Nutricula

Chapter 4: Lamarckii

It had been a rough week.

Not only had Izuku had to lie about how, exactly, he had defeated the gigantic robot (the string he could chalk up to being crazy-prepared and the water to buying something from a vending machine, but the various impacts were something that couldn't just be explained away) when he recounted his story to his mom, but his mom had just started crying once he, in his frantic storytelling, had told her how he apparently developed a Quirk in the middle of saving a cute girl.

As it turned out, Izuku's mom was crying because not only had Izuku been a late bloomer in Quirk manifestation, but also because it was so powerful and the way it had awoken sounded like something from a romance. She then asked if Izuku had gotten his Quirk registration changed.

He had not, in fact. Which just added into the roughness of the week. Paperwork, no matter how streamlined, still sucked.

Finally, after seven entire days of anxious waiting (Izuku had yet to go down to the beach, but at one point he looked into trash removal services, so he was expecting things to be finished very soon), it happened.

"Iiiiizukuuu!!!!" Izuku's mom had cried, and as Izuku sped into the hallway (nearly crashing into the wall), he saw his mom shaking and on all fours, holding a letter. "It's for you!! It's from UA!"

And thus, Izuku had found himself sitting at his desk, lights totally off save for the desk lamp illuminating the solitary envelope. Izuku's nerves were in haywire; what if he failed, as he thought? What if he didn't fail, but he wasn't good enough for the hero course? What if they put him in support? What if he was general studies? Maybe they would make him the school mascot? What if he was ONLY the school mascot and they had him go to kindergarten for the rest of his life? What if it was a bomb?!

That last one made Izuku pause. How would death by explosion even affect him? The last times he had died, his body had been pretty much intact, but a bomb at such close range would likely eviscerate him and leave him a mess of limbs and ashes. And even if he did revive, what ability would that give him? Could he turn whatever he touched into a bomb? Could he make exploding bubbles? What if he just was able to make paper explode?

Izuku shook his head. Now was not the time for "potentially"s. Now was the time for definite action. With that in mind, he grabbed two corners of the envelope and tore it open.

A holographic projector fell onto the desk with a clatter, along with a note. Izuku read the note.

To play, press the center button. Then you shall know your results.

Principal Nedzu

That was straightforward. Izuku pressed the indicated button, and a screen lit up into existence.

It was All Might.

Izuku's jaw dropped. He hadn't seen All Might since the day he was saved from the Sludge Villain. What was he doing announcing exam results?

All Might stood motionless for a solid three minutes before an offscreen motion was made. "What? We're rolling?" He asked. "Ahem. Good Evening, Young Midoriya!" All Might boomed, "I am here! And I am delivering your test results! What? Camera two?" The angle changed, and All Might belatedly looked to the new camera. "Right then! To start with, Young Midoriya, your written portion was sufficient enough to pass!" (What All Might was not telling Izuku, but what I shall tell you now, is that Midoriya had, in fact, done pretty great) "You need brushing up in the areas pertaining to linguistics, but otherwise you are doing well enough! However, as you know, that is only half the battle!" A large scoreboard appeared behind All Might. "For your physical examination, you scored..."