It was time to apply to UA, and Izuku was still angered that he had to cater to his father's insane plan. Standing before the most intelligent being, Nezu, and even All Might, who would be teaching at UA, the risk of exposing his abilities and AFO himself was rather high. With the choice taken out of his hands, he decided to utilize the situation to the maximum. He could never work within the official system as AFO envisioned, and turning to the so-called villainy seemed inevitable. The moment he believed he had a chance to escape from AFO's influence or even damage him, he would take it and leave the hero system for the naive fools.
Achieving his goal of being free from the Titans and destroying what they achieved by creating his own version of society—one where everyone has freedom of choice and where discrimination based on the label of "villain" from a young age, due to appearance and quirk, is eradicated—would be very hard if he were just a villain. To influence the public and others, one needs an inspiring story. For all his faults, Bakugo's claim that he would be the only one to pass to UA from their "shitty" school had some truth in it. At UA, Izuku would be the most heroic student of all, and his willingness to help others must be prominent.
Izuku knew that the moment the truth about his ability and father became known to heroes or the public, he would be persecuted by the HPSC and All Might. He wanted ordinary people to know that he tried to become a hero with all his heart and was thwarted by the corrupt system. He wanted the public to know he only became a supervillain because of the corrupted government, and even then, he would help the common man. Izuku knew the public loves an underdog story, and what's more underdog than being a chess piece between two titans and their 200-year-old war? He knew that to achieve that status, he must build on the image he already had among the public. Even though he had never appeared in any public media, many forums had stories about him helping in hospitals and old age homes.
For that, he must be the highest scorer in the entrance test and be the speaker at the sports festival. He would have to use his powers very carefully to maintain the story of Boost. Izuku thought about the quirks he had acquired in the last two years using the Double quirk. Taking that quirk was the greatest help in his plans and path to power. Giran had come through, and the quirks he asked for were delivered. Individually, the quirks were not significant combat quirks, but collectively, they were on another level.
The ability of his All For Me to combine quirks was a godly gift. He had a hard limit of five simultaneous quirk uses as of now, and the ability to combine quirks permanently made it almost a non-issue. This was his ace up his sleeve and the improvement on his father's quirk. Izuku had a single quirk called Elemental Fire, which he merged from five different fire-related quirks: Dabi's cremation copy, fire resistance copy, dragon breath, fire change (where he could change the fire's color and make it not burn), and fire manipulation. The merged quirk was green in color and powerful. Even though the cremation copy had reduced power, it was still almost Endeavor-level. Izuku got decent fire resistance outside and good fire resistance inside his chest, face, and mouth, along with the ability to control released fire. It made a very good combo and versatile fire quirk.
The reason Izuku went for fire first was Endeavor and other fire heroes. His physical weaknesses were covered by cell activation, but fire could overpower it if it was hot enough, and cremation was certainly hot enough if Dabi betrayed him in the future. Izuku's Boost was his registered quirk, and he had merged night vision, stamina generation, and stockpile into it. Sadly, even with a stamina quirk and all the training, Izuku's threshold for fight time was low. Maintaining five different quirks was very hard in terms of energy consumption.
Izuku was looking for a healing quirk and discovered a cell manipulation quirk in a hero, but it worked only in blood type A. He looked into the hero's son and discovered that his son had the same quirk but worked on everyone. Izuku portaled to Nabu Island. The dangerous thing about cell activation was that it could harm him if enough energy or nutrients were not in his body. It would eat through his body while keeping him alive. Izuku got a copy of a quirk that let him generate energy through kinetic movements. This was a very important quirk as it allowed him to generate and store energy. He merged this with Boost.
Then there were the utility quirks. Pocket gave him a small room as a pocket dimension. Double acted as a support quirk too, as he could create non-living things as well. Izuku acquired five mental quirks: brainwashing, empathy, high-speed thought, perfect memory, and parallel processing. He merged all of them into brainwashing and received many benefits. His thinking speed and planning increased drastically, and he could predict the movements of his enemies almost accurately. At least this made the usage of Double very easy. Izuku considered this his most important quirk, as the parallel processing and high-speed thought, along with mental boost, made him behave as others expected. This one helped him play the role of obedient but slightly rebellious teenager in front of his father. The perfect memory helped him recall every bit of the lies he had told to sell his act.
