Chapter Text
On the morning of the UA entrance exams, Izuku wakes up later than usual. Dawn is just breaking, the sun peeks through his window, reflecting off his bare white walls . It’s unusual, not to beat the sunrise. He would normally be wrapping up his morning run around this time. But he couldn't afford to be sluggish today, even if the change in schedule throws his equilibrium off, only slightly.
The silence of his barren room is a comforting contrast to the roar of his racing thoughts. His head throbs with the influx of information he’s crammed into it over the last few weeks, images of math equations and robot semantics fighting for dominance at the forefront of his mind. He can not trust in the validity of second-hand information, gathered from vague student accounts and pieces of tabloid articles. But anything beats going in unprepared.
He takes extra care not to make any noise as he gets out of bed. An unconscious habit he never really grew out of. And apparently a completely useless one as well. The floorboards creak under his feet as he makes his way to his bathroom. Still, he walks with careful precision, cushioning his steps as much as possible.
(Just like he’s always been taught.)
There’s no reason to be so quiet. Not anymore at least. There’s only him and his mother in the apartment. But old habits die hard and you can never be too careful.
He washes his face, brushes his teeth and returns to his room feeling a little more grounded, less unbalanced. His school uniform hangs pressed and ready in his closet. It takes careful maneuvering to get to it, the boxes of neatly packaged Hero paraphernalia hindering his efforts.
He treats the boxes of All Might merchandise with as much care as they deserve, kicking them out of the way without so much a glance. He’d really have to get around to selling all that crap off soon.
He shudders in revulsion as he slips his uniform on, pushing past the bile that surges in his throat as the material brushes against his skin. It’s something he has yet to get used to, even after years of exposure therapy and training. He’d made his case to the school multiple times, asked for a different manufacturer for his uniform, but all his appeals were met with denial.
Apparently it was too much trouble to procure a hand stitched uniform for him. Despite the fact that it was quirk related accommodation.
They could make uniforms fireproof, waterproof. They could make them with the ability to stretch, could make them big enough to cover giants, but God forbid they put in the effort to make one by hand with natural materials.
Concessions for thee and not for me. Izuku absolutely hated this world sometimes.
‘No use griping about.’ He thinks as he buttons his jacket, ‘UA is the best school in the country. They'll surely be able to afford a custom made uniform.’
Uniform on, bag packed and heart hammering, he makes his way to the front door on tiptoes. He passes by his empty kitchen, forgoing the thought of food in the wake of the churning in his gut.
He’s just finished pulling his shoes on when he hears her feet shuffling down the hallway. He doesn’t turn around, not until he feels her presence behind him.
Today is one of his mother’s good days. There’s a splash of color in her cheeks and awareness in her normally vacant gaze. She smiles as he steps forward into her beaconing arms. It almost reaches her eyes.
“Today’s the day.” she speaks in a tone just below a whisper, so quiet that Izuku, despite standing so close, still has to strain to hear her. It’s just as much of an unconscious habit as his early morning sneaking.
“Yeah.” Izuku’s voice matches hers, more from nerves than habit. “It is.”
“You’ll do amazing, baby.“ She breathed, releasing him with a clear reluctance, reluctance Izuku mirrored as he stepped away from her embrace. Moments of clarity for his mother were so far and few between. It was hard to step away from her, not knowing when will be the next time he’ll ‘see’ her.
“ I know I will, Mom.” And there is no trace of boastfulness present in words. Just a simple confirmation of an undeniable fact.
He’ll do great on the exams. He’ll do better than anyone else.
He had to.
00000000000000000
Izuku is four when his father sits him on his knee and shows him the truth of the world.
The footage on the computer is gruesome, far too gruesome for a child so young. It takes place right at the scene of a horrific, fiery building collapse. There are hundreds of casualties , dozens of charred and mangled bodies are constantly pulled from the wreckage. It is not the type of video you would see on the news. The images are too visceral, the fear and panic too raw.
Izuku sobs into his father's chest as the screams rise through the speakers. He would have nightmares of lifeless eyes and bloodied bodies in the weeks that followed.
