Chapter 182 - 6

Regardless of the newness, he could practically feel the American aesthetic bursting from the restaurant as soon as he stepped inside. It was a nice slice of home. Also, were there 52 stars on the flag now? Looked like he had more history research to do when he got back to his apartment.

The trio were seated at a comfortable booth in the back with Yaoyorozu and Uraraka sitting together and Midoriya across from them. Uraraka was initially worried about the cost, but Yaoyorozu politely yet firmly told her not to worry about it since it was her treat. Uraraka quickly relented as Yaoyorozu could certainly be scary when she wanted to be.

They gave their respective orders to the waitress and, needless to say, Uraraka and Yaoyorozu were both taken aback by the amount of food Midoriya ordered. Midoriya quickly apologized to Yaoyorozu, explaining that his metabolism was very high. Just as he was about to change his order to something smaller, the ravenette immediately stopped him and stated it was no issue - admitting she was just initially caught off guard.

After the stunned waitress left, the trio now had an opportunity to speak.

"This place is nice, Yaomomo." Uraraka complimented. "Good choice!"

"I wasn't expecting there to be an American diner of all things in this city." Midoriya admitted. "Didn't think they'd be popular in Japan."

"Well, I heard this establishment just recently opened its doors." Yaoyorozu replied. "But it's gotten many positive reviews for the good food and service so far. I figured it was worth a try."

"I bet you've been to many diners during your time in America, huh, Midori-kun?" Uraraka asked cheerily.

"Mhmm," He confirmed while glancing around with a nostalgic smile, "they certainly got the aesthetic and the atmosphere right. Now we just have to wait for the food so I can approve it or not."

"All three plates' full." Uraraka sniggered.

"Like I said, my metabolism is higher than normal. I have to eat more to compensate." Midoriya rubbed his neck sheepishly.

"I know, I know. I'm just teasing you." Uraraka waved him off, giggling.

"While we're waiting, I wanted to say how proud I am of you both. To place first and second place in the exam is truly remarkable!" Yaoyorozu praised.

"Thanks, Yaomomo. You're too kind." Midoriya rubbed the back of his head bashfully.

"Yeah, I was only able to do as well as I did on the written part thanks to all the studying we did together." She placed her hands together and bowed in gratitude. "Thank you both so much!"

"It was my pleasure." Midoriya turned to the heiress. "I appreciated your help too, Yaomomo. Those extra lessons with Japanese and history certainly helped me out. Thank you."

"I was happy I could be of assistance. Really." Yaoyorozu smiled brightly.

"Getting that scholarship was a really big deal for me. Seriously, I can never thank you both enough." Uraraka sincerely said. She turned toward her verdette friend with a beaming smile. "Especially you, Midori-kun. You were a big help."

"Really?" Midoriya blinked. "I helped you that much?"

Uraraka winked. "More than you know."

A light shade of pink dusted Midoriya's face. He wasn't sure what he did for Uraraka, but it felt good knowing he had apparently helped her out in a big way. What was with the wink though? Maybe she was just teasing him again.

Yaoyorozu looked between her two friends' interaction and felt a small twinge in her chest. 'Odd… What is this feeling?'

The ravenette shook her head to dispel whatever strange sensation she just felt and refocus on their conversation. "Out of curiosity, how was the practical exam laid out?"

Midoriya and Uraraka spent the next few minutes taking turns explaining to Yaoyorozu how the practical exam was structured with the Villain Points and the Rescue Points being a hidden scoring factor. She took the explanation in stride and nodded.

"Ah, I see." She tapped her chin inquisitively. "It sounded like the judges were testing applicants to see how well they responded in high stress situations where they needed to take out as many enemies as possible without knowing their location or the layout of the area."

Midoriya nodded in agreement. "That's the impression I got too."

"Keeping the Rescue Points as a hidden factor was quite ingenious on their part as well." Yaoyorozu stated matter-of-factly. "That way they could observe a person's true nature in those types of scenarios, and not someone saving others just for the sake of getting a higher score."

'Yeah, that's true.' Midoriya internally admitted, remembering All Might's message in the projection last night. 'Make sense now why the zero-pointer was in the test. Still, what about people whose abilities aren't suited for combat against things like robots, but are still powerful in their own right? Is there any system or backup net to catch those people?' He wondered.

"I'm super grateful for the Rescue Points." Uraraka sighed in relief. "They really did save me."

"Same here." Midoriya agreed. 'I wouldn't have passed the exam without them…'

"How did the ten-minute mock battles play out for you two?"

"Well, I got 40 Villain Points… by the skin of my teeth. I sort of had my own run in with the zero-pointer. Heh-heh…" She laughed nervously.

"Wait… seriously?" Midoriya's eyes widened in surprise. She never told him about running into the zero-pointer!

Uraraka nodded and spent several minutes explaining her encounter with the zero-pointer, pushing the two terrified examinees out of its path, and then scoring her last 12 points before the zero-pointer sent her flying across the city.

"Thankfully, Recovery Girl healed me up; otherwise, I would've been too nauseous and sore to get back to my apartment on my own." Uraraka finished.

"Guess I would've had to carry you then, huh," Midoriya commented, making Uraraka's blush marks turn darker at the thought. "But I'm glad you made it out okay. It was really brave of you to save those two students, Uraraka-chan."

Uraraka smiled, feeling her face get warmer at Midoriya's sincere praise.

"And you used the zero-pointer to take out those faux villains for you." Yaoyorozu added, sounding impressed. "Sound thinking on your part."

"Thanks, guys," She rubbed the back of her head in a cute, embarrassed fashion.

Midoriya looked at Uraraka for a moment as a thought occurred to him. 'Hmm… She said when she used her Quirk on herself, the force behind the zero-pointer's punch sent her spiraling out of control. There has to be a way to prevent that…'

"What about you, Midori-kun?" Yaoyorozu inquired, snapping him out of his musings.

"I got 39 Villain Points. I already told Uraraka-chan after the test, but I can tell you… I had a run-in with the zero-pointer too." Midoriya casually replied.

"Eh?" Yaoyorozu wasn't expecting that.

Several minutes later, after explaining the events from the zero-pointer's activation and the final buzzer of the exam, Yaoyorozu looked at Midoriya with impressed eyes.

"Going for the CPU was very smart, Midori-kun." Yaoyorozu adopted a playful smile. "I suppose you could say you picked its brain?"

Midoriya and Uraraka paused and stared at Yaoyorozu, both flabbergasted.

"Yaomomo…" Midoriya started.

"...did you just use a pun?" Uraraka finished.

"Y-yes…" Yaoyorozu shrunk back, unsure. "Did I not do it correctly? I've been reading up on how to better interact with friends; it's a book written by The Smiling Hero: Ms. Joke, herself, actually."

"Ms. Joke?" Midoriya wasn't familiar with that name. Looked like he had another Pro Hero to research when he got home.

"Yes." Yaoyorozu timidly continued. "She recommended telling small jokes and puns as icebreakers to lighten up a regular conversation."

The verdette and brunette didn't respond immediately, worrying Yaoyorozu further. She was relieved when bright smiles broke out on their faces.

"Never change, Yaomomo," Uraraka patted her taller female friend's back. "Never change."

The creation girl smiled, glad she didn't offend her friends. She turned to Midoriya and smiled brightly. "Anyways, I can see why the judges gave you 60 Rescue Points. You acted like a true hero in that situation."

"I mean…" Midoriya looked away, mildly flustered, "I was just doing what was right. I saw someone in trouble and acted."

'This guy is something else.' Uraraka mused. Another thought crossed her mind. 'How could he not have had many friends growing up? He's way too likable. Maybe Yaomomo and I can get him to open up a little more about that when he's ready.'

"You both certainly earned your spots." Yaoyorozu declared sincerely. "I'm proud to call you my friends and fellow Heroes-in-training."

"Aw… thanks, Yaomomo!" Uraraka gushed.

"I feel the same." The mention of school then made Midoriya consider something. "By the way, on the subject of school, I guess we'll have to wait a few more weeks for our schedules, huh?"

Yaoyorozu nodded. "Yes. As I'm sure you're both already aware, students in UA University's Hero Program are held to a much higher standard than the rest of the student body." she explained. "We're the only ones on campus required to wear uniforms, and our class schedules mostly line up with each other… at least for freshman year, that is. After that, we're allowed to take a few extracurricular courses outside of our Heroics major - but most of our courses throughout our time at UA will still be in sync for the most part."

Midoriya nodded in understanding. "Right, makes sense. Most of the classes I'm taking at Musutafu Community are pretty basic because UA's Hero Department won't accept credits from other schools' advanced courses."

'Not that I could have taken those courses anyways since I was having to learn an entire language and catch up on a lot of history….' He sheepishly thought.

"That means all three of us will probably be in the same classes, right?" Uraraka grinned excitedly. "That's great!"

Midoriya nodded with a smile. "If we're taking the same classes, we can continue to study together too. I'm grateful." He smiled. "UA's academics are a lot harder than America's public high school curriculum, so I'll take all the help I can get."

"Don't sell yourself short. You've come a long way on your own." Yaoyorozu looked at him curiously. "I'm curious though…what's it like in America, Midori-kun? I don't believe I ever asked you before. I've read up on what it's like, but I'd like to hear from you as someone who grew up there."

Uraraka turned to the verdette, equally curious. The zero-gravity girl recalled the last time she had asked him that question she had unintentionally caused him to remember some bad memories and didn't bring it up again. She had hoped he would tell them when he was ready.

Midoriya smiled, not bothered by the question. "Well, culturally it's a very different place. It's big. Much bigger than Japan. That goes without saying. Every state has a different culture, and different way of doing things." He explained. "Honestly, it can sometimes feel like each state is a different country. But all of them are bound by the same American spirit."

Midoriya smiled fondly while recalling his time touring every state to raise national morale. That had been quite the experience for him. Though it certainly had its embarrassing and awkward moments, he recognized that it had helped him interact with different people from various backgrounds and understand them better.

It had truly helped him grow as a person.

Yaoyorozu nodded, smiling. "They are very patriotic from my understanding."

