"So does this guy belong in the asshole category, or after all these years, have we finally discovered the one?"
"I feel that I should be afraid to ask what you mean by, 'the one'?"
"The one! The first person you've ever not become friends with!"
Izuku rolled his eyes, "JJ, I'm not friends with a lot of people. You should know this. You went to school with a lot of them. I wasn't exactly Mister Popular".
"Yeah, but that was different. Everyone there liked you, they just didn't show it because they were afraid of Asshole Number One and his group of hangers-on. Think of like this-"
"Must I?"
"Aldera was basically split into two groups: people who liked Izuku Midoriya and thought of him as a friend, or Assholes, and yes, that's with a capital 'A' by the way", Izuku might not have had his eyes on JJ, but he didn't need to see him to know that he was grinning; he could feel his amusement through the phone, "and nobody belonged to both categories. You didn't make friends with the Assholes. They didn't want to make friends with you. Everyone else liked you".
"I don't know what to say to that".
"You don't need to say anything", they might have been speaking over the phone, but Izuku could still see JJ shrugging his shoulders as he spoke, casually unconcerned with insulting their old classmates, "but come on though, you've been at U.A. for a whole week now and this guy has done nothing but try and glare a hole through your skull. Right?"
Izuku sighed, "Yeah".
"So, fuck him then. I mean, everyone else you've talked about sounds pretty cool, so make nice with them and fuck the Asshole".
"Phrasing".
"My phrasing is hilarious", JJ agreed.
"That's not what I meant and-"
"My point is", JJ continued, cutting him off, "don't waste time worrying about this one guy - not on the day when you're getting your big semester assignment, so focus on that instead, relax, remember not to replace me as your best friend, and then go knock it out of the park, same as you always do. Then you can transfer to Seijin next year".
"You'll always be my best friend, you know".
"Yeah, well, I better be".
"This is the part where you're supposed to tell me that I'm your best friend".
"Yeah, it's just - I mean, new school, you know? There could be a better option out there".
"I've changed my mind. I'm replacing you the first chance I get".
He heard JJ chuckle, "Sure you will".
Stepping into shadow, Izuku looked up to find that the giant archway that led into the U.A. grounds was almost directly overhead, "Alright, I'm at the gates now, so I've gotta get to class. We'll meet up soon though, right?"
"You know it", JJ confirmed, "and hey, Izuku?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm serious, don't let this guy get you down. You made it into U.A. - the hardest school in Japan to get into. Don't let this Shinny kid-"
"Shinso", he corrected.
"Whatever - don't let this Shinso ruin it for you - you're better than that".
"I won't", he said, "and JJ?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks".
"Anytime".
Smiling as he stepped over the threshold and entered into the campus, Izuku admitted to himself that JJ was right.
All he needed to do was take his friend's advice, put Shinso out of his mind. Ignore the angry glaring from across the classroom, or the cafeteria, or the labs, or the street that one time they'd bumped into each other on the way in.
If he did that, then surely nothing would be able to ruin his day.
=== === === === ===
Hizashi was well aware that he had a reputation as a bit of an airhead.
Between his loud voice, his incredible sense of rockstar fashion, the amazing hairstyle he rocked and his love of the art of professional showmanship, the Voice Hero: Present Mic was designed to be as 'in your face' as possible. His specialty in the field was tactical co-ordination, which was essentially Pro Hero code for, "he's the only one loud enough for everyone to hear what he's saying, so let's all do what he says".
But that specialty also meant that he was observant.
You had to be, in order to direct people, and do it well enough to be allowed to keep doing it.
Izuku Midoriya, his perfect little powerhouse, was almost exactly what he seemed to be: the perfect student. Always present and on-time, his uniform pressed and correct, while turning in every piece of work assigned to him with near perfect English, (the other teachers had said much the same of him in their classes as well), and if that was all he did, then Hizashi would've mentally listed him as one of the finest students he'd ever had the privilege of teaching and then moved onto the rest of the class.
