Apprehension

Izuku grimaced as he inspected his reflection in the bathroom mirror, or more specifically, the clothes he was wearing.

A white button-up, red tie, and gray jacket with green accents decorated his figure; the signature uniform of Yueii. It, along with two other identical copies, had been delivered to him earlier that day. It was the final bit of preparation before the school year began in two weeks. The results of the entrance exams had already come the week before.

He'd been equal parts annoyed and impressed when he found out that there was an entire points system that he hadn't been aware of. Impressed because Nezu had added a way to measure potential beyond just combat effectiveness, and had added a way for anyone to earn points regardless of whether their quirk was physical or not. But annoyed because he'd had no idea that these 'hero points' were even a thing to begin with. Nezu had given no indication whatsoever that there would be anything beyond the 'villain points.'

And the worst part was that he couldn't even complain about it to the rodent. At least not without giving away his identity. The tight-lipped nature of the exam details meant that the places he could get such information were few and far between. Limited to either being obtained through taking the exam, or from someone giving out information that had no right to.

Of course, in the end it wasn't much of an issue beyond the fact that he hadn't even considered it was a thing. Because it just added another sixty-two points to his total, bumping it up to two hundred and nine. He'd already come in first place; this simply increased his lead.

Delivered along with the results were the student handbook, a map of the school, the student ID that would allow him to pass through the security gate unhindered, and all other information that was needed before the year started. He'd already taken the liberty of memorizing every bit of it, from the layout of the building to every little rule.

That left him with the uniform which, overall, he was actually quite fond of. He was already a fan of fancier clothing, generally preferring them over normal articles, and he liked the color choices. Not to mention that it came as a sort of status symbol saying that he had made it into one of the top hero schools in the world.

There was only one problem with it.

The fit of the jacket was absolutely atrocious.

The sleeves were too long and too big around, and somehow they'd managed to simultaneously make the shoulders too narrow and the chest too broad. And it didn't sit well around his wings; much too tight, and noticeable with every little movement.

Okay. Maybe 'atrocious' was a bit of an overreaction; it was still wearable, and most people probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference when they looked at it. But that didn't change the fact that he didn't like it.

Maybe it was because his attention to detail tended to border on neurosis, or maybe it was because he'd been spoiled with custom-tailored clothing ever since he had the money to afford it. Whatever the case, it didn't change his very strong opinion that whoever was in charge of determining and distributing the uniform sizes should be fired.

Proper clothing was important to him. It was usually the first thing that people noticed when they looked at anyone; how they dressed. Clean versus dirty, expensive or average-looking, color choices, styles, whether or not they fit correctly. It was almost like setting a first impression before one even spoke.

Now, he wasn't one to judge others based on what they wore – at least not too much – but he had certain standards when it came to how he dressed when he left the apartment, even if it was to partake in less-than-legal activities.

Izuku hadn't had much choice in his clothing for a good portion of his life. Forced to scrape and scrounge for any scrap of fabric that could be worn to shield him from the elements, that period of time had been a mess of haphazard, dirty articles of all-too-ineffective clothes.

He had taken an enormous step in the right direction once Rei had started working and he'd started making money as Deku. The scraps had been traded out for properly fitting, clean clothing that were actually comfortable for the first time since he'd been abandoned. But, despite that, it wasn't quite enough for him. He'd wanted more.

Then, when his analysis really started to take off, and he was bringing in enough money for Rei to not have to work and for the two of them to live comfortably, he'd taken it one step further. He'd started working up a collection of clothes that were sharper, more expensive, and more often than not tailored to perfectly fit his figure. It was just one more thing to separate himself from his past.

He stretched his back, extending his arms out to the sides at the same time. His scowl deepened when he felt the uncomfortable tightness in the fabric. Nope. This would not do at all.

The uniform was quickly shed and put back into the bag that it had been delivered in. Moving back to his room, he placed it with the others. He would have to make a trip out to get them tailored. He'd take care of that tomorrow.

Actually, while he was at it, maybe he'd pick out a suit vest to go with it. He was already having to make a special trip, and a vest would make it look better; at least to him. And it wasn't against Yueii's rules to add anything extra to the uniform. They were really very lenient when it came to the uniform. Technically, it wasn't even a violation to not wear a tie. The only problem with that was that he would be cutting it close with the two weeks before the year started. He might have to pay a little more to expedite the process.

Pulling on a casual shirt, he made his way into the living area; it was about time to start making dinner. He saw Rei lounging in front of the tv with a book in hand. She glanced up at him as he settled close by, muttering a soft greeting.

A few minutes later and the food had been prepped and was cooking away on the stove. Once the smell of it had permeated the entire apartment, he noticed Rei getting up, coming over to the table.

"So." She started, setting her book down and resting her arms on the table. "Have you thought about how you're going to somehow still take care of all your normal responsibilities while also attending Yueii?"

"I have actually." He responded, leaving the food to sit and cook for a minute. "It shouldn't be but so hard to manage. My outings as Oni will be largely the same, as I normally leave after sunset and get back at or before sunrise. And most of the errands I handle can be taken care of on the way home from Yueii."

