Chapter 5: The Weight of a Sword

Alternate Chapter 5 title: The Path of Steel Begins

Izuku Midoriya's Perspective

The moment his elbow connected with Katsuki's ribs, the world seemed to hold its breath.

Bakugou staggered—just for a second, just for a fraction of a moment—but it was real.

He had felt it.

Izuku didn't allow himself to feel satisfaction. Combat wasn't about proving superiority—it was about surviving. About winning when the odds were against you.

And for ten years, the odds had always been against him.

Katsuki snarled, recovering fast. "You little—!"

Another explosion ignited in his palm, but Izuku was already moving. Speed was his greatest weapon against quirks like Katsuki's. He twisted to the side, dodging the blast, heat licking at his jacket but never quite touching him.

His mind worked in overdrive. Analyze. Adapt. Overcome.

Katsuki relied on brute force, overpowering his opponents through sheer aggression. But aggression meant nothing if it never landed.

Izuku ducked under another swing, his foot sweeping forward—low, precise, aiming for Katsuki's balance.

Katsuki leapt back just in time, avoiding the trip, but his eyes narrowed. He wasn't just pissed anymore.

He was wary.

And that meant everything.

"Since when the hell did you learn to fight like this, Deku?" Katsuki hissed, sparks crackling at his fingertips.

Izuku met his glare evenly, breathing steady despite his racing heart. "Since the moment you told me I couldn't be a hero."

Katsuki's face twisted, but before he could respond, a sharp voice cut through the tension.

"Both of you! Stop this nonsense!"

Their teacher's furious tone snapped the moment like a blade cutting through tension. The fight was over—for now.

Izuku straightened, stepping back. He hadn't come here to start a rivalry. He had simply needed to know.

And now he did.

He could fight against quirks.

He could stand against those stronger than him.

He could make his own path.

Later That Night – Izuku's Room

Izuku sat cross-legged on his floor, a training sword balanced across his lap. It was a simple thing—wooden, weighted to mimic the real thing—but it was an extension of himself now.

His hands moved with practiced ease, maintaining the weapon, smoothing down rough edges.

A decade of training, of sacrifice, had led him here.

But it wasn't enough.

Not yet.

Heroes fought against the impossible every day. And if he was going to become one, he couldn't just be strong.

He had to be more.

"A sword that does not break."

That was the path he had chosen.

No quirk. No gifts.

Only will.

Only steel.

And he would not break.

Ten months later.

Izuku Midoriya's Perspective.

Ten months.

For ten months, Izuku had pushed his body past its limits. Every morning, every night—training until exhaustion, refining every motion, every strike, until his sword was an extension of his will.

He had built himself into a warrior. Not with quirks. Not with shortcuts.

With sheer willpower.

And now, standing at the gates of U.A. High School, Japan's top hero academy, he knew one thing for certain—

He was ready.

The crowd of applicants bustled around him, their excitement palpable. Sparks flew from fingers, air shimmered with heat, some even floated off the ground.

Izuku ignored them.

He wasn't here to compare himself to others. He was here to prove himself.

No one noticed him—just a quirkless nobody in a plain black training uniform, a sword strapped securely to his back. Some students glanced at him with confusion, some with amusement, but Izuku didn't care.

He had walked this path alone for years.

He didn't need their approval.

He only needed results.

Katsuki Bakugou's Perspective

Katsuki stood a few feet away, arms crossed, scowling as he spotted Izuku in the crowd.

That damn nerd was actually here.

It pissed him off.

Not because he thought Izuku didn't belong.

No.

It was because deep down, Katsuki knew—Izuku wasn't the same weakling he had once bullied.

Their last fight had proved that much.

Even now, the way he stood, the way he carried himself—it wasn't fake confidence. It wasn't bluster.

It was the stance of someone who knew exactly what they were capable of.

And that made Katsuki's blood boil.

"Damn Deku," he muttered under his breath. "Try and keep up."

The Written Exam – 30 Minutes Later

Izuku's pencil moved across the test paper without pause. The written portion was challenging, but he had prepared for this just as much as he had trained his body.

A hero wasn't just strength. A hero needed strategy, intelligence, foresight.

And Izuku had spent years learning everything about hero society, quirks, tactics, and history.

When the timer rang, he put his pencil down calmly.

Phase one—complete.

Now came the real test.

The Practical Exam – Arena B

The massive training ground stretched before him like a battlefield.

Present Mic's voice boomed through the speakers:

"Alright, listeners! The exam begins now!"

At that moment, the robots came to life.

Steel giants of various sizes surged forward, attacking everything in their path. Other examinees charged in, quirks flaring to life—explosions, energy blasts, superhuman speed.

Izuku didn't move immediately.

He studied.

Analyze. Adapt. And Overcome.

Then, in a single motion—he drew his sword.

The wooden practice blade had been replaced with something far deadlier.

A reinforced carbon steel katana, custom-forged, balanced perfectly to his grip.

He surged forward.

A one-pointer lunged at him, metal claws swiping. Izuku sidestepped, his blade flashing—a single precise cut.

The robot's joints snapped, sparks flying as it collapsed.

Izuku didn't stop.

Another enemy—a two-pointer—charged from the side. Izuku leapt onto its frame, blade piercing through its exposed wiring before flipping off as it exploded behind him.

Other students stared.

Some in shock.

Some in awe.

A quirkless applicant—tearing through combat robots with nothing but a sword.

But Izuku had no time to care.

This was his battlefield.

And he would not lose.

To Be Continued…