Chapter Text
Midoriya Izuku.
Age: 16
Birthday: June 15
Quirk: N/A
Class: 2-H 2-A
He couldn’t believe it.
He couldn’t believe it when he woke up two weeks ago to a new letter delivered to his and his mothers apartment. He couldn’t believe it when he packed his belongings to move to the dorms on campus. He couldn’t believe it while he sat listening in the principal's office. He couldn’t believe it now, when he stood just outside the door with the large 2-A painted on the surface.
He was here.
He made it.
He made it to the hero course. At long last. His efforts during and after the sports festival paid off. His time training together with Shinsou under Aizawa. The gruelling hours of training, studying and more paid off.
He was in the hero course.
He was going to become a hero.
"Hey,” Midoriya flinched, but relaxed as he turned to his closest friend, Shinsou. “You’re gonna flood the hallway if you keep going.” He smirked, handing Midoriya a tissue, which he takes gratefully, not realising that he had been crying for the past 5 minutes he's been standing out in the hallway.
The two just stand there in comfortable silence, Midoriya dabbing away tears while Shinsou watches, a small smile playing on his lips.
The two had met by chance at the entrance exams. The exams they failed. It was short, only a quick glance at each other before they had to try to get points. Midoriya was able to get by through helping others, picking up and using scraps to defend himself and others, and ripping out wires to deactivate machines when he could. But it wasn’t until they met again months later on the rooftop for lunch. When they sat down nearby each other and began pleasant conversation, talking about the exam and their teachers.
At first, neither thought they could work out as friends, Midoriya worrying over his quirklessness and Shinsou about his brainwashing. It wasn’t until they continued to meet up at the rooftop that things took a turn for the better.
Small, awkward conversation quickly turned to exchanges of snarky comments, sass and happy company.
Hesitant handshakes turned to tight side hugs and ruffling of hair.
Quiet hi’s in the hallways turned to them shouting each others names as loud as possible, and running at each other to begin a small game of chase.
Since then, they’ve been the closest of friends. The kind they both wished they had back in middle school. They bonded over past experiences of being the odd-ones out, the bullied, and over their love of heroes - especially one sleep-deprived Eraserhead who they both fanboyed over after seeing him for the first time at school. They shared secrets and stories they didn’t tell anyone else. As though there could be no barrier between the two.
Eventually, Hatsume Mei, fellow classmate of Midoriya’s, joined their friendship and the duo quickly became a trio. And it only got more chaotic from there. Midoriya and Hatsume bounce off each other like no tomorrow, coming up with innovative (and terrifying) ideas for new items, or 'babies' as Hatsume called them. It was particularly interesting when Shinsou allowed them on the rare occasion to be their test guinea pig. The number of times the two nearly set fire to his (or someone elses) hair is uncanny. Especially when it was done on purpose, out of their terrifying need to defend each other's honour. They quickly grew close to each other, sharing all sorts of things about themselves to each other. It was an honest, pleasant and simple experience all three of them were happy to share together.
It wasn’t until one day during lunch, while the three in the support departments work room, that things really started to get rolling. It originally came up in passing, Hatsume and Midoriya working on a new baby while Shinsou watched. They were on the subject of heroes, as usual, when Hatsume suddenly asked “Do you want to be a hero?”
The two just looked at her wide eyed. Midoriya freezing in place with his screw-driver in place.
“You two always talk about heroes, and you even mentioned that you tried to get into the hero course but failed in the practical exam.” She explained whilst soldering some wires onto a circuit board.
Midoriya and Shinsou just looked at each other. Of course they both did, they always have. But since the practical exam, it didn’t seem all that feasible anymore. And for a while, the two believed in the words that their old school bullies said to them. What Shinsou’s old parents said to him before abandoning him. What Bakugou said to him that school afternoon. What his mother didn't say to him since his diagnosis...But even so, they didn’t want to lose that hope, that dream they had since they could walk.
“I do,” Midoriya said, Shinsou nodding his head in agreement. “But it’s kind of hard to do when you’re quirkless.”
Hatsume finally looked up from her work. She didn’t say anything when Midoriya’s eyes seemed to gloss over, nor when Shinsou simply put his hand on his shoulder as a means of comfort.
