Chapter 9: So What Are The Rules?
"Alright. Enough standing around. Let's begin."
Izuku walks with his new class to their first test in thought. Despite all the time he's spent with Eri over this past year, he hasn't had that many one on one conversations with Aizawa. The man usually preferred to brood in a corner.
Or sleep. Or both. Can someone brood while sleeping? He's not sure but if anyone can, it's Aizawa.
Either way, even with his limited interaction with the man, he knew some things. Firstly, these tests were less about how far physically their quirks can be pushed, and more about how they could creatively apply them.
Secondly, the threat of expulsion was very real. Izuku didn't know why at first a UA teacher had so much time on his hands during the school day, until he learned he expelled his entire class. Now granted, expel was a bit harsh of a word.
Most were sent to general studies with only a few being kicked out of the school completely. After the sports festival, Aizawa re-enrolled them back in along with adding a few general education kids. Eri was watched by rotating staff throughout the school day who each carried a panic button that went straight to Eraser if something went wrong.
But the point is, not everyone made it back in. And it wasn't the first time. One day, someone had carelessly left Aizawa's teaching file on a desk. The lock of the cabinet it was in was picked.
Is that why he wasn't allowed on campus while waiting for his entrance exam results? The cameras clearly showed whoever picked the lock was a broad man, with a flaming beard. What Endeavor was doing there was anyone's guess.
Anyway, he walked into the lounge, and Aizawa's file had just been left sitting out open to the page of his expulsion record. It was extensive. And he couldn't guarantee the hero would re-enroll anyone in his class, so if he had to take matters into his own hands then so be it.
The first event was the fifty-meter dash. At the end of the track was a small robot with a camera that was recording their times, so he had to physically be there and couldn't just drop a decoy at the end of the track. That's fine…he's got another idea.
Izuku watches several pairs be called up by Aizawa, his conjured notebook in hand. He hears a whisper of 'where was he keeping that?' but ignores it.
Up first is Iida and a girl, Asui, with some sort of frog mutation? Pretty sure he had heard her croak earlier. Next is the nice girl, Uraraka, and a boy with a tail, Ojiro. Ok, that's awesome. He's gotta shapeshift into him at some point to see what that tails like.
Then, it's a kid with a bird head, Tokoyami, and the boy with off-blue hair, Shim-oh, he's faster than he looks. After that, a blonde boy, oh he's French judging by his muttering, walks away from the track looking distraught.
"C'est d'accord. Tu as fait de ton mieux!" Izuku tells him with a thumbs up.
The boy looks at him in shock at first, before giving him what could only be described as a dazzling smile. "Merci, ami de la culture."
Izuku is called up next with Kacchan as his racing partner. Oh, it could not get any better.
"Let's see your little tricks help you here." Kacchan sneers, shoulder-checking him on his way to the track.
Izuku doesn't respond, instead, choosing to stop by their teacher. "So sensei…what are the rules?"
Aizawa's look clearly conveys, 'what now?'
"Rules? It's a race, Problem Child. Go."
Welp.
Izuku slips away invisible. Letting a decoy line up next to Kacchan. He knows from his experience in the entrance exam that UA robots can't see him while he's invisible and now, standing in front of the robot at the finish line, he's relieved that it still holds.
By the looks of it, Kacchan is getting ready to blow him up the second the race starts. Even better! The smoke will hide what he does.
Shota watches Midoriya very carefully. He knew a lot about the boy from the time he had spent pretending to sleep around him. And one thing he knows is the kid is very particular about how he words things.
Still, he couldn't figure out why he wanted to know about the rules of a race? It should be self-explanatory.
The robot begins it's countdown. "On your mark…get set…go!"
"Explosive speed!" Katsuki Bakugo yells, throwing an explosion in Midoriya's face for good measure as he propels himself forward, both boys hidden for a moment in smoke. He sighs. Maybe it wasn't as obvious as he thought.
"No quirk usage on others," he states. Bakugo huffs but says nothing. He clicks the tablet to announce their results.
"Katsuki Bakugo! 4.13 seconds!" Maybe he should just have Midoriya run it again? Probably would be better now than when he's tired lat- "Izuku Midoriya! .02 seconds!"
Shota falters. He refreshes the tablet. And again. And again. The increasingly weary teacher looks up to see Midoriya standing at the finish line with his arms crossed. There's not a mark on him? Giving Bakugo the biggest shit-eating grin he's ever seen from the kid, he says, "something wrong, Kacchan?"
"You!-you…youuu…" Bakugo's teeth will probably shatter if he grinds them any harder.
"Woooooah! Can you teleport?!" One of the kids says from the murmuring observers. Denki Kaminari, his roster provides.
Midoriya vanishes in a green light and appears in front of Kaminari, causing the boy to let out a high pitched-shriek, much to the enjoyment of his peers. "Not exactly," Midoriya replies, a grin still plastered on his face.
"Can you keep your screeching down a bit," says, Shota glances at his tablet, says Kyoka Jiro, rubbing her ears.
"Hey, I never get scared," Kaminari lies, turning to face Jiro.
"But…he just scared you," Jiro says in a deadpan voice that gives Shota hope for his new class.
"Ok but he's never scared me twice!" Midoriya placing his hands over his ears from behind Kaminari is all the warning Jiro gets before a second Problem Child appears in front of the other boy.
"What was that?!"
"Ahhhhh!" Kaminari's head swivels between the two Midoriyas. "How-"
"Enough." Shota's voice cuts through before, whatever this is, gets too out of control. "We don't have all day, Midoriya, traumatize your classmates later. Kirishima, Sato, you're up."
"Yes, sensei!" Shota just barely contains his groan at the third Midoriya standing beside him, saluting. "But you didn't say how much later!" And he's gone.
It was going to be a long day.
The rest of the fifty-meter dash passes by without incident and Shota thanks however many gods he can think of. Next up is the grip strength test. Straightforward. Simple. Like the race was supposed to be…
"Anything we should know about-"
Shota thrusts the device into Midoriya's hands. "Just. Squeeze." Surely, Problem Child couldn't find a way to mess this one up.
He was wrong.
After giving the students a minute to complete the test, they line up to present to him their scores as every device had a screen displaying their results. First up was Midoriya. The hero takes the gadget and looks at the score. 99999kg. The max score.
"Wow! Guess I'm stronger than I look!" Midoriya smiles and tilts his head.
