Aizawa stared at the scoreboard for a few more seconds before finally speaking.
"...Minette."
The grape-haired girl immediately straightened.
"Y-Yes?!"
"Do it again."
Her smile—shattered.
"...Huh?"
Aizawa pointed toward the throwing circle with his usual exhausted expression.
"This time, without outside assistance."
The black-and-white substance around Minette's arm twitched slightly as the class slowly realized what he meant.
Aizawa's gaze swept across the students.
"The purpose of this assessment is to evaluate your individual abilities."
His tired eyes narrowed slightly.
"Not how effectively you can secretly boost each other's scores."
Several students immediately looked away awkwardly.
Kaminari coughed into her fist.
Mina whistled innocently.
Minette looked horrified.
"W-Wait, but if you remove this thing, I'm cooked!"
"Probably," Aizawa replied bluntly.
She looked ready to collapse again.
"But that score won't be counted."
Aizawa held up his handheld monitor.
"From this point onward, any outside interference during another student's test will be considered cheating."
His capture scarf shifted lightly in the breeze.
"That includes physical assistance, hidden Quirk support, enhancement abilities, clone interference, or manipulating testing equipment."
Several students instinctively glanced toward Aoyama.
Aizawa noticed.
"And yes," he continued flatly, "that includes him."
Aoyama placed a hand over his chest dramatically.
"I'm being targeted."
"You're being regulated."
A few students snorted at that.
Then Aizawa casually looked back down at his monitor.
"Hikaru Aoyama."
"Hm?"
"I'm deducting one hundred meters from your throwing score."
The field went silent.
"...Seriously?" Kaminari blurted out.
Aizawa nodded once.
"You interfered with another student's exam."
"But her throw happened after mine," Aoyama pointed out.
"And now your score reflects poor judgment."
Aizawa didn't even blink.
"Congratulations. Your official result is now 1,020 meters."
The class stared at him like he'd casually erased a natural disaster from existence.
Aoyama sighed dramatically.
"My flawless record has been tarnished."
"You'll survive," Aizawa deadpanned.
Meanwhile, Minette looked back and forth between them in disbelief.
"...Wait."
She pointed at Aoyama.
"You lost one hundred meters because you helped me?!"
Aoyama shrugged casually.
"Well, I won't pretend I'm not disappointed my score got reduced..."
He smiled before placing a hand on her shoulder, causing the symbiote to peel away from her arm in twitching strands and crawl back onto his own.
"But I'd like to think it was worth it just to see you happy for a moment."
Minette froze.
Then immediately burst into tears.
"I'M NEVER INSULTING YOU AGAIN!"
Aoyama chuckled softly and lifted a finger to his lips.
Most of the class assumed he was simply shushing her.
But Minette noticed the subtle movement of his eyes.
Ochaco.
Then Izumi.
Then back to her.
He was silently asking her to keep what she'd learned about him a secret.
"Don't make too much noise," he said cryptically.
"You're at U.A. now. You need to maintain your image."
His smile turned faintly amused.
"After all, nothing's more important than a person's image."
He stepped away casually.
"Consider that repayment enough."
—
The rest of the assessments continued under a much heavier atmosphere.
No one wanted to be expelled.
Especially after realizing Aizawa had been completely serious.
Ochaco stepped up for the fifty-meter dash with visible nerves lingering on her face.
"Ready."
Aizawa lazily raised a hand.
"Go."
The instant the signal was given, Ochaco tapped her tracksuit.
Her body became weightless.
FWIP—!!
She launched herself forward with a single push, barely touching the ground as she glided across the track at incredible speed.
Several students blinked.
"Oh, that's smart."
"She's reducing her own weight to lower friction."
Ochaco crossed the finish line with a relieved gasp before quickly restoring her gravity so she wouldn't float away entirely.
Aizawa gave a small nod while entering the score into his monitor.
"Efficient Quirk usage."
Ochaco immediately brightened.
Meanwhile—
Izumi Midoriya stood near the throwing circle gripping the softball tightly enough for her knuckles to whiten.
Her breathing was uneven.
Green lightning crackled faintly beneath her skin.
Even Aizawa narrowed his eyes.
The pressure gathering around her arm felt wrong.
Dangerous.
The moment Izumi wound her arm back—
Aizawa's eyes flashed crimson.
Her Quirk vanished instantly.
Izumi flinched as all the gathered strength disappeared from her body, causing the softball to tumble weakly through the air.
"...Forty-six meters," Aizawa read off flatly.
Izumi stared at him in shock.
"W-What?!"
"You're overdoing it."
Aizawa adjusted his scarf slightly.
