Chapter 1: Prologue
It was an off day for Midoriya Izuku. He was nearing the final weeks of his training with All Might and the results were obvious for anyone to see.
On this precious day of rest he decided he should head out and stock up on more of that protein powder All Might had had him on, he'd forgotten to get some last week and his stock was running low.
Thus Midoriya Izuku found himself in the middle of an incident.
Well. Maybe not in the middle.
He'd had precious little time to actually indulge in his old habit of watching pro heroes duke it out with villains, so when he saw a panicked crowd coming from the direction he was going he decided to wait it out and see who responded.
This was perhaps a mistake.
He recognized the first responder, pro hero Fourth Kind. He looked to be in casual garb so perhaps he was in the area for the same reason Midoriya was.
He moved to close in before being blown away in a massive blast of green energy.
"It doesn't matter anymore does it?!"
The villain was screaming so Midoriya could hear him clearly even though he was some distance away.
"I'm already caught so I might as well take out as many of you bastards as I can before I-"
Fourth Kind exploded out of the building he'd been knocked into, closing the gap in an instant and laying a haymaker with his upper right arm.
The villain reeled but retaliated in kind, unleashing an even more terrible blast than before.
Fourth Kind went flying, slamming into another building a few stories above ground floor.
"If this is my last show! I'm going to make it a bang!"
He aimed down the street Midoriya was standing on.
He hadn't noticed but he had suddenly become the only target in line of sight.
His reflexes failed him, muscles too exhausted from All Might's workout routine to respond to such a sudden demand of force.
He saw green rushing towards him but his body simply could not respond fast enough.
But, just because Midoriya was the only person the villain had seen did not mean that he was alone.
Someone tackled him from the side, carrying him far enough to just clear the blast.
They came to a rolling stop, Midoriya's rescuer jumping to his feet before grabbing him by the shoulder and bodily carrying him to a nearby side street.
It had happened so suddenly that Midoriya could barely even process who was saving him.
Another blast rocked the building they'd hidden behind but none of the debris reached them.
A sharp crackling reached Midoriya's ears as the boy held out his right hand.
Some of the scattered debris formed up in front of them like a shield, protecting them from the rest of the rubble.
Sparks jumped from that strange strange hand.
It was covered in pitch black scales, giving it an odd sheen.
"It'll be over soon," The boy said.
It struck Midoriya as oddly comforting. There was a confidence in those words, but more than that there was an overwhelming sense of calm.
This person was utterly unphased by the danger of the situation they were in. He didn't move any further down the side street, perhaps assuming the villain would simply inflict more collateral damage if he did so.
Or perhaps he knew what was coming next.
He looked up, prompting Midoriya to mimic his action.
"GOLDEN COMET!"
A brilliant streak of light came crashing straight down, slamming into the villain with a catastrophic amount of force.
A cloud of debris rushed towards them but again that boy formed a shield with a simple wave of his arm.
"I'm going to go ahead and set you down ok? It's over."
"O-oh. Ok!" He was honestly still reeling from the fact that this had happened at all.
When he looked back at where the villain had been standing he saw a pro hero he didn't recognize.
He was clad in a black leather outfit with stylish purple sunglasses and slicked back blond hair.
"Whooo! Sorry for the rough landing buddy but you weren't being terribly GOLDEN now were you!?" The hero picked up the unconscious villain by the back of his neck before tossing him out of the small crater he'd made on impact.
Fourth Kind landed roughly near where the villain was deposited.
"Yo! You're lookin a little winded! You ok buddy?" The unknown hero asked as he dusted himself off.
"... You're... Who called you in?"
"We picked up the disturbance and I was in the area! Decided to ride over and check things out. Didn't even see ya so figured I'd end it quick."
It was then that the unknown hero turned his attention to the two boys.
"You two ok over there? Looks like you got a little too close for comfort!"
Fourth Kind turned to look as well prompting Midoriya to become somewhat star struck.
"Y-Yes sir! It all happened so fast but- I'm sorry for making you worry!" Midoriya said with a bow.
Technically he hadn't done anything wrong. It was true that he hadn't run away when he really should have but technically he was injured in a way that prevented him from moving too quickly.
It was only now that Midoriya's nerves hit him. Strength left his legs as the realization that he'd almost died washed over him. That villain had shot a powerful laser blast straight at him! If that boy hadn't been there he would have been severely injured, or killed! His whole body began trembling uncontrollably as all of the tension started to leave him.
Thankfully his rescuer was there to steady him yet again.
"I'm fine," The boy said flatly.
It was a story of contrasts. Even now after everything was over that boy held the same smooth calm that he'd carried throughout the fight. The fact that he didn't seem to be having any kind of reaction was odd to Midoriya but perhaps he was just better at holding his stress in for longer.
A roar of sirens sounded in the distance.
"Mhr. You two. Stay here and get checked out by the paramedics. And you…" Fourth Kind motioned to the other hero who gave a quick thumbs up before approaching.
They spoke just too quietly for Midoriya to really hear them but one word did stick out to him.
Chaldea.
That would certainly explain why Midoriya didn't recognize him.
The Chaldea Security Organization was something of a pro hero reserve force. They did not actively patrol but they responded almost immediately when called.
Even on the hero forums Midoriya called home there was little information regarding them. This was not helped by the fact that they were a relatively new organization, having seemingly appeared out of nowhere a few months ago.
Their mysterious nature and sudden arrival in the pro hero circuit left many forum members desperately trying to scrounge together all the information they could on them.
Midoriya wanted to talk to that leather clad hero, but he knew he couldn't interrupt whatever conversation he was having with Fourth Kind.
"Hey. Can you stand on your own?"
That voice snapped him back to reality. Midoriya looked to the boy next to him, nodding vigorously in response.
"Yes! I'm sorry! Thank you so much for jumping in! I- I just couldn't-"
It was only now that Midoriya registered the boy's face.
Brown fluffy hair with an odd tuft of curly white at his bangs.
But that's not what caught his attention.
Black scales covered the boy's right eye with a scar peeking out from under them.
"It's alright. Freezing up isn't an uncommon reaction to danger. I'm just glad I was there to get you out of the way." He said with a smile.
And what a smile it was.
It was almost alarming but not in a way Midoriya could articulate properly.
It was overflowing with an emotion he couldn't properly identify.
It was simply too vast to not be alarming, but it was also warm and kind.
Midoriya noticed another scar over the bridge of the boy's nose as he struggled to process the emotion that smile carried.
"My name's Nathan Relnor, it's nice to meet you."
He extended his left hand. It was covered in a black glove but otherwise it resembled a normal human arm unlike his right.
"Ah! Nice to meet you! My name is Midoriya Izuku!" The handshake was a little on the odd side but he seemed foreign either way. Not that he could tell from his accent.
Their introduction was interrupted when an ambulance worker came to check them out. As they were receiving their examinations that Chaldean hero departed the scene in a streak of golden light.
Midoriya had missed his chance to speak with a genuine Chaldean hero, but he had survived the incident uninjured and without getting yelled at so it wasn't a total wash.
And.
As Nathan Relnor turned to leave the scene Midoriya called out to him.
"Ah! Um! Hey! I was wondering! Could I get your number! I want to thank you properly for saving me!"
Nathan froze in place for a moment, as if not expecting that kind of reaction.
"Oh. Uh… Sure I guess." He said after a truly monumental pause. He fumbled around with his pocket before producing an unfamiliar phone model.
"I- I'm training to get into UA so I- I might not respond all the time but I…"
"UA? Oh right. That hero school…"
It was an oddly reserved reaction, almost hesitant.
"I'm thinking of enrolling there too. Or. My guardian is thinking about having me apply. Tell me, is it such a grand place?"
"It's amazing! All Might the number one pro hero went there! It's always been my dream to be able to get in but I- Well- It's…"
Nathan tilted his head to the side as Midoriya tripped over himself.
If Nathan was thinking of applying, Midoriya couldn't exactly tell him he was quirkless. He would see him after he inherited One for All from All Might.
"It's been something of an unattainable dream for me…"
"I see." Nathan paused to collect his thoughts before continuing, "I'm glad you're chasing it. Even if you thought it was unattainable. Perhaps we'll meet again in a month or so."
