Chapter Text
Ten months of school pass by in a haze.
Izuku spends their whole time studying for school, analyzing quirks when they have the time, and above all, avoiding any and all potential interaction with Bakugou.
Sure, his threats aren’t enough to make them give up on aiming for UA, but that said there isn’t a doubt in their mind that he absolutely meant it when he said that if they didn’t give it up he would make them regret it. So, Izuku does what they can to keep their head low so that he doesn’t catch on to the fact that they haven’t given up.
Much to their relief, Bakugou doesn’t seem to care enough to really keep a close eye on them anymore; after all, he’s preparing for the UA entrance exam too.
And before Izuku knows it, the wait time has completely melted away, and it’s the day of the entrance exam.
They stand at the gates to UA as other students around them walk up to the building.
I can do this. It’s gonna be okay. I only have to worry about the general entrance exam, not anything like the Hero course exam. I’ve-
“Quit standing around!” A voice growls, and Izuku springs back; a second later, they realize (all too late) that the person who had spoken, well,
Bakugou stands there, staring at them in both surprise and anger. Definitely anger.
Izuku feels themself tense.
It’s too late, isn’t it? He can’t do anything to hurt me when I’m right here, right? He wouldn’t try to threaten me when there’s a bunch of people around, right? I mean, that didn’t stop him before when there was an entire class watching, but no one here knows I’m quirkless either-
“Pardon me!” A voice says, as another student walking up to UA deliberately walks in between them. Bakugou turns to her with a glare, and she says, innocently, “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” At first Izuku would almost wave it off as her genuinely just walking into the conversation, unaware of the tension; but the way her eyes narrow slightly as she stares back at Bakugou, Izuku is almost positive that it’s intentional on her part.
“…No,” Bakugou says stiffly. “Don’t worry about it.” He gives Izuku one last lingering scowl and scoffs, “Good luck with your exam.”
They’re pretty sure they’ll have to deal with that later, but for right now they’re just glad they didn’t have to deal with it, well, right now.
The girl turns to them. “Are you all right? He seemed like he was bothering you. Sorry, I just kinda stepped in out of nowhere-”
“I’m- I’m okay,” Izuku stammers out their answer. “Um… thank you. For that.”
“Not a problem at all!” She smiles. “I’m Uraraka Ochako. Nice to meet you!”
“Um- Midoriya Izuku. And, uh, it’s nice to meet you too!”
“Well,” Uraraka says, taking a step towards UA, “Good luck on your exam, Midoriya-kun!”
“Y- Yeah, same to you!” Izuku says, internally cringing at their own lack of social skill in a situation like this.
They stay there for a moment as she walks away.
Izuku doesn’t know if she’s aiming to be in the Hero course, but if she is, well… they really hope she makes it.
She’s a near perfect example of why Izuku hasn’t completely given up on Heroes yet.
The exam goes fairly well- it’s not easy, of course, but Izuku manages to keep a level head throughout it, and they feel fairly confident about the answers they leave on it.
After that, they… well, they go home, because they don’t have to take the Hero course’s practical exam.
Then, there’s waiting for the letter with the results to arrive, which makes them anxious. Even if they’re not aiming for the Hero course, there is that lingering fear that even though the “no quirkless people” rule was lifted that maybe the fact that they’re quirkless will still disqualify them.
Honestly, knowing how things are, they’re not even sure if that’s a rational possibility, or if it’s just their anxiety talking. Either way, the wait makes it excruciating.
When the letter finally arrives with the news that they’ve passed, they’re so relieved that they cry- and Mom cries too because she’s so proud of them for making it in.
On the other hand…
Izuku’s head bounces off of the hard wall behind them as Bakugou shoves them up against it.
“What,” Bakugou shouts, “Did I tell you about UA?”
“Is- is this really worth the effort?” Izuku stammers, “I mean- it’s already too late, I’ve been accepted-”
Wham
“I said that if you lied to me about not giving up on UA, that I would make you regret it. And you did lie to me.”
The next five minutes are, not fun, to say the least.
But… at least he’s too late to stop Izuku from going to UA…?
Yeah, it doesn’t feel like much of a win.
Seems like “avoiding Bakugou” is gonna end up carrying over to their High School life. On the bright side, with them in different classes, different courses entirely, it might be at least a little easier.
…Izuku lets out a heavy sigh, and walks back home for the day.
Before they know it, it’s the first day of UA.
That morning, Izuku was in such an excited state that they left nearly a half hour before they needed to, but now it gives them time to really soak in the moment.
They’re at UA. They really made it.
