Chapter 2: Where were we? Ah, right, Introductions!
"And this is the teacher's lounge, where you'll find a rather important member of our staff, likely just waking up from a nap…"
Shouta cracked open an eye from his spot in the teachers' lounge, looking over to the two new arrivals.
Nedzu walked in, smiling brightly, quickly paging through a small notebook. Behind him, a green haired teenager paced nervously, eyeing everything in the room with something between panic and awe.
He still remembers his first day at U.A, and the building is even more grand than it was fifteen years ago, so he can't hold it against the kid.
"Ah, Shouta-kun, just who I was hoping to see! This is Midoriya Izuku!"
Shouta stood up, smirking slightly at the principal. "I'll take it he lived up to the hype?"
As the boy seemed to wilt anxiously, Nedzu smiled. "Of course, have a read of this. Midoriya-kun, this is Aizawa Shouta, and he's going to be the teacher and manager for our new class here. Should nothing change, you are likely going to be working with him quite closely!"
Shouta grabbed the notebook, open to a page depicting…himself?
As he read through the (admittedly very well put together) notes on himself, Midoriya seemed to look him up and down before his eyes widened.
"Oh my god that's Eraserhead."
Shouta's eyebrows raised at that.
"Huh. That was quick. Good job, kid."
"Sorry, Eraserhead, sir! I won't tell a soul!"
He nodded. "Of course. Take the compliment though, kid. These notes are pretty well put together. Where'd you find this stuff?"
The kid twiddled his thumbs nervously. "Uhm, there's lot of talk about you on underground forums, from people who you've saved, and there was a few photos and one really grainy video, so I could extrapolate from there… most of its probably wrong, but…"
He internally sweated, knowing a kid could figure this much out from so little, but he did his best not to show it.
Judging by the expression on the Rat's face, he didn't entirely succeed.
"Relax, It's good stuff. Just give me a link to those forums so I can check them out. If Nedzu approves of you, I do too. Call me Aizawa, kid."
Midoriya seemed to nod, nervous face setting into a determined one. "Ok, A-aizawa-sensei!"
"Good enough. Now come here so I can give you your first job."
The trio made their way over to a computer, with Nedzu jumping up onto Shouta's shoulder as usual.
"That's a lot of names…"
He nodded, sighing. "Each year, forty thousand students apply to U.A's Hero course. Of course, most of those are pointless. First, we filter out around Thirty thousand in the form of spam or those without the necessary performance. Of the ten thousand requests left, two thousand of them noted an interest in Alternate Heroics paths, such as Twilight or Underground. Using one of the Rat's AI, we got that number down to about A thousand viable students for this project. Over the last twenty-four hours, I filtered out another five hundred by hand, mostly by removing those who I felt would likely do better in the standard path for Heroics and noting those who would be well suited for it."
(A lot of the applicants he had axed, on paper, would have been excellent Twilight Heroes. Heck, Kan and Nemuri could still point them in that direction, but they wouldn't fit in the small, more focused class. A few of them didn't have the mental knack for it, or perhaps simply wanted to be Spotlight, even if they had an aptitude for Underground activities.
He could sorta get it. Being complimented for your work was pretty damn valid.)
Midoriya nodded. "And how many people do you think are going to be in the class?"
Shouta smiled darkly. "Eleven. Twelve, if you count yourself."
The kid's eyes bulged at that as Shouta backed away. "Good luck with that, kid. I'm gonna go take a well-deserved nap."
As Shouta reached the door, instead of seeing the expected look of frustration or shock, he instead saw the boy quickly steel himself, pulling out a paper and pen, seemingly his preferred medium. Behind him, Nedzu smiled, looking at Shouta smugly.
"Huh. I guess Nedzu was right about this kid after all."
(Not a day later, when Nedzu and Midoriya handed him a list of eleven kids to interview, one of which sent him to Fukuoka, he was simultaneously impressed and deeply disappointed.
That disappointment turned to satisfaction again when the green haired boy cheerfully suggested bringing Hizashi along, "in order to make the potential students feel welcome in their interviews!" much to the intense chagrin, albeit simultaneous excitement, of the Blond. At least it meant he could bring a buddy.)
~---ORIGINS: MEET THE TEAM---~
Despite putting on his best complaining act, Hizashi was totally on board with this road (train?) trip! It had been a while since the duo had done much together what with their conflicting schedules, and now that Shouta had been cutting back on his Hero hours, he was slowly becoming the vaguest bit more chipper!
(Oh, and the opportunity to impart his real passion of Underground Heroics onto people. Hizashi was all for it, personally. The average Twilight Hero was leaguesnicer than the average Spotlight Hero. He'd know, he was famous enough that he had to attend the Galas.)
Tokyo was a fairly easy choice to begin with, with two viable students. It also meant the duo could take a visit to Tensei, which Shouta, no matter how grouchy he was, would never complain about.
The first student they sought out was one Hagakure Tooru, a cheerful girl with a particularly unique quirk. Her parents, sitting on either side of her, seemed to match it, equally invisible.
(Hizashi would admit he couldn't not ask. The mother was invisible because she bent the light around her, and the father caused you to mentally perceive him as invisible. These two blended together to boost the mother's quirk to the point of, well, being completely see through. Supposedly, they met when they crashed into each other during high school, which to them was extremely funny.)
He and Shouta were quick to set up a battle strategy, with Shouta hiding in the back while Hizashi took the lead with asking questions. It let Shouta mostly play up the image of being in the background, taking notes, allowing him to glean lots of things he else-wise wouldn't have been able to.
So far, neither of them had been recognised as anyone other than U.A staff. Hizashi personally blamed keeping his hair down, but it was probably because he pitched his voice up when acting as Present Mic.
The questions were all fairly standard fare. How do you perform in school (Just above average. Hagakure played at ditzy, but she wasn't stupid), what are your extra curriculars (Cheerleading), why do you want to be a Hero, (to prove the someone with a weak quirk could be a Hero.) et cetera, until eventually the girl began to fidget nervously, her uniform giving her movements away.
"Hagakure-chan, is something the matter?"
The girl flinched. He imagined she would be blushing if he could see her face. "Oh. Uhm… this might be rude, but why exactly are you interviewing me?"
As her parents gave her (presumably) matching looks, Hizashi smiled. "It's no worry, Hagakure-chan! I was just about to get to it, actually! She passes all the criteria, right, Aizawa?"
Shouta flashed him a thumbs up.
"Sweet, you see, U.A is trying to expand the type of Heroes it teaches, so we've been preparing this fancy little project I think you'll like. We call it the Twilight Project, but really, it'll be class 1-T. Much more boring, you know?"
What followed was a slightly dramatized retelling of their plans for the class, up to and including pre-year training over the upcoming nine months, an altered curriculum, and support for living affairs.
Over the course of the explanation, all three Hagakures seemed to become more and more excited.
