Chapter 1
Izuku
“Don’t zone out on me nerd,” a testy voice barked near my ear. I jolted to see Katsuki with his game face on.
His game face wasn’t any different from his usual resting bitch face.
His muscular figure was dressed in a jeans and comfortable hoodie loudly proclaiming, “Get Ready For The Pain”. I had long given up on trying to change his fashion sense; why go for such weird and confrontational messages when you could go for the subtle humour of wearing a Shirt with Pants written on it. I swear, one day people would get the genius behind this idea, and I will be seen as a visionary.
“Tchh, what did I just say about zoning out,” growled Katsuki, lazily raising his hand for a swipe at me. As I blocked him, my eyes homed in on his wrists, more specifically, the shiny green custom wristbands on them.
“I knew you cared Katsuki. You liked my present after all,” I beamed, and broke into a bout of laughter on seeing him splutter and try to give a feeble excuse of it being a spur of the moment decision.
Those wristbands didn’t look all that special, but they were made of carbon nanotube reinforced composites, making them sturdy and lightweight. Like most quirk users, Katsuki’s body had undergone mutations from the age of four as his quirk first started manifesting itself. For him, the mutations resulted in broad wrists, ankles and slightly more elastic bones, which could absorb the shock of his explosions. He had loved wearing accessories around his wrists in his childhood to draw attention to his quirk, however, it soon became too destructive after entering its first maturity phase, and he soon forwent the desire to wear such things.
After our friendship had been rekindled last year, I had looked through my connections, or well, my dad’s connections who somehow still knew me even though they didn’t remember Dad, and found a laboratory working with carbon nanotubes. After a couple of telephone calls, I was able to convince them to send me wristbands made of it, in the name of testing them out in an “environment of high stress and potential for failure”.
Seeing Katsuki’s frown deepening alongside me, I quickened my pace, and sheepishly explained, “Sorry, it’s just the nervousness making my mind go on tangents. At least I am not a bumbling mess like I would have been.”
He scoffed and then gave his trademark grin, which could be patented to scare people at horror houses. “Why are you nervous nerd? We’re gonna kill it and be in UA. These extras won’t know what hit them.”
Being his ever-competitive sort, he broke out into a slight jog and rushed towards the imposing gates of the HAT centre. Chasing after him, I reflected on his words.
It was easy for him to be so confident. Most people here would have completed their quirk’s second maturity some years ago, while being on the cusp of the final maturity phase. He had already unlocked that phase a year ago. His scores during high school had also put him in the 99.9 percentile all over the country, and while that was no guarantee that he would be in UA or Shiketsu since students recommended by pros weren’t mandated to go through the preparatory hero stream, the past trends did seem to give him a great chance.
Meanwhile, I had barely bothered exercising my quirk during my childhood, and had only completed my second maturity six months ago. I was literally playing catch-up with my peers. I couldn’t help but be nervous at the thought of going against so many powerful and brilliant individuals, to not just pass the HATs, but also be one of the 50 students joining UA’s hero stream.
However, there were no two ways around it. I had to get into UA after all, as that was one of the only feasible ways for me to be able to interact with the enigmatic Nezu, who hardly made public appearances. Taking comfort in the feeling of my quirk circulate within me, I took a deep breath and rushed to catch up to Katsuki.
I had an examination to kill after all.
Nezu
I could feel the unnerved looks of the HPSC agent escorting me as I scurried up the steps leading to the auditorium on all fours. Ah, it was always so amusing to see the whiplash experienced by humans on seeing the difference between my normal refined behaviour and my animalistic traits. Seeing humans squirm always did bring a sense of pleasure, though I now knew enough to attribute it to the forced third maturity done by the pieces of human filth who experimented on me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to play more games with the agent as I reached the dais and could hear the examinees settling into a hush of anticipation.
I took my place and slowly looked through the candidates for this year. My memory brought up the file associated with each face and with a quick lookover, I confirmed that all 10,000 candidates were present. That prevented any administration headaches, as while the official position was that any latecomers would be disqualified, the truth was that their reason for tardiness would be ascertained, and if a valid reason was presented, they would then have to take a different set of trials for entering the hero streams. Since the trials were all carefully designed each year, taking into account the quirks of the incoming participants, this inevitably led to a lot of carefully laid plans being wasted, and was an all-round pain in the furry butt.
Feeling the gathering becoming restless, I shot them a quick fanged smile as I pretended to clear my throat. I enjoyed the perturbed looks on many of their faces; after all I practiced that smile every day.
“Greetings and welcome to the 21st Annual Hero Assessment Trials. I know some of you can’t wait for this boring speech to be over,” my gaze caught the eyes of an angry-looking blonde seated near the back, one who I had instructed my staff to keep an eye out for, “but protocols demand that I clear up certain issues before we proceed.”
