Chapter 8

Izuku tugged at his sleeves as he walked through the halls of UA, making it way to his classroom, smirking. Class 1-A was known to be the best of the best when it came to what UA had to offer. Where all the students who had the best potential ended up. In reality, it was more likely that the 36 students who passed the Hero Entrance exam and the additional 4 who got in through recommendation were randomly shuffled into either 1-A or 1-B regardless of quirks, aptitude or potential. He was excited. Not just for all the plans that were working in the background, those would come later, but for all the new quirks he'd get to see. Old habits never die, after all. His hobby may not be for hero use anymore, but he still loved quirks and seeing how they tick.

Reaching the large door marked 1-A, Izuku opened it up and stepped inside, greeted by loud arguments from two students. As he moved to a seat in the back of the class, he refused to look at it. Mostly cause he recognised one of the voices. He cursed mentally. Of course he' be put in the same class. The one person who could ruin everything. Just his luck.

" Oh. Hey. It's you." Izuku looked up upon sitting down. Sitting next to him was a silver haired girl with her hands resting on the table. Izuku racked his brain, trying to recall who the girl was. " You're the guy from the assembly."

" Oh right. We sat next to each other there too right? Before the exam."

" Right." The girl nodded. " I'm Reiko Yanagi. It's nice to see you again."

" Mikumo Akitani." Izuku smiled at her. He honestly hadn't expected to ever see the girl again. But it seemed she made it in as well. He wondered what her quirk was but decided against asking for now. He looked back over to see Iida and Bakugo still arguing. " Are they ever going to stop?"

" They haven't for 5 minutes now. Ever since that blond guy got here."

" He seems the type to start arguments for fun." Izuku huffed. He shared small talk with Yanagi while watching other members of the class trail in late. And yet he found it odd that there wasn't a teacher waiting for them. He had assumed a teacher would be there to welcome them as they entered and explain the curriculum and school rules. Then it would be off to the Entrance Ceremony and Orientation in the assembly hall with normal classes starting in the afternoon. So why… Izuku paused, his eyes drawn to a long, yellow thing under the blackboard. Was it a rug? No, the texture was off. It looked more like a… Izuku's eyes widened. So there was a teacher after all. "Iida. Stop talking." He said curtly.

" Hmm?" Iida looked up. " Ah. Akitani. I didn't notice you-"

" No. Really. Stop talking." He gestured to the front of the class. Others took notice too, bringing their own conversations to a close. A heavy sigh came from the sleeping bag.

" Finally. What took you so long?" A tired voice asked. The Sleeping bag rose up, startling a number of the class before it turned around. The bag dropped to the floor, revealing a tired looking bag. " It took you all two minutes before you noticed I was even in the room. That's not gonna work. This is UA after all. Not some kiddy school where you can take your time to try and succeed. You kids aren't anywhere near rational enough." Izuku's eyes ran over the tired man, taking note of his long hair, dark clothes and the capture weapon around his neck. He couldn't place him. As far as heroes went, he looked way too plain. He was either out of uniform or was an underground hero. " I'm your home room teacher, Shota Aizawa. Nice too meet you, I guess." There was a murmur of confusion amongst the class. " Right. You'll find your PE uniforms in your lockers. Put them on and meet me out back." With that, he left. Izuku narrowed his eyes. This was going to be more difficult than he predicted.

" A quirk assessment test?" Izuku asked, confused.

" But what of the Entrance Ceremony sir?" Iida asked. Aizawa shrugged.

" If you want to be a hero, you shouldn't have the time to worry about such pleasant events." He said coldly. " One of the best traits about UA is how unrestricted to usual school traditions it is. Teachers have full reign to do whatever they want in lessons, with in reason obviously. It also means I can choose to skip useless ceremonies like Orientation." Aizawa pulled a rubber ball and a phone from his pocket. " You kids do things like this in middle school, right? Ball throw. Long Distance Run. Sit ups." He showed off the list on his phone. " General physical fitness tests were your quirks weren't allowed to be used, right? You're averages on these scores were sent to us. At least for most of you." Aizawa eyed Izuku. His gaze switched to Bakugo. " Bakugo. What was your highest score on the softball throw?"