"So, what do you think?"
The Hagakure matriarch hugged her daughter enthusiastically. "Tooru, this is incredible! You could be such a cool Hero!"
"I know, this is so cool! Can I?"
The father, a well-dressed man in a suit, nodded. "This is an excellent opportunity for you, Tooru-chan. We will support you every step of the way, of course."
The three invisible figures turned to Hizashi. "What do we need to do to make this happen?"
Shouta spoke up, then, standing up and stepping forward. "Sign a bunch of these contracts and take the entrance exam. This functions about the same as a recommendation, but Hagakure will be taking the regular exam alongside the standard theoretical tests, although the practical may be treated slightly differently for her. If she passes, U.A will pay fees for her to either get an apartment or have your family move. There are plans for in school housing, but as of now it's only being considered for later in the year. Fortunately for you, Tokyo isn't far from Musutafu in our modern era, so it would be easy for her to visit you during weekends."
The three Hagakure's nodded, and Hizashi could guess they were grinning where he couldn't see.
Shouta stretched, moving to pack up his notes. "The necessary files will be sent to you over email this evening. I have one question for you before we get going?"
Hagakure (the small one) nodded, and Shouta looked her dead in the (presumably) eyes. "Do you think someone without a quirk belongs in Heroics?"
Hagakure didn't hesitate for more than a second, earning her points with Hizashi. "I mean, sure! It's not like they could go punch the bad guys, sure, but I'm a set of clothes away from being pretty much the same, right? I'm sure they'll probably be smarter than me, too!"
Shouta smiled at that. "You pass. See you at the entrance exam."
As the Hagakures seemingly cheered in the small meeting room, the two teachers made their way out, smiling.
"See, Shouta, that wasn't so bad!"
Shouta scoffed. "Sure. Now we just gotta do that ten more times. "
"Psh, you're no fun!"
The remaining interviews all went something like this:
"Why do you want to be a Hero?"
The large boy sitting in front of the pair seemed to flinch lightly. In the back, the boy's father remained silent, allowing him to do the talking.
Mezou Shouji pulled off his mask then, revealing a mouth covered in years old scars and sharp teeth.
"I do not wish to be rude to you, sir, but I told you my story not too long ago. Why do you think?"
"For most of my short life, people have called me… ominous."
The lanky girl sitting in front of them lifted a pencil into the air, floating with a pencil around her head with a faint purple aura. A moment later, the pencil snapped in half.
"Perhaps it is my strange appearance, my upbringing, or even my quirk, but I haven't ever been particularly bothered by that label. I may look like a Villain, but all I have really wanted to do is to prove that those who live in the dark can shine bright."
Hizashi smiled at the girl, one of the few that had appeared without a guardian.
"Well, Yanagi-chan, I think you'll fit in with this group just fine."
"Oh my god your Present Mic."
As Hizashi smiled at the gawking girl in front of him with equally interested parents, Shouta smugly grinned at him. "I guess I'm gonna have to take over this one, Mic. Don't want any bias for the fan."
"Aw, come on, Shouta!"
"And that was how they went, little listener! They've all got my votes of approval, too be honest!"
Izuku smiled at the two teachers. He had gotten to know them quite well recently, notably Aizawa-sensei. The man seemed to be far more mellow now that he was getting adequate sleep, and behind that grouchy surface was pile of sarcastic wit.
(He was also grateful that Aizawa-sensei had filtered for people that would treat him cruelly for his lack of quirk, without him even needing to ask.)
"Thank you so much, Aizawa-sensei, Yamada-sensei!"
"It's no biggie, Kid! It was nice to go on a little tour of Japan anyways! We saw all the sights, too!"
Aizawa-sensei nodded. "It's the class I'm teaching anyways, kid; I'm getting paid to do it. Besides, it was preparation for your own entrance exam, anyhow."
Izuku raised an eyebrow at that. Nedzu had told him that his own entrance into the school would be a surprise.
"The Rat hasn't told you yet? Your entrance is depends on how well your trained group does. If enough of them do well... so do you."
Oh.
As Yamada-sensei flashed him encouragements, Aizawa-sensei snorted. "You'll be alright, kid, but I'd recommend getting to work on those training plans. Nine Months isn't exactly an eternity."
Izuku took a deep breath. He had nine months to get eleven students into some degree of shape, have them pass the entrance exam, then get them through whatever else could happen. He was fairly sure he'd find some way to get in anyhow if they failed, but it wasn't like he could leave these students he had put forward in the dust!
He supposed if he was going to attend U.A, he had no choice but to go Plus Ultra!
Kyouka Jirou hadn't really processed the whole 'Alternate training path' just yet, but she was getting there, kind of.
The plan to make stronger Heroes of the non-spotlight variety was a good thing, of course, and she wasn't exactly going to look a gift horse in the mouth. It still felt weird that they were interested in her though. It felt… good, though.
The pre-U.A training though? She could do that. She was happy to admit she wasn't the world's strongest person, having spent most of her youth couped up inside her room making music rather than training, so the suggestion of "gain some lean muscle" wasn't a surprise.
It was the method of training that surprised her.
As she made her way towards the dirty Dagobah beach, she thought back to the emails she had gotten.
The analysis on her quirk by one Student Number Nine (Supposedly staying anonymous as motivation, the idea that they would all hopefully meet at U.A) was undeniably impressive, and if they were that smart in other aspects, she wasn't surprised the student was studying to be a Support Hero.
"####ING ### #### PIECE OF #### ### TRASH, I'M GONNA PICK YOU UP SO #### HARD YOU PIECE OF ####, YOU'LL WISH YOU WEREN'T EVER THROWN AWAY, YOU ####ER!"
Huh. That wasn't expected.
As she walked towards the steps leading to the beach, she spotted the source of the rather crude language.
The boy had frazzled purple hair, dirty clothes clearly made messy by exercise, and seemed to be swearing vehemently at a particularly large pile of trash.
She cleared her throat lightly.
Instantly, the boy's eyes widened as he went beet red. "Oh, shit, Uuuh, hi?"
She snorted. "Hey. Getting mad at the trash?"
The purple boy glared lightly. "Oh, screw you, lady. You try heaving a bunch of trash around."
She reached for her bag, pulling out a pair of gloves for herself. "Well, I'm about to, so I guess we'll see, huh?"
The boy took a step back. "Oh, real? You a part of the weird ass U.A thing?"
She smiled at him, arms and jacks crossed. "Yep. You got a freaky ass email deciphering your quirk and then telling you to bulk up?"
He nodded, but his face was tinged with nervousness. "Right on the money. Shinsou Hitoshi. You?"
"Jirou Kyouka. Shall we get to it?"
Shinsou nodded. "Sure. Sorry for being rude, by the way. It's a bad habit."
"I get it, chill. Creepy boss student probably put us together because we had similar personalities or something."
