Chapter 6: Her starting line
Himiko woke up full of energy, today was the day! Today was the UA entrance exam! She quickly got ready and had a large breakfast, and then practically raced to the train station. She and Atsuko had agreed to meet up at the station and then walk to UA together.
After they got there, they were split up into different rooms for the written portion of the exam. The first half of the written exam passed rather quickly. About halfway through the written portion they were treated to lunch, and Himiko was pleased to discover that UA's cafeteria already catered to a wide variety of dietary needs - she found a soup that incorporated pig's blood available for her. A definite bonus if she manages to get accepted.
The second half of the written portion was harder than the first, but Himeko persevered. Test taking was not her strong suit - her brain has always been wired differently, and she inwardly cringed whenever she thought about it. There was a good chance that the abuse she suffered from her birth parents made her issues worse. Fortunately for her, over the past year she had been taught several tricks to help her focus properly. All of the schooling she got at Dantin was paying off - she would have to remember to thank Principle Nezu later, if she actually makes it in. Her desire to attend UA was also a strong motivator to push beyond her own limitations, just this once.
Finally with a sigh of relief the final written exam was finished, and she got up to head to the auditorium and prepare for the more exciting portion of the entrance exam - the practical exam. As she picked up her packet and found her seat, she found herself sitting with Atsuko and another boy from Dantin that they only vaguely recognized from another class. When the three looked at their training ground assignments for the practical exam, they noticed they were all assigned to different areas - presumably to prevent friends from working with each other. Himiko frowned at that - she was totally ready to team up if she was given the chance.
However, as Present Mic began explaining the rules for the practical portion of the exam, Himiko's heart sank. Robots! They were up against robots! Where her quirk is useless!
Still, she listened intently to the instructions - they would be split up into groups and had to fight off robots of varying size and strength, in a number of simulated urban environments, based on the training ground they were assigned to. Each robot was worth 1 to 3 points, depending on how large and durable they were, with a 4th robot that was described as 'an obstacle, best to be avoided.' Since her skills are ideally suited to infiltration and facing off against living opponents, she began brainstorming - at least they had permitted her to bring a pair of knives with her, as she felt their holsters strapped to her legs hiding under her skirt, so at least she had that going for her.
After the presentation, they all began filing out of the auditorium. Quickly wishing each other luck, the three broke apart to head to their respective courses. Himiko found herself in front of Training Ground Alpha, which simulates a residential city environment. As everyone stood there trying to mentally prepare themselves, Himiko began evaluating her fellow test-takers, making note of a couple people with obvious mutations that she may have to borrow a few drops of blood from once the exam begins.
"Time starts.. NOW!" Himiko heard Present Mic shout from his observation stand and after a moment of shock at the lack of a countdown, everyone was off. Already feeling the adrenaline kicking in, Himiko began with her first priority - finding a weakness to exploit. Watching other students as they encountered the first wave, she saw students already unleashing flashy quirks against robots, destroying them in a wide variety of ways. The robots looked surprisingly fragile from what she was seeing, with wires exposed on their back and gaps in their armor plates along their legs. Making a decision - she dashed over to the still-twitching wreckage and eyed the metal plates that were lying there. With surprising ease, she was able to pry off several plates that had been twisted and bent, leaving sharp, twisted edges behind.
She tossed them lightly in her hands and inspected them. "Not ideal, but I can make these work." She then looked around. It seems like most of the students are going down that road, I guess that's where the heaviest concentration of robots are coming from.Already behind the initial crowd, Himiko picked a side alley and ran several blocks away from everyone, before she began heading further into the training ground. Her decision paid off, and she almost immediately ran into her first target.
It was a simple one-point robot, but as she was approaching she saw the exposed components she saw earlier and tried to put her plan into action - as the robot lunged at her she dashed behind it, slicing a bundle of cables easily with one of her knives. Then she stabbed one of the twisted plates into a leg joint, like a dagger, and threw a roundhouse kick at the robot. The robot's own weight did the rest as it fell over. She waited a moment to make sure the robot wasn't getting up again, before she smiled and pulled her makeshift weapon out of the robot. "I was right, these things are super fragile, I can do this!"
Himiko continued around the arena, picking off robots as she went. She mentally kept a tally and her points were climbing steadily, but that total was definitely climbing slower then she was hoping it would. She also began to feel herself slowing down as she paused to catch her breath when the five minute warning was called. Fortunately, as she was looking around, she realized she hit Jackpot. One of her fellow applicants - someone with a polar bear mutation - was being overwhelmed by a number of robots, blood matted on his skin, standing out in sharp contrast to his white fur.
A smile split her face as she dove in to help, using her knives to sever cables and using her makeshift weapons to split open the joints of two of the one-point robots harassing him, allowing the other applicant the chance he needed to take down the larger 3-point robot he was tangling with.