"Guess it's no coincidence that their first superhero wore the American flag on his costume then." Uraraka giggled.

Midoriya chuckled, trying to act inconspicuous. 'Wouldn't have been my first choice for a costume, especially that first version… but it really grew on me. Hard to imagine myself in anything else now…'

"Yeah, but regardless of how different America seems on the outside, we're all the same on the inside." the verdette stated. "I was born in Japan and raised in America, and I don't seem too different, do I?"

"Well…" Uraraka smirked, "You are different, but not in a bad way. I think you're pretty cool, Midori-kun."

Midoriya blinked twice. "Really?"

"Of course you are!" She grinned brightly, pumping her right fist.

"I concur." Yaoyorozu smiled elegantly. "For someone who moved to Japan just last year, you've really adapted quite well; minus your slip ups, of course."

"T-thanks," Midoriya felt his face get warmer.

'He's so cute.' Uraraka inwardly giggled.

Yaoyorozu stared at Midoriya's bashful, handsome freckled face and felt something stir in her chest. 'What's this? … I've never felt this feeling before. Maybe I just need to eat?'

Right on cue, the waitress arrived with their food on a couple trays. One tray had three plates dedicated to Midoriya while the other tray held Uraraka and Yaoyorozu's meals. Uraraka had ordered spaghetti and meatballs while Yaoyorozu received a half-rack of BBQ ribs with sides. The brunette would've thought Yaoyorozu was eating a lot until she saw Midoriya chowing down on a large burger and fries, a grilled steak, and a fried chicken breast with a salad bowl to the side.

Within a few minutes, he had already finished off his steak and burger before moving onto the chicken. The brunette was surprised by how fast yet cleanly he put away his food.

'He has to eat so much to stay healthy… I can't imagine how much it costs him every month.' Uraraka pragmatically thought, sympathizing with her friend's presumed high food budget.

Glancing at her ravenette friend, she was eating in a slow, refined manner but the large meal in front of Yaoyorozu (and the BBQ sauce on her lips) disrupted her refined image just a bit.

'They can eat so much and stay so fit.' the brunette inwardly cried. 'Meanwhile, if I even pig out on mochi ice cream for just one day it all goes straight to my thighs and hips! It's so not fair!'

After the trio finished their respective meals, Midoriya gave a thumbs-up with a little bit of sauce at the corner of his lips. "I hereby rank these western dishes as American-approved."

Uraraka and Yaoyorozu both laughed at their friend's silliness as the former reached over with a napkin to dab his lips - flustering Midoriya and amusing the two young women even further.

As the trio started to settle down, Midoriya remembered something that UA Hero Program students were required to do before the semester started.

"Oh, do you guys have any ideas on what you want to do for your costumes?" Midoriya asked. "We're supposed to have that done and turned in like a week or two before the first day, right?"

Yaoyorozu nodded. "Correct. It gives UA's Support Department and the support company affiliated with the school plenty of time to complete everyone's costumes." She turned to Uraraka. "Do you have anything in mind, Uraraka-chan?"

"Well, I have a rough idea of what I want." Uraraka said, smiling. "Actually, I've been thinking about it since high school. I'd like to do something space-themed!"

"Space-themed?" Yaoyorozu repeated; her eyes then widened in realization. "Oh! To match the theme of your Quirk, and as a tribute to Thirteen, correct?"

"Yeah!" Uraraka beamed. "She's my idol, after all!"

"Hmm…" Midoriya rubbed his chin, mulling over Uraraka's words. "Space, space… OH!" His eyes shot open as he reached into his satchel to pull out a notebook, flipped it open, and slid it across the table. "I just remembered that I finished up both of your profiles, and I think I may have some ideas you both could implement with your costume designs."

"Really?" Uraraka hadn't expected that.

Taking the book in their hands, Uraraka and Yaoyorozu both reviewed it. As an artist, the brunette was impressed by Midoriya's full-body sketch of her on the first page. All the information regarding Zero Gravity's strengths, weaknesses, current limits, and practical uses was neatly laid out across several pages.

Both girls were stunned by how much information Midoriya had recorded.

"Midori-kun… this… this is… Wow…" Uraraka was at a loss for words.

"This is truly impressive." Yaoyorozu added, equally amazed. "A full breakdown of Uraraka-chan's Quirk."

"T-thanks…" Midoriya was mildly flustered. "I've spent the last few months filling out your profiles. I'll fill them out more in the future as you develop them, but I thought maybe you both could use them to discover something about your Quirks you didn't already know… or in this case, help design your first costumes. If you want to, of course. Turn a couple more pages and you'll see what I have." He instructed.

Turning two more pages, Uraraka stopped on a page titled "Potential Features for Uraraka's Costume" which had a bullet list of ideas.

'Whoa… he's got way more ideas for my costume than I have…' Uraraka was flabbergasted.

"Your Quirk, Zero Gravity, is an Emitter-type that functions based on what you touch with the pads on your fingertips, and whatever you touch needs to be solid." Midoriya explained. "You told me your weight limit is currently at three tons, and (like with any Quirk) you'll need to train in order to increase your limit. Still, that's a really good max to start with.

"On the downside, you get nausea issues when you use your Quirk for too long. From my research, the biggest cause of your nausea likely has to do with your semicircular canals in your ears. They help regulate balance and when they're disrupted, like by a sudden loss of gravity, they'll give you a case of vertigo. You could train away that weakness, but I think your costume should apply a small amount of pressure to your neck and wrists; there are pressure points there that can alleviate nausea. It wouldn't be a bad idea to carry motion sickness pills with you too."

Uraraka nodded, listening attentively to Midoriya's words. "I-I see! That all makes sense!"

"Also," he continued, "remember when you said the shockwave from the zero-pointer's punch sent you flying across the mock city?"

"Y-yeah…?" Uraraka tilted her head in confusion. "What about it?"

"Well, I had an idea… Satellites use ion thrusters to help keep themselves in orbit. In a zero-G environment, only a little thrust is needed to make a difference." Midoriya further elaborated. "So, what if you had thrusters of some kind incorporated into your costume? You could have the ability to fly around when you use your Quirk on yourself."

Uraraka gasped, her eyes practically sparkling as her imagination pictured herself flying in the skies. "Midori-kun, that's a great idea!"

"Hmm. Yes," Yaoyorozu held her chin thoughtfully, "that would greatly improve Uraraka-chan's mobility, and only a small amount of thrust would be needed as long as it's used appropriately. Incorporating a gyroscope mechanism of some kind would also keep her level in midair too."

"Ooh, yeah, that would be a good feature!" Midoriya agreed.

"I'd be flying around like an astronaut! Wow… I love space so much and I never even considered an idea like this…" Uraraka sheepishly admitted and looked back at the verdette eagerly. "Midori-kun, could I borrow a paper and pen so I can write all this down?"

"Of course!" Midoriya complied with Uraraka's request and (as she started writing) he turned to the ravenette heiress. "I had some ideas for you too, Yaomomo."

"You do?" Yaoyorozu blinked in surprise.

"But first, what did you have in mind for your costume already?"

"It," Yaoyorozu lowered her head as her cheeks turned pink, "… it isn't much."

"Oh?" Midoriya was mildly surprised. He would've expected someone as brilliant as Yaoyorozu to have plenty of ideas for her costume at this point, maybe even a final design. "Writer's block? Or something along those lines?"

"N-not exactly," Yaoyorozu looked embarrassed. 'Why?' he thought. She looked up at the verdette. "You know how my Quirk functions, yes?"

Midoriya smiled and nodded. He opened the notebook to Yaoyorozu's section and pushed it toward her. "Your Quirk, Creation, is an Emitter-type like Uraraka-chan's. Allows you to alter your lipids into other forms of matter by knowing the molecular structure of the item you wish to make. You can make as many creations as you want depending on your body's lipid count and how well you understand the item you're making."

'He recited all of that word-for-word from his entry on me. He has a good memory.' Yaoyorozu inwardly noted.

Midoriya continued, "Your creations are made from your body through the skin, which can be hampered by clothing." His eyes slightly widened, deducing the cause of Yaoyorozu's flustered state. "I think I see the issue now… your costume has to be revealing, doesn't it?"

Yaoyorozu nodded, frowning slightly. "Yes…"

"Wait…" Uraraka stopped taking notes and turned to her friend in concern, "how revealing are we talking?"

Yaoyorozu blushed lightly. "Essentially, it's a leotard with some minor additions and modifications."

"Oh…" Despite his best efforts, Midoriya's young adult brain couldn't help but imagine his beautiful onyx-haired feminine friend in such a revealing outfit. A hearty blush appeared on his face, and he internally slapped himself. 'C'mon! Don't think about your friends like that!'

"Uh…that's…" Uraraka's blush marks turned darker as she sympathized with her female friend. "I… I'm sorry about that, Yaomomo. Are you sure there's nothing the support companies can do?"

"I'm afraid not." Yaoyorozu shook her head. "I face a similar issue that the heroine Midnight does. But it'll be okay… it's just how my Quirk operates."

She didn't sound too offput from the notion of showing skin it seemed, but the verdette could tell something was still bothering the ravenette. Perhaps it was her actual costume's design?

"Well…" Midoriya held his chin while ruminating hard on his friend's predicament. "You may have to show some skin, but maybe not as much as you think."

"Huh?" Yaoyorozu and Uraraka both looked at him in curiosity. "What do you mean?"

Taking his notebook and a pencil from his bag, Midoriya opened to a blank page and proceeded to draw a rough sketch of Yaoyorozu. "It's just an idea, maybe it'll work for you or not. But lemme show you what I'm thinking," He began to sketch the outfit onto Yaoyorozu's form.

After finishing her costume notes, Uraraka looked over and was intrigued by Midoriya's sketching. 'Whoa… Midori-kun's drawing isn't bad at all…'

"Hey, Midori-kun, do you care if I come to your side and watch?" She questioned.

"Sure! No problem." He smiled.

Yaoyorozu let Uraraka slide out of the booth and switch sides to sit by Midoriya. The brunette artist carefully watched Midoriya draw the rough design for Yaoyorozu's hero costume, and she was impressed with both the design and his drawing skills.

