Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Take a swan dive and pray for a quirk in your next life!” rang through his head, over and over, and over again. He stared down at the pavement below, truly wondering what was stopping him from hurdling himself over the railing. Hell, his all time favorite hero just crushed-  made him think realistically. Who was he to say All Might wasn’t right? What made him think that he of all people could actually make it in the hero world. Hell, people with heroic quirks barely make it. He was so stupid to actually think he’d get into a school, let alone survive long enough to be a public figure. He harshly wiped at his already swollen eyes, having long forgotten when he started crying.

 He couldn’t help but remember all the words his classmates and teachers have said to him. He thinks back to how his teacher maliciously called out what high school he’d applied to, the grin that spread across his face was right out of a nightmare. Although he’d argue that the thick air that surrounded him was even worse. 29 pairs of eyes all turned on him in an instant as he shakily swore under his breath. He could still feel the anticipation that grew past that, worst of all coming from Kacchan. He thought back to the way the classroom smelt like caramel the rest of the day, the way slight cracks and pops sounded throughout the nearly dead silent classroom. He remembered the callous comments of his peers (Were they actually his peers if he was so beneath them?) that they whispered under their breath as they shouldered past him. 

He paid no mind to the loud explosions that sounded out previously, he ignored the beautiful sunset that laid out in front of him. His eyes never left the harsh concrete below him. He watched bitterly as happy families walked below. The street below him really wasn’t that crowded or popular but the odd couple of people would pass by ever so often. He reminisced about the times before he got his diagnosis, like it was some critical condition. He thought back to when his mother actually acknowledged his presence, back when they’d bake cookies together and laugh over spilt flour. He grimaced as he thought about the chill that encased his home now, the silence being so loud you could hear a pin drop. He hated it. He wanted his old family back. He wanted his mother to actually pay attention to him, he wanted his father to pick him up and spin him around again, he wanted everything to go back to normal.  

He let his mind wander, something he tried to fight against since that fateful day. I’m sorry Izuku. He shook his head and rose from the ledge and took a small step back. He toed off his ridiculous red sneakers that was just another indicator of how useless he truly was. He placed the shoes next to him quietly and sat back down in his previous spot. He took the liberty of pulling out a notebook and ripping a sheet from it. Sure he doubted the letter he was about to write would actually make it to anyone, he doubted that they’d care enough about his body to give his mother the closure of a note. Not like she’d actually care anyways, yet he continued to write. He couldn’t let himself be so useless that he couldn’t even leave a note to his poor mother. 

To my dearest mother, I’m not sorry for what I’m about to do. His hand shook, making the writing almost illegible. He pressed on ignoring the wet spots that dotted the paper. I’m sorry for putting you through everything I have over the years. From the quiet judging looks from your friends, to the trouble I’ve gotten myself into as I’ve grown older. I can’t say I don’t miss how it used to be. Before I ruined our family name, before I ruined your image, before I made you into the person you are today. Truly I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve put up with because of me. I hope that you’ll find this letter and understand why I’ve done what I did. Hell, we all knew this was coming right? I was doomed from the very beginning. Just as he went to fold the paper and place it under his shoes he heard a loud * DING* ring out from his phone. 

SleepFearsMe: Shut the fuck up you old man 

CatsForDays: OLD MAN!?

MadScientist: You really didn’t expect us to think you were a teenager like us did you?

MegaPhone: When you’re as old as us you can only hope 💔

SleepFearsMe: Moving on from that, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO THIS TO ME

SleepFearsMe: DURING PRIDE MONTH!?

CopyCat: It’s may.

SleepFearsMe: and?

Izuku paused his movements to read the messages. A pang of something shot through him. Surely they wouldn’t miss him too much? Sure they seem close and all that, and they all have undesirable quirks… but they don’t actually care . He shook harder than before, his odd sense of calm being easily broken. He let out a sob that built in the back of his throat, pushing himself away from the ledge and back onto the rooftop. He let memories of countless nights he’d stayed up giggling to himself while reading his friends' messages flood his mind. Why!? WHY is he letting this stupid little group chat get in his way?? He could finally feel free, he could take kacchans advice and throw himself off the ledge and pray that he isn’t useless in his next life. His thoughts were once again rudely interrupted by a loud ping. 

SleepFearsMe: @HeroFanatic  you okay? You haven’t been on like all day, which is weird bc your almost more chronically online than i am 

CopyCat: ..yeah we haven’t heard from you in like years 

CatsForDays: please dont make me hunt you down that’d be so illogical 

Megaphone: oh please, like you wouldn’t kill someone for anyone in this group 

HeroFanatic: pls no mrder

SleepFearsMe: oh your alive! Good I would’ve had to personally resurrect you just to kill you again 

HeroFanatic: I’m ok I swear I’m js really busy today, i js wanted to message to say im alive

The irony of that statement really wasn’t lost on Izuku. However something in that interaction changed the way he thought. They wouldn’t even know if he actually jumped. It’s not like he could just put their discord on his stupid little note before ending it all? And he sure as hell wasn’t going to worry them by sending a message before he jumped. He couldn’t help feeling guilty, hell they’d gone and worried about him after not even being inactive for a DAY, how would they fair if he’d actually gone and thrown himself off the ledge. He sighed and pulled himself up. He couldn’t do that to them. Sure he hates himself enough already.. But the thought of hurting those who actually care about him? He would actually rather rip every single one of his bones out of his body before he did that to them. God he needs to shut his mind up. He dragged his earbuds out of his pockets and blasted a random playlist into his ears until he couldn’t think anymore. He sighed and decided to make his way back home, the paper from earlier having been long forgotten.  

Shota ran across the rooftops, following a slightly different patrol path than his usual one. He’d been recently called in to help with a case that some of the newer underground heroes were struggling with. He stopped on a fairly high up building, it gave him an easy vantage point while he gave himself a small breather. Just as he moved to sit down on the ledge, he noticed a small crumpled up notebook paper floating across the empty roof. He almost wrote it off as some piece of litter, the streets really have been getting worse over the years. However his curiosity really got the better of him. So what if it happened to just be another piece of litter? At least he’s cleaning up the environment or something, well that’s just what he’s telling himself. Always trying to keep everything he does logical.

He reaches out and snatches the small piece of paper, now getting a full look at it. He takes note of the barely noticeable hand writing in the poor light. A sense of dread shoots through him, really praying that this isn’t what he thinks it is. He unravels the paper, straining his already tired eyes to read the uneven hand writing. He skims over the opening of the letter, slightly feeling like he’s invading something he really shouldn’t be. The farther he reads through the letter the more his heart rate picks up. Surely this being left here doesn’t mean anything, surely the person who’s written this simply walked away.. Right!? 

He feels as though a bucket of ice had been dumped on him. He shoots up from his spot on the roof and quickly scans the perimeter of the building. He thankfully doesn’t see anything.. or anyone . He deflates with a sigh of relief. He sinks back down to the roof and shoots a quick message to the others he’s supposed to be working with tonight. There’s no way he’d be able to simply get back to work after that, hell he’d downright be a liability on the field with how unfocused he’d be. He flops onto his back and stares up at the stars that litter the night sky. He takes a second to appreciate that there’s less light pollution in this area than where he’s usually based. He promises himself to set out for more patrols in this area, if only just to save one more person. He irrationally shoved the paper into the pocket of his hero suit, was it illogical to take some long forgotten suicide note with him? Yes. Was he doing it anyways? Also yes. 