"Yeah! I'm looking forward to it Nathan-san!"
"Oh. I'm sorry, I messed that up, Relnor is my family name."
"Ah- I- I- I'm sorry Relnor-san!"
"No worries. That's one habit I've never been able to break in learning Japanese. Anyway, I should get going. May the sun and the stars guide you towards your dreams Midoriya-san."
With that he gave a small wave and turned to leave.
He was certainly a strange person, but for some reason Midoriya found him very easy to talk to. He gave off a certain air that just made him approachable.
Briefly, Midoriya wondered if he should join him on his trip back to the station.
But then Midoriya remembered he'd come out here for a reason.
And so they went their separate ways.
"Yo Boss!"
Nathan turned to see a familiar leather clad figure pull up next to him on his motorcycle.
"Hey Kintoki. Am I needed back home?"
"Nah, just thought I'd give you a ride. Figured Golden Bear would be faster than any of these trains!"
"Mh… Sure. That sounds good. What did that Hero have to say to you?"
"He was just tryin to figure out who called me but he seemed to buy me just loafin around in the area."
"That's good. Thanks for responding to my call so quickly by the way."
"No worries boss! You know we've always got your back Master!"
Nathan gave the Chaldean Hero a smile as he pulled himself up onto the back of the ridiculous motorcycle.
"Let's go! GOLDEN DRIVE!"
And with that they took off in a brilliant streak of golden light.
Chapter 1
"Hm. Perhaps. There are a lot of applications for that sort of quirk but I worry about his defensive capabilities."
"With a good support team he should be able to overcome that sort of thing!" Midoriya responded happily.
It had been about a week since he had been saved by one Nathan Relnor and in that week Midoriya had discovered many things about him. But the most important thing he'd discovered was that Nathan enjoyed Quirk analysis just as much as he did!
Well, perhaps enjoyed was not the proper word for it.
Nathan proved to be an excellent partner for that kind of discussion but it was difficult to tell from his tone if he actually enjoyed it. His observations were razor sharp and he was able to determine potential shortfalls of quirks almost immediately, but it felt like that ability had come from somewhere other than fascination with quirks.
Usually you focused on your own Quirk if you had one, so that kind of thinking was somewhat uncommon in today's world.
Since Nathan had a Quirk of his own Midoriya was surprised he'd devoted any time to picking apart other people's Quirks.
"A good support team would be essential. I wonder if he's limited to the types of lumber he produces. If he could vary it up or perhaps even petrify parts of himself he'd be able to increase his defensive options by quite a bit simply by varying the density of his extensions."
They were speaking over the phone while Midoriya poured over some of his homework.
Midoriya sighed. He wished he could just ask pro heroes about their quirks directly. Maybe one day after he got into UA…
"By the way. Your Quirk. I know you said you have some kind of super strength but have you ever taken martial arts classes?"
"Oh. No? I uh… My quirk is a little volatile so I've never thought to train it like that-"
"No no no. I mean. Just regular classes without using your quirk. Enough power can overwhelm even skilled fighters but even a hint of skill of your own will give you an edge."
Midoriya pondered on it. It wasn't like what Nathan was saying was wrong. Maybe he'd look into joining a dojo after he finished All Might's workout routine.
"I know a few people who could give you some quick pointers before the entrance exam. I'm pretty sure they're more than a little bored out of their mind right now," A soft chuckle sounded from the other end of the phone.
"Do you!? That would be amazing!"
Even if he could only get one or two sessions, having some fundamental building blocks was probably better than just mimicking what he's seen All Might do on broadcasts.
Seeing and doing were two very different things after all.
"I'll poke around here a little and get back to you tomorrow. Just let me know when you're free next."
"Will do! Oh! Relnor-san!"
"Hm?"
In his excitement Midoriya had almost forgotten to ask his new friend something that had been weighing on his mind.
"Have you thought about it anymore? Applying to UA?"
"Ah. Well. I guess I might. Between you and Sherlock it's starting to become appealing just to stop hearing about it."
Midoriya could not control the excited squeal he made. He covered his mouth with both hands and looked at the phone sitting on his desk hoping his stare could erase the last two seconds from existence.
Nathan for his part just laughed.
"If you're that excited about the idea of me being there then I guess I have to go now."
If Nathan applied as well then Midoriya would have at least one friend at UA.
Due to Bakugo's constant bullying Midoriya had spent most of his recent school life as a loner.
Truth be told Nathan was the first real friend he'd made in years.
To have him be a part of his journey to UA was an immeasurable relief for some reason.
"Well- I- You don't- if you don't want to-"
"Hahaha! You don't get to back out after you've grabbed victory with both hands. I'm doing this for myself too so don't get too twisted up about it."
There was something about the tone with which he spoke that said otherwise but Midoriya decided not to press the issue. Even with that verbal commitment Nathan was probably still not entirely sold on the idea.
Despite acting like a hero when they first met Nathan did not entirely seem interested in pursuing it as a career path. He'd told Midoriya simply that he was just too tired to want to go into heroics.
His stated desire was a little at odds with jumping straight into a villain fight to save someone's life but Midoriya got the impression that there was some kind of internal conflict going on there.
A loud crash sounded from Nathan's end of the line.
"HELLO OUR NUMBER ONE RETAINER WE HAVE COME BEARING MORE GIFTS FROM AMAZONESS!"
"WOULD IT KILL YOU TO KNOCK AT LEAST ONCE IN YOUR ETERNAL MOTH LIFE!?"
A series of crashes followed.
Midoriya's stare bored into his phone in the vain hope that it would allow him to see exactly what was going on over there.
"PLAY PLAY PLAY!"
"WHY DID YOU BRING ALL OF THE KIDS WITH YOU!?"
"THEY INSISTED!"
Nathan screamed as a cacophony of young voices began overtaking him.
A sharp click indicated the end of the call.
"... I wonder how big his family actually is?" Midoriya said to himself quietly. Maybe he'd have to ask Nathan later. For now he needed to finish his homework.
Days later Midoriya stood at the Takoba Municipal Beach Park. He was less than a month away from his deadline and yet he still had so much work to get done.
He couldn't fail here. He wouldn't…
"Yo."
That voice startled him out of his thoughts. Midoriya turned and saw Nathan Relnor standing amid the last large pile of wreckage.
"I guess this is a good way to train your body physically… It's strength but there's no direction. No wonder your Quirk is difficult for you to handle."
It was strange hearing those words flow so casually out of Nathan Relnor. He was such an unassuming presence, but Midoriya knew he spoke from experience.
His body was toned, more so than his own even after being on All Might's plan for nine months. The loose UA branded t-shirt he wore hid his muscles well, all except for his left arm. As for that left arm… It was covered in scars. Midoriya couldn't even begin to count them, much less start trying to figure out where they had all come from.
It was unsettling to say the least.
Midoriya's eyes traveled down and for the first time he noticed Nathan's left leg was covered in scales starting just below his knee.
"Wh-When did you get here Relnor-san? I didn't even hear you!"
"A bit ago, you were off in your own little world so I decided not to bother you for a little bit," he said before jumping down from the refuse pile to be on the same level as Midoriya. "Managed to talk one of my martial arts instructors into coming with me today. Hope you two get along!"
"O-Oh! Thank you so much!" Midoriya bowed multiple times before starting to look around the area, "um… Relnor-san? Where are they?"
"Right here."
A fist connected with Midoriya's sternum sending him stumbling back.
It felt like he'd been slammed by a hurricane force wind but for some reason his body felt no pain.
He looked up to Nathan, stunned by the unprovoked attack.
"Yan Qing."
Midoriya turned his gaze to his right only to find something that sent him reeling almost as much as that attack had.
Nathan Relnor stood with his arms crossed wearing his usual black collared shirt and long grey pants.
"Sorry sorry!" The UA shirted Nathan said, holding his hands up and backing away, "I couldn't resist. I jus' wanted to see what this mysterious friend of yours was like before we got started!"
Midoriya watched in awe as that Nathan's visage melted away revealing a slightly taller shirtless man with extremely elaborate tattoos covering his torso.
