small amount of light, it seemed to shine brighter than anything else in the room.

And that made Danny even more unsure.

Seicho had insisted he viewed the results in his room, allowing the quiet to let him process the decision UA made and giving him time to decide what to do next, regardless of the outcome. Which was a nice thought.

But, based on the shuffling he heard outside, he could guess Seicho was as nervous as him. Which was a not very helpful thought.

Sitting at his desk, his eyes remained locked on the envelope as his arms remained crossed across his chest.

It was actually amazing to the ghost boy that the envelope had as much of an effect on him as it did. But it was there. And he couldn't explain it.

He had to think it was because it was his first time being exposed to this sort of thing. A school judging him on his powers and offering a chance to help him learn those abilities properly.

Yet, even with that in mind, it did nothing to ease the welling storm of unease on his thoughts. And it made Danny angry.

He wanted this, right? Why should he be nervous about any of this?

Sighing, he stood from his chair and reached down to the envelope.

"Come on, Danny," He said to himself. "You've fought literal ghost kings and creatures. The last thing you need to be nervous about is a letter."

Wanna bet? His mind seemed to taunt back at him.

Shaking his head clear of those thoughts, Danny sighed and ran his thumb along the underside of the lip of the envelope, breaking the seal.

"I think I scored enough to at least make sure I didn't completely fail," Danny assured himself as he reached into the envelope. "So, whatever happens, at least I'm not going to be at the bottom. A better average then my regular school tests, at least."

His mind still ran with his own little doubts, but he pressed past and felt around for the beginnings of a letter.

Instead, he felt surprise as his fingers fell on a bulbous round device sitting near the edge of the envelope interior.

As Danny pulled the device out, he was even more confused by the shape of it. It was small, only big enough to fit maybe into the palm of his hand.

It had a circular shape and metal exterior that gleamed in the light of the sunset, giving a look to the dipper and angled design that curved into the center, leading to a small patchwork of small little grooves that each held a small pinpoint of glass.

"... What the heck is this?" The halfa wondered aloud, rotating it around to see if it had a letter or an on switch.

He had never seen something like this before. But his mind raced as he took in the design of the lights and the set up of the legs for the machine.

His eyebrows scrunched. The halfa felt he must have missed something, but he didn't feel like he did. It almost looked like a…

Immediately after those wonders crossed his mind, something clicked in the device itself and the center shined in a flickering light. At the same moment, a hum sounded from the small sides of the device. And a booming voice echoed around Danny's room.

"BOOM. I AM HERE AS A PROJECTION."

"Wha-?!"

Danny dropped the device in shock, leading it to clatter noisily down in the center of his desk, but land right-side up for the projected light to shine above the device itself.

The light solidified into a solid picture screen and the halfa soon realized in amazement that he was staring at the face of All Might, now outfitted in a yellow suit that pressed hard against his massive biceps.

His smile radiated happily as he stood in front of a shining well lit background, outfitted with various screens and visuals of the UA school symbol.

Danny was shocked at first. He had thought those tabloid rumors had said he was just going to hold a conference at UA. What was he doing participating in UA messages?

As if in response to that thought, the hero beamed even brighter and guffawed heartily, shaking Danny's desk slightly.

"HA HA HA! YOU MUST HAVE QUESTIONS, YOUNG HERO! SO I'LL GET RIGHT TO ANSWERING THEM!" He placed both of his hands on his hips and lifted his chin, taking a stance that looked straight out of his many posters. "First,THE DELAY! There was much to deliberate on! So we apologize for that!"

In between the feeling of awkwardness that Danny felt seeing All Might, the grand hero, shamefully apologize about not getting test scores out, he also felt relief.

"So I'm not the only one who was waiting longer than I should have…" The halfa breathed out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear that. Maybe now the world can feel less like the Twilight Zone."

"SECOND!" Screen All Might continued with gusto. "The question about me, no doubt! The reason I am here is simple!" The hero gave a big thumbs up. "I'm teaching at UA this year!"

At that, Danny almost felt his jaw drop. "Wait, what?!"

UA really does have the budget to have the number one hero teaching us?! The halfa wondered incredulously. I mean, there were rumors about this in the tabloids, but I didn't think that it would actually…

The halfa suddenly went deeper into shock. If the number one hero, the top of the top in this society, was teaching at UA, that meant that, if he got in…

"My power training would be on a whole different level…" Danny muttered, his eyes now on his outstretched palm. His nerves pulsed with an incredible input of nervousness and excitement at that. UA was something he felt he needed now more than ever. If he could attend, he could truly become…

"Yes, I know you're all excited! As much as I am to have the opportunity to teach so many…" The hero trailed off as a distant voice in the video garbled something to him. "What's that? Get to the point? I was just trying to instill… How many more?!" All Might groaned like he was in pain before quickly realizing he was still on camera. "Anyways! The staff of UA has evaluated your test, Danny Fenton! And has seen every angle in which you use your Quirk and how you act around others!"

All Might produced a remote from within the palm of his hand and pointed it at the various screens behind. With a click, the screens flashed, showing various angles of Danny during his test: one of him blasting away a one-pointer, another of him flying in front of the zero-pointer and the final being him standing within the circle of other testers, battling waves of bots.