'Midori-kun's a good artist. Did he come up with all of this at the top of his head, or has he already been thinking about it?' Uraraka wondered. 'Maybe… maybe I can show him my work and we can share ideas?' She seriously considered that thought.

Yaoyorozu, meanwhile, quietly watched in fascination as Midoriya's hand danced across the page like a professional.

Several minutes later, Midoriya finished the sketch and turned the page around to show it to the ravenette. "Here's what I had in mind. Feel free to point out anything you don't like."

Looking at the page, Yaoyorozu's eyes lit up and sparkles appeared around her. She was well drawn in her proposed hero costume, and it looked every bit as good as a professional support company's design.

"Midori-kun… this is really good!" She breathed out in surprise. Midoriya tried to fight back his blush while rubbing the back of his head. He still wasn't used to getting compliments from pretty girls.

"I've just had a lot of practice sketching over the years." He waved off. 'Whether it be 21st century meta-humans, or the Heroes and Villains of today.'

"So far, I can't really see anything I don't like." Yaoyorozu truthfully admitted. "I like the guards and pads you added for protection, the utility belt with storage, and especially the touchscreen! Honestly… I'm a little embarrassed I didn't think of that feature myself. I was originally going to carry a book detailing the molecular makeup of elements and various compounds."

"Yeah, a touchscreen would be a lot faster than looking through a book." Uraraka remarked.

"It's more practical too." Midoriya added.

"And so is the footwear!" Yaoyorozu said animatedly. "Believe it or not, the support company our family employed for my costume's design featured heels of all things."

Midoriya and Uraraka both winced at that revelation.

"W-why…?" Uraraka tilted her head, bemused. "Wouldn't that be murder on your feet after walking for a while?"

"I… I dunno. I just went with what they recommended." Yaoyorozu admitted bashfully.

"Heels would also interfere with your balance and footing when fighting," Midoriya mentioned. "I think this is a much better alternative, and your feet will thank you too."

Both girls simultaneously agreed.

"I must say I had no idea you were as talented at sketching as Uraraka-chan is." Yaoyorozu offhandedly mentioned, returning her attention to the sketched costume.

"Oh? You draw, Uraraka-chan?" Midoriya turned to the chestnut-haired girl, intrigued.

"Oh! Uh… you see…" Uraraka felt her face get hotter. 'Yaomomo!? Why'd you have to mention that so casually?' The heiress was oblivious to Uraraka's plight as she was still analyzing the costume design. Well, it was already in the open and she had already thought of sharing her hobby with Midoriya anyway so there was no point in denying it. "Y-yes…"

"That's cool!" Midoriya said excitedly. "You should show me your work sometime! I'd love to see it."

"Oh…uh, I…" She trailed off and looked away.

Seeing her nervous state, Midoriya looked at her in concern. "You okay? Something wrong?"

"N-nothing! It's just…" She twiddled her thumbs nervously. "... you won't judge, will you?"

"What? Of course not. It's nothing bad, is it?"

"No." Yaoyorozu spoke up, still captivated by her new costume design. "Uraraka-chan is a very talented artist. She's just too shy to share her work in person."

'You're one to talk, Miss Incredible Yaomomo.' Uraraka sweat-dropped. 'Have you even told Midori-kun of your story yet? I didn't think so.'

"Oh, is that all?" Midoriya looked back, unaffected. "You don't have to be embarrassed, Uraraka-chan. I won't judge you or anything. But you don't have to show me if you don't want to though."

'Thank you for being so understanding, Midori-kun.' Uraraka happily thought, feeling a strange fuzzy sensation in her chest. What could that be? Maybe just heartburn from her meal.

'I guess it wouldn't hurt to show him my space drawings first. Nothing too embarrassing about any of those…' Her brown eyes slightly widened as she remembered one particular drawing. '…Except for that one with my OC and Captain America. I'll just keep that one to myself.'

Shaking her head, the brunette turned to the verdette, and beamed. "Thank you, Midori-kun. I promise I'll show you sometime soon."

Midoriya felt his heart flutter at her cute smile, and he smiled back reflexively. "Cool. I look forward to it."

"Ahem…anyway." Yaoyorozu tried to get back to the initial topic of their conversation. "I very much like this new design you came up with Midori-kun. Would you mind if I kept this page to send to the support company?"

"F-Feel free, Yaomomo." Midoriya nodded, shaking off the last of his embarrassment.

Yaoyorozu smiled beautifully at him, and Midoriya felt his cheeks heat up and his heart rate increase again. He had to admit that Yaoyorozu had a really pretty smile. In fact, the smile seemed vaguely familiar to him in a way, and he didn't know why. He pushed that thought aside, believing he was just imagining things.

"Midori-kun, again, this is amazing." Yaoyorozu breathed out happily. She carefully removed the page featuring her and her, hopefully, soon-to-be costume, placed it in her designer's purse, and then returned the notebook back to Midoriya. "It covers what needs to be covered, while still allowing me the maximum use of my Quirk. I can never thank you enough!"

"There's no need for thanks, really." Midoriya smiled and waved his hands. "I just want all of us to be the best Heroes we can be."

Yaoyorozu and Uraraka both smiled at their friend's kind sincerity. He was too kind for this world, they thought.

"On the topic of costumes, did you have anything in mind, Midori-kun?" Yaoyorozu asked curiously.

"Yeah!" Uraraka looked at him excitedly. "I bet you have something really cool planned!"

"Well," the verdette rubbed his neck awkwardly, "yes and no. I do have something in mind. I'm still working out the finer details though."

"Can you show us what you have so far?" Uraraka inquired.

"I could…" Midoriya reached into his bag to pull out another notebook, and both girls leaned forward in anticipation. "... but that would be telling." He smiled slyly, placing the book back in his bag.

In response, Yaoyorozu and Uraraka both face-faulted on the table.

"That's not fair, Midori-kun!" Uraraka puffed out her cheeks in mock frustration. "You can't leave us in suspense like that."

"It is his choice, Uraraka-chan. We should respect it." Yaoyorozu was saying the right words, but one look at her facial expression proved she was just as disappointed as her friend.

"You don't believe that, Yaomomo." Uraraka called out, causing the ravenette to 'EEP' and blush. She turned back to her green-haired friend. "C'mon, Midori-kun! You have to at least give us a hint."

"Hmm…" Midoriya rubbed his chin, feigning contemplation. "Well… I suppose I could, but-."

"Please?" Uraraka gave him sad puppy dog eyes, making him inwardly flinch and blush.

'Aw c'mon! That's not fair!' He mentally screamed.

Running into an active warzone? No issue. Liberating meta-humans from inhumane concentration camps? No sweat. Fighting battles on two fronts against two maniacal groups with radical agendas calling for the extermination of the other? Not a problem.

A cute young woman's begging eyes? He may as well be a chair given how quickly he folded. He could practically hear Bucky and his old teammates laughing at him in the afterlife.

"O-okay…" He relented, to which Uraraka cheered.

Yaoyorozu studied this exchange intently. 'Hmm… So, Midori-kun is weak to feminine charm and begging? Noted.' Perhaps that information could be useful one day.

Midoriya inwardly sighed. 'Honestly, I'm still working on the final design, so I can't show them that. But… I guess I could tell them my inspiration, at least.'

"You both know that I'm a Captain America-otaku, right?" He asked.

Uraraka giggled. "Obviously. We're all fans of the Captain, remember?"

Right. He sometimes forgot his new friends were fans of his hero identity. That fact still baffled him honestly.

"Well, I was thinking of basing my costume off of his. Not copying it or anything!" He quickly explained. "Just… more of a tribute, if you will. What do you two think?"

Yaoyorozu and Uraraka suddenly adopted serious expressions as if they were deeply contemplating his reply.

'What's with those looks? Did I make them upset?' He worriedly thought, looking between the two girls.

"Midori-kun," Yaoyorozu sounded concerned, "even as a tribute, basing any costume design off the Captain's is not something to take lightly. You know that, yes?"

"Um…." No. Actually, he didn't know that. What was the issue?

"Yeah… It comes with pretty big expectations." Uraraka added seriously. "Most Heroes try to stay away from anything too similar to his costume to avoid the comparisons… except for All Might and Star And Stripe, but those two are in completely different leagues."

'Star and Stripe… the United States' Number One Hero. Her Quirk is super-powerful… honestly, it's kinda scary what she can do. Thank God she's on our side.' Midoriya offhandedly thought. 'But wait… why is it a big deal if a Pro Hero's costume is close to mine?'

"Even if most people in Japan don't really know Captain America outside of his name, he's still an important figure in the Hero community to this day." Yaoyorozu elaborated further. "Anyone who wishes to base their Hero costume and name off of his must accept the public scrutiny and constant comparisons that comes with it. Are you sure you want to do that, Midori-kun?"

'Ah, I get it now. No one wants to risk the backlash of copying the First Hero's look and failing to live up to the legacy, I guess.' He internally rationalized.

Midoriya's mouth went straight with determination. "I understand what I'm getting myself into…" he clenched his fist under the table, "... still, I'm ready to accept that challenge."

The ravenette and brunette beauties stared at Midoriya, searching for any sign of deceit or nervousness. Not finding any, they both smiled at him.

"If that's the case," Uraraka supportively patted Midoriya's back, "I'll be rooting for yah, Midori-kun! If anyone can live up to the Captain's legacy, it's you!"

"Y-you really think so?" He was mildly surprised, not expecting this response.

"Of course!" Uraraka replied cheerily. "You already have the look, and you're pretty heroic like the Captain too."

"Your Quirk is also very similar to his as well." Yaoyorozu noted. 'His Quirk, Augment, is very similar to Captain America's, actually… Is it just a coincidence?'

"You also have that cool shield of yours." Uraraka added excitedly. "So, yeah! I think you can pull it off."

Midoriya's face flushed. "T-thanks, guys. I really appreciate that."

He felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He hated lying to Yaoyorozu and Uraraka, especially after how they'd accepted him as their friend despite him technically being a foreigner. He wished he could just tell them both the truth, but he knew he couldn't.