"Thanks for the help, but I hope you're not expecting me to repay the favor!"
As he got on all fours and bounded off Himiko knelt down next to one of the robots, wiping off a couple drops of his blood that he left behind. "Too bad, I've already got what I want from you." She licked the drops off her finger and activated her quirk, feeling herself becoming taller and cords of muscle wrapping themselves around her body and limbs. "Now then, let's see about those robots!"
Quickly moving in a different direction, she spotted a new group of 3 robots coming out of an alleyway and charged into them. She found her natural speed and agility were limited in this form, but her newly enhanced strength made up for it, allowing her to bounce between the robots, smashing them all beneath her. It was exhilarating, fighting this way. Not enough to give up knives, of course! But there was a certain appeal to just cutting loose and using brute force. Once the three robots were all down for the count, she began searching again - the robots had begun to thin out considerably, and she wasn't sure how much time was left.
She saw another student who had fallen to the ground and was being overwhelmed, so she charged in, grabbing a robot and throwing it into another, destroying both. She then jumped on top of the third robot and smashed it into the ground, before looking at the student. "Are you ok?"
"Y-yeah, thanks for the help!" He dusted himself off and ran off, while Himiko began heading in a different direction than him.
Before she found any more robots, the two-minute warning sounded, and the 0-point robot was unleashed. She didn't hear it so much as feel it at first, the ground shaking as it appeared and the sounds of buildings collapsing could be heard in the distance. Can't get distracted. When she saw the other students scattering, a quick glance showed that everyone was safely out of the robots path. Gotta focus. She saw everyone running away from the robot and grinned as she began to run towards the robot, before quickly changing direction at the last second to avoid being run over and reach its side. Her guess was correct, and the robot itself was released alongside many other robots, and she dove in, managing to take down one more pack of robots before she heard the timer buzz.
Panting heavily from how far she pushed herself, HImiko found a convenient wall and used it to slide down to the ground, her transformation melting into a puddle of sludge beneath her. It was only when an automated medical robot, followed by a tiny old lady that was checking up on her, did she realize her predicament.
"I-I'm ok, really!" Himiko stammered out, embarrassment turning her face a bright red. "But um, do you guys happen to have a spare set of clothes I could use?"
Recovery Girl just looked at the pile of sludge underneath Himiko and shook her head. "I'll send a robot with a gym uniform out for you."
"Thanks! Otherwise I'm good, just some minor scrapes and bruises." Himiko rubbed her arms feeling sore now that the adrenaline wore off.
Recovery girl smiled and tossed her some gummies. "Take those then, those will speed up the healing process."
"Thanks!" Himiko took the gummies and felt the soreness fading, her energy levels returning a little bit.
Himiko felt confident and excited as she was skipping out of UA after the exam. She had given it her all, and felt good about how she did. As she was leaving she saw Atsuko waiting on the path for her, waving happily. "So how did your exam go Himi?"
"I think I did great!" She gave a happy smile. "I'm not sure how some of those points will be counted, but I think I have around 35 points. Got a bit of a slow start, but there was a guy with a polar bear mutation in my group - once I got a couple drops of his blood those robots stood no chance!"
"That's great! I didn't do so well." Atsuko admitted. "Your brother's advice actually paid off a lot, and I was able to use my barriers in just the right spots to make the robots tear themselves apart. But when that giant robot came out near the end - I basically spent the entire time keeping everyone safe from the falling debris, and then I passed out? The next thing I knew Recovery Girl had come by and used her quirk on me."
"Aww, cheer up! I'm sure you did fine." Himiko tried to reassure her.
"She was crazy!" The two turned to see a boy of African descent and short black hair come up to them. "Don't let her undersell herself. She kept practically an entire office floor from hitting a group of us! I certainly couldn't have done that much with my quirk."
Atsuko flushed in embarrassment while Himiko just grinned. "Sounds about right."
"Yeah. I'm Habiki Hideo, by the way."
"Himiko Midoria, and my modest friend here is Atsuko Hotoko. Mind telling what really happened then?"
"Nice to meet you Midoriya. When the big robot came out he was just tearing through the buildings. We're not sure what happened but the next thing we knew the whole roof of one building was coming down. Then we see this weird shimmer in the air and the roof just smashes into something - it smashed into whatever wall she made, and slid down harmlessly between us and the big guy. She passed out after that, but at that point a lot of us weren't getting any more points either, so it's not a major loss!"
Himiko's face split into a wide grin as the newcomer explained what happened. "Of course you would do something crazy like that."
"I know we were all competing against each other, but I just couldn't just help myself and leave everyone else stranded. What kind of hero would I be otherwise?"
