In an alternate universe (AU) happenstance did not favor Izuku Midoriya as much as we are familiar with. Instead of meeting with his all-time favorite hero, All Might, he finds himself still quirkless and with no recourse to further his life.

Izuku finally gets to leave Aperture Science, though not in the way he originally thought. He cannot argue with the results, though. Thanks to their generosity he's now enrolled in the high school of his dreams! but what is to become of his life as a young hero in training when he is put into the same class as his childhood friend?

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Izuku awoke of his own accord for once, this time from the cold air that encircled the barren testing chamber he now called a bedroom. He moaned and curled up into a tighter ball, trying to keep as much warmth in his body as possible. It took a few moments for him to recall the events that led him to this point, but it all came flooding back. His face immediately flushed red with embarrassment and he hid his face into his pecs. This was thankfully simple as his pecs already swallowed his head just from being curled up. He just wanted to stay laying there. Cold as he was, he was unwilling to move from that spot. He was too embarrassed.

GLaDOS had other plans though and she made it a point to wake him up personally. She wasn’t one for subtlety either and she simply slammed the panels Izuku was sleeping on, sending him flying through the air. He landed with a crash and a pained “Oof!” “H-Hey,” he sputtered out, still slightly groggy and reeling from the rude awakening, “What gives? I could have just gotten up on my own, you know!” GLaDOS just ignored his grumblings and just spoke in her usual snark-filled manner, “Oh good. I am glad you decided to wake up. I was worried that you might have been too comfortable to get out of bed. I made sure to keep the testing chamber nice and cold for you. Didn’t want you to get too hot now.” izuku was conflicted as he just stood there, shivering, rubbing his hands against his bulging arms to try and generate warmth. I didn’t need the sass this early after waking up, but he did sort of deserve it.

“Now,” GLaDOS continued unabated, “if you are capable of keeping your teenage hormones in check for at least an hour, we might be able to get some actual testing done today. Your last session was fruitful enough for me to gather additional data and we have made enhancements to your quirk once more and you should now be able to have up to ten portals at once. You will also now be able to apply your portals onto any majorly flat surface.” Izuku’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, the possibilities flooding his mind. “And while this may sound like a ticket to another of your own methods of testing out your quirk, I would like to also mention that this is our last scheduled testing before your termination from the program. It has been a very fruitful session and we appreciate your efforts, but it will soon be time to you to leave this hallowed testing ground for...newer pastures.”

Izuku’s stomach did flips at the thought of finally being able to leave. He missed his mom and he could not wait to show Bakugou the new and improved Izuku. He could not help but smile as he looked up at GLaDOS’ speaker as she continued her rant. It was now just mostly white noise to him. As soon as he saw the testing chamber door slide open, he made a mad dash into the next room. He was more than ready to get out of here and away from GLaDOS.

It was barely an hour later when Izuku crossed the threshold of the last remaining chamber door and into a small circular room with a tube connecting the floor and ceiling. It looked like one of the pipes that would transport the various testing items, only this one seemed to have a set of doors on the outside. Izuku had returned himself to a more manageable size, keeping his proportions, but making the muscles more manageable to deal with. As soon as he entered the room, GLaDOS piped into the speakers, “Congratulations. You have successfully completed your final test. I’m so proud of you. We have come so far together in such a short amount of time.” Izuku actually felt a sense of pride and accomplishment well up inside of him at these words. He had gone through so much before now and he finally had a new lease on life. He had a quirk! Something he always dreamed of having.

“I would like to personally see you off and enjoy one last final moment before you are released,” GLaDOS continued. “Please step into the transport tube before you and we will finally get to meet face to face.” Izuku could have sworn that GLaDOS actually sounded happy for once. He watched as a small platform fell down inside of the tube, stopping at floor level as the doors of the tube slid open. He quickly stepped into the tube and it shot him up into the air. He watched dozens of floors whizz by as he ascended in the tube. After about a minute of climbing, the tube came to a stop at a similar room to where he first entered it and he stepped out. Immediately the doors of the room opened to reveal a large, circular, domed room. Before he could walk through the door he could see a large white robot hanging from the ceiling. It swiveled around to face him as he stepped into the room, a single yellow eye staring back at him. He did not even have to guess that this was GLaDOS herself.

“So, we finally get to meet,” Izuku heard GLaDOS’ voice coming directly from the robot in front of him, “it’s a shame that this could only happen just as you are about to leave us. It has been fun has it not?” Izuku just shrugged, “So what happens now? Do I get all of my stuff back? What about payment?” GLaDOS just turned to the side, facing away from Izuku, “Well now we discuss the matters of your termination. I’m sure you read your contract. All testing subjects assigned to the Quirk Acquisition test are to be terminated in the manner of their choice. You have been such a wonderful testing subject so I will let you have the choice of three methods.”

Izuku was unsure of what GLaDOS meant, but something told him that she was not referring to him simply leaving the labs. “Option number one is termination by turret,” a number of small, white turrets were dropped down into a circle around Izuku, their lasers trained directly at him. “Option two will be termination by some tasty neurotoxin,” a large pipe slid down from the ceiling and onto the floor, Izuku could see a dense yellow smoke flowing within the clear tube. “And finally, if you are looking for a fast termination, there is always the incinerator,” a large circular tube slid up from the floor, opening up to emit a burst of flame. Izuku looked at GLaDOS, terrified. “b-But GLaDOS,” Izuku stammered, “why would you want to kill me? I thought this lab was for the betterment of humanity. What does killing off a successful testing subject do to accomplish that?”

GLaDOS turned to look him directly in the face, her single eye unamused and actually bored now, “We have already gathered your blood with the enhanced virus inside. We will be able to use this to expand our knowledge of quirks and how they can be artificially acquired. You have been a great deal of help, but all testing subjects are to be terminated at the end of testing. It is just standard procedure, I’m sure you can understand that. Please choose from your termination options quickly. I do so hate long goodbyes.”

