If you were to ask a native Japanese person what the symbol for heroism in their country was they would say All Might. In fact the question has been asked in multiple polls and All Might has always gotten more than fifty percent of the vote. But in a consistent second place has always been U.A High School. Taking in the best of the best and consistently delivering the best of the best. U.A High has long been a source of pride for many heroes and featured in the dreams of many aspiring heroes. As a result of its high reputation the campus always got applicants far in excess of what they could effectively teach, at least without dropping their standards.

Too counter that U.A High developed an entrance exam that has been called the most difficult in Japan and eleventh overall in the world, for hero schools at least. A written exam that could only be described as murderously difficult combined with an as yet unknown practical exam…

"Would you please stop speaking so loud," a black-haired teen who practically embodied the term straight-laced said. "You're showing disrespect to the faculty and disrupting the other students."

"My bad," Masaru Tenchi said with an apologetic chuckle as he ran his hand through his flaming red mop of hair. The other students around him didn't appear to be overtly angry at his monologue, although a few of them shot him odd looks and there was at least one person doubled over in laughter. That was good; refusing to be so rattled by a simple speech would serve them well in a career of heroism. He knew of one ash blond friend that would have already knocked his lights out by now.

"Precisely," Present Mic said smiling as he addressed the audience as a whole. "Personally if you ask me this year we're going to make a rockin' attempt to get into the top ten. But before we get to the exam let me offer you some insight into the way that you can also enter these hallowed halls. On the field that we'll be releasing you onto there are four types of robots. One points," he gestured towards the screen which showed an image of a tripedal robot. "Two points," he said and the screen showed the image of a scorpion-like robot. "Three points," he said and the screen lit up with a much more bulky quadrupedal robot. Or at least that it is what it looked like to Masaru's preliminary analysis. "Any question," he said waiting for anybody to ask the obvious.

"I have one," that same black-haired straight laced person asked, raising his hand and obliging the teacher. "You have stated that there are four robots in total and yet you have only mentioned three. I cannot believe that such a highly rated institution as U.A High School could have made such an error?"

"Well picked up," Present Mic said, the smile on his face growing. "The last of these four robots is worth zero points." The screen popped up a silhouette of a human shaped robot of indeterminable size. "When it pops up you should probably just run and get out of the way. This robot wasn't developed to be possible to defeat by any but the most powerful heroes."

"Is the destruction of the robots the only way to gain points," Masaru said raising his hand as well in order to ask the question.

Present Mic gave one of his great presenter smiles and then. "Right, let's start," he said as he ignored his question and causing a spontaneous burst of activity as the collected hopefuls took off in an attempt to hunt down the robots. Masaru sighed at the non-answer and also left moving at a carefully calculated speed that was about forty percent above that of the average applicant. But he didn't stay on the floor for long, running around the streets playing whack-a-mole with the various robots seemed like a terribly inefficient way to pass the test, and so he quickly devised a new plan. His fingers became bathed in green light and he leapt at the wall of a building, digging his fingers into sides. The brick surface faded into nothingness as the green light touched it and he used the holes created by his power to swiftly ascend the side of the building.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw people destroy down those robots their points steadily incrementing and leaving his score of zero in the dust. No panic crossed his face as he reached the top in less than thirty seconds, a speed truly worthy of U.A Academy. Taking a moment to enjoy the high up scenery he scanned the field picking up the various robots and deliberately taking note of the three pointers. Then he raised his right hand and the green light increased in intensity until it was almost blinding. Casually he then he pointed two fingers at a random 3-pointer and released. A bolt of green lightning locked onto the unfortunate robot instantly disintegrating its head without any resistance.

Calculating the number of total automatons Masaru channelled more of the green light and quickly sniped them off, practically racking up the needed points. The non-organic material offered little resistance against his power and when he ran out of 3-pointers in his view he leapt buildings, digging his hands into the side and climbing up again to repeat the procedure. At the death of the twentieth robot and consequentially his sixtieth point he decided to take it easy. By his calculations that was enough points to easily make it into the hero course. There was no need to take all of the robots and thus disadvantage the others.