“This is the truth of the world Izuku,” his father runs gentle fingers through his hair, his voice low and controlled. “The proof of the corruption that festers in our society.”
Izuku does not understand. His eyes ask a question his father answers by rewinding the footage.
“Look Izuku.” And though Izuku does not want to look, does not want to see the grisly images again, he still turns his eyes back to the screen. Father told him to look and Father is to be obeyed.
He follows his father’s fingers, eyes squinting at the figure nearly hidden by the flames.
“Who is that, Papa? Why am I looking at him?”
“Do you not recognize him? That my son, is a hero.”
Izuku bites his lips. He’s confused. Father says that the man on screen is a hero but something about that does not seem quite right.
“Are you sure that man is a hero Papa?” He is not in the habit of questioning his father but this time surely he must be wrong. Thankfully, his father does not seem angry at his question. In fact he seemed happy, his face pulled into a small grin.
“ He is indeed, dear one.” Izuku’s confusion must show on his face for his father continues, “ Why do you doubt me Izuku? I have no reason to lie.”
“ It’s just that-“ Izuku looks back at the screen, back at the stationary hero. Now that he’s paying attention he can see the costume the hero wears, the sign that marks his position. “ He’s just standing there. Why didn’t he do anything? Why was he just standing there if he’s a hero? Why didn’t he help?”
With each question, the grin on his father’s face grows larger. There’s a satisfied tint to that grin, one that tells Izuku he’s saying all the right things, that he’s asking all the right questions.
“He didn’t help, Izuku because his quirk was not compatible with the situation. You see, that hero's quirk is generating kinetic energy. It’s an offensive quirk, one that is apparently useless in such a situation. Unable to use his quark to attack something, he chose to stand there, watching. Did nothing while the building collapsed and so many civilians lost their lives, despite the fact that he was one of the first heroes on the scene. All because his quirk wasn’t suited to help.”
“ But that’s stupid!”
Izuku doesn’t mean to shout. He’s not supposed to shout. But he’s so shocked he can’t help it.
“Even if his powers didn’t match, he should’ve still tried to help!”
“Oh?” There’s something Izuku can’t place in his father’s voice, something dark, something pleased. His lips curled into a smile Izuku is not used to seeing on his father’s kindly face. “You think so?”
“YES! Heroes are supposed to help in any way they can! That’s what makes them heroes. You can’t just sit back and watch cause your quirk doesn’t match!” Izuku fumes as he glares at the hero on screen. “ He’s a terrible hero! He doesn’t deserve to be one if he won’t help-“
The rest of his rant is cut off by his father’s arm wrapping around him in a tight embrace. He nuzzles their faces together ,drops a soft kiss to his temple.
“Straight out of the mouths of babes.” his father whispered. He looks down at him with tender and loving eyes. “You have made me very happy today, my dear Izuku. Very happy.``
Izuku doesn’t understand what he did to make his father so happy, why he looks at him like Izuku is everything good in the world when all he did was whine and yell about a video. Still, he soaks up the affection all the same, leaning heavily into his father’s embrace.
“ What did I do? I don’t understand Papa.”
“ You will, Izuku. One day.”
00000000000000000
Nedzu sets down the Izuku Midoriya’s profile with a thud that echoes through his entire office.
He leans forward in his chair, placed his chin on stapled paws, his beady black eyes staring down his now very nervous company.
“Let me see if I’m understanding this correctly.” He said slowly, carefully. “You want me to deny Izuku Midoriya a chance to take the UA entrance exams?”
Yagi fidgeted in his chair. Nedzu’s tone is impossible to decipher but he will not be swayed from his goal.
“Yes sir. That is correct.”
“You want me to tamper with our selection system and forgo the rules set in place since our school was built?”
“Yes sir.”
“You want me to deny a student entrance before he even has a chance to apply based on a feeling that you got after a brief one time meeting with said student? You want me to single out this one student and go against every value of this school and break every oath I took as the principal based on a feeling you have about this child?”
