"A quirk assessment test?"
After changing into gym uniforms like told, we had all gathered out to the fields, however, none of us were told what for until just a few moments ago. Being taller than most girls, I took it upon myself to stand behind the front row of my fellow female classmates. "What about the entrance ceremony? The orientation?" The girl with pink cheeks, whose name I still didn't know, asked, confusion laced on her and many others faces.
Aizawa had his back turned to us, and didn't bother to turn around when answering her question. "If you're going to become a hero, you don't have time for such leisurely events." Though being initially confused, I found myself nodding my head in agreement. He does have a point. Villains won't wait for us to graduate. The teacher quickly continued after a slight pause. "U.A's selling point is how unrestricted its traditions are." Aizawa turned his head back to look at us. "That's also how the teachers run their classes."
I could see some of my classmates shift back or straighten at the sheer intimidation of our teacher, including myself. This guy doesn't play around. If he even slightly suspects I'm a ghoul, I'll get thrown out for sure. They might even hand me over to what's left of the CCG for being a 'threat.' Aizawa then turned his whole body so that he was halfway facing us. "You kids have been doing these since junior high, too, right? Physical fitness tests where you weren't allowed to use your quirks." He then pulled out what looked to be a phone that listed all the activities that would be in a regular fitness exam.
"The country still uses averages taken from results from students not using their quirks. It's not rational. Well, the Ministry of Education is procrastinating." Aizawa turned towards me, and I tensed once again. "[Lastname], you finished the top of the practical exam, right?" I relaxed slightly, and replied with, "Yes." I cringed at the slightly nervous sound of my voice.
My classmates turned to look at me in surprise and awe, and from a few students, I could hear the spiky blond click his tongue in annoyance. Midoriya also looked at me in somewhat hidden amazement and I could feel pride silently swelling in my chest. "In junior high, what was your best result for the softball throw?"
I nearly flinched at Aizawa's question, of course I threw all the tests. My ghoul strength and speed would have immediately seemed to give me away, but here I could play it off as my quirk. "Fifty-two meters, sensei." I responded. "Then try doing it with your quirk." He told me.
I quietly gulped but still nodded and stepped towards one of the softball circles. "You can do whatever you want as long as you stay in the circle. Hurry up, give it all you got." Aizawa instructed. I nodded again and decided to do some quick arm stretches to release the muscles. I sucked in a breath while reeling my arm back, before launching it and the ball forwards. As soon as the ball left my grip, it soared high into the air, creating rings of clouds that dissipated instantly from the shockwaves. "Know your maximum first." I could hear Aizawa say out loud as we all watched the speck of a ball fall back to the ground.
I didn't see it hit the ground, even with my enhanced vision, but I'm assuming it did because Aizawa's device beeped and he turned back to the rest of the class. "That is the most rational way to form the foundation of a hero." He said before holding up the device, presenting my score of 8,461 meters. My classmates were quick to 'ooh' in amazement.
"8,000 meters? Seriously?"
"What's this? It looks fun!"
"We can use our quirks as much as we want! As expected from the hero course!"
Aizawa's aura turned dark and I could tell that he did not approve of some of the comments made. "'It looks fun,' huh? You have three years to become a hero. Will you have an attitude like that the whole time? All right, whoever comes in last place in all eight tests will be judged to have no potential and will be punished with expulsion." Most of my classmates blanched and flinched in shock, though I could see that some remained much more calm about it. It was silent for several more seconds, and I spotting Midoriya trembling while looking down at his hands. Poor kid, he's probably so worried right now.
"We're free to do whatever we want about the circumstances of our students." I still hadn't moved from my spot from within the softball circle, so Aizawa's back was towards me. But I was somewhat thankful as I couldn't see the look of disappointment on my teacher's face. I watched as he lifted a hand and pulled the hair in front of his face up. "Welcome to U.A's hero course!"
The girl with pink cheeks who I kept frequently seeing decided to voice her concerns. "Last place will be expelled? But it's only the first day of school! No, even if it wasn't the first day of school, this is too unfair!" Aizawa simply remained stoic at her questioning as he answered her. "Natural disasters, big accidents, and selfish villains. Calamities whose time or place can't be predicted. Japan is covered with unfairness. Heroes are the ones who reverse those situations. If you want to go talk with your friends at Mickey D's after school, too bad. For the next three years, U.A. will do all it can to give you one hardship after another."
My hands clenched at my sides, everything he had said was true, though I wish it wasn't. I felt rage boiling within me at the unfairness that ghouls like me had to deal with. It's not like we asked to be born this way. My gaze never left Aizawa as he continued his monologue. "Go beyond. Plus ultra. Overcome it with all you've got." Maybe one day I can reveal myself. But for now, I can't trust him. "All right, demonstration's over. The real thing starts now."
Test 1: 50-meter dash
For the first exam, I was paired with a blond boy that seemed to constantly sparkling. He used a beam that shot out of his belt to propel himself forwards, while I just used my ghoul speed. I finished in 3.97 seconds, while my competitor finished in 5.51 seconds.
