Episode VII: Welcome to U.A.
Today was a big day for Izuku Midoriya. Today was the culmination of a lifetime of dreaming and months of training. Today was the day he would attend the U.A. Academy, the best and most renowned Hero Schools in the entire world. Sure there were other great choices out there, and some of them had produced many great heroes. But none of them could compete with the fact that the Number 1 Hero, All Might, had attended their sacred halls.
It was because of this there were so many that attempted to gain entrance into the prestigious academy. And it was part of this reason that Izuku was determined to get in.
"Are you sure you've got everything?"
"Yes, Mum"
"What about your handkerchief? Do you have enough tissues? What about your web-shooters? Did you make enough web fluid!?"
"Mum, I'm fine! I've got to go!" he said as he struggled to put his shoes on, while Eri was hanging on to his back. "Eri, I need to go. Can you please get off me?" he kindly asked as Eri shook her head.
"I want to go with you," she moaned into his back as he chuckled and reached behind him and held her in his hands.
"I know you do, but I don't think U.A. will let any visitors in so soon without authorisation from the school. But tell you what, I promise when I get home, I'll take you for a swing around the warehouse, okay?" he asked as her eyes sparkled and she nodded.
"Promise?" she asked as he held out a pinky, to which she locked hers with.
"I promise," he said as Inko smiled at the two. She then let go as he stood at the front of the Door, his hand reaching for the Doorknob before he heard.
"Izuku," he looked back at his mother and she smiled. "You look really cool," she said as Izuku smiled wearing his U.A Uniform.
"Thanks, mum," he smiled as he ran out the door…only to come back a second later and drop Eri back inside who pouted.
30 minutes Later - U.A. Academy
Iuku looked up at the giant H shaped building of U.A as he smiled to himself. It was his dream to become a hero like All Might, and part of that was getting into U.A. Academy. An almost impossible task. Before he never dreamed he could even make it this far. But now thanks to his New Quirk and All Might's belief in him, he was one step closer.
"This is really happening, I'm finally here for real…" he breathed in as he sighed happily. "I finally made it to U.A…okay! Let's do this!" he hyped himself up as he followed the rest of the students inside.
He lightly jogged down the hall as he searched for his classroom, 1-A. "Okay, 1-A, 1-A…geez these doors are big…I guess it's for the larger students?" he thought to himself as he finally found the room with the stylised 1-A on the door.
"Okay…here is it…The best of the best are behind this door…" he then narrowed his gaze as he felt his spider-sense going off. "...So why do I get a bad feeling coming off it?..." he asked himself as he pushed the door open.
"...Ah…that's why…"
Sure enough, the source of his spider-sense was none other than his former childhood friend, now turned rival Katsuki Bakugo as he seemed to be in an argument with the same tall boy he met during the exam. Iida Tenya, Izuku believed his name was, did not seem to like Bakugo's Devil May Care attitude.
"Get your feet off that desk immediately! Don't you know how many of our Alumni have graduated off these desks!? You're disgracing their memory!"
"Who shoved a stick up your ass? What kind of preppy middle school did you go to, specks!?" Bakugo smirked as he kept his feet up on the desk.
"If you must know, I attended Soumei Junior High, and my name is not 'Specks', I am Iida Tenya," Iida said as Bakugo smirked.
"Soumei huh? Well, aren't you just the cream of the crop? Seems I might have a reason to crush you after all," Bakugo said as Iida gasped.
"Crush me!? Are you sure you are here to be a hero!?" Iida asked with full seriousness, something Izuku had questioned his whole life, as he stared at the scene before him and did his best to stay quiet.
'...You know... it might not be too late to transfer, I hear Ketsubutsu Academy's not bad, and Shiketsu might still have some positions open?' Izuku joked before he noticed Iida turn to him, and Bakugo settled on a powerful death glare at him. 'Crap…well there goes that option…'
"You…" Iida said as he managed to get the class to look at him. "Greetings!" Iida said as he started to speed walk towards Izuku. "I am Iida Tenya, from Soumei Junior-"
"I-I know, we met before during the exam," Izuku managed to stop him as the tall teen halted.
"Ah, yes of course. I must apologize once again for my behaviour during the exam. I had kept accusing you of trying to distract the other examinees and must apologize for wrongly accusing you."
"Nah, it's cool…probably just nerves, right? I'm Izuku, by the way. Izuku Midoriya," Izuku said as he was glad that he was a bit more confident now.
"I see, thank you, Midoriya… Midoriya, I also must apologize for my initial assumptions of you," Iida admitted as Izuku raised a brow. "Clearly you managed to devise the true meaning of the test, and thus earned your place at the number 1 spot on the board. I must admit that you are the better man!" Iida said with a serious expression on his face as Izuku raised a very confused brow.
"Uh…I think you might be overestimating me, I didn't really realize it myself. I just helped out where I thought people needed help," he admitted.
"You mean to tell me you had no ulterior motive, you just wanted to help people!? I see…once again I have misjudged you, truly you are the better man!" he said with an intense bow as Izuku sighed.
"Dude, you really need to chill a bit…" Izuku shook his head. Bakugo meanwhile was growling as he glared at Izuku who had taken his spot on the leaderboard.
"Stupid Deku…Stupid 'Rescue Points'..." he muttered to himself while the rest of the class was staring at Izuku.
'...man I really want to turn invisible right now…' Izuku thought until he felt someone walking up behind him.
"Oh, hey it's you!" he heard as he looked behind him to see the same girl from both the exam and fireworks festival. "Izuku Midoriya right? I'm so glad to see you made it in!"
"Oh, hey Uraraka, yeah told you I'd be fine," he said, not stuttering like he used to, but still blushed being talked to by a girl. Especially when he noticed how cute she looked in the U.A. Uniform.
