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CHAPTER START---
"Don't waste that much time walking back to class next time," Aizawa grumbles as everyone enters the classroom, the quiet conversations going silent as they find their seats.
He looks over the class, and glances at Izuku, "how's your finger?"
"Much better sir!" Izuku answers, raising his hand and waving around the bandaged digit.
"Good, because this is how low the bar has been set, from this moment onward, I expect constant improvement from each and every one of you." Everyone stiffens up as his voice suddenly becomes strict. "Look around, there are twenty students in this class, and hundreds that want your spots, at UA we demand constant improvement, to stop improving is to fall behind, and people are just waiting for the chance to take your place."
Some people begin to sweat ever so slightly at those words.
"Sir!" Iida raises his hand.
"What is it?"
"You said twenty students, but..." he looks to his left, past Koda, past Tokayami, to the empty seat behind Izuku and in front of Yaoyorozu.
"He's a special case, and he'll be here shortly," Aizawa says. "For now I want you to focus on these," Aizawa taps the board and a long list appears. "These are your scores from the entrance exams and the test we just completed, the recommended students are colored in blue while everyone else is in white, only because they had a different practical exam during the entrance exam, you've all been ranked..."
A flurry of 'oohs' is heard as each student scans the board. Yaoyorozu fights the proud smirk on her lips, yet blushes slightly, genuinely surprised to be at the very top of the board. Scoring 92 on the written exam, 3rd in the obstacle course for the recommended entrance exam, and first in the quirk test.
The entire class turns to her for a moment causing her to blush even more. Todoroki is in third, with Bakugo between them.
And Bakguo's face splits into a devious grin, suppressing his rowdy victorious laugh as he sees Izuku down at number nineteen.
"As you can see," Aizawa says, "at UA, competition is one of our primary motivators. Every exam, every test, every mid-term and finals, you will be ranked like this and everyone will see your scores. You aren't just trying to surpass yourself from yesterday, but all the people here sitting beside you."
The entire room perks up at his words, suddenly feeling more and more pressure trying to crush them, the expectations of a UA student.
For some like Iida and Bakugo, it made them stronger, made them want to fight harder and surpass their limits.
For Yaoyorozu and Izuku, it made them feel to curl up into a ball and hide away.
But everyone felt something at this realization finally setting in.
"This year alone seventeen thousand people were competing for these spots. In this room alone we've got two recommended students," most of the class glances back at Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, "and seventeen public entrance exam students, if you slack off it's over..."
As Aizawa continues, most of the class does the simple math and can't quite get it out of their heads '17+2=19, not 20.'
They look past Aizawa and to the board behind him, eyes dropping to the very bottom of the list.
'Horizon
Entrance Exam Score:---
Written Exam Score:---
Quirk Apprehension Test:---'
Iida can't help it and raises his hand, unable to fight his desire to stand and confront this.
Eraser grumbles and glances over to him, "if you want to know just ask Horizon when he gets here," he says before going back to his terrifying speech.
Iida sits back in his seat impatiently.
Hearing that name and seeing it on the board confirms what All Might told him earlier, and Izuku begins sweating nervously, looking down at his hand. 'If he touches me he could notice how unusual One For All is, and connect me with All Might...no, with Toshinori Yagi, since he doesn't know he's All Might, I need to be careful,' he clenches his fist and nearly screams in pain, forgetting about his injured finger.
"Alright, now I'll give a short breakdown of the syllabus, in the hero course each homeroom teacher has complete control over their class, so---"
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
The massive door at the front of the room slides open.
All eyes are glued to Horizon and Nezu, stepping into the room with the metal case for his hero costume hanging in his right hand, and a notebook and pencil case in his left.
Towering over most of the class and taller than Shoji by just 5cm -2 inches-, making him look like a giant before some of his peers. The UA uniform didn't do much to stop the intimidating presence he gave off, silently turning his head, the black visor glancing about the room, completely unreadable.
But this presence caused everyone to get confused when they looked up to see Nezu sitting on his shoulder, happily smiling down at them.
'So cute!' most of the girls thought, while some people were just confused about the entire situation.
"Hello everyone!" Nezu excitedly waves at the students. "It's your favorite Mouse-Bear, impossibly adorable, and most importantly, your principal! Nezu!" he sees confused and amazed looks at his introduction. He taps the top of Horizon's visor a few times, "and this is your classmate, Horizon, sorry he's a bit late. He actually got to school early but I called him into my office to deal with some matters, and we decided to watch your Quirk test from there, excellent work everyone! I can tell we've got a batch of future heroes right here."