"Taking into account everything we've seen," All Might began. "The UA staff decided that your performance was…"

The hero paused for what seemed to be dramatic effect, which was enough to have Danny clench his teeth. This was what he had been waiting for. What would decide where he would start in this world.

His doubts bubbled up now more than ever before, preparing him for the fact that he wasn't good enough and that he would be rejected.

But the halfa clenched his fists.

"No matter what happens," He told himself. "I can still reach my goal. I don't care if my score is failing or…"

"Extraordinary!"

And Danny Fenton's mind went completely blank. His body loosened and he slowly felt his shocked gaze settle back on All Might.

"... Extraordinary?"

"Some moments of arrogance aside," All Might pressed on. "Your skill with your Quirk's versatility along with your awareness and bravery on the field of battle was something we couldn't overlook! You were able to correctly and decisively deal with the battle bots with speed and cunning that had the teachers very excited and impressed! Therefore, it should be no surprise then that you had scored a major sixty-two points! Which is already well within the top ten of the applicants as a whole!"

Danny felt like the room was spinning. Here he was, all the doubts within himself… and he scored better than he ever would have considered. He knew he did okay. Pretty well, even. But this…

"And that's not all!" All Might proclaimed, affixing Fenton's reeling mind back to the broadcast. "During this test, we also award RESCUE POINTS! In this job, you have to risk your life and put your money where your mouth is! And your affinity for rescuing others was as well shown as your battling potential!"

To put credence to his words, All Might flicked the tv control once more and showcased Danny saving Kirishima and firing bolts at the zero-pointer to buy others time. Moments that Danny had done to just try and help, something he didn't even think twice about. Something he didn't think would score him points, but felt right in the moment. Now…

"For assisting and saving Kirishima Ejiro and many other applicants, we're awarding you FORTY-FIVE rescue points! As well as FORTY-FIVE to Kirishima and THIRTY for Asui Tsuyu!" The pro hero smiled, motioning to the points."Which puts you, Young Fenton, at the top of the scoreboard of all the applicants."

And that's when Danny lowered his head, his breathing coming out in thin gasps. He never imagined… never BEGAN to imagine that he would reach where he did now. The halfa never even expected to begin to call himself a hero again, much less any others. He didn't expect he would stand out any more during the test.

Yet UA, the top school in the country, recognized his abilities. And what good he could do with them.

He recognized what he had wanted to be and reached out for it, but didn't think that he would get a response like this. One that filled him with a hope he hadn't felt in a long time.

"You're in, Young Fenton," The number one hero said with relish, extending his hand. "Welcome to the hero academia."

Surprisingly, and to his own amusement, he felt the sting of a tear falling down his cheek. And the laugh that followed as he wiped it away made his chest hurt, though not because of the fact he was crying. But the reason why. "... Damn it. Tuck would probably be laughing right now."

All he kept thinking was how Tucker would be saying to buck up. "World famous heroes don't cry, Danny." He would say with a telltale smirk. "They kick butt and get all the ladies. Like Paulina."

"Not like Paulina," Sam would have probably said defensively. Then she would have smiled. "It's okay to cry, Danny. Be human first before a hero. Keep that in mind." 

Danny laughed once more as he looked back up at the now paused screen, a new sense of renewal in his mind. His path was set. Now all he had to do was walk.

"Well, one things for sure," The halfa said as he wiped his cheek and stood, his fists clenching in anticipation. "The crying definitely stops now. Because I have work to do."

UA had given him his chance. And he wasn't going to waste it.

At first, Danny thought the change in the apartment as a whole was because of the news he had gotten. When he walked out of his room into the main hall, the way the room felt was very different, almost like there was a different tone or smell to the house.

At least, that's what the halfa thought at first, until he recognized the smell enough to have him second guess himself.

"Are those...candles?" Danny asked as he walked towards the living room and towards the kitchen. There, he was met with a sight he would have never expected.

"Finally!" Seicho said with an exhausted smile as sat at the table in front of a candled chocolate cake. "For a second, I thought you had died of stress or something. But then I remembered you're a ghost of sorts, so I actually don't know if dying of stress is actually… you know… possible for you."

Seicho's jab at humor flew over the ghost boy's head as he looked over the kitchen space.

Besides the cake, there was an above hanging banner that bore the words "Congratulations" in Japanese.

The table had been placed with a more celebratory covering of little cartoon Kamui Woods giving a thumbs up, which Danny would have found funny if he hadn't been so dumbfounded.

"What's going on?" Danny asked, trying to recover his bearings.

"Well," Seicho said with a smirk. "I couldn't very well have nothing to boost up a conversation after you opened that letter, right?" He smiled at first, then scratched the back of his head. "... Actually, this was all meant to be done a few days ago, since I felt like you needed a pick me up and I thought about celebrating just the fact that you tried out of UA. But it was pretty hard to set up since you were always, you know, pacing. And now I'm worried it may feel a bit insulting if you didn't get in." He nervously chuckled. "So… please tell me you got in and I don't look like an idiot."

Danny didn't say anything for a moment, mostly because he was still trying to take it all in. It… had been a LONG time since he had been part of any celebration. The fact that it had caught him so off-guard was testament to that.

