Nick didn't have to wait long for his examination results to come in the mail. As he went out to check the mailbox in the morning he took the letters out, flipping through them and seeing the number of letters his dad was getting recently. He didn't know what they were for but he assumed he was working on something big.
Going inside he put them down on the table and knocked on the door that lead into the workshop he called out, "you got mail dad! It's on the kitchen table." As he walked past, not even waiting for a response as he jogged up the stairs and into his bedroom. Sitting down at his desk he opened the letter and took out the small disk that was inside. Throwing it down onto the desk he watched the video feed appear in front of him. He hadn't looked into holograms really at all… he would have to pull it apart and see how it worked.
Watching All Might appear before him saying something to one of the cameramen as he was forced to look back and forth between the cameras Nick couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. All Might only have a limited amount of time as a hero a day and he was using it to make acceptance letters for students? Well whatever the school wanted he guessed, didn't matter much to him.
Leaning back into the chair he watched the video playback as he All Might said the classic line he must have said to all the passing students in the hero course, "U.A. Is now YOUR HERO ACADEMIA!" His smile flashed in the video once more with his overly bright teeth. Smiling he wasn't surprised that he had made it in. With his score for both the practical and written exam, there was no reason to worry at all.
Looking once again at his results for the practical he smiled to himself. 87 villain points and 13 rescue points. Honestly, he expected more rescue points but he supposed spending most of the exam away from other students and then dropping a giant robot on the city putting others in danger didn't do well for his heroic appearance.
Sighing as he remembered his actions during the practical, he was worried that his ego was getting inflated. He had worked hard and done well but he hadn't really shown proper respect to anyone but his parents or Kendo. Just because he had advantages and was stronger it was because of the uniqueness of his situation. Many other people given his circumstances would be able to do just as well if not better. He wasn't a genius, he was just older than others.
He also needed to focus on external manipulation. It was stronger than internal manipulation and he had been ignoring it out of fear that he would be recognized for having a similar quirk but honestly, he didn't think he had to be so anxious about that anymore. He had taken measures like the way he deconstructed things and it had been eight years since he killed Kai. He should be fine if he really thought about it.
He needed to start using his true potential. He had thought about how he didn't want to limit himself before and during the entrance exam, so why was he so caught up on it still? His quirk was similar enough to his father's anyway. It wasn't unreasonable… combined with his mother's enhancing others some mutation like his wasn't actually impossible at all. And he had made it his own and he used it differently. He didn't need to limit himself because of some overbearing worries.
With the fact that Kai wasn't that popular when he was killed and hadn't earned his fame yet meant that only a few would know his quirk. That and quirks like water pump and earth flow allowed the manipulation of elements already. He didn't know why he was so caught up in unreasonable doubts and worries... he suspected his past life was still affecting him in ways, chaining him down.
Considering no one connected Midoriya and All Might either, yeah he should be fine. Now that he was in U.A. he wanted to try and do the best he could, not half-ass it like that egotistical Todoroki who only used half of his quirk. He was safer now than he had ever been. If All for One didn't find and kill Midoriya then how would be find and kill him? It was just… illogical.
While he had been practising the precision with assembling mechanics with his skill he had never tried to push its power to the next level and do something destructive. He needed to practice that now that he had the chance.
Nodding his head he stood up from his desk and picked up the hologram projector, he needed something to take his mind off this train of thought. Deciding he would figure out how this worked and improve his mechanical arms he made his way to his shed.
---
Walking down the halls of U.A. Nick was surprised by its size, it was full of winding corridors and classrooms and despite the guide that he was given he still had trouble finding his way around. It was a pain in the ass. He had been assigned to class 1-A which honestly he was happy with in the end. He had avoided the main cast up until now but now he no longer needed to really. He had kind of been hoping for 1-B so that he could just keep tabs on events but alas, no point being upset about it.
Smiling he was kind of eager to start interacting with people properly, being a loner for such a long time wasn't really that fun and his only friend was Kendo. He didn't think he would become friends with many people in his year, to be honest though. But Mirio and the rest of the big three did interest him. They worked hard and were the best of the best in this school. Also, Amajiki was really interesting to him in terms of biological manipulation. He couldn't wait to see if he could learn from his body adapting so that he could replicate the results.
One of the biggest roadblocks he was having was the rejection of parts that were too different, so if he could learn how Amajiki's body reacted to the changes he might be able to make some progress, that was assuming his quirk factor didn't have a say in the adaption.
