What You're Made Of (Anxiety and Hero Trivia Mostly)
Izuku stood before the principal with a fake smile plastered on his face. The man was congratulating Izuku and Katsuki on passing the UA entrance exam.
The letter had arrived just yesterday, with All Might telling Izuku about his score of 58 Villain points and 40 rescue points, admitting him to UA, in class 1A. The same video of Ochako and Present Mic was shown, making Izuku's heart swell before shattering once more.
If he remembered correctly, Katsuki had only gotten 77 villain points and no rescue points at all, which would explain the quiet, simmering anger radiating from the blonde to his left.
"Honestly, not one but two students from our fine institution making it into UA! And Midoriya, despite having your quirk for only 10 months it really is a miracle!" The principal continued on.
Izuku shifted uncomfortably. He was a little behind on training, as his big move to take down the Zero Pointer had caused seemingly every muscle in his legs to catch fire and force him to rest for a few days after the exam itself. He wanted to go and lift weights instead of listen to his teachers spout platitudes.
"Anyway, I shouldn't keep you any longer boys, go ahead and go home!" The principal said.
The moment they left the office, Katsuki rounded on Izuku with a snarl.
"The fuck do you think you're doing showing me up Deku?" He asked, explosions cracking in his palms.
"I don't know what you're talking bout." Izuku said quietly, keeping his eyes averted. "I took the exam and did my best, just like everybody else. Whatever score I got in comparison to your own has no purpose other than to determine whether we passed or not."
The greenette heard a 'tch', another few crackles and then footsteps slowly moving away. With a quiet sigh, Izuku walked away, heading through the school building and out of the main entrance.
Damn, that kid's worse than I remember.
Jeez he was an asshole!
I see little difference.
Hah! Gottem!
Izuku rolled his eyes, mentally going through all the things he still needed to do.
If you can take out Shigaraki and All for One at the same time in Kamino...
So long as you don't change too many important details of big events, the future should keep true to itself.
As much as I hate to say it.. Kurogiri and Shigaraki need to get away at the end of the USJ incident.
Nomu still needs to be defeated however.
Though you should try to not draw attention to yourself. My brother will recognise our quirks if they're described to him.
You'll have access to all 30 percent by the time the Sports Festival comes around though, so you'll be fine to reveal yourself to him then.
"Really?" Izuku asked, slightly surprised.
Of course Ninth. Keep Invisible Mode up all the time, continue your strength training and you'll be improving the stockpile itself before the Festival even happens!
Though we're not sure how much you'll be able to improve the stockpile before Kamino...
"Really? Why not? Won't it be the same as when you all improved it?" He muttered, crossing the road as the light turned green.
Not necessarily. Think of One for All like an ever expanding water balloon. As water fills it up, the balloon itself expands. But, if water is removed the balloon retains it's shape, just with a bunch of empty space.
"I understand.. so I'll need less effort to accumulate more energy for the stockpile?"
Maybe. Honestly, we're not 100 percent sure, but it's looking that way. You can feel the void left behind after you traveled back, can't you?
Izuku just nodded, imperceivable to anyone else but those within him.
One for All wants to regain it's lost stockpile, it's just waiting for you to master the dregs that were left behind. Get to that point, and we'll figure it out together.
__________
Izuku walked calmly up to the massive door to class 1A, One for All buzzing invisibly through his body at 15 percent. Halfway there.
The greenette closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. To anyone else, it looked like he was just nervous on the first day at school.
It'll be okay pumpkin.
Don't worry about it kid.
Good luck Ninth.
Power through Izuku.
It might not be pleasant... but it is necessary...
It's alright Nine.
Open the door buddy.
The vestiges all offered their support, even the normally gruff and abrasive Second and Third being surprisingly gentle.
A warm, familiar hand ghosted against the top of his head, where it would normally ruffle his already unruly curls. The final vestige, who had been silent until this point, finally spoke.
I am so proud of you my boy.
With a determined huff and furrowed brow, Izuku opened the door.
"Please take your feet off the desk this instant!"
"Haaaah..?"
He almost burst into laughter at the comically familiar scene.
"What school stuck that stick up your ass you side character?"
"I am Tenya Iida, from Somei Private academy!"
"Somei? Ha, so you're some kind of elite? I'm going to have fun crushing you..."
"C-crushing? Are you sure you're in the right place?"
Looking around the room, Izuku examined every single familiar face. Everyone but Ochako and Aizawa Sensei were in their places, chatting amicably (in most cases) with the people beside them.
Iida finally broke away from his argument to speed walk towards Izuku, who was still in the doorway.
"Good morning, I am Tenya Iida of-"
"Somei Private Academy, yes, I heard. My name is Izuku Midoriya, it's nice to meet you Iida." Izuku said with a slightly strained smile, holding his hand out to his former future brother.
Ten- Iida took his hand and shook firmly, eyebrows raising in surprise for a moment.
"Strong grip.." he murmured, before looking back up at Izuku. "I must apologise. You discovered the true purpose of the exam, and for that I must concede: you are the superior candidate."