'Eri loves him. Eri loves him. Eri loves him.'
Hanta Sero is up next and hands over his own device. 99999kg. Shota's eye twitches while he shows his student the number.
Sero gawks. "What? That's not my-"
"Wow! What a great score!" Shota has no holy water to interrupt Midoriya as he walks up next to the other boy. "You're stronger than you look too, right?" Midoriya gives his classmate a look that clearly says, 'go with it.'
Realization dawns on Sero. Please god no. "O-oh, yeah! You're right, man! Went really plus ultra in that training! I'm glad it's paying off!"
What did he do in a past life to deserve this?
One by one, every student goes, all of their devices showing the same score. Meanwhile, Midoriya stands next to him trying and failing to hold his laugh.
Iida questions his score but quickly changes his tune when Midoriya asks him if he's really criticizing the equipment of the top hero school. Eraser quickly squashes any internal compliments to the boy's manipulation.
This continues until Bakugo hands his over. 1kg. Shota raises his eyebrow and shows the boy.
"WHAT?! That's not what it said a second ago! The stupid thing's broken! Let me try again!" Shota obliges out of morbid curiosity. Bakugo squeezes the device and the screen lights up green.
.05kg
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Bakugo takes another.
.04kg
"GIVE ME MY REAL SCORE YOU SHITTY MACHINE!"
Shota watches as, without Bakugo doing anything, the screen changes.
No.
Shota is just quick enough to get the thing away from Bakugo before he smashes it in his scream-filled temper tantrum. He tells the class it's time for the next test. Midoriya clutches his stomach on the ground.
The third test is the standing long jump. The kids attempt to jump as far as they can over a sandbox while a robot identical to the one at the fifty-meter dash records them.
"Anything you'd like to say about this one, sensei?" The little green nightmare next to him asks.
"There are many things I'd like to say right now, Problem Child."
Bakugo and Aoyama clear the sandbox with relative ease before Midoriya steps forward. Shota braces himself. It seems his antics have started to be noticed by his classmates, many of them leaning forward to watch.
Midoriya places a hand on his chin for a few seconds before nodding and smiling. Green lines envelop the teenager and a second later, standing in his place, is a goddamn kangaroo.
'What is happening'
The creature makes clearing the sandbox look like nothing before it reverts back to Midoriya, smiling brightly.
"You can turn into animals." It wasn't a question. At least he's pretty sure.
The kid has the audacity to shrug. "Some. Takes a lot of practice."
"Why a kangaroo…" He both wants to know and doesn't want to at the same time.
"My uncle lived in Australia for a while and told me about them. I thought they were cool." How does that answer the question and not at the same time?
Koji Koda shows an emotion that isn't dread for the first time that day, walking up to Midoriya and signing excitedly with his hands. Because of the angle he's at, he can't read what they're saying but he does see Problem Child smile and sign back.
In another green flash, Midoriya is replaced by a small dog, looking up at his classmates, and wagging his tail. Several 'awwws' are made by both guys and girls as they surround the dog, petting it. Do they even remember his threat anymore at this point?
The fourth test is the repeating side steps. Each student stands on top of three painted lines and does as many side steps as possible within a minute while a robot watches their progress, eliciting a small beep for each of their steps.
The underground hero raises a finger to his green-haired tormentor when he opens his mouth, opting to just point him over to the test.
On his signal, they begin, every kid going as fast as they can. All except one.
Midoriya goes slow for the first few seconds, taking very deliberate steps. It looks like he's studying when the machine beeps. The kid brightens, which is ironic since his brightening darkens Shota's mood.
With a wave of his hand, the three lines under Midoriya disappear and he starts tapping both of his feet anywhere on the ground, each one getting a beep from the machine. Without the lines, the thing doesn't know what to count so it's just counting all of the steps now.
Another wave of his hand and most of everyone else's lines disappear too. Almost immediately, the rest of the class picks up on it and abandons the side steps for just tapping their feet as fast as possible.
The exceptions are Bakugo, whose lines were still visible, and Iida, who continues to do his side steps despite his lines no longer being there.
Yet another green flash. What could he possibly-oh for fucks sake. Midoriya had transformed himself into a rabbit and was thumping the ground at breakneck speeds.
The fifth test had the class returning to finish the ball throw, with Uraraka impressing everyone, himself included (not that he'd show it), with her score of infinity.
It was Problem Child's turn and Shota is proud of himself for not wrapping the kid's mouth in his capture scarf when he opens it. "So what were we supposed to do in this one again?"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he replies, "you can do whatever you want as long as you stay in that circle."
"So what you're saying is…" Remember, Eri will give you the sad eyes if you hurt him. "Is that we can do whatever, as long as it appears we're in the circle, correct?"
No. Not this time you little bastard.
"You have to physically be inside the circle, Midoriya." It shouldn't be this satisfying to see a teenager's eyes widen. "You. Yourself. Your physical body must remain inside the circle or you forfeit this round."
Midoriya scrunches up his face for a moment in thought before it returns to it's normal smiling state. "Ok! I promise not to leave the circle!"
Alarm bells begin to immediately go off in Shota's head but he can't figure out what the kid's gonna do so he answers with a grunt before backing up.
Problem Child eyes the ball before dropping it on the ground and lifting his arms. Crossing his hands in front of him and placing his wrists together, Midoriya's hands emit a light green glow. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.
At first, nothing happens but an awkward silence. But then, the circle around Midoriya disappears and a bright green light surrounds them all. A weight in Shota's stomach is getting heavier and heavier until…
The light disappears and it's confirmed. Almost the entire field they're on now has a giant version of the original circle surrounding them.
Midoriya exhales and looks way too satisfied with himself for his liking. He picks up the ball and begins walking toward the rest of the class.
"Midoriya!" Iida calls out, his hand chopping vigorously in front of him. That's not something he normally does, is it? "You must cease your journey to us! Sensei clearly stated that you must remain in the circle!"
"And I am," Midoriya replies smoothly. "Look around Iida, the circle is surrounding us all now. And sensei said I could do whatever I want in it."
The hand ceases mid-chop. Iida whirls around, mouth open, it's as if Midoriya told him he was an alien or something and his whole worldview was shattered. He might as well get used to it, it's not the first time he's seen someone react to Midoriya this way.