It was something he'd given bit of thought in the weeks leading up to the entrance exams, and now to the actual start of the year. Really, the only things that he did that he wouldn't be able to continue doing the same were his trips to the beach and his lunches with Yagi, but neither would be that big of a deal. The beach wasn't much of a concern to him now; after so long with it being clean, the already small amount of trash that had been washing up was starting to decline, and the visitors had been doing a pretty good job of keeping it clean on their own. And his lunches with Yagi could still continue at Yueii if the hero wanted to, which Izuku figured he would, so that they could discuss possible successors.

"It's my analysis work that will take the biggest hit." He continued. "I'll be at school during when I would normally take care of it. Which means that I'll have to squeeze it in elsewhere."

He paused for a moment to stir the food so it wouldn't burn.

"Even that shouldn't be too difficult though, especially if I use a few quirks to speed up the process. And if I really need to, I'll just take time away from going out as Oni. An hour or two won't make much difference."

Rei hummed in acknowledgement, moving to rest her head on her arms. "Do you think you're going to tell Nezu about your identity as Deku at some point?"

"Maybe." He admitted. "I might tell him at some point before graduation, so that I can openly help out my class. But I'll probably wait a bit to do so. I might not even tell him this year."

"Besides," Izuku shrugged, moving to retrieve some plates. "there's always a chance that he's already completely aware of who I am. There is a reason he's considered one of the smartest beings on the planet. And he's now had a chance to analyze me as Izuku, during the entrance exams. I don't doubt that I caught his attention with at least the written portion, if not the practical portion too. How often is it that someone gets a perfect score on that? And my answers to his essay questions, despite being altered a bit, line up with what I've told him in our chats."

He sighed. "For now though, I'm going to act as if he has no idea whatsoever. I've still got my age going for me; he's less likely to suspect that one of his students is a quirk analyst that's been around for a few years. But even if he does suspect me, he won't have any solid proof."

Rei shrugged. "Whatever you think is best. But what could he do if he knew? It's not like you're doing anything wrong."

"At this point, it's about the challenge." He responded. "He's been trying to figure out who I am for as long as we've been communicating with each other. And I can't imagine that he would've already figured out who I am and not gloat about it – especially not when I've known who he is for so long – so I want to maintain the secret for as long as I can."

Izuku was cut off when a timer on the stove dinged at him, indicating that the food was ready. He was quick to dish it out, preparing plates for both of them.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence as they ate. Putting off their conversation and simply enjoying each other's company as they savored the meal.

---

The final two weeks passed in a flash, and soon enough Izuku was in Yueii, standing before a giant floor-to-ceiling door emblazoned with '1-A' across its front. He took a deep breath as he stared at it, preparing himself for what lay on the other side.

He wasn't nervous per se. With as confident as he was in his strength and in his intelligence, nervousness wasn't something he often experienced. He just wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this. And not as far as the curriculum; he had a healthy understanding of what that would entail for the most part.

No. He was unsure because this would be his first time learning in an actual classroom, and his first time being in such close proximity with so many people – people the same age as him no less – for an extended period of time in well over a decade. The last time being just before his fourth birthday.

Deciding that nothing would be accomplished by just staring at the door, he moved closer. Straightening his uniform out, which thankfully fit properly now, much more like his usual clothes, he pulled it open, revealing the classroom that sat on the other side.

The teacher's podium stood to his right, and there were twenty desks spread out to his left, facing it.

Immediately, he took note of the room's occupants. There were four figures already seated around the room, which was a little surprising, considering how early he'd been; Almost an hour, but it was the first day. He wasn't going to not show up early.

Almost as surprising, was the fact that he recognized three of them.

Closest to him, sitting one row behind the front, was Bakugou. The blond was staring at him with an odd look on his face, as if he were trying to decipher some mystery. Izuku figured that his appearance probably triggered some memory. He doubted that Bakugou would actually remember him, but maybe he still had a vague impression of his childhood friend.

Then again. Bakugou was smart. That much had been obvious even when they were younger. Maybe he actually did fully remember Izuku, and was wondering why this newcomer looked so similar. After all, he did still have the same green hair and eyes – there were only so many people that had such distinctive features.

Izuku only spared the blond a moment's glance as he moved on to inspect the others. Bakugou returned his gaze to the front of the class, arms crossed over his chest and an unusually calm – almost thoughtful – expression on his face; at least based off Izuku's memory of him.

In all the time he'd spent with Bakugou when they were young – however short that time had been –, he didn't recall the blond ever really being quiet or calm. He was always yelling, or cursing, or firing off tiny explosions once his quirk came in. So seeing such a lack of those attributes now made it clear to Izuku that he'd missed out on some very crucial development at some point in Bakugou's life, something that had him displaying strength in silent skill rather than a loud, brash attitude.

But then, he'd missed out on a lot of things, and it was much too late to complain about it now.

Almost directly across the room from Bakugou, was the blue-haired robot he'd encountered during the entrance exam; Tenya Iida. Said student was already out of his seat and crossing the room towards Izuku by the time he noticed him.

He sighed internally, preparing himself to have to deal with this already.

"You!" He started, just as loud as before. And Izuku was debating whether he should try to maintain a friendly attitude or just open with telling him to screw off.

Before he could decide what to do though, Iida was stopping in front of him, surprising him by lowering himself in a slight bow.

"I would like to apologize for my disrespectful words on the day of the entrance exams!" He exclaimed. "It was wrong of me to accuse you of not caring about them! Especially when it seems as though you were taking them more seriously than any of us!"

