Chapter Text
The gates of UA were massive. That had to be an intimidation factor to keep our trespassers and villains. Unfortunately, it also had the side effect of scaring would-be students visiting for the entrance exam. Then again… If they lacked the confidence to pass the gates, they couldn’t be heroes, could they? The size of the gates was a psychological ploy on multiple levels.
Midoriya Izuku stared them down and took a deep breath. Before he could step forward, someone shoulder-checked him. “Stupid Deku,” a familiar voice growled.
Turning, he met the sneer of his childhood friend turned bully. Bakugou Katsuki. “K-Kacchan.”
“Get out of my way, now, before I set you on fire,” Katsuki threatened.
He shifted back a few steps despite the fact that Katsuki had already passed him. “Sorry.”
“You shouldn’t even be here,” Katsuki scoffed. “Yeah, you’ll get yourself killed because you're quirkless, but you’re also a middle school dropout. You think they’ll let you take the exam?”
“Well, I--” Izuku started, ready to explain that he hadn’t actually dropped out. He had just switched to online schooling.
“You’re pathetic. Still wasting everyone’s time with your unachievable dreams. Just go home now and save yourself the embarrassment of being turned away at registration.”
Izuku frowned as Katsuki stormed off before he could retort. He wouldn’t be turned away at the exam registration. He already finished middle school at home while Katsuki and the other kids here would have a couple of months left of their final year. If UA didn’t recognize the diplomas from online schools, they would have said something when he sent in his application.
They would have, right?
Shaking his head to dispel his doubts, he stepped forward through the gate. He hadn’t gotten very far before he tripped on seemingly nothing. Of course, he had always been a little clumsy so he resigned himself to his fate. He closed his eyes, bracing for the impact but it never came.
He opened his eyes to find himself suspended in midair. A girl with brown hair was standing next to him and she righted him before pressing her fingers together. He dropped the short distance to the ground, landing on his feet. “Are you all right? It’s my quirk. Sorry for using it without asking first. But it’d be bad luck if you fell, right?”
Izuku couldn’t bring himself to speak, but apparently, that was fine because she just kept right on talking on her own. “Aren’t you nervous?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Let’s do our best. See you!” She ran off in the next second, heading into the main UA building.
A little dazed, he just blinked in her absence for a moment before heading inside. It’s been a while since he spoke to other kids his age. Even before switching to online school, he didn’t really have any friends. All his interactions were with bullies who hated his quirklessness. That had been his normal throughout elementary. Mean words and being isolated from others.
Once he got to middle school, things escalated. His bullies, including Katsuki, started getting physical and using their quirks. That’s why his father had been so insistent on pulling him out.
He really hoped that wouldn’t be the case if he made it into UA but he was still quirkless.
Even his ex-favorite hero had told him a quirkless person could never be a hero…
“Name?” Ectoplasm or one of his clones asked when Izuku approached the table.
“Um, Midoriya Izuku.”
Ectoplasm or his clone tapped at a tablet screen to look him up. Then he paused and looked up at Izuku before frowning at the tablet. “You applied for an exam?”
“I applied for the heroics exam,” Izuku told him. “I didn’t hear back that I was rejected.”
“You aren’t listed as a participant for any of the exams. But there is a note on your application profile that says to send you to the principal when you arrive,” Ectoplasm explained.
“Why?” Izuku questioned.
“It doesn’t say.” Another Ectoplasm approached the table. “He will escort you.”
Izuku didn’t argue and stepped out of like to follow the hero or clone. As they walked, they passed where Katsuki was leaving the table with a brochure and a card. He definitely noticed, if his smug grin was anything to go by. He could practically hear the unspoken ‘I told you so.’
Soon enough, his escort had led him to a thick wooden door with a plaque reading ‘Principal Nezu.’ The door swung open on its own as his escort walked away. Hesitantly, Izuku wandered into what turned out to be a moderately decorated office. Nothing too fancy or personal, but just elegant enough to be intimidating. A show of power, but for who’s sake?