The only way Izuku could add so many quirks with his drawback of adaptation time was by using a quirk in Tomura. Tomura had two quirks: a minor adaptation one and Decay. Izuku created a clone of Tomura and took the weak adaptation quirk for himself. The adaptation quirk was the longest one in Tomura's body and answered how he became so strong with such a skinny body. The adaptation quirk increased the body's natural adaptation to increased stress to very high levels. There is a reason Endeavor could throw a car when his quirk had nothing to do with strength. Every night, Izuku snatched a quirk and slept, keeping Minor Adaptation and merged Boost active, allowing his body to adapt to the quirk strain more quickly. Cell Activation also boosted adaptation, as the body healed by cell activation became stronger and took much more damage to injure it similarly. So, Izuku even used cell activation after every training session to make his body stronger. Interestingly, there was no light when he used Cell Activation on himself, and even his father couldn't see the quirk being used, even with his plethora of sensory quirks.
Izuku knew he would easily pass the written exam, and the practical would be easy as his registered quirk was a physical one. It still made him angry that even with all his practice and quirks, he was still a "Deku" in front of the Titans. Only the knowledge that he was constantly moving towards achieving his revenge stopped him from just snapping and killing Tomura just to have a short revenge on his father, who was basing many of his plans on that insane man-child.
Principal Nezu
Nezu sat in his office, sipping tea while contemplating various scenarios using his high-spec quirk. For the last four years, Japanese society had been thriving. Nezu and Sir Nighteye orchestrated the 'Might Speech,' which the Number One Hero delivered with his signature passion and charisma. This 'Might Movement,' All Might's brainchild conceived during a public meet, was a resounding success, assisting many people despite some frivolous calls from fans wanting to speak to All Might himself.
However, Nezu was now preoccupied with what the "demoness" might be planning as revenge. For four years, the approval ratings for commission-sponsored heroes had plummeted. The public was starting to think for themselves, and the lack of real punishment for the three heroes involved in the Midoriya incident had sparked significant backlash against both the commission and the heroes. Even Nezu was puzzled by the demoness's protection of those heroes.
Nezu's attention turned to an application for the Hero Course from an unexpected student: Midoriya Izuku, the catalyst of the Might Movement and the true victim of the Midoriya incident. The application was noteworthy, boasting one of the highest scores in Japan across all subjects for the past three years and an excellent essay on the essence of heroism. The prose was of a caliber akin to college-level work, with an underlying arrogance and unwavering belief in his acceptance into the Hero Course. Nezu would have been eager to accept and mentor this interesting and intelligent kid if it was the first time he was hearing about him. But it wasn't. For the past four years, Izuku had been a person of interest, and Nezu had tried to follow the boy to find answers to his ever-increasing questions.
Nezu had identified Izuku on I-Island as the new owner of a 10% share under a different name. It was fortuitous that Nezu was on I-Island for a board meeting. Seeing the kid with white hair, red eyes, and aristocratic features bewildered him. Nezu had then stalked Izuku through official records, social media, and security cameras across Japan. He even created a virus to alert him whenever Izuku's face was identified by any security camera. The results were perplexing. The virus revealed that Izuku was remarkably elusive, often keeping to the shadows, his head low, and his shoulders slouched, making him almost invisible to cameras. Any time he was visible was the time he spent helping voluntarily in Old age homes and hospitals. How he managed the overseers there to allow a child to work there is another matter entirely and Nezu has no answer for it.
Upon returning to Japan, Nezu delved deeper into the name Izuku used on I-Island. Surprisingly, there was almost nothing. For three generations, the same pattern emerged: reclusive, intelligent, private study, no public appearances, and minimal digital footprint except for bank transactions with I-Island. It was all too perfect, raising more questions than answers.