Izuku sighed, letting the arm that was holding up his phone flop down onto his bed as he stared up at the ceiling. He felt oddly numb. He hadn’t quite faced the reality that he almost flung himself down many stories, or the fact that he had so easily written a suicide letter. Surely that was just a bad breakdown… right? He wasn’t actually going to kill himself.. right!? He let his eyes fall closed, trying to will away those pesky thoughts that plagued his mind. He’d been scrolling through old messages in the group chat. He really wishes they could’ve been friends in real life. He hopes that somewhere down the line they end up actually being able to meet up. He groaned and rolled over and attempted to actually get some sleep for once. 

SleepFearsMe: guys I cant sleep

CopyCat: shocker to who

Madscientist: it’s funny that you’d think any of us are asleep 

SleepFearsMe: why am i getting jumped rn 

CopyCat: bc your funny to mess with 

Izuku sighed, its looking like he really isn’t getting that sleep he’d wanted. He rolls back over and snatches his phone from its long forgotten spot on his bed. He giggled to himself at the messages he saw before quickly typing something out himself.

HeroFanatic: I for one, was actually trying to sleep 

CopyCat: so whyd you come here!?

HeroFanatic: while clearl y it wasnt working

SleepFearsMe: at least we can all be insomniacs together </3 

MadScientist: well idk about u guys but im actually exaughsted so im going to bed

CopyCat: yk its bad when they cant spell 

HeroFanatic: whaattt…..

SleepFearsMe: ur different you can never spell

Hero Fanatic: HEY

HeroFanatic: your right tho 💔

CopyCat: …you’re*

HeroFanatic: okay fuck you guys im going to bed

SleepFearsMe: woah. Not before marriage

HeroFanatic: I HATE YOU GUYS!!! GOOD NIGHT. 

CopyCat: you love us and you know it

SleepFearsMe: good night or something ig  

Izuku huffed and threw his phone back into its original spot. Of course he was just joking, he literally stopped himself from jumping off a building because he didn’t want them to worry about him. He let the happy memories he has with his friends lull him to sleep, blatantly ignoring the hollow feeling from before.

Chapter Text

Izuku spent the past few days walled off in his room, it’s not like anyone's really going to notice anyway. He figures he should probably roll out of his bed one day or another to get something to eat… but that puts the possibility of him having to run into his mother. And that’s honestly so much work . The only interactions he’s really had have been talking to his friends online, but then again that much hasn’t changed. He forced himself to slowly push his heavy limbs up and out of bed. Something his body strongly protested. 

He just feels so lost . Without his dream of being a hero what was he even good for? Sure, everyone knew that it was a stupid daydream that he’d have to outgrow one day but he couldn’t help but feel empty without it. Like a piece of himself was missing. How is someone supposed to just.. Go back to normal after getting their dreams crushed? By the number one hero nonetheless. How are they supposed to simply follow the same routine? Build a new future for themselves? He sighed and pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes harshly in an attempt to rid his mind of difficult thoughts. 

He slowly crept out of his room and down the hall, listening very intently for any signs that his mother was home. Shocker to absolutely no one, the house was vacant. Hell, it didn’t look like anyone was even living there anymore. He quickly pushed himself into the bathroom, moving as quickly as possible to avoid looking at himself in the mirror. He wasn’t sure what he was running away from, but he was sure that it was bound to come crashing down on him if he happened to glance at himself. Once he was finished with his business he snuck his way into the kitchen, hoping that by some chance his mother actually bought groceries for one.  

He was actually pleasantly surprised to see that there were a couple of things lining the cabinet that he chose to open. He pushed some things around on the shelf, looking for something that surely wasn’t going to be noticed if he took it. He landed on a couple of old granola bars and quickly rushed back into his room. As he peeled one of the bars open he started to wonder at what point did it actually get this bad. Sure, he didn’t have a great relationship with his mom but it wasn’t always like that. He tried to pinpoint a time when she started acting like he no longer existed. Was it when he got his diagnosis ? When his father had left them? Or maybe was it that first call from his teachers, telling his mother how much trouble he’d gotten himself into. He shook his head, choosing to deal with wherever that train of thought was going for another day. 

He took a moment to stare at his seemingly endless collection of notebooks that were now collecting dust on his shelf. He felt a pang of sorrow shoot through him with that humiliating realization. He’d spent so many years pouring his heart and soul into those stupid pages, for what? To let them sit there!? It may be stupid but Izuku scrambled to the shelf. He angrily swiped at the books, letting them scatter to the floor. He stared down at the mess covering his stupid All Might rug, as he was instantly filled with regret. Sure the books didn’t have a use to him now, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t put endless effort into them. He let tears fill his vision as his knees grew weak. He sunk to the floor, finally letting all the hurt and guilt from the previous days bubble over. He wasn’t even sure what made him feel worse, the fact that his all time favorite hero told him to basically find something better to do with his life or the fact that he couldn’t even kill himself properly. 

His chest felt impossibly heavy and he desperately gasped for air. He clutched at his hair, trying for anything to let him breathe. His vision swam as he frantically looked around his room, hoping to find something that would actually ground him. All he could see was that stupid face, over and over and OVER . The face that had brought him so much hope over the years, the face that was supposed to inspire young kids and told them that they could achieve anything as long as they put their minds to it. The face that burned his dreams to the ground.  

Izuku leaped forward and blindly swept at his walls, tearing into whatever nasty poster he could get his hands on. He ignored the way the rough paper cut into his skin and the way his tears fell freely from his face. He pulled it off the wall and threw it onto the floor next to his books. He mindlessly let himself rip at his posters, before reaching out to the final one. The poster that his mother had gotten him right after that fateful day in hopes to cheer him up. He stopped, his hand resting on the poster. He wordlessly, almost silently, let his hands drop. The poster ripping in half with the movement. He let out a shuddered sob, throwing himself away from the now wreckage that was his room until his back hit a wall. He slid down the wall, letting his mind go blank. He ignored the tears still blocking his vision and mentally reached for that fuzzy feeling, hoping it would pull him away from whatever spiral he found himself in. 

MadScientist: guys i am SO ready for this exam

Megaphone: Yall are only just going into highschool??? 

Copycat: okay old man this is not the time 

Megaphone: damn.. Ig ill see myself out 😓

CatsforDays: don’t be so dramatic

Megaphone: you’re one to talk. 

SleepFearsMe: okay group dads are fighting again, ANYWAYS literally how are you ready the exams in like two months, im cramming my ass off rn 

Copycat: no me too 

Copycat: im trying to get into a hero school and working out is literally not for the weak 

SleepFearsMe: ME TOO. oh my god my scrawny ass is so not built for this 

Madscientist: unlike all you little hero hopefuls I’m going into support 

MadScientist: I’ve been working on my babies since i could get my hands on the materials for them!!