"Phew, that's a relief. I'm glad Present Mic was telling the truth, you were so Amazing during the exam, especially when you punched that big robot, like bam!" she said while throwing her fist around. He blushed a little more before he noticed something.
"Um…what is that?" he pointed behind her as they all looked down to the floor to what looked like a giant yellow caterpillar, but turned out to just be a sleeping bag.
"Glad to see at least one of you is more aware of his surroundings than others…" the man in the sleeping bag said as he was still laid on the floor and sipping on a juice pouch.
'Who the hell is that!?' everyone thought at the same time, as the man slowly stood up and revealed himself.
A tall slender built man with long shaggy black hair, a rough stubble on his lower face, bags under his eyes and wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and baggy pants, with his pants tucked into his boots. Around his neck were what looked like multiple scarves and a utility belt around his waist.
"Welcome to the Heroics Department Class 1-A, my name is Aizawa Shouta, I will be your homeroom teacher," he said with a rather dull and tired out voice.
'He's a teacher! He's our homeroom teacher!?' the class thought as they stared at the man.
'He must be a Pro-hero, he kind of looks familiar…' Izuku thought as his Heroic Encyclopedia brain was working overtime to match his face to the Heroes he knew.
"I'm not going to waste any more time, so put these on and head outside," he said as he reached into his sleeping bag and pulled out what looked like the stylised U.A gym uniform.
"...Huh?" they all said at once.
"Did I stutter? Grab your Gym clothes and meet me outside, you have 15 minutes…" he said as he threw one of the uniforms to Izuku and then walked out of the room.
"...that was…weird…" Ochako said as Izuku nodded.
"Yeah…" he stared at the Uniform before asking. "Can I at least get one that didn't come out of his sleeping bag?"
15 minutes Later
Soon the entire 1-A class was standing outside in the track arena, as Aizawa stood before the assembled class. It was now that Izuku took notice of his other classmates, some of them ranging in different sizes, heights and body shapes. One of them was even invisible and just floating clothes. And one looked like he had grapes on his head.
'Wow…genetics be crazy…says the guy whose DNA was changed by a Spider Bite…' he thought before returning his attention back to Aizawa.
"I'm going to cut to the chase and tell you why I made you come out here. Before I can accept any of you as students…I want you all to perform a Quick Assessment Test," he explained.
"What!?" most of the more vocal students said, as they stared at the teacher.
"But what about the Orientation Ceremony?" Uraraka asked as Aizawa shrugged.
"In our line of work, Heroes have no time for small things like ceremonies or guidance counsellors. If you want a different profession, don't be a hero then. Besides, here at U.A. The teachers aren't tethered to the traditions that normal schools function. Here the teachers are given more free range to teach how we want." he explained as most of the students look apprehensive at the man.
"As you are aware, most of you have done standardized testing since middle school. But those tests are worthless because you didn't use your Quirks. It's an outdated system so all the kids at school can feel equal to one another, but that is not the case here. Izuku Midoriya," he said as he snapped his gaze to the boy.
"You received the most points during the exam, what was your highest score during the softball throw?" he asked with a subtle glare to the boy.
"Um…if I'm honest…uh…" he said with a hint of embarrassment.
"He barely even got a foot away!" Bakugo interrupted, as Izuku sighed and nodded, while Aizawa turned to him.
"I don't appreciate interruptions, but in this case. Bakugo, would you like to perform the softball pitch, while using your Quirk?" he asked as Bakugo blinked then grinned.
"Sure thing, teach…" he said as he shoved past Izuku, grabbed the ball from Aizawa and stood at the centre of the circle. Bakugo raised his arm back, took one smirking look at Izuku before he threw the ball as hard as he could. Ignited the sweat on his palm and rocketed the ball away while screaming.
"DIE!" A large shockwave blew dust everywhere as most of the students looked impressed, while Izuku just stared bug-eyed at Bakugo.
'Die?' he thought as Aizawa looked at his phone, 'Did he imagine I was at point-blank range from that throw?'
"Before anything else, we need to know the maximum potential of your Quirks. This will then become the basis of your Hero Foundation, and build you up from there…" he said as he showed the class the score of 705.2 Meters.
"Whoa!" most of the class said as Bakugo smirked.
"That is so cool!"
"Yeah! I wanna go too!"
"This is going to be so fun!"
The temperature suddenly dropped as Aizawa stared at the assembled class. "So…you think this will be fun, huh? Is that how you're going to spend your next three years here?"
'Uh-oh…' Izuku thought as the man suddenly smirked.
"Well then, why don't we make this interesting? You'll be competing in 8 physical tests to gauge your abilities, the person who scores in dead last… will be automatically and immediately expelled…" the entire class, minus the girl with the black ponytailed hair, gasped in shock at this 'revelation'.
"What!?"
"But that's not fair!"
"We only just got here! You can't kick us out before we even start! That's just not fair!" the class yelled amongst themselves as Aziawa shook his head.
"Oh really, it's not fair? What about Tsunamis, Massive Earthquakes and Ego-Mad Villains, does that seem fair to you, or what about kids that are taken off the street and abused by terrible people?" he spoke as the class piped down. The last one made Izuku think about Eri and her years of captivity as he gripped his fist.
"At any moment one or all of these things can happen at once. It's our job as 'Heroes' to reverse and preserve our fragile society…if you think you can attend this class, and then head down to the local Mcdonald for a friendly chat, well too bad. Because the next three years will be filled with hardship, pain and suffering. I expect you all to pass these trials and go as this school's motto, beyond yourself and go 'Plus Ultra', And by the end, you 'Might' become heroes…" he said as the class felt a moment of trepidation.
But Izuku, he held his fist tight as he glared right back. Aizawa noticed this and smirked slightly at the determination in his eyes.
