Chapter 17: Acceptance and Anticipation
POV: Nova Asahi
The envelope arrived on a Tuesday morning disguised as normalcy, wedged between utility bills and convenience store advertisements like fate wrapped in official stationary. Nova's hands trembled as he processed the UA High School logo embossed in gold foil, the weight of ten months' desperate effort condensed into a single piece of correspondence.
"This is it. Proof that Nova Asahi actually exists in this world. Proof that borrowed power can create genuine futures."
The hologram projector activated with a cheerful chime that made Nova's enhanced hearing ring like cathedral bells. All Might's voice boomed from the device with the force of divine proclamation: "I AM HERE! As a projection!"
Nova sank onto his narrow bed, legs suddenly unable to support the weight of anticipation and terror warring in his chest. Ten months of lies and training and desperate heroics had led to this moment—validation from the Symbol of Peace himself.
"Young Nova!" the hologram continued, All Might's grin blazing even through digital reproduction. "Congratulations on your exceptional performance during the entrance examination! You have earned admission to UA High School's hero course with a final score placing you third overall among all applicants!"
"Third place. Behind who? Bakugo obviously got first with his overwhelming firepower strategy, but who managed to beat my rescue point total?"
"Your breakdown," All Might's projection explained with obvious pride, "was forty-five villain points through efficient combat techniques, and an impressive sixty-five rescue points for prioritizing civilian safety over personal advancement. This demonstrates exactly the heroic spirit we seek to nurture at UA!"
Nova's phone buzzed with an incoming video call before the hologram finished its congratulations. Izuku's contact photo—green hair and a nervous smile taken during one of their beach training sessions—filled the screen with desperate energy.
"Nova! Nova, did you get yours? Did you—" Izuku's words tumbled over each other in a cascade of barely controlled hysteria. "I got in! I actually got in! Zero villain points but sixty rescue points and All Might said—"
"Breathe, Izuku," Nova laughed, genuine joy overwhelming his own complicated emotions. "I got third place overall. We're both going to UA. We actually did it."
Izuku's face crumpled with relief and gratitude that made Nova's chest tight with protective instincts. "I can't believe it's real. After all those years of everyone saying it was impossible, and now we're actually going to be heroes together."
"You're going to be the greatest hero who ever lived. I'm going to be the fraud standing beside you, hoping borrowed power is enough to keep up with legends."
But before Nova could voice his own insecurities, a familiar cough echoed from his apartment doorway. All Might stood there in his skeletal form, holding plastic bags that smelled of yakitori and celebration.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," All Might said, his deflated voice somehow carrying the same warmth as his heroic form. "But I thought this momentous occasion called for proper celebration."
The next hour felt like the family dinner Nova had never expected to have. All Might shared stories of his own UA days while they worked through enough takeout food to feed a small army. The Symbol of Peace's civilian form made everything feel intimate and real—not a legend dispensing wisdom, but a tired man who genuinely cared about their futures.
"I was terrified during my first week," All Might admitted, picking at his yakisoba with movements that spoke of hidden pain. "Convinced I would disgrace my mentor's legacy, fail the people counting on me, prove that One For All had chosen poorly."
"What changed?" Nova asked, genuinely curious despite knowing fragments of All Might's history.
"I realized that heroism isn't about never being afraid. It's about acting anyway, because people need someone to smile even when the world seems dark." All Might's skeletal features arranged themselves into that legendary grin. "Both of you have already proven you understand that principle."
Izuku scribbled frantically in his ever-present notebook, tears streaming down his cheeks as he documented every word. Nova felt the familiar ache of watching someone receive exactly the validation they needed while he remained trapped behind walls of necessary deception.
"He's proud of us. Genuinely proud. If only he knew that one of his proteges is built from lies and stolen power."
But the warmth in All Might's eyes felt real despite Nova's internal protests. Maybe the source of his strength mattered less than how he chose to use it. Maybe becoming a hero was about the decisions you made, not the advantages you started with.
Mitsuki Bakugo's idea of "proper celebration" involved enough alcohol to float a small battleship and volume levels that probably violated several noise ordinances. Nova arrived at the Bakugo household to find organized chaos in full swing—Masaru attempting to mediate between his wife and son while they argued about everything from optimal training methods to appropriate victory celebrations.
"FIRST PLACE ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!" Katsuki roared from the kitchen, explosions crackling around his hands as he gestured aggressively. "I NEED TO PROVE I'M BETTER THAN THAT HALF-AND-HALF BASTARD WHO GOT PERFECT SCORES!"
"YOU GOT SEVENTY-SEVEN VILLAIN POINTS!" Mitsuki shot back with equal volume. "THAT'S THE HIGHEST COMBAT SCORE IN UA HISTORY! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?"
"I WANT TO WIN EVERYTHING!"
Nova slipped through the front door during a brief lull in the shouting, taking his shoes off with practiced efficiency. The Bakugo house felt like the opposite of his sterile apartment—warm chaos instead of cold order, the accumulated clutter of people who actually lived together.
"Nova!" Mitsuki spotted him immediately and descended like a protective hurricane. "Get in here! We're celebrating my boys getting into the best hero school in Japan!"
"My boys. Plural. She actually considers me family now."
The dinner table groaned under the weight of Masaru's cooking—katsu curry, gyoza, rice dishes that looked like they belonged in restaurant windows. Nova found himself seated between the warring Bakugos while Masaru provided gentle commentary from the neutral zone.
