"Waaaaaah!!!"Izuku Midoriya clutched his head and dropped into a squat on the ground in terror.
"Pfft—Izuku looks kind of cute like this."
"What is this cloth? Why is it so hard?!" Izuku cautiously lifted his head. What he saw was Bakugo Katsuki being stopped mid-charge by the cloth wrapped around Aizawa Shota's neck.
"This is a capture weapon made by weaving special alloy steel wire into carbon fiber," Aizawa said lazily. "I've told you—stop forcing me to use my Quirk over and over again…"
"I have chronic dry eyes, you know!!!"
Aizawa's hair stood on end as he glared furiously at Bakugo.Such an amazing Quirk… completely wasted, he thought.
"Alright, next one—get ready."Seeing that Izuku had already retreated to a safe distance, Aizawa released his Quirk.
"Damn it!!!"Bakugo stood in place, his expression shifting wildly.
Until recently… he was just a pebble on the roadside… just a worthless little stone!Bakugo's face twisted into something feral.
"Now we'll begin the long-distance running test. Group one—"
Five minutes later, Izuku was crouched down, removing the iron weights from inside his shoes after taking off all the metal strapped to his body.
"Midoriya, we're almost up—what are you doing…?" Iida Tenya stopped short when he saw Izuku pulling iron blocks out of his second shoe.
"Huh? It's our turn already? I'm coming right now!"Izuku hurriedly removed the remaining weights, shoved his feet back into his shoes, and took off running, with Iida following behind him.
As expected of someone who got into U.A., Iida thought.Not only enduring this, but being this ruthless with himself… this is what it takes to become a hero. I must learn from him!
Hey, hey—do NOT learn that kind of self-harm training!!
"Group three: Tsuyu Asui, Iida Tenya, Izuku Midoriya, Bakugo Katsuki."The four of them lined up in their lanes.
"Three-thousand-meter run—start!!"
Iida and Bakugo shot forward immediately. Izuku followed close behind, while Tsuyu Asui brought up the rear.
This pace feels okay… and my Quirk can handle it!Izuku's eyes sharpened.
"Alright—here I go!!!"His footsteps quickened.
"Twenty kilometers—top speed!!!"In that instant, Izuku overtook both Iida and Bakugo.
"So you're getting serious? Then I can't lose either!"Flames blasted violently from the six exhaust ports on Iida's calves.
"DEKU! Don't you run away!!!"Bakugo intensified his explosions, and the three ran neck and neck.
"They're so fast, ribbit," Tsuyu said as she ran on all fours, hopping forward. Watching the three already complete a full lap, she couldn't help but marvel.
"Izuku is so fast!!" Ochaco Uraraka cheered excitedly.
Hidden away in a corner, All Might was stunned by Izuku's speed.
Midoriya's speed is entirely his own—he's not using my power at all. Just how much effort did that boy put in to reach this level…?
Izuku Midoriya wasn't thinking about any of that. All he knew was to keep running.
Faster… faster… find the breakthrough beyond thirty kilometers…
Suddenly, he felt it—the same sensation as the day he broke past the twenty-kilometer limit.
"This is it—this FEELING!! Thirty kilometers—full throttle!!!"His speed surged again, blasting past Iida and Bakugo and kicking up a violent gust of wind.
"Damn it… I'm at my limit."Iida was the first to fall behind—endurance wasn't his strong suit.
"DAMN YOU, DEKU!!! DON'T YOU DARE PASS ME!!!"Bakugo pushed his Quirk to its absolute limit, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't catch up.
"This is the feeling—then let's go again!!!"Izuku added a bit of his Quirk to his legs. Compared to his arms, he used his Quirk on his legs far more often. Pale green arcs of electricity crackled around his feet.
"FORTY KILOMETERS!!! BOOM—GET OUT OF THE WAY!!! I CAN'T STOP!!!"Izuku completely lost control of his speed, waving his arms and shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Over here!! Run this way, then jump!!!"Ochaco pointed him toward a sandpit—the one meant for the standing long jump test later.
"MOVE!!!"Izuku leapt, flying straight into the sandpit.
