Chapter 8: "That's one ugly ass caterpillar."
Girl Genius: so I take it your Quirk was able to activate
Boy Wonder: What makes you say that?
Girl Genius: I could hear power loader talking about the green haired kid who obliterated the zero pointer
Girl Genius: who else would he be talking about
Boy Wonder: …Fair enough.
Boy Wonder: Ok, so yeah, my Quirk was in fact there and I was able to get it to work. It boost my strength and speed, an overall physical enhancer, though I can also activate it in individual parts of my body at a time, the problem is that right now I can't control it very well and my body isn't stronger enough to handle my full strength yet, so I've got to stick to only about nine percent of my max strength most of the time. Going all out to destroy the zero pointer shattered the bones in three of my limbs.
Boy Wonder: Also I'm definitely going to need to invest in things like gloves in order to protect the skin on my hands. My Quirk makes me tough, not invincible.
Boy Wonder: …you there Hatsume?
*Girl Genius shared an image*
Girl Genius: was working on a blueprint think something like would work
Boy Wonder: One sec, let me look this over.
Boy Wonder: Ok, yeah I definitely like what I'm seeing, let me know when you've got a prototype for me to test.
Girl Genius: *thumbs up emoji*
-
About a week passed since the entrance exam, Izuku heard no word from All Might the entire time. He occasionally texted the man but had heard nothing back from his mentor since their conversation. He must've been really busy to just go full on radio silent like this. In the meantime, he occupied himself by continuing his Quirk Analysis. He had entire sections dedicated to Danger Sense, Blackwhip, Smokescreen, and Float. Turns out he could get a lot of information on those Quirks when their original users lived in the back of his head. He was especially fascinated to learn how One for All enhanced their Quirks, learning that there was a massive spike in its power between when they had just their original Quirk versus once they became a holder. It made him curious what it would've been like to have his own Quirk get enhanced had he not been Quirkless when he received One for All.
"Don't forget Izuku, becoming a holder of One for All is very dangerous in the long term for anyone with a Quirk."
Fourth tapped the crack like scars over his eye, just to prove his point. 'I know, I know, doesn't make me any less curious. But I mean, just imagine what One for All could do for a Quirk like Explosion.' He replied.
"Well as long as your curiosities remain within the realms of your imagination. We don't need you forcing One for All onto other people."
Izuku paused as he looked up, his brows furrowed. 'I can do that?' Fourth blinked.
"Er, yes. One for All being passed on is entirely up to the consent of the current holder. So someone ingesting your DNA won't automatically transfer us over. Similarly you can force the Quirk onto someone else."
"Essentially, One for All is a Quirk that can only be given, not taken."
Izuku hummed as he tapped his chin before pulling out one of his notebooks and writing something down. 'Interesting…'
"Izuku?" His attention got pulled away from his note taking as the door to his bedroom opened and his mom walked in. "Sorry to interrupt you honey, but something just arrived in the mail." She held out what she was holding in her hand so Izuku could see it.
Izuku blinked as he looked down at the envelope. Once. Twice. Thrice. And then four times before the realization set in. "The exam results." He quickly took the envelope and practically ripped it to pieces in order to get to what was inside.
"Someone's excited to see the results. Not that I can blame you."
A strange, disc shaped device fell out of the envelope and into Izuku's hands. Mother and son stared at the device in confusion for a moment before a holographic recording began to play.
"Testing, one… two… AM I ON SCREEN!?" Izuku almost jumped when All Might's entire face took up the recording. The man then stepped back, letting Izuku see his entire body. He seemed to be wearing some sort of formal suit for some reason. Izuku didn't have much time to ponder before the video continued with All Might surprising him once again by bowing. "I must apologize for cutting off contact for so long, Young Midoriya! It took some time jumping through hoops to get this done, my bad! Thankfully we'll get to see a lot more of each other in the future, because I'm going to be joining the U.A. faculty as the newest Heroics Teacher!"
Izuku felt the gears in his head grind to a halt. All Might? A teacher? All Might. A teacher. Yes he'd be at UA so surely this wouldn't be the same as with Aldera, but still, the idea of All Might of all people becoming a teacher was-
"IZUKU!"
Izuku blinked, Seventh's shout managing to pull him from his downward spiral. 'Sorry about that. And thanks.'
The vestiges probably would've voiced their concerns if Izuku wasn't so focused on what All Might said next.
"Now then, your test results! I must say, you accomplished what most would have thought to have been impossible! A near record breaking Ninety Nine percent score on the written portion of the exam!" Explained All Might
"Of fuckin' course he did!"
Izuku decided to tune out Fifth's laughter and continue listening. "That alone would make you an honor student amongst the general education course, perhaps even receiving personal lessons from the principal himself, but we both know that's not what you're interested in, so let's talk about the practical!" Izuku was practically on the edge of his seat to hear his results.
"If you didn't get in, I'm gonna revive my human self just so she can trash UA."
Izuku appreciated the supportiveness of nothing else. "Now, in terms of villain points you scored a grand total of forty nine, a very impressive sum, even if on its own it wouldn't break any records, it wouldn't even be the best score for this year's exam." Izuku winced, yeah he definitely saw that coming.
"Dang, I get he probably had high expectations of the kid but now it just feels like he's punching down."
"I mean when you're his size I think every punch feels like punching down."
"Alright, listen here smartass-"
"Thankfully it's a good thing that defeating villains isn't the only way you can earn points in this exam! There was a secret, secondary point system that was also in play, Rescue Points!"
'Rescue Points?' Izuku's confusion seemed to echo across the vestiges as well.
"But before I explain that, let's hear the thoughts of some of the other exam takers first!"
The video abruptly cuts to Ochako, wearing a different outfit than what she'd had on in the practical, her own school's uniform if Izuku had to guess. "Excuse me young miss, you were there in exam grounds C when the zero pointer was destroyed, do you have any thoughts about the listener who smashed it?" That sounded like Present Mic's voice, looks like he had been tasked with interviewing the other examinees. It must've happened while he was unconscious.
"You mean Izuku? Honestly it amazed me what he did, he saved me! Honestly I hope he gets into the hero course on recommendation alone!" She responded with a determined look on her face. Izuku himself failed to notice it, but the vestiges could all see the corners of his mouth slowly lifting upwards.
The video cut again to the blue haired guy with glasses. "When I first saw him during your explanation, I mistakenly wrote him off as just a careless fool who was here for fun, but then he proved me and likely many others wrong when he rose to the occasion while I and all the others fled. I can only hope that he and I become classmates so I can offer my apologies in person!" He said, rather loudly, while bowing to the camera. The rest of the clips from his fellow test takers voiced similar opinions.
"Il était spectaculaire!"
"I can't believe someone as cool as that exists!"
"He's a shoo in for the hero course!"
"Can't wait to see him go pro one day!"