"Now, let's get started…"
Test 01 - 50-Meter Dash
Iida rocketed far ahead of his competition as he easily passed his opponent. The engines on his calves started to cool down as the robot read out his time.
"3.04 seconds"
'That was a bit of a workout, I had to shift into third gear' Iida thought to himself as Aizawa nodded.
'Well no surprise he got the top score in the 50-Meter Dash so far, now about the others…' he looked over to Iida's opponent, a frog girl named Asui Tsuyu that passed with 5.58 seconds.
Ochako made her clothes weigh less, as she and a boy with a tail, Mashirao, both passed with a time around 7.15 seconds. Up next was a boy with a strange belt around his waist, named Aoyama and a girl with pink skin, hair and small horns named Mina Ashido, as they got lined up. Well she did, he just turned around and faced away from the line. Then when the timer started he fired off a powerful laser from his stomach and shot himself forward, passing her by…
Only he tumbled halfway there, got overpassed, and then repeated the process. Ending with a time of 5.51 seconds each.
"Magnific, no? If I shoot any longer than a second, my tum-tum will collapse on itself~" he spoke as everyone raised a brow.
'We didn't need to know that…' they thought altogether.
Bakugo and Izuku lined up as Aizawa had his eyes settled on Midoriya. He was aware of the young man's entrance exam as he had watched the footage. He was somewhat impressed with his abilities and could tell the boy didn't know about the Rescue Points but chose to help his fellow examinees regardless. But that power he had shown at the last minute, as well as the police file he managed to acquire on him. He could tell the boy was an instant magnet for trouble. He needed to see for himself what this boy was capable of and if he was serious about being a Hero to help others…
Or just be another showboat like all the others.
Bakugo looked over to his opponent as he was determined to upstage 'Deku'. He knew his Quirk was Stronger than Deku's, but he wanted to show it to everyone else, prove that he was going to be the Number 1# Hero and they were just in his way.
'Deku… prepared to be shown who's the top dog around here…' he smirked as Izuku breathed out and concentrated.
'This Aizawa guy looks serious, if I don't go all out, he may just cut me from the class. I need to go to my limit and prove I belong here, otherwise, all my training will be for nothing…' he thought as he concentrated and got into a start-up position.
"Go!"
Bakugo took off with a blast, using his Quirk to propel himself forward and try to leave Izuku in the dust. But then his and everyone's eyes widened a little as red marks appeared over Izuku's body before they faded and he was softly glowing green electrical energy.
'One for All: Full Cowling…15%!' he mentally screamed as he shot past Bakugo and crossed the line first.
"2.08 seconds"
The machine called out as all the more vocal members of the class called out in awe. "Whoa! He beat that speed guy's score by a full second!"
"Seriously man! That was intense!"
"Way to go izuku!" Ohckao yelled out as she cheered him on.
"I must admit even I am impressed, even though he beat my score! Once again I underestimated it!" Iida yelled while bowing.
Bakugo just started with a stupefied face before it slowly morphed into a look of rage, and small crackles popped around his hands and he was about to charge at the boy.
"I wouldn't try that…" Aizawa said as Bakugo snapped to him as the man glared at him. "You came in second, now move aside…"
Bakugo growled and was about to yell but the glare from the man had made him wisely shut his mouth and he shoved his hands in his pockets. No one at his old school had talked to him like that. It made him angry.
Aizawa meanwhile looked at Izuku as he studied the boy. Izuku felt a little more confident as he flexed his hands.
Test 02 - Grip Strength
The group was given a device that measured the exact strength of their grip as they were all allowed to use their Quirks. Supposedly they were designed by the U.A. R&D Department to be resilient against any type of Strength enhancing Quirk.
Or at least…they were…
Izuku stared at the shattered remains of his gripper as it sparked and fizzled before dying. He didn't mean to break it, he just wanted to pass the test. It's not his fault he didn't account for his Spider Enhanced Strength + One For All at 15% would be enough to break the darn thing. He let the pieces fall to the floor, as everyone around him was staring at him, as he flexed the last bits of metal from his hand.
"Uh…sorry?" he said nervously as Aizawa sighed and shook his head.
"...Nice grip…" the boy with multiple limbs said with a nod of respect, as he beat his score by…well a lot…and of course, left Bakugo fuming with rage.
Test 03 - Standing Long Jump
During this course of the test, it was clear that both Asui and Izuku would win as both of them had impressive leg strength. Easily passing over the hurdle. Although Izuku felt her staring at him a lot during the exam as if she was staring at his soul.
Maybe it had something to do with both their physiology being natural enemies, or mutual partnership in one case with the Chiasmocleis ventrimaculata, also known as the dotted humming frog, and the burrowing tarantula Xenesthis immanis…
Really, they do…look it up, people.
Either way, Izuku didn't know whether to be afraid of Tsuyu or not. "Uh…hi?"
"...You've got nice legs…Ribbit…" she said as Izuku nodded.
"Um…thank you?" he said with a blush on his face, not noticing the glare from Uraraka before she shook her head.
Test - 04 Sideways Jumps
The sideways jump was more about endurance as Izuku was able to get top marks in that department due to his months of training and Spider Physiology. But unfortunately, that title was passed on to the boy with purple ball-shaped hair, as he bounced between two balls.
To be fair…it wasn't against the rules, he still used his Quirk…heck, the pony-tailed girl used a clamp on the last test. He eventually found out her name was Momo Yaoyorozu, and that she could create anything she wanted so long as it was 'not alive', meaning she could even make things out of wood or cloth. Basically, she could create anything as long as she knew what it was made of…
'I mean…it's technically not cheating if she made it with her Quirk, right?' he thought as Momo slid back and forth on a skateboard.