Taking a break he stood on the edge of the rooftop and looked down on the other competitors. They were actually pretty competent, with a nice variety of quirks and a basic knowledge on how to use them; more than a basic knowledge in some cases. His eyes drifted towards a certain blond who was currently dominating the scoreboard and he wondered if they knew he was here. Kneeling down at the edge of the building he examined his reflection in the glass, taking special note of his vermillion eyes and burning crimson locks.

Nodding in satisfaction, he was just about to stand up when the building lurched to the side violently throwing him over the edge. Thinking quickly he stuck his hands into the sides of the building again creating momentary handholds. But his relief was short lived as the building didn't stop moving and he realised with some exasperation that the building was toppling over. Wasting no more time Masaru darted down the rapidly collapsing building avoiding the various pieces of rubble that desired to do horrible things to his face. Reaching the end of the building he grimaced at the thirty foot drop. Still it wasn't that bad more than half of people survived a drop of that height and the chances increased if the person falling knew how to land.

Smiling he decided to have fun with the situation and launched himself off the roof landing a flawless double front flip as he did so and landing perfectly, his knees bending as he distributed the force of the impact perfectly. Standing up arms outstretched after that Olympic level front flip he waited for applause, but instead all he got was screams.

Many U.A applicants were running past hi and it didn't take long for Masaru to figure out the reason why. An absolutely massive humanoid robot dominated the sky. Towering over the buildings as it walked, it was obviously the thing that knocked over his sniping spot.

"How did I not see that before," he said as he looked at the machine with wide eyes. "How could they afford that?" he continued doing mental calculations as to the cost of the robot and whistling appreciatively.

The question was cut short as the last person who was running away passed him and Masaru managed to catch a glimpse through the kicked up dust. A brown haired girl was trapped beneath a pile of rubble at the robots feet. She was squirming in a futile attempt to try and reach the rubble but to no avail. A quick glance around told Masaru that nobody had tried to help her, instead panicking and saving their own hides. While he supposed that it was very excusable, they were only applicants after all and hadn't had the necessary training and conditioning, he still found it a bit disappointing. Although that could just be his unique point of view, while he had made many attempts, he still found it impossible to empathise with others sometimes.

Dashing forward to the side of the girl he thrust his arms up, the green light reaching its highest intensity yet as he formed a shield from his hands a few seconds before the arm of the zero-pointer crushed them both. Green lightning crackled between his fingers creating voids in the metal wherever it touched, before the entire hand of the robot crumbled and the machine recoiled, its programming warning it to avoid touching the emerald energy any further.

Not letting the short break go to waste Masaru reached down to the rubble covering the girl and lifted it up and off her, being careful to avoid hurting her further. Smiling at the brown haired girl, he offered her his hand and helped her to her feet.

"Thank you," the girl said smiling and making a very good attempt at hiding the panic in her voice. "You saved me. I would have been a pancake without your help."

"It's no prob…" he started to say and then his eyes opened wide at the sight in front of him. The giant robot had picked up a chunk of the building with its one good hand and was preparing to throw it at them. The girl whose name he didn't know turned and her eyes widened as she saw the same image as him and in the next second they were both running the hell away from the rampaging robotic kaiju.

"Can you do that light thing again," she said in between breaths.

"I have one more use of it," Masaru lied. "If I could reach the head I might be able to take it down."

She nodded to him and then grabbed him and yanked him into the entranceway of a nearby building, just moments before the chunk of building hit the space they were standing in and destroyed the street. "I've got a plan," she said. "My quirk allows me to negate the gravitational pull of an object that I touch. If I use it on you, you might be able to reach the head. Are you paying attention to me?" she asked as she watched Masaru's attention drift towards her chest.

"Hmm, sorry," he apologized. "I didn't know you were an Izukean," he said pointing at the symbol of a stylized sideways eight, on a necklace, that was so often used by the members of that religion.

"I'm not really," she denied blushing. "Well my parents are pretty into it, I just wear it to keep them happy."