There was no way they'd believe he was, in reality, a 21st century war veteran who was frozen and miraculously revived in a new era. Heck, he could hardly believe it himself sometimes! They'd both think he was making fun of them if he tried to tell them such a ludicrous-sounding story.

As much as Midoriya hated lying, he understood it was best to keep his true identity secret; for now, at least.

He looked back at them with a determined smile. "I can't show you my costume design now, but I promise you both… it'll be worth the wait."

"I look forward to seeing it then." the creation girl said happily. "Both of yours, actually."

"April can't get here fast enough!" Uraraka pumped a fist in excitement. "I can't wait to get started."

They chatted for a little while longer over various topics. Nearly an hour later, Yaoyorozu's ride had returned, and she had to leave. After paying the bill, Midoriya and Uraraka both gave farewells to their friend before heading back to the train station together. Both had homework for their respective schools that they needed to catch up on.

The start of the trio's UA freshman semester couldn't come fast enough.

Later that day, Midoriya was at his desk finishing up a paper for one of his classes when he suddenly received a text from Yagi.

Yagi: Meet me on the pier at Takoba park. 22:00 (10 PM)

'Pretty late meetup with no context. Maybe he wants to talk about my acceptance?' Midoriya reasoned.

He sent a quick confirmation text that he would be there.

Several hours later, Midoriya was briskly jogging down the sidewalk illuminated by the dim glow of street lamps. His attire consisted of red high-tops, gray jogging pants, and a black short-sleeved US Army shirt; a pair of dog tags hung freely from around his neck.

He knew he was getting closer to the park as he smelled and felt the fresh ocean air on his face, a stark contrast to the foul stench of garbage that had previously choked the air in this section of the city. As he approached the park, his eyes slightly widened from an unexpected sight.

An old cherry-red Corvette convertible was parked near the main stairway. 'Holy crap! Those cars were rare even in my day. How did someone find that?!'

Parked behind the ancient (classic) American sports car was a familiar white pickup truck. 'Toshinori's early,' he glanced at his green-banded military watch. 'Still have 20 minutes till 22 PM.' Looking back at the flashy car, he wondered, 'Is somebody with him?'

Walking down the stairs and across the empty beach, he received his answer as he saw two familiar men standing at the end of the pier.

"Coulson? You're here?" He asked in English.

Nonchalantly leaning against the metal railing, the SHIELD agent was dressed in casual wear consisting of black loafers, blue jeans, a blue button-up shirt, and black leather jacket over it. He and Yagi appeared to have been having a friendly discussion before his arrival.

The agent turned to him and smiled. "Good to see you again, Cap. We knew you'd be early, so we thought we'd beat you here. By the way, you can keep speaking English if you want. We all speak it fluently, after all."

"Okay. I… hope I didn't keep you two waiting too long."

"Nah, we just got here five minutes ago. We knew you'd be early, so we decided to beat you here." Yagi said in English. "Coulson contacted me, wanting all three of us to meet up. It's long overdue, honestly."

Midoriya looked between the two men in partial confusion. Not that he wasn't happy to see them, but why did they both want to meet him at the same time? "Okay… what's this about? Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Coulson assured, standing up straight. "We just needed to notify you of a few things."

"But first," Yagi smiled and held out a hand, "congrats on getting in."

Midoriya returned the high-five. "Oh, thanks. Your training was very effective. I can't thank you enough."

"I was just happy I could help you." Yagi chuckled. "Couldn't have asked for a better protégé."

Coulson turned to admire the clean beachside. "You did an amazing cleanup job. Won't be long before the couples start returning here."

"Couples?" Midoriya looked at him, bewildered.

"Oh, you didn't know? This used to be a couples beach before all the trash started piling up." Coulson replied offhandedly.

"I… d-didn't know that." Midoriya became noticeably bashful.

"What's with the face?" Coulson smirked. "Don't tell me Captain America is nervous around women."

"He is." Yagi grinned wryly. "Practically clams up. How he manages to talk to those two girlfriends of his is beyond me."

"W-wait! NO! It's not like that!" Midoriya's face turned red and waved his hands frantically, "T-THEY'RE NOT MY-"

"HA-HA-HA!" Yagi laughed with blood spewing from his mouth while Coulson turned away to hide his amused grin. "Relax! I'm just messing with yah! Geez, it's too easy sometimes!"

Midoriya settled down and glared half-heartedly at the shrunken superhero.

"So, I gather the old rumors of you being with multiple women across the world are all fake then?" Coulson slyly asked.

"Obviously… Wait," Midoriya's eyes widened after fully processing what the agent had said, "hold on, is that really a thing!?"

He smirked. "It is. Some people born with an augmentation-type Quirk will joke or claim that you're part of their family tree. But don't worry about it." Coulson reassured. "It's just an old tale with no credible evidence to support it. No one really believes it."

"That's good…" Midoriya slumped his shoulders in relief. 'I'd hate for people to think I was a playboy or something, especially since I only had eyes for one…' He frowned at that thought.

Both men noticed the melancholic expression on Midoriya's face and looked at him in concern.

"Everything alright?" Yagi inquired.

"Y-yeah, it's fine…" Midoriya recomposed himself. "No need to worry. Anyways, what's this sudden meeting all about?"

"Well, first," Coulson started, "I also wanted to congratulate you on your acceptance. I knew you'd get in, but snagging first place? Didn't think you would take my text that day so seriously."

"Thanks… but," Midoriya looked at the agent seriously, "please tell me you guys didn't-"

"No." He immediately responded, already anticipating the super-soldier's question. "You earned that spot on your own. SHIELD didn't pull any strings. Not that we could have anyway, given who the Dean of UA's Hero Department is."

This piqued Midoriya's curiosity. "Why? Who's the dean?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough." Coulson winked.

'Really helpful there, Coulson…' the verdette sardonically thought.

"I can vouch that your acceptance was legitimate as well." Yagi added. "As you know I wasn't a judge in the exam, but I was in the monitoring room. The faculty was very impressed by your performance as far as I could tell."

Midoriya felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. He was happy to know that he had legitimately earned his place in one of the world's most famous, prestigious Hero academies. The thought of UA's 40 coveted Hero Program spots just being given to him rather than earning it was sickening. First Heroor not, he didn't believe he was any better than the other applicants and should earn his place like everyone else had to.

Midoriya sighed in relief. "That's good to know. Guess this soldier's still got some fight left in him, huh? Heh-heh…" He lightly chortled.

"You got plenty. For an old man, you're pretty spry." Yagi jokingly commented.

"Old man, huh?" Midoriya smirked.

"I mean, technically you are." Coulson pointed out. "Considering the fact that you're older than both of us put together."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Wanting to stay on topic, Midoriya asked, "So, what else did you guys want to tell me?"

"Just to inform you that SHIELD will continue to be here as a resource for you, myself included. Also," Coulson adopted a serious look, "now that you'll be attending UA, you'll have a lot of eyes on you. You'll need a cover story for your advanced training and skill sets. The faculty there are bound to notice, if they haven't already."

"Is… that really necessary?" Midoriya cocked a brow in skepticism. "I mean, surely the other 39 Hero students are just as skilled as me. I mean, I know 3 of them already and they're very capable." He said, referring to Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, and Tsunotori.

"Capable? Yes." Yagi chimed in. "As trained and skilled as you are? No. It'll be unusual to have a freshman as knowledgeable in battle and rescue ops as you, young Midoriya. As your Foundational Heroics 101-Field teacher, I won't need any explanation since I know the truth, but the other teachers… they may get suspicious."

Midoriya lowered his head, processing this information. "I guess playing dumb isn't an option then?"

"No." Yagi shook his head. "The staff will know right away if you're hiding your potential and they'll punish you for it, maybe even expel you from the Hero Course altogether. Besides, you're attending UA University to become a better Hero - not to slide by."

"Makes sense." He nodded in understanding. "If I hold back, I'll get in trouble with the school. If I don't, everyone will start asking where I learned to fight so well. A cover is needed."

Coulson reached into his jacket and pulled out a manilla envelope. "Read this and memorize it. We matched it up with your existing cover now, with some additions."

"Right…" Midoriya opened the envelope and pulled out the papers, briefly looking over them.

"Izuku Midoriya. Born July 15, 2174 at Musutafu General. Parents, Inko and Hisashi Midoriya. Quirk: Augment, enhances all bodily aspects. Family immigrated to America in 2177. Grew up in Fresno, California. Mom died of cancer when I was 16. Dad died in a car accident the next year. Lived with relatives during that time. Joined the US Army at age 17. Served 3 years before moving to Japan, following dream of attending All Might's alma mater."

After summarizing the story, he placed the papers back in the envelope. "I almost believe it myself."

"I mean, I would've." Yagi admitted with a shrug.

"Both the US and Japanese government databases have been updated to support this story." Coulson stated. "So, if anyone does any digging around, they'll find enough to hopefully satisfy their curiosity."

'SHIELD sure has a scary amount of power and influence…' Yagi inwardly noted.

"And if they don't?" Midoriya pressed.

"We'll handle it." Coulson simply replied, but the ominous meaning behind it didn't go unnoticed by Midoriya or All Might.

With that open-ended question, a thought crossed the Symbol of Peace's mind. "What about the shield? It'll certainly turn some heads. Heck, even Power Loader was gushing over it in the monitoring room. Any cover story for that?"

Coulson smiled confidently. "Already covered." He turned back to the verdette. "It's in the parts you glossed over."

Still holding the envelope, Midoriya lowered his head with a thoughtful expression.

"Something bothering you, young Midoriya?" Yagi inquired.

"How… how long do I have to do this?"

"I'm… sorry?" Coulson lifted a brow, confused.

Yagi, however, instantly understood what he was referring to. "I think he means how long does he have to keep lying about his Quirk." He said, looking back to the verdette for clarification. "Is that right?"

"Not just that." Midoriya sighed sullenly. "It's this whole cover story in general. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for all the work you and SHIELD have done for me, Coulson. I'm especially grateful that not ALL of this," he held up the envelope, "is a complete lie, but that's just it. Is this what I'll have to do for the rest of my life? Telling everyone half-truths or just straight up lies?"

