Hey everyone! I was pretty happy to see how well-received this story was. This was one of the few times I was actually kind of worried I had gone a little bit too far with the powers.

Now, it bears addressing since I imagine others may end up thinking the same. One of you mentioned that One For All doesn't affect other Quirks. Whether it does or not, we really don't know. Toshinori and Izuku were both Quirkless (though to be honest, I kind of have my doubts about Toshinori. If his muscle form is linked to One For All then why can he still use it? Not for long granted, but he shouldn't be able to use it at all.) and we don't know anything about the Quirk Nana had. What we do know is it mutated pretty rapidly the second All For One's brother acquired the Stockpiling Quirk into One For All. Does this mean that it is a Quirk with a high possible mutation rate? Probably not. But I can take it like that if I wish, since it is a possibility. And in story, the possibility was really too great a risk.

But more importantly, there were more than just in-story reasons for my refusal to give Izuku One For All. See, giving it to him is pointless. There are so many fics I've read which give him some potentially really cool abilities, and then just give him One For All anyway. If I DON'T give him One For All, I can highlight his own power rather than have it be just another booster for One For All. Yeah, I could have done it. His Phoenix Regeneration would have left him basically untouchable and able to go 100% right from the beginning. Who cares if he blows an arm off the first time he uses it? Flames of Regeneration and a couple seconds and he's good to go again. It would have been boring and overpowered.

And for another thing; a small number of you disliked the idea because you felt it would take away from Izuku and Toshinori's relationship. Guys… Toshinori chose Izuku to be his successor because he's IZUKU. He chose the powerless, Quirkless kid to do so, because Izuku embodies what he represents. He embodies what it means to be a Hero. Another person receiving One For All isn't going to change that.

Now, does everyone like The Emerald Phoenix as a title? I said last chapter that it was the working title, but it has kind of grown on me. Haha

Thanks for all the reviews everyone! Hope you enjoy.

Actually, before that, I probably should put a warning up here.

ATTENTION ANIME-ONLY (and general fans who are coming from my other stories) FANS: I'M ABOUT TO FUCK SHIT UP. IF YOU'RE NOT CAUGHT UP WITH THE MANGA, YOU'RE IN DANGER. I REPEAT: YOU ARE IN DANGER.

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Chapter II: A New Beginning

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A large fridge was falling from the sky, enveloped in a green glow. Below it, All Might casually sidestepped and it crashed onto the beach, throwing up a deluge of sand, "Your throws are gaining power, shonen!" His voice boomed as he stared up at his successor. Izuku was floating in midair, his body glowing his signature emerald. His light shirt was barely hanging onto his frame, in tatters. That had been the result of just the air pressure from one of his mentor's punches. Not even one of his Smashes either, just a regular punch. The One For All wielder's strength truly was no joke.

True to his word, Izuku had not focused entirely on his Quirk during their training. His Flames of Regeneration had proved a godsend, enabling him to drastically cut down on his physical recovery time. Much of his baby fat had already been burned away and he was starting to show signs of some muscle definition. He was a far cry from where All Might would have wanted if they were still planning on giving him One For All, but no longer was he the same scrawny kid that always got beat on endlessly. He was still dripping in sweat from his spar with his mentor, and still breathing quite hard. It made him quite thankful that the cold of Fall hadn't started coming in yet. Yet still, he began to smile, "Thanks All Might!" He called back, before the glow around him intensified and his form blurred.

All Might threw up an arm and blocked Izuku's roundhouse kick. His feet didn't even budge despite the massive blowback kicking up a sandy dervish behind him. He grabbed Izuku's leg and with nary a grunt of effort, chucked the boy across the lot and towards one of the piles of garbage.

Izuku's body flashed before it vanished entirely, and All Might ducked as his student's leg passed where his head had been. A second teleportation found Izuku below him, throwing up a vicious uppercut. Yet All Might moved out of the way with such speed that he ended up behind the green-haired boy as a column of force ripped through the air where his head had been moments ago. He threw his fist out and split the glowing husk of a car that had been hurtling towards him in half. His punch put a hole into one of the scrap piles which started collapsing in on itself. And before his student could react, he whirled around and grabbed him by the back of the neck. With the sound of breaking glass, Izuku's psychic barrier shattered as All Might slammed him into the ground. The boy didn't move except to breathe, blowing small little bits of sand away from his face as he groaned.

"Marvelous!" All Might beamed at his exhausted pupil, "Simply marvelous, Midoriya-shonen! You've already come so far these past four months!" He helped Izuku up and grinned at him, "Your Quirk may be amazing, but your work ethic and determination has allowed you to turn it into something truly spectacular!" He gave his green-haired student a thumbs-up, "You keep this up and you'll be ready to succeed me in no time!"

Izuku grinned tiredly, but before he could say anything more, something happened which shocked the two of them to their cores. "THAT WAS AMAZING!" A new voice yelled and nearly gave the two of them heart attacks, "WHAT A HOT-BLOODED BATTLE!"

Izuku froze and a shiver ran down his spine as he whipped around, 'I thought no one came around here?!'

All Might turned to the newcomer in panic, 'HOLY SHIT. HOLY SHIT! NOT NOW!'

The person rushing up to them looked young like Izuku, though they couldn't be more different. He had dark hair with a buzz-cut and rather beady eyes that were incredibly sharp. He was very tall for what was probably his young age – being more than a head taller than Izuku – and he had a much heavier build. He clearly had seen the inside of a gym quite often. He was wearing board shorts and a tank top. Completing his look was an absolutely gigantic smile reminiscent of All Might himself.

All Might who was currently panicking as his fear came to pass. BAMF! A weird sound accompanied his explosion into his trademarked steam cloud, and Toshinori was revealed. The new guy froze, his smile still wide on his face though his eyes were popping out, before tipping over still in his running position and crashing face-first into the sand. "Wh-wh-wha!" he raised himself quickly and stared at Toshinori, "All Might!" He cried out, "What happened?!"

Toshinori stared at him deadpanned for a moment, before whipping around towards Izuku, "Five years! Five years I went and not a single soul ever found out! I meet you and there are three in four months!" He shook his fist at his sweating student. "Are you a magnet attracting people to my secret? Do you have another Quirk we don't know about?!" Blood was spewing from his mouth as he pointed at his student.

Izuku stammered apologies at his master, before his mind kicked into overdrive. Mumble mumble mumble… "…had such a Quirk…" Mumble mumble mumble… "…secret attraction Quirk would be an incredible boon in interrogations…" Mumble mumble mumble…

The newcomer sweatdropped, staring at the mumbling teen in confused amusement. Finally, Toshinori got fed up with Izuku in his Analysis Mode and clapped him on the chin and head simultaneously, "It was a joke you Prince of Nonsense!"

Izuku rubbed his chin sheepishly, "S-sorry!"

Toshinori shook his head in fond exasperation, before pointing at the newcomer, "You! What is your name, shonen?"

The boy jumped to his feet as Toshinori put on his 'commanding' voice and stood stiff as a board, as if Toshinori were a military general, "Inasa Yoarashi! Pleased to meet you both!" His huge grin came back as he bowed so low he was bent at a ninety-degree angle.

"Same to you, Yoarashi-shonen. My own name is Toshinori Yagi and my student here is Izuku Midoriya." Toshinori replied, "Now…" He sighed and sat on a piece of the car he had ripped apart, "You know how some people hold in their gut and puff out their chest when at the pool?" Inasa nodded in confusion, "Yeah, it's kind of like that. I got badly injured around five years ago. This is my real form nowadays. Don't go writing about this on the internet, got it?"

"That's…" Inasa shook his face devoid of his grin, before it came back with a vengeance, "INCREDIBLE! SO INCREDIBLY HOT-BLOODED!" His fist shook in front of him, "You're amazing, All Might! Even gravely injured, you still puff out your chest and protect us all! Truly an inspiration to all heroes! I AM HONORED TO BE A HOLDER OF YOUR SECRET!" This time, he bowed so low that his face crashed into a small mini-fridge lying in the sand and dented it.

Izuku goggled and Toshinori wasn't much better. "Y-you know, that would be a bit more convincing if you weren't shouting at the top of your lungs!" Izuku had a comical look on his face as he snarked at the taller boy.

Inasa lifted himself up with an even more comical expression, complete with blood pouring down his face, "S-sorry!" He rubbed the back of his head a little sheepishly, "I always have that problem. I just get way too overly excited sometimes. I am serious, though. I would never break your trust, All Might. I respect you far too much!" He gave him a much more subdued bow this time.

"It's quite all right. I don't think I have any right to reprimand someone for being too loud." Toshinori quirked a grin, and they all shared a small snicker at the thought. "We'll trust you, Yoarashi-shonen. Don't disappoint us."

"Awesome!" Inasa straightened out and grinned over towards Izuku, "Anyway, your Quirk is amazing, my man! So hot blooded!" He grinned and started levitating, an eddy of air currents supporting him, "I've never met anyone else able to fly like me! Usually they have wings or something!"

Izuku and Toshinori both snapped their eyes to the sand, which was waving about as if carried by a current. Izuku said what was on both of their minds, "Wind?"

"That's right! Inasa Yoarashi! Quirk: Whirlwind!" he stuck a hand out for Izuku to shake, "Let's be friends, my man!"

Izuku stiffened, "F-friends?"

Toshinori grinned and looked away, 'That's the way, shonen! Perhaps this is your new beginning.'

Izuku smiled shakily, "S-sure! F-friends then!" He clapped his hand into Inasa's and almost had to wince. The guy had a strong grip.

Inasa's grin was so blinding Izuku could swear the sun was pinging on his teeth, "Awesome!" he cheered, "What's your Quirk anyway? I couldn't figure it out during your spar!"

"Ah!" Izuku beamed as he began to speak. He truly loved being able to talk about his Quirk. The more he did, the more he realized it was real and not going away, "My Quirk is called Phoenix Force. I'm a Psychic!"

"Whaaa!" Inasa yelled in shock, "For real? Like the comic books?! Holy crap, you don't fight anything like them! Most of them just sit in the back like wimps!" He started laughing boisterously. "You're awesome, dude!"

Toshinori chuckled as Izuku went red, "That's because he spent too long wanting to be like me." Izuku went scarlet, "I've been weaning him off of trying to emulate me too much. He does far better with kicks than he does punches for example."

"I'll say! Those teleporting kicks were sick, dude!" Inasa lightly punched Izuku in the shoulder.

"Ah, Yoarashi-sa-" Izuku started to speak but his new friend cut him off,

"I~na~sa!" The taller boy interrupted, "That's my name dude! Use it!"

"Inasa-san, how come you came by here? No one ever does. It's why All Might chose this place to train me." Izuku asked him curiously.

"Hmm?" Inasa used his wind power to lift a fridge and bring it over, sitting on it, "Well, my dream is to make it into U.A., and just a few weeks ago my parents told me that my school had managed to secure a Recommendation for me!" He grinned proudly, "So I came to scout out the surrounding areas to see if I could find a nice place, and I heard about the beach! I couldn't resist going for a swim since the weather probably is going to get pretty crappy soon enough! While I was swimming, I saw all this garbage at the other end of the beach saw that and everyone was avoiding it like the plague. I happened to see an explosion over here when I was in the water, so I came to check it out!"

"Hmm, thank you Yoarashi-shonen. Perhaps we'll need to be a bit less… zealous when training, Midoriya-shonen." Toshinori commented, "It could have been bad if someone else had seen us."

"Yeah…" he murmured, a little disappointed that they wouldn't be able to go 'all out' anymore. He then shook himself, "Wait a second? You got a Recommendation to U.A.?! That's amazing! You're so awesome, Inasa-san!"

"Bwahahaha! Yep, they have always been my first choice!" He held his hand beside his mouth and leaned forward as if telling a secret, "I'm kinda tempted to go to Shiketsu instead though. Have you seen their SICK hats?" Izuku burst out laughing, and Toshinori followed.

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"Where has the time gone, dude?" Izuku and Inasa found themselves back at the beach where they had met, all those months ago. Both of them were sitting on the sea barrier, though lounging was a more apt descriptor for Inasa. Fall had come, and Winter had almost gone. The weather was turning milder now and the Sakura trees were even starting to bloom in some parts of Japan.