"...Okay that might be cheating a little…"
Test 05 - Pitch Ball Throw
During the ball pitch, Momo produced a cannon from her stomach as she fired the ball high into the air, surpassing Bakugo's score by a landslide. Only to be beaten later by Ochako as she threw the ball and it drifted up into the stratosphere.
…Legend says it's still floating up there to this day…
"...Okay, we're never going to see That ball again…" Aizawa said as she still showed her score of an infinity. To which she received praise from her future classmates, and a pissed off glare from Bakugo.
"Izuku Midoriya, you're up…" he said as Izuku walked forward, grabbing the spare ball.
'Okay so far so good, I'm not going to be the last one. But Kacchan looks like he's about to rip my head off…' he thought as he looked over to Bakugo as he growled at him.'I could lower it down a bit…but I get the feeling that would piss him off more…win or lose, I'm getting yelled at…great…' he thought as he rolled his shoulders ready to throw.
He charged up 15% of one for all into his arm and fired, and launched it far off into the distance. The shockwave blasted out and nearly threw everyone off their feet as the ball calculated the distance. Aizawa looked down at the results and then back up at Izuku who nodded.
1.8 kilometres
"Not bad, kid…" he said and resumed the tests.
"Whoa! That guy is insane!" A blond kid with a lightning bolt on his hair said as some of them were impressed with Izuku's powers.
"Tell me about it! Guy has some serious game," another teen with cylinder-like growths on his arms said as Bakugo was growing increasingly angrier with each time 'Deku' beat his score.
"Way to go Izuku!" Ochako said as she praised the boy who blushed at her praise.
"Uh, thanks Uraraka…it's not that big of a deal," he said he felt embarrassed.
"Shut up! He's still the same worthless Deku he was in middle school!" he yelled as he stormed off the next test.
"Deku?" Ochako asked as Izuku shook his head.
"It's…nothing…" he said as he sighed and moved on with the rest of the class. But Ochako gave him a concerned look, as she wondered what the story was between Izuku and Bakugo.
Meanwhile, All Might lurked around the corner of the building as he observed the test from afar. He was so far impressed and proud of his young protege for doing so well in Aizawa's infamous 'Quirk Test'. The man was infamous amongst the staff for expelling an entire class of students because he believed they weren't ready for the hardships of becoming a Hero. He was, as young Bakugo would say, a 'real hard ass'. Sure, they were re-enrolled later on, but the man had a zero-tolerance for lollygagging.
'The real problem right now though is young Bakugo. He looks like he's about to go Nuclear any minute.' he observed as he noticed his hands crackling with small pops and sparks. 'That boy is used to being on top of everything, but now that reality is starting to crumble…You've been on that high horse for a long time young Bakugo, how will you react when you're bucked off into the dirt with Midoriya?' All Might thought as he observed the young man.
Bakugo glared with increased intensity as Izuku continued to outpace him in all the exams. It was bad enough that the Deku had taken his spot on the leaderboard, he was also proving how much stronger physically he was.
It made him angry, but also strangely… invigorated?
He couldn't help but think about what Deku's trainer had told him, about how Deku was somehow stronger than him. It made him want to try even harder during this test, push himself harder and prove he was better than Deku. But at the same time, he just couldn't get over the fact that 'Deku' was beating him and it was damaging to his pride.
'Stupid Deku…why couldn't you just stay in the dirt with the rest of them?!' he angrily thought as he shoved his hands into his pocket and walked off.
Test 06 - Sit-ups
The rest of the test continued as Izuku managed to show off his endurance during the sit-up portion, as he had been training since he had gotten his Spider Powers, which had given him an increase in stamina. Bakugo had attempted to outpace him, but eventually wore himself out and came second…
And nearly threw out his back…
"Fucking…Deku…" he groaned as he held his back while the rest of the class watched Izuku finish his. But Izuku had his own problems as his partner for the sit-ups was Ochako, as she had to hold his legs during exercise and hers vice versa. Poor boy almost died from heatstroke.
"Are you okay? Your face is looking red," Ochako asked as Izuku kept his eyes averted while doing the sit-ups.
"Uh, I'm fine! Don't worry about me!" he said as he felt her hands on his shins. '...I really hope I get used to this?'
…He won't…
Test 07 - Seated Toe Touch
Izuku once again displayed his unique Spider Abilities as he was able to complete the seated toe touch, due to his enhanced flexibility. He was able to fully touch his toes, and bend himself in an almost unnatural pose.
"Doesn't that hurt?" Ochako asked as she watched over the boy.
"Not really, I think it has something to do with my Quirk?" he pondered as he did his best to both bend himself and not get distracted by the fact a girl was talking to him more in one day than in his collective lifetime.
"That's still pretty impressive," the pink girl, Mina Ashido, said as she bent down to the boy. "Have you ever thought about dancing?" she asked as Izuku shook his head, even though he was bent over.
"N-Not really…" he said he tried to avoid looking at them. 'Why are girls suddenly talking to me!? This is too much!'
Meanwhile, a boy with purple grape-like hair was glaring with intense fury, more so than Bakugo, as he saw Izuku getting chatted up by some of the hottest girls in the glass.
"So unfair!" Mineta muttered to himself as he bit his lip until it bled.
Test 08 - Endurance Run
"This isn't so bad?" Izuku thought to himself as he and the others continued to do their laps around the running track.
This portion of the test was more than likely to gauge their level of endurance while out on patrols. So far the ones that were starting to become the most winded were Mineta and the invisible girl, who stumbled slightly. She was about to fall over when Izuku sensed her fall and managed to grab her.
"You okay?" he asked, as she... nodded? He assumed, as his face still flushed red.
"Yeah, like thanks! That was really sweet of you!" She said she got back up. "Man, who would've thought this test would be so hard!" she slightly complained as Mineta had finally given up and left the track.
"Well, endurance is important, I suppose?" he argued as they continued their laps.