"Let's try that again shall we? I'm Yan Qing. My Quirk is disguise! I can perfectly mimic someone as long as I've got enough information about them. Nice to meet you Midoriya Izuku!"
"N-Nice to meet you as well Yan-san"
"Ehr… Just stick to Yan Qing, it's easier on both of us kiddo."
"A-Ah Alright!"
"What do you think?" Nathan asked, approaching the two.
Midoriya's eyes wandered to the boy's left arm, just to confirm if Yan Qing's imitation was accurate. His heart sank when he saw that it was.
What had Nathan been through to give him such terrible scars?
"You register any of that kid?"
"Er- I'm sorry! I-"
"Hahaha! Don't worry about it. Though, maybe you shouldn't be so easily distracted in front of an opponent!~" Yan Qing jabbed at him playfully, hitting him square in the bicep.
"Y-Yeah! You're right! I'm sorry-"
"... Boy you sure do remind me of Mas- Nathan over there," Yan Qing said with a great chuckle after stumbling over his words somewhat. "Alright. Take a stance. We're not gonna work you too hard so we don't mess up your rest day. I'm gonna show you some forms and I want you to start practicing them in place of one of your other physical exercises. It'll get your body used to moving safely."
Midoriya nodded vigorously causing Nathan to chuckle as he took a seat on a nearby piece of refuse.
For Yan Qing to compare him to Nathan though… Where had that come from?
He could think of no one he was further from short of All Might.
Regardless, he took up a loose stance, receiving pointers and critiques on it from Yan Qing. The man proceeded to walk Midoriya through a few basic counters and forms to practice.
All and All it took a couple of hours but Midoriya came out of the experience with a great appreciation for his wayward friend and the strange martial artist he brought with him.
Yan Qing had demonstrated the effectiveness of the more advanced forms of what he was teaching Midoriya on Nathan a few times. It usually ended with Nathan face down in the sand seconds after engaging the man.
"Thank you both so much for this," Midoriya said, wiping sweat from his brow.
"It's no trouble at all! I'm happy to help out Nathan's friend! Fufufu… The others will be quite angry that I was the first one that got to meet you!" That second part had been barely above a whisper but Midoriya heard it all the same.
This reminded him of a question he'd wanted to ask Nathan.
"Oh. By the way, how big is your family exactly? There always seems to be something going on in the background of our calls."
"Mh. I was adopted by an organization actually so I don't have a traditional family," Nathan said thoughtfully, "But they more than make up for it. As far as I'm concerned everyone working there is my family."
That made some kind of sense. Midoriya had heard a few dozen different voices over their calls. It was certainly strange, but nothing about Nathan seemed to be terribly standard.
"Awww that warms my heart to hear you say that Ma- Nathan!"
There it was again. After hearing it a few times Midoriya picked up that Yan Qing only seemed to trip himself up when addressing Nathan directly. There must be some kind of nickname that organization has for him that they habitually call him.
But why were they being so hesitant about it?
Was it that embarrassing?
"Anyway, we should probably get a move on, you need to rest your body if you're going to get this done before the entrance exams," Nathan said, surveying the landscape.
"Don't remind me… But… I'll get it done. I refuse to fail after having so many people reach out their hands to help me achieve my dreams…"
Nathan fixed a single eyed stare at Midoriya before flashing him that oh so unsettling smile. That smile carried an emotion Midoriya struggled to identify even after having seen it a few times now. It was warm and it made him feel safe, but at the same time it was overwhelming and threatened to suffocate him.
"Good. That's good. I'll see you at the exam then I suppose. I might actually start looking forward to this if you're going to be there."
"Can't wait to tell Sherlock he wasted two months trying to get you to commit and that this kid you've known for a week and a half was the one that suckered you in." Yan Qing said with a chuckle.
"Oh shut up you bastard." Nathan said casually.
"Fahahaha! Alright! See ya around Mido! Keep that practice up! Never know when I'll show up and give you a pop quiz!"
Midoriya gulped audibly at the thought of Yan Qing impersonating someone close to him in order to catch him off guard again but he knew that even if he failed he was in no danger.
Yan Qing gave off the air of a man who had struggled through a great many terrible things but… While standing at Nathan's side he looked like a normal older brother.
The two of them departed shortly after that leaving Midoriya to return home on his own.
This was it.
He stood at the entrance to UA's campus.
He had managed to inherit One for All just in time.
Everything was in place, now all he had to do was put it into practice.
That distant unachievable dream was finally in arms reach.
He of course immediately tripped and had to be saved by another applicant.
He had been knocked so far off balance by the fact that a cute girl had spoken to him that he didn't even introduce himself, or even ask for her name, or say anything really.
But she had spoken to him so it was an undeniable victory on his part.
"Are you ok Midoriya? You're talking at a million miles an hour."
That familiar even tone pulled his attention.
Nathan Relnor stood behind him with a bag slung over his left shoulder. He wore the same outfit he always seemed to wear. Was it some kind of uniform? It was a black short sleeve shirt with branding he didn't recognize with grey pants and black combat boots for some reason.
"I hope to hear good news when you get back. Don't hesitate to call me if you need another lift."
Midoriya's focus was pulled behind Nathan, to where a woman with white hair sat in a blindingly red convertible. Pointedly, she was not speaking Japanese.
"Of course." Nathan responded casually in the same language she'd used, "Thanks for the lift Carmilla."
"It's no trouble. Just pass. It will be good for you I think."
Midoriya watched, awestruck as she drove away, leaving with a casual wave.
Before he could properly formulate a response to what he'd just seen Nathan gently elbowed his shoulder.
"We gonna just stand here or are we going to go pass this exam?"
"Huh!?" Midoriya let out a confused grunt. Nathan was still speaking in that language he couldn't even identify so everything he'd just said was incomprehensible to him.
The boy paused somewhat before coughing awkwardly.
"Sorry. I mean. Are we just going to stand here or are we going to go pass this exam?"
"R-Right! Of course! Let's go!" Midoriya said, resolving himself as he walked slightly ahead of his friend.
They would pass.
They would make it into UA.
Everything was about to change for Midoriya Izuku.
But how many things were going to change for the pensive boy behind him?
They filed into a large auditorium, Nathan sitting to Midoriya's left. Even being here in this amazing facility Nathan did not seem to be terribly impressed.
Midoriya did his best not to pay too much attention to Bakugo who was sitting to his right. Not that he had to try very hard once the presenter took the stage.
Present Mic himself took to the stage and immediately blew everyone away with his presence.
He explained the details of their practical exam. They would be let loose in a test environment where they would face several different types of robotic opponents. Eliminating them would award points based on the type of robot they destroyed.
Midoriya couldn't stop himself from muttering about how amazing everything was the whole time, fidgeting in place excitedly.
At least until another hopeful called him out for being distracting.
Holding his hand over his mouth he tried to calm himself down.
"Looks like we'll probably be split up…" Nathan said absentmindedly.
As President Mic explained the concept of the stage hazard enemy Nathan's gaze sharpened. Not that Midoriya could actually see it, but he could absolutely feel the shift in Nathan's mood.
After the presentation was complete they were shuffled towards the testing ground with the other examinees.
"This is where we part ways. I'll see you over the finish line Midoriya Izuku. May your trials overflow with blessings and curses."
Nathan patted Midoriya firmly on the back.
"Right! Good luck Relnor-san!"
Surprisingly, despite walking right past them, Bakugo didn't offer a single comment to the boy encouraging him. Maybe he was too focused on the task at hand to notice anything happening to Midoriya.
Regardless, he gave one final bow to Nathan before they were herded in different directions.
"Robots huh… I wonder how well they're shielded against electrical attacks," Nathan muttered to himself absentmindedly. "I can't imagine they're too durable. They wouldn't want to endanger students too much but they still need to be strong enough that taking them out is worth something."
The concept of the exam itself bothered him. It was a good test of practical skills without too much actual danger, but didn't this exclude people who's quirks only worked on humans? Maybe there were other types of exams at other schools, but to think the most prestigious of the bunch excluded a portion of the population like that so easily from the hero course.
"Oh? Do you have an electricity quirk too?" A boy with blonde hair approached him. Apparently he'd been muttering a bit too loudly. Maybe Midoriya was starting to rub off on him.