Except for one thing.
Midoriya was nervous.
And it wasn't just something that he'd spotted once or twice, but in fact, the kid always seemed a little twitchy, looking slightly worried every time he noticed that he had laid his eyes on him.
While it was true that he, and the other teachers, were interested in discovering just why someone would take the Heroics Entrance Exam - every child's dream exam - and not only pass, but earn first place, just to turn it down. Kan had mentioned that it could have been his parents' idea, but he didn't exactly seem put out over the fact that he was here and not attending the hero course.
Of course, it was just possible that Midoriya was simply a nervous kid, but again, Hizashi honestly couldn't see why. He was smart, friendly, tall enough to be considered impressive without being considered overly imposing. While he tried not to think about his students' appearances at all, it wouldn't be unreasonable for any of the guys or girls, or even those of as yet unspecified genders, to think of him as being handsome. His Quirk was good; it clearly made him strong - and it had no obvious drawbacks, if any at all - and then, most importantly in Hizashi's opinion, was the fact that Izuku Midoriya was simply a nice person.
In a world where heroes were part of the everyday, somehow, genuinely nice people were still rarer than kings.
Hizashi was a Pro Hero. He worked for a school that created Pro Heroes. He probably shouldn't think the way he did, but he couldn't help it.
With all his experience, he'd met a lot of people with powerful Quirks who turned out to just be complete and utter jerks because of it, yet despite the obvious power of his Quirk, Izuku Midoriya was polite, well-mannered and in just a single week, he'd proven himself quick to help out his fellow classmates, no matter what their problems where. He had no medical issues listed and there was nothing in his file that indicated a history of bullying or abuse; in fact, the only gaps Hizashi could find in his past was the lack of his father's name on his birth certificate and the mention of a lawsuit when he was younger.
Neither of which were, as far as he could see, grounds for someone to be so nervous, so the question of why Midoriya was so damn twitchy remained?
Hizashi honestly couldn't say.
The other thing he'd noticed in his classroom, however, was the glaring.
Now, Midoriya wasn't the one doing the glaring, but he was the one who was being glared at.
By Hitoshi Shinso.
Shinso was something of an outlier in his class.
Like everyone else had, he'd filled in an application to U.A., sat the exams, been scored and then placed into his class, only unlike the rest of his class, (with the sole exception of Midoriya), he'd also applied to take the entrance exam for the Department of Heroics. The big difference though, was that Midoriya had passed the heroics exam and instead chosen to accept the position he was offered in Gen-Ed, while Shinso simply hadn't managed to achieve a score that was high enough to pass. Four villain points and zero rescue points had left him with a total score of four - he hadn't even managed to hit double digits, far below the minimum threshold for passing.
Shinso had accepted the placement he'd been offered to join their Department of General Education, but Hizashi could see the fire that was burning behind his eyes.
Despite the setback, Shinso still wanted to become a Pro Hero.
While it was possible to gain a Pro Hero licence without having attended a dedicated heroics course and simply pay to take the exam on your own, it was a much harder route to take, especially when it came to understanding the scenarios that you could - and would - be tested on. If you wanted to take that route, then U.A. was still probably the best school you could list as having attended, even if it was for non-heroics, but after a few days in class, Hizashi had managed to come up with another theory for why Shinso had chosen to still attend U.A., instead of trying to earn a place in another school.
U.A.'s annual Sports and Culture Festival.
It wasn't a rule that U.A. went out of their way to advertise, but they had a longstanding tradition, dating back to the school's founding, that if a First-Year student from one of the other courses put on an impressive display during the Sports Festival competition, then that individual could be offered either a transfer or a dual course placement.
If Shinso was set on becoming a Pro Hero and attending U.A., then it was possible that he'd taken a gamble on himself to succeed, and if that was indeed the case, then Hizashi would admit that he was impressed. It had been quite a number of years since they'd last seen someone transfer over. He only knew of one person who'd managed it while he'd been a teacher, and even then, they hadn't been able to catch up with the missing workload and had needed to start the Hero Course over again.