"Third place overall," Mitsuki said, raising her beer in Nova's direction. "Sixty-five rescue points for prioritizing civilian safety. That's my nephew, everyone—smart enough to know what actually matters!"
"HE'S NOT YOUR ACTUAL SON!" Katsuki protested, though his glare lacked real heat.
"He is now, deal with it!" Mitsuki's declaration carried the finality of a court judgment. "Any kid who can put up with your attitude and still choose to be your friend is family by default!"
Nova felt his eyes burning with gratitude he couldn't fully express. The casual acceptance, the assumption that he belonged here, the way they argued around him instead of walking on eggshells—it felt like coming home to a place he'd never been.
"To my boys," Mitsuki continued, lifting her glass higher. "May they become the heroes this world needs, and may they never forget that strength means nothing without the heart to use it properly."
Katsuki grumbled something about "sappy speeches" but didn't contradict the toast. Nova hid his emotional response behind drinking, letting the warm alcohol burn away the cold loneliness that had lived in his chest since transmigrating.
"Found family. Real family. People who care whether I live or die, succeed or fail, become the person I'm pretending to be or something genuine."
"Thank you," Nova said quietly when the celebration wound down and he prepared to leave. "For everything. For treating me like I belong."
Mitsuki's hug could have crushed ribs, but it felt like the safest place in the world. "You do belong, kiddo. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Walking home through Musutafu's neon-lit streets, Nova felt something shift in his understanding of his situation. He'd been thinking of relationships as strategic advantages—social links to maintain for system benefits and timeline preservation. But the warmth in his chest had nothing to do with mechanics and everything to do with connection.
These people had become real to him. Their safety, their happiness, their futures—they mattered beyond their canonical significance.
Alone in his apartment that night, Nova opened his laptop to review the meta-knowledge that had guided his actions for ten months. Timeline notes, character development arcs, event schedules that read like prophecy and felt like burden.
USJ INCIDENT - Three weeks after classes begin. League of Villains infiltrates training facility. Aizawa nearly killed. Students scattered and attacked. All Might forced to reveal weakness.
SPORTS FESTIVAL - Two months. Televised tournament. Todoroki's family trauma exposed. Bakugo's emotional instability revealed. Izuku establishes himself as legitimate threat.
HERO KILLER STAIN - Four months. Hosu City incident. Iida's brother attacked. Manual, Endeavor, Native involved. First major test of student combat capabilities.
Each entry represented lives at stake, futures hanging in the balance of decisions Nova had yet to make. His friends would face dangers that could cripple or kill them, and he had the knowledge to prevent disasters—if he could figure out how to act without revealing impossible foreknowledge.
"USJ is the immediate threat. Three weeks to prepare for Shigaraki, Kurogiri, and whatever Nomu they've created. I can't prevent the attack without sounding insane, but I can make sure everyone's stronger when it happens."
Nova activated his Rare Quirk Selector, the reward from his entrance exam performance glowing with promise in the system interface. The gacha animation spun with familiar colors before settling into golden radiance that announced exceptional rewards.
[DANGER SENSE (ENHANCED) - SUPER RARE]
[DESCRIPTION: Detect hostile intent within 50 meters, analyze threat levels, predict attack timing]
[PASSIVE ABILITY: Constant awareness of dangers in vicinity]
[ACTIVE ABILITY: Enhanced tactical analysis during combat encounters]
[MP COST: 0 (Passive), 50 per minute (Active)]
Nova felt the ability integrate with his nervous system like electricity finding new pathways. His awareness expanded beyond physical senses, detecting emotional signatures and intent patterns that painted his apartment building in layers of information. Neighbors watching television, walking to bathrooms, settling into sleep—all registered as neutral contacts with no hostile intent.
"Fifty-meter radius of threat detection. This will give me advance warning if the League tries to infiltrate UA early, or if any students develop villain tendencies before they're supposed to."
[CURRENT STATUS: LEVEL 20]
[STR: 60 | AGI: 65 | END: 50 | INT: 45 | WIS: 40 | LUK: 18]
[TOTAL HERO POINTS: 15,000]
[QUIRKS OWNED: 18]
[COMBAT LOADOUT UPDATED: CRISIS RESPONSE]
[Danger Sense (Enhanced), Combat Precognition, Steel Skin, Minor Regeneration, Lightning Touch]
One month until classes began. Three weeks until the USJ attack. Nova pulled out his phone and opened the group chat with Izuku and Bakugo, typing a message that carried more weight than either of them would realize:
"Class 1-A together. Let's become the best heroes UA has ever seen."
Bakugo's response came immediately: "Damn right. I'm going to crush everyone and prove I'm number one."
Izuku's reply was more measured: "I can't believe this is actually happening. We're really going to be heroes."
Nova stared at their messages for a long moment before adding silently: "And I'll make sure everyone survives what's coming, even if I have to break my cover to do it."
The promise felt like lead settling in his stomach. Three weeks to prepare his friends for a war they didn't know was coming. Three weeks to figure out how to save lives without revealing the impossible truth of his existence.
"System quirks, meta-knowledge, and found family versus the League of Villains. It'll have to be enough."
Nova closed his laptop and tried to sleep, but his Enhanced Danger Sense hummed with low-level warnings about futures that hadn't happened yet.
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