The boy was silent for a moment, spying her jacks, but then he chuckled lightly. "Sure... let's go with that. You gonna help me heave this fridge?"
"That, I can do."
"Look, I'm telling you, man, Kong King has Godzillo beat every day of the week!"
"We've been over this, Yousetsu. Godzillo could just stomp him!"
"Yeah, duh, but Kong King is super-fast! He could jump over him and wring him by the neck, Sen!"
"You two have been debating about this for the last thirty minutes. I am not afraid to turn this car around."
"Tsu, we're in a boat!"
"Details."
As Tsuyu sighed only half genuinely, she grabbed back onto the edge of the small rowboat the trio were using to train. She was fond of her friends, sure, but they got on her nerves sometimes in a somehow affectionate way.
Yousetsu sighed, welding together another brick of water before unwelding it, water dropping into a bucket. "Neeh, sorry, Tsu. You know how I get when I use my quirk this much. Debating stupid stuff helps those jitters, you know?"
She smiled at her friend, croaking lightly. "I know. We're almost done here. I just want to take a breather then do a few more laps, then Sen can spin us back to land."
Sen smiled, spinning his fingers and toes. "Finally. You'd think spinning is a fairly untiring task, but not when you gotta do it for two hours! We gotta stop by somewhere for food on the way home."
"You two can visit my place. Mom would be happy to cook for you both."
Yousetsu whooped at that. "Aw yeah, Auntie Beru cooking! Like I drop of ichor in a pool of piss!"
"Yousetsu!"
Tsuyu smiled at the antics of her friends before she dived back under the water, beginning a lap around the lake they were using to train. They were a trio that got looks pretty much wherever they went, but she certainly wouldn't trade them for the world.
Sen Kaibara and Tsuyu Asui had been friends since the boy had moved to Nagoya when they were both young, but the appearance of Awase Yousetsu a few years ago had firmly formed them into a trio, impolitely dubbed the 'weird quirk trio' by some rude classmate. Fortunately, they had found the name rather endearing, so it stuck.
So, when they each individually got interviewed for a unique opportunity for U.A, they had all conveniently enough vouched for each other, which was enough to get them placed together for training.
"Wait, Yo, No!"
Tsuyu quickly pocked her head out of the water, looking to the boat. Yousetsu was…. Making a giant water hammer. Because of course he was.
"I'll be fine, Sen, it's my last one! See, look, it's…"
Yousetsu's bragging was interrupted by his welding failing, leading to both boys being splashed.
"Kero…"
As Sen laughed maniacally at Yousetsu, Tsuyu sighed. It was going to be a long nine months, but she would make the most of it.
*Thwack* *Thunk* *Swish*
Mashirao expertly dodged a swing of the opponent's weapon, swinging in with his own, restarting the dance of blades.
Swordplay wasn't Mashirao's favourite method of combat, sure, but he could acknowledge that it had a very satisfying flow to it.
Admittedly, combat through the use of giant knitting needles was a new one for him, though.
Kodai's attempt to parry his most recent swing failed, and she was quick to step back, yielding.
Loosening her concentration, the two large needles returned to their previous size.
They shared a bow before Mashirao smiled at her. "You've improved quite well over the course of this week. If you keep up this training when you get back to Matsue, you'll pass the entrance exam for sure."
Kodai smiled at him, flashing a thumbs up. "Mmh!"
He had to admit, teaching someone was a rather fun task. It was a reasonable use of his time, considering the girl was in Tokyo for the week due to a business trip her father was attending.
According to Tooru, the email the mysterious "student number nine" had sent her contained a fairly complicated training regimen alongside quirk analysis. His email, however, had been different.
While, sure, the quirk analysis section was filled with ideas such as 'muscle density' and 'momentum preserving movement' and what not that almost but not quite went over his head, the training section pretty much amounted to "keep doing what you're doing."
The follow up email to provide a (hopefully) future classmate with assistance was gratefully accepted as a break from his rigorous training.
(He knew he was lucky when it came to the process of getting into Heroics with a quirk like his – He was going to be reliant on martial skill to get anywhere, but he certainly had access to that in spades, considering his parent's Dojo was permanently available to him.)
Kodai was an excellent learner, at least. Despite struggling to bring herself to speak, the girl was earnest, kind and well meaning. Being friends with Tooru also meant that he had gotten very good at noticing subtle body movements, so it wasn't hard for you to understand what she meant simply from her grunts.
(Somewhere in his room sat an as of now unopened sign language dictionary. It would take work, but it would be useful both in talking to his new friend and in Heroics.)
Mashirao looked to his phone briefly. "We've got about another hour before you have to make the trip home. How about one more exercise in hand to hand for the road?"
Kodai smiled, shifting into a battle-ready position after pocketing her needles.
"Mmh!"
Izuku slowly made his way through the urban streets of Musutafu, muttering to himself.
So far, his plans had been going excellently! Each candidate had been receptive of their created training regimens. He had been weary at first, considering he had little to go off of regarding the personalities and lifestyles of each candidate, but after a few tweaks he had received no further complaints.
(Some of the people had kept on emailing him back, though. Hagakure was very friendly, and had taken to greeting him every morning, even through the awkward medium of email. Kaibara, meanwhile, sent frequent pictures of the training with the two others Izuku had set up to train with him, mostly candid shots mostly focused on the background, his favoured medium. It filled his chest with a weird, bubbly feeling, which he had processed as friendship. Maybe? He wasn't sure.)
He had managed to successfully link up most students, with the exception of Yanagi, who requested to train on her own, and Shouji, who simply lived too far away, but the boy had politely explained that he preferred isolation anyways, considering they would learn plenty of cooperation during high school.
Of course, that just left one candidate left. The (rather enthusiastic, at least judging by their typing style) individual required unique training thanks to both their physique and personality. This situation caused Izuku to do something he did very rarely.
Personally seek out someone…in person.
Sure, for most people this action was fairly standard, but it was practically Kryptonite to Izuku.
He steeled himself as he approached a small park (the only area that both the candidate, who had moved to Musutafu some two months ago, and Izuku, who never went outside, would both be able to find), reminding himself that if he became a Hero, he would have to do stuff like this every day-
*CRASH*
Izuku was broken out of his thoughts by a loud noise coming from a small tree crested side area.
Approaching the sound of the noise, he peeked into the area, hidden out of sight by a bush.
"You think you can come into our turf, pipsqueak? Something tells me we need to teach this one a lesson!"
The scene in front of him was eerily familiar. Three rather large boys in Middle school Gakurans (Besupa Middle School, if his memory served), surrounding an injured boy with mouse-like features.
He quickly looked around the area, looking for something he could use. There was a rock, there, maybe he could chuck it?
"The only way you're getting any use out of a rock that small is to run up to those asshats and brain 'em with it, Greenie."