" 67 meters." He stated. Izuku remembered the same. He only got 34 meters himself. His classmates had teased him. Called him weak. He repressed the memory.

" Try again with your quirk. Do what you want, just stay in the circle." Aizawa passed Bakugo the softball. With a grunt of acknowledgement, Bakugo stepped up to the mark. He took a deep breath, stretched and pitched with explosive force, sending the ball flying. Izuku flinched at the sound. The ball flew though the air at high speeds before falling to the ground somehow unscathed. Aizawa showed the phone off. Everyone gasped in shock. 705.2 meters. " This is the most rational way to get a good level of where you're all at with your quirks." Aizawa told them.

" 750 meters?" A boy with a large headband with a zigzag pattern muttered in shock. " Seriously?"

" Heh. This could be fun." Another boy with spiked hair said, grinning. " A little contest to start out the year."

" We can use our quirks to our fullest potential." A dark haired girl with a ponytail surmised. " A perfect measurement tool."

" Ha. As expected of UA." A dark haired boy with elbows like tape holders shouted happily.

" Fun, huh?" Aizawa said, coldly, snapping the class back to reality. " You've got three years to become Pro Heroes. You think that's gonna be what? All fun and games?" He rolled his shoulder, flashing a sadistic grin. " Alright then. You want a 'Friendly contest' do you? I'll give you something to work for then." Aizawa eyed them all, cold eyes glowing lightly. " The person who comes in last place in this exercise will be deemed as someone with no potential." He announced. "In other words, you'll be expelled on the spot." The entire class tensed up. Izuku was interested now. So that was the type of person Aizawa was. But perhaps, supposing it was true, he could use that to his advantage. He put the thought in the back of his mind for now.

" B-But that's not-"

" Fair?" Aizawa cut the red haired boy off. " Natural Disasters. Big Accidents. Selfish Villains. These are all calamities which cannot be predicted. Tell me, are they fair?" The class fell silent. " As heroes, it is your job to alleviate and amend these events. If you thought this was going to be a fast and fun journey to being a superstar, too bad because UA is going to be one hardship after another for three long years. You'd better get used to unfairness cause you're gonna be faced with it a lot." Aizawa grinned. " Welcome to the Hero Course. Go Beyond. Plus Ultra. Overcome adversity with all you have. Come and show me what you've got." Izuku smirked. Aizawa didn't take any shit. He was serious to a fault and expected people to get results or die trying. He liked his teacher already.

The first test was the 50 meter dash. He decided to take this time to begin scouting his classmates. 19 other potential recruits to his cause. If he saw a weakness, he could learn how to exploit it. He just needed the opening.

Iida was slower than he expected. He'd known his brother, Ingenium, to be able to reach blistering speeds with his own quirk. However, Iida only reached the 50 meter mark in 3 seconds. Faster than others in his class, but Ingenium could hit twice the distance in the same time. But the engines on Iida's legs were different than those on Ingenium's suit. Perhaps it was a sort of support item to enhance Ingenium's speed or perhaps his quirk was more developed. Izuku couldn't say.

The next person of interest was Yuga Aoyama, the blond boy with the strange belt from the entrance exam. He tried to make a show of the race by blasting himself across the starting line while facing away from the goal. However, after a second, Aoyama's laser faltered and he fell to the ground. By the time he got up and fired again, finally crossing the finish line, the other runner, the mushroom haired girl also from the entrance exam, had beaten him. Being flashy didn't really get him very far.

Then there was Shihai Kuroiro that had an interesting way to reach the finish line faster than his opponent, Tokoyami Fumikage. As the buzzer went, Kuroiro seemingly vanished. However, as Tokoyami, who had flown off towards the finish line without noticing his partner's vanishing act, reached the end, Kuroiro reappeared, emerging from Tokoyami's black feathers and using him to boost past the finish line a full half second ahead. Aizawa allowed it. Izuku smirked, admitting that the plan was pretty unique.