And, even more than that, he was still trying to settle in with the results himself. Seeing the 'Congratulations' brought a flood of emotions Danny wasn't ready for.

He stared at the banner, then he chuckled. Then he laughed.

And Seicho looked more unsure then he ever did before. "Oh, crap. I got it wrong, didn't I?"

"N-no!" The halfa said between laughs. After his fit was over, he took an intake of air and sighed out. "No, Seicho. You didn't." Danny smiled. "I… actually got in. Top of the scoreboard, in fact."

Seicho blinked, shock settling over his expression as well. "T-top? Of the SCOREBOARD?"

As Danny nodded, the nurse gave him a flabbergasted look before a large smile broke out over his expression. "Well… there go all my doubts. Now was the PERFECT time for this celebration." He then stood, rounded the table and clasped Danny's hand in his own for a handshake. "Congratulations, Fenton! Seriously! UA is hard enough to get into, but top of the applicants? That's even harder. You REALLY must have made an impression on them."

"Yeah, I guess I did." Danny said, his own joy at such a statement seeping into his words. "It's… honestly, I'm still surprised."

"Don't be," Seicho said, his smile widening. "I've seen what you can do, kid. I'm not surprised they let you in."

Danny nodded. "... Thank you, Seicho."

"Hey, it's how I've always felt. Your Quirk is…"

"No," Danny shook his head. "Thanks for everything. Letting me live with you, helping me find my powers, getting me back on track, getting me up to apply for UA. Thank you for all of it, Seicho. Really. I know I thanked you before, but still. Thank you."

Seicho looked shocked all over again at the halfa's words, a brightness lacing his eyes. He finally smiled once more, nodded and placed a hand on Fenton's shoulder. "I'm your Guardian, Fenton. You're always going to have my support." He smirked. "No matter how much you don't want it."

Danny smirked right back. "I think I'm ready to take back everything I said about you."

"No take backs, Fenton. You know that." Seicho retorted as he rounded back on the cake. "You owe me too much, after all. What is it now, a window, the wall, the school's fence, hundreds of meals and now this cake?" He tutted. "It's good you're in UA. You'll need that pro hero pay just to pay me back at this point."

"Hey, the cake I didn't ask for!" Danny said in mock anger as he sat at the other end of the table.

Seicho raised an eyebrow. "True. Okay. More for me then?"

And as Danny shot the fork out of Seicho's hand and the nurse cursed aloud and told Danny he would be paying for a new one, the halfa felt a sense of calm settle across his nerves.

For so long, he had been so uncertain while he was here. Uncertain about what to do next, where to go, who to talk to. Even his purpose after everything had been taken from him.

Now, he stood at a path he couldn't have imagined he would be taking. On a road he could see an end to. Something that would make him happy. For the first time, the ghost boy who had lost everything felt as if he had something to fight for. And his anticipation, which he had thought long dead, had finally returned to him.

To Danny, there would always be a big difference between just going to a school and GOING to school. Maybe it was more freedom when you were just at the school. Everything felt more free and open because there was no worry about the school itself, seeing as how you were just there.

When you ATTENDED a school… that was when the looming nature of it all kind of hit. How much you would have to do to keep in that school and how good your grades needed to be to get to college and all that.

That happened with Casper High. Danny had enjoyed visiting the large campus with Jazz when he was younger. Everything seemed so big and laced in mystery.

When he actually attended the school, that magic… kind of left. And Danny felt an overwhelming sense of pressure when he was just stepping into that school.

Now, Danny could claim the same about UA. But at the same time, he couldn't.

Walking through the opened gates of the school alongside Sero and stepping towards the looming buildings of the prestigious school, the halfa didn't feel the same as he did when he first stepped onto the school grounds weeks ago. But what he felt now wasn't exactly a pressure like he felt back at Casper High.

Instead, what he felt was almost nervous excitement.

He felt his fingers dig into the straps of his backpack as he took in the sight of his new campus, energy coursing through him as he looked over towards the main auditorium and the distant sights of the sites they had tested at.

The ghost boy now had access to all of it. Not free access, but just the ability to scope the sights and possibly use them for training, which Danny still couldn't believe. He hadn't been used to training in the empty football field back in his own world. Now to have the possibility of training at a site that was basically a small city?

Danny breathed out once more. "This… is incredible."

"You're telling me." The tape user said with a smile. "It's still hard to believe we made it. To be honest, I kind of thought we weren't going to make it with our skill set."

"Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence." Danny raised an eyebrow as they walked, absentmindedly fixing the collar of his new uniform.

In his opinion, the UA uniform was probably ten steps above the uniforms of Kaizen. He would still rather wear what he wanted to wear like at Casper High, but, if he had to wear a uniform, he was glad it would be the UA standard from now on.

The uniform consisted of a long-sleeve, button-up white shirt, a gray jacket with blue-green stripes, and a red tie, complimented by blue-green pants and the ability to actually breathe on hot days.

Kaizen's all black uniforms were usually a pain within the summer days of school. And Danny was glad that wouldn't be a worry anymore. He was also glad to just have varied colors in the way he dressed instead of the same dulced black. He liked looking like a regular person as opposed to a coffin carrier at a funeral.