Izuku snapped around to face the new arrival who had appeared behind him. Typically, he would have panicked, but he was already pumped up on adrenaline.
The new arrival wore the same Middle school uniform as the boys, although it was adjusted to match the boy's… large size.
"You wanna stop those kids too, right?"
Izuku nodded faintly, trying to remain calm. The boy dwarfed him, but he managed to remain just hidden enough. The boy had dense lime green hair and pale green skin, but the part that stood out to Izuku the most were the two sharp blade like fangs, slitting out on either edge of his mouth before quickly turning to arc forward, replicating the standard appearance of insect mandibles, minus the functionality.
The tall boy smiled sharply. "I know those three. They're in the other class, but they're all talk. If I screw this up, run and grab the tyke, alright?"
With that, the boy stood up, walking towards the group.
"OI!"
Instantly, the three boys turned to him, sneering. "Oh, it's the insect from 3-B! what's he gonna do, try and bite us?"
The tall boy laughed hoarsely. "Oh wow, you really are dumb."
Suddenly, a grey coloured blade, similar in appearance to his mandibles but completely straight, emerged from his palm, arcing forward past his fingers.
It looked sharp, and the edges of his arm seemed to ripple, threatening the release of further blades forming beneath his skin.
With the bandana tied casually around his head, he looked somewhere between a bandit, a desperado, and a Hero of yore.
The teen played with the blade, swinging his arm in exaggerated movements while glaring at the now shuddering boys. "Don't you know it's rude to try and fight someone who won't fight back? I'm all for fighting, but this is pathetic."
The ringleader, a boy with small shards of rock lining his hands, stuttered. "Uh, hey, we'll…"
"I'm gonna count to five, and you three will skedaddle, okay? Lest I, I dunno, bite you?"
As the three boys quickly scrambled away, quipping in various ways, the new boy laughed again, and Izuku's mind finally caught up enough to recognise the figure from his notes.
Kamakiri Togaru, Quirk: Razor Sharp.
Kamakiri quickly approached the small boy, helping him to his feet.
"Thanks a lot, Kamakiri-senpai…"
The boy flashed a toothy grin. "It's no big deal, brat. Call me up if those guys cause you problems again, alright? It's guys like that I hate the most!"
The younger boy smiled at him before running off to who knows where.
Immediately, Kamakiri's shoulders dropped. "All right, Greenie, get out here!"
Izuku did as he was told. "Wow, Kamakiri-kun, that was incredible! Such excellent use of your quirk, too!"
The boy scratched the back off his neck lightly, chuckling. "The best thing about having knives for a quirk is that most of the time I don't even need to use 'em. Those guys wouldn't have put up a good fight anyways, so they weren't worth cutting! As for you, I appreciate the balls for being willing to try, red shoes!"
Izuku tensed instantly at the mention of his shoes, but Kamakiri appeared unbothered. "Relax, Greenie. Nagasaki has a pretty high population of Quirkless, so it'd be crazy of me to be an ass, especially since I want to be a Hero."
Izuku nodded, grateful. It was still difficult to realise that there were plenty of people out there that wouldn't treat him with cruelty. "Thank you, Kamakiri-kun."
Suddenly, Kamakiri's phone vibrated. "Oh dang, right. I gotta get out of here, I got a meeting to get to!"
Before the large boy could run off Izuku regained his composure. "Kamakiri-kun, wait! Your meeting is here already!"
Kamakiri looked back at him, before seemingly making the connection. "Oh, dang, for real? Sick!"
The large boy gestured behind himself before walking off. "Well, come on then! If we're gonna have a meeting, I'm doing it with food! I'm starving!"
"So…" Kamakiri mumbled, cutting his sandwich with a knife that thankfully did not come from his skin, "Midoriya Izuku, huh? I guess Greenie wasn't far off."
Izuku smiled, doing his best to not shy away. "T-to be fair, your surname is quite literally just the bug you sorta resemble, Kamakiri-kun…"
Kamakiri huffed lightly, smiling. "I think it came back from when the resemblance was a bit more obvious, but point taken. Now then, about this setup for training... I think it's damn good, but I have a condition for it."
The training plan was pretty simple all things given. Kamakiri already had excellent control over his quirk, so most of the training would go towards using his quirk in unique ways and practicing martial arts. Izuku wished to oversee the training personally, considering Kamakiri didn't have a buddy to ensure that he wasn't creating bad habits.
Plus, Izuku needed the practice when it came to talking to people.
"And what is that, Kamakiri-kun?"
"I want you to train with me."
Izuku looked to the boy sitting opposite of them. "Train with you? Kamakiri-kun, you know I'm…"
The boy raised a hand in interruption, face stern. "Quirkless, I do know that. I also don't particularly care, as I told you before. The situation is simple. is I'm going to be working alongside you for three years minimum, maybe more if you get the Hero thing right, and I can't say I like the idea of working under someone who can't defend themselves. I'm happy to protect the weak, sure, but I won't respect someone who chooses to stay that way when they could get out of that hole."
Looking at the face in front of him, Izuku was remind of Bakugou in many ways. The boy shared the anger and passion for combat, but it seemed to be tempered, quite literally forged into a blade, and thrust in the direction of positive change rather than putting someone down.
Kamakiri took Izuku's silence as a gesture to continue. "I've dealt with a lot of hell for looking like a creepy bug dude, you know? I can own it as much as I can, but it still hurts a little. I've got my bug collection, I like my greens, and I prefer darker places, but the one place where I'll differentiate from the bug I match is that I'll never be fragile. I won't dare to ask what bull people have crammed down your throat, but if you have the choice, you should take it."
Izuku could guess that there was a story there, but Kamakiri wasn't asking for his, so he'd do a common courtesy and match that.
Izuku was quiet for a moment, before he nodded, shaking the boys outstretched hand.
(The first connection had been formed, like a puzzle piece locking into place.)
"Alright, Kamakiri-kun. I'll t-train with you!"
The buggish boy smirked. "Alright! Next time we meet, Greenie, I'm gonna run you through the wringer 'til you fold like a paper bag!"
Izuku smiled nervously. "You got it!"
Chapter 3: Maybe don't let these kids name their special moves...
FOUR MONTHS LATER – FIVE MONTHS TO ENTRANCE EXAM:
*Thunk* *Thunk* *Thunk*
Izuku slammed down the weights, breathing heavily. "OK!"
Kamakiri whooped from his standing position next to him. "Hell yeah, Greenie! You'll never be Hercules, but we'll certainly make something out of you!"
(He couldn't be a car- wait, ancient Hero of myth. Don't get your Heroes and your History muddled, Izuku.)
Izuku smiled calming at his friend, wiping his brow. "Thanks, Kamakiri-kun. You've been improving a lot on your academics, too!"
The larger boy scoffed. "Thanks to that advice of yours, Midoriya! Phoo, time for a break."
