Chapter Text
Last time on 'Can We Keep Him.' ~
“We are so proud of you, little listeners,” Mama said, watching the exchange fondly.
“Welcome to UA, kids,” Dad smiled. Izuku beamed at him before pulling Hitoshi over to them for a group hug.
Final exams passed and they graduated middle school. They kept training the entire break between school years. Then finally, they were at UA, staring down the door to their classroom.
“That’s a big door,” Izuku commented aloud.
“Maybe it’s for accessibility,” Hitoshi offered. Izuku shrugged. He stepped forward to push open the door and start his first day as a student of Class 1-A.
Thank you and please enjoy Part 2 of this series! ❀ܓ(｡◠ ꇴ ◠｡ )
Izuku sighed as he immediately recognized Kacchan, already picking a fight with someone. Kacchan had his feet up on his desk and the boy with blue hair and glasses from the entrance exam was chastising him. “You shouldn’t put your feet on the desk!”
Kacchan sneered at the other boy. “Hah?”
“Don’t you think it’s rude to the UA upperclassmen and the people who made the desk?” the boy asked sternly. While Izuku could understand where he was coming from, it was just a desk.
Kacchan smirked. “Nope. What junior high did you go to extra?” Oh no. The ‘extra’ thing was following them here.
“I attended Somei Private Academy. My name is Iida Tenya,” the boy introduced himself. Somei was a private middle school. Usually, only rich kids attended there unless someone lucked out and got in on a scholarship.
“Somei. So you’re a damn elite, huh? Looks like I’ll have fun crushing you,” Kacchan grinned.
Iida stammered. “C-crushing? That’s cruel. Do you truly aim to be a hero?”
Izuku flinched, knowing that was a sore spot for him. Kacchan frowned. “Tch.”
Then Iida spotted him at the door with Hitoshi and approached them. “Good Morning! I am from Somei Private Acadamy. My name is--”
“I heard,” Izuku interrupted. Iida gave him a confused glance. “Um, I mean. My name is Aiyama Izuku. Oh, and this is my brother Aiyama Hitoshi.” Izuku stepped out of Hitoshi’s way. “It’s nice to meet you, Iida-kun.”
“If you both have the same last name, it might be hard to refer to you,” Iida pointed out.
“Ah, well, I don’t mind if people call me Izuku,” Izuku replied tugging at his hair anxiously.
Hitoshi didn’t comment but reached up to stop the movement. “People can call me by my first name as well. It doesn’t bother me.”
“Right then! Izuku-kun. You realized there was something more to that practical exam, didn’t you? I had no idea… I misjudged you! I hate to admit it, but you’re better than me.” Iida said in a strained voice.
“Um, sorry. I didn’t actually realize anything,” Izuku admitted.
“Oh, that curly hair! You’re the plain-looking one,” a cheerful voice stated. Izuku turned to see the nice girl from the entrance exam. “You passed, just like Present Mic said! Of course, you did! The way you took down that zero-pointer was amazing!”
She moved to stand right in front of Izuku. “I wonder if today’s just the entrance ceremony and orientation? I wonder what our teachers like?” So close… “Aren’t you nervous?”
“Can you give him some space?” Hitoshi asked, noticing Izuku’s discomfort.
“Oh, yes! I’m sorry.” She took a few steps back. “My name is Uraraka Ochaco! I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier. I kept forgetting.”
“I am Iida Tenya,” Iida introduced himself with a choppy bow.
“My name is Aiyama Izuku but you can call me Izuku because well…” Izuku was getting a little tired. It was too many people.
“Because we have the same last name. We’re brothers,” Hitoshi finished for him. “I’m Aiyama Hitoshi.”
“Oh, alright! Thank you again for saving me during the entrance exam, Izuku-kun!” Uraraka smiled at him brightly.
“Go somewhere else if you want to play at being friends. This is the hero course.” Izuku turned to see Dad in the doorway, on the ground, in his sleeping bag. The other students looked fairly unsettled by his appearance.
Standing up, Dad pulled himself out of his sleeping bag. “Okay, it took eight seconds before you were quiet. Time is limited. You kids are not rational enough. I’m your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta. Nice to meet you.”
“Homeroom teacher?” several students parroted in confusion and surprise.
“It’s kind of sudden, but put this on and go out to the training field,” Dad instructed, holding up a gym uniform.
“A quirk assessment test?” the class asked.
“What about the entrance ceremony? The orientation?” Uraraka asked with mild panic.
Dad gave her a flat look. “If you’re going to become a hero, you don’t have time for such leisurely events.” Izuku frowned thinking about all the things they had done since they found him that could be considered ‘leisurely.’ Although he could tell Dad was just making a point.
“UA’s selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are. That’s also how the teachers run their classes. You kids have been doing these since junior high, too, right? Physical fitness tests where you weren’t allowed to use your quirks. The country still uses averages taken from results from students not using their quirks. It’s not rational. Well, the Ministry of Education is procrastinating,” Dad lectured the class.
He turned to Kacchan. “Bakugou, you finished at the top of the practical exam. In junior high, what was your best result for the softball throw?”
“67 meters,” Kacchan answered.
“Then, try doing it with your quirk. You can do whatever you want as long as you stay in the circle,” Dad instructed. “Hurry up. Give it all you’ve got.”
Kacchan looked at the ball Dad had thrown him. “Then, well…” He walked out to the designated circle. “I’ll add a blast to the pitch.”
He wound up and threw the ball with an explosion. “DIE!” he shouted.
“Die?” a classmate asked incredulously. Oh boy...
“Know your own maximum first. That is the most rational way to form the foundation of a hero,” Dad said before holding up a measurement tool that read 705.2m.
“Seriously?” the boy with the black streak in his hair gaped.
“What’s this? It looks fun!” a girl with pink hair and horns exclaimed.
“We can use our quirks as much as we want. As expected from the hero course!” a tall, lanky boy commented.
“It looks fun, huh?” Dad asked with a flat look. Oh no… “You have three years to become a hero. Will you have an attitude like that the whole time? All right. Whoever comes in last place in all eight tests will be judged to have no potential and will be punished with expulsion.”
The class let out various noises of confusion and surprise.
“We are free to do what we want about the circumstances of our students. Welcome to UA’s hero course!” Dad said, pushing his hair out of his face and giving them a feral grin.
“Last place will be expelled? But it’s the first day of school. No, even if it wasn’t the first day of school, this is too unfair!” Uraraka complained.
“But…” Izuku spoke out of turn without thinking. “Life isn’t fair, though. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? Villains attack the city without reason. Earthquakes tear down buildings. People hurt each other needlessly. Heroes exist to combat that unfairness. If we want to be heroes, we are saying that we will shoulder the injustices of life to protect people from things they can’t control. We can’t expect things to be easy. To be heroes, we have to be dedicated to serving. We can’t expect ‘fair.’ We have to make things fair for those we protect.”
Uraraka and much of the rest of the class had contemplative expressions. Dad spoke. “He’s right. If you wanted to go talk with your friends at a cafe after school, too bad. For the next three years, UA will do all it can to give you one hardship after another. Go beyond. Plus Ultra. Overcome it with all you’ve got.”
“All right, the demonstration’s over. The real thing starts now.”