BOOM!!!
He didn't dare open his eyes when he landed. The sand exploded like a tidal wave, erupting into a two-meter-high wall.
"Cough—cough! Is everyone okay? Anyone hurt?"Izuku spat sand out of his mouth, squinting with one eye shut—sand had gotten into it. Fortunately, the others had anticipated something like this and moved far away. No one was injured.
"Hey, Midoriya—are you alright?"Iida, having finished the 3000 meters, ran over to him.
"I'm fine—just… my legs feel a bit weak."
"That's good. Hm? Why are you rubbing your eye so much?"
"Sand got in—it won't come out."
"Don't keep rubbing it! You need someone to blow it out."
"Hey, damn Deku—next time, I will not lose to you!"Bakugo walked over with his hands in his pockets, glaring irritably.
"Huh? Kac—Bakugo, what did you say? I was rubbing my eye—I didn't hear."
"Midoriya, I told you not to rub it! If you keep rubbing sand in your eye, you could go blind!"
"Then what should I do? It really hurts."
"Hah? Damn Deku going blind?"Bakugo suddenly grabbed the hand Izuku was using to rub his eye and leaned in, blowing air directly into Izuku's squinted eye.
Click.
Ochaco snapped a photo with her phone.
"So gay!!! But I love it!!!"Ochaco stared at the photo, her face bright red.
"Uh—could you send that to me later?"A student in a gym uniform—completely invisible—poked Ochaco's shoulder.
"Sure, but… who are you?"Ochaco jumped a little when she first noticed her.
"My name is Toru Hagakure. Can you send me that photo later?"
"Of course!"Ochaco and Toru exchanged contact information.
"Alright, let's announce the results now," Aizawa Shota said, standing in front of all eighteen students, speaking at lightning speed.
Here it comes… I'm definitely the worst. I don't want to get expelled!Izuku clenched his injured hand. Aside from the ball throw and running, he'd placed dead last in nearly everything.
"Oh, by the way—the expulsion thing was a lie."
—WHAT?!
"It was a reasonable deception meant to draw out your maximum potential."Aizawa smirked—a clear gotcha expression.
"HAAAAH?!"Izuku's body practically deformed in shock.
"Wasn't that obvious? Anyone who thinks about it should figure it out," said a stunningly beautiful girl beside Izuku—Yaoyorozu Momo—speaking as if it were common sense.
"Only about eight million people would think that way," Ochaco puffed her cheeks in protest.
"That's it for today. The classroom has textbooks for each subject—go check them. Class dismissed. Oh, and Midoriya."
"Yes!"
Aizawa handed Izuku a slip of paper—a medical excuse.
"Go to the infirmary and get treated by Recovery Girl. Starting tomorrow, you'll be facing one harsh trial after another."
"…Yes."Izuku accepted the slip.
After school, Izuku staggered out of the campus, completely exhausted.
"So tired…"
"Midoriya! Are your fingers healed?"A hand suddenly patted his shoulder.
Izuku turned. "Hm? Iida—yeah, thanks to Recovery Girl, my finger's fine now."
"That's great. Your performance today was truly shocking."
"Not really," Izuku scratched his head. "Other than running, I did badly on everything—and I even injured myself during the throw."
"Hey! You two heading to the station? Wait up!"A familiar female voice called out from behind.
They turned to see Ochaco Uraraka running toward them.
"Oh, Gravity Girl—hello," Iida greeted her.
"It's Ochaco Uraraka! And you're Iida, and Midoriya—DEKU, right?!"
"Deku?"
"Isn't it? That's what Bakugo called you during the exam," Ochaco said. Both of them remembered Bakugo's explosive behavior during the test.
"N-no! That's not—Izuku… my real name is Izuku… Bakugo just looks down on me, so…"Izuku flailed as he tried to explain.
"A derogatory nickname, then? That classmate truly lacks decorum," Iida said, stroking his chin.
"But 'Deku' sounds like you're cheering someone on," Ochaco said excitedly. "I kind of like it!"
"It's DEKU," Izuku said, his face turning red.
"You're embracing a slur, Midoriya! That's not acceptable!!"