He paused momentarily to place his hands on the pier railing, introspectively looking out at the ocean. "To become a Pro Hero, do I really have to become a perpetual liar?"

Neither Yagi nor Coulson could immediately respond to that question.

Coulson frowned and looked away, unsure. He was a high-class SHIELD agent, so lying was a natural part of his job. It was second nature to him at this point of his career. He didn't particularly care to lie, but he firmly believed that people didn't need to know everything that was happening in this cruel world around them. Ignorance is bliss, after all. But Midoriya's circumstances were more complicated, and his hands were also tied by his superiors, so there was no clear answer.

Yagi, on the other hand, was very empathetic towards Midoriya's plight. Ever since he had become the 8th bearer of One For All, he had to spend his whole life lying about the nature of his Quirk. Only a select group of people he trusted knew of One For All and his recently weakened condition. If there was anyone who could come close to understanding Midoriya's issues, it was him.

The haggard blonde placed a supportive hand on Midoriya's shoulder. "In a way, I can understand how you feel. I have to spend every day hiding my own condition and essentially lying to everyone around me. It's hard, yes. But, because I'm All Might, I have to keep the truth from them. If people knew their Symbol of Peace was weakened or could be hurt, then-"

"People would panic. Crime rates would soar." Midoriya finished and looked back at him pointedly. "But I'm not the Symbol of Peace, Yagi. I'm just a kid who served his country the only way he could during a tumultuous time. I'm no better than you."

'You have no idea how wrong you are.' Yagi internally countered.

"It's been over 150 years… I mean, would it really be bad if people knew my origin?" Midoriya questioned. "Would people really be upset if they knew Captain America used to be a young, skinny kid with no powers?"

For the next few moments, the only sound was the waves crashing against the shore and the distant cacophony of the city.

"Probably not." Coulson broke the silence.

Both Midoriya and Yagi turned to the American agent, surprised by his response.

"I'll be honest with you, Cap, I'm not a big fan of this whole cover story thing either." Coulson revealed. "I think a lot of people would be enthralled by your story."

He smiled at the verdette. "I always was a big fan of yours growing up, and when I reached a high enough rank in SHIELD to know your true origin, I was even more inspired by you as a Quirkless man myself. In fact, I believe all Quirkless people and even those with Quirks deemed weak or useless by society would love you greatly. Heck, if it were up to me, I'd tell everyone about you."

He frowned as his brows scrunched up. "But keeping your identity under wraps isn't about the populace's reaction or even how it would affect your legacy, it never was. It's about those in the shadows."

"Right." Yagi understood where the spy was getting at. "If people knew that you received your abilities through a special serum, a lot of high-class Villains and corrupt scientists would be working diligently to replicate it… or make something far worse." He lowered his head as one man in particular came to mind. "I knew one Villain who would've killed for that information."

Midoriya glanced at the emaciated man's left side. "Is it the same Villain who injured you?"

Yagi visibly winced, looking away.

"I thought so. Did… you want to talk about it?" He gently asked, wanting to tread carefully. It was clear this was a sensitive topic for All Might.

Yagi contemplated his reply. Was now the time to tell Young Midoriya everything about the supervillain he fought 5 years ago? The man who was the reason his Quirk even existed. The fact that said Quirk would soon need a new holder. After weighing his options, he quickly came to a decision.

He shook his head. "I can't. Not yet at least."

Off from the side, Coulson discreetly directed an irked look at the skeletal man - which didn't go unnoticed by Yagi.

Midoriya, remaining oblivious to the silent exchange, nodded in understanding. "I get it. If you ever need to talk though, I'll listen."

From Midoriya's perspective, he could understand Yagi's aversion to discussing the full story behind his injury. The supervillain who inflicted the injury had to be super powerful and the battle itself was likely a brutal, traumatic one. It was something Yagi wouldn't be comfortable casually talking about, even with those who knew of his condition.

Also, to be fair, Midoriya hadn't revealed everything about his own past to Yagi either, especially his last mission. So, he didn't really have any right to demand answers from All Might.

"Thank you, young Midoriya. I will… someday." Yagi hesitantly replied. The sickly blonde slightly sweated as he felt Coulson's gaze boring into his skull. 'Coulson, please tone it down!'

"Ahem…" the agent fake-coughed into his hand, "back to the topic at hand… though I would love for people to know who you are, Cap, it's best if it's kept hidden. The world already has enough issues with Quirk-enhancing drugs like Trigger. Adding something like the super-soldier serum to the mix could spell disaster."

"Yeah," Midoriya relented, "makes sense."

"I'll talk with Fury about this. Maybe we can come up with something." Coulson suggested. "But I can't make any promises."

"I understand." Coulson, though having a high-ranking position, was still a cog in the very intricate machine that was SHIELD.

Coulson went on. "There was one more thing I wanted to know, unrelated."

"What's that?"

Coulson smiled. "Hero costume. SHIELD can design and build one for you… if you're interested."

"Is that allowed?" Midoriya turned to Yagi for verification.

"Yeah, it's no issue." Yagi easily responded. "Most wealthy Hero students usually have their own costumes designed and built by support companies their families hire. For students that don't have that luxury, they're required to submit their paperwork before the school year begins."

'Right… Yaomomo did mention her family contracted a support company to design her hero costume.' Midoriya recalled.

"But I'm not wealthy," Midoriya pointed out.

"You have connections. That counts." Yagi countered.

"I guess…" Midoriya shrugged, unsure.

"Did you have something in mind for a costume yet?" shrunken All Might inquired.

"Yeah, I do. I'll need a day or two to work out the details though." He turned to the super-spy. "Can I send it over to you when I'm done?"

Coulson nodded, looking excited. "Absolutely. I'll get R&D started as soon as I receive it."

"Thanks, Coulson. For everything." He said sincerely.

Coulson smirked proudly. "Anytime, Cap."

"Hey," Yagi looked at him expectantly, "think you can clue me in on your new costume?"

"Please," Midoriya playfully smirked, "after that scare you gave me in your projection last night, you can forget it. You'll have to wait like everyone else, old man."

"Touche. But..." Yagi rubbed his neck awkwardly, "... I guess I had that one coming."

Moments later, after finishing up their talks, Midoriya bid farewell to the two men and began jogging back to his apartment after politely turning down offers to be driven there. Though Midoriya secretly wanted to catch a ride in Coulson's car, he knew he could do that another time. He had a lot to think about tonight.

After the super-soldier disappeared from sight, Coulson glared at Yagi from the corner of his eye. "You had the perfect opportunity to explain everything to him." He spoke in Japanese.

"I know…" Sighing heavily, Yagi stepped toward the pier's railing.

Coulson crossed his arms over his chest. "Toshinori, you've been training with him for almost a year now."

"I know…" He sat down and leaned against the rails.

"And you still haven't told him anything about your Quirk."

"I know…" He groaned while leaning his head back.

Coulson furrowed his brows in frustration. "This isn't a game. If you don't believe he's worthy to be your successor, then just admit it and move on."

"That's not it!" the Pro Hero strongly retorted. "That's far from it!"

"Then what's holding you back?" the SHIELD agent demanded.

"It's just…" Yagi paused to collect his thoughts, "... he doesn't need One For All. The timing just… doesn't feel right."

Coulson's eyebrow cocked in confusion "Doesn't feel right?"

"It's hard to explain… it's like something inside me is just telling me now isn't the time." Yagi admitted, sighing deeply. "... Besides, I think young Midoriya will be just fine on his own."

"Then what about One For All?" the American agent questioned. "What are you going to do? Your time is running out."

The Symbol of Peace didn't respond immediately. "I dunno... I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

Musutafu, Japan - April 2197

The first day of the UA University's Spring 2197 semester had finally arrived! According to the schedule emailed to him a week prior, his first class, Foundational Heroics 101-A, started at 09:00 (9 AM). It was currently 07:30 (7:30 AM) and Midoriya was already preparing himself for the day ahead.

Due to a nightmare he'd rather not discuss, he had woken up at 04:00 (4 AM). He'd been having a lot of those lately…

Unable to fall back asleep he decided to go for a morning jog at Takoba beach mixed with several training exercises, and then returned later to shower and eat a hearty, calorie-heavy breakfast.

Now, he was checking he had all of the necessary school supplies in his yellow satchel, muttering off his mental checklist while doing so.

"No. 2 Pencils? Check. Mechanical pencils? Check. Pens? Check. Paper? Check. Erasers? Check. Protractor? Check…" He continued on.

He realized this may be overkill. After all, since it was only the first day, there would most likely be an entrance ceremony and orientation at some point. After that, classes would likely only cover the syllabuses and what was expected as Hero Course students before being dismissed early.

He inwardly recited his schedule for the semester.

Foundational Heroics 101-A, MWF (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), 9:00AM - 10:30AM

General English 101, MWF, 11:00AM - 12:15 PM

Modern Literature 102, MWF, 1:30 PM - 2:15PM

Algebra 102, TTh (Tuesday, Thursday), 9:00AM - 10:30AM

Foundational Heroics FIELD 101-A, MTWTF (Weekdays), 3:30PM - 5:30PM

Nevertheless, it never hurts to be prepared. One or all of the professors could throw a curveball and make everyone hit the ground running. Considering it was UA Academy, he suspected that option was very probable.

Ensuring that his bag was packed, he stepped toward the mirror on the wall near his bed to confirm that his uniform was presentable. The UA Hero Course uniform consisted of a grey coat with green highlights over a white button-up shirt, green pants, and a red tie. He was thankful that he was able to keep his red shoes; for most of his life, he had been obsessed with having red shoes, something Uraraka and Yaoyorozu had teased him about.

With his uniform in good condition and his satchel packed, Midoriya smiled confidently and nodded to himself in the mirror. 'Go get 'em, soldier. You can do this!'

With that, he proceeded to the door. The only thing that he didn't bring was his leather shield, which was hanging in his closet, empty.

Shutting and locking his door behind him, he stepped down the corridor and stopped in front of Room 337. He gently knocked on the door.

"Uraraka-chan? Are you ready?"

