20

Chapter 20: Nothing Remains As It Was

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After Izuku's confrontation with Aizawa-sensei, he panics. He runs off, but not home. Not yet. No, he runs around the city, in decreasing spirals, through alleys and backstreets until he is sure he's lost anyone that could be following him. (And even then, Izuku checks over his shoulder. All the way up until he reaches home. He doesn't sleep, sure that any moment some criminal will be bursting through his window.)

It's not until the sun shines through his window and he hears his mother shuffle around that he breathes a sigh of relief.

He takes his mask off, as well as his vigilante outfit and shoves it all in a box. There's a moment where he debates throwing it away, stopping it all. The risk was too great this time. He doesn't know what would have happened if Aizawa-sensei hadn't been there. Even with him there, Izuku still managed to mess up. He called his teacher "sensei". He isn't sure how yet, but he's sure that will come around to bite him later.

In the end, Izuku tucks the box deep in his closet. He can't get rid of it. While not an option he wants to explore again anytime soon, he doesn't want to close any doors for himself. Who knows? Maybe there will come a time when he needs it regardless of whether he gets kidnapped or not.

For now though- no more vigilantism. Izuku will focus on the entrance exam and the entrance exam only .

When the day finally comes, his mother wakes up early to see him off. She's got a big breakfast prepared, despite the fact that Izuku doesn't think he can stomach any of it. He's stuck somewhere between excitement and extreme anxiety. Which is a pretty normal state for Izuku usually. He still isn't sure what he'll do in the entrance exam, despite agonizing over it for days, but he can't worry about it forever. All he knows is that he has to pass. He has to get into UA, no matter what.

Izuku walks out the door, not late like he was before, and makes his way towards the train station. It's a route he's walked a thousand times now, and he lets his mind wander as his feet carry him forward.

He's not in the clear for any of his problems. Although he's hindered the efforts of the League of Villains and the USJ attack, he's not sure how effective it is. Just because he jails a few villains, doesn't mean that Shigaraki can't convert more to their cause. The ones that escaped their holding cells worry him too. Does the League plan to spring a bunch of villains for their attack? Or maybe they'll recruit stronger villains in place of the ones Izuku's caught, or different ones with unpredictable quirks that could change the outcome of USJ. He could've made things so much worse.

But, he also could have stopped it. He isn't that naive, but the League had to know that someone was cutting their manpower at this point, and maybe they would take caution? They might postpone the attack or try a new tactic altogether. Izuku has no idea how his actions have affected this timeline, but he needs to be prepared for every possible outcome. It might be good for him to warn the school when the time comes. Anonymously, of course.

The forty minute subway ride passes by quickly with Izuku trapped in his thoughts as he is. It's second nature to step off at the right stop with his divided attention and walk the rest of the way to UA's doorstep.

Izuku approaches the UA gates and he comes to a stop. The place is amazing, as it always is, and the awe he feels hasn't dimmed a bit from when he first attended. He cranes his neck to catch every square inch of sparkling glass and incredible infrastructure before he walks through the gate.

It feels sort of like coming home.

When he heads towards the entrance to the written exam, his thoughts turn to the events of his previous timeline. Right. Kacchan was there and so was Uraraka. Looking around, Izuku can't see either of them now. Although disappointed, he is earlier this time than he was last time.

Instead, he scans the surroundings for anyone he does recognize. Surprisingly, he spots a familiar head of hair and grins. With the amount of people about, he didn't think he'd actually see anyone he knows. Without thinking, Izuku puts his hands to his mouth to call out to them, but thankfully catches himself just in time. It's true that he wants to befriend everyone he did before, but he can't just go around acting like he's already friends with them when he hasn't technically met anyone yet.

Would it be too weird to walk over to that person then...? But, Izuku really wants to, and it's kind of lonely being at UA by himself. Besides, would moving up their meeting really change that much? He shakes his head. It shouldn't matter. That person could probably use some company as much as Izuku, so he hurries over to the person he recognized before he loses them in the crowd.

"Hi there!" Izuku chirps, falling in step beside his new, soon-to-be friend. He has to hold his tongue from saying their name, a dangerous habit he'll have to keep track of.