"Truth. And while UA's Recovery Girl is pretty great, I think a lot of us would still be in rough shape if you hadn't!" The man hears a notification on his phone and checks it. "Crap, I've got to get going, but hopefully I see the two of you in a few weeks!"
"Yep, we can't wait!" Habiki ran off and Himiko turned to Atsuko. "Sounded like you're selling yourself short here."
"Maybe I did," Atsuko smiled. "I guess we'll find out in a few weeks?"
A week later, Himiko and Izuku were sitting in the living room doing homework when Himiko's phone began to explode. When she checked her phone, she saw the texts from Atsuko.
>> Himi! I did it!
>> My letter from UA came today!
>> I got in!
<< Yay! Hopefully my letter will be here today as well!
After those messages, Himiko was too excited to focus, so she wound up pacing the living room until Inko came in with the mail. "Himi, your letter from UA came!" Both looked at the letter with excitement and she took the envelope, which was heavier than expected. Opening it up, a video disk fell out. "If you want to watch it in your room, we would understand."
"No, I want you two to be here with me." With excitement she picked it up and set it on the table, so all three of them could see it. With a deep breath she pushed the play button.
An image of Vlad King appeared before them. "Greetings Himiko Midoriya. I know it's been a few weeks since we last spoke, but for good reason - due to my nature as a teacher at UA I did not want to give the appearance of favoritism or partiality. But now it is time to announce your results! You did well on the written portion of the test, which is a testament to the school that Nezu had picked out for you. This would be enough to let you qualify for UA's general studies course. However! You are aiming higher! And for the talent you have shown on the practical portion of the exam, both in the practical abilities you displayed fighting enemies that you are obviously disadvantaged against, and for the help you gave to those in need, you have scored high enough to be enrolled in the hero course. It is my pleasure to announce that UA will be your hero academia!"
Himiko couldn't control the tears she felt running down her cheeks or the smile that was plastered on her face as the image of a proud Vlad King stood there staring at her, and felt Inko and Izuku wrapping her in a hug. I did it! I am going to UA! I am going to be a hero!
Chapter 7: His starting line
It had been a rough day for Izuku. That morning during the homeroom period they talked about career development and choosing the right high school, so they could begin to think about that important decision as they began their final year of middle school. And somehow, the fact that Izuku was planning on attending UA was brought to Bakugo's attention. Even though Bakugo had backed off from his bullying, he decided that this news was enough to break the cease-fire.
At the end of the day Izuku was casually packing up his things, having gotten used to not having to rush out of school now. The last thing he expected was to hear the door to his classroom slam open and to hear Bakugo's voice growling out the name "Deku" with such venom.
Izuku turned around, panic filling him. "Ka- Bakugo, what do you want?"
He slammed his hand on Izuku's desk, with an explosion for emphasis. Izuku looked around at his remaining classmates, all of whom seemed to back away - not wanting to get involved. "I heard you are planning on trying to enroll at UA next year."
"Y-yes, Himi already goes there and there is no requirement that you need to have a quirk to ap - "
Izuku was cut off by another explosion. "Just because you're sister got in with her dumb quirk - at least she has one. You don't even have that going for you. Don't you get it? This is my origin story. Nobody from Aldera has managed to enroll in UA. Being the first and only kid to do so - that's the start of my rise to greatness! And some shitty quirkless Deku isn't about to interfere with that."
Izuku frowned at that. "Not like they're going to accept you with that attitude."
"What was that Deku?" Katsuki growled at him, before looking at his desk, an evil grin on his face. He picked up Izuku's hero notebook and blew it up. "Once I've aced the exam and get in you'll see. Just face the facts, you are just a liability. So stay out of my way."
Izuku winced as Bakugo tossed the notebook out the window and he began to leave. He stopped at the door and turned around, throwing one last insult. "Or better yet, if you want to have a quirk so badly, throw yourself off the roof. Maybe in the next life you'll actually get lucky."
Izuku sat down at his desk for a few minutes in an attempt to compose himself. His remaining classmates shot him looks of pity as they awkwardly left for the day. Eventually Izuku was able to pull himself together, fish his notebook out of the school fountain, and began his walk home.
"Stupid Bakugo, how can he so casually tell me to kill myself if he wants to be a hero? Is he even aware of the implications of what he's doing? I should probably have Himi report this to Principle Nezu at some point…"
Izuku was so focused on his own thoughts as he was walking that he didn't notice a sludge villain that came out of the manhole cover near him. "Does this kid have a stealth quirk or something? I almost missed him. He'll be the perfect body for me to hide out in!"
Izuku barely had time to react when the sludge villain attacked him, filling his mouth with goo as he tried to force his way in. Izuku's training had begun to kick in and he tried to fight back, but the monster's form didn't give him anything to get a solid grip on. He fought valiantly but after what felt like an eternity, even if it was only a minute, he felt the darkness creeping into his vision as he was suffocating from the goo that was forced into his mouth and nose. Is this it? What a way to go.