"In a sense." Nathan held out his right hand, allowing electricity to dance across his open palm.
"Ah! Nice! Electricity bros! We've got this in the bag! I mean it's robots! Name's Kaminari Denki by the way!"
"Nathan Relnor," He said with a smile, "Provided their circuits aren't properly shielded we shouldn't have many problems. But. We should probably head in separate directions…"
"Oh right. Yeah. Don't wanna be competing with interference! Here's to both of us passing!" He held out his right fist. Nathan returned the gesture with his left. Being left handed was still strange to him even though it had been a few years since he'd been forced to switch hands.
Kaminari gave him a wave before returning his attention to the other hopeful students. Nathan decided to follow suit. He didn't think it would be too much of a competition. Even if the robots were shielded somewhat it was more than likely he had enough power to fry them through such things. Not to mention that straight up electricity attacks were not the only weapon in his arsenal.
"START!"
That announcement came so suddenly that none of the examinees responded immediately.
Except one.
He propelled himself forward with a burst of electromagnetic energy.
The entire area was artificial so there was metal everywhere for him to latch on to and repel himself from.
He soared over the stunned audience, latching onto a nearby building and pulling himself ahead with a massive burst of speed.
It was surprising to him though. Weren't they hero hopefuls?
How can you just stand around when you hear a call to action?
No matter. It offered him an early edge. He was the first into the center of his designated arena.
He reached out with his right arm.
An odd hum escaped it as it began to generate power.
"Now then. Let's run some tests…"
The safe assumption was that the robots were shielded to an immense degree so he would need to attack the sensors first. Thankfully they were very obviously placed. He let his arm build up a million volts. He throttled his amperage by only discharging the attack through a third of his scales.
The scales covering his right eye shifted slightly. They were plugged directly into his optic nerves, allowing him to 'See' electromagnetic fields at work. He would observe how his attack traveled through his target and decide where to go from there.
The Three pointer he'd attacked was downed in an instant, each of its sensors exploding from the overwhelming power of the attack.
He let out a sigh of relief. He could lower his power significantly and still take out the machines. And there were so many spread out before him, simply waiting for their inevitable demise. He let his arm charge up again and attacked in a massive arc.
At least a dozen robots fell from having their inner workings overloaded by the sheer amount of power Nathan was pumping into them.
It was only now that the other applicants started catching up to him.
In response he simply continued his advance. The less people that were around him the less he would have to throttle his attacks. Friendly fire was something he'd needed extensive training to work past but the simple fact was that it was easier to avoid it if there were just no allies in the area.
He continued on, relentlessly frying any robot that drew too close.
He hadn't really been counting how many points he had, if he had to guess he was somewhere in the 50s by now. His run had been almost completely solitary but the other applicants were fairly spread out by now.
So it came as no surprise when he ran into someone else.
She tossed a pair of pebbles at a two pointer she'd surprised.
"Giant!"
With that simple command those pebbles increased in size several times over. The two pointer underneath them never stood a chance.
He was about to turn to leave before the building between them exploded.
At the moment of impact he registered it.
The Zero Pointer had arrived on the battlefield.
Debris showered down on the two of them. There was little doubt they would be crushed under the remains of the building as that enormous automaton made its way to the central area of the exam.
Nathan took action immediately.
He couldn't use his top speed. The girl was not far enough away for him to reach it and then slow down enough to not injure her on impact. Thankfully he genuinely doubted his top speed would be required here.
A power that existed outside of his quirk flooded his body, reinforcing it beyond its limits and allowing him to explode forward with much more force than he could normally take.
The shower of debris was far enough above them that he didn't even have to weave through it. Although that was more a testament to his reaction time than his actual speed.
He scooped her up and magnetically latched onto the Zero pointer to slow himself.
The entire event had only taken a few seconds.
They skidded to a halt a few meters away from the shower of debris.
"You alright?" Nathan asked, focusing his attention to the girl in his arms.
She gave a soft squeak in response
He took that as a yes and began to set her down.
She was trembling so she needed to brace herself against him.
Thankfully she didn't seem to be injured.
Another crash brought Nathan's attention back to the Zero pointer.
It was worth nothing to destroy it…
But if it was going to put other students in danger.
He looked around for a moment. There was plenty of rubble around but he was looking for something specific.
"Um-"
"I'm going to go take care of that big thing so nobody else gets hurt. Hopefully I'll see you at the finish line as well," Nathan said, turning a smile towards that girl.
A soft eep escaped her as she froze up again.
He left her presence before she had time to recover.
He found a piece of debris that suited his needs perfectly.
A fragment of an I-Bar that was small enough for him to carry. He scooped it up in his left hand before launching himself to the top of a nearby building.
Intel was essential for his next move. He needed to know where most of the students were. When firing a powerful attack it was very important to make sure nothing you weren't willing to lose was in the way.
Kaminari Denki was running for his life.
For some reason that Zero pointer had locked onto him and was smashing its way through everything in order to reach him.
Probably because he'd fried a few dozen of its buddies.
But! But that was unfair! Surely that Nathan kid had done just the same! Why hadn't it targeted him instead!?
He forgot his footing as his thoughts turned to admonishing his electricity betrayer. So it came to no one's surprise when he tripped on a robot that he himself had defeated.
Karma was not on his side today.
The Zero pointer came to a stop as it turned to orient itself towards him probably in order to get a better shot. Maybe? It had to have guns right?
This theory was dashed when it kept on turning,
He was too relieved at not being the primary target that he didn't even think to consider who was pulling its attention.
He was just glad it wasn't him.
"That's it. Come on. I'm right here!"
Nathan Relnor stood in a mostly empty street.
The ground let out an occasional rumble as that Zero Pointer approached him.
He had not drawn its attention by attacking it.
No.
He had simply generated a large enough threat that it had no choice but to target him.
The air swirled around him as he built up an enormous amount of electromagnetic force. He held his left hand to his right shoulder to brace himself.
He hadn't exactly planned on using one of his aces in the entrance exam but after seeing the Zero Pointer for himself he knew he needed to take it out.
It was a stage hazard after all.
In other words, it was a hazard to everyone on the stage.
An enemy that endangered the lives of everyone around him had to be defeated.
' If you have power you should use it to protect others.'
His right arm split open, forming two columns of black scales with the broken I-Bar hovering between them.
Yes.
It was a mistake Midoriya had made that he hadn't bothered to correct.
His right arm was not covered in scales.
His right arm was entirely made out of scales.
That arrangement allowed his mediocre quirk to generate a truly monstrous level of power.
Enough power to fire a railgun.
The Zero pointer was nearly on top of him.
He angled his arm further up and pulled the trigger.
A blinding flash of light tore through his opponent in an instant.
The scent of ozone filled the air as a streak of orange light shot off into the distance. Nathan doubted his projectile would land as a solid chunk. It simply was not designed to survive the level of air friction that came with being fired at three times the speed of sound. No matter the actual outcome did he'd angled his shot towards the woods beyond the examination site anyway just to be on the safe side.
He watched as that Zero Pointer staggered and collapsed into a heap of fire and wreckage.
Finally, he allowed himself to relax. Carefully his arm began to knit itself back together. His scales had an upper limit of how much power they could store and release. If he asked too much of them they would blow like a fuse.
Firing that railgun was demanding and left his arm somewhat depleted, but if he needed to he could fire up to two more.
That was simply how many scales comprised that arm.
He turned his attention back to the exam.
Did he need more points? It was difficult to say but he might as well continue fighting. Or maybe he should just keep an eye on the other students. He didn't want to consume all of the points for himself after all.
With a snap his arm returned to normal. He opened and closed his right hand just to make sure his fingers still had what little functionality he could give them before moving on.
"Two Zero Pointers defeated in one test," A small mouse-like creature said from its position seated in front of several monitors.
"How absurd… Do kids not know the meaning of holding back anymore?" A well built man said as he leaned back into his chair.
"Moreover. The first one. Was that a goddamn Railgun? Where on earth did he learn how to do that without alerting any authorities!?" A man clad in what looked to be some form of construction equipment said in an exasperated tone.
Yes. They truly had an unprecedented scenario on their hands. One student had jumped above and beyond to save a single person.