“Midoriya Izuku, welcome.” At a large desk sat Principal Nezu, the only non-human pro-hero. Izuku gave a polite half bow. “Am I a mouse, a dog, or a bear? I am the principal!”
“I always thought you were some sort of chimera, possibly with a stoat base,” Izuku muttered without meaning to. He was just so nervous!
Nezu seemed to grin. “Excellent deduction. Can you also guess why you are here?”
“Does UA not recognize diplomas from online schools?”
“We do,” Nezu assured him. “Try again.”
“Is it because I’m quirkless? The official rules say I can apply but if a school board decides I’m a liability, I suppose--”
“No. UA does not tolerate discrimination, so why would I allow discrimination to influence how I operate my school?” Nezu questioned. It seemed rhetorical but…
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything,” he apologized just in case.
“It’s fine. I understand that you must have been through quite a lot before now,” Nezu said gently. “But can you not think of any logical reason that I might object to you applying to a high school course, Midoriya-kun?”
Thinking about the words Nezu stressed, Izuku had one more guess. “Is it because I already have a high school diploma?”
“Correct!” Oh… He was starting to regret doing the high school classes when he finished the middle school ones in half of the allotted time. “The curriculum for the hero course is split between general education classes and heroics classes. It would be a waste of your time to simply have you review all three years of high school.”
“But I can still learn the heroics stuff,” Izuku pleaded his case. “I need to in order to be a hero.”
“Not quite,” Nezu said with a small shake of his head. “High school is simply the most common way to become a hero. There are also internships. Hawks became a hero through an internship with the HPSC. Individual heroes can also take interns and train them for the licensing exam.”
“No hero would agree to take me on as an intern unless I already knew some stuff,” Izuku sighed, disappointed with how this was turning out.
“Perhaps,” Nezu admitted. “Of course, I could make them take you. If you do something for me.”
Izuku swallowed nervously. “What do you want?”
Nezu smiled. “I want you to come to UA as a teacher, rather than a student.”
“But I’m not qualified to--”
“I think you are,” Nezu interrupted him. “You’re already a high school graduate. Given how quickly you finished high school, you could finish a teaching license course before the school year starts. And I think the analyst Sage would be the perfect person to teach the new quirk analysis and strategy class I’ve been wanting to implement here at UA.”
“...You know about Sage,” Izuku paled. When he finished his online schooling, there wasn’t much to do so he started doing freelance analysis work. Mostly, he sent villain analyses to hero agencies in the areas they were spotted, thinking maybe he could help. People asked for more.
“I do. Sir Nighteye asked me to verify your validity. Don’t worry. I kept your identity to myself but I’ve kept an eye on you ever since,” Nezu told him. “Imagine my surprise when your civilian identity came across my desk in an application to my school. A chance to make a job offer.”
“I see…” Izuku replied quietly.
“Assuming you agree, who would you like to intern under?” Nezu asked. “I could manage to convince most heroes but I’ll have the most pull with the ones I already have on staff.”
“I’m not entirely sure who all works for you. The staff profiles you have on the UA website are mostly performative to bolster the school’s reputation,” Izuku pointed out. “If the teachers on the website are your only ones, then you’re understaffed.”
Nezu chuckled. “True. Good catch.” He turned toward a wall that opened to reveal a screen. A list of faces appeared on it. “This is our first-year staff. You could choose from the second or third years if you wish, but the first years are the first student group that will be taking your class. Assuming you agree, of course.”
“Yeah… Assuming,” Izuku muttered, a little unnerved by the repeated phrase. Still, he looked over the faces, recognizing all of them. Even one most wouldn’t. “Is that Eraserhead?
“It is. Would you be willing to agree to teach at UA if I made Eraserhead your mentor?”
Considering Eraserhead was his current favorite hero due to his fighting style… “Yeah.”
“Excellent. I will get everything squared away and contact you within the week.”
Izuku left UA that day feeling incredibly overwhelmed and confused.