“ Y-yes sir.”
Nedzu leaned back in his chair, his eyes blank never leaving Yagi’s. There is no trace of a smile present on his face.
“Do you understand exactly what you are asking me, Toshinori Yagi?”
The use of his full name immediately puts Yagi on alert. There’s only one way this meeting can go now and it will not be in his favor. Still, he has to try.
“ I held no illusions of the potential consequences of my request when I stepped into this office, Nedzu.” He tried to insert some authority into his voice but inside he’s a nervous wreck. “ It will be the end of our society as we know if we allow the boy to become a hero. He will destroy the very foundations the Hero system was built on. We can’t allow that to happen. We must stop him from entering this school.”
Nedzu doesn’t say anything in response. He simply continued to stare at him, unblinkingly. It unsettled Yagi enough for him to start rambling.
“ I would not ask if I did not believe it was absolutely necessary Nedzu. His quirk....it’s unnatural. It can’t-“
“ I never took you for a Quirk Supremacist Yagi. Nor as someone who would attempt to take away a child’s future based on a mere whim. I wonder what else I’ll learn about you today.”
Yagi flinched so violently he nearly overbalanced and fell out of his chair.
“Nedzu I’m not-“
“I am not a human Toshinori. Feelings and hunches mean nothing to me. Just facts. And the fact is, if Midoriya passes the entrance exam he deserves a place at UA. Just like every other student.”
“ Sir, you don’t understand-“ Yagi tried to plead but Nedzu spoke over him.
“Midoriya Izuku will be allowed to take the entrance exam and if he passes, he will be a student of UA. Am I understood?”
“Nedzu-”
“Am I understood, Toshinori?”
Well and truly defeated, Yagi’s shoulders slump in surrender.
“Ye-Yes sir.”
“ I will attempt to forget about this conversation. In turn, you will ensure that you forget about any hunches you have that concern Izuku Midoriya.” Without looking at him, Nedzu hops out of his chair. He moves over to his office door, and opens it. “Now, I will see you later in the observation room for the practical exam.”
Recognizing the clear dismissal, Yagi slumped his way out of the office, eyes on the ground. The click of the door closing firmly behind him echoed in the empty hall.
That whole meeting couldn't have gone any worse. He knew it was a longshot before he even stepped into the office but he had to try. That boy, Young Midoriya, was unnatural. His quirk was unnatural. Everything about the child spelled disaster for everything he built, every battle he won.
Yagi stepped over to a nearby window. Nedzu’s office overlooks the school, so he can see the entrance of the school gate through the adjacent window. Outside, milling into the school, is the future of the hero community. Those children would one day carry the torch into the next generation.
All except one boy, who would surely carry with him only destruction and despair.
‘Izuku Midoriya,’ he thinks, ‘I will not let you destroy all that we have built.'
He would ensure the future of Herokind, even if he had to do it alone.
00000000000000000
UA is an impressive school. It stands tall and proud, stretching past the horizon, a proud beacon to all who see it.
It is the very pinnacle of Hero Society. The cumulation of all of Izuku's work.
At last, all the hardships and struggles would finally be worth it. The endless tests, the countless nightmares, the running, the suffering. All of it would finally have meaning. The endless tears of his mother would be worth it. The end of his goal was within his grasp. He would not waste this chance.
‘Watch me, Father. I’ll show you that my way is the right one.’
He goes to take a step, only to realize his nerves must have manifested as clumsiness, as they normally tended to do. His foot hooked around his other ankle, sending him on a one-way trip to the ground. Just before he hits the ground face first, he feels a featherlight tap on his shoulder. It's a sharp contrast to the feel of his nose smashing against the hard unforgiving stone walkway.
“Oh my goodness!”
Izuku barely registered the shocked voice of the throbbing in his nose. It takes a while, in which Izuku hears various snickers from other examinees, before he finds the will to pull himself off the ground. He feels his nose. It's sore, and painful, and will no doubt hurt like a bitch for a bit, but it’s not bleeding or broken, so Izuku counts his blessings.