Another had moved to eliminate a threat that he felt brought a clear danger to everyone.
That was where their ideologies diverged.
"Well… We've certainly got our work cut out for us this year."
"I'll say."
The written test immediately followed the practical one. This one was almost harder for him simply because writing was such a slow process .
He had always been right handed so when a certain incident resulted in his right arm being severed about half way up his bicep he had been forced to switch hands.
Writing was a bit of a lower priority given everything else that had happened after he lost his arm so he only had just under a year's worth of practice.
It was legible but it looked like a seven year old had written it. That was simply the limit of his current ability, especially considering Japanese was not his native language.
Hoping for the best he exited the testing area. He'd tried to find Midoriya but he hadn't seen him after the practical exam let out.
There were some murmurs of an injury… Did Midoriya's quirk really have that much recoil to it? No wonder he almost never used it.
Nathan lingered for a moment in front of UA.
He at least had to have confirmation before he left.
"HEEEY THERE! WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE WEARING THAT LONG FACE!? THE EXAM THAT HARD?"
Nathan turned to the source of the loud voice.
It was the exam proctor, Present Mic.
"Oh. I was waiting to try and meet up with my friend. At the very least I wanted to confirm his status before leaving."
"Mmm. I can ask around, who was your friend?"
"Midoriya Izuku. I heard some rumbling that someone was injured and I just wanted to make sure he was ok before I left…"
"It's great that you're worried about your friend! He's in good hands I can assure you! I'm pretty sure he's the one Recovery Girl is taking care of. She's the best so you can run back home with your head held high!" Present Mic said after giving him an exaggerated thumbs up.
Nathan let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. The worry that had gripped his heart eased considerably and a smile returned to his face.
"Thank you. I'll be off then,"
"No problem! Have a safe trip back now!"
"I will."
He approached UA's front gate. Beyond it sat Carmilla, her car idling on the side of the road.
"I was worried when I didn't see you exit with the others. Is everything alright?" She asked as he took the passenger seat.
"I'm fine. Fired my railgun but other than that nothing big. I was just worried about Midoriya. Seems he was afraid of his quirk's recoil for a good reason…"
"I see. Shall we go home?"
"Sure. I could use a nap."
"Fufufu, very well." She hit the gas starting their journey back. "So, how do you think you did?"
The roar of the air rushing by them wasn't quite enough to drown out conversational dialogue, a testament to how well designed her vehicle was.
"I probably passed? It was robots. Their tolerance level was lower than Edison's mechs so I just fried a bunch of them. We'll get our results in about a week or so I'm told."
"Well, at least it wasn't too difficult. I did receive a rather urgent phone call when Chaldea detected your railgun."
"Ah. That. I should let them know they don't need to be that watchful. There was just a stage hazard I decided to take out to protect the other students."
"How very like you." She let out a soft chuckle before reaching over to pinch his cheek, "But don't overdo it. You're done having to save the world, just focus on saving the people in front of you."
He let out a murmur as his gaze drifted to the buildings rushing by them. He had immediately gone back to jumping to meet the biggest threat in the area hadn't he? Hopefully this UA would help him beat that habit out of his head.
The rest of the drive passed in relative silence and they arrived back at their home in short order.
Carmilla pulled up to a nondescript warehouse which obligingly opened its garage door for her to drive right in.
As soon as the door shut the interior of the building lit up, revealing a large military vehicle parked in the center with its cargo doors open.
The convertible they'd rode in disappeared into a cloud of golden sparks after they exited it.
"Welcome back. I assume everything went ok?" A dapper man greeted them from his position leaning against the side of that large black vehicle.
"Were you really that worried Sherlock?" Nathan asked with a playful air.
"After we detected the railgun there was some commotion. I simply thought it would be best to avoid all of it by waiting for you out here."
"I see. Well then. I'm home."
"Yes. Welcome home Master."
Chapter 2
"Somehow, designing a hero costume completely slipped my mind," Nathan said in an exasperated tone.
"Oh! I guess I forgot to mention that! Sorry Relnor-san," Midoriya said, his voice coming from Nathan's phone.
"I've got a couple of people helping me out with it so it should be good to submit before our first day."
Yes.
They had both made the cut.
Midoriya had called him the day after the exams sobbing about how he had utterly failed to score a single point in the practical exam.
Nathan had tried his best to reassure him that there was no way simply destroying robots was all that mattered. After all, evaluations probably wouldn't take a week if that was the only metric they were measuring.
Unfortunately cold logic could not penetrate Midoriya's disappointment in himself. Despite Nathan's best efforts he languished for the entire week until his acceptance letter came in.
Midoriya had gotten in on his excellent written exam and a healthy supply of rescue points he'd earned from saving a fellow student from a Zero Pointer. Apparently he'd destroyed one of those goliaths as well.
Nathan felt a little bad that they'd have to replace two expensive pieces of machinery but they had an entire year to do it so he was sure they'd manage something.
Nathan's own acceptance letter had been glowing. He hadn't really been counting so when his villain point score came in lower than he expected he wasn't too surprised.
It was still fairly high at 47, but his rescue point score was just as high, giving him the top score of the entrance exam.
Apparently this meant he had obligations which was something he wasn't looking forward to. When he saw his score he honestly wished he'd held back a little more.
"Alright. What do you think of ths?" Hokusai asked, holding up her latest sketch.
She'd been through about half a dozen designs at this point and was growing increasingly more frantic to produce something that he approved of.
He looked at it pensively for a moment before nodding. He reached over and grabbed his phone from where he'd placed it on the table.
"Hm. Yeah. Yeah I like this one a lot… Hey Midoriya I'm gonna switch to video real fast tell me what you think of this one."
"Ok!"
After fumbling with his phone for a moment he pointed the camera at Hokusai and her design.
"Oh! That is really nice! Minimalist but with enough unique features to make it identifiable! It looks a bit like a modern take on a silver age design!"
"Haaaah! Finally! I'm glad you like my design Master-dono and friend!"
Nathan held his right hand over the speaker causing it to give a bit of feedback in order to drown out her use of his title. He didn't want Midoriya to get any weird ideas.
"Sorry bout that," He said after turning off the video feed, "Anyway I'm gonna go get this workshopped a little more, thanks for helping out Midoriya."
"It's no problem at all! I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Yeah. See you then, UA Student Midoriya Izuku."
With that he pocketed his phone before turning back to Hokusai.
"I am sorry Master-dono but I really just can't bring myself to use your name… It's embarrassing."
"I understand. Don't worry about it. I think we're still good… Thank you for all your hard work on this. I know I put a lot of unreasonable requests on the table…"
"Master-dono, I pledged my brush to your cause a long time ago. Besides this is nothing compared to some of Toto-sama's more demanding clients." She responded with a playful laugh. A small octopus hovered up from behind her, having darted out of sight when talk of video calls started.
"Let's get this to a couple of the Casters and see if we can figure out how to staple some mystic codes onto it after UA puts it all together."
"Sure thing Master-dono!"
With a yawn and a stretch of his arms Nathan got up from the table they'd been working at. His door opened automatically as he approached it, revealing a sleek white hall.
They walked together chatting aimlessly until they came to a door that required a passcode to open.
The electronic door slid open revealing a massive multi tiered room. Its contents were difficult to process as it seemed to contain several different personalized spaces that wildly clashed when taken as a whole.
"Oh. Hello Master. What brings you to the Workshops today?" A woman garbed in a purple robe asked as she floated down to meet them.
"We finalized my hero costume design and I was wondering if we could give it the good ol Chaldean treatment of trying to shove as many mystic codes into it as possible."
"I WANNA HELP!" Another woman, wearing a white robe who's neckline dipped all the way to her waist glided down. She furled her black wings behind her as she landed, giving Nathan an excited smile.
"Oh? Do my ears deceive me? The Master of Chaldea has come to the Workshops? I suppose I'll have to lend my support as well!"
"You're the one that dragged me here saying that Master would need us, so please stop with this surprised act."
A flowery man dressed in elaborate white robes approached flanked by a sharply dressed man who looked like he hadn't slept in five years.
"This should be more than enough," Nathan said with a smile, "Let's get to work."