Honestly, the only person he knew who made the transfer, and made then themselves into a real Pro Hero without falling behind, was his best friend.
In fact, now that he thought about it…
Neither of his boys might have been in the Heroics Course, yet he couldn't help but be reminded of another pair of students that had attended U.A. in the past. One bright and welcoming to everyone, the other one a dark loner who thought the bright and sunny was "irritating" and "being irrational".
Midoriya and Shinso…
Yamada and Aizawa…
He and Shota hadn't had the best of starts to their relationship, what with him being the Class Representative for the very same class that Sho had decided to make his targets. He'd been angry, desperate to prove himself and be granted permission to enter the U.A. Heroics Department and he knew that he had represented everything that Sho had wanted. Even after he'd made it in, it hadn't been easy back for him, especially in those first few days, but now?
Now they were best friends.
They had been best friends for over fifteen years and Hizashi wouldn't trade his relationship with "Mister Grumpy" for anything in the world. Shota put a front up to the world as being a mean-spirited, tight-fisted grouch of a Pro Hero, too bitter for most people to stomach, but Hizashi knew him better. He'd seen the truth of his friend's kindness and the depths of his compassion.
There wasn't a better man he knew of than Shota Aizawa.
He was honoured to call him his best friend, and to be called the same in return, and right now, he can't help but think that if he allowed Shinso and Midoriya to avoid each other, or worse, allow a sense of hostility to grow between them, then he'd not only be doing them a disservice as their teacher, but that he'd also be robbing them both of the chance to have a friendship that could go on to help define their entire lives.
Surely, you'd have to consider him a villain if he attempted to do that, wouldn't you?
He certainly thought so.
Luckily, he already had the perfect solution.
Exams and assignments at U.A. were carried out completely at the discretion of the teacher. The sole exception was the final exams for the Third-Year students, as they were set by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for their regular class, while in the Heroics Department, their final exam was their Professional Heroics Licencing Examination, carried out by the Hero Public Safety Commission, (which in turn, was held to the standards set out by Japan's inclusion as a member of the World Heroes Association).
Hizashi had unilateral control over all of the exams and assignments for the English Language course, which was a good thing, in his opinion, because he felt he also had a duty to teach his students the value of teamwork. They were going to have a single written exam at the end of the year, for their final semester exam, but other than that, almost every assignment he'd planned out for them was going to be done either in a team, or with a partner.
If he extended the duration to the entire semester… he'd have to make his grading harsher… but if he added in regular check-ins, then everyone would have to do the work. He'd help everyone form at least one friendship, and if he picked the pairings and just so happened to put the two boys together…
He'd give himself fifty-fifty odds that they'd either go on to become best friends, or they'd decide to declare that they were each other's arch enemy.
He'd take those odds.
=== === === === ===
"Hero profiles", he announced to the class, enjoying the way they perked up. While he was teaching, he usually only spoke to his classes in English, but for giving them their semester assignment, he'd swapped back to Japanese, just to make sure that everyone got all of the information they needed, "you have all semester to complete the assignment, before you have to had in your reports and then make a presentation to the rest of the class".
He grinned at the way everyone groaned in unison, hoping it didn't make him look too much like your stereotypical sadist teacher, "Yes, presentation included, and yes, before you all ask, they have to be done in English".
He tried not to smile when they all groaned again, after all, (and despite what Aizawa believed), there was such a thing as revelling too much in your students' suffering.
"Okay, details are on the board. Make sure you get the key dates written down. Your check-ins with me will also be used to help determine your final grades. Your reports are to be submitted in paper format. Design, formatting and visual presentation will all be taken into account. Your verbal reports will be graded based on its content, as well as how well you and your partner are able to share that content with the rest of the class".