Finally the time came for Izuku to race. He gritted his teeth when he found his opponent was Bakugo. He remained silent. He didn't even look up at him. He couldn't bare it. His mind raced. Why, of all people, did he have to be here? He could have lived with barely seeing him in lunch if they were in separate classes, but instead there he was. The same loud, obnoxious, abusive jackass that he always was. He wondered if Bakugo even knew Izuku had ever vanished in the first place. Even if he did, he was probably ecstatic, thinking he took his advice. The thought pissed Izuku off. He channelled wind in his legs and waited. The buzzer sounded and Izuku pushed forwards using Bound, sending a burst of wind outwards. The sound of the explosions created by Bakugo made him flinch slightly on instinct but he tried his best to tune them out, focusing on propelling himself forwards using Air Walk and Bound. The next sound he heard was the robot announcer. " 4.13 seconds." He stopped, getting his breath back. Then he heard it again. " 4.57 seconds." Izuku looked up. He beat Bakugo? Bakugo looking angry.

" Hey! What the hell?"

" Excuse me?"

" Your stupid wind gust knocked my explosions down. You made me slower, asshole." Bakugo growled. He had? A small smirk crept onto Izuku's face. He'd messed up Bakugo? He could be expelled happily now.

" So? You still finished faster than most."

" But I could've been faster if not for you."

" Oh relax, Bakugo. It's not the end of the world." Izuku shrugged.

" Why you…"

" That's enough." Aizawa grumbled, hopefully making a mental note to never pair each other up again. " We're moving on." Izuku gladly walked away. The less he had to deal with his old "friend" the better.

The second test was grip strength. Izuku wasn't exactly surprised he didn't get that high in this one, only reaching 56kg. His quirk was in his legs, after all. Doing things with his arms wasn't going to get much done. Still, it did show off some other interesting quirks.

For one, the boy with the multiple limbs from the entrance exam, actually made it in to the Hero Course, which is better than Izuku thought he'd do. His name was Mezo Shoji and his quirk, which granted him two extra sets of arms and probably a bit more judging what Izuku saw from a distance in the Hero exam, basically allowed him to apply three times the power of his already hefty muscles onto the device, giving him an impressive 540kg.

Another impressive competitor with just a bit less at 480kg was Rikado Sato. His quirk apparently increased his strength when he consumed sugar. His partner, Eijiro Kirishima, managed 440kg just by hardening his skin in rock. Strength quirks were interesting. It meant a persons body was a weapon but it limited them in range. Izuku's mind already whirred with ideas on how to overcome people like that in the future.

The third test was the standing long jump. Izuku managed to breeze past this one quite easily with a single usage of Bound, clearing the sand pit by a sizeable margin. A lot of others managed this one quite easily as well. Aoyama and Bakugo flew over it, Tokoyami showed off his quirk, using the creature he spawned to launch over the pit, having it grab the other side and pull him over, Tsuyu Asui used her quirk to just barely bound over the pit and Ojiro used his tail as a springboard to fire over it. The others didn't quite do as well however.

The fourth test was repeated side steps. Izuku managed to cheat this once using Air Walk to repel off the sides, slow down for a few steps and then repeat the process. Not many people seemed to use their quirks for this one. Izuku assumed it was from having quirks unsuited for it. There was only one major exception, that being Kinoko Komori, who managed to summon two large, apparently tough and bouncy mushrooms to just bounce between at a high rate. Noting that she was, as he suspected, the person who trapped a large amount of robots in the hero exam, he decided to keep an eye on her.

Fifth came the Softball Throw, the exam Bakugo had already completed. He had jokingly asked Aizawa if he could kick the ball instead, which was rebuffed. As a result, his score only ended at 50 meters. Izuku was fine with it. He'd gotten good scores in the 50 meters race and the standing long jump and decently in the side steps. He also had the run to do good in later. So he stood back and watched the others.