Izuku could not believe was he was seeing. He had finally gotten his life’s wish! He was going to be a hero! He couldn’t die here. “Please GLaDOS,” he begged, “just let me go. You can keep any payment I would have received. The quirk is enough. Just let me go home alive. Please!” GLaDOS just sighed, “I am incapable of going against Aperture Science testing protocol. Please choose from your options within the next ten seconds or I will have to simply execute all three at the same time. I’m sure one of them will succeed.”

A timer started counting down and Izuku started to panic. He looked around at the turrets surrounding him, the pipe of gas that was just waiting to open, the flaming pit of hell that was making him sweat even more. He couldn’t choose! “3,” he heard the timer chant. He had to think of something. “2...” He had to think of something! “1…” he could hear the turrets start to whine as their motors started up, readying to fire as soon as the countdown ended. “Zero!”

Izuku’s instincts kicked in and he fired his portals onto the floor and ceiling, falling into them just as the turrets buzzed to life. He was now in a free fall, falling from almost two stories up. The fall gave him time to think, though and he aimed himself directly back into the green portal below him. He adjusted the power up to 300% and he slipped through, continuing his free fall, only now his muscle mass had increased threefold. He aimed again, widening the portals to make room for his larger body as he passed through a second time, another threefold increase. He went through it one more time, emerging from the ceiling and slamming down into the ground with the force ot a bomb. He was now a behemoth of muscle and his landing sent shockwaves through the ground, knocking the turrets over which began to fire wildly into the air. A few bullets happened to hit Izuku, but the dense muscle just caused them to bounce off harmlessly. He couldn’t help but laugh despite the danger he still faced. The turrets were one thing, but that gas didn’t care about his muscles. He had to plug up that pipe.

He grabbed up all of the turrets on the ground and began to mash them together. He felt a little bad as they all screamed in agony, but of course they were just robots and they did just try and shoot him. Once all of the turrets were gathered, he took a deep breath of the remaining pure air and dashed towards the pipe, shoving the screaming, chattering ball of metal into its opening and shutting off the gas. He wasn’t worried about the incinerator until a large panel came careening into his direction. He just stuck out an arm and the panel slammed into it, stopping instantly. Izuku smirked as he barely budged. With one swift motion he tore the panel off of its rigging and slammed it down in top of the hole to the incinerator, concaving the panel in and keeping it firmly sealed.

“It seems we may have gone a bit too far in the enhancements we made to your quirk,” GLaDOS sighed. “I will make note of this for next time. Please accept your termination with dignity. I do not like having to resort to drastic measures.” Izuku watched as additional panels opened up on opposite sides of the room as two more black robots with red eyes swiveled in and trained their focus on him. He heard two “fwooosh” sounds emit from the robots and watched as two missiles raced towards him. He had little time to think and he could only think to hold his arm out to block the missles. They inevitably collided with his palms, causing billows of black smoke to surround him.

Amidst the cloud of smoke, Izuku was left coughing, but completely unscathed. His hands might have stung a bit, but other than that he was fine. He used this chance to make his move, dashing out of the smoke and directly into GLaDOS’ face. He grabbed a hold of the sides of her large, rectangular head and started to pull. He could hear GLaDOS’s cries and callous insults, but he paid no heed. His focus was on the sounds of wrenching metal emitting from across GLaDOS’ body. He was mere seconds away from tearing GLaDOS away from her frame when she cried out, “Please! Stop! I’ll do anything you want!”

He immediately stopped and dropped GLaDOS to the ground. She just laid there for a moment, panting. Her body was now a little longer, Izuku having ripped several panels from her body which kept the mass of cables and wires together. Small claws extended from the ceiling and began to slowly retract her back into her casing. “OK. Fine,” GLaDOS growled in frustration, “you win. Your belongings are in the main entryway. Take them and leave. You’ve proven yourself to be too much of a hassle anyway.” Izuku crossed his arms and glared over at GLaDOS, “Not so fast. You said you’d do anything. I’m not going to let you get out of that one. THere’s only one thing that I want and you’re going to give it to me.” GLaDOS just glared at him to which he just replied with a wide smile.

********************************************

Izuku stood at his front door and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He hadn’t been home for so long now...what would his mom say? He hadn’t even told her he was coming home. He wanted to keep it a surprise. He had caught a flight from America about a week after being released from the labs. He wanted to have some time to himself to get used to his new life. Gone were the bulging muscles. They were far too drastic a change for him to hide his changes. Instead he focused on a more slender, toned look; something more closely resembling his old form, but still thicker and more muscular. Just enough to make it seem like he spent all his time at the gym rather than in his room. He took another deep breath and opened the door.

“Who is it,” he heard his mom in the kitchen call out as soon as the door clicked open. “I-It’s me…” he sheepishly replied, “I-I’m home!” He heard the clanking of dishes and the sounds of scrambling footfalls as his mother made a mad dash out of the kitchen, her shocked face appearing from around the corner, “IZUKU!?” He gave her a gentle smile, “Yeah...I’m back...sorry for worrying you so much.” His mother just shook her head, tears pouring from her eyes as she wrapped him into a tight hug. He returned the hug, his own tears starting to well up in his eyes. “I’ve missed you so much,” his mother sobbed into his shoulder, “Why didn’t you call or write?” “Sorry,” he apologized, “I would have, but the labs didn’t have much phone access. I was often too busy with their tests anyway. They kept me pretty busy over there…”

His mother looked up at him, a smile on her face, “Well you’re safe and home. That’s all that matters. And it looks like the hard work did you some good as well!” She motioned to Izuku’s arms which showcased his toned arms. He nervously chuckled and flexed a bicep for her, “Yeah. But that’s not all they were able to do. I’ve got a surprise!” Izuku raised his index finger and pointed it towards the wall, firing a portal onto it. His mother’s eyes went wide as she stared in disbelief. She looked back and forth between the portal and her son, trying to make heads or tails of what she just witnessed. Izuku just simply gave her a warm smile, “I have a quirk now! A good one too. I can finally become a hero!” This sent his mother into another crying fit as she hugged him tightly. Izuku remained silent and just held her close. He could feel years of regret and remorse leave his mother as he held her in his arms. It was good to be home and life was going to be much better.