Megaphone: you call your inventions your… babies???

MadScientist: theyre my creation, why WOULDNT they be my babies 

Megaphone: … okay

Copycat: ANYWAYYYSSS

Copycat: @HeroFanatic aren’t you also trying out to be a hero? 

SleepFearsMe: Oh yeah!! I remember you yapping about it 

Izuku snapped out of the trance he found himself in as his phone went off loudly. He blinked harshly, taking in the mess that was now his room. He pulled himself up with a sigh, moving over to his bed where his phone was long forgotten. He promised himself that he’d clean up… eventually. He quickly read the previous messages he’d missed, the pit in his stomach only growing larger. 

HeroFanatic: uhm

HeroFanatic: not anymore 

Copycat: what? 

SleepFearsMe: yeah what happened to all your plans???

HeroFanatic: that was all just.. I guess a stupid dream

HeroFanatic: I really hope you guys do well though!! I believe in yall 

CatsForDays: kid what

CatsForDays: who told you that 

HeroFanatic no one. 

HeroFanatic: it’s just not in my cards 

Megaphone: but you were so dead set on helping people? 

HeroFanatic: I mean yeah, I still am i just wouldn’t be very useful on the field 

SleepFearsMe: WHAT!? Your analysis is literally off the charts what are you on 

HeroFanatic: I’m sorry but can we just drop it. I’m not attempting a heroics course entrance exam. 

SleepFearsMe: I’m sorry i shouldn’t have pushed it. 

SleepFearsMe:..but if you need someone to talk to we’re always here 

Copycat: yeah feel free to yap whenever you need 

CatsForDays:kid, we’ve seen the way your brain works and id just like to say youd be one hell of a hero, but if it’s not something you want to do anymore thats okay. 

Megaphone: you’re such a dad 

CatsForDays: shut up 

MadScientist: idk if this is too much but you could always try for support? I mean you have the brains for it and its helping people in other ways

MadScientist: hell, your basically helping heroes help people 

HeroFanatic: thank you guys :) it really really means a lot to me. 

HeroFanatic: sorry for snapping earlier 

CatsForDays: your welcome problem child 

HeroFanatic: Anyways!! Do you guys wanna at least study the basic material together at some point on call? Math is lowkey kicking my ass 

SleepFearsMe: PUH LEASE I need our overlord tm ’s help 

Copycat: me too </3 I literally do not understand english AT ALL

Chapter Text

Izuku couldn’t stop thinking about what MadScientist said. Could he help by going into support? Helping heroes help people? There's no way he’s smart enough to do that… no matter how much his friends try to convince him. Sure he usually has to dull down his answers when he’s in class because his teachers always think he’s cheating whenever he turns in work in but that can’t possibly mean he could keep up with the other kids right? Let alone go into a field that’d need above average thinking. 

He found himself subconsciously looking into the support course at UA. It didn’t hurt to try right? There was even an analytical program! He couldn’t possibly imagine going into something where he’d actually have to build stuff… but just analyzing hero’s quirks to help them get better? He could do that. Sure his little stalker notes were something everyone always made fun of but with enough work they could be something that actually helps someone one day. At least with this thought he wouldn’t be lost.. And forced to be a police officer or something. 

He closed his laptop and sat there for a second, considering his options. Surely he could at least attempt it right? He’s spent his entire life on this… and he’s used to the rejection that comes with it anyways so it wouldn’t hurt too bad if UA rejected him ( just like how All Might’s words didn’t hurt.) He gave himself a little nod and pulled out a fresh notebook, writing “Analysis for the future.” in big bold letters across the top of the cover. 

Izuku wasn’t sure how long he’d been sitting at his desk soaking in as much information about being an analyst as possible. He wasn’t super confident that he’d actually be accepted but he felt like he at least knew what he was doing. It was a nice change, rather than worrying if he’d be struck down the moment he got into the field or if he’d get overlooked and turned away the minute he tried out for the exam. He was… excited for once. The test, from what people have said, seemed super fun! It’s all based on how people use their quirks and how it can either be combated or what they could change to be more effective! 

He pushed himself away from his desk, letting his chair roll across the room. He felt something inside him shift, almost like he actually had hope for his future. Something he hasn’t felt in a very, very long time. A small smile graced his lips as he made his way downstairs, maybe if he told his mother about his new dream she’d actually support him? It’s not like she didn’t actively choose to not support him… she just didn’t have the time. Right? 

As Izuku padded his way down the hallway he could hear the muffled sound of the TV playing. He smiled, realizing that his mother was finally home for once. He shuffled his way into the living room and noted that his mother was sitting, relaxed, on the coach. She seemed to be very invested in what she was watching. It was nice, seeing her take a moment for herself. He stood at the entrance, debating whether or not he should bother her.. He felt a pang of guilt as he thought back to all the times she’d had to take extra shifts just to support the both of them. He made up his mind and turned around to go back into the kitchen to quickly grab himself something to eat. He grabbed something small from the cupboards, noting that his mother only made enough eggs for one person, and eagerly made his way back into his room. 

He sat down in his chair, not bothering to push it back to his desk and drew his knees to his chest as he opened up the chat he had with his friends… and man isn’t that a crazy thought. He has friends! Sure they’re only friends because none of them know each other’s quirks that they’d probably kick him out of the group the moment they find out he’s quirkless. They all met on a forum for people with weak or villainous quirks… but technically it wasn’t meant for those who don’t have a quirk. Izuku didn’t care though. He related to those who frequented the chat and felt like there were at least people out there who actually understood what it felt like to be outcasted. 

CopyCat: man I do NOT want to go to school tmrw

SleepFearsMe: so real 

Megaphone: Is there something wrong with your guys’ schools? 

CopyCat: you know what forum were on rit? Ofc theirs something wrong w it 

HeroFanatic: it’s just a given that it;s gonna be difficult 

Megaphone: I’m sorry kiddos I hoped that it’d gotten better over the years :( 

Megaphone: If you guys need anything I’m here for you and I’ll do whatever I can to help! 

CatsForDays: oh and IM the dad smh 

CatsForDays: but ig i share the same sentiment ig 

SleepFearsMe: thanks… that’s really nice of you 

CopyCat: yeah,,, kinda a weird feeling but whatevs

CopyCat: anyways this english assignment is kicking my ass 

HeroFanatic: Oh! What is it? Maybe I can help you out! 

CopyCat: oh thank got the overlord is here to save the day

CopyCat: so basically we have to like.. Idk find words that are similar to the word and write their definitions or something its so weird 

HeroFanatic: Synonyms ? 

CopyCat: yeah thats the word

HeroFanatic: god i hate those

SleepFearsMe: woah a subject Hero hates?? 

SleepFearsMe: i didn;t know that was possible

HeroFanatic: believe it or not I actually hate the majority of subjects,,, they’re just easy to understand sometimes 

CopyCat: nvm i figured it out 

HeroFanatic: oh good! 

SleepFearsMe: anywayyssss….. Hero did u figure out what you’re gonna go to highschool for?