Some of Inasa's boisterous attitude had rubbed off on Izuku. Having a friend had done wonders for the boy, even if Inasa could really only visit on the weekends. "Just think!" A wide smile was on his lips, "By this time in two weeks, we'll both be U.A. students!" Classes were almost over, and it was time for possibly the most grueling exams they would ever take. Deliberation post exams usually took about a week. Two weeks, and their futures would be known.

They watched the waves, and Inasa clapped him on the back, "It's still amazing to think of what a dump this place was when I first saw it! You're a great guy, my man! Even if it was for training, you really cleaned this place up!"

"You helped!" Izuku retorted, though he was still smiling and a little pink.

Inasa scoffed, "Barely. And only on weekends. You did the lion's share, dude. Be proud!"

"Indeed!" They both jumped as All Might spoke up behind them. Neither had known the man was there, "Yoarashi-shonen, might I have a moment with Midoriya-shonen?"

"Sure!" Inasa grinned and leapt to his feet, "I was about to head home anyway. I'll see you next weekend bro!" A clap sounded as Izuku and Inasa dapped.

"Later!" Izuku waved as his friend ran off, "What's this about, All Might?"

All Might deflated, though he still had a giant grin on his face even as Toshinori, "I wanted to tell you how proud I am, Midoriya-shonen." Izuku went scarlet at his mentor's tender tone, "You are going to do great things, my boy. You're going to be a greater Symbol of Peace than I ever was."

"A-All Might!" And like usual, Izuku reverted to stammering at praise. Even ten months hadn't been enough to erase years of poor treatment and ridicule. He simply didn't really know how to react to a compliment.

"My only regret is not being able to give you One For All. You truly are the best successor I could have asked for!"

Izuku smiled, and his eyes got a little watery, "I… I'm so thankful. I almost feel like I've cheated. You've helped me so much! I've been so lucky!" He wiped his eyes with an arm.

"Oi, oi, what are you saying now? This has all been your effort!" He chuckled boisterously like Inasa, "And we really need to fix those leaky eyes of yours. Look around you shonen! Ten months ago, this beach was a dilapidated trash heap! Not a speck of grime remains today! You even cleaned outside of where I told you to! All of this was you! None of it was luck, and you went through much hardship in the past to get here! Being lucky and being born with a silver spoon in your mouth is very different from working your butt off and earning it! Take that to heart! If you were going to be receiving my Quirk, you would have already earned it thrice-over!" He clapped a hand onto Izuku's shoulder, "I'm afraid we can't have the award ceremony you deserve today, Midoriya-shonen. Instead, your reward for all your hard work will be the start of your dreams!" Izuku stared up at All Might who clenched a fist in front of him, "Your Hero Academia awaits, shonen! Go out and claim your prize!"

Izuku nodded sharply, "Yes sir!"

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"Whoooaaa…" There was something different about being in front of U.A.'s gate for real. The last time he'd been here, they'd gone through another gate meant for vehicles. He could see the busts of old, famous heroes staring at the path leading up to the beautiful, all-glass main campus building. Some of the more egotistical students probably figured they were getting the royal welcome.

"Move aside, Deku!" He heard a familiar voice behind him, and reflexively flinched to the side. Even if the sandy-blonde hadn't tormented him at all the past ten months – ever since their rather explosive confrontation in their school – old habits died hard. "Out of the way, or I'll kill you!" His old friend snarled.

'Good to see some things never change.' Izuku snorted lightly as the thought ran through his mind. He tried to smile supportively and fell into step beside the boy, "G-good morning to you too, Kacchan. Let's do our best."

Or rather, he would have fallen into step if he hadn't been so overly excited and tripped over his own damn feet, 'Of course.' His face was deadpan, 'My life ends before it begins.' He then wondered what was taking so long for the ground to meet his face. He looked down and goggled at the fact that he was floating. He hadn't used his own quirk – he really should have, in retrospect. He needed to get better about using it instinctively in everyday life. But having no Quirk for so long made things slow-going – so why wasn't he falling?

"Ah, got you! Are you okay?" A female voice said happily, "It's a bad omen to fall on a day like this, you know! I used my Quirk to catch you. Sorry!" Izuku fought the urge to flail and instead righted himself with his psychic abilities, "Wow! That was cool!" The girl said cheerily as she clapped her hands together. He turned around and was almost blinded by how much of a bundle of joy and happiness this girl seemed to resemble. Even her cheeks seemed to have a perpetual blush on them. She had fair skin, big, round brown eyes, and shoulder-length brown hair styled into two long locks beside her face. She also had micro-bangs which swept to her left and a short bob at the back.

"T-thanks!" Izuku managed to squeak out, his face bright pink. 'I…I just talked to a girl!' Inasa may have been his first friend, but a cute girl he was not.

"No problem!" She replied cheerily, "Man, this sure is nerve-wracking isn't it? We better get going! Good luck on the exam!" With that, she raced away. Izuku stood there for another minute or two, unable to think of anything else but that encounter.

Roughly ten minutes later, he found himself beside Katsuki in a giant auditorium. The energy and tension in the room was palpable. It almost felt like a physical force. And then their proctor showed up, "For every one of you little listeners, welcome to my show! EVERYBODY SAY 'HEEEEEEEEYYYYYY!'" The man with blonde, extremely long gelled hair swept back and upwards cupped an ear with his hand.

Silence.

He shrugged, a massive grin still on his face, "What a refined response. That's cool too, my little listeners. Time to show you then! I'll present the specifics of today's practical exams! ARE YOU READY?! YEAAAAAAHHHHH!" Again, he was the only one who shouted. Everyone was just too nervous or fanboying like Izuku.

"It's the Voice Hero, Present Mic! Awesome!" He almost squealed, hiding his face partially behind his hands. "I listen to his talk show every week. He's so inspirational! I guess all the teachers really are Pro Heroes here!" Mumble mumble mumble…

"Shut it." Katsuki snapped from his place beside Izuku.

"This is how the test will go, little listeners! You'll all be doing ten-minute-long 'dry runs' against villains we will be providing. These are 'Mock Cityscape Battles,' so you can bring anything you want with you! After this presentation, you'll be moving to your assigned battlegrounds."

"Consecutive IDs are all assigned to different locations." Izuku mumbled, after taking a peak at Katsuki's sheet as well as the unknown person next to him.

Katsuki also realized what was going on. "That's so people from the same school can't just form a group and slay the exam together, huh?"

"Probably." Izuku replied, "We're much more unlikely to form a team with random strangers, and even less likely to actually trust them or be able to coordinate abilities with such a time limit."

"Hmph!" Katsuki snorted, "I'll just crush em all. But it looks like you get to live another day, Deku!"

They started paying attention to Present Mic again, "Each site is full of three different types of Villains! You can think of it like that old retro game, Super Mario! Every type of enemy is worth a different amount of points, from one to three. And that's your goal, little listeners! You want to use your Quirks to destroy or incapacitate as many of these Faux Villains as possible and RACK THOSE POINTS UP!" he grinned and waved a finger at them, as if chiding a disobedient child, "And of course, playing a naughty antihero is strictly forbidden. No attacking fellow examinees or else!"

"My kind of test!" Katsuki had a mad grin on his face, almost salivating at what was to come.

"May I ask a question?" A tall, muscular boy stood up with his arm raised high. Present Mic agreed and pointed at him, causing a spotlight to shine down. He looked like he moved incredibly stiffly. Whether that was nerves or otherwise was unknown. He had blue-tinted black hair – combed perfectly – and square-rimmed glasses. He raised his provided sheet of paper and pointed to it, "There appear to be no less than four Faux Villains printed on this sheet! If that is a misprint, then as the most prominent school in Japan, U.A. should be ashamed of such a foolish mistake! We are here as examinees in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes!" He then whirled around, "And you two! You've been muttering this whole time! If you're just here to fool around, you should leave!" His voice was loud and prominent as he stared intensely at the pair.

Katsuki immediately retorted with a cocky smirk on his face, "Or what, four-eyes?"

Izuku dipped his head in exasperation at the answer, mentally apologizing for the disruption.

But before things could escalate, Present Mic interrupted, "Okay! Good catch, Examinee 7111!" he then surprised them by letting out a very… sinister-sounding chuckle, "Though perhaps you'll wish you hadn't asked. See, if the previous villains are comparable to Goombas and Koopas, then these guys are the Thwomps! They're more like traps than targets!" His laugh got even more sinister, "There is only one of this type of villain at each site, but they're going to rampage in close quarters! If you get caught by it OR engage it in combat…" A wave of terror seemed to engulf the room, "You lose every single point you already earned!"

Even the person who asked the question seemed to be unable to speak, not even thanking Present Mic as he collapsed into his seat. Everyone – even Katsuki – had some amount of sweat dripping down the sides of their faces and their hearts were hammering in their chests.

"That's all from me, little listeners!" Present Mic switched back to his normal, happy self, "I'll leave you with our school motto! As the great hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "True heroism consists of being superior to all the ills of life." PLUS ULTRA!" He grinned again, "Break a leg, everyone!"

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Izuku had switched out of his school attire and had equipped his normal workout gear; the green and white tracksuit. Despite all the training he'd done with All Might and confidence-building he'd done with Inasa, he couldn't help but feel some of the anxiety he'd been trying to hold back set in. 'What if I'm just not good enough? I've only been training for ten months. Everyone here has been preparing for years! I can't disappoint All Might! He put so much time and effort into me!' A light sheen of sweat had started building on his forehead, and he wiped it away. 'We have no idea how many Villains there are. What if I'm too slow and they all get taken out quickly?'

He wasn't the only one fighting back their nerves. One person tried to mask it with boisterous shouting, "Look how huge this place is! Only at U.A., right? They're supposed to have a bunch of different grounds like this!"

The old Izuku wouldn't have noticed that they were merely hiding their nervousness, seeing only confidence while he shook in terror. Funnily enough, seeing that he wasn't the only one affected calmed him a little. Instead he started taking note of how some of them even had equipment with them. He wasn't sure what the blonde guy's Quirk was, but it probably had to do with that belt he wore. He then jumped a little, 'Oh, it's her! We're in the same battle group.' He started walking forward, intending on thanking her again, when a hand grabbed his shoulder and he jumped.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" The intense guy from earlier who had called him and Kacchan out glared at him, "That girl seems to be doing some kind of meditation. Are you hoping to interfere and throw her off her game?" He had switched out of his uniform as well into some skintight workout-clothes, and he ended up being as muscular as Izuku figured he would be.

All around, he could hear murmurs, "That guy tripped over his own feet at the gate earlier. What a joke. Oh well, once less rival, right?"

Izuku had resolved himself to try to be more confident, so he swallowed and shot what he hoped was an intense look of his own back, "O-or maybe I met her earlier and w-wanted to try to help. Did you ever think of that?"

The guy reared back but then narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "What's with the stuttering? Are you telling the truth?"

Izuku started getting irritated, "Of course I am! What kind of hero would do something like that!"

The boy found that an acceptable response and was going to apologize profusely for misjudging his fellow competitor, but he never got the chance. "AAAAAAAND START!" Everyone froze, question marks appearing over their heads. Present Mic loudly yelled at them again, "What are you waiting for, an invitation? The test has started! Run! RUN!"

Izuku turned around and nearly panicked as he noticed everyone else had already run off, some of them even laughing. Probably at him, since he hadn't moved, 'I can't lose! Not here! Not after all All Might did for me!' His body was enveloped in his signature emerald glow, and two seconds later he was past everyone except for the intense guy who was really freaking fast. Everyone who had spent the last couple minutes mocking him almost dropped to the ground in shock.

Everyone broke off into different directions and an explosion sounded from his left. A massive robot with a thick wheel as a base and shielded dual-freaking-gatlings for arms had crushed straight through the building, "Target acquired. Terminate." It aimed its arm which started spinning ominously and prepared to fire.