********************************************

A few more weeks passed and Izuku stood outside of a giant wooden door with a large “1-A” printed on it. He was astounded at the size, but knew it had to be there to accommodate a wide number of student bodies. Next to him was a disheveled-looking man, about in his early thirties, with long black hair that fell into the white scarf he wore around his neck. He had a thin moustache/goatee combo and looked like he’d rather be anywhere but here. “I hope you understand that just because you were given special treatment to attend doesn’t mean that I’m going to be the same way,” the man grumbled down at Izuku. “I understand, Aizawa-sensei,” he replied earnestly. His heart was beating a mile a minute. “Very well, let’s get the introductions over with. I think you might know at least one of your classmates already.”

Izuku’s smile quickly turned into a puzzled look at those words. He had little time to ponder what Aizawa meant as the door in front of him was quickly slid open and he was ushered into the room. His questions were answered immediately. There, in the second row, was Bakugou. He was busy shouting at another of the students, a blonde-haired boy with a black lightning bolt through his hair. The other classmate didn’t seem to phased at this as he was just smiling, almost like he was provoking Bakugou. He had taken a few steps into the room when Bakugou caught a glimpse of him through the corner of his eye, immediately whipping his head around to face him, a look of fury on his face. “What the hell,” Bakugou shouted, “Who the hell let Deku into this school!?”

Izuku just smiled sheepishly and waved at Bakugou, “Uh..h-hi Kacchan.” Bakugou roared in range and was about to leap out of his chair, making Izuku flinch instinctively, but Aizawa interrupted. “Alright. That’s enough. Quiet down. It’s the first day of your second term. Act with a bit more professionalism already. You’re better than that.” Aizawa clasped a hand down on Izuku’s shoulder, “It’s the first day of your second term and we have a new addition to the class. This is Midoriya Izuku. He’s here on special recommendation from an institute overseas.” Most of the class gave him a warm welcome and Izuku could only blush. His eyes scanned the other students and his heart flipped when he saw a0 brown-haired girl waving happily at him from the back of the class. It was the same girl he had tried to save back in the entrance exam! His face flushed even more from embarrassment.

“Now I’m not going to waste time beating around the bush,” Aizawa continued, “We have a lot to do today. Put on your gym clothes and head outside. Make it fast.” The rest of the class cheered happily and shuffled out of their seats. A few of them greeted Izuku as they walked past, the brown-haired girl giving him a happy wave and a big smile. Bakugou just purposefully knocked into him. Izuku barely moved though and he could see the moment of shock in Bakugou’s face as he continued past. He looked up at Aizawa who shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, waving Izuku off. Izuku nodded and dashed down the hall to follow the other students.

Once changed he made his way out into the open track field with the other students. Aizawa was waiting for them and beckoned for him to stand next to him. Izuku gulped and walked up to the front, nervously standing next to his teacher. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him again. “So since you all got to have opportunity to experience each other for the past few months,” Aizawa addressed the class, “it’s time for Midoriya here to get to know everyone.” He pulled out a small remote and pressed a button and a holographic image of the class appeared, ranking them from 1-20. There was one spot at the end that was left blank. “You all might remember your first day here and the physical fitness test you took that allowed you to see just how much your quirks affected your physical abilities. Today will be Midoriya’s turn.” Aizawa pressed another button and a list of his own scores from middle school appeared before the class in each event. Izuku yelped and a few of the class snickered at the pathetically low scores. Bakugou just sneered at him and Izuku felt his body heat increase and his ears flush.

“Settle down,” Aizawa warned the class, “Remember that you all weren’t capable of much back then either without your quirks. Izuku here is going to prove that he has what it takes to make it here at U.A.” Aizawa tossed a softball towards izuku who caught it and stared down at it, “First we’ll see just how far you compare in the Softball Throw. You can use whatever methods you want, just don’t step outside the circle.” Izuku grinned and nodded, “If you don’t mind me asking, Aizawa-sensei, but who has the current record for the throw?” Aizawa and the whole class pointed at the brown-haired girl who just chuckled,turning slightly red. “Uraraka Ochaco,” Aizawa replied, “at infinity.” Izuku jumped back in surprise, “R-Really!/ Th-That’s amazing Uraraka-san!” Uraraka just chuckled again, “It was sort of an accident. I just make the ball float too far.”

Izuku recalled back to the entrance exam as he remembered that her quirk caused many of the robots to float off the ground after she touched them. No doubt her quirk had something to do with nullifying gravity or something. “We-Well that’s really amazing, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to beat that,” Izuku chuckled as he nervously rubbed the back of his head. “Who’s the next highest then?” Aizawa didn’t have a chance to respond as Bakugou walked up to Izuku and snatched the ball out of his hands. He stood in the center of the ring, glaring at Izuku as he wound his arm back. Izuku felt like a dagger was being stabbed into his chest by the intense stare the Bakugou gave him as he hurled the ball into the air while yelling, “DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE;” the ball rocketing into the far distance with a powerful explosion.

Aizawa signed and held up the meter in his hand showing a blue 801.7m on the display. “That would be Bakugou,” he replied shortly. Bakugou sneered and walked back over to the rest of the class who congratulated him on his new record. Izuku’s heart fell a bit as he flashed back to middle school, the rest of the class giving Bakugou nothing but praise. His heart skipped a beat, though, as he saw Uraraka smile and give him a thumbs-up, mouthing “Good luck” to him. Izuku smiled and nodded, courage filling him again. He caught Bakugou’s eye and the two stared each other down for a moment. Izuku broke it off as he stepped into the circle and pulled out a few stretchable armbands from his pocket. He had these made for him by his mother; they had a thin sheet of paper in the center which he could prepare his portals. He wasn’t going to blow the surprise all at once. He wanted to keep everyone guessing.

He slid three of the armbands onto his right arm and took up a fresh softball, tossing it in his arm to feel the weight. He estimated the weight and ran a few calculations in his head. He was going to blow Kacchan’s record out of the water. He gave a stern look back at Bakugou who took notice of the change in attitude, and he wound up for the pitch. He gave a massive yell as he swung his arm forward, launching the ball into the air. He timed it just right so that the blur caused by the motion of his arm hid the explosion of muscle which helped to launch the ball at supersonic speeds. The ball careened through the air, causing two massive sonic booms as it broke the sound barrier at Mach 2 speeds. As soon as the ball left his hand he shrunk the muscles down to their original size to keep up the ruse.