As the two boys made their way to a couch inside of Kamakiri's small home, Izuku smiled. He hadn't been expecting to find a friendship in the insectoid boy, but despite their differences, they were getting along well enough.
(Like most times he thought about it, Izuku is reminded of Bakugou. Of what could have been. But somewhere deep down he knows it may be too late for that, and he has a future outside of the boy now. Maybe someday…)
He had even gotten to go inside his friend's room, once! Only once, since the bug collection terrified him slightly, but still!
Kamakiri's home was thankfully not all that far from his own, sitting just on the edge of the middle-class area of Musutafu. In a point of (painful) relation, his friend's father was… not exactly around (neither deigned to mention it, but you wouldn't see Izuku complaining about that, and he felt the two of them had both silently acknowledged it, anyhow), so his mother spent most of her time at work, leaving the house open for them whenever Kamakiri wasn't at school.
both members of the Kamakiri household apparently liked to work out, and they were happy to lend a few of their tools to Izuku.
"So, how's speeding through the last of your pre-high school work treating you?"
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he grinned. "Oh, it's going well enough! Admittedly, I've been distracted for the last while, though. Nedzu-sensei can't directly teach me unless I get into UA, but he's been providing me with so many interesting books! Their all so fascinating, like this study on quirk classification dualism I've been going through most recently that has some really interesting applications for your quirk and how it doesn't really fit in any of them, and..."
Kamakiri laughed, but not condescendingly. "Going way over my head, buddy. You found out anything about that meeting this afternoon yet, though?"
He shook his head. "Nope. Apparently, I'll find out when I get there, and it's pretty secretive. Some side project for Nedzu-sensei, as far as I can tell."
Kamakiri nodded. "Right. That guy does love his secrets. No point in dwelling on it, I guess! Do you wanna try that spin move you've been theory crafting for me?"
"Oh, DO I?!"
~---ORIGINS: THE ENTRANCE EXAM---~
Toshinori sat nervously in Nedzu-sensei's office, doing his very best not to look like a distressed schoolboy. The principal had assured him that this meeting was a good idea, and considering that he trusted Midoriya himself, he wasn't worried about the secret of his quirk getting out, but…
So few people knew of it. He was worried the knowledge would put a target on the boys back.
But then again…perhaps the boy might even say yes, no matter how unlikely it was.
A few minutes of waiting later, and Midoriya quickly burst into the room.
"Sorry, I'm late, Nedzu-sensei! I went to the wrong office, and- All Might?"
Toshinori smiled gently at the green haired boy. "It's good to see you again, Midoriya-shounen. Come, sit."
As Midoriya scrambled over to his seat, Nedzu smiled at him. "I'm sure seeing Yagi-kun here has made you well aware that this meeting must remain secret, yes?"
Midoriya nodded, "Of course!", before reaching into his small bag (not the bright yellow backpack, this time, rather a smaller blue one, a gift from Nedzu, apparently) and switching off a small device.
"There, now nothing will be recorded. Never hurts to be safe!"
He shuddered slightly. Even if Nedzu couldn't teach the boy just yet, it was clear he was already rubbing off on him in small ways. (Or perhaps, the boy could simply express his inner self better, now.)
Toshinori nodded. "My boy, do not be alarmed, but I must show you something."
Breathing out, Toshinori released the energy of One for All, returning to his shrunken form.
Instead of screaming out as he expected, Midoriya seemed to only flinch, before looking at him with wide eyes. "Theory 5, Transformation-Emitter, type of Energy Pool. Could it…"
Toshinori nodded, gaunt face set. "This is my true form, my boy. I received an injury five years ago that resulted in the loss of a lung and my stomach, alongside general injuries to the rest of my body. I can be in Muscle form for a few hours each day."
"Toxic Chainsaw? No, that fight ended cleanly…"
Toshinori's eyes widened, but he wasn't entirely surprised. "You know your stuff, Midoriya-shounen. No, the fight was never aired. The idea of the symbol of peace being injured that greatly would be too much."
Midoriya nodded, pulling out a sleek black notebook, simply labelled "Conspiracies". Looking over the cover as the boy paged through it, all of the words seemed to be gibberish. A code, then. Smart.
Eventually, Midoriya reached a page towards the end of the book, dated to about three months ago. "Right… this Villain you fought, was he called 'All for One'?"
Both Adults tensed. Nedzu managed to break out of shock first, looking to the younger boy. "Midoriya-kun…how do you know that name?"
Midoriya, realising he said something rather serious, flinched slightly, looking to his mentor with nervous apprehension. "Rumours of someone who can give and take quirks are everywhere when you don't have one yourself, Nedzu-sensei. When mom said I needed to find more hobbies, I started my conspiracy notebook, so I decided to look back on the whispers I heard when I was younger. Finding the name was hard, sure, but it was out there. Yet… stories of someone gaining or losing their powers stopped short five years ago… right when you described your injury happening, Yagi-san."
Toshinori nodded. "Stories of… All for One are generally suppressed by the government, but it's no surprise there are still a few floating around… at least it makes explaining this next part easier…"
Toshinori began to tell the story of his quirk, front to end. Since the boy knew of All for One already, there was no point in hiding much of it.
As he finished his speech, he looked to Midoriya, who's eyes were set. The boy's fingers were twitching, as if desperate to write what he had learned down, but it seemed that he knew better.
"A quirk that can be passed down... It makes sense that All for One had a counter quirk, considering its only half of the Musketeers quote, but… why tell me?"
This was the point that Toshinori was waiting for. "Well…I've been a pro Hero for about forty years by now, which means… I'm going to have to retire soon. And that means I'd like to pass my quirk on before then."
Toshinori looked to the boy in front of him, smiling softly. "And… I believe you would be one of the best possible candidates for it, my boy."
Midoriya was only silent for a moment before he shook his head. Nervously, he responded. "I'm sorry, All M-Yagi-san, but I can't accept your quirk. I've got a new calling here, and it's not something I want to give up… I want to prove someone without a quirk could be a Hero."
Toshinori could not deny he was somewhat disappointed, but his satisfaction with Midoriya overrode it as he smiled brightly. "That is perfectly fine, my boy. I'm proud of you for standing up for your convictions. But I do have one request from you."
Midoriya nodded enthusiastically. "Of course!"
"I am coming to teach at U.A next year. When that happens, can you help me look for someone to inherit my quirk?"
Midoriya hesitated for a moment, thinking, but he shook his head and nodded.
"Of course! I'd like to do some research first, though. Do you have the names of the previous users?"
Toshinori nodded. "I don't have much, but I can get you what my master told me as soon as I can."
"Thanks!"