More and more people voiced their praise for his actions. Izuku didn't know what to say, how to feel, he wasn't used to people his age having positive things to say about him.
"As you can see, being able to defeat villains is one thing, but a true hero is one who saves people regardless of risk! Think it's cheesy? Fine by me! And the judges agree! These points are rewarded to those that the faculty believe acted like true heroes, and you were the truest of them all, so take these Rescue Points, all sixty of them! Raising your score to a record breaking One Hundred and Nine! Congrats my boy, and welcome to Your Hero Academia!" And with that the video cut out.
Izuku and the vestiges sat there silently for a moment.
"One Hundred and Nine. Of course."
"Did he seriously break Toshinori's record?"
"I'm impressed, Izuku, it looks like you beat out everyone's expectations."
"I give it a week into the school year before he rushes headfirst into danger again and almost dies."
"Shut up Second."
While the vestiges discussed, Izuku pulled out his phone.
-
___Kacchan: 77 Poi-
Deku: 109. Read 'em and weep, Kacchan.
-
"Classy."
"I think the word you're looking for is funny as shit."
"Not wrong, I'm just more polite than you are."
"Says the guy who actually dropped an F Bomb when confronted with the Zero Pointer."
"I'd say that it was perfectly warranted then."
With the conversations amongst the vestiges as background noise, Izuku decided to return to his note taking.
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
Katsuki Bakugou's final explosion obliterated the fridge he was using for target practice. He took a deep breath before moving to grab the bottle of water he had laying nearby, downing half of it in one shot.
He wiped the sweat from his brow as he observed his handiwork. He'd been using this abandoned warehouse for years to train his Quirk, demolishing everything inside into barely recognizable charred shards. He knew he'd need to keep his Quirk in top shape for UA. And even despite his training, he still somehow let Deku overtake him.
Sure the nerd had a Quirk now, which was definitely helping him, but that was no excuse for Katsuki to be sitting in his ass when he could be training. He thought he had continued to cement himself as the best when he scored seventy seven points in the practical, and yeah he did get more villain points than anyone else by a damn good margin, but that didn't change the fact that those Rescue Points still let Iz- Deku overtake him, and him not getting a single Rescue Point just felt like salt in the wound.
Well excuse him for assuming the other examinees could handle themselves! He's better at kicking a villain's ass than saving an incompetent ally's dumbass anyways!
Whatever. Until Deku can beat him in a proper one on one then there's no way Katsuki was going to properly acknowledge him, and he certainly wasn't going to let any of his future classmates overtake him either, he's going to show them that he's still the best of the best, Second Place be damned.
Katsuki tossed the water bottle over his shoulder and set his sights on his next training zone, a specially made area designed for training his agility with his Quirk. The premise was simple: dodge the swinging spikes or get a very bad case of tetanus. His palms crackled as he started it up.
After about twenty minutes of struggling with his tie and eventually settling on whatever… abomination that was, Izuku turned to face his mom, donning his UA Hero Course uniform. "How do I look, mom?"
Inko looked at her son, then her eyes drifted downwards to look at his tie before eventually returning to meet his gaze. "Izuku, if you weren't already the spitting image of him, the way you two tie your ties would be all the proof anyone ever needed that you're your father's son."
Izuku sighed, his shoulders slumping. He could hear the vestiges laughing in the back of his mind. Inko took advantage of his lowered guard and pulled him into a hug. "I'm proud of you sweetie."
Izuku let out a weak noise, something between a chuckle and a sigh, before reciprocating the hug. "Thanks mom."
After a moment the two separated. "But if you break any of your bones on your first day of school, you will be grounded."
Izuku flinched at that. "Yes ma'am…"
After a moment the two couldn't help but giggle. "I love you Izuku, now go knock their socks off."
"Will do, love you mom." And with that, the boy made his way out to his first day of High School.
Izuku made his way through the halls. He couldn't help but marvel at the size of UA, the faculty had clearly taken into account that Quirks made potential students come in a variety of body types, he hoped that that meant the teachers would be actually encouraging of their students.
"Well, most of them anyways, don't forget the warning Toshinori gave about 1A's Homeroom Teacher."
Right, Aizawa. Izuku didn't recognize that name from any hero, so he must be someone who was very good about keeping his civilian identity on the down low. He also apparently expelled his entire class last year. Izuku was already dreading the idea of spending time with someone like that for a teacher.
"Can't say I'm exactly thrilled about the prospect either, why would UA hire someone like that?"
"Perhaps there's more to this story than All Might knew or was able to tell us?"
That was entirely possible. Well, Izuku would probably get his answer soon enough, seeing as he was standing in the doorway of 1A. He took a deep breath before placing his hand on the door. 'Here goes nothing, hope my classmates are like the ones from the exam…' He thought to himself, he'd rather not end up in a similar situation as when he was in Middle School.
He opened the door and was immediately audibly assaulted by the sound of a familiar voice. "Take your feet off that desk! Don't you realize how disrespectful you are being to not just your classmates, but to all the upperclassmen who once sat at that desk and all the underclassmen who will sit at that desk?!" It was that blue haired guy. Izuku had to admit, he was a lot happier to the guy this time as opposed to their first encounter thanks to that footage of him on Izuku's acceptance letter. Acceptance video?
And of course, who else would he be lecturing other than Kacchan? "Ha! As if I'd care about something as dumb as that! I gotta ask though, which Middle School did you come from you two bit extra?"
"A private sch- ahem!" The boy was about to answer before correcting himself and standing up straight. "Soumei Junior High, my name is Tenya Iida, it is a pleasure to meet you."
Iida… Iida… wait, Izuku thought this boy looked familiar. He didn't connect the dots at first because he's rarely seen without his helmet but this guy bears a striking resemblance to Tensei Iida, the pro hero Ingenium from Team Idaten!
"Ingenium? That name sounds familiar…"
"The Iida family has passed the hero name 'Ingenium' down for generations, each one having a Quirk that causes engine like protrusions to grow somewhere on the user's body. The current Ingenium has them on his elbows and it seems Iida here has them in his calves and oh god everyone's staring I'm talking out loud aren't I?"
"You sure are."
Izuku nearly jumped into the air when a familiar voice spoke from behind him. "Ah! Ochako!?"
The brown haired girl grinned and giggled at Izuku's reaction. "Hey there Izuku! Glad to see we're in the same class! I can't believe I got fourth on the entrance exams! That was insane!"
Izuku was a little surprised. "Wait really, you got fourth? That's impressive!"
"Mhm, earned myself forty five whole points just for saving you, so I guess that's another one I owe you!"
"Wait no please, that's not necessary…" Izuku was practically wilting at the girl's words.