There was no immediate response. Several moments passed before Midoriya knocked again. "Uraraka-chan?"

"... Midori-kun?" A muffled voice said.

With a couple clicks, the door opened to reveal Uraraka standing in front of him in cute pajama bottoms with pink bunnies on them and a fairly revealing pink tank top. She had tired eyes that were barely open and a massive case of bed hair.

Midoriya looked away trying to suppress the blush from seeing Uraraka, especially since her thin shirt hugged her chest tightly.

"Midori-kun…? What are you doing…? It's early…" She wiped her eyes wearily as if she had just awoken.

"Uraraka-chan, it's 7:35. Class starts at 9." He said, his head still turned away to hide his blush.

"But... We still have lots of time… Could've gotten more sleep~" She covered her mouth to yawn.

"We're Hero Course students." Midoriya lightly admonished her. "We need to set a good example, Uraraka-chan."

Uraraka groaned loudly. "Okay, okay… give me a second…" She closed the door.

15 minutes later, Uraraka finally walked out in a similar uniform to Midoriya's, but with a green skirt and black stockings. She had her black school bag on her back, and her hair was styled in a short ponytail with two bangs framing her round face.

"Well, I'm up." Uraraka tiredly grinned. "How do I look?"

"Cute." Midoriya responded without thinking.

Realizing what he had said, his face began to turn red again in embarrassment. 'Crap! Did I seriously just say that out loud!?'

Uraraka's blush marks turned darker before she beamed. "Thanks, Midori-kun!" Taking a short moment to look him over, she continued, "You look really handsome yourself!"

"I… t-thanks…" Midoriya stammered bashfully.

Uraraka pulled out her phone for the time. "It's only 8:00 though. It'll only take us 20 minutes to get to UA. Don't you think it's a little too early?"

Midoriya shook his head. "It takes us 5 minutes to get to the nearest station. Then, there's approximately a 20-minute train ride to UA, if there are no delays. From there, it's another 5-minute walk to campus. That'll optimally put us at UA around 8:30. So long as nothing slows us down."

"That's still 30 minutes early?!" Uraraka balked, wide-eyed.

"If you're not 15 minutes early, you're late. Since it's the first day, we should be there a little earlier too just in case." Glancing at his watch, he gently grabbed Uraraka's hand (careful not to touch all 5 fingers) and pulled her down the corridor. "C'mon, we're already wasting time."

"B-but…" Uraraka felt her face get hotter from the sudden hand contact. "... can we at least stop for coffee?"

At Uraraka's insistent request, the pair did eventually stop at a Dunkin' for coffee on the way to the train station. Midoriya was initially surprised to learn that the old coffee-donut chain from his time was still in business; however, they were placing more emphasis on coffee than donuts nowadays, hence why they at some point dropped the 'Donuts' from their name.

'Guess even during times of war and social turmoil, people still need their coffee…' He thought wryly.

Uraraka did seem to perk up after drinking the caffeine, so that was good. "Much better…" She sighed in contentment.

"You do sound more like yourself now." Midoriya jokingly noted.

"I'm not much of a morning person, I'll admit…" Uraraka scratched her cheek bashfully. She questioningly looked back to her verdette friend. "By the way, why were you up so early, Midori-kun?"

"Well…I normally get up pretty early for a morning jog and training on the beach." That was true, but it wasn't the reason he was up earlier than usual. Damn nightmares again. Same one too. He pushed that unpleasant thought aside, not wanting to dwell on it.

"I see." Uraraka nodded. "That makes sense. No wonder you stay in shape." She placed her finger on her chin, thinking. "Maybe I should train in the mornings too?"

"If you're okay with getting up early, I'd be happy to help." Midoriya kindly offered.

"T-thanks… I may take you up on that sometime." She replied, flustered.

The pair walked up the pathway from the parking lot as other students were coming in from the public transit stops. Like Yaoyorozu had previously stated, UA Hero Course students were the only ones required to wear uniforms. Everyone else was free to wear what they wanted as long as it adhered to the school dress code.

Midoriya couldn't help but briefly gaze at the towers of UA's main academic campus past the front gate. He wondered who his classmates would be. He already knew Uraraka and Yaoyorozu would be in the same classes with him. Did Pony get in? The tall guy with glasses? Did that Bakugo guy get in?

With their student ID on them, Midoriya and Uraraka safely walked through the security gate and proceeded toward the main building. Along the way, they received awed stares from other students - likely because they were wearing the coveted Hero Department uniforms.

There, at the main doors, the pair spotted Yaoyorozu standing off to the side and looking down at her phone.

"Yaomomo! Over here!" Uraraka waved excitedly.

The heiress looked up and smiled brightly seeing her two friends. "Oh, you're here! I was about to text you both where I was. I thought we could walk to our new class together." She cutely said.

Her hair was done up in her usual spiky ponytail, and she wore the same uniform as Uraraka but instead of stockings she wore black knee-length socks. Midoriya's male mind noted that Yaoyorozu filled out the uniform very well.

His green eyes quickly darted away so Yaoyorozu hopefully wouldn't notice him checking her out. 'No! Control yourself!' He inwardly shouted.

Uraraka did notice his gaze and she couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed for some reason. She quickly buried away that thought.

"Sure!" Uraraka chirped. "I still think it's early but might as well see what's in store for us this year."

"Early?" Yaoyorozu tilted her head. "It's 8:40. We only have 5 minutes to find our classroom."

"Ugh…not you too, Yaomomo," Uraraka groaned in mock despair. "You sound like Midori-kun…"

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, c'mon sleepy-head, let's get to class." Midoriya gently pushed the brunette forward as the trio passed through the main doors.

In the lobby, they looked over the large map detailing the layout of each floor as other students were doing the same.

"Let's see…" Yaoyorozu quickly looked over the layout. "Support… Business… There! The Hero Department's on the 3rd floor."

"I guess we should find the stairs then." Uraraka started looking around.

The trio navigated down the hallways to find a stairway and, along the way, Midoriya swore he heard a familiar voice - only it was in English.

"Stairs are that way… elevator's closer, might as well take that."

Looking over a passing group of students, he saw the source of the voice and familiar pair of lyre horns.

"Tsunotori-san?" Midoriya asked, and the blonde perked up, turning around.

Tsunotori's blue eyes lit up when she saw the verdette. "Midoriya!" She yelled in English, running over towards him.

"Good to see you again!" Replying in Japanese, he held out his hand which she eagerly shook, impressed by her grip strength. He then noticed that she was wearing the Hero Course uniform as well without wearing any shoes or socks because of her hooves.

"Yeah!" She beamed, her tail swishing behind her. "I'm so glad you passed the exam too!"

"Who's your friend, Midori-kun?" Yaoyorozu politely asked.

"Oh! This is Tsunotori-san. We met at the entrance exam." Midoriya introduced the shorter blonde. "Tsunotori-san, these are my friends."

"Hello. I'm Tsunotori Pony." She bowed. "Pleasure to meet you."

Uraraka's eyes widened slightly, recognizing her as the same girl that sat next to Midoriya in the exam. The same one Midoriya said he had rescued from the zero-pointer too. She then recalled seeing her and Midoriya getting along quite well in the auditorium that day. Why did that bother her so much?

The brunette, ignoring that thought, smiled and held out her hand. "I'm Uraraka Ochako. Nice to meet you, Tsunotori-san."

"I'm Yaoyorozu Momo," Yaoyorozu extended her hand, "it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well."

Tsunotori happily shook both girls' hands. "Likewise! I hope we all get along really well."

"What class were you heading to, Tsunotori-san?" Midoriya asked.

"You can drop the honorifics with me. Just call me Tsunotori, or even Pony when it's just us, if you want." the blonde giggled. "We're both from America, after all."

"Oh… okay, if that's what you want." Midoriya nervously replied. "You can call me Izuku then too."

He knew when people used first names in Japan that it was a sign of strong friendship and/or intimacy, but he and Tsunotori both spent most of their lives in America. Referring to each other by first names was the norm.

Tsunotori smiled brightly. "Sounds good, Izuku."

Uraraka felt her right eye twitch. To her knowledge, this was only Midoriya and Tsunotori's second meeting and they were already using first names? Granted, they both grew up in the West, so it likely wasn't anything significant to them. Still, why did she not enjoy watching this exchange?

Yaoyorozu, meanwhile, discreetly looked between Midoriya and Tsunotori and also felt a similar bothersome feeling deep within her. She wasn't sure what it was but decided to ignore it for now. Still, Tsunotori was already comfortable with Midoriya using her first name?! So forward!

"But anyways," Tsunotori went on, "I was heading to Foundational Heroics. Class A."

"That's great!" Midoriya smiled. "We were heading there too."

Tsunotori's expression brightened. "Awesome! Lead the way!"

With that, the group started walking down the hall.

"Where are you from in America, Tsunotori-san?" Yaoyorozu curiously inquired, wanting to be friendly. "And what brings you to Japan?"

"I'm from Texas; Austin, specifically." the pony girl happily replied. "My dad is running our ranch back home, and my mom sometimes works in Japan for her company. UA is one of the best Hero Academies in the world, and All Might went here, right? I thought it'd be a great opportunity to try to attend and learn from his alma mater."

Walking further down the hall, the quartet found an elevator and walked into it.

"Smart career move." Midoriya nodded while pressing the button for the 3rd floor. "You'll have to tell us about your family's ranch sometime."

After a brief elevator ride, the door opened, and the group walked down a long hallway.

They finally arrived at a tall doorway with a large red 'A' painted on it. A dark green plaque with the number 101, labeled in white, was secured to the right. This was the place.

"Whoa… the door's huge!" Uraraka said, shocked.

"N-No kidding…" Tsunotori gapped.

"Well," Midoriya scratched his cheek, "I guess it's fitting. They probably had students and teachers who were very tall."

Yaoyorozu nodded in agreement, appearing unaffected.

Midoriya opened the door and stepped into the room with the girls following behind him. It was not exactly what Midoriya was expecting. It was a regular classroom that could've been taken from any school. What confused him though were the 20 desks as opposed to the 40 he was expecting.