Speaking of the hellspa-oh apologies. He means…no he means hellspawn, it approaches the class and walks up to Uraraka and something truly amazing happens.
The little shit's smile disapears and he makes a very conscious effort to not look directly at her. "H-hey, um, c-could you…I mean! W-would you help me out? L-like you did before…" Midoriya rubs the back of his head with one hand and holds the ball out to her with the other.
Whatever she's doing to reign in this creature, it's working, probably some form of blood magic.
Wait.
They're teenagers.
Oh, goddammit.
"Sure!" Uraraka replies smiling. "You've been helping us all day!" She's either too nice to say something or doesn't notice but judging from the snickering from Ashido, Midoriya's behavior change could be seen.
She places all five fingers on the ball, a pink glow radiating from each finger. Midoriya's smile returns. "Thanks!" He turns around and tosses the ball up and just like before, it sails away never to be seen again. "That is so cool!"
Because his back is to her, Midoriya doesn't notice the blush on the girl he just complimented.
Nemuri is going to have a field day with these two.
And he won't lie, he feels bad. For Uraraka. Midoriya deserves everything coming to him.
Shota displays the infinity score and Midoriya's cheer is interrupted by a shout.
"DEKU!" Bakugo begins to charge at the greenette, hands smoking. What the hell does he think he's- "you think you can cheat all day and get away with it?! Die you!-"
Shota activates his quirk in the same instant his capture weapon wraps around Bakugo. The boy struggles. "My quirk?! What the hell did you do to me?!"
"Shut up. You're giving me dry eye." Bakugo complies, barely. Shota looks over at Midoriya, expecting to see the kid laughing at Bakugo but no, it's something else.
Midoriya's eyes are as wide as dinner plates. His face is full of emotions that Shota can barely begin to place. But what's most striking is the kid's hand. His right hand is turned back and in it, two knives that were ready to throw.
"Midoriya, put those away," Shota seethes. Apparently, he should've taken the kid's threat to stab Bakugo a little more seriously. But that's a bit of an extreme reaction to what he assumed is just a petty rivalry.
"He's the pro hero Eraserhead, Kacchan," Midoriya tells the boy still on the ground, his usual enthusiasm gone from his voice. "He can erase anyone's quirk by just looking at them."
Shota unwraps the still Bakugo. Usually, the fear this strikes in his class when they learn it is pretty satisfying, but something is different this time.
"Midoriya." Shota walks up to the boy and lowers his voice so only he can hear. "What happened? You know I am more than capable of stopping any unprovoked attacks, why would you think I wouldn't stop Bakugo?"
The kid won't look at him as he begins to fidget. "D-don't get me wrong, Eraserhead. Y-you're great. But it's just…I mean…" He can barely hear what he says next. "You're still a teacher…"
Okay, he doesn't like those implications. Despite the two knowing each other and Shota being a fully licensed hero, he didn't expect him to stop Bakugo just because he's their teacher?
Another thing Shota knows about Midoriya is the kid is a talk first, stab second kind of person. So for him to react violently to Bakugo was telling in on itself.
Normally, he doesn't look at his student's files but he may make an exception in this case.
"Well. Despite any past experiences you may have had, that won't be the case here." Midoriya looks up. He doesn't believe him. Definitely making that exception. Shota shifts his head to tell him to get back in line. After a deep breath, a smile, though not as bright as before, returns to Midorya's face.
And after that whole debacle, Midoriya's turn finally ends. Unfortunately, what doesn't end is the size of the circle. The rest of the class, again, take notice immediately.
Don't get him wrong. Using every advantage you have is essential for hero work. And while he could put an end to this by erasing Midoriya's quirk, he's curious about how his new students will react.
After the next five students have Uraraka also give them scores of infinity, he calls it and they move on.
The next two tests pass by without too much incident. Midoriya and Ashido do well in the seated toe touch, Midoriya's explanation being he has to be acrobatic for his fighting style, and after the few spars they've had when the kid actually got him to do it, he'd have to agree.
The sit-ups were a different issue when Shota made the mistake of counting the students himself. Every time he went to watch one of the kid's sit-ups, a stupid copy of Midoriya appeared in front of him, chattering aimlessly and blocking his view. Again, Bakugo was left out.
Lastly, mercifully, was the long-distance run. All they had to do was run around the track until they couldn't anymore. Most of the kids were done by the first hour. Midoriya, Iida, Todoroki, Bakugo, and Yaoyorozu on a scooter were the only ones left.
By the second hour, it was just Midoriya, Iida, and Yaoyorozu.
The third hour had the scooter running out of gas leaving Iida and Midoriya.
"How much longer do you two have?" Shota tried not to let his annoyance bleed into the question.
"I probably have another hour in me, sensei!" Iida responds.
"As a friend of my uncle's used to say, I can do this all day!" Midoriya says, his smile back in full force by now.
"Alright, whatever. I'll mark you two down with your answers. Now get over here."
Iida stops and takes a long drink from his bottle while Midoriya vanishes and reappears in front of him. "Great!"
It's almost over. Your sleeping bag is only minutes away.
Shota gathers the class together. "There's not enough time to go over all of you individually so just check over the results." He clicks a button on his tablet and a hologram of the results appears in a green flash.
When the students start giving him weird looks, Shota turns around and very nearly slams the tablet into his face.
1. Izuku Midoriya
1. Momo Yaoyorozu
1. Shoto Todoroki
1. Tenya Iida
…
Shota narrows his eyes and reloads the results. Nothing. All the way down, every name has the number one next to it, until he reaches the bottom.
1. Kyoka Jiro
1. Toru Hagakure
1. Katsuki Bakugo
2. Shota Aizawa
What.
"Well look at that guys! I guess we're all winners!" Now he's stopping himself from slamming the tablet into something else.
Midoriya steps forward. "For the record sensei, I don't think you're hopeless." It's becoming more difficult. "But it is with a heavy heart…" Is he really taking a dramatic breath right now?! "Yes, sensei. I will accept your resignation."
All the kids freeze behind him. Even Bakugo. Iida is swaying, he may pass out. "Give me a second," Shota is barely able to grit out before opening an app on the tablet.
UA Teacher Chat
Eraserpillar: What was the policy on pummeling kids again?
Rattator: Not on school grounds.
Kneecaps Beware: NO! Not anywhere!
Rattator: Oh, you are correct. I often get that rule and our body disposal system confused. My apologies, Chiyo.