"...Hi." Shinsou Hitoshi responds in a monotone, his blank-faced gaze shifting over Izuku's face. He seems a little surprised? A little annoyed? Or is that wary? He's similar to Todoroki, in that he's hard to read. But, Izuku's just so excited that he finally, finally has found someone from his old days at UA. Well, besides Kacchan of course, but that was a moot point.

"I'm Midoriya Izuku. It's nice to meet you." He holds out his hand to shake, which the other simply stares at. Shinsou looks between the hand and Izuku's face multiple times as if trying to tell if Izuku is serious. In the end, Izuku has to drop his hand.

"Shinsou Hitoshi." He declares rather coldly and turns his face away as if in dismissal as he continues to walk.

While normally that might deter Izuku until a later date, he's not going to let that stop him now. He truly believes Shinsou is a good person and a great hero. He had already thought of it in his own dimension, that he wished he could've become friends with him sooner.

He catches up with Shinsou easily and the boy side eyes him once again, but doesn't speak. His lips are pressed into a thin line and the shadows under his eyes are more prominent than Izuku has ever seen them. Shinsou must have been nervous about the entrance exam.

Izuku's mind stalls. Oh. Shinsou doesn't make it into the hero course. He fails the entrance exam and gets placed in general education. Of course, he was well on his way to getting transferred into the hero course in the original timeline, but it's a shame he fails at all. Shinsou really wants to be a hero. The news must have devastated him. But...well there isn't much Izuku can do to help.

"So…" Izuku starts, and isn't immediately shot down, so he continues, "Are you applying for the hero course?" Of course, Izuku already knows the answer to that question, but it's not as if he can go around clueing people in that he has future knowledge.

Shinsou sighs and shoots Izuku with an unimpressed look. "Are you?"

Izuku scratches the back of his head awkwardly and offers a bashful smile. This conversation is not going how he'd like. He doesn't think he's felt this nervous speaking to someone in a long time. "Yeah! I've always wanted to be a hero and of course UA is my first choice of school! I'm really nervous but also really excited to be here, but I know they have other courses so I was just wondering if maybe you weren't applying to the heroics course? But I guess that's a stupid question because mostly everyone applies to heroics and that was probably insensitive of me. I'm sorry."

Shinsou's eyes have widened a bit by the end of his ramble, but he keeps the same expression. Is Izuku scaring him away?! He can't tell.

"No...I mean, yeah, I did apply to the hero course. But I also applied for Gen-Ed." He sighs again and his eyes gaze at a fixed point in the distance. "Want to keep all my bases covered, you know?"

Izuku can read the underlying message. Shinsou has already gone in thinking he will fail. He doesn't think he'll make it into the hero course. Because of his quirk. It leaves a sour taste in Izuku's mouth and he frowns. Is there anything he can do? He can try to give encouragement, but how will Shinsou take it? And if he tries to help him get in? Won't that remove a spot from someone else in class 1-A or 1-B? But Izuku wouldn't even know how to go about that even if he could.

"Yeah," Izuku says eventually, "But I'm sure you'll make a great hero!" He offers with a wide smile. Because even if Shinsou doesn't get in now, Izuku knows he will later. And he'll be just as powerful as the hero students.

When Izuku looks at Shinsou's face though, he can immediately tell his words didn't go over well.

The tired teen scowls at him. "You don't even know anything about me so you can't say I'll be a hero, let alone even make it into UA. My quirk isn't all that flashy, aren't you just giving people false hope?"

Izuku's step falters, a little stunned by how abrasive Shinsou is, but he can't really blame the guy. It was likely something he developed over time due to his mistreatment. Izuku himself, was bullied for many years for being quirkless. He could relate to someone like Shinsou who was constantly tormented because people thought his quirk was villainous. Izuku didn't like being called useless, but that was objectively preferable to villainous any day.

"Ummmm, sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just think that if someone wants to be a hero, it doesn't matter what their quirk is. If they put in the time and effort and they want it more than anything in the world, I think that they can do it. I think that anyone can be a hero." Izuku states firmly, stopping his walk as Shinsou does the same.

"Huh. How can you say that to a stranger? You don't even know what kind of person I am. Anyone can be a hero? Are you kidding? Even a murderer? Or a thief? Even someone with a quirk that hurts people? I don't think you know what you're talking about." Shinsou replies, and under his aloof demeanor, he sounds angry.