"Haha," Masaru laughed into his hand. "Very family orientated. I like people like you," he said turning away as her face turned scarlet. "That robot does seem to be gunning for us. Let's execute your plan." He strode out into the streets staring up at the robot that had gouged out more of the surroundings. He focused on the head of the robot and a second later he felt a pat on the back and the ever-present force of gravity that imposed on him every second of the day ceased. Bending his knees he leapt and for the first time in the life of Masaru Tenchi he flew.

Locked onto the robot's head he balked as the hands holding the debris came together to crush him and he was forced to bounce between the two incoming rocks, only exiting the incoming hands a second before collision. Channelling the green lightning into his hands and using the remains of his power he lashed out with both fists feeling his knuckles hit the sturdy non-organic substance for a moment before the entire head of the contraption was disintegrated.

"Oh and times up," the voice of Present Mic announced drawing an end to the U.A Entrance Exam. "Results will be posted to you within two weeks; this is Present Mic, signing out."

"Now how am I going to get down," Masaru said as he slowly drifted upwards and away from U.A High School. "Still it is a beautiful day," he admitted as he stared up at the beautiful blue sky bereft of all but a few clouds. Feeling the warmth of the sun and the breeze Masaru slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

xxx

He woke up to a sharp thud on the ground and a minor pain on his back. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he stood up massaging aching muscles as he did so. He yawned and looked at his surroundings. There were quite a large amount of astounded looking people looking at him. It was probably because he slept while in such a situation. Well it wasn't as if he could actually do anything. Masaru's had nothing that would help him get down from that height. He would have to trust entirely in the staff of U.A and the brown haired girl to get him down.

Well it looked like they succeeded, so Masaru decided to look out for the brown haired girl. It didn't take too long to find her; apparently she was on the ground regurgitating. Masaru idly wondered if it was a drawback to her quirk, then he turned away giving her some privacy.

He was about to go home when he was stopped by a familiar old woman. Recovery girl, was her name, she wasn't actually a true hero insomuch as a healer of heroes.

"Are you injured," she inquired.

"Just tired," Masaru immediately answered back. "My nap was interrupted."

She looked like she was going to say something, but then just shook her head and moved on, apparently to tend to the more wounded applicants.

"Are you okay," the brown haired girl said from behind him, apparently recovered from her sickness, and he turned to look at her. "I'm so sorry. I can't bring back gravity slowly. I can only release the weightlessness all at once."

"No problem," Masaru said shrugging his shoulders. "How did I get down here anyway?"

"Oh, I used a piece of concrete to lift myself up and then when I reached you I cancelled my quirk on you and then I cancelled my quirk on the rubble and then when it was about to hit the ground I used my quirk again," she smiled sheepishly. "And then by that point I was feeling sick so I put you down and that's when you woke up."

"Impressive," Masaru said. "That'd quite a clever way of doing it. Are you not able to slowly release your quirk however? Maybe cancel only half of the gravitational effect?"

"I've never been able to do that before," the brown haired girl lamented. "By the way my name is Ochaco Uraraka. What's yours?"

"Masaru Tenchi," he lied in response. "Pleased to meet you," he said truthfully. "He caught a glimpse of a familiar face full of irritation and decided not to put of biting the bullet. "Let's meet again at the academy, right now I have a bullet that needs biting."

"If I get into the academy," Ochaco said. "Hopefully they don't take points of for needing to be saved."

"On the contrary they probably add points for saving people," Masaru said. "And make no mistake, you definitely saved me."

"Thanks," she said. "I guess I'll see you at U.A."

Masaru waved as he went on his merry way. The girl would be fine, but a little bit of help never hurt. Swivelling his head, he locked onto the form of Present Mic and walked towards the pro hero. Present Mic was not his favourite hero, but he admired the way that the veteran could work the crowd. Dealing with the public was truly the most underrated skill of a pro hero.

"Yo," he greeted the pro hero who was standing away from the crowd, most likely taking a break. "That was quite a test."

"You did pretty well from what I've seen," the pro hero complimented him, showing no signs of irritation for having his peace disrupted. "Are you confident about your chances?"

"U.A Academy has a 79% cut-off on average and I scored above the ninetieth percentile. I'm fairly confident about my odds," Masaru smiled. "But I'm not sure if the girl that saved me has the same amount of points that I do."

