Chapter 18: The Ones Bellow

Life had been very strange for Katsuki over the past year. First, Deku left school and allegedly took an exam to graduate from middle school into high school. Odd thing was that his mother wouldn't tell him where Deku was, so Katsuki assumed that he was shipped off to nerd island to slave away at a support company or whatever.

Of course, there was his brother, Madara. There wasn't a single day where Katsuki could walk out of the house without learning about the latest adventured of 'All Might's Heir'. That title pissed him off badly, but it didn't really matter. He would climb up to the number one spot even if he had to do it over Madara's defeated form instead of All Might's.

The months passed quickly and eventually the UA

Entrance Exam came for his generation. Katsuki was pissed that Madara managed to graduate from UA in a single year, but he just decided to set it as his standard to beat.

What he didn't expect was meeting Deku on the way to UA. At first he was stunned by Deku's presence at the Exam. He wanted to go and question him so badly that he thought that he might just explode, but Katsuki kept his impulses reigned in. This was not the time to go on a murderous rampage, so he settled for glaring at him.

He didn't see Deku after that. Then again it was likely that the nerd just went to apply to the support course. After all the support course of UA was a prestigious one and as much as he hated to say it, Deku had a good head on his shoulder for research.

A week later the results came and Katsuki's world came crashing down upon him.

He wasn't the first, he was second. Right after Deku who beat him by ten villain points and close to 60 rescue points.

When school started he got to see Deku again. The nerd walked confidently in the classroom, his classroom, and was instantly assaulted by the stuck-up private school kid and a round faced girl.

Deku hadn't changed much, behavior wise at least.

He was still the same shy nerd he'd always been.

Katsuki was tempted to have a little explosive talk with Deku, but he yet again reigned himself in.

Despite his hooligan like appearance, Katsuki cared deeply about his school record. It wouldn't do to be reprimanded for starting a fight before the year even started. It didn't matter what pebbles ere in his class, after all he's the strongest of them all.

That view would change once their homeroom teacher, a homeless looking guy called Aizawa took them out for the so-called quirk apprehension test. Katsuki thought that it was finally his time to shine, after all none of these other extras had a quirk to match his own, surely.

He was wrong, so very wrong.

First there was that ice hot kid that beat him. Then there was that girl that can make shit out of nothing that also beat him. But worst of all was Deku. He beat everyone.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Deku was quirkless, powerless. Sure, he may have some skill with martial arts and he's a genius nerd, but that doesn't mean that he can simply bypass his lack of a quirk. What's more is that Deku was showing off feats that couldn't have been achieved without a quirk. Somehow he was super-fast and super strong, though he did give off that strange green lightning effect when he used his powers.

Katsuki dearly wished to go up to that nerd and get his answers from the source, but as he willed his body forward, something stopped him.

It was something terrifying, the kind of terror that would root you on the spot. Katsuki could envision those bright red eyes with little dots swirling inside the pupil looking down at him. He wanted to be angry, to rage and fight against this terror, but his body wouldn't listen.

It seemed that even after ten years, he could not go against the warning Madara gave him on that fateful day.

Aizawa looked at his class. He'd just finished with his test and it seemed that this year's lot was full of potential. It was now up to him to guide that potential.

He could see his classes reaction to the quirk apprehension test and while most were falling into the norm, there were two that did not. This, however, was not unexpected, after all he would be worried if they did fall within the norm.

Bakugou Katsuki and Todoroki Shoto, one the second highest scorer in the entrance exam, the other a recommended student and son of Endeavor. Both had met Madara Midoriya and both had seen the measure of his power. It was only natural that they be curious about Madara's brother that was rumored to have the same power as him, even if it wasn't true. Still, even with a mere fraction of his full potential power, Izuku Midoriya proved himself a worthy opponent. Aizawa freely admits that the tests were skewed towards those who possessed physical enhancement quirks, but a keen mind could overcome these tests even with a non-augmentative quirk. After all the purpose of this test was to weed out those that were physically inept or mentally incompetent.

The following day, Aizawa watched All Might's first official class. As you would expect, all the students were hyped up for some action with their favorite hero. Normally it would seem moronic to throw the students into a simulated situation such as the one All Might had planned, but Aizawa was there to step in in case anything bad happened. He would have preferred if Madara was there as well, to sypervise the blond fool. After all he was the only one that could literally beat some sense into him.

The battles weren't anything special, with the possible exception of Todoroki's feat of freezing the building the enemy team was in. It was a bold decision, and Aizawa would have given it a full score, if it was a one vs one or a one vs multiple type of engagement. In the current situation, Todoroki's decision was foolish. If the enemy team had a quirk that could work as a suitable counter to Todoroki's ice, the kid would be in big trouble and because he turned the building into a glacier he rendered his own teammate useless.