HeroFanatic: Yeah! I kinda took @Madscientist’s advice… 

HeroFanatic: except i think im gonna specialize in analysis and not like actually support items 

MadScientist: YES

MadScientist: IM NOT THE ONLY SUPPORT WEIRDO HERE ANYMORE LETS GO

CopyCat: yeah but hero won’t be using weird terminology liek calling his inventions babies 

MadScientist: smh you js don’t get it. 

CatsForDays: good idea kid, you’ve definitely got the brains for it 

HeroFanatic: Thank you! I’ve been studying quirks since I was little so it’s only natural i go this route I guess 

Megaphone: Really? What made you so interested in quirks? 

HeroFanatic: well,,, yk,,, they’re interesting ig? 

CopyCat: oh i totally get it 

CopyCat: i look into quirks sometimes too 

HeroFanatic: REALLY!? We HAVE to talk quirk theory sometime 

CopyCat: I’d be okay with it 

SleepFearsMe: oh no,,, not TWO of them 

Chapter Text

For the last two months Izuku (and the gang) worked his ass off to get ready for this exam. During this time he let himself willfully ignore everything going on around him. He ignored the way Ka- Bakugo was out of school for a couple weeks, the way that the blonde became more withdrawn and seemed to be guilty(?) He ignored the way that his mother started taking up more shifts, surely it was to support them right? Not to get away from him. Whatever, it didn’t matter. All that mattered is that he had friends who were there to support him and he was somewhat prepared to take this hell of a test. 

He stared up at the huge building before him and almost thought about turning on his heel and running away. He shook his head and walked further into the building, accepting his fate that he’d be lost immediately. Fortunately there were teachers (HEROES!) everywhere and signs pointing him where to go. He was able to find the exam room he was set to be in easily enough and choose a seat closer to the back of the classroom to hopefully draw less attention to himself. 

Izuku was one of the first people into the room, he worked himself into a frenzy before leaving for the exam so he figured he’d just leave early to hopefully curb some of the anxiety he was feeling. Luckily for him there seemed to be a couple people who made it into the room before him. He was currently in the exam room that was specifically for students who were interested in going into the support course, they’d be taking the support practical before taking the general education test. He found it odd that the support students went first but he guessed it made sense so the heroics practical could happen after. He did feel a bit bad for those who were applying to both though… 

He subtly scanned the room as more people filled the empty seats. There was a girl with bright pink dreadlocks who seemed to be attempting to take in every detail of the room they’re in, by the way her eyes moved he assumed that she either had some sort of mutation there or it related back to her quirk. He moved onto the next person, they seemed pretty quiet and withdrawn. They had medium black hair that they fiddled with between their fingers, he couldn’t make out a specific sign of their quirk unfortunately. He picked up on a few more students before Power Loader (THE POWER LOADER!!!) gathered everyone’s attention and began to explain how the practical would proceed. 

Power Loader explained how they’d be grouped up depending on what portion of the support practical they were looking at participating in. He said that they’d need an estimate of how many students are going where so he decided to have everyone raise their hands for the respective groups. He started off with the standard support course, building items that will support either the quirk or the user in battle. As predicted the majority of students raised their hands. Next up was costume creation/design, as named they specialize in ensuring that costumes aren’t restricting and actually aid the heroes. Also to be expected there were a smaller number of students who raised their hands for this portion. Lastly was the analyst track, they were to learn how to dissect a quirk and better understand its strengths and weaknesses to inform heroes how to improve their combat skills to accommodate it. To his surprise, Izuku was the only one to raise his hand. 

He felt the familiar feeling of dread creep through him as he looked around the classroom, frantically praying that he isn’t the only one with his hand raised. Power Loader noted it down and he slowly lowered his hand. He got a few sympathetic looks from the people sitting by him but he ignored it, praying that by some odd fate someone changes their mind and they choose to take the analytical practical instead. 

“All right everyone, those who are taking the regular support practical will be following me to the labs. Everyone who is here for the costume design track will follow Midnight Sensei into the design studio. While anyone who is here for the analysis track will be staying in here, with principal Nedzu.” Izuku almost fell straight out of his chair. He silently wished he’d just taken that swan dive when he had the chance as he watched everyone else trickle out of the room.

He suddenly felt very very small in the large classroom. He shuffled into a seat that was closer to the front, seeing as he didn’t want to yell across the room to get anything done. As the last couple people walked out of the room Principal Nedzu waltzed in, far too gracefully for someone of his stature. “Am I a mouse? A dog? Or a bear? Who knows!” Nedzu said as he climbed up onto the large brown desk. 

“Aren’t you a stoat sir?” Izuku slapped his hand over his mouth, having realized he said that out loud rather than thinking it. Nedzu paused, and looked at him for a moment. It felt like he was looking straight through Izuku’s soul before he leaned back and laughed loudly. 

“Well, well, isn’t this a surprise! You’re Izuku Midoriya correct? I believe you are the first quirkless person to apply at UA!” Izuku nodded along, unsure what he was supposed to say in this situation. “I should get on with your practical, forgive me if I seem a bit rusty. It has been a couple years since we’ve seen a student who actually wants to analyze things. I must say, I am very excited to see how you go about it.” He paled slightly, but nodded anyway. He was oddly excited to see how this would go. 

“Alright, I’d like a demonstration of both verbal and written analysis. For the first portion of the test I will give you a piece of paper with various scenarios written on it. You will be given a small bit of information about the quirk and the person they are fighting. Please use everything in your knowledge to give an example of how the hero could use their quirk to defeat the villain. You will be given about an hour for the written portion. Once that is over we will move onto the verbal demonstration. I will personally tell you the details about either a quirk or a situation and you will have to tell me on the spot how the heroes may go about saving the situation.” Izuku gulped, attempting to commit the information to memory. Although he wasn’t too worried about the written aspect, that was something he’d been doing since he was little. It was the verbal section that really worried him. 

“Alright then!” Nedzu clapped his hands together. “Here is your packet for the written portion, I shall start a timer now as well. Please let me know if you need anything.” Izuku nodded and hurriedly slid the paper over to himself. It was about 3 pages long, which is honestly a lot shorter than he had expected. 

The first scenario he was given he had almost all the information he could possibly ask for. A hero had been chasing a villain through the city during the night and managed to bring them into a more encased space. The hero in question had a light manipulation quirk, something that would be at a disadvantage at this time of day. On top of that it seemed as though the villain had a mutation quirk of sorts, however it is unclear what it is specifically. 

He took a second to think about what he was dealing with. He mulled over the possibilities before he started scratching at the paper with his pencil. He wrote how if the person had an animalistic type of quirk that there's a chance they’d be more light sensitive than the average person so he recommended that the hero attempts to pull light from the light posts around the area. If there were no light posts then the hero could attempt to pull from the natural light of the moon. However if their quirk wasn’t strong enough to do that he said they could substitute it by turning on a phone flashlight. He wrote down the possibilities of a light manipulating quirk, was it just the reflections of light or was it a minor electricity quirk? Did they create rays with the light and be able to create solid matter or was it a matter of how light an area is? If it’s the former he suggests pulling from street lamps (or whatever sources they have available) to create bindings to catch the villain off guard as they charge towards them. 