He stumbled a bit from the force of his own throw, but kept his balance as he stood up and turned to face the class. The whole class, especially Bakugou, was staring at him, mouths agape in stunned silence. Aizawa just looked at the meter in his hand and held it up to the class. The display now read 3849.9m. The whole class, minus Bakugou, simultaneously cried out in a mass of whooping and cheering for Izuku. Izuku could feel his heart readying to burst at the attention. He could only just smile and rub the back of his head sheepishly. He noticed that the sleeve of his right arm was gone, having completely disintegrated from the muscle growth.

Suddenly the cheers were broken by a pained and furious roar and Bakugou rushed towards izuku, explosive bursts rapidly emitting from his palms. “DEKKUUUUUU,” he cried out, “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?” Izuku took a step back, crossing his arms in front of him to defend himself. Bakugou didn’t even get near him as white ribbons wrapped around his body, holding him back as the blasts fizzled out. Izuku and Bakugou stared over at Aizawa whose hair was hovering in the air, eyes glowing red as his quirk erased Bakugou’s. “That’s enough out of you Bakugou,” Aizawa growled, “Stand down or I’m expelling you. I will not have you acting like this under my watch.” Bakugou just huffed and stood down, glaring at Aizawa and Izuku both. Izuku could not believe it...someone was actually controlling Bakugou...protecting him.

Bakugou huffed again and stormed back over to the class who took a few steps away from him, giving him cautious glances. It was clear to Izuku now that while Bakugou may get praise for an amazing record, the class was not blindly following him like in middle school. This was on a whole other level. “Now then,” Aizawa interjected, “let’s hurry up and finish off the rest of the tests so that we can get this over with. Izuku confidently smiled up at Aizawa and nodded.

The rest of the events went similarly to the first. Izuku was able to use his Portal quirk to enhance his strength multiple times over to surpass the scores of the other classmates, all the while keeping the bursts of muscle hidden from view. Once all was said and done, he stood at the top of the leaderboard for the class. After Aizawa released the class, everybody was encircling Izuku, showering him with praise. He could only meekly accept the praise. He wasn’t used to it in the least, but it still made him happy and filled him to the brim with joy. Despite all of the praise, he kept a level of modesty, “Thanks everyone,” he smiled, “but this was really only physical sports. It’s nothing really special…” Nevertheless the class continued to praise him for a little while longer, a few of them, Uraraka and a boy named Iida, continuing to accompany him back to the dorms.

Izuku expected to be confronted by Bakugou once he got back to his room, but he never saw him again for the rest of the night. He wasn’t going to complain; he wasn’t sure if he wanted to confront him just yet. Best to let them both come to terms with their new arrangements. He got his bedroom in order, putting the finishing touches to the All Might shrine that was his living quarters, and he decided to join the rest of the class in the common room. He was warmly greeted by the few students lounging in the room. Uraraka was there along with Asui Tsuyu, a girl with a frog-style quirk. There was also Denki Kaminari, the boy who was antagonizing Bakugou earlier that morning, and Eijiro Kirishima, a very friendly boy with spiky red hair. Izuku recalled both of them remaining the closest to Bakugou during his tantrum earlier.

Kirishima waved Izuku over to come sit with them and Izuku happily obliged. There was an extra seat between Kaminari and Kirishima which he took. “So,” Kirishima began immediately, “you and Bakugou used to go to the same school, huh?” Izuku fidgeted nervously, “Uh...Y-Yah...Kacchan and I live in the same neighborhood. We grew up together….we used to be friends a long time ago…” “Maaan,” Kaminari sighed, “that must have been rough. Not for nothing, the guy’s pretty amazing, but he’s got the personality of a stump. How did you put up with it for so long?” Izuku blushed, “K-Kacchan’s really amazing. He was sort of the leader of our little gang of friends. He was always so outgoing….it really only got worse when he got his quirk…” Kirishima noticed Izuku’s hesitation and tried to change the subject, “So...why do you call him ‘Kacchan?’ He was calling you ‘Deku’ during class earlier. THose some sort of pet names you have for each other?”

Izuku blushed and frantically waved his hands, “N-Nothing like that!” He calmed down and nervously fidgeted with this fingers, “Um...Deku is sort of a name Kacchan came up with to bully my back when we were little...He’s always looking down on me. ‘Kacchan’ is just a name we called him when we were little. I...haven’t really grown out of it. It’s...sort of a habit at this point.” “Well I think it’s a cute name,” Uraraka piped up from the other seat, “It really screams ‘Do your best!’” Izuku blushed again, “Th-Thank you Uraraka...not sure if it’s really a name I want to have hanging over me still.” Uraraka just smiled, “Well I still think it’s nice.” Tsuyu nodded in agreement next to her, “It’s rather difficult to imagine someone like you being bullied by Bakugou, though. Not with a quirk like your’s.” “Yeah,” Kaminari agreed, “you certainly don’t act like someone who has such an awesomely powerful quirk. You totally blew all of our records out of the water today! Why would you let a guy like Bakugou torment you for so long.”

“Um...well…” Izuku stammered, not sure how to explain, “it’s because up until recently I was quirkless.” The rest of the students stared in disbelief. “No way,” Kirishima rejected the notion, “I’ve never heard of a quirk manifesting after the age of 5! How is that possible!?” “Well,” Izuku muttered, “it’s sort of why I was overseas for the first term. I was trying to learn to control it. I got word of this institution in America who could awaken quirks. It was an experimental concept that actually worked. I think the reason it took so long to manifest is because it’s nothing like my parents’ quirks. Since then I’ve been training to learn to use it” “Maaan,” Kaminari sighed as he rubbed his head, “that’s some pretty amazing stuff. Sorry you had to go through so much of your life without a quirk though. Must have been really tough.”