He raised himself back up to look at Izuku. "You clearly saw that there was a hidden points system, and was able to act to make use of it! You saved that girl from the zero pointer while everyone else, myself included, was running away!"

Izuku blinked in surprise at the apology and the praise that was almost a complete one-eighty from the attitude displayed at the exam, before opening his mouth to respond.

"I actually had no idea that the 'hero points' were a thing." He admitted. "I didn't even know that Uraraka was there until afterwards. I just fought the zero-pointer because it seemed like it would be fun to do so."

Iida seemed slightly surprised by his admission, but quickly recovered.

"All the same. I was wrong for what I said. So, while I don't necessarily agree with your threatening to break my hand, I apologize for my words." He said, extending a hand towards Izuku. "My name is Tenya Iida. I hope we can become friends."

Izuku didn't hesitate to take the proffered hand.

"Izuku Etsumi." He said, ignoring the way Bakugou's eyes snapped to him as he did. "Apology accepted. I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you as well. Although, I was very serious about what I said. Don't try to grab at me like that again."

Iida faltered only a moment before smiling at him, a moment later, he was returning to his seat.

With that done, Izuku finally started moving further into the room. A brief glance around the room told him which desk was his; it was the only one without a chair. He was in Bakugou's row, in the rearmost spot. He'd be tucked into the corner.

As he moved, he directed his attention to the other two students. One was in the seat directly in front of his, and the other was in the seat next to it.

The student in the seat next to his was the other one that he recognized. Shouto Todoroki, son of Endeavor. The two-toned hair and noticeable scar made him easily recognizable, especially when he had – willingly or otherwise – accompanied Endeavor to a number of public events over the years.

Todoroki had barely even looked his way since he entered the room, instead keeping his neutral, almost bored expression trained on the front of the room.

'Superiority complex? Or closer to plain apathy?' He wondered.

The final student – the one he didn't recognize – was much more active in comparison. She stood up as he approached, already holding a hand out.

"Hello." She greeted. "My name is Momo Yaoyorozu. It's nice to meet you."

Ah. Maybe he didn't recognize her appearance, but that name was one he was familiar with. The Yaoyorozus were a were a big name in hero support technology. Theirs was one of the largest support companies in Japan, and boasted some of the greatest recent advancements seen in support gear. He didn't doubt that Momo was one of them; everything from the way she talked to her posture spoke of a refined upbringing.

She – along with Todoroki – was likely one of Yueii's few recommendation students, getting in on virtue of her name. Izuku was eager to see her in action at some point. The recommendation exams were supposed to be more difficult than the regular ones, on account for the level of skill they were expected to possess going into it.

He took her hand. "It's nice to meet you too."

He didn't bother giving his name again. She would've heard him introduce himself a few minutes before.

Taking the opportunity of the lull in conversation, he strained his eyes at her, activating 'Appraisal.'

[Name: Momo Yaoyorozu]

[Quirk: Creation]

[Emitter-type that allows the user to create non-living objects by breaking down and converting lipid stores at a molecular level. Size, complexity, and materials are limited only by the user's lipid stores and knowledge of the molecular make up of the desired outcome.]

Izuku's eyes widened a fraction as he took in the description. A quirk like that… The possibilities were as good as endless. And the things he could do with it… He had a near-perfect memory, and a sizeable store of energy that – if his speculations were correct – could be used in place of lipid stores.

In that moment, he was immensely glad that he'd decided to wear his gloves with his uniform. If he weren't, he wasn't entirely sure that he would've been able to stop himself from taking her quirk right then and there.

He forced his hand to release hers, and Momo dropped her arm back down to her side, directing her gaze at his uniform. She raised an eyebrow as she inspected it.

"Are you allowed to add items to your uniform?" She questioned. "Is it not against the rules?"

He spared a glance down at himself. As he had planned, he now had a vest to go along with it. It was a gray just slightly darker than the jacket, and had similar green accents. He had no doubt that was what she was referring to.

"So long as we don't deface the uniform in any way, we're allowed to add pretty much whatever we want to it. There's nothing in the rules forbidding it."

She still looked slightly skeptical, but relented, returning to her desk.

With all the necessary social interaction over with, Izuku finally settled at his desk. It was a good thing they'd put him in the corner. Here, he was able to pack the coils of his tail against the wall. If he were out in the middle somewhere, it'd quickly become a nuisance to whoever was around him.

Pulling a notebook out of his bag, and settling in to wait for everyone else to arrive, he got to work taking notes on the other people in the room. He'd bought a few new books for the purpose of analyzing his classmates. He had the opportunity to study several hero-grade quirks up close. And they were here for the express purpose of grooming those quirks to be used for heroics. He'd be able to do so much more than he normally could with his analysis. Quick glances as he passed by people, videos, and simple descriptions couldn't hold a candle to studying a quirk in person.

That, and he needed to familiarize himself with their quirks now, so that he wasn't caught off guard as he was with Momo's. The hero course of Yueii would have so many interesting quirks, and he wouldn't always have his gloves on to stop himself. Better to be prepared.

With a slight smirk on his face, he started with Bakugou. He was eager to see how much the blonde had changed over the years.

---

Students entered the room at a steady pace after that. Most entered quietly and quickly found their seats, all but ignoring everyone else in the room; though none of them were lucky enough to escape Iida's enthusiastic greeting. Some engaged one another in conversation. A few though, actually came up to Izuku to speak to him. Two, to be specific.