Izuku grabbed it with his Telekinesis and lifted it into the air, before throwing his arm down which sent the bot crashing into the pavement. The bot sparked and started sparking as it broke apart before exploding, 'I did it!' he shouted in his own head, filled with elation, 'I can do this! I CAN DO THIS!' He raced forward, feet no longer even touching the ground. The next enemy he saw was a three-pointer. It looked like a crawling tank with missile-launchers on its back. The blonde boy who had the belt had his arms behind his head in some funky pose. His belt was lighting up and preparing to do… something. Izuku teleported forward and appeared above the bot. A force blast directly downward pulverized it and the ground beneath it. The blonde had been one of the ones who had been poking fun at him earlier, and Inasa had rubbed off on him, "Thanks for the assist! Good distraction!" He quipped at the fallen boy, before using his telekinesis to get him back on his feet and teleporting away. The blonde was left with a slightly sour expression before regaining his look of supreme confidence and going hunting.

He appeared directly above the city and whirled around, searching for more enemies to fight. He saw a group of five of the two-pointers – scorpion-looking bots with vicious looking stingers – surrounding one of the people who had been the loudest when making fun of him. He looked like he was panicking. Even from this distance it was clear he was trembling. He raced forward, pulling something out from his pocket. Strangely enough, it was just his tie. His emerald power enveloped it and it straightened out, somehow managing to look sharp despite being a normal piece of cloth. The loop which would have kept it on his neck was now just a round circle for him to grip on. He teleported and sliced apart one of the machines with a metallic-sounding shiiing. The bot crackled and fizzed before exploding.

The others immediately zeroed in on him as the bigger target. The stinger on the leader shot forward and Izuku deflected it with his glowing green 'sword,' before slashing the air. A sharp wave of forced shot forward. There had been a bot maneuvering behind his target to get into position, so the flying slash cut both of them apart. A quick push with his free hand saw the last two blasted into a building and exploding. He was about to take off again, when a shaky voice called out, "S-sorry for making fun of you earlier, kid! You're a real hero! Thanks!"

The guy he had saved had thanked him AND called him a hero. A warm, fuzzy feeling was enveloping him. Izuku grinned madly, "No problem!" He called before flying up again and searching for more people to save. This was what he had always dreamed of! "I'm doing it, All Might!" He yelled in utter glee, trying to keep from crying in joy, "I'm doing it!"

…

In a darkened room, Toshinori stood before a massive number of panels along with a dozen others. His gaze was focused on his student, and a massive grin was splitting his skeletal face, 'That's the way, kid.'

Another person spoke up, "Such a wide battlefield and the time limit brings out the best in them."

Another picked up from where he left off, "Those who can assess a situation in moments; Information Gatherers." An image of a tall prospect with what looked like wings and other appendages stood on top of a building.

A squeakier voice continued, "Those who will never be late to the party; Mobility Experts!" A video of the intense boy with glasses crashing through a three-pointer with a kick appeared, followed by one of Izuku teleporting into the midst of their enemies.

"Those who can cope with any situation; Decision Makers!" The blonde kid Izuku had interrupted was flamboyantly blasting through three three-pointers with his navel laser. It switched to Izuku using his 'sword' to defend against a squadron of one-pointers before sending one crashing into its compatriots and ending them all.

A female voice piped up, sounding very… throaty, "And of course… combat experts. The natural born warriors." An explosion engulfed the screen before clearing, revealing Katsuki Bakugo standing amongst the shredded husks of half a dozen enemy bots. It then switched to Izuku again, passing through a squadron like the Shinigami was possessing him.

"The abilities needed to preserve peace in our cities are judged by the points they earn." The squeaky voice said.

"Quite a crop we have this year, huh?" The female said, followed the sound of her licking her lips.

"Nah, no way to tell yet." Toshinori finally spoke, "This should tell us more…" he flipped open the protective casing of a button labeled 'Yaruki Switch,' and firmly pressed it. Immediately, pandemonium started erupting on the screens as the titanic final villain appeared. It was a behemoth taller than most of the buildings and was capable of casually pushing them over. Dozens of student prospects simply started turning tail and running as the city broke around it, passing by their fallen examinees who weren't quite able to get away with barely a glance in their directions.

"People show their true colors when they face that thing." One of the males replied to him.

The One For All wielder's grin hadn't vanished from watching his pupil, and likely wouldn't for several hours too, "When they have nothing to gain… no, when they have everything to lose, rising to the challenge at those times… IS SURELY THE MARK OF A GREAT HERO!"

…

Izuku's eyes had grown wide as dust and grit from collapsed buildings surrounded him and his fellow examinees. The only thing saving him from a couple hours of irritated eyes was his psychic barrier keeping it flowing around him. When it cleared, it revealed the massive green enemy. It had a flat face with a bunch of red 'eyes' and massive hands. It truly was the definition of 'overwhelming.' It was decimating the city in its rampage.

All around him, examinees were running for their lives (and points). None had forgotten the warning from Present Mic. The intense and incredibly fast boy passed by him with a glance, wondering if maybe the surprisingly-powerful boy had been utterly rooted in terror. The glance ended, and he sped past, not bothering to lend him a hand.

Izuku stared for a moment longer, before making to turn away like the rest, 'Have to avoid that thing and keep earning points.' Only that didn't happen. Something made him freeze. A small cry of pain reached his ears. He jerked back and saw the dust settle in front of the amazingly-bright girl who'd saved him from a faceplant earlier in the day. 'It's a bad omen to fall on a day like this, you know!' Her bubbly voice rang in his head, contrasting powerfully with the look of pain and fear on her face as she tried to pull herself out from underneath a broken slab of concrete. She tried to inch out, and when that failed, tried to reach back and tap the concrete, but she was unable to reach. Her fingertips barely brushed, which didn't seem to be good enough.

The villain stopped before her and reached for her body.

Izuku didn't think. A second ago he was over a hundred meters away, and now he was directly beside her. She gasped, a look of horror flowing over her features as Izuku leapt at the villain's hand, swinging his sword-tie and completely splitting the massive, metallic appendage in twain. "N-no!" She cried out as she realized what that meant.

Izuku's brain caught up with him when he reached the apex. His eyes were shadowed as he floated above the behemoth, but it was easy to see the tears pouring down his face because they were dripping down. His extreme emotions intensified the glow around his body, and he lifted the 'blade' with finality. A hoarse cry of despair and fury rang out from him, catching the attention of all the examinees who hadn't already been gaping at the destroyed arm. The glow around his tie was half a dozen times larger than the no-longer-flimsy piece of cloth, and he swung down after hooking his other hand into the loop for a two-handed grip.

The two halves of the massive enemy literally sprang apart as if they were spring loaded, after an emerald light seemed to travel down its form. It happened so fast it took a second for the explosions to start. All the examinees stared in dumbfounded shock as the enemy which had so-terrified them was utterly annihilated in two blows.

And then the screaming began. The girl's eyes widened in horror as the boy who saved her dropped his tie – which fluttered harmlessly in the wind as it blew away – and clutched his head, howling in complete and utter agony. The pain in his head was excruciating. It felt like someone had taken an industrial blender directly to his brain and dialed it to eleven. He started falling, in no condition to even think coherently much less use his powers any longer. The girl fought her panic and produced strength she didn't know she had, lifting the concrete which had immobilized her earlier with a grunt of determination. She then limped over to the head of one of the enemies she had taken out and touched it. It started floating and she hopped on, floating up to meet her savior, where she threw her body at him and managed an unfortunately hard slap to his face.

Her powers made him float too, and he slowed enough to fall almost-gently to the pavement. She clasped her hands together, and both she and her savior crashed down. Then, a green hue overtook her skin, and her cheeks and eyes bulged. She bent over and vomited down the side of the monstrous metal head she lay on.

Even though she had saved him, the boy was still writhing on the floor, clutching his head and crying out in pain. "Make way!" Her attention was drawn to an old lady running towards them. Everything about her clothing made it clear that she was a healer. And that thought made her realize… the exam had to be over. She must have missed the announcement entirely in her hurry to keep him from splattering. Recovery Girl – that was her name, she heard from the blonde boy with the belt – hurried over and her lips stretched away from her face, kissing the boy on top of his head, "Smoooooch!" A glow enveloped her hero, different from the one he'd sported during the exam. It was a different color and centered on his head. Slowly, his cries came to a halt and he stopped writhing. "He'll be okay!"

The brunette sighed in relief, "Thank goodness." She slumped back down, narrowly avoiding putting her cheek on her vomit, which was good because she probably would have just hurled again.

Recovery Girl drew her attention again though, "What a scary Quirk though…" She was staring beyond Izuku for a moment, before she turned away and started going to the others, stopping momentarily to heal her ankle – huh, she hadn't even realized how much it hurt until the relief had set it – before moving on. She turned her head to see what Recovery Girl had been talking about, only for her jaw to drop. Izuku hadn't just cut the robot in half.

U.A. had a new freaking canyon.

Away from them, the tall, intense boy was also staring, though his fists were clenched. All around him, others were talking, "He jumped right at that thing! What an idiot! He lost all his points! Was his jumpiness just an act to get us to lower our guards earlier? He was so freaking strong! Just what is his Quirk?"

The boy adjusted his glasses, 'That's not it… weren't they even watching?' he looked at the brunette, who herself was watching as the heroic student was wheeled away, 'He jumped in to save that girl! The remaining time… his own safety… even his points! He didn't even hesitate!' His fists were almost clenched hard enough to draw blood as he remembered simply passing by other examinees, 'Of course, if this hadn't been an exam, I would have done the same.' He thought as he bit his lip.

Later, he would realize how fake that declaration was even in his own mind. It would lead him to do quite a bit of soul searching as he compared himself to the real Hero in this exam. Ultimately, it would galvanize him and make him work harder than ever.

But for now, those thoughts weren't in his mind. Instead, it was almost like a light bulb went off, '! The exam!' He went back to grinding his teeth, 'Could it be? If the exam is structured like that then he…'

The brunette had managed to get herself back up and was stomping away with determination in her gaze. That boy had lost all his points to save her life and like hell was she going to sit around and do nothing. The proctors were going to listen to her or else.

-]|[-

The weekend had arrived and Izuku lackadaisically made his way to his training site. His gaze was unfocused as he walked, and his face was despondent. When he arrived, Inasa was already there, waiting for him. He sat down roughly and glanced over at his friend. For a moment, he forgot his own depression. Rarely had he seen such a look on his energetically happy friend. "You alright?"

Inasa was staring at the waves with such an intense, stiff gaze he resembled the guy from the exams. "I never told you, did I?" Inasa finally spoke, "When I was young, I had a hero I admired the same way you admire All Might." Even now, he wasn't looking to his friend, instead glaring out at the rising sun, "I think heroism is all about bringing the heat! A hero's fiery soul ignites passion and hope in people! So when I first saw Endeavor, I loved him man. Thought he was the hottest guy around. I wanted to be just like him." He spat to the side, "I went to get his autograph once, you know. He just brushed me aside." He looked at Izuku, "No, he didn't just brush me aside. He literally knocked me over and snarled at me to get stay out of the way. His eyes man… it was like his eyes dunked me in ice water. He had no spirit in him at all! Just icy rage!"

He clenched his fist, "I met his son at my own exam. The Recommended students get a different one from you guys. I spotted him almost immediately… cuz he had those same damn eyes. I can't accept either of them as heroes!" He cried out furiously, "As far back as I could remember, I had never been afraid of anything! Before I knew it, I was totally obsessed with heroes! They dive headfirst into trouble and give it their all! That fire and drive was everything to me! So when I saw those eyes so full of hate, staring out at something in the far distance… I couldn't stand it! But still, Endeavor's son had the red-hot skills! I thought that maybe those icy eyes wouldn't matter! That I could make friends with him! But that damn bastard wouldn't even look at me." He pounded a fist into the barrier, "I don't want to be in the same class as this guy. I'm going to reject my admission."