Izuku pauses. He knows exactly why Shinsou is asking this. The teen has gone through life having everyone tell him his quirk is no good. And still, he wants to be a hero. But Shinsou is wrong; Izuku knows what kind of person Shinsou is. He knows how the other boy has trained and tried so hard to overcome the biases of his quirk. He knows that Shinsou is kind and above all, heroic. Izuku's been saved by him before, and now it's time to return the favor. If Shinsou needs someone to believe in him, Izuku will be that person.

"No quirk is 'good' or 'evil'. Just like a weapon, it's the wielder's choice whether to use it to attack or defend. Whether a quirk can hurt people or scare them, it doesn't matter. If they want to use it for good, it's good, simple as that. A quirk is only as villainous as the person and that means anyone can be a hero." He looks straight into Shinsou's eyes. "Including me and you." Izuku adds with a smile.

Shinsou remains expressionless, but the tension in his face has eased somewhat. There's something in the way he looks at Izuku that he can't place.

"...right." He says and his lip quirks up a little, in what could be a smirk, to Izuku's delight. But it vanishes as quickly as it came. "Well I wish you luck. Maybe I'll see you around."

Izuku beams back at him. "Thank you! And good luck to you too! I'll see you later!"

He runs off then, because their exams are in different areas and feels much less nervous than he was before. Maybe he can't change Shinsou's results, but he can at least change his spirit before they meet again in UA.

The written exam is first and Izuku enters the room already filled with people. He searches the rows of students for anyone he might recognize, but the rooms for the exams are small and he comes up empty. Well, there are hundreds of applicants for UA every year, it would be a miracle if he ended up with any of his classmates. He's lucky he even ran into Shinsou. At least he knows he'll see quite a few of them in the practical portion. He can barely wait.

The exam is about as easy as it was for Izuku the first time, if not easier with his time travel knowledge. It is still lengthy though and Izuku can barely keep still. After he's finished, the minutes seem to drag and Izuku can only wait and fidget in his seat.

Is he going to try to get more points than he did last time? Now that he's more capable with his quirk? He certainly wants to. If he hides his strength and one of the teachers notices, they might deny Izuku into the hero course. He thinks of Aizawa-sensei specifically who could practically smell a student's potential and-

Aizawa-sensei. Oh shit. Was he at the practical portion of the hero course exam? Izuku wracks his brain and tries to remember. Present Mic was there to introduce the rules and Recovery Girl knew who was injured. All Might had said that he saw Izuku's performance before too, but that could've been specific to the old timeline only. All that he knew was that the footage was reviewed by a panel of staff members. In real time? He didn't know. And he didn't know if Aizawa-sensei was involved either.

He'd have to keep an eye out for his teacher then. He still hasn't come up with a proper alibi to explain why Eri was with him on the night they knocked on the hero's door. Will he be recognized? His face was clearly shown and it'd be naive to assume it was forgotten. And even though he can't be connected to his vigilante persona, there is what happened over the weekend too…

Izuku will have to confront Aizawa-sensei one way or another, especially if he's in his class again, but he still dreads the conversation. Hopefully his teacher isn't among the judges or is too busy looking after Eri to notice Izuku during the practical. That would give him at least a couple more months before school starts to come up with a good lie.

The written exam ends while Izuku's not paying attention. His stomach does a weird flopping motion and he's suddenly glad he didn't eat anything this morning.

His feet carry him to the auditorium where the rules will be explained for the practical portion of the exam. He thought he would be excited, knew he would be nervous, but didn't expect to be feeling sick. Izuku has spent more time as an actual hero than all of the other applicants here, and yet he feels the same as he did when he took the test the first time. Small. Weak. As if this is his only chance.

In many ways, it still is.

Izuku breathes in deeply. Once. Twice. His hands are shaking and he attempts to dislodge those thoughts from his head. He's different now. He's grown. He's no longer the useless Deku he was before. He recalls Uraraka's words.

"I think it sounds like 'you can do it'!"

Izuku huffs out a laugh, warmth flooding through him at the memory. He misses his friends.

The auditorium looms overhead and a steady stream of people enter it at the same time he does.

