The door to Class 1-A was massive, a literal titan of metal.
"Rank 1..." Jiro muttered, her eyes narrowing as she sized me up. "You don't look like a monster. But I guess the quiet ones usually are."
"He's a monster when the blue light comes out!" Hiroki bragged, leaning in toward her. "Just wait until you see—"
I slid the door open, cutting him off. The classroom was a pressure cooker. At the front, a tall boy with glasses was mid-lecture, chopping his arms through the air at a spiky-haired blonde who had his boots planted on the desk.
I looked around the class and realised that hiroki has taken the place of mineta.
Bakugo didn't look up immediately, but the moment I stepped over the threshold, his head snapped toward me. His expression wasn't one of curiosity; it was pure, concentrated loathing. To him, every other person in this room was an extra, a stepping stone—and the fact that someone else's name sat above his on the leaderboard was a personal affront.
"Get out of my way, you damn extras," Bakugo growled at the students near the door. His red eyes locked onto mine, simmering with a violent intensity. "I don't know how you got that top spot, 'Rank One,' but don't think for a second you're better than me. You're just another piece of trash for me to blast out of this school."
I didn't give him a word. I walked past him, my expression neutral. I sat in my assigned seat and opened my notebook, ignoring the smoke rising from his desk.
I found my seat: third in the middle row. It was a central position that offered a clear view of the entire room. Directly behind me sat Hiroki, who was already busy poking the back of my chair. To my right sat Eijiro Kirishima, a boy whose spirit seemed as hard as his Quirk. To my left was the somber Fumikage Tokoyami, and in front of me sat the invisible Toru Hagakure.
"Hey! I'm Toru Hagakure!" the invisible girl chirped, her U.A. blazer bobbing as she turned around. "I saw your score on the board! It's super intimidating, but you seem nice!"
"Takeru Kazama," I replied with a nod. "Nice to meet you, Hagakure. Nice to meet all of you."
"I'm Kirishima!" the boy to my right added, leaning over with a jagged, friendly grin.
"That 0-Pointer take-down was manly as hell! The way you just stood your ground? That's the kind of heart a hero needs."
The small talk was cut short by a lethargic, gravelly voice that seemed to crawl along the floorboards. "If you're here to make friends, you can pack up your things now."
A man in a yellow sleeping bag lay across the doorway. He looked more like a giant caterpillar than a teacher. He stood up, unzipping the bag to reveal Shota Aizawa. He looked exhausted, his black hair a mess, and his eyes bloodshot.
"It took eight seconds for you to shut up," Aizawa said, stepping out of the bag. "Time is limited. You kids aren't rational enough." He pulled out the blue gym uniforms. "Put these on. Meet me at the P.E. grounds. Immediately."
The locker room was a blur of activity. As I pulled off my shirt, I felt the room go slightly quiet. I wasn't built like a bodybuilder; my frame was lean, but the muscle was incredibly dense. Years of holding the high-pressure "Aether" inside my cells had forced my body to adapt, making my physique compact and hard.
Kirishima whistled, slapping his own chest. "Whoa, Kazama! Your muscles look like steel cables. Totally compact and manly! Is that the Quirk?"
"In a way," I explained, pulling on the blue track jacket. "My body has to stay dense to act as a 'flask' for the Aether. If the tissue isn't tight, the internal pressure would just tear me apart. I have to stay 'compressed' to keep the power from leaking."
"That's hardcore," Kirishima said, nodding with respect. "A Quirk that trains your body just by existing. I like it!"
Bakugo was at the far end, slamming his locker shut with enough force to dent the metal. He didn't speak, but the heat radiating from him was palpable. He watched me from the corner of his eye, his jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth might crack.
On the P.E. grounds, Aizawa stood with a digital tablet. "A Quirk Apprehension Test. We're skipping the orientation.
The class was stunned. Uraraka cried out about the entrance ceremony, but Aizawa shut her down instantly. "If you're going to become heroes, you don't have time for such leisurely events. I run my class how i want."
He called me to the circle for the softball throw. "Kazama, you finished first. In middle school, what was your best result?"
"67 meters," I said, stepping into the white circle.
"Try it with your Quirk. Anything goes, as long as you stay in the lines."
I stepped into the circle. The air was still. I reached into my stored aether feeling the swirling reservoir of blue energy.
Aether Accumulation: 100%.
I pulled my arm back, the air distorting with a fierce electric-blue light. I didn't just throw. I used Aether Burst to snap my arm forward at supersonic speeds, and at the microsecond of release, I triggered a concentrated Aether Smash against the air molecules behind the ball.