After days of numbness, Izuku finally had a spark of life in his gaze once more, "You can't do that!" he leapt and put both hands on his friend's shoulders, forcing him to look at him, "U.A. is your dream dude, just like mine! You can't let one person ruin your dreams!" Inasa still looked mulish, so Izuku continued speaking passionately, "Besides, you don't know anything about the guy! Maybe he has a reason for the way he acts! You don't know if he's been through a tragedy or anything like that! Shouldn't it be our jobs as heroes to help people like that? To inspire hope! You can't just run away! Was all that talk about Spirit lip-service?!" Inasa's jaw was clenched as Izuku backed away, and his knuckles popped, before he surprised Izuku by punching himself in the face, "Wahhh! Dude, stop doing that!"

"You're right." Inasa spat a bit of blood away, "You're right. That is what a hero would do, isn't it?" He chuckled, "Thanks for knocking some sense into me, my man."

"You did that yourself!" Izuku retorted quickly, before slumping and laying down on the sand, spread eagle.

"You didn't look so happy yourself. What happened?" Inasa asked, and Izuku's face closed up again.

He let out a resigned sigh, "I failed…"

"WHAT?!" Inasa's explosion was as predictable as one of Kacchan's.

"There was a trap enemy in our exams." Izuku groaned heavily, "Getting caught by it or engaging with it reduced your points to zero. There was a girl…" Inasa's face lit up, "She was in trouble…" He closed his eyes, "Before I knew what was happening, I was cutting its arm in half to save her."

"Pfff, you don't really think U.A. would do something like that, do you? That was probably just to put you guys to the real test! You have so much fire in you, dude! They can't possibly reject a hot-blooded guy like you!" He laughed boisterously, trying to cheer his friend up.

"…" Izuku closed his eyes, "I actually thought of that too. I even figured you might be right." Tears started leaking from his shut eyelids, "But it's been three days, and All Might hasn't contacted me. Hasn't even replied to the texts I sent him…" He cried out.

The smile fell away from Inasa's face, and he gaped at his friend, "No way…" he went right back to furious, jumping down and walking closer to his friend, "That's bullshit!" he roared, "No way could a Hero School reject a real hero like you! There's just no way!" he stomped back and forth, before stopping near his friend and throwing a hand out, "You're right that I shouldn't let go of my dreams over one person, but this is different! If they really reject a hot-blooded guy like you then maybe U.A. isn't really the greatest Hero School!" He stared hard into Izuku's eyes, "If you don't get in, I'm not going either! We'll both go to Shiketsu and show those bastards what being a real hero means, got it?!"

Izuku swallowed, his throat tight at what his friend was willing to give up for him. He started crying again, before clapping his hand into Inasa's and allowing himself to get pulled up, "Got it!"

Inasa finally started grinning again, "Right on!" He pumped a fist, "So, want to get a spar going and get the blood pumping?"

Izuku chuckled lightly, "Sorry, but I can't. My Quirk has been on the fritz for a few days. I think I overused it during the exams. I've been told to take it easy."

"Awww, what a bummer!"

-]|[-

"I-i-i-i-zu-zu-zu-zu-izukuuuuu!" Izuku nearly jumped and clung onto the ceiling like a cat when his mom's frantic voice sounded from behind him. He turned and watched her trip and fall onto her knees, "It's here! It's really here!" In her hand – which she was extending to him – was a letter from U.A. High.

…

Izuku sat at his desk, trying to calm himself. He'd done all he could. Put in his very best effort. He saved someone. More than one person, actually! He closed his eyes and tore open the envelope, opening his eyes as he heard a little click on his desk. He eyed the little disk in confusion, before it lit up, "I am here… as a projection!"

"Wha?! All Might?! I thought this letter was from U.A.!" Izuku stammered.

His mentor was wearing a yellow pinstriped suit, looking every bit the hero everyone knew him as. "It's been a while. Sorry for the radio silence, but there was a whole lot to deliberate on." He bowed to the camera and to Izuku, "My apologies, but I could say nothing until now since we're about to make the official announcement! I'm here in this town for one reason! As of this moment, I am a teacher at U.A. High!" Izuku gaped at the screen, before furrowing his brow as All Might turned to look at someone else, "Huh? What's that? 'Get to the point. Whatever I want to say to him can be said later?' But… You'll edit it in post-production? Okay, guess it can't be helped." He turned back to the main camera and to Izuku, "Midoriya-shonen, you scored very well on the written exam, but a goose egg in the practicals means an obvious result. I'm sorry."

Izuku's eyes went wide and tears started prickling in them, "No way! That…! That's just not right! Even after everything!" He clenched his fists.

"…Is what I would say, if that were the end of the story!" Izuku froze, and looked back at the floating screen, "I may have been an entertainer in a past life, shonen! Observe!"

The camera zoomed out, revealing a screen behind All Might. "The nice girl!" Izuku gasped as he stared at her.

"Please, that boy in the green tracksuit… The one with curly, dark-green hair and freckles. I thought he looked kind of plain at first, but when the test started he started shining like a star! Do you know the one?" She had a determined look on her face and leaned forward while clenching her hands at her side, "Please, I want to give him my points! He was the biggest Hero in that entire exam! He saved me and lost all of his points because of it! It's not fair for him to fail! At least as many points as he lost saving me! Please!" She had squeezed her eyes shut, "PLEASE!"

All Might turned back to the camera as Izuku stared at her, his heart thudding in his chest and tears licking at the corners of his eyes. "You are more than just your Quirk and your strength, shonen! You have the power to move the hearts of others!" He crossed his arms in a 'X' in front of his chest with a massive grin on his face, "We were NOT just looking for combat ability in this exam. Villain Points were just one aspect of it, and that trap villain did NOT take away any points! It was merely worth nothing!"

Izuku began to cry in earnest as Present Mic appeared on the screen with the girl, "I'm afraid we can't give him any of your points, little listener." He ruffled her hair proudly, "But there's no need to worry."

All Might beamed at him, "Not only do you keep every point you earned during the examination, but you've earned even more with your heroic actions! A Hero Course that rejects those who save others and do the right thing could never be called a Hero Course! This isn't all for the cameras! Heroics isn't about lip service! In this job, you risk your life and put your money where your mouth is! It's all about turning that lip service into reality! Hero Points!" He roared, and the video changed to a darkened room where people were holding up score-cards, "They are awarded by a panel of judges, and are another fundamental way for U.A. to evaluate you!" Izuku saw nothing but high scores, sevens minimum.

The screen changed again, this time to what must have been exam rankings. And right at the top was his own name.

No. 1 Izuku Midoriya

Villain Points: 52

Hero Points: 89

Total: 141

All Might was grinning as broadly as Izuku was gaping. First place?! "With such an effort, you weren't only gunning for my own high score, you just barely edged it out!"

He was trembling and trying to see through his tears, quickly wiping them away and gazing at the screen.

No. 2 Katsuki Bakugo

Villain Points: 108

Hero Points: 0

Total: 108

He couldn't quite bite back the snort that erupted from him, and it sent some snot onto his desk to be cleaned up later. Of course Kacchan would more than double his own villain score. Hell, his Villain score beat Izuku's Hero score, and it was the best one on the list!

No. 3 Ochaco Uraraka

Villain Points: 28

Hero Points: 50

Total: 78

"So that was her name!" Izuku yelled as All Might explained that – for her willingness to give up all her points if it meant he would get in on top of saving him from splattering on the pavement – Uraraka had earned fifty points!

No. 4 Eijiro Kirishima

Villain Points: 39

Hero Points: 35

Total: 74

That was an unfamiliar name and he could go no further before the screen changed. He had to find out if it was possible to rewind this thing so he could check the others.

"You both pass!" All Might said over his shoulder, his back to the camera. He turned around and held his out hand, "Come, Midoriya-shonen. This is your Hero Academia!"

Izuku wiped his fresh set of tears away, "Yes sir!" he cried at the projection, before grabbing his phone and racing from his room. He had his mom to squeeze the life out of with a hug – or would it be the reverse, knowing her? – and Inasa to call.

-]|[-

"What a set of exams!" One person exclaimed as they stared up at the monitor depicting the scores from this year's test.

"You're telling me! This one kid somehow managed over a hundred points with literally zero Hero Points. Something must have lit a fire up this kid's behind."

"The other kids were slowing down by the second half, but he somehow just seemed like he was getting faster." They stared at the picture which would be on Katsuki's ID card. At least in terms of combat potential, he certainly seemed like he had earned that smug smirk. "He got second place and not a Hero Point to speak of."

"Feh, boring. We've seen guys like that before." Another commented, "I'm more interested in Midoriya. He could have matched that type of score if he focused entirely on beating down Villains. He not only took down the Trap Bot but he also gave us a lovely new canyon."

"Don't remind me." Another grumbled, "Even after a couple hours yesterday I still haven't finished filling that in." The speaker was blocky. Like… literally blocky. He looked like an anthropomorphic block of cement.

"His own power seemed to hurt him though." One of them pointed out, "He was clutching his head and howling like he was getting tortured after finishing the Trap Bot."

Only one person didn't join in on the discussion. He had nondescript black clothes, unkept black hair, and a completely exhausted look on his face. His arms were crossed as he stared at the top ten scorers. 'What a racket.' He turned away and walked out of the room without another glance.

-]|[-

"All Might!" Izuku yelled as he touched down on Dagobah's newly cleaned beach.

Blood spewed from between Toshinori's teeth, "Who's that?!" Immediately, a couple who had decided to come view the waves underneath a large beach canopy started freaking out about his Hero form, "Repeat after me: Just my eyes playing tricks!"

Izuku had also stiffened up, and yelled out, "Sorry, was just a mirage!"

They both sighed in relief as the couple turned away, disappointed. Toshinori grinned and held his hand up for a high-five, "Good job, shonen. You performed extremely well! You even beat my old high score by a couple points."

Izuku high-fived back, but instead of being grateful he hissed, "Toshi you jerk! You had me and Inasa angsting for a week!"

Toshinori coughed up a little blood at seeing the irritation on his student's face, "Sorry kid, I really was insanely busy. I couldn't even feel my hand after all the paperwork I had to do. And I would have gotten in trouble if I had told you about it beforehand anyway." He grinned sneakily, "Though to be honest, in retrospect it would have been a pretty good prank if I had done it intentionally."

"We had already printed out Shiketsu Applications!" Izuku waved his arms up and down, Toshinori blanched before Izuku deflated with a sigh, "Still, when it finally came, it felt so great! You guys played up the Trap Villain perfectly. You had everyone fooled!"

"And you took it out!" Toshinori ruffled his hair with a giant grin, "I couldn't have been prouder! Students have engaged it in the past, but it's been over a decade since someone wrecked one. You more than earned your placement, shonen. And if you're wondering, I wasn't a judge. I figure you're the type to worry about favoritism." He then shined a look of worry on Izuku, "How are you feeling though? You were in an incredible about of pain from what I saw."

"Y-yeah." Izuku rubbed the back of his head wearily, "My head felt like it was going to explode. I hope that kind of pain is something that'll go away with training and increasing my limits. I couldn't even move afterwards, and I wasn't really able to even use my Quirk again until this morning."

"It is very likely that you will." Toshinori replied, "One For All… it was much the same for my master. Strangely, I got the hang of using it at 100% almost instantly, but she told me the first time she used it, she had a shattered arm and needed a healing Quirk to fix it. It's likely you would have had the same happen to you, since each time it passes on, the baseline is much stronger than the previous baseline. You would have been able to just heal it with your Flames of Regeneration though."

"I would have still felt the pain though." Izuku deadpanned, not quite glaring at his master.

"No pain, no gain. My own teacher…" He seized up, and Izuku watched as a full-body shudder ran through Toshinori, "You know what, never mind that last thought." He smirked and gave Izuku a thumbs-up, "What's important now is that you temper your vessel. Quirks are a lot like muscles. Unless something causes them to mutate unexpectedly, they generally don't just randomly grow new abilities or powers. The only way to make them stronger is to make yourself stronger. Well, unless you're creative and discover more ways to use it, of course. Generally, the more you use it, the more you'll be able to handle at your peak."

"Muscles can tear, you know." Izuku looked a little unimpressed, "What if I strain too hard and set myself back?"