Yanagi did pretty well. He wasn't sure how her quirk worked, however she was able to easily levitate the softball using it and fired it outwards at high speeds, landing a 161.5 meters. Izuku gave her a thumbs up when she was walking back, earning a small smile from her.

Denki Kaminari was the next person of interest. His quirk practically turned the ball into a laser beam as he charged it with lightning and fired it out at blinding speeds, ending up with 317.3 meters. What interested Izuku more was him placing a hand to his head afterwards. If his quirk was electrical based, he wondered what would happen if he overcharged his quirk too much. He doubted he'd have to wait long to find out.

The next few tests were fairly routine. Practically no-one used their quirks for the seated toe touch or the sit ups, making it a fairly boring half hour to get through before the long distance race. That was a bit more eventful if only because he could use Bound and Air Walk again to finish the race a lot faster than he could when he was still in Aldera. However, by then, all the people with the physical quirks to excel at these sorts of tests Izuku had already mentally marked down. Other simply couldn't use their quirks for this. The likes of Jiro, Sato, Koda and Awase were looking pretty nervous for the results. With the threat of expulsion looming over their heads, Izuku could understand why.

Izuku came 8th in the Quirk Apprehension test, still a solid 5 places behind Bakugo, but not bad all things considered. He took a look at the last few spots. Surprisingly, a few people he expected to be low down, like Yaoyarozyu and Koda had done well for themselves. However, most of the people he assumed wouldn't do well, like Jiro and Awase, were low down. Kinoko bit her lip hard upon reading the results. Despite doing well on the side steps, the other exams had made it clear she wasn't very physically suited, understandable for her quirk, Izuku thought. Aizawa stretched, stifling a yawn. " You all did pretty well today. Some better than others, though what else is new in society. Some are stronger in some aspects than others. Nothing to be worried about. By the way, I was lying about the whole expulsion thing." He turned off the hologram. Everyone paused. Izuku could feel the relief Kinoko was feeling as her shoulders fell and she allowed a smile to cautiously return to her face. " It was a rational deception, really. Had to know what you'd do when you were being serious."

" Are you serious?!" Sero gasped.

" I mean… wasn't it obvious?" Yaoyorozu asked, confused. Izuku chuckled.

" Yeah. I don't think any teacher can expel someone day 1, lesson 1, right?" He joked. But Izuku knew. He saw it in Aizawa's expression. He was serious before. Likelihood is, if anyone didn't show any potential, he would have followed through with his threat. He saw it in the way he'd glared at him earlier. Aizawa didn't know much about him since his records were fairly minimalistic and that made him suspicious. But, after seeing it with his own eyes, he confirmed everyone deserved to be here. This was Aizawa's own Hero Entrance Exam. And everyone passed.

" Alright. Everyone can get changed. There's handouts in the classroom with your curriculum on it. Be sure to check them out when you get back. After that, feel free to head home. Classes start tomorrow morning." He gave them a lazy wave and wandered off. Everyone finally let themselves breath.

" Man. He's terrifying." Sero said.

" What did we do to get stuck with him for three years?" Kuroiro asked.

" Come on everyone. Don't be like that." Yaoyarozu told everyone. "Sure, he's… eccentric, but I'm sure as a hero, he's a good guy."

" But which hero even is he?" Awase asked. " I've ever seen him before."

" Eraserhead I think." Izuku mused.

" Huh?"

" He's an underground hero. I think he's Eraserhead. I didn't recognise him without his signature goggles, but after a while, I started to get where I recognised him from. His quirk allows him to Erase Emitter and Transformation quirks. I guess it makes sense he'd make for a good choice as a teacher, huh?"

" How'd you know that?" Bakugo asked, suspiciously.

" Eh. I'm a big fan of heroes from all walks of life." Izuku shrugged. " Underground. Mainstream. Whatever."