“Firstly, I am sure you’ve read the forms you signed carefully, but just in case you haven’t, let me go over the key points. While the HPSC isn’t liable for any debilitating injuries you suffer during the trials, they will provide full medical care till you recover, and in case of a disability, provide a nominal sum to your family till your death. Note here that death also falls under the category of disability here, so if you’re having second thoughts, you can still walk out right now without issue.” As expected, none of them walked out, though there were some tightened faces.
“Next, all candidates are under a strict Non-Disclosure Agreement regarding any and all events which take place here. Any efforts to leak anything regarding the HATs will land you behind bars along with a hefty fine. And don’t think you can get away with it via the internet’s anonymity,” I bared my fangs here. “If you do still try, please make it a challenge. Life does become boring for me from time to time.”
“Finally, for those who will not succeed in these trials, the HPSC will provide you with a list of agencies and army contacts who look favourably upon HAT candidates to which you can apply for employment. You can also choose to enrol for higher education in select streams in certain universities, the details of which will be provided later.”
“Now that the boring minutiae is over, let’s talk about the trials, shall we?” I unhooked the mic and then started pacing around the stage. I could feel the anxiety from the HPSC agents, since this wasn’t a part of the script, but honestly, they should have known better as soon as they invited me to address the participants this year.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“There will be three trials over this week. Whether you pass or fail will only be determined at the end of all the three trials. Cameras and teachers will be evaluating your every step.”
“All of you would have heard about the success rate of these trials. The HPSC tries very hard to limit the number of students in hero schools. However, on behalf of UA, let me promise you that we will always admit a true hero, no matter the circumstances and irrespective of his score in the trials.” I studiously ignored the frantic gesturing from the HPSC agent trying desperately to catch my attention. “So, before you start the first trial, remind yourself of the reason you wanted to become a hero. Do you have what it takes to sacrifice it all for someone else? And do you have the determination to go against all odds for the greater good? If you do, prove it.”
“Show us your iron, so that we can hone it to be a shield against evil.”
“As we at UA love to say: Go Beyond, Plus Ultra.”
Hearing the enthusiastic cheers and feeling the adrenaline in the air reminded me of the reason I chose teaching. I flipped back from the stage, and started making my way to the control centre, taking my phone out to address the undoubtedly heated messages I would have received from the government about my announcement.
Eh, I was getting bored anyway, might as well light some sparks and step on some toes.
Izuku
Wow, that was something. I had seen Nezu appear for press conferences from time to time, however, experiencing his presence live was on another level. There were always talks of the top heroes exuding a certain aura, which could calm crowds down and stave off fear. All Might’s sheer presence had caused many a notorious villain to surrender without a fight. Amateur theorists in forums often argued that as being part of the third maturity phase of some quirks. I wasn’t sure what to believe, as my own studies into the subject had been fruitless, however I could say with certainty that Nezu’s aura was markedly different from what I had read before.
His presence screamed danger, like a tiger sizing up his prey. Even though he was hardly 4 feet tall and wore an unassuming suit, just the glint of his fangs sent alarm bells ringing in my mind. Yet, strangely enough, when he started pacing down the dais and telling us of UA’s resolution to admit any true hero, hearing the passion in his squeaky voice made his presence comforting. It was like the tiger suddenly decided that you’re family and bared its fangs at anyone foolish enough to think of harming you.
This is the kind of presence I would need to build to be a top pro and earn the trust of the government. I couldn’t help but gulp at this thought. It seemed nigh impossible that someone like me could command the attention of an entire room with just a look.
Future me thought back to this moment with a fond sigh.
I was shaken out of my stupor with the vibrating piece of human flesh named Katsuki at my side, who was one step short of activating his quirk and picking a fight with the entire hall. Nezu’s words had stirred his ever-present competitiveness. Before the situation could spiral out of control, thankfully, another suit took the dais, and captured our attention by knocking on the mic.
“Attention candidates. The first trial will begin in 30 minutes. This is a team-based trial. The details of your team members have been sent to your ID band. Proceed to the bus marked on your band with your team, further details will be provided at the venue.”
I quickly checked the ID band on my left wrist, a sleek looking piece of technology which popped up a small holographic display showing the names, faces and ID numbers of my future teammates. Katsuki checked his own band, and giving me a feral smirk, declared, “Make sure you win nerd,” before launching off.
I started walking towards my bus, numbered 126, the directions to which were helpfully shown by the band, all the while looking for my team members.
As I neared the bus, I caught sight of an extremely tall girl, who was also searching for someone. I caught a glimpse of her face, and rechecking with the band, confirmed that it was my teammate.