Toshinori grinned and all of a sudden, he was huge, "Let's put that theory to the test then, shall we shonen?" He vanished in a burst of pure speed, and a second later Izuku had to cover his eyes and stumbled back as a wall of wind almost knocked him on his behind. When he opened them again, he saw his old nemesis; the big rig. "When you finished cleaning this beach, moving this truck from its location up to where we were collecting the trash to be taken away took you a grand total of three minutes and seventeen seconds. You were also trembling like a leaf from the first thirty seconds." He took out his phone and clicked onto the stopwatch feature, "Let's see some improvement, shonen."

Izuku threw his hand up and focused, the emerald glow of his Quirk enveloping him. Slowly, the truck lifted up, but Izuku immediately noticed that All Might was right. He wasn't straining nearly as hard as he had the last time he'd moved it. It was also moving more quickly, though it was still a ponderous pace.

All Might grinned as the truck touched down, before turning his phone to Izuku; 1:53s. Izuku started to beam as he caught his breath, "Excellent work, shonen!"

"Holy shit, did All Might take a student!" The awed voice of the male of the couple from earlier screamed out.

All Might and Izuku started to sweat, "Time to dash." They both vanished, Izuku with his teleportation and All Might with his… might.

-]|[-

Spring had come, the weather was turning nicer, and the Sakura trees were blooming in full. Inko hugged the stuffing out of her son at the door, "I'm so proud of you, honey!" She was holding back tears, "So, so proud." Izuku was in his school uniform, which consisted of dark green dress pants, a white dress shirt, a light-grey jacket with green lapels and cuffs with golden buttons, and red tie which he hadn't properly tied all the way. Izuku slung his backpack over his shoulder and glanced at his mom. She had lost a lot of weight over these past few months and looked so much happier. Izuku had no idea his own dreams getting crushed by Quirklessness had been affecting her so badly. The extreme guilt and sorrow must have been eating away at her for years, making her think she was a terrible mother.

Him getting his Quirk hadn't been a godsend only for him. "Love you mom!" He managed not to choke as he said it, pulling her in for an even tighter hug, "I'll do my best!"

"Izuku…" She smiled as he pulled away, "You look really cool!" A flash of bright white light made her cover her eyes, and when she opened them, he was gone.

…

'So few applicants get in each year…' Izuku thought to himself as he raced into the building and started looking for his classroom, 'Less than one in every three hundred applicants manage to make the cut. Sometimes even fewer than that make it in. I've been so, so lucky…' He almost started getting dizzy and needed to stop and ask for directions, 'This place is so huge to- HOLY!' He finally found the door he was looking for, and it was gigantic. It stood more than three times his own height. He could have two clones of himself appear and stand on his head in a stack and the top-most clone's head wouldn't have brushed the doorway. There was a big '1' with a big 'A' underneath it painted on the door. "Guess they have to accommodate all types of students since Quirks can change our bodies." He let out a sigh and then puffed himself up, 'I finally made it! I do kind of hope Uraraka-san is in this class too. Plus, Inasa wouldn't tell me which one they put him in. Still, as long as Kacchan and the glasses guy aren't he-'

He opened the door, and was immediately beset by noise, "Remove your feet from the desk immediately! Such an act disgraces all the wonderful craftsmen who made our furniture and the upperclassmen who have come before us!"

Izuku deadpanned, 'Of course both of them are here.' After getting the third-degree from Glasses in the exams, he had felt as if they would not get along in the slightest.

"Huh? What do I care about any of that shit? What school are you from, you extra?" Kacchan sneered at the taller boy.

'Extra? For Pete's sake, Kacchan.' Izuku thought to himself as he made to step in.

"M-my name is Tenya Iida. I hail from Somei Academy!" The newly-introduced Iida stuttered for a moment before answering.

"Somei?" Kacchan put extra inflection on the word, "So you're a damn elite huh? I'll have fun crushing you."

"Cr-crushing? You barbarian! Do you truly wish to become a hero?" Iida had a little dark-blue shadow on his forehead. He then caught sight of Izuku and hurried over to the door, holding out his hand for Izuku to shake. "We meet again! I'm-"

"T-Tenya Iida from Somei. I heard." Izuku shook his hand, though he still wasn't quite sure he wanted much to do with the boy after his judgmental attitude during the exams. Still, no need to be rude.

Iida straightened out and started to speak, "Before the exam began, I completely misjudged you. I wish to offer my sincerest apologizes for my words and actions." He gave Izuku a short bow.

Izuku was now slightly happy since Iida seemed to have turned over a new leaf. While he wouldn't quite forget the treatment from the exam, if Iida was willing to try to make amends it would be water under the bridge, "Izuku Midoriya. P-pleased to meet you, Iida."

"Midoriya-kun, you perceived the true nature of that exam, did you not?" He moved a little robotically, his hands out and looking like he was going to chop something with them, "As much as I hate to admit it, you were the far superior candid-"

"Perceived the true nature?" Iida stopped and looked at Izuku as he spoke with a confused note in his tone, "…I was angsting about it for a week dude. I thought I had failed."

Iida's eyes widened, and he resisted the urge to step back, "Truly? But why would you…?"

"Uraraka-san was in trouble." He said simply and behind him, said girl's face flamed red as she came closer to the door and caught the conversation, "So I moved to save her. That's all there was to it. I didn't even realize what I had done until it was already over."

Iida's teeth clenched a little, 'He's…he's so much better than me there aren't any words for it.'

Uraraka powered through her blush and got herself under control, "And you were so awesome while you did it!" Izuku jumped a mile in the air and turned, trembling slightly. Uraraka smiled happily at him, "You saved me! Thank you so much! And you got in as well! I was so happy when Present Mic told me you had!"

'She-she's too cute in that uniform!' Izuku started to stammer, trying futilely to keep his blush under control, "I-I-I have to th-thank you too! You spoke on my behalf…"

"Izuku!" Another person popped up behind Uraraka, "Looks like you made it, my man!"

"Inasa!" Izuku grinned, and they bumped fists, "So, you were in 1-A after all! Why wouldn't you tell me!" Inasa had his tie almost untied and some of his buttons were undone. Uraraka goggled for a moment, a little put-out at the interruption.

Over in his chair, Katsuki was glaring at the two, 'Who is this guy and how does he know Deku?' Little crackles flew from his fists as he clenched them incredibly hard, 'What happened to weak little Deku? I knew his Quirk was strong when it finally showed up… but he BEAT ME in the exams. ME!' It was only the fact that he had more than doubled Izuku's Villain – and therefore combat – score that kept him from literally exploding.

"Where's the fun in-" Inasa started to laugh when they were again interrupted.

"If you're here to socialize, then go home!" They each froze and turned to look outside the classroom. On the floor was a yellow caterpillar!

"Wah, a talking caterpillar! So cool!" Inasa exclaimed, while Izuku and Uraraka had wide eyes and were completely taken aback.

A second glance later and they realized it was a sleeping bag, and the face staring at them looked decidedly unamused, "This is the Hero Course." A hand snaked out from inside the bag with a pouch, which the long-haired man squeezed empty in a single suck. Iida, Izuku, and Uraraka were slightly blue as they watched him sit up and toss off the sleeping bag. He wore all black which matched his messy hair and a grey scarf, "You mistook me for a caterpillar and it took you all more than ten seconds to settle down. Time is precious. You kids aren't very rational, are you?"

He strode inside while everyone wondered who exactly this was. Izuku didn't recognize him, which said something. 'He has to be a Pro Hero, right? I've never seen him before. And I've never seen one who looked so worn out either.'

He even had a lot of stubble on his face and his eyes were bloodshot, "I'm your homeroom teacher, Shōta Aizawa. Pleased to meet you." He sounded everything but pleased. He reached into his sleeping bag and pulled out a dark blue uniform with red and white stripes, "It's a bit sudden, but you all need to put these on and head to the field."

Everyone in the class had varying degrees of confusion written on their faces as the man walked right back out.

-]|[-

"A Quirk Assessment Test?" the entire class repeated Aizawa's words in confusion.

Uraraka took a step forward, "But what about the entrance ceremony or the guidance sessions?" She asked cutely in confusion. She had really been looking forward to those and getting to know the school, her new peers, and the faculty.

"A waste of time if you want to become heroes." Aizawa replied lackadaisically, "You have very little time here at U.A. to learn what you need to learn. Our school prides itself on its 'freestyle' system of education, and that applies to the teachers as well." Everyone had question marks over their heads, "The softball throw, the fifty-meter dash, consecutive side-steps, endurance running, grip strength, the standing long-jump, seated-toe-touches, and sit-ups. You all did these in middle school but were never allowed to use your Quirks. It isn't rational, but the Department of Education loves dragging their feet about changing things and creating new standards." He glanced towards the group, "Bakugo, step forward. What was your record with the softball throw in middle school?"

Katsuki stepped forward with an expressionless look on his face, "Ninety-five meters." The past year – roughly – had been hell on him. He pushed himself harder than ever before after that damn Deku had shown him up in school.

Aizawa tossed him a ball with a strange little gizmo wrapped tightly to it, "Let's see what you can do. Go all out and use your Quirk. You're only not allowed to step from that circle. Give it all you got."

"Awesome. I think I'm going to like this class." Katsuki was starting to smirk as he stretched his arms, ''ll add a little boom to the pitch.' He wound up, before chucking the ball as with a roar, "DIE!" A massive explosion accompanied it, and it flew nearly out of sight with smoke rings from the explosion accompanying it.

'Die?' The class collectively thought, utterly puzzled.

It landed almost a kilometer away, and Aizawa showed them his reader. 987.3 meters. "It's important for us to know your limits. That's the first step in figuring out just what kind of heroes you'll be."

The class erupted, "Wahooo! This is awesome!" A literally pink girl with horns and golden eyes in black sclera yelled out, "I can't believe we get to use our quirks right off the bat!"

"Almost a kilometer? Seriously?!" A boy with straight, black hair, very strange-looking elbows, and a triangular smile showing all his teeth looked equally excited.

"The Hero Course is awesome!" A very short boy with what looked like round balls on his head yelled out.

The pink girl yelled again, "This is going to be so much fun!"

All of a sudden, a feeling of dread enveloped them, "Fun, you say?" Aizawa was staring at them. His expression hadn't really changed, but there was something about him that made it seem like a bucket of ice had been dropped into their gym uniforms. "You've only got three years here and you're thinking about fun? Alright then. If you're just here to have fun, then I'm going to make a new rule." Izuku was very much getting 'Trap Bot' vibes from their teacher, so he used his most-neglected ability – Telepathy – to sense out the man's emotions. He almost never used it because it really felt like an invasion of privacy and he wasn't sure he liked that. "The person who scores the lowest in these exams will be judged as hopeless and will be on a one-way train back home before the day is over."

Truth.

Cold, honest, brutal truth was all that was emanating from their teacher, and a shiver ran down Izuku's spine. Aizawa brushed his bangs back and had a strange smile on his face, his eyes wide and intense. He looked every bit a madman, "Your fates are in our hands. Welcome to the Hero Course."

"What!" Uraraka gasped, "But it's the first day and we're risking expulsion?! That's not fair!"

"Natural disasters… rampaging Villains… freak accidents… The world isn't fair, Ochaco Uraraka. Calamity is always just around the corner, and Heroes are the ones who correct that unfairness." He grinned again, "If you were planning on hanging out for the next three years, you're in for a rude awakening, kids. U.A. will do its best to put you through one hardship after another, because villains and disasters don't discriminate. The only way we can ensure you survive to be splendid heroes is by ensuring you are the strongest, so bring it on. That's PLUS ULTRA."

"Trial by fire, huh?" Iida took a sip from his drink.

Inasa laughed boisterously, "I'm getting fired up! Bring it on, sensei!"

Izuku clenched his fists, "W-we fought and b-bled to get here sensei! We're not going home without a fight!"

The rest of the class was looking determined, bolstered by their words. Aizawa smirked, "Good to hear. The demonstration is over, so let's get it on. First up is the fifty-meter dash." He turned and led them over to the tracks, 'They dispelled the aura of fear I created. Now they're all determined to pass. These kids are good.' The dashes were done in groups of two, one per lane. Aizawa called up the first two competitors, "Mina Ashido and Yūga Aoyama, step up."