Maybe not in the Hero course, like they would have wanted when they were younger, but they still made it.
And they have a feeling that this is only the beginning.
“Oh hey, it’s you! From the entrance exam!”
Izuku turns to see… “Oh, hi! It’s… um, Uraraka, right?”
Uraraka laughs and nods, “Yup that’s me! And you said your name was Midoriya, right?”
Izuku gives a nod of confirmation.
“I’m happy to see that you made it in!” Uraraka says, smiling brightly. “Which class are you in?”
“Ah- C,” Izuku answers, after a quick check to make sure they’ve got the right one.
They see Uraraka’s face fall. “C? So you’re not in-”
“It’s- it’s okay!” Izuku quickly stammers, explaining, “I wasn’t trying to get into the Hero course anyway.”
“Oh,” Uraraka says, looking relieved, “Sorry for assuming, I guess?”
Laughing nervously to try and dispel the tension, Izuku comments, “I get it, I’m kinda the odd one out for trying to get into the General Education course for a school known for Heroes…”
“Well, in that case,” Now that Uraraka has recovered from her surprise, she gives them a beaming smile again, “Congratulations for getting in! I’m sure you’ll do great!”
“Th-thanks!” Izuku stutters. Uncomfortable with the conversation centering on them, they ask, “So, I’m guessing that you made it into the Hero course then?”
“Yeah! Class A!”
“That’s great! I’m happy for you!”
“Aw, thanks,” Uraraka says, bashful at receiving praise.
There’s a moment of awkward silence where Izuku doesn’t know quite what to say, and seemingly neither does Uraraka.
Then, Uraraka takes a step away, and says, “Well, for now, we should probably head to class. But I’m sure I’ll see you around! In fact, it’s a promise!”
“Yeah- uh, see you later!” Izuku quickly adds.
Uraraka waves as a goodbye, and then walks off down the hallway.
That was… kinda awkward, huh? But… I really am happy that she made it into the Hero course… she seems really nice.
Feeling satisfied, Izuku starts their search for classroom C.
In their head, they thought it probably wouldn’t be too hard to find the classroom, but UA is so large that without knowing your way around it’s practically a maze- not to mention, at some point Izuku got their directions mixed up and ended up going the wrong way, which led to them having to track back to where they were before, and then start on their way to the right area.
The General Education classrooms are more towards the back of the building too, apparently, so even if they hadn’t gotten their directions mixed up it would have taken at least a five minute trip.
But they do, eventually, make it- and they’re grateful that they left so early that morning, or they might have been late.
The door to classroom 1C is rather large, and more square-shaped than rectangular-shaped. There are handles on the front, but before Izuku can properly reach out to open them, the doors slide open on their own, seamlessly disappearing into the wall on either side. After their initial surprise, Izuku notes that there must be some kind of automatic sensor on the door and that the handles are for if, for whatever reason, it’s not working properly.
That’s pretty clever, actually…
After a moment, they realize that they’ve just been standing in the open doorway, and they awkwardly step into the classroom hoping that no one noticed or would bother to question it.
Izuku takes a quick glance around the classroom, at all of the other students here in the General Education course.
What strikes them about everyone else is- well, to put it bluntly, how normal they all look. By that, they mean- no one has any obvious mutation type quirks. Of course, that’s not to say that Izuku is assuming they’re all quirkless too, just… that it’s a surprising change, but one that’s definitely welcome.
For a brief moment, Izuku locks eyes with another student, but in the next moment the other quickly looks away. They-
Huh…? Do I… know them?
Izuku doesn’t want to stare, but- they get the impression that they have seen this other student before, like a nagging in the back of -
“So… thanks. You’re, like, my hero,” The words echo in their mind, from that one day almost a whole year ago.
Ah-!
Before Izuku can do anything with their realization, the bell rings.
I… guess I can try talking to them later.
Izuku finds a spot to sit at, as everyone else does the same. They end up gravitating toward a seat in the back corner of the room, out of habit more than anything else.
Once the room has settled, the door slides open and a wheelchair comes gliding through. The woman in the wheelchair guides herself to the front of the room, at the teacher’s desk. She clears her throat.
“Hello, everyone. I’m glad to see you were all able to find your way here,” She says. “You may call me Professor Minami.”
At her name, Izuku recognizes her.
They had known that all UA teachers are (or… in some cases, were) pro Heroes, and so ever since getting accepted, Izuku wondered who they would get as the General Education teacher.
If they’re right, she’s Minami Kyo- otherwise known as the former pro Hero, Fortress.