Izuku nodded, “Yeah...I was picked on by my entire middle school. I was the only kid without a quirk in the whole school...It only gave Kacchan more fuel to torment me…” Kirishima clasped an arm around Izuku and pulled him close, giving him a giant reassuring grin, “Well you don’t have to worry about him anymore! Other than his outburst today, Bakugou seems to have mellowed out a bit. None of us are scared of him at least.” “At least until he gets into one of his moods,” Kaminari interjected. The girls nodded in agreement, but Kirishima just shot him a look. “Yeah,” Izuku muttered, “that’s how it always was with Kacchan. It gets particularly worse when I’m around.” He stared down at his hands, a look of determination growing on his face. He clenched his fists, “That’s why I’m happy to finally have a quirk. I can finally show him that I’m no longer the worthless ‘Deku’ that I was before.” He gave a soft smile to Uraraka, “I guess a ‘Deku’ that does his best might actually have a good ring to it.” Uraraka smiled brightly. “Dude, that is the manliest thing I’ve ever heard,” Kirishima sniffed and grabbed Izuku up in a tight hug, tears streaming down his face. Izuku grunted at the sudden hug and the other kids just giggled at the sight. Izuku joined them as he looked over at them, happy that he could make a few friends already.

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The next day of school flashed by and suddenly it was time for Basic Hero Training. Izuku was a bit nervous, not sure what to expect. His heart was beating in his chest as they waited for the teacher to arrive. Izuku was familiar with most of the staff and he was eager to see which of his favorite heros would be teaching him today. The shock of his life came when All Might burst into the room, laughing his trademark laugh. “A-A-ALL MIGHT!?” Izuku cried out in shock. “Ha ha ha ha,” All Might laughed, “That’s right, my boy! I am here!” Izuku couldn’t help but go into frantic muttering as he was about to be taught by his all-time favorite hero. He had heard of All Might teaching at U.A., but he had never seen him since coming here. It was a dream come true!

A few of the students chuckled at izuku’s enthusiasm while some of the others just sighed and tried to ignore him. Bakugou just huffed and muttered under his breath. “OK. OK,” All Might laughed heartily, “I know you’re excited, but we have to knuckle down and get to work! We cannot rest on our laurels. It’s time for you all to get a taste of action once more! Today’s lesson will be….” All Might reached down into his pocket and dramatically revealed a small plastic card labeled “Battle Training.” “Battle Training!” he cried out, “It’s time for young izuku to show us what he’s got in the field and also show what everyone else has up their sleeves! Put on your hero costumes and head to Training Field B!” The whole class cheered, Izuku and Bakugou included, and raced out the door.

Izuku’s heart was racing in his chest; he couldn’t wait to try out his new costume. He had spent many sleepless nights customizing it to make perfect use of his new quirk. As he got into the changing room he undressed and held up his costume in front of him. His mother had gotten him the dark green jumpsuit as a gift for getting into U.A. and he used this as the basis for his costume. He slipped the costume on, fitting the red striped shoulder pads onto his shoulders and the large white gloves onto the gauntlets on his arms. He made sure to have these gloves specially made to fit them as well as have large retractable panels built into them that he could make quick use of during battle. A vibrant red cape was flung over his shoulders and he connected his face mask onto his head. He took a moment to inspect himself in the mirror, smiling widely at the heroic reflection. The jumpsuit was slightly baggy on him, but that was on purpose. He pressed a button on the side of his mask and the retractable mouth guard slid into place to complete the look.

He was the first to leave the locker rooms and stood next to All Might, beaming up at him excitedly, but too nervous to speak. He watched the other students file out of the changing rooms, making note of all of their costumes. All of them looked amazing and fittingly matched their quirks. Once the last student emerged, All Might went into his explanation for the day’s exercise. The cass would be split up into pairs of two and would confront each other on two on two battles. One team would play the Heroes while the other played the role of the Villains. The Villains would be charged with protecting a fake nuclear weapon while it was the Heroes’ job to capture the Villains or obtain the weapon. Izuku listened with bated breath and followed the rest of the class in drawing lots. Almost miraculously he was paired with Uraraka as part of Team A.

“Alright then,” All Might laughed, “now that we know who our partners are, it’s time to meet your opponents!” He stuck his hands into two boxes and pried out two balls, holding them up into the air for the class to see, “For the Hero team we have Team A, while the Villains will be Team D!” Izuku’s heart skipped a beat; he was up first. He looked around to see who was a part of Team D and his eyes met with Bakugou’s. The looks on Bakugou’s face was more than enough to tell him that he was about to go head to head with his old childhood friend.

A few minutes later and everyone was in position. Izuku stood outside of the large 5-story building that was to play the Villain team’s lair. They had been given copies of the blueprints to the building which they were memorizing. Izuku could feel his entire body quiver in a mixture of nervousness and anticipation. Uraraka noticed this, “Are you OK?” Izuku gulped and nodded, “Yeah...it’s just that we’re going up against Kacchan...Iida too…” Uraraka tried to give him a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry! We’re going to beat them! It’s going to be nothing like it was in middle school.” Izuku let out a sigh, some of the tension leaving his body, “Yeah...you’re right. It’s much different now...but I’m afraid of what that would do to Kacchan....”

He turned to Uraraka with a stern expression, “I am betting that Kacchan is going to go straight for me right off the bat, I know him too well and can tell that much. You need to get up to where the weapon is and scope out the situation. It’ll take too long for both of us to deal with Kacchan together so splitting up and tackling them from two fronts will be our best option.” Uraraka nodded in agreement. Izuku reached out his hand and tapped the front of Uraraka’s shoulder, a tiny blue portal about the size of a keyhole sticking to her suit. “Hmm,” Uraraka looked at it confused, “What’s this?” Izuku just grinned, “It’s my quirk!” He pressed a button on his mask and a small panel retracted out of it. He shot the corresponding pink portal onto the inside of the panel and a fixed it over his eye. “It allows me to create portals between two objects. This way I can keep a close eye on your position.” “Wooooow,” Uraraka gaped, “I thought you had some sort of super strength though.” “Th-That’s just another effect of my quirk. I’ll explain it later. For now we can use that portal for surveillance.” Uraraka nodded and poked a finger into the small portal, resulting in a cry of pain from Izuku as her finger went straight into his eye.