The first was the student he'd encountered in the practical exam; the one with the hardening quirk. They introduced themselves as Ejirou Kirishima. Izuku realized almost immediately that Kirishima looked up to Crimson Riot. A hardening quirk, combined with red hair – he couldn't tell if it was dyed or natural – and such a focus on 'manliness' made him almost a mirror image of the old hero.

Kirishima thanked him again for his help during the exam, and talked about how it was nice that they ended up in the same class, before moving off to start up a conversation with someone else.

The second was Uraraka, who almost bounced over to him with how excited she seemed to be and greeted him with enough enthusiasm to rival Iida. She went off talking about how excited she was to be in the same class as him, and thanking him again for saving her during the exam.

He listened intently as she spoke, and responded where he needed to. Partway through the conversation though, he noticed something with 'Proximity.'

On the other side of the wall his desk was sitting against, in the hallway just outside of the classroom, he felt something moving along the floor. Low to the floor and long, it seemed like it – whatever it was – was moving like a caterpillar, inching its way across the floor.

It took him a moment to figure out what exactly it was, and when he did, it was already sitting in the doorway.

A smirk appeared on his face as he subtly raised himself to peek over his classmates' heads at the yellow sleeping bag on the floor. The tired eyes in the bundle of cloth scanned over the rest of the classroom, before landing on him. They stared at each other for a moment, studying one another in silence.

Eraserhead broke it off first with a huff, then moved to stand up. No one else had noticed him yet.

"If you're here to make friends, then you're in the wrong class." He said in a voice that sounded more exhausted than usual.

The conversations around the room halted immediately as everyone turned to stare at him.

He looked around at them for a moment. "Hmph. At least you all settle down quickly. That's good. Wasting time is irrational. But only one of you had the situational awareness to notice that I was here before I spoke. If you want to succeed here, I suggest you work on that."

No one had moved since he started speaking, all just staring at him in either surprise or confusion. Izuku resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the hero's antics.

"My name is Shouta Aizawa. I will be your homeroom teacher for however long you last here." He paused for a moment to shed his sleeping bag. Reaching behind the podium, he pulled out a box filled with clothing. "These are the gym uniforms. Take one and go change into it, then meet me out on the training fields. You have ten minutes. If you don't know where something is, either figure it out quickly or find someone who had the common sense to come prepared."

With that, he shuffled back out of the room, still halfway in his sleeping bag. Izuku took that as the signal to start moving. He grabbed out one of the uniforms after confirming the size, and moved out of the room. It wasn't until he was in the doorway that everyone else decided to start moving too, rushing to follow him since he obviously knew where he was going.

---

Not long after, they were standing in a group, looking out across a training field that looked worthy of the Olympics. Everything from a 1500m track, to a long jump pit, to what looked like a hammer throw pitch.

As the final student joined them, Aizawa spoke up.

"Right now, the rest of the classes are attending the beginning orientation." He started. "But that's a waste of time for anyone looking to become a hero. So instead of doing that, we're going to be getting an idea of your capabilities with a quirk apprehension test."

He paused as the students started murmuring to each other. Some questioning the skipping of the orientation and others complaining that they were taking a test on the first day.

Aizawa pulled something out of his pocket, making them all fall silent again.

"For whatever reason, we, as a society, still act as though everyone is equal. Instead of standardizing physical tests, and creating laws to support the diversity in quirks, we'd rather pretend that they don't exist for the majority of the population, while still flaunting heroes and measuring each other's worth by our quirks. We're going to work to undo that conditioning here at Yueii, and the first step to accomplish that is to ensure that you all have a clear understanding of your limitations."

"Etsumi." He called out "You came in first in the entrance exams, so you're going to be the example. What's the farthest you've thrown in the softball pitch?"

"I wouldn't know." Izuku responded. "I've never done it."

The hero seemed to pause at that. "Everyone is required to do the standard physical fitness tests at some point or another."

Izuku shrugged. "Online education. I've never stepped foot into an actual school before Yueii."

Aizawa narrowed his eyes at him ever so slightly, and he was left wondering if the hero had bothered to research his students at all. His school records had been submitted to Yueii along with his application. Everything except for his past college education was available to them.

"Even homeschooled students are required to do them. They go to a nearby school to get it done."

'Is it really homeschooling if you don't have a home?' Izuku thought to himself offhandedly , before shaking it away.

"That's a relatively new reform. They changed that about five years ago, I think. And I finished school before then. I didn't have to do anything like that."

The hero's expression didn't change with that. But he heard of few of the other students exclaim their surprise.

"You finished school that long ago!? How!?" One of them shouted out. A glance revealed a male with blonde hair, a black streak going through it in the shape of a lightning bolt.

He just shrugged again. "I'm smart. That's how."

Everyone went silent at that. Though he thought he heard at least one person murmur 'lucky' under their breath.

"Whatever." Aizawa said, calling the attention back to himself. "If you've never done it before, then it's that much more important that you do it now."

He tossed the object in his hand – a softball – over towards Izuku, who snatched it out of the air.

"Stand in the circle." Aizawa said, motioning to the circle marked in the dirt next to him. "And throw the ball as hard as you can.

Izuku complied, moving towards the hero.

"The point of this is to figure out your limits." Aizawa said as he got closer. "So don't hold back. Give it everything you have. I watched your performance in the entrance exams, and I expect to see equal effort here."