The two were the pink girl and the blonde from the entrance exams with the strange belt. "I'm not going to lose!" Mina cried in determination. Her exotic look made her quite beautiful, despite how different in appearance she was. Her skin and hair were all pink of varying shades and she looked like she was pretty fit. She certainly had more muscles than most of the other girls. Her Quirk was Acid, which enabled her to project corrosive liquid from any part of her body. She could change the acidity and even viscosity with incredible precision. A side effect of her Quirk was her pink skin. The horns were from her father's side of the family.

Yūga on the other hand… sparkled. And he looked even cockier than Katsuki, somehow. He had perfectly-combed blonde hair that reached his neck. Izuku had already seen his Quirk during the entrance exams; Navel Laser. He was capable of projecting a sparkly, powerful laser beam from his belly button. He was able to alter distance and intensity freely. However, due to a birth defect his Quirk 'leaked' and he had to wear his belt pretty constantly to control it. Using it for more than one second caused his intestines to hurt.

His face seemed perpetually stuck in a flamboyant smirk, his mouth an upturned 'V.' He spoke an odd combination of Japanese, English, and French, "No Quirk is better for a Pro Hero than my fabulous Navel Laser. Watch closely everyone. Creativity will win the day here!"

He turned around and stood, whereas Mina was in the proper starting position for a race with her shoes off. The robot they were using to record results fired off the starting gun, and they were off like a shot. Literally in Yūga's case. He jumped into the air, tucked in his knees, and fired off his laser, which forced him back with the recoil.

At that point, Izuku stopped and stared. How the hell was a laser providing recoil? Light was massless and shouldn't do that! His mumbling kicked into overdrive and made several of his classmates look at him strangely.

Yūga's beam petered out and he fell to the floor at about the halfway mark, skidding and dirtying his gym suit. Mina was basically skating on the track with a really slick acid. She passed him without even a glance as he stood back up and repeated his shot. She still beat him by a good half second.

Mina: 4.92 seconds

Yūga: 5.51 seconds

To think; hundreds of years ago such times would have been seen as impossible records. Back when sports were still heavily regulated to be Quirkless, people trained for years in single disciplines and wouldn't have been able to overcome such times. Now? Fresh teenagers broke old Olympic and World Records routinely.

Yūga didn't turn, but he did turn his head to his classmates. His smug smirk was apparently permanent, "If I had fired off a second sooner, my stomach would have exploded." Everyone stared at him as if he were a weirdo.

The next group was Katsuki and Tsuyu Asui. Katsuki used his explosive Quirk basically like an afterburner. How he didn't just fall over was a mystery. He finished the race in 4.13 seconds, with Tsuyu displaying some incredible leaping ability and finished in 5.58 seconds. "Kero." The girl had sleek, extremely long dark sea-green hair that appeared silky. Her eyes were round and much larger than normal. Her mouth was wider than normal, and her tongue was very long. Her Quirk was simple in theory, but in actuality it was one of the most versatile Quirks Izuku had seen. Frog allowed her to do anything any species of frog could. Who knew what she would be able to do with some creativity.

Next up was a floating set of clothes – they literally had an invisible girl named Tōru Hagakure in their class – and Iida. Iida pulled up his pant legs revealing a thicker-than-normal set of calves, which quickly grew six pipes on each leg. He also rolled up his sleeves and two larger pipes grew on his elbows. Iida's Quirk was named Engine and he was capable of manifesting his tailpipes on his legs, arms, and back. Additionally, his limbs and sense of balance were incredibly strong. He was perfectly comfortable with kicking through the steel bots during the entrance exams and didn't feel even a twinge of pain when doing so. However, he needed fuel to power his Quirk; his drink of choice being orange juice. Carbonated drinks literally made him stall. This race was a forgone conclusion. He finished the race with an extremely fast time of 2.34 seconds. Hagakure was just a normal teenager who hadn't actually trained for things like this, so she had the worst time yet by far; 7.99 seconds.

"A-awesome job Iida!" Izuku hesitantly offered the boy a high-five, which Iida happily returned.

"Thank you, Midoriya. I'm quite eager to see how you'll do." Iida replied while sipping from his bottle.

And on it went. Kyōka Jīrō had fair skin, black eyes which sported an uninterested gaze, and short purple hair with asymmetric bangs. There were lighter, lavender-colored streaks in her hair that resembled soundwaves. Her most eye-catching features were her earlobes, as they resembled the plugs one would find on headphones. Her Quirk was the sound-based Earphone Jack and it did not really help her in events like these. As it only allowed her to project and amplify sounds in terms of offense, it wasn't ideal for these sets of tests. She still put up better numbers than Tōru.

When it was her partner Kaminari's turn, Izuku couldn't figure out if he admired the blonde's Quirk Storm or if he felt bad for the guy. He had a naturally stronger body which was a boon in the tests, but his real power was his body's ability to store and manipulate electricity. He could additionally control magnetism since the two forces were linked. He could absorb electricity from any source and even boost his own healing rate by doing so. On the other hand, he could not touch any body of water bigger than whatever was in his water bottle or he would lose control over his electricity and start frying himself and anything that happened to be in it. The poor blonde had to ground himself to something metal to even be able to shower comfortably. He couldn't go to the pool or any water parks because the more water he was in, the worse the shocks would be. After a certain point of immersion, he would be taking damage more quickly than he could heal and would become paralyzed. Rain always put him in a bad mood since it put his powers on the fritz. If he got caught in a downpour he would continuously experience rather painful shocks until he got dry. Additionally, due to his power he naturally set off things like fireworks. He was not allowed to drive or even be in a car because there was a risk of setting off the gasoline. He thanked his lucky stars every day that he instinctively could reign in his powers when touching other people, otherwise he would be electrocuting everyone with a handshake. He finished in just over Mina's time at 5.01 seconds.

Next up was Eijirō Kirishima – the red-haired, boisterous fourth-place competitor in the Entrance Exam who only missed taking home the bronze by a few points – with the awesome quirk Hardening. This really did nothing for him in a race, but the guy clearly put in the effort. He was fast and strong and the second they got to talking, he and Inasa became fast friends. He finished in 4.70 seconds.

Kōji Kōda had another sound-based Quirk named Anivoice, which allowed him to control any animal that could hear him speak. As he appeared to be mute from what they could tell – either that or he was shyer than Izuku pre-Phoenix-Force – he had to rely on his own strength. He had a strangely shaped head and a muscular build, which served him well. He finished in just over six seconds, long after Kirishima.

And then it was Izuku's turn with Mezō Shōji. The boy was incredibly tall and wore a mask, which was partially obscured by his long, silver hair which swooped in front of his face. He had his uniform cut off at the arms, because he had multiple appendages that could grow body parts and morph freely. He liked forming mouths on them to talk as well as eyes to get more vision. The Quirk was named Dupli-Arms. Shōji proved to be very athletic, running in at just over four seconds.

As for Izuku? He took one step and disappeared, his body reforming at the robot for it to measure him. His total time was .23 seconds. Everyone dropped their jaws at his insane record, and Izuku himself flushed bright red when everyone started praising his effort.

"Deku, YOU BASTARD!" Izuku winced as Kacchan's voice sounded off behind him, "What was that, shithead?! I thought your Quirk was telekinesis!" the explosive boy started… well… exploding and rushed forward, intending on fighting his rival who just had to keep fucking showing him up.

Only he never reached him. Several gray strips of cloth enveloped him and prevented him from continuing forward. He strained, trying to escape but was incapable of doing so, "What the? These things are so stiff. And why can't I use my Quirk?"

"They're special capture weapons made of carbon fiber and metallic alloys." Aizawa responded, and everyone took a step back. Their teacher's hair was levitating into the air of its own accord. A set of goggles were revealed on his neck, where his scarf had hidden it. "As for your Quirk… I've erased it."

Izuku gasped, "Oh my god! You're the Erasure Hero, Eraserhead! You can nullify other Quirks just by looking at someone!" The class started murmuring. Most of them didn't really know who he was since he hated the limelight. A few of them knew his name, though they had never seen him before.

Katsuki had stopped struggling, so Aizawa released him, "Don't make me use my Quirk to stop a fight again. I have dry eye."

'It's such a waste! He has an amazing Quirk!' The entire class had that thought run through their heads.

"Midoriya, Bakugo asked you a question. Will you answer so we can get the rest of this over with?" Aizawa

"Ah, I'm a psychic!" He said at a rapid pace, trying to keep from swallowing his own tongue, "So I can teleport among other things. I learned that one about three months after I started using my Quirk." Everyone started murmuring except for Bakugo, who merely began grinding his teeth together in fury.

"Everyone better watch out!" Inasa laughed energetically, "My man here has been training his butt off! You won't beat him with a half-assed effort!"

"That's so awesome!" Mina was jumping up and down near Izuku and exclaiming that he was amazing. She had a brilliant grin on her face and had her fists pumping in front of her. "So, you two know each other?"

"Yeah, we've been friends and training partners for a couple months now." Izuku replied, managing to keep from stuttering despite the pretty girl being so close. His face was still giving her skin a run for its money.

Aizawa quickly put a stop to it and had the next two – Hanta Sero and Minoru Mineta – at the starting line. The very short boy Mineta had the Quirk Pop Off. The weird grape-like balls on his head could be torn off and were incredibly sticky once they were removed from his head. However, Mineta himself could choose whether he stuck or was repelled by them whenever he touched them. As soon as the race started, he began tearing off his balls and throwing them on the track, bouncing from one to the other to the finish line. However, because he was so short, he lost in stride whatever gains he had from his Quirk. He lost to Hagakure at 8.22 seconds. A few minutes were taken to remove Mineta's balls from the track.

Sero on the other hand, shot off some adhesive tape from his elbows. His Quirk was – creatively enough – named Tape. The tape stuck fast to the ground, and he reeled himself in. He finished in 5.22 seconds. "Ahhh, not quite what I was looking for." He still had a strange grin on his face, showing that he had very large teeth. His black hair was sleek and ended in spikes. He had a pretty plain face and beady black eyes.

The next duo had everyone excited. One of them was a regular looking student except for his head which resembled a black raven. He ran extremely quickly with nothing but his own athleticism, finishing in 4.92 seconds. But Shōto Todoroki was the next person to steal the show. He had a very exotic look to him, though not as much as Mina. His hair was split evenly down the middle, the left side being red and the right side being white. He also had heterochromia with his right eye being gray and the other turquoise. A large, red scar dominated his face near his left eye. As soon as the starting gun sounded, a massive pillar of ice grew under Todoroki's feet and threw him forward. When he landed, more ice formed a slick path which he speedily slid on right to the finish. He didn't beat Iida, but it wasn't by much; 2.94 seconds total.

Izuku shot a worried glance at Inasa at that point, but his friend was boisterously cheering just like most of everyone else. Todoroki didn't really acknowledge them much, merely giving a nod to them as a group.

Izuku took careful note of the next two. Both of them were girls which hadn't happened yet that day, since boys outnumbered the girls in their class. The first needed no introduction; Ochaco Uraraka. She looked to be doing some breathing exercises, though Izuku wasn't sure why. She had a pretty amazing Quirk from what he had seen of it. When she opened her eyes, Izuku saw an extremely competitive look in them. Suddenly the girl didn't look carefree at all, unlike her namesake.

"This is going to be so lit, fam! Let's have a good race, neh?" Her partner for the race was a girl with fawn-colored hair and very pouty lips named Camie Utsushimi. She was a competitor for bustiest in the class and hadn't really appreciated the glances The Grape Boy was sending her way. She sent a friendly grin over to Uraraka, "Let's do our best, kay Ochaco-chan? I ain't getting sent home today, no way no how. For realizes though, so many hot guys in this class. That Deku guy is straight up fire. And his Quirk is awesome too!" She was also a bit of a hypocrite.

Uraraka almost lost her balance as she walked side-by-side with Camie, "Wha-wha-wha are you saying?!" She waved her arms up and down, "Is this the time for that?"

Camie giggled, "Oopsie, you're right. My b, my b." They both reached the starting line and took their places.