Yes.
On paper Chaldea was a reserve unit of powerful heroes that responded to emergencies exclusively.
That was the cover they used to integrate into modern Japanese society as smoothly as they could manage.
They played the role of a mysterious organization with shadowy leadership that existed only to help people.
But in reality they were an organization from the other side of the world. The side that practiced and coveted the mysterious power of magic.
Chaldea was an organization that had been dedicated to preserving the integrity of proper human history, using a combination of magic and technology to call forth Heroic Spirits of all kinds to aid in their cause.
Those heroes were tied to one person that served as their anchor in the modern era.
Five years ago, an 11 year old boy joined Chaldea by chance having been picked up during a villain incident by its founder.
When the worst came to pass he was the only one standing with the capability of becoming that anchor.
Thus, Nathan Relnor became the Master of Chaldea.
Here he was. Despite everything. He had hesitated every step of the way but he had finally been given the right shove.
He walked down UA's halls towards his classroom. He'd wanted to go with Midoriya but he'd run into a few unexpected snags.
Having over 50 parental figures try to personally see him off had slowed his departure considerably. He'd been forced to ask Gilgamesh to give him a ride on the Vimana just to make sure he wasn't late.
Pushing the massive door aside, Nathan entered the class and was immediately accosted.
"Eeeey! You made it! Electricity bros for life!" Kaminari shouted, beckoning him over to his desk.
Nathan nodded, passing by a boy with rough blond hair arguing with the one that had singled out Midoriya as a distraction during the entrance exam.
"Ey high five man! I knew that'd be no sweat for the two of us right!?" He held his hand up expectantly. Reluctantly Nathan completed the gesture with his right hand. Since holding it as an open palm was one of the few things he could actually make it do he figured it'd probably be alright.
"Glad to see you made it too Kaminari Denki," Nathan said, offering the boy a light bow. The seats around his Quirk partner were taken so he opted for one in the far corner. Not quite in the back, but enough to make him feel comfortable.
He placed his bag before regarding that rough boy once again.
Although he supposed he already knew that student's name.
Bakugo Katsuki.
Midoriya had mentioned him a few times in moments of self doubt.
They had come from the same school and apparently Bakugo had made Midoriya his personal punching bag.
It left a bad taste in Nathan's mouth, but he had become friends with people who had done far far worse.
"Oh. Hello." A girl with long black hair wrapped in an odd ponytail greeted him formally.
"Hello. Was this seat taken?" He asked giving her an equally formal greeting.
"No no… I was just going to sit behind you if you don't mind."
"No worries. My name's Nathan Relnor."
"Yaoyorozu Momo. A pleasure."
She certainly gave off an upper class air. It was something he was all too familiar with given the absurd amount of royalty he had to deal with on a daily basis.
"Truly a banquet of madness." Another voice cut in. Briefly Nathan's attention fell to the boy who had a stylized crow's head before his attention was drawn to what that boy was commenting on.
Midoriya Izuku had walked into class.
At least that proper glasses clad boy was giving him his dues. Although Bakugo seemed to be building up more and more tension as Midoriya spoke.
An explosion was imminent, Nathan just wondered how long it'd take for his fuse to burn up.
He was about to wave Midoriya over when another girl approached him and began talking to him.
She sure did say some interesting things.
"Oh? So that's why he pushed himself so far," Nathan said softly.
"Hm?" The boy with the crow head turned to Nathan.
"Ah. Sorry. I was just listening in on them. I know the curly haired one," He explained.
"I see. He's one of the ones that took out a Zero pointer yes? Truly a mighty power… Tokoyami Fumikage by the way. I overheard you introduce yourself earlier Nathan-san so no need to repeat yourself."
Internally he scolded himself once again, "Sorry, Relnor's actually my family name, I'm from the UK."
"Oh. My apologies."
"What brought you to Japan if you don't mind my asking?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"Family business."
"I see."
Before the conversation could continue further a figure announced itself before crawling into the classroom in a sleeping bag. He shed the bright yellow bag and revealed himself to be their homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota.
"Put these on and shove off to the PE grounds immediately."
Holding that uniform in his hand, he wasn't entirely thrilled with it. It was short sleeved which was convenient. His quirk tended to blow away fabric if he used with too much force. But. His left arm. No. His entire body…
"You gonna change or you gonna just stare at that thing all day?" A student with black hair asked.
"I guess I don't have any other options…" Nathan said in a hushed tone. As soon as that boy stopped paying attention to him he altered his breathing. Everything about his movements became smooth. He let go of his presence and to everyone else in the locker room he almost completely disappeared.
It was a skill he'd picked up during his travels. It was a far cry from true Presence Concealment, but against untrained people around his age? It would be just good enough. As long as he didn't draw attention to himself there was a good chance he would go unnoticed by the rest of the boys.
He slipped off his blazer and quickly changed into his PE uniform.
Since no one had stopped to gasp and remark at the state of his body he assumed he'd managed to keep himself hidden in plain sight. With his period of exposure over he allowed his breathing to return to normal.
He joined up with the others as they made their way to the designated area.
They found Aizawa already waiting for them.
"This is a quirk apprehension test," He announced simply. He was met with a few murmurs but continued anyway, "The physical exams you took in school where you were barred from using your quirk, we will be redoing them here. But this time you're not to hold anything back. Bakugo, step up to the circle,"
The boy compiled before being tossed a ball.
"How far could you pitch a softball in middle school?"
"67 meters,"
"Use your quirk this time. As long as you don't step out of the circle anything is fair game. No holding back."
They watched as Bakugo took a step back, steadied himself, and launched the ball with a blast of explosive power.
It was immediately obvious how much further using his quirk allowed him to pitch.
This was hammered home when Aizawa held out his phone.
705.2 meters.
"Before anything else, you must know what you are capable of. This is your starting line."
Excitement spread through the class. To be allowed to use their quirks on an assessment like this was something they had only dreamed of before.
Nathan furrowed his brow.
He did not share this feeling with his class.
'I wonder… What my scores were back then…'
Aizawa was quick to head off the class before they got too excited. His presence shifted ever so slightly as he declared that the person who scored the lowest would be expelled immediately. It was a brutal reminder of the stakes that came with being a hero.
But after all the rigermerol of actually getting into UA, Nathan wasn't about to lose his cool here. Especially considering how much worse the trials he had already faced were.
Trial one was a 50 meter dash. Nathan was in the middle of the pack so he simply watched as the others took their turns. At least until he noticed Midoriya sweating bullets next to him.
"You still can't properly use your quirk without breaking anything can you?" Nathan asked.
"No…"
Nathan looked furtive for a moment. Midoriya had trained and trained and yet he still couldn't quite get a good handle on his power.
"Once we clear this we should talk about your power. I feel like I've been a bad friend for waiting so long to try and actually help you manage it but I guess I just didn't realize how bad it was…"
"Th-That would be great! And- and you don't- You're not a bad friend if I'm the one who never told you!" Midoriya said firmly.
Nathan just offered him a smile. Upon hearing his number he took place next to one Yaoyorozu Momo.
"Stay clear of the end of the track, I'll need room to slow back down."
The congregation of students who thought they were far enough away simply shrugged and shuffled over.
The maximum amount of Gs an unprotected human could handle without passing out was around 5.
Power that had nothing to do with his quirk flooded his body.
Yes.
In order to hold the title of Master of Chaldea Nathan had been forced to enter the world of magic. He wasn't a particularly skilled magus by any stretch of the word, but it was a power that was a part of him and he'd been told to hold nothing back.
And one of the most basic applications of that power was Reinforcement.
He could now push himself to 7Gs of acceleration. With his body reinforced he would not pass out from that extra force.
Thankfully there was a large building behind him that he could repel himself from. He generated power throughout all of his scales. His limbs gave off an odd hum as they reached the level of energy they'd need to push him somewhere close to that speed.
Fainty he registered the starting signal.
He reached 50 m/s in just under a second.
He counted to one after hearing the signal and immediately started pulling himself towards the building he'd initially pushed off of.
He ground to a halt, using his left leg and right arm to dig into the earth without endangering himself. He'd overshot the end point by quite a bit but he was supposed to be going plus ultra.
