{6} - Izumi Midoriya: First Days at UA
As it turned out, only five other candidates had made it into the Support Class. That pink-haired girl had made it in as well—though Izumi had already guessed that she would. When she entered the classroom, they all turned to her a moment before they looked away. No one said a word.
Nor did she. She just sat down at her desk, pulled out a book, and read. They were all nerds in the end.
…and, loath she admit, she couldn't find it in herself to try. She didn't want to make any friends. Any attempt she made would end in failure. Any friend she made would betray her. Her old classmates had taught her that. Kacchan had told her that.
She'd be glad if she found a friend, of course. Her -Analysis- reminded her that she was still human in the end—that she needed friendship.
But right now? She didn't give a damn. She was here to make her Iron Suit, practice using it, and become a Hero.
There was just one issue,
Izumi was bored.
She didn't want to discredit Power Loader by any means—she could tell that he was passionate in teaching them. But compared to the wealth of knowledge Smith-sensei had given her? Compared to the time they spent tinkering together? Compared to the 'movies' he had shown her?
Sitting in the classroom was dull beyond belief.
At least the in-person classes for the Support students only lasted until noon. After that, they were all expected to head off to work on the Support items they'll all need to present for their exams.
Once all the other students had left, Izumi approached Power Loader with a request.
"Power Loader-san."
The Hero cringed. "Just call me Majima, kid."
She nodded. "Majima-sensei, I would like to put in a request."
He hummed. "Sure. What is it?"
She took a breath, and with the straightest face she could muster, she said, "Is it possible to have a particle accelerator?"
"...what?"
She frowned. "Is it impossible?" She hummed. "Then, at least, could I build a particle accelerator here in UA, instead?"
Power Loaded waved his hand. "Wait-, wait. Hold on," He turned to her and frowned. She assumed he was glaring underneath his helmet. "A particle accelerator? Do you know how much that costs?"
Izumi stared back, far from amused. "And how much does UA spend to maintain all those robots that the Hero students destroy daily?" She asked back.
He stared, and then laughed. "Yeah, you're right." He shook your head, though he seemed far more amicable. "Still, I can't agree to that. Particle Accelerators are hard to transport. I-Island has one, but that place's stingy as all hell."
A smile made it onto her lips. She noticed that he didn't say that she wasn't allowed to build one. Her -Analysis- noticed how he seemed tense despite amusement, almost as if he was hoping she didn't notice. She couldn't help but grin. "But I'm still allowed to build one?"
He shivered, and then slumped. "Yeah, you're allowed to. Support students can build anything, as long as you make it known to me." He frowned. "But how're you going to even build one?"
Her -Analysis- pulled her memories to the front of her mind. Hundreds of scenes of Tony Stark flashed before her eyes.
She took a subtle breath, and she copied his devious grin. "I'm confident I can." She said. "Want to make a bet, Majima-sensei?"
He shivered again. "No." He said. "But follow me. I know a room you can use."
He turned and went out the door. She smiled and followed him out.
…
Eight hours later, and with nearly the entire UA Faculty watching her, Izumi Midoriya nearly leapt in joy as she palmed a shard of Badassium. She didn't, of course. Because she was calm. Because she was cool.
So, instead, she turned to Majima-sensei and smiled. The smile she intended to give was a triumphant one. But her adrenaline made her overshoot, and the smile she gave was almost deranged as she held out the glowing shard of metal. "And there you go." She said. She grinned. "The particle accelerator's working just fine."
She received no answer, and she didn't care. Because she had Badassium to work with now, and that meant she could finally make a miniature Arc Reaction, which meant she could finally power her Iron Suit.
And of course she received no answer. The UA Faculty, made of prominent Heroes, could only stare in awe at what they'd just seen.
A student, still eighteen, had forged a particle accelerator in just five hours, and made one that was somehow miles smaller compared to the one I-Island had. And beyond that, they'd just watched her create an entire new element.
It was madness.
There were only two outliers. The Principal—a hybrid animal named Nezu—laughed silently as he saw the triumph in Izumi's eyes. He'd kept his eyes on her when he saw her intelligence during the exams, and he knew she had his interest. "What an interesting year this will be." He said, his mind filled with plans and ideas.
Power Loader laughed as well. But his laughter was shaky, and filled with despair. "There's two of them." He said, eyes turning from the principal to his student. "I'm so dead."
The Hero Vlad King gave his fellow teacher a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.
......
Days pass in a blur. Mornings would come. She'd wake and prepare herself. She'd head to UA. Slave through the morning classes. Eat lunch. Head to her lab. Continue to build her first Iron Suit. Work until her mom calls her in worry. Return home. Eat dinner. Finish homework. Head to bed.