"Excuse me! Pardon my interruption but there's something that I would like to say in regards to the entrance exam myself!" Izuku threw a silent thanks Iida's way for that lifeline, he wasn't used to being the focus of positive attention. "Not only was I rude enough to interrupt Present Mic's speech, but then I had the audacity to take my anxiousness out on you! Not only were you willing to correct that mistake, but then you proved yourself to be my better when you managed to deduce the true nature of the Zero Pointer, for that I must apologize." Tenya bowed to him. Izuku couldn't decide if this was better or worse, but at least Kacchan and Ochako seemed to find this entertaining…
"P… please, Iida, that isn't necessary. I didn't deduce anything, I just saw that someone was in trouble and destroying the Zero Pointer was the only way I could keep everyone safe." He responded, trying to deflect the genuine praise.
That caused Tenya to stand up straight, a smile of admiration on his face. "That only proved my point further, you acted not to earn points but to instead protect someone in danger, you truly are an admirable person…"
After a moment of Tenya staring at him expectantly, Izuku took the hint. "O-oh, right, Midoriya. Izuku Midoriya." He said, introducing himself.
Tenya nodded his head. "Well then, Midoriya, I look forward to spending the next three years studying at UA alongside you."
Izuku could hear whispers from their classmates, then saying things about how he was the one to destroy the Zero Pointer and break All Might's record.
"Congrats kid, only a couple minutes into your first day and you're already the center of attention, talk about establishing dominance."
'Not helping Fifth.' Deadpanned Izuku.
"If you came here to make friends, you should get out now."
Eh?
The three standing teens turned to see the form of a yellow sleeping bag staring at them.
"That's one ugly ass caterpillar."
Izuku's lips twitched in amusement as the man inside the sleeping bag slowly stood up while taking a sip from a jelly pouch. "This is the department of heroics, and I'm going to be your home room teacher, my name is Shouta Aizawa."
"So that's the guy Toshinori warned us about? He looks like a bum. And what's that thing around his neck, a scarf?"
'A Scarf…' Izuku's train of thought was cut short when Aizawa started talking again.
"It took you all eight seconds to quiet down, how illogical. Life is too short to waste time like that." He then pulled gym uniforms out of his bag and shoved them into the hands of Izuku, Ochako, and Tenya.
"Pass these around, you'll see the names of the owners written on the tags. Then put them on and get yourselves to the P.E. Grounds. We're gonna have a Quirk Apprehension test." Explained the teacher.
"A test? But it's the first day!? And don't we have a ceremony to get to?" Iida seemed to be more than a little thrown off.
"We don't have time for such niceties, you've got three years to become ready for the world of Pros. You'll understand soon enough about this school's reputation for 'freedom on campus,' a freedom that extends to the teachers as well, now get moving. I'll be waiting on the grounds, you should be able to find the locker rooms without issue." And just like that, Aizawa left. Everyone stared at the empty door frame that Aizawa left from.
"Well… he seems interesting."
"Hmph, nice to see a hero who doesn't act like a complete tool for once. Maybe this kid's actually gonna learn something from him."
"I think if you're the one who's praising him then we all need to be worried for Izuku."
Izuku sighed and read the name of the first tag. "Uh, alright, which one of you is Hanta Sero?" He asked. A boy with black hair and oddly shaped elbows raised his hand. Izuku sighed and started walking towards him. "Alright, you guys heard him, let's get to work."
Chapter 9: "This kid is something else…"
"Bakugou, you got more villain points than any other examinee." Said Aizawa. Nineteen heads turned towards the explosive teen that had been singled out by their teacher. Katsuki said nothing, simply keeping his hands in his pockets as he waited for Aizawa to continue his train of thought. "How far were you able to pitch a softball in middle school?"
"Sixty Seven Meters."
Aizawa beckoned the blond forward before pointing at a circle drawn into the field. Once Katsuki reached the spot, Aizawa tossed a softball his way. "Use your Quirk to throw this, feel free to go all out as long as you stay within the boundaries."
Katsuki blinked in surprise before a grin appeared on his face, much to the concern of eighteen of his classmates and the entertainment of one. No points for guessing who the odd one out was. He then tossed the ball into the air and caught it, getting a feel for it before getting to position, rearing his arm back, and letting it fly with an explosive boost. "DIIIE!" He shouted, the ball being launched into the distance.
Aizawa held up a device that beeps a couple of times once the ball eventually landed. Seven hundred and five meters. "Before anything else, it's important to know what you're all capable of." He explained. "This is a rational metric that will form the basis of your foundation as a hero."
"Awesome, we'll get to use our Quirks? This looks like fun!" Cheered one of the other students, a girl with pink skin and yellow horns. Izuku was curious about the type of Quirk she had.
His curiosities were cut short when Aizawa spoke, somehow making his tired voice sound even more unsettling than it had been up to this point. "Fun? You kids think this is going to be fun? You think being heroes is all fun and games?" He asked menacingly. "You want fun? Alright, here's some fun for you, the student who places in last will be deemed 'hopeless' and thus instantly expelled."
That got a reaction. "Wh-what!? That's not fair! We all worked hard to get here!" Exclaimed that same pink girl who had unintentionally started this mess.
"Life isn't fair, and being heroes isn't a game, you face a risk of death every time they save someone or fight a villain, if you don't have what it takes then you don't belong here." Explained Aizawa, giving the students an evil grin. "Welcome to UA's Hero Course, I'd suggest you go Plus Ultra if you don't want out on the first day."
That took the wind out of everyone's sails real quick. Well, almost everyone, there were a few who seemed unbothered, likely either believing the man was bluffing or having enough confidence in themselves that they wouldn't place last.
Izuku stared at the man, then he slowly turned his head to see one of his classmates, who's Quirk made her invisible, definitely useful for being an underground hero but even he didn't see a way that could be useful in these tests. '"Rational" my left ass cheek, all he's doing is trying to single out the best and then ditch the rest. Doesn't this man realize that being expelled from UA was practically a death sentence to their careers? Forget being heroes, they'd be lucky if there was a single highschool in Japan that would take someone with a mark like that on their record.'
"The things he says hold weight, but I can't say I agree with how he's conveying it. This feels less like teaching and more like bullying, did this man forget he's talking to children?"
Izuku wanted to say something, anything, but the words would die in his throat before they could ever leave his mouth. He felt helpless, this was like Aldera all over again. All he could do was grit his teeth and do his best to stay afloat.
"Just worry about passing for now, do your best Izuku."
First up was the fifty meter dash. Iida was up first, alongside a girl with dark green hair as well as body and face proportions that reminded Izuku of a frog. Izuku quickly realized that that was because her Quirk was exactly that when she started hopping along while Iida took off using his engines. Iida managed to clear in just over three seconds while the girl took about five and a half.
Izuku continued to stare at Aizawa as he watched over the tests, with him being one of the last students in line. He then noticed Ochako out of the corner of his eye.
"See something you like?"
"Ignore him, go talk to her Izuku, it's clear there's something you want to say."