"You're not even attempting to be subtle now are you," Present Mic said with a half-smile. "You're correct, there are rescue points and both of you will likely get them. The calculations have to be checked and triple-checked but I'm sure that both of you will easily make it into the hero course."

"That's all I wanted to know," Masaru said standing up. "I'll leave you to your break."

"There's no need for you to go all of a sudden," Present Mic said in a relaxed tone. "I actually enjoy talking to young and upcoming heroes. I also quite enjoyed your speech earlier, maybe someday you can join me on the television"

"That sounds pretty fun," Masaru started truthfully. "And I would definitely consider doing that but I'm going to be pretty chewed out as soon as I leave. It's best not to delay these things for too long."

"True," Present Mic said as his smile widened. "Is it a woman?"

"No," Masaru said half-truthfully as he turned away. "No it's not a woman."

xxx

As soon as he left the testing arena, he was confronted by a very familiar figure. Spiky ash blonde hair and blood red eyes lay on a sharp angled face. A blazer was rolled up to the elbow revealing well-muscled arms and there was a profound lack of shoes that stood out more than anything as his friend stood there with bare feet. The blazer was only half-buttoned up revealing a bust that could be called a B-cup if one were generous or blind.

"What the fuck are you doing here," Katsuki Bakugou said.

"Calm down Katsuki," Masaru said as his childhood friend glared blue murder at him. "This is hardly the place for it." He gestured towards the fact that they were still surrounded by many of the other applicants. "You can explode at me when we get somewhere quieter."

"Fine," she said, spitting out the word. "You can take us back to your place." At this she turned around and strode away from Masaru heading towards an area with no people or cameras.

Masaru smiled and picked up the pace following her. They walked for about five minutes before Katsuki turned left into an alley and gave him a sharp look. Raising his hands up in a placating gesture he scanned the environment quickly, double checking for any stalkers or cameras. After confirming their non-existence, he snapped his fingers and the two disappeared from the alley.

xxx

The pair reappeared in a rather lavish room and Katsuki took a quick scan easily recognising it. A plush green carpet decorated the ground and various pictures of locations around the world hung on the wall interspersed by pictures of alien landscapes. A single throne sat at the end of the room, but any grandeur was lost when one took in the liberal amounts of cushions and blankets that lay half draped on it. The ceiling looked like a parody of the Sistine chapel only God and Adam were replaced by a faceless man and the true form of this prick in front of her, and both were wearing clothes. Tearing her eyes away from the simply blasphemous images she refocused on the person in front of her.

"Now seriously, what the fuck were you doing there," Katsuki Bakugou said gripping his shirt in a manner that only the most extreme of masochists would ever find attractive.

"I was applying for U.A," Masaru said literally, further pissing off the volatile girl.

Katsuki looked like she was going to explode again and then she took a deep breath and gave a rather false smile. "I see you've been taking acting lessons from that blonde bitch again. How strong is this persona of yours meant to be anyway?"

"Decently strong, but his greatest talent would be his extreme intelligence and his analytical skills," Masaru said crossing his arms and holding up one finger. "He is limited by the fact that he doesn't have much experience."

"That's good," Katsuki said and then punched him, hard. An explosion blossomed as soon as her fist made contact and within an instant his skull was destroyed and his upper torso evaporated leaving only a pair of arms that fell lifelessly to the ground and a pair of legs that remained where he stood.

"Was that really necessary," the corpse spoke and in the next second a miracle happened. A torso grew from the legs and the arms eagerly reattached to it and in the next instant a fully healed person was standing there, but it was not the same person. Where before was red, there was now green, and a pair of emeralds glared into Katsuki's eyes from beneath a mop of jade hair before they softened. A hundred tiny changes to weight, height and facial definition completed the look.

"Izuku, there is literally a law that says you can't pull this shit," Katsuki said to the now green haired, green eyed boy standing opposite her.

"It's not a law, it's a treaty," Izuku corrected.

"That doesn't make it better," Katsuki said taking deep breaths to prevent her from exploding. "I don't know why on Earth you would jeopardize the treaty that you worked so hard for."