However if it’s manipulating how strong the light is he recommends cranking up the light levels in attempts to blind their opponent. He says that this move would likely be safe for the hero because the majority of quirks grow in with built in protection against themselves. Like how endeavors skin doesn’t burn from his quirk. However if neither of those works he suggests to go straight to basic hand to hand combat. Unfortunately due to the uncertainty behind the mutation he figures it’d be good to stay as long range as possible, maybe the person could turn the light into bullets? And fling them without having to have a long range weapon? As for support gear he recommends light bulbs maybe, or something that could easily light up so they could pull energy from it. 

The next two pages find themselves in the similar matter by the time the written portion is up. Izuku sighs and hands the packet over to Nedzu, he’s already convinced himself that he'd not make it into the school but he might as well at least attempt to finish strong with a good verbal test. He steeled himself before turning to the rodent in front of him, who was now sitting at the edge of the brown desk and swinging his feet. 

“So now that the written portion is over, it's time to switch gears. I’d like to hear your thoughts in real time.” Izuku nodded, signaling that he was still paying attention. “Alright, I’m going to make this easy and only give you one scenario here. Feel free to ask questions but there's a chance I won’t be able to answer them. There is a villain with a water manipulation quirk. He is actively holding about 3 civilians captive in the middle of a city cross walk.” Nedzu pauses to give him time to mull over what he’s been given so far. 

“There are a couple heroes on the scene as of right now. They are all holding remaining civilians back as they attempt to pull together a plan to get everyone out safely. Your task is to figure out how the villain's quirk works so the heroes can move in and save those people.” Izuku nodded and stayed silent for a moment, “What is the villain using to hold the civilians back?” 

Nedzu smiled before speaking “There is currently a layer of ice wrapped around them, as well as ice covering their feet and hands.” Izuku sighs, filing that information away for later. “Is the color of the ice different from normal water? For example, is it green, or murky. Oh and is there an obvious stream of water coming from somewhere?” Neduz’s smile became a little bit more feral for a second before he regained his composure. “The water does seem to be a little green now that I think of it! It’s hard to see but it seems like there is a small stream of water connecting to the user's hand but we can’t see where the other connection is.” Izuku nods, a plan already forming in his head. “Okay, so clearly the villain needs some sort of source in order to be able to properly use his quirk. I’d normally suggest something like turning off the water for the block but unfortunately the majority of people are made up of 70% water and we don’t know the strength of the person's quirk.” 

Something in Nedzu’s smile sharpened, however it was lost on Izuku as he continued to mull over his options. “Am I allowed to know the quirks of the heroes on the scene?” Nedzu paused, “Yes! The first Hero has a simple wind manipulation quirk, the second has a strength enhancing quirk and the last has a minor electricity creation quirk.” Izuku pauses, changing around some of the ideas in his plan before he’s sure he understands what needs to be done. 

“Okay I think I have a plan.” Nedzu nods at him to continue “I uhm, okay so this is all going to have to happen all at once, which I understand could cause a lot of risks if it doesn’t get executed correctly but there doesn’t seem to be many other options other than this.” Izuku sighs shakily before regaining his composure. “The hero with the wind quick will pull a large gust of wind from behind the villain to throw them off balance, the hero with the electrical quirk will send a small shock into the stream connecting the stream to the palm of the villain while the person with the strength enhancing will dash in and use the moment of distraction to knock out the villain.” Nedzu nodded along as Izuku spoke. “Theoretically the quick will cancel if the user is knocked out, but if not it should once they put on quick suppressing cuffs on the villain, effectively freeing the hostages.” 

For the first time during the verbal exam Izuku looks at Nedzu, really looks at him. His eyes shone in a way that seemed unnatural for an animal of his stature. The smile that spread across his face was almost sinister in the way it made a shiver crawl up Izuku’s spine. He certainly wasn’t expecting the principal to outright laugh ! Had he done so poorly it was funny!? 

“Sorry for my outburst. I am very impressed Midoriya! You took this exam like a fish in water and I am very excited to see how you will progress in the future. Unfortunately I cannot give you your results right away, as eager as I am to have you as a student I must see your results on the general admissions tests. However I can say that you most definitely passed the support practical with flying colors! I am very excited to hopefully have the chance to help mold such a bright mind as yours.” Izuku blinked at him for a moment, unsure how to respond. 

“Thank you Nedzu Sensei!” He bowed in his seat, it was an awkward thing. He half bent himself to get his head as close to the desk as he could manage without completely breaking his back. Nedzu just waved him off, “it’s quite alright. Now I do imagine you have a test to get too. I hope to see you later Midoriya!” Izuku smiled and hurried off to the other exam room, already feeling a hell of a lot more confident than he did when he got to the school.

Chapter Text

Izuku hurried through the somewhat packed halls trying to find the exam room he was set to be in. They had been given a 30 minute break in between the support practical and the general admissions test. He walked past students grouped together and ignored the pang of jealousy that pulsed through him. It’s whatever. He isn’t in middle school anymore, and sure his friends were only his friends because they didn’t actually know he was quirkless but it was fine because he needed to be able to keep it together right now. He finally found the room he was looking for and pushed the door open gently. 

As he stepped into the room he noticed how much larger the room was compared to where the support course practical was held… he guessed that made sense considering every single student who intended to go to the school, regardless of the track they were shooting for, had to take the general admissions test. He glanced around the room and thankfully found an empty seat in the back of the room. Sue him, he’s traumatized from years of his classmates throwing things at the back of his head okay? 

He felt extremely restless seeing as he still had a good 20 minutes before they needed to be in the exam room. He sighed and pulled out his phone, hoping that his friends are also taking the exam. Of course they wouldn’t actually outright say it but they all knew that they were most likely taking the same test.

HeroFanatic: guys i just took a support practical and it actually almost took me out.

MadScientist: oh my gosh me too!!!

MadScientist: well not the part where it took me out but- yk 

SleepFearsMe: im waiting on an exam rn ands it’s kind of eating me alive. 

Izuku noticed a boy with purple hair a couple rows in front of him, he was similarly on his phone… but the odd thing was it seemed as though his phone was going off in time with the messages he was sending. There's no way,, could it actually be someone from the group chat!? He debated his options for a second, before opening a private DM. 

HeroFanatic -> SleepFearsMe

HeroFanatic: forgive me if this is a little bit intruding and you totally dont have to answer btw!! But do you happen to be taking the gen admissions test at UA rn? 

SleepFearsMe: yes,,,, why

HeroFanatic: uhm! Another odd question but like… does your hair defy gravity and is it purple…

SleepFearsMe: hero you are freaking me out right now how do you know this. 

HeroFanatic: …turn around? 

And just like Izuku predicted, the boy with purple hair in front of him turned around with an almost fearful look on his face. Izuku waved at the boy excitedly. He watched as far too many emotions crossed the other boy's face before it settled back into something more neutral. The boy in question got up and moved closer to Izuku. 

“So you must be hero” The boy mumbled it quietly which almost caused Izuku to giggle before he nodded enthusiastically. “You must be Sleep! While I guess you can just call me Izuku I’d much rather you call me that than hero of all things- especially considering the school we’re attempting to attend!” Sleep looked a little bit dazed, blinking at him in shock for a moment. 