"Well thanks uh…" she said trying to remember his name
"Izuku, Izuku Midoriya," he said as she nodded.
"Right, Thanks Midoriya, I'm Toru Hagakure, you're really sweet~," she said and continued her run. Izuku smiled as he continued to run, not noticing a small glare coming off Ochako as she watched the interaction.
'Huh, where did that come from?' she asked herself as she continued to run forward.
All Might meanwhile watched from the sidelines as he smirked. "Midoriya my boy you make me so proud sometimes…and a little worried,"
The day finally ended as the class gathered around to see the results of their hard work. They were especially anxious, seeing as the person who scored last on the test was supposed to be expelled from U.A. most of them held on with bated breath as Aizawa had them gathered.
"I don't need to remind you what's at stake here, the person who came in last will be going home," he said as they nodded and he showed the scores. "Now bear in mind this was only the aggregate total of your scores. If I had to fully tally all your scores, it would take far too long and it sounded like a hassle to me…"
'...So laid back?' everyone thought as he displayed the list.
At the top of the list was Momo's Name, mostly due to the fact she used tools during her exam made from her Quirk. There was no way around that, but below her was Izuku Midoriya, followed by Shoto Todoroki came in third, followed behind by Bakugo. Izuku sighed in relief when he saw his name come in at second, but felt his Spider-Sense going haywire, as he looked behind to see Bakugo fuming with rage and small sparks popping in his palms.
'Yeah…I didn't need to be warned about that…So then…who came last?' he asked himself as he noticed the name, Minoru Mineta, as the small boy was quivering with tears in his eyes.
'Ah man…now I feel bad…' he thought to himself, wondering what was going to happen to him before Aizawa said…
"Oh, by the way, the whole Expulsion thing was a lie…" The entire class stared wide-eyed as the man plastered the biggest grin on his face. "That was just to get you motivated to give it your all, my bad…"
"...WHAT!?" most of the vocal class members yelled.
"Of course, it was a ruse, didn't you people figure it out?" Momo asked them as she had 'guessed' that the expulsion was a ruse.
"And with that, class is over. Head back to class and look over your curriculum sheets. You're going to need it for tomorrow." he said as the class began to walk away. "Just a minute Midoriya, there's something we need to discuss…" Aizawa suddenly stopped Izuku who turned back to him.
"Um…yes mister Aizawa?" he asked as the man walked up to him. "Have I done something wrong?" he asked as the man stared at him and leaned into him.
"I know…" he suddenly said as Izuku looked confused.
"About the incident a few months back…about your illegal act of vigilantism…" he said as Izuku's eyes widened. "I know you were the one that actually fought those thugs back there and not All Might, it didn't take a genius to figure it out…" he said as he glared into his eyes.
"From what I read in the report, you did it to save the life of a little girl, commendable…but reckless…that kind of recklessness is dangerous. You could've gotten yourself and that girl killed, or worse, innocent civilians with that stunt you pulled," he told the boy as his hair suddenly started moving upwards, and his eyes glowed red with a pair of goggles around his neck.
"Wait a minute…those goggles…you're the underground Hero, Eraser!" Izuku realized but shut up when Aizawa glared.
"I'm not done talking. Now I may not like people that half-ass their work, but the thing I can't stand the most is someone who doesn't consider the consequences of his actions. When you're out there as a Hero, it's no longer your life on the line, but the lives of everyone around you. And to be truthful, I wasn't lying about the expulsion." he admitted as Iuzuku's eyes widened. "Honestly I was planning on expelling one of you from my class, maybe even you, considering how reckless you were…but then I noticed your eyes and I realized…you've seen Death, haven't you?" he asked as Izuku nodded.
"...Y-yeah…the same night I rescued Eri…" he admitted as the man nodded.
"Not many people your age see death, it's something that can either break someone, twist them or strengthen them to do better. I saw how you put your all in today, but my question now is this: do you truly have what it takes to be a Hero…or not?" he asked as Izuku stared at the man, and then to his hand as he remembered back to the night he saved Eri.
"Honestly sir….It's not about me anymore…" he said as Aizawa raised a brow.
"The girl I saved…someone really bad out there wants her back, and I can't let him take her back. Being a Hero has been my dream since I was a kid because I wanted to be like All Might...But now it's only part of my reason to become a Hero. The main part now is to protect her and make sure that what happened to her never happens to anyone else ever again. What I did was reckless, yes, but if I had to do it all over again…I wouldn't change anything…so even if you had decided to kick me out of here…I won't stop trying to be a Hero, because so long as guys like him are out there. I'll never stop, and that's a promise…" he said with strong conviction in his voice as he glared directly into Aizawa's eyes as the man stared at him…
Then smirked.
"Well…you're on the right track, keep it up…" he said as he turned away and began to walk away. "But bear in mind…" he said as he walked away. "I am not fully lenient. You try anything like that stunt in the alley, and there will be consequences, got it?" he asked as Izuku nodded.
"Yes sir, Mister Aizawa sir," he said as the man nodded and walked away.
"...Good…" he said as Izuku rushed past him to get back to class.
"...He kind of grows on you, doesn't he?" he heard a voice as Aizawa turned to see All Might in his Heroic form.
"Huh, so you were here…" Aizawa casually said as All Might grinned.
"I'm really surprised, from what I recall you expelled an entire class because you believed they weren't ready. What made you change your mind…was it perhaps Young Midoriya?"
"No, Nezu said he'd increase my work hours if I expelled one more class," he replied with a deadpan expression as All Might nearly fell over.
"But I will admit…" he suddenly said as Aizawa looked back to the class.
"He's different from the rest of them. He has more experience against villains than the rest of them, which will be useful later on. Plus he's not like the rest of them that want to be a Hero just for the kick of it…he honestly wants to protect people, and that's something I respect…" he said as he placed his hands in his pockets and started walking away.