" You mentioned analysing their quirks, correct?" Iida exclaimed. Izuku just laughed at that.

" I wouldn't say analysing really. It's just a creepy hobby. But I am interested in learning about quirks." Izuku smiled. " Who knows though. Maybe if heroics gets boring, I could open my own Quirk Analysis agency." Izuku laughed again, presenting it as a joke. But he wasn't lying. Quirks were fascinating. He wondered how his classmates quirks ticked. Oh well. He had plenty of time to learn.

Izuku thought he'd be done for the day after he got his lesson plan and left. Iida and Yanagi seemed to want to talk more, walking to the station together. He didn't mind. If he could learn more about them, perhaps he could find a weakness. The league always needed new members after all.

Life isn't always so simple.

He was stopped by Bakugo slamming a hand down onto his desk. " We need to talk."

" Then talk." Izuku said dismissively. " Is this about the 50 meters?"

" No. This is about where you've been for the last 8 fucking months." This caused Izuku to freeze up. How? What tipped him off? Was his disguise not enough? His actions too similar? No, they were patched up. He made sure of it. No, it was what he said in regards to Eraserhead. His creepy hobby. He mentally cursed.

" I'm sorry?" He asked, trying his best to keep calm. "What are you-"

" Don't fucking apologize to me, Deku."

" Excuse me? Deku?" Izuku's eye twitched. " That's not my name."

" Where the fuck did you run off to? Auntie's been worried sick after your vanishing act. She really though you'd died, asshole. So where-"

" I don't know what you're talking about" Izuku snapped. " Quit it with these accusations. I don't know you, Bakugo."

" Like fuck you don't."

" What are you talking about?" Iida asked.

" This fucker here went missing eight months ago. I want to know how the hell eh got into UA and how he has a quirk now!"

" You're delusional." Izuku said, annoyed.

" Izuku!" Bakugo shouted. " I don't know what this crap with the name Akitani is or the fucking makeover, but I know who you are. You're coming home with me now!"

" Like hell I will. I don't even know who you are. So back off." Izuku shouted, backing off.

" Oh no you don't, Deku!" Bakugo raised his hand. Izuku saw it and his eyes dilated. Time slowed. He could see them. The explosions dancing in his palm. He was suddenly back in Aldera again. Bakugo grabbing him in the shoulder. The searing pain. The smell of burning cloth and flesh. The sneer in his voice as he told him to jump off a building. It was all just like that day again. He felt wind gather in his legs. Instinctively, he kicked forwards.

" GO AWAY!" He screamed. A powerful burst of wind, sent Bakugo flying across the room, knocking tables and chairs aside and smashing him into the blackboard at the back of the classroom. Izuku staggered back, shaking. " Stay back. Just… go away. I won't… You won't hurt me. Never again." Izuku felt faint as he collapsed to the ground.

" Akitani!" Iida was at his side.

" H-Hey." Yanagi looked over at him in shock. Bakugo held his head, dazed. The few people left in the class looked over, silent. Iida looked up.

" Someone get a teacher!" Awase and Sato nodded, running off.

Izuku wasn't sure what happened next. All he knew is he was back in middle school, darkness around him as everyone in his life shouted at him, telling him he was worthless. Quirkless. Useless. He shouldn't have been born. Izuku retreated inwards, digging his nails into his arms. When he finally snapped out of it, several hours had passed. He was lying on a bed in the infirmary. "Where…"

" Akitani." He looked up to see Iida, Yanagi and Recovery Girl next to him. " Are you alright?" Iida asked.

" Y-Yeah. What happened?"

" That Bakugo guy started yelling at you, saying you were another person or whatever. Then he activated his quirk and you… activated yours." Yanagi looked worried. " Are you…" Izuku collapsed backwards in the bed.

" Damn it." He cursed. Tears formed in his eyes. " Damn it! I thought… I thought I was over it…"

" Akitani…" Iida frowned.