As Izuku began to slip into unconsciousness, he didn't register that the hero that had been chasing the villain was rushing in to save him.
Izuku felt someone gently slapping his face and woke up with a shot, gripping his chest. "Wait, I'm alive?"
"Oh thank goodness!" The form of his hero - All Might - was towering over Izuku and he scrambled back in surprise.
"A-all Might!"
"Sorry I was late, kid, that guy was a tricky one to track down." He held up a soda bottle that somehow had the sludge villain crammed inside of it. "But I was able to save the day!"
Izuku saw the notebook back where he had dropped it and ran over to retrieve it. "All Might, can you sign this?"
"I already have!" With a glowing smile he responded. "You seem to have some real talent in that head of yours. Hopefully you keep at it! But! I must be off, I need to deliver this guy to the police." He placed the soda bottle into one of his cargo pants' pockets.
"Wait, All Might!" Izuku saw All Might preparing to leave and without thinking, grabbed onto his leg before he was airborne. "All Might, I have to ask you something!"
"Hey, let go kid!"
"If I do, I will die!."
All Might paused for a moment and realized what he asked of the kid. "Ok kid, Hold on tight and close your eyes, I'll land somewhere." Izuku couldn't help but comply - the intense pressure from the air made it hard to even nod, as he was forced to close his eyes and mouth, until he felt them land on a roof and All Might stood him up.
"Sorry kid, I realize you must be a big fan, but I really need to get going."
"Wait, All Might, I have so many questions!" Izuku saw All Might turning away to leave, but he just had to know. "Can I become a hero, even if I am quirkless?"
The question shocked All Might and gave him pause as he looked at the kid. He could feel the smoke rising off of him - he'd have to make this fast.
"Sorry kid, but this is dangerous work. All it would take is one villain with the wrong quirk and you would be done for."
Izuku hung his head and felt his dreams crumbling before him. "But, isn't that true of heroes already? I have always looked up to you and to the other heroes, and I've always thought saving people was the coolest thing someone could do. Is it really that bad that I don't have a quirk? I have been practicing really hard, and even considering support gear to help-"
Izuku was quickly distracted from his barrage of questions by the cloud of steam that had formed on the roof. It quickly dissipated and Izuku saw that All Might had been replaced by an emaciated skeleton of a man, and yelped in fear. "W-who are you and where is All Might?!"
The man coughed and Izuku saw the blood on his hand afterwards, and he sat down, motioning Izuku to come closer. "Can I trust you kid?"
Izuku merely swallowed and nodded.
"I wish the world was different, but beyond the glamor of the headlines, the truth of it is, being a hero is dangerous. Even me - while everyone thinks I am invincible, the reality is I am not." He lifted his shirt and showed him a massive knot of scar tissue on the side of his sunken chest.
Izuku stared wide-eyed as All Might continued. "I got this in a fight five years ago."
Izuku wracked his brain. "Was that from the fight with Toxic Chainsaw?"
All Might smiled at Izuku trying to piece things together. "Good guess, but this fight was buried from public knowledge. The fight collapsed one of my lungs and all but destroyed my stomach."
Izuku stared wide-eyed at this revelation. "How?"
"I was fighting a very dangerous foe. I was able to win in the end, but it has left me in this state. Being a hero is dangerous. Every fight could be your last, even if you have the quirk for it. Now do you see why I said it's a bad idea?"
"Even through all of that, you're always smiling?" Izuku asked, a mixture of confusion and awe in his voice.
"Man, I must be going soft today. I'll let you in on another secret kid - even though I am putting on a fearless smile, that doesn't mean I'm not hurting, or scared of the villain. It's my job as a hero - to show villains I'm not scared of them, and to reassure civilians that they are safe, no matter how bad it is. To smile despite the situation at hand."
He pushed himself up to a standing position and patted Izuku on his hand. "While you were out I looked through your notebook. I wasn't making an empty comment when I said that you have talent. If you cultivate that you could be a great analyst or detective someday. I know it's not hero work, but it's still a noble way to help people." Seemingly satisfied with his answer to Izuku, All Might looked around for an exit. "Now let's get off this roof."
All Might went to the stairwell and headed down to the street, with Izuku following him dejectedly. When they were ready to part ways, All Might discovered that the bottle with the villain had gotten lost, and Izuku blamed himself for it. All Might ran off to try and find the villain, while Izuku slowly shuffled off towards his home.
Lost in his own head, Izuku didn't realize he had returned to Tatooin Station, until the sounds of explosions broke him out of his daze. He walked over to the crowd and saw the Sludge Villain was trying to take over another kid - and then he recognized Bakugo was the one struggling.
Izuku looked around at the crowd, seeing the heroes looking helplessly onward, and back at the scene. Why aren't they doing anything? Bakugo's going to die and they are just going to let it happen? Even he doesn't deserve to go out like that. Izuku then found himself drawn to Bakugo's eyes. For the first time in his entire life, Izuku saw that Bakugo looked scared.
Seeing that look, Izuku felt something wake up inside of him. Before he realized what he was doing, he had pushed through the crowd and was running toward the villain. What am I doing? How can I expect to fight this guy? He was looking at the villain and once again his training kicked in - but this time he saw a weakness. His eyes, first distract him, then focus - just like I've practiced - then go for his eyes! Izuku saw the villain hesitate for a moment as he opened his bag and threw it towards him, its contents spilling out and peppering him. Executing his plan, Izuku grabbed a pencil out of his pocket and managed to get right next to the villain, and then he stabbed the villain in the eye, causing him to scream and begin to recoil.
The villain loosened his grip on Bakugo and Izuku grabbed his arm to try pulling him out, much to Katsuki's protest. He was only able to partially pull Bakugo out before the villain recovered, knocking Izuku to the ground and looking at Izuku with a death glare as he reached a tendril back to deliver the killing blow.
Izuku cringed. I am going to die. All Might was right.
However the attack never came, because in the next instant, All Might had come up next to him and struck the villain with so much force that he shattered into pieces, the force of the blow creating a massive wind current and changing the very weather. While this was happening, Izuku vaguely was aware of All Might saying something. "I guess I should practice what I preach." But in the heat of the moment, Izuku missed what he was saying.
Izuku numbly went through the process when the EMS came and checked up on him, it wasn't until Kamui Woods and Death Arms came up to him and began reprimanding him that he snapped back to reality. "Listen to yourselves! You are right! It was too dangerous for me to be there! But what does that say about you all? You just gave up! What if he died while you were waiting for someone to show up? Some heroes you turned out to be." He collected his things that were still scattered across the ground, staring at his tattered hero journal before shoving it into his bag, and began to walk away.
Izuku was so distracted by his own thoughts that he never even noticed All Might was watching him the entire time, and that he heard everything.
As Izuku turned into his neighborhood he heard Katsuki yelling for him behind him. Resigned, he turned around and waited.
"Nerd, you didn't save me today. I could have handled that situation myself!"
Izuku just sighed, after everything that had happened he just didn't have the energy to respond with his usual placations. Bakugo didn't seem to wait for them either, just crossing his arms, and with a "tch" turned around and left. Obviously this whole thing is a show to soothe his own bruised ego.
Izuku turned back around to continue his journey, only for the next surprise a few blocks away. As he was walking he heard All Might's signature "I am here!" as he ran out of the alleyway and was now standing in front of him.
"Young man, I owe you an apology, an explanation, and a proposition." Izuku could only stare in shock as All Might's muscular form disappeared in a cloud of smoke, quickly replaced by the skeletal man he saw on the rooftop. He then gave a deep bow. "I had misjudged you in our first encounter. I had thought you were just another fanboy. But then - when that villain was attacking that other young man, your body moved on its own, didn't it?"
Izuku could feel the tears forming in his eyes as his brain was trying to process what was happening. It took all his effort to splurt out a single "Yes" in response to his question.
"That is what I thought. There are many stories about the origins of some of the greatest heroes. Most of them feature a common theme - at the start of their career, they found their bodies moving on their own. You alone acted when the heroes - myself included - did nothing. The fact that you did that so shortly after I reprimanded you only makes the feat even more impressive. So I was wrong about you - you do, in fact, have what it takes to be a hero!"
Izuku collapsed onto his knees at that, the tears flowing freely. There it was, that simple statement validated everything he has been doing. He could feel All Might's presence hovering over him, and a hand was placed on his shoulder while he cried.
It took a few minutes before Izuku was able to calm down and compose himself, before he could look at All Might again. "Do you really mean it?"
"I do, and that is why I owe you an explanation and a proposition. After I lectured you on the dangers of heroism, I found myself unable to act, while you were the only one, in that moment, to truly act as a hero should. It was quite frankly embarrassing, and shows how my own weakness has grown in the past 5 years. You see, the real reason I moved here is to find a successor."
"What do you mean, find a successor?"
"My quirk is a special one. I received it years ago, back when I was also a young man, not much older than you are. My mentor saw something in me - a drive to make a better society. And so she passed her quirk on to me, like a sacred torch. And now, it is my turn to pass that torch onward to the next generation."
Izuku put his hands up to his lips as he entered deep though. "It is true that there has been a lot of speculation about the nature of your quirk, and you have been always been good about keeping it that way whenever you are asked about it, but there has never been a recording of a quirk that can be transferred, at least as far as I am aware." His thoughts were broken by a laugh from All Might.
"Ah, there is your bright intellect showing through. With the proper training, your mind alone will be a force to be reckoned with. But that is getting off track! To further explain - the amount of time I spend fighting villains every day is becoming more limited, and so the plan is for me to become a teacher at UA next year. There will be an official media story about it. But the truth is I am looking for someone to pass my quirk on to, so that they can begin training before I lose the ability to be the Symbol of Peace. Seeing you today, I want you to have my quirk - to be my successor."
Izuku jumped in surprise at that "M-me?!"
"Yes. You made me remember something very important today - something I had forgotten, the very essence of what it means to be a hero. That spark that resides within you - it deserves to be a roaring flame." He held up a closed fist for emphasis.
Izuku began crying again. "T-thank you, All Might."
All Might stayed with Izuku long enough for him to pull himself back together. Izuku then pulled out his phone to add All Might's information, and saw quite a few messages and missed calls reminding him how late it was. After adding All Might's phone number and giving him his own phone number, All Might promised to call him soon to properly begin his training, and they parted ways.
Izuku ran the rest of the way home, riding a euphoric high - all of the bad parts of the day forgotten already. As soon as he entered the apartment he was tackled by his sister. "Izu, you better have a real good explanation for worrying the both of us!"
Izuku managed to get himself to a sitting position as he saw his mom walk up to them. "We saw the news. The TV reporters didn't seem to want to mention the boy who charged into the situation, but we could recognize you anywhere. When you didn't come home right away we both began to worry."
Izuku felt the tears coming back. "A-after the attack, on the way home, I ran into All Might! H-he t-told me I could be a h-hero!"
Izuku wasn't prepared for absolute shock to come over his mom's face as she slid down to the ground as well, tears beginning to stream down her face. "All Might told you that?"
Izuku smiled and nodded. "Yeah."
Inko launched herself at Izuku, wrapping him in a warm hug. "I am so happy for you!"
Chapter 8: Her first days
Similar to when they had the entrance exam, Himiko met Atsuko at the train station that morning, so they could walk to class together. "Morning Atsuko!" Himiko called out to her friend when she saw her.
"Morning Himiko! You cut your hair?" She asked in confusion.
Himiko looked almost embarrassed as her usual long braids or buns were gone, replaced with a short pixie cut. "When we submitted our hero costume designs I also had to ship them as much hair as I could. They are going to hopefully include a bodysuit that will survive me using my quirk to transform my clothing, but to do that they need to weave my hair into the outfit?"
Atsuko made a face. "Sounds gross."
Himiko felt her cheeks heat up. "But it's embarrassing when I come out of my transformation otherwise! Sacrifices had to be made, and my hair will grow back."
The two began walking towards the school. "So who do you think passed the exam?"
Himiko thought about her training group. "There was a girl with pink hair who was calling out an impressive point total, but I'm not sure about the rest. Hopefully the polar bear guy I borrowed a tiny bit of blood from didn't make it in, he was a jerk."
"I guess my group was a little better. People seemed friendlier about the competition?"
The two descended into idle chatter as they made their way to the school and began looking for their classroom - they were fortunate enough to both be part of class 1-B, which made Himiko happy. She knew Vlad King was going to ensure she was in his homeroom, but it was nice that her friend was also assigned to the same class, instead of being split off into 1-A. When they arrived they were surprised by the size of the sliding doors into the classroom, and opened them to meet their fellow classmates. A few students were standing in groups talking to each other, but what drew Himiko's attention was the tall blonde girl in the front of the room talking loudly to another girl.
"-m just saying, since we're both recommendation students we should totally team up!"
The other girl, an otherwise unassuming looking girl with short black hair turned to Himiko and Atsuko as they walked towards them, as if looking for a distraction. "Oh, hello there!"
The first girl gave the second girl a look. "We'll have to finish this conversation later."
Himiko looked between the two as she and Atsuko walked up to them, "Did we interrupt something?"
"Oh it was nothing, we were just introducing ourselves to each other. I am Tomoe Sakura, nice to meet you."
"And I am Emily Song!" the taller girl almost shouted.
"I am Atsuko Hotoko. Nice to meet you."
"I am Himiko Midoriya. Did we hear right that you two are the recommendation students for our class?"
"Yep! My parents both came from overseas to work at a pretty big support company. They know a lot of heroes personally, and let's just say that when my parents introduced me to them, they liked what they saw." Emily proudly announced.
Tomoe looked almost guilty. "Since my quirk isn't particularly suited for combat I almost feel like I cheated by getting the recommendation. My parents are well connected and introduced me to a number of heroes over the past year."