Kneecaps Beware: Thank you.
Kneecaps Beware: Wait, our what?
DJ Cockacool: Aww Sho! You wouldn't beat your son, would you?!
Eraserpillar: For the last time, he's not my son, Hizashi.
DJ Cockacool: He is! Ok, first. Eri is your daughter
Eraserpillar: She is not. I have not adopted her nor am I sure she would want that.
DJ Cockacool: But you do!
Eraserpillar:
DJ Cockacool: So, she IS your daughter. And Midoriya is pretty much her brother, we all know it.
Eraserpillar: stop
DJ Cockacool: So since he's Eri's brother and you're Eri's dad, then LOGICALLY, that would make him your…
Eraserpillar: I quit
Rattator: Denied :)
Shota drops the tablet on the ground. "I can't expel myself, Problem Child. And the rat won't let me quit."
"Oh! But everyone else tied? Well, I guess that means no one gets expelled then!" Midoriya says with the brightest smile he's seen on the kid all day.
Shota sticks his hands into his pockets and speaks in a dangerous voice, making sure everyone can hear, "and what's stopping me from expelling you?"
Midoriya's smile turns sharp, mirroring Shota's pose. "I did nothing wrong. You never said I couldn't do any of the things I did."
"Technically true. But you ruined the whole point of the exercise," Shota counters. "The point was to find the upper limits of everyone's quirks."
"No, the point was to make sure we'd all try our hardest and find ways to creatively use our abilities. I'd say we all did that. I used mine to support them and they took advantage, as heroes should. Seems pretty logical to me." The verdant's smile turns sharper with a few teeth showing.
"Heh." Shota hides a tiny smile inside his capture weapon before walking forward to address everyone. "He is correct. I put you all in a situation where not all your quirks were useful and wanted to see how you would adapt."
He gives them a few seconds to whisper amongst themselves. "Learn to think rationally and keep working on adapting to any situation. It's what heroes do. Oh, and I was lying about the expulsion. It was a logical ruse to make you all try your hardest."
The class explodes in protest. A few of the kids even falling in relief.
"I thought it was obvious. I'm sorry, should I have said something?" Yaoyorozu asks looking around, earning her a few glares.
"But what about that entire class you expelled last year, sensei?" Midoriya asks in a way too innocent voice.
It is dead quiet. Yaoyorozu is as pale as a sheet.
Shota can't hold back his dead smile. "Plus ultra. Now go get changed. Your syllabi are in the classroom. You're done for the day."
Kids fall over each other trying to get off the field as fast as humanly possible. Once they're all gone and it's just him and Midoriya, he asks, "you're not gonna tell them about the re-enrollment?"
"It's better this way."
Maybe this year won't be so bad after all.
After picking up a few things off the field and dismissing all of his illusions, Izuku picks up his stuff from the classroom and makes his way toward the front gate.
He doesn't get far before Tenya Iida is next to him. "Midoriya! I must be honest!" Is he always this loud? "At first, I did not approve of the antics you pulled during our tests!"
It seems like he wants to continue so Izuku says nothing. Iida goes on. "However! After considering Aizawa-sensei's words, it seems your out-of-the-box thinking is what allows you to achieve things like figuring out the secret of the entrance exams!"
"Yeah, about that-"
"So I will strive to learn from you if you'd allow me!" He sinks into a deep bow.
Izuku flails his arms. "Y-yes yes, that's fine! Just please stop bowing to me!"
Iida straightens and looks down at him with a small smile on his face. The glare from the sun hits his glasses, hiding his eyes. "Be that as it may, I still intend to make sure you don't go too far in your outlandish ideas."
It just keeps getting better and better. He loves a challenge. Before he can respond, a new voice interrupts them.
"Hey, you two! Wait up!" 'It's her?!' "Are you going to the station?!"
"Ah, infinity girl."
She catches up to them. "Yup! I'm Ochako Uraraka." She looks at Iida. "You're…Tenya Iida." She turns to him. "And you're…Deku Midoriya, right?"
"Deku?!"
"Yeah! It's what that scary blonde guy called you?"
Izuku scratches the back of his neck sheepishly. "Actually, that's just a name Kacchan calls me to make fun of me. My real name is Izuku…"
"Oh! I'm sorry!" Uraraka apologizes before pumping her fist. "It just sounded like the word for 'you can do it!' You know? Plus I thought it sounded kind of cute-"
"Deku it is!"
"Midoriya?! You can't accept that quickly!" Keeping his thoughts about it being like a Copernican Revolution to himself and trying to will the heat in his face to go away, the three start their walk to the station together.
"You've gotta tell me more about your quirk, Deku!" Uraraka smiles at him again. He tries to keep eye contact with her, he really does.
He fails.
"Oh y-yea, sorry about that." He laughs nervously. "I know it's kinda weird…"
"Weird?!" Uraraka yells in disbelief, getting way too close to his face. Will it ever cool off?! "You can do so many things! Anyone who thought it was weird didn't know what they were talking about!"
"True." Iida bends forward putting his chin in his hand. "Your quirk looks to have a variety of applications that would be useful for hero work."
Izuku looks between them incredulously. No, it doesn't look like they're joking. "U-uh, thanks guys." Huh.
'What the heck is going on?'
Chapter 10: This Is Getting Out of Hand Part 1
With a wave of his hand, Izuku creates an illusion of a perfect-looking apple next to the real apple core on the table. "There, that should help you visualize what you're aiming for."
Eri still looks unsure. "T-thanks Mido but…"
Izuku bends down to her level to look the little girl in the eye. "We're here to help Eri, but remember, no one's forcing you here. We'll only do this if you want to."
Early in the morning before his second day at UA, found Izuku in Aizawa's apartment on campus. He had gotten a text from the man last night saying Eri was willing to try and use her quirk again but only if he was there. Izuku happily agreed.
"I-I know…" Eri says while wringing her hands. "But what if I m-mess up again…"
Izuku smiles and stands up. "Watch this." He holds his hand out to Eri, palm forward, and concentrates. She watches curiously as his hands glow faintly. For a few seconds, nothing happens. Another few seconds and nothing. A whole minute and still, nothing.
The green-haired boy finally drops his hand and leans on the table for support while panting. Eri makes to hug him but stops, looking unsure what to do with her hands. "Mido, are you okay?!"