“Hello, nice to meet you.” I greeted her, and saw her face brighten.
“Greetings. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” she replied with a bow, surprising me with the formality. Honestly, with her expensive looking skin-tight red suit, beautiful features and refined speech, her presence screamed Ojou-sama to me.
“You guys must be Midoriya Izuku and Yaoyorozu Momo, right? Nice to meet you! I am sure you already know from the ID bands, but I’m Kaminari Denki,” a dashing blonde with long hair and stylized bolts, dressed in black and gold greeted us with a smile.
Exchanging another round of greetings, we waited near our bus for a couple more minutes till the last members of our group showed up. A hulking muscled guy with six arms dressed like a ninja joined us along with a petite girl covered head-to-toe with a dark cloak. They gave us a silent nod of acknowledgement and boarded the bus.
“Guess they aren’t much for talking,” Kaminari observed. We shrugged and joined our teammates on the bus. At least we knew their names: Mezo Shoji and Nazar Tsugumi. Joining the duo on the bus, we seated ourselves behind them. As the bus started, I ventured, “Since this is a team trial, maybe we should tell each other about our quirks so that we can plan stuff out accordingly?” As Shoji and Tsugumi turned towards me, I hurriedly qualified, “I totally understand if you don’t want to, after all there are probably some individual trials or other team trials later where we might go up against each other. It’s just…we would perform better together if we were aware of our abilities and limitations.”
As the silence started becoming deafening, Momo piped up from beside me. “You are absolutely correct Midoriya. Our priority should be to accomplish whatever task is in front of us to the best of our ability. We can just disclose the basics of our quirks without going into the advantages from the maturity phases. That should be an acceptable compromise, right?”
I nodded, thankful for her support. The others nodded in agreement as well. Making a shooting gesture with his finger, Kaminari exclaimed, “Okay, lemme go first. I can make and control electricity. Pretty cool right?” He made a show of having a spark jump from one finger to another.
“Wow, electrokinesis is an amazing power,” both me and Momo exclaimed together and blushed. “Ahem,” Momo cleared her throat and continued, “There are many technicalities to it, but in essence my power allows me to create non-living things.” She created a Matryoshka doll from her open palm, and I could feel the jaws dropping around me, mine included.
That had to be one of the strongest quirks I had ever heard of.
Seeing our reactions, Momo gave a demure smile. “I know it appears to be limitless, but there are many restrictions to it. I hope I can provide adequate assistance to the team.”
“I…I can see things. From very far and otherwise hidden,” Tsugumi said haltingly. Curious, I enquired, “Is it like clairvoyance?” She gave an enthusiastic nod and seemed content to not speak any further.
Shoji raised one of his arms, and it morphed into an eyeless mouth. “I can grow and regenerate organs from any of my arms.” He also didn’t seem inclined to explain further, and thinking about our team, I realized something.
We had Tsugumi for scouting, Shoji for front lining and providing scouting assistance, Momo and me as versatile supports and Kaminari as a hard hitter. This was the standard for five-member hero teams currently operating, and I had a sudden sneaking suspicion that the teams weren’t selected randomly.
Seeing my team’s expectant gazes, I hurried cleared my throat. “I can generate and control force vectors on things that I touch in a region around me.” Though there had been some increase in my capabilities recently, I was still not fully comfortable with my second maturity benefits.
As Tsugumi and Shoji settled into comfortable silence, I could feel Momo’s gaze on me. Arching an eyebrow at her, she explained, “It feels impolite to ask you now, but there seems to be some similarities in the way our quirks require additional calculations to function. I would love to pick your brain later on this.”
I was thrilled to hear that, as I was dying with curiosity at how my teammates’ quirks worked. None of them intrigued me more than Momo’s own and I happily accepted her offer.
“Yaoyorozu, you don’t have to be so formal with me. I would love to discuss the theory behind our quirks later.”
She gave an adorable blush and fiddled her fingers together. “I apologize. I have not had the opportunity for extensive social interactions. Let us share our contact information for further correspondence.” I sweat-dropped as she took out the latest S-Phone, which probably cost more than my PC, and held it up to me. We scanned our contacts, and she gave a satisfied smile. “You know, I had been worried that my sheltered upbringing would be a hindrance in communicating with people. I am glad I was able to make a new friend.”
Ugh, someone put on the blinds, this girl was almost shining with her purity. This did help me confirm my suspicions about her though. We settled into a comfortable silence and I spent the remaining time idly going over the different scenarios we could be facing in the upcoming trial, as the others seemed content to keep to themselves.
As the bus jerked to a stop, we gave each other a determined look before disembarking.
The first trial awaited us.