They broke out into excited murmurs, no doubt happy that he had just halved each of their workloads, before he clapped his hands, the noise instantly quieting them down, as he retook control of their attention, "Now, given that we're all new here, and this is your first big assignment, I've gone ahead and assigned you all a partner - and no - there will be no changing or swapping. You don't really know each other well enough, and you and your partner will have twelve weeks to decide on a Pro Hero of your own choice and then write the report. Are there any questions before I read out the list of pairings?"
He waited for a few beats, but when no one said anything, and a few of them even shook their heads, he reached for his tablet, which he had set down on the desk behind him, "Alright then… Agoyamato!"
"Yes sir!"
"You're now partnered with Toegike. Together, you're now Team One!"
"Sir!"
"Yes, sensei!
"Okay then… next up Asa!"
"Yes sir!"
"Team Two. You're partnered with…"
=== === === === ===
When two of his friends had been partnered up with each other, he'd felt a little disappointed that one of them wasn't paired with him, but mostly, he'd felt happy for them. At that point, he'd hoped to be put together with Asa, only for her to then immediately have been partnered with one of the other guys.
As Mic-sensei had gone further and further down his list of teams, a sense of dread had settled into his stomach, as his possible choices of partner were whittled down to two people he didn't really know and the sole person in class that he didn't want to be partnered up with.
The guys who seemed to hate his guts, for reasons that were still unknown to him.
"Midoriya", Izuku straightened up when he finally heard his name called out, "for this assignment, you're going to be Team Nine. Your partner is Shinso".
He tried not to whine, as he grit his teeth, his jaw clenched tightly as he looked up into his teacher's smiling face and nodded once, "Understood sensei".
He took everything back he'd said earlier that morning.
JJ's advice sucked.
=== === === === ===
His friends all shot him sympathetic looks at lunchtime, but thankfully, they weren't saying anything, as Izuku did his best not to break anything on the table by accidentally gripping it too tightly.
He and his mom had been keeping track, and he was happy to note that he hadn't done it at home for over three years, but it was starting to feel as though today was going to be that sort of day.
Slowly, he took a breath, and tried to let his frustration go.
Before it got somebody hurt.
Or worse.
But despite trying to swallow his frustration, he couldn't help but wonder why, of the nineteen other people in the classroom, did Yamada-sensei choose to pair him up with Shinso?
He didn't even know what he'd done to upset the other guy, but he'd done nothing but try and glare a hole through his head since the very first time they'd spoken to each other.
Still… his mom had always told him that the people you thought of as enemies were just people you hadn't been able to make friends with yet.
If she were here, he already knew what she'd say to him.
She'd be telling him to try and get along with Shinso, and if he wanted to get a good grade in Present Mic's class, (and what prospective journalism student didn't want to get a good grade in their English classes?), then he and Shinso would need to find a way to work together.
He was pulled from his internal musing when Agoyamato nudged his shoulder, "Huh?"
He flicked his head towards the cafeteria entrance, pointing with the tip of his pompadour, "And here comes Eyebags".
"Don't call him that", Izuku muttered, as he spotted Shinso leaving the line with his lunch tray and starting to look for somewhere to sit. Izuku raised his hand in a brief wave, grabbing his attention, before gesturing to one of the empty seats on their table.
Shinso's head twitched when he saw them, his eyes immediately flickering downwards, as he noted the empty seat at their table that he was being offered. He took a few steps towards them, before setting his tray down at the end of a different table. The table's other occupants looked up for a moment, before going back to their conversation, as Shinso opened his milk and took a long sip, while staring at him.
After a moment, he stood up and Izuku was glad to see that he'd changed his mind, only for him to swap which side of the table he was using, so that he was sitting with his back to them.
"What a dick".
"Togeike", he warned.
"Oh, tell me I'm wrong".
"Maybe he's just-"
"An ass?" Agoyamato offered.
"Rude?" A much politer Asa offered.
"Maybe", Izuku cut in, "he's just struggling to make friends".
"The guy literally looked at you, ignored your offer and turned his back on you".
Izuku decided to try again, "Maybe he's having a bad day?"
"You're in for a long semester".
Izuku sighed.