The meeting went on for a little while after that, discussing other topics, such as Midoriya's remaining middle school education (Being done online, a wise choice), his efforts to prepare the Twilight candidates (an incredibly interesting project that Toshinori would be following, if at a distance until the time came for him to teach them), and discussing various topics with Nedzu (Toshinori didn't consider himself stupid, but he certainly couldn't keep up with the duo when discussing quirks, at least!)
Finally, though, the meeting came to an end. As Midoriya enthusiastically waved goodbye, door closing behind him, Toshinori smiled at his old teacher, now principal. "Midoriya is quite a fascinating child, no?"
Nedzu smiled softly in a way he did not see often. "You are right about that. I am grateful you brought him to me. If he had been led astray from Heroics… he could have been a disastrous opponent."
Toshinori shuddered at that. "Right… I suppose I should get going..."
Nedzu cackled lightly. "Oh, nonsense, Toshinori-kun! We need to discuss getting you a proper teacher's licence of even the smallest rank before you come to teach here now that you don't need to consider training someone!"
Toshinori flinched.
Oh dear.
FIVE MONTHS LATER: U.A ENTRANCE EXAMS:
Mezou decidedly felt out of his depth, to be perfectly honest.
While Fukuoka and its surrounding areas certainly weren't rural, the small suburban area he and his father called home there had nothing on the sheer density of Musutafu.
And then there was U.A.
Four hulking spires of glass, interconnected to form a rather fitting H. On the grounds surrounding the building, hundreds of teenagers wandered around, each aiming to fill one pillar, be it Management, Heroics, General Education, or Support Engineering.
Mezou shook himself out of his stupor, making his way towards the entrance building. Surrounding him were students of all shapes and sizes, shadowed by massive trees.
Finally arriving at the main building, he made his way towards an attendant who was handing out passes to the many students applying for Heroics.
The attendant, a woman he didn't recognize (It was to be expected, U.A couldn't function by only staffing Heroes.), smiled at him. "Hello, dear. What's your name?"
He nodded curtly. "Mezou Shouji, Ma'am. Applying to the Heroics course."
The woman's eyes brightened. "Ah, your one of the special ones! Here, take this. I'm not sure what it says, but apparently, it's important!"
Alongside the simple paper pass he was provided, he was passed a small white note with thick black text.
"Show your bravado and slay the Titan."
The note explained practically nothing, but considering what he had heard about U.A's principal, it wasn't surprising. It would likely make sense when it mattered.
Undeterred, Mezou made his way towards the entrance hall.
He still had the theoretical exam to write, after all.
Math, Math, Math, a bit of history, some English, and MORE MATH!
"Uuuuuugh. If I never see another math sum again it'll be too soon!"
"I hate to break it to you, Yousetsu, but that was a test to get into a school, the whole goal is kind of to eventually see more math, Kero."
"Aw, stop screwing with my vibe, Tsu!"
Sen smiled at the antics of his friends as they sat in the rather large hall, preparing for the practical portion of their exam. It had been painful and long, sure, but he didn't think he did terribly. They had studied hard under their quartermaster frog, after all.
Now it was time for the fun part. He was ready to fight.
He looked to the small ticket he had been given when they walked in. Exam site A, a portion of what was apparently "Ground Beta". Yousetsu and Tsu apparently had different tickets, too. A smart move to separate those who would know each other, he supposed.
As the bickering died down, a figure walked onto the stage, steps accentuated by the speakers surrounding him.
"Helloooooo, exam candidates!!!!"
He flinched as he recognised the booming voice of Present Mic. This was going to be loud, but it had to be, considering the presence of passive muttering across the room.
"Now then, let's cut right to the chase, ya dig? The exam this year is a little different, Yo!"
The screen behind the Hero lit up, displaying the mock city alongside a rather cartoonish Present Mic.
"Now that We've gone through our theoretical exams and filtered down who's here, we've got a list of lots of promising Hero candidates! Five hundred applicants today, huh? Isn't that sweet?!
They've already axed some people? Come to think of it, there were less people here than those who wrote the theoretical. Either they were fast markers or there was some smart A.I. He wouldn't guess.
"That's a lot, huh? Thus, we've divided all of you into specialised groups of One-hundo-twenty-five applicants. Each group will be dropped into one of the four sections of our lovely exam area Site Beta! There, you'll be doing some…"
The screen behind the man lit up. "ROBOT ELIMINATION! Across the field, a pretty massive number of robots, deployed by a 'Rouge Villain' are here to cause problems, and it's up to you to defeat them!"
The screen lit up with four robots, alongside a variety pillars, each with a button on top. "There are multiple ways to earn points! First, and most obviously, beating up the robots! The harder they are, the more points they give! Don't be afraid to bash them! They're recyclable and super cheap to repair! After that, you can nab objectives by pressing on these buttons! Don't try to stop others from touching them, Alright? That's cheating! There's even two secret ways of getting points, but I won't tell you those!"
Lastly, the large screen highlighted the largest looking robot, labelled with a 0. "And finally, we have our Zero-Pointers! There's a different one in each zone, and they're all piloted by our friendly Hero Ectoplasm, so don't worry about them hurting someone or the other way round! They're worth no points though, so try to avoid them!"
Sen clenched his hands, psyching himself up. Fight robots, hit buttons, and be cool enough that the Heroics teachers let you in.
He could so that. Probably. Hopefully.
EXAM SITE C
Hitoshi was stewing internally as he stood at the entrance to the massive exam site.
Robots. He couldn't use his quirk on those, because of course not. But at the same time… they wouldn't have gone to the effort of seeking him out specifically only to give him a challenge he couldn't beat, right?
Suddenly, his thoughts were launched back to a conversation he had had a few months back.
[
Jirou heaved another box into the bin that would be shipping the rubbish to the junkyard, huffing. "So… what are you gonna do if you can't use your quirk?"
Hitoshi looked away from the scrap metal he had been dragging along. "Uuuh, what?"
He had divulged about his quirk not too long ago, and thankfully it didn't perturb his new friend.
("Ah, so that's probably why we were mashed together. Sound buddies, or something.")
"I mean, it's not like you'll always fight people. What about robots, or deaf people, or people who don't talk?"
"Huh. Never thought about that."
Jirou scoffed. "Dumbass. Well, I mean, there's always..."
]
Hitoshi looked the slowly opening door in front of him, spying various objects littered around the artificial city. Specifically, a nice-looking metal pipe, laying there tantalisingly, stood out to him.
Huh. So that's what the strength training was for.
EXAM SITE B
*CRASH*
Another robot smote through the power of Yui's giant pencil. Heh. Mightier than the sword, and all that.
Yui looked around the exam site. She had bashed five robots so far, including a two pointer, and she had pushed a few buttons. She had no idea what her score was, but she was feeling good.
She huffed, shrinking down her pencil again. She had plenty of energy left, but she would need to pace herself on the large size changes lest she ended up tiring herself out.
She had trained for the last nine months, and she wasn't going to fail now. Not right before she achieved the dream she had wanted since being a child.
