Chapter 9: The Giant Door and The Irrational Beginning
Putting on the U.A. High School uniform felt less like getting dressed and more like equipping armor. The grey blazer, custom-tailored by the Support Department, was a masterpiece of engineering. The fabric was reinforced to stretch across Kuma's broad back without tearing, and the golden buttons were enlarged slightly to accommodate his fingers.
Kuma looked into the full-length mirror in the hallway. He didn't see the outcast from elementary school anymore. He saw a quiet mountain, ready to join a range.
"You look... imposing, my son," his mother said, adjusting his collar one last time. Her eyes shone with a mix of pride and worry.
Kuma nodded. "I will do my best."
The morning commute was the usual logistical challenge. Kuma stood in the corner of the train car designated for wheelchairs and strollers—the only space that could fit his shoulders—holding his beloved Atlas of the World in one hand. His other hand hung by his side, the pink paw pad exposed to the air. People stared—curiosity, awe, fear—but he had long learned to be an island in the human ocean.
When he arrived at the U.A. campus, he followed the mental map he had memorized. He walked down the hallway until he faced a massive door marked in bold red letters: 1-A.
For the first time in his academic life, Kuma didn't feel too big for the entrance. The door was colossal, standing over three meters tall, clearly designed to accommodate quirks of all shapes and sizes.
"Thoughtful design," Kuma murmured.
He reached out with a bare hand and pushed. The door slid open with a smooth, heavy sound.
The classroom was spacious, bathed in morning light. Inside, seventeen students had already arrived. As the door slid open, conversations halted. Seventeen pairs of eyes froze on the figure that completely filled the doorframe.
Kuma stepped inside. His footsteps were heavy but calm. He scanned the room behind his small, circular glasses.
He saw a boy with spiky ash-blond hair (Bakugo Katsuki) sitting with his feet on the desk, looking like he wanted to fight the furniture. He saw another boy with glasses (Iida Tenya) scolding him aggressively.
"Remove your foot! It is disrespectful to the upperclassmen who sat there before you!" Iida shouted.
"Hah? Who are you to order me around, you elite snob?" Bakugo sneered.
Ignoring the argument, Kuma walked to the back of the room. He found his designated desk. It wasn't oversized, which meant when he sat down, his knees pressed against the metal drawer and his frame dwarfed the chair, but he settled in silently, placing his bag on the hook.
Iida, abandoning Bakugo, marched toward Kuma with military precision.
"Good morning!" Iida announced, chopping the air. "I am Iida Tenya from Somei Private Academy."
He extended a hand.
Kuma looked at the hand, then reached out. He gripped Iida's hand gently, careful to use his fingers and avoid the paw pad on his palm.
"Bartholomew Kuma," he replied, his voice a deep bass.
Iida blinked, surprised by the texture of the giant's hand. It's... incredibly soft. Like a cat's paw?
"Kuma-kun!" Iida continued, his eyes gleaming behind his lenses. "I saw your name on the acceptance list. First place in the practical exam! With a physique and aura like that, you are clearly a warrior of high caliber. It is an honor to study with you."
"The honor is mine," Kuma replied succinctly.
Suddenly, the door slid open again. Midoriya Izuku walked in, looking nervous, chatting with a girl with a round face and brown hair (Uraraka Ochaco).
Midoriya's eyes swept the room and landed on Kuma in the back. His face lit up.
"Ah! Kuma-kun!" Midoriya called out, walking over. "Good morning! How... how are you feeling? Since the infirmary?"
"I am recovered," Kuma nodded. "And you, Midoriya? You are walking without crutches."
"Yeah! Recovery Girl really helped," Midoriya smiled sheepishly.
Uraraka peeked out from behind Midoriya, looking up at Kuma with wide eyes. "Deku-kun, is he a friend of yours?"
"Yeah," Midoriya nodded enthusiastically. "This is Kuma-kun. We met in the infirmary. He's the one who destroyed the other Zero-Pointer."
The chatter in the classroom died instantly.
Heads whipped around. The students who had been chatting—a boy with elbows like tape, a girl with pink skin—stared with open mouths.
"Wait," a boy with red spiky hair (Kirishima) gasped. "Someone actually took down one of those monsters? I thought you were just supposed to run!"
At the front of the class, Bakugo slammed his hands onto his desk. Bam!
"Hah?!" Bakugo turned around, his eyes twitching with aggression. "He destroyed the giant one?! That impossible thing?!"
He glared at Kuma, sizing him up.
Under the pressure of the class's gaze, Kuma adjusted his glasses. "Technically, I did not do it alone. I had assistance."
"That's right!"
A voice came from near Kuma's feet. Mineta popped up from behind a desk, puffing out his chest. "I played a major role in that operation! Without my strategic positioning, the giant would never have fallen!"
The class looked at the tiny boy, then back at the giant, confused by the dynamic.
Kuma scanned the room again. He counted heads. He looked for a flash of silver skin or sharp teeth. Tetsutetsu is not here, Kuma thought. He must be in Class 1-B. That is unfortunate.
Suddenly, the noise at the door stopped.
Lying on the floor, wrapped in a yellow sleeping bag like a oversized caterpillar, was a man. He sucked on a pouch of jelly juice, his eyes tired and bloodshot.
