Chapter Text
It’s Izuku’s first day of U.A, and if he was anxious the day of the entrance exam, he was downright petrified right now. He wasn’t willing to let his dad come with him because, well, he’s a villain ranked high enough to be sent to Tarturas, for one. And not just that, but he would be immediately recognised by the school staff.
Present Mic, Midnight, and even Power Loader had gone to school with him, and there was no doubt that Nedzu would probably have figured it out by the end of the week. It might sound a little crazy, but the greenette would trust them all with his life. Sure, Maijima hadn’t been an especially big part of Shouta’s life, but if he had an impact large enough to be included during nighttime stories? Well, that’s good enough for him.
Izuku had decided to leave a bit earlier than he had planned, not wanting to sit around and second-guess his decision of going alone. Dad had given him reassuring hugs and kisses beforehand, so he was fairly confident. That didn’t mean he was going to talk to anybody, gods no. He’s the first quirkless person to have ever gotten into U.A (mostly because he beat the statistics first), let alone the hero course! The greenette would rather keep his head down than face any further discrimination, especially because he knew that it would potentially damage his progress.
Clutching the locket with pictures of his dad and Sprinkle, Izuku roamed around the halls. His eyes were sharp as he analysed each escape route and vent, a habit he had picked up in middle school and often repeated when stressed. Only second and third years were there, chatting with friends. The freckled boy found himself in front of the 1-A classroom quickly, although he couldn’t exactly remember how he had gotten there.
Shrugging it off, he opened the (surprisingly) light door and waltzed inside. Izuku thought of his mental checklist, making sure everything he needed was inside. Noise-cancelling headphones, spare piercings, his phone, an emergency charger, his stationary, and the dagger hidden in one of the compartments. Sighing in relief as he recalled the memory of putting them all in specific places, a finger tapped his shoulder.
Instinctively, he flinched away and grabbed their wrist tightly. Whipping around, he was met with wide, chocolate brown eyes. She had a brunette bob with micro-bangs, swaying as she tilted her head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you! I’m Ochaco Uraraka, are you the boy that saved me during the entrance exam?” Uraraka asked innocently as if her hand wasn’t being held captive.
Hesitantly, the greenette released his grip, backing away for safe measure. He took a moment to think over his options, calculating how quickly he’d be able to jump through nearby windows and unscrew different vent covers. Deciding against running away (only because it may result in suspicion), he reluctantly nodded back. “Izuku,” was all he said, because his family name was still legally Midoriya, Rayman was made-up and hardly sounded Japanese, and Aizawa would out his dad.
Uraraka didn’t seem to mind, however, as she simply smiled brightly. It was… odd. Sure, he no longer had to wear those god-awful red shoes that outed him as a quirkless individual, but nobody except Shouta looked at him like that. Instead of smiling back or doing anything, really, he walked towards the seat he assumed would be his. Thankfully, the girl didn’t make a scene over it and walked off to talk with the engine-legged kid from the written exam who had just entered.
Izuku put his arms on his desk and rested his head on top, blocking out the sounds of everybody around. Suddenly, an over-familiar explosion sharpened his senses. His head shot up, emerald covered almost entirely in black from his dilated pupils. Adrenaline pumped through his veins like it belonged there, his hands shaking intensely as he took deep breaths.
In the back of his mind, his dad’s warm voice guided him through breathing exercises, fingers making swirling motions on his palms. Although his vision was hazy, he could make out the shape of spiky blonde hair, crimson eyes that had haunted several of his nightmares. Just as the greenette thought he was going to completely break down, Present Mic walked into the room.
Automatically, his shoulders slumped down, letting out a trembling sigh. Katsuki had yet to yell at him, so at least there was that. He and the Limelight Pro made brief eye-contact, smiling with a subtle thumbs up. Mic nodded slightly in response, putting his hero persona back in place on his face. “Hey, hey, hey, little listeners! Your class doesn’t have a permanent teacher yet, so I’ll be taking over for the mean time, ya’ dig?” He shot up finger guns.
“I dig,” Izuku muttered as he balanced his chin on his hand. His lips twitched with the urge to smile, but he buried it down. Just because Mic could be trusted didn’t mean that anybody in his class could. Vulnerability was something precious, and he wasn’t going to waste it this time. Not after Aldera.