BOOM
The sound wasn't a thud; it was a sonic boom. A massive shockwave of sapphire-blue energy exploded from my hand, sending a pillar of dust spiraling into the air. The ball vanished into a blue streak, piercing the clouds with a high-pitched whistle.
Aizawa turned the screen toward the class: 2986.2 Meters.
"Whoa! That's my boy!" Hiroki yelled, jumping up.
"3,000 meters?!" a girl with pink skin gasped. "This is going to be so much fun!"
"Fun?" Aizawa's eyes turned red, his scarf beginning to float. "You think this is a game? Fine. New rule: the student who ranks last in total points today will be judged as having 'zero potential' and will be expelled. Immediately."
The atmosphere turned freezing. Midoriya looked like he was about to faint. This wasn't a school anymore; it was a survival trial.
Test 1: 50-Meter Dash
I was paired with Tenya Iida. He had engines in his calves; I had Aether in mine.
"Ready... Go!"
Iida exploded forward, his mufflers roaring. I used Aether Burst from the soles of my feet, propelling myself in short, violent pulses. Every step was a mini-explosion of blue light that pushed me forward.
Iida: 3.04 seconds. Kazama: 3.01 seconds.
"Your propulsion is incredibly efficient, Kazama!" Iida said, genuinely impressed despite the competition.
Test 2: Grip Strength
The octopus-like Shoji recorded 540kg. I took the device, concentrating my Aether into the fine muscles of my hand. I used Aether Bind internally, The device creaked, the screen settling on 488kg. I could have gone higher, if I used aether to strengthen my muscles but it leaves me with a soar arm so, no to that.
Test 3: Standing Long Jump
Aoyama used his navel laser. Bakugo used explosions. I stood at the line, gathered energy in my legs until they glowed, and released a vertical Aether Burst. I didn't jump; I launched and flew over the entire sandpit, landing effortlessly on the other side with a soft blue shimmer.
Test 4: Repeated Side Steps
I focused on high-frequency vibrations. By vibrating my lower body with Aether Pulse, I was able to blur back and forth with such speed I was effectively vibrating through space.
Test 5: The Softball Throw (Continued)
Now it was Midoriya's turn. He stood in the circle, looking smaller than ever. He went to throw, but Aizawa erased his Quirk. "I saw what you did at the exam," Aizawa said. "If You can't control your power. You're just a liability. If you can save one person with your quirk and collapse with a broken arm you can't save other but you would need saving from others."
After a tense exchange, Midoriya tried again, concentrating the power into his fingertip. The ball flew—705.3 meters. A masterpiece of control under pressure.
Bakugo lost his mind. "HEY! DEKU, YOU BASTARD! TELL ME HOW YOU DID THAT OR YOU'RE DEAD!"
"Back off, Bakugo," Aizawa's scarf wrapped around him before things could escalate further.
He was utterly stunned that someone he considered "Quirkless" and a "loser" could produce such a phenomenal result, and it damaged his pride
Test 6: Sit-ups / almost every one did well.
Test 7: Seated Toe-Touch / same as last test every one did well.
Test 8: Long-Distance Run
The final tests were a test of endurance. During the long-distance run, I used Aether Accumulation to sip the kinetic energy from his classmates' footsteps. While others were panting, I was actually recharging. It felt like cheating, but in the hero world, efficiency is everything.
Finally, Aizawa pulled up the results.
1.Takeru Kazama
2.Momo Yaoyorozu
3.Shoto Todoroki
4.Katsuki Bakugo
...
20.Izuku Midoriya
Midoriya stood there, white as a sheet. But Aizawa just smirked. "By the way, the expulsion was a rational deception. To draw out your true potential."
"What?!" the class screamed and groaned.
"Of course it was a lie," Yaoyorozu said, though she looked a bit relieved. "It was quite obvious."
I looked at Todoroki, who was staring at me with a cold, calculating gaze, and then at Bakugo, who was trembling with silent, murderous fury. I had taken the top spot.
But wasn't his only target, he was glaring holes in izuku's skull like he had a lazor eye quirk.
And just like that the first day class was over. As we walked back, Jiro bumped my shoulder. "Rank 1 again huh? What do you have to say about that.
"Just getting started, Jiro," I replied with a smile.
"Welcome to U.A.," Aizawa said with a thin, cruel smile. Towards their back and then he was gone to sleep in some corner where nezu doesn't find him.
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A/N:
So did you like the chapter i spent a lot of time on this correcting grammer and his limits mostly
And as you can it's a very long chapter.
I thought about making it in two parts to reach chapter 10 quickly and see if people comment and support the story, but i couldn't do it i want this story to be authentic and of higher quality.
This was 1800 words worth.
So the remaining two chapters will come in one by one everyday.