"You're really the principal?" Uraraka blurts out, "you're so cute!"
Aizawa groans which they all ignore, and Horizon just quietly listens, currently acting as a statue for Nezu to sit on.
"Of course I'm your principal Ms. Uraraka," he waves to her. "It was decided by who had the best hair, and naturally no human could ever match the luscious shine of my coat, so I've been the principal of UA for nearly fifty years."
All but a few people freeze at that, since Nezu isn't in the spotlight like most heroes young children will rarely know about him unless they have to.
"He's messing with you infinity girl," Horizon says, his slightly mechanical voice sending a chill down her spine. "He's a mouse that developed a Quirk, High Spec, gives him a brain better than a dozen supercomputers, 'intellect beyond human comprehension' is the official description, he also pays for all the robots that tried to kill you in the entrance exam...most important person in UA."
"And he's so cute!" Mina can't help but yell out. Earning a small chorus of agreement.
Aizawa grumbles loudly, "Nezu, here for one minute and already turned my class into a damn circus," he points at Horizon while everyone stares. "And you, don't get too comfortable because Principal Nezu is playing favorites, I expect you to work hard just like everyone else here, prove you deserve your spot."
"But I'm not playing favorites..." Nezu weakly defends, earning a doubtful glance from everyone in the room.
"Whatever, let's go, Vlad is waiting," Aizawa steps closer and Nezu hops down from Horizon's shoulder and onto his, getting comfortable in his scarf. He turns to the class, suddenly looking a lot less intimidating with Nezu on him, and speaks in a gruff voice. "I'll be back in a few minutes to explain the syllabus, don't get rowdy..."
"Good luck students, I'm expecting great things from all of you!" Nezu excitedly waves as the door closes, now leaving Horizon standing in front of the class.
ROOM
He immediately turns to look at Toru Hagakure, the formerly invisible girl, now he sees an adorable and slim girl with short white-green hair and eyes excitedly bouncing in her seat, mouthing the words to a song as she looks around the room.
'Guess it isn't a mutation, I should tell Nezu sometime...' he turns without saying a word and walks to the end of the room, directly opposite the front door.
"May I ask a question, Horizon!"
He stops and sighs, turning to see Iida standing stiffly, eyes completely focused on him.
"Well, I can't stop you."
"My name is Tenya Iida, it's a pleasure to meet you," Iida nods, and below his visor Horizon rolls his eyes.
"Get to the point Engine."
"Right, I'd like to know why you don't have any scores on the board," Iida points to the board behind Horizon, and he glances back for a moment to see.
"Oh, that. Question, why do those exams exist?" He asks nobody in particular.
"To test who is worthy of entering UA academy of course," Iida answers immediately.
"Exactly," Horizon places his one book and pencil case down on Aizawa's desk and continues walking to the far wall. "So why waste time and energy on someone who you know will always get a perfect score, and is incapable of losing to anyone else at the exam?"
"What are you saying?!" Iida asks, much of the class immediately got heated at Horizon's attitude and insinuation, Bakugo could almost feel his hands sweating as his veins bulged and eyes narrowed.
Horizon taps the wall, the closest of the four marked rectangles almost reaching from floor to ceiling to the front wall, and out comes a shelf with five similar metal cases.
He places his repainted case in the spot where number '19' would go while he answers, " I'm saying it's impossible for me not to get a perfect score, or to get beaten by any of you," he pushes the shelf back into the wall and moves to get his things from Aizawa's desk. Now turning to face the class, "so while all of you were fighting your little hearts out to get these precious spots...I took a day for myself and went surfing," he chuckles at their angry and horrified expressions.
Angry that he'd get such special treatment, and act like this toward them, but some were rightly horrified at a simple thought.
'If he didn't need the exams, just what kind of a monster is it?', mainly Todoroki, Bakugo, Iida, Izuku, and Yaoyorozu immediately thought of this, but over the next few seconds the thought entered everyone's mind, causing his already intimidating presence to appear downright monstrous.
And in their moment of horror and awe, that monster turned his attention to the most nervous, and sweaty person in the room, judging by how he was shaking and already had a layer of cold sweat on him. Izuku Midoriya.
Leaning back against Aizawa's desk Horizon keeps his arms at his side, palms down on the desk, and looks directly at Izuku.
"So, cripple boy, Izuku Midoriya, why the fuck are you still here?"
END CHAPTER---
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