"I'm not saying we were bad!" Sero said, holding up his hands in surrender. "Heck, I think we were pretty good in those last few training sessions before the exam!" He smiled nervously. "I just thought that UA might not see that. They're really tough graders, I heard. So I had this little part of my mind that thought that what we saw as good… they might have seen as bad."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, I heard that too." That's most of the reason I was on the edge of a panic attack waiting for that letter.

In an instant, Sero's nervous smile became a genuine one as he pumped his fist. "But looks like the teachers saw exactly what I was hoping they would see! All that training really paid off in the end! Especially for you!"

Danny smiled, knowing what his friend was leading up to. "I already told you, Sero. It was all about the rescue points in the end. That's the only reason I scored so high."

"Hey, I get that." Sero said with his own knowing smile as they entered the building. "I'm just saying since I taught you all of that like a true sensei and I beat you in a fight, wouldn't that make me the true top of the class?"

"We didn't know who won that fight, Sero." Danny corrected humorously. "Keep talking like that and you may end up in a rematch to decide just that."

Sero snickered. "You sure? I would hate to take you down in front of 1-A and drop you from the top of the list so quickly."

Danny shoved him and Sero shoved right back, all through laughs that echoed through the stretching halls as they approached the stairs.

Even though they were joking around, it didn't cover the fact that there was a glowing sense of amazement from the both of them as they really took in the surroundings around them.

For months, both of them had imagined what it would be like to step into UA. How it would be to walk the same halls that so many heroes had walked before they had arrived.

Now that they were here, whatever they had imagined had been nothing compared to the actual place.

Hero pictures and long wide classrooms really gave a sense of what and who this school catered to. And the well-managed trees and green cut lawns surrounding the buildings made it clear how well taken care of and loved this premises was.

Locker upon locker lined the walls, peppered with pictures and stickers from various different heroes or costume ideas or combat move ideas.

Danny had heard over and over that UA was the top hero school in all of Japan. And now, as he ascended the spiral staircase and reached the second level of this glass paned superstructure seemingly catered to the aspiring hero's dream, lined with large city arenas and auditoriums that could fit hundreds, he had little doubt about that title.

Following the stretch of steady hall that had been pointed to by their phone maps, both Danny and Sero soon found themselves standing in front of a large stretching slide door, with the proud stamp of 1-A stretched across the door.

Immediate electricity filled the nerves of the halfa as he looked on at the entrance. This was it.

"Need a moment?" Sero asked with a chuckle.

"Give me a break. I never really expected to get here." Danny muttered. He took a breath. "Plus, I don't really know what to expect. There's over twenty people in this class. And if my last class is anything to go off, they won't all be friendly."

"Maybe not," Sero replied with a shrug. "But we won't know that unless we see for ourselves, right?"

Danny smiled, and he placed his hand on the door handle. "Well, when you put it like that, I can't argue."

"We all want to be heroes, right?" Sero asked as the door slid open. "They can't be all bad."

"IT'S A COURTESY TO GREET NEW CLASSMATES. THERE IS NOTHING STUPID ABOUT MANNERS."

"WHATEVER, EXTRA! I'm not here to waste my time with you or your stupid greetings! I came to win! And I don't need any of you to do it!"

"B-Barbaric! Why would UA accept someone like you?!"

Danny shot a look at Sero, who shrugged helplessly. "I didn't say I was sure."

There, standing and yelling at the front of the class, were two boys about Danny's age, each regarding the other with contempt.

The one closest to Danny was, with a shock, someone he recognized.

The straightened blue hair, tall stature and glasses immediately brought the halfa back to the auditorium, where the same boy stood up in the sea of hopefuls and pointed out the fault in the rules of the test.

The stickler. 

In retrospect, Danny shouldn't have been surprised he would meet him again like this, berating someone who was breaking the rules. But, looking at the other boy he was arguing with, Danny got the feeling this argument wasn't strictly because of the blue-haired lawyer.

Farther away from the halfa, and on the other side of the yelling boy, was the meanest looking guy Danny had ever seen. And that included Dash.

His blonde hair was spiked and violent across his head, only highlighting the red pupils he held and the snarling smile across his expression as he berated the blue haired guy.

His hands were shoved into his uniform pockets, but Danny could tell they were clenched into fists beneath the fabric. And his entire body was tense, but not out of nervousness. More like he was ready for battle.

The blonde scoffed at the stickler's words and turned around, not even casting a backward glance as he stomped to his desk. "Because I'm the best one around here, four-eyes! Everyone else is extra! And I'm going to prove that by becoming more popular than All Might!"

The spectacled boy was flabbergasted. "I cannot imagine one as crude as you would become number one! To be the best hero, one must follow the rules! It's as simple as…"

The boy stopped as his blonde haired opponent locked eyes with Danny and Sero. And the blue haired boy turned to see the newcomers as well.

Danny, unsure of how to really begin a conversation after that kind of entrance, waved. "What's up?"

"Greetings!" The well dressed boy yelled out like he had just made the discovery of a lifetime. Without pause, he advanced on both Danny and Sero, his stride determined and unbreaking. "I'm Iida Tenya!" He curtly nodded. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance "

The halfa blinked, a bit startled by the pure volume this guy was talking at. It was like every work was an explosion out of his lungs.