Izuku shook his head, smile much more relaxed at the familiar hand chopping.
"No, no! I didn't figure anything out about the exam, I just did what I thought was right."
The bespectacled boy's eyes widened fractionally before he too smiled.
"Then you really are superior. To do what is right without hope for reward..!" He clenched his fist and his eyes closed, a familiar expression overtaking his face.
He looked remarkably like Eijiro did whenever something Manly happened.
A familiar voice gasped behind him.
"It's you, hero boy!"
Okay, that was new.
The greenette turned to Ochako, who was once again beaming at him.
Get yourself together kid, your heart can't take much more! Daigoro teased.
"Hero boy..?" He asked, pointedly ignoring Daigoro. His heart did what it wanted damnit.
The brunette beamed, gesturing wildly with her arms like she was launching Blackwhip.
"Yeah! You took out the Zero Pointer like it was nothing, and landed in a cool pose too! That kick was awesome by the way! 'Faux 50 Percent, Smash!!'" she imitated, her arms pumping up and down energetically like All Might throwing a punch.
"Whoa, he took down the Zero Pointer?"
"That thing was massive!"
"He looks so scrawny though.."
"Don't judge a book by it's cover I guess!"
"That's.. so.. Manly!!"
A pulse in the back of Izuku's head drew his attention away from the embarrassing comments, and Ochako who was still singing his praises. He looked past the brunette to the floor, where a Very Sleepy Caterpillar was looking right back at him.
They held eye contact for a few seconds as Aizawa slightly unzipped his sleeping bag, put a jelly packet in his mouth and sucked with a loud slurp, all while maintaining direct eye contact.
"If you're here to make friends then you should go." He said in that exhausted, droning voice of his.
Ochako froze, turning around and looking down at the man laying on the floor.
Aizawa stood, shedding his yellow sleeping bag and blinking slowly like a cat at the class.
"Good morning." He droned. "My name is Shota Aizawa, I will be your homeroom teacher this year."
He reached into his sleeping bag and pulled out a bunch of sports uniforms.
"Put these on and head outside. You have five minutes."
With that he was gone, leaving the classroom without a sound.
Izuku moved without hesitating, grabbing his sportswear and stepping around Ochako. He looked back at his stunned classmates briefly.
"Come on, don't want to keep Sensei waiting!"
Everyone else scrambled into action.
_____
Aizawa glanced at his watch as Mineta finally arrived at the field.
"Ten minutes. That's hundreds of civilians dead. You're going to have to do much better than that if you want to last here at UA. Now, this morning you'll be doing a quirk apprehension test." He began, stopping at a raised hand.
"But Sensei, what about orientation, or guidance counseling?" Ochako asked, a slightly concerned expression on her face.
"I have three years to turn you all into heroes, we don't have time for that kind of stuff. Here at UA, the teachers are able to conduct classes as they see fit, which is why we're out here. Now, Midoriya, step forwards." The hero responded.
Izuku moved towards his teacher, stopping a few places away. The man held out a familiar ball.
"You got the highest score on the entrance exam, what was your furthest ball throw in school for those standardised tests?" He asked.
"70 meters sir." The greenette replied.
Aizawa tossed him the ball, and gestured to the painted white circle to his right.
"Alright, step into the circle and throw the ball. But this time, use your quirk."
Izuku took the ball and walked past his teacher, flexing and stretching his arms briefly before letting One for All surge to 20 percent, green lightning crackling off of his frame. He raised his arm and swung as though he was going to throw the ball, a golden glow engulfing it. Again and again he built up kinetic energy until he took a stance, reared his arm back and launched the ball into the distance, the green lightning and golden glow combining into a propelling force that blew the ball out of view.
Turning back to Aizawa, he let One for All drop back down to 15 percent, the green lightning vanishing.
"Sorry, I needed to build up kinetic energy to get the best score possible." He explained.
The hero just nodded, glancing down at the tablet in his hand and reading whatever was displayed there before turning it to the class.
It had 2,688 meters displayed on it, drawing impressed murmuring and exclamations from the rest of the class.
"We get to use our quirks as much as we want?"
"This is awesome!"
"This is going to be fun!"
Both Izuku and Aizawa were expecting that last comment, one sighing internally in resignation, the other practically gleeful, though hiding it under a faux angry frown.
"Fun you say? You think this is fun? Alright, then how about we up the stakes. The person who comes in last overall will be judged to have no potential as a hero, and will be immediately expelled." The hero said.
"E-Expelled?"
"It's only the first day!"
"We passed the exam!"
"That isn't fair!"
Aizawa gave his signature manic grin.
"Life isn't fair. It's the job of heroes to combat life's unfairness, that's why you're here. Plus Ultra, right?"
Izuku had to admit, the looks on his classmate's faces were pretty funny this time around, knowing what he knew now about both Aizawa Sensei and his teaching style.
______________
Izuku did significantly better on the Quirk Assessment Test this time around thanks to Full Cowling and access to (Faux) 42 percent in total, as well as Float, Blackwhip and Gear Shift.