The room only had one other occupant at the moment who was sitting at a front corner desk.

She was an attractive girl of average height at 164 cm (5'4'') with dusky green eyes and long lower eyelashes. Her mossy green stretched down below her shoulders and became waiver and thinner the lower down it got. She was wearing the standard Hero Course uniform with black knee-length socks.

Noticing she was no longer alone, the greenette looked at the quartet with a big smile - showing off sharp pointed teeth. "Oh hey! Glad I'm not the only one who decided to show up early."

"Heh-heh, what are you talking about? It's 8:45, so we're right on time, aren't we, Midori-kun?" Uraraka looked up at him with a strained smile and eyes closed.

'Sass levels are alarmingly high.' Midoriya inwardly deadpanned.

"Uh… what?" the female greenette tilted her head, confused.

Midoriya gently chopped Uraraka on the head. "Ow!" She reached up to grab the top of her head, pouting.

"That didn't hurt." Midoriya rolled his eyes, and then looked back to the greenette. "Anyways, what she means to say is it's nice to meet you, miss-"

"Tokage?" Yaoyorozu stepped forward.

The greenette, Tokage, finally noticed Yaoyorozu and walked over to her with a roguish grin. "Hey, motorcycle girl! Good to see you!"

The others looked between the two girls in bewilderment.

"You know her, Yaomomo?" Uraraka asked.

Yaoyorozu smiled and nodded. "Yes. She was at the Recommendation Exam with me."

"Motorcycle girl?" Tsunotori blinked in confusion.

"It's a long story. I can explain everything another time." Yaoyorozu sheepishly responded.

"Oh?" Midoriya turned to his fellow green-haired classmate. "Does that mean you're a recommendation student like Yaomomo?"

"Yaomomo, huh?" Tokage looked at Yaoyorozu slyly. "Is that your nickname?"

"Y-yes… my friends call me that." Yaoyorozu bashfully said with a tiny blush. "You can too… if you want?"

"Sure thing, Yaomomo!" Tokage grinned, showing off her predator-like teeth.

Yaoyorozu felt elated. Months prior, she didn't have any real friendships, especially with people in her age group. Now, she had Uraraka and Midoriya as her best friends and two more potential friends in Tsunotori and Tokage. And it was only the first day of UA!

"And to answer your question," Tokage turned to Midoriya, her smile dropping a bit, "I didn't pass the Recommendation Exam. Came up just a little short." She chuckled while rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. "But the school liked me so much they gave me the chance to take the standard exam. I passed that one, of course!"

"That's wonderful!" Yaoyorozu smiled. "You certainly deserve to be here."

"Thanks! That… means a lot. Anyways," Tokage regained her proactive aura and looked at Midoriya, Uraraka, and Tsunotori, "let me introduce myself. I'm Tokage Setsuna. Nice to meet yah!" She held out her hand.

"Midoriya Izuku."

"Hi! I'm Uraraka Ochako."

"Tsunotori Pony! Good to meet you, Tokage-san."

"Pleasure's mine!" Tokage quickly and eagerly shook their hands. "We're gonna get along just swell."

Midoriya glanced around the room; something had been baffling him since stepping inside. "By the way, any clue where the other seats are?"

"Other seats?" Tokage blinked.

"Yeah. There are 40 slots in the Hero Course, right? Aren't we all supposed to be in the same class?" He elaborated.

"No." Yaoyorozu shook her head, and explained, "UA splits their Hero Course into 2 classes, A and B, at every level."

'Ah, so that's why the A is on the door and on our hero-related classes.' Midoriya was still curious. 'Why though?'

"That's kind of strange. I mean, compared to other colleges, 40 people in a class isn't that big." the super-soldier commented. Heck, he had over 60 people in several of his classes at the community college.

"Who knows?" Tokage shrugged nonchalantly. "UA is known for being unconventional and all."

At that statement, Midoriya felt inwardly relieved that he packed his bag with everything school-related this morning. He had a feeling that today would not be a conventional, ordinary first day.

With no assigned seating, Midoriya, Uraraka, and Tsunotori had taken their place in the back corner together on the window side. Yaoyorozu was at the corner with Midoriya sitting in front of her, and Uraraka sat in the desk next to him while Tsunotori had positioned herself next to Yaoyorozu; essentially, the 4 back desks in the window-side corner.

Tokage kept her belongings at the front desk but stayed in the back to chat.

Over the next ten minutes, more students began to fill in and some began socializing. He would every so often look around at his fellow classmates.

He recognized one of them, a dude with the head of a crow. He didn't appear to be much of a talker though as he found his seat in the middle of the room and leaned back, closing his eyes. Definitely a quiet type.

Two girls walked in, appearing to have a casual conversation. One was a short, attractive girl with long dark green hair tied into a ponytail and seemed to have the disposition of a frog. The other was a plain yet cute-looking girl with short purple hair tied into a bob and had long earlobes. 'Were those auxiliary jacks?' Midoriya wondered.

The most animated student so far was a girl with pink hair, pink skin, small yellow horns, golden eyes with pitch-black sclera, and with a bright disposition. Walking in beside her was a muscular dude standing at 175 cm (5'9") with relaxed red eyes and spiky red hair. A friendly, confident expression was plastered on his face.

Midoriya wasn't sure if those two were a couple or not, but they certainly looked the part; especially with how the red-haired guy's eyes subtly brightened when he glanced at the pink girl. Then again, he'd be the first to admit that he wasn't exactly an expert on romantic relationships.

The next student Midoriya noticed walking in was a peculiar one in the super-soldier's eyes. He was a moderately tall guy standing at 180 cm (5'11") with a muscular build. He had shoulder-length hair split between white on his right side and crimson red on his left, tied up into a bun at the back. His eyes were also different as the right one was brown while the left was turquoise; both filled with indifference. Additionally, there was a large burn scar on the left side of his face that reached from his hairline to halfway down his cheek.

He didn't greet anyone, immediately taking a seat in the back corner of the class.

'Serious aura around that guy…' Midoriya mused. 'Even though he looks calm, he seems so… angry?'

Midoriya didn't have more time to ponder on the dual-tone dude for long as a familiar spiky-haired blonde walked into the room with a perpetual scowl etched on his face.

"Bakugo?"

"Huh?" Bakugo's eyes settled on Midoriya, narrowing. "Green hair? You actually passed?"

"Uh… yeah," Midoriya ignored the fact that he seemed surprised by that.

"Ugh…" Uraraka groaned. "Not this guy again... "

"Who is he, Uraraka-chan?" Yaoyorozu asked.

She deeply sighed. "Just some jerk."

Trying to be cordial, Midoriya tried to at least start a good conversation with the ash-blonde. "I saw you did well on the exams. Congrats. By the way, I'm Mi-"

Bakugo interrupted him. "Of course I did! Those tests were a joke." He stated confidently, one hand in his pocket while the other held his school bag's strap. "Getting in here was too easy." He found an open desk on Midoriya's side of the room, choosing the second seat from the front, and sitting his bag by it. Only one desk separated them.

Bakugo sneered. "Might have been a little rough for you extras I bet."

"Extras?" Tokage asked, earning the blonde's attention.

"That's right." Bakugo suddenly stood up on his desk. "Listen up! All of you!"

Everyone in the class stopped to direct their attention to him.

"You're gazing upon greatness. I'm going to be Number One around here. The top hero, like All Might." He smirked darkly. "I'm not overconfident or anything. I'm just that good. So, if none of you want to die or anything, you'll stay out of my way. Understand?"

Everyone was silent.

'Die?!' Midoriya blinked, trying to process this guy's sudden declaration.

"Um… what?" Tsunotori slipped into English, tilting her head. She, like everyone else, was dumbfounded by this scene.

"Did I stutter, horns?" He sneered. "I said," he spoke in English; eligible, but accented, "I'm going to be the Number One Hero, like All Might. And all of you are redshirts. Extras. Stepping stones."

Midoriya frowned as his right eye twitched. He thought at first maybe Bakugo was just joking around. One look into those sharp red eyes revealed that he had meant every single word both in Japanese and English.

'Great… he's one of those kinds of people. Wonderful…' Midoriya dryly thought.

"Whoa, you speak English too?" The spiky red-haired guy asked.

"What, think I wouldn't?" He glared at the redhead as if he were insulted, and then stepped down from his desk.

"PFFT!" Without warning, Tokage burst into laughter. "Are you serious!? Ha-ha-ha! Did you rehearse that before class? You trying to be an edgelord or something? Ha-ha-ha!"

Most of the class laughed at Tokage's remark, even Yaoyorozu couldn't suppress an amused grin.

"What the hell did you say!?" Bakugo yelled, with sparks popping off his hands. "You wanna go, green b*tch?!"

Tokage was unfazed and smirked, showing off her predatory teeth. "Bring it on! I'll take you on anytime, anyplace, sparky."

Midoriya focused intently on the angry blonde's hands, involuntarily feeling his muscles tense up at the sounds. 'Hmm… there were definitely mini explosions coming off his palms. Is that his Quirk? Making explosions?'

"I like your confidence, dude." Redhead guy casually approached Bakugo with a charismatic smile.

'That's not confidence, it's just arrogance.' Midoriya inwardly deadpanned.

"Still, you don't have to call out or insult everyone else like that." He lightly admonished. "Are you just nervous or something? First day jitters?"

"Shut it, sh*tty hair!" Bakugo snapped. "I wasn't talking to you!"

"But… your hair isn't that different from mine…" The redhead pointed out, sweat-dropping. He quickly regained his friendly smile and held out a hand to Bakugo. "Name's Kirishima Eijirou, by the way. What's yours?"

Bakugo was briefly taken aback before slapping the hand away. "I didn't ask for your name."

"Oh, I get it!" Kirishima adopted a determined, confident look. "You're the type of person where someone has to prove their strength for you to acknowledge them, right? Well, challenge accepted!"

'No, dude. He's just an a**.' Midoriya remarked internally.

Bakugo cocked a brow, his anger diminishing slightly. "You're a slow one, aren't you?"