Test 2: Grip strength
I clenched the small machine in my fist tightly. Cracks appeared along the handle, my eyes widened and I quickly loosened my grip. 278 kilograms. From somewhere else in the gym room, I could hear someone say, "540 kilograms? What are you, a gorilla? Oh, an octopus?" The question was quickly followed up with someone else saying, "Octopuses are sexy." ......No, just no.
Test 3: standing long jump
I jumped too high during this one, but managed to focus my body weight and direction downwards and landed just outside the sandbox. Whoops.
Test 4: Repeated side steps
Let's not talk about this one.
Test 5: Ball throw
Since I had already done this, I was only watching. The pomeranian that I sat next to was one of the first to go, shouting a memorable 'Die!' before making a score of 705.2 meters then walking over to stand on the sidelines next to me (though I don't he noticed who he was standing next to). Next was the girl with pink cheeks. With a smile on her face, she threw the ball and we all watched as it flew in the air and never came down. Eventually, Aizawa just gave her a score of infinity. There have been a lot of impressive scores. Then again, this is the hero course.
Soon enough came the turn of Midoriya, the only person I had been interested in. He stood completely still in the center of the circle, thinking about who knows what. Though I couldn't directly see his face, I assumed he was thinking out the possible expulsion. "It doesn't look good for Midoriya if he continues like this." I heard Iida speak up. This sparked a reply from the explosive boy next to me. "Huh? Of course not. He's a quirkless small fry, you know." He arrogantly spoke.
Iida, who previously had his arms crossed, let his arms fall lax and his brows scrunched in slight confusion. "Quirkless?! Are you not aware of what he did in the entrance exam?" I could tell that they definitely had a history, but probably not a good one. "Huh?"
I felt tempted to speak up and also defend Midoriya, but I held my tongue. There was no point in getting involved in useless chatter. Midoriya reeled his arm back as he finally started the ball throw, his arm glowing bright pink in branches like veins. He held a very determined look on his face as the ball started to gain momentum. But alas, it ended up to be a measly throw, only going 46 meters. I raised a brow, Did he just cancel his own quirk? The look of shock overtook Midoriya's features. No, he didn't. But who... I swept my gaze across everyone else on the field, noticing that Aizawa's scarf was waving about and his hair seemed to float.
"I erased your quirk." Midoriya turned to face Aizawa, flinching in surprise. Erased? Why does that sound familiar? "That entrance exam was definitely not rational enough. Even a kid like you was accepted." My heart wrenched when hearing his harsh words. "You erased my quirk?" Midoriya said quietly before flinching back again in recognition. "Those goggles... I see. You can erase other people's quirks with your quirk just by looking at them. The Erasure Hero: Eraserhead!" That's why his quirk sounded so familiar, I read a report of a raid that Eraserhead took part in. However, my peers didn't seem fully aware of the identity of our teacher.
"Eraser? I don't know him."
"I've heard of him. He's an underground hero."
As my classmates conversed with each other, I decided to just focus on the interaction between Midoriya and Aizawa. "From what I can tell, you can't control your quirk, can you? Do you intend to become incapacitated again and have someone save you?" Aizawa's words were cold, but they were the truth. "Th-that's not my intention-" Midoriya tried to defend himself, but AIzawa was having none of it. His scarf launched out and wrapped itself around Midoriya, pulling him towards the dark-haired teacher. "Whatever your intention, I'm saying that's what those around you will be forced to do. In the past, there was an oppressively passionate hero who saved over a thousand people by himself and created a legend." He must be talking about All Might. All Might was amazing, but I was never fond of how he was surrounded by the media.
"Even if you have the same reckless valor, you'll just be decked and turned into a useless doll after saving one person. Midoriya Izuku. With your power, you can't become a hero." This surprised me. Not being able to become a hero because of incredible power? I expected him to tell Midoriya to get his act together or something. There were a few moments of intense staring between the two, but Aizawa eventually released Midoriya and deactivated his quirk. "I've returned your quirk." Aizawa said to the student before walking off to his previous standing point.
Iida inquired about the conversation, stating, "It looks like he received advice." I sighed before saying, "I don't think you could call that advice." Only then did I remember that I was likely the only person who could hear the conversation between the two. Next to me, the spiky blond jumped at the sudden inclusion of a new voice. He definitely forgot that I was here. "Probably just telling him that he's expelled." He said while recomposing himself. Midoriya had started to mumble to himself again, a habit he probably unconsciously picked up on. He then pulled his arm back again, new ball in hand and determination resurfacing onto his face. This time, his arm didn't glow and he looked to be doing just a normal throw. However, as soon the ball left his fingers, it soared away in a similar fashion to my own. I looked down at Midoriya's hand, his index finger a dark purple and most likely broken.
The ball reached 705.3 meters, a mere tenth of a meter above the explosive blond next to me and I nearly chuckled at the irony. "Sensei," the green-haired boy spoke while clenching his fist. "I can still move."