“Oh uh- You can call me Hitoshi! I guess you weren’t really what I pictured,,, but not in a negative way!” He rubbed at the back of his neck with his hand. “I guess I expected you to be less,,, energetic.” Izuku mulled over that for a moment, he guessed that due to the nature of the forum everyone knows that those who also participate in the discussions have gone through discrimination. 

“Yeah well,, i guess it’s because I actually know you yk? Like sure this is our first time meeting in person but i still know you Sl- Hitoshi!” A slight blush broke across the other's face but Izuku didn’t take notice of it. Instead he thought about who else might be with them in the exam room. “Yk i think i might know who madscientist is too… there was a girl in the support course practical with me that seemed pretty much exactly how I’d expect her to act.” He almost let himself fall into his normal mumble before he remembered where he was and who he was with. 

“Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole chat is here considering all of us- minus the old men- are gunning for some sort of hero school..” Hitoshi trailed off debating whether or not to outright ask in the group chat. “Hmm… yeah that would make a lot of sense, would it be weird to ask in the chat? I mean.. We do try to keep ourselves pretty anonymous…” Izuku mumbled debating with himself if he actually wanted to out himself like that. “I mean we could just say that we met up at the UA exam, if you feel comfortable with that.” He mulled over that for a moment, trying to decide if it was really worth it. 

On one hand, he’d be able to hang out with his friends in person and create a whole lot of better memories than they could online. But on the other hand, theres a high chance they’d realize he’s quirkless and thus throw him to the side and stop talking to him,,, but that was bound to happen eventually right? He might as well bite the bullet sooner rather than later. With a slight nod he pulled out his phone and showed the message to Hitoshi before he sent it. 

HeroFanatic: You’ll never guess who I just ran into at UA!

SleepFearsMe: he practically stalked me. 

MadScientist: NO WAY!? YOU GUYS ARE AT UA TWO!?

Izuku and Hitoshi glanced at each other, both in some way trying to hide their amusement at their friend's response. Izuku looked up trying to see if there was anyone wildly looking around the room,,, and lo and behold the girl with the bright pink dreads was aggressively tossing her head back and forth, seemingly searching for something. 

HeroFanatic: Mad are you seriously whipping your head around rn 

HeroFanatic: you don’t even know what we look like. 

MadScientist: how the hell did you know that 

SleepFearsMe: because your the only one in this room who is searching aggressively. 

MadScientist: oh. 

HeroFanatic: anyways look in the back left corner 

Just as he sent the message he watched as Mad’s head whipped around to look at them. He giggled to himself as he waved her over. However Hitoshi seemed to want to sink into his seat with the amount of attention the whole fiasco garnered. She quickly rushed over and plopped herself down into one of the open seats next to Hitoshi. 

“OH M GOLLY GOSH! I am so excited to see that you two are also here!!! And TO FINALLY MEET! Wait. You guys are Hero and Sleep right- please tell me I didn't just run over to you guys and make a fool of myself.” Her long winded rant almost sent Izuku into another fit of giggles but he luckily held his composure. 

“Nope, I have no idea who sleep is. But I'm glad to see someone here who is just as MAD as we are.” Hitoshi said in a completely deadpan voice. Mad went silent for a moment while she processed the statement before breaking down into loud cackles. 

“Okay okay, no more of that mad stuff. I’m Mei Hatsume, future CEO of Hatsume Industries at your pleasure! OH but you guys can just call me mei, you know too much about me to not call me by my first name already!” Izuku couldn’t help but notice she was almost the exact same online as she was off. It was kind of jarring if he was being honest. 

“Well in that case you can call me Izuku! It’s nice to finally meet you in person, Mei!” She grinned so large Izuku almost worried about how that was physically possible. He couldn’t help but notice how her eyes kept darting around… he presumed it was something to do with her quirk but he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable so he decided not to mention it. 

“Call me Hitoshi.” It was short- something neither Mei or Izuku was expecting. Hitoshi tended to be very expressive over text and he tended to be very long winded. Izuku wondered if it was something to do with his quirk as well… his voice did sound like he had a voice quirk. It had that melodic rumble that’s hard to hide when your quirk mutates around that area. 

Before they could further their conversation all three of their phones buzzed at once. 

CopyCat: I can’t believe you guys are all having fun without me </3 

HeroFanatic: are you not taking UA’s entrance exam? 

CopyCat: i am… or well i already did

SleepFearsMe: oh your a recommended student then? 

CopyCat: yeah, I took the exam a couple days ago 

CopyCat: I wish you guys luck though! 

MadScientist: THANK YOU!!! WE WILL TELL YOU HOW IT GOES!

Right as Izuku was going to reply, Present Mic walked in, he’d seen the man smile at his phone before he shoved it into his jacket pocket. He gathered the room's attention and started to describe how the general admissions test would go. 

“As you know this is the general test, you’ll be quizzed on all sorts of subjects but none of them will relate to the specific track you are intending to take. Unless you are working to go towards Gen-Ed, which is a perfectly viable option! You will be given two hours to complete the packet we give you. There will be no looking at anyone else's papers and no talking until the end of the exam. You are free to leave the exam hall once you’ve completed your test, just make sure that you have all your answers written in along with your name before you drop it off to me. With that we will pass out the tests to you so you may begin!” Izuku gulped as he watched a clone of ectoplasm quickly made its way through the rows of desks that filled the room. 

Once he’d been given his test he almost let out a sigh of relief. The test questions didn’t look too difficult. He skimmed through the sections before he started on the actual course work. He figured that he would struggle the most in the history portion, a subject he always found hard to concentrate on. However the english portion looked particularly easy, but that might just be the fact that he’s already semi-fluent already. 

He worked his way from the subject that he found the easiest to the hardest, attempting to give himself the most time on the harder questions. The english portion took him maybe ten minutes after double checking that everything was right, he was mainly just glad that there wasn’t an essay portion of the test that had to be written in english. He moved onto Japanese, he was greatly annoyed to see that there was in fact an essay portion to this section. He huffed out a little sigh before he got to work. It was actually a lot easier than he had expected… which seemed to be a recurring theme that slightly scared him. 

The rest of the test went by like this, he’d make his way to a new section and then be surprised at how well he knew the material. Sure he’d spent a lot of his free time in middle school learning ahead but that was really just because he was so behind… there was no way he actually made his way into the high school curriculum accidentally… right??? He shook that thought off and powered onto the rest of the test. 

By the time he’d gotten to History, the subject he was the most worried about, his wrist was already cramping. He let himself drop his pencil and rolled out his wrist as he read through the questions. He was a little bit lost at some of them but honestly they weren’t as terrifying as he was anticipating. He answered the ones he knew off the top of his head before moving onto the harder ones in the section. He really tried to make educated guesses on the last few, praying to some god that he was at least semi correct in some of them. 

And just like that he’d finished the exam. He took a quick glance around the room before realizing that no one else had finished yet. He internally panicked before deciding to double check his answers about four times. He continued to look like he was checking over the answers until he heard someone’s chair scrape against the floor near the front of the room. He tried to silently move from his spot next to Hitoshi, but the boy clearly noticed, if the look of disbelief he received was anything to go by. 