Izuku's registered quirk was 'Boost,' enhancing both mind and body. The mental boost was so significant that he could manipulate small objects psychically. Nezu, a quirk counselor and teacher for countless years, had never encountered such a quirk. No mental quirk had ever combined telekinesis and pure mental power. With his intellect, Izuku should have telepathy or at least some telekinesis. Another question without answers.
Then there was Hisashi Midoriya. Careful digging revealed no digital footprint or photos. His registered quirk was Dragon Breath. He hadn't been to Japan in ten years but booked a flight within an hour of the Midoriya incident. After a week, he left again, leaving no further details. Another question without answers.
A ten-year-old Izuku had shown a potent killing intent and hatred towards heroes during the Midoriya incident. Nezu recognized the look in Midoriya's eyes, similar to his own when he swore revenge against the scientists who mutilated and experimented on him. True to his oath, he had his revenge, with only the person who approved the experiments remaining. Nezu wondered if Izuku was scheming revenge, otherwise why change his decision? Another question without answers.
Despite finishing his tea, Nezu couldn't reach a conclusion. Thousands of scenarios flashed through his mind, but none seemed correct. He even considered the absurd notion of Izuku being the secret son of All For One, seeking revenge for his father's death. Nezu snorted and dismissed the idea as fiction created by his high-spec quirk.
Nezu decided to call on his vice principal and weapon against any enemies, the Eraser Hero: Eraserhead. Aizawa was scouted and trained in observation and analysis by Nezu. It was Nezu who arranged for the underground hero to train Aizawa, and after he gained experience, Nezu kept him close as a strategic asset. "Mr. Aizawa, please come to my office immediately," Nezu announced over the comms.
"What is it, Sir? Make it quick. I have a nap to get to," Aizawa said, irritated.
"Ah, it seems your hour of sleep is over. Come read this applicant for next year's Hero Course," Nezu said with a cackle.
Eraserhead read Midoriya Izuku's application and was impressed but couldn't forget the scene from two years ago. "How can a person who won't save someone about to commit suicide become a hero? Accept him now. At least then we can see if his arrogance and belief are warranted and assess his current skill level. If he passes the exam with more villain points, reject him. More rescue points, then only accept him."
Nezu smiled. "Interesting, very interesting. I didn't even show you my well-founded reasons for non-approval, and you're already almost rejecting him. What happened two years ago on that rooftop?"
Eraserhead explained the situation, and Nezu's eyes gleamed with fondness and cruelty only a predator could have. "Thank you for sharing this, Aizawa. I have decided to accept him, and when he passes the Hero Entrance Test, he will be your student," Nezu said gleefully.
Aizawa was outraged. "Didn't you hear a word I said? He has no respect for the lives of others and is suffering from many traumas. It's a textbook case of turning to villainy. At least follow my plan."
"Oh, Aizawa, I heard and understood what you said. It will be more dangerous if he is rejected and turns to vigilantism or villainy. His mindset is very similar to mine. With the revenge and hatred he showed in the Midoriya incident video against the three buffoons on the scene and heroes in general, it's like a mini-me turning to villainy. The hatred he showed is akin to my own against those who experimented on me. Even now, I have many unanswered questions about him, all painting a dangerous picture. We should at least try to steer him right before cutting ties. Maybe he will turn a new leaf, like I did. I won't reject him like All Might did to him. I owe the hero society and the man who took me in that much. If he rejects this opportunity and harms my students, then there will be hell to pay," Nezu said with open honesty and weariness.
Eraserhead was stunned. This rare moment of openness from the Rat God revealed his exhaustion. Aizawa could see the overwhelming details of the Midoriya case. Individually, they were innocent and unimportant, but collectively, they painted a worrying picture. Eraserhead nodded in acceptance and started to leave.
"Ah, Aizawa, you are not allowed to expel him. All details should go through me. Only I have that power," Nezu said with a cackle, and Eraserhead cursed the Rat God in his mind as he walked out of his shrine.
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