HERO WAY

The journey to school was peaceful as I listened to music through my headphones on the subway. Getting to class, however, was a different story.

Everything at UA was exaggeratedly large—the classrooms, the doors... It was appropriate, considering the facilities had to adapt to students with various quirks. Upon entering Class 1A, two boys were arguing in one corner, while others either watched or ignored them. I opted for the latter, silently entered the classroom, and looked for the desk with my name on it. The girl I had helped during the practical exam was seated in the middle of the room. She gave me a small wave, which I returned briefly before continuing my search.

I ended up sitting toward the back, next to a boy with two-toned hair, an unfriendly expression, and a scar around his left eye. For some reason, he seemed strangely familiar. I checked the news on my phone while waiting for class to begin. A green-haired boy I recognized from the practical exam and a short-haired brunette girl were the last to arrive. They were also quite noisy.

—If you're here to make friends, you can all leave. This is the hero course.

No, it's impossible. It can't be him. I can't be that unlucky.

—I'm your homeroom teacher—said a man entering through the door—Shota Aizawa. Nice to meet you.

Damn it, damn it, damn it…

—I know it's sudden, but put these on and meet me at the training grounds—he raised an arm, holding up a sports uniform—Find your size and hurry up.

———

—A quirk assessment test? What about the entrance ceremony? Orientation?

—If you're going to become heroes, you don't have time for pointless events like those. UA gives teachers full freedom to run their classes as they see fit—he pulled out his phone and showed us the screen—You've done this since primary school, right? Physical tests where you're not allowed to use your quirks. The country uses data gathered from students without quirks—that's irrational. Well, the Ministry of Education is a hassle.

I can't believe he's giving a lecture to complain about the government in the middle of class.

—Aizawa—he called while looking at me, drawing everyone's attention— You finished first in the practical exam, didn't you?—I nodded reluctantly— What was your best result in the softball throw at school?

—Fifty-six meters.

—Then try it now with your quirk.

I walked to where he instructed, trying to ignore the whispers from some of my classmates, intrigued by my surname. I suppose they were going to find out sooner or later who my father was.

—You can do whatever you want as long as you don't leave the circle. Quickly, give it your all.

I studied the ball I was holding. The first thing that came to mind was to solidify my smoke and create a tentacle to throw it with all my strength. But this test was about making the ball go as far as possible, so brute force wasn't the key. I created a small cloud and placed the ball on top of it. It quickly floated away and disappeared from sight within seconds. Feeling all eyes on me made me nervous, but I had to stay focused to send the ball as far as I could. I didn't know its limit, but I also didn't want to exhaust myself in the first test.

A beep on my father's phone announced that the ball had landed.

—Eight hundred twenty-one point three meters—he said, showing everyone the result.

Surprised and excited comments immediately followed, which seemed to annoy my father.

—You have three years to become heroes. Will you have that attitude the whole time?—he flashed a mischievous smile that was quite unsettling—Well. Whoever comes in last in these tests will be judged as lacking potential and will be punished with expulsion.

He has to be joking… They're going to hate me.

—Welcome to the hero course!

—On the first day of school? That's not fair!—complained a girl.

—Earthquakes and other natural disasters, annoying villains… Japan is full of injustices. Heroes are tasked with turning the tide. Move forward, Plus Ultra. So give it everything you've got.

I never would have imagined he was good at give speeches.

———

The first test measured our speed over fifty meters. I had to race against a blond boy who didn't use his quirk. I managed 3.84 seconds by forming a cloud to carry me. Watching the rest of my classmates was quite entertaining; some had impressive quirks.

The second test measured our strength, which involved squeezing a lever-like device. For this one, I formed the dark tentacle, and the little machine read 267 kilograms. However, a boy next to me hit 540 kilograms. I wouldn't want to fight him.

The third was also easy. Almost no one actually jumped. I once again formed a small cloud and let myself drop at 82 meters. Then came lateral jumps, followed by the ball throw, which I had already done, so I simply watched the others. A boy who created explosions caught my attention. Well, it was hard not to notice him with his personality, but his quirk was genuinely interesting.