"Well, I may not be the fastest guy around, but my Hardening Quirk more than makes up for it." Kirishima proudly stated, unaware of the insult thrown at him.

Bakugo didn't immediately respond. "Tsk," he clicked his tongue and sat at his desk, feet propped up. "Whatever. Doesn't matter what sh*tty Quirk you have. You'll never measure up to me."

Kirishima clenched his fist, smirking confidently. "We'll see about that. Won't we?"

'Guess Kirishima is the type that can't help but be friendly with everyone…' Midoriya thought. 'Still, you're barking up the wrong tree there.'

"Kirishima-kun, might wanna just forget about that one." The pink girl called out, echoing Midoriya's sentiments.

"Ah! It's you!" said a familiar voice. Midoriya turned to see Glasses at the door, standing tall and in his uniform.

"Huh… where have I seen that guy before?" Uraraka said thoughtfully.

"Oh. Hey, it's you… the guy with the engine Quirk. What's up?" Midoriya sat up from his desk to greet the bespeckled teen.

The navy-haired teen perked up before adjusting his spectacles and walking toward Midoriya across the room before bowing deeply.

Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Tsunotori, and Tokage standing nearby shifted their attention to Glasses.

"Oh, hey… isn't that the guy who made everyone laugh at the exam orientation?" Said a blonde guy with a black lightning bolt streak in his hair.

"Yeah, I think it is." the purple-haired earlobe girl replied.

"Not gonna lie, I kinda appreciate what he did." Pink Girl remarked. "He really calmed my nerves."

"Kero." The green-haired frog-like girl croaked like a frog. "Same here. I felt a little better going to take my Practical."

Meanwhile, as they continued quietly conversing, Glasses started talking to Midoriya.

"I apologize to you for my conduct during the Practical Exam. I… clearly misjudged you back then. When you interrupted the exam orientation, I thought you were dishonoring everyone taking the test." He looked away shamefully. "But you clearly saw the deeper meaning during the exam, didn't you? I saw how you saved this girl here," he motioned to Tsunotori, who looked at the bespeckled boy in confusion, "and then you stopped the zero-pointer from potentially hurting other examinees at the sacrifice of your own score. Truly the test of what makes a hero!"

He bit his lower lip. "I… did not realize that till after the exam. If they had told us about the Rescue Point system, it would have made the act of saving others feel disingenuous and fraudulent! A clever way to evaluate those with heroic spirits, one in which I did not demonstrate. As much as it pains me to admit, you are a more superior and an exemplary student than me. UA is more than honored to have you! Please receive my humblest of apologies!"

Midoriya was silent, blinking. 'This guy said all that without stopping to breathe…? Nice set of lungs, I guess. Must be related to his Quirk.'

His friends and a few other classmates paused to watch the interaction, making it feel even more awkward. Some had overheard Glasses' mention of Midoriya defeating the zero-pointer and looked at the verdette in surprise.

"Whoa… that guy really took down the zero-pointer?" a plain black-haired dude asked.

"That's impressive…" a multi-armed dude flatly commented.

"Hmm…" the crow-head boy nodded.

"Wonder how he managed that?" Earlobes Girl asked.

"He'd have to be crazy strong to take that gimmick out." a robust man with big lips remarked.

Bakugo discreetly looked back at Midoriya with narrowed eyes.

As his classmates talked in the background, Midoriya rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "I… t-thanks. Apology accepted. I… also apologize for my conduct during orientation. It was never my intent to disrupt it or distract anyone from the test. Just a misunderstanding on my part."

He stopped to offer his hand. "Let's start over. My name is Midoriya Izuku."

Glasses' blue eyes softened as he returned the super-soldier's firm shake.

"I am Iida Tenya. It is a pleasure to meet you and have you as a fellow peer at UA Academy, Midoriya-san."

"Shaddup and get a room already. I'm trying to relax before the teacher gets here." Bakugo growled, looking lazily at Iida and Midoriya.

Noticing Bakugo's feet on the desk, Iida puffed his chest out in righteous indignation. "Take those feet off your desk right now!" Iida demanded.

"Huh~?" Bakugo only smirked.

"You're disrespecting university property, you cretin!"

Bakugo scoffed, seemingly enjoying the banter. "Like I care about the opinion of an extra. Where you from?"

"Somei Private High, why does that matter?"

Bakugo smirked, sneering up at Iida. "Somei, huh? You must think you're better than me!" He grinned roguishly. "I'm gonna enjoy blowing ya to bits, elitist!"

Iida went slack jawed. "B-Blowing me to bits?! You would threaten your own classmate?! Are you sure you're in the right place?"

Bakugo's sneer remained as Midoriya placed a hand on Iida's shoulder.

"Iida-san, let's not get riled up." Bakugo's eyes fell on the verdette. "Let's just take our seats and get ready for-"

"Not get riled up, huh?" Bakugo cut Midoriya off. "Why don't yah mind your own business, stealth gaijin!?"

"Stealth gaijin?" Iida blinked, sounding confused.

"What? You didn't know?" the ash-blonde's sneer intensified. "This guy's a foreigner like Horn Girl back there." He jerked his thumb at Tsunotori, who flinched from being called out. "His Japanese was so broken the first time I met him that it hurt my ears just listening to it."

"I've gotten better…" Midoriya mumbled.

"Can still hear that dumb western accent." Bakugo remarked.

"Hey! I resent that!" Tsunotori angrily exclaimed.

"Only speak when you're spoken to, extra!" Bakugo shouted back.

Tsunotori defiantly stuck out her tongue.

"Anyways," Bakugo looked back at the verdette, "bet you couldn't cut it at the American Hero schools, so you thought you'd have better luck here, huh?" A devilish grin spread on his face. "I'm gonna enjoy crushing you!"

'Major superiority complex… maybe has an inferiority complex too?' Midoriya pondered.

Uraraka had been listening to this exchange like everyone else and felt her ire rising. This Bakugo guy was just infuriating! Also, didn't Midori-kun risk his life to save this jerk from the Sludge Villain? How could he talk down to him like that?!

"Hey!" Uraraka indignantly stood up. "Don't talk to Midori-kun like that! He did way better on the exam than you!"

Midoriya snapped his head toward the brunette with wide, panicked eyes. 'Uraraka-chan! NO! I don't want everyone to-'

"Yeah right!?" Bakugo scoffed. "Doubt he even cracked the top 20." He looked at the verdette with a condescending smirk. "Let's hear it, stealth gaijin. What was your placement?"

"Uh…" Midoriya bit his lip, slowly moving back. "That's…"

"Well," he spoke in English, "what was your placement?"

"Uh… maybe someone else would like to share?" He hoped to deflect the attention off of himself.

"Oh? We sharing our exam placements?" Tokage grinned wryly. "Well, I got 4th. One away from the top 3… but what can you do?" She nonchalantly shrugged.

"I got 5th place." Kirishima laughed, then rubbed the back of his head. "My parents were pretty proud I cracked the top 5."

"So was I!" Pink Girl beamed, making Kirishima blush. "I got 13th myself. I say I did pretty well." She then turned to Uraraka, Tsunotori, and Yaoyorozu. "What about you three?"

"I got 12th." Tsunotori shyly said.

"Not bad, horn buddy!" Pink Girl complimented, making the pony-girl look away shyly. The energetic girl turned to Yaoyorozu. "And you, Yaoyorozu-san?"

"Well," Yaoyorozu became slightly timid, "I got in on recommendations."

"Ooh, that's so cool, Yaoyorozu-san!" She then turned to Uraraka. "What about you, Uraraka-san?"

Uraraka directed her attention to Bakugo, grinning proudly. "I got 2nd."

Most of the class turned to look at the brunette girl in shock. She was one of the top 3 winners?! That revelation caught Tokage's attention as she looked at the brunette, an analytical glint in her green eyes.

Bakugo clenched his teeth, clicking his tongue in annoyed ire. 'Round Face got 2nd?! Had to be those damn Rescue Points. What a f**king joke! I'll crush her and show everyone who's the best!'

'Bet that hurt his pride.' Uraraka was feeling satisfied.

"My, my, that's impressive! Truly, UA is honored to have you in its halls." Iida declared with strange hand gestures. Uraraka couldn't help but sheepishly chuckle at Iida's weird actions. The blue-haired youth then turned to Midoriya who was a lot further away than he remembered. "What about you, Midoriya-san? Where did you place?"

"Uh…" Midoriya swallowed some spit in his throat. Looks like his diversion didn't take the focus off of himself for too long. He glanced back at Uraraka, seeing her looking at him expectantly, a proud smile on her face.

'Now for the closing move. Finish him off, Midori-kun!' Uraraka internally cheered.

'Uraraka-chan…why?' He inwardly sighed. 'Guess there's no getting out of it now, huh?'

"I… got…" he muttered inaudibly.

"I didn't hear you. What did you say?" Iida asked. Surely Midoriya had a high score. In the Top 10 perhaps?

Midoriya took a deep breath. "I got 1st."

First.

With that one word, a metaphorical bomb had been dropped in the classroom. Tsunotori and Iida's eyes both widened in astonishment. Everyone's attention immediately shifted to the verdette super-soldier.

Some were curious, like the sparkling blonde guy in the front. Others were analyzing, like the piercing gaze of the crow-head boy. The red-white haired young man in the back turned to Midoriya, narrowing his eyes. Others were astonished like the blonde dude talking to the earlobe girl, and Tokage who's jaw dropped a little to show off her sharp teeth. Yaoyorozu and Uraraka were the only ones not surprised, the latter directing a victorious smirk at Bakugo.

Speaking of Bakugo…

The smoldering aura from him was palpable, and it didn't go unnoticed by Midoriya. His crimson eyes were burning holes in Midoriya's head, his teeth bared as he let out a soft, audible growl. His grip on his desk was so hard that it might start cracking along with the mini explosions crackling in his hands.

'No f**king way!' He inwardly raged. 'This guy beat me?! Of all people?!' Memories of the Sludge Villain incident flashed through his mind, which only made him angrier. That was the absolute worst day of his otherwise awesome life.

Uraraka really enjoyed seeing the angry blonde's reaction. 'Serves you right, jerk.'