"A quirk assessment test?!" The whole class gasped as Aizawa explained what they would be doing.
"What about the entrance ceremony?" Uraraka voiced the thought on most of the class's minds. "The orientation?" Izumina had to admit she'd been hoping for a quiet first day, though, as Aizawa continued any hopes she'd had of that dissipated.
"If you're going to become a hero, you don't have time for such leisurely events," Aizawa stated in response to Uraraka's question. "U.A.'s selling point is how unrestricted its traditions are. That's how the teachers run their classes." Once more the teacher spoke in a deadpan tone. He turned to face the class and paused for a moment as he scanned the students before him. Izumina stiffened as his gaze met hers. She wondered for a moment if she'd rubbed him the wrong way when she stepped forward to take the uniform earlier, but before she could worry about it too much, his gaze shifted away.
"You kids have been doing these since junior high, too, right?" Aizawa held up a device that looked to be a phone, though Izumina had never seen one so professional used for school assessments before. "Physical fitness tests where you weren't allowed to use your quirks. 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."
Izumina tried her best to hide the disagreement from showing on her face. 'Where is he going with this? It seems rational enough considering 20% of the population is quirkless after all. Schools can't honestly expect students without quirks to get results similar to those of a student with quirks!' Izumina took a breath to calm herself down. Thoughts of defending the quirkless raced around in her head, but begrudgingly she let it go. 'Aizawa sensei isn't like the teachers at Aldera,' Izumina told herself. She knew she had no reason to resent him for his wording; Afterall, how was he supposed to know about Izuku's past? Izumina glanced at Izuku, whose expression was unreadable. She knew, even if he didn't show it, that deep down he must've been worried about testing One For All. She hoped he'd manage his new quirk well for the test.
Aizawa continued. "Bakugou, you finished at the top of the practical exam, right? Tying with Yūsha, if I recall correctly? It's the first tie result I've seen in all my years of teaching, so It'd be hard not to remember."
Bakugou hummed in acknowledgement, though Izumina noticed the slight twinge of confusion written on his face. She was certain he knew that she'd been the one to tie with him in the exam. She figured he must've been confused by her different last name. She internally cursed. Maybe applying to U.A. with another last name wasn't the smartest idea after all. She silently scolded herself for not telling him and Izuku about that before school started up again.
"In junior high," Aizawa stated, regaining Izumina's attention, "what was your best result for the softball throw?"
"67 metres," Bakugou answered, causing Izumina to remember how the class and teachers would applaud for the boy after every fitness test. They always had praised Bakugou for every little thing he did.
"Try doing it with your quirk," Aizawa said, tossing Bakugou a ball and gesturing towards a circle a few paces away. "You can do whatever you want as long as you stay in the circle."
Bakugou stepped forwards and headed towards the circle. Once there, he turned to face Aizawa and the rest of the class. Izumina felt his gaze fall directly on her and the two of them locked eyes. He must've had so many unanswered questions, about how she'd passed the exam, why her name was different, and more. Izumina wondered what was going through his mind at that moment, but before she could come up with an answer, he looked away.
'What's up with him?' Izumina wondered as she watched him stretch the muscles in his throwing arm. 'He's been acting off ever since...' And then, something clicked. It wasn't an exact answer for Bakugou's behaviour, but it was something Izumina had pushed to the back of her mind ever since it'd happened.
~Flashback~
"I can't believe we have three students from our school matriculating into U.A.," The teacher at Aldera junior high exclaimed. "Especially you, Midoriya, Kimino. It's a miracle!"
Both Izumina and Izuku blushed at this comment. Even though both of them had quirks now, nobody at school knew their secret.
As their teacher dismissed them, Izumina clapped Izuku on the back. "I'm done before you, like always. I gotta grab my violin from the music room before we head out. Why don't you meet me outside the school when you're done packing your bag?"
Izuku nodded and waved as Izumina left the room. Not many kids at Aldera played instruments, so the band storage room was a perfect place for Izumina to leave her violin on days she'd brought it in to practice during lunch hour. She entered the music room and headed towards the storage space by the back. Picking up the familiar purple case, Izumina hummed a well known Disney tune as she headed on her way to meet Izuku.