Standing up and dusting himself off he glanced back to his opponent who hadn't even gotten off the starting line before he exploded past her.
At least he hadn't broken the sound barrier.
"Fucking hell…" He heard one of the girls mutter.
Nathan returned to Midoriya's side while shaking the dirt out from between his scales.
"Dude what was that!?" An empty gym uniform ran up to him and Midoriya.
"What do you mean?" Nathan asked.
"How'd you go that fast!? That was insane!"
"Electromagnetism. I generated a ton of power and used it to push myself off of the frame of that building over there."
"Duuuuude! So you've got an electricity quirk!?"
"Only technically. My quirk is called Surge Scale," Nathan said, holding his right hand out, "I can grow these scales that have the ability to generate and discharge electricity."
"Wooooah! So you covered your whole arm in them?"
Nathan opened his mouth before pausing. He did not want to start lying to his fellow students before he even learned their names.
But admitting he had actually lost his arm and replaced it with his quirk was a lot.
They were supposed to be pushing past their limits.
"No."
Midoriya's head turned towards Nathan in the next instant.
"This is my arm."
A crack sounded as his right hand split open, revealing nothing but scales all the way through.
"What!?" Midoriya called out, inspecting Nathan's hand carefully.
There was simply no flesh to be found.
"So your eye and your leg?"
"Yup."
He knew what the burning question on their minds was. They could see some of the scars on his left arm. If they looked hard enough they could probably see the ones at the base of his neck too.
"That's unreal!? How did you even get it to do that?"
"Lots and lots of trial and error." Nathan said with a casual chuckle that perhaps should not accompany talking about replacing missing limbs.
"17 and 18, you're up."
Midoriya looked pensive.
"Hey. Relnor-san. If you want to talk or anything…"
"Maybe. But you have a trial to overcome. Focus on getting through this first and everything else can come later."
He gave a small wave as Midoriya left to take his place at the starting line.
"I'm Hagakure Toru by the way, nice to meet ya!" The invisible girl finally introduced herself.
"Relnor Nathan," He said with a smile. He felt like he'd overcome a massive obstacle but in reality he'd only remembered to flip his name because Midoriya had just addressed him directly.
Still, he needed to take wins where he could. He started to reform his hand into its default state, scales clicking back into place as he watched Bakugo literally blast past Midoriya.
If he could not use his quirk he would be near the bottom of the bracket.
Everyone here had a quirk that would let them excel in at least one of the 8 trails.
If Midoriya couldn't get that one exceptional result he was in trouble.
But would their teacher really expel them on day one?
Nathan's eye trailed its way over to Aizawa.
From how he'd spoken he definitely sounded serious.
But was it a ruse to pull out the best in everyone?
Or was it a ruse to pull out the best in a single person?
The next trial was a test of their grip strength so they went inside to get to the proper measuring equipment. Nathan had no real way to give himself an advantage here. That right hand that could only mechanically open and close and did not do so particularly forcefully. He decided not to even bother with reinforcement as he squeezed that device with his left hand.
They moved back outside for the next trail. A standing long jump. Another simple task Nathan could excel at. There was no need to test his acceleration to its limit again so while his strategy was the same as the 50 meter dash he did not push off with nearly as much force.
He didn't really feel the need to land either. Ever so gently he pushed off of the trace metals in the ground beneath him and allowed himself to hover until he ran into the far fence.
His antics earned him a tired expression from Aizawa and yet more cheers from Hagakure and Kaminari.
The fourth trial was a sustained side jump competition. Perhaps the first true dud of the trials Nathan had faced so far.
The second he planted on his left leg wrong it bent at a 90 degree angle and he went tumbling out of the side jump. Much like his right arm, his left leg was entirely constructed of scales. Continuous side jumping was not something Nathan had bothered to account for when designing how to fit scales into a new leg so it was only natural that it would fail here.
A prosthetic, no matter how good, had its drawbacks when compared to the thing it was replacing.
"You ok?" Yaoyorazu asked, flanked by a girl with black hair and… Headphone jacks coming out of her ears?
"Yeah. Legs not designed for that kind movement so it just buckled."
"I saw, it looked like you sprained your ankle pretty bad!"
He dusted himself off before stepping down on that left leg a few times. The two girls flinched the first time he did it but when he didn't react at all they relaxed.
"It's fine, I don't really have to worry about injuries like that with this leg."
"Is it a prosthetic!? Made out of your quirk?"
"Yup."
The two girls gave him a horrified look.
He turned away from them before they could start asking questions he had no intention of answering truthfully.
The fifth trial was a ball toss. Nathan stepped up to the circle. The ball had sensors in it but it wasn't made of enough metal for him to launch it properly. If he tried it would just explode the moment it left his hand.
So he switched to his left and reinforced his arm. Reinforcement magic gave him about a sixty percent increase on whatever demand he was making of his body. In this case his arm strength had been the target.
His throw registered at 93 Meters, which was respectable for a normal person but after watching that gravity girl float her ball into the atmosphere it was entirely unimpressive.
No matter, he already had two ridiculous results to his name.
He took a step back as he watched Midoriya get ready to throw.
The boy looked like he was about to lose it on the spot. The desperation was getting to him. He just needed one exceptional result, but how far was he willing to go to get it?
"He's not doing too well today is he?"
"Course not, he doesn't have a quirk!"
"What? Did you not see what he did at the entrance exam!?"
While the glasses boy and Bakugo were arguing the gravity girl slid up beside him.
"Hey. You're his friend right? What do you think is going to happen?"
"He will sink or swim," Nathan said, eye firmly fixed on Midoriya.
He watched with senses honed from countless magical battles.
He could see it, ever so faintly.
Power.
Power too great for the human body to handle without shattering.
Midoriya flooded his right arm with power as he swung.
His arm would be destroyed but he would receive that exceptional result.
Nathan watched Midoriya commit to that sacrifice.
But that result did not come to pass.
The moment of his throw Midoriya's power was suppressed by an outside influence.
Nathan turned to Aizawa, who had affixed a glare on Midoriya.
"46 meters."
Midoriya looked like he was about to fall over dead. Aizawa stepped up, announcing that he'd erased his quirk and going on about how Midoriya couldn't become a hero if he himself needed to be saved every time he acted.
Nathan didn't entirely agree with that assessment but he recognized that he had an extremely loose definition of hero at this point.
After all. At the beginning hadn't he needed saving every time he took so much as a single misstep?
Aizawa released Midoriya from his own quirk, stipulating that he would surely fail if he destroyed his arm.
He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Use his quirk to achieve an exceptional result and prove Aizawa right, or preserve his body and take last place. But.
"After all that hard work, you can see between that binary can't you Midoriya?"
He didn't realize he'd spoken that aloud until the gravity girl gave him an odd look.
Once again, Midoriya took to the circle.
He reared back his arm.
Nathan could not see that welling of power.
What would he sacrifice to follow his dream?
He threw.
The ball exploded forward, registering at 705.3 meters.
"How…" Nathan muttered before the realization struck him. Midoriya's finger was broken. He waited until the last possible moment to unleash his power in such a way that it did minimal damage while achieving such a result.
Nathan was about to call out to congratulate his friend before Bakugo stormed forward. He'd been so relieved that he'd forgotten entirely about the simmering teen next to him. Thankfully Aizawa reacted faster than he did, wrapping Bakugo in his capture weapon and preventing him from whatever he'd been planning to do.
"Nice work," Nathan said with a smile as Midoriya approached him.
"Thanks!"
Midoriya's smile was wide and there were tears in the eyes from the pain he was enduring, but he had truly cleared his first hurdle.
"I've got a long way to go so I need to work ten times harder if I'm going to catch up to everyone."
"You'll get there. I know you will. You've got the makings for a great hero Midoriya Izuku."
The sixth trial was a seated toe touch.
Perhaps the easiest of the trails so far for Nathan. He was already fairly flexible despite the massive accumulation of scar tissue.
Not to mention that his left leg and right arm were prosthetics with some amount of give to them. He didn't even pay enough attention to the trial to figure out how exactly they were being scored.
And he wasn't the only one.
After seeing that throw from Midoriya, Aizawa seemed to be less interested in the results himself.