He scored first in every test except the ball throw, sideways steps and flexibility test, beaten by Ochako, Mineta, Hagakure and Ashido respectively.
Katsuki was seething throughout the entire exam, palms steaming as every single one of his scores was beaten at least once by one of his classmates, but always beaten by Izuku. Similarly, Mineta whined and cried about his scores being pathetic, getting more and more desperate as it became clear that he was by far the worst scorer in the class. Izuku made sure to stand between the much shorter boy and Ochako at all times. The purple haired boy was his friend in the past future, but at the moment he was a rather horrible perv.
Eventually the tests were done, everyone but Izuku flush faced and tired out. One for All gave a small stamina boost when in use. Not enough to make a difference in live combat, but more than enough for recovery between various short tests. Plus, 75 percent of his training for the last year had been stamina based, with One for All buzzing beneath his skin at all times. Even now One for All was active, slowly but surely acclimating his muscles to the vast amount of energy flowing through them.
"It would take far too long to explain how you were all graded, so here are the end results." Aizawa said, raising a holographic projector and turning the device on.
1. Izuku Midoriya.
2. Momo Yaoyorozu.
3. Shoto Todoroki.
4. Katsuki Bakugo.
5. Eijiro Kirishima.
.
.
.
20. Minoru Mineta.
There was a collective cheer of congratulations inside Izuku's head.
"Noooooo!" The boy screamed, falling (not very far) to his knees. "I didn't even get to touch Yaoyorozu's-"
"Oh, and as for the expulsion... Nobody's going home!" Aizawa Sensei said with his shit eating grin. "It was a logical ruse to get you to do your best! That being said Mineta, you're on thin ice. Class dismissed."
The exclamations of surprise were ignored as the hero turned and walked away, rounding the corner and coming face to face with All Might.
"April Fools was last month Aizawa!" The Number One Hero exclaimed jovially.
Aizawa raised a single brow.
"What do you want?" He asked simply.
The behemoth of a man fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment before seeming to steel himself, eyes hardened, serious.
"Izuku Midoriya." He said, his voice losing it's constant levity. "What do you think of him?"
Shota paused, gathering his thoughts. He hadn't expected that the happy go lucky Symbol of Peace could be so.. serious.
"He's strong. Top of the class in terms of both raw power and precise control. He's skilled, and his quirk is a grab bag of powers almost as well rounded as Yaoyorozu's. He's obviously been trained, his fighting style during the exam was too refined for him to be an amateur, but several of his classmates are in that same boat. Hardworking, intelligent and humble, he has the most potential I've seen in a while. Why are you interested in him?" Eraserhead asked.
The other hero shook his head with a sigh.
"It's nothing. Just an old man and his paranoia I suppose. His 'grab bag' of abilities is.. similar to a villain I faced in the past. The one who gave me my injury in fact."
Aizawa's frown deepened.
"Just similar? Or the same quirk?" He asked suspiciously.
"I'm not sure. For now it is merely similar, but that could change at any time..."
Eraserhead walked away from that conversation with a thoughtful look on his face.
__________
Izuku walked down the cobbled path, thumbs hooked into his yellow bag's straps.
"Midoriya!"
The greenette stopped at the sound of hurried footsteps, letting Ten- Iida catch up to him.
"Good afternoon! Do you mind if I walk with you?" He asked politely, accompanied by a hand chop.
"Of course not!" Izuku replied with a smile.
Iida returned the smile, hands chopping erratically.
"I have to say, I was not expecting such a test on the first day, nor for our teachers to so blatantly like to us!"
"I think Aizawa Sensei is a special case. I can't see Present Mic giving a creepy smile an announcing 'it was a logical ruse', can you?" The shorter teen mused.
Iida hummed, hand to his chin.
"I agree. Though his ruse did push me to do my best... So perhaps it wasn't all bad." He said.
They were interrupted by an ang- female voice from behind.
"Heeeey! Wait for me you two!"
The boys turned just as Ochako stopped before them, barely out of breath.
"Hi! I'm Ochako Uraraka, you're.. Tenya Iida and.. Deku Midoriya, right?"
Izuku raised an eyebrow.
"Deku? Where did you hear that? My name's Izuku." He asked. Katsuki hadn't screamed 'DEKU!!' this time around.
"Whenever you got your score during the test, the blonde explodey boy would mutter 'Dekuuuu....', so I thought that was your name!" She exclaimed innocently.
Izuku sighed fondly. She was the same as ever.
"You can read my name as Deku, he and the other kids used to call me that to make fun of me." He explained.
"Make fun of you? But I thought Deku meant 'You can do it', you know, like Dekiru?" Ochako asked.
Izuku smiled.
"You can call me Deku if you want."
SIIIIIIMMMMMPPPP.
Shut up Daigoro, that was a beautiful moment and you just ruined it.
Doesn't change the fact that he's a simp.
I mean he's got a point.
Second!
What? He is!
Izuku sighed. Everything was right with the world.
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