"Another non flashy quirk user, huh?" Himiko said, smiling. "There has to be something there that people saw in you, otherwise you wouldn't be here, right?"
"I guess so. The recommendation exams just had a lot of amazing quirks and they went with a quirk as simple as mine."
"See, she's so humble about it!"
Himiko rolled her eyes. "Meanwhile I think you're loud enough for both of you!" She turned back to Tomoe. "You don't have a combat quirk?"
Tomoe looked at Himiko. "No I don't. I have super-enhanced senses, as well as the unique ability to let someone else 'borrow' my enhanced senses."
"That sounds super useful!."
"That's what I was saying! We just need to get her some good support gear and who knows what crazy things she can do!"
Himiko rolled her eyes at that and continued. "So what kind of hero do you want to be?"
Tomoe smiled at her. "I was hoping to focus on investigations and coordination - like Sir Nighteye in Tokyo. His agency operates more like a detective agency, and depending on what he discovers either he and his sidekicks take care of it, or he passes on the information to a group of heroes more suited to the task."
"That does sound pretty nice." Himiko admitted, smiling at her. "I plan on going underground, but it does sound like you're the kind of person I'd want to team up with."
"Hey, no fair! I proposed a team-up first!"
"I swear Song, you make me want to stab you." An exasperated Himiko responded.
Emily laughed at that. "You're pretty funny, you know that?"
"Himi, how many knives do you have on you right now?" Atsuko innocently asked.
Himiko grinned at her friend. "Three." They heard a strangled cry from Emily and turned to look at her, and broke out into laughter at the mix of confusion and horror on her face.
"How!? Is that even allowed?"
Himiko just rolled her eyes as she kept smiling. "Of course the school knows I have them. I even filled out a support item request and everything! You see, I don't have a super special quirk like some people here, so a girl's gotta know how to defend herself."
There were a few snickers as a few more students came over to join them. Emily still looked extremely uncomfortable, much to Himiko's satisfaction. Before she was able to recover the growing group was joined by another familiar voice.
"Hey, looks like we all made it after all!" The group turned to see Habiki had joined them. "You are Hotoko and Midoriya, right?"
"Yes, that's right." Atsuko replied. "And these two are the class recommendation students."
"So cool. I'm Habiki Hideo, nice to meet you!"
Emily and Tomoe both introduced themselves.
"Man, this class sounds like it has some real powerhouses in it."
"Well obviously, this is UA. We're only the best of the best!"
Any further conversation was interrupted by their homeroom teacher, Vlad King, walking into the room. "Settle down students! Take your seats so I can go over a few things before the opening ceremony."
They all found their seats and sat down. For being a homeroom for students on the Hero track, it was surprisingly conventional. The biggest change from middle school, as far as Himiko could tell, was the reminder about how Vigilante laws work, and a warning that while the school has provisions to allow for quirk usage on school grounds, if a student abuses that privilege there would be consequences. Once the formalities were done, they were all dismissed to attend the school's opening ceremonies.
As Himiko was preparing to leave, however, Kan called out to her. "Little Midoriya?"
As Himiko approached the door, she stopped and turned around, a huge smile on her face. "Yes, Kan-sensei?"
"Congratulations on making it in. I knew you could do it."
"It was in no small part thanks to all your training in those 4 months. I am not sure I would have been able to pass the practical exam without the extra lessons!"
"Yes, Aizawa frequently mentions how unfair he feels the entrance exam is. But a word of caution - while we are given leeway on how we teach, I am not going to be giving you any extra special treatment in the classroom. It would be unfair to you and to the others if I showed you favoritism now that you are one of many students."
"I would feel bad if I did." Himiko admitted. "What about our weekend lessons?"
"We can continue those for now. But I don't want you to limit yourself to just what I can teach you - over the next 3 years you will be given many opportunities to learn under a wide variety of heroes and even gain actual experience in the field. They will be able to teach you far more than I could."
"Thanks," Himiko felt herself smiling. "But I still feel like I have more to learn from you first."
Kan laughed at that. "For now, perhaps! We will see if you feel the same way at the end of the year! But we should get going, we don't want to miss the ceremonies."
Himiko ran out and caught up with her class in the auditorium; they were easy to find since the various courses were seated separately, and class 1-A was suspiciously absent. Similar to homeroom, the whole thing felt almost like they were going to a normal high school, instead of being on the hero course. Once the ceremonies and course introductions were done, back in their homeroom Kan introduced them to the school's quirk counselor and the Higari Majima, who went over the resources available as students in terms of developing support tools and quirk development.
The next day morning classes passed by uneventfully. The afternoon, however, was dedicated to their heroics class, and there was excitement in the air for their first class. After lunch they all changed into their gym uniforms and went out to the training field.