“Are you okay!?”
Putting aside his aching face, Izuku looked up at the source of the worried voice. It’s a girl, with pink cheeks and brown eyes. She’s looking at him with barely contained worry, one hand slightly raised.
A hand raised.
Izuku recalled the tap he felt just before he fell. That, coupled with the familiar shell-shocked look on her face, a look that Izuku had come to associate with one specific scenario, sent a bolt of annoyance racing through him.
Annoyance that must show plainly on his face, because the girl’s expression goes from shocked to confused. She followed his gaze, her eyes going wide as they landed on her hand.
She hurriedly brought both hands up in defense.
“I didn’t push you, I promise.”
Izuku remained silent as he picked himself up off the floor. The girl squirmed in the heaviness of the oppressive silence that stretched over the few seconds it took for him to brush the gravel and dirt off his uniform.
“I assume you were trying to use your quirk on me.” The girl jumped, her shoulders hunching at Izuku’s cold tone.
“I-yes. I saw you about to trip and I was just-” But Izuku isn't interested in just what she was trying to do. He cuts though her stammering with a sharp stare.
“I don’t appreciate it when people use their quirks on me without my permission.” Well, ‘Attempt to use’ would be the better terminology, but there was no need to give away his hand to a potential opponent.
“ I’m so sorry. I normally wouldn’t- I - I was trying to stop your fall.”
“Something you could have done by simply grabbing my arm.” Izuku tried to put a lid on the anger, shimmering beneath the surface, before it could fully boil over. It would have been so simple for her to just grab his arm. “Not everyone is fine with nonconsensual quirk use, you know.”
The girl wilted at his flat tone, looking utterly dejected. Tough. Too many people were a little too comfortable with using their quirk on others without permission and those were the types of people Izuku really couldn't stand considering everything….
Izuku does not regret his harsh words. The girl had overstepped her boundaries and she needed to know that. He would not waver in the wake of her dejected face.
Still, his mother had raised a gentleman. He could at least give credit where credit was due.
“I’m not happy you used your quirk on me, still I understand your heart was in the right place so thanks for the effort. Just don't make a habit of doing that.” He does not wait for the girl to respond. He picks up his fallen backpack and turns to continue to the school.
He makes it a few feet when the girl finally regains her voice.
“Um, Go-good luck in the exams.” She called at his back, voice still small.
Luck.
It’s such an absurd concept that he can hardly hold back a snicker.
He had never been lucky in his life.
——————
‘Nice to know Present Mic’s volume is not simply reliant on his quirk.' Izuku thought to himself in genuine amusement.
Present Mic’s voice is clear and loud even without the presence of his projection. It was a nice surprise to learn his bombastic personality wasn’t a product of his quirk. The man was just naturally boisterous.
In a world where most people thought that having a quirk was a personality trait, it was refreshing to see someone whose quirk complemented their personality instead of the other way around.
“Glad, I don’t have to sit in the front row. “ he whispered to himself, unable to hold in his snickers at the way the students closest to Mic we’re leaning back. Poor things were probably getting a full blast of his volume.” He could probably still burst my eardrum open at that volume,”
“Shut the fuck up, Deku.” Bakugou growled venomously. It’s the first thing he’s said to Izuku since he sat down ( Because of course their seats were next to each other).
“Go fuck yourself, Kacchan.” Izuku replied casually without missing a beat.
It’s the closest thing to a cordial conversation they’ve had in months.
Kaachan’s answering glare is a raging inferno of fire tinged venom. It doesn't phase Izuku in the slightest.
It’s just for show anyway. They both know Kaachan can’t hurt him. That and he would never try.
Just as well, Izuku wouldn’t let Kaachan spoil his good mood, as rare as they were.
Mic continued with the mandatory briefing, or at least tried to. He was interrupted by a tall student in glasses.
‘What a blowhard.’