"Times change Katsuki and I've chafed under the restrictions of that agreement for long enough. The first step to changing it is to change the hearts and minds of the populace. You and I both know how heroes can spark admiration. Can you imagine it," he moved his hands as if to frame a picture. "Masaru Tenchi is actually Izuku Midoriya. Even as the ungrateful leaders of the world forbade him from heroism, the noble Izuku didn't let that stop him. Going undercover like a prince escaping from his castle he infiltrated the premier hero academy with the sole intention of saving as many people as he can."

"You're not fucking Emiya," Katsuki spat out. "So keep those trite half-baked responses for the reporters. What's the real reason Izuku?"

"Maybe you just don't know me very well," Izuku started but Katsuki had enough.

With no warning she lashed out with her fist, with force that could crush concrete she aimed straight towards the idiot's head. Izuku didn't move as her punch approached him and for a moment she felt a feeling of triumph, before it settled into familiar defeat. Izuku stood upon her outstretched arm, weighing less than a feather, his transition to that position occurring too fast for her to perceive.

"Okay, okay I won't lie," Izuku waved his hands in a placating gesture and backflipped to the ground when she withdrew her arm. "Would you like anything to drink," he offered but Katsuki just gave him an irritated gesture, telling him to go on.

"Do you remember when we were young," he said drawing a can of some foreign brand from the air. "We always said we were going to be heroes. Before everything happened."

"And you thought now was the perfect time to relive your childhood dream," Katsuki said in amazement. "Not to mention what the hell can U.A teach somebody like you?"

"I don't know," Izuku said and for once her friend sounded defeated. "Sorry I've just been spinning my wheels for the past few years."

Katsuki sighed, refusing to indulge his pity party. "Isn't lying immoral though," she said trying to hit away at his weakpoint.

"Lying under the deontological approach to ethics would always be considered wrong," Izuku said finishing up the can he was drinking from and letting it disappear from his hand. "However as your personal responsibility increases I believe it should be advised to switch to utilitarianism as the consequences of the actions have a greater effect on society. As my mental wellbeing has an effect on any that look up to me and my actions have the ability to have great consequences I must always focus on the greater consequences of my action above the simpler notions of right and wrong."

"That sounds like bullshit," Katsuki said crossing her arms. "And what if you do get found out and the treaty gets broken?"

"Those who signed are far more reluctant to break the treaty than me," Izuku refuted with dangerous eyes. "It wasn't drafted to protect me, after all."

"Your physical wellbeing wasn't even on my mind, but okay whatever makes you sleep at night," Katsuki said.

"I don't sleep," Izuku rebutted.

"Yeah, I'm not going to pick another goddamned fight with you right after the Entrance Exam so you can stop trying to provoke me," Katsuki said.

"How many points did you get anyway," Izuku asked curiously.

"120," Katsuki said nonchalantly as she turned away, walking up to the throne and slouching on it.

"Wow, you really didn't hold back," Izuku said clapping at the impressive score.

"Of course I held back," Katsuki rebutted. "I stopped at 120. It was a nice round number that would put me at number one."

"I don't think U.A has too much to teach you either," Izuku observed. "Did you attack the zero-pointer?

"Why would I do that," Katsuki began and then stopped. "You attacked that thing. What happened to keeping a low profile and…" Katsuki said as the thought occurred to her. "Why the fuck did you use the pervert lightning as your quirk."

"It is not pervert lightning!" Izuku shouted defensively. "Can't you just let that go? They only disintegrate non-organic material. You would think you would be happy that you didn't even get a scratch in that bout."

"At the expense of all of my clothing," Katsuki said scoffing but didn't push the topic any further.

"Did anybody catch your eye during the Entrance Exam," Izuku said changing the topic from the perv… the inorganic deconstruction beams.

"They're all a bunch of damn weaklings," Katsuki said emphatically.

"Not everybody can possess the quirks of you or me, Katsuki," Izuku said in a placating manner.

"I didn't say anything about their quirks," the ashen hair girl retorted. "You could have the quirk of All Might and still be a weakling."

Izuku frowned but Katsuki wasn't done yet. "Why the hell did you pick my dad's name anyway?" she asked. "Out of all the names what the hell made you choose that one."