With reassurance from Seventh, Izuku stepped forward towards his friend. "H-hey, Ochako!" He said.
His voice caught the girl's attention, her head turning to see him approach. "Oh! Izuku! What's up?"
Izuku took a deep breath, collecting himself for a moment, deeply paranoid about saying something by mistake that would upset her. He's not used to having friends, sue him. "Can you… tell me a bit about how your Quirk works?"
Ochako seemed confused, going off the way she tilted her head. "…why?"
Izuku clenched his fist at his side a few times while he responded. "I have an idea for how you could use it here, I just wanted to see if my understanding of your Quirk is on point from the couple of times I saw you use it."
That seemed to pique Ochako's interest. "Alright then, my Quirk lets me remove gravity on anything I touch with all five pads on my fingertips." She explained, sticking her hand out so Izuku could see the pads.
"Toe beans."
"Don't distract him."
"I can also return gravity by touching all my fingertips together and releasing the hold of my Quirk. Though it returns gravity to everything at once, I don't get to pick and choose." She explained. "And like you saw during the Entrance Exam, if I push too far I can make myself sick."
"Fascinating…" Mumbled Izuku as he took a minute to think. He then met Ochako's gaze. "Alright, here's my plan…"
Aizawa didn't appreciate Midoriya and Uraraka being all buddy-buddy over there. Sure they had saved each other in the entrance exam, leading to them becoming close, but he'd just talked about how they weren't here to make friends. "Uraraka, Ojiro, you two are up next." He called. This got the attention of the two chatterboxes, who exchanged a nod before Uraraka began to jog towards the starting position alongside Ojiro. At the same time, Midoriya seemed to be positioning himself next to the sprint course. He wasn't sure what the boy was planning, but he knew that if he tried to interfere with the test at all then he could simply use Erasure to put a stop to it.
The students got into place, Uraraka removing gravity from her clothes and shoes while Ojiro got his tail into position, his plan seeming to be using it to propel himself, both practical applications of their Quirks.
"Aaand… Go." He said. Right before he gave the order to begin, Ochako quickly smacked her cheek with one of her hands, removing her own gravity, then once he gave the go ahead, she used both her hands and feet to push into the ground and launch herself forward. He watched the two students move, Uraraka having a lead thanks to a lack of gravity to slow her down.
Just as she made it about two thirds of the way across the course, he heard Midoriya's voice call out, "Now Ochako!"
"Release!" Suddenly the girl released her Quirk, and she then started falling, but thanks to the momentum she'd built up, she was able to actually use gravity to her advantage to gain even more speed and cross the finish line within five seconds, over two seconds faster than Ojiro. She was hardly the fastest student for this, but her creative applications of her Quirk still required praise. That is, if it had been her who was being creative with her Quirk.
Ochako's hands were on her knees, breathing heavily. She hated using her Quirk on herself because of how awful it made her feel, she said as much to Izuku. His counterpoint was if she was willing to let a little nausea be the reason she got thrown out of UA, if a little nausea was too much to ask for when someone's life was on the line? His words were harsh, but she understood the logic and it was enough to motivate her to push past her limits, to Go Beyond.
"Ochako!" She turned to see Izuku jog up to her. She gave him a grin before raising her fist at him. He met her fist with his own.
"That was a great plan Izuku, it worked exactly how you predicted you would." She said, complimenting him.
"Hey, you did the work and pushed past the queasiness, I just came up with the plan. Is your stomach feeling ok?"
She waved off his concerns. "Just needed a second to catch my breath, I'm all good nooow- uh oh."
Izuku was confused by why she suddenly seemed concerned. "What's-?"
"Midoriya."
"Aw shit."
"Thank you Fifth, your insight is very useful."
"Why yes it is, thank you for-
Izuku's eyes widened as the vestiges suddenly went silent, it wasn't even that they stopped talking, it was as if they weren't even there. Izuku slowly looked over his shoulder to see Aizawa's tall frame looming over him, his hair and scarf floating in the air, revealing the pair of golden goggles that had been hiding inside it, as his eyes glowed a demonic red. "I thought I told you that you weren't here to make friends, and that whoever placed last would be expelled, yet here you are helping your classmates. Aren't you afraid of being expelled, or has that fancy Quirk of yours given you such an ego that you think it'll be impossible for you to lose?"
Izuku was fairly certain he'd forgotten how to breathe, the suffocating silence in his head and having a teacher menace him like this was putting him in the worst place imaginable. He needed to focus on something else, so he defaulted to what he knew best: Quirks and Heroes. 'This Quirk, those goggles, that scarf. Underground Hero, the Erasure Hero: Eraserhead! His Quirk deactivated One for All!' He swallowed the bile forming in his throat. "I'm confident in my abilities, but I'm hardly a prideful fool who considered himself invincible." He managed to answer, using all his might to keep his voice steady.
"And yet here you are helping someone that you're meant to compete against for the right to stay in this school." Replied Aizawa, his glare continuing to bore into him.
"Isn't it a hero's job to help people? And aren't we at this school to become better with our Quirks? I fail to see how I'm doing anything wrong…"
"Is that a fact? Are you criticizing my methods, Midoriya? Very well then…" Said Aizawa before turning to the rest of the class who had been spectating this entire thing. "It seems yet another new rule needs to be added. If the person who places last received advice from Midoriya, he'll be expelled alongside them. Moreover, if Midoriya places last then everyone who received his advice will be expelled alongside him." As the students began to murmur amongst themselves at the revelation of that new rule, Aizawa turned to Izuku. "Well then Midoriya, do you still wish to help those you're competing against?"
Izuku was starting to feel his resolve crack under the gaze of his teacher, when he suddenly felt something against his wrist. Three fingers and a thumb wrapped around his wrist, while the knuckle of a pinky finger pressed into his wrist. His head slowly turned to see Ochako, still by his side even under the glare of their teacher, a determined look on her face. Even if no words were said, that look told Izuku exactly what he needed to hear. He took a deep breath before looking back at Aizawa. "Bring it on."
With that, Aizawa's Quirk deactivated, his hair and scarf falling back into place. He turned and walked away while pulling eye drops out of one the pouches on what Izuku now realized was his hero uniform.
"Gah! Fuck! That was awful!"
"Izuku, are you ok!?"
Izuku winced at the sudden clamoring of the vestiges in his head. 'I'm fine! I'm fine… thanks you guys…' God he missed them, even if they'd only been gone for a brief time.
"We're sorry we couldn't be there for you during… that."
'It's not your fault… it's not your…' Izuku's attempts to quell the vestiges' concerns were cut short when he felt Eighth hug him within his own mind. He wasn't sure how else to describe it, despite not being physical he could still feel the sensation of the vestige's embrace.
"Izuku… are you crying…?" Izuku turned to Ochako, a look of concern on her face.