As Izumina stepped through the back doors, where she and Izuku often left the school from, a feeling of unease settled over her. Glancing around the grounds, she realized that her friend was nowhere to be found. Looking over her shoulder she wondered for a moment if Izuku could still be in the classroom. Then, she heard a sound, similar to that of something being slammed against a wall, and a grunt from around the corner. It took Izumina a split second to register what she'd heard. But as soon as she had, she took off at a run to find where it had come from.
"What dirty trick did you use to get in, huh?!" The person who'd spoken's voice was rough and hostile, which only caused Izumina to run faster as she frantically followed the sound, hoping against all reason that she wasn't hearing what she knew she had. "The first student from the school to go to U.A. My future plan has already been torn to pieces."
A smaller, squeakier voice followed. "You never would've been alone at U.A. K-Kacchan. Even if I hadn't gotten in, you and I both know I-Izumi would've."
Izumina heard a slam, which sounded like it could've been a shove. The other voice continued. "This isn't about her, Deku! I told you to go somewhere else!"
Izumina rounded a corner to find Bakugou clutching Izuku by the fabric of his shirt, shoving him against the wall of the alley. The scene before her only confirmed what she'd feared was happening. "Katsuki," she yelled in horror. "What are you doing?!"
She stepped into the alley but flinched as Bakugou looked over his shoulder and shouted. "Stay outta this, Aho!"
"No," Izumina's voice was a whisper as she shook violently with anger. She gripped the handle on her violin case so hard her knuckles were beginning to whiten. "No," she said, this time louder. "This needs to stop, Katsuki! All this fighting, it's... It's"
Izumina could feel tears welling in her eyes. She sniffled as she tried her best to suppress the cry she knew was building up. But she didn't want to cry. She didn't want to seem weak.
She opened her mouth to speak again but was cut off by Izuku, who'd raised his hand to grip Katsuki by the wrist holding his shirt. "It's okay, Izu...really, you don't need to say it."
Bakugou's head whipped around to face Izuku again. His brows furrowed in a seething rage.
"Kacchan," Izuku's voice was steady as he spoke. Bakugou looked slightly taken aback but held his grip firm on Izuku's collar. "Someone told me... 'You can become a hero'... That was because of my own effort..."
Izumina could see that Izuku too was shaking, though whether it was out of fear or determination she wasn't sure. She stepped forward. "Izuku-"
"No, Izumi!" Izuku's voice was strong, stronger than Izumina had ever heard it when fighting with Bakugou. "You've always been a hero... at least to me... Let me do this!"
Izumina once again sniffled to hold back the tears in her eyes but stayed where she was, pathetically watching the scene unfold before her. She pressed her lips together in hopes Izuku would know it meant she supported him, wholeheartedly. Though, whether or not the boy understood was never confirmed, as he'd already turned his attention back towards Bakugou.
"It's because of Izumi, and someone else... Th-That's why... I'm going...!"
Bakugou was silent for a second, before shoving Izuku once more against the wall and letting go of him. Izuku gasped and spluttered on his knees as the force of Bakugou's shove winded him.
Izumina stepped forward and found her place between the two boys, glaring at Bakugou and placing a hand on Izuku's shoulders. No longer could she hold in her emotions. She was annoyed to find a single tear had been able to streak it's way down her cheek. She wiped it away with the back of her hand, without looking away from Bakugou. Something about the boy's crimson eyes flashed as an expression of shock crossed his face. Izumina realized it was because he'd never seen her cry before, though at that moment she couldn't have cared less.
"We're going to be heroes now," Izumina spoke, ripping her gaze from Bakugou's intense red eyes to Izuku's green ones as she helped him to his feet. "Whether you like it or not, Katsuki, we all have to start acting like it."
Bakugou made a 'tch' noise as he scoffed and began to walk away. Izumina wasn't going to let him get in the last word though.
"Start acting like it, Katsuki Bakugou!"
But he'd already walked around the corner and out of the alley.