She was probably right.
=== === === === ===
"Shinso, do you have a minute?"
The boy brushed past him, heading towards the buses, "No, sorry, running late".
=== === === === ===
"Before classes start, can we-"
"I have to use the bathroom".
=== === === === ===
"Shinso, I think we both have this period free-"
"I have a tutoring session to get to".
=== === === === ===
"-I have some time this weekend, could we-"
"Can't. Busy".
=== === === === ===
"That's all he said? 'Can't. Busy'? He didn't even try to come up with an excuse?"
"They might not be excuses. He really could be busy".
Togeike scowled, "Even you don't believe that".
"I'm busy a lot", he pointed out.
"Yeah", Agoyamato agreed, "but you intern at a hospital-"
"Volunteer".
"Whatever, like there's any actual difference, but you-"
Asa looked up in thought, "Actually, what is the difference between being an intern and being a volunteer?"
"Oh, well hospital interns have to have some schooling, so-"
Togeike's scowl shifted to a grin, "I'm guessing that hospital interns get paid, don't they?"
"Minimum wage", he confirmed.
"And you?"
"I volunteer".
"So, nothing?"
"No, like I said, I'm volunteering".
"That's the most you thing that I've heard all week".
"What does that even mean?"
"If we could get back to my point", Agoyamato interrupted, "now, as I said, you intern-"
"Volunteer".
"FINE, whatever, you volunteer", he said, stressing out each syllable, "at a hospital. What's his excuse?"
"Maybe he interns with a veterinarian", Izuku offered, "or feeds the homeless. He could be handing out flyers to help raise support for anti-Quirk discrimination groups".
"Would it kill you to let us insult him on your behalf?"
"There's no need for it", he told them, "and we're going to have to work together, so insulting him would just be kinda", he shrugged, "counterproductive, I guess".
"You know, it's annoying for someone to be this placid".
"I'm just trying to be nice".
"I know", Togeike bemoaned, "that's the annoying part. You're genuinely trying to be nice".
"Yeah, and that asshole keeps blowing him off".
"See, Agoyamato gets it".
=== === === === ===
"Midoriya, Shinso", Present Mic called their names from his seat, the front of the class, "stay a moment. Everyone else, you can go".
Izuku's friends shot him sympathetic looks as they left the classroom behind. He knew Togeike would wait outside for him, for a few minutes, so that they could walk to the train station together, but Asa and Agoyamato were quick to escape for another day.
It had been over a week since they'd been given their English assignment, and Present Mic had decided that he wanted to do a preliminary check-in with everyone, just to make sure that everyone had gotten off to a good start and understood their own parts in the assignment.
When Present Mic had given them the last slot for the day, Izuku had wanted to find time to speak with Shinso before class, or even at lunchtime, but Shinso had only arrived mere seconds before their first class had started and no matter where he looked, Izuku hadn't been able to find him at lunchtime.
If he didn't know any better, Izuku would have assumed that Shinso was avoiding him.
He packed up his things quickly, before moving to stand in front of Yamada-sensei's desk, waiting for Shinso to join him. He took a few moments longer, before slinking over, leaning back to rest against one of the desks at the front.
"Gentlemen", their sensei smiled at them, as he put the tablet he'd been using for their class away, "I know we're not very far into our first semester, but I thought we should have a quick look at your plans", he gave them a half-shrug, "make sure that everything's off to a good start. Now, which Pro Hero are you looking at?"
Izuku cleared his throat, "Well, we haven't-"
"Eraser Head", Shinso cut in, "we're doing our profile on Eraser Head".
Yamada-sensei grinned, his smile seeming to stretch from ear to ear, "Eraser Head? That's great!"
"It is?" Izuku murmured, but it went unheard as Present Mic congratulated them on their choice.
"Right then", their sensei was still grinning as they continued to talk, "so you've chosen an Underground Hero. Tricky", he admitted, still smiling, "but far from impossible. You know where to start, right? Background, current work, Quirk, skills, abilities, et cetera?"