Homeroom was the basic introduction of their schedule for the term, as well as a layout of today. Finding out that they had to go to Orientation, which Nedzu hosted, made his frame go rigid. As long as they didn’t make eye-contact and he kept his head down, things would be fine. If Katsuki started shit, he’d shut it down real quick. It was one thing to fuck with him, but messing with his family? That wasn’t something he’d condone.
1-A lined up in pairs of two, and he was stuck beside a boy with lavender-coloured hair and indigo eyes. Their eyebags could probably be friends with how similar they were. Izuku may have had a little burst of confidence because of this. “Hi,” he spoke softly, cringing at himself from how awkward and squeaky it sounded. “I-I’m Izuku.”
The boy side-eyed him, looking up and down as if he were checking for something in specific. He must have found it because after a few beats, he replied. “Hitoshi Shinsou. I’m not looking for friends, greenie,” it was short and probably meant to scare him off, but actually made him feel a little bit safer. Izuku thinks it might’ve been because his posture was so relaxed and the insult was closer to a nickname.
“That’s okay. I d-didn’t actually expect you t-to reply anyways, so that’s e-enough for me,” the greenette answered truthfully, looking away and towards the building they were slowly getting closer to. He gulped nervously, steadying himself. Nedzu was a person not to be messed with. What would he be able to do if-
Shinsou sighed, dragging a hand down his face. It looked like something his dad would do. “Do you… want to sit together?” The question was hesitant to trust, and he wouldn’t turn to face the awestruck freckled teen. After a moment of silence, his eyebrows furrowed as if he were mentally berating himself and snuck a quick glance over, only to pause and frown. “Why’re you staring at me like that?”
Izuku squeaked, flushing a bright red. “Sorry! I- I was just waiting for you to take it back.”
“Why would I take it back? If you don’t want to sit with me, you can just say it,” his tone had bite to it, and the greenette flinched back in response. Shinosu’s frown deepened.
“No, it’s just been years since somebody has voluntarily been anywhere near me,” he admitted, absentmindedly fiddling with the necklace he wore. They were quiet for a minute, and Izuku could already feel the regret settling into his bones. If U.A turned out to be like Aldera, he didn’t think he’d be able to take it. “Sorry, I probably said t-to much. I can sit with you if you’d like, but if you’ve changed your mind, there’s no hard feelings! I- I just know you wouldn’t want to if you knew what I am.”
“Me too,” Shinsou was still looking at him, as if observing everything from his physical appearance to little habits. The freckled boy felt his mouth open slightly from the shock, blinking up at the taller teen like he’d just hung the stars. For some reason, a faint pink brushed his cheeks and he scratched his nape nervously. “I’m down to sit with you, but don’t expect conversation.”
Izuku sighed, letting out an airy laugh. “Don’t worry, I can ramble enough for the both of us,” considering the dry chuckle he got in return, his jokes were definitely improving. The first time he’d ever even attempted humour, it had landed him in an extra online therapy session. Who knew suicide was such an unfunny topic.
When his class finally made it to Orientation, he couldn’t help but look anywhere but the principal, suddenly aware of every movement and sound around him. Nedzu’s tone was carefully cheerful, something crafted specifically to make others view him as more than an animal. But there was something wrong about it, animalistic in a way that couldn’t be controlled. Izuku would briefly glance upwards from time-to-time, noticing different things each time. His nose twitched when he looked around, and his ears flickered to sounds that were near-silent.
Knowing that even the principal of U.A wasn’t perfect made the greenette relax just the slightest of bits. Nedzu was the most intelligent person in all of Japan, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to consider the entire world. If he couldn’t master the ability of being like everybody else, then it meant Izuku wouldn’t be alone. Such an oddly comforting concept.
When Orientation ended, he had initially assumed that he had gotten away. Then he was called up to the principal’s office. “Izuku, please report to principal Nedzu’s office. You are excused from your classes,” a shiver ran up his spine and he paused his return towards his classroom. Shinsou sent him a questioning stare, but ultimately shrugged it off in favour of not being late.
Truthfully, as Izuku walked to his new destination, he was scared. Memories of Aldera and being locked inside of classrooms with his bullies were what he was originally worried about, but then he thought of his dad. A trembling hand gripped his locket tightly, closing his eyes as he rushed through the halls. Thanks to his awareness of his surroundings and having explored earlier that morning, the freckled boy hadn’t needed to open them again until his body stopped remembering.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to his right and gulped at the sight of two, large wooden doors. He didn’t even try to knock, knowing it would be opened the minute he stepped forward. Like he predicted, they swung open slowly, the stoat-chimera staring at him with beady black eyes. Rather than panic, Izuku gathered any courage he had left and moved towards a chair in front of Nedzu’s desk.
“Good morning, Izuku-kun,” the principal greeted with a chirp, pushing a cup of tea towards the greenette. He didn’t pull away from his locket. “I believe we have much to discuss, yes?”
“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about. Could you elaborate?” If he wasn’t asked outright, then the student wasn’t going to answer. Any chance that he could keep his dad out of this conversation, he would take.
Nedzu chuckled, although it was less human than during Orientation. Izuku felt his shoulders slump a little. “I’m aware of who your father is,” he sucked in a sharp breath as the stoat continued, eyes narrowing. “However, that is not what you’re here to discuss with me,” the boy raised an eyebrow, back straightening as cold sweat tickled him. “I knew he would come back eventually. Although, I must admit I was not expecting him to take in a child. Now, we are going to chat about your exam scores!”
Right. His projection hadn’t actually revealed his test scores, just that he would get in and which class. “Alright… are you really not going to do anything about my dad?” Izuku asked, venom poking out between his teeth. Nedzu’s intelligence wouldn’t matter if he was bleeding out. The butterfly knives in each of his shoes would do the trick just fine.
“No, I know both his and your capabilities. Intelligence does not matter if I’m dead,” the greenette stopped reaching for his right foot, nodding along. It was good that they were on the same page. “Would you like to know your exam results?” A laptop was opened and spun around to face him, showing the scoreboard of both the written and practical exams.
Searching for his name, he paused. “Why are you showing me the top ten? I believe you’ve made a mistake,” Izuku scrunched up his nose, looking at the bottom and still being stuck. The chimera chittered in delight, clearly amused. “What?”
“Izuku, you scored first,” his emerald eyes widened, locking onto the score beside his written exam.
“H-how-?” He choked up, falling back into his chair. “Ninety-eight? I- no, I was certain that I’d only be able to score an eighty at the most. How’s this possible? What about my practical? Surely I didn’t get above ten,” Izuku mumbled under his breath, feeling the warm metal between his fingers slip as he latched onto his name beside the practical results. “Forty-six villain points and… seventy-three rescue points?”
Nedzu tilted his head. “Yes. I personally did the calculations for your written exam, and the staff all discussed your practical. 98/100 and a total of one-hundred nineteen points. It seems you’ve broken two records.”
Izuku slumped down, squeezing his eyes shut as he clutched his locket. Tears rolled down his cheeks without rush, falling into his lap. “I really did it,” he whispered to himself with a disbelieving laugh, wiping away the salty water from his face. Looking up, he flashed a toothy grin, grateful and so so proud. His dad was going to be so happy.
A paw was placed on the desk, not to pose as a threat, but rather something close to comfort. “Yes, you did. I’m sure Aizawa-kun will be delighted to hear. Speaking of which, there is something else I wanted to speak with you about,” the tension in his shoulders returned tenfold, a glare replacing his earlier excitement. “Your legal name is still Izuku Midoriya, and I know neither yourself or your father would be able to change that without suspicion. If you would trust me, I can officially have your family name replaced with Aizawa. Think of it as… a ‘welcome back’ gift.”
“We won’t owe you anything?”
“No, however I was wondering if you would be interested in becoming my personal student? I’m sure you’re aware that your father previously had that role, and it seems you don’t need genes to inherit intelligence.”
Izuku searched for any signs of a lie in the principal. His nose and ears were still, beady eyes didn’t dart from one place to another, and there was no sign of fidgeting. Even his tail was resting comfortably on the chair beneath him. Tears once again gathered in his eyes, but he blinked them away and nodded. The greenette’s lips twitched upwards, letting out a shaky breath of relief. This meant his dad was safe, and they had the principal of U.A in their corner.
Standing up, Izuku bowed deeply. “Thank you. For everything. Dad and I will be forever grateful. As for the position as your personal student, I accept. Send my dad the schedule whenever you have time and then we can go on from there. I must get going to class now, but again, thank you,” he stood up straight, grinning with his teeth once more. Nedzu returned it with a more naturally animalistic one, and that alone made the tension slip from every pore of his body.
They exchanged their goodbyes and he left, a small pep in his step as he checked the 1-A classroom. Seeing nobody inside, he quickly made his way towards the boy’s changing rooms, ignoring the stares he got from his peers for being late. It was only himself, Shoji, Kaminari, Ojiro, and Tokoyami inside, probably having waited until everybody was gone due to insecurity, he concluded.
The smile he had earlier was already gone, a mask of indifference in its place. Nobody attempted to start a conversation, which he was immensely grateful for. Quickly shedding his outer clothes and changing into the gym uniform, Izuku dashed towards the Physical Education grounds. Basically everyone was already there, but he’d kept his footsteps silent to avoid attention.
This time it was Midnight teaching their class, explaining how they were going to do a simple quirk apprehension test. Being quirkless here may give him a disadvantage, but he knew how to work around it. Besides, the capture weapon wrapped around his chest will help.
The teacher searched through the small crowd of teenagers, eyes landing on Izuku. She smirked, gesturing with two fingers for him to walk forward. “Izuku, you placed first in the practical exam. The first test will be a ball throw, in case you weren’t here for the explanation,” his classmates jumped as he walked around them, having not noticed him. Great observation skills guys. “As long as you stand in that circle, anything goes.”
Grabbing the ball from her hands, he opted to ignore how her eyes lingered a second too long on his neck. Maybe wearing his capture weapon to the written exam was a mistake. Just as he was about to walk into the circle, those same, nightmare-inducing explosions sounded. He tensed up, whipping around to face the cause.
Katsuki had an infuriated snarl on his face, eyes so full of fire it’d make Endeavour look like a baby. “DEKU!” He screeched, lunging across the field with one of his hands held out. At first, Izuku froze, remembering how it smelt when his flesh burned, how cruel words always cut deeper than the actual wounds. Then, his training kicked in.
As soon as he focused properly, the greenette yanked the capture weapon out from under his shirt, tying it around the spiky-haired blonde and pulling until he was flat on the ground. Once on his stomach, Izuku dug a knee into his back, forcing his hands to clasp together. He continued to spit insults and slurs, threatening things that made the freckled teen’s shoulders shake.
Multiple of their peers had either gone silent or started yelling at him to calm down, looking up at Midnight who was storming towards them. “Katsuki Bakugou,” her voice was intended to sound light, but had barely concealed disappointment hidden inside. “I would ask why you did this, but I don’t think I care much about a quirkist’s opinion. Those slurs and threats are not welcome here at U.A.”
“He’s just a quirkless Deku who won’t amount to shit! He must’ve fuckin’ cheated or some shit ‘cause he’s a good for nothing null!” Katsuki growled in response, staring daggers into Izuku as if he were the one who attacked. Instead of loosening his grip on his capture weapon, the greenette gripped them tighter, swiftly pulling out one of the butterfly knives from his shoe’s sole.
Gasps erupted and people rushed forward, but the sharp metal was already pressed against the artery in his neck. Midnight tugged on her costume, preparing to rip it. Before anybody could say anything further, he bent down until he was right in the blonde’s ear. “You’re right. I am a quirkless Deku. But in the last year and a half that I’ve been away from you, I never managed to escape. Your words and the star-shaped burns on my skin haunt me on a daily. Does that make you feel heroic?”
He pressed it further, drawing small droplets on blood. Katsuki had decided to shut his mouth, listening in to what he was saying. “For the last decade, you’ve done nothing but torture me. I’ve been going to therapy and I still can’t get rid of you from my dreams. If I’m a nobody, then you’re a villain. Heroes wouldn’t push others to the brink of suicide, Katsuki.”
