Inko stood in the doorway with a small notebook in one hand and a perfectly wrapped bento box in the other. Izuku tied the laces of his red sneakers, mentally running through a list of everything he needed for his first day.
"Your mission for today," he said, snatching the notebook from her hands and scribbling on the first page. "Thirty minutes of focused meditation. No grocery lists. Thirty minutes with the marbles, and I want you to move only the green one with yellow stripes. Ten minutes with the feather; I don't care if it doesn't move, as long as you feel the nudge."
He handed the notebook back to her.
"I want a full report when I call you at lunch. Not one exercise less, got it?"
"Yes, my little tyrant," Inko said, taking the notebook and adjusting his slightly crooked tie. "Now go before you're late. I hope your classmates are ready for your training regimens."
"Only the ones with potential."
He grabbed the bento, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and headed for the door.
"Don't talk to strangers!"
"I'm going to a school full of strangers! That's literally the point!"
His mother's laughter followed him down the hall as the door closed behind him. The day stopped being good exactly a few minutes later.
U.A.'s main building was an architectural nightmare designed by someone who clearly hated teenagers. Every hallway looked identical, every door was at least thirteen feet tall, and the maps on the walls might as well have been written in Ancient Greek for all the sense they made.
"Okay, this can't be that hard," Izuku muttered, looking at a map for the fifth time. "West wing, third floor, classroom 1-A. Simple."
He took what he assumed was the west wing corridor and started walking. Every door he passed was gigantic. Why are all the doors so huge? he thought, while his confidence evaporated with every step. Are all the teachers the size of Mt. Lady? I wish... No, focus! You have to find the classroom. Getting into Japan's top hero academy only to be expelled on the first day because you couldn't find your seat would be the height of irony.
He climbed a staircase to the third floor and looked both ways. Two identical hallways stretched into infinity. He pulled out his phone to check the digital map, but there was no signal.
"Fantastic. They build a bomb-proof facility, but they can't install a few Wi-Fi routers."
He chose the hallway on the right based purely on instinct and started walking with his head down, trying to figure out if he'd already passed this way. Then, he rounded a corner at full speed and crashed headfirst into something very soft. Like two perfect pillows.
The impact sent them both back, and the sound of books hitting the floor echoed through the empty hallway.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! It was totally my fault!" Izuku said automatically, dropping to his knees to help pick up the scattered materials.
"Don't worry, it was my fault for reading while walking."
The voice was calm and deliberate, surprisingly serene for someone who'd just been tackled. Izuku looked up from the "Applied Quirk Physics" textbook in his hand and froze.
The girl kneeling in front of him had jet-black hair tied in a high ponytail. Her eyes were a stormy gray, sharp and intelligent. She wore her U.A. uniform perfectly pressed, and she was, objectively, one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen in his life. And then, his gaze dipped slightly.
His eyes widened before he could help it. Holy crap, they're massive! He couldn't look away. The theory! The universal law! Big breasts equal a big heart! This girl is definitely one of the good ones!
He forced his gaze back to her face with what felt like a Herculean effort.
"No, you'll have to forgive me!" he said, his voice a bit higher than normal as he offered a smile. "I was completely lost in thought. I'm Izuku Midoriya."
She accepted the stack of books he handed her.
"Momo Yaoyorozu," she replied. "A pleasure."
"Yaoyorozu-san," he tested the name. It sounded elegant and refined. "By any chance, do you know where Class 1-A is? This place is a maze, and I'm pretty sure I've passed the same janitor's closet three times."
A small smile played on her lips.
"What a coincidence. I'm heading there as well. And yes, the architecture can be somewhat... intimidating on the first day."
They stood up together, and Izuku felt a wave of relief.
"Great! So we're classmates! Thank goodness. I was already imagining myself wandering these halls until graduation." He paused and then asked with total frankness, "By the way, what's your Quirk? Mine's pretty useless for navigation."
The question was so direct it seemed to catch her off guard. But she answered with the same honesty.
"My Quirk is Creation," she explained as they started walking. "I can create any inert object from my lipid cells, provided I perfectly understand its molecular structure."
Izuku stopped dead in his tracks. His brain immediately went into overdrive, analyzing the implications at light speed. Wait, any inert object? As long as she understands the structure? That's a walking universal factory! The only limit is her knowledge! She could create advanced tech, rescue gear, complex weapons, antidotes if she knows the chemical composition! The potential is exponentially infinite!
"That explains it!"
The thought hit him hard, and before he could stop himself, the words were already pouring out of his mouth.
"That's incredible! The potential applications are off the charts! You could create anything from medical supplies to tactical gear! The only bottleneck is your understanding of molecular structures, which means the more you study, the more powerful you'll be! That's..." He cut himself off mid-rant, suddenly realizing he was practically vibrating with excitement. "Sorry, I got carried away. But seriously, your Quirk is amazing."
Momo had turned toward him, one eyebrow slightly arched. There was a trace of amusement in her gray eyes.
"Thank you, Midoriya-san. Most people focus on the limitations rather than the possibilities."