"Target spotted!"
Yui snapped around, noting a uniquely coloured three pointer, seemingly leading a band of five one pointers.
A mini boss. U.A really was treating this like a video game.
There were a lot of them, but she could take them, even if it might hurt her. She tensed, regrowing her pencil, and-
*THUD*
Her charge was interrupted by a crashing noise as someone appeared from the air, landing on top of the three pointer with great speed and mass, destroying it instantly.
"Quickly, do not let the others scramble."
Nodding to the sudden arrival, she quickly dashed forward, disposing of the now vulnerable weaker robots.
Objective completed, she looked to the new figure. The bulky boy had many arms, one of which had an end that appeared to be a mouth. "Apologies for taking those points for you. I believe that there are some kind of points for cooperation, and you looked to need help."
Understanding the boys reasoning, Yui nodded, face stern but smiling. "Mmh!"
"It would be efficient for us to proceed together. May you perhaps use your quirk to supply me with a weapon when we come across more robots?"
She nodded, pocketing it alongside a few pebbles for the boy to throw. "Mmh."
The two nodded, no more words needing to be exchanged, and off they went.
CENTRAL TOWER, SITE BETA
"Huh. I wasn't expecting much from that boy with the purple hair, but he certainly has panache, I'll give you that."
Izuku looked to the proctor, a Hero from Tokyo, with a small smile on his face. He could agree, considering Shinsou's strategy of "Bash any robots he sees with a pipe" was as valid of a strategy as any.
He was grateful for the approval, at least. Any approval of his candidates increased the odds of them getting in, after all, even if none of the examiners knew exactly who was and wasn't a candidate to be allowed to join their unique class.
"He looks like a mini-Eraserhead, no? I want him in 1-A if Aizawa hasn't gotten him already." Midnight watched the screens with enthusiasm, considering it would be the first time in years that she had a homeroom for a Heroics class.
Looking to his hopefully future homeroom teacher, he saw the man smiling subtly behind his capture weapon. Even though he feigned disinterest, he was clearly interested in each of the eleven candidates, considering whose screens were being displayed on his own personal monitor.
"We have plenty of interesting candidates this year. That one with the explosion quirk, in site A? He's awfully strong, if not rather bull-headed. He isn't going for any bonus objectives, which means he'll probably lose to someone who does. But with refinement, I think he has potential."
Izuku tried not to flinch at the mention of Bakugou Katsuki. Even if they were likely to rarely meet at U.A, the boy still admittedly scared him.
(Nedzu had offered to deny the boy's entrance, but Izuku had refused. Partly because there was theoretically no evidence of any problems, and partly because deep down Izuku still wanted to see his childhood friend become a Hero. Perhaps maybe he could even realise his wrongdoings, perhaps not. None of the other teachers bar Aizawa-Sensei knew that, of course.)
Nedzu smiled from his chair. "Would you look at that, everyone. It's been fifteen of the twenty allocated minutes! That means it's time for the fun part! Midoriya-kun, if you would please?"
Izuku nervously looked to the presented button in front of him. All of his candidates had shown enough bravado to at least get into the standard Hero courses, but if Nedzu wanted to start his project, he would need proof that Izuku's candidates were sufficient. He gulped. It was this or wallowing in Gen Ed. He hoped for the former.
He pressed the button.
EXAM SITE D
Yousetsu dashed through the site, chasing after robots as he went.
He was surprised to say it, but his quirk was the perfect tool for this scenario. Locking robot parts in place made it pretty easy to destroy them!
He couldn't wait to get this done and see his buddies! Knowing their skills, they'd get in for sure! U.A here they co-
His inner monologue was interrupted by a rumbling noise.
He looked behind him, seeing the various students dotted around the area running away. He shuddered, freezing as he looked up.
A 0-pointer stood tall a few blocks away from them, creating rumbling shakes with each step.
The thing looked almost straight out of an action movie.
The large robot had four large pole-like legs, slowly walking across the exam site, threatening those beneath it. On the top, a cubelike structure sat, a large eye on each side indicating where its pilot sat, completely out of reach.
Yousetsu thought back to the note that he had received.
"Slay the Titan."
Ah, so that's what the secret part of the test was.
"Oh, you son of a..."
EXAM SITE A
Reiko stood vigil on a roof of an artificial apartment building, staring down the massive bird construct that dwarfed the area around it. Many matching green plates made up the propeller wings on each side of the robot, guarding it from attacks, alongside massive claws, with which it perched on a large building, observing the swarm of smaller birdlike drones that were now swarming a portion of the exam site.
Even the boy who had been creating explosions since the start of the exam had steered clear, and yet she would need to find a way to take it out.
"Oh, bloody hell, how am I supposed to get up there!?"
She looked to the roof opposite her, spotting a rather plain looking boy glaring up at the same robot she was. From her memory, the boy used his quirk to launch himself across the site, spinning his limbs to boost his momentum.
"Hello! Do you have the goal to smite this beast as well?"
The boy snapped over to her. "You too? Hell yeah! You can float stuff, right?"
She nodded as the boy looked to something in his hand. "Can you get me up to that thing's eye level? I think I can take it out in one shot, but it's risky!"
Looking closer, the spot where the eyes of a bird would be were instead lined with red glass, indicating that it was likely where the clone of ectoplasm would be.
She looked within herself, judging her remaining energy. She could do it, but it would leave her completely drained.
It was now or never. "Very well! May fortune bless your strategy!"
Closing her eyes and breathing deeply, she called upon her quirk, taking stock of the surroundings.
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, as various objects, mostly large pieces of rubble, floated into the air, forming a rudimentary staircase. "GO!"
The boy didn't need to be told twice, dashing up the series of blocks, using his quirk to jump across the gaps presented.
And suddenly, there was a chance.
EXAM SITE C
Tooru looked to the other two figures standing next to her, before looking up to the tank like robot that was slowly approaching. The rest of her fellow examinees had run away, but the other two figures stood aside her, showing they had the same goal as her.
"How the hell are we meant to beat THAT?"
The purple haired boy looked closely at the area where the Pilot likely was. "If I can get up there, then I can disable the Pilot, but I have no clue how to!"
The heteromorph girl next to him croaked. "I can get you there, Kero! Get on my back. Invisible Girl, can you distract the robot somehow?"
(Invisible Girl? That was a cool name-NOT THE TIME!)
"Distractions? I can do that! Just look away when I shout!" She nodded as the duo literally jumped away, one on the back of the other.
Tooru looked up at the robot, pulling out the one item she had brought with for this exact reason. The brightest flashlight she owned.
She took a deep breath, reaching for the physical control of her quirk. This would make her sleep for like, a week, but it would be worth it.
"HERE'S MY ULTIMATE COOL AS HELL MOVE! TOORU STYLE LIGHT REFRACTION BEEEEEAAAAMMM!!!"