Izuku quietly made his way over to Present Mic’s desk to hand him the packet. “All done Listener? Are you completely sure? You still have about 45 minutes remaining on the clock.” He stiffly nodded, completely shell shocked that he’d rushed through the test like that. He was so stupid! He had forgotten to go back and make sure that he changed his answers from the one he thought was correct, because there was really no way he was on the same level as his peers and actually understood the material enough to get the answers right! But before he could really think about what he was doing he handed the packet over and went to sit outside in the hall. 

A cold dread settled into his bones as he sat on a bench across from the exam room, he’d really only stayed because he wasn’t sure if it would have been rude to leave after just meeting his friends. But now he really really wished he hadn’t said anything so he could just run home and bury himself six feet under. He couldn’t stop thinking about how badly he’d fumbled that exam, and it really was the most important exam of his life! How could he have been so careless to forget that there was simply no way for him to be as smart as those more evolved than him.

Chapter Text

Thankfully Izuku knocked himself out of whatever funk he threw himself into right as Hitoshi and Mei walked out of the exam room. He smiled slightly and waved them down from the bench he was sitting on. 

“Wow Izu-Kun you left pretty early, I guess that big brain of yours really will be the death of us one day!” Mei exclaimed as they both plopped down next to him. “Oh no, it was nothing like that… I honestly think I bombed it because it felt like it was too easy” He laughed to try to cover up how uncomfortable he felt about it. 

“I highly doubt you’d bomb that test Izuku, you literally pulled us through the majority of our studies so that probably helped you subconsciously learn as well.” Hitoshi pointed out blandly. He sighed a moment before pushing himself to his feet. “As much as I wish I could stay and hang out with you guys I do have another test to get to in 30 minutes and I am not going to risk being late to it.” He rubbed at the back of his neck with one hand as he looked between the both of them. 

“Alright, but before you go do you guys want to hang out after Hitoshi’s test is done? I don't have anything to do other than make more babies but I think I'll be WAYYY too hyped up to be able to focus on that anyways!!” Mei asked excitedly. Izuku and Hitoshi exchanged a glance, clearly trying to gauge how comfortable the other was. 

Izuku thought to himself for a moment, trying to figure out if he should go with them. Sure he didn’t have anything to do, and his mom wouldn’t be home for a couple of hours… and he really didn’t want to fall into another weird episode like he had earlier. “Yeah sure! I can hang out for a bit.” He smiled easily. 

Hitoshi looked a little bit more hesitant, probably debating on if he actually wanted to hang out with people so high energy right after fighting for his life. “Yeah whatever, you guys might want to invite copy then.” He sighed,  “Okay but seriously I have to go, I’ll see you guys after my exam and I expect you to have already figured out where we're going.” With that he turned away and lazily waved at them as he walked down the long hallway. 

Mei squealed for a second, “AAAAHHHH I'M SO EXCITED! I'm so glad that we all finally met in person- well all the young ones minus copy…. We really should invite him!” Izuku huffed out a small laugh, already growing used to Mei’s antics. “Well you might as well message him then” 

MadScientist -> CopyCat

MadScientist: Hey Copy! Just wanted to invite you to hang out because Sleep Hero and I are gonna hang out after the UA hero exams are over!! 

CopyCat: sorry guys, I’m busy today but hopefully we can hangout soon! 

MadScientist: awehhhhh alright fine >( I GUESS we’ll have to go without you 

CopyCat: yeah yeah whine all you want we’ll meet in person soon enough 

MadScientist: bleh fine 

“I guess it’ll just be us three then…. Where do you wanna go?” Izuku said after reading the messages over Mei’s shoulder. “HMMMM I don't really know…. How about we think about it while we go out to the entrance to wait for Hitoshi!” Izuku nodded and quickly hoisted himself up and off the bench they’d claimed. 

The walk to the entrance was short really, they were lucky to have been in a classroom on the first floor after all. “So I'm thinking some sort of cafe, because Hitoshi will probably want to get something to eat after his exam… isn't there like a cat cafe around here somewhere???” Mei was definitely rambling but Izuku didn’t really mind, he thought it would be quite hypocritical if he did. “I think that's a great idea mei! I can look for one right now” He said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. 

With the work of a quick google search he found the place they were talking about. It was a pretty short walk from the school, only being about 5 to 10 minutes. He tilted the screen over to Mei to show her the details. “Oh! That place will totally work!!! Hitoshi likes cat right? I mean he seems like the type too… you know with his whole brooding and mysterious vibe he has going on right now!” Izuku nodded along, happy to let Mei control the conversation. “Which is SO WEIRD by the way! Like- online he’s so expressive but the moment we talk normally? He’s super closed off!!” 

Izuku thought about it for a moment before speaking up. “I think he has some sort of voice quirk. I mean, he phrases questions weirdly and he has that rumble in his voice that I theorize is only made by those who have voice quirks after all… but I don’t really want to ask him about it because I know quirks can be a sore topic for all of us.” Mei nodded along, seemingly lost in thought. 

“You know that would make a lot of sense for him I think! I mean I honestly don’t really mind talking about my quirk as much as you guys do! I’m pretty lucky to only have to deal with people telling me my quirk is pretty weak, but then again I’m not going into heroics and it’s PERFECT for support!!! But yeah,,, so I guess I don’t really understand the discrimination that people like Hitoshi get you know?” Izuku mulled it over, he figured that his eye control theory was probably correct with the way Mei talked about it,,, but she had said like you guys. He really wonders what kind of quirk they think he has. 

“...Your quirk has something to do with your eyes right? Sorry but you said you don’t really mind talking about it and I’ve been curious. I have a lot of the-” He cut himself off before he started to lose himself in his rambles. “Yeah! Wow Izu-kun your perspective… no wonder you wanted to try out for support!!! But yeah my quirk is called zoom! It lets me zoom into objects as far as five kilometers away. It’s SUPER useful when I’m building my babies and I honestly couldn't have asked for a better quirk!” 

Izuku smiled, it was totally a quirk that fit for her. “You have some sort of intelligence or analysis quirk right?” he faltered, sure he could maybe lie and tell her she was right but they were bound to find out anyways right? He’s had a lot of fun with his friends and he really wished that he’d be able to hang out with them at the cafe… but he really didn’t want to lie to them. They didn’t deserve that. And who knows! Maybe this time it’ll be different. 

“No, I don’t have a quirk, I’m quirkless.” Mei looked back at him for a second, “REALLY!? You mean to tell me that, all of that analysis and tutoring was just… NATURAL!?!?!?!? Jesus Izu-kun I knew you were smart but I didn’t realize you were that insanely smart!!!” Whiplash hit Izuku hard, he’d expected her to yell at him or to simply just leave him behind… but she didn’t even say anything negative? “Why are you looking at me like that!? Cmon! Let’s go find somewhere to sit Izu-kun!” 

“You- You still want to be friends with me??” He was honestly stunned, why wasn’t she pushing him away? “Why wouldn’t I?” Mei’s face turned serious as she searched his for something, he wasn’t quite sure what. Her expression quickly turned to one of understanding before she dragged him over to the bench they were going to sit on. She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. 

