During his morning training, Izuku Midoriya ran while gently touching his face.
"…How hard did I pinch myself last night? Why is it still swollen…?"
He hadn't realized at all—
That the dream might have been real.
"…If I really have to take that oath… then it has to be with All Might."
"…But if I receive that kind of power, wouldn't his strength weaken even more…?"
The image of All Might's frail form flashed through his mind.
"…I don't want him to fall from the position of No. 1 Hero…"
"…Still…"
Izuku smiled slightly.
"…I do want to make that oath with him."
"Oi, Deku."
Izuku froze.
"Kacchan?!"
At some point, Katsuki Bakugo had been following him.
"…Why is this guy smiling like that… and what's with his swollen face…?" Bakugo muttered under his breath.
"…Just this once… I'll follow this idiot."
Today, Izuku didn't take his usual route.
Instead—
He ran toward the city center.
"…When did this nerd get so fast…?" Bakugo muttered, slightly out of breath.
Without using his Quirk—
He could barely keep up.
Izuku stopped at a butcher shop.
"Excuse me—500 grams of pork, please."
The shop owner handed him the meat.
"…Hey, kid—what happened to your face? That swelling looks serious."
"…Huh? Has it gotten worse?"
"…Yeah. It definitely has."
The owner poked the swollen area.
"OW—OW—OW!!!"
Izuku collapsed to the ground in pain.
"Whoa! Are you alright?!"
"Deku!"
Bakugo rushed forward and pulled him up before the shop owner could.
"You idiot! What are you doing?! Your face looks ridiculous!"
"S-Sorry… I should've noticed sooner…"
Izuku scratched his head awkwardly.
"…But Kacchan, what are you doing here?"
"I—I came to buy pork too! 500 grams!"
"…Then I'll get going."
"I need to head back and put medicine on this…"
Izuku ran off immediately.
"…Still scared of me, huh…"
Bakugo looked at him, then at the meat in his hand.
"…Whatever. I'll just have pork cutlets tonight."
Back home—
Izuku immediately grabbed some ointment and went to the bathroom.
Facing the mirror—
He carefully applied it to his swollen cheek.
Then—
He stuck a patch over it.
He stared at his reflection.
"…That looks uneven…"
His obsessive tendencies kicked in—
And he placed another patch on the other side of his face.
"…Should I add another layer…?"
Suddenly—
His phone buzzed.
A message from All Might.
Izuku read it carefully.
"…Meet at the beach park this evening…"
"All Might contacted me again?!"
Izuku practically exploded with excitement.
That evening—
He ran all the way to the beach park.
All Might was already waiting.
"All Might!"
Izuku rushed forward, nearly in tears.
"…Who's that?"
Voices came from a nearby pavilion.
Two people sat there, whispering.
"All Might?! No way—where?!"
All Might leaned closer and whispered:
"…Say 'I got the wrong person.'"
"I—I got the wrong person!" Izuku waved awkwardly toward the pavilion.
"…Good."
All Might turned back to him.
"Congratulations. You're officially qualified."
They high-fived.
"First, let me explain something."
"I didn't tell the school about our connection."
"…Because I know your personality—you wouldn't think it was fair."
"I also didn't serve as a judge during the exam."
"…I see…"
"…But I still can't control One For All properly…"
Izuku looked down at his hands.
"One punch… one kick… and I destroy my own body…"
"There's no shortcut," All Might replied.
"You can't tell someone who suddenly grows a tail to use it perfectly right away."
"…But with training, it becomes natural."
"…So this is just the beginning for me…"
"Exactly."
After talking late into the night—
Izuku finally understood.
He wasn't failing—
He just hadn't mastered the power yet.
The next day—
After class—
Izuku was called to the office.
Bakugo was there too.
"I didn't expect two students from our class to get into U.A.," the teacher said.
"…One of them being Midoriya… well…"
"In any case—keep working hard. Don't disappoint us."
"Thank you, sir."
…You never really supported me before… Izuku thought silently.
"…Tch."
When did I ever need your support? And how did that useless Deku get into U.A…?
After leaving—
Bakugo cornered Izuku.
"You idiot!! What trick did you use to pass?!"
"Transfer out immediately!!"
He grabbed Izuku by the collar.
"I'm sorry, Kacchan… I can agree to anything else…"
"But not this."
Izuku grabbed Bakugo's collar in return—
And looked him straight in the eyes.
"Because someone told me…"
"'You can become a Hero.'"
"They said… 'You earned this.'"
"So I'm going to U.A."
…
The morning of the first school day—
Izuku's face was still swollen.
"Izuku, are you really okay? Did you pack everything?"Inko Midoriya asked worriedly.
"I've got everything—I'm heading out!"
"Izuku… today, you look amazing."
"…I'm going!"
Half an hour later—
Izuku reached U.A. High School.
"…I finally made it…"
"…Maybe I added too much weight training at once…"
His legs felt like they were stuck in mud.
"Class 1-A… where is it…?"
It took him another ten minutes—
But he finally found it.
"…That door is huge…"
"…Please don't let anything troublesome happen…"
He opened the door—
And immediately froze.
Bakugo was already arguing with someone.
"…Great. The two most troublesome people are here…"
The other boy—
Was strict and formal.
A model class representative type.
Izuku lowered his head, trying to avoid attention—
But it was too late.
"You must be Izuku Midoriya."
"I am Tenya Iida. I graduated from a prestigious private school."
Izuku shook his hand nervously.
"…N-Nice to meet you… I'm Izuku Midoriya…"
Then—
Another student entered.
"Hey! Green hair! It's you!"
Izuku turned—
"…Uraraka!"
Ochaco Uraraka smiled brightly.
"You passed too! Just like Present Mic said!"
"That punch of yours was incredible!!"
"N-No, that's only because you—"
"…Huh? How do you know that?"
"…Ah… um…"
More students entered.
Soon—
All seats were filled.
"…Where's the teacher?"
"Perhaps they're waiting outside," Iida said.
He opened the door—
"AHHH! A CATERPILLAR!!"
Uraraka screamed.
A long yellow shape lay at the doorway.
"I'm not a caterpillar…"
It stood up.
A man—
Wrapped in a sleeping bag.
"I'm your homeroom teacher—Shouta Aizawa."
He yawned.
"Get into your gym uniforms. We're heading to the field."
Moments later—
Izuku arrived last.
"…Alright. We're starting Quirk assessments."
"…Wait—what about the entrance ceremony?" someone asked.
"…You don't have time for that."
"This is U.A. We value freedom."
"That includes teachers."
"…We're doing eight tests. First—softball throw."
"Katsuki Bakugo."
Twenty minutes later—
It was Izuku's turn.
"…What do I do…?"
"My arm training isn't complete…"
"If I use One For All… I'll destroy my body again…"
"…Hey! Are you throwing or not?" Aizawa said flatly.
…I have no choice.
Izuku raised the ball—
And threw it upward.
At the moment of release—
Use One For All… in my finger!!
"SMASH—!"
The ball shattered the air—
And shot into the sky.
"…It hurts…!"
Izuku clutched his finger—
But—
He could still move.
"…It's not like before…"
"…705.2 meters," Aizawa said.
"…Amazing…" Uraraka smiled.
"…But your Quirk is strange… your body takes damage…" Iida muttered.
Bakugo stared—
Shocked.
What kind of Quirk is that…?!
"DEKU!!!"
Bakugo rushed forward—
"Explain yourself!!!"