And suddenly, there was a flash of light.
EXAM SITE B
"Are you certain this will work!?"
Togaru stood proudly, braced for speed, legs secured to the large pencil he was standing on via hooked blades. "I saw it in one really old anime once! It'll be fine! It's either that or we fail, so what do we have to lose!?"
He looked to the hulking robot in front of him. The robot resembled a bacteriophage; it's many legs preventing anything from getting close, while the top structure was secured to hell and back.
Which left one weak spot.
The large multi armed boy nodded at him, picking up the enlarged pencil. "Very well. Prepare for flight!"
The other member of the present group, a girl who had thus far hadn't said a word, walked up the pencil, adding additional size to it without adding any weight, which was clearly taxing for the girl at this point, as she groaned in pain as she did it, before whispering quietly. "Good luck."
Togaru wouldn't need luck. He had Greenie's new technique, and he was ready to use it.
"OCTOLAUNCH!"
And suddenly, he was in the air.
EXAM SITE D
The three examinees braced, preparing to execute their hastily put together plan.
"If this plan ends up with me in the hospital you are paying the bills, headband guy!"
"Now is not the time for sarcasm, the leg is coming down!"
Yosuetsu looked to the boy with the tail and girl with the funky earlobes, reaching inwards for his quirk. He really hoped they all got into U.A for this. He owed the two of them at least one nice dinner for this, but it was pretty much the only plan he could think of that would work on such short notice.
Suddenly, a leg of the quadrupedal robot crashed down close to them, and Yousetsu dashed forward, grabbing a hold of the leg with both hands.
"Improvised special move: Weldcraft reversal, FREEZE AND BASH!"
Suddenly, the robot's leg froze, motors and gears stopped by his will. The structure creaked as his two comrades dashed forward, the girl sticking her earlobes in and the boy charging forward to strike with his tail.
Yousetsu braced for impact as the moves hit.
And suddenly...
EXAM SITE A
Reaching the top of the makeshift staircase, Sen braced, spying Ectoplasm piloting the large robot, just behind the eye. He pulled out his greatest weapon… a stone he had plucked sometime during the exam.
He began to spin his various body parts, taking a deep breath. "This is my most stupid technique! SPIRAL METEOR BEAM!"
He spun rapidly, building up a massive amount of momentum in his hands, before leaping up in a chaotic mess of movement, before he landed, and threw.
"Hey, Ectoplasm? Are you feeling GASSY?"
"What? How did you…"
And the clone would say no more.
Togaru leapt off of the flying pillar, aligned perfectly with the large pillar between the robot's legs and head.
"Take this, you piece of scrap! KNIFE CYCLONE!"
A blast of sound emanates from Kyouka's heart, hitting the large robot dead on. At the same time, the other kid's tail perfectly hits the weakest point of the leg: The joint.
"HEARTBEAT SURROUND!" "GREAT APE IMPACT!" "WOO! GO YOU GUYS!"
Instantly, the construct crumples.
The shot aims true, and without its controller, the Robot crashes to the ground.
Sen quickly scrambles down the staircase, pieces dropping as he does.
Not a moment later, the buzzer sounds.
"THE PRACTICAL EXAM IS NOW OVER! PLEASE PROCEED TO THE EXIT!"
Nedzu smiles proudly as he observes the gawking of the judges.
"So, do you think I can go along with the Twilight project now, President?"
Madam President, in her small seat off to the side, looks silently at the screen in front of her. These students had promise, and even if Nedzu's project could be a headache later down the line, she had no way to deny that those students had promise.
"Very well, Nedzu, you will have your class."
A few feet away, Midoriya Izuku hits his euphoria limit. His candidates all exceeded their expectations, going far and beyond what he had anticipated them to do. Sure, he had assigned each of them to exam sites with zero pointers that their quirks countered, but he had expected at most a single zero pointer to be defeated, not all four.
He, as no one can particularly blame him for, promptly faints on the spot.
The week that follows was a blur for each of them. The knowledge that they should get in, but they don't know for sure, irked each of them individually. Most took the time to recuperate, while a few did take the time to prepare for alternate forms of study in the event that UA failed them.
Inko needed to physically pull her son away from his notes quite a few times. Thankfully his new friend helped her in that regard as well. The two kept up their exercise over the break, with Kamakiri regaling the boy with the story of his own entrance exam, ignoring how Izuku had gotten to see it over the cameras anyways.
Until, of course, the fabled day arrived.
(Did the principal purposefully delay the letters so that one of them could make it to Fukuoka at the same time as the rest? That is for him to know and us to ponder, of course!)
"TOGARU!"
"What is it, Ma?"
"YOUR LETTER'S HERE!"
Togaru scrambled out of bed, practically tripping over himself in the process. "OH, #### YEAH!"
"NO BAD LANGUAGE IN THE HOUSE, TOGARU!"
"Sorry, Ma!"
Togaru grabbed the letter, smiling at his mom, who returned the smile, sharp teeth glistening, before he dashed back to his room.
Opening the letter, he found a small disk, which quickly was placed onto his table. He poked it for a few seconds before it suddenly flicked to life, illuminating his dark room.
On the screen stood two figures. He recognised the one as Principal Nedzu, but he didn't have a clue as to who the second one was, apart from being vaguely familiar.
The tall, scraggly looking man looked the paper at he was holding, face perfectly neutral (Shoot, that was one of the guys that had interviewed him!). "Kamakiri Togaru. You scored Seventy-five percent for the theoretical portion of the exam. A respectable score for a test of the calibre of UA's entrance exam."
Kamakiri pumped his arm. Greenie's studying had paid off!
Principal Nedzu smiled. "Now then, as you are applying for the Hero course, your practical performance is more important! During the exam, you struck a good balance, scoring an admirable Thirty-Five Villain points, alongside Ten Collectible points, bringing your score up to Forty-Five! On top of that, we have two more secretive scoring methods; Rescue points, for doing helpful actions when unneeded, and Cooperation points, for working alongside others! Your cooperation with Shouji Mezou and Kodai Yui, alongside assisting others on occasion, earned you an additional Twenty points, bringing your final score up to Sixty-five points! That would be more than enough to guarantee entrance to either Heroics class, but that's not what you were aiming for, was it?"
A small clip played, depicting Togaru slicing the zero pointer clean in two, dramatically scoring victory at the last moment.
(Embarrassingly crashing into a wall immediately after was less cool, but the clip cut off before that, so who was counting)
"The destruction of the zero pointer by your hands has shown your desire to be a Hero beyond others. Thus, you have gained entrance to our new class: Class 1-T. Young Kamakiri…"
"THIS IS YOUR HERO ACADEMIA!"
It would not be synchronous, but over the course of that day, twelve students would cheer to various degrees at their success, more jubilant than they had ever been before.