Izuku faltered ever so slightly at that, before continuing to move.

'Everything?' He thought, looking down at the ball in his hand. 'I was already going to try, but should I give it my all?'

It would be interesting to find his actual limits. He had a general sense of what they were, but that related mostly to his capabilities in combat. He didn't have any specific measurements. Here, he had a chance to figure out the definitive extent of his abilities.

A smirk appeared on his face as he stopped in the circle, his fist tightening around the ball.

'Sure. Let's give it everything.'

Raising the ball in front of him, he pulled on every strength quirk that sat in his chest, reveling in the burning warmth that spread across his body and the feeling of his shirt straining. He knew that pulling so many at once would likely exhaust him later, but the point of this was to test his limits, right? What was the point of coming to Yueii, if he wasn't going to push himself?

He reeled his arm back, face drawing in concentration as his muscles tensed.

Then, with a grunt, he threw his hand forwards, putting all of his weight behind it. As his arm came down, and the ball was an instant from leaving his hand, he pulled on 'Air Cannon.' With the addition of that quirk, its power boosted exponentially with every strength quirk burning through him, the final flick of his wrist to send the ball flying was transformed from a simple movement to the pull of a trigger.

The ball exploded out of his hand with a massive blast of air, kicking up a cloud of dust around him. An instant later, he heard a resounding 'boom' echo around them as the ball broke the sound barrier, something that brought immense satisfaction.

Looking up, he watched it disappear into the sky, even pulling on the magnification aspect of 'Spectrum' to watch it for longer.

Turning back to face everyone else, he saw them watching him with obvious shock. Even Aizawa's eyes were slightly widened. A few moments later, a device beeped in Aizawa's hand. He inspected it for a moment, his expression revealing nothing, before lifting it to reveal what it showed.

'8.83km'

"As I said before." Aizawa said, turning to show everyone else, adding to their surprise. "It's important to know your limitations. That is the first step to improving yourself."

���Nine kilometers, huh? That should be about far enough. Direction should be pretty close too.' Izuku wondered, glancing up in the direction the ball had flown. 'I wonder if I could hit Tsukauchi's car from here if I used "Bullseye."

The other students grew visibly excited at his words. As it finally registered for them that they would be able to use their quirks to the extent their abilities. He heard one of them exclaim how much fun they thought it would be, and immediately the atmosphere changed. Aizawa's demeanor shifted from exhaustion to something more akin to when he was out patrolling, facing down a group of criminals. Something dark and menacing.

"You think this is meant to be fun?" He asked, his tone silencing all other conversation. "You're sorely mistaken if you think you're here to have fun. This is the hero course. You'll be worked to the bone every minute of the three years you'll be here."

No one spoke as they watched him, the feeling he was giving off silencing any argument before it was even made.

"As an added bit of motivation." He continued. "Since you think this is meant to be fun. Whoever comes in last place after this will be expelled immediately."

"And in case you think that this is unfair, or not allowed." He added, seeing the students start to complain. "Know that Yueii gives its teachers far more autonomy than any other school you've attended. I have the authority to expel any number of you, at any time, for any reason."

'What a drama queen.' Izuku thought, rolling his eyes as Aizawa finished his rant. He already knew that the hero had a habit of expelling his students. He'd learned that much from his interactions with him as Oni. The hero had probably just been waiting for someone to give him an excuse to threaten them with expulsion.

Unfortunately, he chose the wrong moment to do that, as Aizawa turned on him, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Do you have a problem with that Etsumi?"

Izuku met the stare dead on, not faltering under the danger that lay behind the man's eyes. "With the expulsion? Not at all. I think it's a good way to motivate us to try our best." He said. "It's your reasoning that I disagree with."

The hero said nothing, prompting Izuku to continue.

"For the first time ever, we are being given permission to use our quirks freely. Of course they're going to be excited. You talked about how society is flawed for how it treats quirks, but you punish people for being excited about that flaw being corrected. Which means that you either don't believe it, or you were planning to threaten us with expulsion from the beginning, and were just looking for a good excuse. And I'm inclined to believe the latter."

The other students were watching with wide eyes, stunned by how he spoke to the teacher. But Aizawa, on the other hand, was actually sporting a small smirk, all but hidden in his scarf.

"You seem quite confident in yourself Etsumi." The hero said, almost to himself. Then, "You're right, I was planning to do that from the beginning to motivate you. And just to prove how serious I am about it, here's one more bit of motivation."

Aizawa's smirk grew more dangerous as he spoke. "If you don't come in first place at the end of this, Etsumi, you'll be going home along with whoever comes last.

Izuku narrowed his eyes at the other, but they weren't done.

"And I know that you aren't able to participate in some of the events because of your quirk. But before you get your hopes up, all of those will count as zeroes. Meaning that you will have to do even better to come out on top. The world doesn't coddle anyone, and Yueii certainly won't either."

'So that's how this is going to be?' Izuku thought to himself, as he continued to hold Aizawa's stare. 'You want to make sure that my confidence comes from more than just having a strong quirk. That I can back it up with my actions and not falter under pressure.'

The atmosphere grew more tense as the two stared each other down. The threat of expulsion didn't worry Izuku. He knew that he could come out on top. And even on the off chance that he didn't, he had a fallback plan. If he needed to, he could go straight to Nezu and use his identity as Deku as a bargaining chip to stay. He had a feeling that the rodent would more than pleased to learn his identity.