"Yes", Shinso nodded, once, "we've started breaking it down, so we can get the information we need".
"Well, that's great", he told them, his gaze switching between them both, "Midoriya, which part are you looking at?"
"Err", he swallowed, "I'm look at his background and current work. Shinso was looking at his Quirk and a breakdown of his other skills and stuff".
"So, the work's split, that's good", he nodded to himself, "just need to make sure you guys check in with each other and meet up regularly - the profile's got to have a consistent flow to it, you know?"
"Makes sense", Shinso admitted through gritted teeth.
"Right then, next steps, we'll have another catch-up in a few weeks. I'll let you guys know when. I'll want to know how often you guys have met up, how much dirt you've dug up and I'll want to know what your design ideas are".
Shinso blinked, "Design ideas?"
"There are points being given for design, formatting and visual presentation", Izuku reminded him.
"Right…"
Present Mic clapped his hands together, "That's right, in a world of heroes, visuals matter. I'll even give you guys bonus points if either of you manages to get a new photograph of Eraser Head. You can use ones off the internet, but you only get bonus points for a new one. Understand?"
"Sure".
"Yes, sensei".
"Alright then", he waved his hands towards the door, "go on, get out of here. It's a nice day, so don't waste the rest of it inside, and I'll see you both tomorrow".
"Okay".
"Bye sensei!"
"Goodbye boys!"
=== === === === ===
With the classroom door shut behind them, Shinso didn't manage to make it two steps before he found Izuku's hand clamped around his bicep. He yanked his arm away on instinct, only for his shoulder to protest in pain.
Despite his best attempt, his arm hadn't managed to move so much as a centimetre.
"So, we agreed to do a profile on Eraser Head, did we? Funny", Izuku told him, "because I don't remember having that particular conversation".
Shinso rolled his eyes, "Whatever. You don't need to do anything with it anyway".
He frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm doing the profile. Eraser Head's my favourite hero. I'll handle it. I'll just stick your name on it when it's done, you don't-"
"Not a chance".
Shinso blinked, "What?"
"There's no way I'm letting you do the profile".
"What? I just-"
"I'm looking to transfer to Seijin next year. I want to get into their journalism course. To do that, I need to pass English, and I need to pass it well. I'm not letting you just do whatever you want when it's my future at stake here. I already gave up my spot in heroics, I'm not giving this up as well".
Shinso's lips pulled back, his nose scrunching up in anger, "Gave up? You just gave up your spot? You weren't forced to do it? What the hell's wrong with you?!"
Seeing how tense Shinso had gotten, Izuku chose to release his arm, in case he tried to jerk away again and accidentally dislocate his shoulder, "I don't see why my choice is any of your business. I chose journalism, that's all you need to know".
Shinso shook his head, "You got first place in the entrance exam. You have a Quirk that lets you act like All Might. Then you just throw it all away".
"There's more paths in life than just becoming a Pro Hero".
"Right", Shinso scoffed, "because journalism sounds so much more worthwhile".
"Journalism is how people learn the truth", Izuku stepped forward, bringing them face-to-face, and while Shinso was taller than most of the kids in their class, Izuku was slightly amused to find that he was taller again, "and the truth matters-"
"Oh, for the-"
"No", he snapped, "you don't get to butt in like that. Not when you walked up to Present Mic and had no qualms about making a liar out of me".
"I didn't tell you to lie".
"No, you just made it so I either had to cover you, or blow both of us up, because you couldn't be bothered sitting down with me to do the work", Izuku took a breath, trying to regain control of his temper, realising that he'd clenched his hand into a fist, "and you want me to trust that you'll do the work when you can't even be bothered to just sit down with me for a few minutes and come up with a plan".
"And I'm supposed to trust your work ethic, when you quit the Hero Course".
"I didn't quit", Izuku corrected, "I just chose a different path - my own path. You should try it sometime".
"I did", Shinso pushed himself up, forcing them to stand nose-to-nose, "I chose Heroics".