“Izuku, just because you don’t have a quirk doesn’t mean I don’t want to be friends with you. You are such an amazing person and not having a quirk doesn’t change that! You are incredibly smart and I envy your ability to analyze on the fly! You are one of my best friends and you have been for years- even if it was just through a screen- and your lack of quirk will never erase that!” She let go of his shoulders at the end of her rant. “Now! We need to figure out how the hell to actually get to this place!!” 

Izuku blinked back the tears that threatened to spill over, no one had truly told them that his quirklessness didn’t affect the way that they saw him. No one certainly acted the same way after. He let out a shaky sigh before letting the grin overtake his face, he really did have an amazing friend didn’t he? “Mei, I think we just follow the directions really.”

Chapter Text

Izuku and Mei ended up spending their time waiting for Hitoshi by talking about the support exam and how they think they did… or at least that's what their conversation started out as. It quickly dissolved into a conversation about their inventions, “and that’s why I’m building a baby that can break through concrete!” 

“...I don’t even want to ask.” Hitoshi drawled as he walked up to them. Izuku noted the way his shoulders dropped slightly and the way he seemed to sag. He had hoped the exam wouldn’t be too hard on his friend but clearly that wasn’t the case. “Hitoshi! We were talking about going to a cat cafe when you were done! If you are still okay with that of course.” Izuku said, waving to him as he got closer. 

“Yeah sure, I need something to distract me after that anyways.” Hitoshi said, grumbling the last bit. Izuku and Mei glanced at each other, seemingly feeling the same way about the situation. “Alright!! FOLLOW ME! CAUSE I TOTALLY KNOW THE WAY THERE!” Mei said standing up quickly while staring intently down at her phone.. Which no doubt had the directions on it. Izuku sighed but followed her anyway. 

When they arrived at the cafe, they were all thankful to see that it wasn’t very crowded. Izuku had worried slightly that other students would have had the same idea as them but clearly that was not the case. They made their way over to the counter to order some drinks before making their way to a booth that was more out of the way. 

“So! Hitoshi!!! You didn’t tell us how your exam went!” Mei said, clearly attempting to keep her energy levels down… but failing miserably. Hitoshi visibly sagged at the question, clearly upset about how it went. “It’s not like I was expecting it to be easy or anything, but I can’t believe they had us fighting robots!” Frustration was clear through every line of the purple haired boy.

“Like- It’s not like I have a physical quirk!” Izuku mentally noted that as a check towards his theory, “How am I- There’s no way for me to physically be able to take one of those down!” Hitoshi groaned and let his head hit the table. Izuku looked at Mei for a moment, both of them trying to figure out how to comfort the boy. 

“Well, worst comes to worst there’s always the sports festival, and not to mention they have to have a system for those with non-combative quirks.” Izuku said hesitantly. Hitoshi’s head shot up at that. “What. I thought the only way in was through the entrance exam.” He deadpanned. “No.. Do you guys know who Eraserhead is?” Hitoshi nodded while Mei shook her head. 

“Okay- so basically Eraserhead is an underground hero who graduated from UA, but he didn’t originally get into the hero course from the entrance exam. Instead he transferred into it from a different course, and the way he did was through the sports festival. He was able to claim second place and was offered the chance to transfer with a sponsor from a teacher.” Izuku took a breath before continuing, “so what I’m saying is- even if you don’t get into the hero course right away you’ll be able to transfer in through whatever course you get into, but judging by the fact that we spent a super long time going through all of the subjects- and I’ve seen your work, you’ll definitely get into gen-ed so if you keep training- with the help of support items of course, you should be able to catch the attention of a teacher. Although- We’llprobablyhave to start withatraining plan and maybegetyou set up withadiet that i’ll havetodo more researchon- ohwoops” Izuku looked up at his two friends embarrassment swelling through his chest. 

“You know it really never gets old seeing your brain work in full time Izuku!” Mei giggled at him. “Sometimes, I forget you're a genius until stuff like this happens.” Hitoshi added much to Izuku’s embarrassment. It was his turn to drop his head onto the table. 

“Hey uh- I brought your guys order… but if it's a bad time?” A boy, who couldn’t have been older than them, said. He was dressed in the uniform for the cat cafe and was holding a tray with their drinks. “Oh! Thank you!! We were just messing around!” Mei said loudly, clearly to the discomfort of the boy. Izuku noted that he didn’t have any obvious signs of a quirk, but when he brushed hands with Mei it looked like he developed the same kind of pupil that she had. He found it so interesting! The boy quickly rushed away from their table, clearly having something to do. 

“Anyways-” Mei quickly started up the conversation but Izuku was much too distracted by the boy’s quirk to really pay attention. He whipped out his notebook and began a new page, half listening to the conversation that was happening around him.

“Uh… Izuku, what are you doing there?” Mei asked suddenly, seemingly realizing that she had yapped about her babies maybe a bit too much- which was clearly nonsense to her because her babies were precious and deserved to be shown off. “Oh! I was super interested by that guy’s quirk earlier… and I usually write down cool quirks that I find to do my analysis..” He knew that she didn’t care about the fact that he is quirkless, but still he knew his notes were creepy! 

“Oh that’s cool, I didn’t even pick up on his quirk when he was here.” Hitoshi said off handedly. He was leaning on one hand while the other held his drink. He was clearly pretty exhausted but he was trying to keep up with his obviously more energetic friends. “Oh yeah! It wasn’t super noticeable but I saw when he brushed his hand against Mei he uh-” He glanced at Mei, not wanting to expose her quirk, knowing that the original reason they all met was through a server about quirk discrimination. “He seemed to adopt her quirk? I think it’s some kind of copying quirk but It probably has a time limit… if he can copy more than one he would be super overpowered ESPECIALLY if he can copy mutations but I highly doubt that because most quirks can’t interact with mutations. Which is another theory that I don’t want to get into but my guess is that the more he trains it the more he’ll be able to copy and for longer… which means that he could eventually get up to being a really handy support hero as well as full combat..” Izuku pinched himself quickly- realizing he pulled himself into a ramble again. He looked up at his friends sheepishly. 

“Holy shit, it’s crazy how much you got from just.. One interaction” Hitoshi seems to be much more awake, having fully sat up now. “DAMN GREENIE! I knew that you could guess quirks fast but.. THAT WAS INSANE!!!” Mei practically yelled. She seemed to be buzzing with excitement. “I mean- it’s not all that impressive and I know I can be pretty invasive and creepy with it…” Izuku mumbled. 

Mei lightly smacked him over the head, “OH CMON! Izuku you gotta have a little bit more confidence in yourself!!!” Hitoshi nodded along, although the poor boy looked like he was gonna fall asleep into his drink. “Fine fine, yes its impressive WHATEVER! Anyways I think we should maybe head out…” Izuku checked his phone and realized just how late it had gotten. “It’s already pretty late.” He watched Mei pout but she nodded and slid out of the booth allowing him to get out too. The three of them parted ways from the front door, with many promises that they’d text each other.