So no, expulsion didn't worry him. But this challenge. Aizawa calling him out right out of the gate… That was getting him fired up. The hero was telling him to prove that he belonged. And damn if he wasn't going to do just that.

'Alright, old man. Let's fucking do this.'

Izuku grew his own grin. "Challenge accepted."

"Good. He said, his face quickly becoming neutral again. "Now go back over with the others so we can continue with the tests."

Something about how quickly his mood turned and the atmosphere calmed down irked Izuku. He knew that the hero was an expert in hiding his emotions, but Izuku was already fired up with the challenge.

'Oh, I am going to give you so much shit when I go out as Oni tonight, Eraserhead. You have no fucking idea.'

As he rejoined the group, Uraraka appeared at his side, a concerned look on her face.

"What the heck was that Etsumi?" She almost whisper-shouted at him. "Why'd you challenge the teacher like that? He sounds serious about expelling us."

"Oh, he's definitely serious." He replied. "He probably wouldn't hesitate to expel all of us if we gave him a reason to. But I'm not worried. Part of me is almost excited for the challenge. Especially with the added danger of expulsion added on."

Her response was cut off when Aizawa called out again.

"Uraraka. You're up next."

She faltered for a moment, then he watched as her concerned expression faded away and her face set as a determined fire started to burn in her eyes. A small smile broke out on his face as he watched her start walking over to Aizawa. He didn't even know her quirk yet, but he knew that she would make it through the test without issue. That determination wouldn't allow anything less.

She strode up to the circle, taking the ball that Aizawa held out to her, one finger held carefully away. Izuku saw her take a deep breath, placing her fifth finger onto the ball. A slight pink glow overtook the object for an instant, before she pulled her arm back and lightly – almost gingerly – tossed it forwards.

He blinked in surprise when it didn't drop to the ground immediately, as he expected it to, but instead drifted through the air at a constant speed, up and away.

'It's not dropping at all.' He observed. 'It's continuing in the same direction it was initially sent. It's almost as if it isn't being affected by g-'

His eyes widened with the realization, and he strained them at her, using 'Appraisal' once more.

[Name: Ochako Uraraka]

[Quirk: Zero Gravity]

[Emitter-type that allows the user to cancel the effects of gravity on objects with physical contact with all five fingers.]

'You!' He exclaimed to himself. 'Gravity quirk! You made it into Yueii after all.'

He hadn't had a chance to use 'Appraisal' on her before now. She'd been the last one to get to the classroom and had started talking to him almost immediately. Now that he had, he studied her as everyone else continued to watch the ball fade into the distance.

She obviously had a decent handle on her quirk to have made it through the entrance exams. He had no idea of what her actual limits were when she submitted the request nearly a year before, but he couldn't wait to find out what they were now.

'I wonder if you took my advice about learning martial arts?' He thought, as Aizawa turned to show them all the infinity symbol that was displayed on the device.

His eyes widened at that. She had, with next to no effort and with no visible fatigue or other drawbacks, just sent an object into orbit. His hands twitched, itching to write or type what he was seeing. Questions and speculations were flooding his mind.

He had to physically restrain himself when she returned to the group, so that he didn't bombard her with questions the moment she did.

Izuku wanted desperately to know everything about her quirk, from her weight limits to her time limits, to whether or not she was able to use it on herself now without causing nausea. He pulled back though. As much as he wanted to know those things, he also wanted to watch and study the other applicants as they performed the tests. Questions could wait for later. He had an entire three years to study their quirks after all.

---

"On your marks!" The robot called out, as Izuku and Bakugou lined up for the fifty-meter dash.

"Get set!" Izuku's tail tensed beneath him, preparing to launch him forwards. Bakugou positioned his hands behind him, likely to propel himself with his explosions.

He didn't bother pulling on any additional quirks for this test. Were it much longer than it was, then he would've used his speed quirks, but as it was, he was relying on the strength in his tail to cover the distance.

"Go!"

Both students exploded from their starting positions, one of them literally. The powerful muscles of Izuku's tail, boosted as they were with a few quirks, launched him down the entire length, earning him a time of .91 seconds. And Bakugou's explosions had him following close behind, at three seconds even.

The blonde shot a glance at him before turning away to return to the group, Izuku following close behind.

It was interesting seeing the different ways that the students were applying their quirks to the situation. Some were relying simply on the enhancements they had, like Iida, and the girl with the frog mutation. Others had come up with more creative solutions. One girl with an acid quirk had removed her shoes and slid – almost skated – down the track, and the boy that couldn't decide if he was French or not propelled himself with a laser, not dissimilar to how Bakugou did it.

He was going to have a field day writing all of this down when he got home.

---

The long jump was incredibly simple. When it was his turn to step up, he simply unfolded his wings and launched himself into the air, well over the landing area for the track. After only a minute or two of flying, he returned to the ground to see that Aizawa had marked his score with an infinity.

A few minutes later, Uraraka achieved the same score when she simply floated over the landing area, choosing the exact right moment in her jump to keep her soaring forwards without rising too high into the air.

And a few minutes after that, Bakugou achieved the third highest score, behind the two of them, by launching himself through the air with his explosions, dwarfing everyone else's score.

---

Izuku stared down at the device in his hand. The one that would measure his grip strength. He tested it in his hand as he pulled another quirk from his chest.