Izuku brought a hand up to his face. Yup, there were in fact tears rolling down his cheeks. "Haha… looks like I am."
"That lousy… making a student cry on his first day, I'll give him something to cry over…" Izuku couldn't see Ochako's face but she sounded positively livid at the moment.
"Can't say I disagree with that sentiment, honestly I'm embarrassed even being the same type of hero as him…"
Izuku noticed that Ochako was about to march towards Aizawa to give him a piece of her mind, but he grabbed her wrist before she could get far. "Don't… just, don't. I've had enough talking to him for one day. He gave me a challenge and I'm planning to rise to it. Plus Ultra."
"Izuku…" Ochako looked at him, his face still wet with tears, and she then decided to surprise him by pulling him into a hug. Izuku was fairly certain he heard an excited squeal from one of his classmates, the pink one. Izuku was pretty sure Aizawa said her name was Ashido. He couldn't focus too much on that, he was too busy having his face do an impression of a strawberry thanks to Ochako hugging him.
"O-O-Ochako- what're you-!?" He exclaimed in embarrassment.
"I'm making my friend feel better, you dummy." Replied Ochako.
"Midoriya, you and Bakugou are up, stop flirting with Uraraka and get over here." Called Aizawa.
At the word, "flirting," Ochako pulled away, now embarrassed herself. "Ahaha, well, you heard Aizawa-Sensei!" She exclaimed before composing herself and raising her fist. "Knock their socks off, Izuku."
Izuku blinked in surprise as the blush slowly faded. He returned the fist bump before grinning. "Will do."
"Damn kid, you've got game. Between her and the inventor chick, I didn't think you had it in you."
'What're you on about, Fifth?'
"Ignore him Izuku, you've had enough distractions as it is."
Izuku could have pressed the topic, but Seventh was right, he needed to focus if he wanted to prove himself to Aizawa. No way was he backing down from that guy's challenge.
"When the hell did you get a girlfriend, Deku?" Asked Katsuki as he and Izuku got into their starting positions.
"'Girlfriend?'" Asked Izuku, looking at his rival in confusion.
Katsuki opened his mouth to say something before closing it and shaking his head. "Forget I said anything, damn nerd…"
Izuku was confused, but decided to drop the issue as Aizawa told them to go. Izuku leapt forward, Full Cowl up and charging his entire body as he sprinted. Katsuki wasn't all out to let him be passed up by Izuku though, and the two stayed neck and neck all the way to the finish line.
Aizawa looked at them, then at the stopwatch, then back at them. "Four point zero two seconds." He announced. "For both of you." Both boys seemed disappointed by the tie. "Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, come on up, you'll be the last two for the dash."
As the last two students walked up, Izuku decided to approach them. "H-hey, out of curiosity, would either of you like advice for this test?" Todoroki not saying a word and simply walking past him was certainly a blow to Izuku's confidence, and Yaoyorozu's polite declination didn't help either.
Given that Todoroki finished in just under three and a half seconds and Yaoyorozu four and a half, it was clear that they didn't need his help.
Izuku didn't get to feel discouraged for long though when Ochako called to him. "Heeey, Izuku, c'mere!"
"Eh?" Izuku turned to see Ochako standing alongside a number of their classmates. Confused, he approached them. "Uh… hi, Ochako, what's this?"
"Oh nothing much, just gathered everyone up so that you could extend your offer to them." Explained Ochako with a proud grin.
"Wait really? Even you Kacchan?" Izuku was surprised to see his rival of all people here, no way he'd ever accept help, especially from him of all people.
"I'm more here for the spectacle than anything else Deku, we both know I don't need your help."
Izuku deflated slightly, while chuckling. "That definitely makes more sense." He said, not noticing the glare Ochako was sending Katsuki's way.
"Don't be discouraged Izuku, just convey what you want to say and make the most of however they respond."
First was right. Izuku took a deep breath before facing your classmates. "Hello everyone, first I'd like to properly introduce myself to those of you who haven't heard my name yet, I'm Izuku Midoriya and I plan to become the number one hero someday." He said, bowing to his classmates as he introduced himself and his goal. "To do that, I need to first make it through UA's Hero Course, and as you can see, our teacher wishes to make that as difficult as possible, if those rules of his didn't make it obvious. However I don't want to let him dissuade me, and instead I want to offer my assistance to you all during this Quirk Apprehension Test. As you saw with O- Uraraka, I have a talent for figuring out the best way to apply the Quirks of others for these tests, and I would like to offer advice to any of you who'd be willing to take it. Aizawa has given us a challenge and I wish to Go Beyond it. If you would rather pass on your own merits or simply wish to avoid the risk that comes with being associated with me for this test, I will respect your decision." As he finished he stood up straight, doing his best to keep himself composed while seventeen of his classmates were staring at him.
After a moment, one of them spoke up. "Gotta say, you're a lot more humble than I was expecting for a guy who apparently managed to take out the Zero Pointer." It was the purple haired girl with earlobes that looked like headphone jacks.
Izuku looked at her. "It seems there's some context that you're all missing from that event. I only destroyed it because Uraraka was in danger, and I decided that obliterating and knocking it backwards was the best way to deal with the situation, a plan that resulted in me overtaxing my Quirk and shattering three of my limbs, and if Uraraka hadn't caught me I would've probably fallen to my demise. It's only thanks to Recovery Girl's Quirk that I'm even capable of attending lessons right now. I hope that clears up any confusion any of you had."
"Wait, your Quirk hurts you? But you used it just fine during the fifty meter." Asked the blond with a black lightning bolt highlight in his hair.
"Sort of." Replied Izuku. "My body basically isn't strong enough to handle my Quirk at its full power, I have to use it at a lower percentage, going too far above it can make it painful to move and using one hundred percent would at best result in severe muscle tears and at worst shatter my own bones."
"Another soul burdened with a power that's more than they can bear." Said their bird headed classmate with a nod.
"Now then, are there any other questions?" Asked Izuku.
"Well… I mean, I appreciate that you're offering advice, but I doubt you're gonna be able to help all of us with every test, I mean not all of us have flashy Quirks like you or Uraraka, and especially not like Yaoyorozu or Todoroki. I mean I don't exactly see how my jacks could be used for the grip strength test." Said the purple girl.
Izuku smiled her way. "Don't be ridiculous, I could see a lot of uses for your Quirk!" She seemed to be a little taken aback by his response. "In fact we can use your example to prove my point, those jacks of yours seem to be prehensile and strong right, almost like an extra pair of limbs?"
"Y-yeah, why?"
"Then use them that way! Wrap them around the grip strength tester while you're squeezing it, that'll definitely up your numbers!" Izuku then frowned. "Unfortunately yeah, creativity can only get some of us so far, sadly certain Quirks just aren't compatible with this test, a fact that deeply vexes me if I'm being honest." Izuku didn't have to say any names, certain students shifted in discomfort at the explanation that their Quirks probably would end up putting them on the chopping block. "But despite that, I don't think any of you should give up, so let's do our best and go Plus Ultra. It's time to decide now, whether you stay or go, it's up to you."