Nevertheless, he smiled. "It's good to meet you too, Iida. I'm Fenton Danny."

"Sero Hanta!" Sero piped up with a wave of his own.

And, immediately, Danny felt a distinct sense of being intensely watched. His gaze shifted back to the blonde, who now had his red eyes fixed on the ghost boy with a look that screamed absolute murder. He didn't say anything, but Danny could tell the guy was pretty much baring his teeth underneath his lips. What was his deal?

Iida, on the other hand, merely pushed up his glasses. "Ah! Fenton! Your name was at the top of the chart in the exam list! I offer my congratulations on your score and admit that you had more insight than I during the test! I look forward to having you as an ally and as a friend!"

Danny immediately raised his hands. He wasn't used to this at all. "Um… thank you for the congratulations, but you don't need to admit anything to me! You passed the test too. I think we're all at the same level here."

Iida nodded once again. "You're very kind, Fenton! I expect no less from a top scorer of UA! I very much look forward to working with you! Hopefully, I can reach the same level as you very soon!"

Danny sweat-dropped. That didn't help at all. Ignoring Sero's snickering at his expression, the halfa nodded. "R-right… I'm looking forward to working with you too, Iida!"

The spectacled boy gave another curt nod before motioning to the empty seats.

"Now, I've taken up enough of your time! Please, take your seats! Class will be starting soon!"

From friendly to stickler, Iida's personality seemed to switch on the fly. And, with no sure way to respond to him, Danny nodded his thanks and left with Sero down the main aisles of the desks.

"That… was definitely a hell of an introduction." Sero commented with a smile as he looked back to the chopping form of Iida. "Quite the personality."

"I don't even know if what I said helped the conversation or made it worse." Danny said flatly. "But Iida seems nice, at least. What was up with the blonde guy? I don't even know him and it seems like he's ready to kill me."

"Well, to be fair, it seemed like he was ready to kill all of us as a group, the way he was glaring at us," The tape boy replied. "Maybe you just bring that out in people."

"Laugh it up, tape man." Danny retorted with a snort. But he looked back towards the blonde haired boy, who was still fixing him with a steel glare.

The halfa turned away, curiosity now more prevalent in his mind. What had he done that got the attention of THAT guy?

Pushing that wonder aside, he focused on the stretching classroom in front of him and to the search for his desk.

Most of the desks were filled already with a wide assortment of people, all regarding Danny with looks of curiosity. As Sero broke away to place his stuff down, the ghost boy had a moment to fully take in the people around him.

They were all varied and all different in the way they presented themselves. A black bird headed boy looked to the halfa with a genuine looming curiosity while another blonde haired gave Danny a look before throwing his arms back behind his head and looked to be trying to relax before the actual start of class.

One girl sat with her phone out, a connection line for her earphones stretching from her device into the skin just below her ears, like organic earphone jacks.

There was a towering student that seemed to have multiple arms and a masked face, waiting patiently for the class to begin.

Among the various faces, Danny also noted a tall black haired girl with a ponytail, a stoic looking boy with white and black hair, another blonde who seemed to be smiling with shine, a small boy with purple balls across his scalp, a spike of red hair and an even more familiar figure with a stretch of long green hair and a crouched posture that approached him.

Danny smiled as he placed his backpack down on his desk, the tenth, near the back of the room. "Tsu! I'm glad to see you here!"

"Kero. I'm glad to see you here as well." The frog girl replied with a genuine smile.

As opposed to the boy's uniform, Tsu wore a blue-green flowing skirt, complemented with black socks and brown laceless shoes.

Her normally readless expression was replaced with a widened smile as she walked down the main aisle and regarded Danny with enthusiasm. "Though I'm not shocked. After seeing your performance during the exam, I know you would make it into UA even before I saw the final scores."

"You know, I should be the one saying that to you." Danny retorted. "You were the one who saved me, after all. I feel like I should be less surprised than you are."

Tsu ribbited. "Like I said, think nothing of it. I'm sure you would have done the same if the situations were reversed."

Danny nodded to the girl and was about to say something along the lines of 'Yeah, of course.' when he noticed Sero making eye contact with him from the next row over, giving him a mischievous smirk and a thumbs up.

Feeling his cheeks heat and his mind putting a mental reminder to slug the tape boy later, he instead nodded to Tsu and swerved forward with the conversation.

"Any idea who might be teaching the class? I heard a lot of rumors about certain pro heroes."

"Kero. I'm not entirely sure myself." Tsu answered truthfully. "I've heard many rumors as well. But there shouldn't be a worry. UA employs the best pros there are when it comes to teaching classes. I'm sure they've chosen very wisely."

"Well, UA has a pretty good track record so far," Sero said as he walked up. "They gave us three a chance after all!" He waved. "Heya, Tsu!"

"Kero. Good morning, Sero." The frog girl replied with another smile. "I'm glad you made it into UA as well. Your enthusiasm is very infectious."

"Well, I have a lot to be excited about!" The tape boy smirked. "I mean, most people only dream about getting into UA! The fact that we're in… I mean, how can anyone not be excited?!"

Danny laughed. "Well, that's definitely one thing we can agree on."