'Hydraulic Press.'

A simple quirk, limited in its uses but incredibly useful in the right situation, and doubly so right now. It significantly augmented the force he could exert from his hands, amplifying his grip strength to a probably unnecessary degree.

He squeezed at the device in his hand, watching as the numbers went up. A few seconds later, and he found the limits of the machine, or at least the limits of what it could display, as it halted at 999kg. He didn't stop, tightening his grip until the metal began to groan in protest. Just before he reached his limits, the display screen began to glitch and malfunction, before the entire device all but exploded in a mess of sparks.

Upon seeing this, Aizawa just sighed, pulling out the device from earlier. He tapped at it a few times, before turning it to display his score. Apparently, he was able to see what the machine had recorded, even if the screen was limited in how high it could go.

1,523kg

Izuku found himself pleased with that number, as it was a little under three times the next person. A boy with a fascinating mutation quirk, that gave him extra limbs and allowed him to freely manipulate the appendages to form eyes, mouths, hands, and likely a number of other body parts.

As he waited for everyone else to finish with the grip strength test, he wondered to himself what sort of grip strength he had with his tail. He wished that he could test just how hard he could constrict something.

---

As the rest of the tests concluded, they all found themselves standing in front of a large screen. With a click of a button on Aizawa's part, the screen came to life and displayed their overall scores.

It was with a not small amount of satisfaction that Izuku saw his name at the top of the screen. It was almost close, with him not being able to perform in a few of the tests on account of his tail, but he had done it nonetheless.

Second place had been awarded to Bakugou, followed closely by Momo. Uraraka had taken seventh place. And in last, was a girl with an invisibility quirk, just barely beaten out by a short boy with purple balls instead of hair.

She was silent. He couldn't hear anything from her as some of the other applicants automatically moved to comfort her. A blink, and his vision changed to thermal as he pulled on 'Spectrum.' He saw that she was almost hunched over, holding her head in her hands.

"Oh. Right. I won't be expelling any of you today." Aizawa announced, sounding as tired as ever. "It was a ruse to draw out your full potential, and to see if you would take this seriously. All of you have at least displayed the bare minimum to remain in my class for another day."

He watched invisibility quirk – Tooru Hagakure, the scoreboard revealed – sag to the ground, relieved by the revelation that she would be allowed to stay.

They were given only a few moments to relax before Aizawa was speaking again.

"Alright. Time to move onto the next part of the test."

"What!?" Several of the students exclaimed in unison. "There's more!?"

"Yes." He replied, moving over to another part of the training field and gesturing for them to follow. "We've gotten a good idea of your quirks' limits. Now we need to see where you all are in terms of fighting ability. Fighting is arguably the cornerstone of heroics. Most of the time you won't succeed if you can't fight off the criminals."

He stopped next to a large square that had been marked out. "You all at least have enough skill to make it through the entrance exams, but you were allowed to use your quirks for that. You won't be here. I want to see what you can do without relying on your quirks so that we know what we need to teach you."

"Now." He said. "Kouda and Tsuyu. You two are up first."

---

Izuku watched intently as the other students fought each other. It was interesting to see just how much skill each of them had brought with them. Some, like Kaminari, Mineta, Tokoyami, and Jirou seemed to have very little fighting experience beyond knowing how to throw a proper punch. Others, like Kirishima, Satou, and Shoji appeared to have experience, but it was focused more on boxing than actual martial arts.

A few seemed to have actual skill when they stepped up to fight. Like Todoroki, for one. Aizawa had called to start and in an instant he had put his opponent – the French one, Aoyama – on the ground. Uraraka was another. She'd judo-flipped her opponent right over the line just as quickly. Momo and Iida also displayed a proper knowledge of martial arts as they faced off against each other.

There were a few oddballs thrown in as well. Students that didn't seem to have much outright experience, but were able to compensate in other ways.

Acid quirk – Mina – displayed a sense balance and flexibility that spoke of dancing, or some similar activity. Allowing her to overcome Sero.

Bakugou had fought in a way that showed that he had a reliance on his quirk – not that most of the others were much better – but had quickly adapted around his opponent and had thrown them out of the ring.

Soon enough, it was Izuku's turn; he was the last one up. He moved into the ring, with Ojiro standing opposite of him. His eyes flitted across his opponent, taking in as much as they could.

The way he held himself from the moment he'd stepped into the ring bespoke a healthy knowledge of martial arts. And the way that Ojiro's own eyes were narrowed at him gave the impression that he had experience when it came to fighting, and was sizing him up.

Then there was the tail that trailed behind him, that had gone still in anticipation for the fight. Most of the students weren't allowed to use their quirks, but the few with simple mutation quirks, like Ojiro, Shoji, and Izuku were allowed to since they were an innate part of their bodies.

The tail was obviously muscular, and was long enough for the end of it to rest on Ojiro's shoulder. It would no doubt prove interesting to observe, as it added one more aspect to keep track of and would allow him to fight in a way that was completely unique.

Izuku didn't have much formal experience when it came to fighting. At least not in terms of taking classes and learning proper techniques. In the beginning, he hadn't had the money or time to sign up for anything, and by the time he did, he didn't need it.

His fighting 'style' revolved entirely around overwhelming his opponents with superior speed and power. He didn't need fancy techniques when he could simply strike someone before they even had a chance to react. That, coupled with the experience and instincts he'd accumulated through countless life-or-death fights, meant that he was just as dangerous as someone that had dedicated years to learning how to fight.