He wipes a bit of sweat from his brow and gets his breathing under control before responding. "Yeah, I-yeah Eri, I'm fine. Do you know what I just tried to do?" The little girl shakes her head. "I tried to turn you invisible."
"Oh." She looks down at herself, examining her arms. Izuku, as always, tries not to let her scars get to him. "But you didn't."
Forcing a smile back on his face, he says, "that's right, I didn't. Are you mad at me that I couldn't?"
Izuku barely stops himself from chuckling at the offended look she gives him. "No! Why would I be?!"
"And do you think I could do it with enough practice?"
"Yes!"
He got her. "So don't you think we feel the same way about you?"
Eri opens her mouth to respond but stops. She studies him before turning to look at Aizawa, who's been watching them both silently with his sleeping bag rolled up in his arm. And finally, she turns to look at Recovery Girl, who would've preferred this done in her office but Eri's comfortability came first.
So instead, the doctor gave her a soft smile. Eri, seemingly satisfied, looks back at him. Taking a deep breath, she nods. "Ok, I'm ready."
Izuku takes a step back and Eri reaches forward, putting her hand on top of the apple core and looking intently at the illusion Izuku had created.
The horn on Eri's head begins to spark before the energy pours out in full force. Slowly, the apple core rewinds itself to an uneaten apple. Eri screws up her eyes in concentration trying to stop her quirk but it's no use. The apple rewinds itself further.
"No!" Eri cries, tears streaming down her face. Aizawa is quick to erase her quirk and she's just as quick to wrap her arms around Izuku, blubbering apologies while he gives her reassurances.
"I think that's it for today," Aizawa tells Recovery Girl who marks the results on her clipboard.
"I agree," she replies curtly. "We'll talk more later." And with that, she takes her leave.
Izuku lets Eri cry all she wants for however long she needs. It doesn't matter, she needs it and he can fix any wet spots on his clothes with his powers later. After five minutes, she's mostly quiet, though still clinging to him.
"And you promise you're not mad?" It's barely a whisper.
"Never." Izuku leaves no room for doubt in his voice. "I'll be here for you no matter how long it takes. I can't abandon the Princess of Mischief now can I?"
As he hoped, she giggles. She always did when he called her that. "No, you can't. It's the law now."
Izuku can't stop his snickering. "A law huh?"
Eri looks up at him, her tears were mostly gone and a small smile had found its way on her face. "Yes. A law. Also, the princess is allowed all the candy apples she wants."
Izuku separates and bows dramatically. "If she demands, then I shall-"
"No, you won't," Aizawa so rudely cuts in, albeit with half his face covered by his scarf. "Candy apples are a sometimes treat."
"Traitor to the empire!"
Aizawa ignores him, looking down at Eri. "Feeling better?"
The little unicorn shuffles her feet a bit. "I am…and you're not mad either?"
"No. And if I was, I'd just take it out on Midoriya."
"So everything you've put me through has been you being nice?!"
Eri finally laughs and smiles. "Okay."
"Stop ignoring me!" Izuku looks down at himself, touching several body parts. "I didn't make myself invisible by accident again, did I?"
Aizawa nods. "Good. Now class starts soon and I believe you had a new drawing you wanted to show Midoriya before he left?"
Eri looks confused for a moment before a realization dawns on her. "Oh, right!"She turns to him, giving him some of the most pleading eyes he's ever seen. "Please don't leave yet, Mido! I really want to show you something!"
Can he ever say no to her? "Okay." Eri nods with excitement and runs out of the room to presumably her bedroom.
Aizawa stretches, creating a few popping noises before settling down on one of the chairs beside the table. "Since it appears we have a few minutes, why don't you and I have a conversation."
Izuku groans, plopping unceremoniously onto his own chair. "Look, if this is about yesterday…"
His teacher shakes his head. "It was amusing Problem Child, but don't expect to have too many days like that. I've already warned All Might about you for your class today."
Izuku can't stop his smirk. "Is that a challenge, Eraserhead?"
Aizawa gives him a smile back that would send many pro heroes running. "It's a promise."
The two continue their staring contest until Izuku can't hold anymore and he has to blink. What was he thinking, the man makes a career out of not blinking, of course he'd never win that.
The older hero snorts before reaching into his sleeping bag. One day, Izuku will figure out what magical properties it contains. From it, Aizawa pulls out two files. "No Midoriya, I wanted to talk to you about Bakugo."
Izuku is quick to school his expression to a neutral one. Most would've never noticed his flinch but unfortunately, Eraser isn't most.
"What is there to tell?" Izuku says conversationally. He leans back trying to keep his posture casual. "We've known each other since we were babies and w-we're r-rivals." Dangit, even his body knows that's a lie.
"Rivals," Aizawa parrots. He couldn't make it clearer he doesn't believe him. "The sad part is, I think I might have actually believed that, if I didn't know you."
Izuku stands abruptly, his chair screeching against the floor. "Thank you for inviting me over Aizawa-sensei, but I should be getting to class."
"You've got plenty of time," the man replies, his tone too light for Izuku's liking. Aizawa raises his voice. "Besides, you wouldn't leave until Eri got to show you her new picture, would you?"
"Wait Mido, please!" Eri's voice carries from somewhere down the hallway. "I'm still looking but I'll find it soon! Please don't leave!"
Izuku's glare does nothing to Aizawa's victory smirk. "No, I'm not going anywhere, Eri."
"Yay!"
Throwing himself back into his seat and crossing his arms, Izuku says, "so, you pulled our files?"
Aizawa hums, opening one. "After the, let's call it an altercation, between you two yesterday, I felt I should. Do you want to know what I found?"
Izuku shrugs, trying to feign disinterest in the files.
The older hero clears his throat. "A joy to have in class. Always willing to help others. A model student. Well behaved. Compliments, one after another. Now, I know I've only had Bakugo in my class for one day, but that doesn't really sound like him, does it?"
"Like you said," Izuku responds, keeping his voice as even as possible. "It's only been a day. He could've been stressed or worried and that's why he was off."
"Hm," is all Aizawa offers before opening the other file. "Maybe. But then I read this. Poor student. Doesn't pay attention in class. Constantly starting fights. Picks on other students. A constant disruption to the class. Now, I won't lie, I somewhat believe that last one." Izuku can't contain his snort. "But I've known you for what, a year now, and I can safely say the others aren't true."