"Why are you helping us?"
"Eh?" Izuku turned to see one of his classmates, his shortest classmate who's hair was purple and shaped like balls. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, there's no way that ice guy or that big girl are going to come in last, so if you help the rest of us then doesn't that mean you're guaranteeing yourself a one way ticket out of the Hero Course, what's the point of helping people you're clearly better than!? You should just do your own thing and let someone useless like me get expelled so that way you have a better shot at being the best and scoring plenty of babes!" He demanded. Some of their female classmates made faces at that last statement, but most seemed more concerned with the spirit behind the boy's message than the phrasing.
Izuku looked down towards him. "Can I… ask your name?"
This seemed to throw his classmate off. "M… Mineta. Minoru Mineta, why?"
Izuku sighed. "Because Mineta, I want to help. I want to be a hero who helps everyone. If I simply ran away the moment things seemed too difficult, then forget being expelled by Aizawa, I'd just walk up to the principal and tell him that I'm dropping out then and there." He explained, his voice conveying an almost, exhausted sincerity, as if the very idea of doing that took away all his energy.
Mineta seemed to be at a loss for words, he spent a moment staring at his shoes before meeting Izuku's gaze. "F-fine then, but if I end up in last place I'm gonna use one of my balls to glue your mouth shut!"
Izuku couldn't help but laugh at the threat. "Sure, that sounds fair. Anyone else want to join in?"
"Are you kidding? After a display as manly as that there's no way I could turn you down!" Declared a classmate with red spiky hair and teeth like a shark. The rest of his classmates voiced similar opinions.
Kacchan was the one outlier, he simply patted Izuku on the back and said, "You extras can all follow this nerd's lead if you like, but I'm doing this my way." Honestly Izuku wouldn't expect any less from him.
"All right then everyone, let's get to work." He said with a determined smile.
Aizawa watched from a distance. He had to admit, getting sixteen students to join his cause was more than he had expected. He couldn't help but grin at the display. "This kid is something else…"
Chapter 10: "So they'll only stop when one of them passes out then."
As they prepared for the next test, Izuku took the time to learn the name and Quirks of each of his classmates who'd been willing to put their faith in him. He asked them to try to be up front about as much information as possible so he could get a proper read on their Quirks.
Yuuga Aoyama, Quirk: Navel Laser. The power to fire a sparkling laser from the user's belly button. He mentioned that he could only use it in short bursts, otherwise his stomach starts hurting. Izuku could sympathize with the need to hold back to avoid unintentional self harming.
Mina Ashido, Quirk: Acid. The ability to create corrosive liquids from her skin. Apparently she could adjust the corrosiveness and thickness of the liquid, which fascinated Izuku.
Tsuyu Asui, Quirk: Frog. Frog-Woman, Frog-Woman can do whatever a froggy can. This one honestly intrigued Izuku. "Frog" was a broad spectrum after all so he definitely was going to ask her later for more specifics on what made her Quirk tick.
Tenya Iida, Quirk: Engine. The engines in his calves grant him enhanced running speed and kicking power. Also apparently it ran on orange juice. Something else for Izuku to run tests on…
Mashirao Ojiro, Quirk: Tail. It's pretty much what it says on the tin. Basic, but Izuku couldn't deny that the sheer size of the limb was telling of all the training he put in prior to UA, an observation that he was more than willing to share, much to the bashfulness of Ojiro.
Eijiro Kirishima, Quirk: Hardening. Another simplistic but useful Quirk, being able to harden parts of or even the entirety of one's body to the point of near invulnerability had a myriad of uses, he could both rescue people from disasters and have the ability to fight off villains, an ideal Quirk for a hero. Voicing his opinions on the Quirk led to another bashful classmate.
Koji Koda, Quirk: Anivoice. He had the ability to communicate with animals and ask for their aid. Izuku made sure to sign to the boy that he saw a lot of potential with a Quirk like that, especially as a rescue hero. That was three for three on embarrassed classmates.
Rikido Satou, Quirk: Sugar Rush. Consuming sugar gives him a boost in his physical strength proportional to the amount consumed. However, going over a certain threshold can make his mental faculties start to decline. He made sure to reassure everyone that that was only temporary though.
Mezo Shouji, Quirk: Dupli-arms. He can transform his numerous hands into other parts of his body and even grow extra limbs. Also he was the biggest guy in their class, which certainly would help in the instance of a crisis.
Kyoka Jirou, Quirk: Earphone Jack. Her earlobes were extended and completely prehensile, the ends being shaped like jacks that she could plug into various things, including walls that let her hear what was going on in the adjacent room or into the ground to get a sort of feel for what's happening around her from far away. Izuku wondered if it was possible for her to plug one jack into a recording device and the other into an adjacent room and use this as a means of collecting intel. Jirou stared at him like he had suddenly grown a second head. Or maybe she was more concerned about the notebook he pulled out to write down his curiosities.
Hanta Sero, Quirk: Tape. His specialized elbows are capable of shooting a tape like substance out, Izuku was definitely going to want to have the substance analyzed to see exactly the components that make the tape work, since there's more than one kind of tape out there and it'd be smart to know the specifics with Sero's. It was also a Quirk with a lot of uses when it comes to mobility, range, and grabbing opponents from a distance, things Hanta'd figured out on his own but still enjoyed hearing praise over.
Fumikage Tokoyami, Quirk: Dark Shadow. Within Tokoyami's body dwelled a bird shaped shadow monster that was bound to him that he could call upon to act for him. It was interesting meeting another person with a sentient Quirk, even if Izuku sadly couldn't reveal the true nature of his to his classmate. Izuku had to resist the urge to refer to Dark Shadow as a Stand and instead equated the Quirk and user as conjoined siblings. Tokoyami admitted that while that comparison didn't do the bond between them justice, it was still probably the closest anyone has come to describing it. Dark Shadow also seemed like a friendly individual though Tokoyami revealed that she could be much more… volatile at night. Izuku still treated her with the same respect and dignity that any sentient creature deserved.
Minoru Mineta, Quirk: Pop Off. Mineta was capable of removing his ball shaped hair, which was composed of a very sticky substance that could entrap virtually anything it touched, save for Mineta himself who simply bounced off them like they were made of rubber. He also revealed that the stickiness seemed dependent on how healthy he was internally, Izuku was curious about what that meant but Mineta didn't elaborate. He also explained that pulling too many in quick succession could lead to his scalp bleeding.
With the majority of his classmate's Quirks understood, Izuku was now forced to confront the hardest part that would come with helping his classmates for this test. Or more accurately, the two members of his class he'd have the hardest time assisting.