Izuku zoned out as the guy prattled on. He wished he’d shut the hell up so they could get on with the exam, before he proceeded to be sick all over the exam hall. He was barely keeping it together, the synthetic quirk fibers of the desk and the chair reigniting his earlier nausea.
‘This is fucking ridiculous. Does everything have to be fucking made using quirks? Has anyone ever heard of manual labor?’
He was so concerned with keeping his nausea at bay he didn’t notice the glasses-wearing examinee trying to get his attention until he was practically screaming at him.
“You with the green and white hair!”
Izuku's eyes refocused on the angry stare, his mind working to catch up to reality.
“Wha-?”
“You’ve been sitting there with that blank eyed stare for far too long. And what is with the messy state of your uniform? How dare you make a mockery of this event with such sloppiness! If you’re not going to take this seriously, you should leave!”
Izuku raised a brow, honestly shocked at the other's gall. Who the hell lectures a perfect stranger on their state of dress or their expression? Was this guy serious? Was he the Principal? A teacher? He sure as hell wasn’t Izuku’s father.
There’s so much Izuku could say to this idiot, but for the sake of time, he opted for the condensed response.
“Eat my entire ass, glasses.” He drawled. He pointedly ignored Kaachan’s snort.
The look on Glasses face was absolutely priceless. He stood frozen for a good twenty seconds, face red and mouth working furiously. A scattering of snickers rises among some of the students, which causes Glasses' face to redden further. Izuku doesn’t feel the least bit sorry for him.
‘Next time, you should mind your own business.'
Thankfully, Mic chose this time to regain control of the situation.
“Alright Listeners,” He boomed, with an uneasy chuckle, “LET’S SAVE ALL THAT YOUTHFUL ENERGY FOR THE EXAM! YEAH!”
Glasses dropped numbly into his seat, apparently done harassing both Mic and Izuku.
Izuku shared a glance with Kaachan. There’s a shadow of a smirk on the other's face.
“Served the fucker right.” Kaachan said.
Huh. A whole sentence without any insults.
Maybe there was hope for them after all.
Just maybe.
----------------------------
Izuku couldn't contain his relieved sigh as he pulled on his tracksuit. He took a moment to enjoy the feel of sweet natural materials brushing across his skin, the ever-present nausea dissipating in the absence of disgusting quirk fibers.
Natural clothes were so hard to get his hands on he treasured any article of clothing he got.
“One final touch.” With a flourish he pulled off his shoes and placed them in his locker. He flexed his toes, satisfied with the new range of movement. He would look like an absolute idiot but if his insider information on the practical exam was correct, he would need to ensure he was able to make skin on skin contact with his enemies.
His bare feet get him more than a few weird looks and even more snickers as he makes his way to the exam ground but Izuku does not care. He’s here to pass, not to look cool.
He catches sight of the brunette girl and the glasses guy from earlier on his way out. Fortunately. they don't see him and Izuku preferred to keep it that way. Neither made the best impression on him today.
At least neither of them are Kaachan. Putting the two of them together at the testing site would have been a disaster of epic proportions.
He takes the time to stretch as he waits for the test to start. He sees Glasses' emerge from the throng of students, and barely holds back a groan. Their eyes meet, and glasses' gaze drops to his bare feet, his face twisting in a scowl. For a second, Izuku thinks the other might approach him, and he’s gearing up to give him another dressing down.
However, the earlier dressing down must still be fresh in his mind, because after about a minute of staring at Izuku’s feet, glasses thinks better of approaching him and wanders off in the opposite direction.
‘Good. I don't have time for that jerk to distract me.’
Pushing the boy out of his mind, he tenses, his body a tightly coiled spring, ready to jump into action the second he's given the signal. He’s ready.
Izuku soon hears Present Mic over the Speakers.
“GO!”
Gravel digs into the heel of his feet as he kicks off, leaving the others in the dust.
His first robot is felled-by a powerful kick that wipes away its chassis. Izuku doesn’t wait for it to fall before he’s on the next robot. This one receives an open palm strike that takes out its head.
By now, the other examinees have caught up and are making quick work of the other robots. Izuku pays them no heed, his mind focused on a singular purpose.
