Chapter Text
Izuku stands in front of the door, and takes in a deep but shaky breath.
He finally did it. He finally made it to UA. He made it into Hero Course Class 1-A. And now he’s physically here, in front of the door.
C’mon, just open it. It’s a door, Izuku tells himself. But his mind keeps drifting back to other people, the loud guy from the entrance exam and… Bakugou , and…
Please let there be no scary people in this class, please let there be no scary people in this class…! Izuku prays, and finally decides to push open the door.
On the other side of the door he finds… a normal classroom.
Well- what he assumes is a normal classroom (and about as normal as you can get when quirks are in the mix). Everyone here is chatting excitedly amongst themselves, mostly greeting each other for the first time. And there’s no Bakugou. He can’t see the guy from the entrance exam either- although, he also can’t see the girl from the entrance exam here, and that makes him just a little disappointed.
From behind, someone suddenly yells, “BOO!”
Startled, Izuku jumps and whirls around to see another student. She cackles at his reaction, “I’m sorry! I knew you looked tense, but I didn’t think you’d react quite like that.” She laughs a bit more before collecting herself, and then she offers out a hand. “I’m Tokage Setsuna, but you can just call me Setsuna!”
For a second, Izuku isn’t quite sure how to react, but he decides it would be best to just take it as it is. He reaches out and accepts Setsuna’s handshake before introducing, “Um, I’m Midoriya Izuku.”
Setsuna nods. “I see! Nice to meet’cha, Midoriya!” With that, she goes off to greet other people in the class.
She’s a little overbearing… Izuku thinks to himself, But other than that, she seems to be really nice. Maybe we can be friends?
“All right everyone, quiet down and get in your seats. This isn’t a social event.”
There’s a moment where everyone in the room first seems to hesitate, confused, and then everyone goes and finds their seats.
Someone who Izuku can only assume is the teacher steps up to the front of the room. “It took you ten seconds to get to your seats, and another five seconds to quiet down completely. In the future, I expect you all to be quicker. Understood?”
What bugs Izuku is that he can’t immediately recognize him. He knows that their teacher must be a hero, because that’s one of the staples of UA, but all Izuku has is a vague familiarity; it’s like it’s on the tip of his tongue, just out of grasp. He knows that their teacher’s name must be Aizawa, because it was written on the form that he was the Class A teacher, but even that name doesn’t ring any bells.
“Now then, I want you all to put on these PE uniforms, and meet me out in the field. You have fifteen minutes.”
With that, he leaves, presumably out to the field so that he can meet them there.
Fifteen minutes later (as promised) they’re all gathered out in the field.
“Good,” Aizawa says, glancing at his watch, “You’re all here. Now then, in Junior High you would have taken a fitness test where you weren’t allowed to make use of your quirk. So today, we’ll be taking a number of fitness tests, but this time you’re allowed to use your quirks to pass in any way you see fit.”
He lets the information sink in for a moment, then calls, “Shiozaki Ibara!”
Seeming a little surprised, but quickly getting over it, a girl steps out from the crowd of students. Izuku can’t help but notice that her hair is completely made of vines, and he can only guess that’s what her quirk is.
“You had the highest entrance exams score in this class,” Aizawa states, then asks, “How far could you throw a softball without using your quirk?”
“Hmm…” Shiozaki considers it for a second, then answers, “About 53 meters.”
“All right. Now toss this soft ball using your quirk and see how far it goes.”
The vines from Shiozaki’s hair move, and grab a softball from Aizawa. A second later, the vines wip the softball into the distance as hard as they can.
There’s a moment of pause, and then an automated voice beeps, “427 meters!”
Aizawa nods. “Before, not using your quirks was holding you back. I want to know your real strengths. Including what you can do with your quirks.”
Murmuring breaks out in the crowd, and just barely louder than everyone else, a voice says, “Allowed to use our quirks however we want? Aw hell yeah this is gonna be awesome!”
“‘This is gonna be awesome’ huh?” Aizawa echoes, everyone immediately falling quiet as he does. “I’d like to remind you that this isn’t going to be all fun and games. It’s going to be hard work and dedication, and proving that you really have what it takes to be a hero. But you want a game? All right, here’s your game; the person who gets last gets kicked.”
A ripple of shock passes over the class. He can’t do that, can he?
A hand shoots up into the air, and the person raising it timidly, but loudly enough to be heard, says, “S-sensei?”
“Yes Komori?”
“I-” The girl, Komori apparently, stutters at first not quite sure what to say and seemingly a little anxious from the attention, “But, um, what about people who don’t… um, who don’t have quirks that would help with a physical fitness test?”
“You try your hardest and do what you can,” Aizawa replies. “I believe I’ve given you enough motivation to do your best.”
This is going to be really hard, Izuku thinks, biting onto his bottom lip, But I guess is that’s how the Hero Course is run… I’ll give it my all!
“So. Who wants to go first?”
As the tests go on, Izuku watches his classmates to get a feel for their quirks and how they work.
Setsuna, the girl he met before, can use her quirk to split her body into many pieces that can float around at will.
Kinoko, the girl who spoke up about quirks not suited for fitness tests, has a quirk that has something to do with mushrooms it seems; they sprout everywhere around her. Izuku wonders if she’s doing it unconsciously because she’s nervous, or if her quirk just does that all the time.