—DIE!—he shouted as he threw the ball.

On second thought, it doesn't matter what quirk he has. He's mentally unbalanced.

The last was the green-haired boy, who was probably going to get expelled. He still hadn't used his quirk, and when he threw the ball, it didn't go very far. He seemed genuinely surprised.

—I erased your quirk—my father told him angrily—The entrance exam is definitely irrational. Even kids like you are accepted.

Ah, that explains it.

—You erased my quirk?—the green-haired boy asked—Those strange goggles… I get it now! You can erase others' quirks just by looking at them. That's your quirk. The Erasure Hero: Eraser Head!

He knows him. He's a fanboy.

—From what I can see, you can't control your quirk, can you? Are you trying to hurt yourself again and make someone save you?

—That's not my intention!—the boy defended himself.

—I don't care. I'm telling you those things shouldn't be forced.

Poor guy. Even if he's right, my father is tearing him apart. The others are definitely going to hate me.

He gave him another chance, and we all watched expectantly. I think the reason we were all surprised was that none of us had any expectations that he would actually succeed. He managed to throw 705.3 meters. Such strength, such extraordinary power. Though one of his fingers ended up broken. The explosive boy tried to attack him, but my father stopped him, leaving the rest of us impressed by my father's quirk.

The following tests proceeded normally. By the end, I was a bit tired, but I knew I had performed well. On the ranking board, I came in second, right below the Infinity Girl.

—By the way, I lied about the expulsion—my father declared loudly—A little lie to make you give your best effort. There are pamphlets about the curriculum and other details in the classroom. Take a look at them.

That's it? The strangest first day of school ever.

———

—What's wrong with the first sentence in this English exercise? —Present Mic asked.

How ordinary compared to yesterday… and how boring.

I was grateful when lunch break arrived. I left the classroom and headed to the cafeteria. The girl I remembered as Jirou invited me to sit with her and another of our classmates.

—Aizawa—she called—Want to sit with us?

—Sure, thanks.

—Hey, sorry for the sudden question, but is Mr. Aizawa related to you?

—He's my father—I admitted.

—That makes sense! You look a lot alike—said the other girl. Noticing I was staring at her, she introduced herself, a bit embarrassed—I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Momo Yaoyorozu. Nice to meet you, Aizawa.

—Likewise.

An awkward silence fell over us until Jirou brought up the topic of what we would be doing in the next class: basic hero training. The class was to be taught by All Might, Japan's number-one hero, so expectations were sky-high.

———

—I... am entering class like a normal person!

No, he didn't enter the class like a normal person, but to his credit, he wasn't a normal person. We were all excited that he would be teaching us, myself included. You might not be a huge fan of heroes, but you had to like All Might. He was the definition of perfection when it came to the word "hero."

—Today, you'll be doing combat training! And for that—he turned to point at the wall. Columns emerged, stacked with boxes like a hidden storage room—Suits designed based on your quirk registry and requests you submitted before the course began. After changing, head to the testing grounds!

In school, I had never joined any kind of sports club, so I wasn't used to changing in front of others. But since it didn't seem to bother anyone else, I made an effort. I'd get used to it eventually.

We all walked together toward All Might with our suits on. Many of the designs were excellent, but ultimately, the most important thing was that the suit facilitated the use of our quirks.

The class's weird formal guy, a boy who had made it clear the day before that he had attended Somei Private Academy, raised his hand to ask if we would be repeating urban combat exercises.

—In this society full of heroes, the smartest villains are those who operate in the shadows—the teacher explained— For this class, you'll be divided into villains and heroes and will fight in internal two vs two battles.

I grimaced while the others asked questions. Teamwork wasn't my strong, and even less so in an enclosed space. My quirk was going to be a problem if I had to work with a partner.

All Might, overwhelmed by the number of questions, pulled out a small notebook and prepared to explain the exercise.

But how can you not know how to explain an exercise without a script? You're a professional hero, man.

———

Who will he team up with in the next chapter? Hmmm.