It wasn’t until she went back to her work when someone finally spoke.
“Yeah but, you can, can’t you? Be a hero, I mean.” The two looked at her, silent while she continued soldering. “You talk all the time about how so many heroes have non-combative quirks and fight essentially quirkless. Like all those times you gushed about Aizawa. You have one of the best minds and best quirks anyone’s ever seen.” She took the screw driver from Midoriya's hand to use, not stopping her work or her talking for even a moment.
“You both are smart and are strong in your own ways. And you’ve never gave up on anything so far, like when you convinced each other that being quirkless and being able to brainwash isn’t a bad thing. So why not go for it? It’s not like the entrance exam is the only way to get to the hero course.” She flips up her welding mask, and for a moment, gives the two a serious expression she rarely gave to anyone besides her babies.
The two sat there stunned. Hatsume rarely ever spoke so seriously and calmly like that, especially when it came to anything beyond her work. But she was right, they realised. It was simple minded thinking, but it was logical. She may go off rambling about things she gets excited about, all three of them did, but she was surprisingly observant and sound in her logic. And as she mentioned, the entrance exam wasn’t the only chance they had, and there were other pathways they could always take.
"Plus, if you do, I get to show off more of my babies!" She proclaims, arms high in the air as she her signature feral grin again, getting a chuckle out of the two.
Since then, the two really began to work hard to transfer. Midoriya continued his work in the support course, making invention after invention, and Shinsou began to practice and get more comfortable with his quirk. Even so, neither were able to get further than the second round of one-on-one matches at the sports festival. Midoriya, despite having won first place in the obstacle race and succeeded and taking down Aoyama, he couldn't get past Todoroki. At least he was able to say what he wanted to him before he got frozen. Shinsou had a similar downfall, winning against Mina, but lost his advantage against Tokoyami when Ojirou told him about his quirk.
But they didn’t give up. They kept pushing. They wanted to get into the hero course. They needed to. No matter what. So when Eraserhead came up to the two of them, offering them the opportunity to be trained by their idol, they jumped on it.
They spent months under gruelling hours and conditions to get up to Aizawa’s standard during training. But it only got both harder yet smoother from there. Other teachers, like as Present Mic and Midnight, got involved in their training. Present Mic helped Shinsou with his quirk while Midnight helped Midoriya with his confidence and presentation. Hatsume and Midoriya continued making invention after invention, both to provide support to Shinsou’s quirk, and to compensate for Midoriya’s lack of one. They got closer to these teachers in particular. Not enough to tell them everything, but enough to know about Aizawa and Present Mic's marriage.
Then finally, it all came together to fulfil their purpose.
The tests, studying, sleepless nights and gruelling hours of training and exercise finally came together to get them where they are now.
Finally approved by Nezu, the two now stand in front of the gigantic door.
The only thing keeping them from stepping into their new classroom.
The classroom dedicated to one of the top hero classes in their year.
The classroom of 2-A.
“Nervous?” Shinsou asked, glancing down at the short boy beside him. He had gotten better about asking questions.
Midoriya rolled his eyes, “Gee, I wonder.” He crumpled the damp tissue into his pocket, giggling as Shinsou lightly shoved him with a smirk of his own.
The two went back to facing the door, taking quiet, deep breaths.
“We made it.” Midoriya said. Shinsou hummed in response before looking down again to meet his eyes.
"It's a big door." Midoriya commented.
"Wonder why."
"Probably for accessibility?" The two stood still for a moment. "Or they had someone really tall break the doorway and had to get an upgrade." Shinsou smirked at that.
“Wanna go in?” Gripping on the yellow straps of his bag until his knuckles turned white, Midoriya nodded his head, stepping back a bit to let Shinsou open the door.
Taking a breath to calm himself, Shinsou puts his hand on the handle. “Let’s do this.”
As the door opened, the two made their way in, Midoriya quickly behind the taller head of purple hair. He kept his eyes stuck on the ground, trying to calm his nerves and counting his steps when he bumps into his friends back, the sound of shouting stopping them both in their tracks.
“BAKUGOU! REMOVE YOUR FEET FROM THE DESK IMMEDIATELY!”
“CAN IT FOUR-EYES!”
Ah shit.