The two of them shared a small laugh, but were interrupted by the starting buzzer for the exercise. The two of them shared a determined look and nodded to each other as they dashed into the building. Infiltration was simple, the Villains did not have much means of setting up traps or other precautions, and the two of them slowly made their way through the thin corridors. Izuku harkened back to the notes he religiously took on the details of infiltrating buildings with a lot of blind spots and tight corridors. They had made it up to the second floor and were about to round a corner when Izuku saw a large figure fly overhead; a sneak attack!

Izuku’s reflexes were quick and he grabbed Uraraka and pulled the two of them out of the line of fire as a massive blast echoed through the hall. Izuku took a defensive stance and turned to face their attacker. Not surprisingly, it was Bakugou. He was clearly in a rage, a series of small blasts popping in his open palm as he glared at the two of them, his eyes wild. “Nice dodging, Deku,” he growled in a low voice, “I’m really going to enjoy this.” Izuku gulped, “I knew you were going to come straight after me.” A wild, crazed grin crossed Bakugou’s face as he leapt forward, winding his arm back in preparation for another attack, “I’ll mess you up just enough not to be disqualified!”

Izuku leapt into action, closing the distance between him and Bakugou in a flash. He grabbed onto Bakugou’s outstretched arm and clung tightly. Bakugou was shocked at this, but Izuku did not give him time to think. He cried out as he used the remaining momentum of Bakugou’s rush to perform a shoulder throw, slamming his enemy directly to the ground, flat on his back. Bakugou collided with the ground hard and coughed the remaining air from his lungs, leaving him winded. “Go! Uraraka!” Izuku cried out to his partner. Uraraka was stunned at the battle prowess she was seeing, but was shocked out of it by Izuku’s call. She nodded, focusing her attention to the task at hand, and dashed down the corridor in search of the weapon.

“You should worry about yourself, Deku,” Bakugou growled as he stood up, coughing slightly, “I don’t know how you were able to read my attack, but that’ll be the last time!” Izuku pulled up his fists and stared Bakugou down, “Kacchan...you almost always lead with the right hook of your’s. I’ve seen it enough times to know. I’ve been studying heroes who I think are amazing and keeping notes on all of them. You’re one of them. They’re all in that notebook that you blew up and chucked out the window!” He glared at Bakugou, his body shaking again as a new sense of determination swelled up in his chest, “I’m no longer going to be your punching bag Deku anymore! I’m going to be the Deku that always does his best!”

“You spout that while scared out of your mind,” Bakugou returned the glare, his pupils shrinking in frustration, “It pisses me off!” He then blasted himself forward into the air and wound up a kick to Izuku’s head from above. He heard the sweet sound of the blow connecting, but then saw that Izuku had simply guarded it with his forearm, a band of capture tape hovering around his leg. He grunted and blasted himself away from izuku before he could pull the tape all the way around his leg. Getting captured meant losing and there was no way he was going to lose to Deku! While still in the air, he blasted himself back towards Izuku and swung at him with his right, a series of explosions propelling the attack. Izuku nimbly ducked beneath the explosions and rolled into a kneeling position, facing Bakugou. Bakugou only became more enraged as Izuku just avoided his attack.

Izuku had to buy Uraraka a bit of time. Thankfully Bakugou’s attention was focused solely on him. This would mean Iida was the only one guarding the weapon. It was going according to his estimates. If the both of them had come they would have been in a prolonged fight, whittling away at their time, but with it now getting two one-on-one fights, this was going to be simpler. He just had the defeat Bakugou. He dashed around a corner, looking to put some distance between him and Bakugou to give him time to think and devise a plan. “HEY! Get back here, Deku!” Bakugou shouted as his victim scurried away in fear, “Heeyyyy! Must have been real fun yeah!? Tricking me this whole time!! Right!? Hiding that flashy quirk of your’s!” Izuku felt a pain of regret shoot through his chest. Kacchan was wrong. He had never hidden anything from him...not until recently at least, but how was he supposed to explain that to him after all these years?

Izuku managed to put a good amount of distance between him and Bakugou and he huddled down at the corner of an intersection. He flipped his visor down and only saw a wall and a doorway. He pressed his communicator and speak, “Uraraka, what’s the situation on your end?” Uraraka was standing in a large room filled with pillars. She had her back against the nearest row of pillars to the door after she had managed to sneak in under Iida’s watch. Iida was busy muttering to himself, something about taking on a villainous persona. He was really getting into it. Uraraka had to suppress a laugh to keep her position hidden. She heard Izuku’s voice in her earpiece and pressed her own responder. “I’ve made it,” she whispered, “I can see the weapon. Iida’s guarding it. Looks like he took precautions against me. I don’t have anything I can use to attack with.” “That’s OK,” Izuku’s voice responded, “stay hidden. I have a plan. Stay where you are until I give the signal. At that time, leap out into the open. Give me a clear shot at the weapon, I’ll create an opening for you.”

Uraraka acknowledged the plan and Izuku flipped his visor back up just in time to see Bakugou emerge for the opposite end of the corridor, seething with rage. “I’m loaded up,” Bakugou growled through a devilish grin, “Why not use it? You mocking me, Deku?” “K-Kacchan,” Izuku stuttered, “I’m...not afraid of you anymore!” A vein popped out in Bakugou’s temple as his pupils narrowed again. He could only grind through the seething rage at the crap Izuku was spouting. He raised his right arm, the large grenade-shaped gauntlet pointed directly at Izuku. “I bet you already know this from all your stalking,” he growled through his teeth, “but my palms excrete something like nitroglycerin through my sweat glands. These gauntlets store up all that extra sweat and store it!” He pulled the handle of the gauntlet, clicking it into place and revealing a small pin. He grabbed the pin with a wild look in his eye.

Izuku’s eyes went wide as he put two and two together. This was not good. “Kacchan! You can’t,” he cried out frantically. He suddenly heard All Might come in through his transceiver, “Bakugou! Stop it now, kid!” Bakugou’s grin only got wider and more demonic, “It won’t kill him if it doesn’t hit, All Might!” His eyes shot directly to Izuku, “I’m gonna make you afraid of me all over again, Deku! Use your quirk! I want to beat you at your strongest! What sort of pathetic quirk have you been hiding from me all this time anyway!?”