“Since it’s the first day,” Professor Minami explains, “We’re going to take things slow and talk about the plan ahead of us for the school year.”
…
Professor Minami goes on to explain everything- it sounds like it will be challenging, but nothing impossibly hard.
Most notably of all, is a research project that they’ve been given the whole semester to complete.
“You’ll be split up into groups of three, and between the three of you, you’re to come up with a topic. Any topic is fine, as long as it’s something you all agree on working with. Don’t spend too long trying to come up with a topic, though.”
She starts listing off the groups, and who’s with who- Izuku doesn’t really recognize any of the names, of course.
I wonder who I’ll get in my group…?
…
Earlier, when Izuku saw the person they met a year ago during a villain attack, they decided that they would have to try to talk to them later.
Well, that’s probably not gonna be all that hard, Izuku thinks now that they’ve gotten together with their assigned group for the research project to find that they’ve been grouped together.
“Midoriya Izuku, Himura Nobu, and Shinsou Hitoshi,” the names had been listed.
Now the three of them are awkwardly sitting in a semi-circle, none of them seeming confident enough to start conversation.
“For the first day, just focus on getting to know each other, and then you can move on to the project tomorrow!” Professor Minami had offered before letting the class disperse.
With that thought in mind, Izuku clears their throat. “Um- I know that we sort of already know each other’s names since that’s how we were placed in a group together, but I think a proper introduction is important.” After a hesitant moment where Izuku checks that neither is annoyed or disapproving of the idea, they continue, “I-I’m Midoriya Izuku! I hope that we can all work together and get along.”
“…Shinsou Hitoshi. …Same.”
Izuku notes that Shinsou doesn’t seem very talkative, but he doesn’t really seem all that aggressive about it either.
The other, partially shielding their eyes by fiddling with their glasses frames, introduces, “Um- ah- I’m Himura Nobu. It’s nice to- to meet you both.”
Silence falls between the three of them again.
Well. I tried.
After a moment, out of nowhere, Himura says, “I… I wonder what pro Hero Professor Minami is.”
“Hmm?”
“I mean,” Himura stammers in explanation, “All of the UA teachers are Heroes, right? So she must be one- or at least she must have been one.”
For one moment Izuku considers exercising self restraint, but then the next they’re already finding themself going on- “Oh, yeah! She’s been retired for a few years, but she was a pro Hero. The Shield Hero, Fortress! If I remember right, at her height of popularity she managed to get to 24 in the Hero rankings. Her quirk lets her make force field shields that she can use to protect herself and others, and when applied creatively she could use it offensively too, not just defensively! Even with the relatively young retirement rate that most Heroes have, she ended up retiring younger than most because of an injury she got on the job-”
Izuku stops when they realize that the other two are staring at them.
“…Sorry, I uh, kinda got carried away,” They quickly apologize, “I didn’t mean to ramble on.”
“No, it’s okay, it was interesting!” Himura assures. “You… know a lot about Heroes, huh?”
“Y-yeah, I guess you could say that…”
“I, um, I’ve kinda always wanted to be a Hero.” After saying it, Himura starts playing with their glasses rims again, and they seem embarrassed. “Er- but I- it’s not really a realistic dream for me. My quirk would be pretty much useless…”
That makes Izuku curious, so they ask, “Well, what is it?”
“I can… freeze time.” (Izuku opens their mouth to protest that that’s not useless at all, but then they continue,) “Except I can’t really… move while time is frozen? I’m as frozen as everyone else, it’s just that I can perceive that time is frozen.”
…Ah.
“I’m sure that has its uses, though!” Izuku says, encouragingly. “You just have to get creative with how you apply it.”
“I’ve… never been all that creative,” Himura sheepishly admits. “Applying knowledge to new things isn’t a strong suit of mine.”
Izuku thinks about their Hero Analysis Journals, and all the thought they’ve put into quirks and how to apply them. “What if I came up with a bunch of ways to use it for you?”
“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that-” They protest.
“It’s okay! I like doing things like that! Thinking about quirks is, like, a hobby for me!”
“Well I… If you’re really okay with it, I think… I think it would be helpful.”
Izuku smiles at them.
After a moment, they realize that they haven’t been involving Shinsou in the conversation much, so they decide to ask, “What about you?”
“What about me, what?” Shinsou raises an eyebrow.
“…Yeah okay, that was kinda vague, sorry,” Izuku apologizes. “I mean- Do you want to be a Hero?”