"I've always liked the name," Izuku admitted. "It's also has quite a bit of your name in it and I think it describes me well."

"Victory over heaven and earth," Katsuki mused and then she snorted. "And people call me arrogant."

"Is it arrogant if you can back it up?" Izuku questioned.

"Yes!" Katsuki interjected flat out ending the conversation right there leaving only a comfortable silence.

"Dinner at my place," Izuku offered after a bit.

"Sure," said Katsuki after a few brief moments of contemplating refusal and the pair disappeared from the room.

xxx

Izuku walked through the streets in his Masaru disguise. Technically Masaru didn't exist and he had to exert great effort in order to create this imaginary persona. U.A Academy were not idiots, in fact their principal was apparently an immensely intelligent rodent. The same rodent had contacted him today to inform him that he had passed. In fact the headmaster had informed him that he had not just passed but, along with Katsuki who he tied with for first place, had crushed the exams. He had hoped that the fact that his chosen power was especially compatible with the test, would mitigate the situation but he had been informed that his score had immediately set himself apart as an extraordinary student and thus more would be expected from him.

It wasn't all bad, the intelligence he had displayed had led to a standing offer from the principal to discuss the entrance exam and he was informed that he and Katsuki may be expected to make a speech for the upcoming sports festival. Katsuki would likely offload it onto him if she was given half a chance. She had always hated his monologues.

Oh well, he was currently heading to her house, he'd ask her then. Walking past an electronic store his eyes were captured and he quickly backtracked. The news channel was playing as it often was in these situations and a story about the murder of multiple heroes was running. Intrigued Masaru walked up to the storefront and took more than a glance at the news reports. Clicking his tongue after a bit, he grew annoyed as the news continued with a consistent lack of actual facts. Stab wounds were common enough and vague enough that it told him pretty much nothing. Izuku briefly toyed with the idea of breaking into the police station and inspecting the evidence, but decided against it. While he was curious, it really had nothing to do with him. If he started moving again a lot of powerful people would get antsy. So reluctantly he tabled any thoughts of going after the hero killer.

Sighing Masaru headed down the street to talk to Katsuki. Katsuki Bakugou was Masaru's friend, or at least that was the narrative he was trying to sell. Izuku Midoriya was not Katsuki's friend. Not officially at least, they were secret friends and very few knew of their connection. Masaru sighed again as he walked down the street. Walking was a strange activity that Masaru found that he didn't enjoy. When he was Izuku he just used Alibi Block to appear wherever he wanted without all the hassle of dealing with standard three dimensional spaces.

Having enough of the slow pace Masaru took off in a run, dashing through the streets with an above average speed that was combined with superhuman spatial awareness that allowed him to effortlessly avoid the other passers-by. At that pace he reached the Bakugou household in less than five minutes. At the house he rapped his knuckles on the front door in order to rouse those inside. Barely thirty seconds had passed before the door opened and Katsuki's mom opened it up. She actually looked remarkably like his childhood friend, except perhaps a bit taller and with a bit more generous test and Izuku resolved to tease his friend about it later.

"Can I help you?" she said calmly but Izuku knew from experience that any calmness that she displayed could very easily turn into an outburst. Masaru just put his finger to his lips and then let his eyes return to normal and the woman in response nodded as recognition entered her eyes. She smiled at him and opened the door wide allowing him to come in.

"So Katsuki mentioned you were going to U.A," she started the conversation as soon as he entered their house. "Is that the disguise you're going in?"

"Yup," Izuku said gesturing at himself. "Just call me Masaru Tenchi while I'm in this form."

"That's adorable," Mitsuki said smiling. "I can't wait until I tell my Masaru. He'll be so happy that you're using his name.

"Please don't," Masaru said weakly. As Izuku he had spent a huge chunk of his childhood here due to being Katsuki's friend. Mitsuki and Masaru had almost become like second parents to him during that time and due to the fact that his own father was an absentee for all of his life he had deeply bonded with the calm, loving man. Despite all his power and knowledge he was very weak against them as well as his own mother. But it didn't make a difference as Mitsuki was off, probably to fetch her husband.

"What the fuck is going on?" Katsuki said as she entered the room. "What did you tell my mom?"