"If I hadn't erased your Quirk just now, you would've shattered your arm during the first test."
Izumi stiffened.
Her eyes widened as she finally recognized the goggles hidden beneath his scarf.
Eraser Head.
Aizawa released his Quirk, allowing her power to return.
"I'll let you try again," he said calmly.
"But this time, think before you act."
Izumi swallowed hard before retrieving another softball.
Her arm trembled as green lightning flickered around her fingers.
She knew she couldn't fully control One For All yet.
That kind of mastery would take months.
Maybe years.
But if she failed here—
she might never get the chance.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Then an idea struck her.
Instead of spreading the power through her entire arm—
she compressed it into a single finger.
Izumi exhaled sharply and flicked the ball forward.
SMASH—!!
A violent gust of wind exploded across the field.
The softball shot into the sky like a missile while Izumi cried out and clutched her injured hand.
"AHH—!"
Several students jumped.
The scoreboard flashed.
713.5 meters.
The class erupted.
"Another seven hundred?!"
"What is WRONG with this class?!"
Aizawa glanced at Izumi's damaged finger before speaking flatly.
"Better."
Izumi blinked through the pain.
"...Huh?"
"You only destroyed one finger instead of your entire arm."
That somehow sounded like praise coming from him.
The assessments continued after that.
Speed tests.
Strength tests.
Flexibility.
Endurance.
Every event pushed the students harder as they fought desperately to avoid last place.
And throughout all of it—
Aoyama continued attracting attention.
Not just because of his scores.
But because nobody could figure out what his Quirk actually was.
By the time the final assessment ended, the students were exhausted.
Some collapsed onto the grass.
Others stretched sore muscles while nervously comparing scores.
Then several heads turned toward Aoyama at once.
"So seriously, what IS your Quirk?" Kaminari asked while pointing accusingly at him.
"You've shown, like, six different powers already!"
"Yeah!" Eijira added excitedly. "Clones, barriers, weird goo stuff—what's the deal?!"
"Can we try the enhancement thing too?" Jiro asked while raising a hand.
Momo stepped forward thoughtfully.
"Your abilities don't follow a consistent Quirk structure."
Several students nodded.
Normally, Quirks had one or two core traits.
Sometimes children inherited a blend of both parents' abilities.
Rarely, a mutation-type Quirk developed strange additional properties over time.
But Aoyama—
didn't make sense.
And that made him dangerous.
U.A. needed to understand exactly where he stood before his unknown abilities became a catastrophic problem.
Meanwhile, his eyes drifted briefly across the training field.
...Still no All Might.
That was strange.
In canon, this would've been around the time he'd make his dramatic teacher introduction.
But All Might hadn't appeared once.
Before Aoyama could think further—
another presence approached the field.
Click.
Click.
Several students turned.
A tall woman in a revealing black hero costume walked toward the class with a playful smile.
Midnight.
"Sorry to interrupt your class, Aizawa~"
Several students immediately straightened.
Some turned red on the spot.
Midnight placed a hand against her cheek dramatically before smiling toward the group.
"But it seems we need to borrow Hikaru Aoyama for a little while."
Every eye immediately snapped toward Aoyama.
"...Oh?"
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
So they weren't wasting any time, huh?
After everything he'd shown today, U.A. was obviously going to investigate him immediately.
And sending Midnight specifically?
That wasn't accidental.
Her Quirk was especially effective against men, and her entire persona revolved around lowering people's guard through flirtation and psychological pressure.
Honestly, it was a smart choice.
Aizawa glanced toward Aoyama.
"You'll return after the meeting."
Aoyama stood calmly and brushed the grass from his uniform.
"Of course."
Several classmates immediately looked disappointed.
"Aww, he's leaving already?"
"Ask him about the goo-arm thing for us!"
Midnight laughed softly.
"Don't worry, girls. You'll have him back soon enough~"
As she led Aoyama away from the field, Midnight glanced sideways at him curiously.
"You seem surprisingly calm."
Aoyama shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Should I be nervous?"
"Most first years would be terrified right now."
"Most first years probably don't get escorted across campus by a famous R-rated hero."
That earned a quiet laugh from her.
"...Fair point."
Eventually, they arrived outside a large office door.
Midnight knocked once before opening it.
Inside, several faculty members were already waiting.
And seated behind the main desk—
was Nezu.
The small animal-like principal smiled pleasantly the moment Aoyama entered.
"Ah, Hikaru Aoyama."
His eyes gleamed with quiet intelligence.
"Please, come in."
Aoyama stepped inside calmly.
Nezu gestured toward the chair across from him.
"Would you like some tea?"