Uraraka shook her head and regained her determination, though her cheeks were still pink. A brief pink glow flashed through her, and she took her position. The gun went off, and they were both off like rockets. Both of them ran the distance in five seconds flat. "Boom shakalaka! She's on fire!" Camie licked her middle finger – half the boys (and some of the girls) in the class went beet red and Mineta almost had a nosebleed – and pressed it to her forearm, "Tssss, we're hot, Ochaco-chan." Uraraka only didn't go completely red due to the kickback from her Quirk. Was this girl completely shameless? Camie then turned to Uraraka and quirked an eyebrow in concern, "Hey, you okay?" Her strange way of speaking went away when she saw Uraraka looking pale.

"Y-yeah." Uraraka swallowed and straightened up, "My Quirk has a pretty crappy side effect. It makes me really nauseous when I overuse it and using it on myself is the worst."

"Aww, that sucks." Camie commiserated, "My Quirk isn't really a direct combat type or an enhancement type, so I had to work my butt off to get this hot, ya dig?" She gave Uraraka the peace sign, "I can make illusions – both visual and sound based – so I call it Glamour. It's lit and I'm straight grateful to have it, but it's not really useful here, ya know?"

"Wow, so you are just naturally that fast?" Uraraka gasped, "I had to use my Quirk to go that fast. You're really strong, Utsushimi-san!"

They arrived back and Izuku congratulated them, "Nice job, Uraraka-san, Utsushimi-san!"

"Hey, thanks fam, but you can call me Camie!" Camie winked at him, and his red came right back, "You were too hot out there. Can I have like, your contact info?"

Jaws dropped and Izuku started to stammer, "I-i-isn't th-that a little t-t-too early, Utsushimi-san?" His face was on fire. He was almost iridescent.

Uraraka watched as Izuku steamed, and felt she had to get her own words in, "Yeah, you were amazing, Deku-kun! You beat everyone!"

Izuku startled, "Deku?" The rest of the class started paying attention, and even Aizawa decided to allow the slight interruption.

"Ehh?" Uraraka blinked at him repeatedly, "Isn't that your name? I heard erm… explody boy say it." She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Sorry about that, I haven't really been paying attention to names since I was so nervous about the tests. I missed it when Aizawa-sensei called you." She giggled nervously.

Izuku sighed, and everyone's interest peaked, "Well, that was actually just Kacchan being a jerk with a nickname when we were younger. I was a very late bloomer. I thought I was Quirkless until almost a year ago, so he called me that to say I was useless. My real name is Izuku Midoriya." He started mumbling by the end of it.

"So that's why he seems to confident one moment and then so jumpy the next." Iida had the realization spark through him.

One of the last two runners – Momo Yaoyorozu – was frowning as she passed by, "He must have been bullied when he was younger." Momo had a pretty awesome-looking hairstyle. Her hair was long and tied into a spiky ponytail. She had long bangs over the right side of her face which almost covered her onyx eyes. She patted Izuku on the shoulder as she passed by, in a minute show of support.

For once, Inasa was stone-faced, and glaring darkly at Katsuki. Izuku had forbidden him from starting anything, but he really hoped he got a chance to face this guy at some point.

"Salty AF." Camie sniffed and glared at Katsuki – who she figured must be this 'Kacchan' from the way he was glaring daggers at Izuku, "So not hot." The thought was mirrored by Mina, who was also glaring at Katsuki. She hated bullies.

"Fuck off." Katsuki snarled back and turned, walking away.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Uraraka cried out, before smiling brightly, "Still, I kind of like it though. It sounds like you shortened 'Dekiru.' You know, 'You can do it!' I think it could be a fun nickname instead!"

Izuku opened his mouth, before it clicked shut and he blushed, "Y-you know, wh-when you put it like that, it doesn't sound so bad." Uraraka smiled brightly at his response.

"As fascinating as this is, we have tests to run." Aizawa interrupted them and told the last two – Inasa and Momo – to line up.

Izuku stared intently as they got ready. Inasa merely took his position, but what Momo did made him go beet-red for the umpteenth time. She unzipped her top and shrugged it off, revealing a very mature physique and that she was definitely the most stacked girl in the class. She even had a nice and trim six-pack. Her black bra started glowing a rainbow of colors, and when it cleared she instead was wearing bandages which were tightly wrapping her chest. Her shoes also glowed and turned into perfectly-fitted skates. Finally, a small glow from each hand had two small tubes grow from her skin.

The gun sounded, and Inasa leapt forward. His body was perfectly parallel with the ground and he was spinning like a jet doing an aileron roll. Izuku goggled as he recognized it. It was a move straight out of Star Wars! Inasa crossed the line in 2.39 seconds, just barely losing to Iida. Momo on the other hand displayed some excellent speed-skating technique – maybe it was a hobby? – to pick up initial speed, before thrusting the two rods behind her and revealing them to be goddamn rocket boosters. She left a trail of smoke behind her and sped far past the finish line before the fuel ran out, and she had a bit of a sheepish look on her face when she finally skated her way back, "Sorry everyone. I used a bit too much."

"Perhaps, but you also took second place." Aizawa showed her his device, which was reading 2.22 seconds.

Momo smiled proudly while Iida clenched a trembling fist before him, "Third in my own event. How shameful!"

Izuku walked over to Inasa, who was grinning broadly despite taking fourth place, "Dude, did you seriously use the Sheev Spin?"

Inasa burst out laughing, but it was Camie who answered, "LMAO, was that it? I knew I saw that move before. That was straight up lit!" She gave Inasa a high-five.

Everyone but Inasa just had sweatdrop running down the side of their face as they shared a collective thought, 'Did she seriously just say 'LMAO' out loud?'

The first set of exams were over, and Izuku was already feeling bad for the Grape and the Invisible Girl. They were very clearly at the back of the pack. He hoped they managed to find an event to excel at. He made his way over to Momo – who had already gotten dressed again much to his slight relief as well as his slight disappointment – and asked her about her Quirk, "Y-Yaoyorozu-san. May I ask about your Quirk? You were amazing back there!"

She smiled brightly at him, "Thank you Midoriya-san, though I must say the same. I'm quite curious about your own Quirk as well." The class paid close attention as they followed Aizawa to the next location. "My Quirk is named Creation. Using my body's fat cells as a building block, I can create any non-living thing as long as I know and understand its molecular structure."

"H-holy! You must be a genius, Yaoyorozu-san!" Izuku exclaimed, and their classmates started murmuring as well. "That must have been a difficult compound to memorize!"

She grew slightly pink, "Thank you, Midoriya-san. Additionally, as long as it doesn't stop touching some part of my body, I can further alter anything I create. That was why I was able to change my bra into those chest-bindings but not the U.A. Track Suit. It does take a bit longer to do so and requires more concentration, despite the benefits. The second I let go of them or they stop touching my skin, whatever I create becomes a permanent object."

"Hmm, can you bring your creations back into your body when you don't need them anymore? That way you regain some of your stores?"

Momo blinked, putting a finger to her lip and biting it lightly. She didn't even notice Izuku turn pink at the cute action, "You know, I've never actually tried. I will do so promptly! Thank you for the idea, Midoriya-san." She gave him a warm smile and he turned red, starting to stammer. She giggled in response, finding it a bit endearing. She realized quite quickly that it must have taken the formerly-bullied boy a fair bit of courage to try to speak to her.

Their talk set off the Quirk discussions, with everyone chiming in on their Quirks and explaining some things about how they worked. Uraraka explained that when she first got her Quirk – the awesomely-named Zero Gravity – she could only turn off gravity on anything she touched with all five of her fingers. "That's why I always hold things with my pinky out." She told them with a blush. She further explained that about a year ago, she had learned how not to just turn gravity off, but also manipulate it. When she ran her race, she had done so by making herself weigh about thirty kilos. She could also go in the opposite direction. She got a little despondent as she explained that straining her Quirk too much literally made her sick to her stomach. Still, she put on a brave face about it and started giggling, "A couple of the Quirk councilors were telling me that I should change the name of my Quirk since it isn't accurate anymore, but I just like it too much."

"Zero Gravity is an awesome name Ochaco-chan! Ignore all those fuddy-duddies!" Mina clapped a hand onto the brunette's shoulder cheerfully.

By then, they arrived inside the gym where they were performing their grip tests. Not much of note happened here, since most of the students got decent scores at best and awful scores at worst. Izuku realized at this moment that he didn't have nearly enough precision with his Telekinesis. They'd worked so much on brute strength that Izuku couldn't really keep it completely contained for a test like this. He managed about eighty-nine kilos before he accidentally mangled the dynamometer and narrowly avoided a disqualification. Poor Mineta got an awful score of twenty-six, getting beat even by Tōru.

There were only a couple standouts. Shōji managed a monstrous five-hundred-forty kilo squeeze. He did so by creating multiple arms with his Quirk and doing one massive squeeze with all of them. When Sero asked him if he was a gorilla or an octopus, Mineta went and weirded everyone out by commenting that, "Octopi were sexy." It didn't think too long for everyone to realize what he meant, and he earned death glares from all the girls.

Katsuki actually got disqualified in this event, because he blew up the measurement device. Inasa managed an impressive eighty kilos, and Tsuyu managed about seventy-five by using her long tongue. She did request that it be sanitized first, thankfully. Mina had proved herself incredibly athletic already by beating many of the boys in the first test and continued that trend by getting sixty-eight.

But it was Momo who was proving to be one of one of the strongest people in their class, male or female. She completely blew everyone away by creating a functioning JAWS OF LIFE and getting an error reading. It took her a few minutes of reading from a large book she carried with her and quite a bit of concentration (as well as a bit of fanservice since she needed to remove the shirt again) before she was ready to create it. Once she did, it took her a few seconds at best and worked perfectly.

The next test was a fun one; the standing long jump. At this point the class had done away with alphabetical order and were merely taking turns and trying their best. A clear chasm was forming between the top and bottom of the class, where it was clear that many of them not only didn't have suitable Quirks for these types of situations, but also either hadn't tried or hadn't tried hard enough to make up for those shortcomings. Mineta had ranked last in every single test so far.

First up was Todoroki, who formed a massive pillar of ice that threw him straight into the air and long past the end of the sand pit. Momo was eager to show off and took off her shoes for her attempt. She grew long sticks from the soles of her feet and shot forward. In midair, she shed her gym shirt once again and grew herself a paraglider, gliding at a quick pace down to the ground. She too cleared the area by quite a distance. Katsuki – furious at his failure in the previous test – created a gigantic explosion with his feet AND arms which got him the farthest distance yet, and then proved his durability by not completely splattering on impact. He wasn't even injured.

Iida followed almost Iron-Man style, leaping long and far, using his engines to get a bit of extra distance. Inasa and Izuku decided to go as partners and make a competition of it. Izuku glowed emerald and a whirlwind engulfed Inasa as they both took off, getting way farther than even Katsuki had. They'd agreed beforehand that they would only use their Quirks again to land safely. Only their initial takeoffs were enhanced since otherwise they would just be flying. By the time they landed, they had cleared about a football pitch and a half.

Mina and Camie again proved their metal in this test. Neither of them had enhancement Quirks and they still managed to clear the sandbox with nothing but sheer athleticism. Uraraka made everyone burst out laughing when she leapt into the air and started jogging inmidair with a giggling yell of, "Luigi!" It was totally worth the couple seconds of fighting down her nausea after she touched back down to see even their teacher Aizawa had cracked a smile. Tsuyu meanwhile had basically been made for this one. She leapt like her Quirk's namesake and almost tripled the length of the sandbox.

Really, the only thing bringing down the mood was the looming threat of expulsion. Izuku physically winced when poor Mineta – who could not use his Quirk at all because the jump had to be done in one motion for it to count. He therefore could not lay down some balls to use as a spring – performed an absolutely pathetic jump that didn't even cross a quarter of the sandbox. The rest of the class started feeling incredibly bad for the boy despite his obvious perversion. He had worked as hard as all of them to get here and now his short stature was clearly going to rob him. They were quite confused that he still didn't look completely and utterly discouraged. That confusion lasted until the next set.

This test really only had one really incredible score. It was finally Mineta's – one and only, unfortunately for the Grape – chance to shine. His short stature – and therefore low center of gravity – and Quirk was absolutely perfect for the consecutive side-steps. He created two 'bounce balls' using his Pop Off balls and kept rebounding off of them endlessly. He finally got a worthy score, and no one else really had a good time on this one.