Izuku tries to hide how uncomfortable he is with a single sigh. "Is there a point to this?"
Aizawa copies Izuku's posture, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "The first point is obvious. The administration at your middle school are fucking morons."
He hates the smile that's tugging on his lips. "And the next point?"
"For some reason, you're willing to lie alongside them about Bakugo so he can have his place here at UA. You do realize that hero candidates don't usually attack each other unprovoked, don't you?"
Shrugging seems like the only thing he can do for this conversation. "It wasn't exactly unprovoked. I kept messing up his scores in a test where expulsion was threatened."
"Yes," Aizawa agrees, "but instead of speaking to me about it as any rational person would, his first choice was to cause you physical harm. In front of an adult no less. Almost as if it was normal."
What does Eraser expect him to do here? Just start crying about everything Bakugo did to him? Give him some stupid sob story and tell him things like, the reason he only wears long sleeves is so no one sees the burn scars on his arms. No, he's not that selfish.
Doing his best to retain eye contact, Izuku actually says, "It's fine, sensei. Sure, Kacchan and I have…disagreed in the past. But he's still gonna be an amazing hero who can save countless lives. They deserve that."
"Maybe so." Eraserhead bores his gaze into him. "But what about what you deserve?"
Pfff. He's already gotten into UA and his classmates don't seem to openly hate him so frankly, he has enough. If he can just keep making people laugh, he'll be content. Probably not the best thing to actually say though. But before Izuku could think of a proper response, a phone alarm goes off.
Aizawa exhales and checks his phone. Izuku sees the time, only fifteen minutes until class. "This is not the end of our conversation, Midoriya. Eri! You can come back now."
The called little girl walks back into the room, notably empty-handed, but her presence does cause the mood to lighten.
Izuku tilts his head in confusion. "Hey, did you not find your picture?"
Oh, he is not liking the smile she's giving him. "There is no picture."
"What? What do you me-" Izuku stops. A horrifying understanding begins to take hold.
Despite her sweet tone of voice, Eri is anything but innocent when she says, "you told me I had to practice my manipulation on other people besides 'Zawa…"
"You know I didn't mean me!" Izuku yells, indignant. What has he created?
His blood turns cold at what she says next. "Well, Mido…you never said I couldn't practice on you."
Izuku slumps back into his chair. "So that's what that feels like." He was under the belief that whenever Aizawa smiled at something that truly made him happy, a puppy died. And looking at the man's face now, he can't help but mourn for the thousands that were lost today.
After making sure they were all in their correct seats this time, which involved most of the people on Izuku's side moving back a seat, their first official day of classes began. And to be honest, he could see some people finding it dull, but Izuku was having a blast!
C'mon, pro teachers stuck in classes with them, prime picking for questions and autographs, who wouldn't love it?! Sure, he and Yaoyorozu were stuck answering most of the questions in English, and Cementoss can kind of drone on but he wouldn't trade it for the world!
He even got to meet the hero Lunch Rush during, well, lunch! Funny thing was that was the second craziest thing to happen during their eating period. The first being Iida and Uraraka actually wanting to sit with him!
He's embarrassed to admit how long it took her to get his attention because he just sort of assumed she was calling out to someone else? But she wasn't! This place is weird but he doesn't mind.
After leaving the twilight zone-he means the lunchroom, Izuku finds himself with the rest of his classmates waiting impatiently for their Hero Basic Training instructor to arrive.
While his classmates debated on who it could be, Izuku decided to switch to a more productive use of his time. Annoying Kacchan. See, while he was still feeling out the others to see how far he could push them, he was pretty aware of Kacchan's limits.
So flicking some of the blue marbles he kept in his pocket dimension into the back of his head wasn't out of the question. By his calculations, All Might should show up before he explodes.
But man, if watching his shoulders rise with every flick wasn't entertaining.
Before the second coming of the Big Bang could occur, the door swung open. "I am…" Phew, All Might was cutting it close. "Coming through the door like a normal person!"
"It's him!"
"So he really is a teacher?!"
"Is that his silver age costume?"
"It's so retro!"
"Welcome to Hero Basic Training!" All Might announces once he's at the podium. Was Izuku secretly using his magic to make All Might's cape billow despite there being no wind? Yes. Was it worth the concentration? Also yes.
"This is the subject where you'll learn all the different ways to be a hero! Or in other words, your most important subject! So let's hit the ground running!" All Might dramatically reveals a card to them with the word 'battle' printed on it. "Your first lesson, Battle Training!"
The malicious aura coming from Kacchan could be cut with one of his daggers. But he won't lie, it'd be fun to fight something for once that wasn't a robot. Or a god he had no chance of beating.
"But first, you'll need these!" At the hero's gesture, numbered suitcases slid out of the wall beside him on some sort of mechanized system.
Their hero costumes. Well, his class' costumes. His was more of a special case and didn't need to be carried around. His dad was adamant he didn't wear anything that wasn't the 'finest Asgardian leather.' He didn't mind, it was actually pretty comfortable.
"Now, go get changed and meet me at Ground Beta!"
"Yes, sir!"
Letting his class clamor all over themselves for their suitcases, Izuku waited until everyone had left before getting up himself. Before he could leave, All Might got his attention. "Young Midoriya, if I could trouble you for a small favor?…"
"They say clothes make the hero, ladies, and gentlemen! So from today on, you are all heroes!" Toshinori says to most of his class gathered in front of him. "You all look great!"
And they did! Was it presumptuous of him to have a good feeling about the kids in front of him? Maybe. It might possibly also have something to do with him teaching for the first time. Imparting his years of knowledge on the next generation. Why was Torino-sensei grumpy all the time?
"Sir!" Ah, that must be Iida under that armor raising his hand, he'd recognize Ingenium's brand anywhere. "How will we be conducting our combat training?!"
"An excellent question, Young Iida! If you would just give me a moment-"
"All Might!" Toshinori did not jump when Young Midoriya appeared in front of him out of nowhere in a flash of green light. Thank you very much. The boy, still in his uniform, lowers his voice. "I got what you asked for." He holds out his script so the hero can discreetly take it.
He had been such a fool to forget it in the teacher's lounge. Thankfully, Young Midoriya could be discreet when he wanted to be.
"Thank you, my boy," Toshinori whispers as quietly as he can. "Now, I've spoken to Aizawa. There's not gonna be any funny business today, is there?"