And if he ever needed to, he had an entire arsenal of quirks at his disposal to change his fighting style.

Ojiro dropped into a stance, proving his theory about the boy knowing some form of martial arts. Izuku just brought his hands together, cracking his knuckles.

Aizawa let out a very tired-sounding "Begin."

Immediately, Ojiro sprung forwards. He'd likely observed the strength that Izuku had displayed in the tests, and decided that striking first was the best move.

In an instant, he was in front of Izuku. He jumped up and aimed a spinning kick at his head. Izuku ducked under it, watching Ojiro as he dropped back to the ground.

That move alone spoke volumes about how experienced Ojiro was. The reaction time to begin moving so quickly, pulling off a jumping kick like that, and aiming it at his head no less. He was very confident in his abilities if he was opening with aiming that at the side of someone's head. Izuku knew from experience how dangerous that could be – to both parties – if done improperly.

Ojiro didn't falter, flowing smoothly into a series of jabs. Izuku neatly weaved around each one, remaining rooted in place, not giving an inch. He jumped up into another spinning kick, which Izuku dodged just the same, only to see the tail – previously unused – careening at his midsection. He was forced to duck even lower, this time moving around behind the other.

Ojiro upped the pressure after that, hitting, striking, and kicking at him in a steady stream of attacks, not letting up for a moment. Izuku was almost impressed by the silent ferocity in his movements. The entire time, Ojiro's face was almost impassive, eyes trained on Izuku, analyzing him.

Their fight – if it could be called that, with Ojiro doing all of the attacking – took them across the ring. Izuku had neatly dodged around everything that had been thrown at him. Ojiro had yet to land a single blow.

Eventually – still barely a minute into the fight – Aizawa called out to them.

"Etsumi. You have to actually fight back. This is meant to display your skill."

Immediately, Izuku's hands darted out, catching Ojiro where he'd been jumping at him again. One hand caught the tail, trapping it in place, and the other wrapped around his throat, suspending him in the air.

He looked over at Aizawa. "I know. But it doesn't do him any good if I end it too quickly. You wouldn't have a chance to see his skill."

Ojiro struggled in his grasp – though not for lack of oxygen. Izuku wasn't about to strangle his own classmate – grabbing at his arm. Somehow, he managed to maneuver his body to aim a kick at Izuku's head. His foot cracked across Izuku's jaw.

He didn't even react, just continuing to stare at Aizawa.

The hero sighed. "Stop playing around Etsumi."

He shrugged in response. Moving over to the edge of the ring, he gently dropped Ojiro just on the other side of the line. The boy stood there for a moment, massaging his neck. Izuku moved past him to stand with the rest of the students

"Good." Aizawa announced once they were all grouped back together. "Now I have an idea of where you all stand. Some of you are fairly skilled and don't need much beyond more experience, while some of you need to start from the bottom. Those of you that still need to learn. You'll have to work harder than everyone else to catch up to those that came prepared. I expect to see that as the year progresses."

With that, he turned away, already walking off. "That's it for today. Go get changed and then head home. If you need to, visit the infirmary before you leave."

Izuku hummed to himself as he did just that, heading off in the direction they arrived from. This year was turning out to be interesting already.

---

"Etsumi!" He heard a voice call out from behind him. "Wait up!"

Turning around where he was heading towards the main doors, he saw Uraraka rushing towards him. Iida was following close behind, spouting off something about not running in the hallway.

She was huffing as they reached him. "Man, you sure change fast."

"Anyways!" She started, recovering quickly. "We were wondering if you wanted to head to the station together. What train are you taking?"

Izuku cocked an eyebrow at her. He had never ridden a train in his life. Or if he had, he had no memory of it.

"I wasn't going to take a train." He responded. "I was just going to fly home."

He shuffled his wings as he spoke, drawing attention to them.

Iida frowned. "Is it not illegal to use your quirk in public? I was under the impression that-that law applied to flying as well."

Izuku bristled ever so slightly, subtle enough that the other two didn't notice.

"If anyone wants to stop me from flying, they are more than welcome to try." He replied, dark undertones evident in his voice. "They'd have to remove my wings to stop me, and I feel sorry for the person that would try."

"I- I see." Iida responded, seemingly shaken by the edge to his voice.

Uraraka was unfazed, but did look slightly disappointed when he said that he was just going to fly home.

Seeing her expression, he sighed. "If you would like to though, I wouldn't mind accompanying you two to the station. I need to pick up groceries on the way home anyway."

Uraraka's mood brightened instantly, her smile almost blinding as she started off, leading them to the doors.

Actually, now that he thought about it, this would be a perfect opportunity to ask Uraraka about her quirk. He hadn't had the chance to earlier, but now they had nothing else to do.

By the time they were walking through the main gate, Izuku already had his notebook out and had filled out half a page with the answers Uraraka was giving. She had been a little shocked initially with the sheer number of questions he'd asked about the specifics of her quirk, but had quickly recovered, happily answering them as they traveled.

The entire time. Izuku could feel Iida's eyes on him, studying him. He joined in on the conversation, his own curiosity dragging him in on occasion, but for the most part, he was silent as they walked.

At least, until Uraraka had answered all of Izuku's questions, and he moved on to the blue-haired boy.