"Today, we are going to perform a quirk assessment exam!" Kan proudly proclaimed.
"What's that?"
"Hideo, can you come here?" Hideo walked over to the mound where Kan was standing.
"Now take this ball and throw it."
With a nod Hideo gave the ball his best toss, and Kan held up an evaluation device, showing that it travelled about 70 meters.
"These are the standard assessments you had been doing in middle school. However this time," Kan hands another ball to Hideo. "Do it again, but now you can use your quirk to assist you."
Hideo thought for a second and nodded. Putting the ball down for a moment, he clapped his hands together a few times, and then picked up the ball. Instead of tossing it in a line he tossed it straight up, and when it was coming down he punched the ball, and it flew off like a rocket. Kan held up the evaluation device and it showed 500 meters.
"The goal here is twofold - we want to establish a baseline strength for your quirk, and it will force you to begin thinking about more creative uses for your quirk, which many of you may not have had the chance to do previously."
There were excited murmurs among the students, but Himiko's eyes drifted over to Sakura as she spoke up. "Kan-sensei, what about those of us without quirks suited for this?"
"Oho, are you saying you can't find a way to use your transform quirk to give you an advantage here?"
"Oh I can think of several, it's just that - some of us are effectively capped by what a human body is capable of."
"It is easy to forget that not every quirk is suited to every task, little Midoriya." Kan replied, his eyes also drifting over the class. "But it is still important to recognize what you are capable of doing with the tools at your disposal. And while there is a competitive aspect to this, there are no penalties for failure. However -" Kan suddenly became very serious. "If any of you are caught slacking, there will be consequences."
Himiko gave him a determined nod. "I will do my best!"
"Now then, let's begin!" As Kan led them to the first test Himiko felt Sakura fall into step alongside her.
"Nervous at all?"
"A little bit," Himiko admitted. "Aren't you?"
"More than I should be, perhaps."
"I just want to leave a good impression."
"I can understand that." Sakura smiled at her. "As long as we go all out and do our best, right?"
"Yeah, you're right."
As they followed their class to the first assessment spot, Himiko began mentally going over her classmates. Jun's chameleon mutation was the only obvious physical mutation in her class, and she wasn't sure that would help her out much - besides the fact that she's never used transform to grow an additional appendage, so she had no clue how his tail would interact with her quirk. WIth that option out, she looked around for other ideas. She would rather rely on her own speed and agility for most of these tests, and saw the tall, muscular Oda was probably her best bet for tests that rely on strength.
She walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "This may sound weird, but can I borrow a few drops of your blood?"
Oda turned towards her and raised his eyebrow in a question. "You're right, that does sound weird. Kan mentioned your quirk - is this related to that?"
"Yeah. You see, I can transform into people, but to activate it I need a bit of their blood."
Oda just shrugged. "I don't see the problem then, as long as it's only a few drops. So uh, how do you…?"
Himiko produced a small medical syringe and a bandage from her pocket. "Don't worry, I have a lot of experience with this by now." Oda offered his arm and Himiko quickly found a vein, drawing a few drops of blood into the syringe - enough to last her through the exam - and applied the bandage. "Thanks!"
"No problem. I hope it helps."
Once the tests began in earnest people were having fun trying to figure out how to use their quirks in new ways, and everyone was taking turns cheering on their new classmates. Even Himiko found herself getting into it, tying her hardest, and using the extra muscle from Oda's body for the strength-related grip strength and ball toss tests.
After the tests were done, they gathered around and Kan showed the students the compiled results. Unsurprisingly, Hideo was at the top of the class, and Himiko continued to look down the list for her own name. When she got to the bottom half, she was surprised to see that Song came in 11th, and she was actually able to reach 16th place.
"It seems I still have some ways to go." Himiko heard Sakura say next to her.
"That's ok, not everyone had training regimens designed by UA teachers. Well, not yet." Himiko responded lightly.
"Still, I gave it my all, which is the important part." Sakura smiled at Himiko. "Thanks for the encouragement today."
"No problem." Himiko smiled back. "Our time will come and we'll show off our awesome quirks then!"
They all changed back into their uniforms and returned to the classroom to conclude the day. While Himiko went back to her desk to begin packing up, she saw Emily pull out a tablet and start furiously making notes on it. Emily then cornered Oda, asking him a number of questions that sounded worryingly familiar to Himiko. She stopped what she was doing and walked over to the two.
"What are you guys doing?"
"Taking notes, obviously!"
Oda looked a little embarrassed. "Emily had some ideas about support gear after the Quirk Assessments, but she has a bunch of questions about my quirk first."
Himiko felt a look of genuine horror spreading across her face, and she could hear Atsuko laughing from behind her.
Emily is a quirk enthusiast too!