Wake up in Smith-sensei's School. Take his Lectures. Have fun. Have more fun. Try not to embarrass herself. Finish the Lectures. Bid him goodbye. Vanish in a shower of light. Wake back up on her bed. Actually fall asleep.
Wake up the next day. Repeat.
It got to her, at some point. Her mind just blanked eventually. Smith-sensei seemed to have noticed this. His Lectures eventually morphed to them watching movies together. She watched more of Iron Man's exploits, and of the Heroes he's associated with in the 'MCU' as Smith-sensei called it.
Day in. Day out. Day in. Day out.
Izumi wouldn't call herself impatient. She wouldn't dare. But her progress on the Iron Suit was excruciating. It was seven days after she began crafting her Iron Suit that she realized how inadequate UA-, no, this world was.
The tools and technologies Smith-sensei's School had to offer were leagues beyond the most advanced things her world had. Batteries with infinite life, saws that could cut through anything, cameras that could detect the most minute of changes—she'd taken them all by granted.
And all those things were provided by the lowest level of the Engineering Lab. Smith-sensei said that he could upgrade it once he had enough Mentor Exp!
So she became irritable. Her patience thinned and thinned the more she realized just how much catch-up she'd need to do. Plans had to be rewritten to consider the lower level of technology her world had.
Perhaps it was fate, then, that it was during this period of her life that she and Kacchan met once again.
It was noon. She was eating lunch in the cafeteria when she heard someone scream. She looked up then, and her entire body froze as her eyes fell on someone she used to call her 'best friend'.
"Deku!?" Katsuki Bakugou shouted, eyes glaring under his bright blonde hair. His lips were curled into a snarl. "The fuck are you doing here, huh!?" He added with a growl.
She stared back, frozen in panic. But before she could say anything, her -Analysis- forced her mind back in place. You did not tell him. He is surprised, it told her. You have seen his anger before. This is nothing new, it added.
And presented with that logic, her irritation made itself known. "I made it in, obviously." She snarked back. The boy flinched back, surprised. She allowed herself a flat grin. "It's good to meet you, Bakugou-san. How have your days been?"
He stared at her, and then his snarl returned. "You Quirkless bitch," He growled. "Did you cheat your way in?"
She took a glance around. Everyone seemed to have turned their way. They'd all heard his words. They all knew she was Quirkless.
No anger came. No fear either.
Her irritation only grew.
"This is UA," She said. Her grin sharpened. Became dangerous. "It'd be bad press if they allowed someone to cheat their way in. Even someone like All Might wouldn't be able to do that."
She ran a thumb over her chest pocket. The recorder she always carried on her person was inside. And still very much active.
Smith-sensei had suggested she do so. "Because what they did to you was wrong," he explained. "Having some blackmail to tear them down is always nice."
He was right. She'd witnessed hours of mistreatment by the Faculty back in Aldera High. All recorded and stored in a secure Hard Drive. She could destroy Aldera whenever she wanted to.
She hadn't, back then. She felt that it wasn't justified.
As she stared at the growing anger of the boy before her, she considered doing it now. It was clear Aldera had done no good to Bakugou. How much damage could they have caused to others?
Yes, Aldera was going down today. She promised herself.
"Pfft, yeah right." Katsuki grinned. "As if someone as dumb as you can cheat your way in. What was it," His grin became almost deranged as he stepped forward. "Did you get help from that fucking foreigner you talked about? What was his name again?"
…
"What did you say?" Izumi asked, gaze empty.
"Ha?" Katsuki snarled. "Did you not hear-"
She slammed her fist onto the table. It split in two. The tray of food she'd been eating from fell to the floor.
The cafeteria went silent. Everyone who'd been watching was stunned silent as their eyes turned to the table she just destroyed. The split was impossibly smooth to have come from a punch. Katsuki stared at her, eyes wide and slight trembles running up his arms. He looked truly frightened.
Distantly, she realized she'd just broken school property. That she'd done so with witnesses. That she just showed a strength no Quirkless individual should have.
Izumi. Didn't. Care.
"Katsuki Bakugou." She called. His eyes snapped to hers, and he shivered as he saw the bright green of her eyes. It almost looked like her pupils were glowing. "Repeat those words."
He didn't speak.
"Katsuki Bakugou." She repeated, louder this time. "Repeat. Those. Words."
He didn't speak.
She took a deep breath. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the recorder. She clicked, and the recording stopped. And its place, one played. "Deku!? The fuck are you doing here, huh!?" Katsuki's voice played out.
"UA doesn't tolerate bullying." She said. She stood up. "I will be taking this to Nezu-san." She gave him a pat on the shoulder. She barely managed to hold herself back from using her Strength to crush his shoulder. "It's good meeting you, Bakugou-san."
She left the cafeteria, uncaring of what she left behind.