Pass.
Four more robots fell in quick succession. Izuku leaves a trail of destruction in his wake, his body count the culmination of hard work, months of training and robot semantics pulled off an UA chat room.
It’s only after three more robots fall, all of them missing vital parts of their bodies that Izuku hears it. Heavy, lumbering footsteps.
The giant robot that stretches over the buildings and nearly blocks out the sun, towers over the testing sight. Its heavy footsteps send tremors through the ground, kicking up dust and causing a few students nearby to overbalance and trip.
Complete pandemonium broke out immediately, the panicked and screaming student scrambling to escape from the giant monster of a robot. Izuku surveyed the robot, calmly weighing his options. There’s a chance that it’s made out of the same material as the smaller robots. If so, Izuku could take care of it. But mentally tallying up his points, he was sure he had more than enough to pass, so there was really no point in engaging.
He’s about to find a safe location and wait out the test when he hears her, nearly muffled over the deafening whirl of the robot.
“ help….help..me…”
Izuku turned toward the direction of the voice.
It’s the girl from before.
She’s on the ground.
She’s trapped, stuck in the direct path of the robot and unable to escape.
And absolutely no one was stopping or turning to help her.
It’s a familiar scene. Heroes, or hero prospects running away from a situation their oh so amazing quirks cannot handle. The sight curls his lip, the bitter disappointment igniting a fire under his feet, one that pushes him in the direction of the trapped girl.
He doesn't waste time mincing words with the other students he passes on the way to the robot. He keeps his eyes straight, focused solely on his goal. It was a gamble. There was no guarantee this gigantic robot was made out of similar material as the smaller ones. Yet, it was a risk he was willing to take. If he was wrong, at least he could say he tried.
It was more than the other examinees could say.
His open palm hits the leg of the robot with a clang that echoes over the screams of the other students and the loud gasp of the trapped girl.
Immediately upon making contact Izuku feels his hand tingle in that familiar way and knows his gamble has paid off. The synthetic metal ripples under his touch, flashing in response to his quirk. Nausea wells in the back of his throat, the sick feeling that often accompanies coming into contact with such a large quirk made object temporarily making his head spin. He pushes past the feeling and focuses all his attention on the offending robot.
It takes but a second after he focuses. It starts at the Robot’s head. Then moves to its shoulders, his quirk gaining speed the more the robot disappears. By the time the robot is only half a torso and legs, the process speeds up to the point that it’s near instantaneous. One second half the Zero Pointer was there and then it was not, the massive crater the only indication that there was ever anything there at all.
Izuku stepped back. He flexed his hand, turned to look at the girl still lying next to him on the ground. He opened his mouth, intending to make sure the girl is alright…
And then a sudden surge of nausea sees him on his knees, emptying all the contents of his stomach into the rubble. Izuku groaned around hot bile, the backlash of the continuous contact with quirk fibers finally catching up with him. In between heaves, he attempts to ask about the girl’s wellbeing but the sound of retching interrupts his question. Only this time it’s not his retching.
It would seem he wasn't the only one with a nausea factor to their quirk.
What a sight they must look to the other examinees. Each trying to get a word in between vomiting spells.
Well, there were worse ways to make a second first impression.
0000000000000000000
Unbeknownst to the rest of the shell-shocked teachers, still reeling from the unbelievable events they’d just witnessed, Aizawa quietly pulled up the profile of his latest enigma. He’d never seen a quirk like this in all his years of teaching at UA and it’s a question he doesn't want to idle to answer.
The student's profile popped up and Aizawa's eyes immediately scanned the contents.
Izuku Midoriya
Age:15
Quirk: Negate
Quirk Description: Complete immunity to all quirk effects. Ability to erase objects created by means of quirk from existence.
‘Well, well, well.’ Out the corner of his eye, Aizawa shoots a glance at Yagi. He’s pale, paler than usual, his eyes over bright and his entire form shaking. ‘It looks like things have just gotten a lot more interesting.