Another battle that drew Aizawa's attention was little Midoriya's fight with Bakugou. The explosive kid was out for blood, that was obvious. It was somewhat surprising that Midoriya did not give in to Bakugou's overcompetitive nature. From what Madara had told him, Bakugou was still living a childish dream, one that all children have but are broken out of by the time they reach middle school. In Bakugou's case, the school only fed this false image and although Madara had a hand in staying Bakugou's more violent actions, he was still a kid at the time, and no matter how smart, a kid is still a kid. It would seem that yesterday's test had shaken Bakugou's world view, not terribly, but enough that the cumulative effect it had with other events of the last few years have pushed Bakugou to the edge.

As Aizawa watched as Midoriya took down

Bakugou in two seconds flat and knocked him out he couldn't help but sigh. It would seem that he had to deal with Bakugou's temper sooner rather than later. Preferably before he murdered someone.

Todoroki Shoto was an observant guy. He had been trained since childhood to be as perfect a hero as possible by his father Endeavour. He couldn't help but feel that all the pain and suffering he and his family had endured was for nothing as he watched the scene playing on the screen in the battle center.

Izuku Midoriya truly was Rikudou's brother. When he first laid eyes in him in that classroom he couldn't help but think that he had been deceived.

They looked almost exactly the same, save for the hair of course but in almost every other respect they were vastly different. What truly differentiated them were their personalities. From what little he had interacted with Rikudou the man seemed to exude charisma and arrogance.

Though, given the level of his power that arrogance was not undeserved.

The quirk test was a true eye opener. He had glimpsed Rikudou's prowess on the tv from several media coverages of his heroic acts and from watching last year's sports festival. It was true that while Midoriya did not take the absolute highest scores in every test, but he was always among the top three and most often than not, number one.

In a way it was frustrating to see him perform so well and to see his years of training go to waste but there was nothing he could do. Izuku Midoriya shared his blood and power with someone that took out his father in a single attack in a fair fight, a feat that not even All Might could replicate.

Madara Midoriya was also reported to have fought and won a training engagement with All Might himself. At the moment, in terms of raw power Madara was the number one. He had surpassed All Might before he even turned 15. Such was how his father described him and after meeting him in person Shoto could say that he was correct.

When he first realized who Izuku Midoriya was

Shoto was eager to see his performances. After all, Madara had an unacknowledged bet with his father that he would lose to his little brother. It was thus that Shoto decided to observe the younger Midoriya.

Izuku was different from his brother. He was shy and kind, lacking the arrogance and confidence of his elder sibling. He did not lack, however in fighting prowess. He was clearly a skilled martial artist to have incapacitated Bakugou in a second without the use of his quirk.

Still, it mattered not. Shoto would prove his superiority using only his ice.

It's strange to think that only a few days have passed since Izuku's first year at UA began. This being said it was only logical that some manner of enemy action would befall the school sooner or later.

Honestly, if I didn't know better I'd say that I was reborn in a shonen manga.

I was having a good day busting up a drug trafficking ring. Honestly, it surprised me just how little of the hero population was willing to dirty their hands with this sort of action. Though after I got access to the Hero Commission's classified files all became o so very clear.

The current system was corrupted and weighed down by unnecessary people and baggage. Over the years the admittance tests to hero courses and the license exams themselves have fallen to a surprisingly low standard. In fact, my hero license exam could be considered difficult since only 50% of the participants passed. 50% out of more than 1000 participants passed. In a twisted way, my choice to be heavily involved with the police and officer Tsukauchi in particular boosted my popular approval ratings. A few major events and I'll literally be the youngest ever to breach the top 10 list. Just like Hawks had done, only this time I did it without the Hero Commission pulling strings bekind the back of the citizens.

Back to the present though. The enemy action that I was talking about was the destruction, or more particularly the disintegration of UA's main gate barrier.

"So, what do you think, Rikudou?" asked Nezu

Since I was technically working, I had to come to the school dressed in my Mjolnir armor, though to be completely frank I've been virtually living at Might Tower over the last month working cases.

It's incredible just how little resistance these people have to the Sharingan's hypnotic effects.

I turned to the diminutive principal

"This was the work of a powerful quirk. The metal isn't so much disintegrated as it is heavily oxidized, something that is indicative of degradation quirk of some kind" I said

"We checked the reporters. None had a quirk such as you describe" said Aizawa

"Then this was clearly enemy action. One aimed at the school in general and at several people in particular" I said

"Do you have anything to use as proof for your theory?" asked Nezu

"No, this is based only on my intuition and whatever meager conclusions I can draw from the remains of this destroyed gate" I said

"I see. If I may, Rikudou, I would like to make a request" said Nezu

It was thus how I ended up in this predicament. I was currently standing next to Aizawa, in front of class 1-A, under a transformation technique pretending to be a second year management department student that was writing an article on how students train under All Might for the school paper that will, of course, be made available to the general public. Fortunately, this was a recognized sting operation and all it cost me was my dignity.

Fuck my life. Good news is that I can get some blackmail on Izuku in case I need it.

A/N short chapter next chapter is the usj attack give me power stones I promise I won't try to start a zombie apocalypse well maybe who knows I won't post a chapter tomorrow