"Ah, she just found out the name that I would be using as a hero," Masaru admitted. "Hey Katsuki do you want to go to…" he rummaged through his memories for a list of locations. "The arcade?"

"Maybe another time," she said smirking at his discomfort. "A lot of the machines haven't already set and it irks me to see impossible scores on the leader board under three eights."

"How about the pool," he asked growing more frantic.

"No my old costume's grown a bit too small. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to join you."

"How about the shopping centre then," Masaru said shifting his feet in a clear display of his eagerness to get out.

"That's actually a pretty good idea," Katsuki said after a short while to make Masaru sweat. "Okay let's go."

Masaru didn't wait a second, but instead immediately rushed out the door. Katsuki smiled to herself and gave a wink as the door opened revealing her parents on the other side. It was good to play tricks on Izuku now and again and she took great delight in reminding him that for all his power and knowledge he was still human. Whistling a happy tune she exited the room following quickly after him.

xxx

"No I don't want to go to the bookstore. Honestly why did you have to be such a damn nerd all the time," Katsuki said shaking her head at the red-head.

"What do you want to go to the beauty parlour, maybe have a haircut," Masaru responded in a teasing manner.

"Fuck off," Katsuki replied with a noticeable twitch in her eye and when nobody else was looking she decked him, regulating her strength so that nothing would break.

"So you got accepted into U.A High I heard," Masaru said rubbing his eye. If he didn't fix it, he would be left with a black eye and he decided to leave it untreated, while he was Masaru anyway.

"Obviously," Katsuki said rolling her eyes. "The other competitors were jokes. I heard that you tied with me," she replied. "What the hell happened to keeping a low profile?"

"It was an accident, I assure you," Masaru defended himself.

"Anything on at the movies," Katsuki asked. "Not sappy shit or anything."

"Yeah, there's a couple good ones," Masaru said. He was referring to action movies. Katsuki was not the biggest fan of most dramas and she would be pretty offended if he even suggested a romance. Katsuki Bakugou was outwardly violent and if you managed to bypass those layers you would find a core comprising even more violence. To put it in simplified terms, she possessed absolutely no dere and many mountains of tsun.

"I would punch you in the face if I didn't agree with every single thing you've said," the violent girl said holding her fist aloft. "Now come on there's a documentary about the rise of heroism in the West."

The girl did like her heroes though. Masaru smiled and followed her to the cinema. Paying for his own ticket, he took a seat next to her and for the next thirty minutes was entertained by a collection of foreign heroes that most in the cinema had probably ever heard of before. He enjoyed the documentary; it was good to see the heroes as bastions of order and society from people who looked up to heroes. His usual view didn't elevate them quite as much.

He was watching them give a brief overview of the number one rated American hero Alacrity Light when a death registered in his senses. Normally this wouldn't be unusual; he had long grown accustomed to death. Only the violence of the death and its closeness tickled his senses. Glancing at Katsuki he tapped her shoulder and in a voice less than a whisper he announced his intent to leave. Not even waiting for a response he used Alibi Block to transfer himself into a nearby bloody alleyway that was dominated by the dead form of a hero. The alleyway was empty of all life but he still had the feeling of being watched. Ignoring the eyes that were upon him he went over to inspect the hero.

The hero was young to the extent that he wondered if she had even left U.A High yet. Blue body armour was worn over a full body skintight suit. Long blonde hair was matted and caked with blood and a jolt of pain went through Masaru's chest as he came to the realisation that this hero probably still had parents at home that she would never see again. He dropped Fantasy Illusion allowing his real appearance to be shown to the world. The marks on her body were familiar, far too familiar.

"Get down here Stendhal," he said as his eyes locked onto the lurking form out of sight.

The very next instant the alleyway was enveloped in a cold aura and the presence of the hero killer made itself known. Muscled and in a black combat suit, hunched over and yet standing tall, his hair was messy and unkempt and his nose had been sliced cleanly off of his face. Stendhal had truly changed since the last time he had seen him. The image of a prowling wolf determined to tear out the throat of any its way, the hero killer was a man who would frighten any human who stepped in his way. So Izuku simply stopped being human. Two impossibly green stars glared at Stendhal and the cold black miasma that had permeated the alleyway burnt up in an instant.