The next was the softball pitch, which Katsuki threw a fit over not being able to try again on, as he felt he still could have done better. He sulked as Inasa and Izuku both went head-to-head – both one hundred percent back in training mode with All Might – and each cleared well over a kilometer. Izuku managed about a kilometer and a half. Inasa had them all blown away – "Get it?!" – by showing off his incredibly precise control. He not only chased the ball with a massive blast of spinning wind acting much like a bullet or a drill, but he also removed all airstreams ahead of it up until it got so far way he couldn't control it anymore. His ball landed two and half kilometers away. Everyone was sure that there was no possible way that score could get beaten.

And then Momo again awed them with her sheer ingenuity and mental acuity by creating a fully-functioning cannon with her Quirk. She helpfully also provided earmuffs for everyone. She angled it at forty-five degrees and fired. When the ball finally landed far, far away, Aizawa showed them her score. Six kilometers. "Holy cow Yaomomo!" Mina almost jumped on the more-reserved girl's shoulders, "That was amazing! There's no way anyone could possibly beat that!"

While everyone was congratulating her, she just had a cute, strangely-confused look on her face, "Yaomomo?" She looked adorable.

Finally, it was Uraraka's turn. She had her sweet smile on her face as she touched the ball and threw it. She watched as it went up. And up. She used her hand to shade her eyes to continue watching it. And watching it. And then there was a twinkle in the sky and Aizawa showed them the 'infinity' symbol with a deadpan look on his face. Uraraka flashed a brilliant smile and started hopping in excitement.

"She got infinity! How can anyone possibly win now!" Kaminari yelled with wide, twitching eyes, "How can anyone else get first place now? She automatically wins everything with a score like that, right?"

"No. When calculations are done I'll just give her a meter more than Yaoyorozu." Aizawa denied.

"Wow, does my Quirk really never turns off if I don't want it to?" Uraraka had settled down and put a finger near her lip while she thought. She looked as adorable as Momo had. She put the pads of her fingers together, "Release!" She said and waited to see if the ball would come down.

"It probably already left orbit, Uraraka-san." Momo commented after putting a hand on her shoulder, "Come on. No use watching for it now. It probably wouldn't even land around here. We have more tests to do."

They day finished quickly, with Iida beating them all – even Momo who had a bike – on the marathon running. The rest of the tests only confirmed what they already had established; the pecking order. "It would be a waste of time to explain how everything was calculated, since it was only your performances recorded. Let's just get to the final rankings." Aizawa muttered, before he clicked a button on his device and a holographic screen popped up.

In first place was a no-brainer. Momo Yaoyorozu had proved not only her ingenuity but the sheer versatility of her Quirk by placing at or near the top in nearly every test. Several of her tests such as the grip test and the ball throwing test were such outliers that her placement was a foregone conclusion.

Inasa and Izuku were next, being so closely matched after all of their training together and with All Might that they came in a virtual tie for second place. They both performed extremely well on all tests, never falling below fifth place (except for the grip strength test, in Izuku's case).

Todoroki was next in fourth place, with Katsuki finishing off the top five in a complete and utter rage. 'Fifth? FUCKING FIFTH?! Forget first place, I didn't even get second?! FUCKING DEKU BEAT ME!?' The explosive teen was boiling mad, and the only reason he didn't let off some steam was that he was sure Aizawa would punish him for it.

Iida came next much to his extreme disappointment, followed by Tokoyami, Shōji, Kirishima and Uraraka finishing off the top ten for the class. Mina was quite irritated about having been pushed to eleventh place and was sandwiched in between Uraraka and Camie. Kaminari. Tsuyu, and Kōji were the next ones on the list, and the remaining five were starting to sweat heavily. Sero, Aoyama, and Jīrō let out the breaths they were holding, and that left only Tōru and Mineta biting their nails. Mineta let out a loud, heartfelt wail as his name appeared in last place. "NOOOOOOOO! HOW WILL I EVER GET TO TOUCH SOME OPPAI NOW?!"

"Toad."

"Lech."

"You're disgusting."

"Totally lit if you think you're ever going to get any."

Each disgusted comment from Momo, Mina, Jīrō, and Camie in order shot a little arrow into the Grape boy, further depressing him.

"Oh, by the way, I was lying about expelling someone." Aizawa said in a tone that bellied a small amount of amusement. Half the class froze and turned dead gazes at him, snot hanging from their nostrils. He grinned broadly, "It was just a rational deception to get you to perform your best!"

"WHHHHHHAAAAAAAAATTTTTT?!"

"I'm saved!" Mineta sobbed out, so grateful he didn't even have it in him to be perverted.

Momo couldn't help the tiny little scoff that escaped from her, "Well of course it was. It should have been obvious if you just thought it through…" She mumbled to herself, "Maybe I should have said something?" She mused to herself.

'No… you're wrong there, Yaoyorozu-san.' Izuku swallowed as he once again used a small amount of telepathy, 'He's lying. He's definitely lying.'

"Anyway, we're done here." Aizawa told them as he turned to walk away, "Your documents about the curriculum will be back in homeroom. Make sure you review them closely. And don't lose them either. I won't be making copies."

Izuku grit his teeth and stepped forward, "Aizawa-sensei!" he called out. Aizawa turned at quirked an eyebrow at him. "I thought you said we were here to be Heroes! That there wasn't going to be any time to fool around and that U.A. was going to throw everything including the kitchen sink at us!"

"I did. What's your point?" Aizawa gazed at him dispassionately while everyone looked at the boy in confusion.

"So why are you coddling us now?!" He shot at the Erasure Hero, "We can handle the truth!"

"Deku-kun, what are you doing?" Uraraka asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder. For the moment, he ignored her.

Aizawa stared him down and Izuku didn't flinch. Finally, Aizawa closed his eyes and flashed a smile, "Alright then, Midoriya. Have it your way." He opened his eyes and rooted Mineta and Tōru's floating clothes with a heavy glare. Both students flinched and stiffened up in terror, "I was NOT lying about someone being expelled. In my time here, I've expelled a hundred and fifty-four students. Last semester I expelled my entire class in just under two weeks." Momo's eyes went wide and she took a half step back, covering her lips with her hand, "Understand this, the only reason you two are not going home today is that I see a meager amount of potential in you. If I thought you had no prospects at all, I would have cut you loose immediately. There is nothing crueler than letting someone chase around a half-baked dream." The entire class was shivering under his words, which doubled when he addressed them all, "And that goes for each and every one of you. If I feel you're slacking off and not being serious about your position here, I won't hesitate to kick you out."

He turned to Mineta, "You need to keep working on overcoming your stature, Mineta. Your Quirk certainly has its uses, but you can't be a one-trick-pony." He then faced Tōru, "As for you… your Quirk is similar to mine in that it has no direct benefits in combat such as physical enhancement. However, you haven't worked in the slightest to overcome your body's limitations. The only reason you didn't come in last today is because you have a naturally more athletic body than Mineta. If you had come in last, even your useful Quirk wouldn't have saved you. Like Mineta, I see potential in you, but you have to work at it. I better see you hitting the weight room and the track regularly. If Utsushimi can do it, you can too." He couldn't see it, but she was nodding rapidly, too terrified to speak.

He stared all of them down, and they all trembled before him, "Any questions?"

"N-no sensei!" The droning from his students sounded at him.

"Good. Have a good day and be prepared for tomorrow. If you thought today was hard, you won't be ready in the slightest for tomorrow's trials." He whirled around and walked away without a look back.

Several people had lost feeling in their legs and slumped to the floor, hearts racing and adrenaline pumping, "I-I was so sure." Momo mumbled as Izuku and Uraraka helped her up.

Except for a few who weren't affected by the speech and left quickly, it was a much-subdued group that finally made it back to 1-A.

-]|[-

So, how did everyone like the two surprises in this chapter? Sorry to the Mashirao Ojiro and Rikido Sato fans, but they were definitely the most forgettable characters in 1-A in my book. And when you have an Invisible Girl who loves going missing all the time, that's kinda saying something. I just didn't really feel anything for them, one way or another. I was indifferent to them as characters, and in Sato's case I really disliked his Quirk. THAT in combination with the fact that I FREAKING LOVE THESE TWO meant one thing only. Bwahaha

Camie has been… a little difficult to write, but pretty fun nonetheless. She (in the scantalations at least) has an odd combination of normal speak and… well… 1337 I guess. I'm trying to find a balance in her speech mannerisms. Since we haven't had enough of her really, I'm also looking a bit to Overwatch's for her speaking style.

As for her physical capabilities: I've already made my stance on this pretty clear. I believe it's possible to break normal human limits in this universe, and SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS Toga-chan wouldn't have chosen to impersonate a character who would have weak physical strength if she was planning on doing things like backflipping up a hill, moving fast enough to scratch Deku, and dodging Uraraka's attack. She would have been caught immediately. END SPOILERS

As for Inasa… what's NOT to love about this guy?! We need more, and more we shall have!

So, how did you all like the Exams and Quirk tests? What did you all think about Izuku's fighting style as well as the modifications I made to some of the 1-A Quirks?

You'll notice Katsuki did quite a bit better than he did in canon. About 40 percent better, as a matter of fact. What, did you think our lovable King Explosion Murder WOULDN'T have a fire lit under his ass after Izuku not only fought back but drew first blood in their renewed rivalry? I hope no one came in here expecting bashing, because it's not going to happen.

No one really sounded off on making some modifications to the Quirks, so I went ahead and leapt. I hope I did well explaining the differences. I haven't one-hundred-percent finished describing all of the changes since this chapter was already getting long enough, but next chapter will have a tiny bit more. I already got all the big ones out of the way. Just in case I did a bad job with any of them, I'll list them here;

Iida – Mutant Quirk changed to Transformation Quirk. Can grow his engine pipes out of his legs, arms, and back. His Quirk is Engine, so it makes sense for him to be able to use different kinds of engines, just like Tsuyu can use abilities from different kinds of frogs.

Uraraka – Does not have to touch herself to use it on herself, though she still has to touch everything else. Can change gravity rather than just turn it off. Increased nausea incurment when used on herself.

Momo – provided she doesn't let go of what she creates, she can use and alter it further. Requires more concentration to do so.

Jīrō – mostly canon except she's not limited to just her heartbeat. She can change frequencies and produce simple sounds. For example, she can produce morse code.

Kaminari – He got the biggest change. I still wanted to keep his theme but wanted to change the uses and downsides. Basically, my inspiration here is Cole MacGrath from InFamous, right down to his fantastic drowning skills.

Bakugo – initially I didn't think I needed to change him, but apparently, he can only use his Quirk on his palms. Well that doesn't make sense. He's literally just making his sweat explode. He can therefore use it on his feet as well.

Hope you all enjoyed! See you next chapter!

Right, so I actually have two more ideas that never seem to want to leave me alone and just keeps jumping fandoms whenever I find new interests.

Idea One is a partial crossover with Marvel. For centuries, there has been a shrine in Japan with an unmovable hammer. Modern equipment just broke when trying to move it, and even excavation didn't work. It's become something of a fun tradition to make the trip and try to lift the hammer. Izuku and Inko go with Katsuki and his parents. Each try to lift it – including exceedingly cocky child Kacchan – and all fail. And then Izuku gets closer and the skies start to darken. He goes up the steps and thunder starts rumbling. He closes in on the shaft and Norse symbols start appearing on the previously plain surface. And then he touches it and the entire area is engulfed with a massive lightning bolt. And in his head, he hears the words, 'Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy… shall possess the power of Thor.' (This would be Stormbreaker not Mjolnir. The idea was that Thor cast it away with the last of his strength as he neared death. There was also some vague ideas about the MHA universe being the next cycle after the MCU universe.) Amusingly enough, I actually had this idea for One Piece before I had it for MHA.

Idea two was fairly basic crossover with not much to it yet but for the premise: Canon Izuku aged up a bit (after becoming the Symbol of Peace) gets sent to another universe by a villain who knows he could never win conventionally. Said universe: High School DxD.