Tsu nodded as she looked over their classmates. "It looks like everyone shares that enthusiasm with you, Sero. Kero. Some even seem to be carrying more."

"Hey! Fenton!" As if on cue, the familiar muscled form of Kirishima joined the conversation, alongside a girl that immediately caught Danny's attention. Mostly because she was almost entirely pink. "Good to see you made it, bro!

The halfa had seen oddly colored heroes before, with Bypass being the first since she was entirely blue. But it was still a shock for Danny to see a person who was on a completely different color spectrum then he was used to.

Her skin was bubblegum pink, with her shortened, unruly hair a lighter tone and shining against her two thin pale yellow horns that stuck out from her head. Her eyes were black with yellow iris, giving her an almost nocturnal animal look. But the excited smile she wore alongside the bounce she held as she looked at Danny (which brought another blush on his cheeks. Since when were girls watching him this intently?) threw away any lasting impression of 'nocturnal'. It seemed like this girl would be energetic every moment of the day.

Taking his eyes off the girl for a moment, the ghost boy smiled at his sharp-toothed friend. "Good to see you made it too, Kirishima! I'm glad we're in the same class!" He paused. "I'm liking the new look you've got."

"Thanks, man." The rock boy replied with a smile as he put a hand to the new spiky assortment of red hair he now sported. "I figured new school, a new look, you know? Plus…" His smile strengthened. "This just feels right."

"It's definitely a stylish look!" The pink girl said with a smile and a cheerful laugh. "You have so much more FLARE with horns, Kirishima! Really brings out the red in you!"

"... I was going for more 'Tough'." Kirishima muttered, a bit embarrassed.

The girl giggled, then turned her attention back at Danny, excitement shining in her eyes. "I'm Ashido Mina!" She exclaimed as she balled her hands in energetic fashion. "And I've heard so much about you from Kirishima! Your Quirk sounds so cool!" She jumped forward and got in close. "Can you really phase through walls?"

"Y-Yeah," Danny replied, trying to keep another flash of heat from entering his cheeks. "I can phase through entire buildings if I'm fast enough."

The excitement in the girl's eyes only increased at that. "That's so cool! I'm so excited to see it in action!" Her smile brightened. "We definitely need to hang out later on! I've got so many move names you could use! We definitely need to team up when we're pros!"

The halfa was caught a bit off-guard by all the energy being thrown his way by Ashido, but he also couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. "Sounds like a plan, Ashido."

As Ashido continued to bounce around, Kirishima smiled and balled his own fists at her proposed idea. "Hell yeah! A team up when we're pros sounds like a great idea! With my Hardening, Fenton's Ghost and Asui's Frog, we would make one hell of a team."

"Kero. I told you to call me Tsu." The green haired girl corrected before placing an inquisitive finger to her chin. "We probably won't be posted at the same hero agencies if we end up completing the course at UA, but a team up when we have the chance sounds like it would work very well. Kero. Putting my Quirk alongside Sero's tape or Fenton's Ghost would probably work out very well for any rescue attempts we might do."

Sero nodded. "I couldn't agree more. I'm able to pull myself up large distances pretty easily with my tape now. It won't be a problem for me to find good vantage points or get up buildings to help people."

"Your tape is strong enough to carry people like that?" Kirishima asked/shouted. He clenched his fist. "That's so manly, dude! I haven't introduced myself! Kirishima Ejiro! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Sero Hanta." Sero said with his cheshire grin as he shook Kirishima's hand. "It's good to meet you too!"

"Your Quirk is frog?" Ashido asked, turning to Asui with a smile. "No wonder you're so cute! You have to tell me more about what you can do! Ashido Mina, by the way!"

"Asui Tsuyu. But please, call me Tsu."

As the congregated group talked around him, Danny couldn't help but feel the same sense of enthusiasm he had before, but for a completely different reason.

Remembering back to when he had seen the group of friends talking at the mall all those months ago and feeling his own sense of despair that he might never experience that again, seeing now that he had managed to find a really nice group of friends once more was such a relief to him.

Befriending each of these aspiring heroes was easier then he could have imagined. And he found himself eagerly looking forward to what he could learn alongside them. So far the people he had met in this class were among the friendliest people he had met so far (barring the blonde boy) and he looked forward to meeting the rest.

But any thoughts of continuing the introductions were cut off as the ongoing argument between Iida and the blonde was interrupted by the sound of the door opening once more.

Standing in the doorway, with an exasperated look and smile as he looked on at the two arguing, was a thin freckled boy with moppy green hair and shining green eyes. His entire body seemed to give off one big bubble of nervous energy, but he looked just as excited as the rest of them to be there.

Iida didn't waste any time. "Greetings! I'm Iida Tenya from Somei Private Academy…"

"I heard you before!" The boy exclaimed, his voice breaking slightly in nervousness and a little bit of fear. "Ah… I'm Midoryia Izuku. Pleased to meet you, Iida."

Iida immediately lowered his gaze, even more so then he did with Danny, which caught the halfa's attention.

"Midoriya… you… you perceived the true nature of that practical exam. While I did not!" The former private school student shook his head in disgust at himself. "I misjudged you! I hate to admit it, but you were the superior candidate!"