He stood up, shedding the sleeping bag slowly.
"You have too much energy this early in the morning," the man said, his voice flat and dry.
The class froze.
"I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota," he introduced himself with zero enthusiasm. "I know this is sudden, but put these on and go to the P.E. grounds immediately."
He pulled a blue gym uniform out of his bag and tossed it toward the front row.
The boys' locker room was a cramped affair. It was designed for fifteen average-sized teenagers, not nineteen teenagers plus a monolith.
Kuma tried to navigate to his locker, but the space was tight. As he turned to pull his shirt on, he backed into the corner.
"Ack—! H-Help!"
A muffled voice came from behind Kuma's back.
Kuma froze and leaned forward. Behind him, pressed flat against the lockers like a poster, was a boy with blond hair and a black lightning bolt streak (Kaminari).
"Oh. My apologies," Kuma said, stepping away.
"I thought I was gonna be crushed!" Kaminari wheezed, rubbing his chest, then grinned. "Seriously man, you're built like a tank. Leave some air for the rest of us!"
The other boys burst into laughter. The tension of the first day evaporated in the comedy of Kuma's size.
Out on the P.E. grounds, the sun was bright. The class gathered around Aizawa.
"A Quirk Assessment Test?" the class repeated in unison.
"But what about the entrance ceremony? The orientation?" Uraraka asked anxiously.
"If you're going to become a hero, you don't have time for such leisurely events," Aizawa replied coldly. "U.A.'s selling point is its freedom of campus style. That applies to the teachers as well."
He held up a softball.
"Bakugo," Aizawa said, looking at the ash-blond boy. "You finished second in the practical exam."
Bakugo flinched slightly, his pride stung.
Aizawa turned his tired gaze toward the back of the group. "Bartholomew Kuma. You were first."
The class turned to look at Kuma again. Bakugo's jaw tightened, his teeth grinding audibly.
This balloon? Bakugo thought, glaring at Kuma. This oversized pillow surpassed me? What kind of Quirk does he even have?
Aizawa tossed the ball toward Kuma. Kuma caught it. In his hand, the softball looked like a marble.
"How far could you throw in middle school?" Aizawa asked.
"Forty meters," Kuma replied.
"Try it with your Quirk," Aizawa pointed to the circle. "Do whatever you want, as long as you stay in the circle."
Kuma walked to the white line. The class went silent. They watched intently, waiting to see the power that had destroyed a Zero-Pointer.
Kuma stood comfortably. He didn't wind up like a pitcher. He didn't brace his legs for a power throw. He simply held the ball in his right hand, tossing it gently a few inches into the air.
As the ball fell in front of his face, Kuma moved his hand. It wasn't a punch; it was an open-palm strike.
"Pad Ho."
His pink paw pad made contact with the ball.
There was no sound. No sonic boom. No shattered glass.
One moment, the ball was there. The next moment, it wasn't.
It vanished instantly, like a soap bubble popping.
Kuma lowered his hand.
The class stared at the sky. They squinted. There was no trail, no cloud disturbance. Just empty blue sky.
"Uh..." Kaminari scratched his head. "Where did it go?"
"Did he... disintegrate it?" someone whispered.
Mineta's jaw dropped. "It just disappeared!"
"I threw it," Kuma stated simply, adjusting his glasses.
Aizawa raised an eyebrow. He looked down at his measuring device. It didn't beep immediately. He tapped the screen.
"Hmm," Aizawa muttered. "It's still traveling."
He switched the display to a GPS map application. A small red dot was moving across the digital map at a ridiculous speed.
[Location: Okuma Beach, Okinawa - 1,500 km away]
The sun was beating down on the white sands. Four young men were playing beach volleyball, laughing and shouting.
"Set it to me! Set it to me!" one shouted, jumping up for a spike.
Suddenly, a white object descended from the heavens. It didn't crash; it simply lost its momentum at the exact end of its trajectory.
Bonk.
A softball landed gently on the head of the jumper, bouncing off and rolling into the sand.
The four boys stopped. They looked at the ball. They looked at the sky.
"Where... did that come from?" one asked.
[Back at U.A.]
Aizawa looked at his phone. The dot had stopped.
"It reached Okinawa," Aizawa announced, turning the screen to face the class.
For a second, there was silence.
"HEEEEEEEEH?!!!!"
The entire class screamed in unison, their eyes popping out of their heads.
"Okinawa?!" Sero shouted. "That's on the other side of the country!"
"He sent it on a vacation?!" Mina squealed.
"That's way more than a home run!"
"Awesome!" Kaminari cheered. "We can really use our Quirks however we want! This is gonna be fun!"
Aizawa's face darkened. The tired expression vanished, replaced by a creepy, wide grin.
"Fun, you say?"
The temperature in the field seemed to drop.
"You plan to spend three years here having a good time? Very well. Let's make this interesting."
He raised a finger.
"The student who ranks last in total points... will be judged to have 'no potential'..."
He swept his gaze over the terrified students.
"...and will be instantly expelled."
Kuma adjusted his glasses, watching the fear ripple through his new classmates. He realized then that U.A. was not just a school. It was a refinery, designed to separate the gold from the dross under immense pressure.