"Why did you do this Stendhal," Izuku asked unamused.

"Call me Stain," the former vigilante replied but Izuku Midoriya remained in place awaiting the answer. "For I will stain my hands with the blood of these false heroes."

"What is a fake hero?" Izuku asked as he eyed the hero killer.

"A hero must not desire rewards or compensation, a hero must make the ultimate sacrifice," Stain recited and it was to his utmost credit that he didn't back down when faced with the full force of Izuku's glare.

"You're trying to separate the hero from the human it doesn't work like that," Izuku began and then stopped. "Will anything I say to you make you change your mind?" he asked and the question was posed as much too himself as to the newly named Stain.

"I am prepared to even go against you if necessary," Stain said not backing down an inch.

Izuku frowned and green lightning fluttered around his fingers. The name of this power was called I Banish. This was the much more destructive power than the quirk Value Lives that he chose for Masaru which only targeted non-living items. I Banish would destroy everything without hesitation. He focused on the hero killer and the air thrummed with power for a few long seconds before he dropped his hand.

"I hope you find some happiness," he said turning away from Stain. "If I meet you as a hero I will end you." He looked at the blond woman's face, memorizing her features and for one brief glorious moment he considered bringing her back to life before he sighed and disappeared from the alleyway leaving the hero killer alone with his fresh kill.

xxx

"Would you like any more," his mother offered holding more breakfast aloft. Inko Midoriya was a middle aged woman with black hair and green eyes. She was reasonable slim although she seemed to be putting on a few pounds as she advanced in age. She was also the person in the world that Izuku loved the supported him wholeheartedly in all of his attempts, no matter who he set himself against and she had been a pillar in his life for years, believing in him, even as nobody else did and no matter how much Katsuki teased him over it he would never stop loving his mother.

However love was not enough to protect her. To all but two people in the world Inko Midoriya had no son and Izuku Midoriya had no mother. It pained him to do so, but the amount of enemies he'd made over the years forced him to hide his relationships, using the skill Secret Research to prevent anybody making the connection between him and those he cared for. The world would not permit these indulgences and ironically once again the net effect was leaving him less of a man in the world's eyes.

"No thanks mom," Izuku said smiling. "Your cooking was wonderful. I might be bringing Katsuki over today, do you mind catering for us both."

"Not at all," Inko said smiling. For some reason beyond Izuku's ocean of knowledge she had taken a shine to the abrasive, gruff, rude and bad-tempered Katsuki. "Have you packed all your stationery and gym clothes?"

"Yes," Izuku said enjoying the little ritual.

"Please tell me you didn't take your entire library of books on ethics," Inko said with some exasperation on her face.

"Only the one on heroic professional ethics," Izuku said, pulling out the worn book from his bag. "Don't worry I won't overdo it. I'll go to U.A like a normal child and have a normal first day of classes."

Inko smiled a soft smile. "I'm proud of you," she said causing a warm feeling to grow in his chest.

"Thanks mom," he replied stepping out of the house his green hair and eyes already turned red. Musutafu was beautiful in the morning light, comprising of many tall skyscrapers and a variety of apartment blocks. While it wasn't what you would call conventionally attractive Masaru had lived and grown up in this place for the majority of his life and the sight grew on him. He took a slow walk greeting any familiar faces he came across and by the time he arrived at the campus there was less than ten minutes until the start of homeroom.

Staring at the entrance he felt a mild trepidation seize him. While he avoided the question with Katsuki he did actually want to attend hero school. It had been one of his childhood dreams and one that he had held on for far longer than any of the others. To be a hero, stop the villains and save the civilians was the height of his ambitions when his age could still be measured in single digits. Even now he still felt the need to learn heroism and to surround himself with those burning to make a mark on the world and become true heroes.

"Maybe he could even make a few friends," he thought and then dismissed it from his mind. For all that those chosen were the best and brightest. For all the power of their quirks and the skills of their minds and bodies, in the end they were simply Not Equal.

And it was impossible to forget that.

xxx

"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?"
- Epicurus