Denki Kaminari, Quirk: Electrification. He had the power to store and release electricity within his body, though he couldn't really control the direction and instead had to simply zap everyone and everything around him. And if he fired off too much at once it could scramble his brain.
Tooru Hagakure, Quirk: Invisibility. Another Quirk that did what is said on the tin. Or did it? Tooru's entire body was invisible, and given Izuku's understanding of how light works, he had the feeling there was more to Hagakure's Quirk than she realized, though that was a conversation for later.
Now, don't get Izuku wrong, Electrification and Invisibility were spectacular Quirks, Kaminari being able to serve as a human taser that could be a menace to anyone who relied on close quarters combat while Hagakure would be the perfect stealth hero. The problem is that in the Quirk Apprehension test, their Quirks wouldn't be able to grant them any distinct advantages.
"Please forgive me." He said, bowing before his two classmates, staring at the ground and unable to meet their gazes. "I'll do my best to provide advice from a physical perspective but unfortunately there's nothing I can do in this situation when it comes to your Quirks."
"C'mon Izuku, don't be like that, you're doing your best here."
Seventh's words didn't make him feel any better, there were two things about Izuku that he held any amount of pride in, his tenacity and his abilities as a Quirk Analyst, and unfortunately the latter was currently failing not only him but two other aspiring heroes as well.
"Hey, don't be like that Midoriya." Said Kaminari, "I mean, you're already doing more than I think anyone else was expecting of you. I can't speak Hagakure but I'm not gonna hold it against you, I mean someone has to lose, might as well be the guy who can't use his Quirk without risking turning himself stupid."
"Kamanari's right!" Chimed in Hagakure, "Well, mostly right. Aizawa-Sensei's made it clear that this is what the hero course is like, and besides, it's not like you can save everyone, right?"
Bakugou, unbeknownst to everyone else, actually winced at that. That was probably the worst thing that someone could've said to Deku at that very moment, but he was going to keep his mouth shut, Deku could stand up for himself after all.
Izuku was silent for a moment. "Even so, Hagakure, I'm still gonna try." He said quietly.
"If you're done with your little group meeting, we need to get back to work." Said Aizawa drily. "It's illogical to assume that villains are going to give you all the time in the world." Looking to his side, he could also tell that Todoroki and Yaoyorozu were clearly getting tired of waiting too. If he noticed the look of contempt on Midoriya's face when his students turned to look his way, he didn't comment on it.
After the dash came the Grip Strength test. Izuku immediately got to work advising his classmates who had applicable Quirks for this situation. Jirou's jacks wrapping around the device alongside her hand to increase the gripping power, Shouji's large arms and Kirishima's hardened muscles put in a lot of work, Satou took a reasonable amount of sugar from a packet he was carrying in his pocket that helped with his strength. Dark Shadow put in as much power as it could, Sero's tape… well, an attempt was made with Sero's tape, and then subsequently came a mess with Sero's tape. Izuku decided to push his limits, channeling as close as he could to ten percent of One for All to where he could still move even if it hurt a little in the process as he squeezed down. During the last couple seconds he upped the percentage to ten in order to get the score as high as possible before letting go, he clenched his fist a few times to ease the cramping. The only one to get close to his score was Yaoyorozu, who created a device to do the grip test for her.
Then came the standing long jump. Sero immediately got to not only redeem himself for the grip strength debacle while also showing off the absolute range his Quirk gave him by grabbing some distant trees with his Quirk and launching him forward over the sandbox.
After (passive aggressively) confirming with Aizawa that it'd count as a pass so long as someone made it across without actually directly touching the sand of the sandbox, Izuku directed Mineta to toss his balls into the pit and bounce on them across. Tokoyami, Iida, Uraraka, Kacchan, Aoyama, and Asui were all smart enough to clear the jump on their own even without Izuku's help. Shouji unfortunately was too top heavy and lacked the leg strength to make the leap, Satou made the decision to hold off on using his sugar and save it for later, having faith in his muscles as they were. He also didn't make it. Izuku did his best to cheer on Kaminari and Hagakure, but neither of them were able to make it across either. Izuku didn't really struggle, himself to his limits again with One for All and clearing the jump.
Honestly when it came to repeated side steps, the only ones who got a chance to shine were Katsuki, Izuku, and Mineta, their Quirks being the ones best used for this test thanks to Katsuki's explosions launching him back and forth, Mineta using two balls to bounce himself back and forth at a frankly ridiculous speed, and Izuku using One for All to make himself faster, though he did lag behind the other two, much to Kacchan's smugness which was enough to fire Izuku up.
The moment it was time for the ball throw, Izuku marched up to Aizawa and practically yanked the ball from his hand before getting into position. Gripping the ball in his hand, Izuku pushed Full Cowl to the point where it felt like his muscles were going to come apart at the seams before throwing it with all his might. Aizawa held up a score showing in the nine hundreds. Izuku smugly stuck his tongue out at Kacchan before falling to the ground.
"What's the matter, Midoriya? Unable to continue, giving up before the test is even over?" Asked Aizawa, looming over the boy and staring at him judgmentally. Izuku kept eye contact with the man for about twenty seconds before taking a deep breath and sitting up. He walked back to the others, doing some stretches to deal with the persisting tension in his muscles. Everything was starting to ache but there's no way he was gonna give Aizawa the satisfaction by slowing down now.
"Just try to avoid doing something that'll get you sent to the nurse's office, you don't wanna see what that crazy nurse's cane can do when she gets mad. Trust me, I've seen All Might earn that lady's ire enough times to know what I'm talking about."
Izuku tuned out the sounds of Seventh smacking Fifth over the head for insulting Recovery Girl as he turned his attention to his classmates so he could guide them through this test too. Sero shone once more as he used his tape to swing and launch the ball farther than his arm would accomplish alone, Yaoyorozu shocked everyone by creating an entire canon to launch the ball out of before being outdone by two more of their classmates, first Koda by calling upon a bird to take the ball as far away as it could, easily outdoing Izuku's score and then both of them were surpassed when Ochako sent her own ball into orbit, nabbing a score of "infinity." Several boys made a solemn vow to never piss her off, less they risk joining that ball. Todoroki did his best but launching the ball with ice wasn't enough to catch up to Yaoyorozu. Iida had was thankful for Izuku's advice when it came to this test. He'd never considered using his kicks to launch something before, and he was certain that he wouldn't have scored nearly as good had he relied on just his arms.
Next came the sit-ups, Izuku being an expert thanks to his old workout plan growing up coupled with One for All managed to outdo everyone, even Yaoyorozu who created some sort of weird contraption to do sit-ups for her. He should introduce her to Hatsume, with a Quirk like that those two would get on like fire on a house.