His eyes go into overdrive. Nervousness temporarily forgotten, Izuku scans the seats, the crowds, as his heart pounds ferociously. His friends, his classmates, everyone he's grown to love in his lifetime are here right now. He doesn't realize he's stopped until someone bumps into him from behind and almost sends him, and a whole group of people, flying to the ground.

Izuku whips around, but the person is not who he thought it was; only a stranger that complains about Izuku stopping out of nowhere. There is no near-faceplant, no weightless feeling, no wish of good luck. Feeling embarrassed, Izuku apologizes and helps the person to stand. He can't help but be just a little disappointed.

He takes his seat next to Kacchan, as they're seated by schools, and the blonde doesn't look at him. His friend stares blatantly ahead, his ever present scowl on his face, and Izuku sinks down into his chair.

"Hi Kacchan," Izuku offers hesitantly. He knows the blonde won't respond, so why does it still affect him when he's met with silence?

Present Mic starts his presentation, just as boisterous as Izuku remembers, but it doesn't lift his spirits as it did before. He rests his head on one of his hands and absently thinks of the trial to come.

Robots. Not too bad to deal with, but Izuku now sees the quirk discrimination that Aizawa-sensei was talking about before. Quirks not suited for combat, or not suited for combat against non-humans, would do poorly. Shinsou, for one, comes to mind. It does make him appreciate some of his other classmates more, he never really gave much thought to how they made it in. His mind specifically thinks of Koda and Hagakure. Izuku makes a mental note to ask them this time around. The knowledge could be an application of their quirks he hadn't considered, and he can record it in his notebook.

"Excuse me, may I ask a question?" A familiar voice yells and Izuku looks up with wide eyes to see Iida Tenya in all his glory. Izuku's face has frozen somewhere between shock, awe and sadness. He might even cry. It's Iida .

The boy starts talking, in the robotic and achingly familiar way he does, and Izuku fights to keep a smile from spreading over his face. That is, until Iida addresses him.

"Moreover, what's with you? Yeah you, curly haired kid!" He points a perfectly straight finger at Izuku and Izuku is a little stunned before he remembers that this did happen the first time as well.

"Can't you keep quiet for a second...your mumbling is distracting! If you think UA is some pleasure jaunt, then leave this place at once!"

It takes an effort for Izuku not to flinch at his words. He blushes in embarrassment. Multiple eyes are on him, the weight of Kacchan's weighing him down the most, and suddenly he is not so thrilled anymore.

"Sorry…" Iida. He bites his lip to prevent himself from saying his friend's name and sinks into his seat. He can hear snickers from the surrounding applicants at Iida's well-meaning but harsh words. Izuku glances at Kacchan, who looks away as if he wasn't staring at him, and then slumps even more. Luck did not seem to be on his side when it came to him fixing things in this future.

The instructions are finished swiftly and Izuku gets shoved multiple times as the crowd of excitable students pushes out of the auditorium. Izuku loses sight of Kacchan pretty quickly, before he can wish him good luck. He frowns. He sure hopes this silent treatment from the blonde will fix itself soon.

Following the flow of the crowd, Izuku eventually finds himself outside of his area. He doesn't recognize many of the applicants, just like last time, but that doesn't matter when he sees the few he does know.

There's Iida, of course, and Uraraka. There's also Aoyoma that Izuku remembered was there the first time around.

He watches each future classmate and debates whether he should talk to any of them or not. Would it be weird? Shinsou was fairly awkward to say the least. Should he wait? He would see them all in class in a couple months, but that felt like too long to wait. Didn't Iida get mad at him for 'trying to break Uraraka's concentration' before? Would the same thing happen again? But, Izuku might be able to warn Uraraka about the zero pointer before she gets in harm's way.

With his mind made up, Izuku steps towards Uraraka. Unfortunately at that moment, Present Mic's voice screeches out over the intercom that the test has begun. The contestants push past him, he loses sight of Uraraka, and he loses his chance. He shakes his head as he tries to catch up. He can still protect Uraraka, and she should be fine until the zero pointer. Right now, he only has 10 minutes to prove he's hero material.

And knowing the importance of time, Izuku won't waste a second of it.

Notes:

Ha! You thought you'd get all of the entrance exam in one chapter? You should know me better than that.