"...Just as I thought…we aren't going to get along after all…" All Might said as he continued to watch the man walk away.
End of School Day - Front Gates
Izuku sighed in relief as he walked out of the school. "That was intense…I seriously thought he was going to kick me out for a second. Really need to watch where I step around him…" Izuku said to himself as he thought about today. "Still…as far as first days go, not so bad.."
"Greetings Midoriya!" he suddenly heard as he turned to see Iida walking fast towards him. "Are you headed to the train station as well?" he asked as Izuku nodded.
"Yeah, I get off at Mustafa Station, you?"
"I live in Tokyo, so I will be with you for most of the way. I tell you that Aizawa Sensei really got to me with that ruse of his! I assumed all the teachers at U.A. were like him, but I see that each teacher clearly uses different methods to motivate us!" he said as izuku blanched a little.
'Should I tell him that Aizawa Sensei wasn't joking?...somehow, I doubt he'd listen…' Izuku thought to himself.
"Hey! Wait up you two!" he suddenly heard as he turned to see Ochako running towards them. "You two going to the station?" she asked as Izuku nodded.
"Ah, I see you're infinity girl, correct?" Iida asked as izuku raised a brow.
"Infinity girl?...oh right, my pitch ball…no, my name's Ochako, Ochako Uraraka and you're Iida Tenya, right?" she asked as he nodded.
"Indeed," he replied.
"Well I already know Izuku's name," she said as Iida raised a brow.
"How do you know him?" he asked.
"Well, we met back at the fireworks festival in Okazaki. He caught me before I fell over with some boxes. Then we met again during the Exam, saved my life from that giant robot."
"Yes, I remember, he was very impressive during the exam," Iida said as Izuku just chuckled nervously.
"I-I wasn't that impressive,"
"No way! You were so cool! With those web shooter thingys you have and that super strength! You were totally amazing!" she said as he blushed.
"P-Please stop! You're embarrassing me!" he muttered under his breath while trying to hide his face.
"But there is something I'm confused about," she asked as he unfolded his arms. "That Bakugo kid kept calling you Deku, but I knew your name was Izuku, what's up with that?" she asked as Izuku's eyes sullied a little.
"Yeah well…that's just a nickname he's called me since we were kids. It's another way of reading my name. It means that I'm worthless, and until last year, it was true," Izuku explained, "It was only when I manifested my quirk when I had a chance to believe otherwise."
"That is unacceptable!" Tenya protested as he chopped the air with his arm rapidly, "No one should grow up like that!"
"It's fine, really, I've gotten used to it by now, at least from him anyway," he tried to reassure them as Ochako shook her head.
"Well, I don't think you're worthless, especially after you saved me," she said as he smiled a little at the praise. "And you know, I kind of actually like the name Deku, it kind of has a 'Never Give Up' sort of Vibe, you know? Plus I think it's kind of cute,"
The moment she said that Izuku went stiff as a board, face fully flushed red as his brain lost control and his mouth took over.
"Call me Deku!"
"Midoriya!?" Iida shouted in shock. "I thought you said that was an insult!? Why would you suddenly be okay with it!?" Iida asked with a lot of confusion in his voice.
Izuku's only response was to hide behind his arms. "I-I don't know! My brain took a vacation and my mouth took over! I'm not used to cute girls talking to me!" he hissed to himself as Ocahko looked at him.
"What?" she asked but didn't fully register it.
"N-Nothing!" he said as they continued to walk towards the train station.
The three of them chatted away as they talked about any random thing, whether it was hero related, school-related or just something in between. And for the first time in a really long time, Izuku felt that he was truly accepted and he hoped that this moment could happen again and again.
Meanwhile, All Might watched the students from his vantage point in the U.A. Building as he held in his hands his silver age costume.
"You've done well for yourself today, Young Midoriya, but tomorrow will be the real challenge. I just hope all that training you put yourself through, is enough to get you ready for this…" he said to himself as he gripped his costume.
A Few Hours Later - Midoriya Residence
"I'm home!" Izuku called out as he walked in through the front door, kicking off his red shoes as he placed them with the others. Already he heard the pitter-patter of Eri's feet.
"Izu-nii!" she shouted as she jumped into his arms, as he spun around and caught her. "You're late, you promised to take me swinging after school!" she pouted as he chuckled.
"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten, I just need to change out of my uniform. Then we can go swinging, okay?" he asked as his sister nodded in excitement and ran off to grab her own mask.
Something Izuku made for her whenever they went swinging.
"Izuku, how was your day?" Inko asked, nervous about how his first day at U.A. had gone, compared to how his old school had treated him. But she was relieved to see him smiling as he nodded.
"Yeah, it was really great, I think…I think I made some friends today?" he said as she blinked, then smiled as she felt her heart lighten hearing those words.
For years she had watched her son come home from school, lonely and miserable, as everyone had treated him like a pariah. All because he was born without a flashy superpower. When he got his Quirk from the Spider, she had initially been worried that nothing would change, and he would walk in through that door as miserable as he was in middle school. But now she felt pure happiness for her son and was thankful in a way to that Spider that gave him the chance to fit in.
Izuku walked back in wearing a dark green hoodie, black pants and his mask while strapping his Web-Shooters onto his wrists.
"Eri! Are you ready!?" he called out as the small girl came running down the hall.
"I'm ready!" Eri called out as she ran back in with a similar mask to Izuku, but had a hole in the back for her long hair and was white instead of black.
"Okay, Okay, let's get going, we need to get there before dark and I have homework to do, so let's make this quick, okay?"
"Okay!" she cheered as she grabbed Izuku's hand and smiled brightly at him, as he smiled back.
"We'll be back in a bit, mum!" he yelled out as they left the apartment.