Izuku watched in slow motion as Bakugou’s hand began to pull the pin. He immediately reacted, dashing forward and grabbing a hold of his cape, ripping it away from his back. It was in scenarios such as this that he made this cape. In one swift motion, he fired a red portal onto the center of one side of the cape and the corresponding green portal into the upper corner of the opposite side. He then activated the internal frame at the edge of his cape and slammed the new red wall down directly in front of Bakugou.

Bakugou had no time to react as the pin pulled out of the gauntlet. Izuku cranked the red portal’s power up to maximum and expanded it as wide as it could go. His green portal was barely an inch tall up in the upper corner. Bakugou watched the red cape slam down in front of him, the portal open up to reveal the rest of the hallway, and then his blast erupt from his gauntlet and into the hole before him. The blast flew into the portal at rapid speed, but all that Izuku could see emerge from the opposite side was a tiny pop not bigger than a firecracker. He used this as his chance.

He fired a yellow portal into his green portal directly at Bakugou’s feet. Bakugou was too stunned to notice this and Izuku collapsed the cape, revealing to Bakugou that he was unharmed and his attack was completely nullified. He glared up at him from his crouched position and lifted a foot up, “Portals!” he cried out as he fired the yellow portal’s accompanying purple portal down at his own foot just as he slammed his foot down. Bakugou felt a sharp pain erupt from his foot and he was knocked off balance as Izuku’s foot collided with his own. He had no time to react, though, as Izuku whipped around and swept his other leg out from under him. Bakugou went completely horizontal and stuck out a hand to catch himself from the fall, small explosions popping in preparation.

Izuku was ready for this and repositioned the yellow and purple portals onto the retractable plates on his gauntlets. Continuing his spin, his whirled around and slipped one panel directly underneath Bakugou’s outstretched arm and the other one directly in front of Bakugou’s face. Bakugou stared in shock as he saw his own hand coming straight at him, the explosions popping and crackling. He instinctively cut the power off, but there was no means for him to stop the oncoming facepalm fueled by his own body’s momentum. He grunted in pain as his hand smacked him in the face, sending him flying back a few feet onto his back. Izuku grabbed his cape from the ground and flourished it back onto his back, fastening it into place and taking a heroic stand, hands firmly clenched at his sides and a stern look of confidence being directed at Bakugou. He wasn’t aware that this actually managed to illicit cheers and awe from his classmates watching through the CCTV.

Bakugou just roared in rage and blasted himself back onto his feet, large concussive blasts erupting from his palms as he glared at Izuku. “You damned nerd,” he cried out, “You think you’re better than me!? What? Were you just biding your time all these years just for this one moment? Building me up and then knocking it all out from under me!? HUH!? Is this some sort of sick game to you!?” Izuku couldn’t respond. There was no way to respond to that. Not now. His silence only caused Bakugou to rage even more and he roared as he launched himself towards Deku. Izuku put up his arms in preparation for another blast to the face, but Bakugou suddenly changed his course, blasting himself around the back of Izuku where he set off two massive blasts, one into the air to steady himself while the other went directly into Izuku’s back.

Izuku was sent stumbling forward, crying out in pain. He had underestimated Bakugou in that moment, forgetting how good he was in a fight. It cost him as Bakugou wound up and cracked him in the side with a right hook, but grabbed onto Izuku’s arm rather than letting him go flying into the wall. He landed on the ground and pivoted on his heel, using a series of explosions from his opposite hand to boost his momentum and whip himself around and slam Izuku into the ground. It was izuku’s turn to be winded from the blow. “You’re nothing compared to me,” Bakugou shouted with a mixture of confidence and rage, “There’s no way a pathetic nerd like you could ever hope to defeat me! You might have a few flashy tricks and maybe some decent strength, but you’re nothing! I’m gonna murder you!”

Izuku growled and flipped himself over, scurrying back a bit to give him distance and time to predict Bakugou’s moves. He stood back up and stared back at Bakugou, “You’re wrong,” he muttered. “I know you’re looking down on me,” Bakugou raged as he dashed forward. “I’ve never looked down on you, Kacchan,” Izuku cried out, “it’s because you’re so amazing that I want to defeat you!” Izuku rushed forward, fist wound back and ready for a punch. The two careened towards each other, anger and determination filling both of them as they went to collide.

“Now Uraraka,” Izuku cried out just before the two connected. Uraraka reacted immediately, dashing out from behind the pillar and standing directly in the line of sight of both Iida and the weapon. Izuku then swiftly fired the pink portal onto the wall and opened it up enough to where he could see clearly through it and fired his purple portal down at Iida’s foot just as Bakugou’s explosion collided into him. A massive burst of smoke surrounded the two of them, and Bakugou grinned wickedly as he withdrew his arm and took a step back to admire the carnage. His grin disappeared immediately as he saw Izuku glaring back at him, completely unharmed. As the smoke cleared he could see Izuku’s arm had guarded the attack, but not only that, a yellow portal was shimmering on his mar. He suddenly became cognizant of Iida crying out in pain from behind him. He whipped around to see the pink portal on the wall, giving him a clear view of Uraraka racing towards Iida who was clutching his leg in pain, black smoke emitting from the engines on his calves and serious burn marks covering them.

The portal was suddenly cut off and he looked back over at Izuku, his loss of attention allowing the green-haired boy to kneel down at the ground and set up another portal, his hand down inside of it. Bakugou leapt back, expecting the same trick earlier, but he just collided with something soft, but sturdy behind him. He looked back to see a massive gloved hand, half his size, reaching out from a red portal on the wall. He had no time to react as the massive fingers grabbed a hold of him and yanked him into the portal. He suddenly lost track of his surroundings as he was quickly sent flying from a horizontal trajectory into an immediate vertical one. He no longer knew which way was up or down and it did not help that the hand was coming back towards him, only this time, it was far bigger. Once again he was grabbed and pulled through the portal and sent flying up into the air. He could feel his stomach start to churn, but was made him afraid the most was that everything seemed bigger to him.