" This boy is clearly under some kind of traumatic break. Do any of you know the number of his carers?" The two shook their heads at Recovery Girl's questions. She hummed. " His phone?"

"...bag…" Izuku muttered.

" Thank you." Recovery Girl found it. After a few careful words, Izuku unlocked it and guided her to the right number. Iida and Yanagi watched over him as she rang Kurogiri, explaining the situation. Thirty minutes later, a disguised Giran arrived to pick him up in his car. He thanked his classmates for their actions and walked him to his car, driving him back to the bar. Izuku didn't speak a word the entire time.

Katsuki Bakugo punched his punching bag hard. He fucked up. He fucked up AGAIN. He heard all of what Akitani was saying and was reminded of Izuku. That wasn't it though. The freckles. The facial features. Even the hair style to an extent. It was all to similar to be a coincidence. So he pushed and pushed and then… " Fuck!"

Was he right? Was he wrong? Izuku never had a breakdown like that. But the words. "You'll never hurt me again." That stung. Even if it wasn't Izuku, coming from someone like that in that tone. It hurt so much.

Katsuki brought his head to the bag. " Fuck. I'm sorry, Izuku. I… I never meant it to end up like that."

Izuku left his room three hours after getting back, finally deciding he was mentally well enough to face the world. He hated what had happened back in class 1-A. He thought he was over it. Thought he was ready. But he wasn't. He really, really wasn't. As he opened the door, however, he was met by Tomura. The older man let himself in, closing the door behind him. " What happened?" Tomura asked.

" What do you mean?" Izuku asked, sitting down on his bed.

" You know what the fuck I meant." Tomoura grumbled, scratching at his neck. " When Giran brought you in, you looked so broken and beaten. I've never seen you like that before. You scared us. So the fuck?" Izuku sighed.

" Remember how I mentioned that bully of mine?"

" That blasty prick?"

" Yeah."

" So?"

" He's in my class again." Tomura's eyes widened slightly.

" Seriously?"

" Yeah. And he accused me of being… well me."

" He figured it out?"

" I don't know. He might have thought he had and jumped at his speculation without thinking. He's really good at that." Izuku snorted.

" So, he tried some shit?"

" Yeah. But that wasn't the problem." Izuku looked down at his hands. " He went for me with that stupid quirk of his and I just… well, you know I've never been very good around explosions. I flinch and tense up."

" Yeah?"

" Well, when he went for me, I was back in Aldera that day eight months ago. He was burning my shoulder with a touch, yelling at me and telling me to kill myself. I just shut down. Because it was him. It's always... Him." Izuku tightened his hands into fists, his knuckles turning white, feeling his nails pierce his palm.

" That's fucked up."

" Ha. Tell me about it." Izuku managed to crack a smile. " But I did, apparently, blast him across the classroom with one of my quirks." Tomura burst out laughing.

" That's awesome." He chuckled. Then his face slowly became serious again. " You don't have to go back to that place, you know."

" Yeah. I know." Izuku nodded. " But I'm going to. I won't let him win. I can't." Izuku growled. His face contorted in anger as he spoke." I want to crush him. I want to crush him with all my might. I want to crush him and all the people who let him even try to become a hero. Someone like Bakugo. He doesn't deserve happiness."

" Damn right." Tomura nodded. " You show him. No-one messes with Player 2."

" Right. I'll make him feel like a low level mook when I'm done with him." The two shared a laugh. Izuku smiled. " Thanks Tomura. Talking to you always makes me feel a lot better."

" Heh. Glad to help." Tomura patted a four fingered hand on Izuku's back before standing up. " Come on. Let's go meet the others. Then you can tell us how the rest of your day was, explody fucker not counted."

" Ha. I can mention him. After all, I crushed him in the 50 meter sprint." Izuku laughed. He felt a bit better now. He could continue. After all, he had a target in his sights. He'd kill Bakugo with his own two hands one day. But patience was a virtue. Until then, he'd just have to learn how suppress his traumas. He hoped his new family could help with that.