There’s one student, Monoma Neito, who has a quirk Izuku can’t guess at first, but after a few rounds he realizes that his quirk is copying quirks- he keeps using quirks that other people have used, specifically picking the ones with the best results. Honestly, it’s pretty clever.
Although, after looking at their classmates, it’s clear that only a handful of them have the kinds of quirks that would be useful for a fitness test. That’s not to say their quirk are bad or weak- their strengths just lie elsewhere. For example, creating a shield out of thin air has lots of potential creative uses, but it does nothing to help you throw a ball or sprint fast.
At the very least, it makes Izuku feel a little better about not being able to use his own quirk without breaking all his bones. And it helps him make a decision; I definitely need to learn how to control One For All… but until I do, I won’t use it unless if it’s absolutely necessary. I’ll get as far as I can on my power and my power alone.
Results:
- Jurota Shishida
- Setsuna Tokage
- Shihai Kuroiro
- Ibara Shiozaki
- Itsuka Kendou
- Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
- Sen Kaibara
- Neito Monoma
- Reiko Yanagi
- Yui Kodai
- Togaru Kamakiri
- Yosetsu Awase
- Izuku Midoriya
- Kosei Tsubaraba
- Pony Tsunotori
- Kojiro Bondo
- Hiryu Rin
- Juzo Honenuki
- Nirengeki Shoda
- Kinoko Komori
I… I got 13th? You mean, I did it? I really did it?! Izuku realizes, excitement growing. After a moment, though, he thinks, Wait. Aizawa said that the person who came in last would be expelled. Who came in last?
He quickly skims to the end of the list to check. [ Kinoko Komori ]
She was the one who asked about quirks that don’t fit physical tests… Izuku recalls. He glances at her, worried.
Komori looks like she could quite possibly die of anxiety on the spot. Izuku really feels sorry for her, because he knows exactly what she means by not having a quirk that fit the test, and from what he can tell she’s really nice.
Should I maybe say something…?
“Oh, by the way, no one is getting kicked out,” Aizawa says suddenly.
“WHAT?!” The class collectively shouts.
“Wouldn’t that mean you lied to us?” Tetsutetsu asks, apparently deeply hurt by the idea that he would lie.
Aizawa shrugs, “It… was a logical ruse. I just wanted everyone to try their hardest. And as long as all of you put maximum effort into the class, none of you will have to be expelled.”
Now, Komori looks so relieved she might melt into the ground.
“That’s all for now. Everyone get back into your uniforms and get back to the classroom.”
Izuku hopes to catch Komori before she leaves, but as soon as the school day is over, she disappears. He hurries and packs up his stuff, hoping he can manage to talk to her before she’s really gone.
Seeing the sea of students leaving UA, Izuku loses a bit of hope, but then he manages to catch a glimpse of her just ahead.
“Hey! Wait! It’s- it’s Komori, right?” Izuku calls.
Surprised, she turns around. “Yeah, that’s me. Hi?”
“I’m, uh, I’m Midoriya Izuku,” He introduces himself, a little out of breath from running to find her. “We’re in Class A together?”
“I remember you,” Komori mumbles.
“I just wanted to thank you for uh. For what you said before the tests.”
Komori tilts her head. “Huh?”
“You asked about what would happen if people didn’t have quirks that would affect the tests. And I thought that was something really worth bringing up.”
Komori is silent for a moment, and then she sighs. “Yeah, but it did me a load of good, didn’t it?”
“I still think it was worth hearing,” Izuku insists. “And I’m glad that you said it, because I don’t know if anyone else would have.”
“…If you say so,” Komori eventually mumbles. “Thanks.”
Izuku isn’t sure exactly what to say next, but it still feels awkward to just leave . Thankfully, he doesn’t have to come up with his next move, because someone else runs up to them.
“Hey! Midoriya! There you are!” Setsuna shouts, running up to them. For a second she turns to Komori and says, “Oh hi! Komori, right?”
“Yeah… uh, hi,” Komori mumbles.
Setsuna turns back to Izuku, and enthusiastically questions, “So hey, you didn’t use your quirk at all during the tests! And I was wondering what it is?”
“Oh, well, um,” Izuku stammers, trying to think, “It’s… kinda like super strength basically, but I’m not really… able to use it yet. It kinda. Breaks my bones.”
“Oooh, I see,” Setsuna hums, “Breaking bones would be bad.
Izuku just nods at that, because he doesn’t really now how else to respond.
“Where are you guys headed?” Setsuna asks.
“Well, I have to go to the train station,” Izuku says.
“Same here,” Komori adds.
“Perfect!” Setsuna cheers, beaming, “Then we can all walk there together!”
“Huh?” Komori asks, “Why?”
“Be cause,” Setsuna answers, like it’s obvious, “Spending more time around each other makes it easier to be friends!”
“You… want to be friends with me?” Izuku repeats, surprised.
“And me?” Komori adds, equally as bewildered.
“Yep!” Setsuna beams, “Definitely!”
…Izuku can’t even remember the last time someone else wanted to be his friend.
Maybe UA really is going to be everything that he had hoped for.