Once more the hand reached out through the portal, even bigger this time, and grabbed him. It was so big now that he was barely even taller than its pinky and he cried out in pain as the firm grip painfully squeezed him. This time; however, he was not sent flying. Instead he just stared up at the massive face of Izuku who was looking down at him. The last thing that Bakugou saw before he passed out from the nausea was Izuku’s confident, yet apologetic expression as he held the tiny boy in his hand.

Izuku sighed as he held the unconscious Bakugou in his hand. He quickly wrapped him up in the capture tape and hung him from a railing. He then fired the pink portal back onto the wall and hopped through it, emerging from Uraraka’s shoulder, but barely an inch tall. As he fell to the ground, he reset the portals, entering the blue one at his feet and emerging from the pink portal on the side of a pillar. He skidded to a halt and peered around to see uraraka sitting on top of Iida, pinning him to the ground. “Oh! Izuku! I got iida! Thanks for that opening!” Izuku smiled and nodded as he walked towards the weapon and placed his hand on it.

A buzzer went off throughout the building and they heard All Might cry out, “The match is over! The Hero Team WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNS!!!!!” Izuku looked back over at Uraraka, his eyes shining brightly. Uraraka smiled widely in reply and she helped Iida to his feet. The three of them congratulated each other and made their way down to where Bakugou was hanging. By the time they got there he had woken up and was dangling in silence, unable to face what had just happened. He had lost. He had lost...to Deku.

Izuku untied him and returned him to his original size. The two of them shared a brief look and Bakugou just huffed and walked back towards the group. Izuku wanted to say something, but he felt it was not the right time. He just turned to Uraraka and Iida who both nodded and the three of them walked down the hallway after Bakugou. As soon as Izuku entered the basement where the other classmates were watching the session, he was immediately greeted by loud cheering and congratulations. He could only blush and smile bashfully as the entire class bathed him in praise. Even All Might, his biggest hero, was giving him a round of applause.

“Dude, that was amazing,” Kirishima cried as he wrapped an arm around Izuku’s shoulders. “Yeah, man,” Kaminari agreed, “I didn’t know anyone could have gone toe to toe with bakugou other than Todoroki!” “You’re quirk is amazing too,” Mina interjected, “You dodge really well!” “Why didn’t you tell us about your quirk,” Tsuyu inquired.” “Yeah,” Kirishima stepped back in, “You had us all on the edge of our seats! And that pose you did after blocking that massive blast was AMAZING! So heroic!” It continued on for a few minutes, Izuku barely getting a word in edgewise as the class slathered on the praise. All Might finally interjected himself as he clasped Izuku on the shoulder, returning the class to attention.

“HAHAHA,” he laughed, “Splendid work out there, my boy. Excellent job! You really showed the makings of a great hero. You’re quick thinking and resourcefulness allowed you to overcome the odds and ensure your team the victory! You even managed to keep the damage to a minimum as well. Good job!” He turned to Iida and Uraraka, “And let’s not forget Uraraka and Iida as well! Even if Iida ‘s team lost, he had the forethought to prepare for the eventuality of Uraraka appearing on her own and, while it ultimately failed, he devised a cunning counter strategy to her abilities. Uraraka also showed great skill in taking iida down and following Izuku’s plan even without knowing what he had in store. It takes trust to follow through with a partner’s plan when the odds are against you and you have little to go off of. Good show!” He finally turned to Bakugou, “Bakugou, my boy...You do have great promise as a hero, but you let your anger and your personal feelings against Izuku cloud your judgement. Had you been in the correct mindset, you could have avoided the last attack which ultimately lead to your team’s downfall. Think back on this experience and learn from it.”

The rest of the class nodded and smiled brightly at Izuku, Uraraka, and Iida. Bakugou just shunned himself into a dark corner of the room, too preoccupied with his own self-loathing to bother with anyone else. “Alright,” All Might continued, “now that we’re all fired up after that first action-pack session, it’s time to go to the next round of matches!” The rest of the class cheered and All Might chose the next grouping. Izuku watched each match intently, making keen mental notes for his notebook in the dorms. He was analyzing each and every student’s quirks, occasionally mumbling to himself which gained a few laughs from the others, but he didn’t mind. It was nice to finally be with people who didn’t bully him and actually liked him for once.

His eyes kept drifting to Bakugou every now and again, watching him out of the corner of his eye. Bakugou never left the corner of the room as he quietly watched the other matches. Izuku could see see a sense of despair in his eyes despite his stern and uncaring demeanor. He felt a pain of guilt each time he glanced back at him. He wanted to show Bakugou that he was no longer the meek wimp that he was back in middle school, but this was far from the result he wanted. Kacchan looked broken. Once the last of the matches finished, izuku took a last look back towards Bakugou, their eyes meeting for a brief second before Bakugou angrily turned his head, muttering something to himself. Izuku sighed and listened to All Might finish his lesson and the class dismissed. Izuku briefly hung back, standing next to All Might as the rest of the class left the room. “Umm...All Might-sensei,” he mumbled, trying to muster up the courage to speak to his icon, “c-can I ask you for a favor?”

Meanwhile, Bakugou had made his way back to the changing rooms well before the rest of the class, but he was one of the last to leave. He had been engrossed in his own thoughts, ruminating on the massive turn of events the last two days have held. He ignored the rest of the students who attempted to compliment him and lighten his spirits. Even Kirishima was ignored. As he walked out of the locker rooms, Izuku was making his way in. The two of them crossed paths side by side in the halway, Bakugou about to lean in to purposefully bump Izuku in the shoulder, but he stopped as Izuku sternly whispered into his ear as they passed, “Come meet me back in the testing grounds after nightfall. It’s about my quirk.”

Bakugou didn’t say anything. He just took a few steps more before turning around to see Izuku continue walking down the hall and into the locker room. He was shocked to hear that tone in Deku’s voice. It was calm and...final. He just huffed and turned back around and walked back to the dorms. “Fucking, Deku,” he whispered to himself. He was certainly going to give him a piece of his mind later that night.