Elsewhere, Higari Majima felt a strange sense of dread fill his body as he finished extinguishing the fire in the support course lab. Hatsume had been here for less than an hour and already something had exploded for the third time. She was setting a brand new record and he hated it. And something about this feeling made him think that things were only going to get worse from here.
Izuku grunted as he finished doing his set of sitting toe touches. Running his muscles ragged had made this test absolutely miserable.
"What's even the point of this one? I feel like there's not a Quirk out there that could help in a test like this."
'Tiger from the Wild, Wild Pussycats. His Quirk would be perfect for this.' Countered Izuku.
"…Touché."
Izuku stood up and decided to do a few more stretches as he waited for everyone to finish up before the final test, the long distance run. The test would end once everyone ran out of stamina. Pretty sadistic to make this the final test after having everyone do seven other exercises leading up to it. As he got into position, the sound of Kacchan's voice grabbed his attention. "You have got to be kidding me." Confused, Izuku turned his head to where his rival's voice was coming from and was that a motorized bike?
Once she finished assembly, Yaoyorozu wiped the sweat off her brow before mounting her creation. "There's no way that can be allowed." Said Kaminari.
"She created it with her Quirk, so I'll allow it." Chimed in Aizawa, much to the displeasure of almost the entire class.
"Fuck it, Ponytail can have her special bike." Said Kacchan, ignoring Yaoyorozu repeating "Ponytail" while she looked at him in confusion as he got into position. "I'm not gonna be shown up."
Izuku scoffed in amusement. "Good luck with that Kacchan, I've been jogging since I was five years old, I can definitely outlast you."
"I'd like to see you fucking try, Deku."
"Less talking the talk," Said Aizawa, cutting into the boys' conversation, "And more walking the walk. Or more accurately, jogging. Begin."
With that, everyone took off, jogging at relatively the same speed to conserve energy, they all continued to run, and run, and run, until some of them stopped having the energy to go on.
First was Mineta, unsurprisingly, his smaller frame wasn't really built for extended physical activity after all, credit where it was due for trying at least. Once the first was down, others began to drop like flies. Jirou, Kaminari, Hagakure, Aoyama, and Koda, basically those who lacked Quirks that required much muscle to use, all went down in pretty quick succession. Ochako, Ashido, Satou, Asui, Shouji, and Sero all dropped out next, they were all fit but still their stamina had limits. Tokoyami and Todoroki were next to go, the only ones other than Yaoyorozu who had been able to use their Quirks consistently to aid them. Todoroki used his ice to keep himself cool while Dark Shadow would occasionally take over and walk for Tokoyami using her hands, but even they eventually ran out of steam due to it being noon by this point which was basically the worst possible time for Dark Shadow to be challenging her endurance. Kirishima, Ojiro, and Iida were next, the two other students who had clearly put in tons of work training their entire bodies and Iida, the one who's Quirk was all about his legs, commendable efforts to them to be certain but no match against Yaoyorozu having a vehicle and Izuku and Kacchan both just being painfully stubborn.
"You're looking tired nerd, ready to give in yet?" Asked Katsuki.
"Did Hell freeze over since we started jogging?" Retorted Izuku. "Maybe I'll change my mind if we spot a flying pig along the way."
"Perhaps it'd be for the best that both of you stop, you've already long since outdone everyone else before this leg of the test even began, I fail to see the need to continue pushing yourselves like this." Chimed in Yaoyorozu.
"Piss off Ponytail, I don't wanna hear that from the girl who's not even running." Snapped Bakugou.
Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku could tell that Kacchan's words left Yaoyorozu feeling slightly dejected. "Don't mind him, he's just not used to not having the best Quirk in the class. I have to say though yours is quite impressive, I have so many questions about the mechanics of your Quirk." Said Izuku. That seemed to make her feel better.
"Anyone ever tell you you're too nice for your own good?"
'Occasionally, yeah.' Admitted Izuku. 'Not that I'm going to let that stop me.' He could hear a chuckle.
"Fair enough."
The jogging continued until Yaoyorozu's bike suddenly came to a stop. "Oh dear, out of gas." She said, and the moment she stepped off to deal with that, Aizawa's voice could be heard.
"That's enough Yaoyorozu, come join your classmates."
"Eh!?" This surprised the Recommended student. "But all I need to do is refuel and I can continue."
"If one of your classmates got to stop and rest they could continue too, your bike is out of gas and thus so are you." Retorted Aizawa.
Dejectedly, Yaoyorozu nodded her head. "Yes sir." She then made her way back to where the rest of her class watched Midoriya and Bakugou continue to run.
"What the hell are those maniacs made of?" Asked Kaminari.
"Pure, unfiltered manliness." Said Kirishima.
Ashido snorted in amusement. "Do you know any other adjectives besides 'manly,' Kirishima?"
"Does 'unmanly' count? Those are the only two adjectives I need!" He declared.
Jirou leaned over to Yaoyorozu. "Who's gonna explain to them that 'pure' and 'unfiltered' are also adjectives?" That earned chuckles from her and Kaminari, who was close enough to overhear.
"Seriously though, they've been at this for over an hour, "Said Ochako as she watched the boys add another lap to their count, "I'm pretty sure that the only way one will stop is if the other straight up collapses. Or if Aizawa is merciful enough to end their suffering early."
"So they'll only stop when one of them passes out then." Said Hagakure.
"Yup." Said Ochako drily, much to the amusement of most of those present.
After another twenty minutes and an entire tic-tac-toe tournament hosted amongst the class, which Jirou very proudly won, something finally gave. That something being Izuku's leg muscles, looks like the strain of using his Quirk finally caught up to him as he straight up face planted in the dirt.
The moment Midoriya was down, Bakugou immediately stopped a good two paces later, turning to look at Midoriya as he proudly flipped him off. "Ha! Fuck… youuu…" And down he went.
Aizawa sighed before looking to his students. "Uraraka, Shouji, use your Quirks to fetch them."
"Yes sir." The two set off, returning not long after with the exhausted boys in tow and laying them on the ground.
"Todoroki, use some ice to cool them down." Instructed Aizawa, nodding towards the pair. Todoroki quietly followed the instructions, creating a small wall of ice between the exhausted boys. "You two can take five to rest while I have the points calculated."
One quick rest later and the boys were able to stand up and hear the final conclusion. "After eight tests and a very long two and a half hours, I'm ready to let you all see the final results." Said Aizawa before clicking a button on the device he was holding. A hologram then popped up for everyone to see.
-
Quirk Apprehension Test Results
Izuku MidoriyaMomo YaoyorozuShoto TodorokiKatsuki BakugouTenya IidaFumikage TokoyamiMezo ShoujiEijiro KirishimaOchako UrarakaMashirao OjiroMina AshidoTsuyu AsuiHanta SeroRikido SatouKoji KodaYuuga AoyamaKyoka JirouMinoru MinetaDenki KaminariTooru Hagakure