Had he really gone that far just to see if Midoriya deserved to be here?
He would never argue that this whole exercise hadn't taught Midoriya a lesson he desperately needed to learn.
But wasn't this all a little on the extreme side?
The seventh trial was endurance running.
Aizawa had a headache as he watched Relnor not even bother with actually running. He used the same trick he had on the long jump and simply hovered a few inches off the ground while pushing himself around with electromagnetism.
It didn't help that Nathan's quirk would be difficult for him to work with.
His quirk could not cancel mutation type quirks.
Nathan grew physical scales with his quirk and those scales in turn produced the electricity he was flying around with. The electricity itself was not his quirk.
He was dealing with an overachiever that had actively sought out and destroyed a monstrous target in order to protect the other examinees. One that could not be easily stopped.
The final trial was upper body exercises. Another dud for Nathan. His right arm was simply not as sturdy as his left. If it reached its limit it would break and he did not exactly feel the need to push himself far enough to have to replace his arm on his first day at UA.
Nathan came to a stop next to Hagakure and Yaoyorozu.
"Haaaaah… I'm really worried about this!" The invisible girl said in a panicked tone of voice.
"It will be ok." Nathan said with a smile.
Hagakure opened her mouth to chastise him but something strange happened.
He was looking her directly in the eyes.
Clothes usually helped people guess where her body was just by how they moved. But even then it was a rare thing for someone to actually look her in the eyes. She'd gotten so used to conversation partners not quite meeting her stare that it wasn't something she considered rude anymore.
But when the opposite happened…
"Well… Time to present the results."
Midoriya looked despondent, he had only scored well in that one trial. Nathan wanted to reach out to him but…
"Oh yeah that whole expulsion thing was a lie."
He didn't really need to.
"It was a logical ruse to get you to push yourselves," Aizawa said with a grin that looked positively manic.
Yaoyorozu just let out a sigh as she watched about half of the class break down in cheers.
"It was obvious wasn't it? There was no way he would expel us under such a flimsy pretense."
Nathan had to disagree with her evaluation. Aizawa had been serious when he made that proclamation. He had simply changed his mind halfway through.
Aizawa handed Midoriya a slip to go see the nurse before the rest of the class returned to change out of their PE clothes.
But Nathan held back a moment.
"Aizawa-sensei."
"What is it Relnor?"
"Is there any way I can change in private?"
Aizawa paused to look at the student before him. Nathan pulled up his right sleeve over his shoulder revealing about six horrible scars.
"It um… It makes me uncomfortable. At least right now. I'm sure I'll get used to it over time but I've been-"
"You can change in the nurse's office for now. It's not too far away from 1-A."
"Thank you very much Aizawa-sensei!"
Aizawa watched the boy leave.
He would need to submit another request for information on the boy.
It was odd that Relnor's files were coming from Chaldea but apparently that's just where the boy lived.
What exactly had he endured during his time there?
"What even leaves scars like that…" he muttered to himself before turning.
He was met immediately by All Might which did absolutely nothing to help his mood.
"How do you feel?" Nathan asked.
"Exhausted," Midoriya muttered. Briefly Nathan wondered if he should just carry the boy. Apparently UA had a nurse on staff with a powerful healing quirk. It used the targets stamina to speed up their natural healing ability which explained Midoriya's general lethargy. Nathan could relate to something like that considering how demanding his treatments tended to be.
At least it had only been his finger.
"But. I'm still here. Last place isn't exactly a good start but I'm still here…"
"Of course. Being on the playing field means you have the opportunity to pull ahead."
"How's your finger?"
The glasses-clad boy approached Midoriya from behind.
Nathan had once wanted to fight him for calling out Midoriya at the entrance exam, but now that he knew him just that little bit better he could tell that he hadn't meant any malice by it.
He was just earnest and straightforward. He went off about how Aizawa had really fooled him with that quirk apprehension test before pausing mid sentence.
"I don't think we've been properly introduced. My name is Iida Tenya," He said to Nathan.
"Nathan Relnor."
"Relnor-san."
"Sorry, Relnor Nathan." He broke eye contact with Iida to silently admonish himself. He'd done so well earlier! Why was this habit so hard to break? Thankfully Midoriya quickly cleared the misunderstanding with Iida.
"Hey! Hey you three!"
"Oh. The infinity girl?"
The three turned their attention to the student approaching them.
"Hi! I'm Uraraka Ochako. And you're um… Iida Tenya! And uh-"
"Relnor Nathan,"
"And you're Midoriya Deku right?"
"Deku!?" Midoriya snorted out.
"Isn't that what that Bakugo kid called you?"
"Y-Yes well um… My name is actually Izuku! Deku is just what Kacchan calls me to demean me"
"So it's an insult!"
Nathan's eye narrowed. Maybe he could indulge in a little friendly fire at some point.
Just a little.
"Oh I'm sorry!" She gave a quick bow of apology before continuing, "But. I kind of like Deku for you! It gives the whole 'never give up' vibe you know!"
"Hi I'm Deku!" He immediately shouted, his face a deep red.
As Iida protested Nathan let out a hearty laugh. This brought the other three, Midoriya especially, to a halt.
"You really are something else Midoriya Izuku," Nathan said after quickly getting the laugh out of his system.
This was… This was good. UA was a human institution but it was extreme enough to feel familiar. That something could make him drop his guard enough to genuinely laugh…
"Are the three of you heading to the station? Do you mind if I join you?" Uraraka asked.
"I'm actually getting picked up at the gate again."
"Oh in the convertible?" Midoriya asked.
"Doubtful. There was… A bit of a commotion this morning. Apparently giving me a ride is a hot commodity with them now."
Iida and Uraraka were completely left in the dust by the conversation.
But even Midoriya Izuku with all of his familiarity with Nathan was lost when they reached the gate and a large heavily armored centaur greeted them.
A centaur with a horse's head.
"Oh. You're the one taking me back Red Hare?" Nathan asked, completely oblivious to his new friends' confusion.
In fact his words only brought them more confusion.
He'd switched languages the moment he started speaking to that hero.
"Yes! I won the ancient right via rock paper scissors!" The boisterous man let out a sharp neighing noise before gently bending down so Nathan could more easily climb on his back.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow I suppose. Have a safe trip home."
"Uh-"
"LET US RIDE TO THE EDGE OF THE EARTH!" Red Hare shouted before exploding forward. It was only barely enough warning for Nathan to grab a hold of something before he actually took off.
"WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIIIIIIIS!?" Nathan shouted.
After a frankly delicious meal Nathan set aside some time to finally call his erstwhile friend. He took the time to set up a small fort of pillows for him to relax in while he talked.
"Hello Midoriya Izuku speaking?"
"Hey Midoriya, it's Nathan," He said, "I wanted to talk to you about your quirk. Is this a good time?"
"Oh yeah! I just got finished with dinner so it's a good time for me!"
"Good, good. So what exactly do you experience when you use it?"
"Um. Like an overwhelming swell of power. I try to ground myself but I still end up releasing too much and breaking my bones…"
"So it's all or nothing, you can't tone it down at all?" Nathan asked.
"Not really. I don't have it refined down enough…"
Nathan sat silently for a moment, mulling over Midoriya's description. The description was rather vague so he couldn't figure out any concrete place to start.
"I could see it, very faintly, as you were pulling power into your arm. We'll have to meet up sometime over the weekend and see if there's anything else I can tell just from looking at it."
"You could see it?!" Midoriya shouted perhaps louder than he'd intended.
"Only when you were pushing a lot of it through your arm. I couldn't see anything on your actual throw."
"Is it related to your electromagnetic sight? But then what does that mean for-"
Midoriya started to drone on about the possibilities Nathan's inexplicable vision could bring. He was happy to let Midoriya speculate but he couldn't exactly tell him that he'd learned how to do so magically.
"Midoriya."
"Ah! Yes! Sorry! What is it?"
"What do you think about meeting up?"
"Oh right! Yeah that sounds good! Thank you so much! I'll take any help I can get honestly."
"Alright. Sounds good. I might poke around and see if anyone else can help too. Talk to you later Midoriya."
"Right! See you tomorrow!"