"Then why are you in Gen-Ed?"
He scowled, "None of your business".
"What was your score on the entrance exam?"
"None of your business".
"Why come to U.A. instead of another school?"
"None. Of. Your. Business".
Each word was punctuated with gritted teeth, before Shinso pulled himself backwards, returning to his usual slouch, though now Izuku could see how forced it was.
"I'm free this Sunday", Izuku told him, proud of how level he managed to keep his voice, "would you like to start our assignment?"
"-Tt-"
"Or I could go talk to Yamada-sensei about the communication issues we've been having".
"Fine", Shinso ground out, "where?"
"Are you local? We could do it at my apartment".
Shinso sighed, "I can get the train in", he told him through gritted teeth.
"Great. Give me your number and I can text you my address".
"Fantastic".
=== === === === ===
She never thought that she could be so nervous to see him.
Yet here she was.
She was late.
She should have arrived in Japan over a week ago, but there were apparently visa issues to contend with when you were a permanent resident of a self-governed artificial island with no real government or legal residential status, in addition to a whole host of other issues.
They were up against the one foe that not even All Might, with all of his prodigious talent and overwhelming power, was capable of vanquishing:
Bureaucracy.
She'd had to wait on clearances and background checks, and while the name of All Might had likely sped the process up considerably, it hadn't managed to eliminate it altogether.
Still, at least he'd sent his private jet to pick her up.
Her dad was staying on I-Island. Even if he'd wanted to come with her, he was still under contract and would be for another four years. While she was in Japan, Uncle Might would be her legal guardian, at least until she turned eighteen in a few months.
Still, she was late.
She was supposed to have arrived in time for the new school year, but the paperwork meant that she was arriving a week late and that meant by the time she joined her class for the first time on Monday morning, they would already have had two weeks to settle in with each other and form bonds.
She would be the outsider from the moment she stepped foot inside the classroom.
It wasn't enough that she was late. She was also going to be two years older than the rest of her classmates, a foreigner in Japan, (an American at that), and worst of all, she was going to be new to using her Quirk, when everyone would have grown up using theirs.
Her Quirk… that she technically didn't have yet.
She'd followed Uncle Might's training plan perfectly. Her dad had even consulted I-Island's top fitness and nutrition experts to be certain that his plan was the best plan it could be, and the results spoke for themselves.
She had muscles!
Her body had real, visual musculature.
She was nowhere near being as big as Uncle Might, or even Aunt Cathy, but her biceps popped when she flexed, she could see the changes in her thighs, and when she lifted her shirt, you could see abdominal muscles that were so well defined that you could count them individually.
She had abs!
Given that the only school courses on U.A. were for the support specialists who, like her, preferred spending their time soldering to sunbathing, she was certain that she was the only girl on I-Island in her own age group who'd had them.
She might've been the only student on I-Island who had them.
But she knew that wouldn't be the case when she started walked into her first class on Monday.
When Uncle Might had offered her the chance to live her dream and become a Pro Hero, she'd never considered that the most nervous she'd be about the entire process would be when she had to start school.
It sounded silly when you thought about it, but she couldn't stop the sense of nervousness that was starting to permeate her entire being.
It was illogical, and she knew she had nothing to worry about, but until tonight came when Uncle Might officially passed on his Quirk, and then when she walked into her classroom for the first time, she knew they wouldn't go away, even though she knew she had nothing to fear.
She was Melissa Shield, and tonight?
Tonight, she would become the official successor to Uncle Might.
Tonight, she started on her path to becoming the world's greatest hero.
Tonight, she became the Ninth Bearer of One For All.
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"Eat this!"
She blinked, "What?"
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Author's Note
Yes, to answer the numerous questions you've had about it, not only will Melissa Shield be the Ninth Bearer of One For All, she's also now sitting in Class 1-A's twentieth chair. Yes, she's still older than the rest of the cast by two years. Yes, I will explain why.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) is a real institution, and they are one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan.