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Chapter Text

I walk the long way home from the school, having ditched Kacchan at the school gates to go hang out with his friends, I just wanted to go home.

The wind blows my hair into my face as I walk down the streets, green and yellow mixing in my vision as I try to get it out of my eyes.

It wasn't long til I reached the suburbs outside of Aldera, and I eventually lost focus of where I was heading. I mean, making the same walk every day six days a week does tend to be boring.

I walk under an overpass, humming slightly as I walked, before everything suddenly got cold, and I became uneasy.

I'm almost out of the tunnel when I hear a weird noise behind me, like a sloshing sound, and I make the worst mistake and turn.

Rising from the ground, soon towering over me, was a villain. He seemed to be made of sludge almost, eyes and a mouth being the only features I could see.

I took a step back, ready to run, when he spoke, and I knew I was in trouble.

"You'll make a perfect skin suit for me to hide in, kid!" The villain says from in front of me, and I try to turn tail and run.

I don't even make it three steps before I'm caught, or enveloped, the sludge invading my mouth and nose, making it impossible to breathe, let alone scream for help.

"Don't worry, I'm just taking over your body," The gruff voice starts as I struggle, trying to find purchase on the weird sludge. "It'll be easier for both of us if you don't fight back. It'll only hurt for a minute, you'll feel better soon!"

A terrible fear roots itself in my heart, and the only thought running through my head is 'I don't want to die.'

I fight, trying to break my arms free at the least, if only so I can fight back against the villain trying to use me as a stupid skin suit, but he only laughs at my attempts.

"Grab all you want, my body's made of fluid. Thanks for the help, you're a real hero to me, kid." I struggle harder at the sarcasm in his tone now angry too.

"I didn't know HE was in the city. I've gotta get out of here before he hunts me down." The villain mumbles, and spots start to invade my vision from the lack of oxygen.

I hear a manhole cover hit the roof of the tunnel, and the villain turns. A man is crouched on one knee in front of us.

"Have no fear citizen! Now that I am here, that is!" All Might says, now standing on his feet, and I can feel my panic lessen.

I black out, a dull ache appearing in the back of my skull as the darkness slowly embraces me, and I swear I hear Kacchan's voice.

"Live, or I'll kill you." He says from my subconscious, but I'm too far gone to acknowledge him.

-----------------------------------

I wake up on the dirty concrete, the dull ache still in the back of my skull as I sit up from my spot, and All Might kneels in front of me, lightly tapping my face.

"Hey! Wake up! Hey!" I blink slowly, not really comprehending anything yet. Blacking out due to lack of oxygen tends to do that to you.

"Thought we lost you for a minute there!" He laughs loudly, and I shuffle back a bit, now blinking rapidly as I try to piece together what happened.

"Sorry about what happened back there! I didn't mean to get you caught up in my justicing, usual I keep more attention on keeping bystanders safe, but it turns out this city's sewer system is pretty difficult to navigate!" He laughs loudly as he apologizes, and I'm practically star struck. I'm..... I'm talking with All Might?!

"Anyway! You were a big help, thank you! I've captured the evil doer!" He holds up two soda bottles, filled with the liquid of the sludge villain. Kinda gross, really.

"Well, I've gotta get this villain to the police so they can take care of him. Stay out of trouble, see you around!" He waves curtly and starts to stretch.

"Wait!" I call out, scrambling to my feet as I ignore the protest of my limbs. The tall hero turns back around to face me.

"Yes, young civilian?" He asks, warmth in his voice. His eyes are shadowed, and his smile seems eerily wide. But I guess that's just how he looks normally, its just a bit weirder up close.

"Do you think I can become a hero, even without a quirk?" I ask softly, picking my school bag up off of the ground and one of my hero notebooks with it.

There's a short pause, and his answer reassures everything I've ever been taught.

"No, I don't think you can."

He's gone before I can yell, curse, do something to prove that I can, so I just pull out my phone and dial Kacchan's number.

"Hey, kuzu, the hell are you?" His voice makes me breathe a sigh of relief.

"I took the long way, remember. Where are you? I really need to talk."

-----------------------------------

I spot Kacchan's spikey hair on the corner, and I move to wave to him as he makes a motion to kick something.

In the blink of an eye, most of his body is encased in a substance the colour of mud.

The sludge villain. But didn't All Might take care of that?

There's several loud bangs, and small flashes of light coming from the general area that Kacchan's in. He's fighting back.

There's fire now as I try to push through the crowd, Kacchan's work being a serious downfall for the other heros on the scene.

None of the pros that have shown up are helping, and after a minute of absolutely nothing happening, my feet begin to move before I even know what I'm doing.

I fling my bag at the villain with a shout, and something incredibly weird happens before I can realize what's going on.

The shout materializes into a physical object, a barrier, cutting the villain's slime like body in two.

Kacchan wastes no time in blowing up the rest of it, coughing and hacking once he can breathe again, tears forming in the corners of his crimson eyes.

We both move back as All Might shows up, once again capturing the villain, and I waste no time bolting straight for Kacchan.

"Kacchan!" I yell, rushing to my brother and pulling him into a tight hug.

His arms wrap themselves around me, twitching slightly from over usage of his quirk.

"Kuzu.... WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" He yells, pulling away from me and shaking me violently.

"I don't know! I just... Yelled?" A pro runs up to us, moving us back to the other pros on the scene as they put the fire out.

"Young man, I get that this is your brother, but using your quirk in a fight is incredibly irresponsible and illegal." He says.

I nod, and he leaves to help with the destruction as I stand there for a moment before grinning.

"I'm not quirkless! I can be a hero!" The joyful laughter bubbles from my throat before I can stop it, and it earns a proud laugh from the teen beside me.

He wraps me in a hug again, rocking from side to side slowly.

"You're not just a nerd anymore! I'm helping you train it, you got that? We have ten months till the entrance exams for UA, and I'll be damned if you don't get in there with me." I pull away, tears starting to streak their way down my face.

"I'll be happy to fight by your side, Kacchan!"

-----------------------------------

After a long lecture and some congratulations from the heroes on scene, we finally made our way back home.

"I can't believe your quirk manifested while you were trying to protect me." Kacchan laughs slightly, hands shoved in his school uniform pockets.

"It's cause your one of the only people who've ever believed in me, besides mom and dad, of course. You've always been the one I'm most terrified of losing." I shrug, blowing a strand of green and yellow hair out of my eyes for the millionth time today alone.
I start explaining what happened on my walk back, what lead up to me calling him to meet up somewhere.

"All Might?! You fucking met him?!" Kacchan shakes my arm, and I nod, remembering the bitter encounter when the Symbol of Peace crushed my dreams just over an hour ago.

"He told me I could never be a hero without a quirk. I was attacked by the the same villain as you were, which means he dropped the ball." I cross my arms, shoving my bag further up my shoulder.

"That son of a..." Kacchan growls, but I only shrug. I'm used to that kind of treatment.

"Let's go home, Kuzu. Explain to mom and dad that you apparently have a quirk, and then try to make a training regiment that'll allow you to train it properly." He adds on, and we continue on towards our home.

Kacchan was always really good with training and things like that, so I tended to follow what he told me to do anyways. What would be any different?

"All right! Plus, I need to listen to Present Mic's radio show!" I start to run, knowing the show starts in just less then an hour, and we were still a little ways away from home.

"Alright, we'll get you home in time to listen to your favourite hero." Kacchan laughs, easily keeping up with my pace.

-----------------------------------

It took awhile to explain to our parents what had happened, and they promised us a proper celebration tomorrow night. Unfortunately, they had already eaten by the time Kacchan and I got back, so I made do with the curry he made us.

Not that I was making do with his food, considering he was a wickedly talented cook on top of everything else he was good at.

Currently, I sit at my desk while he sits on my bed, quietly listening to Present Mic's show.

I sketch designs in the sketchbook in front of me, quietly designing what I wanted my hero costume to look like.

That is, if I can even get into UA...

I pause, humming slightly in discontentment. Katsuki looks up from his phone, an eyebrow raised.

"What's up, baby brother?" He questions, and I playfully glare at him.

"You're just over three months older then me, not a decade." I huff, and he shrugs, smiling slightly.

"It's not my fault that you act like a five year old fanboy, Kuzu. Now, what's up?" He doesn't miss a single beat, not letting me off the hook.

"That's unfair, you know me too well," I sigh, spinning my chair to the right so I can face him properly. "I'm just thinking of the exam for UA. What if I can't gain control over my quirk? Everyone else has had probably close to a decade, and I only have ten months!" I start to fret, and he raises himself from my mattress and walks over to me.

"Oi, look at me." I stare into his eyes as he continues talking.

"You're an incredibly fast learner, Kuzu. We have just under a year to work this out, and I know you will. Because you always do." He pulls me into a slight hug before backing off and flopping back down on my mattress.

"Thank you, Kacchan.... I needed that." I smile at him, turning back to my sketchbook and replacing it with a notebook.

"So... My quirk seems to be voice activated, and from what I can tell, the letters of the word form the object.... Like, the barrier was just 'AHHH' because I shouted, not trying to say any specific thing. I think, to avoid it activating randomly and possibly breaking things or hurting someone, I could use sign language cause I already know JSL, but that is a problem for future me because I've only used it once so far..." I mutter, starting to write out details in the notebook, Kacchan listening closely.

"Not a bad idea, Kuzu. We should work on creating barriers again, but try to use specific words. Then we can move onto other tricks." Kacchan adds, and I nod, writing it down into the notebook.

"What if we tried making whips? So I can pull objects towards me or pull myself towards things? And then we can work on incorporating it into our workouts!" I start to scribble out a semi detailed plan, or, as detailed as a plan can get when I only know know the bare essentials of a quirk I've only used once in a blind panic.

"That's a good plan, but don't push yourself too far. You still need to get good grades for the next ten months." He reminds, and I nod.

It wasn't that hard to make ideas of what I could do, considering this is pretty much what I've been doing since I was in elementary school.

Kacchan stands up again, peering over my shoulder at the scribbled down ideas, barely readable.

"Those are good ideas, nerd." He lightly punches me in the shoulder, and I stick my tongue out at him.

"Says you, mister 'eight o'clock bedtime'." I laugh, and he rolls his eyes, shoving me.

"Oh, shut it." I snicker slightly, shoving him back with my shoulder as he adds a small note to the bottom of the book.

'Keep fighting for who you want to be. I'll always be proud of you.'

"I knew you had a soft spot!" I joke, and he blinks a few times before staring down at me.

"Kuzu, you've known me for over a decade. What gave it away? Was it me getting suspended several times for protecting you, or was it the saying 'I love you' because you're my brother?" He deadpans, and that makes me laugh.

"Actually, I think it was the you almost getting expelled from Aldera because you threatened a teacher because she was quirkist towards me." His eyes narrow slightly in slight disgust at the memory.

"In my defence, she was a disgusting bitch who didn't deserve to be in our presence. I'm glad mom got her fired." He huffs, crossing his arms as he stands properly.

"Don't forget dad's reaction to finding out! That was one of the only times I've ever heard him yell, and it terrifies me to this day." I shudder, remembering the raw anger in dad's voice as he yelled at the school board for employing her in the first place.

"Yeah, that was kind of scary." Kacchan shrugs, patting me on the back before heading back to collapse on my mattress once more.

"Is your ringtone still me screaming 'Do your fucking best'?" Kacchan questions randomly as I pull out my phone, and to answer his question, I play the ringtone.

Kacchan's loud voice rings through the room, and there's a slight silence before we both burst out laughing.

"Wait... You do realize that you're going to have to register you're quirk before the exams, right?" Kacchan realizes, and I groan, remembering the form and the waiting that he had to go through a few years back.

"That's going to suck." I stand up, walking over to the bed, dragging him off, and taking his spot.

"I mean, yeah, but it's what comes with having a quirk." He shrugs, sitting up from the floor as if I hadn't just shoved him off my bed.

"I'll enjoy every minute." I smile slightly, already accepting the idea of the tedious wait. Not that it would be too long, considering it's not like I'm updating a previously stated quirk, I'm literally starting from scratch.

It meant that I could do what I wanted to do with my life, so why wouldn't I enjoy it?

For the next ten months, I'd have endless exercise and preparation.

Kacchan walked out, saying something about homework needing to be done, so I just lay back in my chair and listen to my favorite hero talk on the radio, enjoying my last true evening of rest.

END OF CHAPTER ONE

Chapter Text

Today's the day. The day that everything I've been doing for the last ten months has lead to.

Today is the day of the UA entrance exam.

Kacchan and I had been training almost daily to get to this point, and with some accidental activations of my quirk, we'd managed to get it mostly under control.

The only issue is that to use my quirk, my voice has to be in constant use.

It took a broken window, and a few shattered glasses for Kacchan and I to realize that seemingly minor detail, and mom was only happy AFTER we stopped breaking things.

It took countless hours, but due to Kacchan attacking me when I'd least expect it, I can activate it almost immediately. He seemed to enjoy not giving me any warnings.

Keeping the object physical is a completely different story, but I figured that would be an issue for future me.

-----------------------------------

Kacchan and I walk to UA together, my mind racing at the possibilities.

He's going to pass the practical, no doubt, and he's smart enough to pass the written.

Me, however? It's hard to keep my quirk activated if my breathing is heavy, so I can only use it for about the first ten minutes of a fight without having to back off.

With the burn on my left arm, you can tell that I learnt that the hard way.

We were practically right outside the front doors when my nerves get the best of me, and I tripped.

Strangely, I hover right above the concrete before Kacchan hauls me back to my feet.

"Sorry about using my quirk on you!" A girl says from behind me, and I turn to face her.

She's shorter then me, hair cut mostly in a short bob, with bangs and longer pieces framing her face. She has a rosy complexion, and her large brown eyes seem incredibly apologetic.

"Oh! It's no problem! Thank you for catching me! What is your quirk, by the way?" I tilt my head, genuinely curious. Her eyes light up at the question, and she responds with a smile.

"Oh! Zero gravity! Whatever I touch with all my fingers floats until I touch both hands together again! It's kind of lame..." She scratches at her collar slightly in anxiousness.

"That's really cool actually! I can imagine so many uses for that in a fight!" I start to rattle off ideas before Kacchan swats me in the back of my head.

"Great, you got the nerd started. But he's not wrong, that is an interesting quirk. Now c'mon, Kuzu, we don't want to be late." He drags me off, which was easy because I wore heelies for this purpose exactly, and I wave a goodbye to the shorter female, who beams at me in return, also waving as she kneels down to tie her shoes.

I let Kacchan drag me to the bright auditorium, and I immediately realize the sheer amount of teenagers in this one room.

Kacchan and I find seats fairly quickly, but my breathing starts to get a little uneven as more people file in. I never really fared well in crowds.

"Hey. Take a deep breath, alright? It's going to be fine, you're prepared for this." Kacchan gently wraps an arm around my shoulders in an attempt to bring me back to the present, but it doesn't work.

My eyes close, and I pull my legs towards my chest to try and quell the growing panic building inside my chest when I hear the room quiet in an abrupt silence.

"What's up UA candidates, thanks for tuning into me, your school DJ! C'mon and let me hear ya!" A loud voice yells from the centre of the room.

My head shoots up, noting the now darkened room, the only source of light being the spotlight shining down on the pro hero.

Silence continues, but that doesn't seem to bring him down in the slightest. If anything, it seems to heighten his energy levels even more.

"Present Mic is doing the explaining?!" I whisper yell to Kacchan who only waves at me in a brief movement to shut me up.

"Keepin' it mellow, huh? That's fine, I'll skip straight to the main event! Let's talk about how this practical exam is gonna go down, okay?" He continues, turning on a screen behind him.

It was almost surreal to see my favorite hero in person. I knew he taught at UA, but I didn't expect him to be handling the exams!

I move so I'm sitting properly again, and Kacchan's arm retracts as he sits forward in anticipation.

"Are you READY?!" The loud blond male questions, the microphone around his neck keeping him from having to use his quirk.

"Yeah!" He continues on once he realizes that no one is going to actually respond to him. At least, out loud, that is.

I sit in awe, barely noting the rules for the exam, when Kacchan swats at me to snap me back into focus.

"C'mon, Kuzu! Back to the present, stop zoning out!" He hisses, red eyes narrowed dangerously at me.

An examinee a row or two up from ours calls out a mistake, talking about the fourth robot on the cards we were handed when we got in.

My favourite pro explains that it's just meant for a challenge, and that it's worth nothing.

Then the blue haired teen turns to us, glaring down at us over his glasses.

"And if you two will please stop talking? If you two aren't too caught up in your own issues, you'd realize that there are people here that are trying to pay attention, and that are taking this seriously." Kacchan growls, standing up and looking ready to set off a large explosion.

"The fuck did you say to me, dipshit?!" I stand up hurriedly, standing in front of the spikey haired blond.

"Katsuki, no! Do not give the teachers a reason to dislike you! You do not need a handicap!" I hiss, pushing him back into his seat. He listens to me as I pull out the proper name card, and doesn't struggle.

Present Mic steals the attention back, thank god, and Kacchan still bristles with anger.

The bedazzled hero directs us to our separate arenas, indicated on the top of our cards, and I realize, my heart seeming to drop in an immediate blow, that Kacchan and I aren't in the same arena.

"Kacchan..." I murmur, staring down at my card. His head snaps towards me, an eyebrow questioningly raised.

"Yeah? What's- oh. Fuck. That's not how we planned." I just stare mutely down at the card that has already decided my fate.

"There's no way I can pass. There's at least three hundred kids here, and only thirty six will be able to get into the hero course!" I start to repeatedly clench and unclench my hand, a nervous tic I picked up from one of my teachers when I was younger.

"Hey. Shut up. We're both going to get in, you hear me? Now come here." He pulls me into a reassuring hug, and then holds me at arm's length.

"I'll see you after the exam for the written portion, and you're going to be okay. Fight your best, brother." I nod, taking a shaky breath.

"Yeah... Yeah, okay. You too, Kacchan." He ruffles my hair, pulling back and heading to his arena, one on the complete opposite side of the testing area from mine.

I try to do the breathing exercises my therapist assigned me, but none of them seem to work as I jump at the slightest jostle.

I hear a few snickers from other teens as I enter the arena along with them, some purposely poking me just so they can see me squirm.

The tall, navy haired male walks up to me, and I can see his mouth moving, forming words that I should be able to hear, but I can't. All I hear is ringing, the sound of an impending breakdown.

The only thing that pulls me out is a yell from Present Mic, signifying the beginning of the practical exam.

Suddenly, we're surrounded by robots, one, two, and three pointers, and the other teens jump into battle immediately.

'Fight your best, brother.' Kacchan's words echo through my head, and I know that I can't let him down now, after everything he, mom, and dad have done for me.

I let out a yell, a whip forming in my hand in the shape of the letters, and wrap it around a two pointer, planting my feet on a lamp post as I use sheer force to swing it into a three pointer.

Both crumple to the ground, not getting up again. Five points.

The moment the yell fades from my throat, the whip dissipates, and I launch myself straight into the fray, my fears fading into a distant echo, along with my words, as the sounds of battle surround me.

I have to pause after awhile, finding it hard to breathe properly, when there's an ominous boom from behind me.

I turn immediately, only to almost get dragged back by the wave of people surging away from the area.

A monster towers over all of them, and my breath catches in my throat at the sheer size.

The zero pointer...

There's a cry for help from nearby, but no body else seems to notice but me, or they just don't care about another potential student, so I shove through the crowd to try and reach the possibly injured teenager.

Trapped, waist deep in rubble, is the girl with the zero gravity quirk, and she desperately tries to shove the rubble off of her, a small puddle of vomit by her side.

She gets sick if she uses her quirk too long.... Well, might as well ask her to use it once more.

It wasn't difficult to reach her after the crowd had moved past us, and I survey her quickly for any visual injuries.

"Hey! Are you alright?" I shove a larger rock from on top of her, and she nods, eyes staring at the monster looming over us.

"You think you can send me up? I need to take this thing down before it injures someone else, but you need to be able to get out of the area just in case it falls in your direction, alright?" I remove the final rock with a large shove, and she nods, rising to her feet weakly.

Her hand brushes against mine, and I'm floating again.

I manage to anchor myself to a lamp post with a whip wrapped around my waist, ranting to keep the whip physical, before I create another one to wrap around the gigantic robot.

I switch from the rant to a single yell, louder then I've ever done before, and let go of the lamp post to pull back with both hands, my feet pushing against the metal to pull the robot in my direction.

The robot creaks ominously as it stops, and my voice catches in my throat, both my anchors disappearing, but I fall to the ground instead of floating up.

The top half of the robot seems to slide, straight into mine and the girl's direction.

"Everybody, get to the other side!" I yell grabbing the girl's arm and pushing her behind me. All of the other potential students listen.

I hastily set up a barrier, words flowing across the currently physical object as I rant, unstable as parts blink out from my stuttering.

I run out, grabbing the brunette as I do so, and the barrier breaks as I pause to take a breath.

The top half of the beast crashes to the ground barely three feet from where we stand.

"Thank you!" The girl wraps me in a hug, quickly pulling away. "No one else was even bothering to stop, let alone help me."

I blink a few times, suddenly unsteady as the adrenaline rush fades from my blood.

"Not...a problem... Right thing... To do...." Suddenly, my eyes roll back into my head, and darkness embraces me as my body crumples to the pavement.

-----------------------------------

Meanwhile, at the beginning of the exam:

Shouta yawned, face half buried in his capture weapon so that no one could really see the look of obvious distaste on his face.

As he sat back and watched the exams in progress, he noted two separate fights breaking out, immediately clicking their names off of his list of potential students on the screen he had in his hands.

He refused to deal with students who fought like that, and if they made it into his class, he'd expel them without a second glance.

A blur of blue, green and yellow caught his eye in a different arena, and he watched with muted interest as he watched the student seemingly form a whip out of thin air to pull one robot into another.

Impressive... But not really.

"Wait! That green and yellow haired boy.... Midoriya is his name? Huh, I could've sworn he was quirkless around 10 months ago..." His gaze flips to the Symbol of Peace that sat across from him, and so did everyone else's.

"What do you mean 'you could've sworn he was quirkless ten months ago'?" Nemuri questioned, turning her gaze back to the screens.

"I rescued him from that sludge villain. He was barely fighting back, only struggling. Then he asked me if he could still be a hero, even without a quirk. I told him he couldn't." Shouta narrowed his eyes slightly at the older male.

"So you crushed a young man's dreams? How befitting of you." Toshinori chose to ignore that comment, still intently watching the ombré haired teenager fight on the monitor.

"Even if it developed after that meeting, with less then ten months of training... He looks like he's been using it for years! Like he's analyzed any move he can make, and knows exactly how to use it properly and in the most effective way to take down his enemy." Shouta nodded slightly, disliking the fact that he was agreeing with the male.

"Izuku Midoriya. Quirk: Voice. He can use his words to create physical objects, but the objects only stay physical as long as his voice stays active. The object will disappear when he has to pause to inevitably take a breath." Shouta read, and groaned.

This kid was starting to remind him of Hizashi.

"Shall I release the zero pointers?" The small white creature next to him questioned, and Hizashi confirmed over his walkie talkie.

"Release em'!" Nezu's paw pressed down on the red button.

Shouta watched Midoriya's reaction carefully, nodding slightly in approval when he saw the boy go to rescue the pinned female.

Not only did he get her out, but he formulated a plan to cut the robot down, and then directed people where to go to avoid getting crushed, all in just over a minute.

He even had a slight smile on his face when he saw the teen throw up a barrier so that the monster wouldn't fall immediately, giving him, the girl he was with, and any other people that might've been a little slow time to get out.

And then all of his emotions vanished when the boy promptly fainted.

"Midoriya had a good reaction, moving in to save the girl and cut down the robot," He said, instantly regretting speaking up. "But he also fainted at the end of the fight."

"Probably from lack of air! That's what happens to me if I yell too long!" Hizashi piped in over the radio, and Shouta only shrugged, not really caring about the outcome at the moment.

-----------------------------------

Hizashi had been sitting on the roof, ready to jump in to save someone if the situation called for it. He only needed an okay from his fellow staff for him to do so.

So instead, he watched one particular student, a short boy with curly green hair with golden yellow tips, one he noticed during his explanation of the practical exam. The boy that was on the brink of an anxiety attack when he had come on stage, the boy that had made the angry blond back down from the fight with Iida.

He had watched him enter the arena, watched as the people made fun of him, and watched as he seemed to snap into a completely different personality when the fighting truly started.

He listened to Toshinori's wonder, and couldn't help but agree with the pro hero. If this kid had just gotten his quirk, how was if using it as if he'd been trained for this exact situation?

This kid.... He's brilliant!

Hizashi smiled brightly, enjoying watching this teenager on the battlefield.

He tilted his head slightly as Shouta read off the teen's information, and thought deeply for a moment.

This kid's quirk.... It's so similar to mine! 

He was paying enough attention to Nezu's question, and raised his walkie talkie to his mouth to confirm. He wanted to see how Midoriya reacted.

He watched as Midoriya rescued a girl, using her quirk to help him take the massive robot down.

He smiled gleefully as he watched the kid set up a barrier, and then promptly faint once he knew everyone was safe.

Hizashi yelled out the ending of the exam, the last of the active robots seemingly deactivating as he spoke.

He listened to Shouta point out the boy's flaws, and only rolled his eyes in response.

"Probably from lack of air! That's what happens to me if I yell too long!" He said, climbing down from his post on the building. He wanted to check to see if the boy was okay once Recovery Girl did her rounds.

-----------------------------------

"This kid! I HAVE to take him under my wing! We have similar quirks, Shou!" Hizashi practically bounced with excitement as he walked with Shouta through the UA halls after the exams had finished.

"This Child!!!! Is Impressive!!!!" He continued, hands fiddling excitedly. Shouta noted how cute he looked when he was happy, almost like an excited puppy, but he turned away from his best friend before the man caught him watching.

"Shou... Shouta... Shou Shou Shou-" The blond had started, tugging on the end of Shouta's scarf.

"WHAT." Shouta whipped around, hair floating and eyes red as he used his quirk as an intimidation tactic. It didn't work on Hizashi, it hadn't since their third year.

"Keep an eye on that kid for me! I wanna make him my protégé! Please Shou! You owe me!" Hizashi all but begged, not letting the slightly younger male leave from the spot he was in.

"Oh my god, FINE." Shouta found his best friend annoying. Pretty, but very, very, very annoying.

But mostly pretty.

END OF CHAPTER TWO

Chapter Text

"Thanks, Recovery Girl!" I wave goodbye to the nurse as I leave the makeshift office, walking back into the area in front of the battle arenas.

It was a bit colder outside when I stepped into the sun again, but it wasn't unbearably so, thankfully.

"Hey! Little listener, you okay?" I turn at the voice and I see Present Mic walking towards me. I look around nervously, making sure that he's talking to me, but there's no one else around me for him to be talking to anyway.

"Oh! Uh, yeah I'm fine! Recovery Girl fixed me up." I smile nervously, slightly panicking about having a proper conversation with my idol.

"That's good! You did really well out there! I look forward to seeing you around U.A!" And with that, He walks off with a wave and a smile, heading back towards the school.

I stand there for a minute until I hear Kacchan talking behind me, and I slowly turn to face him.

"Uh... Izu, you look like you've seen a ghost." Kacchan puts a hand on my shoulder, shaking me slightly.

"Just... Had a conversation... With Present Mic." I blink a couple of times before meeting Kacchan's eyes. "I just had a conversation... with Present Mic."

He snickers slightly, steering me towards the entrance back into the building for the written exams.

"Stop being a fanboy and focus on the exams, Deku." I roll my eyes at the nickname, still briefly panicking over the fact that I just had a conversation with my favourite hero of all time.

"Yeah, yeah..... Written exam." I sigh, letting Kacchan pull me back into the building where my fate awaited me.

------

"Izuku, could you pass the rice please?" Mitsuki glanced from him to the dish of rice to his right, but there was no response from him.

"Izuku?" She leaned over to wave her hand in front of his face, but his eyes didn't even focus.

She sighed slightly, scooting her chair closer to him so that she could reach out her hand and shake his shoulder gently. Still nothing.

"Izuku, snap out of it." She shook him a bit harder, but nothing happened other than Izuku briefly mumbling a 'what' quietly.

"Um.... Present Mic's radio show is on?" She tried, but it didn't work, as Izuku was still staring down at his plate. This was starting to get weird.

"Katsuki, what happened today?" She sent a pointed look towards her son on the other side of the table, who raised his hands in quick denial

"Nothing! I think he's just freaked out that the exams are done and now he has to wait till next week for his results." He continued to eat, and Mitsuki nodded, humming slightly in understanding.

"Okay... Izu, you gonna eat something?" As if on command, the green-haired boy picked up his fork and slowly started to eat the food on his plate.

"This is weird, even for this house." She shook her head, moving back to her plate to continue eating.

------

"Did I ever tell you how my practical exam went?" I spun my chair around slowly to face Kacchan, who was once again lying on my bed as Present Mic's show played quietly in the background.

"No, no you didn't. What happened?" He raised an eyebrow, turning his phone off and tilting his head towards me.

"Well.... As you heard, I got 16 points, I took down probably..... 7 robots, maybe? Not important, anyways. When the huge robot came out, the zero pointer, everyone ran in the opposite direction.

"There was a girl, though. She was trapped under a half-crumbled building, I think. She was the same girl that we talked to out front, the girl with the zero gravity quirk.

"So anyway, I got her out, she floated me up, and then I kinda tied myself to a lamp-post. I don't remember taking it down, I just remember being out of breath, but I guess I cut it in half with a whip somehow.

"So I fell, grabbed the girl, told everyone who was still there to run, and I set up a barrier pretty quickly to stop it from falling, but it was heavier than I thought it would be, and I kinda fainted as soon as I knew I was safe." Kacchan's watching me now, eyes wide as he sits up.

"Kuzu are you saying that you TOOK DOWN the zero pointer?! That easily?! Even I didn't bother to, I just avoided it and took down some villains when the other examinees fled." He shrugged slightly at the end, but he shakes his head and gets back on subject.

"Well... I didn't want her to get hurt, or anyone else to get hurt. So I just kinda... Took it down?" I scratched at my collar nervously, trying to avoid his eyes.

"Okay, okay. This deserves some ice cream, though." And with that he stands up, placing his hands on his hips.

"Well? C'mon, kuzu, it's chocolatey celebration time!" He raises an arm into the air as if he's leading a charge into battle, and exits the room.

"Well," I mutter, standing up from my desk chair. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

------

"Izu you've been pacing almost nonstop over the last four days, sit the fuck down already!" Kacchan yelled as I once again passed his room in the hall.

I don't respond, but I grab a sweater and my headphones and made my way down the stairs and to the front door.

"I'm going on a run, I'll be back later!"

------

"Why are you here jumping across rooftops again? I thought I told you to knock it off." A deep voice behind me remarks, and I shake my head.

"You may have, but this helps calm me down. Plus we already know I can land properly anyways." I shrug, turning to face the man behind me.

He shakes his head, turning around to leave and continue his patrol.

"Don't hurt yourself, ya got that?" I smile as he walks to the other side of the roof.

"Will do, Eraserhead."

------

"IZUKU, KATSUKI, THE MAIL'S HERE!" We both look up from our plates and at each other from our respective spots at the breakfast table before hastily making our way to the living room where mom stood with two large envelopes in one hand, the rest having been passed off to dad, who stood beside her.

"Katsuki, you can open yours first." She passes off an envelope to Kacchan, who tears it open without hesitation, pulling out the video disc within.

He clicks the button, and the video pops up, the hologram projecting to Kacchan's right.

"Katsuki Bakugou!" All Might's voice is loud, and I glare slightly at the number one hero, but Katsuki's eyes are wide in anticipation.

"It is with great pleasure that I say this: you passed the written part of the exams with top marks, and passed the practical exam with 77 points, the highest marks in this year's practical exam! In the envelope that this disc came in, you will find multiple forms for you and your legal guardians to fill out. Welcome to your hero academia, young Bakugou!" I tackle him in a hug weird side hug, laughing as he cheers.

"Fuck yeah!" He yells loudly, letting me continue to embrace him, arms triumphantly in the air.

"Language, young man!" He narrowly dodges a slipper thrown by mom, and then there's quiet after his excitement dulls a bit. Wait.

 I have to open my envelope.

"Here, Izu." Mom gently passes me the envelope as I detach myself from Kacchan. This is what everything I've done worked for in the last ten months, no, my whole life, has led to.

I take the envelope and stare at it for a minute before opening it and reaching for the video disc within.

Kacchan takes it from me after a moment, clicking it on and I lower my head, not wanting to see All Might proclaim my failure in front of my family.

"Izuku Midoriya!" His loud, deep voice calls out from the projection, and I slowly raise my head, staring up at the Symbol of Peace.

"It is with great pleasure that I say this: You passed the written part of the exam with very good marks, and gained 16 points in the practical exam. However, that is a small number of points, meaning you failed the practical." Mom gasps and Kacchan looks like he's going to break the hologram.

A shaky breath gets released. I didn't pass. I look down at the floor again, trying to hide my disappointment.

"However!" He starts up again, and I look back up at the man in the hologram.

"The school did decide on one thing, a rule that has never been disclosed to the public! What kind of hero school would UA be if we didn't give points to those who chose to rescue others, instead of getting points for themselves?

"While everyone else ran away from the zero pointer, you cut it down, saving a young girl in the process. Then, you created a barrier to keep it from crashing down, therefore giving time for others to escape before doing so yourself! For that, you have also received 60 rescue points, meaning your overall total is 76 points, second place in the overall practical exam." Mom jumps up, bringing dad with her, both pairs of hands clasped in barely concealed excitement.

"Welcome to your hero academia, young Midoriya!" With that, the recording shuts off, and Kacchan hauls me to my feet. I get tackled by everyone, minus dad, and I feel the tears streaming down my face before I even realize I'm crying.

"I'M IN THE HERO COURSE!" I shout, laughing slightly from pure relief. Even my dad seems to be less calm than usual.

"Congrats, brat!" Mom cheers, much to dad's dismay. She ruffles my hair as she pulls away, and dad does the same.

"We're so proud of you, Izuku." He smiles at me, lightly shoving his glasses up his nose.

"Great fucking job!" Kacchan cheers loudly, still hugging me.

"WE'RE IN THE SAME CLASS!" I cheer, and he practically spins me.

We both laugh happily, and he holds me closely for a moment before mom tackles us again, and dad joins the embrace.

"You two better not flunk out, ya hear me?" She threatens, and I laugh, wiping a tear from my eye.

"Mom, when have we ever failed anything? Kacchan and I always get good grades!" She shrugs, pulling back, but still smiling.

"I mean, you did fail the practical exam... Technically." She points out, and I laugh once more.

"Technically. Only technically." I point back, beaming up at her, and she ruffles my hair affectionately before walking into the kitchen.

-----------------------------------

Dinner that night was full of hope and promises, and an unspoken truth.

I had a chance.

A chance to become the person I always wanted to be.

I could become a hero.

And that was exactly what I planned to do.

END OF CHAPTER THREE

Chapter Text

I make a move to try and turn off the alarm on my phone, fumbling with it as I do so. I yawn, sitting up and stretching, blinking tiredly at the light streaming through my windows.

"Get up, dumbass! It's time to get ready!" Kacchan yells, bursting into my bedroom, and I jump in surprise.

"There are easier ways to wake me up properly." I yawn, moving to the edge of my bed and placing my feet on the floor.

He just rolls his eyes, throwing open my blinds further and walking out of my room, and with that, I get up.

I walk through my room, shuffling tiredly towards my desk chair, and I grab an old sweatshirt and slip it on over my nightshirt as I make my way out of my bedroom.

I yawn again as I walk to the stairs, vision blurry from both sleep and lack of contacts or glasses.

I try to make my way down the stairs, but unfortunately for me, my hand-eye coordination when I wake up is terrible, causing me to miss several steps, but I manage to catch myself before I truly fall.

"Morning, mom." I yawn once again as I walk into the living room, and she stands up, ruffling my hair.

"Your hair looks messier than usual. Maybe you need a haircut." She muses, crimson eyes shining in slight amusement.

"No! No one touches my hair!" I pout, covering my head with my arms. She just snickers, walking into the kitchen where Kacchan stands, making breakfast. I follow her sleepily.

"Kacchan, whatcha makin?" I hum, sitting down at the kitchen table. He places a plate in front of me with a roll of his eyes, and I smile. Scrambled eggs and sausages.

"Thank you!" He grunts in response, turning back to the stove, and I start eating.

------

"This is it, Kacchan. This is class 1-A!" I cheer as we walk up to the huge door. I guess it has to be accessible to everyone.

Kacchan walks in, but I'm stopped at the door by the brunette that stopped me from falling.

"Hey! I never got to thank you properly for saving me! My name's Uraraka Ochako!" She bows slightly and I bow back, smiling at her.

"Midoriya Izuku! I'm glad we're in the same class!" We step through the door and into the large classroom, and I start to snicker slightly.

Inside the class, Kacchan sits with his feet propped up on his desk, with the navy-haired teenager from the entrance exams scolding him for 'disrespecting school property'. Kacchan looks like he's going to blow a fuse, so to speak, so I decide to step in before something gets destroyed.

"Just listen to him and he'll leave you alone!" I call out, and he narrows his eyes at me after he turns his head to face me.

"Who's side are you on, dumbass?!" He yells back, and I start to laugh.

"I am on no one's side, you know this!" He begrudgingly brings his legs off the desk, and the glasses-clad teenager walks over to Uraraka and me.

"Iida Tenya. A pleasure to meet you." He bows respectfully, and I bow once again.

"Midoriya Izuku! Pleasure to meet you too!" I smile up at him when I right myself, and he adjusts his glasses.

"I apologize for my attitude at the entrance exam. It was an appalling way to act to a fellow examinee, and I commend you for finding an alternative aspect of the exam. I should've figured that rescue points would've been an aspect, especially for such a prestigious establishment. I thank you for showing me a different way of thinking." He bows again, this time in apology, and I blink a few times in surprise.

"Oh! It's alright! And I didn't even think of what I was doing, I just saw Uraraka in trouble and I needed to help her!" I smile at him again and it's his turn to blink in response, but he doesn't get a chance to answer, because a voice behind us speaks up.

"What are you three doing? You should all be sitting at your desks." The gruff voice scolds, and I turn around quickly, my eyes quickly glancing downward.

A very tired man glares up at us from a bright yellow sleeping bag, messy black hair framing his face and a scruffy, thin beard.

I stutter slightly, but ultimately decide against speaking and take my seat behind Kacchan.

I try to remember where I've seen this man before, but I can't seem to put my finger on it. His voice even seems familiar, but I can't tell from where I know him.

"It took you eight seconds to quiet down, that's not going to work. This is the hero course." The male stands up, stepping out of the sleeping bag and revealing a baggy pure black outfit, a gray scarf hanging loosely around his neck and shoulders. He walks to the podium at the front of the class, glaring at every student that dares meet his eyes.

"My name is Aizawa Shouta. And I'm your homeroom teacher." There are mutters from around the class, but he quiets them.

"You are going to change into these and then meet me outside, got it?" He pulls out a uniform from the sleeping bag, one I recognize as the UA gym uniform, and he hands them to us. We all manage to file out of the door, our respective uniforms in hand.

------

A lot of the kids walk leisurely to where Aizawa-sensei stands, but I get a feeling that something's up, so I decide to walk a bit faster than the rest.

Uraraka seems to figure something's wrong and questions the grumpy teacher with a frown.

"How long is this going to take, we're going to miss orientation!" Aizawa-sensei quiets her with a glare and manifests a ball from seemingly nowhere.

"UA lets its teachers give a more freeform education, so I don't have to follow normal rules or expectations. This is the hero course, you don't have time for pleasantries. I have three years to make you into heroes, and I will not hesitate to expel you if you don't take this seriously. Which brings us to our next topic." Uraraka crosses her arms, looking genuinely disappointed about missing orientation, so I pat her shoulder gently to comfort her.

"You all did the mandatory tests in middle school, like the standing long jump and fifty-meter sprint, right? But there was a rule: you couldn't use your quirks.

"That made it difficult to see where you stood amongst your peers, and this is going to show you where you really stand. Bakugou, step into the circle." Kacchan steps up, walking to the designated white circle drawn on the ground. Aizawa-sensei tosses him the ball and pulls a device from his pocket.

"You did the ball toss before, right? What was your record in middle school?" The teacher asks, and Kacchan shrugs, tossing the ball between his hands.

"I don't know, between fifty and sixty meters? I can't remember." The older male nods, clicking something on the device he holds.

"Try now, using your quirk." Kacchan nods, an almost feral grin on his face as he grips the ball, swinging his arm back.

"DIE!" He shouts, an explosion ripping from his palm and propelling the ball into the air and out of sight.

"705.2 meters." Aizawa-sensei says in the silence afterwards, and I cheer.

"Great throw!" Kacchan growls slightly, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Shut up, Deku." He grumbles, and I stick my tongue out at him. He rolls his eyes at me, and I snicker.

"You will perform every test to the best of your ability. You will be ranked. The person with the lowest ranking overall gets expelled." There are voicings of discontent and anger, and I blink a few times.

I... I could get kicked out on the first day.

No. I'm not going to. I'm doing my best.

I'm not leaving.

"Alright. Everyone follow me." The grumpy teacher walks to what I assume is the track for the fifty-meter sprint.

"I'll be calling out pairs randomly. Midoriya, Bakugou, you two are up first." I smile, walking up to the start line.

"You're going down." Kacchan grins, and I laugh slightly, waiting for the countdown.

"BEAT THIS, KACCHAN!" I shout, forming a whip and wrapping it around the ending post, and it retracts, flinging me forwards.

"Midoriya: 4 Seconds. Bakugou: 4.13 Seconds." The robot at the end says in a  monotonous tone, and I cheer, clapping my hands together.

Kacchan pouts, but there's a certain shine in his eyes. He's pretending to be all tough.

"Great job!" Uraraka cheers from the sidelines, and I carefully high-five her.

"Do have a nickname or something easier than saying 'Midoriya'? I feel weird saying your given name." She says awkwardly, and I nod, smiling at her.

"Sure! And that makes sense, we did meet just over a week ago. You can call me 'Deku'!" I hear a growl from behind me, and I know it's Kacchan.

"Fuck her, that's my nickname for you!" He almost yells, and I turn, crossing my arms as I look at him, face blank.

"Katsuki, I will tell your mother." He narrows his eyes at me, suspicious of my threat, and the usage of his given name.

"You wouldn't dare." I shrug, raising an eyebrow at him. I hear Uraraka step behind me, so I move so I'm in front of her properly. Kacchan can be... A bit scary sometimes.

"Wanna bet?" The angry blond shoves his hands in his pockets and walks off, so I turn back to my classmate behind me.

"Don't worry, he's not that bad when you get to know him. Trust me on that, I've known him for two-thirds of my life. Your race is gonna be soon, good luck!" She smiles nervously, walking over to her start line.

------

After the sprints are finished, it's the grip strength test.

"Kacchan, should I do the thing?" I hold the kettlebell-shaped machine, and there's a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Do it." I grin holding the machine in both hands and start to rant.

The coil of words starts to coil around the machine like a boa constrictor, and the numbers start to skyrocket.

"124 Kg per square inch." Aizawa drawls, and I grin.

I drop the machine and wipe a bead of sweat from my forehead.

"Good job, dumbass." Kacchan claps me on the shoulder, and I grin at him.

------

The next test was one I knew I could score well on.

The standing long jump.

When it's my turn, I turn to Kacchan, who went before me, so he stood on the other end of the sandbox before me.

"Give me a topic!" I request, hands resting on my hips. The other kids look confused, but he smiles, almost evilly. This should be fun.

"Present Mic." He says after a moment of thinking, and I swear I hear Aizawa groan, but I grin.

"I'm not coming down!" I cheer, and start the rant, taking small breaths as I talk. The bars start to take shape, and I launch myself onto them, easily pulling myself up as climb onto the setup.

I move to stand, and start walking across the bars as if I'm on the ground, and I can see the ultimate confusion in some of the kids' faces.

It's easy enough to walk to the other side of the sandbox, and when I reach the edge, I bow jokingly to my classmates, and I lose my train of thought, the bars disappear as if fading into thin air, and I yelp as I fall to the ground.

As if by magic, I manage to land on my feet, but that comes with being clumsy almost all of the time. Kacchan laughs at me from my right, and I pout slightly.

"That wasn't funny! I was eight feet in the air!" He laughs harder and I cross my arms over my chest.

"You're mean."

------

The next test was the one Kacchan demonstrated: The ball throw. I was the last person going, and my throat was almost raw already, especially after the standing long jump. Which I feel Aizawa failed me on because I didn't exactly... Jump, per se.

I step into the circle drawn on the ground, ready to scream, but the bat I was planning doesn't form. The ball hits the ground a few feet outside the circle.

I turn to my teacher, whose hair and scarf are floating around his head, his eyes red. Something pings in the back of my head, a spark of a memory from earlier this week, and a few years ago, back when I was still doing dangerous things for fun, and to train myself.

"I know where I recognize you! You're the underground Erasure Hero, Eraserhead!" He seems confused that I know him and blinks.

"How do you know about me? I make a point to stay out of the spotlight. Wait... You're the kid I kept catching doing dangerous stunts off of tall buildings.

"Never mind. You're reckless. You should know how to handle your quirk by now, yet you've managed to talk yourself raw. There is no use for a hero who has to back out of a fight ten minutes in." The teacher responds, slightly confused at first, but back to a hard tone at the end. His hair and scarf fall back down. I blink a few times and frown.

"I'm sure-" I start, stepping up to him, but Kacchan grabs my arm.

"What did you say to me during the entrance exam, don't give the teachers a reason to dislike you? Don't talk back to him, Izuku." He mutters, and I pick up the ball again, this time with a frown, throwing it up once more.

"YEAH!" I yell, a bat forming in my hand, and I swing, the bat connecting with the ball with a crack.

"167 meters."

"My-" I cough, my voice scratchy. "My only goal here is to graduate and get my provisional license and make some friends and allies along the way. If I end up hurting myself while doing so, that's my fault. You know that a villain isn't going to stop when they realize that my throat hurts. If anything, that'll make them attack harder. The only way I can ever get better is to push myself." He stares at me for a moment and then smiles slightly.

"Good answer. Next test, let's go."

------

The next few tests I scored averagely on, not being particularly bad at any of them, but I can't exactly use my quirk for the seated toe touch, sit-ups, side steps, or the long-distance run, I guess.

Aizawa looked over the rankings for a few minutes, all of us students suspended in doubt and fear.

"Everyone back inside. No one's getting expelled." He turns on his heel and starts walking back to the school. I blink a few times but smile at him.

"This is unacceptable! I expected better for such a prestigious establishment!" I hear Iida complain, but I'm smiling. Maybe this year was going to be fun.

"We should head back in. We still have other things, orientation-wise, to attend." I propose, starting my way back to the school, Kacchan by my side.

Yeah, this year wasn't going to be good.

This year was going to be fantastic.

------

Shouta was walking out of his classroom, immediately disliking most of his students. Or so he'd let them believe. He's got to keep up appearances, after all.

"Shou!" The grumpy teacher inwardly groans, turning his head to see the blond man running up to him. There's a certain shine in his green eyes that seems to fade as Shouta speaks.

"What, Hizashi?" His voice betrays how tired he is, and the blond seems to notice.

"One day in and they're already working you down, huh? Also, how's my child?" He looks at him over his yellow-tinted glasses.

Shouta knows immediately what he's talking about. The green-haired boy, Midoriya.

"I am NOT dealing with another you. What makes it worse is this is the same kid I caught multiple times flipping off buildings." The tired man shudders, and the blond cocks his head in slight confusion.

"Another me? What do you mean?" The barley shorter teacher starts to make a list, tapping his fingers as he does.

"He's loud, he's annoying, he's brash and irrational." The black-haired male turns to the blond, eyes barely tracing his features.

"He smiles too much." At that, the blond smiles, and Shouta has to look away, lest he smiles back at his friend.

"Oh my god, yes." Shouta shakes his head, not wanting another sunshine boy to deal with.

"Oh my god, no." He shoots back, but Hizashi grins wildly.

"OH MY GOD, YES!" He yells, the glass in the window beside him, easily putting an end to that conversation.

------

Meanwhile, across the campus:

I yawn and stretch as I start walking towards the gates with Kacchan. I smile softly.

Today was a good first day, all things considered. A bonus is that I didn't get expelled!

"So, our teacher is your third favourite hero. And you didn't even recognize him at first." Kacchan snickers and I glare slightly at him.

"In my defence, it's different when you're seeing him on patrol. He doesn't have his entire costume on him when he's teaching. Plus, whenever he's on duty he's usually using his quirk. He just seemed like a grumpy teacher to me!" I raise an arm in surrender, the other one holding my bag on my shoulder.

"Wait until he sees you fight, that should be fun." I groan at his comment, knowing that that would be a fun thing to explain when the time came.

"OH MY GOD, YES!" I jump at the yell, and I hear the faint shattering of windows. Present Mic?

I wonder what THAT was about.

END OF CHAPTER FOUR

Chapter Text

I shove Kacchan playfully as we walk into homeroom, and I wave at Uraraka with a smile, excited to start a new day.

Kacchan goes to sit at his desk, and I walk over to the brunette, who's having a conversation with some of the other girls, Ashido and Asui.

"Good morning!" I smile at the three of them, and Ashido and Uraraka smile back, while Asui nods hello.

"So, Deku! What was your old school like?" Uraraka questions with a tilt of her head, and I grimace slightly.

"Well, I used to go to Aldera... Some of my teachers weren't very nice. Kacchan and I almost got expelled once because a quirkless kid was getting bullied and we stepped in." Well, that's NOT a lie, per se. Kind of. I was the quirkless kid, though.

"Woah, really? That's so mean!" Uraraka's eyes are wide, and even Asui seems upset by that.

"My mom and dad got a teacher fired for trying to fail me, all because my quirk hadn't developed yet. I had the highest marks in my class." Ashido and Uraraka looked downright horrified, and Asui shook her head.

"There are some pretty bad people in this world, even in everyday life, kero." I nod at the green-haired girl's comment, and then the door opens.

"Everyone, sit down." The tired teacher drawls, and I wave goodbye to the girls, moving to my desk.

I have a memory from years ago from the tone of Aizawa-sensei's voice. Of the last time I heard him sound so tired.

------

"What're you doing up here?" Izuku turns at the voice, which sounds oddly anxious.

"Oh, nothing. Practicing dangerous stunts so I know how to do them." The young boy shrugs, not sure what else to say. I mean, he was always told not to talk to strangers.

"I'm not sure that's safe, kid." The male sits beside him, and Izuku recognizes him vaguely.

"Woah! Aren't you the Erasure Hero, Eraserhead?!" He smiles at him, eyes shining slightly.

Shouta is a bit concerned as to why a seven-year-old knows who he is, but he's more concerned as to why this kid has been jumping off a two-story building for the last half hour, so he nods in response, taking a seat beside him.

"Really?! You're my second favourite hero! I don't have a quirk, so you're really cool because you don't have one that's good for fights!" Izuku almost has stars in his eyes, and Shouta is even more unnerved.

"Are you sure I can't bring you down from here? It's past midnight. Surely your parents must be worried." The child shrugs, turning his gaze back to the lit-up cityscape.

"Don't have parents. My mom died two years ago, and I never knew my dad. I got adopted though, so that's cool." His hand gently rests on Izuku's shoulder, and he knows he notices how Izuku flinches away from his touch slightly.

"DEKU, IS THAT YOU?!" They hear a voice from below them, and Izuku smiles.

"That's my brother. YEAH, I'M UP HERE!" And with that, Izuku launches himself off the building, much to Eraserhead's dismay.

And lands perfectly.

This was a weird night for Eraserhead. And he wasn't hyped to do it again.

------

Some of the students were still talking, and I shook my head to clear the memory.

"Okay, quiet down." Aizawa manages to say louder than the rest of us, truly a feat in a class of 20 teenagers.

"Alright. Everyone has their schedules, yeah? You are not getting another one if you lost it." He sends a pointed glare at Kaminari, who scratches the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Can someone take a picture of their schedule and send it to Kaminari?" He drawls, and Kacchan snaps a picture of his, sending it to the blond who was telling him his number.

"Thank you, Bakugou. Okay, you have normal classes until lunch, like usual. Then, All Might gets to do with you heathens." He waves his hand, and with that, he climbs into his yellow sleeping bag and shuts out the world.

We all stand, grabbing our stuff and making a run for it, not wanting to push our luck with our homeroom teacher, especially after the expulsion threat yesterday.

"Class, we should follow his direction!" Iida announces, standing up and walking to the door, leading the rest of us out.

"He'd make a good class rep." I whisper to Kacchan, who grunts in response, rolling his eyes.

"In your head, sure, but he enforces every single rule. I hate it." He grumbles, shouldering his bag as we walk out the door.

It's a short walk to Present Mic's classroom, and I'm practically buzzing with excitement by the time I get there.

A chance to have my favourite hero as a teacher?! Truly amazing.

"Hey, listeners! It's nice to properly meet everyone!" The blond hero is perched on top of the podium at the front of the class... Somehow. And dramatically, too.

Kacchan snickers slightly, and everyone seems to think it's a great idea to take our seats and be quiet.

"Now, I'm not like some of the other teachers who are gonna shove you straight into school work on your first day of class, so you can relax! We're just gonna do some lame bonding exercises to get to know each other." He crosses one leg over the other, still perched on the podium. He tilts his glasses down to look at us dramatically.

"I'll start it off! My name is Hizashi Yamada, or Present Mic, though I'd prefer if you called me by my hero name while I'm on duty! I currently work three jobs, so between teaching, doing hero work, and doing my radio show, my life is chaotic as hell! I'm an avid supporter of anything that qualifies as 'the arts, such as music or theatre!

"One small rule that I'm establishing now, I'd prefer if you guys DIDN'T insult each other in my class, but considering you're all teenagers, anything is free game unless it involves cursing, someone's sexuality, religion, race, the likes. Everyone understand?" He finishes, and everyone nods.

He smiles, hopping off the podium and standing proudly in front of the class.

"Alright! We're gonna go in alphabetical order by family name, alright? Aoyama Yuuga, you're up first!"

It's a bit of a blur as I take some notes on specific people, and before I know it, Present Mic calls out my name.

"Midoriya Izuku!" I immediately stand up, stepping out to the right of my desk, fidgeting with my pencil.

"Uh... Hi! I'm Midoriya, but you guys can call me Deku!" I start, and Kacchan glares at me for suggesting the nickname, but I roll my eye at him.

"Um... My birthday is July 15, and my favourite food is katsudon! I... I'm going to try my hardest to be the best hero I can!" Mic smiles at me, and I sit down, trying not to get embarrassed.

I continue taking notes, such as Uraraka's love of mochi and people's favourite foods, colours, and their birthdays, just because I was bored, mostly.

Before I knew it, the bell had rang and Mic was waving us out the door with a smile and a goodbye.

------

"Now I know why everyone loves Lunch Rush's cooking." I hum slightly, and Kaminari nods in agreement.

"That was the best food I have ever tasted in my life." He sighs, and Ashido and Sero agree with the blond.

"Dumbass, my cooking's good too!" Kacchan pouted almost, and I laughed at him, while Kirishima just looked at him in awe, the rest agreeing.

"Bakubro, you can cook?! That's so manly." Kacchan seemed to preen at the compliment and the attention from everyone.

"Hell yeah, I can! I've been either helping with dinner or making it myself since I was little!" He grins, and I chuckle. I've never seen the blond like this before, but then again, he's never really had FRIENDS before.

"Bro, that's so cool! You think you could teach me sometime?" He blinks a few times, his cheeks flushing slightly as he grins and nods.

"Fuck yeah, but you better actually learn and not just be in it for my food." He teases, and everyone else asks too, and before long he's being hounded by Ashido, Sero, Kaminari, and Kirishima.

Well, I'm glad he's making friends, at least, even if they are just in it for his cooking. I snicker slightly.

I stray behind a bit, waiting for Uraraka and Iida, who I knew left after us. It was only a minute before they rounded the corner, and I smiled and waved.

"Hello, Midoriya! How was your lunch?" Iida asks when he gets close enough, and I shrug, walking with them back to homeroom.

"It was alright! I mostly just chatted with Kaminari and Sero. How was your guys' lunch?" I turn my head to look at them, awaiting their answer.

"Good! I never knew Lunch Rush's cooking was so good!" Uraraka smiles, and I head into the doorway of our class.

"I know! It's delicious!" I nod in agreement, before getting a glare from Aizawa for being loud. Whoops...

I walk over to my desk, and Kacchan turns to me as I do, smiling mischievously. That's... Odd.

"You do know what classes are next, right?" I nod slowly, weary of his tone and look. He was up to something.

"You do know who's teaching, right?" I nod slowly again, knowing All Might was the teacher for our hero studies, other than Aizawa of course.

"Well? It's the perfect opportunity to prove to him that you'll be a great hero, kuzu."

END OF CHAPTER FIVE

Chapter Text

"I am entering through the door like a normal person!" Half the class jumped as the hero entered the class, including me. Why did he do this? Why must he surprise everyone?

"As you all know, I am All Might! And I am your new heroics teacher! Grab your hero costumes, change, and then follow me to Training Ground B!" We did as told, and filed out of the classroom as Aizawa tucked away into his sleeping bag.

------

"C'mon Izu, we're gonna be late." Kacchan complains, and I glare at him.

"It's not my fault my costume is more than one piece!" He makes mocking noises back at me as I slip on the shirt to my hero costume.

He sat there in his normal combat boots, baggy black pants, and a black tank top with an orange X, his gauntlets were by his side on the bench. His costume looked really cool on him, minus the mask pushing his hair back like a headband.

I get a look in the mirror, making sure everything was in place. Black boots with an optional ice grip, slightly baggy dark pants with probably too many pockets, a utility belt with things like cough drops and emergency supplies, a dark green tank top with a hood, and a mask over the lower half of my face to keep out dust and other things.

I had had ideas bouncing around in my head for years, but Kacchan convinced me to go with something simple, if only because he knew I would overthink it. Unsurprisingly, he went with the design that looked like his own, so we slightly matched.

"Let's go, let's go, stop looking at yourself in the mirror like you're all that." He complains again, dragging me out of the change rooms and down the hall towards the training ground.

We stand around for a bit, waiting for a few other classmates when Uraraka walks up to me, Kacchan having left to talk to Kirishima.

"Woah!" I stop to look at her, moving to unclip my face mask so I can talk to her, and she smiles sheepishly, standing awkwardly in her pink and white costume.

"Yeah... They made my costume a little too puffy, but I didn't specify, so it's okay for now!" I give her a thumbs up and a smile.

"It looks cool, really! Any hidden things?" Her smile brightens when I ask that, and she moves to point at her neck.

"Yeah! The collar has bumps on it that push on the pressure points to counteract nausea so that I can use my quirk for a bit longer!" She rests her hands on her hips, and she continues the conversation.

"Cool costume, by the way, Deku!" Uraraka compliments, and I smile widely.

"Thanks! Kacchan helped me plan it out a bit, but I've been planning it since I was little, really." I did a joking spin, and she laughs a bit.

"It looks really good on you! I like the hood." She smiles at me, and All Might grabs the attention of the class.

"Alright! You all will be broken into ten teams of two, half heroes and half villains! Villains will guard a nuclear weapon they intend on setting off and the heroes must stop their scheme! 

"If the heroes capture the villains or reach the weapon before time runs out, they win! If the villains manage to keep the nuclear core for the whole time or they capture the heroes, they win! Everyone will draw lots now!" He stood in front of a tall building, holding a box.

Everyone stood still for a moment, waiting to see who would step up as an example. Kacchan steps up first, pulling out a black ball with the letter D on it.

"Oh! We have our first villain!" All Might exclaims, and I step up to draw next. I rummaged through the container before settling on a ball.

"And our first hero!" He says as I pull out a white ball with the letter A on it. The class continues to draw lots, and eventually, we have our teams.

"Wait, Deku, we're partners!" Uraraka smiles as she holds up her ball, and I smile back enthusiastically.

"Well, I already know we're going to do great!" I rest my hands on my hips as we wait for All Might to decide who's facing who.

"Team A vs. Team D is first!' He announces, and hands us our headsets as I turn my head to look over at Kacchan, who's already looking at me. Oh yeah, this is going to be fun.

"Well well well, it looks like you're going to lose, Izu!" Kacchan sneers, and I stick my tongue out at him.

"Says the guy who hasn't won a fight against me in two weeks!" I say in retaliation, and we enter a small glaring contest.

"Young Bakugou, Young Iida, you two may enter the building in front of you! Young Midoriya, Young Uraraka, you two will wait outside for five minutes with a floor plan of the building! You may start!" All Might announces, and my brother and classmate enter. Uraraka and I put on our headsets, waiting for All Might's starting signal.

"So... How do we want to do this?" I turn to Uraraka, and both of us stare down at the blueprint in my hands.

"Well... It makes sense to do a slow search, right? There are no rooms big enough to hold the mock weapon until here," She points out a large office area several floors up, and I nod as she continues. "So we should just check rooms and stuff until we reach that spot, right?"

She turns to me for confirmation, and I smile at her.

"That's actually a really good plan! I think Kacchan is going to try and take me out first, cause he knows my fighting style well. While I take care of him, you should head immediately to that office area and try to find Iida, because I don't know how long Kacchan and I are gonna take to take each other down." I add on, and she smiles back at me and nods.

"Five minutes are up, you two can head into the building!" All Might announces over the headset.

"Alright, let's win this!" I clip my face mask back up, leading the way.

We head in slowly, carefully checking rooms as we move through the first and second floor.

"Better watch out!" I hear Kacchan laugh, and I immediately push Uraraka back around the corner we had just come from, narrowly dodging the explosion that was aimed at us.

"Hey! That almost hit me!" I call back, and I see Kacchan shrug in the dim light.

"Whoops!" I hear his footsteps, and I wave Uraraka back.

"Go back to the other staircase we passed, get up that way. I'll distract Kacchan." I whisper to her, and she nods, running back down the hall and disappearing around another corner.

"C'mon, Kacchan! Let's go!" He comes at me with a right hook, and I easily counter and hit him off balance.

"Really, your right hook? I've been able to counter that for years now!" I taunt, backing down the hall a bit, and he glares a bit at me.

"Oh, shut up, I wasn't thinking!" He charges again, this time with a kick, but I have no time to dodge, so I take the hit.

"C'mon, Kacchan, is that all you got?" I taunt again, and before I realize it, I'm dodging explosions and am pushed into properly fighting back with my quirk.

He did this quite often so I had no time to formulate a plan to beat him, but I also knew all his moves off by heart, so it wasn't long before I had him wrapped in the capture tape, and I hurried up to find Uraraka.

I find her precisely where she guessed Iida would be, but she already had the weapon by the time I reach her.

"Team A wins! Good job, heroes!" I hear over the headset.

"Woah! Good job, Uraraka!" I cheer, moving to carefully high-five her once she gets down, and Iida gives us polite applause.

"Good job! That was a noble loss!" I smile at Iida.

"You guys did really good!" Together we had back down, and I unwrap a glaring Kacchan.

"You left me. In the hallway." He deadpans, and I shrug, helping him up.

"Hey, you were a villain!" I say in my defence, and he shoves me jokingly, leading the way outside.

We walk down to where the rest of the class is, and get instructed to stand up front.

We stand in front of the screen, on the raised part of the room, in front of the rest of our class in their hero costumes. They all look so... Cool and interesting.

"Alright! What did Team A do well, and what could they have done better?" All Might asks from beside us, and a girl raises her hand.

"Midoriya treated this as a joke when he was fighting Bakugou. Reasonably, he should've been a bit more serious. He also left Bakugou unguarded when he went to go help Uraraka." She says, matter-of-factly. I smile sheepishly.

"Correct, young Yaoyorozu! While this was a training exercise, you would benefit from treating this as a real mission! And as for Midoriya, you never leave a captured villain unguarded. He could've escaped and snuck up behind you, or contacted his partner. I think Midoriya did the worst in this exercise, does everyone agree?" All Might agrees, and I look at my feet.

"That said," He continues after the class agrees, and I look back up. "Midoriya did very well in other aspects. He had a good plan going in, he executed that plan very well. He took down Bakugou without flaw and immediately went to help his partner. On to Uraraka, who can tell what she did well or did wrong?"

The girl, Yaoyorozu, raises her hand again.

"She only followed Midoriya's lead, and she used a really risky method to capture the weapon." Uraraka glances down at her feet.

"Correct again! However, it's not all that bad to follow the lead of someone else. Uraraka probably believed that Midoriya had more experience, which is true. Midoriya also knew one of their opponents better. They both came up with the plan, and they both executed it very well. But yes, she did use a risky method to try and secure the weapon, which would not have worked if the weapon was real. But she, overall, did very well. Congratulations on the win, Team A!" There's polite applause, and All Might moves to our opponents.

"Now, what did Team D do well, and what could they improve on?" He asks again, and Yaoyorozu once again raises her hand.

"Well, Bakugou completely disregarded all instructions or plans from Iida and jumped headfirst into a fight with Midoriya. I can't really think of anything Iida did wrong." She answers, and All Might nods.

"Perfect! Young Bakugou was on Midoriya's level of unprofessional, but as childhood friends, I can see why that happened. Iida, however, is the true MVP of this particular fight! He had a plan, followed it to a T, and completely adopted a villain persona to help him! A round of applause!" Hardly anyone claps, but Iida looks proud and a little bashful.

"Thank you!" He bows and All Might sends the next group up, and the process repeated itself over as the rest of our classmates went against each other.

------

"That was so interesting! I got to know so many people's quirks! I have so many notes, and so many questions to ask!" I ramble to Kacchan as we walk back to class, back in school uniforms.

"It was something, that's for sure." He almost laughs, and I elbow him. When we reach the class, some of our classmates are still there waiting for us.

"You both were really cool in your fight!" Kaminari compliments, sending us a thumbs up.

"It was a bit scary though, you two didn't hold anything back against each other." A purple-haired girl, Jirou, comments from her seat on a desk.

"Yeah... It was just fun to fight Kacchan in a proper setting. You all did really well in your battles! I took a lot of notes!" I fumble for my notebook, and Kacchan shakes his head.

"I apologize for how creepy that sounds." He rolls his eyes, and I glare at him, putting the notebook back into my bag. I move to put my hero costume back into its proper spot, grab the rest of the stuff off my desk, and put it into my backpack.

"We should probably be heading home, it was nice to properly meet most of you! Have a good evening!" I wave goodbye as Kacchan essentially drags me out the door, and we start the long walk to the train station.

I yawn, walking beside him after he lets my arm go. He elbows me gently in the side, and I do the same back to him.

There's silence as we continue walking, and I watch the sun start to slowly set behind the buildings as we walk to the station.

"I'm proud of you." He says simply, his voice almost disappearing into the sea of other voices around us, and I smile at him.

"I'm proud of you, too."

END OF CHAPTER 6