Midoriya smiles and whispers back, "no, sir. I will complete the exercise and not do anything you say I can't do."
Well, that was easier than he thought. He has no idea what Aizawa was worried about.
Toshinori returns to his booming voice. "Now, go and be with your classmates!"
"Ok!" Midoriya gives him a thumbs up before walking back to the rest of the kids.
"Young Midoriya, aren't you forgetting something?"
The greenette turns back. "What are you…" he looks down at his uniform. "Oh!" He chuckles nervously. "Sorry about that!"
All Might flips through his script as fast as he could, letting Izuku face his classmates again and start his walk over to them. He looks down, trying to hide the smile on his face while the familiar yellow lines envelop his body. He could make the transition almost instantly if he wanted to, but style was a big part of his dad's curriculum, so he'll slow it down and show off a bit.
The lines glow brighter and finally, Izuku is wearing his hero costume. On his upper body, Izuku wears dark green, almost black padded Asgardian leather with diagonal lines running down the front. On his shoulders, though unseen as they are covered by a cloak, he wears royal blue armor pads.
His arms are covered by green long sleeves, with extra armor running down his upper arms down to his elbows. Izuku's forearms also have extra protection provided by light yellow armored gauntlets with a strap that loops around each of his thumbs.
On his lower body, he wears dark green pants with plenty of hidden pockets to take the place of the utility belt he originally wanted to use. Black armor runs down each of his legs from the knee down. And over his feet, modded red high-top shoes that yes, also had hidden compartments for knives.
And finally, to complete the look as mentioned before, a long dark green cloak covered his shoulders and went down his back with a hood that was currently covering his head.
Even with his protests, did his dad make him a horned helmet? Yes. Was he going to wear it? No. Even he had his limits.
"No wonder we haven't seen you in the locker rooms!" A red-haired boy with sharp teeth runs up to him. Why is he so bad with names? "You can use your quirk to change! That's manly as hell dude!" Not…exactly the word he'd use but in this context he thinks it's a compliment so he thanks him.
"I'm happy to see someone else likes green as much as I do, ribbit." Oh, frog girl! He did hear her croak!
"Yeah, I guess it's always been my color…n-not that it can't be both our colors!" Izuku scratches his cheek bashfully.
She gives him a blank look. "You're kind of socially awkward, aren't you?" Well ok then. 'I mean, it's true but still!'
"It gratifies me to find another who shares an affinity for the robes of our ancestors." Oh! That's Tokoyami! The bird head is kinda hard to forget. As to what he said…
Izuku's confusion must've shown on his face because what appeared to be a bird made of shadow made its way out of the boy, giving Izuku a thumbs up. "He means he likes your cloak!" It says in a distorted voice.
"That is what I said, Dark Shadow!"
Izuku laughs, a bit more relaxed, and returns the thumbs up. "Thanks! Your cloak is awesome too! And thank you for the help Dark Shadow."
As Izuku walked away, he heard the creature whisper in awe, "he acknowledged me as an individual…" note to self, make sure to keep doing that.
Changing into his hero costume in front of everyone seemed like fun at first, but with everyone staring at him, Izuku makes his way as quickly as possible, without making it obvious, to the back of the group, thanking and returning compliments to a few more people as he did.
"So you're a rogue."
It's not a question. Izuku looks and sees the boy with off-blue hair staring at him. He'll remember names eventually he swears! The boy wears a black trench coat over a navy blue shirt, dark pants, and hey! The same red shoes as him, what are the odds? But like his own, he could tell they were modified but wasn't sure how.
On the boy's hands are mechanical gloves that only cover a few fingers, if he had to guess, it was those gloves that can retract if you flex.
He also wore a black utility belt around his waist that even though he couldn't see most of it because of the trench coat, he could make out a mini grappling hook, first-aid, and he's pretty sure explosives.
"Hud," the boy says. Izuku sees his right eye light up a bit with different colors. Was he wearing contacts that gave him a heads up display?! WHERE can he get those?! "You carry a lot of knives," he comments.
Izuku's head dips to the side. "Don't most rogues?"
His red eyes narrow. Now, Izuku was used to having red eyes on him. Whether it was Eri's innocent ones or Kacchan's many anger-derived emotions in his. But this was different. His eyes were none of that, but also very familiar at the same time.
He was analyzing him. Like Izuku had done to so many others. "So if you're a rogue, then how do you know polymorph?"
Why could he turn into animals? Izuku thinks, how to answer this? Judging by the way he talks then…"I multiclassed," Izuku answers. "I took a lot of levels in sorcerer."
The boy keeps his eyes on him for a few more seconds before very visibly relaxing. "FINALLY. Someone here who speaks plain Japanese."
Before Izuku could figure out what that meant, All Might was ready to start. "Alright you zygotes, listen up!" All Might's voice distracted him from seeing the boy's flinch.
The premise of their combat training was simple. Two versus two battles. Heroes versus villains. The villains would protect a bomb and could win by capturing the heroes or waiting the time out. The heroes won by capturing the villains or touching the bomb. All Might then took them into a monitoring room to show them where they'd all be watching the matches.
Afterward, they each went up and took a ball with a letter on it to decide their teams by lottery. 'Team D huh? So who-'
"Oh, Deku! Looks like we're teammates!"
Oh, thank god. At least his partner was someone he knew. "Hey, Uraraka! I guess we-"
Wow, the ceiling of this room was really interesting, don't you think?
That's right, just keep looking up and do not look at Uraraka's costume. Was it always so warm in here? He hopes so. You know what, he could probably do this exercise without looking at his partner.
"Your costumes looks so cool, Deku!" She laughs a little. "I should've been more specific about what I wanted. I was going for the astronaut look, you know like Thirteen? But they made it skintight instead…"
Was she trying to kill him?! He was well aware it was skintight! Was it possible to die from-wait, did she say Thirteen?
"You like Thirteen, the rescue hero?" Izuku asks, getting more excited while using all of his demigod willpower to keep his eyes on her face.
"Well, yeah!" She says getting excited with him, her eyes sparkling. He found he liked it when they did that. "I've been a fan of theirs for years! Ever since I was little, and on tv they were showing this disaster relief, this building started to collapse-"
"Oh, OH! You're talking about the Rilyth disaster! When-"
"Yes! They had that evacuation site but the building next to it became unstable and started to collapse! And-"
"And it would've landed on the site killing everyone! But then Thirteen showed up! And they-"
"They used their quirk and sucked the whole building up! Saving everyone!" Uraraka finally finishes.