Shinsou doesn’t answer the question right away. He looks away, not meeting their eyes. “…Yeah. I think being a Hero would be neat. But, I… you could say I’m sort of in the situation where my quirk didn’t suit the Hero Entrance Exam, like,” He glances over and hesitates, before naming, “Himura, and how they couldn’t have passed the Hero Entrance Exam with their quirk.”
Izuku nods in understanding. The Hero Entrance Exam is certainly more suited to people who have physically strong quirks…
“What is your quirk, Shinsou-kun?”
The response is an immediate, defensive, “None of your business.”
Izuku flinches at the suddenness of it, and at the harsh tone.
“I… sorry,” Shinsou mutters an apology. “I just… don’t like to talk about it. I’m used to people being…” He hesitates, thinking of a good word, “Confrontational, about it, let’s say.”
“Yeah, I…” Izuku trails off, thinking about Bakugou and everything they’ve had to put up with so far, “I get that people can be really harsh about quirks.”
“So, what about you?” Shinsou asks.
Izuku blinks in surprise. “Huh?”
“If you’re gonna ask what I think about being a Hero, it’s only fair to expect to be questioned back.”
He… does make a point.
“Fair. It’s just… I don’t know, I guess it’s hard to explain. I… I like the idea of being a hero, but not a Hero.”
Shinsou stares at them. “You just said the same word twice.”
“No no,” Himura hums, “The inflection was different when they said it the second time.”
“Sorry, that probably didn’t make a lot of sense,” Izuku winces. “What I mean is- there’s professional Heroes, who do Hero work as a job occupation and are hired by the Hero Commission, and then there’s the actual original meaning of the word hero, so like, someone who chooses to help other people who are in need of help. I like the idea of helping people, so in that sense I want to be a hero. I… have my problems with the Hero Commission and how society acts toward Heroes, and so in that sense I personally have no interest in being a Hero.”
“Well when you put it like that…”
“That’s- I’m also not trying to say that there’s never any overlap between the two!” Izuku quickly adds. “Of course there are plenty of Heroes that act heroic. And I also don’t judge anyone who wants to be a Hero. I just… it’s not for me.”
“Why not?” Himura asks.
For a beat, Izuku hesitates; they almost don’t want to admit to being quirkless, but… given what they’ve heard so far from the other two, they get the feeling it’s not something that they’ll be judged for. They take a deep breath.
“I’m… I’m quirkless.” They say it quietly, because it’s something they’ve been told time and time again is a bad thing, something to be afraid of. And no matter how much they don’t want to let that define them, that anxiety, that fear, it’s not something that will go away easily. Moving on quickly, because they’d rather not leave that to sit in the open air for too long, Izuku continues, “So… even if I wanted to be a Hero, there’s a high chance I wouldn’t make it, no matter how much I try. And I… why should I fight for the benefit of a system that’s actively fighting against me?”
Both Himura and Shinsou fall quiet.
“I’m- er- Sorry,” Izuku apologizes. “I didn’t mean to bring the mood down.”
“I mean…” Himura murmurs, “It’s different for me than it is for you but… I… I really get where you’re coming from.”
Shinsou nods in agreement.
The table falls into a stretch of silence again.
Awkwardly, Izuku clears their throat. “Let’s try talking about something else, for the time being.”
The others don’t protest the switching of topic.
The final bell rings on UA’s first day.
And perhaps it’s only been one day, but Kyo likes this year’s General Education class so far.
Though, she supposes that’s not much different from normal- every year she finds herself eager to work with her new class.
It’s always-
“U-um, pardon me, but can I ask you something?”
Kyo looks up to see one of her students- Midoriya. It seems they approached while she was lost in thought.
“Of course, what is it?” Kyo offers.
“This is probably… weird to ask, since you’re retired, and since you’re my teacher, but can I… can I have your autograph?”
Kyo blinks once, twice, a third time. Her mind has gone almost completely blank.
At her nonresponse, Midoriya says, “Sorry, sorry, I probably shouldn’t have-”
“No no no, it’s all right!” Kyo assures. “I just…” I can’t remember the last time someone actually recognized me, or remembered me. “…Was surprised to hear that, is all.”
Midoriya, still clearly feeling a little awkward about it, offers a notebook. After a moment, Kyo reaches out and accepts it, signing the name Fortress carefully on one of the pages, before handing it back.
“Thank you!” Midoriya gives a quick bow and then scurries out of the classroom, leaving Kyo as the last one left.
Now alone, Kyo finds herself smiling.
I say it every year, but… I think this class is special.
She knows that not everyone thinks much of the General Education classes. But… if given the choice, she wouldn’t teach any other class.