As the new guy, Midoryia, looked even less sure of what to do and began to wave his hands in both shock and nervous energy, Danny heard Kirishima speak.

"The way Iida's acting… do you think that's him?"

"It has to be," Ashido answered, watching the exchange with interest. "He's the only guy we haven't met yet."

"Who?" Danny asked aloud. "What did I miss?"

Kirishima turned to him. "You didn't hear? Apparently there was someone who was testing that took down one of those zero-pointer's with one hit! Broke his body afterwards, but still. That's some crazy strength to have."

Danny felt his eyes widen. He thought back to the massive metal bot, towering above buildings as it cracked the cement roads of the testing ground.

Somebody beat THAT in one shot? For the halfa, it was crazy to think about. He had beaten some pretty big enemies before too. But that was back when he had full control of his abilities and he had help in some of those cases. And it was never done in one fight, much less a shot.

Sero looked over the green haired boy. "If it is him, it's definitely not a heteromorphic type. Doesn't look like he has a power fist or anything." He scratched his head. "But what kind of Quirk could beat something that big with only one shot?"

"Well," Danny said as he lifted himself up from the desk and approached the conversation. "Only one way to find out, right?"

The ghost boy made his way through the center aisle and approached the boy, who was still in the process of desperately waving off Iida's greeting.

"Hi there," He announced, startling the mop haired boy. He extended his hand for a shake. "Nice to meet you. I think I caught your name was Midoryia, right?"

Midoryia, stunned at the casual approach so many people were taking to him, nervously nodded and shook the halfa's hand. "Yeah. Midoryia Izuku! It's nice to meet you as well!"

Danny nodded. "My name's Fenton Danny."

At that, Midoryia's eyes instantly lit up. "You were the top score of the Entrance Exam!"

The halfa blinked, shocked at the quick turn of nervous mess to pure enthusiasm. "Y-yeah, I am."

"Holy whoa, I wanted to talk to you!" The green haired boy enthused. "To beat out Kacchan's skill in combat through rescue points would have been near impossible without a powerful Quirk to match! You must have a crazy amount of speed from it, unless you have enhanced strength as a factor! Even then, to best out Kacchan's reactive instinct is…"

Midoryia broke out into a series of mumbles that Danny couldn't follow and, for a moment, the ghost boy looked on in utter confusion as the green haired boy became utterly lost in his own thoughts.

There was a growl from behind Danny and he looked over just in time to see the blonde slam his fist into his desk, breaking Midoryia out of his mumbling cycle. "QUIT MUMBLING ABOUT ME, YOU DAMN NERD!"

"S-Sorry, Kacchan!" Midoryia squeaked out nervously.

Danny shot an annoyed look at the blonde boy, who shot back with another glare. Oh yeah, he was reminding Danny a LOT of Dash.

"Is it normal for him to talk to you like that?" He asked, pointing back at the bully.

"Kacchan? Yeah." Midoryia mumbled. "That's normal for him."

"Got it." Danny said, looking back at the explosively angry boy as he initiated another bout of shouting with Iida. "He's just a jerk always then."

Midoryia laughed nervously and looked to try and say more, but a sweet voice piped up from behind him.

"Ah! That curly hair! The plain-looking boy!"

Midoryia immediately stiffened and Danny watched as his entire face went red with utter embarrassment as he turned to face a girl who was just about his height.

She was a short slender girl with brown shoulder-length bobbed hair and bangs, coinciding with her large round auburn eyes. Her cheeks were in seemingly a constant blush, adding a cute flare to her smile as she beamed at the green haired boy in front of her, excitement palpable as she addressed him.

"You got in!" She continued with another smile, sending Midoryia into another fit of blushing and rapid hand movements. "Just like Present Mic said! Makes sense though!" She mimicked a punch with enthusiasm. "That punch was awesome!"

Punch? Danny looked back at Midoriya, his interest now really peaked. If he is the guy who did it, did he really beat that robot with only one punch? Oh, I have to see this in action.

"No!" Midoryia quickly replied, trying not to make direct eye contact with the excited girl. "I mean…! I have to thank you for speaking on my behalf… I... well…"

"Huh? How did you know about that?"

"Oh! I… um… What?!"

Danny felt a smile press at his lips at their interactions. "So… you are the one who took down the zero-pointer, Midoryia? And with one hit? Dude, you have got to show me what kind of Quirk you have."

Midoryia jumped, flustered embarrassment returning to his expression for completely different reasons. "W-Well, it's… n-not much compared to what others can do…"

"It was so cool!" The brown haired girl added, looking at Danny for the first time since she entered. "His fist was glowing and he just SLAMMED into it! It was like something out of a movie!"

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you have a pretty impressive Quirk to me, Midoryia!"

The fellow student said nothing, instead turning as red as a tomato. It surprised Danny a lot. Midoryia didn't seem like someone who would have a powerful ability. He was nervous, stuttering and seemed like he hadn't even talked to girls that much in his life.

But, at the same time, Danny didn't mind that. Or any other of the student's personalities for that matter. He was actually glad to see so many of the people here diverted from what he thought the students of a hero course would be. In fact, the way they were now, Danny could see himself easily being friends with the ones he met so far. Personality wise, they fit more with Tucker, Sam and Valerie's side of the spectrum then he could have imagined. And the ghost boy smiled. He was definitely looking forward to seeing how the rest of this year would pan out for the class.