"I've watched that video so many times on HeroTube…" Izuku recalls fondly.
"I bet not as many times as me!" Uraraka challenges.
Izuku puts his hands up in defeat. "Well, you made your costume after them so I'll admit defeat on this one…" Unfortunately, bringing up her costume made his eyes drift downward aaaand oh look at that, he's back to looking at the ceiling.
"Hey, are you ok?" Uraraka asks. "You're looking kinda red."
"Yup!" Izuku says in a voice that is a few octaves too high. He tries again. "Yup. Just a bit hot in here…so very, very hot."
All Might, being the hero he is, comes to Izuku's rescue. "Let's start with our first matchup of the day! Team A will be the heroes! Versus Team D, the villains! So we have Young Bakugo and Kirishima versus Young Midoriya and Uraraka!"
Well, positives first. He figured out the red-haired kid's name is Kirishima. Negatives, Bakugo looked so hungry he was worried he might actually try to eat him. It was a valid concern, he was drooling.
"Teams, follow me!"
He and Uraraka were led to the third story of a five-story building where a paper mache bomb was kept and given maps of the building. "You'll have five minutes to prepare once I leave this room. You both still have your capture tape, correct? Good. Now, any questions?"
"I got one," Izuku answers, trying to keep the eagerness out of his voice. "You said when explaining the exercise we could use any resources we wanted to. What are the limits?"
All Might's smile widens. "Great question, young man. You may use your quirks to the fullest extent you can, provided you're not destroying the building. Get into the mindset of a villain. A good one wouldn't want to destroy his base."
"So as long as we're not destroying the building, we can do whatever we want?"
"Yes, as long as you are not causing excessive harm to your opponents. I will stop the exercise if any of you go too far, are we clear?"
"Yes, sir." He and Uraraka say at the same time. Anything he wants huh? Apparently, All Might wasn't paying close enough attention to Aizawa.
Their Hero teacher nods and leaves the room, starting their timer. "So your quirk makes stuff weightless, right?" Izuku asks, looking anywhere that's not his partner.
"Yes! If I put all five of my fingers on an object, I can remove its weight, my limit is currently three tons."
'Holy crap! Wait, if she removed the weight off Mjöllnir, could she lift it? Stop! Getting off track.'
"Can you use it on yourself?" Asking quirk questions surprisingly makes him more comfortable with looking at her.
Uraraka makes a queasy face. "I can, but it makes me nauseous fast. I do have some pressure point hitters built into my costume to relieve that though."
Izuku nods. "That's smart." He looks at the bomb in thought for a second.
"T-thanks, Deku."
Squinting his eyes, Izuku snaps his fingers. "Ok, I think I have an idea with the bomb." He explains what it is to her.
"Alright! They'll never see that coming!" She says enthusiastically.
After Izuku is done doing what he wanted to do with the bomb, he sees Uraraka moving more furniture and whatever else she can find into the room.
"I can make this stuff weightless and throw them around when we fight to keep the other team on their toes. Darn, If we had more time, I could move more furniture in here…"
"Oh, that won't be a problem." Izuku gestures to the room. "After the exercise starts, I can give you a little more time to get more ammo."
"You sure?" Uraraka questions.
Izuku smiles. "Positive." 'He's having a full-on conversation! Oh no, it's starting to end…do something!' "After we blow this city up and somehow not die too, you wanna go rob some banks?"
To his immense relief, she laughs. "You're taking what All Might said about becoming a villain pretty seriously, aren't you? Ok, I'm in. But we have to give some of what we steal to the poor."
Izuku laughs too. "So we'd become the Robin Hood types? Fine with me, and with your quirk, we can steal so much!"
"Yeah!" She's really getting into this. "And with your quirk, you can make it seem like they were never robbed in the first place!"
"W-wow, yeah!" People were usually too confused about his powers to think about what he can do. It's a bit surprising she figured that out.
After letting them both calm down a bit, Izuku put his hand to his chin before continuing, "so once the exercise starts, I can go down and delay them and after, I'll lead Kacchan, s-sorry, I mean Bakugo, I can lead him away and distract him the whole time. And I know you can take Kirishima. One touch and he's done. That should be enough to win…"
He was surprised to see Uraraka giving him a confused look. "What's wrong?"
"Sorry, I'm just confused?" She definitely looked it. "Aren't we supposed to be fighting them together?"
"W-well I mean…" Izuku so articulately puts together. "Kacchan is gonna come after me as soon as he can so…"
She walks up to him, crossing her arms. "So what part of that means you have to fight him alone?"
He…does not have a good answer to that. Rubbing the back of his head, Izuku says, "I guess I'm just…used to it being that way?"
Uraraka beams brightly at him. "Well, you better get unused to it! Because whether it's robbing a bank or launching those guys into space, you got a partner in crime now! And partners don't leave each other out to dry!"
She holds her hand out, pinky tucked in. "And partners, especially friends like us, don't let the other do dummy things on their own. So what do you say?"
'Friends?'
Their comms crackle to life. "Alright Heroes and Villains! Ready or not, we're about to begin!"
Izuku won't lie, this is way out of his comfort zone right now. Most of the things he knows how to do, he was taught how to do alone. Now that he thinks about it, he doesn't think his dad ever really taught him how to work with a team. That was always more of Uncle Thor's thing.
"5!"
He guesses in retrospect, that makes sense. One of his biggest lessons was how to hide and be independent. Literally how not to work with people. Any lessons he got about other people were how to trick them into doing what he wanted without them knowing.
"4!"
But heroes work with others all the time? And he wanted to be the best hero he could be. But that would also mean trusting another person. Something his dad was vehemently against.
"3!"
That's right. The lessons were always how to get people to trust him, not the other way around. His dad told him all those years ago he'd have to be alone, but looking at Uraraka now and realizing someone actually wanted to be his friend…
"2!"
Well, he wanted that too! He takes her hand, thankfully he was so caught up in the moment that the blushing storm that would hit him for doing such a thing wouldn't come until later in the night.
Izuku returns her smile. "Yeah, you're right. Let's do this, partner."
"1!"
They shake hands.
"Go!"