~End of Flashback~
It wasn't until Bakugou had blasted the softball into the air and yelled "DIE" that Izumina snapped back to reality. The memory of what had happened that last week at Aldera was hard to swallow. But Izumina didn't have time to dwell on the past.
"Die?" Izumina glanced over at Izuku who's eyes were wide as he mumbled the question. Izumina clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress her snickers, Izuku's expression was just too comical.
"Real heroic," she whispered so only Izuku could hear her. The comment seemed to settle the boy as his lips upturned into an amused grin.
Aizawa watched as the ball descended from the sky into the distance. "Know your own maximum first." The ball landed and the device Aizawa was holding beeped. The teacher looked down at it before turning to the class. "That is the most rational way to form the foundation of a hero."
Almost lazily Aizawa raised the device to show Bakugou's results. The whole class gasped as they read the numbers on the small screen. "750 metres? Seriously?" Izumina turned to see a boy with electric blonde hair had been the one to speak.
"What's this? It looks fun!" Mina clapped her hands together as she spoke. Izumina smiled at the girl's enthusiasm.
Another voice spoke up. Izumina turned to see it was a boy with straight black hair standing next to Kirishima. "We can use our quirks as much as we want! As expected from the hero course!" Izumina smiled as she looked around at her classmates. Something about this spirited group of peers made Izumina feel happy, and the more everyone spoke the more excited she became for the day's activities.
"'It looks fun,' huh?" The class fell silent at Aizawa's voice. Something about how he'd said that made Izumina uncomfortable. Why had it sounded so ominous when he'd said it?
Aizawa continued. "You have three years to become a hero. Will you have an attitude like that the whole time?" Izumina cocked a brow in question as many of her 1-A peers looked around puzzledly. Aizawa smiled menacingly. "All right," the teacher said, "Whoever comes in last place in all eight tests will be judged to have no potential and will be punished with expulsion."
Looks of horror spread across the student's faces. Many gasped as the teacher's words sunk in. Izumina's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. 'But... Most of the students here have nearly mastered their quirks. They've had years of experience with it, whereas Izuku...' Izumina turned to look at Izuku, who's expression mirrored hers in terms of utter fear.
Izuku lifted his hand, which Izumina noticed was shaking. She knew that Izuku was only able to use One For All at either a hundred or zero percent with no in-between. He didn't know how to control it yet. Izumina wanted to reach over and rub his back, tell him everything would work out, but she knew Izuku would prefer if she didn't in front of Aizawa, who seemed to be staring directly at them. Instead, Izumina nudged him with her elbow and smiled when he looked over at her. For now, that was the best thing she could do for him.
"We're free to do what we want about the circumstances of the students," Aizawa exclaimed, brushing his long black hair out of his eyes. "Welcome to the U.A. hero course!"
Izumina wanted to yell. She wanted to yell at Aizawa for not taking them to the entrance ceremony like all the other teachers. She wanted to cuss and fight and demand an easy first day, but she knew it'd be pointless. She also knew she wasn't one to fight teachers, no matter how much they tested her patience and morals. She'd learned that first hand back at Aldera junior high. On the bright side, at least Aizawa wasn't treating them like Aldera teachers had. Aizawa wasn't showing any favouritism, or bias towards any of the students. He disliked each and every one of them equally, and for some strange reason, Izumina respected him for that.
Izumina looked over at Izuku, whose hands were still shaking. 'At least Aizawa sensei gave me a job,' she thought as her resolve cemented and hopelessness sunk into her heart. 'There's no way Izuku can compete without a controlled quirk.' Izumina swallowed hard as her hands curled into fists by her sides and she realized what she would do. 'Izuku deserves this course more than I do. He was chosen by All Might for a reason... Which is why..."
Izuku shakily turned his head away from Aizawa to look at Izumina. As his eyes met hers he realized what she'd resolved to do and furrowed his brows. But Izumina had already made up her mind.
'I'm going to come in last place, and get expelled.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Note:
Thank you so much for over 4k reads! Next chapter coming soon.
~Author