"Be careful!" she called out as the door closed and she sighed. She then went to her son's room as she had to do the laundry. As she did, she noticed one of his Hero Note Books opened on the desk, as she noticed designs for a prototype hero costume. She looked at the design as she smiled softly.
"Izuku had always wanted to be a Hero ever since he was four, and I'm finally glad he has the chance to become one…" she said as she thought back to the day he was diagnosed as Quirkless and her inaction to encourage her son.
"I didn't support him in the past…but I'm more than willing to make up for it now…" she said as she looked over his notes and nodded. "And hopefully what I got him will help him see it through," she said as she knew how to make it up to her son.
Next-Day - U.A. Academy
When one thinks of the U.A. Academy They think of training in Heroics, learning new methods to increase their skills and sagely advice for the next generation of Heroes. Well, yes they do teach that stuff as well, but for the most part, U.A. was also a high school. So you can imagine the disappointment some of them felt when they learned basics, like English, mathematics and the regular high school curriculum.
At noon they had normal lunches served by the Famous Cooking Hero: Lunch Rush and normal classes after that. But come afternoon, the real class was about to begin in the Hero Basic Training, a class taught by none other than…
"I AM HERE…COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!" All Might proclaimed in his Hero Form, as he walked into the room in his silver age costume.
"All Might!" Izuku cheered as everyone in Class 1-A were wide-eyed in awe, as they had heard he was going to be teaching at U.A. but to see it for themselves was another sight.
"Holy cow! It really is him! All MIght!"
"I can't believe it! This is so cool!"
"My Middle school friends are never going to believe this!"
All around everyone was in awe of the Number 1 Hero. Even Bakugo, as Izuku noticed, had a genuine smile on his face and not the vicious one he usually wore. It reminded him of when they were kids and they collected All Might trading cards.
"Welcome young students to the Foundation of Heroic Studies! Here you will learn the Basics of Becoming a Pro-Hero with me! Now I'm not the best with lectures and notes! As I am a firm believer in learning from experience! So today we will start with…A BATTLE TRIAL!" he proclaimed while holding up a card saying Battle.
Izuku could immediately feel his Spider-Sense go off, as Bakugo grinned at the word.
"But being a hero is not only about protecting the innocent from the dastardly villains! It's also about looking good while doing it!" He then pointed to the wall as a series of panels opened. "These costumes were specially designed by Exclusive Costuming Companies based on your Quirk Registrations and the suggestions you young scamps sent in!"
Everyone immediately got excited about it, as Izuku looked down at his backpack and smiled.
"Costumes…" his mind flashing back to three weeks ago.
Three Weeks Earlier
Izuku was sitting on his couch looking over his clothing allowance that the school would use to cover the cost of his costume. He already had plenty of designs to go over as he had been dreaming about getting his own costume since he was young. But most of them were originally designed around his idea of looking like All Might. But ever since his Spider Bite, he had been going over and reworking the designs, to incorporate his new Spider-like powers.
He had designs for skin-tight, loose, ones that used his mask, others just the goggles and some with a cape made of webs.
"But I don't think having a cape would be wise while swinging, could get snagged on something…" Izuku thought to himself. "What do you think, Eri?" he asked his sister who was lying on the floor with her crayons and apple slices.
She looked up and over to his designs as she hummed. "I don't know…I kind of like this one…" she pointed to one that was skin-tight, had a red and blue colour scheme and a spider logo on the front.
"I like it too…but I'm thinking of maybe changing the colour scheme, red and blue doesn't feel like my colours…in either case, I need to make a choice before I head over to the registry…" suddenly his mind snapped as he remembered.
"Oh crap! I completely forgot to update my Quirk Registry! Ah man, what am I going to do?" he asked as he knew of only one person that could help him.
"But Midoriya, we already updated your Registry," All Might said after he answered his phone.
"Seriously!? Wait, when was that?" he asked.
"Recovery Girl did it after she examined you, remember? It was easy seeing as you were originally diagnosed as Quirkless, so it wasn't that hard to change," he explained as Izuku sighed in relief.
"Well that's a relief, thanks All Might," he said as he hung up the phone.
"Izuku, Eri, I'm home!" they heard from the front door as Inko walked into the living room.
"Hey mum," Izuku said as Eri ran up to her and hugged her surrogate mother.
"Hello Mama-Inko," she said and held up her piece of paper, showing the three of them in a childish drawing. "I made this for you," she said as both Inko and Izuku had to fight back the heart clench from the adorable little girl.
'SO CUTE!'
"Thank you, Eri. We'll hang it up on the fridge," she said as Eri smiled brightly. "And Izuku, to celebrate your acceptance into the U.A. I got you something," she said as she fished in her bag. "Tadaa!" she said as she showed a teal green jumpsuit with a large white spider logo on the front.
"A Jumpsuit?" Izuku asked in amazement as she nodded.
"When you were asleep I noticed one of your notebooks and saw your designs. I know you might change it eventually, all Heroes do, but I wanted to give you something to help you…" she then looked sad as she held the costume. "But also…I said something I shouldn't have and I felt awful. I shouldn't have given up so quickly, and I hurt you because of it…but you kept going, and now you have a chance to become a Hero. So, I want to make it up to you, and support you 100%..." she said as Izuku smiled and walked over to her.
"Mum…" he said as he held her tight. "I don't blame you for that, it was something neither of us could control. I'm sorry I made you feel guilty, you're an Amazing mum…" he said as she returned the embrace. A smaller body wrapped around them, as Eri tried to get in on the affection.
"You're Amazing Mama-Inko," Eri said as Inko felt her tears swell up.
"You two…" she said as she smiled with tears in her eyes. "I have such Amazing children," she said as they embraced each other…
Then subsequently flooded the whole apartment with their tears.