"If you're here to socialize, then get out."

Everyone froze at the sound of the exhaust ridden voice that carried slowly around the room. The brown haired girl's laughter stopped completely, her expression frozen in a smile of silent shock. Then she turned, giving Danny a view of one of the oddest sights he had seen in a while.

A yellow sleeping bag laid on its side in front of the door like a slug, ending in a small viewport hole that showcased a man's face, with raggedy black hair and exhausted eyes that made it look like he hadn't slept in over a week.

Before the ghost boy could even process how weird it all was, the bag shifted and the man's hand popped up towards his face, clutching a small juice box.

Without missing a beat, he drained the box dry in what felt like a second. "This… is the hero course." He said in a voice that sounded like he dreaded the very words.

Well, Danny thought to himself. Don't sound too excited about it.

With a huff of energy, the sleeping bag lifted into the air, straightening out as the man came to a full height in front of them. With all the energy of a tranquilized gorilla, the man unzipped the larva-like bag and stepped out, revealing a ragged black outfit with a long-sleeved shirt and matching pants. A thick scarf was wrapped loosely around his neck, amassing in a coil that added a pang of white to his black color.

"It took eight seconds for you to quiet down," He muttered to the shocked and now silent class. "Time is a precious resource. You lot aren't very rational, are you?"

"So, he's a pro hero too…?" Midoryia asked, his inflection trailing.

"I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota," The man declared drearily. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Teacher?! Danny thought incredulously as Aizawa dug into his sleeping bag. He literally just rolled out of bed! 

Murmurs from the other students sounded as well, clearly just as uncertain as Danny was about this. But, if Aizawa heard any of it, he gave no indication as he lifted up a shirt, one colored in blue, red and white.

"Quickly now," Their teacher said, waving the shirt absent-mindedly. "Change into your gym clothes and head out to the grounds."

The halfa immediately felt a sense of apprehension. "... We're not running, are we?"

Aizawa didn't say yes or no. He instead looked to Danny with an expression wracked with neutral exhaustion. "We're seeing just how far you can get with your Quirks."

And, at those words, Danny felt a spark deep within his core. Wether it was nervousness or excitement (or both), he couldn't say.

As the class quickly filed out, Katsuki Bakugo lagged behind. Not because he didn't plan to do the stupid exercise their sleep-deprived teacher made, but because he instead wanted the chance to properly decide how to handle the two problems that appeared in UA.

First, he wanted to know how exactly a Quirkless wannabe hero like Deku was able to make it into UA and how best he wanted to humiliate the nerd for even showing up at a school like this. Bad enough he had to deal with him during middle school. He wouldn't have that nerd following him around here.

He probably won't last long anyway, The blonde internally growled. That damn nerd is so weak, he'll probably be kicked out by the first hour, if I don't blow him up first!

But that Quirkless nerd wasn't what really angered him. Rather, it was the black haired, blue eyed scarecrow of a boy that Bakugo was confident a gust of wind could knock out.

Fenton Danny.

The extra who had passed him in the Entrance Exam and took the first place position from him! It may have been by rescue points, but it still sent the blonde's blood to a boil. How could he have been beaten by him, of all people?! He looked like nothing! Would All Might have lost to someone like him?

As Bakugo's red eyes settled on the black haired form of the boy who beat his score, his thoughts focused on the fact that his combat score still reached higher then Fenton's. That he held the combat advantage over whatever Fenton's Quirk may be. He didn't even care what it could be. Bakugo only knew that he wasn't going to take this loss sitting down. He may have held the first place position for now, but Bakugo was confident he wouldn't hold it for long.

Enjoy it while you can, extra, Bakugo growled in his mind as he looked on at Fenton, small sparks forming within the interior of his palms. But I'm going to be the number one hero. And you're not going to stop me from getting there! 

Author's Second Note: Hi! This is a bit unusual, I know. But I wanted to address some things!

First, the fact that this story just hit 500 followers by the time I'm posting this chapter! Wow! I never thought I would hit that number within a year's time! I'm so glad to see so many people enjoying this story that much! And, honestly, I just want to say thank you for following and reviewing! I'm amazed by you guys and I look forward to showing you where I plan to take this story! 

Second, as some of you may have noticed, I didn't replace Mineta with Danny. I ended up replacing Sato. Now, before you guys unfollow or leave any angry reviews, let me explain myself.

Mineta is definitely not my favorite. Trust me. He's a little perv and I get why so many people dislike him. But, at the same time, he's good for one aspect of the story: comedic punishment.

I just want him around so I can make scenes specifically of due punishment happening. Slaps, punches, looks of disgust, the works. Mineta definitely won't be winning in this story. And I do plan to have fun with this aspect, so I hope you all understand. I just want to play up the comedy punishment with him.

Plus, Sato has not done anything of note in manga or anime in my opinion, so he was easier to replace. I'm truly sorry if you're a Sato fan, but that's just how I feel.

So with that, of course I plan to continue and thank you so much for your support! Till then, BBbeaver signing off!