After a moment of thinking, he nodded to himself and stood back up. Izuku pulled his scarf back, wrapping it around his neck. The knife was returned to its usual placement and he walked back over to the circle, ball having been retrieved from the ground. Nobody was speaking, still processing what they’d just witnessed. Katsuki had gotten back up, except his eyes were wide and his voice wouldn’t work. Midnight pulled him away, telling him to go to Nedzu’s office and instructing Kirishima to go as well.
Stretching out his arms, Izuku grabbed onto his capture weapon and loosened it, throwing the ball into the air. The fabric wrapped around it, and he whipped it outwards. After a few moments, it let go and continued to fly. Seconds later, the meter beeped with his score. Midnight pulled it up, showing it towards the class. “714.3 metres.”
A little disappointed with the number, he ducked his head into the scarf, letting himself pout. Dad would’ve been able to get at least eight-hundred. Glancing between each… interesting expression, he landed on Shinsou. The greenette smiled softly, walking over calmly. Stopping at a little further than an arms-length away, he asked, “can I stand here with you?”
Shinsou blinked, then smirked. “Sure, greenie. Want to explain what the hell just happened?” He asked, completely disregarding how the tests continued. Izuku hummed thoughtfully, then raised his hand in a so-so motion.
“I’ve known Katsuki since we were kids. He’s… not a great person to grow up with,” the freckled boy subconsciously rubbed the star-shaped burn on his forearm, gaining the purple-haired teen’s attention. His indigo eyes blew wide and glanced between the healed wound and Izuku, brows furrowing similar to earlier.
“Did he do all of that to you?” There was no real gesture towards his scars, but the implication was clear. The greenette shook his head, sighing as he reached up to fidget with his locket. They didn’t speak for a few moments after that, redirecting their attention towards their peers’ scores. Suddenly, Shinsou spoke up again, “I know I said I wasn’t here to make friends, but you’re… cool, I guess. That Bakugou kid screamed something about you being quirkless? I don’t know, but if he’s right, I wanted you to know that I don’t care about that shit. People fuck with me because they think I have a villain’s quirk, so I guess what I’m trying to say is… I sort of get it.”
Izuku looked up at him seriously, crossing his arms and turning to face him fully. “There’s no such thing as a villainous quirk. It depends on how you use it. As an example; flame. It could be used to burn somebody alive or stop a bush fire. Voice could be used to deafen people and destroy buildings, but Mic-sensei taught himself how to use it for good. Somnambulist could take people out instantly, but instead Midnight-sensei uses it for hostage situations and undercover missions.”
“Oh,” Shinsou blinked at him, obviously overthinking whatever he wanted to say. “…What about brainwashing? That’s my quirk. I can control people as long as they answer a question verbally.”
Izuku visibly lit up, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “That’s so cool!” He exclaimed, not noticing how several of his peers had turned to stare. The other teen blinked again, surprised by the reaction. “You could easily work with hostage situations! Limelight heroics wouldn’t work best because it often focuses on flashy quirks, but Twilight and Underground would be perfect! Interrogations, undercover work, suicides, there’s endless possibilities. If you trained hard enough, I’m certain you’d be able to utilise it without having to ask a question. Does it have to be a vocal question? Do they have to say something or can it be something like a hum?”
The greenette continued to ramble, gesturing wildly with his hands. By now, practically everybody was staring, barely understanding anything he was saying. Shinsou soaked up every word, occasionally answering a few questions once out of his initial shock. Once the ball throw had been completed, Midnight walked on over.
She paused for a moment, a sweet smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Eventually, however, she cleared her throat. Izuku paused mid sentence, flushing a bright red and ducking into his scarf while muttering apologies. “Let’s move onto the next few tests so that you can continue that interesting conversation later, m’kay?” The teacher ruffled his hair, and after a slight flinch, he let a small smile show.
“For someone so scary, he sure is bubbly,” Kaminari whispered to Jirou, who nodded her head in agreement. He sent them both a glare, raising an eyebrow as they shivered under his gaze. “Not in a rude way! Just with what happened with Bakugou, I thought you probably wanted to kill us all.”
Multiple others sent with worried stares, but Izuku couldn’t help but snort. “No, I have no reason to threaten any of your lives,” he answered smoothly, turning around and walking towards the indoor gymnasium they were going to use.
Dad is going to find this hilarious.