Back to the Present
The rest of the class gathered together at the front of Training Ground Beta, as all of them wore their personally designed costumes. Some of them ranged from sleek in designs to overly complicated and shiny. One was even only a pair of gloves and boots. But all of them could agree that they loved them.
Which Is exactly how Izuku felt as he walked out in his costume. He wore a light green jumpsuit, with a green hoodie attached and white stripes going down the arms and sides of the chest. Underneath he wore skin-tight black spandex with white stripes down the sides, with his iconic red sneakers. His web-shooters on his wrists with fingerless white gloves, knee and elbow pads and a red utility belt around his waist. He kept the mask he originally made but had dyed the mask to a matching green. The most notable feature of the costume was the large white Spider Symbol on the chest and back.
'This costume was made by mum, and that makes it special. It might not be state of the art or flashy, but that's good enough for me!' Izuku smiled to himself as he caught up with the class.
"Ah! Deku!" he suddenly heard Uraraka shout out. "Cool costume, it looks really practical!" she said as he turned to her.
"Thanks, Uraraka-WHOA!" he said as he caught a glance at her.
Her costume was skin tight, had pink gear on her legs, waist and forearms and a helmet on her head as she chuckled.
"Yeah, I should've made my design more apparent, I wasn't expecting it to be this skin tight. It's not really my style, do you think it looks okay?" she asked as Izuku was so glad he had his mask on.
"U-Uh Yeah! L-Looks great!" he said as he fidgeted slightly.
"Thanks, Deku," she said as she smiled at him.
"...I love the Hero course," Mineta said as Izuku snapped his head to the midget.
All Might looked at his protege as he nodded at the costume. He was glad the boy was branching out from him, becoming his own Hero. He could only imagine what type of fanboy inspired costume he would've originally made if hadn't gotten spider powers. He briefly imagined big ears to resemble his hair, and a painted-on grin as he covered his mouth to stop the chuckle.
"Excuse me sensei?" Iida asked as Izuku was finally able to recognise him. "This is the mock city where the entrance exam was held, does this mean we will be participating in another mock battle?" he asked.
"Close enough, young Iida, we're actually skipping a step or two and going into indoor battles! Most of the villain clean-ups you've seen on the news or out on the streets have mostly been in daylight! But the truly smart and crafty villains often perform their acts of villainy inside! In secret lairs! Back alleys or underground! Kidnappings, hostages, home invasions, and possible infiltrations! A truly cunning villain will be lurking in the shadows!" All Might explained as Izuku nodded, knowing full well the type of villains like that.
Especially the Bastard that tortured Eri for so many years…
"For this test, you won't be fighting against simple automatons! You will be facing each other in a two-on-two battle! Heroes vs Villains! Like kids used to play in the jungle gym! Only this will be real-life combat against another human being!...so no going overboard!"
"How will you determine wins and losses?" Momo asked.
"Is it okay if we blow them up?" Bakugo asked with a grin as Izuku swallowed hard.
"Will there be a threat of expulsion like the last test?" Uraraka asked nervously.
"If we're separated into groups, what would be the most efficient method to do so?" Iida asked with his hand raised.
"Does this cape look good on me~?" Ayoma asked as he styled his cape.
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU IF YOU ALL TALK AT ONCE!" All Might yelled out as he managed to get them to shut up. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.
'A cheat sheet?' Izuku asked himself as the man read the paper.
"This exercise will pair you up into teams of two, one being the Heroes, the other the Villains. The Villain team will be in possession of a 'Nuclear Weapon', and their goal is to protect the device and stop the Heroes. The Heroes mission will be to infiltrate the Villain's Lair and secure the weapon. If the Hero Team either captures the Weapon or subdues the Villain Team, the Heroes win. If the Villain team however either beats the Heroes, or the time runs out, the Villains win….Seems straight forward enough." All Might said as he reached behind him.
"And the teams will be chosen by…Lottery!"
"Sir All Might! Is this really how the teams will be organized!?" Iida asked All Might with his utmost seriousness, who was about to answer him when Izuku beat him to the punch.
"Actually it makes sense, sometimes Heroes will be paired up with other Heroes from different agencies, so this probably will give us an idea of what a situation like that is like?" Izuku guessed as All Might nodded.
"Excellent deduction, Young Midoriya!" All Might said as Iida nodded.
"I see, once again you have impressed me with your foresight U.A. Please forgive my Interruption!" Iida bowed as All Might waved him off.
"Fine! Fine! Let's get this show on the road!" All Might proclaimed, as everyone grabbed a ball from the box and paired up into teams. The teams were as follows…
Team A: Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka
Team B: Shoto Todoroki and Mezo Shouji
Team C: Momo Yaoyorozu and Mina Ashido (Momo seemed to sigh in relief for some reason)
Team D: Katsuki Bakugo and Denki Kaminari
Team E: Yuga Aoyama and Minoru Mineta (Mineta had a look of envious rage at anyone that had a female partner. While Aoyama sparkled with his costume.)
Team F: Rikido Sato and Koji Koda
Team G: Eijiro Kirishima and Kyoka Jiro
Team H: Fumikage Tokoyami and Tsuyu Asui
Team I: Mashirao Ojiro and Toru Hagakure
Team J: Iida Tenya and Hanta Sero
"Okay! Now that the teams are made! Let's see who will fight who!" All Might proclaimed as he reached into the box. "And our first matchup will be…Team A: Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka! Vs…Team D: Katsuki Bakugo and Denki Kaminari!"
Izuku and Bakugo snapped towards each other as Izuku's Spider-Sense went practically haywire at this point. It was a moment that both of them knew would come about, but not as quickly. Two boys, once friends now rivals, now pitted against each other in a battle of skills and wills. But the only thing going through Midoriya's mind was…
'Yeah…just my luck…is it still too late to transfer?'