Hoping that wasn't the case Nick finally found the door to 1-A, pulling his thoughts back to the now. Opening it he looked inside and saw that apart from Ida and Momo no one else was there. Seeing him enter Ida was the first to walk over. He had to give it to the kid, whatever stick was shoved up his ass was so far up there it was acting like a second spine. The confidence he had in himself was amazing, that and his posture was perfect.
"Hello, I'm Ida Tenya from Soumei Junior High. It is a pleasure to share this class with you. Congratulations on scoring the highest in the practical examination! It will be an honour to learn alongside you!" His voice was loud and monotone. Smiling slightly he shook Ida's offered hand.
Responding in a casual voice Nick said, "thanks, I worked hard to achieve the results I did. It will be wonderful to learn alongside you too Ida." Not offering his name as he ended the conversation there, walking away from the stunned boy as he made his way to his seat. Seat 19… honestly he was glad that the purple grape shithead was not in this class. He probably would have had to make another disappearance if he was. He just hoped he hadn't replaced someone in 1-B.
Just as Ida was about to turn and ask for his name the door opened and soon more students started to come in. As Ida greeted them all individually Nick just sat there watching, hoping that events unfolded as they did in the original but something told him that was not going to be the case. Confirming his theory Bakugo walked in, his expression clearly pissed.
As soon as he walked into the classroom he pushed Ida aside with a hand on his chest, the palm already releasing smoke as his eyes locked onto Nick, "Hey! Are you Hendrix?!". Seeing this Nick simply turned his head away and looked at the wall wishing there was a window there to look out of, pretending not to be 'Hendrix' for the moment. This seemed to enrage Bakugo even more as he stormed over and pops crackling from his palm said spoke in a raised voice.
"You extra! How did some fucking extra get more points than ME in the practical! My quirk is way better than everyone else's!" His voice was as explosive as his personality. Not knowing how to deal with this situation Nick turned back to Bakugo and just looked at him. Trying to figure out if he could defuse the walking landmine of a kid. "Not even answering me huh shitty extra! You think you're better than me!"
Shaking his head Nick said, "why would I? I don't even know you. Is your only worth being better than others? Get your head out your ass and go sit down." His voice annoyed as he looked at Bakugo, he was such as pampered little shit that Nick didn't know how he could take this for years, he would knock that shithead down a few pegs if he had to.
By some miracle and divine sense of the gods, Ida chose that moment to step in yelling to be heard over whatever Bakugo was about to retort with. "How undignified! To ignore my greeting and harass another student because of their commendable hard work! I find it hard to believe that you want to be a hero Bakugo! Please be respectful of others and sit down!"
Turning to yell at Ida the argument about how Ida was a two-bit extra started with both of them standing over Nick's desk, much to his disapproval. Ida repriming the other kid for being disrespectful of U.A. etc, etc. He just hated that it had to happen over his desk. Clicking his tongue he tried to tune out the yelling as he looked behind the two and saw Midoriya poking his head through the door. Sighing with relief that homeroom was about to start.
Bakugo with his back to the door didn't notice Midoriya until Ida walked past him and greeted the green hairs been sprouted as was meant to happen, congratulating him on discerning the true nature of the exam and the other point system. Watching Bakugo glare at the kid he just watched the scene unfold, uninterested.
With the arrival of Uraraka and then Mr Aizawa they soon were told to quiet down and without even being seated properly were told to change into prepared sports uniforms and make their way to the P.E. grounds.
Finally getting some action back in Nick stood up and walked out of the classroom right behind Aizawa ignoring the looks in the back of his head as he did so. He wanted to just get started, the sooner he was able to start learning the better. He was sure that he would learn here as well. It was a school to train Heroes after all.
Getting changed and making his way to the P.E. grounds he sighed as he ran a hand back through his hair. He was looking forward to the coming years as well as dreading them. He just hoped they would be worth it. The days until the real events started were going to be the hardest to get through. Walking into the P.E. grounds with the other kids trailing a few yards behind him he waited as Aizawa explained having no time for niceties and explained the freedom that the school had in how it taught its student body.
As Aizawa turned around and looked at him, their eyes matching he held eye contact with the older man feeling real pressure from him as he did. As erasurehead's eyes glowed a dim red Nicklaus' flared their sunburnt golden as he knew where this was going on. "How far could you throw in middle school Hendrix."