"Though the limitations make sense," Izuku continued, unable to help himself. "You said lipid cells, right? That means you need significant energy reserves to fuel the Creation. The more complex the object, the more calories you'd burn. So your body would naturally need to maintain larger fat deposits to function efficiently..."
He went silent as his brain caught up with his mouth and he realized what he'd just said. Oh.
"I mean! That's just an observation about your Quirk! It wasn't a personal comment! I swear!" He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks. "It just explains... you know... the distribution of... I'm going to stop talking now."
There was a moment of silence. Momo's face had turned slightly pink, and Izuku braced himself for the slap or the cold look of disgust he probably deserved. Instead, her expression shifted as if she were processing the logic behind his words. Her sharp mind had clearly caught the correlation he'd made, however clumsily he'd expressed it.
"I see," she said finally, her voice still calm. "The biological correlation you're referring to. It's a rather... direct analysis, Midoriya-san. But accurate. My lipid reserves are, indeed, the fuel source for my Quirk. It requires a substantial energy conversion."
She resumed walking, and he hurried to keep pace.
"It was a keen observation," she continued, scratching her cheek in what looked like a somewhat shy gesture. "Though perhaps lacking in... social finesse."
"Completely lacking!" he agreed quickly. "I'm a disaster at this. My mouth moves faster than my brain sometimes."
"Science requires no apologies," she said with a faint smile. "The classroom should be at the end of this hallway."
They walked in silence for a few moments. Izuku's heart was still hammering in his chest, though now for a different reason. She didn't get offended. In fact, she understood what I meant. Not only is she beautiful and smart, she's incredibly cool.
"There are quite a few students with impressive Quirks this year," Momo said suddenly, breaking the silence. "I've been reviewing the entrance exam rankings. The competition is going to be fierce."
"You already checked the rankings?"
"Of course. It's important to understand who your classmates are and what their capabilities might be." She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Though I noticed something unusual about your scores."
Izuku tensed slightly. Here it comes.
"You passed the practical exam despite not having a combat-focused Quirk," she continued, "and not only that, you did so with a high score."
"I worked with a partner," he admitted. "We covered each other's weaknesses. Her Quirk handled the offense while I focused on support and strategy."
"That's a remarkably mature way of thinking for an entrance exam where most students competed individually."
"Most students had Quirks that could handle the robots on their own," he said with a shrug. "Mine needed a different approach."
Momo studied him for a moment, clearly trying to put together the puzzle he represented. A boy with supposedly limited combat abilities who had scored at the top level through teamwork and strategy. Good, he thought. Let her wonder. The less people know about what I can really do, the better.
They reached a massive door with "1-A" painted in bright red letters.
"We're here," Momo said.
Izuku was about to thank her when his eyes caught movement inside the classroom, which was already open. His face lit up with joy.
"Uraraka! We made it!"
Across the room, the brown-haired girl he'd teamed up with during the exam turned around. Her whole face brightened when she saw him.
"Izuku-kun! I was looking for you!"
He walked into the classroom like he owned the place, forgetting about Momo for a moment. He walked over to Uraraka, and they bumped fists.
"I told you we'd both get in," he said.
They laughed together, and the familiarity between them was obvious to anyone watching. Momo stayed in the doorway, somewhat confused. How is it that someone with a supposedly weak Quirk carries himself with such confidence?
The image didn't add up. The lost boy from the hallway didn't fit the self-assured young man bumping fists with his partner. Something isn't right. I'm missing a critical variable.
Before she could follow that line of thought, a voice cut through the air explosively.
"Deku? What the hell are you doing here?"
Momo watched as a blonde boy with spiky hair and a permanent scowl stood up from his desk, where he'd had his feet propped up on the surface.
"Don't get into U.A. just to be a damn extra in my story," he growled.
"Get your feet off the desk!" Iida intervened. "It's disrespectful to our upperclassmen and the craftsmen who made this furniture!"
"Shut up, you stuck-up, four-eyed bastard! What elite school did you crawl out of to care about a desk?"
The tension rose another notch. Momo watched as Izuku held his ground against the explosive blonde. There was no fear in his green eyes, just a measured caution that suggested this wasn't their first confrontation. And then, a lazy voice joined the mix.
"If you're only here to make friends, you can leave."
Everyone turned, confused. On the floor by the door was what looked like a giant yellow caterpillar. The thing wriggled and opened slowly, revealing a man with messy black hair, scruffy stubble, and the most exhausted eyes Izuku had ever seen. The man stood up, shaking off the sleeping bag.
"It took you eight seconds to shut up," he said in a monotone. "Time is a precious resource. You're wasting it."
The whole class froze.
"I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa," he continued in the same tone. "Pleased to meet you. Now put these on and meet me at the training field."
He held up a blue gym uniform. The real test, it seemed, was about to begin.
******
Author's Note: hitting that like button is the best way to let me know you want more.
Enjoying the story? Don't forget to drop your Power Stones!
Patreon.com/itszeroo